Celebrity vs Princess- Europe.

[tammymacb]

My Dh and I just got home from a meeting regarding my final DDs senior trip. 10 days in Greece. We'd planned on joining the group as chaperones. Well, after doing the math, and talking about how we'd spend all that money to hang around with a bunch of teenagers, we decided to pass. We're sending DD, and booking our own Med trip, I'm hoping Italy, Turkey, Greece.

 

Since it will be the two of us, I'm only considering two lines. Celebrity and Princess. We've sailed X once (in about 13 cruises) and loved it, but since cruises are usually our family trip, it's not been our first choice for the kids. We've never sailed Princess, though I've heard good things about it.

 

I'd love opinions. If both lines offer a similar itinerary, which would you choose and why? I'm guessing either one will be MUCH cheaper than we were going to pay for the 10 day tour. Thanks.

 

(info on us, married couple, , me 40s, DH early 50s- non smokers, well traveled, we like to cruise in comfort, our last cruise was Disney Fantasy concierge)

[cynbar]

We have never found a perfect cruise line but enjoy both Celebrity and Princess. You are on the Celebrity boards so you'll find the replies skewed to Celebrity, but honestly, there are some things we prefer about Celebrity and some about Princess. Celebrity has a more restrictive smoking policy, we have not been bothered by smokers on Princess but that may be the luck of the draw. Princess has irons and a coin laundramat on each floor, this is a nice plus for a longer trip like Europe. I hear that Celebrity is coming back with it's 123 Go promo where you can get a free beverage package, this is a really nice perk and may interest you. Princess has more entertainment, a livelier atmosphere and a more extensive and themed dinner buffet which may be a good choice after a long port day, but Celebrity offers the evening's MDR meal via room service which is also appealing. But overall, we go for the best itinerary and know the rest will be fine. We have a 10 day Med cruise booked in May with Celebrity because it offered everything we wanted to see, round trip Rome with the Greek Isles, Ephesus and Sicily, but another time Princess will have just what we want.

[tammymacb]

Thanks so much!

 

I posted the same question on both boards and figured I'd compare answers. I don't think I can go wrong either way, but since I'm least familiar with these lines, I want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

[Go-Bucks!]

I'm only considering two lines. Celebrity and Princess. We've never sailed Princess, though I've heard good things about it.

 

 

I'm about the opposite of you; I haven't been on Celebrity yet (will be in March, 2014) but have done on 6 Princess cruises. I've heard good things about Celebrity - which is why we're going to try it - and that they and Princess are similar.

 

I really enjoy Princess - it feels very comfortable in pleasant subtle colors and brass. Most people seem to be in their 30-60's. They have an excellent loyalty program, self serve laundry rooms, the best pizza, 24 hr a day good food, traditional and anytime dining, Movies Under the Stars, fresh water pools, adult only pools, and great suite perks.

 

No matter which you choose, have a nice cruise! :D

[stipmom]

Go for the itinerary and check the times in port. That is what is important when you cruise in Europe. If you are not the type to arrange your own excursions check what both lines offer.

 

All things being equal I would always choose Celebrity over Princess. I think the food and service is better. Also, if you choose Aqua class or dine in specialty restaurants on the ship formal nights you don't need to pack formal clothes

 

Seems both the Silhouette and Reflection are doing the eastern Med next year. We were on the Silhouette in Europe last year and it was wonderful..

[Bethw]

We have been on both many times and my husband says it is silly to compare - when one is a 92 and the other is a 93. One thing I would watch for Europe - my husband generally does not like to many sea days so last year on our Baltic cruise we chose princess because there were less sea days - big mistake we were exhausted. In the Caribbean all the ports are so similar I find that we don't spend that much time I. Port and don't come back exhausted. But in Europe there is so much to see that every day in port is long and tiring - we could have used more down time. One more sea day would have been great.

[lovemylab]

We chose Celebrity for our Med cruise due to the no smoking policy and price. A similar itinerary on Princess was considerably more expensive.

[skt4cruise]

I don't think you can beat Celebrity, as my signature says. We won't ever sail Princess again but NCL is great for safe ports. For example going to Egypt or Holy Land we would only go Celebrity for safety reasons, they take wonderful care of you on Celebrity!

[Bently57]

Just don't get on the Ocean Princess. We are longtime Princess fans but that ship felt like a nursing home at sea. I am 56! So I am not talking about clientele. I am talking about food and entertainment. Boring.

[dorisis]

The itinerary wouldd be most important to me. Which line offers the ports you want to visit?

[zoncom]

7 Princess/ over 25 Celebrity. Did Ruby in Europe 2 yrs. ago when all the Celebrity affordable cabins were sold out. Princess just does not compare to X ships both in decor or food. Try the latest X S class ships, Silhoutte, Reflections. The most beautiful ships at sea. Watch for Holiday sales.

Edited November 20, 2013 by zoncom

[Hlitner]

We also enjoy both cruise lines (and others). Most European cruises are very port intensive so we generally do not get overly choosy about the specific ship (or even cabin). In your situation we would carefully review the itineraries with regard to the times in ports and also where the ship goes on Sundays and Mondays (2 problem days in many ports because of closures). Price would also be a major consideration if most other things were equal.

 

Hank

[ny cruisequeen]

My Dh and I just got home from a meeting regarding my final DDs senior trip. 10 days in Greece. We'd planned on joining the group as chaperones. Well, after doing the math, and talking about how we'd spend all that money to hang around with a bunch of teenagers, we decided to pass. We're sending DD, and booking our own Med trip, I'm hoping Italy, Turkey, Greece.

 

Since it will be the two of us, I'm only considering two lines. Celebrity and Princess. We've sailed X once (in about 13 cruises) and loved it, but since cruises are usually our family trip, it's not been our first choice for the kids. We've never sailed Princess, though I've heard good things about it.

 

I'd love opinions. If both lines offer a similar itinerary, which would you choose and why? I'm guessing either one will be MUCH cheaper than we were going to pay for the 10 day tour. Thanks.

 

(info on us, married couple, , me 40s, DH early 50s- non smokers, well traveled, we like to cruise in comfort, our last cruise was Disney Fantasy concierge)

 

Both are good, but we now we prefer Celebrity. They had much more entertainment...on Princess we had more of the Production shows and very few outside entertainers. There were no afternoon shows and nothing the last night. On Celebrity we were kept occupied on sea day afternoons as well as the last sea evening. We had the most fabulous singers, musicians and entertainers. The food was much better, more upscale and beautifully prepared, the service was excellent. Staff bent over backwards to make everyone happy. As far as other cruisers, it depends on when you go. We were on an October Canada cruise and the average age was 60 and above. Lots of wheelchairs. All the kids with their younger parents were in school. In spring break time and holidays and summer it is packed with people of all ages and rambunctious teens. This is on every line.

 

Go for ports and prices and watch prices even after final payments. You can get good discounts even after booking. Look for private guides in ports by doing research on CC and trip Advisor. You can fill a car on your Roll Call.

 

We were disappointed with the attitude on Princess our last trip to Hawaii. The staff was apathetic toward the few issues we had. We do MY Time Dining and they had us standing against a wall for over 40 minutes because we wanted a table for just the two of us for dinner. It was a special night and we did not feel like being with more strangers that evening. We had to call for the head of the dining room for help. There were at least six couples fuming alongside us.

 

Another night we had a toilet overflow. They did not send anyone to fix it for over a half hour. We threw towels on the floor to absorb water. Finally they came but they never notified the cabin steward to clean the bathroom. Guest Relations were snarky. Twice the toilets in the ship by the restaurants were broken and no one put a sign outside them and it took hours to fix. There were no announcements and no one to direct you to a bathroom that worked. No one seemed to care. We were really shocked at the poor attitude. The dining room meals were not up to Celebrity standards but it was good. I do think that recently Princess has not been as great as it has in the past.

[CathyCruises]

Hmmm, we took a Princess cruise to Alaska after multiple S Class cruises and were really disappointed. The décor was awful, the public bathrooms were bleh, there were four small dining rooms instead of one grand one, and the design of the ship had many dead ends, or seeming dead ends--when you walked right up to the wall there was a small opening! The public spaces/lounges had no flair at all and the indoor pool was a zoo with screaming kids doing belly flops.

 

The Laundromat just didn't make up for these design flaws in my opinion, and in no way could come close to the visual beauty and style of the S class ships. The Solarium is a fantastic place to read and relax in peace, the Martini Bar is the place to be pre-dinner, always hopping, and there are many lovely loungers in the shade near the pool with great views.

[We're The Groupnors]

We like both lines, but our nod will always go to Celebrity if itineraries and price are similar. We find there are typically less children on board Celebrity ships, even during summer holidays, we like the restrictive smoking policy (though the Princess policy from what we hear is now similar), and think the food and service are a notch up from Princess. Our last Princess cruise was in the Med, and while we really enjoyed the cruise from the perspective of the itinerary we've hesitated going back to them due to the lack of service we received on board from several departments.

Edited November 20, 2013 by We're The Groupnors

[jocelysue]

It may be worth mentioning that Princess does not have sofas in their cabins unless one has booked a Junior Suite and above. This means that Celebrity's cabins are larger unless you are in a JS on Princess.

 

We do enjoy Princess in a JS but have found that for Europe HAL's time in port is usually longer. Also their ships usually have covered pools which is a plus.So you have 3 great choices,

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