This Princess Just Tried Celebrity...

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Hello. I just disembarked today from my first Celebrity cruise. I won't be writing an actual review but thought I would compare my last cruise, four weeks ago, on the Sapphire Princess to my first Celebrity cruise on the Celebrity Century. Some of the topics don't have anything to do with either line but I just thought I would throw it out there.

 

Check-in at the pier for our Princess cruise was quick and extremely organized. We did the online advanced registration and had no issues whatsoever. Check-in at the pier for our Celebrity cruise was a mess. We did not do the advanced check-in online due to some issues that we had with their website. There were three people in my room and we each had our own credit card. We spent at least a half hour at the counter. You know how you get the feeling that it's going to be a mess, well it was. Two days later we discovered that everyone's charges were on my credit card. The person who checked us in only registered my card and not the cards belonging to the other two people. Winner... Princess.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Entertainment...

 

I really won't be a pick a winner here but I will tell you what I love about each ship. I'm going to ramble and just lump everything together so please forgive me.

 

The Sapphire... I know a lot of people don't feel this way but I love MUTS. I also love the pools on the Sapphire. On my Sapphire cruise my Kindle and I spent some time together at a few of the pools. I love the different pool areas on the Sapphire. I really don't remember anything about the main theater or the Cruise Director. I do remember that the casino was terrible. I had a lot of fun in the casino on my last Sapphire cruise. When I was on the Sapphire a few weeks ago, several of the machines had been removed and others were just simply turned off. Also the chairs were terrible. They were so low to the ground that you had to tilt your head back and look up to see the screen on your machine. Major pain in the neck.

 

The Century... The ship had a very small movie theater but our itinerary was so port intensive that we did not have time to view a movie. The main theater had a duo that performed Cirque du Soleil type entertainment. They were fabulous! Another huge plus on the ship was the cruise director, John. John used to be a Hollywood stuntman, I believe for over 20 years. He also plays the guitar and he sings. We saw him everywhere we went. He was even on our tender. John made the cruise for us. I hope I am on a cruise again with him soon! The casino is quite large which is a good thing but has a very tight slots. I am not a fan of the pool area on the Century.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Food... I know that everybody's tastes are different. This is my opinion on the food.

 

Hands-down the winner would be the Century. Their buffet had a really large variety of foods. They had a pasta station where you would take a bowl and fill it with your choice of items that you would like in your pasta. My choice was mushrooms and chicken. It was then sautéed, tossed with pasta and then topped with my choice of sauce. There were four or five different sauces to choose from. Very tasty.

 

Their salad bar in the buffet was fabulous! It was a small version of soup plantation. There were so many toppings to choose from. They even had blue cheese crumbles! And I think I counted 10 different dressings.

 

In addition to the usual omelette/egg station, the Century also has an Eggs Benedict station with four or five different choices available.

 

We had no complaints in the main dining room on the Century and their specialty dining was top-notch with table-side preparation for some of the items.

 

On my Sapphire cruise the meat/poultry items in the main dining room were terrible. During one dinner with five people at the table, 3 of the people could not eat their food. One ordered the Pork chop, one ordered chicken, the last person ordered steak. All items were so dried out they could not be chewed so they were just left on the plates. The waitstaff did not even notice. But I have to say I really missed the IC, the cookies, and most of all the ultimate drink card. I love the mocktails! Also on the Sapphire, the buffet and the grill are open much later in the evening.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

The ship… I love the Sapphire! This is hands down my favorite ship, ever. I love everything about the ship. A few of my favorite things are the sanctuary, MUTS, and the pool areas. The ship is beautiful.

 

I know a lot of people really love the Century. This is an older ship. That said, there are some beautiful areas on the ship but other areas not so much. I'm sure at one time the ship was gorgeous but I have to say they've really let this ship go downhill. This was our first and only impression of Celebrity cruise lines and I am sad to say that I feel they are letting this ship fall apart. We also had a problem with an odor near and at times in our room. The odor smelled like fuel or propane or gas. I'm not sure which but it was actually nauseating. We made several trips to the front desk about this issue.

 

I do want to say even with all of the issues we had on the ship, we all enjoyed our cruise.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

I just wanted to add, I wish Princess would leave the Sapphire here on the West Coast. I'm really going to miss her :(

 

I also wanted to say that disembarkation today from the Century was painless. There were five Customs Agents onboard the ship to assist us with checkout. I thought it was perfect.

Edited April 13, 2014 by MsSoCalCruiser

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about your cruises. :)

[Pam in CA]

Linda, you had a much better experience on Celebrity than we did. From buffet food that couldn't be cut with a knife and was as hard as a hockey puck to a non-working toilet for four out our 7-day cruise with zero reaction from Passenger Services to dinner entrees that were literally grey and looked like mystery meat, we have no desire to repeat or try X again. :(

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about your cruises. :)

 

Thank you for reading. This was my first ever comparison :)

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Linda, you had a much better experience on Celebrity than we did. From buffet food that couldn't be cut with a knife and was as hard as a hockey puck to a non-working toilet for four out our 7-day cruise with zero reaction from Passenger Services to dinner entrees that were literally grey and looked like mystery meat, we have no desire to repeat or try X again. :(

 

Pam, They must have a new chef because we had a wonderful experience in the MDR and in the buffet. I wasn't impressed with the cookies though. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give them a 3 and I'm sure most people here know that the cookies on Princess are a definite 10!

Edited April 13, 2014 by MsSoCalCruiser

[ggprincess2004]

Thank you for the info and comparison. We have just never been motivated to try another line after our first Princess cruise, but I do like to have information on other lines and their ships should we find pricing (like almost free), a convenient embarkation port, or an itinerary that is appealing.

Keep on going - stateroom details, onboard marketing, announcements and frequency, activities, etc., I would appreciate any info you wish to share.:)

[MVPinBoynton]

Thank you for your comparison. We haven't cruised Princess in several years and are looking forward to our upcoming Alaska cruise on the Island Princess. We normally cruise Celebrity; but the Century is our least favorite of their ships. The newer ones are much better in every respect. They are worth trying. But you are most correct about the pools. Princess does pools so much better. I love the aft pools especially. We also had John on a Century cruise to Hawaii. He does make the cruise quite special. A great guy.

 

I do hope that your Princess cruise food experience was a one off, since we never had a problem with Princess food; but do prefer the food on Celebrity. My biggest complaint with Princess is that I have to change floors on some of the ships to get all the way from fore to aft. A minor inconvenience and I do need the extra exercise. :D I am so looking forward to enjoying Princess again, especially on a class we haven't previously cruised on.

[Oxo]

Linda, you had a much better experience on Celebrity than we did. From buffet food that couldn't be cut with a knife and was as hard as a hockey puck to a non-working toilet for four out our 7-day cruise with zero reaction from Passenger Services to dinner entrees that were literally grey and looked like mystery meat, we have no desire to repeat or try X again. :(

 

How many times have you been on Celebrity and when was the last time you were on Celebrity?

[Cruise Junky]

Thanks for your review, we're on our first S class Celebrity ship next week, can't wait

[OCruisers]

Thanks for your comparison!

While Princess is our favorite, there are also some quite nice things about Celebrity.

LuLu

~~~

[Cobraman]

I really like Princess and have no complaints, but the best cruise experience I've ever had was a two week run to Hawaii from San Pedro on the Celebrity Summit. From the sky suite butler service, to the entertainment and the food - all were a noticable notch above Princess's best effort.

 

We all have our own experiences; so this one is mine and I know many others who feel differently and hopefully so since that variety is what drives competition amongst service providors.

[H2Oregon]

I would give the S class ships a try before writing off Celebrity. We loved Equinox and Silhouette.

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for providing your comparisons on both lines. Before we started cruising Princess, we did three in a row on X's M class ships. We really liked our experiences.....:):):)

 

Bob

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks for the comparison...we just got off a Royal Caribbean cruise and like yours our embarkation was a nightmare...over an hour and a half in various lines before stepping onboard...

[cruzsnooze]

I got off the Century last week. In a nut shell, the MDR food was excellent and service from the waiter quite good. The shows were excellent which were done by their own singers and dancers, one comedian was great one Neal Diamond imitator was fair to so - so. That's about all the good I say about the Century. Princess MDR room menus need to be updated and some creative items needed. There is no comparison to service, Princess wins by a landslide. I prefer Princess.

[lovevacadays]

Entertainment...

 

I really won't be a pick a winner here but I will tell you what I love about each ship. I'm going to ramble and just lump everything together so please forgive me.

 

The Sapphire... I know a lot of people don't feel this way but I love MUTS. I also love the pools on the Sapphire. On my Sapphire cruise my Kindle and I spent some time together at a few of the pools. I love the different pool areas on the Sapphire. I really don't remember anything about the main theater or the Cruise Director. I do remember that the casino was terrible. I had a lot of fun in the casino on my last Sapphire cruise. When I was on the Sapphire a few weeks ago, several of the machines had been removed and others were just simply turned off. Also the chairs were terrible. They were so low to the ground that you had to tilt your head back and look up to see the screen on your machine. Major pain in the neck.

 

The Century... The ship had a very small movie theater but our itinerary was so port intensive that we did not have time to view a movie. The main theater had a duo that performed Cirque du Soleil type entertainment. They were fabulous! Another huge plus on the ship was the cruise director, John. John used to be a Hollywood stuntman, I believe for over 20 years. He also plays the guitar and he sings. We saw him everywhere we went. He was even on our tender. John made the cruise for us. I hope I am on a cruise again with him soon! The casino is quite large which is a good thing but has a very tight slots. I am not a fan of the pool area on the Century.

 

Linda, thanks for your comparisons. How were the bands on Celebrity? Do they have a band that plays by the pool and then in one of the lounges like Princess and do they have entertainment equivalent to what you typically find in the Wheelhouse Bar on Princess?

[kywildcatfanone]

Thank you for the info and comparison. We have just never been motivated to try another line after our first Princess cruise, but I do like to have information on other lines

 

This is us. 13 cruises all with Princess and I'm afraid to try another for fear of disappointment. :D

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

My DW and I have sailed on most of the major cruise lines. Our favorite has been Princess. We are platinum with Princess. However by far, the best food IMHO was on our Celebrity cruise.

[A1A]

Thanks for your comparison!

While Princess is our favorite, there are also some quite nice things about Celebrity.

LuLu

~~~

 

What she said!

Ken

[PescadoAmarillo]

Thank you for your wonderful comparative review. It sounds like you found many things to enjoy about both ships!

 

The Century was our first transatlantic cruise...and that was 15 years ago. Definitely an older ship, but I have to say that I've never found Celebrity ships to be as well maintained as Princess ships. Add to that the Century's age, and it's easy to see why she is showing her age.

 

I longed for (and I mean longed for) a Celebrity buffet on our Emerald Princess cruises. All that made to order food is wonderful. We still talk about the waffles and the pasta.

 

I would love to get back on some Celebrity cruises (we have about 150 days with them, so they used to be our favorite), but Princess is currently offering too much value with all their combinable OBCs. Still, I keep looking at them. I think they definitely have the better Caribbean itineraries right now.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Thank you for the info and comparison. We have just never been motivated to try another line after our first Princess cruise, but I do like to have information on other lines and their ships should we find pricing (like almost free), a convenient embarkation port, or an itinerary that is appealing.

Keep on going - stateroom details, onboard marketing, announcements and frequency, activities, etc., I would appreciate any info you wish to share.:)

 

Staterooms...

 

On my Sapphire Princess cruise there were 3 people in my cabin. Our room of choice was an inside cabin, on the Aloha deck, near the exit door that opens to the Aft pool. I love that location and it is also only a few steps to the buffet area. Did I mention that I love the cookies? :D

 

We had a terrible time with the temp in our stateroom. The first night we thought we were going to suffocate. The next day we made a call and asked for someone to come to our room to check things out. Even though the green light showed that the air was set as low as it could go, the HEAT was running full blast. We were told that it was fixed but the following day/night we had the same issue. Finally on the 3rd day, it was fixed (4 day cruise).

 

I really like the open closet area on the Sapphire. Our room was kept clean and we had no other issues until the last night. For some reason our cabin steward did not lower the upper bunk. After TWO calls, we were finally able to go to sleep sometime around 1:00 AM which was a total bummer since we had to wake up early for disembarkation. :mad:

 

On my Century cruise there were 3 people in my cabin. We had booked an inside room but were lucky enough to end up in an OV cabin! Our cabin was on Deck 5 near the front desk. There were several HC rooms near our room. Due to the HC rooms in the area the hallway was at least twice as wide as the usual ship hallway (very nice).

 

The vanity mirror in our stateroom had a large storage area behind it. This is also where the safe was located. Very nice.

 

The shower was larger than the shower on the Sapphire. I really liked the fact that I didn't have to pull the shower curtain off of my body each time that I showered.

 

On the Century we had a terrible odor problem. I'm not sure if it was gas, propane, or some type of fuel but it was terrible. We smelled the odor in the hall near our room and at times the odor was even in our room. One night, my friend woke up several times during the night nauseated when the odor was in our room. I also had the same thing happen to me during an afternoon nap. We reported this issue to the front desk several times, starting right after we left the Port of L.A. This went on the entire cruise. It was terrible.

 

Our stateroom on the Century was always kept clean.