Comparing Princess and Celebrity

[Jasperdo]

Thank you. I love the elegant look and prefer it over the contemporary look of X Solstice class.

You're welcome. The Star Princess is a beautiful ship. We've sailed on her twice - one of our favorites.

[KruzeKrazy!]

We've been on the Caribbean and the Grand (plus the Pacific) Princess. We're booked in our favorite aft Penthouse Suite on the Grand next year for the 15-day SFO/HI.

 

While we've been really thinking about trying X your Piazza photos sure make us eager to "come home" to the Grand!

[KruzeKrazy!]

And we certainly agree with the WOW of a 2-story MDR (we've experienced them on CCL and RCCL) but for us with several specialty restaurant dinners, a few huge balcony room service dinners, and an UBD (which when we first did it we went from starting out feeling odd and guilty being catered to so to quickly loving it!) we actually end up for dinner in the MDR only a couple of times. So we can "rough it" with a single story... ;)

[midwestchick]

You're welcome. The Star Princess is a beautiful ship. We've sailed on her twice - one of our favorites.

 

Good to hear. We're doing a CA Coastal of her in October.

 

As for the two story MDR on X, we prefer to sail Aqua Class and we dine in Blu. We don't appreciate the noise in the MDR and the feeling of being in a sardine at a two top table.

[keithm]

The pool area on cruise ships tends to be the hub or center of activities on deck and in the interior there is a central hub which draws people not seeking a tan.

On the Princess Grand class ships it's called the Piazza. It spans 3 decks and on those decks (5,6 and 7) are the shops, cafes and bars and customer related desks, such as Guest Services, Future Cruises, Internet and such. it makes an impression at first sight. You may say WOW.

 

 

You'll find Customer Service here, open 24 hours

.

 

 

When there are no acts appearing it's just a good place to sit with friends and relax with a coffee and pastry from the International Cafe (open 24 hours).

 

 

It's elegantly appointed and speaks of luxury.

 

 

 

Come to the Piazza for the Special Events- Captain's Welcome etc, live bands, dance classes, jugglers, acrobats, fruit carving demos, parlor games, solo pianists and those sidewalk sales that cruise lines can't live without (oops there goes the "luxury" feel)

 

NEXT The Silhouette's Grand Foyer.

The Piazza was lovely. I'm just amazed no one went head over heels down those stairs!

[keithm]

The Grand Foyer occupies 3 floors on the Silhouette but is a less Grand affair than Princess.

 

 

There's a staircase from deck 4 to 3 but when there's a band playing and people dancing you'd be better off taking the elevator.

 

 

It's a long narrow space often taken up by Park West art auctions

 

 

Seen from a distance the carpeted area is really wasted space most of the time-Park West are sorting out their paintings in this shot.

 

 

It doesn't gather the crowd you would see in the Princess Piazza. Cosy chairs around the perimeter of the decks above don't encourage crowds to gather.

 

 

The Shore excursions and Guest Relations desks are on the lowest floor but set away from the hub, as are the shops, unlike in the Piazza where everything's laid out before you in one pass of the eye.

 

With a band playing dance music in the evening. You can see that the red carpeted area serves little function and is blocked by the band set up.

 

 

I saw some bands play here, some dance classes/exercise classes and art auctions but less variety of events than on Princess. To me it lacks the WOW factor. It doesn't make you want to linger to see "what's coming next"

 

CENTRAL HUB?

 

ADVANTAGE PRINCESS

 

(FOR IT'S SCALE, THE WOW FACTOR, THE VARIETY AND NUMBER OF ENTERTAINMENTS THERE AND CONCENTRATION OF SHOPS AND OFFICES)

I still love the elevators on the Eclipse. They give you a view all the way up or down in the central area & don't "cut off" like on the Regal. I will give Regal more points on the grand Piazza area. Very nice. I don't really care for the designs of the 3 dining rooms on the Regal. I liked the "wow factor" on Eclipse & on the QM2.

[Bimmer09]

I still love the elevators on the Eclipse. They give you a view all the way up or down in the central area & don't "cut off" like on the Regal. I will give Regal more points on the grand Piazza area. Very nice. I don't really care for the designs of the 3 dining rooms on the Regal. I liked the "wow factor" on Eclipse & on the QM2.

Keith, I'll touch on the elevators later, as they are pretty spiffy on the S Class.

 

Thanks for the comments!

 

Norris

[MisterMet]

Norris,

 

As always, another fabulous, entertaining, witty review. You really have a knack for this. We are interested to see if our thoughts on the two lines mirror yours after we return on our Summit R/T to Bermuda in August 2016. We have never been on X and are curiously excited to say the least. We would agree with you on one thing already: X could learn a bit from PCL about web design and user interfacing. PCL is much more info friendly(if that's a term). Sorry we missed your birthday. Happy belated. Love following all your threads.

[Bimmer09]

They get a lot of use no matter which ship you are on. On the Grand Class ships such as the Ruby there are 3 banks;

 

Forward 4 elevators

 

Midship 6 elevators (2 of them Panoramic but only for decks 5 to 7)

 

Aft 4 elevators

Forward

 

 

 

 

Aft

 

Midship (panorama pair out of shot)

 

Deep lobbies allow others to pass easily while you are waiting

 

 

The interiors are mirrored and there may be a photographer waiting for you

 

 

So 14 elevators total. There's also an ADA one to take people up one deck to the Sanctuary when the regular elevators stop at deck 16 forward. The aft bank goes to deck 19 where the Portrait Studio, crazy golf, basketball court and jogging track live.

[Redwing55]

I'm still loving this comparo. It's great seeing the atriums almost side be side. I usually prefer contemporary over traditional, but with your pics, for me, it's a no brainer. I find Princess's so much more attractive. I've been on over a handful of Princess cruises and enjoyed them, but your pics make me like them even more.

I'm sure I'll be smiling even more when I see Royal's atrium first hand next week.

 

I'm sure I'll eventually try an X cruise one of these days so thanks again!

[Cruise Junky]

I'm still loving this comparo. It's great seeing the atriums almost side be side. I usually prefer contemporary over traditional, but with your pics, for me, it's a no brainer. I find Princess's so much more attractive. I've been on over a handful of Princess cruises and enjoyed them, but your pics make me like them even more.

I'm sure I'll be smiling even more when I see Royal's atrium first hand next week.

 

I'm sure I'll eventually try an X cruise one of these days so thanks again!

 

It's interesting, from these pictures I agree with you but in real life, no way. The wow factor from these pics seem to be missing, not sure if it's the angle or not.

[Bimmer09]

The S Class has two banks of elevators;

 

Forward 4 elevators non panoramic

 

Almost Midship 8 panoramic elevators

 

True Aft start walking

 

12 Elevators total.

 

The front four are unremarkable so we'll look at the WOW ones.

 

Can you say "sexy". They light up blue when in use and pink just before they arrive to whisk you away. On Princess a bell goes ding. But which one? (hint: it's always the one furthest from where you are standing)

 

 

You can see the treetops and into other rooms as you go up and down

 

 

Yes the back wall of the elevator is made of glass. Got vertigo?

 

 

Not sure where to go?

 

 

Inside the elevator is a listing of what's where deck by deck

 

 

Outside the elevate banks are ship models with deck plans so you can get oriented.

 

 

ELEVATORS?

ADVANTAGE PRINCESS

 

(FOR THE NUMBER AND THE DISTRIBUTION)

 

ADVANTAGE CELEBRITY

(FOR THE OFF THE CHARTS COOLNESS PANORAMIC FACTOR AND THE SIGNAGE)

 

HUH!? That wasn't a very scientific outcome- author obviously fooled by bright lights and pretty colors. Indeed when moving people from floor to floor all you need is something basic and the more elevators the merrier. For me the fab elevators are just something out of my everyday experience-like buffets and pool butlers.

 

Please don't hate me for being seduced by an elevator!

 

By the way, neither of us minded the longer walk forward to catch one-but I know for some folks the closer they are the better.

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

 

As always, another fabulous, entertaining, witty review. You really have a knack for this. We are interested to see if our thoughts on the two lines mirror yours after we return on our Summit R/T to Bermuda in August 2016. We have never been on X and are curiously excited to say the least. We would agree with you on one thing already: X could learn a bit from PCL about web design and user interfacing. PCL is much more info friendly(if that's a term). Sorry we missed your birthday. Happy belated. Love following all your threads.

 

Sir, thank you for the very kind comments and enthusiasm!

 

Glad you are reading along and enjoying.

 

The Summit is not an S Class so much of what you see here in terms of marine architecture won't apply. She's a pretty ship though and you'll get good food and service if my experience is anything to go by.

 

Oh the PCL website is the best. (drops microphone)

 

Thanks for the Birthday greeting!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

The Grand Class was superseded by the Royal Class in 2013 and the GC promenade decks which run all the away around the ship ( although they have to step up to a higher deck at the bow to get over the mooring rooms where the ship gets "pointy") were not carried over into the new design, to the disappointment of many.

 

Grand Class cruisers can sit out here as close to the sea as they are going to get. They are undercover and have an uninterrupted view.

 

 

 

There are teak cabinets which store lifejackets, which is handy in a real emergency as you may not have time (or be allowed) to return to your cabin.

 

 

You can walk all the way around the stern and watch the wake.

 

 

We use the Prom deck at night to get from the stern to the theater without having to pass through crowds of people.

 

 

Here's a video I took on one of the Ruby's sisters-Crown Princess back in 2012 where I walk the promenade deck (#7) then climb stairs up to Emerald Deck (#8) to stand at the bow. Leonardo di Caprio was up there but wanted money to appear in my shot. Fat chance!

 

[YOUTUBE]2QKeQmhXykw[/YOUTUBE]

 

Enjoy that fresh sea air!

[Bimmer09]

The Silhouette promenade deck (deck 5) is a big improvement over that found on the new class of Princess ships, the Royal Class. It is partially covered from the elements and is 8ft wide at it's narrowest point. It runs for about 600 ft each side of the ship but doesn't go to the stern or bow.

 

 

The wooden flooring sections are only in two areas where the deck widens to 15 ft and chairs are provided. These areas are completely covered and sheltered from rain. After that it becomes some kind of composite material. No lifeboats block the view as they do on the narrow sections. There are two smoking sections port side in these deeper decks.

There are no visible lifejacket storage areas...

 

 

A clear sea view is afforded in the deeper promenade deck section.

 

 

Here's a video of my walk on the promenade deck...

 

[YOUTUBE]J-5YeA2dl8k[/YOUTUBE]

 

PROMENADE DECKS?

 

ADVANTAGE PRINCESS

 

(FOR THEIR LENGTH, OVERHEAD COVER, CLEAR VIEW AND ACCESS TO THE BOW AND STERN)

[El Crucero]

It's interesting, from these pictures I agree with you but in real life, no way. The wow factor from these pics seem to be missing, not sure if it's the angle or not.

 

I agree with you. I have never been aboard the Silhouette but the Reflection is a sister ship and the atrium (piazza) blows away the one on the Star P. The suspended live tree about 3 or 4 decks up in the atrium is a thing of beauty. The mid ship glass elevators impressive. I have never seen an art auction in the atrium on Celebrity, but obviously they did them on this cruise. We found it difficult to get a seat anywhere near the International Cafe on Star P and most of the time we had to schlep the food back to our stateroom.

 

The Celebrity S class ships have two banks of elevators mid ship and forward as Norris stated. The older M class ships have three banks - forward midships, and aft. The midships bank which are located on the port side of the atrium are glass enclosed and jut out partially over the sea. WOW! This is one area where we think the M class ships are better than the S class.

 

But this is Norris' review, so keep up the good work. At the end of your report, can you please give us a complete listing of your camera equipment and lenses? Thanks, Norris.

[Bimmer09]

If you've tried to go onto the promenade deck on Princess and had to fight the wind on the other side of the heavy wooden door you'll be able to imagine how happy I was to see the doors on the Silhouette which open automatically.

 

Want to take a couple of cups of coffee from Cafe al Baccio out to the deck?

 

Just keep walking....

 

 

Just another good design touch in my opinion.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I agree with you. I have never been aboard the Silhouette but the Reflection is a sister ship and the atrium (piazza) blows away the one on the Star P. The suspended live tree about 3 or 4 decks up in the atrium is a thing of beauty. The mid ship glass elevators impressive. I have never seen an art auction in the atrium on Celebrity, but obviously they did them on this cruise. We found it difficult to get a seat anywhere near the International Cafe on Star P and most of the time we had to schlep the food back to our stateroom.

 

The Celebrity S class ships have two banks of elevators mid ship and forward as Norris stated. The older M class ships have three banks - forward midships, and aft. The midships bank which are located on the port side of the atrium are glass enclosed and jut out partially over the sea. WOW! This is one area where we think the M class ships are better than the S class.

 

But this is Norris' review, so keep up the good work. At the end of your report, can you please give us a complete listing of your camera equipment and lenses? Thanks, Norris.

 

EL Crucero, here is a list of cameras used on my recent X review. I copied and pasted my answer to the same question on the X board

 

 

 

 

LEFT TO RIGHT

 

1 BOWL OF FRUIT (takes useless photos so I stopped using it)

 

2 SONY 810 HD CAMCORDER using Sandisk cards

 

3 CANON 55 TO 250 mm ZOOM LENS

 

4 CANON EOS REBEL T3i camera body with CANON 10 -22 mm Ultra wide Angle lens which is what I use mostly including the food shots/ship/scenery

 

5 CANON 22 TO 55 mm LENS

 

NOT SEEN- iPHONE 5 which is taking this shot and is used in airports and planes

 

NOT SEEN-GoPro HERO 3+ which I operate manually or using the iPhone app.

 

The Go Pro shots you'll see were;

 

On a flexible tripod wrapped around the balcony railing for the PE video I haven't put up yet. Also for the sail into San Juan-any balcony stuff really.

 

OR on my wrist for the San Juan Segway ride we took

 

OR on my head for the St Kitt's Catamaran Ride

 

I left another Camera at Home-a pocket CANON S 880 I use on bus tours where is little room between my face and the window for the T3i to be comfortable.

 

I use iMOVIE for the camcorders via Youtube and for the photos use ADOBE LIGHTROOM 5

 

That's my short answer (LOL)

 

Norris

Edited February 28, 2016 by Bimmer09

[Elevatorman]

Hello again, I agree that Princess has a lovely center hub. I do wish that the designers would get away from the beige, gold, brown look. It makes me think of an Americans idea of an Italian piazza, but subdued.

The Silhouette has no comparison , it's not truly a hub. It makes me think of a boutique hotel in Manhattan .

I did enjoy the Atrium on the Regal and the Royal . More seating. With quiet nooks in Crooners to read and look at the see in the daytime.

[Bimmer09]

I agree with you. I have never been aboard the Silhouette but the Reflection is a sister ship and the atrium (piazza) blows away the one on the Star P. The suspended live tree about 3 or 4 decks up in the atrium is a thing of beauty. The mid ship glass elevators impressive. I have never seen an art auction in the atrium on Celebrity, but obviously they did them on this cruise. We found it difficult to get a seat anywhere near the International Cafe on Star P and most of the time we had to schlep the food back to our stateroom.

 

I would agree with you but for the fact that the panoramic elevators don't come down into the central hub which I take to be the marble area at the foot of the stairs with the chairs all around. The elevators come down with the panorama glass facing that long expanse of carpet which has no seating and is cut off when a band plays or an art auction is in progress. It's a dead space.

 

Had the panoramic elevators come down into that Grand Foyer it would sizzle more but the elevators would have had to have been pushed towards the outside of the vessel with a loss of cabin space and therefore not worth it. The elevators are too far removed in my opinion to raise the visual impact of "the hub".

 

The atrium (the part with the tree) is beyond stunning and no, Princess has nothing to compare to that. It climbs from deck 3 to 15 (there's no 13)

and is part of the reason why I Saluted the elevators on X in that comparison.

 

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and when I compared the hubs Princess won based on practical terms such as size and being surrounded by the shops and offices-everything in one hub like the spokes of a wheel.

 

I will look forward to sailing an M Class in the future.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

There are several places to smoke cigarettes on Princess ships and at least one where cigar smoking is welcome.

 

Firstly and most contentiously there is smoking on the floor of the casino while you are playing except on 2 nights (based on 7 night cruises). These are usually Formal Nights. Many of the Princess ships have a closed-off smoking lounge called the Speakeasy right in the casino so it would probably make sense to forbid smoking in the casino on those ships (or all ships) I sympathize with non smokers who want to gamble-they are in the majority after all and the casinos are low-ceilinged rooms.

The Speakeasy

 

 

 

A gentleman or lady can buy cigars here and enjoy-just ask a casino waiter to unlock the humidors (2 of those)

 

 

The Speakeasy usually has the TVs tuned to Sports programming or CNN and so I don't stay in them for longer than 5 minutes. I use the Speakeasy maybe once per cruise while I am there taking a photo. I prefer smoking outdoors.

 

Mostly here at the Tradewinds Bar one deck above the pools

 

 

A somewhat Spartan smoking environment is provided by the Promenade Deck Starboard doors Aft. No seating is provided and the ashtrays are infrequently emptied.

 

 

(photo from Emerald Princess)

 

Finally there is this small section on deck 17 by one of the little used exits.

 

 

The wall ashtrays and minimal or zero furniture encourage smokers not to linger.

 

NEXT- Smoking on X

[MisterMet]

Sir, thank you for the very kind comments and enthusiasm!

 

Glad you are reading along and enjoying.

 

The Summit is not an S Class so much of what you see here in terms of marine architecture won't apply. She's a pretty ship though and you'll get good food and service if my experience is anything to go by.

 

Oh the PCL website is the best. (drops microphone)

 

Thanks for the Birthday greeting!

 

Norris

 

 

Thank you for your response. Because of the mild obsession I've developed for surfing the various cruise line websites, we've been invited to be Princess Private community members and are surveyed regularly for opinions about their website and marketing. Perhaps if I proceed the same way with Celebrity, they might ask me about their site as well (lol)!

 

We've learned much from you and your blogs and appreciate your even keeled approach to reviewing. We think from your comparisons thus far, we're sure to have a bang up time on X! Keep on writing! P.S.--love your taste in music.

 

Regards,

Trip

Edited February 29, 2016 by MisterMet

[need2cruisesoon]

Promenade deck advantage Princess, so Regal/Royal versus Silhouette would be a tie if that is possible?

[Bimmer09]

Promenade deck advantage Princess, so Regal/Royal versus Silhouette would be a tie if that is possible?

 

Silhouette wins that one- Royal class has no cover over the two short sections of promenade deck and only in their dreams will they ever have an 8ft wide walkway joining those deeper decks as Silly does.

 

Norris

[IECalCruiser]

Silhouette wins that one- Royal class has no cover over the two short sections of promenade deck and only in their dreams will they ever have an 8ft wide walkway joining those deeper decks as Silly does.

 

Norris

Norris,

 

I have been enjoying your comparison. I have only sailed on Princess and you are doing a great and through job. Most of the Celebrity advantages are not important to us so we will probably stay with Princess.

 

I do need to take some exception with your Promenade deck comparison. After seeing your video of the Silhouette's Promenade deck, I fully agree that the Grand class ships totally blow the Silhouette's design out of the water.

 

But Princess is evolving their Royal class Promenade deck design. I agree that the Royal's two small open sections lose out to the Silhouette but the Regal has opened up the sections behind the life boats to give about a 750 foot walkway on both sides including the open sections and the two sections behind the lifeboats. It is true that the walkway behind the lifeboats is only about 4 feet wide, but it does the job, IMHO.

 

 

Also, even though they are exposed, the midship and aft sections have seating areas at least as nice as the Silhouette so I would call it at least a draw between the Regal and the Silhouette.

 

The Majestic is advancing the design with the addition of mini-suites aft of the lifeboats that will provide cover to the aft section of the Promenade. There will also be mini-suites covering the forward section of the Promenade deck but that portion is not accessible to passengers :( It will be advantage to the Majestic, but unfortunately only for those sailing from China.

 

With all that said, I would call the Royal class/Solstice class promenade deck at least a draw.