Celebrity vs. Princess

[mewilson66]

For those who have cruised both lines post Covid please reply with your preference and why. Thanks.

[mom says]

If you go to You Tube and do a search for "Celebrity vs Princess cruises" you'll see a whole selection of videos doing comparisons by some of the well known cruise vloggers.

[cruiseaholic777]

They are both great. Princess cruisers are a little younger (50's). 

[crystalspin]

51 minutes ago, cruiseaholic777 said:

They are both great. Princess cruisers are a little younger (50's). 

According to the Points Guy, Celebrity average age 50, Princess 57. 

 

ETA: which means almost nothing about any particular cruise. Math, how does it work anyhow?

Edited October 3, 2022 by crystalspin

[Honolulu Blue]

8 hours ago, mewilson66 said:

For those who have cruised both lines post Covid please reply with your preference and why. Thanks.

I've done two cruises on Celebrity since the restart (one charter) and two on Princess (one themed cruise).  I have two planned on Celebrity (including another charter) and one on Princess (another themed cruise).  My opinions, worth about what you paid for them:

 

• Celebrity's food is better, but Princess isn't bad
• I've found Celebrity's buffet to be as straightforward an experience as possible, given protocols.  Princess' buffet can be annoying at times.
• Celebrity's room service is decently fast, and the menu is solid.  Princess' menu is more extensive and can be delivered quickly
• Celebrity's base Internet access is painfully slow, and the upgrade is expensive.  I've found Princess to be far faster (YMMV - there are reports it doesn't work as well in certain locations) and not horribly expensive, especially with status.
• I found myself bumping into crowds much more on Princess
• The Celebrity app is fine, not too ambitious.  Princess' Medallion is VERY ambitious.  When it works, it's wonderful.  But sometimes it doesn't work.  I'll call it a tie.
• The decor on both in the rooms and the common areas is nice.  I'll also call this one a tie.
• All my cabins on both lines had more space and storage than I could use.  Another tie.
• I mostly ignored the entertainment on both, with some exceptions I'll explain below
• I really like the idea of Princess' themed cruises.  It helps that I'm an 80s child.  The one I went on was very nice with its tribute bands and trivia.  Also nice was the fact that I didn't have to pay a bonus for it.  I have another one scheduled for next April and wish I could go on more of them.
• One of my Celebrity cruises was a music-themed charter.  That one I DID pay extra for.

 

Overall, I like Celebrity better, but both lines have plenty of good things about them.

[George C]

My main gripe on Princess is ships seem super crowded, hard to get seats for shows , only time I ever saw a fight on saving theater seats and I have been on 75 plus cruises.

[marco]

Both are pretty comparable.  We like them both.  I'd choose by itinerary, dates, price.

[Hlitner]

Tough question because some of our answer would depend on the specific ship.  We are big fans of the Celebrity Solstice Class ("S") ships which has a nice layout, decent options such as Aqua Class or Retreat, etc.   The newer (and more popular) Edge Class has the love it or hate it infinity cabins.  These are marketed as hybrid balcony cabins but are anything but....and might be better thought of as French Balconies.   Celebrity definitely has the better alternative restaurants, and one could argue about the MDR and Lido food. 

 

As to age/demographics of the passengers, this is more a factor of timing, length of cruise and itinerary.   We tend to favor the Princess Grand Class ships because the newer Royal class has smaller balconies.    Like Marco, we would make a decision between these lines based on itinerary and price.

 

Hank

[rkacruiser]

Celebrity has a more sophisticated "vibe" aboard than Princess.  Princess' main theater entertainment, I enjoyed more than Celebrity.  Food?  A tie.  Depending upon the ship's Executive Chef, Princess cuisine can be better than Celebrity's.  Like pasta?  Princess' pasta entrees are often very good.  Specialty restaurants?  Tuscan Grille and Murano on Celebrity are excellent.  Alfredo's, Sabatini's, and Crown Grille on Princess can also be excellent.  For a standard balcony stateroom, Celebrity's S class ships have the edge over a comparable Princess stateroom.  Crew/service?  I prefer Princess.