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

[abbydancer2003]

18 minutes ago, SoBe2010 said:

This "give us a 10" is often a pain in the ass, since crew Performance was often great indeed, however pressurising the guests at the end makes it look very unprofessional.

I'm tempted to say at the beginning of the cruise "you have a 10 as of now - every time you mention rating you a 10 it will drop by one".  I won't though, just tempted.

 

Back in the day, I was a technical trainer.  I'd have lost my job if I told students to give me a 10.

[kayehall]

19 hours ago, basenji56 said:

I had no idea white flour was in such short supply these days!  Maybe its tied up in Ukraine?

Don't laugh.  That's exactly what's happening!!!

[luv4cruises]

The Emerald is an old ship. Compare Celebrity to the Enchanted or Discovery Princess. They have the most beautiful and lively Piazzas at sea. Rock Opera is one of the best production shows I’ve seen in over 50 cruises.  I’ve sailed many times on 6 different cruise lines. They all have something good to offer. At present I cruise mainly on Celebrity and Princess. It’s good to have varied experiences and choices to make based on itinerary and cost. 

We are so fortunate to be able to cruise. 
Happy sailing!

[PTC DAWG]

My neighbor, a big Celebrity fan, just returned from a 14 day Princess Baltic cruise..he echoed these same thoughts.  

[catgirl411]

We did a Christmas/New Year’s Cruise on Emerald Princess in December 2022 through the Panama Canal. It was great…our only complaint was the food. It just wasn’t up to standard. The two worst examples were grilled scallops with no browning on them at all and the short rib which was pretty much inedible because of the amount of gristle (had the same problem on Royal Princess back last August). We haven’t been on Celebrity since the pandemic so we our looking forward to our TA on Reflection in October. Really looking forward to it. 

[Travelw]

I have only sailed once with Celebrity on the Equinox.  We are Platinum with Princess.  Our one experience was not a pleasant one with Celebrity, wait staff in MDR were below avg, dirty dishes left on table most nights too long.  Entertainment just avg.  we are sailing on Silhouette in January, trying again.  As of now though I would choose Princess over Celebrity.

[Stealthdog]

We just sailed our first Princess sailing on Majestic.  It’s hard to compare lines based on one or two experiences.  That said, to us Celebrity is a generally a higher end line than Princess.  Food and entertainment is always subjective.  We were very disappointed with the food (MDR and some specialty restaurants) on Princess.   The only exception was The Catch, which was fantastic.  Princess has a lot more in common with Royal Caribbean and Norwegian.  Not that there anything wrong with that.  The entertainment was standard for a cruise outside of Oasis Class or Edge Class ships.  We would sail Princess again depending on itinerary and price - but to us Celebrity is clearly the superior brand.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Stealthdog

[Cruisin Oma]

23 hours ago, CruisinBanka said:

I do like that 16-17 day round trip to Hawaii from California. Went on that a few years ago on Celebrity Eclipse and had a great time. Celebrity no longer offers roundtrip to Hawaii. I was looking into lines that do and am currently considering Viking, Holland America, and Princess. Pros and cons to each. 

I’ve sailed Princess to Hawaii and it was probably my favorite cruise of all time. We were on the Ruby Princess which is an older Grand Class ship, but I believe the new Discovery does it as well. 

[Cruisin Oma]

4 hours ago, luv4cruises said:

The Emerald is an old ship. Compare Celebrity to the Enchanted or Discovery Princess. They have the most beautiful and lively Piazzas at sea. Rock Opera is one of the best production shows I’ve seen in over 50 cruises.  I’ve sailed many times on 6 different cruise lines. They all have something good to offer. At present I cruise mainly on Celebrity and Princess. It’s good to have varied experiences and choices to make based on itinerary and cost. 

We are so fortunate to be able to cruise. 
Happy sailing!

I agree, I thought trying to compare the Emerald to the new Edge class ships was not a fair comparison. Solstice versus Grand and Royal versus Edge would be a more fair comparison. But saying that I did appreciate the rest of the review regarding service and food. 

[hubofhockey]

5 hours ago, luv4cruises said:

The Emerald is an old ship. Compare Celebrity to the Enchanted or Discovery Princess. They have the most beautiful and lively Piazzas at sea. Rock Opera is one of the best production shows I’ve seen in over 50 cruises.  I’ve sailed many times on 6 different cruise lines. They all have something good to offer. At present I cruise mainly on Celebrity and Princess. It’s good to have varied experiences and choices to make based on itinerary and cost. 

We are so fortunate to be able to cruise. 
Happy sailing!

Well, isn’t that the problem with Princess?  The Emerald Princess is as old as the Solstice Class ships, but Celebrity rehabs and refreshes.  I wouldn’t have a second thought booking any Celebrity ship, especially the 20+ year old M class, which are great and do amazing itineraries.

[luv4cruises]

As a parent and teacher I always told my “kids” - Keep your options open! IIMHO the same goes for cruising  Do your research- Cruise Critic, You Tube etc., comparable itineraries on various cruise lines;  then make an informed decision on what works for you. . Happy Cruising to all! 

[NMTraveller]

Well you compare a single older Princess ship to what?  What Celebrity ships are you comparing to?

 

I will say that Celebrity tends to put their best staff on their newest ships,  but their newest ships have few balconies.

Edited July 22, 2023 by NMTraveller

[Mike981]

8 hours ago, kayehall said:

Don't laugh.  That's exactly what's happening!!!

 

Per the flour issue (not saying you are wrong):

I find it hard to believe that a political issue that came out this week is now effecting ships that put in purchase orders months in advance. Seems like there is more going on than the war.

[Esprit]

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.

[Ken the cruiser]

On 7/22/2023 at 2:29 AM, Sam.Seattle said:

I am really going to have to think twice about sailing on Princess again.  Since the Pandemic, we have been cruising with Celebrity and were looking forward to checking out Princess again. This cruise has been just average for us. 

 

* The sofa in our Mini suite is in terrible condition.

*The bed is very comfortable.

*The stateroom attendant is very efficient and nice.

* The flour issue is really unfortunate. Not having white dinner rolls was disappointing. As I previously said, the pizza is yucky!

* No individual water bottles.  Really?

* On two different occasions, the desert I tried to order in the MDR was not available.

*The specialty Premium deserts are just soft Ice cream with assorted goodies.  They look fun, but were just soft Ice Cream and toppings in a very fun old school glass container.  

* The food in the MDR has been just average and only hot once. I am not exaggerating.  We have fixed seating at 8:40pm with the same servers who have been very good.

* The casino dealers are very nice and sociable.  I did get put off when I asked to play the Roulet table and was told there was not a dealer available.

* The posting of a sign in the MDR that simply says "10" is a tacky way to asked for a good rating.

* I wish the buffet had eggs benedick. 

* There were ladies walking the buffet asking for feed back and suggesting we provide them a 10-rating for service.  Again, this seems tacky.

* The International Cafe is excellent! The coffee was always good and we enjoyed the snacks.  Unfortunately, they were out of cookies on several occasions.  The staff was efficient, but seemed tired and just mechanical. 

*The Sanctuary is wonderful as it always has been.  Love it up there!  Just wish the weather was better on Sea days.

*The tender service in Maui is inexcusable.  Just do the math and they simply did not have enough boats in the water for the short amount of time we were in Maui.  Perhaps Maui could provide tender boats like in Cozumel that move people more efficiently.

*Kids....  Well, Kids will be kids and the parents are to be blamed for any bad behavior.  We are in the front of the ship and I really did not have negative encounters with the tweens or teens.  Actually, the few I did speak to were polite.

*The shows were good, We enjoyed them all.  Comparing to Celebrity, the new Edge class ships have an amazing round theater with a fully lighted wall that takes the live shows to a new level.  

*The gastro break out seem to be handled very well!  I appreciated the announcements and seeing the staff constantly washing tables, hand rails and other surfaces.

 

So, will I cruise Princess again?  Probably if the itinerary is good and the price is right.  I will comparison shop against Celebrity and see what best meets our needs.

 

I hope this brief review will assist those reading and shopping for their next cruise.  

 

 

Sorry you had such a bad experience. It’s amazing how experiences can vary depending on the ship and itinerary AND the cabin you’re in. We're currently on the Diamond in a Reserve Collection mini-suite and enjoying pretty much everything we’ve encountered so far circumnavigating Japan on a B2B. 
 

But I will say eating in the Reserve Collection dining room for most of our meals, except for lunch on port days, has definitely been a treat as all of our meals have been hot and tasty, to include the desserts.
 

We also cruise a bunch with Celebrity and usually book Aqua or higher. We enjoy both cruise lines equally, but tend to lean towards Princess when it comes to their more unique longer itineraries.
 

But I will add we now only book Reserved Class cabins or higher on our Princess cruises as there is a huge difference between dining in the Reserve Collection Dining Room and one of the other MDRs offered to the regular mini-suite and below cabins. 
 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2947138-live-from-the-diamond-july-10-27-17-day-b2b-around-japan-and-korea/

[kywildcatfanone]

On 7/21/2023 at 1:53 PM, basenji56 said:

Sorry to hear that the pizza was mediocre.  I remember Princess pizza as being among the (few) highlights when I sailed several years ago.

 

Been on 25 Princess and 1 Celebrity (Infinity) last year and Princess pizza has always been excellent to us, and the pizza on Infinity was frozen pizza quality.

 

With that said, we enjoyed Infinity and are doing equinox in October to try a newer and bigger ship than Infinity.  Service was a bit better on Celebrity overall, but Princess rooms and TV options are better to us, but we have only sailed on the oldest Celebrity ship.

 

Princess is by and large cheaper as well.  But that gap is closing 

[kywildcatfanone]

On 7/21/2023 at 9:49 PM, Sam.Seattle said:

I was remiss not to mention the Medallion!

 

I love it.  I use the wrist band option.  The medallion works much like the room card, but does much more.  My favorite part of the medallion is the crew can easily identify you when ordering beverages etc.

I have grown to accept the medallion, but you need to track charges to your account closely, as we have been charged wrong amounts and charges that were not ours.

 

The proximity of the Medallions can show multiple customers to the bartenders and I think it's very easy to charge the wrong person.

[catgirl411]

As a frequent cruiser on both Princess and Celebrity, as well as a number of other lines, I can say that there is always something great about every cruise and usually things that can be improved. Every cruise is a complex combination of factors…itinerary, ship, cabin, crew, food, entertainment, Fellow passengers, excursions etc etc.  you just need to find your comfort level from a price and “culture” perspective. 

[kywildcatfanone]

7 hours ago, Esprit said:

Food in the MDR is of equal quality to Princess.

Last year, people commented that we would tell a huge difference in food quality on Celebrity over Princess.  Again, we were on Infinity, but our impression was the food quality was comparable with no discernable difference in quality.

[Sam.Seattle]

On 7/21/2023 at 11:32 AM, CruisinBanka said:

Thanks for your review. I was expecting better than this out of Princess, as I had always heard good things from people I know who have sailed on them. What ship were you on? Is it an older ship? 
 

We were on the Emerald, an older ship.  I tried to relate the ship experience to the Infinity as well as the Edge class ships.  

[Sam.Seattle]

17 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Well you compare a single older Princess ship to what?  What Celebrity ships are you comparing to?

 

I will say that Celebrity tends to put their best staff on their newest ships,  but their newest ships have few balconies.

Check out my signature.  I tried to be clear in my comparisons, but your question is valid.  It is not a valid comparison of the ship quality when compared to Edge Class. 

 

I kept in mind my Infinity experiences.  Regardless of the ship's age, I expect the same staff quality throughout the fleet.

 

[crusinthrough]

I've sailed on S class and E class Celebrity ships.   I was on Emerald Princess in July 23.  Both S and E class ships were more elegant and newer than the Emerald, which felt a little dated but so did the Reflection in Dec 22.  

 

However, overall Emerald wasn't bad and I would sail on her again.  The World Class Market sitting area and Sabatini's  looked like there was a recent refresh.  The medallion is a great concept and forward thinking for a cruise line.   Who doesn't want to sit in a lounge chair and be able to order drinks and food from an app?  It's just not reliable. Celebrity is not even close with the same technology.  

 

Pizza  - Princess has very good pizza.  Better than I had on any Celebrity ship.  

 

Food - about the same to me.  Celebrity has cut corners with food and it's really beginning to show.  Oddly, there was a BBQ resturant on Emerald that wasn't open the entire sailing. I appreciate lunch in the MDR on embarkation day and breakfast in the MDR on the final morning on Princess.  

 

Water - Celebrity loses here because can water is terrible and taste like metal.  There were six bottles of water in my cabin on the Emerald.  

 

Speciality Dining - much more reasonably priced on Princess.  I believe the Crown Grill (steak house) cost  $40 with tip and tax.  Sabatini's (Italian inspired) is less expensive.  On Celebrity Fine Cut is at least $70 with taxes and tip. 

 

All Inclusive Packages - Princess wins here with two options the plus and premium.  Both have tips, premium wi-fi and drinks like Celebrity.  However, the Premium package offers more with 4 devices, speciality dining x2, premium desserts, fitness classes, drinks up to $20, unlimited digital pictures and reserved seating at shows.  Celebrity offers nothing comparable to the premium package once they discontinued the Elevate and Indulge packages and these didn't include most that is included in Premium Package.

 

 I don't see Celebrity as a win.  Cruising is subjective.  Carnival, NCL and Princess have embraced the West Coast market with a mix or new and older ships.  Celebrity and Royal Caribbean both have older ships leaving from the West Cost.  Celebrity has abandoned the market all together in 2024.  Long flights from the West Coast to FL can be expensive and honestly just long.  Princess wins for acknowledging  and catering to this side of the country with a new ship, sailings with different number of days and itineraries beyond the Mexican Rivera.  

[davekathy]

Looking forward to our March 2024 Enchanted Princess cruise. Great itinerary. It will be our 6th Princess cruise. Last Princess cruise was on the Grand Princess in 2010. We like the similarities and differences between Princess and Celebrity. 

Edited July 23, 2023 by davekathy

[luv4cruises]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

Looking forward to our March 2024 Enchanted Princess cruise. Great itinerary. It will be our 6th Princess cruise. Last Princess cruise was on the Grand Princess in 2010. We like the similarities and differences between Princess and Celebrity. 

The Enchanted Princess has the most beautiful and active Piazza I have seen on any ship in over 50 cruises!  

[kywildcatfanone]

I do have a  Celebrity question and will post here since it's a comparison with Princess.

 

Princess will sell you a 12 pack of water for $8, or a single 1.5L bottle for $5.

Does Celebrity offer anything similar?

 

I know you can bring onboard soft drinks and water, but wasn't sure if they offered something like Princess?