Just off Celebrity and wow did I miss Princess!

[kaerofan]

My adult daughter and I just got off the Celebrity Reflection and were really disappointed.  Princess is usually our favourite line but we were just wanting a short getaway out of Florida.  Lack of entertainment and things to do, price gouging at every turn, mediocre food (terrible pizza) and an overall dark and dismal vibe made us really appreciate Princess.

[TRLD]

Which ship?

[kaerofan]

Reflection

[abellkathleen]

Wow, I was on this same itinerary/ship and thought the food was fine; I have to agree the cookies on Princess and, as always, the pizza is delicious.  Celebrity fell short on these items, in my opinion - also I was so annoyed regarding a child or two in the Solarium and staff doesn't say anything.  I see this on just about all cruise ships, no matter the brand.  Also I was horrified the Solarium pool servers were providing the drinks to those guests who were in the pool and were allowed to drink in the pool, when there are signs stating the opposite - drives me crazy.  Kids do not belong and Celebrity doesn't cater to children as the other ships do - e.g., NCL, RCL, etc.

[Mighty Joe]

Princess ships have many dedicated lounges for performances of different genres.  In Celebrity ships you don't…the so-called Entertainment Court or Ensemble Lounge are nothing but corridors with a handful of chairs. Even the Celebrity Central is so small. In the Reflection, they even cut half of the Observation Lounge and has done away with the Quasar nightclub. 

 

[kaerofan]

Yes, the different lounge areas were definitely missed and you're right about the other lounges - nowhere to sit and so many things blocking views including a huge staircase.

And we did enjoy some of the food, just really missed many things we are used to on Princess like the pizza, cookies and even the popcorn.  Also really missed Movies Under the Stars and the in room entertainment system.  We are creatures of habit and enjoy putting something on the television when getting back to our room at the end of the night.

[TRLD]

5 hours ago, kaerofan said:

Reflection

Have not been on reflection, but have usually like Solstice class ships. Trying Apex in March.

[Iamcruzin]

I will be on Reflection end of Sept. This will be our first 4 night cruise on any line as well as our first cruise since covid. We have never sailed anything less than 7 nights. Now that we live in Florida we are taking advantage of the last minute residents discounts. I find both Princess and Celebrity lack entertainment. Movies under the stars has never had anything current or something that I haven't already seen. Princess has the best Pizza at sea. The closest to NY style but I don't sail for cookies, pizza and popcorn. Celebrity does have more comfortable rooms with larger showers and a place to sit other than the bed. Both lines are interchangeable to me.

[startedwithamouse]

7 hours ago, abellkathleen said:

Wow, I was on this same itinerary/ship and thought the food was fine; I have to agree the cookies on Princess and, as always, the pizza is delicious.  Celebrity fell short on these items, in my opinion - also I was so annoyed regarding a child or two in the Solarium and staff doesn't say anything.  I see this on just about all cruise ships, no matter the brand.  Also I was horrified the Solarium pool servers were providing the drinks to those guests who were in the pool and were allowed to drink in the pool, when there are signs stating the opposite - drives me crazy.  Kids do not belong and Celebrity doesn't cater to children as the other ships do - e.g., NCL, RCL, etc.

Is Celebrity an all adult cruise line?

[Iamcruzin]

11 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Is Celebrity an all adult cruise line?

No. It's basically like Princess. There are kids during school holidays but nothing like Royal Caribbean.  Virgin Voyages is strictly adult. 

Edited September 10 by Iamcruzin

[leck57]

7 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I will be on Reflection end of Sept. This will be our first 4 night cruise on any line as well as our first cruise since covid. We have never sailed anything less than 7 nights. Now that we live in Florida we are taking advantage of the last minute residents discounts. I find both Princess and Celebrity lack entertainment. Movies under the stars has never had anything current or something that I haven't already seen. Princess has the best Pizza at sea. The closest to NY style but I don't sail for cookies, pizza and popcorn. Celebrity does have more comfortable rooms with larger showers and a place to sit other than the bed. Both lines are interchangeable to me.

 

I'm surprised that you think Princess lacks entertainment. On our recent cruise, in addition to the twice nightly show, there was always some sort of musicians in the Piazza, a guitar/vocalist in the Crown Grill bar, comedian or band in the Vista lounge before it turned into the nightclub. This is in addition to the usual game shows, trivia etc.

We find Celebrity to be lacking in the entertainment plus the entertainment often takes place in the piazza where there is not enough space for people to sit/dance etc.

I agree that Celebrity has better cabins, except for storage where Princess wins hands down in my opinion. On Reflection storing items in units above the bed is not great.

[ISABELLA]

15 hours ago, abellkathleen said:

Wow, I was on this same itinerary/ship and thought the food was fine; I have to agree the cookies on Princess and, as always, the pizza is delicious.  Celebrity fell short on these items, in my opinion - also I was so annoyed regarding a child or two in the Solarium and staff doesn't say anything.  I see this on just about all cruise ships, no matter the brand.  Also I was horrified the Solarium pool servers were providing the drinks to those guests who were in the pool and were allowed to drink in the pool, when there are signs stating the opposite - drives me crazy.  Kids do not belong and Celebrity doesn't cater to children as the other ships do - e.g., NCL, RCL, etc.

You should have reported violations of the rule to the person in charge of the pool area or Guest Relations. If nobody mentions them, they would not be corrected.

[ISABELLA]

We used to be Princess cruisers, but after P&O sold them, we switch to Celebrity and were very happy sailing with them. Past 3 years, we found Celebrity is not what they used to be and tried 

NCL Haven ( loved it) and latest cruise was on new Sun Princess. We found food is similar to Celebrity, Entertainment was better on Princess, service is about the same. Cabin we had on the Sun was better that regular balcony on X. Coffee on Princess is not as good as on X. 

Edited September 10 by ISABELLA

[Wedgeh]

16 hours ago, kaerofan said:

Lack of entertainment and things to do, price gouging at every turn

Celebrity used to be my favourite line - now I can't see myself booking on them in the near future. It drives me nuts that even after paying a not-insignificant sum to upgrade the drinks package a bunch of drinks need an extra dollar or two. It's not the sum cost, but the principle that it displays of trying to squeeze you and is especially frustrating when some of the wines, for example, are within the (lower) limit on RCI.

It's a shame, because I love the styling of their ships and I generally find the complimentary dining to be very good, but it's Princess, Cunard or RCI for me for the foreseeable future.

Edited September 10 by Wedgeh

[geoherb]

Our last Celebrity cruise was disappointing in food and service. I still look at the itineraries and prices that Celebrity offers, but I have not found any bargains tempting enough to get me to try one again.

[sandancer]

9 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I will be on Reflection end of Sept. This will be our first 4 night cruise on any line as well as our first cruise since covid. We have never sailed anything less than 7 nights. Now that we live in Florida we are taking advantage of the last minute residents discounts. I find both Princess and Celebrity lack entertainment. Movies under the stars has never had anything current or something that I haven't already seen. Princess has the best Pizza at sea. The closest to NY style but I don't sail for cookies, pizza and popcorn. Celebrity does have more comfortable rooms with larger showers and a place to sit other than the bed. Both lines are interchangeable to me.

Just off the Regal British Isles cruise and the entertainment was first class. Enrichment lectures interesting and the theatre shows catered for just about every taste. We were told that the comedian onboard was very good but we never made it. Weather not suitable for movies under the stars so no comment. Overall way better entertainment than Celebrity. The other stand out is the International Cafe, open 24 hours. Cafe Bacio not as good. And yes we have cruised many times on Celebrity, we are Elite Plus but it’s Princess from now on. 

[555]

It's been to many years since we last sailed on Celebrity so I can't really judge, but they used to be on par with Princess if not better for their food dept. 

[asctony]

14 hours ago, kaerofan said:

Yes, the different lounge areas were definitely missed and you're right about the other lounges - nowhere to sit and so many things blocking views including a huge staircase.

And we did enjoy some of the food, just really missed many things we are used to on Princess like the pizza, cookies and even the popcorn.  Also really missed Movies Under the Stars and the in room entertainment system.  We are creatures of habit and enjoy putting something on the television when getting back to our room at the end of the night.

Does Princess charge for the popcorn? Others are now.

[EDDY0827]

31 minutes ago, asctony said:

Does Princess charge for the popcorn?

Nope, at least not yet!

[asctony]

9 minutes ago, EDDY0827 said:

Nope, at least not yet!

Celebrity & RCI charge $3 a bag. Was free before.

Thanks!

[kaerofan]

We normally cruise for longer as well however thought we would try this short one.  I had fully intended to book a future cruise to Iceland next year (loved the itinerary) but did not even go to the office - oh well, thankfully we dodged that bullet (would not want to have been stuck on that ship for 13 days).  And we have always found plenty to do on Princess.  Side note, though no fault of Celebrity - we now both have full blown Covid. 😞

[moodyb1]

I almost started a thread called "Just off NCL, and Wow did I miss Princess!"

The only good thing about the cruise to Alaska on the NCL Bliss was the production of "Jersey Boys". Otherwise, my husband and I were very disappointed with the entire cruise. The cabin service was only once a day and it was terrible. We usually take an interior cabin because we do many cruises a year. The interior cabin on NCL was miniscule. However, the shower was much bigger than Princess. The main dining room options for dinner were limited. They have many specialty restaurants, but lack venues for shows. The theater is not as big as Princess ships. The buffet did not offer as many options, and gluten free options were not on display unless you asked. When I asked, they showed me a drawer full of store-bought items that I could have bought in a store. Very disappointing for us.

 

[stevenr597]

We have been on Celebrity Reflection, and we loved the ship.  Real balconies.  But we do prefer Princess. 

[JLMcruise]

2 hours ago, sandancer said:

International Cafe, open 24 hours. Cafe Bacio not as good. And yes we have cruised many times on Celebrity, we are Elite Plus but it’s Princess from now on. 

We are excited to try our first Princess cruise in a couple of weeks. We are Elite Plus on Celebrity. We recently found the entertainment on Millie and Edge quite good - some of the other ships not so good. You are setting the bar high for the International Cafe - We enjoy Cafe Bacio.  We tried Holland America - nice cruise but wasn't really impressed. Looking forward!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

20 hours ago, kaerofan said:

My adult daughter and I just got off the Celebrity Reflection and were really disappointed.  Princess is usually our favourite line but we were just wanting a short getaway out of Florida.  Lack of entertainment and things to do, price gouging at every turn, mediocre food (terrible pizza) and an overall dark and dismal vibe made us really appreciate Princess.

hmm, strange. We really enjoyed Reflection, but it was an 8 night cruise. It was our first Celebrity cruise.

 

40 minutes ago, kaerofan said:

Side note, though no fault of Celebrity - we now both have full blown Covid. 😞

my husband got covid on both Reflection and Enchanted cruises (2 months apart).