Celebrity v. Princess

[emeraldcitycruiser]

For those of you who have sailed on Celebrity and Princess, I'd appreciate any thoughts re: one line versus the other. I am sailing on Solstice in a couple of months and Equinox in a year. I've heard a lot of negative reviews of late re: Celebrity's service and food quality. I chose Celebrity because of its reputation for high-quality food and service, but I've had a few people tell me that they believe Princess exceeds Celebrity in those categories. I realize both categories are highly subjective, but I would appreciate hearing thoughts from those who have sailed on both lines.

[RealDeal]

I've only been on one X cruise (Millie) but 5 on Princess. I enjoy Princess overall, but I do feel that X is a slight notch above (I can say that, oddly, I did not like the food on Crown!). I'll have a better sense, though, after my trip on the Solstice in February.

 

From what I've heard, the food quality on X has gone down a little over the years, but maybe that can be said for other lines as well. I've only been cruising for a few years, so I can't really comment. I enjoyed the food on X, but I didn't consider it "outstanding," but I don't consider the food outstanding on Princess either. Bottom line: With similar itineraries & similar pricing, I would probably go with X, but I don't think you'd go wrong w/either one.

[tuggers]

I liked some things on Princess that I thought would be very hokey - for instance I LOVED the movies by the pool and the midnight movies under the stars. Before experiencing them I was laughing at anyone who would think this was a great amenity! After being onboard I found it one of my favorite things!

Not so the food!. I rate Princess lower than RCL and that's saying something!

Service was okay to good just nothing exceptional on Princess however I did like the layout of some of the cabins.

X has taken a tumble in the food department (IMO) over the last couple of years but is still head and shoulders above Princess and RCL. Now I rate HAL as almost on a par with X for food and (also IMO) they are pushing the bar to come even with X in a lot of the service areas.

X is still my favorite line but when you factor in the amenities, past passenger perks, pricing, ports, etc I find my choices fall in the following order:

1. X

1.5 HAL

(almost a tie)

2. RCL (if there is a Concierge Lounge:))

3. Princess

[Breezey]

Been on both. Celebrity Mercury to the Mexican Riviera a few years ago, the Golden Princess to the Caribbean a year before that and the Grand Princess to the Mediterranean two years ago. I am now convinced it is not necessarily the cruise line but the cruise ship which distinguishes them. We loved the Golden, service was fantastic and so was the food. We thought now this is the line for us. Our Mercury cruise was great, service overall great, excellent activities and evening parties, but our cabin steward was not great at all. While we did like the small touches that Celebrity offered that distinguishes itself, we thought Princess was close enough on par to choose the Grand Princess over a Celebrity ship to the Mediterranean because we liked the itinerary better and assured our very loyal Celebrity friends who were joining us that they would love Princess. NOT. I think it was the ship, the staff at the time, the itinerary that made it just average.

So we now are trying Celebrity again, this time on the Infinity. Based on some of the posts I have been reading including criticism of the food and service, I decided regardless I still prefer the Celebrity itinerary over the Princess one for our trip (to Alaska) and will make my own judgement. Hey we went on the NCLA to Hawaii, hated the ship, the food, the service, the entertainment but had a fantastic time !!

[j!m]

we have been on X maybe 12-15 times and princess 3x all on the tahitian

 

imo the X service is a tad better food is so subjective i wont comment

 

i enjoy both (we are booked on princess for 12/21)

 

i hope you do

 

have a great cruise

[Tatka]

Had 2 cruises on Princess (Caribbean and Ruby) and 3 on Celebrity ( 2X Century + Mercury).

 

Overall we enjoyed Princess more, but this maybe due to the newer ships and anytime dining options.

 

Service was exceptional on both, far ahead of all other lines we sailed with. On Celebrity service more white-glove, but on Princess it's friendlier.

 

Somehow we felt more attention on Princess starting from personal greeting message on the answering mashine as we entered cabin (both time).

 

Crowd was very pleasing on both lines.. On Princess both times we met many people from UK and Europe overall.

 

Princess's large ships had better pool set up with several pools designeted exclusievly to adults... but we were not on M and S class of X so can't speak about their pools.

 

Entertainment was good on both, but on Princess we enjoyed smaller scale entertainment in various lounges more.

 

Princess has buffets opened for longer hours. Celebrity has better (and free of charge) sushi buffet.

 

Princess now offers waffle station, cold towels in hot ports, and great breadsticks... all that some people enjoyed on X before. ;)

 

It's tough to compare our two favorite lines. :)

[ECCruise]

Have sailed ~100 days on both Princess and Celebrity in the last couple of years. Much of this is subjective, but here is our take:

 

1) Food: Slight nod to Princess. 2 years ago it would have gone to X, but their food erosion is more pronounced than Princess. The steak that is available every day on Princess, for example, is twin filets. Crab legs on almost every cruise.

2) Activities: Princess, definitely. Entertainment: Maybe a bit better on X but varies a bit beyond the normal recycled performance shows on both lines.

3) Service: Better by a bit on X. Nothing wrong with Princess, but a bit more professional on X (but generally a little more genuine feeling on Princess).

4) Ship appearance/maintenance: Princess by a mile. There just is no comparison here. Except for Solstice, X ships are very poorly maintained compared to the competition.

5) Itineraries: Depends on your preference. Princess has many more exotic itineraries but not everyone is looking for that.

6) Loyalty programs: No-brainer. Princess by a substantial margin. Of course, RCL by a huge margin, too.

 

It all depends on what matters to you individually. We will continue sail both and have long cruises scheduled on both in the next year.

[Jacqueline]

ECC, great post !

 

I would travel either. Sometimes, I just need a change of pace. I have done Princess the last few years and wanted to go back to X again. After a while my Princess cruises were starting to feel the same to the point where I knew the menu in my head for each of the nights.

I prefer the pool areas on Princess, they used to be open 24/7 but now that has been reduced. I really like to swim and sit by the pool after dinner. It is so much prettier when it is not closed.

And I always was impressed by how well their ships were maintained. Every day there were workers painting, sanding and washing.

Medical facilities are great on Princess with British doctors trained in maritime medicine. Nurses are English and Irish. I say this as there are no communication issues and the level of training is quite high.

Last, there really was always food available when one returned from the ship excursions on Princess. In the past, on X that was not always the case (tea sandwiches ?).

X feels a bit more formal.

 

When I get back from this cruise, I'll tell you what I like better about X. Oh yes, the dining rooms on X are really lovely and on Princess they are not nearly as glamorous.

 

I'd travel on Princess, X and HAL

[woodofpine]

I haven't sailed on X in over 4 years so I can't speak to much as far as food goes (I liked the lite fair served up by the spa/t-pool) and I like X' interior decor, but X' ship maintenance is substandard.

 

I'm sure X food is on par with others with X-cellent service generally (when things are on an 'even keel'). X shortcomings tends to be in other areas (maintenance, customer service trouble shooting, etc.)

[kitty9]

For us, the food is better on Princess but the service is far better on Celebrity. MUTS on Princess is wonderful and a great innovation. X ships are more subtle in terms of decor and I really don't have a problem with their upkeep of the ships.

[Tatka]

Have sailed ~100 days on both Princess and Celebrity in the last couple of years. Much of this is subjective, but here is our take:

 

1) Food: Slight nod to Princess. 2 years ago it would have gone to X, but their food erosion is more pronounced than Princess. The steak that is available every day on Princess, for example, is twin filets. Crab legs on almost every cruise.

2) Activities: Princess, definitely. Entertainment: Maybe a bit better on X but varies a bit beyond the normal recycled performance shows on both lines.

3) Service: Better by a bit on X. Nothing wrong with Princess, but a bit more professional on X (but generally a little more genuine feeling on Princess).

4) Ship appearance/maintenance: Princess by a mile. There just is no comparison here. Except for Solstice, X ships are very poorly maintained compared to the competition.

5) Itineraries: Depends on your preference. Princess has many more exotic itineraries but not everyone is looking for that.

6) Loyalty programs: No-brainer. Princess by a substantial margin. Of course, RCL by a huge margin, too.

 

It all depends on what matters to you individually. We will continue sail both and have long cruises scheduled on both in the next year.

 

 

I agree 1000000%. That's how we feel.

 

My first cruise was with Celebrity so I am still have this special feeling toward her, but my DH, who didn't sail with me at that time doesn't understant what is so special about X (in comparisson to Princess). He finds Princess to be a completely perfect experience.

[jayoldschool]

We are loyal X cruisers. Tried Princess on our Med honeymoon, giving up an aft Mille cabin.

Here is the stuff we didn't like:

The announcements drove me crazy. You don't notice how nice it is to NOT have them until you are on a ship that does.

Dining room service isn't as good on Princess. They are down a couple of people compared to X. There is no dedicated beverage waiter, and no sommelier.

Paying for ice cream.

No robes in the room.

 

Liked:

MUTS

No muster drill!

[Tatka]

Dining room service isn't as good on Princess.

 

Haven't noticed that.

 

Paying for ice cream.

 

There is free ice cream , but limited hours 2-3 per day.

 

No robes in the room.

 

They are available on request, we had them both times in inside room.

[JUST CRUZIN]

A true addicted Cruiser will try both. I know you will enjoy both but one will almost certainly cost you more then the other. I have 9 cruises on X and 27 on Princess. Princess may not be number one in my book but the cost allows me to cruise at least twice a year with out giving anything major up. They give a good value to the dollar. X even gives you more but more dollars. You can’t go wrong sailing with the top 5 lines, that’s why they call it Cruising right? As dear old dad would say "Try it, you will like it".

[boereseun]

For those of you who have sailed on Celebrity and Princess, I'd appreciate any thoughts re: one line versus the other. I am sailing on Solstice in a couple of months and Equinox in a year. I've heard a lot of negative reviews of late re: Celebrity's service and food quality. I chose Celebrity because of its reputation for high-quality food and service, but I've had a few people tell me that they believe Princess exceeds Celebrity in those categories. I realize both categories are highly subjective, but I would appreciate hearing thoughts from those who have sailed on both lines.

 

just off the solstice this am and crown princess last sunday. PRINCESS YOU GET OUR VOTE on food and service, more from me on friday when we finally get home

[Sky Sweet]

We haven't sailed on Princess yet, but after reading this thread I definitely plan to try a Princess cruise in the near future.

 

A few of our friends like Princess better than Celebrity so we have been thinking about this for a while.

[ugen512]

I think age has a part in it. We are late 30's-early 40's and I though Cel was a little too laid back for me. PCL had good service, better food and activties. Now my father in law(56) would love the Solstice over PCL.

[timetraveler9]

I am glad someone asked that question!

 

I had heard raves about Princess over the years. People really seem to like that line. We didn't. We were on the Crown Princess several years ago. It was an Alaskan cruise. Our standard cabin was quite spacious, that is true. I was quite impressed with the bathroom's size too, almost the size of a land bathroom. However, I **hated** the food. How many times can one have Italian food before tiring of it? And many meals were disappointments. I'll never forget the roast beef sandwiches served in the afternoon: my bread had blood on it the meat was so raw. And one lunch menu listed ham and cheese croquettes or some kind of appealing description. What did I get? Poor quality ham (Oscar Meyer wouldn' t have put its name on it) rolled around cold cream cheese with a squirt of **ketchup** on top!!! Awful! We thought service was sub-par as well. At lunch we'd ask for a table for two and they'd try to seat us at large tables even though we had specifically asked for a table just for the two of us. The problem was many of the Italian waitstaff didn't speak very good English. And one day my husband stayed in the cabin to join me at lunch a few minutes later. As I went through the buffet I had the Italian servers hitting on me. It was good for a laugh how they became poker-faced when my husband showed up. I had been excited to read about the Patisserie but it was such a let down. There was one variety of cookie just in different shapes and colors. The same cookies were served all week- they just got harder and harder as the week went on. Yuck. I just didn't like it and vowed never to cruise on Princess again. There were lots of things we liked but the bad outweighed the good.

 

Celebrity? Wow!! We had a phenomenal experience. We went on the Alaskan Infinity cruise in May of 2007. Celebrity is my favorite line! The food was quite good. The service? Amazing!!! I can't describe how impressed we were. I don't know how they got people to be so wonderful to passengers on our cruise but kudos to management and, of course, employees. Everything just felt more upscale. We really enjoyed that experience and said we will only cruise on that line from now on because we are spoiled for anything else!

[ellbon]

I am trying Celebrity for the first itmei n a month. but from whati can see princess had one of the better loyaloty programs including free internet. Finally get free laundry etc but no lounge.

 

I feel the food is so-so on Princess until you hit the spec restuarants. the movies are fun but i have seen them all. the shows they do not change them out fast enough for people who travel every year and i travel more.

the wait staff knows you by name and call you by name. also i had great waiters in the MDR>

 

I always have a robe in my cabin. Yes, I ask but it is there. also plenty of storage and closet space.

 

willl see how Solstice treats me. i am not a number i am a person.

[Nanatravel]

We have sailed Celebrity 6 times (looking at Infinity for 2010) and Princess 4 (just returned from 11/1 cruise). Let me preface my remarks, that I have never had a bad cruise. Celebrity is still my number 1 rated cruise line overall. Go with an open mind and enjoy your vacation.

 

Service was exceptional on Celebrity,far more white-glove, but on Princess it's friendlier. Celebrity staff aim to please not to entertain. I do like the bowl of fresh fruit, complimentary robes and no questions asked when a request to empty the mini-frig is made on Princess.

 

Somehow we felt more attention on Princess starting from personal greeting message on the answering mashine as we entered cabin (both time). I think the Captains Club offers better perks than Princess but I am in the 2nd level now. Embarkation was a disaster on Princess in San Juan but very good on other journeys.

 

Crowd was very pleasant on both lines. I think Celebrity is more adult oriented except during school breaks.

 

I really love the dome covered pool and thallostherapy pool on Celebrity and the aqua spa cuisine. Although Princess's large ships had better pool set up with fresh water.

 

Entertainment was good on both, but on Princess we enjoyed smaller scale entertainment in various lounges more.

 

Princess has buffets opened for longer hours. Although the configuration of the Princess buffet area is often congested, the availability of food 24hr. a day helps during those late days at port. Waiters carry your tray on Celebrity (Princess doesn't have trays. On Celebrity I have found a lapse in food availability late in the afternoon (this may have changed in the last 5 years). I liked the International cafe a little better than Cova cafe as coffee was complimentary as well as soom food items. Also the wine bar served sushi whereas Celebrity has better (and free of charge) sushi buffet.

 

Princess now offers waffle station, cold towels in hot ports, and great breadsticks, all that some people enjoyed on X before. Now I did not find any of these features on my last cruise just 6 weeks ago on Princess. It sure was hot in Bonaire and Aruba. Celebirty greets you with champagne, OJ and cool towels.

 

We do prefer the dining room service including a sommelier service on Celebrity. Dining room staff were very attentive to food allergies and restrictions on our last cruise on the Millennium. However, we found Anytime Dining on Princess (tried twice now) to work quite well for us and our sailing companions in the Southern Caribbean and while in Europe on Princess.

 

We were disappointed that Princess had not upgraded her interactive TV to access the Personal Folio account during the cruise. One had to go to the pursers desk to request an invoice of current charges.

 

I find Celebrity's balcony cabins to be just a little larger than on Princess and enjoy the small sofa. The bucket chair on Princess ships always seems to be in the way. However Princess can't be beat for closet size and storage space.

 

So you see, these comparisons are minor IMO. I've booked a Future Cruise Credit with Princess and am looking at a 14 night cruise on Celebrity.

 

Bon Voyage

Nanatravel

[meow!]

Paying for ice cream.

We had ice cream nearly daily on the Century, didn't ever have to pay!

[jt1120]

Reviews are subjective, and I guess it's all about what pushes your good and bad buttons. I will say that I found Princess to be FAR more inconsistent than Celebrity. For us, we'd book a Celebrity cruise tomorrow, but would pause before booking with Princess again.

[ellbon]

I sailed out of SJ twice and found both times I checked in quickly. i do find the staff freindly on princess. I tend to spend more time in Crooners at night due to the drinks and live music.

 

 

Princess after the 5th cruise treats the guests well with extra's but it is a long time to the 16th cruise. Other cruiselines by cruise 10 you have the extra's. But only Princess gives free internet.

[Tatka]

Nanatravel... I thought your post was mine. :D:D:D

 

Wow.. you've even mentioned phone message. Were we impressed. We loved how we got Captain Circle membership automatically by the end of the cruise too.

 

We haven't sailed on M-class yet, and I loved Century and Mercury, but Princess seems to be a little more complete package... MUTS, longer open pools to enjoy, longer buffet hours, more various entertainment, (we usually don't go to the theatre except for production shows, so smaller scale entertainment in lounges a big deal for us), nice adult only pools. I would add interactive TV.

 

Charge for an ice-cream doesn't bother me one bit.. Thank God, I don't need more empty calories during my cruise.

[Pilot70D]

Here is part of a review that used to start a thread a few days ago. We have always cruised the Caribbean and have done so on Celebrity, HAL and Princess. What I have tried to do is compare the three lines when sailing on similar ships and over similar iteneraries.

 

Please bear in mind that chosing a favorite cruise line is very subjective. We have also found that all three of these linnes are more alike than they are different. For us the choice now boils down to itenerary first, price second and cruise line third.

 

******************************************************

BACKGROUND

 

This was our first Celebrity cruise. Prior to this we had cruised with Princess on the Grand Princess and twice on the Golden Princess. We have cruised with HAL four times, once on the Veendam, twice on the Volendam and once on the Geritolendam.

 

Our last cruise was on the Volendam and it was a bad enough experience that it had the War Department (aka Mrs. B) wondering if cruising wasn’t for us any more. We decided to give Celebrity a try and had a marvelous cruise. We had a CC class cabin and yes, we were the ones that had a fire in our cabin. After the fire they moved us to a vacant CC cabin so we had two cabins on the same cruise.

 

What I’m going to write next will be a more detailed review of the various parts of our cruise experience and where possible I’ll give a ranking for Celebrity vs. HAL vs. Princess. This isn’t a scientific rating it’s a subjective one and I’ll rank the cruise lines 1, 2 and 3 for each category.

 

As a starter I’ll rank the websites for the three lines. They are ALL AWFUL, just plain awful. If you ever wanted to see a textbook picture of how not to do website design you’d be hard pressed to find any worse example than these three. My ranking is Princess 1, HAL 2 and Celebrity 3. Thank God Celebrity runs great ships because their website and their operation ashore need lots of improvement.

EMBARKATION – Celebrity 1, Princess 2, HAL 3

Embarkation was smooth as silk and was completely painless. Total time from curb to cabin was under fifteen minutes. Porters were friendly and enough of them were present to assist with luggage without undue delay. Check in personnel were uniformly cheerful and helpful.

 

Our last cruise’s embarkation (with HAL) was the embarkation from hell. For both of these cruises we arrived at the port at approximately 2:00 P.M. With HAL the line extended out the terminal doors and along the length of the building. It took us an hour and a half to get aboard. There was no line at 2:00 for this cruise. With HAL the lines for passengers that hadn’t preregistered moved more quickly than the lines for those who had preregistered by computer. With Princess we never had a bad embarkation or debarkation but Celebrity simply does it better – more efficiently.

 

CABIN LAYOUT & COMFORT – HAL 1, Celebrity 2, Princess 3

On all of our cruises we have had minisuites (CC class equivalent) or a CC class cabin.

 

Our cabin was excellent and it was very comfortable. The air conditioning worked flawlessly either at sea or in port. Our HAL cabins were all a little bigger and their layout was a little better. There was more closet space on HAL and the closets were reconfigurable with fold down shelves for space not needed to accommodate hanging clothes.

 

On both HAL & Princess there is a curtain that can be drawn to separate the sitting area from the bed. Neither cabin we occupied had this on Celebrity. The TV is located between the sitting area and the bedroom on the other two lines. With Celebrity the TV is between the closets and the bed. If one person sleeps late and the other wants to watch TV it is difficult. On Celebrity the TV is a small conventional CRT type TV. HAL has gone to flat panel TV’s.

 

CABIN ATTENDANT(s) – HAL 1, Celebrity 2, Princess 3

This is a tough category for me to rate. As I said earlier we had a fire in our original cabin. An electrical outlet shorted while we weren’t there. The fire was quickly dealt with and no harm came to anything of ours but they did have to move us to another cabin. Our first cabin attendant was great. He did everything asked of him cheerfully and quickly. The cabin attendant for our second cabin did whatever was asked but not nearly as cheerfully or as quickly. We had the envelopes for tipping the various people but had not finished with them. The envelopes were in the middle of a stack of papers when we left our cabin. Our cabin attendant went through these papers and grabbed his. We intended to tip him more than the standard amount (which had already been charged to our shipboard account) but not after he grabbed his envelope prematurely.

 

On HAL the cabin attendants make various animals by folding and rolling towels. It was kind of fun to see what critter awaited us when we returned to our cabin in the evening. No towel animals on Celebrity. Not a big thing but I thought I would mention it in passing.

 

SHIP CLEANLINESS – Celebrity 1, HAL 2, Princess 3

As our cruise began the ship was under Celebrity’s OPP (Outbreak Prevention Program) procedures. There had been an outbreak of the Noro-Virus involving two, yep count ‘em two passengers, on the last two days of the previous cruise. The OPP measures are very impressive and very effective. It involves a massive effort on the crew’s part.

 

Once instituted OPP lasts for four consecutive days if there is no further outbreak. During these four days all handrails, stainless steel areas and so forth are continuously wiped down with a disinfectant solution of bleach and water. Hand sanitizers are mandatory for all guests before they enter any dining area. Guests touch nothing but their food. If a guest wants salt or pepper they are brought to the table and applied by the wait staff. All drink stations are manned by food service personnel. You tell that person what you want to drink and they fill the glass or cup then hand it to you. Food service personnel place everything on plates or in bowls for the guests in the buffets. As I said guests touch nothing but their food.

 

At the end of the cruise with the outbreak all board games are discarded and replaced with new ones, as are all decks of playing cards. All library books are wiped down. Every poker chip in the casino is wiped down every night. Ship personnel are trained not to shake hands with guests during OPP. The effort involved is truly amazing and expensive but effective. Once the OPP ended the staff still kept the ship spotlessly clean. They were everywhere cleaning everything all the time.

 

FOOD & SERVICE MAIN DINING ROOM – Celebrity 1, Princess 2, HAL 3

Service in the main dining room was top notch during the entire cruise with nary a bobble. Our waiter, the assistant maitre‘d and the sommelier for our table were all from middle Europe. The service had a strong European flavor. That means that unless you break the ice the service will be efficient but somewhat distant, almost aloof. Once the ice was broken there was nothing our waiter and his assistant wouldn’t do to enhance our dining experience. They also shared many tips about ports, shopping and so forth. They made dining in the main dining room a distinct pleasure. Our sommelier was the same way. He always inquired about what we would be doing the following day. When we told him about one of our diving excursions through the ship being cancelled he pointed out that we could possibly use the internet and make private arrangements with another dive operator. We already knew this but it is a good example of the many small kindnesses that everyone went out of their way to render.

 

The food in the main dining room throughout the cruise was dangerous, dangerously good that is. The quality of the food was excellent and all meals came prepared the way we ordered them. I had three steaks during the cruise and all were very tender, very tasty and cooked exactly the way I ordered them. All of the other entrees in the main dining room were as consistently excellent. Our food was better than that on Princess and much better than on our last HAL cruise. On our last cruise the dining room food on HAL was mediocre at best and often less than mediocre. Dining room service matched the food quality unfortunately. The poor service is more the fault of management than anything else. Upper cruise line management has made so many dining room staff cutbacks on HAL that the overworked wait staff simply can’t do a good job. My opinion in this area was confirmed when six to eight other Cruise Critic members overheard two of us discussing the HAL dining situation during our CC get together. They joined our conversation and all said much the same thing – that the food and service on HAL have both declined fairly dramatically over the last year.

 

BUFFET SERVICE & FOOD

SERVICE – Celebrity 1, HAL 2, Princess 3

FOOD QUALITY – HAL 1, Princess 2, Celebrity 3

 

This is THE most difficult area to judge because so little separates each cruise line. All three offer a tremendous variety of foods most of which are well prepared. We found the service in the buffet area to be very good during the entire cruise but HAL runs a very close second in my opinion and from our experience. Princess does a good job but is a notch or two below Celebrity and HAL in this area.

 

I gave HAL the nod in buffet food quality. We have always experienced good food quality in their Lido buffets. Almost everything available in the main dining room is also available in the Lido on HAL. If it something isn’t on the Lido buffet but is being served in the main dining room all one has to do is request that item and they will bring it to you. That isn’t always the case on Celebrity. I know because I tried a couple of times. Also during breakfast it seemed impossible for Celebrity to produce omelets that were done without them being over done. The War Department (aka Mrs. B.) hates brown eggs. Sure enough the first two days her omelet was overdone with brown eggs. Some omelets came out black. Now I like a lot of blackened foods but omelets aren’t one of them. On HAL they were done just right every time.

 

When it comes to the layout of the buffets themselves we liked Princess best. The Horizon Court buffet is larger and there are more ways to get to whatever it is that you want. The layout on Celebrity and HAL is very similar and is straightforward. This is both good and bad. The bad is the location of the waffle station, which is all the way toward the back of the buffet area. The waffles on Celebrity are superstars consequently I would put them right up front not all the way in the back.