Celebrity vs. Princess .... which is better??

[Ravens Fan]

Every February we take a cruise vacation. This year, we want to graduate from the "Royal Caribbean/Carnival" class. We hear that Princess and Celebrity are a step up. We are looking for opinions from those who have sailed with both. What do you think??

 

Thanks.

[Andee]

To us, Celebrity and Princess are comparable in terms of "class", but what we really prefer about Princess is the availability of personal choice dining, being able to eat whenever we want in one of the two nice dining rooms. We really don't care for eating at the same time and with the same assigned tablemates every night.

[mr green]

No contest, unless Celebrity has cleaned up its public relations in the past three months. Princess wins! john

[Bruin Steve]

Of course, people's opinions can differ...

We all have different criteria and different values...

To me, "Personal Choice Dining" is a NEGATIVE...

 

Princess is fairly equal to RCCL, though I prefer RCCL of those two...

Celebrity is a giant step up...

Better food, better service, nicer ships...

 

Conde Nast's large ship survey constantly has ALL of Celebrity's ships in it's Top 10...no one else comes close...obviously...there aren't many spots left...

 

But, again, some people can feel differently...

To each his own...

[spongerob]

One thing in Princess' favor, their ships aren't cancelling cruises on a regular basis to be fixed.

[kitty9]

Been on the Grand and Golden and on three Celebrity cruises and for me, it's a no brainer---Celebrity all the way. The service on Princess was really lacking---had to practically tackle waiters in the lounges to get a drink or some water, room stewards who were just OK. Food and service on Celebrity were uniformly great.

[catmand]

John, (Mr. green) I seem to remember reading you had a beef with Celebrity a while ago, it also seems you are still resentful of that situation. While I don't remember any of the details nor care to get back into them now, I think if someone asks a question about comparing the two lines, which people do here almost every day, one line or another, the least we can do is give an example or two about what makes US feel the way we do!

 

Now, I can't really say if Celebrity and/or Princess are a "step up" because we have never sailed the other lines that you have but I can give you some of the differences, some have been mentioned already;

 

Princess does offer "Anytime Dining" so you can eat basically when and with whom you like. Princess also has a pretty good selection in their buffet in the evening to go along with that "anytime" style. So if 24/7 food interests you Princess has it.

 

Celebrity still has the traditional dining style but also has a "casual venue" in a section of the buffet. It has silver/linen setting just like the main room and almost the same menu. They request reservations and a 2buck tip for the waitstaff there, so actually you could eat there the entire cruise and never set foot in the main room, you can make reservations from 5-10pm (I THINK it was). Celebrity also has sushi from 5pm till ? and a pizza and made to order pasta bar till 1am. They both have 24 hour room service so you are not going to go hungry.

 

Princess' newer ships (Grand Class) have several pools (as many as 5) and hot tubs that are fresh water and open 24/7. Celebrity pools and tubs are sea water and they shut them down around 10pm.

 

Princess' Grand Class ships also have two large entertainment venues, theater forward and a large lounge aft as well as the disco up in Skywalkers. Celebrity has but the one theater. Princess does have more and varried night time entertainment.

 

People always ask which is better? Wanda and I think the better one is the one that happens to have the best price at the time for where we would like to sail. We would get on either line anytime and believe neither is better, they are just a little different.

 

Both lines ships that we have sailed have been beautifully appointed. Food is subjective so what is our opinion but just that, we have yet to have a bad meal. Celebrity staff service seems a little more even and friendly, these folks all seem to truly enjoy working for X and always have a smile and a good word.

I guess having said all of this, our opinion would be a slight nod to Celebrity on food and service and entertainment Princess.

 

Sorry for being so wordy, you can't miss with either, so try 'em both!

PS:.......and for what it's worth the closet space is larger on Princess but the bathroom shower much larger on Celebrity! (now that's just a regular cabin never had a suite.)

[mii]

Catmand(Chuck) I could not have said it better. I also have been on both and Chuck said it absolutely perfect.

 

Marilyn

[seagulls]

I have sailed on both lines and I give Celebrity the edge, but there are no major differences between them.

 

I like traditional dining and enjoy having the same tablemates each evening to chat with. I have never had a bad experience but if I did I would ask for another table. When we booked Princess (6 months before sailing) we asked for formal dining and was told that it was fully booked and we would be put on a waiting list. So it looks like a lot of folks prefer traditional dining on Princess too.

 

Before our Princess cruise we wondered what all the fuss was about, and why people were taking there own coffee pots with them. Well now we know the coffee was absolutely awful. Not a big thing in the scheme of things but I sure missed having a nice cup in the morning.

 

Both ships are lovely and I resent Celebrity's new policy as far as set pricing is concerned. I will cruise on Princess again but given the choice it is Celebrity for us.

[98Charlie]

Our experiences on both lines have been good. For us:

• We like PC dining
  
• Food was a bit better (personal opinion) on Celebrity
  
• Service and attention to detail by the staff has been equally good (great) on both lines.
  
• Like the cold towels upon return to the ship (Celebrity)
  
• Price, ship, destination is really where we make the choice between the two.
  
• IMHO you can't go wrong with either. Flip a coin and enjoy!
  

 

Charlie

[Boo's Mom]

I, too....have sailed on both lines.

 

Celebrity gets my vote.

 

I personally did not like the "anytime dining" on Princess. We experienced crowds, confusion, irritablility, poor service.....waiters looking at their watches, as they were asking you IF you were going to have dessert tonight.

[flashdog_1]

the travel agent ascertained that I'd prefer either Celebrity, Princess or Holland America. Then we looked at the Panama Canal itinerary and Celebrity had more ports of call, but Princess went through one lock and into Lake Gatun (I had to pay $150 for a tour to go thru two locks since summit did not go through any locks), so that was a close decision. Princess had a balcony that was possibly to be upgraded for about $250 pp less than Celebrity, but was a one day shorter trip.

 

I read the boards and decided that I absolutely did not want any announcements in 5 languages broadcast all day. Celebrity does not do this and I understand that most lines do, even announcing "Bingo in xxx area in 15 minutes." To me, this benefit was worth the higher price. So I booked the lowest class balcony, was in cabin 6093, near the midship glass elevators, no rocking, peaceful. Wonderful.

 

One morning we were docked in Cozumel at the International Pier, and I heard a loud announcement from outdoors. I looked out the balcony and there was a Carnival ship reminding the kiddies to do such and such (and repeated in several languages).

 

When it was time for our excursion in Cozumel, people from Summit knew what time to gather etc. and did so without any announcement. It was very hot so our guide asked us to stand under the pavillion where we'd be cooler while we waited for the bus driver. We were waiting with passengers from other cruise lines going on different tours. I asked my husband to look around and see if he could tell which people were with which cruise line. It was evident from 1) their clothing or lack there of 2) their demeanor and 3) decorum, and yes, 4) overall age, but in this case I mean age to mean maturity not the number of days one has lived on the planet. Some people were pushing and behaving with no regard for others, and certainly not staying with their group (which forced people in other groups to move away), and caused bedlam when their tour departed, as well. When they left, I felt, "what a relief."

 

I wondered if I was being too harsh in judging, since some of the scantily dressed (or undressed) people might have been going to a beach, or going snorkling, although I did not see any equipment. Our group went to some beaches, but not to swim, only staying half an hour in each locale, but no one was dressed skimpily.

 

I take a cruise to "get away" and relax. I find that if I had to endure the noise and general chaos that I observed from passengers on other cruiselines, I'd rather not be captive on a ship. So for sailing, I definitely prefer Celebrity where people acted and dressed appropriately, and were considerate of one another. It gave me the freedom to choose what activities i wanted to participate in, or not. I'm an adult and I appreciated that more than any bargain fare.

[98Charlie]

I' date=' too....have sailed on both lines.

 

Celebrity gets my vote.

 

I personally did not like the "anytime dining" on Princess. We experienced crowds, confusion, irritablility, poor service.....waiters looking at their watches, as they were asking you IF you were going to have dessert tonight.[/quote']I agree that, all things being equal, I would probably go Celebrity. Having said that, we had no problem with the PC dining on Princess and enjoy Freestyle dining with NCL. We also like traditional dining and getting to know our tablemates who come from other parts of the country (and world).

 

Cruising, for us, is one big buffet of experiences. :D

 

Charlie

[donnajo]

Celebrity wins, in my opinion.

I have done 3 cruises on Celebrity and 4 on Princess.

(6 on RCCL and 1 on NCL)

Princess is a very good line, or we wouldn't be repeaters, but Celebrity's food was better and their cabins are bigger (especially balconies).

Just a little classier overall. We also are not real thrilled with PC dining. We like getting to know our wait staff and them getting to know us so Traditional dining is the way we like to go.

 

Good Luck in your decision~

 

Donna

[dhcoaster]

To answer your question I would have to ask a question. What are you looking for in a cruise? Sailed both cruise lines. Celebrity is a way more formal cruise line. On formal night it is around 75 to 90% tuxes for the men. The women on most of the cruises I did always were proper formal wear, not the men. Also service, food is way way beter on Celebrity. But Princess is a lot cheaper to sail. On Celebrity you will be pool toweled out, on Princess you get one pool towel. If you go to the beach, guess what towel you have to use when you return to the ship and want to go to the ships pool on Princess. Yep, the same now sandy and wet towel you used on the beach. Like paying for ice cream? Princess is the only cruise line I know that charges for it!

Why do I keep sailing on Princess, Price and Price Only is the reason.

[rjscott]

Of our last 3 cruises, 2 have been Princess and 1 Celebrity. Our first Princess cruise, I enjoyed, but thought the crew was rather aloof, bordering on rude. Also thought the food was just ok. On our 2nd Princess cruise, things had changed for the better. It seemed as though the crew had gone thru a customer orientation seminar. The crew was very friendly and accommodating, and the food was consistently good, even on the buffets. We had an inside cabin both Princess cruises and had plenty of storage and countertop space. We did not experience a pool towel problem, as we asked our steward for extra pool towels and he readily obliged. On Celebrity, the staff was very friendly, food was excellent, and our balcony cabin was roomy.

Based on both Princess cruises, I would lean toward another Princess cruise, but my husband gives the edge to Celebrity.

[bandit0000]

Celebrity in my opinion is superior to Princess. A touch of class.

Although it does depend on what you are looking for. For instance I would say Princess is more family orientated and that Celebrity seems to have a little older clientelle. They also play alot of jazz music, which I am not that keen on myself, but that said thay are still my preferred cruise line.

Lisa

[marco]

We've been on both many times. There are some differences, but by and large there are more similarities between these two than say, one of these and Carnival. There's been a lot of discussion about the "personal choice" dining. Keep in mind it is an option, not a requirement. Really, I don't think you'd be disappointed with either, and I think timing/itinerary/pricing would be my main consideration of choozing one over the other.