Celebrity Cruisers try Princess

[gkny]

I think the service is better on Celebrity and the food better on Princess. Both are good lines.

[rvlandandsea]

Thank you for your comments. We will be sailing on the Star Princess next March, a 28 day cruise going to Hawaii and Tahiti. We are Celebrity and RCL cruisers, more than 40 between them, but decided that a 15 hour flight to Sydney to sail the Tahitian islands was just to much for us. I am hoping that we get the best of the Princess experience and will probably drive to our port of call, Los Angeles.

 

Johanne

[Bridge Maven]

Although I personally prefer Glacier Bay National Park, there are many people who would agree with you. For Celebrity, that's a good thing because the National Park Service has gone to a ten year permit system and Celebrity's next chance to sail to Glacier Bay (during the Park Service defined peak season) will not be until 2020!

 

mahdnc - This is one of the reasons why people who take a cruise to Alaska on Celebrty should take subsequent cruises to Alaska on a different cruise line than Celebrity. This way they can see both Glacier Bay and the Hubbard Glacier.

[richsea]

Great review &comparisons, Cathy. We've done 3Princess cruises, on Emerald & Crown, & did not find them hard to navigate, but they are more crowded than Celebrity ships. I know those "can't get there from here" features are annoying. We just had that on RCI Explore of the Seas,very annoying. I guess it's what ship you book.

While Celebrity remains our line of choice, we find that overall, Princess offers a very similar experience, & we would not hesitate to sail them again. I agree with you regarding the rooms; they are not laid out as well, & we found the shower to be tiny. I would give Princess the nod regarding entertainment, & we found some of the food mostly comparable, with Princess' pasta to be superb.

We also found that on our first Princess cruise, like you, we spent a lot of time comparing the 2 lines. However, on subsequent sailings, we tended to just enjoy what they offered.

You might want to try another class of Princess ship. And I also hear that the bullet ships, Coral & Island, are very nice, & more in line with the M class.

 

You also reminded me of why we resist Alaska; cold & rain!

Thanks again for the honest comparison!

[Lois R]

I apologize for veering off topic.....I will have Host Andy delete my

prior postings on this thread.......I have never sailed Princess and

hopefully before this post gets deleted I won't be flamed for saying

I love Celebrity.

[rervousneck]

Most people who sali often have their favorite cruise line, and we do not all like the same things, and what is important to one person might not be to another person.

 

I have always been critical of the Carribean Princess. It is one of their ship where they added 500? cabins, but no additional dining or theatre seating. It is horribly lacking in what is important to me.

BUT

I have posted that the public areas were crowded, and traffic flow often came to a stand still on the CP(Not sure if that is what the Princess board refers to her as). I like the somewhat slow pace and peacefulness of X. A Princess cruiser soon posted that she likes the hustle and bustle of Princess (something like NY,NY), and found her X cruise to sedate.

 

I use the buffett for breakfast, and my wife uses room service(prefers cat CC). On the CP people had to wait several minutes to get a table. Often they would just stand behind a table that appeared to be open soon. What were they thinking? Maybe this is not important to Princess Regulars.

 

Same story in the theatre. As Denny posted you need to be there 45 minutes befor the show to get a seat. On our cruise it was more like an hour. Not important to me, but it is important to my wife. Who wants to sit in a theatre for 45 minutes waiting for the entertainment to begin? I will say I say 2 men nearly come to blows over one of them attepting to save seats. Pretty good entertainment.;)

 

Finally, several people have posted that the meat, specifically steaks are better on Princess. I can undrstand how this would cause many to think the food is better on Princess. I only eat steak a few times yearly so I could care less. Point is "to each his/her own". BTW, all cruise line food is below the quality it was 10 years ago, and that is what first drew me to X.

 

Other things are strictly personal preference.

Light colored wood on CP vs worm colors on X.

Unusable Promenade on X vs barley usable pomenade on CP.

Luke skywalker type bar on CP (deck 18). Poor views, but many folks love it.

Hidden dining room on CP. Just a matter of learning about the ship, and understanding the deck plan. No bad once accustomed to it.

 

I don't have a problem with Princess except for the ships that are built like the Caribbean Princess. Too many things that are important to me or my wife that are bothersome.

 

NOT Proof read.

[Pennsylvania Sailor]

We have sailed Celebrity six times, Princess once, HAL four times, Cunard twice, RCI twice, and NCL three times. Our first cruise was on Celebrity and of course we use it for comparison with all the others. That said, we would cruise any of them again given an itinerary and price we liked. There are things we liked and disliked about all of them, but on balance, there wasn't a tremendous amount of difference among them. We love to cruise and we did that on each one so how bad can it be?!:) Next cruise, Celebrity Summit 8 September. Can't wait.

[CathyCruises]

I had read before we cruised that the theatre on Princess was very crowded. I think they have solved the problem! There were THREE performances of each show! So many people do 'anytime' that it appeared to work. The shows were ~ 7:15; 8:30, and 10:00. Every show was that way although we only went to one.

 

On another topic--DH had issued a challenge to the fam: go meet somebody new and report back at dinner what you have found out--their names, hometowns, how many cruises they're taken, whatever. Right after that he and I were headed someplace and came to another blockage. I exclaimed, "This ship has too many dead ends!" kind of loudly. Some people close to us said, "We agree! It's so frustrating!" and a conversation ensued and we met Margie and Larry from Chicago and their friend Pam from Sarasota! Worked out perfectly!! Just goes to show you;)

[cruisemom42]

Hi Cathy, interesting to read your comparison. I have cruised a fair amount on Princess in the past but have been less thrilled with them of late. They used to have some of the better itineraries in the Med, but now other lines (like Celebrity) have stepped up their game.

 

I do agree Princess has good food in the MDR. The main things I've not been happy with on more recent trips were a) the lousy mattresses on board (like a cheap Italian hotel and I'm sure you know what I mean...;)) and also the extra deck of passengers Princess has designed into their newer ships, without increasing public space. It just feels crowded. To be fair, I haven't sailed on the Diamond or Sapphire Princess, the only two ships in the line with that particular build.

 

However, I think some are prone to exaggeration in suggesting you need to get to the theatre 45 minutes ahead of a show in order to get seats. Perhaps if you have 8 people and all have to sit together, or if you have to be in the first 10 rows, you might want to get there 20-25 minutes early. But I've never had a problem finding seating for 2 at 15 minutes out. Maybe fewer folks hit the shows on Med cruises with all the touring...

 

At any rate, thanks for the review. I have been looking for an opportunity to sail with Celebrity again after a long hiatus.

[USVI-4-me]

I cruised the Galaxy in May 1999 on a 12-night Pacific Coastal re-positioning cruise from Los Angeles that visited San Francisco, Gray's Harbor (Washington), Victoria, Sitka, Juneau, Glacier Bay, Skagway, Ketchikan, and ended in Vancouver. It was a great, great trip. I cruised Alaska four other times; twice on Princess, once on Holland-America, and once on Cruise West. I still prefer Hubbard Glacier over Glacier Bay.

 

.

 

 

It is always special to think about the Galaxy.

 

Only Cruiseline we totally scratched from possibility was Holland.

All literature goes right to the round file with a big ugh !!!

 

But the Galaxy always brings a few smiles and good memories of old.

 

thanks,

Marisa

[CathyCruises]

Thanks, Cynthia. I recalled that you were a mostly-Princess cruiser! I would be really interested to hear your review of an S class ship. There are many in the Med and the prices are incredibly low. If you book a balcony on S class, I recommend the standard balcony cabins because the extra perks in CC and AQ just don't seem to be worth very much to us. You may like dining in Blu, however, an AQ perk only. Eric and I really enjoy dining at a large table with new friends so we prefer the MDR, since most tables in Blu are for 2.

 

I honestly feel that the food was better on Princess; the prime rib, beef wellington, and filet were all delicious. I normally avoid beef in banquet-type settings so I was pleasantly surprised. I also had yummy scallops one night.

 

However, the overall layout and decor of the ship left a lot to be desired IMO only!!! I think that the S class ships have a much more open and spacious feel, and the artwork on board is varied and interesting. I also really enjoy the Solarium area, which is adults only (maybe not in Alaska??) and a quiet and peaceful place to read and relax. There was no shortage of cozy nooks where one could curl up; I never found a comparable spot on the Sapphire.

 

I realize that many people who love cruising enough to frequent these boards have firm loyalties and that leads to strong opinions. I respect that, and the fact that we all have different tastes. I wasn't really sure what to expect on a Princess cruise after 5 years of sailing Celebrity exclusively, so I thought some people might be interested in my perceptions--obviously not everyone was, though!

[Lois R]

Hi Cathy,:) thanks for your compare/contrast and it certainly is worth

something (in my opinion). I appreciate you taking the time to post

about your experience.

[TomTN]

Hi Cathy, interesting to read your comparison. I have cruised a fair amount on Princess in the past but have been less thrilled with them of late. They used to have some of the better itineraries in the Med, but now other lines (like Celebrity) have stepped up their game.

 

I do agree Princess has good food in the MDR. The main things I've not been happy with on more recent trips were a) the lousy mattresses on board (like a cheap Italian hotel and I'm sure you know what I mean...;)) and also the extra deck of passengers Princess has designed into their newer ships, without increasing public space. It just feels crowded. To be fair, I haven't sailed on the Diamond or Sapphire Princess, the only two ships in the line with that particular build.

 

However, I think some are prone to exaggeration in suggesting you need to get to the theater 45 minutes ahead of a show in order to get seats. Perhaps if you have 8 people and all have to sit together, or if you have to be in the first 10 rows, you might want to get there 20-25 minutes early. But I've never had a problem finding seating for 2 at 15 minutes out. Maybe fewer folks hit the shows on Med cruises with all the touring...

 

At any rate, thanks for the review. I have been looking for an opportunity to sail with Celebrity again after a long hiatus.

 

I am one who has stated that you must be there at least 45 minutes early to get seats. I am speaking of 2-4 seats together, not 8.

That was on the Caribbean Princess, and on a New England Cruise. I suspect that that cruise has more passengers that want to see the show than a Med cruise, and that might have been part of the problem.

Cathy Cruise says Princess now has 3 shows per night so that should fix that problem.

I would sail on Princess again. I hope not on a ship like the Caribbean Princess. My wife's family are creatures of habit, and I doubt that they would try another cruise line.:(

[Eightydays]

I guess the food on Celebrity must have gotten worse (and it has since the 1990s, although a bit better recently) while the food on Princess must have gotten much better because my recollection is that the food on Princess was not that great.

[cruisetrail]

Celebrity Eclipse.

Showtime 9:00 PM

The theatre doors closed until 8:30 PM

You have to come 45-50 min ahead of time and wait in front of closed doors in a crowded corridor for 15-20 min to get a good seat.

[billb2520]

Well, one of your Celebrity complaints is no longer a problem. The Sky Lounge is open to non-Elites during Elite cocktail events. So you can go in anytime you wish. So you don't have to approach Celebrity with 'caution' anymore!

 

Den

 

Den

 

 

What ship did they allow that ?

It was Elite only on Silhouette for our Adriatic cruise in June.

 

On our Constellation transatlantic it was elite only and if you didn't get there early you were standing. It was that crowded.

 

 

 

-----------------------------------

That is one thing I've noticed with Celebrity; they can be flexible when they choose and quite inflexible when they don't . :-)

 

(with my limited # cruises) I pretty much consider Princess and Celebrity about the same although if my first cruise with Celebrity had been Silhouette it would have been my last with Celebrity.

[Denny01]

What ship did they allow that ?

It was Elite only on Silhouette for our Adriatic cruise in June.

 

On our Constellation transatlantic it was elite only and if you didn't get there early you were standing. It was that crowded.

-----------------------------------

That is one thing I've noticed with Celebrity; they can be flexible when they choose and quite inflexible when they don't . :-)

 

(with my limited # cruises) I pretty much consider Princess and Celebrity about the same although if my first cruise with Celebrity had been Silhouette it would have been my last with Celebrity.

 

On our Eclipse Baltic cruise in May/June 2012, the area on the outside seating next to the windows was blocked off for those not using the elite social hr. And in answer to the question about could they order drinks? I dont know. I assume not since the bar wouldn't be open at that time for general use anyway, so no one would be missing out because all those Elites were using some area.

 

Den

[USVI-4-me]

I've cruised Princess and Celebrity many times. I have not been on the Sapphire.

 

On other Princess Ships (Grand, Golden, Star, Emerald, Coral, Sun, Ocean, Sea) there are multiple places to enjoy a show or combo: Big Theater, Vista Lounge, Wheelhouse Bar, Crooners, Explorer Lounge, and the Piazza.

 

All the entertainment inside in the evening, in differentiated spaces is far better than the choices provided on M-Class or S-Class Celebrity ships.

 

In addition, Princess ships have more pools, MUTS, and long promenades.

 

-Marisa

[scanditaly]

....are what I am really wanting to know more about. Can someone please get a bit more specific about how the promenade (covered walking space?) exists or doesn't?

 

Dead ends.....is the consensus that Princess' ships have them, (Grand class?) and X's don't? That one cannot circumnavigate the ship on a leisurely stroll? or even more to the point, that one cannot get to where one wants to go without using a very crooked and deviated path?

 

I have only been on two X ships, the Mercury and the Eclipse. My Mercury memory is hazy, but I do remember drinking galliano:D in the afternoon in the bar that was all the way forward, and had a great ocean view. Is this what you all are talking about? The lack of this kind of venue?

 

A cool weather ship also means covered areas that one can find shade on a sunny day. Is there some other reasoning behind the idea of cool weather vs. warm weather ships?

 

We adore cruising, and really want to partake more of them; making informed choices is always preferred by me than a random one. Thanks to all of you for voicing opinions for us who really don't know any better.

[elena7seas]

What ship did they allow that ?

It was Elite only on Silhouette for our Adriatic cruise in June.

 

On our Constellation transatlantic it was elite only and if you didn't get there early you were standing. It was that crowded.

 

-----------------------------------

That is one thing I've noticed with Celebrity; they can be flexible when they choose and quite inflexible when they don't . :-)

 

(with my limited # cruises) I pretty much consider Princess and Celebrity about the same although if my first cruise with Celebrity had been Silhouette it would have been my last with Celebrity.

 

We were on the June 24th Adriatic cruise on the Silhouette, and the port forward side and the central forward area of the Sky lounge was open for those who were not participating in the Elite social lounge.

[elena7seas]

Celebrity Eclipse.

Showtime 9:00 PM

The theatre doors closed until 8:30 PM

You have to come 45-50 min ahead of time and wait in front of closed doors in a crowded corridor for 15-20 min to get a good seat.

 

This has never been the case on any Solstice ship I have been on.

 

We usually come in about 10 minutes before the performance and can always get decent seating. With one or two exceptions, most seats in the house have excellent sightlines. If we come in 20-25 minutes before a performance, we can pretty much have our choice of seating.

 

I have never waited in a corridor outside the theatre on any Celebrity ship.

[elena7seas]

Thanks, Cynthia. I recalled that you were a mostly-Princess cruiser! I would be really interested to hear your review of an S class ship. There are many in the Med and the prices are incredibly low. If you book a balcony on S class, I recommend the standard balcony cabins because the extra perks in CC and AQ just don't seem to be worth very much to us. You may like dining in Blu, however, an AQ perk only. Eric and I really enjoy dining at a large table with new friends so we prefer the MDR, since most tables in Blu are for 2.

 

I honestly feel that the food was better on Princess; the prime rib, beef wellington, and filet were all delicious. I normally avoid beef in banquet-type settings so I was pleasantly surprised. I also had yummy scallops one night.

 

However, the overall layout and decor of the ship left a lot to be desired IMO only!!! I think that the S class ships have a much more open and spacious feel, and the artwork on board is varied and interesting. I also really enjoy the Solarium area, which is adults only (maybe not in Alaska??) and a quiet and peaceful place to read and relax. There was no shortage of cozy nooks where one could curl up; I never found a comparable spot on the Sapphire.

 

I realize that many people who love cruising enough to frequent these boards have firm loyalties and that leads to strong opinions. I respect that, and the fact that we all have different tastes. I wasn't really sure what to expect on a Princess cruise after 5 years of sailing Celebrity exclusively, so I thought some people might be interested in my perceptions--obviously not everyone was, though!

 

Thank you very much for your very balanced review. We were very interested in your comments as we are considering a cruise on a Princess ship soon, with friends who are committed Princess fans.

 

We were on the Silhouette in the Adriatic in June and I was very pleasantly surprised with the food in the MDR. We enjoyed many of the new menu selections, plus we found the meat to be excellent. Our steaks and prime rib were particularly good. We had an excellent service team and really enjoyed our first experience of Select dining. It was a wonderful cruise in every way (aside from a slight disappointment with the service in the i-Lounge).

[hubofhockey]

I've cruised Princess and Celebrity many times. I have not been on the Sapphire.

 

On other Princess Ships (Grand, Golden, Star, Emerald, Coral, Sun, Ocean, Sea) there are multiple places to enjoy a show or combo: Big Theater, Vista Lounge, Wheelhouse Bar, Crooners, Explorer Lounge, and the Piazza.

 

All the entertainment inside in the evening, in differentiated spaces is far better than the choices provided on M-Class or S-Class Celebrity ships.

 

In addition, Princess ships have more pools, MUTS, and long promenades.

 

-Marisa

 

You have hit on Princess' two of Princess' biggest pluses (1) entertainment, and (2) pool areas. I agree on both. On our last cruise, the Princess singers and dancers had 10-15 mini-shows in the Piazza (atrium) every night they weren't performing in the main theatre.

 

As much as I like Princess, we like change and different vacations and next up is the Allure and then the Constellation. We have done RCI, but never the Allure. If we get lost on both ships or hit dead ends, that's okay. It's all part of being on a something different and getting a different vacation. As OP missed her comfort level, we'll miss not being able to bring our wine on board and the self serve laundry. We know going in that these are nice amenities on Princess that we won't get on other lines. We'll deal with it. It's all part of getting a different type of vacation.

[Denny01]

Celebrity Eclipse.

Showtime 9:00 PM

The theatre doors closed until 8:30 PM

You have to come 45-50 min ahead of time and wait in front of closed doors in a crowded corridor for 15-20 min to get a good seat.

 

Have been on 13 Celebrity crusies and have never had this experience, including a cruise 2 months ago.

 

I enjoy both Lines, but the theater is one of the examples I use that I think Celebrity has over Princess. On Princess (Golden, Crown, Island) the theaters are defintely smaller than Celebrity (all) and had to show up Very early to get two seats together because the Princess theaters didn't accomodate the number wanting in. Island had many blocked visibility seats I quit going on the Island because I didn't want to sit there for 45min waiting.

 

On Celebrity, 10-15min prior sufficed to get two Good seats together. And yes, have been to the Celebrity theater more than 30min prior with a large group so we went early and the doors were open. No idea why you ran into that situation, unless it had to do with one of the shows where they did wirework over the audience and they couldn't let you in due to prepping for it.

 

But that would be abnormal.

 

Den

[roe2ship]

However, I think some are prone to exaggeration in suggesting you need to get to the theatre 45 minutes ahead of a show in order to get seats. Perhaps if you have 8 people and all have to sit together, or if you have to be in the first 10 rows, you might want to get there 20-25 minutes early. But I've never had a problem finding seating for 2 at 15 minutes out. Maybe fewer folks hit the shows on Med cruises with all the touring...

 

.

I agree with you. I must be lucky because but we never had an issue getting seats in the theatre showing up just 15 minutes prior to show time. I wonder if those who say they need to get there 45 minutes or even an hour:rolleyes: before are looking for the first three rows right in the center? Just saying....

 

I have to say that I am quite surprised at a couple of comments here. Martini bar was dead on Princess? Wow, that is a favorite lounge that many people enjoy and most times in my experience they are quite busy. On my one Celebrity cruise, every lounge on most nights were all dead by 10 pm.

 

Never saw no one cleaning on a Princess ship? Shocked at this one. I think Princess holds the upper hand in the maintenance department. Again on my one Celebrity cruise, only a handful of people were seen in the early morning on a few days doing some sort of cleaning. On Princess, every day....throughout the day, I remember seeing crew cleaning, polishing, painting, etc.

 

Finally, I never quite understand why some think it is so difficult to find their way around Princess ships.