Princess vs Celebrity

[svetas74]

Hi all,

 

we have been on 3 Princess cruises and loved it! Tried Royal Caribbean last year and were not that impressed.

 

There is an interesting Celebrity cruse on Infinity we are thinking about and we wanted to get some opinions re the two lines.

 

Your response is greatly appreciated.

 

Lana

[Bop]

Hi Lana,

 

I can give you my opinion as a Princess regular who has been on Celebrity's Century. I won't go into the "who has the best coffee" and who wears white gloves and who doesn't. It really depends on what style of service you prefer. IMHO. I can remember the name of every waiter and every room steward we have had on Princess. I can't remember the name of anyone we had serving us on Celebrity. Both lines have their plusses and minuses but when I leave a Princess ship I feel that I have been with friends. Not so on the one Celebrity cruise we have been on. That doesn't mean that I won't try Celebrity again. They have a good product. I just prefer what I see from Princess.

 

I hope this helps.

Bop;)

[svetas74]

Thanks, Bop!

[allyfl]

We are big Celebrity fans but just got back from the Crown last month. We weren't all that thrilled with it - the ship is absolutely beautiful, but we found the food/service to be inconsistent and just okay. That being said, I was on the boards soon after, and someone said that Princess is a "mass market" line, while lines like HAL and Celebrity are more of a "luxury" line. That makes sense and pretty much nails how we felt about Princess. Glad we tried it, but would prob. return to Celebrity. It just depends what you're looking for.

[madelinerose]

Cruise Critics doesn't mention HAL or Celebrity in their "Luxury" category. I was under the impression, (may be wrong of course) that HAL and Celebrity were also considered mass market.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/cruisestyles/articles.cfm?ID=5

 

Here's another link that doesn't categorize HAL or Celebrity as "luxury":

 

http://www.splise.com/Luxury+Cruise+Lines/category_2603.html?ref=5

 

 

. That being said, I was on the boards soon after, and someone said that Princess is a "mass market" line, while lines like HAL and Celebrity are more of a "luxury" line. That makes sense and pretty much nails how we felt about Princess.

[cynbar]

We have had several cruises on Celebrity in addition to Princess. Although I would certainly sail Celebrity again if the itinerary and/or price were right, I generally prefer Princess for their anytime dining, increased evening entertainment, freshwater pools and 24 hr food availability. The food seems comparable to me on both lines, although the presentation on Celebrity is more ornate. Celebrity always seems to me to have a quieter, more formal atmosphere, but others may not agree with that. Both lines put out an excellent product.

[SharkieRools]

We sailed on the Infinity back in April and had a wonderful time.

 

Our review is here:

Infinity Cruise Review

 

Pictures here:

[ur=http://community.webshots.com/user/sharkie2006]Panama Canal Cruise 2006[/url]

 

Celebrity is a mass market line as is Princess, you need to sail Seabourn, Raddison, etc. if you want to go on a luxury or premium line. I feel that both Princess and Celebrity have their plusses and minuses (more plusses than minuses in both cases) and wouldn't hesitate to sail on either again. That being said the next cruise we have booked for now is on Princess. :)

[mafig]

Have you been reading the Celebrity board about all the problems with Infinity's pods (actually all of the M-class ships with the possible exception of Constellation). This ship has propulsion problems. Take this into account when you book her.

 

She has had problems for years now. Infrequent, yes, but why take the chance on a "destination" cruise?

[Richard Stein]

I have elite status on both lines. Have sailed the Infinity before and the Constellation several times. I have also sailed three times on the Grand class Princess ships. I am booked on the 2/24/07 Golden Princess cruise to South America. I did price Celebrity and found I could get a mini suite on the Golden for what they wanted for an outside on the Infinity. Case closed as it came down to price and value. The food on Celebrity may be better, but they are equal in all other ways. Price them both and then you decide. I also feel Princess are friendlier ships.

[mr green]

I h ave only been on Celebrity once. That was enough! It is my belief that the employees on Celebrity Cruise Line, should learn how to treat their paying passengers with a little more respect. I will never sail with them again! john

[rjg41]

Checking Conde Nast ratings, Celebrity holds 5 of the top six spots for large ships including Infinity at #1. Princess had one in the top 5 (Island Princess #3). Princess holds 2 spots in the second five, Celebrity one.

[OuiOnboard]

We have had several cruises on Celebrity in addition to Princess. Although I would certainly sail Celebrity again if the itinerary and/or price were right, I generally prefer Princess for their anytime dining, increased evening entertainment, freshwater pools and 24 hr food availability. The food seems comparable to me on both lines, although the presentation on Celebrity is more ornate. Celebrity always seems to me to have a quieter, more formal atmosphere, but others may not agree with that. Both lines put out an excellent product.

Based on our experience and cruising tastes, we think your comments are pretty accurate. We did like the alternate casual evening dining experience on Celebrity Constellation this month...attentive service and some dishes such as the the halibut fillet cooked to order and "hot off the grill". The "cook to order" casual service in HC on Sapphire Princess in May didn't open until 10:00PM. Yeah...I like my food HOT and preferably freshly prepared before 8:00PM.!!!

[turquoisesea]

In 2005 we took three 7-day cruises. These were my 14th, 15th, and 16th cruises. The first was RCCL's Radiance, then the Caribbean Princess, and most recently the Celebrity Infinity. Hands down, Princess was the best when looking at the overall picture. On all three ships we stayed in the standard balcony cabin. The CB room was the biggest and most workable for storage. (The bathroom, however was the smallest!) The beds in our cabin on the Infinity were so uncomfortable we had them bring us a foam pad. (The jr. suite cabins on the Infinity did have upgraded bedding that our friends found to be fine.) Princess beds were fine. Entertainment - loved both RCCL and Princess. Infinity's entertainment was nonexisitent! The music at the pool did not match our Caribbean destination - it was a guy on a keyboard. Food - now I have to give Infinity a slight edge here, but only slight. Ship's organization - Infinity again was the worst of the three lines. We waited for over 3 hours (not kidding!) in the hot sun in Ft. Lauderdale to get into the terminal and then another hour inside before boarding the ship. Talk about angry guests! (No, we did not arrive early - about 12:30 - the problem they told us later was the New Year's guests were slow getting off the ship.) Infinity made no attempt to help their passengers (i.e. give out water) as they waited in the hot sun. Over all, the Infinity experience was boring, and I don't really need to be entertained, just a little atmosphere and an enthusiastic crew will do. As we passed one of the Princess ships in port during our Infinity week we all wished we were on that ship! All cruises are great, put in MHO our Caribbean Princess was thoroughly enjoyable and I'd take Princess over Celebrity any day.

[corkpopr]

we have been on both as shown. also 3 times on holland. i prefer holland first, celebrity 2nd and princess 3rd. That being said the differences are minimal and princess is the best value of the three.

[rebeccalouise]

Celebrity is my favorite cruise line. I have been on the Millenium and Constellation, which have the same identical layout as Infinity.

I was on the Sapphire Princess last year and I think Celebrity wins out.

 

The Celebrity ships themselves are very elegant and refined. I felt like I was on a big ocean liner and the ship is built with the views of the sea in mind. Every public area is glass and just lovely.

 

As for dining, the food presentation and quality I think are better on Celebrity and they do offer alternate dining but they have great food in the main dining with two seatings.

I didn't care for the anytime dining on Princess. You had to reserve ahead of time in the different dining rooms and the service was not good- in my experience.

 

Celebrity is just different from any of the other lines I've sailed. Head and shoulders above the rest.

[thomasale]

I found this thread very interesting. I have sailed Celebrity many times, I have also sampled RCCL, and Carnival. I have been very happy with Celebrity. That being said with all the problems Celebrity has been having I am taking this opportunity to sample again. we are booked on HAL in October and I have just booked on the new Emerald Princess for July 2007 in Europe We will see soon how they all compare...

[dolphinmar]

My two cents: we have sailed each line only once so I don't have tons of experience with either, but I will say that we both preferred Princess and plan to sail with Princess again this December. Both lines were good - neither is a luxury line.

 

Both had pros and cons. Celebrity seems to be a bit quieter - not as many public announcements although I have read that these are becoming less on Princess. We loved the Sushi bar on Celebrity Millie - my DH would go down every evening at 6:00 and bring a plate back for hors d'oevres in our room before our late seating dinner. We much preferred Any Time Dining on Princess - we enjoyed being able to eat based on our body's timing and being able to dine alone some evenings and with other passengers on nights we felt more social. We felt the food was better on Princess. I was really looking forward to the food on Celebrity, having heard about how wonderful it was, but we were not impressed. It wasn't that it was horrible, it was just not well executed much of the time. We did prefer the specialty dining on Millie to Sabatini's on Princess, however. Regarding staterooms, I think you get a better deal for your money on Princess.

 

Additionally, we were on a B2B on Celebrity Millie - a two day "cruise to nowhere" and then a 7 day eastern Carib. Because the Millie was doing a repositioning transatlantic just prior to the 2 day and because of problems with it's drydock before the transatlantic and hurricanes, it was late getting into Ft. Lauderdale. IMO, none of this was the line's fault. But the way we were handled as passengers while waiting to board VERY LATE was pretty mediocre to bad at best. I felt like we were cattle being handled by people playing at being cowboys. Additionally, we ended up sailing to Nassau and were there all day - no cruise to nowhere. I realize that cruise lines change their itinerary all the time for various reasons and that this happens on Princess as well. For us, it just began our B2B with an overall disappointment. And we got over it and had a good time, but we wouldn't do a 2 day again on any line.

 

My guess is the only reason we would sail Celebrity again would be for a particular itinerary. Hope this helps!

 

Pam

[ugly]

Hi Lana,

 

My husband and I have cruised 5 times, three with Celebrity, once with Carnival and once with Princess. We enjoyed all of our cruises for different reasons, and as others have said, they all have their plusses and minuses.

 

For example, we had the most "kick back and have fun" cruise on a four night Carnival cruise, but we thanked God that it was only four nights as we found the majority of the food to be inedible (sorry Carnival fans).

 

We enjoyed Princess because it took us to Alaska (what's not to like about Alaska) for a reasonable price, the food was good (not great) and the entertainment was enjoyable. We found the service a bit lacking, however.

 

Finally, with Celebrity, we enjoyed the food (it's all good and some great), we have always had excellent service, we love the thallosopy pool (sp?), and the shows in the show room have been wonderful (although the musical entertainment in one of the lounges on our last Celebrity cruise was lacking. We just chose another venu to go dancing instead.)

 

Over all, we would choose Celebrity. Having said that, we sail on the Crown Princess in less than two weeks and we are looking forward to it. Why did we choose Princess? Longer cruise for a reasonable price, stops at islands we haven't been to before (Celebrity spends its summers in Alaska, where we've already been, and in Europe, where we can't afford), and an opportunity to sail on a new ship.

 

One thing I have learned in my limited experience, is that a cruise is what you make of it. There are always complainers (I'm sure you will even find some on Crystal or Seabourne), but if you are able to go with the flow and accept that there are no lines out there that will deliver 100%, 100% of the time, you will have a great experience. I hope you have a wonderful time, regardless of your choice!

 

Kate

[Bop]

Kate,

 

Well said!

 

Bop ;)

[joandbun]

Hi Jim, - saw your little name on the boards & thought I must put in my 2 cents. Hope you & yours are all well.

 

svetas74 - We Had a wonderful cruise on princess last year & made some fastastic new friends & have booked for Princess next year.:p We have also sailed several times on Celebrity (century, Millennium, constellation) &

will be sailing again on Centruy this year. But like the other posters say, they are similar products. yes there are differences but they tend to be small. Such as I prefer the tea on X - more choice of teas, the buffets on X are better than Princess, but I like the flexibility of anytime dining on Princess. food in the dining room has been very very good on both lines.

We enjoyed the shows more on princess but the X ones were still very good. X is perhaps slightly more formal but not stuffy.

Crews have been consistently good in our expereince.

so for me now its a matter of the itinerary, price & the people I could be sailing with :)

I'm sure you will enjoy Infinity.

jo

[phillipahain]

We have sailed RCCL,HAL,Rennaisance,and are Elite on Celebrity and nearly Elite on Princess

 

To us still Rennaisance was still the best

RCCL is for the younger crowd

HAl really dissapointed us bigtime both food at dinner and the entertainment staff were like kids holiday camp staff calibre ....the staterooms and the floral displays though are wonderful

 

Celebrity has caused some folk problems of late and most definitely does not offer the same benefits as Princess ie 10 mins free internet with Celebrity Elite

 

whereas internet is free on Princess with Platinum and when your folk are in the UK thats very valuable

 

I think Celebrity Production Shows have more polish than Princess and maybe the dining experience has the edge but overall Princess offers us the perks and most especially the itineries around the world which are sadly lacking on Celebrity

[Bop]

Hi Jo,

 

Think the SSC can take over the Boards? :D

 

I guess these "who do you like best" threads will go on as long as there are cruisers who must kill time between cruises. I guess it's about time to stir up the lousy coffee on Princess cruisers. The ice cream controversy seems to have died down since Princess began sneaking free home made ice cream on the post-lunch buffet, if you know where and when to look.

 

I really have a hard time finding much to complain about since cruising sure beats waiting on yourself. Cruising has got to be the best travel deal going and the significant decreases in fares over the last 10 years have necessitated cutting a few corners. Maybe I'll try Crystal or Seabourne one day but I'm not sure I could stand all the luxury. I'd be spoiled for life. our upcoming cruise on Amadeus Waterways should really be a different experience. I'll report back on an Amadeus vs. Celebrity vs. Princess thread:eek: .

 

Just think, Jo. If you had stuck with Celebrity, you and Mike would have never met us!:confused:

 

Ciao,

Bop;)

[Druke I]

Phillipahain (sp)

 

I agree that Princess has a great variety of itineraries, which is one of the main reasons I keep coming back to Princess.

 

You mentioned Renaissance. Have you tried their successor, Oceania?

Outstanding food, easy dress code, nice small ships (sisters to Tahitian and Pacific Princess, and near sister to soon-to-be Royal Princess).

[Bop]

Hi Michael,

I have been looking at Oceania with great interest. It has been highly recommended to me by a good friend who is in the business. Are you saying that the old Royal Princess is going to Oceania. That was my favorite Princess ship and could close the deal for me.

 

Bop;)

[joandbun]

Ah ha - Jim - you are right - if we hadnt tried princess we would never have met. Looking forward to 2007. Go SSC ;) .

For us, though, cruisng is the best vacation. Its all there - you just decide what you want to do. The stupid things like do you want a coffee? is this place any good? How much is the dinner menu? Whre shall we eat/go tonight are all taken care of. A bit of pampering & good food & wine, good shows ahhh bliss. Roll on my next cruise ...:)

 

Keep hearing good things about Oceana so maybe that is something for the future, have also tried RCI, but for now I will very happily sail on Celebrity or Princess.

jo & mike buzz buzz:D