New to Celebrity what's different than Princess?

[Fishboy1947]

We've taken 5 Princess cruises and are now looking at the Constellation in June 2023. What are the differences I should know about between the lines?

From what I have read, it seems that the lines are more alike than different.  I have only heard positive comments about Celebrity.

The Constellation is smaller than the Princess Royal class ships that we have cruised on. Any comments on the Constellation? It would seem that a smaller ship would be better, 2,200 vs 3500 passengers.

We are bringing three of our grandchildren, ages 20-21, for their first trip to Europe

[WestLakeGirl]

On Celebrity there is no smoking anywhere inside.  That is very appealing.

[Torfamm]

I agree that they are much more alike than different. Celebrity does win on food in my opinion. A few differences in addition to no smoking anywhere indoors - Celebrity does not have formal nights. They call it Chic evening and I have not seen any tuxedos or gowns on my cruises since they made that change. Cafe Al Baccio is similar to the International Cafe but only has pastries and desserts, no savory food. There is also no self-serve laundry,

 

[basenji56]

19 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

I agree that they are much more alike than different. Celebrity does win on food in my opinion. A few differences in addition to no smoking anywhere indoors - Celebrity does not have formal nights. They call it Chic evening and I have not seen any tuxedos or gowns on my cruises since they made that change. Cafe Al Baccio is similar to the International Cafe but only has pastries and desserts, no savory food. There is also no self-serve laundry,

 

I liked Princess but found the buffet to be underwhelming compared to Celebrity's buffet.  MDR was not as good either.  Entertainment was better on Princess.  Medalion class is pretty good--internet is better on Princess.  Pizza on Princess was superior.  

[sptrout]

If you usually booked Princess' mini-suites, either standard or Club Class, you will see a big difference with Celebrity's similar sized suites called "Sky Suites".  As noted the sizes are very close to the same, but the amenities and other perks blow Princess away. If comparing these two classes just be careful that even though they are near size, much better overall experience on Celebrity.

 

Princess' Spas, at least in the Royal Class blows Celebrity (pre-"E"-Class) and other lines away. MSC is the only line that we have found that is even close.

[daydreamer16]

I agree with most of the previous posts. I think they are more alike than different. When we're on Princess we miss Celebrity and vice versa. We book according to itinerary and go back & forth between the two. After a few Princess cruises our first Celebrity was on the Constellation too! Have fun planning!

[ultramax12]

We have been on Princess multiple times and have enjoyed the experience, we are on our first Celebrity Cruise next week on Apex and looking forward to a new ship & experience.

 

I believe the average age on Celebrity is an older 40+ crowd? Which is fine with us...

 

[Torfamm]

4 hours ago, basenji56 said:

I liked Princess but found the buffet to be underwhelming compared to Celebrity's buffet.  MDR was not as good either.  Entertainment was better on Princess.  Medalion class is pretty good--internet is better on Princess.  Pizza on Princess was superior.  

Agreed- Princess has really good pizza. One thing I forgot was that Celebrity has shower doors, not plastic curtains 

[voyager1964]

I think you can get a hot breakfast with room service on Celebrity, even not in a suite

[hrhdhd]

2 hours ago, Torfamm said:

Agreed- Princess has really good pizza. One thing I forgot was that Celebrity has shower doors, not plastic curtains 

In my balcony room on the Constellation, I had a curtain, not a door.

[Denny01]

Ive cruised Princess 4 times, and enjoyed, but only cruise it to join friends, and my go-to is Celebrity.

 

Differences?

 

- I find the Celebrity lounges, bars and common areas to be more open and less crowded, the way they are designed. Princess areas always seemed full all the time and poor flow. 

 

- The theaters on the two Princess ships we cruised were much smaller than Celebrity. Had to show up at least 30-40 min early to get seats together (just 2) and good viewing. Celebrity theaters are much larger and no real issue expect on big show nights and got there 10min early max. . 

 

- We’d book Princess mini-suites because the standard SRs were not large enough to have friends over, and even though we aren’t large people, the showers were very cramped and spent most of the time with the shower curtain against us. The standard Celebrity SRs had couches and much larger showers with glass entry. Loved them. So didn’t have to go beyond standard SRs on Celebrity, saving a nice piece of change….trying Sky Suite on Celebrity on an upcoming TransAtlantic to give the Retreat a go, not because the standard SRs are not sufficient. 

 

- Dining on both were nice, but thought Celebrity had better choices, a much better buffet and the Edge class 4 MDRs are a homerun. 

 

- Celebrity has one announcement per day unless that is a major issue and no push to join in on some ‘entertainment’. I found Princess to be a bit more bait-and-switch on some things. I’d go to a ‘lecture’ which was really an infomercial. 

 

OK, sounds as if I don’t like Princess - its a good Line but those are the differences I saw. I enjoyed all Cruises. 

 

Den

[XuGator]

We have sailed both Celebrity and Princess many times and Celebrity gets the nod in almost all areas. We usually only sail Princess now if the itinerary is better or fits our schedule. Celebrity Ships, especially the newer ones have a more elegant feel to them. The lighting, the elevators, the decor etc. Celebrity also has the nice touches like champagne when you board (not sure if this is still happening post covid). The food is definitely much better on Celebrity and the buffet area is laid out better. No cap on daily drinks, I think its 15 with princess and both people in stateroom dont have to buy the drink package like on princess. Checking out towels on excursion days always seemed like a minor inconvenience on princess and Celebrity doesnt make you do that, just grab your towel and roll out.  We really like the infinite verandas and the circular stage theater on Edge / Apex as well. The 4 main dining rooms (edge and apex) are also great and have a specialty feel to them

Edited March 3, 2022 by XuGator

[cruisequeen4ever]

We are avid Princess cruisers that sailed on the Constellation to Europe because of a fantastic itinerary. I think the Celebrity experience depends on the room category you choose and the class of ship you go on. If you go Aqua or higher or sail on one of the new ships, people seem to report a better experience than we encountered in the old Constellation in a regular stateroom. In terms of differences, here are the ones I can think of. Celebrity has modern music piped throughout the ship. The stores are expensive. The drink packages are heavily pushed the first 2 days. The blended drinks were watered down. There’s a free thelassotherapy pool in the solarium. The theater has fun seating in multiple tiers. The shower is a good size in all stateroom categories. There is cooked to order steak, stir fry,  and pasta every night in the buffet and made to order eggs Benedict for breakfast in the buffet. The cakes are gorgeous but flavorless. There is a good selection of hard packed ice cream and some candy in the buffet. The crew is good just like on Princess, but they don’t seem to have the yes mentality like Princess crewmembers usually have. 
 

For Europe, the Constellation consistently seems to offer great itineraries. 

[as3369]

22 hours ago, Torfamm said:

Agreed- Princess has really good pizza. One thing I forgot was that Celebrity has shower doors, not plastic curtains 

Absolutely... I really dislike the plastic curtains!

[casandbliz]

We have cruised with both lines,  probably more cruises with Celebrity,  but most recently with Princess.  We feel they are very comparable.  Princess gets some nods, but so does Celebrity.  For us,  it depends on itineraries and embarkation/disembarkation ports. We live in So California,  so Princess was our go to for a few years.  Now Celebrity has the Millennium going out of San Pedro, so our next cruise is on her. 

[Torfamm]

14 hours ago, as3369 said:

Absolutely... I really dislike the plastic curtains!

I stand corrected. On the Emerald Princess at least, they are cloth, not plastic.