New to Celebrity

[NearEnough]

I've cruised with a number of lines, mostly Princess, but never with Celebrity and am now contemplating a 23 day trans-Pacific cruise on the Celebrity Century. I am interested to hear from anyone who's cruised with both Celebirty and Princess about how does Celebrity, in your opinion, compare with Princess? Am Elite with Princess and am not looking forward to not having free laundry but no doubt I'll live! I looked at Celebrity website and can't see any indication of a self-service laundry on the Celebrity Century. Nor do they mention trivia. Would have withdrawal symptoms for 23 days without going to trivia. Reviews I've read, as usual, differ widely so would be grateful for any input.

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[jelayne]

There is no self serve laundry on any Celebrity ship. Trivia is alive and well on Celebrity. Very restrictive smoking policy, which I like. I have not sailed on Princess so I can't give you a comparison.

 

I just returned from a transpacific on the Solstice. It was great- our 6th Celebrity cruise. All but one have been on S class ships.

 

We sailed the Century last Dec through the Panama Canal. It is an older, small ship, doesn't have the open modern feel of the others; a more subdued elegant feel. The the crew was great, food very good, lecturers very interesting. The Panama Canal has a lot of ports and not a lot of sea days which I think is fine on a ship like the Century. For a transpacific or transatlantic I would prefer a S class with more open space, solarium pool, lawn for bocce, putting, wine & cheese sail always etc.

[happycat Bainbridge Is]

We've sailed repeatedly on both Celebrity and Princess. We always seem to end up favoring Celebrity IF the price and itinerary is right.

 

MDR and buffet food is extremely good on both lines with some things that are excellent. Cabins are both well furnished and comfortable.

 

We appreciate the fact that Celebrity has stricter smoking policies and that they do not do lots of announcements -- and most especially, not so much up-selling. I don't like a push to buy liqueurs after dinner while I'm trying to enjoy my dessert or line dancing announcements while I'm snoozing on a sun lounger.

 

Staff on both lines have been great - but Celebrity staff seem to us a bit more consistently professional, warm and personal.

 

Princess has better pizza, and I love Movies Under the Stars, but Celebrity has some quieter pools and spaces, and a more relaxed feel for us.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to book either one if a good price and itinerary were on offer.

 

I think if you like Princess you will be very satisfied with Celebrity.

 

HCBI

[wallie5446]

Our 1st Princess in 1993, 1st Celebrity in 1994, Century years ago in '96 & '98, sailed the Ruby last Nov, no where close to the overall experience on Celebrity. Something was missing. Correct, no self serve washing machines on X. We like the 'smaller' ship experience, if one can call 1800+ pax small:rolleyes:, but the profit center is greater with the 3000 pax sailing, so we too conform and go with the flow. You will not be unhappy with the cruise, but it is hard to make the 'change' from an old comfy home to a new one ;)

[CAPinBoynton]

NearEnough, as you can see from my signature we have sailed Princess numerous times and have an Island Princess cruise booked for next year. Princess is very good, but Celebrity is better. Having said that, I don't know that I would like the Century for that many days. Don't misunderstand, there's nothing wrong with Century, but for 23 days there's not that much to do. If you like to read a lot, it would be great. We were on the Century last December with five consecutive sea days going from San Diego to Hawaii, and it was great. But 23, I don't know. One of the Solstice class ships would be better for me.

 

Anyway, if you're interested we have an in depth review with loads of pictures of the Century on our website at www.thepreismans.com. You can see the Century under the Hawaii review, and the Solstice class under the Scandinavia & Russia review. Hope this helps.

Edited November 10, 2013 by CAPinBoynton

[sabookkeeper]

I have not sailed on the Century so I cannot make a comparison to that class of ship so my comparisons are based on the Silhouette only.

 

1. We had a 2C balcony and it had a couch in it where on Princess you have to pay for a mini suite to have this option.

 

2. I missed the International Café. Celebrity has Café Al Bacio, however, not the selection available on Princess.

 

3. Officers are seen more walking around on Celebrity. We had a few great conversations with different officers.

 

4. We did traditional dining and we did not find any difference in the quality of the food. I do believe Princess has a better selection of desserts.

 

5. We like the layout of the buffet better on Celebrity than Princess.

 

Overall, we now two favourite cruise lines to choose from. Please remember that these comparison are for the Silhouette not the Century.

[Cruise Raider]

While I like Princess a lot, I absolutely love Celebrity. While I have had a few disappointing cruises on Princess, I have not had a one on Celebrity.

 

As mentioned, Celebrity has a much more restrictive smoking policy than Princess....and as also mentioned, I like that. Princess does however, offer non-smoking nights in the casino on formal night and no longer is smoking allowed on the balconies. This takes care of most of my problems right there. I just want to be able to get away from the smoke when I want to and if allowed on the balconies, not always so possible. Smokers pay for their cruises as well -- to enjoy what they want to do -- so not bashing them at all. It works out well if everyone can be happy -- give them a place to smoke and give us our balconies where they cannot smoke. Anyhow, Celebrity allows absolutely no smoking inside except for I think one location. There is also smoking allowed outside only in a few select locations....mostly on the port side but I think one location on the starboard side.

 

I like the walk in closets that Princess offers -- so they do get that one. I think Celebrity could just take those closet doors off to make it a little easier to manage.

The bathrooms are so much nicer on Celebrity, as is their bedding.

The pool towels / blankets are way too restricted on Princess -- now having not sailed on Princess in a little over 2 years, not sure if that has changed but it is nice having access to a dry towel when you are dripping wet without them deciding if they can give you one or not and then signing your life away to get one.

Service -- bad to excellent on both. Funny thing is, the better room categories we've booked on both have had some of the worst room stewards. So, equal there but overall, I think Celebrity has more of a white glove service feel.

The beverage packages on Celebrity get my vote! A++++

Self service laundry is available on Princess, where it is not on Celebrity. While I have never actually washed anything, I have always used that laundry area to press formal clothing. Celebrity does offer free pressing service for a couple of items with select membership and even better with the elite membership -- and they have always done a great job. But, have had dry cleaning done on Princess before and they also do a great job.

Food on Princess used to be my absolute favorite -- always thought they had the best. Boy, has that changed. It has gone so far downhill that I just eat mostly at the International Café.

Always have had pretty good luck in the casinos on Princess -- only a few times on Celebrity. Both have had very friendly staff.

Room service on Celebrity is pretty much the worst, where as on Princess, it has always been decent. The standard coffee on both is just awful.

If you use a hairdryer, the ones on the Century, if anything like the Mercury, are hoses and get extremely hot to the touch. Don't like them at all.

I think if you just little the nice little subtle touches, you will probably like Celebrity equally as much if not more.

[wallie5446]

Another note:

To show just how 'special' the Century is to many Celebrity pax, there are 2 special sailings the first of next year, in the Carib, that basically SOLD OUT in 7-10 days of being released. They are both among the biggest Roll Call threads I have seen on CC in some time.

[NearEnough]

Thanks to all who answered my query. Most helpful. I don't mind smaller ships and LOVE sea days. I'm sailing with a friend this time, not husband, and she also loves sea days. We had 8 days straight from Dubai to Port Said a couple of years ago and that was great. There are six ports in 23 days - ideal for me. Looks like Celebrity it is - not a lot of choice as the trans Pacific is a repositioning cruise and I think only Celebrity and HAL will do it next year. I like Celebrity's ports better. It is so helpful to be able to post on CruiseCritic and get such informative answers. Will just have to cope with the 'no free laundry' situation.

[bphman]

Put me down as a vote for Celebrity. We have only been on 3 different Princess ships but have sailed all classes of Celebrity going back to the Horizon. Standard cabins are comparable so no advantage there. I do like Princess minis are nice and usually a bargain. No butler service on Princess. I give the edge to Celebrity for food quality but Princess Pizza is fabulous for a cruise ship. Always felt Princess had a horrible buffet, not for the food but the layout. Princess definitely feels more crowded as there is less common area on Princess. I also prefer the crew services on Celebrity. We don't take advantage of the entertainment that much so I won't comment. Never had an issue finding a seat is any of the bars we visited on Celebrity. Not so on Princess. Plenty of trivia on both ships. I would sail Princess again if price and itinerary appealed to me but it is not my go to cruise line.

[varoo]

You can find a nice preview of the Century here:

 

Celebrity Century Photo Tour page 1

 

Just click the link in red down at the bottom of each page to continue the tour.

 

True that she is an older ship without the glimmer and pizzazz of the newer and larger modern ships, but she has many devotees who love her and even prefer her to the newer ships.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!