Princess vs Celebrity

[aquacruisers]

We have sailed once on Princess many years ago. We are considering a Trans Atlantic that departs from Venice in December. For those familiar with both X and Princess, please give me some detailed info on the similarities and differences.

 

We love X, but this itinerary and price are very attractive. Thanks in advance!!!

[geoherb]

We like both cruise lines, as well as Holland America. Celebrity used to have better food, but I think the food on our last Princess cruise was better than on our most recent Celebrity cruise. Service is slightly better in the dining room on Celebrity, unless you get a wine steward with too many tables as we did on one cruise. It did not help that that cruise was over Christmas and everyone on board seemed to be ordering wine with dinner.

[Putterdude]

We are just back from 2 weeks on the Connie and have obviously done a lot of Princess cruises. There are things that I like and dislike about both lines. I know it is subjective but I find Princess food good but a bit bland, Celebrity food is more tasty at least to my palate and is served with more flair...but Princess desserts are superior. If I had a criticism of Princess ships, it would be that they are much like a Holiday Inn, if you have seen one you have seen them all. I have always liked Princess' cabins but I have to say that I have never seen anything fitted out as well as the cabin we had (we couldn't fill all of the cupboards) on the Connie and the mattress was far better to that of Princess'. Princess' entertainment in the evening is vastly superior to that of X's who keep recycling acts and calling them "variety shows" and I don't think anyone can beat Princess' production shows. I think X's staff are much more courteous and better trained to deal with passengers then that of Princess'. I like X's free brewed coffee & juice available all day and all the flavours of ice cream available all afternoon...Princess wins in the pizza department though. Although we now have free laundry with Princess we did miss not having the laundromat on the Connie and kept waiting for a $20 bag special which did not happen. I like the forward facing lounges on X ships rather then SkyWalkers on Princess. We did not miss the stewards' carts in the hallways on the Connie as DW has a wheelchair.

All that said, we like both lines and will sail with both again and again....now I can't say that about HAL where we had the cruise from H**L over Christmas.

[psyfi]

Given similar itineraries, we prefer Celebity over Princess but are not opposed to Princess if the itinerary is right. I think there needs to be some breakdown by ship as well, as our last Eclipse cruise was beyond fantastic, the first ship I would have loved to go on a TA cruise on.

[eandj]

My first question to the op is what ship are you looking at?

 

Then I'll offer this. ...

We just got off the Crown a couple weeks ago and had a great time. There were differences to X. Some better some not good. I wrote a small comparison post a few days ago. You can find it.

 

If we were to go on a TA cruise with the extra sea days, food and entertainment would be important to us. We liked the more upbeat entertainment on Princess. We also found the food very close to X in the MDR, but I liked Princess' push of seafood. (2 seafood entres a night) DH liked the soups and definitely the cheese platters and desserts better on PRincess too. Presentation might not be as "pretty" as X's dishes. Nor is the table setting as attractive. However, if you like buffets, X wins hands down, especially if cruising on the new solstice class ships. The fact that you can bring more than 2 bottles of wine onboard Prin would be a plus too for us. And a self laundry on long cruises..another plus for Prin. if you are into that.

 

Saying that, we would have no qualms with Prin. for a TA. All depends on itinerary and somewhat the costs. I'd rec you do the same.

[austinlw]

Here's a fairly recent thread about this topic. I was on both lines a few months ago only a month apart and gave my own fairly detailed comparison between the two there.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1534591

[Putterdude]

Here's a fairly recent thread about this topic. I was on both lines a few months ago only a month apart and gave my own fairly detailed comparison between the two there.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1534591

 

I think your comparison is quite similar to our view of things except for the MDR food, which of course is a subjective topic. In my previous post I forgot to mention how much we appreciated the hot breakfast selection from room service in just a "2B" category

[marie61]

Opinions, including mine, are subjective. i honestly don't think you can go wrong with either. But ensure that you are comparing apples and apples re. accomodation--My celebrity cruise was slightly cheaper than the Princess version last March, but it was also in a verandah room rather than a minisuite.

 

I liked the buffet food better on Celebrity. MDR food was similar except there wasn't any lobster tails on Celebrity. I like the drink packages better on Celebrity but I think individual wine and drink prices are better on Princess.

 

The itinerary is really important--if one is better for you than the other, and if the pricing is good, then go for it!

[CMHCruiseCouple]

Here's a fairly recent thread about this topic. I was on both lines a few months ago only a month apart and gave my own fairly detailed comparison between the two there.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1534591

 

I have not been on Celebrity ship recently, but my memory is similar to your comments.

 

One thing to add: I, like many adults, must sleep with a CPAP machine. All of the Princess ships I've sailed have a power outlet near the bed. Not sure about the newer Celebrity ships, but the Century did not. A long extension cord (smirk: Long is relative in a ship cabin) was provided. It was stretched across the floor during the night and coiled up during the day.

 

I talked with Celebrity's home office when I returned. They appreciated the comment and wanted to incorporate additional outlets on their newer ships. I have not sailed with Celebrity recently, so not sure if my suggestion made the cut. Anyone have an update?

 

Travel safe!