For those who sail Celebrity and Princess, help needed

[camarodrivenrs]

I've been comparing cruises for next new years and I've narrowed it down to either Celebrity Reflection or Royal Princess. I've done a mostly Princess cruises in the past, but have always wanted to try Celebrity and with this current promotion it seems like as good a time to as ever. Will I be just as happy with a Celebrity cruise as a Princess cruise?

 

A little background if it helps; we are a couple in our mid 20's, my girlfriend just had her first cruise on Carnival Legend a couple of weeks ago and she was impressed so I know either Celebrity or Princess is a step up from that. We do prefer the less "in your face party" that Princess offers, which I hear Celebrity also does. What do you Celebrity experts think?

[Waihekean]

It seems from my research that most people that like Princess also like Celebrity and that they are more alike then different.

 

Following is my personal experience; Dawn Princess versus Equinox.

 

Obvious EQ is newer and larger, but found you had to be really organised to be involved with the activities and these were very short. On DP you sort of wondered into a happening and stayed there for a while.

 

Swimming pools, Atrium, MDR/food and shows were a lot better on the DP.

The buffet/OV Cafe/food was better on the EQ and loved the aft terrace.

 

The cabin and bathroom were a lot better then the DP and it also had a lovely ambiance. We also had the oversized balcony and a super stewart on the EQ.

Balcony is tiny on the DP and the cabin decor drab and outdated, also had a drab:rolleyes: stewart.

 

We had very nice staff in the MDR on the DP and not so nice (except one) on the EQ, the drink waiter was rude and the Sommelier snobby.

 

But I liked both cruises and would have loved to go on the Royal Princess for the Med. cruise, as has a great itinerary. However at double the price (x2 Pax) then the Reflection, it was an easy choice.

 

Another point in Celebrity's favor is that it will allow me to book with an American TA, so I can take advantage of price drops and promotions. This is not allowed by Princess and will have to go through the Australian branch and pay top dollar. Otherwise I would book with both lines.

 

I would u-tube both ships and research what appeals most to you like itinerary, facilities and price ofcourse:D

[tlund]

Just returned from the Equinox. Beautiful ship and staff was great. However, please know that the other passengers will be quite a bit older than you. We found the entertainment to be geared toward the older crowd and found it hard to find things to do. We sailed on Princess also. I think we would choose Princess in the future. Too many walkers and scooters on the Equinox.

[genslim47]

Sailed Celibrity 3 times with one more booked, sailed Princess twice, my loyalty is with Celebrity

[cruisetrail]

I've been comparing cruises for next new years and I've narrowed it down to either Celebrity Reflection or Royal Princess. I've done a mostly Princess cruises in the past, but have always wanted to try Celebrity and with this current promotion it seems like as good a time to as ever. Will I be just as happy with a Celebrity cruise as a Princess cruise?

 

A little background if it helps; we are a couple in our mid 20's, my girlfriend just had her first cruise on Carnival Legend a couple of weeks ago and she was impressed so I know either Celebrity or Princess is a step up from that. We do prefer the less "in your face party" that Princess offers, which I hear Celebrity also does. What do you Celebrity experts think?

 

Celebrity and Princess have been very different.

The Royal Princess is a radically new design (not Princess any more) that incorporated some worst details of Celebrity.

However, even in this condition it's noticeably better than Celebrity by design, with better food and amenities.

The Reflection is actually the worst ship of the S-Class family.

So the choice between the two cannot be easier.

[jt58203]

We've been on 4 cruises on 4 different lines and decided that next time (which is coming up soon) would be based on itinerary & price. As you can see in my signature block, Celebrity won!

[mardon]

I am going on the Reflection in Feb and so I have been reading the posts. I haven't seen one bad review of the Reflection. Everyone says food, entertainment, crew - FANTASTIC.

 

I think you will find more older people on Celebrity because Celebrity offers more longer itineraries and usually the younger crowd doesn't have as much time to take off from work.

 

We love Celebrity

[MicCanberra]

I have cruised both Princess and X and have found that they are very similar experiences on board as for food, entertainment , demographics etc. We pick our cruises by itinerary, timing and price, so I would go for the one that best suits these three things for you.:D

[camarodrivenrs]

Thanks for the replies, I think we are going give Celebrity a try. The idea of paid for drinks and having a very small bill at the end out weigh the fact that Royal Princess is going to be brand new.

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the replies, I think we are going give Celebrity a try. The idea of paid for drinks and having a very small bill at the end out weigh the fact that Royal Princess is going to be brand new.

Enjoy.:D

[Cruise Junky]

.

 

I think you will find more older people on Celebrity because Celebrity offers more longer itineraries and usually the younger crowd doesn't have as much time to take off from work.

 

We love Celebrity

 

They absolutely do not offer longer itineraries unless you're referring only to the Caribbean. Princess has much longer itineraries and always has.

[MicCanberra]

They absolutely do not offer longer itineraries unless you're referring only to the Caribbean. Princess has much longer itineraries and always has.

 

Not sure who offers longer itineraries, but the demographic is very similar. There are teens, young people (20-35), families with young children, middle aged and then the older generations. Average age across the board would probably be around 60 but both have ranges from babies through to late 90s. It is true that longer cruises (more than 2 weeks) do attract an older set as retirees tend to have the time (and money) to do these cruises.:D

[Cruise Junky]

Not sure who offers longer itineraries, but the demographic is very similar. There are teens, young people (20-35), families with young children, middle aged and then the older generations. Average age across the board would probably be around 60 but both have ranges from babies through to late 90s. It is true that longer cruises (more than 2 weeks) do attract an older set as retirees tend to have the time (and money) to do these cruises.:D

 

Agreed. They are very similiar lines with a very similar passenger demographic.

[camarodrivenrs]

They are both 7 night cruises in this case and its over New Years so I'm hoping Celebrity will have less of the family/children crowd than say Carnival or Royal Caribbean.

[The_Big_M]

They are both 7 night cruises in this case and its over New Years so I'm hoping Celebrity will have less of the family/children crowd than say Carnival or Royal Caribbean.

 

Possibly slightly less, but I wouldn't say a big difference. Still many families travel Celebrity. Quarter of the pax onboard my last Celebrity cruise over Christmas were children, and all had a good time.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

You will love Celebrity. Give it a try. Variety is the spice of life. Celebrity is my favorite cruise line for the following reasons....

 

Champagne or Glass of Orange Juice upon arrival.

 

The ships are upscale and understated. Very sophisticated.

 

Fantastic friendly crew throughout

 

The addition of Bistro on Five- with it's made to order crepes, paninis, soups, salads and desserts- GReat breakfast spot. ($5 surcharge) and Qsine ($40)surcharge which is whimsical and fun but go hungry.

 

Good entertainment and activities but nothing is in your face.

 

The weak point for me on my celebrity was the MDR. The food and service I think have suffered with budget cuts and we opted to eat in the specialty restaurants. Plus- frankly the MDR dinners are predictable and uninspired.

[bbappel]

Coffee is better on Princess.

There is no smoking on Celebrity in the casino or in your cabin including the balcony or just about anywhere except a few spots. This is a MAJOR plus for me, a lifelong nonsmoker.

Both provide an elegant experience with a slightly older crowd though lately there have been more and more young people on Celebrity. I haven't been on Princess since 2009.

One secret that not all old people will share is this: we don't know we are old.

Well at least I don't think I'm old & I'm 68. Maybe in20 years. Maybe not.

Whichever you choose you will have a great time.

Beth

[librarylady19]

Celebrity and Princess have been very different.

The Royal Princess is a radically new design (not Princess any more) that incorporated some worst details of Celebrity.

However, even in this condition it's noticeably better than Celebrity by design, with better food and amenities.

The Reflection is actually the worst ship of the S-Class family.

So the choice between the two cannot be easier.

 

I don't think you can state as a fact that "the Reflection is actually the worst ship of the S Class family". even if you had been on all 5 ships, which I doubt.

[cruisetrail]

I can state it as a fact because it's a well known fact.

The Reflection is the worst ship of Celebrity S-Class family.

 

The Royal will be better than any of S-Class ships.

However, I would "think" about Royal vs Eclipse because it's always a good thing to try a new cruise line, and the best way is to try the best ship which is the Eclipse.

In that case the OP would have got "much more of Celebrity".

Royal vs Reflection - nothing to think about.

 

I would encourage everyone to sail with different cruise lines.

Have not sailed with Celebrity yet?

Try it.

[miched]

Last cruise was the Ruby Princess. Had some nice features. Liked the coffee shop. Coffee was around $1.50 and you got refills, could purchase a coffee punch card for special coffees and get regular coffee without using a punch. The entertainment was fairly good but not outstanding.

 

The main thing that X has over Princess is their smoking policy. It is very nice to be basically smoke free.

 

Would be happy to cruise on either.

[Denny01]

You will notice the poster calling Reflection the worst S-Class doesn't respond whether they have actually been on the Reflection, which earlier posts indicates they haven't.

 

Been on the Reflection plus most of the other Celebrity ships, and on 3 Princess, but not the Royal, but have the Golden which I believe is very similar.

 

I enjoyed all the Celebrity and Princess. I prefer Celebrity because I think the cabins are better organized and a bit larger for standard SRs. On Princess, we had to upgrade to a mini-suite to have room to socialize while the standard Celebrity SRs do have a couch and sitting for guests. So I compare Princess mini-suite prices with standard Celebrity SR prices.

 

I think the service is equal on both, and the dining. I think the stations used in the Relfection are better and allow more choices, many more. I found the common areas on Celebrity, including Reflection, to be larger and better situated while the Princess was more crowded.

 

Entertainment...tough one, but I'd give Princess the nod. But all three of the Princess ships I was on had a theatre which was too small for the number of passengers and you had to be there an hr before to get two seats together on popular shows. On Celebrity, not the case.

 

Loved the Princess coffee card and the International Cafe.

 

Celebrity has better specialty restaurants, especially the $5pp ones that are fun (Bistro on 5, and The Porch).

 

The biggest downer for me on Princess, along with the SRs and very small showers, was more hardsell than on other Lines. May have just been me and I focused on it too much, but it was an issue for me.

 

To the comment on too many scooters and walkers on Celebrity, could be due to the itinerary. I felt there were more on our last Princess cruise, but none of us really know, just subjective comments, as are all of mine above.

 

I would cruise Princess again for an itinerary or join friends as we have before, but look to Celebrity as our starting point.

 

Enjoy.

 

Den

[Decpl]

We have done both, like both. Have more Princess under our belts than X, but enjoy them both. The passengers are a little more mature on X and less children. Food and shows about equal in our opinion.

[flmmkk]

We have enjoyed both the Princess Empire and the Celebrity Eclipse. There are things we enjoyed more on Princess (dinners and overall service)and things we enjoyed more on Celebrity ( definitely cabin and shower space) The food on both were very good but Princess wins out re: dinner. Breakfast/Lunch equal. Entertainment about the same. Cabins Celebrity wins especially the bathrooms. When deciding now which one to book depends entirely on price and itinerary.

HTH

Laurie

[munraven]

We have been on Ruby Princess and Celebrity Summit (also RCCL and CCL). We are in our 40's and usually travel with our 2 teen boys. We are going on our second Celebrity cruise in March on Reflection as we enjoyed Celebrity the most of our past 7 cruises. We liked Princess but found the ship a little harder to navigate and the food not up to our expectations. Loved the Muts and that the kids could have special drink packagesl! We like Celebrity's smoking policy (I have allergy issues) and found the food the best we've had on any ship. Also the relaxing atmosphere with plenty of things to do, and of course the adults can have drink packages too, it just fits us!

[Cruise Raider]

Celebrity for us!

While we actually have more cruises on Princess, Celebrity beats them out in most aspects.

 

Princess Pros

• Movies under the stars
  
• Open closet design in the staterooms (Grand Class and newer)
  
• Free internet minutes with Platinum & Elite status
  
• Free laundry with Elite stats
  
• Fun and lucky casinos -- especially on non-smoking nights (usually coordinated with formal nights)
  
• Less formal wear required -- little more casual even on formal night
  
• Pool games / music by the pool
  

Celebrity Pros

• Larger standard staterooms
  
• Entertainment
  
• Food / overall dining experience
  
• Room service menu and pillow menu in CC / AC rooms
  
• Hump cabins with large balconies
  
• Covered balconies (most mini-suites on Princess have uncovered balconies)
  
• Best room stewards (although had one of the best on Princess last year -- but one in 15 doesn't give Princess bragging rights)
  
• Comfortable beds
  
• Availability of pool towels / blankets
  
• Comped cocktail hour for Elite / Diamond status - reciprocity with Royal Caribbean for onboard perks
  

I know I have forgotten many items on what makes one better than the other -- and the demographics, as many have mentioned, has way more to do with the itinerary, length of cruise and cost than it does with the particular cruise line. I have seen a lot of younger people on Celebrity and times when we were the youngest people on Princess.

Although for me, Celebrity is my favorite - especially of the two mentioned above - variety is the spice of life and don't like the same experience, menus, entertainment, etc cruise after cruise ....so like to switch it up a bit and go on all different lines. Only problem is -- it is taking us so long to get to the top status on any one cruise line. Oh well, at least we are never too bored. :p