Thinking about Princess? Here is my comparison while on the Emerald Princess. Celebrity Wins!

[drakes2]

18 hours ago, Esprit said:

Currently on Reflection and I would say the Pizzas we had on Regal Princess last year were far superior to what is being offered right now.

Food in the MDR is of equal quality to Princess.

We will most definitely cruise with Princess next year.

I was on the sky princess earlier this year and found the food quality equal on both lines. Princess is also about half the cost of the same cruise on Celebrity. Their prices have gotten out of hand for many cruisers. 

[prmssk]

I have found that every cruise line has pluses and minus and we each weigh those pluses and minus differently.  Even my husband and I don't always agree.  I also think the experience can vary quite a bit from ship to ship/cruise to cruise so I try not to make a judgment on the entire line based on just a single cruise.

 

We personally were not impressed with Princess last year.  We spent 15 nights on the Emerald Princess in February 2022 and 14 nights on the Caribbean Princess in June 2022.  We were going to cruise the Crown this year but cancelled after those two experiences plus all we heard about propulsion issues on the Crown last year (something that went on for many months).  For comparison purposes, we have recently sailed on the Constellation and Eclipse.

 

One of my big issues was Princess did not accommodate my food allergy very well.  I always had safe food to eat but it was repetitive and usually quite bland.  I have had so many amazing experiences with chefs creatively adopting dishes to meet my dietary restrictions on Celebrity (and almost every other line) which made this surprising and especially disappointing.  My husband (who does not have any food allergies) thought the food in the MDR was quite good on the Emerald but pretty poor on the Caribbean.  Celebrity's buffet was night and day better (more variety and better quality) than Princess.

 

Another issue we ran into was the lines at the MDR.  It didn't seem to matter if you made a reservation or not, we always were standing in lines waiting to get in.  This was an issue on both Princess ships, although was far worse on the Caribbean Princess where those without reservations got seated much quicker than those with reservations.

 

We also really wish Princess put a couch or at least comfortable chair in standard balcony and lower cabin categories.  Instead they have chosen to put a huge walk-in closet that takes up so much of the cabin that the cabin feels really small.

 

On the Caribbean Princess, I was quite shocked at how poor that ship was maintained (even just 5 or 6 weeks after dry dock).  AC and plumbing issues were prevalent all over the ship (in cabins, public spaces, and public restrooms).  And at one point, I caught my niece collecting all the loose tiles in the pool.

 

Even with these issues, we did still really enjoy our cruises on the Princess.  The Princess Plus package was a great value (we had booked at the old cheaper prices).  I really enjoyed the International Cafe as well as Coffee and Cones.  There was a pretty decent grill at the pool.  Service was great on both ships.  I loved having access to an open deck above the bridge for a great forward view.  Good Spirits (when they have a mixologist on board) is a great bar.  The medallion is an amazing concept and if they ever get it to work consistently, it will give Princess an edge.

 

Would I book Princess again?  I don't ever say never.  But they aren't high in my list when I consider booking a new cruise.

[UpcountryTravelers]

We like both Princess and Celebrity. They are pretty much equal overall.  It is all about itinerary to us.  We have two Celebrity and one Princess cruises booked right now.  I consider them about equal BUT!  Celebrity is definitely more expensive, both in booking and especially while aboard.  So, is the better cruise worth it?  It has to do with looking at all the data.  One of the things we consider is that Princess is better for longer cruises, as Celebrity does not have laundromats (which make packing for long cruises much easier).

Edited July 27, 2023 by UpcountryTravelers

[hobgoblin]

Thanks for your comparison, its great to hear what other ships are like !

Ive only ever been on Celebrity ships and have been looking at a change but not sure to what cruise line .

Have thought about Holland America and maybe Princess but still not sure .

[cruisequeen4ever]

It’s a shame that each ship is so individual within the Princess fleet because some of the things that you had complaints about would have been solved by sailing on a royal class ship. For instance, the royal class ships have a Gelateria, and therefore the premium desserts use gelato instead of soft serve like the older ships use. On the royal class ships, there is an eggs Benedict station in the Buffet. 100% agree with you that they should not be asking for a 10; that is very unclassy. We have never been asked for a 10 on any of our Princess cruises.