My comparison between Celebrity and Princess

[Griff4AU]

Very fair comparison. We're looking forward to trying X, and even had made a reservation, but an RCL with a local departure made more sense.

 

 

Thank you

[Go-Bucks!]

Just curious, is it possible for you to describe why you thought the Buffet was better on Celebrity? Was it the selection, the presentation, the preparation or all three?

 

 

A combo of all 3, plus a nice, spacious layout.

 

Selection: Stations for lunch and dinner included salad bar, other types of salads, breads/cheeses, desserts, vegetables/potatoes, pasta/toppings/sauces, pizza, hot foods, grilled foods, mexican, indian curries, seafoods, and sandwichs. For breakfast, eggs/omelets, hot foods, cereals, breads, English breakfast foods, and fruits.

 

There are 2 large beverage stations (on each side of the buffet) with self-serve drinks. Iced tea, juices, lemonade plus coffees and a large tea selection.

 

The hot foods were always hot and fresh. Many things were custom cooked while you wait (grilled meats, chicken, fish, eggs, and omelets). When the foods got low, they were replaced quickly. A worker was always at each station to help. Salad bar was fresh and had a large selection of toppings and dressings.

 

The "Il Secondo Bacio" was at the buffet. They served alcoholic drinks and a server came around to take orders if you wanted one or you could go up and get one yourself.

 

There were large and small square plates along with large bowls. Silverware wrapped in cloth napkins were located in several places around the buffet.

 

I thought the quality/taste of the food was as good as the MDR, but not as "gourmet"-like. It was delicious and I was not disappointed in eating there. If this was the only place I could eat, it would have been fine. **Note: I'm not a foodie.** ;)

[H2Oregon]

Thanks for your comparison between X and Princess. We normally choose our cruises by itinerary. Recently X has been our line of choice but in June we are doing a B2B on Ruby. It has been several years since cruising with Princess, so your comparison is much appreciated.

 

You mention the bread not being very good on X. My experience has been that the breads, rolls and pastries vary greatly from ship to ship. I think it is the baker more than the cruise line. The breads on Celebrity Equinox were so so, while the breads on Celebrity Silhouette were very good.

[Go-Bucks!]

while this is not an amenity we would want to use again, I have to give a plug for Princess medical facilities.

 

 

Interesting that you brought this up. I'm a nurse and so is my friend who I travel with. We've visited the medical facilities on Carnival and Princess before (being a patient once on the Emerald Princess) and they were very good.

 

But, unfortunately, we really had a chance to visit the Medical Center on the Celebrity Reflection last week! My friend started feeling nauseous as we were arriving at the ship and by the time we were checking in, she was having severe abdominal pains and needed a wheelchair. We got to our cabin and she laid down on the bed. Soon she was crying and screaming in pain. I called the nurse in the medical center and we went down to see the doctor.

 

The doctor was fantastic!! He examined her, took xrays, ran blood work, had an IV started, did an EKG and finally gave her some pain meds after correctly diagnosing her with pancreatitis! They called the Emergency Squad (we were still in Miami) and she was debarked from the ship and taken to a hospital in Miami. This was all done in less than 2 hours.

 

Sadly, I had to go on the cruise by myself and she was in the hospital for several days. She is improving and was able to return home a couple days ago. But I was amazed at how well equipped the medical center is and how good the doctor was.

 

Biggest lesson learned by my friend - she didn't have travel insurance (I did) and is expecting a medical bill from the cruiseline of about $1,000! Celebrity did say they will give her a partial cruise credit since it was an emergency, but haven't said how much.

Edited March 17, 2014 by Go-Bucks!

[A1A]

Very good points for each cruise line, glad you were able to take a Celebrity Cruise! I remember a very pleasant afternoon chatting with you on our tour of Barbados several years ago while on an Emerald Cruise. Glad to see you are still experiencing the joys of crushing!

Thanks!

Ken

[eandj]

considering Celebrity next. I am concerned about what I recently read about thrvery loud music being pumped oughout the ship, ostensibly to attract a younger more hip crowd. You confirmed this and frankly, thats a deal-breaker for me. If that issue doesn't get rectified, I'll never book Celebrity.

 

This is not accurate. In the evenings they use the main lobby/piazza area like on Princess for live performers. Sometimes they have the singers and dancers doing shows. Often some live combo or pianist. If your room is near that area you might hear it in your room. There is a bar and dance floor and bar in that area that many use pre and post dinner too. But no there is NOT loud music playing all over the ships. As frequent X cruisers, know that isn't the case. Not sure where you read that. But it is totally inaccurate. We find actually Celebrity ships quieter than Princess. OUR opinion.

Edited March 17, 2014 by eandj

[eandj]

Important to note when comapring Celebrity. The M class ships, which are the older ones...Constellation, Summit etc are NOT close to the newer M class ships..Refletion, Equinox, Solstice etc

 

The newer ships are in a class of their own and "hip" and modern. (Not gaudy.) The M class ships, altho "Solsticized" , are more traditional in feel.

[chamima]

Important to note when comapring Celebrity. The M class ships, which are the older ones...Constellation, Summit etc are NOT close to the newer M class ships..Refletion, Equinox, Solstice etc

 

The newer ships are in a class of their own and "hip" and modern. (Not gaudy.) The M class ships, altho "Solsticized" , are more traditional in feel.

 

 

Proofreading:

Important to note when comparing Celebrity. The M class ships, which are the older ones...Constellation, Summit etc are NOT close to the newer S class ships..Reflection, Equinox, Solstice etc

[OCruisers]

It's YOUR comparison and you did an excellent job of telling us YOUR thoughts on each. Thanks for your time to do this.

Bottom Line: I agree. While Princess remains our favorite, both are very good cruise lines. :)

LuLu

~~~

[Colo Cruiser]

We have sailed X a couple of times, we still like Princess better. :)

May try them again in the future.

Edited March 17, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[melody hounddog]

Thanks for your comparison. Never sailed X but am thinking about giving it a try. I do really enjoy the movies in the Princess Theatre during the day so I think I would miss that. I would enjoy escargot every evening though!

[bassfisherman]

We have cruised both Celebrity and Princess, the most recent being the Diamond. I agree with the opinions about both. We loved our Equinox cruise through the Med but felt we really did not get to use all of the ship's amenities because it was such a port intensive cruise. The Equinox buffet layout and food was great and am hoping that our Royal TA in April will be an improvement in that area. It is also hard to beat the military benefit and self service laundry on long Princess cruises. Bottom line, both are excellent cruise lines.

[Camelia-]

I've sailed Celebrity twice and I must say that my preference remains Princess. True there are some things where Celebrity is better..for instance it's interactive television. Very nice to check your account or order excursions from your cabin!! And..I know that food is always subjective..but for me..the food selection on Princess is much better. Perhaps the MDRs on both are pretty equal but I much much prefer Princess buffets. Yes..the layout of the Horizon Court can definitely be cramped because while the station idea is lovely there is not enough space between the stations to make it work effectively. So..while thing in matters of layout Celebrity wins out..in matters of variety of food I think it fails. I was impressed with my first view of it..it seemed so huge..till I realized that repeat was the name of the game..not only repeat in the stations but daily repeat in the menu - it got boring pretty fast. I never feel bored on Princess and look forward to discovering new dishes each day!! Course these are just my thoughts and impressions but I couldn't resist talking about my favorite cruiseline...

 

Camelia

[Hlitner]

We would just add, that for those very concerned about loud music on Celebrity, we must assume they have never sat out at the main pool on most Princess ships and had to tolerate that awful MUTS with the sound blasting out over the pool deck and making it impossible for those of us who wanted a quiet pool day so we could listen to our own music (through ear buds) and read our books. Princess has taken the "Stars" out of MUTS and replaced it with "Sun and Stars."

 

Hank

[bigenna]

Agree with a lot of these comments, having sailed Celebrity twice and Princess a few more times.

Biggest plus for me on X is the loveseat in the balcony (and maybe also other) staterooms. Minuses are having to wait for room to be ready upon embarkation, not having cutlery on table at buffet and having to juggle all this as well as drinks, limited closet space.

Pluses for Princess are tons of closet space, embark and right to your stateroom, delivery of beverages to your table at buffet. Minuses are MUTS during the day, no sofa even in balcony rooms.

Pluses for both lines............ I GET TO CRUISE!!!!!!!!

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

Edited March 18, 2014 by bigenna

[smtcan]

I have cruised both lines, and Celebrity is my line of choice, although Princess is a close second. MUTS is almost a deal breaker for us, not at night when we enjoy a movie, but in the daytime when the noise is blaring all around. We also do not find the buffets on Princess very user friendly. On both Star and Ruby they seemed cramped and difficult to find things and I do not like the plastic plates there.

 

The International Cafe is great, and the coffee card is convenient.

 

Our next cruise is on Royal and then it is back to Celebrity for a B2B. We will usually choose based on itinerary and price, but if these are equal we will pick Celebrity.

[eandj]

Proofreading:

Important to note when comparing Celebrity. The M class ships, which are the older ones...Constellation, Summit etc are NOT close to the newer S class ships..Reflection, Equinox, Solstice etc

 

 

Thank You for catching my typo. :o

Certainly makes my thoughts clearer.:D

[eandj]

We would just add, that for those very concerned about loud music on Celebrity, we must assume they have never sat out at the main pool on most Princess ships and had to tolerate that awful MUTS with the sound blasting out over the pool deck and making it impossible for those of us who wanted a quiet pool day so we could listen to our own music (through ear buds) and read our books. Princess has taken the "Stars" out of MUTS and replaced it with "Sun and Stars."

 

Hank

 

 

WOW Isn't that the truth!!! Nightime would be fine and how it was originally intended..I think. But it is ridiculous now.:mad:

[Go-Bucks!]

Very good points for each cruise line, glad you were able to take a Celebrity Cruise! I remember a very pleasant afternoon chatting with you on our tour of Barbados several years ago while on an Emerald Cruise. Glad to see you are still experiencing the joys of crushing!

Thanks!

Ken

 

 

Hi Ken!

 

Good to hear from you. That cruise 2 years ago was my favorite Caribbean cruise ever. The one I just got back from a couple days ago wasn't nearly as fun because my friend had to be taken off the ship before we sailed because she got very ill with pancreatitis. I found cruising alone to be very lonely. She's getting better and we're having lunch together tomorrow.

 

What cruises have you guys been on since we cruised together in 2012? We did a great Baltic cruise last July 2013 on the Crown Princess. Before leaving from Southampton we spent a week in Iceland and London; was really fun.

[many cruises]

We were long time Princess cruisers, as you can see in my signature. We also previously cruised on Celebrity, but before they had the Solstice class ships. We were noticing many cutbacks on Princess and were becoming more & more dissatisfied with the food quality & the entertainment.

 

In 2013, we sailed on the Celebrity Eclipse because we read wonderful reviews about them. We were very pleased with the S class product...the food, entertainment, service, bathrooms, and beds were greatly improved over what we experienced on Princess. We actually looked forward to going to the shows, especially those held in Comedy Central. Celebrity has everything we want in a cruise, unfortunately Princess has changed dramatically over the years. We may cruise Princess again, but only if things begin to improve. Celebrity's S Class ships are outshining them in many ways!

[gkny]

We'll be trying Princess again after a few years. We travel the itinerary mostly and have sailed with all the major lines except the upscale ones. It will be good to compare again with X or RCCL.

[LewesBeach]

This is not accurate. - - - there is NOT loud music playing all over the ships. As frequent X cruisers, know that isn't the case. Not sure where you read that. But it is totally inaccurate. We find actually Celebrity ships quieter than Princess. OUR opinion.

 

This is what I was referring to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2002130

an entire 22page thread about the volume of music played in different public areas, sometimes reaching into the cabins. Quite a lively discussion. I scanned thru most of it, and at least twice Celebrity officials posted and acknowledged that they were going to look into the issue. Maybe this is a recent development? Or just a prob on some ships?

 

We would just add, that for those very concerned about loud music on Celebrity, we must assume they have never sat out at the main pool on most Princess ships and had to tolerate that awful MUTS with the sound blasting out over the pool deck and making it impossible for those of us who wanted a quiet pool day so we could listen to our own music (through ear buds) and read our books.

 

Hank

 

With 14 Princess cruises behind me, yes I am aware of MUTS noise, & yes your assumption is correct: I never sit there. Why would I go there to read? Most ships have at least 2 additional pools that are quieter. MUTS is for the many cruisers who like the lively pool atmosphere. My concern was after reading the above 22 page thread, people complained about noise volume throughout the ship - martini bar, afternoon tea, dining rooms, cabins, servers not being able to hear orders, etc. I can only go by what people were posting on this thread.

 

I want to try Celebrity, & have friends going to Greece on the Reflection soon, so I'll wait for their impressions.

[A1A]

Hi Ken!

 

Good to hear from you. That cruise 2 years ago was my favorite Caribbean cruise ever. The one I just got back from a couple days ago wasn't nearly as fun because my friend had to be taken off the ship before we sailed because she got very ill with pancreatitis. I found cruising alone to be very lonely. She's getting better and we're having lunch together tomorrow.

 

What cruises have you guys been on since we cruised together in 2012? We did a great Baltic cruise last July 2013 on the Crown Princess. Before leaving from Southampton we spent a week in Iceland and London; was really fun.

 

We have been on the Caribbean Princess and are getting ready for the Royal. Not too sure about next year though. I see you have some upcoming cruises planned and I hope your friends health improves and you can spend more cruises together! Hope to sail again with you again another day.

Thanks for the post!

Ken

[UpcountryTravelers]

Just returned from my first Celebrity cruise on the Reflection. Had a 1A balcony room on the hump (great location). Wanted to share my thoughts on the experience as compared to my experiences on Princess. Granted, this was just one time on Celebrity vs. 6 Princess cruises, but here are some insights on a number of areas. Overall, I like both cruiselines and will cruise on either again. Some specifics, though, are:

 

Liked these on Celebrity

1) Large, deep covered balcony (had the triple sized one)

2) Roomy, well designed bathroom with large shower with doors and decent amount of storage space

3) Extremely comfortable beds and pillows

4) Great buffet layout (stations) that didn't seem congested, even when busy. Lots of seating including lots of outdoor seating with no smoking allowed.

5) Excellent buffet food - far better than Princess. Same quality as MDR.

6) Officers/staff were very visible and talked with passengers, asking if you were having a good time and was there anything they could help with

7) Very friendly crew who greeted passengers whenever they saw you

8) A covered "welcome station" at the gangway that had icy cold washcloths, water and punch, and seats to sit down to relax a minute before reboarding

9) MDR food was very good - about the same as Princess but I felt some of it was better, except for the bread - bread is much better on Princess

10) Nicer balcony floor - it was a wood laminate that was much more comfortable to stand on than Princess' blue cutout matting

11) The free drinks include lemonade and juice, although the orange juice was very watery

12) Many more TV stations, but much fewer movies - and the movies they do have were mostly violent R-rated

13) Persian Gardens (same thing as Princess' Thermal Suites) - many more hot stone beds (16) that were nice and hot, 2 different type of saunas, one aromatic steam room, and a cold room (25 degrees F, felt great). And each of these rooms could seat 7-15 people each!

14) Bigger and more elevators (8 of them are glass)

15) Very easy to get around the ship. No trying to figure out which elevators to use to get to certain places on certain decks.

16) Ship did not feel crowded despite having 3,000 pax

17) Very little "junk mail" delivered to cabin

18) Escargot is on the Every Night menu in the MDR! Yumm - they were the best ones I've ever had!

19) Lovely large MDR

20) Guest Services desk much less crowded and had more crew to help

21) Very few smoking areas and did not smell smoke anywhere. Nice to have a smoke free casino too.

 

Don't like as well on Celebrity

1) Balcony cabin was larger than the same on Princess, but cost more. It was much narrower than a Princess minisuite (it had a very hard sofa), but cost about the same as a minisuite. I think a Princess minisuite gives more space for the money. Decor was OK.

2) Extremely little storage space! This was a big problem. Only 3 drawers, a shelf over the beds that was very high for a woman to reach, and a small closet with no shelf. I had to keep some stuff in my suitcase under the bed.

3) Afternoon tea isn't really afternoon tea. It was just the same goodies available to pick up in the buffet. You just get it yourself, make yourself some tea at the beverage station and sit in the buffet seating to eat it. And rock music was playing! Definitely not real "afternoon tea."

4) Have to prepay for excursions.

5) My balcony rail was very worn and rough with lots of splinters sticking up. Couldn't rest my arms or hands on it.

6) Very few daily activities compared to Princess.

7) Only 2 pools and they were both CROWDED (packed out) by 9am every sea day! Also, all the other lounge seating in other areas was too. Much easier to just lay out on my own balcony.

8) Only a few movies were shown in the Central lounge during the entire week. Princess has many (and better) movies everyday, including MUTS.

9) It was nice to have a covered balcony, but the "covering" was metal and it reverberated the neighbors conversation so it was often very noisy while sitting out there.

10) Very loud music in the foyer each night

 

Like on Princess

1) In minisuite (which is what I usually have), there is a nice big tub and large bathroom. Have a clothesline that helps with drying bathing suits or other clothing.

2) Afternoon tea - a classy event

3) Very good MDR food

4) Crew helps pax in buffet to get drinks and silverware. At dinner, there are tableclothes and it feels classier

5) More daily activities

6) Wider cabins

7) Lots of storage space in cabins

8) Don't have to prepay for excursions

9) MUTS and daily movies - many are very current ones

10) More pools that are less crowded

11) Lovely atrium/piazza with nice venues (esp IC) that makes sitting there a relaxing experience

12) Better loyalty perks

13) Better FCC program (although not as good as it was until recently)

14) Self-serve laundromats on each stateroom deck (and cheap too). Really a great perk for long cruises.

 

Don't like as well on Princess

1) Hard, uncomfortable beds and pillows - even the foam topper doesn't help. In all fairness, though, I heard they're replacing the beds so maybe that will help.

2) Buffet food that seems like banquet quality food to me. Dinner is a bit better, but still not MDR quality. Very small and crowded food area with too little seating. Very little outdoor seating and what is there is the smoking area. Plus, there is smoking allowed on a pool deck near the buffet and people have to walk through it to get in. Yuck.

 

I think prices are better on Princess, plus my travel agent gets me 15-18% discount so it makes the prices even better. Celebrity doesn't allow discounting.

 

I read on another thread that some people thought that the free drink package was causing others to be drunk, but I saw nothing like that. There was a very diverse demographic because it was spring break week. Not alot of elderly, mostly middle-agers (many with older children), and quite a few younger families with small children. Teenagers had basically taken over the Hideaway and often were a bit roudy. This is probably just because of school break.

 

Again, overall Celebrity provided a nice cruise and I'm willing to sail them again. Princess is still my favorite, but frankly any vacation where I don't have to work, cook, or clean house is a GREAT time! :D ;)

 

Thanks. We agree with MOST of what you said. However, must say the buffet on the Royal Princess is FAR superior to anything on any other ship we have experienced, including Celebrity Reflection (where the service is non-existent). And I hope they don't change the Princess beds. I have an old back injury and need a firm bed.

[UpcountryTravelers]

I have cruised both lines, and Celebrity is my line of choice, although Princess is a close second. MUTS is almost a deal breaker for us, not at night when we enjoy a movie, but in the daytime when the noise is blaring all around. We also do not find the buffets on Princess very user friendly. On both Star and Ruby they seemed cramped and difficult to find things and I do not like the plastic plates there.

 

The International Cafe is great, and the coffee card is convenient.

 

Our next cruise is on Royal and then it is back to Celebrity for a B2B. We will usually choose based on itinerary and price, but if these are equal we will pick Celebrity.

 

You will LOVE the buffet on Royal. Completely different from other Princess ships.