Princess or Celebrity

Which line do you think is better for an early 40's couple (40 and 41)? Princess or Celebrity, and why? Which has better entertainment? Which has better food? Thanks for your opinions!

A that comes down to personal opinion, so my 2cents.

Slightly older crowd on Princess

Better food on Princess but it’s close.

Entertainment slightly lean to Celebrity.

So for us it comes down to timing, itinerary and $$$$.

All being equal we go Princess for a few reasons...

1 being in Aus currency, Princess is in Aus$ Celebriy US$ for onboard spend

2 we’ve had more Princess Cruises so get more perks.

Until recently I would have said Celebrity. Now I would solidly say Princess after our last two Celebrity sailings and others’ comments on this board. Celebrity has just cut too many corners for me to sail with them again in the near future.

I do both, and they are more similar than different.

I'd give a slight edge to Celebrity in terms of food.

Drinks are more interesting on Celebrity, but also more expensive.

Balcony cabins on Celebrity have couches, Princess balconies do not.

Princess cabins (on the Grand ships started around 1998) have much better closets in all categories.

More storage in a Celebrity bathroom.

Princess ships have (except in the Royal Class) walk around Promenade decks and a few dance floors. (Important to my husband).

Repeat passenger perks way better on Princess. You can get free internet after 5 cruises or 50 days. Takes longer on Celebrity.

Those are some things off the top of my head.

Princess ships seemed crowded to me hard to get a seat for there shows, but I preferred there food and entertainment , lots of smoke in casino and ship in general on princess, the smoke free is one of celebrities things we love , I prefer celebrity specialty restaurants

Major difference between the two lines used to be Aqua Class where you had a special dining room. Princess, however, has tried to catch up with their club class, although to qualify you have to book a mini-suite.

Princess seems to have a better itinerary.

Celebrity has better shows, and it is easier to find seats.

Princess may be a bit more expensive.

Can't go wrong with either one.

Which line do you think is better for an early 40's couple (40 and 41)? Princess or Celebrity, and why? Which has better entertainment? Which has better food? Thanks for your opinions!

We’ve been doing the same research. We’re 48/48 and and recently booked a Princess cruise and then changed that booking to Celebrity.

A better question might be which itinerary is going to have more similarly aged guests?

To us, both lines are very similar and we like the smoke-free casino idea of Celebrity. Not having to breath smoke is a huge plus for us.

I’ve found that depending on the sale, I was able to build more value in Celebrity versus Princess (OBC and drinks packages), and Princess for a similar cruise itinerary to Celebrity was $1,100 more (10 day Caribbean out of FLL).

Usually, the longer the cruise the older the pax. As I’ve heard over the years, the longer cruises are the newly wed and the nearly dead. No offense to mature folks. We all die eventually.

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We are in our 50s but started sailing Celebrity in our young 30s as well as Princess. Both have pros and cons. celebrity is a little more of a refined experience and the music is more hip, ie, EDM, vs Princess, which is stuck in the 60s and 70s, Beatles and Beach Boys music and showtunes. The party bands were very good on Celebrity this past Oct.

Never sailed in Princess and Celebrity. Each one will have its good and bad points.

I chose Celebrity because the dress code is much more relaxed, no more formal nights. We go on vacation to the Caribbean or Hawaii and I do not want to put on the penguin costume. Currently restrictions on airplanes force you to pack light.

We prefer Celebrity but Princess has some nice features too. The Regal Princess is a beautiful ship, but anytime Dining on Princess is awful. We never wait for a table on Celebrity but we waited every night on Princess and we were willing to share a table. I love the ice cream in the buffet on Celebrity and all Princess has is that awful frozen dessert at Swirls.

The entertainment on both ships was very good. I think the age factor depends on length, time of year, and location. Caribbean cruises attract younger people and kids more so than European cruises.

My two cents worth - it all comes down to personal opinion and priorities. Read as many reviews as you can.

You'll never really know until you try it, and of course, experiences can varty greatly.

We've only sailed Princess once, and were very disappointed. Although many say they are similar - our experience was far below any sailing we've had on X, RCCL and NCL. The ship was in great disrepair - we had a huge hole under our balcony door, the rug was badly stained: the room was tiny and cramped, but the bed was fantastic; food choices were more limited; anytime dining was disaster - long waits just to get seated, then longer waits for service by a staff that was harried, disorganized and ove- loaded; public spaces were crowded with low ceilings and little natural light; shows were jam-packed, etc. The one thing we loved was The Sanctuary, worth every penny - top notch service!

Here we go... Everyone's opine will vary.

Celebrity has better food by a bit. Specialty Restaurants are better but much more expensive.

Princess has better entertainment. Comedians, shows, Voice of the Sea, multiple entertainment venues, Piazza entertainment.

They are tied in many things... BINGO, Shopping, Fart Auctions still abound.

Lounges and Bars have better activities on Princess, but nicer venues on Celebrity.

Princess has many pools with actual Adults only pool, Celebrity has a pool that is the place to be. (More fun chair hog fights to watch)

Embarkation is better on Princess as your stateroom is ready when you board. Disembarkation is better on Princess - Carnival Corp has learned to do this well.

In our early 40's we exclusively cruised Celebrity, We cruise Princess and others in addition now., but we now cruise many more time per year.

Staterooms: Princess has better storage/closet. Celebrity has couches and a nice looking room.

I would book Celebrity.

Like Donny and Marie...

Princess is a little bit Country and Celebrity is a little bit Rock-n-Roll.

I know: You are thinking; "Who are Donny and Marie ?"

We are in our mid 30s and have been sailing Princess almost exclusively for 11 years. We tried Celebrity last summer and really missed Princess. Both have nice ships. Both have fairly comparable entertainment. We personally prefer the food and drinks on Princess, hands down! Drinks are much less expensive on Princess. The staterooms are pretty similar in quality. The crew is more consistent in giving a warm feeling on Princess whereas the Celebrity crew seemed to like the word no and would make some unprofessional comments throughout activities. One thing I liked more on Celebrity was the music; they had EDM and modern pop piped throughout the ship, giving it a younger feel. You’re not likely to have a bad cruise on either line, but I’d personally recommend Princess.

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Receive 100 opinions, receive 100 different answers. Different strokes for different folks. For us, more similar than different and we look at the itinerary, the price, and the particular ship before Princess vs Celebrity.

These brands are very, very similar. I'm 52 and my husband and I have sailed twice on Princess and once on Celebrity. We are about to take another 28 day cruise with Princess in March. I think the crowd on Princess is a bit older. The style of the Celebrity ship was a bit more updated and hipper. And they had a silent disco which was a blast. The shows on Celebrity were amazing! I enjoyed them all. However in my personal opinion the food was not good on Celebrity, especially in the MDR. I'm very picky about food and I loved the food on Princess. And the presentation of the food was lovely. I would sail Celebrity again and while it's hard to be one of the youngest people on a Princess Cruise, it's a bit more elegant and the food is way better.

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We love sitting in the comfy loungers in Celebrity's FREE Solarium. You have to pay for it on Princess.

We love sitting in the comfy loungers in Celebrity's FREE Solarium. You have to pay for it on Princess.

Yep, made a mistake and sailed on Eurodam and boy did I miss this, have sailed on Princess once and Celebrity 7 times, love Celebrity's anytime dining, never had to wait, always had a long wait on Princess, liked the food on Celebrity much better, Just suits us, met lots of interesting pax on Celebrity, this was trans,Atlantic a, Europe and Caribbean, best cruise ever for us was Silhouette eastern Caribbean, so much fun, met great group of people, had a suite on Eurodam just because and after One day was wishing I had booked Celebrity, just my thoughts

Hands down, for me, it is Celebrity!! I have over a dozen sailings on Celebrity and twice that many on Princess. I like the Princess itineraries better, especially since they sail pretty much right out from my backyard. But, the ships on Celebrity (probably aside from the Royal class on Princess) are much nicer and better maintained.

The differences that I find are:

Celebrity doesn't really attract a family crowd whereas you will find a younger demographic on Princess. Either will have very few kids onboard, if any, whe the sailing is 14 days or more. Service is a little more white glove on Celebrity but I've also experienced some outstanding crews on Princess.

The specialty restaurants on both are wonderful, much cheaper on Princess, though ... although you can usually get a great discount on Celebrity. The MDR might be a tie. The buffet definitely goes to Celebrity but the pizza goes to Princess.

Pools go to Celebrity. The indoor pool on Celebrity is for adults only, which they actually enforce, with very limited family time schedules.

Entertainment goes to Princess for the most part. The venues for entertainment are much better on Celebrity, though, as Princess doesn't schedule the correct venues for popular events / shows.

Cabins go to Celebrity as they actually have a couch instead of that one lone chair that always seems to be in the way. Closets on Princess, with their open design go to Princess, though.

Celebrity tends to offer perks with your bookings more readily than Princess does. When all is said and done, Celebrity has better pricing than I can find on Princess. The future cruise deposits on Princess are a lot more flexible, though and on Princess, you can also stack your perks / discounts / obc. Celebrity limits which perks are combinable.

Smoking is extremely limited on Celebrity and although you can no longer smoke in your cabin or on your balcony on Princess, there are many more outdoor areas and still indoor venues where smoking is allowed.

Casino payouts seem to have been more generous on Princess, however, Celebrity sets up a lot of fun tournaments and raffles for little to no charge after the who lets out.

Onboard purchases seem to be more expensive on Celebrity.

Princess has a great BOGO event twice daily (buy one drink and get one for $1) if you don't have the beverage package. Also, the wine policy on Princess is much more generous. You can bring as many bottles of wine onboard and incur a corkage fee of $15 for any bottles beyond the first two, which are meant to be consumed in your cabin only. Anything you've paid corkage on, you can consume throughout the ship. On Celebrity, the limit of bottles of wine / champagne you can bring onboard is 2 and if you take these two to the dining room, the corkage fee is $25.

Room service seems to be better on Princess, even though you can order room service on Celebrity on your TV. I've not had good luck with the actual delivery on Celebrity, though, even though I think their selection is better. I read that maybe now Celebrity has a small surcharge if you order room service during nighttime hours. I never order it anymore on Celebrity so not really too clear on the details.

Well, there are probably so many more things I could address ... but think you have some details you can use to make a decision on what the better fit is for you.

Oh ... and I need to add: Celebrity is a lot less formal now. They've swapped out their 'formal nights', which Princess still has, to Evening Chic. For me, that's a plus.

Thanks all! I really appreciate your input!

We love sitting in the comfy loungers in Celebrity's FREE Solarium. You have to pay for it on Princess.

There is the adult- only Lotus pool area on most Princess ships and I believe it is free. One of the areas you pay for on Princess is the Sanctuary - it is not an indoor area, and the pool is teeny, so not really similar at all to the Solaruims on Celebrity. I am not familiar with the Enclave pools which have a fee, perhaps they are more similar to the Solariums?

We have sailed both lines. Had good experiences on both.

We are in our mid 60s and have found plenty to do on both lines.

We first check itinerary, then price then cruise line. Most times it points to Celebrity.

We prefer AQ on Celebrity vs Mini-Suites on Princess.

We have four cruises booked over the next two years, 3 on Celebrity, 1 on Princess.

I think you will enjoy either line.

We've done two previous Celebrity cruises and seven on Princess. Enjoyed each and every voyage. We pick by itinerary, price, and the date...

Some Princess ships have been a little worn-looking. But, their desserts are (IMO) better than those on Celebrity. We've had great dinner service on both cruise lines. Celebrity cabins had a better lay-out (IMO). In-cabin movies can be paused on both cruise lines. Celebrity showers (in my experience) are larger. Princess has (pay with quarters) laundry facilities. With Celebrity, you can wash your socks in the sink or pay their laundry by the garment (if you need something laundered).

I think the experiences on either line are comparable. The vibe is a little different, but we have found both cruise lines to be pleasant.

Yes, there are a lot of older people on cruise Ships! Seniors have the time to travel and Florida ---with all it's cruise ports---also has lots of older people. It's not surprising we have met many Floridians taking advantage of proximity to embarkation. That said, there have been people your age on every cruise we've taken, too. There are always active-tours offered (and I've never actually seen anyone playing shuffleboard on any ship). There is always a gym onboard.

It is a very easy way to have a great vacation.

Have fun choosing your first cruise!

Ok so having only taken one cruise with celebrity and that being a truly disappointing experience, I should temper that with the fact that the shows were excellent and the captain was a likeable character (to put it mildly) however, It strikes me as strange that as Celebrity have moved away from the more formal dress nights to the Chic nights, this does not seem to fit in with the attitude of the guests. This was the first ever cruise I have ever been on where a guest sat at the bar turned to me and said "and what class are you in" It didn't go down well when I asked "don't you think the cruise is a bit elitist". She turned her back on me and didn't speak again!

The opposite was the case on Princess and also on carnival. We have ongoing fiends from our Princess cruises but on Celebrity, it just didn't happen. Yes I know it could be us and I am not saying you will have the same experience (before the Trolls kick in). To make things even, on our last Princess cruise, they closed the Disco for a staff party on my Birthday which put a major downer on the celebrations!

My own take on this is, from my experience, the Princess cruises tend to party more than Celebrity. But others may have different experiences. At the end of the day, it comes down to how lively or ready to party your fellow cruisers are, the best times I have had were on the Carnival spirit in the Piano bar where you had to fight for entrance and on Princess Cruises (forget which ship) cruising round Asia where the lobby bar was the in place to be and I virtually had a reserved seat.

There’re really is no difference!

We have done 20+ cruises on both lines and it comes down to price and where we want to go. I do think Princess has made a mistake with no indoor pool on the newer ships, but there ships as well as Celebrity are well maintained. Everything else is subjective to your own personal tastes.

As another poster, we have 4 Celebrity bookings(including the Edge TA) and only 1 Princess during the next 15 months. Longer cruise(18 days or more) the we like Princess (Royal 18, Ruby 27, Crown 28 days) for the comfort and crews attention. Shorter usually goes to Celebrity (Eclipse 14 2/4, Equinox 8 4/15, Silhouette 14 5/26, Edge 15 TA in 19).

Enjoy whichever line and ship you choose - we do!!

Hal