Princess vs Celebrity, my personal opinions....

[The_Big_M]

I supplied information that shows X is rated as better then Princess.

All three polls Cc Cruisers Choice Awards, Conde Nast and Luxury & Travel list X above Princess in the ratings..

They are close but in all 3 X is rated better.

This is fact not opinion.

.

 

It may be fact, but it doesn't make it significant or meaningful.

 

These are not statistically valid surveys. They're just the numbers resulting from those who select to do the ratings. And the results themselves are close. What is the significance of the difference in ratings points? How does that relate to a different experience for a passenger?

 

With the same results, having one line score 2, and the other 4.5 would show a significant difference that may be worth paying attention to. In this situation, having results that are so close I don't believe is going to give a definitive difference to every potential cruiser.

[baldercash]

I think you misread his post. Said X was cheaper. Which nullifies your entire argument and brings into question all of the ratings you posted.

Ya I blew that doing some reno's and only check in when I am taking a break. Going to a game party soon.

 

But are you now suggesting Celebrity gets higher ratings because it is perceived as a better value then Princess.

 

We would have no way of knowing which line costs more so we are all speculating at present. Can some one find data, I think Celebrity is viewed as more expensive?

 

My last cruise was on Crown Princess in Nov which I viewed as free as they gave me the full cruise fare as a Future Cruise Credit.

I have not been offered that by X.

I avoid X's 123 sales as the base fare is higher.

Sort of like airplane seat price you only know what you paid but someone usually got it cheaper.

 

But yes if Princess prices are actually higher then they would face a stiffer evaluation by cruisers as they would expect more for their dollar.

It likely varies by cruise to cruise on each line.

I posted on a Princess thread I think this is why Royal is getting so many poor reviews. Higher price initially with higher expectations and delivered smaller cabins and balconies.

 

If you check the high end car manufactures they strive to achieve high customers scores to as justification for the higher fare.

[4774Papa]

I think you misread his post. Said X was cheaper. Which nullifies your entire argument and brings into question all of the ratings you posted.

Yes, my point was that after reading all the posts on the thread about who was best X or Princess, that to consider which is the best value, you need to consider cost.

 

Assuming the two are rated about the same, if X is consistently 10-20% less then X is the best value.

[Cruise Junky]

Yes, my point was that after reading all the posts on the thread about who was best X or Princess, that to consider which is the best value, you need to consider cost.

 

Assuming the two are rated about the same, if X is consistently 10-20% less then X is the best value.

 

Absolutely. I agree.

[mafig]

Yes, my point was that after reading all the posts on the thread about who was best X or Princess, that to consider which is the best value, you need to consider cost.

 

Assuming the two are rated about the same, if X is consistently 10-20% less then X is the best value.

 

 

As I have posted twice, Princess allows TAs to discount, so their price can be 10% or more less .... making the price the same.

[baldercash]

It may be fact, but it doesn't make it significant or meaningful.

 

These are not statistically valid surveys. They're just the numbers resulting from those who select to do the ratings. And the results themselves are close. What is the significance of the difference in ratings points? How does that relate to a different experience for a passenger?

 

With the same results, having one line score 2, and the other 4.5 would show a significant difference that may be worth paying attention to. In this situation, having results that are so close I don't believe is going to give a definitive difference to every potential cruiser.

 

So is at a conspiracy?

Do they not all place X higher?

We are not counting chads, no one has said Princess is not a good line or does not supply a similar product?

 

If it is random you should be able to find a poll that places Princess higher then X.

Please post it when you find it.

[Cruise Junky]

As I have posted twice, Princess allows TAs to discount, so their price can be 10% or more less .... making the price the same.

 

Princess is still usually more expensive. Check out some of the Transatlantics for a comparison.

[4774Papa]

Price comparison

 

Celebrity Celebrity Constellation Cruise 12 day Baltic cruise

Veranda(balcony) 2,999.00 USD

 

Ocean Princes 11 day Baltic cruise

Balcony $2,799.00* USD plus $205.00 = $3,004.00

 

Princess offers $100 OBC, Celebrity has 123GO bennies

 

X cruise is one day longer and still cheaper than Princess.

[dinosaurdem]

Thanks for the review.

Cannot disagree more simply because your impressions are your impressions.

But your "conclusion"...

"Many more options" - what options?

As per your review, you have missed too many things to make conclusions. :eek:

 

If you don't see certain things - it does not mean they don't exist.

It's not about "agree/disagree".

:)

 

Please allow other people to have their opinions, even when they disagree with yours.

[The_Big_M]

So is at a conspiracy?

Do they not all place X higher?

We are not counting chads, no one has said Princess is not a good line or does not supply a similar product?

 

If it is random you should be able to find a poll that places Princess higher then X.

Please post it when you find it.

 

Oh dear. Now you claim it is a conspiracy! :D

 

There's nothing to support your conclusion about needing to find a poll that places Princess higher. I didn't say it's "random" but even if it were, your statement indicates you have never seen 3 random results in a row e.g. 3 blacks, 3 heads. It's quite easy to occur. :rolleyes:

 

All I and many others say is that they're quite similar, and there's not a huge difference, unlike what you're trying to make out. Notably you couldn't answer what the implication of the rating difference you make a big deal of is in a practical sense.

[leeotampa]

Thank you for writing this. I think we will try Celebrity on our next trip!!

 

Lee

[daydreamer16]

I did an 8 night Celebrity cruise in May and then a 10 night Princess cruise in July. I had such a great time on both vessels, that I honestly can't remember which one I had more fun on! They were both great and there were more similarities than differences.

 

Princess: I LOVE the pools, hot tubs and MUTS and Princess excels here.

 

Staterooms are more attractive on Celebrity. Closet space is better on Princess. Beds are better on Celebrity

 

Musician in lounges- Princess

 

Entertainment I would give a slight edge to Princess. Loved the crew show on Princess! It was fabulous. Kudos to the entertainment staff.

 

Games and trivia- Princess was better for this but Celebrity isn't far behind.

 

Library- Princess

 

Food- tough call here. I don't like the MDR on Celebrity-too big and noisy. More intimate MDR venues on Princess. Specialty restaurants are good on both.

 

Buffet- definitely Celebrity, hands down. More selection, better set up and free juice and punch.

 

Service- definitely Celebrity. The champagne and friendly faces upon boarding really sets the stage for sophisticated ambiance.

 

Overall coming away feeling like a valued customer- Celebrity

 

 

 

I've been on 5 Princess cruises and just returned from my 3rd Celebrity cruise(review to follow) and I would agree on every point. We book by where we want to go next!

[sunshine nana]

When I wrote my opinion earlier, I forgot to add I really appreciate the washers and dryers available on Princess. It helps to cut down on baggage. I have sent things to the ship's laundry on Celebrity and would not do it again for washing anything of mine. It was ok for DH's cotton shirts and shorts.I like being able to wash and dry my own clothes and it saves a lot of money.

[Cruise a holic]

When I wrote my opinion earlier, I forgot to add I really appreciate the washers and dryers available on Princess. It helps to cut down on baggage. I have sent things to the ship's laundry on Celebrity and would not do it again for washing anything of mine. It was ok for DH's cotton shirts and shorts.I like being able to wash and dry my own clothes and it saves a lot of money.

 

I agree that being able to do your own laundry is a great option! Celebrity probably dosen't want to loose the revenue

As Elite members, we do get limited free laundry but everything

Is squashed into a small paper bag.

[KKB]

We have cruised Princess (the most), DCL & RCCL and will cruise Celebrity next month. We have found there there are many more similarities than differences on all the lines.

 

Funny, the reason we have cruised Princess 5 times was the price! The first 3 times we got those cruises for $499 for an interior cabin (7 days)...but I have not seen such great prices since. I do notice that Celebrity often has balconies at a very good price--not much more than an interior.

 

I GUESS our favorite line is Princess. BUT our favorite ship is the Allure (and our least fav cruise/ship was the Mariner...so RCCL was both our least & most fav cruises. But we have never had a BAD cruise)

 

Each ship/line has things we like a lot better than other lines & things we like less...

[Host Jazzbeau]

Three points that don't seem to have been factored into the comparisons:

 

• Princess cabins get bigger as you pay more, versus Celebrity's same-size cabins with added amenities. We just sailed Coral Princess in a mini-suite, and I wouldn't trade all that ROOM for a butler, Blu, or anything Celebrity offers.

 

• Princess is much more liberal about combining discounts. We have not been able to get the Amex Platinum benefits or even the shareholders OBC on Celebrity because they won't combine them with any other discount. We have gotten the shareholders OBC on Princess every time, in addition to Amex Platinum benefits and flash sale prices [see below].

 

• Princess has flash sales and is much more accommodating about rebooking at lower fares. We rebooked last month's Panama Canal cruise three times and ended up paying little more for a mini-suite than the launch price of an inside [and our cruise was sold out]. THIS IS MAJOR. It throws into question all the above discussion about which line is more expensive. If you follow the sales, Princess is almost always much cheaper than X -- even if you book early to grab the cabin you prefer.

 

But none of this would matter if the Celebrity cruise experience was significantly better than Princess. For us, it wasn't -- but we only have one Celebrity experience (on Summit, which we loved but isn't S-class -- we'll see next year after our Eclipse cruise).

 

At this point in our cruising history, Coral Princess is our favorite ship on the ocean. And that is really the only opinion that matters to ME. But YMMV and you're entitled to your opinion.

[dinosaurdem]

Three points that don't seem to have been factored into the comparisons:

 

• Princess cabins get bigger as you pay more, versus Celebrity's same-size cabins with added amenities. We just sailed Coral Princess in a mini-suite, and I wouldn't trade all that ROOM for a butler, Blu, or anything Celebrity offers.

 

I took a quick look at a comparison of Reflection and Royal. I may be wrong but:

1. Royal has larger interior cabins.

2. I didn't see oceanviews on Royal.

3. Reflection veranda cabins in all categories are slightly larger than Royal's deluxe balcony cabins.

4. The Reflection sky suite is larger than the equivalent Royal mini-suite.

5. The smallest Royal suite is larger than the smallest Reflection suite.

6. The largest Reflection suite is more than twice the size of Reflections and there is a wider range of suites.

 

This may not be 100% accurate, but it should be very close. The review was complicated by the fact that Princess includes balconies in total cabin size. In general Celebrity balconies are larger.

Edited February 4, 2014 by dinosaurdem
typo

[Host Jazzbeau]

Three points that don't seem to have been factored into the comparisons:

 

• Princess cabins get bigger as you pay more, versus Celebrity's same-size cabins with added amenities. We just sailed Coral Princess in a mini-suite, and I wouldn't trade all that ROOM for a butler, Blu, or anything Celebrity offers.

 

I took a quick look at a comparison of Reflection and Royal. I may be wrong but:

1. Royal has larger interior cabins.

2. I didn't see oceanviews on Royal.

3. Reflection veranda cabins in all categories are slightly larger than Royal's deluxe balcony cabins.

4. The Reflection sky suite is larger than the equivalent Royal mini-suite.

5. The smallest Royal suite is larger than the smallest Reflection suite.

6. The largest Reflection suite is more than twice the size of Reflections and there is a wider range of suites.

 

This may not be 100% accurate, but it should be very close. The review was complicated by the fact that Princess includes balconies in total cabin size. In general Celebrity balconies are larger.

 

I was referring to Balcony-Concierge-Aquaclass being identical cabins at increasing prices. The added amenities are not of interest to us, and the locations are increasingly worse. We would much rather have a Princess mini-suite than a Celebrity Aquaclass.

Edited February 4, 2014 by jazzbeau

[baldercash]

Three points that don't seem to have been factored into the comparisons:

 

• Princess cabins get bigger as you pay more, versus Celebrity's same-size cabins with added amenities. We just sailed Coral Princess in a mini-suite, and I wouldn't trade all that ROOM for a butler, Blu, or anything Celebrity offers.

 

I took a quick look at a comparison of Reflection and Royal. I may be wrong but:

1. Royal has larger interior cabins.

2. I didn't see oceanviews on Royal.

3. Reflection veranda cabins in all categories are slightly larger than Royal's deluxe balcony cabins.

4. The Reflection sky suite is larger than the equivalent Royal mini-suite.

5. The smallest Royal suite is larger than the smallest Reflection suite.

6. The largest Reflection suite is more than twice the size of Reflections and there is a wider range of suites.

 

This may not be 100% accurate, but it should be very close. The review was complicated by the fact that Princess includes balconies in total cabin size. In general Celebrity balconies are larger.

 

Currently Royal has a 63% satisfaction rate with with 221 CC members submitting reviews giving it a 3.7* rating.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=400

 

You are comparing Royal to the Refection which has a 88% satisfaction rating after 265 CC reviews with a rating of 4.4*.

 

The Princess boosters will say it is meaningless but the numbers are what they are.

CC's system makes a lot of sense.

 

The CC ratings simply take the reviews of all those that submitted a review on a given ship and determine their satisfaction with their experience on the ship.

It takes into consideration, value, cabins, public areas, dinning, service ......

 

So if one had a great or a bad experience on a ship post a review and you will help determine the ships ratings!

You can also post on a thread and say the CC polls are wrong because your personal experience differed with those who wrote CC reviews.

[dinosaurdem]

I took a quick look at a comparison of Reflection and Royal. I may be wrong but:

1. Royal has larger interior cabins.

2. I didn't see oceanviews on Royal.

3. Reflection veranda cabins in all categories are slightly larger than Royal's deluxe balcony cabins.

4. The Reflection sky suite is larger than the equivalent Royal mini-suite.

5. The smallest Royal suite is larger than the smallest Reflection suite.

6. The largest Reflection suite is more than twice the size of Reflections and there is a wider range of suites.

 

This may not be 100% accurate, but it should be very close. The review was complicated by the fact that Princess includes balconies in total cabin size. In general Celebrity balconies are larger.

 

I noticed a couple of errors. Reflection has the larger interior cabins and her largest suite is more than twice as large as Royal's. The only category where Royal has larger cabins is the smallest suite. It does not seem appropriate to compare a verandah cabin (Aqua Class) to a mini-suite. A more appropriate comparison would be sky suite to mini-suite.

[dinosaurdem]

Baldercash. I think that you and I agree. You are mixing my response to Jazzbeau's statement that Princess cabins are a better deal with my contention that they are not.

[KKB]

 

I was referring to Balcony-Concierge-Aquaclass being identical cabins at increasing prices. The added amenities are not of interest to us, and the locations are increasingly worse. We would much rather have a Princess mini-suite than a Celebrity Aquaclass.

 

ON Constellation:

Regular balcony 170 sq. ft.

Concierge 191 sq. ft.

AQ 195 sq. ft.

(from Celebrity's site)

 

And SkySuite on Connie has no balcony--WHAT??!!

Edited February 5, 2014 by KKB

[dinosaurdem]

Please folks. Stop crediting me with Jazzbeau's statements.

[avalon1025]

 

I was referring to Balcony-Concierge-Aquaclass being identical cabins at increasing prices. The added amenities are not of interest to us, and the locations are increasingly worse. We would much rather have a Princess mini-suite than a Celebrity Aquaclass.

 

I think an important point for Celebrity is there S class balcony cabins ARE all the same size, so the passenger chooses what amenities they want and it does not dictate a smaller sized cabin. On Royal Princess you need to choose size of blacony cabin and they are smaller in comparison to the standard S Class balcony cabin.

 

Funny, I would rather have Aqua Class then the Mini Suite on Princess, then again I'd most likely never sail Princess again

Edited February 5, 2014 by avalon1025

[KKB]

 

I think an important point for Celebrity is there S class balcony cabins ARE all the same size, so the passenger chooses what amenities they want and it does not dictate a smaller sized cabin. On Royal Princess you need to choose size of blacony cabin and they are smaller in comparison to the standard S Class balcony cabin.

 

Funny, I would rather have Aqua Class then the Mini Suite on Princess, then again I'd most likely never sail Princess again

 

Veranda, Concierge & AQ are all 194 sq. ft. on S class. Nice size.