Compare celebrity to princess- Similarities and Differences

[JP350]

4 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

The passengers tend to be a bit older.  Far less children.  Buffet at Celebrity is excellent.  Only thing we like better on Royal was Diamond lounge.

The deal breaker for us is anything near the casino reeked of cigarettes.   Not just in the casino.

Are you talking about the less kids on princess. That was also my pet peeve on Royal especially voyager and freedom class ships. On sea days bc there’s a staircase leading to the casino from the promande the middle of the promade smelled like smoke too.

[JP350]

8 hours ago, basenji56 said:

I almost always choose Celebrity over Princess because of the food issue.  But I hate the infinite verandas because they are noisy and often won't open since the Captain can keep them shut for weather issues.  And when they are open, the air conditioning in the room is shut off.

I didn’t know that the infinite verrandah could be locked by the captain. Is it just for like hurricane weather or rain and wind.

[JP350]

8 hours ago, eyelovcrusin said:

Also, tried Carnival once. Not for me. Although, we found the MDR service and food better than expected, just not our crowd. Also, had tried Celebrity 2000 somewhat inaugural cruise Millenium and was highly disappointed . Princess: Ruby(new at time) just poor food! MDR and buffet. Went onAlaska cruise (family)  poor food and service. Had same waiter/table with 2 gluten-free people and felt like we were an inconvenience! They claimed they were “sensitive to food allergies “ but were obviously clueless, not only the waiter but head waiter/maitre d.

That’s sad to hear about the gluten free story I will say that I’ve had some family friends tell me the same thing about gluten on Caribbean princess hate to say it’s a pattern.

7 hours ago, eyelovcrusin said:

Since my poor 2000 experience which obviously took me a long time to get over, I’ve only had great experiences and memories with Celebrity since 2012!!

That’s great to hear!

[JP350]

6 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

There is a nice YouTube channel called "Tips for Travelers" by a guy named Gary - He has a few videos on each cruise line and then one directly comparing Celebrity with Princess.  He does a nice job of explaining the little differences and providing you perspective. 

Thanks for the vid I watched it and it was a great comparison. 

[JP350]

8 hours ago, Mirage said:

We were recently on the Celebrity for the TA in May then went right after on Enchanted Princess.

We have cruised both lines many times. I have not been on the Regal so cannot comment specifically on that ship.

Apex was a Sunset Veranda, and the Enchanted Princess was a mini suite.

The food in my opinion is better on Celebrity. We ate in all the MDR’s and all the specialty restaurants.

Princess, we dined in the MDR’s and Sabatini’s, and the Steak house.  I would say disappointed with the Specialty on Princess and the MDR was just okay at best.

Cabin on Apex was great, we have been on Infinite Verandas on Edge class, and they do not appeal to me.

Princess mini-suite is fine and is somewhat similar although has a tub and the balcony is quite small.

The bar venues are certainly different between the two lines. Martini Bar on Celebrity gets the nod as a better venue.

I will say pizza on Princess slightly better only that is not a big draw for me.

Buffet on Princess is to me an awkward setup. Celebrity easy and better variety and quality.

To each there own.

My children have traveled extensively with me on many cruise lines, if you ask them, they vote for Celebrity every time.

I've heard that from a lotof people on the buffet. What did your kids like about celebrity compared to other lines. I've also heard really mixed things about celebrities infinite veranda. 

[JP350]

8 hours ago, Jeremiah On a Cruise said:

I've been on both a few times.

 

I would agree with others that Celebrity tends to have slightly better food - both in terms of selection and quality in the MDR and buffet.  Blu (and I presume Luminae)  also offers a vastly superior dining experience than Club Class for premium staterooms.

 

Entertainment is mostly equal, with maybe a slight edge to Princess. 

 

The smoke free casino is a big plus for Celebrity.

 

Service is superior on both, but I've found it to be slightly more reliable on Princess.

 

I strongly prefer Celebrity ship designs over Princess.  The layout, flow, and décor of Celebrity, in both the cabin and public areas, is typically much much nicer.  Princess has some snazzy and luxurious features (e.g. they do the atrium as well as anyone), but overall - I have a strong preference for Celebrity.

 

Similarly, Celebrity ships are often more intuitive and less crowded than Princess.  Granted, my favorite two ship classes I've ever been on are the Celebrity M and S classes (I haven't got on an Edge class yet.)

 

The crowds on Celebrity tend to be a bit younger, more hip, more diverse, more liberal, and less formal than Princess.  You can decide if these are good or bad.

 

No offense intended, but I prefer the pre-cruise experience of Princess.  Their website tends to be better, their rollcalls larger, and forums more active and friendly, and their groupies more positive.  

 

Princess has always felt like a bit more of a polished company off the ship.  On the ship, they are both great.  (note that both are going through major issues the last few years due to staffing)

 

Technology/features is a push.  Princess is miles ahead with their Medallion approach when it works  - though the technology is highly unreliable, and has turned into much of a stressor than a feature.

 

Itinerates are often better on Princess.  I live on the west coast, and Princess offers much better itineraries to Alaska and Mexico. 

 

Celebrity is, appropriately, but slightly more expensive.

 

Ultimately, both are great.  Personally, I'll pay a bit more, and accept a slightly worse itinerary to sail with Celebrity over Princess - but thousands of people make the other choice each day - and I'm not about to fault them for that.

This has been really great and thorough ill say that the food is the most important thing to me on a cruise so that's a huge plus for celebrity. I really don't understand the medallion I thought it was just a glorified sea pass card. This is the exact dilemma we have when deciding is it worth it to pay a little more and accept a slightly worse ittenary to sail on celebrity. Im really excited about the smoke free ships on the interior. What luxury items do princess have on their ships, I'll admit that their atrium looks nice but its not over the top. 

[JP350]

8 hours ago, Sillyjilly said:

If 500 bucks isn't that much to you I say go for Celebrity.

500 isn't that big of a deal for us plus the onboard credit is nice.

 

5 hours ago, George C said:

My main gripe on Princess is there ships are too crowded, hard to get seats for shows , once saw a fistfight over saved seats. They do have good pizza . Smoke in casino is terrible.

Thats what we like if were going to pay more than the ships shouldn't bee as crowded as on the mainstream line. A fistfight wow!! And I can't stand inside smoke on ships.

2 hours ago, intr3pid said:

One has been criminally convicted twice for dumping in protected waters, and the other not. 

Which one was that I thought that they both did.

[basenji56]

8 hours ago, JP350 said:

I didn’t know that the infinite verrandah could be locked by the captain. Is it just for like hurricane weather or rain and wind.

I remember seeing it locked when there were some dark clouds way off in the distance.  I guess being proactive.

[basenji56]

1 minute ago, basenji56 said:

I remember seeing it locked when there were some dark clouds way off in the distance.  I guess being proactive.

As I have said many times to people who like the infinite verandas because it makes the room appear a few feet larger--in a copy cat industry, why has no other cruise line copied the infinite veranda?  I think it is a misfire.  There is nothing like being out on your private veranda as opposed to being in front of an open window.

[LMaxwell]

5 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

As I have said many times to people who like the infinite verandas because it makes the room appear a few feet larger--in a copy cat industry, why has no other cruise line copied the infinite veranda?  I think it is a misfire.  There is nothing like being out on your private veranda as opposed to being in front of an open window.

Some new expedition ships have copied the infinite veranda in order to increase room sizes.  But, like you, I would agree the design is a misfire 

[Beamafar]

23 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

As I have said many times to people who like the infinite verandas because it makes the room appear a few feet larger--in a copy cat industry, why has no other cruise line copied the infinite veranda?  I think it is a misfire.  There is nothing like being out on your private veranda as opposed to being in front of an open window.

MSC have infinite verandahs on the currently being built World Europa. 

[basenji56]

38 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

MSC have infinite verandahs on the currently being built World Europa. 

Interesting.  I stand corrected.  I don't follow MSC but that is good to know.

[basenji56]

56 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

Some new expedition ships have copied the infinite veranda in order to increase room sizes.  But, like you, I would agree the design is a misfire 

I can see the point on expedition ships because of the outside elements. 

[D C]

20 hours ago, JP350 said:

I’m thinking about booking a celebrity or princess cruise for April 2023 princess currently has the better price, but celebrity is looking appealing. Could anyone compare and contrast the two lines similarities and differences. I’ve takes 22 rccl cruises 25 total so I’ll have status with celebrity. The ships I’m looking at are regal princess or celebrity apex. Any info you guys can give is greatly appreciated 

We won't sail on an Edge-class ship again. Mainly because of the infinite veranda, but also don't care for the ship's flow/layout.

 

That said, having hit elite on Celebrity, we're thinking about trying Princess next year. Better prices + better itineraries + better pizza sounds like it's worth a shot.

[upwarduk]

We sailed on Crown Princess.

We had part of our excursion cancelled because we didn’t go into Genoa. 
We were however ferried to Portofino from Santa Margarita.

When I asked for a refund of the bus portion from Genoa to Santa Margarita , I was told we were tendered from the ship to Santa Margarita.

My point was EVERYONE on the ship had that possibility.

On the last night, we were refunded the money as OBC, but it was too late to spend it, as we weren’t told of its existence.

The next morning, I went to Guest Relations, as the money wasn’t refunded to my Credit Card, as is done on Celebrity ships. I was told it would be refunded to my Credit Card in 4-6 weeks.

Of course that didn’t happen, so I rang Princess Cruises in Southampton and was told that was only for US passengers. If sailing from UK, I had to claim the money myself!!

There was also a problem, with the Ladies toilet outside the restaurant, which blocked up daily.

Most unhygienic.

[deultgen]

Personally, we prefer Celebrity.  We have cruised about 14 times with Carnival, Princess, and Celebrity to the normal E and W Caribbean, Mexico, Pacific Coastal, and Alaska itineraries.  We are in our mid young to mid 50's and travel to both relax and to see new things.  We generally walk and explore the port cities and natural areas, and rarely take a shore excursion.  

 

I think Celebrity has a slightly younger demographic, the ships are more elegant without being stuffy, and the overall feel of the cruise is nicer.  As others have said, the buffet is nicer on our Celebrity cruises, and many of the public areas are beautiful (like the Solarium).  On Celebrity we prefer the Solstice Class ships and prefer sailing Aqua Class.  We enjoy dining in Blu, the Persian Garden, and Relaxation Room.

 

On Princess, I think the demographic is a bit older, the ships are nice but not elegant, and are updated less than comparable Celebrity ships.  We like the outdoor burgers and pizza on Princess.  We prefer a regular balcony stateroom, purchase the Sanctuary every day for its relaxation and excellent service, and because we generally do not prefer the MDR food, we generally dine in a specialty restaurant every night of the cruise.

 

The main difference for us is ........ COST....... if the two cruises your are comparing is a total of $500, more for Celebrity, then I would take the Celebrity cruise every time.  The problem for us, is it seems like that is rarely the case.  For us, for example, we are currently comparing 7 night Caribbean cruises in January 2023 and can book a Princess cruise, with the Sanctuary every afternoon, and specialty dining every night for FAR LESS than an Aqua Class stateroom on Celebrity.  

[stoshb]

Its' been years since I went on Princess.  At the time I thought it was great as the only previous cruise had been on Carnival.

 

However, since then I have been on several different lines, but somehow always go back to Celebrity. 

 

Two things discourage me from my experience with Princess.  First was the number of announcements on the speakers.  They are always hard to understand, and then when you do understand, they are repetitive announcements of stuff that is already on the daily planner.

 

This leads me to the biggest gripe and that was the up-sell that continues allllll  the cruise.  From buy a fancy drink, to take an excursion, to go buy from the shops, till at the end where they had a clearance sale on all the stuff they did not sell earlier.  That continual upsell just  soured the trip for me.

 

On Celebrity there are morning and evening announcements.  Any thing else is something important, not an attempt to get you to the latest game of bingo or to try the drink of the day.

 

I got to say I love Celebrity and have a back to back booked for 2024.

 

[Ipeeinthepools]

23 hours ago, ILgirl said:

Apex, being an E class ship, if you are traveling in a standard stateroom versus a suite, there are four main dining rooms to choose from which I have really enjoyed.  The Infinite verandas on Celebrity get a lot of negative comments on these boards, some from people who have never tried them.  I’ve enjoyed the IVs as they make the cabin seem larger.  I agree it is a personal preference but I like them.

 

The IV cabins on the E-class ships also receive a lot of negative comments from people that have sailed on them.  Many have said that they will never sail on an E-class ship again.

[D C]

1 hour ago, deultgen said:

Personally, we prefer Celebrity.  We have cruised about 14 times with Carnival, Princess, and Celebrity to the normal E and W Caribbean, Mexico, Pacific Coastal, and Alaska itineraries.  We are in our mid young to mid 50's and travel to both relax and to see new things.  We generally walk and explore the port cities and natural areas, and rarely take a shore excursion.  

 

I think Celebrity has a slightly younger demographic, the ships are more elegant without being stuffy, and the overall feel of the cruise is nicer.  As others have said, the buffet is nicer on our Celebrity cruises, and many of the public areas are beautiful (like the Solarium).  On Celebrity we prefer the Solstice Class ships and prefer sailing Aqua Class.  We enjoy dining in Blu, the Persian Garden, and Relaxation Room.

 

On Princess, I think the demographic is a bit older, the ships are nice but not elegant, and are updated less than comparable Celebrity ships.  We like the outdoor burgers and pizza on Princess.  We prefer a regular balcony stateroom, purchase the Sanctuary every day for its relaxation and excellent service, and because we generally do not prefer the MDR food, we generally dine in a specialty restaurant every night of the cruise.

 

The main difference for us is ........ COST....... if the two cruises your are comparing is a total of $500, more for Celebrity, then I would take the Celebrity cruise every time.  The problem for us, is it seems like that is rarely the case.  For us, for example, we are currently comparing 7 night Caribbean cruises in January 2023 and can book a Princess cruise, with the Sanctuary every afternoon, and specialty dining every night for FAR LESS than an Aqua Class stateroom on Celebrity.  

Same thing we're seeing.  I can book an Eastern on the Regal with the Premiere package for several hundred less than the Always Included on a Western on Celebrity.  That being an S-class ship.  For some reason, X thinks an Edge-class is worth $1000 more WITHOUT Always Included.  

[AbbyCruiser45]

Also consider the itinerary. I haven't sailed Princess, but I chose them for Alaska 2023 over Celebrity because Princess is allowed to sail into Glacier Bay but Celebrity cannot. This was a deal breaker for me! Since you said Apex, this shouldn't be an issue for you, but is generally good to know for people considering the two lines for Alaska. 

Edited July 15, 2022 by AbbyCruiser45

[davekathy]

We have enjoyed our Princess cruises. We haven't cruised with them since 2010. At least we made it to Platinum. We believe Celebrity's Captains Club  perks/benefits are better than Princess Captains Circle. 

[ILgirl]

1 hour ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

The IV cabins on the E-class ships also receive a lot of negative comments from people that have sailed on them.  Many have said that they will never sail on an E-class ship again.

That is exactly why I said it is a personal preference.

[CaliforniaCruiseCocktails]

17 hours ago, intr3pid said:

One has been criminally convicted twice for dumping in protected waters, and the other not. 

Holy smokes! $40 million fine! is shocking.

 

[deliver42]

I'm speaking S Class. There is no comparison for a normal balcony. Princess is much smaller, has no sofa OR chair, and the shower has a curtain. This in on al their ships, even the newest. I also think  Celebrity's entertainment abd food are better, but that's subjective. The cabins are not.

[CaliforniaCruiseCocktails]

On 7/14/2022 at 9:31 PM, JP350 said:

I've heard that from a lotof people on the buffet. What did your kids like about celebrity compared to other lines. I've also heard really mixed things about celebrities infinite veranda. 

Our last two cruises were Princess and we are doing our spring cruise on Celebrity because we were really disappointed in the food on Ruby Princess last week -- especially Sabatini's, which was odd because we LOVED Sabatini's on Discovery this spring. We're giving Princess one last whirl in December with a New Year's cruise on Diamond to Mexican Riviera.