Celebrity VS Princess

[ambergj]

Hello,

 

I know that from what I've heard is that CELEBRITY is a notch above Princess cruise lines. What are some significant differences that you would be able to determine from your voyage on a X cruise vs. a Princess cruise?

[espmass]

The pools on most Princess ships are fresh water while on Celebrity they are salt water.

[Olive]

I guess it depends what you are interested in. I have sailed on Celebrity four times (Mercury, Galaxy, Millennium and Constellation, in that order) and on Princess once so far (Caribbean). I am booked to sail on both lines again, so I definitely enjoyed both. I liked that there were so many pools on Princess. I thought it was easier to find spots by the pool, and particularly enjoyed the aft adults only pool. It's so nice to watch the wake! There seemed to be more bars and were more restaurants on Princess, which is nice if you go with a group. I enjoyed the Movies Under the Stars on Princess, and didn't really go to many of the shows on either, although I did catch a good comedy show one night on Princess and some of the Princess Idol show, which were quite entertaining. I really don't think you can go wrong with either, but that is just my view. I adore the X specialty restaurant on the M class, but didn't try them on Princess. My parents have spoken highly of the Crown Grill and my sister enjoyed Sabbatini's. I like the Aqua Spa food on X. Balcony cabins are very similar in size, although the aft balconies, especially on Caribe deck on Princess, are wonderful. I've never had an aft balcony on X, but have sailed CC twice (loved the flowers and bedding) and will be in a sky suite in April. I also enjoy HAL, so if you have sailed on HAL and didn't like it, you may not want to pay too much attention to my assessments. I like each line for different reasons though, and pretty much enjoy all cruises, even though I get seasick no matter what I do!

[Keith1010]

I have sailed with Celebrity seven times and Princess three times. I prefer Celebrity over Princess for the following reasons.

 

-Much better suites accommodations, ammenties and butler service.

-Aqua Spa

-Better Service throughout the ship

-Better Food

-Better Specialty Restaurant on the M Class Ships

-More Enjoyable Entertainment

 

The one area that I think Princess does better is in the area of shore excursions particularly in its organization of each tour and how it gets passenger's off the ship and onto the tour.

 

Keith

[DeepWaterMariner]

A primary difference is food. We tend to like the style of food better on Princess. There is an Italian influence in their dinning room which results in pasta dishes every day at lunch and more Italian dishes at dinner. Aside from the buffet we miss Italian dishes when cruising on Celebrity.

 

Celebrity's service is hard to top in their price range.

[rebeccalouise]

There are lots of reasons one person likes a particular line over another.

But Conde Naste Traveler rates Celebrity higher than Princess.

 

Here are the similarities;

Cabins are about the same size for each category on either line. I prefer the decor and layout of the Celebrity staterooms though.

The ships are pretty and there is a lot of attention to detail.

 

What Celebrity offers that Princess doesn't (Millenium Class Ships and Galaxy)

The ships are well thoughtout with a great flow. There are expanses of glass and most interior rooms look out at the sea. There are glass elevators on the Millenium class ships that look out over the Ocean.

Heated indoor adult only pools- free of charge

Spa cuisine- free of charge

Lovely buffet with ample seating and expansive ocean views. Lots of selection. Good beverages for free. Scooped and softserve ice cream for free all afternoon.

Little touch: sorbet served in hollowed out oranges brought to you at the pool daily- free

Traditional dining makes for a more personal experience and the ability to get to know the crew and fellow passengers better.

No annoying announcements

No nickle and diming (although there is a raging debate over corkage fees at the moment but I digress...)

Kids program is the best for kids and parents (open 9AM-1AM)

Poolside chair massages- $1 per minute- a bargain!

Smooth embarkation and disembarkation on my last two cruises.

Wonderful walking and jogging track on Millenium class ships.

 

 

Celebrity ships are calm and romantic. The service and crew are outstanding. I have done NCL(4), Royal Carib(1), Holland America(2), Princess (3), Carnival(1), Costa(1), Disney (1) and Celebrity (5). My favorite so far is Celebrity. It has just stolen my heart.:p

 

Princess used to be comparable but I don't think it is anymore. My last experience with Princess is well... my last. They don't treat customers royally the way Celebrity does.

[Tatka]

Out of all our cruises , cruises with Celebrity and Princess were the best.

 

I seriously can't find anything negative to say about either of them.

 

Food: Celebrity has a bit better food in DR to my taste (more french style), while Princess has more variety of food an GREAT selection of seafood.

 

Entertainment: I liked production shows on X a bit more (and there was 3 not 2), but Princess had such a variety of live entertainment options.

 

I haven't sailed Millenium class ships of X, but Century class doesn't have adult only pools, and Caribbean Princess has two! (and rules are strictly enforced)

 

Loved MUTS and cozy blankets for watching movies.

[rebeccalouise]

I used to think that Princess was on the same caliber as Celebrity but I don't anymore.

On my first and second Princess cruises (back in 1996 and 1998)- Princess had exceptional service. On my most recent trip on Sapphire 2005- it was a mass market experience with little interaction with the crew. Not that the crew was uniformly bad but there wasn't the same feeling that I get on Celebrity. I think it is in the training on Celebrity. The crew is polished and polite.

On Princess I thought the crew looked particularly tired and bored. Of course there are standouts but they were few and far between.

On Celebrity you might run into one or two sulky looking crew members but they are not the norm.

[Cruise Raider]

I have to agree with Rebeccalousie. Celebrity is a notch above Princess. There are extraordinary benefits one each and every Celebrity cruise. Women will not be found carrying a tray to their table. Coffee refills at breakfast,even out at the pool, are brought by continuously, as are danish, muffins, etc.

We were amazed at the hot days at sea when the waiters came around with small bowls of sorbet at the pool. The most unbelievable touch was when the staff offered frozen towels (washcloth sized) to wrap around your neck while reboarding from a hot day out in Manzanillo and again at the pool on hot days. As many as you wanted or needed.

Celebrity is a cut above with these little touches, when some cruiselines don't even offer clean fresh water while in port, Celebrity not only has water, but juice as well....ice cold.

Also, pool towels are not limited as on Princess. The food on our last Princess cruise was amazing, as was the sevice. I rate that up there with the last Celebrity cruise in regards to the dining room experience. I do like the personal choice option of eating when you are hungry and with whom you like to dine that is found on Princess, however. Celebrity and Holland America would be amongst the very best for us if that option was available.

[Coolcruise02]

We have had great cruises on both lines and I DID NOT find the service any better on X than Princess.

We found the food on Princess (especially the deserts) to be better than X. IMHO

[rebeccalouise]

glad you had a positive experience on Princess. I thought it was a real step down from Celebrity.

Just a few things that I found lacking on Princess...

When you went to the buffet you were greated with serious crew members asking you to use the hand sanitizers- while I think hygiene is important. Having the hand sanitizers right next to the food was off putting- on Disney for example- they are at the entrance of the diningroom. Secondly, I didn't hear many "good mornings"- "can I refill your coffee". They can't help you with your tray because there aren't any. It is not like Celebrity.

In the evening, the anytime dining was chaotic and I felt like I was at a impersonal restaurant. No dashing Maitre D to welcome you. No happy smiling crew members.

As for the cabin steward, he kept the room clean but was not engaging and I was traveling with a child. They ususally are warm to children.

 

Did I have a bad cruise- no but it was lacking in the personal attention I have come to expect with Celebrity.

[Tatka]

Celebrity and Holland America would be amongst the very best for us if that option was available.

 

Celebrity is... but with HAL it really depends on a ship. At least on Zuiderdam we had the worst service (from state room attendant and waiter team) out of all lines including NCL, Carnival and RCCL. It was very slow! Very understaffed crew. Our room hasn't been made until noon on 3 occasions during the same week. Safe system didn't work for 1.5 days! Food was very good as was ambience but that was it. :(

[DeepWaterMariner]

Getting back to what is different between Princess and Celebrity, I thought of another difference in approach. We often like a cup of coffee and a lite snack before going back to our cabin in the evening. Princess still provides that service in their Horizon Court. It's something that is becoming rarer and rarer on cruise lines. As we know, Celebrity brings around snacks to the lounges in the late evening, unfortunately later than we want to stay up. You can do the same thing on Celebrity if you want to go to bed on pizza for a snack...great for us twenty years ago but not a good idea these days.

[Tatka]

glad you had a positive experience on Princess. I thought it was a real step down from Celebrity.

Just a few things that I found lacking on Princess...

When you went to the buffet you were greated with serious crew members asking you to use the hand sanitizers- while I think hygiene is important. Having the hand sanitizers right next to the food was off putting- on Disney for example- they are at the entrance of the diningroom. Secondly, I didn't hear many "good mornings"- "can I refill your coffee". They can't help you with your tray because there aren't any. It is not like Celebrity..

 

Last names near the doors of the cabins was a nice touch, and our steward always greeted us by Mr... and Mrs..

 

Not once during the week we were asked to use sanitizers although we gladly used them. ;)

 

Staff was extremely polite and seemed happy. Even with different waiters in anytime dining rooms we experienced great service, although it's more "white-glove" on X.

 

We were impressed with many entertainment options from great small trios to large scale.

 

Huge CB felt like a small private yacht in any places!

 

Again P and X are our two favorite companies from now on.