Long Time Celebrity Cruiser Tries the Crown Princess

[WALKER1313]

After 30+ Celebrity cruises in a row, (Not withstanding a 4 day free Carnival cruise) we tried a Princess cruise. Final determination on Princess will be made after we try Princess at least once more. Below are observations.

 

FOOD THINGS

tray plates(Carnival style) - think "turkey platter" (Oscar Carlos term)

Pizza- blah I would call it bad New York Style pizza

ice cream soft serve - never correct, machine and workers had trouble

good food - a cut BELOW Celebrity

lots of whole and cut fruit

breakfast variety great at buffet and MDR

smoked salmon cut way too thick

no Escargot

Crown Grill quite good – Strange printed sign at entrance.

Salty Dog - strange setup as it is in the wheelhouse bar that is open to other passengers

shrimp cocktail shrimp small and flavor-less, no service of sauce

Coffee(not brewed?) was bad except in international cafe.

cheese was crap. - Didn't have any in the crown grill or Salty dog

Steaks were of low quality - except in Crown grill

many many fish and fish dishes available

many vegetarian dishes available

Drinks were of average quality

 

 

SHIP THINGS

life jacket at muster

low ceiling venues – Carnival Like

cabin arrangement great – better than Celebrity

empty fridge

no interactive tv

No sheet on bed

lots of dead ends

lots of narrow passages

many small venues like a carnival ship

a few too many announcements - I don't need someone to read the daily schedule of events.

Staff very pleasant

Movies under the stars - out of the way, never bothered me

entertainment – standard

theater seating tight

various other entertainment throughout ship - 3 or 4 out of 5 stars

no cloth hand towels in public lavatories

no "sparkling wine" on embarkation

Casino - adequate

shopping is limited - low key

sales pitch was low key - except for Cruise director

formal dress on first formal night observed by most.

Embarkation and disembarkation very smooth

[KikisDad]

I think I agree with 90% of your observations.

[vulcan1971]

When I read this thread and OP's assessment, I find myself not interested in trying a Princess Cruise. I suppose (fortunately) I have not had enough or any significant negative experiences with Celebrity to send me looking in another direction on a permanent basis.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network using Tapatalk Pro

[Bo1953]

When I read this thread and OP's assessment, I find myself not interested in trying a Princess Cruise. I suppose (fortunately) I have not had enough or any significant negative experiences with Celebrity to send me looking in another direction on a permanent basis.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network using Tapatalk Pro

 

Rated: 1+

[DaisyRose]

As a Princess and Celebrity cruiser, I find the two lines very similar. I agree with much of what the OP wrote. But a few things I like better about Princess:

1. Passenger laundromats that allow one to travel light and not have to pay exorbitant prices for laundry service

2. Shore excursions purchased online prior to the cruise do not have to be paid for in advance; they are charged to your onboard account, allowing you to use onboard credit for them (but this may change soon)

3. Onboard credits can be stacked

4. More reasonable prices for specialty restaurants (usually about $29)

5. Princess allows TA's more flexibility in pricing and ammenities

6. Buffet does not close during the day, so you can always stop in for something

The two lines are very similar. If you like Celebrity, you will probably like Princess.

[Clarea]

Thank-you for the comparison.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

Keith

[Finabear]

I completely agree and will add two more:

Love the self-service laundry Princess - makes packing much easier

Love the International cafe and the coffee card.

 

However, love Celebrity's no smoking rules - particularly in the casino - although Princess does have non-smoking nights there.

Also love the warm therapy pool in the solarium on some ships.

 

Will cruise both again but Celebrity seems to have better itineraries right now.

[CRUZBUDS]

We're also avid Celebrity cruisers who just got off the Ruby Princess (sister of Crown) -- it was our first cruise on Princess since the 1990's.

 

We were very pleased over-all, but Celebrity wins by an edge in many small things for us.

 

We were very pleased to have never encountered any smoke - The Ruby Princess did not have any smoking areas around the pools. On Celebrity we always need to be conscious on which side of the pool area we're walking. We do our best to avoid being near smoking areas.

 

We don't do the casino, so smoke there wasn't an issue for us.

 

I agree with many of the other observations of the OP. We loved the pizza and disliked the ice cream options.

 

We are booked on the Crown in 5 months for the same trip. We missed our Elite+ perks. As long as Princess serves the west coast and Celebrity does not, Princess will be our preferred cruise line.

 

Several of our upcoming booked Celebrity cruises are likely to be switched to Princess.

[maggie.1008]

Loyal X cruiser but I cruise with Princess for west coast departures. I also like that you can combine most benefits. Do not like ATD as lines and waits are very long. Hard to get a table for two. Have never had this problem on x select dine.