Celebrity vs. Princess

[sabrefan]

Currently booked on the Celebrity Infinity in March 2017 going from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso. Have read numerous bad reviews regarding Celebrity and the Ininity. I am at Elite status on Celebrity but not sure that makes a big difference. I am considering switching to the Crown Princess of Princess cruises. Some slight differences in itinerary. I have been on two previous Princess cruises in the past with no major complaints. Just wondering how people out there feel about Celebrity vs Princess?

[JuliaMS]

We have been on Princess twice and were Underwhelmed. Nothing really bad about it just missing that extra something. The ships were a little tired but that could have just been the two ships we were on. I would try them again on a newer ship with a great itinerary.

[4774Papa]

We did Infinity in January 2014 around the horn and loved it. Here is my review.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=248878

[wallie5446]

We are Elite with Celebrity also.

We first sailed Princess in 1992, our last with them was on the Ruby in 2012. We could tell right off there had been major changes since they were bought by Carnival. Was it bad, no, but not close to what we were used to.

 

Our last 3 years have all been on an S-class ship, but have friends that like the M-class better.

 

Go to the Review section here on CC, the Infinity gets very high marks and ratings. Don't go strictly by a few threads here on the board.

[Leia]

We've sailed both, as you can see from my signature, and I really enjoyed the Infinity from Valpo to BA over Christmas 2014. The Crown Princess is very nice as well, and it may have a larger pool area, but that is not a big deal for this itinerary, IMHO. We were very happy with the food on Infinity, if that's a big deal.

[chamima]

We sail both lines.

Just so you get another perspective - I feel that the service on Princess is more personal.

We like both lines (have B2B planned for February with Eclipse followed by the Royal Princess) .

We've never been on the Infinity so can't comment on that but the Crown Princess is lovely. There is no indoor pool, however, so if that matters with your itinerary take that into consideration

[El Crucero]

We have sailed on both lines. Given the same itinerary, we would choose Celebrity without hesitation. We feel we get better service and better perks on Celebrity, but we are Elite and not so on Princess. I have read the negative reviews on Celebrity ships here recently and cannot believe the posters were on the same Celebrity ships we have been on. We will be sailing on Infinity this May and really looking forward to it. I will be posting a review after completion of that cruise.

[Cruise Raider]

We are elite on both lines and usually sail 2 per year on each line with our most recent sailings on Princess in December and on the Infinity in Sept.

 

By a large margin, Celebrity is our favorite line and the Infinity has also been our favorite ship. The Crown is a beautiful ship as well and we have sailed on her 3 times (also have sailed on the Infinity 3 times). We just very much so prefer the Infinity over the Crown. No major complaints about Princess .... it is just our preference in cruising to choose Celebrity.

 

Here is a link to my review that I wrote about my most recent trip on the Infinity:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=512766

 

 

And here is a link to an older review I wrote about the Infinity:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=89599

 

5 stars for both cruises ... and would have been the same for the one before that as well, had I written one.

[Hlitner]

Based on our most recent cruises with both lines (in the past year) we would no longer give an edge to Celebrity. Now, we think both lines are very comparable with some pluses and minuses on each line. But if Celebrity continues their program of cut backs they soon might fall into the NCL/Carnival category. Princess, on the other hand, seems to have actually improved quite a few things over the past 3-4 years. For the record we are Elite Plus with X and Elite with Princess.

 

Hank

Edited January 25, 2016 by Hlitner

[Jetswdo]

I recently wrote some comments regarding Coral Princess on Celebrity board-

We generally cruise both Princess and Celebrity depending on itinerary and a few other things:

 

Princess: has easy self service washers and dryers. I sure wish that Celerity would have this. To me, this is a major plus for Princess.

 

Celebrity: Has the most choices of dining. Much better room service than Princess. Generally on Princess, if you are a party of 2 and want to dine alone, eating in the dining room is annoying unless you do traditional dining. Even with that, there are very few table choices for just 2 persons. Celebrity has more dining options, we always book aqua, have never had a problem getting our table immediately (We eat 6:00-7:00)-- re food quality which is subjective- I generally prefer Celebrity, but I have to admit the food that we had recently on the Coral Princess was really pretty good.

 

Adult pool area: Princess Lotus Pool is prettier, BUT Celebrity does a better job in spite of a few times mentioned, of keeping adult pool basically an adult area. Also there is no additional cost. Princess you have to pay quite a bit, and that is if you run quickly to their sanctuary area to reserve loungers. It is outside and very little shade. I think Princess does a better job for families with little children then they do for adults, based on my last few cruises with them.

 

cabins: For mini suites, Princess cabins are a lot bigger than Celebrity Sky Suites. Also many choices of location for mini suites. I would love to book a Sky Suite, but they are only located aft. Unfortunately I get sea,car, train, sick if I am looking backwards. I prefer aft near mid ship area. I am ok with aqua cabins and prefer having a shower instead of the bath tub on Princess.

 

All that being said, itinerary to me is the most important. If the itineraries are similar , 7 days or less, I prefer Celebrity. If it is a longer itinerary, but I can get access to a regular self service laundry not too far from the pier, I would still choose Celebrity. As long as I could spare 1 morning of a port day. Otherwise for a longer itinerary I would choose Princess.

[RDC1]

I started cruising on Celebrity. It used to be my favorite cruise line. My use of Celebrity has dropped significantly over the past few year and changed from doing 4 out of 5 cruises on Celebrity to now doing 1 out 5 on Celebrity and the majority on Princess.

 

I find service in the lounges to be better on Princess, in general, and like the activity selection more. I also tend to do 14+ day cruises (my next one in March is 31 days), Princess has more features for longer cruises.

 

Now part of question might vary depending upon the category of room you choose, since Celebrity has been adding benefits to their suite passenger. Princess has not made such changes.

Edited January 25, 2016 by RDC1

[Hlitner]

I just want to reiterate that both lines (Celebrity and Princess) have been undergoing significant changes in cuisine, service, entertainment, pricing, etc. in the past 3-4 years. But Celebrity has seen an even greater acceleration in changes since they got their new CEO....and IMHO none (I repeat NONE) of these changes have been for the better (with the possible exception of some new perks for suites). Although we continue to cruise on Celebrity.....we have reduced our days to only 14 per year (in the past 2 years). We recently booked a 55 day HAL cruise (we have issues with this line too) after giving lots of consideration to doing a long (back to back to back) Celebrity cruise. Trust me that it took a lot of soul searching to go back to HAL....but our last Celebrity cruise (last month) just was not the Celebrity of yesteryear. DW now calls Celebrity the "home of the 1/4" Ribeye" which they actually served in Blu. And this was just one example of cutbacks which ranged from minor annoying things (like bottled water in Aqua Class) to more major things like an overall decline in cuisine certain aspects of entertainment.

 

We still like Celebrity and are giving the line another chance later this year. But if the CEO thinks she can keep cutting things while raising prices....and keep the loyal customers.....I have a 3000 foot ship for sale :) that she might want to purchase.

 

Hank

Edited January 25, 2016 by Hlitner

[4774Papa]

I just want to reiterate that both lines (Celebrity and Princess) have been undergoing significant changes in cuisine, service, entertainment, pricing, etc. in the past 3-4 years. But Celebrity has seen an even greater acceleration in changes since they got their new CEO....and IMHO none (I repeat NONE) of these changes have been for the better (with the possible exception of some new perks for suites). Although we continue to cruise on Celebrity.....we have reduced our days to only 14 per year (in the past 2 years). We recently booked a 55 day HAL cruise (we have issues with this line too) after giving lots of consideration to doing a long (back to back to back) Celebrity cruise. Trust me that it took a lot of soul searching to go back to HAL....but our last Celebrity cruise (last month) just was not the Celebrity of yesteryear. DW now calls Celebrity the "home of the 1/4" Ribeye" which they actually served in Blu. And this was just one example of cutbacks which ranged from minor annoying things (like bottled water in Aqua Class) to more major things like an overall decline in cuisine certain aspects of entertainment.

 

We still like Celebrity and are giving the line another chance later this year. But if the CEO thinks she can keep cutting things while raising prices....and keep the loyal customers.....I have a 3000 foot ship for sale :) that she might want to purchase.

 

Hank

 

Hank,

Makes me wonder if I have been on a different planet. We have 9 X cruises since December 2011. We have seen little change in service, food quality or the overall cruise experience to date.

 

One of our best cruises was on Millennium last October/Nov, Japan and China.

Before that, Century, Singapore to Dubai. Of course, we have only had a suite once, on an upgrade. Thought it was great, but we wouldn't pay for a suite on booking.

 

Not sure why you formed this opinion, but perhaps it is what type of cabin?

[Hlitner]

Hank,

Makes me wonder if I have been on a different planet. We have 9 X cruises since December 2011. We have seen little change in service, food quality or the overall cruise experience to date.

 

One of our best cruises was on Millennium last October/Nov, Japan and China.

Before that, Century, Singapore to Dubai. Of course, we have only had a suite once, on an upgrade. Thought it was great, but we wouldn't pay for a suite on booking.

 

Not sure why you formed this opinion, but perhaps it is what type of cabin?

 

Ok, lets just start with a few little things. As mentioned, Aqua cabins now only get 2 bottles of water (at the beginning of the cruise) whereas you used to get as much as you needed. In Aqua, the Pillow menus are gone. Remember how they used to have A capella groups? Gone. Michael's used to be a lounge open to all.....now gone for all but suites. Drink prices have increased and the popular Molecular Bar has been replaced with the World Bar (because it is not a licensed franchise) with a more limited menu. We have noticed many changes in cuisine (such as the new 1/4 inch Ribeye in Blu). They used to have fresh squeezed OJ (free at the Elite Breakfast and for sale elsewhere) and that has been replaced with some garbage stuff (they call it premium) that is still for sale. On the Eclipse there is no longer a single place that has fresh squeezed juices. In Aqua we used to get daily flowers....now you might get one flower a week! 4 piece bands have been replaced with duos or simply solo "bands." The ship's main orchestra has been cut-back and production shows now use pre-recorded tracks (one wonders when they will replace live shows with movies of shows). And of course we could talk about the pricing of alternative restaurants which have been going up faster than most Celebrity elevators. And then we could talk about certain crew issues such as how many cabins assigned to each team of stewards, numbers of waiters, etc. And this is all just for starters. An issue (for which we have no interest) are the number of cruise director staff (activity directors) which have been vastly reduced. We could go on and on,,,,but just read the various posts for more.

 

As to the pricing of cruises, they do muddy the waters with promotions, drink packages, etc. But we often book an identical 14 day Caribbean cruise and the price of this cruise has also gone up faster then a Celebrity elevator. I do not have the data here (we live in Mexico in the winter) but I believe prices for identical cabins have increased around 20% a year (for the past 3 years) when adjusted for amenities. And consider that the price of fuel (a major expense item for cruise lines) has to only a fraction of the cost seen in past years.

 

Hank

Edited January 25, 2016 by Hlitner

[Iamcruzin]

Based on our most recent cruises with both lines (in the past year) we would no longer give an edge to Celebrity. Now, we think both lines are very comparable with some pluses and minuses on each line. But if Celebrity continues their program of cut backs they soon might fall into the NCL/Carnival category. Princess, on the other hand, seems to have actually improved quite a few things over the past 3-4 years. For the record we are Elite Plus with X and Elite with Princess.

 

Hank

 

I have to agree with you. I really don't see much difference with the exception of being able to taylor your accommodations with Celebrity. Celebrity offers more if you are willing to pay for it by booking Aqua class or a suite. These categories have their own dining rooms plus other amenities. You really don't get much by booking a suite on Princess as compared to Celebrity. If you book an inside up to a standard balcony on either line the experience is equal.

[Christine Frances]

Hank,

 

Makes me wonder if I have been on a different planet. We have 9 X cruises since December 2011. We have seen little change in service, food quality or the overall cruise experience to date.

 

 

 

One of our best cruises was on Millennium last October/Nov, Japan and China.

 

Before that, Century, Singapore to Dubai. Of course, we have only had a suite once, on an upgrade. Thought it was great, but we wouldn't pay for a suite on booking.

 

 

 

Not sure why you formed this opinion, but perhaps it is what type of cabin?

 

 

Totally agree! Fabulous cruise!

[riclop]

We much prefer Princess over X.

[4774Papa]

Ok, lets just start with a few little things. As mentioned, Aqua cabins now only get 2 bottles of water (at the beginning of the cruise) whereas you used to get as much as you needed. In Aqua, the Pillow menus are gone. Remember how they used to have A capella groups? Gone. Michael's used to be a lounge open to all.....now gone for all but suites. Drink prices have increased and the popular Molecular Bar has been replaced with the World Bar (because it is not a licensed franchise) with a more limited menu. We have noticed many changes in cuisine (such as the new 1/4 inch Ribeye in Blu). They used to have fresh squeezed OJ (free at the Elite Breakfast and for sale elsewhere) and that has been replaced with some garbage stuff (they call it premium) that is still for sale. On the Eclipse there is no longer a single place that has fresh squeezed juices. In Aqua we used to get daily flowers....now you might get one flower a week! 4 piece bands have been replaced with duos or simply solo "bands." The ship's main orchestra has been cut-back and production shows now use pre-recorded tracks (one wonders when they will replace live shows with movies of shows). And of course we could talk about the pricing of alternative restaurants which have been going up faster than most Celebrity elevators. And then we could talk about certain crew issues such as how many cabins assigned to each team of stewards, numbers of waiters, etc. And this is all just for starters. An issue (for which we have no interest) are the number of cruise director staff (activity directors) which have been vastly reduced. We could go on and on,,,,but just read the various posts for more.

 

As to the pricing of cruises, they do muddy the waters with promotions, drink packages, etc. But we often book an identical 14 day Caribbean cruise and the price of this cruise has also gone up faster then a Celebrity elevator. I do not have the data here (we live in Mexico in the winter) but I believe prices for identical cabins have increased around 20% a year (for the past 3 years) when adjusted for amenities. And consider that the price of fuel (a major expense item for cruise lines) has to only a fraction of the cost seen in past years.

 

Hank

 

Hank,

I must admit that I do not like the new pricing which bundles drink packages and internet packages that I don't want. Prices have definitely gone up.

 

As for bottled water in Aqua, flowers and such this is petty stuff.

Never cared that much for the cappella groups. Michaels was never anything until it was restricted to suite passengers and I never used the Molecular Bar.

 

Yes, some things are more important to some people than what I look for on a cruise.

However, the bottom line to me is that the higher pricing will be the key factor in how I book future cruises.

[Hlitner]

Hank,

I must admit that I do not like the new pricing which bundles drink packages and internet packages that I don't want. Prices have definitely gone up.

 

As for bottled water in Aqua, flowers and such this is petty stuff.

Never cared that much for the cappella groups. Michaels was never anything until it was restricted to suite passengers and I never used the Molecular Bar.

 

Yes, some things are more important to some people than what I look for on a cruise.

However, the bottom line to me is that the higher pricing will be the key factor in how I book future cruises.

 

Most top hotels/resorts have learned that it is the "petty" stuff which builds loyalty. As to pricing, we are in total agreement. Although we have no problem paying more money for better quality, asking folks to pay more money for lower quality has a strange way of coming back to haunt the executive that makes that decision. Fortunately there are many different cruise lines and not all see it the same way as "Lisa."

 

Hank

[pinksuit]

Most top hotels/resorts have learned that it is the "petty" stuff which builds loyalty. As to pricing, we are in total agreement. Although we have no problem paying more money for better quality, asking folks to pay more money for lower quality has a strange way of coming back to haunt the executive that makes that decision. Fortunately there are many different cruise lines and not all see it the same way as "Lisa."

 

Hank

Hank, Thanks for your view of Princess and Celebrity which I tend to agree with you especially after getting off of the Celebrity Reflection 2 weeks ago. Although we were booked in Aqua class as before, we noticed "notable" differences for bigger prices. Matter of fact, I wrote a review and even requested to speak to the Senior Manager of Guest Relations while on-board because of several infractions.

Because we prevailed with our concerns, we were granted credit to our account. I haven't given up on Celebrity but will be sailing with Princess in So. America for my next cruise since the Itinerary is equal and the cost of a Mini Suite on Princess is considerably less with Princess vs a Aqua Class balcony with Celebrity. Plus we get to use the laundry room vs. sending items out.

 

I love quality and don't mind paying for it.....but something seriously needs correcting with this prized line.

 

Ms Pink

[RosieCanberra]

Cruise for itinerary first, then line/ship. I use a range of lines, have Elite status on Celebrity and Platinum on Princess. I like both lines, but feel Celebrity has the edge over Princess overall.

 

Cheers

Rosie

[Keith1010]

I recommend Celebrity over Princess.

 

Keith

[2Fltravelers]

Cruise for itinerary first, then line/ship. I use a range of lines, have Elite status on Celebrity and Platinum on Princess. I like both lines, but feel Celebrity has the edge over Princess overall.

 

Cheers

Rosie

 

Agree. We are Elite on Celebrity and Ruby on Princess. Just got off the Royal Princess last week and significant issues with service, etc. It was definitely a management issue since it was pervasive. Service and amenities on Celebrity overall are better. Just booked our next cruise on Celebrity.

[Fortun8]

I just got off the Celebrity Eclipse and loved it more than the 8 previous Princess ships including the newer Royal Princess. I like the size of the ship with 2800 to 3100 passengers. I do not know about the specific ship or itinerary you are planning but I would be happy with either ship if the itinerary was one I liked and the 3-2-1- to go pricing was in place for the trip.

[Misty12345]

Celebrity vs. Princess

we have also been on both Celebrity and Princess and have Elite status on Celebrity and Platinum on Princess. Last Princess we were a little disappointed (5 years ago), so we have been on Celebrity only since then. We too are booked on a Celebrity cruise from Argentina on March 5, 2017, and we have looked at Princess as well, and are contemplating changing. We are going to wait a little longer before making a move. I understand that Princess has improved a great deal in the last 5 years. Guess this did not help your decision, but now you know that you are not the only one that is not sure.