Princess vs Celebrity.

[Circusboy354]

Hi

We have sailed on Celebrity a number of times (Century, Galaxy & Summit) and are considering trying a Princess Cruise.

 

One of the things we like most about cruising is the formality, I know Princess is both traditional and anytime dining, could anyone who has sailed both Princess & Celebrity give an idea how this compares in relation to formal nights etc?

 

If it makes any difference we are considering a 19 night from Bangkok to Sydney on the Diamond Princess or a 21 night transtlantic on the Grand Princess. How would the ships overall compare between Princess and Celebrity.

 

Thanks

 

 

MArk.

[ellbon]

I am leaving Princess for Celebrity due to the fact that peopel do not know how to dress on formal nights. i dress up and go ot dinner and stay dressed all night long. many do not. they walk around in ugly shorts or jeans- add flip flops over sandels-pretty sad:(

 

Princess still allows smoking

 

Diamond is a great ship but i would hang with Celebrity if you like to dress up.

[jaynak]

One of the things we like most about cruising is the formality,

 

Hello Marc - If you like the formality of Celebrity you will miss it on Princess - IN MY OPINION! Princess has FORMAL and DRESSY-CASUAL (or some such term) only - there are no SEMI-FORMAL nights as well like on Celebrity. Dress Casual, which is the VAST majority of nights, means dress slacks and a golf shirt for men. We found it simplified packing and we really liked not having to be quite so dressy every night.

 

Celebrity definately has a more 'formal flavour' throughout the whole ship - again in IMHO and speaking from my ONE experience with Princess.

[kendon]

I think it so depends on the ship and itinerary you take. I have found the CB to be the most casual of the Princess ships I have been on. The Crown and Coral had a more sophisticated crowd. Family cruises (school holidays) are certainly more casual.

[alohaprincess]

Hello Marc - If you like the formality of Celebrity you will miss it on Princess - IN MY OPINION! Princess has FORMAL and DRESSY-CASUAL (or some such term) only - there are no SEMI-FORMAL nights as well like on Celebrity. Dress Casual, which is the VAST majority of nights, means dress slacks and a golf shirt for men. We found it simplified packing and we really liked not having to be quite so dressy every night.

 

Celebrity definately has a more 'formal flavour' throughout the whole ship - again in IMHO and speaking from my ONE experience with Princess.

 

 

Hi Marc,

 

Will reprint my comments about dressing (below). Have been on both and the Celebrity (Infinity) was more formal. I like that kind of elegance and fine living. Still, I enjoyed the Diamond Princess experience, tho it was less formal.

 

"alohaprincess

Cool Cruiser

 

Join Date: Apr 2008

Location: massachusetts

 

Dressing for dinner

I have just returned from my first Princess cruise (9th cruise altogether) . I had used this board to ask a question about dressing for dinner and got general agreement that, YES, Princess diners follow the rules and enjoy the experience of dressing appropriately for dinner. I was happy to see that on our cruise this was, indeed, the case. I had read suggestions about buying dresses that could be rolled up in a ball and didn’t take up much space, but I was happy to see (not those wrinkled messes) but people who seemed to enjoy the fun of making an effort to look elegant for a special night. I guess this reflects “lifestyle” and not everyone enjoys that kind of refinement. I don’t agree that attitude only reflects HAL or Crystal - I’ve been on those lines too. If a person chooses a “good value” cruise it shouldn’t mean that you will wear jeans to dinner. But, I am always a “glass half full” person. If you don’t want to make an effort to dress for dinner, then there are options for you on Princess. But don’t suggest that the rest of us should be traveling on another line, as someone did on this board. "

[willysgrandma]

I have sailed on both. Princess has formal nights, but I don't think that people dress as formally on Princess as on Celebrity.

 

However, I haven't sailed on Celebrity in the last 6 years, so I can't say if they are still as dressy. I'll be on the Solstice next March, so I'd be able to tell you better after that.

 

That said, though, for the itineraries you are doing, I think you will see people more dressed up than on other itineraries. After all, you have to be fairly affluent to do the itineraries you are doing, so I think you are going to see better dressed people on the ships - period.

[PescadoAmarillo]

We are pretty evenly divided between our Celebrity and Princess cruises (in fact, last year we spent 20 nights on Princess and 21 on Celebrity, so we're keeping the ratio current, I guess). My take is that Celebrity is a considerably more formal cruise line; some say stuffy, but I don't. I love it, although it is harder to pack for Celebrity (especially now, with the second suitcase charges).

 

However, saying that, the Princess cruises you mentioned will probably tend to be among Princess's most formal. Longer cruises, exotic cruises do tend to attract more traditional cruise passengers. They would probably be comparable to a week long, non-spring break cruise on Celebrity.

 

It's more than just attire, too. The whole atmosphere on Celebrity is a bit more upscale and formal. The service is definitely more formal, the entertainment is also. I love string quartets and classical pianists and art classes, and while you might find some classical music entertainment on Princess, it certainly won't be as prevalent.

 

But you are discovering, as we did in 2003, that Princess has incredible itineraries, and it is those itineraries that keeps us coming back. We now have Elite benefits too, which Celebrity can't touch, and since my husband prefers the Princess cruise experience, and me the Celebrity experience, we tend to divide our time that way too.

[southnevada]

The food is the same... great. Celebrity works hard at taking the fun out of cruising however. I will never sail with Celebrity again.

[shootingstar07]

Hi

We have sailed on Celebrity a number of times (Century, Galaxy & Summit) and are considering trying a Princess Cruise.

 

One of the things we like most about cruising is the formality, I know Princess is both traditional and anytime dining, could anyone who has sailed both Princess & Celebrity give an idea how this compares in relation to formal nights etc?

 

If it makes any difference we are considering a 19 night from Bangkok to Sydney on the Diamond Princess or a 21 night transtlantic on the Grand Princess. How would the ships overall compare between Princess and Celebrity.

 

Thanks

 

 

MArk.

Hi Mark,

I was on X's Connie in 2007 (Baltic 14 days) and the Diamond (30 days) in 2006. I found the Diamond to be formal - perhaps it was the itinerary and the older clientele. One night (after being in port) was a casual night. One of the younger men at our table showed up in nice bermuda shorts and a nice (Polo I think) shirt. He was told they would not sit him. He had to return to his cabin and change into long pants. So Princess does have a standard.

On X, we had a casual night and someone came in jeans with a tie and sports jacket. My niece complained, but they sat him anyway. Go figure.

 

Also, I found on the Connie that many tables were empty on the formal nights. Perhaps people were just plain ole pooped from long days ashore. Just the opposite on the Diamond. Tables full on formal nights (5 total) and men and women dressed to the 10's.

 

I would bet that both those cruises you mentioned (19 and 21 days) will tend to be a little more formal due to the passengers. I have found on the longer cruises you find more retired people who tend to enjoy dressing up. Go for it. You will never know until you give it a whirl. Then you can draw your own conclusions.

 

For me, the scale tips a little in favor of Princess because of the Anytime dining. It gives me a little more flexibility especially for my upcoming Alaska cruise that is so port intensive.

 

Good luck. Let us know what you end up booking.

 

Kathleen

[YorbaLinda]

We too have been on both, and I think the crowd on Celebrity are just a notch above as far as getting dressed up. That said, I think the itinerary can dictate a lot as well. We actually like Princess on longer cruises because they have self service laundry - a real lifesaver !

[Tatka]

We too have been on both, and I think the crowd on Celebrity are just a notch above as far as getting dressed up. That said, I think the itinerary can dictate a lot as well. We actually like Princess on longer cruises because they have self service laundry - a real lifesaver !

 

It's weird, but we sailed on both (Caribbean Princess and Century) both in Eastern Caribbeans in July (2003 and 2006) and crowd on Princess was actually more formal! Many were from UK and preffered cocktail dresses even on casual nights.

 

We enjoyed both lines better than other. Celebrity Century was absolutely the best in service department while on Caribbean Princess we had the best overall experience. :)

[Circusboy354]

I am leaving Princess for Celebrity due to the fact that peopel do not know how to dress on formal nights. i dress up and go ot dinner and stay dressed all night long. many do not. they walk around in ugly shorts or jeans- add flip flops over sandels-pretty sad:(

 

Princess still allows smoking

 

Diamond is a great ship but i would hang with Celebrity if you like to dress up.

 

 

This is the reason we are leaving Celebrity. Our last cruise was a Summit Panama Canal Cruise last November and we found less and less people dressing for formal night, we even had people in cowboy hats on formal night. If that is the only reason you are leaving Princess you may be wasting your time.

[Johanna7]

Luggage restrictions on airplanes are the cause of not being able to dress more formally. Some planes from North America to Europe now only allow 20 kg or 44 lbs. of luggage and carry-ons, one only, 11 lbs and that has to include your purse.

 

This makes it difficult to bring a good variety of clothing and if you do bring formal, you may have to repeat. Same with casual clothing.

 

Celebrity is a great cruise line and the food is tremendous. Princess is pretty good in that department too.

 

We pick our cruises for the itinerary. After 29 cruises, it is getting more difficult to find an itinerary with ports we have not yet visited and are wanting to but we found one - British Isle Cruise on the Grand Princess and are looking forward to that.

 

Only one repeat on that - Le Havre (which is not the British Isles of course) but to have a cruise with only 1 port repeated is great for us.