Celebrity vs Princess in Europe?

[tammymacb]

My Dh and I just got home from a meeting regarding my final DDs senior trip. 10 days in Greece. We'd planned on joining the group as chaperones. Well, after doing the math, and talking about how we'd spend all that money to hang around with a bunch of teenagers, we decided to pass. We're sending DD, and booking our own Med trip, I'm hoping Italy, Turkey, Greece.

 

Since it will be the two of us, I'm only considering two lines. Celebrity and Princess. We've sailed X once (in about 13 cruises) and loved it, but since cruises are usually our family trip, it's not been our first choice for the kids. We've never sailed Princess, though I've heard good things about it.

 

I'd love opinions. If both lines offer a similar itinerary, which would you choose and why? I'm guessing either one will be MUCH cheaper than we were going to pay for the 10 day tour. Thanks.

 

(info on us, married couple, , me 40s, DH early 50s- non smokers, well traveled, we like to cruise in comfort, our last cruise was Disney Fantasy concierge)

[Host Jazzbeau]

Not to hijack the thread with the first response, but since this a rare opportunity for just the two of you and you're comparing to a very expensive baseline -- why not consider Oceania or Crystal? The smaller ships will really get you away from that "hanging around bunch of teenagers" feeling.

[Woobstr112G]

I would give the non to Princess over X re: itineraries. I would have to agree however with the previous post about trying the more expensive smaller ships.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Pam in CA]

IMHO, the most important considerations would be itinerary and price. The Med is usually a very port-intensive cruise so if you're off the ship early in the morning and back late in the afternoon, some things become less-important. Food is subjective but in my experience, the dining room and buffet food on Princess is much better. It's fresher, more variety, more "always available," and more flexible.

 

Keep in mind that Celebrity won't/doesn't discount cruises. Princess does. You can save 10-20% by booking through a TA who books a lot of Princess cruises.

[OhioDogLover]

We have cruised both lines in Europe and would take either one. Our next booked cruise is on Celebrity in the Med next summer. The reason is this, we took a Celebrity cruise this Fall up to Canada (we picked it because of the itinerary and to try out their Aqua class). We had such a good time, we booked the Celebrity Med cruise while on board. They also had some great incentives to book then. We found Aqua to be very nice and definitely worth a bit more money. The food was by far the best we have ever had on a cruise and we've taken about 19 of them on various lines. (We are Platinum on Princess, so we obviously like it.) But, as Pam says, food is subjective. We haven't tried Oceana or Crystal, but friends who sail on those lines say they are great.

I don't think you can go wrong on either line. However, if you haven't tried it, you might want to try Celebrity and Aqua class.

Just my opinion. You will have a great time regardless of which line you choose.

Ohiodoglover

[tammymacb]

Thanks all for the opinions!

 

I will look at the smaller lines too.

[Bently57]

Love Princess but not Ocean Princess which is usually an option in Europe. If that is your only option go with Celebrity.

[hubofhockey]

Italy, Turkey, and Greece probably might the Grand Med itinerary on the new Regal Princess. This is a great itinerary, but the Regal may not be one's ship of choice on warm/hot weather itineraries if pools are important. This class of ship has only two standard pools, which could get pretty crowded on sea days.

[Oxo]

Food is subjective but in my experience, the dining room and buffet food on Princess is much better. It's fresher, more variety, more "always available," and more flexible.

 

Keep in mind that Celebrity won't/doesn't discount cruises. Princess does. You can save 10-20% by booking through a TA who books a lot of Princess cruises.

 

Will agree that the Royal Horizon Court is the best of any cruise line that we have sailed. I would rate Royal HC #1.

TA's won't discount, but they do give very good OBCs. Prices are very comparable.

[RASHOPPER2]

Italy, Turkey, and Greece probably might the Grand Med itinerary on the new Regal Princess. This is a great itinerary, but the Regal may not be one's ship of choice on warm/hot weather itineraries if pools are important. This class of ship has only two standard pools, which could get pretty crowded on sea days.

 

Also the Regal the balconies are very small. On a Med. itinerary enjoying the balcony when you come back from touring is really a pleasure. Friends who were on the Royal (sister ship) said that the balconies were so small they never used them. Just another consideration.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We did the Princess Grand Med. itinerary this past summer with another family on the Royal Princess and it was great. The ship was perfect for us as it had so many options for dining and entertainment. Everyone loved it.

 

I have been to most of the ports on prior cruises but the family was first time Med. cruisers and it was a great itinerary. We chose it as it offered an excellent selection of ports, a sea day here and there and we liked starting in Barcelona and ending in Venice as we added two additional night on both ends. Great cities to visit!

[Cruise Junky]

Also agree with Itinerary and Price. We like both and find them quite similar. Also keep an eye on Celebrity as their 123 package is coming back I think next week or the week after. Sailing Europe you might get a drink package and some OBC out of the deal.

[-Lew-]

 

TA's won't discount, but they do give very good OBCs. Prices are very comparable.

If you're referring to Princess, I would agree with Pam that TAs who book a lot of Princess do, in fact, discount 10%-20%. If your TA doesn't discount Princess, you should look for another one who will.

 

Lew

Edited November 20, 2013 by -Lew-

[TM]

We are elite on Princess but did the Celebrity Reflection this fall. It was our 2nd Celebrity cruise. The reasons for choosing Celebrity were because of a great price offered and it was roundtrip out of Rome. We had a great cruise but I missed Princess. The ship was beautiful. Their equivalent of the Horizon Court was extremely well laid out and never felt congested at all. Good variety of food. The MDR was very nice but I think Princess offers better quality and variety of food. Personally I found the pool area to be very crowded and not particularly well laid out but that's just my opinion. We did late traditional dinning which wasn't until 8:45 pm. A bit late but I believe I read that in Europe Princess also delays their dining times. No matter which line you choose I think you will have a great time. Just be prepared for a very port intensive trip.

 

Tom

[caribill]

We did late traditional dinning which wasn't until 8:45 pm. A bit late but I believe I read that in Europe Princess also delays their dining times.

 

When we have done Princess in Europe, the late sitting has usually been at 8:15 PM.

[caribill]

Love Princess but not Ocean Princess which is usually an option in Europe. If that is your only option go with Celebrity.

 

Like food, the kind of ship one likes can be subjective.

 

For us, all other things being equivalent (itinerary, pricing, etc.), we would pick the Ocean or Pacific Princess over a larger ship, Princess or other line.

[Iamcruzin]

IMHO, the most important considerations would be itinerary and price. The Med is usually a very port-intensive cruise so if you're off the ship early in the morning and back late in the afternoon, some things become less-important. Food is subjective but in my experience, the dining room and buffet food on Princess is much better. It's fresher, more variety, more "always available," and more flexible.

 

Keep in mind that Celebrity won't/doesn't discount cruises. Princess does. You can save 10-20% by booking through a TA who books a lot of Princess cruises.

 

I totally agree with Pam and on a port intensive cruise, dining options need to be more flexible and available than you would need on a 7 day Caribbean cruise. With that said I found the dining options to be very limited on Celebrity in the Caribbean, especially when returning to the ship after port. Celebrity's itinerary and price would have to be very attractive before I booked a cruise in Europe with them.

Edited November 20, 2013 by Iamcruzin

[TM]

As noted food is always subjective. We found that there were numerous options on the Celebrity Reflection besides the MDR or dinner. There were several specialty restaurants which of course had a fee associated with them, typically $35-45 per person. I thought that was high compared to Princess. I will say however that their version of Horizon Court offered quite a bit of variety for dinner and it was actually very good. We only ate there twice for dinner after a late shore excursion one evening and also on a formal night as we didn't bring formal clothes and enjoyed it both times. But our preference will be to stay with Princess.

[Oxo]

If you're referring to Princess, I would agree with Pam that TAs who book a lot of Princess do, in fact, discount 10%-20%. If your TA doesn't discount Princess, you should look for another one who will.

 

Lew

 

When I responded to Pam's posting I was talking about Celebrity not Princess. TAs will give BIG OBCs to compensate for no discount. Do it all the time.

[sabbrina]

P&O have some very nice Eastern Mediterranean itineraries if you fancy a classy cruise experience.

 

http://www.pocruises.com/cruise-destinations/east-mediterranean/

[helenb]

Both are good lines. We are elite on Celebrity and platinum on Princess (although we have more cruises on Princess, due to differences in the way both companies compute cruise credits).

 

Celebrity's newest ships are absolutely gorgeous (Solstice class) and IMHO (I know it's subjective) are far more beautiful than any of the numerous Princess ships I have sailed. I love that these ships include a beautiful covered pool for adults, have fabulous specialty restaurants and luxurious rooms (again, classier and more luxurious than I have experienced on Princess in similar cabin categories). Yes, the specialty restaurants are more expensive than on Princess, but the quality of the food and the experience (particularly Q*sine and Murano) far exceed what you get on Princess at Sabatini's and Crown Grill. We enjoy all of the food on Celebrity more than on Princess: in the MDR and the buffet. We do miss the International Cafe when we're on Celebrity, and the only real comparison is their Bistro on 5 (crepe and panini restaurant) which incurs a $5 charge. The fabulous food at Princess' International Cafe (panini, quiches, fresh-baked cookies) is free of charge. Another thing I miss on Celebrity (in terms of food) is Princess' fabulous souffles! They have so many wonderful dessert souffles and on Celebrity you will be lucky to see one during a 12 night cruise.

 

I also love the 'little things' on Celebrity, such as having towels at the pool to take as you will, as compared to Princess' stingy 'towels in the cabin' policy.

 

Where Princess really shines in in the onboard entertainment. There is so much variety, and so many venues! You can go to 3 or 4 shows in one night, hopping around various venues to see a production show, a singer, a comedian, a magician or hypnotist. They really go all out to make sure there is something you want to do every evening. Too many times on Celebrity I have been sitting in my cabin after dinner, because the show in the main theatre wasn't to my taste and there was nothing else to do. For this reason we tend to prefer Princess on cruises with lots of sea days, and Celebrity on cruises with lots of port days. As such, when we go to Europe, where the itineraries are very port intensive, we prefer Celebrity. On Princess, we like long cruises such as the Panama Canal (where almost every second day was a sea day), round trip California to Hawaii, Caribbean, etc.

 

Both cruise lines offer discounts with a good TA. On Celebrity, our TA usually gives us a mountain of OBC, and if we don't use it, it is refunded to our cc at the end of the cruise.

 

I am puzzled by one thing though. We have younger children and we have found that the kids' programs on both lines are excellent. I can't understand your comment about not wanting to take your family on Celebrity? I suppose it doesn't matter now, if your youngest is graduating high school!

[Pam in CA]

If you're referring to Princess, I would agree with Pam that TAs who book a lot of Princess do, in fact, discount 10%-20%. If your TA doesn't discount Princess, you should look for another one who will.

And, a 20% discount, for instance, is far more than a TA's OBC plus you'd get an OBC on top of the discount plus a bottle of wine or other incentive. The Celebrity TA's OBC is absolutely not comparable. FYI, I booked the Royal's T/A next year and I just checked, the cabin next door to mine is still available for 30% more than what I'll be paying. Granted, prices have gone up but that's still a hefty difference plus I'm getting $100 OBC plus wine. Edited November 20, 2013 by Pam in CA

[Oxo]

And, a 20% discount, for instance, is far more than a TA's OBC plus you'd get an OBC on top of the discount plus a bottle of wine or other incentive. The Celebrity TA's OBC is absolutely not comparable. FYI, I booked the Royal's T/A next year and I just checked, the cabin next door to mine is still available for 30% more than what I'll be paying. Granted, prices have gone up but that's still a hefty difference plus I'm getting $100 OBC plus wine.

I have learned over the years to know that all so called deals are not always deals. I have talked and dealt with many TAs and agencies. Met many on-board who claim to be the one and only agency that gives the best deal. There is no one TA or agency that always gives the best deal all the time, regardless.

With the Internet there are so many options that the best deal today is not the best deal tomorrow. I have been cruising for many years, on many cruise lines, used many TAs.

My point is that you can get very good prices on any cruise line. They are out there and I am not talking about a bottle of wine from a TA. LOL

RCI and Celebrity do discount if you book on-board, plus give you a OBC greater if you actually book a specific cruise rather than just an open booking. In addition, a TA will provide you an additional OBC.

Every cruise, cabin category, etc., just like airline seats, are subject to different prices. What one person gets, another person can do better or worse.

No one gets the best price all of the time. If they do, GOOD LUCK!

FYI- Just booked a Celebrity cruise so I know what I have and what I got, too.

[drivethebus]

My Dh and I just got home from a meeting regarding my final DDs senior trip. 10 days in Greece. We'd planned on joining the group as chaperones. Well, after doing the math, and talking about how we'd spend all that money to hang around with a bunch of teenagers, we decided to pass. We're sending DD, and booking our own Med trip, I'm hoping Italy, Turkey, Greece.

 

Since it will be the two of us, I'm only considering two lines. Celebrity and Princess. We've sailed X once (in about 13 cruises) and loved it, but since cruises are usually our family trip, it's not been our first choice for the kids. We've never sailed Princess, though I've heard good things about it.

 

I'd love opinions. If both lines offer a similar itinerary, which would you choose and why? I'm guessing either one will be MUCH cheaper than we were going to pay for the 10 day tour. Thanks.

 

(info on us, married couple, , me 40s, DH early 50s- non smokers, well traveled, we like to cruise in comfort, our last cruise was Disney Fantasy concierge)

 

If you've sailed with Celebrity in the past and are planning to try Princess, I have to tell you that you will be very disappointed . That is exactly what we did after having sailed twice with Celebrity we chose the Diamond Princess. You have no idea what a disappointment the diamond was. The ship was dirty, the service was terrible and the food was worse. The only thing we gained from our trip on Princess was the knowledge that we would never sail that cruise again. This was such a bad experience that we are now reluctant to try any other line other that celebrity. So if you want to sail with princess you have been forewarned.

[caribill]

RCI and Celebrity do discount if you book on-board, plus give you a OBC greater if you actually book a specific cruise rather than just an open booking.

 

When we were on RCI earlier this year there was the added OBC if you booked while onboard, but no discount pricing.