Celebrity Equinox vs Caribbean Princess

[georgeschris]

Pros and Cons ,please. Are they really miles apart in quality and cabin attractiveness. Never sailed Celebrity. princess quite a few times???

Thanks.

G and C

[az_tchr]

No. Similar. Princess probably a bit less into keeping up their ships, but overall the two are competitors with Celebrity looking for a bit more upscale and apparently older cruisers. The big pro on Celebrity is smoking only allowed a in a very few places almost out of sight. Also service on board and crews wrok together better IMO. Pro on Princess is their website works! LOL

[villauk]

Topic discussed at length here:http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2315879&highlight=caribbean+princess

 

And here:http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2316594&highlight=caribbean+princess

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=46215781&highlight=caribbean+princess#post46215781

Edited March 15, 2016 by villauk

[helovestrains]

No. Similar. Princess probably a bit less into keeping up their ships, but overall the two are competitors with Celebrity looking for a bit more upscale and apparently older cruisers. The big pro on Celebrity is smoking only allowed a in a very few places almost out of sight. Also service on board and crews wrok together better IMO. Pro on Princess is their website works! LOL

 

Having sailed on both, we prefer Celebrity. Also, we found the clientele on Caribbean Princess to be an older crowd (average seemed to be 65 -70 years of age.)

[kelmac]

We've cruised both the CP and the Equinox. Here is my take on things:

(the mac-O-meter is on!)

 

--the CP is a 8.3 and the Equinox is a 9.4

--Cuisine on the Equinox is much better than the CP

--Love the deck spaces on the CP

--Buffet on the CP lacks flow; the Equinox is yummy chaos

--Alternative restaurants on the CP are basic and nothing special; Equinox has great alternatives, but they are expensive

--Entertainment may have been a bit better on the CP

--CP was crowded and the Equinox feels modern and open, however the pool area is congested

--Officers on the Equinox mingle with the passengers and can be found all over the ship; not sure I noticed the officers on the CP

--Service is a bit better on Celebrity

--The CP has laundry facilities; Celebrity does not (I get free laundry on Celebrity, so not an issue with us)

--Smoking policy better on Celebrity (no inside smoking)

--Embarkation and Disembarkation better on Celebrity

--CP is one of Princesses "shopping carts" and the design is strange; the Equinox is sleek and modern

--1/2 acre of real grass on the Equinox

--CP has big closets and small bathrooms; just the opposite on the Equinox

 

Princess has a better "world-wide" foot print and Celebrity plays it safe with their repeating itineraries. Give the nod to Princess here.

 

Head to head, I would always sail Celebrity over Princess.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[Christine Frances]

Re Kelmac's "world wide" foot print remember Celebrity only has 9 ships. A little hard to match itineraries.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

We've cruised both the CP and the Equinox. Here is my take on things:

(the mac-O-meter is on!)

 

--the CP is a 8.3 and the Equinox is a 9.4

--Cuisine on the Equinox is much better than the CP

--Love the deck spaces on the CP

--Buffet on the CP lacks flow; the Equinox is yummy chaos

--Alternative restaurants on the CP are basic and nothing special; Equinox has great alternatives, but they are expensive

--Entertainment may have been a bit better on the CP

--CP was crowded and the Equinox feels modern and open, however the pool area is congested

--Officers on the Equinox mingle with the passengers and can be found all over the ship; not sure I noticed the officers on the CP

--Service is a bit better on Celebrity

--The CP has laundry facilities; Celebrity does not (I get free laundry on Celebrity, so not an issue with us)

--Smoking policy better on Celebrity (no inside smoking)

--Embarkation and Disembarkation better on Celebrity

--CP is one of Princesses "shopping carts" and the design is strange; the Equinox is sleek and modern

--1/2 acre of real grass on the Equinox

--CP has big closets and small bathrooms; just the opposite on the Equinox

 

Princess has a better "world-wide" foot print and Celebrity plays it safe with their repeating itineraries. Give the nod to Princess here.

 

Head to head, I would always sail Celebrity over Princess.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

 

Well stated (and we've been on both as well). Just off the Equinox yesterday actually.

 

If one happens to be sailing in a suite, then it's a hands down Celebrity "sweep"! Princess can't touch the attention to detail and suite perks which Celebrity has. This was our first trip in a (Celebrity) Penthouse, but not our last!

 

Tom

[blueboro]

When we were on the Caribbean Princess 3 years ago it was showing its age then while Equinox one year ago still looked new. I also find navigating the CP to be much harder due to decks that just end for no reason and elevators beside each other that go to different decks.

[El Crucero]

We've cruised both the CP and the Equinox. Here is my take on things:

(the mac-O-meter is on!)

 

I agree with every one of your points. Good analysis. In addition, I think Celebrity's loyalty program is better and easier to achieve higher levels than Princess. And, I don't seem to have any problems with Celebrity's website, but I know many people say they do.

[Banjo]

I been on both ships also. We like Princess but we just find Celebrity better. From my experience, the big thing is on Celebrity I never feel crowded. With Princess I always feel I am in a mob. If you go to the show in the Main Theater, you better arrive 20-30 minutes early in order to get 2 seats together on Princess. On Celebrity I find usually if you arrive a few minutes before curtain, no problem in finding 2 seats together.

[HleeCruiser]

Just returned from cruise on the Caribbean Princess and I must say it was one of the best cruises we have been on. The food in the MDR exceeded our expectations. The Chocolate Celebration desserts were outstanding. The steaks were tender and cooked as ordered. We dined in the Crown Grill and it was one of the best meals we have had on a cruise ship. For frame of reference, we have cruised on RCCL, Azamara, Crystal, Regent, Silver Sea, NCL, HAL and Carnival. The entertainment was ok but not outstanding. I do not think any of the cruise ship shows are outstanding but do entertain. The pizza on Princess was very good while the pizza on Equinox was only ok. Burger and hot dog bar was good but not outstanding. About the same as Equinox. I liked the pool arrangement on Princess with the lap pool and the pool on the back. The MUTS on Princess is a nice touch. Caribbean Princess does not have interactive tv. Not sure about Equinox. Can not remember.

 

 

We were on the Equinox a couple of years ago in Europe and enjoyed it very much. Loved the layout of the ship and the Concierge Cabin especially the bathroom/shower. Much better than Princess. The food in the MDR was ok but not as good as the last Princess cruise. The Oceanview was very good with lots of variety. Better than Princess. We did the three dinner package and really enjoyed all of the meals. Just not up to what we just experienced in the Crown Grill. The pastry restaurant is very well done but does not measure up the the International Café on Princess. Princess does not have anything like the Aqua Café which we really enjoyed for lunch.

 

 

 

The entertainment on Equinox was a cut above Princess.

 

To sum it up, we loved cruising on Celebrity and Princess. Have just booked another 10 day Med cruise on the Equinox departing 29 April.

[macaroni]

I love celebrity, but for pools, you can't beat being on the princess...many choices, which we like. Base your decision on itinerary.

[WEGL81]

Fyi, CB is the abbreviation for Caribbean Princess. I've been on.her 4 times and will be on Equinox next week. There have been numerous comparisons between Celebrity and Princess. I did enjoy our cruises on CB, but the comparison up above is spot on. CB is 5 years older than Equinox. The CB seemed like an older ship.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Cruise Raider]

We actually think the Caribbean Princess is one of our favorite ships in the Princess fleet and have sailed on her 3 times. We've also sailed on the S-class ships 3 times, twice on the Solstice and once on the Equinox. Hands down, Celebrity is much better than Princess for us! We have two more cruises booked on the Equinox as a matter of fact.

 

The Caribbean Princess does lack an indoor pool. There is still smoking allowed in the casino on Princess, except on formal evenings. To us, food and entertainment is better on Celebrity and the cabins are set up better (couch instead of a chair or no chair). The overall look of an S Class ship on Celebrity just has the wow factor and they tend to just have a cleaner feel. No flames please! This is just my honest opinion. We are elite on both so have experienced the good and bad of both.

 

The in stateroom closets are better on Princess, to be fair. Also, the room service has proven to be better on Princess for us but the menu isn't quite as good. The specialty restaurants are reasonably priced....I know they are adding others now to Princess but based on our experience, Crown Grill and Sabatini's are $25 pp whereas on Celebrity, comparable restaurants are $45 - $50 pp. The pizza on Princess is the best -- the burgers and fries go to Celebrity, though!!

The itineraries are better for us on Princess but the overall experience is just so much better for us on Celebrity.

[royalcruz]

I prefer the Equinox cabins (seem roomier), buffet (more open design), and theatre (more seats), and modern design elements.

CB had a lot of entertainment from what I remember, more than Equinox.

[kevey]

Went on both ships in 2015 and had a great cruise on both ships.

 

Equinox is beautiful ship and beats CB hands down on most things (especially the layout of the cabins and modern decor/TV's), however, the food on Princess in our opinion was superior to Equinox - especially in the MDR.

Edited March 17, 2016 by kevey