Celebrity V Princess

[scotslizzy]

Just back from my Celebrity cruise Western Caribbean ( more of that later excellent cruise )

 

My question is having sailed twice now on the Solstice lcass ships would going back to Princess be a real let down ? It has been over three years since our last Princess cruise and I did enjoy it and thought it was the best by far until I tried Celebrity . The itinery on the Princess cruise is better but I really enjoy the level of service on Celebrity.

 

Anyone out there have this same dilema?

 

Cheers

 

Scotslizzy

[Breezey]

In choosing our Med cruise a few years ago we had a choice between Celebrity and Princess. We had been on both Princess and Celebrity before. We went with friends who had only been on Celebrity but we all decided on Princess because of the itinerary which was first and foremost for us all.

 

While Princess had great service and I really think the food was not much different, it did lack some of the small touches like cold towels waiting for us when we were going to board after a day in port, the trays at the buffet and less announcements. Our friends really found Princess service lacking but they are loyal to Celebrity.

 

Personally I would still choose itinerary if the cruise was port intensive. However if the cruise is primarily the destination then I would probably stick with Celebrity's better service and added touches.

[Solstice23]

I am sure you will enjoy a Princess cruise! But for us we went back in 2009 and just missed the Image and identity Celebrity seems to have versus Princess

 

They both have good products but Celebrity is fresh , new, boutique and comfortable to us

 

Best of luck

[jackdiamond]

We have sailed both the Emerald and Ruby Princess in a mini suite; and, we were pleased. However, AQ on the Equinox far surpasses the aforesaid endeavors.

[bighairtexan]

Celebrity is my favorite line, but I'd also do Princess in a heartbeat. There are some things I prefer on either line, with the edge going to Celebrity, but I've never been disappointed when i went "back" to Princess.

[Linda-E]

DH and I have been in Solstice and Equinox. We did a Transatlantic last fall on Sapphire Princess and thought they had better food. Dining room and cabin service was also better on Sapphire. We did like the Solstice class specialty restaurant and the glass blowing show was fun!

 

I'd go with whichever itinerary is better. You'll have a good time either way.

[Solstice23]

DH and I have been in Solstice and Equinox. We did a Transatlantic last fall on Sapphire Princess and thought they had better food. Dining room and cabin service was also better on Sapphire. We did like the Solstice class specialty restaurant and the glass blowing show was fun!

 

I'd go with whichever itinerary is better. You'll have a good time either way.

 

food MDR and the Specialty and awful buffet set up, along with ship service and ship design and decor on the Caribbean Princess is what turned us 100% off the ship

 

I would Sail Celebrity, Disney or Holland before Princess again

[simon stingray]

Hi,

 

We are in a similar situation. We wanted to book a cruise for Christmas this year as we have never experienced Christmas at sea and were looking at Celebrity Equinox in the Caribbean.

 

Since our first X cruise, I am a loyal and committed Celebrity fan, however my partner has been wanting to try Princess for a few years now and felt that as we have already sailed Solstice and we are booked on the inaugural sailing of Silhouette in July, then we needed a change from Solstice class ships.

 

I was a little reluctant but when we started looking we found a great deal on a Mini-Suite on Crown Princess and the ship really does look nice.

 

I am now really looking forward to this new experience. Whilst I'm sure X will remain my favourite line, I'm sure I'll enjoy moment onboard Princess.

 

Simon.

[cynbar]

We went back to Celebrity for our 1/15 Eclipse cruise after a few years on other lines ---- DH was a smoker so was against Celebrity until he quit last year. We enjoyed the Eclipse but weren't totally WOWed by it ---- somethings they did better, but some things seem better to us on other lines. Whatever ship we are on, we try to look at the positives, at least until we find the perfect cruiseline! And, itinerary is near the top of our list. Also, staying with the same cruise line all the time can be a little repetitive. So, if itinerary is a big consideration for this particular cruise, go ahead and enjoy it, and try to avoid too many comparisons -- each cruise has a life of its own. Everyone has a favorite cruise line, but for various reasons, don't sail that line EVERY time!

[RDC1]

We just completed our first Princess cruise (Coral Princess, 15 day, Panama Canal complete transit from LA to Ft Lauderdale).

 

We had previously completed 5 Celebrity cruises.

 

We enjoyed the Princess cruise as well, if not a little more, then our most recent Celebrity cruises.

 

We will pick in the future based primarily upon itinerary.

 

With that said there is one major negative, IMO, with Princess and that is their smoking policy. Especially that they allow smoking in the cabins. While it is often encountered, there have been cases reported where people have entered their room found a noticeable smell from the previous occupant smoking and then had to deal with having the steward replace things and clean the room until the smell is gone.

[scotslizzy]

Thanks everyone.

 

The final choice is ours to make and I am still going with the Itinery on this one (Princess) but two other people have a say in this one as well !

 

I just wish in my heart if hearts that Celebrity would cover the same itinery as princess grand med tour then ther would be no need for any discussion on this one !

 

Celebrity def win on service and style in my humble opinion.

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Scotslizzy

[Cruisematic]

As an elite level Princess passenger (not as many on X but working on it) my observations are that both lines have strengths and weaknesses, the smoking policy on Princess being their biggest problem and for X I do think the itineraries at times need tweaking. I personally have noticed a bit more consistent food in the MDR across the Princess fleet, but having a sofa bed in the X balcony is a big plus for our son; not to have to sleep with his feet dangling off the end on a wall hung bed, (you need a mini-suite on Princess for a sofa bed). We would do either though and for a better price this time we are on the Solstice in three weeks. I say spread the wealth, focus on your immediate needs. Either line aims to please.

[Esprit]

I've done 4 Princess cruises compared with only one Celebrity cruise (our most recent too, aboard Constellation). I'm still a bigger fan of Princess for the following reasons:

 

Movies under the Stars Screen

The bars outside are better

The fresh burgers and pizzas are far superior to those offered by Celebrity

More ballroom/latin dancing opportunities and a dedicated night club.

More going on for young adults

 

But as others have said the itinerary would swing it for me between the two lines.

 

Peter

[Infi]

We went from S-class (Eclipse) in November to a Princess cruise over Christmas and have done the same thing the last few years. Is it different? Of course! Both are still good experiences, but different. I doubt you will be disappointed as long as you don't spend every moment trying to compare. Princess has their strengths and Celebrity has theirs. Just take each experience for what it is and enjoy yourself.

 

I love the itineraries on Princess and that is one of the main reasons we sail with them. I had wanted to sail X to Europe last year, but the Grand Med itinerary on Princess was too good to pass up, so that's what we chose. It was a wonderful itinerary that picked up the major Med highlights. I'm so glad we chose it, and I can't wait until we do it again. One thing to remember in the Med (especially on the Grand Med) is that you'll be so busy with ports and touring all day that there's hardly any time to enjoy the ship! Lots of early bedtimes and early mornings. So, who knows, you may not even have time to miss Celebrity. ;) Enjoy your cruise, I'm jealous!

[KruzPrincess]

I'm a loyal Princess cruiser, but I recently went on my first Celebrity cruise on the Equinox. There were things that were different and there were things that I missed, but overall I had a really nice cruise on Celebrity. When I got home I booked a cruise on Princess for my next vacation, but I will certainly consider Celebrity again. I think they're more alike than different and I'm happy to have options now. Personally, I like the food better on Princess, but it's all subjective. I've been on the Crown Princess twice and she's a beautiful ship. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[RDC1]

Correction to my earlier post. I meant to say that smell of smoking from prior occupants is NOT often encountered, but people have mentioned it happening on Princess ships.

[Redtravel]

They are similar. Chose more for dates and ports.

[Saintpat]

:pMy TA promised us our autumn cruise as first-timers on Celebrity would be pampered, dreamy, delightful, overwhelming service, 1 staff to 4 passengers, blah, blah. We'd been on RCCL and HAL and Princess previously.

 

A. Hated it.

B. Surly crew and steward(a female) who couldn't seem to manage anything or any arrangements. I swear, we arrived in Costa Maya for snorkeling, hiked this great long pier to meet the operator, and were told snorkeling was cancelled; how about Mayan Ruins? Now, why they couldn't post this at shore excursions or at the gangway at least, I don't know. I noticed that they offered many excursion choices, but most excursions were cancelled!

C. The satellite was ALWAYS down. Nothing could be that down.

D. The guest service host didn't show up for the tour of the ship -- I phoned Guest Services from a bar phone and he rushed in about 10 minutes later.

E. Three people at our table had something stolen while at the buffet area: glasses, cell phone, cruise card.

F. Most of the other passengers looked like they'd all come from Hot Coffee, Alabama. Tractor caps, beer tee shirts, grubby sneakers worn everywhere, bad dyed blonde jobs, and chain smokers. They called me "sweetie."

G. The whole ship smelled like smoke. I heard they'd stopped that now, but I'll always remember that.

H. I saw our Captain almost every day, and wherever he was, he looked worried and was chain smoking. A worried captain is a worry.

I. The so-called gym was about the size of my living room.

J. Never had a worse ride -- the stabilizers were probably down along with the satellite.

K. The dining room was so squeezed for room that I was practically sitting at the next table too. The squeeze between chairs was inches. Our waiter was a darling, though. Plus, they had the nerve to put "extra charge" desserts on a little card on our table: for example, creme brulee.

L. You get what you pay for, and definitely in cruising. Nothing could ever make me go on Celebrity again, not even if it was free and they gave me the owner's suite.

M. One of our tablemates, a New Yorker, lost his temper with the dining venue and yelled, "There are SIX people at this table every night and every night they bring FIVE rolls. Why don't you bring SIX rolls?" I was just humiliated.

[Christine Frances]

Horizon Nov 2004:confused::rolleyes: Not the most current information for the OP!

[dmk]

:pMy TA promised us our autumn cruise as first-timers on Celebrity would be pampered, dreamy, delightful, overwhelming service, 1 staff to 4 passengers, blah, blah. We'd been on RCCL and HAL and Princess previously.

 

What an odd post!! When did you go on this so called cruise??? Strange that not once is it mentioned in your whole history of posting.

You have, in the past, joined on lots of roll calls for Princess and Hal...but not this one for Celebrity.

[bye-seaya]

Just back from my Celebrity cruise Western Caribbean ( more of that later excellent cruise )

 

My question is having sailed twice now on the Solstice lcass ships would going back to Princess be a real let down ? It has been over three years since our last Princess cruise and I did enjoy it and thought it was the best by far until I tried Celebrity . The itinery on the Princess cruise is better but I really enjoy the level of service on Celebrity.

 

Anyone out there have this same dilema?

 

Cheers

 

Scotslizzy

We had the same dilemma a few years back and sailed on Princess because it was a brand new ship with an awesome itinerary, only to go back to Celebrity for the level of service and the great food. Just MHO.

 

I did not feel that the staff in the public areas of the Princess ship were friendly - they seemed to be 'put out' just by being there...never a friendly 'hello' and I witnessed the pool attendants pouring drinks left behind by guests onto the floor which had a rubber grid. It was kind of gross ...having sticky, left over drinks being dumped onto the deck floor where we sat and had our books, pocket books and chairs ect on....

 

Again, just MHO, but or us - Celebrity is the preferred choice.

[arpster]

Equinox last year - Ruby Princess the year before...for me the Entertainment / Itinerary /pool areas / buffet/casual dining /excursion experiences / on the Ruby were all superior to those of Equinox.....Blu / Murano / Aqua Class / relaxation / boutique ambience and beautiful design were the highlights on Equinox.....both great holidays in different ways.

[Snorkel Dawg]

: L. You get what you pay for, and definitely in cruising. Nothing could ever make me go on Celebrity again, not even if it was free and they gave me the owner's suite.

 

 

 

I'll take that free owners suite, anytime! :)

We lean twards Celeb but were on the Ruby last year and loved it.

[HubbieO]

I think it depends a lot on the ship. My experience on Star Princess was much better than Sun Princess, but I don't think service is a significant differentiator. My recent cruise on X Constellation was the best overall cruise experience I've had. Making generalizations is dangerous, and I've only cruised X once, but I'll make a few:

 

1. X ships feel less crowded.

2. X has better specialty restaurants.

3. X theaters and shows are much better.

4. Princess has laundry facilities (a real plus)

5. Many Princess activies seem to be sales/marketing oriented. X does less of that.

6. X has a much better policy regarding smoking.

 

Just my opinion based on a limited sampling...

[TomTN]

food MDR and the Specialty and awful buffet set up, along with ship service and ship design and decor on the Caribbean Princess is what turned us 100% off the ship

 

I would Sail Celebrity, Disney or Holland before Princess again

 

I think you are too kind. The Caribbean Princess might be the worst disigned cruise ship afloat today. It isn't possible to add 500 passengers, and not increase the size of public areas without having congestion problems.

The buffet is is so overcrowed people have to wait for a table often. The main theatre fills 45 minutes before the shows. Many people give up on seeing a show. Passage ways near gridlcck in the evenings. Not to say you cannot have a good time on Princess, but I would stay away from the Caribbean P or any of their other ships that were modified like the Car. p.