Celebrity vs. Princess: A recent comparison

[Tom47]

Thanks for your comparison review.  We have sailed Celebrity 8 times, but never on Princess.

[Gracie115]

Thank you for your review.  We have enjoyed all the cruises we have done on Princess.  Our next booking on Princess is a TA in 2024 and the pricing for similar categories is about 40% less on Princess and that's for a 17 night cruise, not 14 which was the closest I could find on X.  That price difference alone is enough to book Princess.

 

We, like @Ken the cruiser book Reserve (formerly Club Class) and find that the service and found is very comparable to Celebrity MDR's with many more choices.  Never experienced the lengthy wait you mention for wine service, but we have not sailed the Majesty so perhaps it is an issue with that ship. 

 

One of the things that we liked about Princess over Celebrity is the entertainment. They offer more options in the evenings.  There aren't as many big theatre shows but they generally offer several live music lounges with a variety of styles, piano, jazz, folk etc.  Celebrity, on our last 2 Apex cruises offered very little outside of Eden and you had to arrive there at least an hour before any show in order to get a decent seat.  

 

It's mostly about pricing and itineraries for us and we find that Princess is winning in those areas pretty  much every time.

 

 

[Gracie115]

6 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

We, like @Ken the cruiser book Reserve (formerly Club Class) and find that the service and found is very comparable to Celebrity MDR's with many more choices.  Never experienced the lengthy wait you mention for wine service, but we have not sailed the Majesty so perhaps it is an issue with that ship. 

 

Should be FOOD

[hawkesbaynz]

Sailed several times with X but only once with Princess. Had a great break on the Enchanted Princess.

 

We have four cruises booked with X in 23/24/25 but none with Princess.  Am considering Princess on a 14N to Artic circle in June for about £3K PP. A comparable Apex Artic circle 12N July is 4K. Comparing basic package X with Plus on Princess in basic balcony versus IV.

 

I know which I will choose when the products are not too dissimilar.

[numnums]

13 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

Thank you for your review.  We have enjoyed all the cruises we have done on Princess.  Our next booking on Princess is a TA in 2024 and the pricing for similar categories is about 40% less on Princess and that's for a 17 night cruise, not 14 which was the closest I could find on X.  That price difference alone is enough to book Princess.

 

We, like @Ken the cruiser book Reserve (formerly Club Class) and find that the service and found is very comparable to Celebrity MDR's with many more choices.  Never experienced the lengthy wait you mention for wine service, but we have not sailed the Majesty so perhaps it is an issue with that ship. 

 

One of the things that we liked about Princess over Celebrity is the entertainment. They offer more options in the evenings.  There aren't as many big theatre shows but they generally offer several live music lounges with a variety of styles, piano, jazz, folk etc.  Celebrity, on our last 2 Apex cruises offered very little outside of Eden and you had to arrive there at least an hour before any show in order to get a decent seat.  

 

It's mostly about pricing and itineraries for us and we find that Princess is winning in those areas pretty  much every time.

 

 

Id love to try princess if they have more dish variety.

 

Hmm, the only favorite part of my celebrity entertainment was the Cirque de soleil shows and musicals, was there anything similar that you could recall on there? Was on the apex as well last year. Did princess have a lot of free recreational activities too?

[deliver42]

I've sailed both, and prefer Celebrity, but I've priced Alaska in Sept, 2024 and there's a $2000.00 difference between the Edge and Discovery Princess out of Alaska. For Celebrity, there's no other option. Edge or nothing.

[Gracie115]

2 hours ago, numnums said:

Id love to try princess if they have more dish variety.

 

Hmm, the only favorite part of my celebrity entertainment was the Cirque de soleil shows and musicals, was there anything similar that you could recall on there? Was on the apex as well last year. Did princess have a lot of free recreational activities too?

 

Princess offers quite a variety of foods in their MDR and Reserve areas.  We aren't a fan of the Crown Grill, one of the specialty restaurants but Sabatini's is great and the cost for either of them is far less than X's specialties.

 

Not really any Cirque de Soleil shows that I've seen on Princess.  They do have some good shows in the theatre, but Celebrity is better in that regard.

 

We found there was more to do as far as activities are concerned with Princess.  During the day on Apex it was mostly just trivia...  If I had a daily listing of the last Princess cruise we were on I'd post it but I don't keep those.  Am sure you could find them on the Princess CC boards. 

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, numnums said:

Id love to try princess if they have more dish variety.

 

Hmm, the only favorite part of my celebrity entertainment was the Cirque de soleil shows and musicals, was there anything similar that you could recall on there? Was on the apex as well last year. Did princess have a lot of free recreational activities too?

With regards to evening entertainment, one thing Princess does better than every other cruise line we’ve sailed with is to make you laugh at their game shows usually held every night between their 7 and 9 pm evening shows in either the Explorers Lounge or Princess Live, depending on what ship you’re on. On average their entertainment staff, who work for the CD, who also performs in many of the games, usually consists of 5-6 members and are hilarious!

[Cruise till you drop]

On 8/2/2023 at 4:25 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

We enjoy both Celebrity and Princess. In fact we just got back from a B2B cruise on the Diamond Princess cruising around Japan for 17 days. If you'd like to see what type of entertainment happens on a Princess cruise, I've got a Live From thread covering that cruise posted in my Signature area below.

We are the same and even though we have higher status on Princess (Platinum), we’ve recently favored Celebrity for the ambiance and service.

 

However one specific peeve we have with Princess is the inability to secure an exact cabin, even if we book 18-24 months in advance.  We tend to get moved at the last minute even if we state “no upgrades”.  It’s very frustrating. And their reply is usually “well you received an upgraded cabin”, even though we don’t feel like it’s an upgrade.

And when I inquire of this to Celebrity, they state very clearly that the room I book is mine to have, no doubt.

I think on Princess, they prefer you book a category and let them slot you in a room.

 

PS - as for cost, I think Celebrity is a bit more but we’re willing to pay for that.  On a 10 night Caribbean in Jan 2025, it was about a $600 difference roughy 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Cruise till you drop

[Tom47]

7 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

We are the same and even though we have higher status on Princess (Platinum), we’ve recently favored Celebrity for the ambiance and service.

 

However one specific peeve we have with Princess is the inability to secure an exact cabin, even if we book 18-24 months in advance.  We tend to get moved at the last minute even if we state “no upgrades”.  It’s very frustrating. And their reply is usually “well you received an upgraded cabin”, even though we don’t feel like it’s an upgrade.

And when I inquire of this to Celebrity, they state very clearly that the room I book is mine to have, no doubt.

I think on Princess, they prefer you book a category and let them slot you in a room.

 

PS - as for cost, I think Celebrity is a bit more but we’re willing to pay for that.  On a 10 night Caribbean in Jan 2025, it was about a $600 difference roughy 

Thanks for this info.  I would also not like that.

[doghog]

8 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

We are the same and even though we have higher status on Princess (Platinum), we’ve recently favored Celebrity for the ambiance and service.

 

However one specific peeve we have with Princess is the inability to secure an exact cabin, even if we book 18-24 months in advance.  We tend to get moved at the last minute even if we state “no upgrades”.  It’s very frustrating. And their reply is usually “well you received an upgraded cabin”, even though we don’t feel like it’s an upgrade.

And when I inquire of this to Celebrity, they state very clearly that the room I book is mine to have, no doubt.

I think on Princess, they prefer you book a category and let them slot you in a room.

 

PS - as for cost, I think Celebrity is a bit more but we’re willing to pay for that.  On a 10 night Caribbean in Jan 2025, it was about a $600 difference roughy 

Were taking our 6th Princess cruise March 2024 (Enchanted, booked it December 2022) and have never experienced being moved from the specific cabin numbers we originally booked. 

[Gracie115]

39 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

 However one specific peeve we have with Princess is the inability to secure an exact cabin, even if we book 18-24 months in advance.  We tend to get moved at the last minute even if we state “no upgrades”.  It’s very frustrating. And their reply is usually “well you received an upgraded cabin”, even though we don’t feel like it’s an upgrade.

And when I inquire of this to Celebrity, they state very clearly that the room I book is mine to have, no doubt.

I think on Princess, they prefer you book a category and let them slot you in a room. 

 

30 minutes ago, Tom47 said:

Thanks for this info.  I would also not like that.

 

We have been on 6 Princess cruises and have never had that happen.  

 

I do think it's possible for this to happen on any line though. 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Gracie115

[doghog]

9 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

I do think it's possible for this to happen on any line though. 

The post I quoted made it sound to be the norm with Princess. We've never experienced it. Anything is possible.

[mcatmcat]

princes is related to Carnival right?, no thank you 

[kywildcatfanone]

1 hour ago, mcatmcat said:

princes is related to Carnival right?, no thank you 

Princess is exactly like Celebrity.  

[D. B.]

51 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Princess is exactly like Celebrity.  

Thats a BIG generalization.

 I see a LOT of Carnival cheapness on Princess ships.

 Lasy P ship I was on was a Big newer one and it still had Propellers (Cheaper) instead of Azapods so there was Vibration in the MDR so bad the waiters had to stuff napkins into the decorative partitions to stop them from rattling. 

 Celebrity has not built a ship without Azapods in 24 years.

Edited August 13, 2023 by D. B.
added content.

[VegasVic14]

I haven't sailed with either cruise line (C or P) so I was interested in the OP providing a useful and  practical comparison of the 2 lines.

Wine glasses?  I was hoping for soup spoons.

[abbydancer2003]

41 minutes ago, VegasVic14 said:

I haven't sailed with either cruise line (C or P) so I was interested in the OP providing a useful and  practical comparison of the 2 lines.

Wine glasses?  I was hoping for soup spoons.

They both have soup spoons.

[hubofhockey]

2 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Princess is exactly like Celebrity.  

No, it’s not “exactly” like Celebrity.  Princess has very small balconies on Royal class, lesser quality food, weak specialty restaurants, similar entertainment, self serve laundry, more gaudy ships.  Celebrity does a much better job updating and refreshing its ships, We’ve cruised more on Princess, but are probably done with them.  Love Aqua Class on Celebrity and itineraries of M class ships.

[Gracie115]

10 hours ago, mcatmcat said:

princes is related to Carnival right?, no thank you 

And so is Holland America, Seabourn, Cunard........  

[Ex-Airbalancer]

10 hours ago, mcatmcat said:

princes is related to Carnival right?, no thank you 

That like saying Celebrity is related to RCL 

no thanks to RCL , never had a good  cruise on RCL 

[chisoxfan]

6 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

No, it’s not “exactly” like Celebrity.  Princess has very small balconies on Royal class, lesser quality food, weak specialty restaurants, similar entertainment, self serve laundry, more gaudy ships.  Celebrity does a much better job updating and refreshing its ships, We’ve cruised more on Princess, but are probably done with them.  Love Aqua Class on Celebrity and itineraries of M class ships.

Food and entertainment quality are  very subjective. If forced to render an opinion we would likely give the nod to X Specialty restaurants over Princess, I believe the costs are much higher.

We did find two self serve laundries on the Enchanted Princess on deck and we thought these were great on longer cruises (had never done laundry on ship before). Having these to me is a positive. The balconies on the newer Princess ships may be small but at least they have stayed with traditional balconies. As you know on new X ships they have virtually disappeared. We love(d) AQ also but not enough to pay a premium and stay in an IV.

Not sure why the ability to order liquor, beer, and water (covered under drink packages) in room has not received more press for Princess Medallion. We will be staying in a SS on Ascent and my understanding is that this (having drinks delivered in room) may not be possible at least not without some effort?

I have seen some posts here which verify my casual searching....it appears Princess now generally offers a more attractive price point particularly for one who wants a traditional balcony. Also (totally anecdotal) they do not seem as focused on offering non refundable deposit requirements?

 

We were staunch X cruisers and took Princess off the list but on recent searches (particularly when one wants a newer ship and balcony, they seem to offer a practical option and not a 'downgraded' experience. JMHO

[kywildcatfanone]

8 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

No, it’s not “exactly” like Celebrity.  Princess has very small balconies on Royal class, lesser quality food, weak specialty restaurants, similar entertainment, self serve laundry, more gaudy ships.  Celebrity does a much better job updating and refreshing its ships, We’ve cruised more on Princess, but are probably done with them.  Love Aqua Class on Celebrity and itineraries of M class ships.

I read a lot of threads on here about complaints on things in Celebrity, including food.

 

My point I guess, was they are both considered premium cruise lines and equivalent in class.

 

Anyway, been on one Celebrity cruise and found the food very similar to Princess, and at least for us, no discernable difference.

Both have good service and updated ships. Both have good service.

 

Princess is quite overall cheaper in cost, and has more favorable pricing on virtually everything.

 

With that said, we are on the Equinox in October and we look forward to it.

[Ken the cruiser]

10 hours ago, VegasVic14 said:

I haven't sailed with either cruise line (C or P) so I was interested in the OP providing a useful and  practical comparison of the 2 lines.

Wine glasses?  I was hoping for soup spoons.

If you’re interested I have a variety of Live From threads in my below Signature covering both the Celebrity and Princess cruises we’ve been on, as well as a few others, since cruising started back up. In our case, our first 5 cruises after the restart were with Celebrity, with the Apex and Summit cruises being our favorites. All 3 of the Princess cruises have be awesome, and our Middle East and Africa cruise on the NCL Jade was the most awesome of them all!
 

And, yes, they all offered soup spoons and I don’t remember ever getting my wine served in a plastic glass. But then we rarely dine in the buffet, and when we do for lunch on port days, we just drink water.

 

But I will add we are fully retired and enjoy going on longer 3-5 week cruises.

[villauk]

38 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

I read a lot of threads on here about complaints on things in Celebrity, including food.

 

My point I guess, was they are both considered premium cruise lines and equivalent in class.

 

Anyway, been on one Celebrity cruise and found the food very similar to Princess, and at least for us, no discernable difference.

Both have good service and updated ships. Both have good service.

 

Princess is quite overall cheaper in cost, and has more favorable pricing on virtually everything.

 

With that said, we are on the Equinox in October and we look forward to it.

 

They are more similar than different in basic balcony, and below, cabins but I can’t comment on the suite experience. As you know, I’m not too chuffed with Princess presently after they have suddenly changed our onboard experience because of when we purchased our Plus package; I still think it’s not good practice to not grandfather in those pax who have paid months ago, especially when they haven’t informed those pax of the changes when their cruises are imminent (talking a couple of weeks). All that being said, we fluctuate between the two lines and have found favourable pricing on different itineraries with both lines. It’s definitely worth pricing out across the main cruise providers.
 

IV cabins don’t interest us, which is a shame as we’d probably like the actual E-class ships themselves. We still love the aft cabins on M class though.