Princess VS Celebrity Cruises

[kadiebug12]

We are avid Princess fans and love the cruiseline. We are considering purchasing a cruise on Celebrity as it offers the desination, fare and timec schedule for this particular trip which works best for us. Has anyone who has cruise Princess before also cruised Celebrity Cruises? If so, what did you think for a comparison, was Celebrity comparable in service and amenities?

[AZPam]

We did Celebrity a few years ago. I thought most things were pretty much along the same line, favorable. About the only thing I didn't like was the lay out of the ship. We kept getting lost! Never did feel like we knew our way around even by the end of the week.

 

I would say if the price and destinations are what you want, go for it. Never hurts to try something new every so often. That being said, we prefer to stick with Princess!

 

Pam

[Coral]

There have been several similiar questions in the last month or so with a lot of comparisons listed. Not sure how the search is working - hopefully they will be easy to find.

[DeltaOne]

We are avid Princess fans and love the cruiseline. We are considering purchasing a cruise on Celebrity as it offers the desination, fare and timec schedule for this particular trip which works best for us. Has anyone who has cruise Princess before also cruised Celebrity Cruises? If so, what did you think for a comparison, was Celebrity comparable in service and amenities?

We have done three Celebrity cruises, one Princess. We think the food and service on Celebrity is just a bit better than Princess. They're very close, this is splitting hairs.

 

You'll lose Anytime Dining, if that matters. And the pools are filled with salt water, and close earlier in the evening. We thought there was less nickel & diming on Celebrity, and fewer (almost none) announcements over the PA system.

 

If the itinerary and pricing is right...go for it! Celebrity delivers a nice product.

[lb1cruiser]

We've done a 10-day Celebrity and Princess. I loved Celebrity, it was very classy, shows were better, food a touch better, kids program better. That being said, I loved Princess as well, fresh water pools, food was very good, anytime dining the only way to go. We booked another Princess cruise because of anytime dining and the relaxed atmosphere of the ship, but I'd definitely go on Celebrity again if the price was right (they tend to be a lot more expensive comparing apples to apples, so if you get a good deal you're not going to be disappointed with the cruise).

[Druke I]

We have some 18 or so cruises on Princess, and tried Celebrity couple springs ago, RT out of San Francisco down to Cabo San Lucas.

 

Enjoyed Celebrity very much, but they do not have the variety of itineraries that Princess has, and I think Princess' pricing more reasonable.

 

Would I go on Celebrity again? Sure, depending on ship, itinerary, and price.

[RSteele]

I did my first Celebrity cruise this fall...having only cruised on Princess before. Since I enjoy cruising, no matter where or what ship, I enjoyed my cruise. I will go back to Princess for my next cruise...I could never find my way around (like someone else mentioned). I did think the shows were better (at least different than what I had seen on the first 4 cruises) and couldn't tell the difference in the food....I guess I'm just a Princess person. :D

[DannyMac]

My wife and I have three Celebrity and one Princess cruises. They are just about the same. Celebrity is a bit more upscale and caters to an older crowd, didn't see many kids on the Celebrity cruises. We cruised the Grand last March and really enjoyed the trip. Paul from Maryland hit right on the head in his post.

[RNay]

We did Celebrity to the Southern Caribbean a couple of years ago and it was a wonderful cruise. I also choose depending on itinerary, ship and timing, but with a strong preference for Princess. I agree with the above mentioned comparisons except that I didn't notice any difference in the quality of food. I hated the dining room. It was huge and loud. The spa on Celebrity was fantastic and had its own cafe. It was quieter without many announcements and a more sedate feeling in the evenings. I would do it again if I prefered the itinerary.

[OCruisers]

We are "Long Time" Princess folks who absolutely LOVE Celebrity! In many ways ... find it more like Princess was at one time. :rolleyes:

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[jresmith]

We have been on Celebrity 10 or more times, depending on how you want to count back-to-back cruises. We just got off of the Diamond last month to Alaska. In our opinion, Celebrity's food may be a touch better than Princess, but not enough so that it would change your mind between cruise lines. Princess's itinerary goes to many more varied ports than Celebrity does. As far as finding your way around the ships, we thought Celebrity was relatively easy (keeping in mind their large ships are approximately 2,000 passengers) compared to Diamond (with approx. 3,000 passengers). We felt that you feel the presence of the 2,000 passengers far more than the 3,000 on the Diamond. The architect for the Diamond somehow figured out to hide 3,000 people so you don't feel like you are running over one another. The theater on Celebrity is much larger and holds approximately 1/2 the passengers at a single seating. The theater on Princess is smaller, tighter and hotter. It only holds about 1/3 of the passengers. Entertainment is better on Celebrity in the theater. Entertainment throughout the rest of the ship is better on Princess. The Celebrity buffet is, in our opinion, one notch lower than the Horizon Court food. And Horizon Court is open 24 hours (not that you really need it!). The Celebrity embarkation and disembarkation runs much smoother than Princess. The Cruise Director and staff on all of our Celebrity cruises were far superior to the CD on the Diamond cruise. Princess has laundromats which are $1.00 wash/$1.00 dry. Front loaders hold a lot. Celebrity has nothing but laundry service which can run into some money on a long cruise. Drinks on Princess are cheaper than on Celebrity by about $1.00. As stated above, clientele for Celebrity is about 10 years older on average than Princess clientele. Celebrity has mermaid pods which seem to have bearing problems on a regular basis, costing you a day or a port here and there. Princess has conventional screws and side thrusters which don't seem to have this problem.

 

Overall, we would sail on either cruise line depending upon itinerary and price. Unfortunately, Celebrity has instituted a no discount policy (which seems to not add up since there still seems to be sales on Celebrity tickets) while Princess still allows TA's to rebate their fees as discounts or on board ship credits. So overall, Celebrity will probably tend to be a little more expensive. Hope this helps. Regardless of which one you choose, you will have a wonderful, memorable cruise!

 

Jim & Jennifer

[stag]

We cruised major companies multiple times. We often stayed with princess until we cruised Celebrity's Millennium class ships. We found they are slightly better than the Grand class in terms of food, service and shows. However, we like Princess's salads and desserts. At Princess, if we don't like the appetizers, we can always order the shrimp cocktail. If we don't like the desserts, we always can order the cheese cake, or chocolate boat. Other companies may not have such flexibility. In general, we found Princess is not as good as 8 years ago and Celebrity is better than 8 years ago.

[Dolphins]

We have sailed both but would choose Princess over Celebrity only because you get the option of Personal Choice Dining.

[cynbar]

I also have sailed both lines, would do Celebrity again but prefer Princess. I found the large, 2 story DR on Infinity to be crowded and noisy --- Princess does a better job by dividing its main DRs into 3 smaller, separate rooms. The freshwater pools with longer hours are a big plus on Princess. And the food availability is better ---- 24 hr Horizon Court, and both pizza and the grill running from 11:00 to 7:00. On Celebrity, we would occasionally get back from shore at an odd hour, and no lunch was available.

[Breezey]

We have no loyalty to any cruise line as we prefer to choose our cruises by itinerary. However, having friends who only cruise Celebrity we decided to try the Mercury in February for their Mexican Riviera cruise. Unfortunately we were comparing apples to oranges since our Princess cruise was on the Golden the year before (much larger ship than the Mercury). I was expecting a significant difference in Celebrity and quite frankly didnt find it. Yes Celebrity had an edge on service, but found the food only a bit better in the dining room but not in the buffet, find shows on all ships a bit cheesey and did not find the Celebrity classier as some people suggest. Formal night (as far as level of formality( was no different on Celebrity than on Princess expect ppl on Celebrity did stay dressed in their formal wear all night. My husband was the only one wearing a tux at our table of 10 (on Celebrity)

 

What I did find is that Celebrity's costs for drinks and photos cost more.

So I will stick with choosing the itinerary over the cruise line and decided that we much prefer the larger ships if only because they offer more choice. I also much prefer the non-traditional dining (6:30 too early; 9:30 too late, 8pm just right) Princess offers.

 

I'd love to try them all.

[BigTimeCruiser]

My wife and I are Elite on Celebrity. We made the switch back to Princess last October. To us, Princess has more itineraries; comparable food; better maintained ships and a much more friendly ship atmosphere than Celebrity. We have decided to do all our future cruising with Princess.

[amagar]

Hi, we've done four celebrity, one princess and another princess booked...all since 2002.

 

In general, you won't notice any huge differences. (Celebrity touts its glass of champagne upon intitial boarding and ice-cold towels upon reboarding...each nice, but not a deal maker/breaker).

 

Much, remember, depends on the ship you sail and what you like. If you want a balcony and can't be happy without one, for example, you can't cruise Celebrity Century...which is a fabulous ship in every other way. Also, if you're used to the brand new Princess ships...try to pick one of the equivalen brand new Celebrity ships, too. Otherwise, unfair comparison.

 

We are in our late 30s and tend toward 10+ nights trying to avoid kids. That worked on both cruise lines, but we think Princess has a bit younger crowd, averaging in their 50s. Celebrity often lures 60s and 70s. (On our first Celebrity cruise, our tablemates were in their 90s...but, to be honest, they were the most interesting people we've met cruising).

 

A couple of things to consider:

-Drinking is much cheaper on Princess, particularly if you and your sweetie split large poolside drinks (I think that slices cost in half compared to Celebrity).

-Watch cabin sizes. Our balcony cabin last year on Princess Dawn was the same size -- INCLUDING the balcony -- as inside rooms on several Celebrity ships. A 30-square-foot difference is a lot when you're looking at something so small. I was initially concerned about this, but had no problem. But some people may.

--Several Celebrity ships now boast Cirque de Soleil entertainment. We haven't sailed since, so can't discuss this. But this seems like an enormous step up. As it is, we haven't enjoyed the entertainment on either cruise line.

[mr green]

We have no loyalty to any cruise line as we prefer to choose our cruises by itinerary. However, having friends who only cruise Celebrity we decided to try the Mercury in February for their Mexican Riviera cruise. Unfortunately we were comparing apples to oranges since our Princess cruise was on the Golden the year before (much larger ship than the Mercury). I was expecting a significant difference in Celebrity and quite frankly didnt find it. Yes Celebrity had an edge on service, but found the food only a bit better in the dining room but not in the buffet, find shows on all ships a bit cheesey and did not find the Celebrity classier as some people suggest. Formal night (as far as level of formality( was no different on Celebrity than on Princess expect ppl on Celebrity did stay dressed in their formal wear all night. My husband was the only one wearing a tux at our table of 10 (on Celebrity)

 

What I did find is that Celebrity's costs for drinks and photos cost more.

So I will stick with choosing the itinerary over the cruise line and decided that we much prefer the larger ships if only because they offer more choice. I also much prefer the non-traditional dining (6:30 too early; 9:30 too late, 8pm just right) Princess offers.

 

I'd love to try them all.

 

I agree with this post 110%. In my opinion Celebrity is highly overrated, and it also has a great deal to learn about customer relations. I was also on Mercury last February, and, had it been my first cruise, it would also have been my last! Princess is not perfect, but it is head and shoulders better than X, and best of all it knows how to treat its cruisers. john

[CruiseYVR]

As a TA I dispise CEL and RCI for the way they treat us.

 

I do like the CEL product (ships, CC Class, etc) however RCI is terrible.

 

Overall Princess would be ideal for anyone and I highly recommend all their product.

 

My two cents.

[stag]

Unfortunately we were comparing apples to oranges since our Princess cruise was on the Golden the year before (much larger ship than the Mercury).

You hit the nail on the head. Ships within the same comapny have differences too. Although we think Celebrity is slightly better, We didn't like the older ships such as Galaxy and Murcury. On the other hand, Island Princess and Sun are in the same class, we like Island and Coral much better than Sun and Dawn.

 

If I had only cruised once on each Galaxy, Murcury, Coral and Star Princess, I might vote for Princess. We think the Personal Choice is a good idea, however, ther service level could not compare with the fixed seating.

[EDRI]

We recently returned from our first Princess cruise (Grand Med. May 17-26). We have had two Celebrity cruises. The latest, Celebrity Constellation June 21- July 5, 2003 Northern Europe (14 night Scandinavia/Russia).

The Grand Princess was our 17th cruises. I agree with those that state that the itinerary should be at the top of your list. In our case, we wanted to visit Greece and Turkey, we had heard many good things about Princess and I wanted to try Personal Choice dining.

 

Using the two Europe cruises as my comparison, here is my two cents worth:

Embarkation:

Princess - Venice, Italy a disaster 2 1/2 hrs to board ship. Upon boarding we were told what elevator to take and our floor number.

Celebrity - Dover England, 25 min. They do provide a glass of champagne and show you to your cabin.

 

Dining:

Dining room - Pretty even. I enjoyed both. I thought Personal Choice dining was great. Princess desserts, I could not pass them by. I did request a low fat diet, and the Dia Vinci staff was very helpful.

I do have an exception, I thought the Horizion Court was a very poor setup and the staff terrible. My wife needs a cane to get around. On Celebrity a staff member will take you tray and lead you to a table. On Princess, not a soul even offered to assist my wife.

 

Entertainment:

Celebrity by a long shot. Princess has replaced "good" live entertainment with MUTS and other movie options. Celebrity offered for most part good nightly shows. On Princess, I thought we had one good Broadway show and a good comic Billy Vader.

 

Cabins:

Both about the same. BUT my Grand Princess AFT was special. Except for being locked on the balcony for a couple of hours, I really enjoyed this cabin.

 

Tours:

That very subjective. Russia was great!. If you go on Princess, to Rome, don't take the Rome-The Eternal City. We spent more time in traffic or in line than we did on tour.

 

Cabin Steward/staff:

Celebrity, Celebrity, Celibrity. One of the big mistakes Princess has made. Automatic gratuity - At Celebrity, all the time you are on the ship, the staff provides a friendly attitude. In general I think that is missing on Princess.

On the cruise more than a few times, I heard " since they were bought by Carnival" as it applies to service, charging for soda, ice cream, etc.

 

Disembarkation:

Well, it took 2 1/2 hrs to get on the ship. 2 1/2 min to get off. They are all the same. This procedure, about the same on both ships.

 

Overall:

If only Celebrity had PC dining! I'll go with Celebrity.

 

That my two cents!!

Ed

[argosy]

I think they're both about equal across the board, but they excel in different areas, just like they have weaknessess in several areas. And it simply boils down to what you want out of a cruise.

 

If you want a butler, if you must have champagne upon boarding, if you like cool towels as you come back from your day in port, if you enjoy sorbet by the pool in the afternoon, if you want a wine sommelier...then Celebrity is your best bet.

 

If you want a casual, relaxed and unstuffy atmosphere, if production shows are important to you, if you like 24 hour pools with freshwater, if you like being able to have dinner whenever you like, if you like personable and fun cruise staff...then Princess is your cruise line.