Celebrity v Princess?

[Dorset Cruiser]

We are Elite on Princess so obviously like the product. Just completed our first Celebrity cruise and, in our opinion, Princess is the much superior product, especially in terms of food quality. However, entertainment was better quality although the show timings were a bit problematic if you were on anytime dining and did not want to eat too early (or too late).

 

 

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[Bruin Steve]

We are Elite on Princess so obviously like the product. Just completed our first Celebrity cruise and, in our opinion, Princess is the much superior product, especially in terms of food quality. However, entertainment was better quality although the show timings were a bit problematic if you were on anytime dining and did not want to eat too early (or too late).

 

A lot of items, like food or entertainment, are largely subjective...

As someone who has sailed on seven different cruise lines, most multiple times, I disagree...

 

Personally (and, yes, reasonable minds can differ), though I enjoy Princess, I think Celebrity is the much better product.

A lot of that belief is due to many more objective factors--

largely the space-per-passenger ratios, crew-per-passenger ratios, cabin layouts and so forth...

 

Celebrity's showrooms are more amply sized for the number of passengers onboard...Celebrity's main dining rooms are more open and spacious and the anytime dining system better run (traditional dining passengers not allowed to cross over and clutter up the system), the standard Celebrity cabin has a sofa/coffe table sitting area as opposed to Princess' chair only until you get to mini-suite level...

 

I could go on and on...

It's not to say Princess is a bad product, just that Celebrity is superior...

 

Of course, different people value or prioritize different things...

And, again, things like food or entertainment are often just a matter of personal taste...

[Grannycb]

We are Elite on Princess so obviously like the product. Just completed our first Celebrity cruise and, in our opinion, Princess is the much superior product, especially in terms of food quality. However, entertainment was better quality although the show timings were a bit problematic if you were on anytime dining and did not want to eat too early (or too late).

 

 

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We are Elite on both Princess and Celebrity. I agree with your comments on the food. Some days there wasn't anything on the Celebrity menu we liked. We haven't had that problem on Princess or Carnival. It's a small thing and is our own personal taste. It obviously doesn't keep us from sailing on Celebrity. For the most part, the two lines are very similar.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Grannycb

[ready2cruzagain]

I agree with another poster that food and entertainment is subjective per person. Celebrity IMHO had the best food of any cruise line. Loved it! But Princess won hands down when it came to bands. Celebrity catered more to the older people. The bands seem to cater to people in their 70's and 80's on the cruises we were on.

[Coral]

Interesting. It has been 13 years since I sailed Celebrity (Millennium). At the time, I had just gotten off a Princess ship two months earlier and I found Celebrity to be highly over-rated.

 

Just some comments - Bruin Steve commented that the dining room is better on Celebrity. While the "looks" of the dining room were very nice on Celebrity, the service and food was way below standards of any other cruise line I had been on at that time. We did have a chair in our balcony cabin but it was the most uncomfortable chair I have sat in. The room steward was also the worst I have encountered - we could not get enough towels for 3 people in a room. We were told we were limited to just towels for 2 people, even though we had 3 in the room. I walked off that cruise not wanting to get on another Celebrity ship.

 

I keep thinking I should try Celebrity again but am incredibly gun shy.

 

I have cruised on 5 cruise lines so it is not that I haven't been exposed to other cruise lines.

[schlot]

A lot of items, like food or entertainment, are largely subjective...

As someone who has sailed on seven different cruise lines, most multiple times, I disagree...

 

Personally (and, yes, reasonable minds can differ), though I enjoy Princess, I think Celebrity is the much better product.

A lot of that belief is due to many more objective factors--

largely the space-per-passenger ratios, crew-per-passenger ratios, cabin layouts and so forth...

 

Celebrity's showrooms are more amply sized for the number of passengers onboard...Celebrity's main dining rooms are more open and spacious and the anytime dining system better run (traditional dining passengers not allowed to cross over and clutter up the system), the standard Celebrity cabin has a sofa/coffe table sitting area as opposed to Princess' chair only until you get to mini-suite level...

 

I could go on and on...

It's not to say Princess is a bad product, just that Celebrity is superior...

 

Of course, different people value or prioritize different things...

And, again, things like food or entertainment are often just a matter of personal taste...

 

Interesting comments...quite obvious from your signature your experience with Princess is limited as compared to the other lines.

[LoriPhil]

We took our first Celebrity cruise on the Eclipse in January. Really enjoyed the ship, loved the library and central elevator open area, but were disappointed in the dining experience (yup - it's subjective). Happily returned to Princess, and are eager for our first cruise on the Royal to test-drive their new Horizon Court.

[marypa]

We have been on a wide variety of cruises - Celebrity, Star Clipper, Oceania etc and have come back to Princess

 

We like the service and food - it suits us

 

We found Celebrity too glitzy, poorer quality food in general and impolite service in all departments (incredibly slow dinner service and never got the correct order for breakfast) We had a lady who had a kosher diet on our dinner table and was given what looked like a very bad aircraft meal every evening

 

We may have been unlucky but its all down to personal taste though so best not listen to others!

 

One mans meat is another mans poison

[JimmyVWine]

A lot of that belief is due to many more objective factors--

largely the space-per-passenger ratios, crew-per-passenger ratios, cabin layouts and so forth...

While space-per-passenger ratios may be "objective", it is, in my opinion, the most overrated measure of a ship. Open space can come in bunches. But if it isn't space that you are going to use, who cares? For example, for our next cruise, I compared a Princess offering on CB to a Celebrity offering on Summit. The Mini-Suite on CB is 274 sq ft (not including the balcony). A Concierge Balcony cabin on Summit (which is comparably priced an laid out in similar fashion) is 191 square feet and has a much smaller balcony. And it has a "shower only" and no tub. 274 vs. 191 is a huuuuuuuge difference. That is the "space-per-person" ration that I care about, especially when we will have 3 people in said cabin. The overall space ratio of the entire ship is meaningless at 8:00 a.m. when three people are getting ready in the morning. What matters then is the size of the bathroom, the size of the dressing area, and the overall size of the cabin. Princess won out (again) because Summit doesn't have anything comparable to a Princess Mini at the same price point. The other thing I dislike about Celebrity is the way it has marginalized the open Promenades. Of course, the new Princess builds suffer the same malady.

[lolane1]

I have sailed Celebrity and Princess both and I prefer Princess in terms of food. While dining on the older, smaller Celebrity ships was fabulous, my last 4 cruises on Celebrity were on combinations of the Millenium and Constellation. I totally enjoyed the cruises but the food in the dining rooms wasn't quite up to the standards of Princess. It seems these ships had difficulty getting the steaks cooked to your taste as well as having them arrive at the proper temperature. It was OK but I have always had much better dining experiences on Princess.

[Dorset Cruiser]

A lot of items, like food or entertainment, are largely subjective...

As someone who has sailed on seven different cruise lines, most multiple times, I disagree...

 

Personally (and, yes, reasonable minds can differ), though I enjoy Princess, I think Celebrity is the much better product.

A lot of that belief is due to many more objective factors--

largely the space-per-passenger ratios, crew-per-passenger ratios, cabin layouts and so forth...

 

Celebrity's showrooms are more amply sized for the number of passengers onboard...Celebrity's main dining rooms are more open and spacious and the anytime dining system better run (traditional dining passengers not allowed to cross over and clutter up the system), the standard Celebrity cabin has a sofa/coffe table sitting area as opposed to Princess' chair only until you get to mini-suite level...

 

I could go on and on...

It's not to say Princess is a bad product, just that Celebrity is superior...

 

Of course, different people value or prioritize different things...

And, again, things like food or entertainment are often just a matter of personal taste...

 

Have you been in the anytime dining room on Constellation. It is an assault course to get to your table and they are placed very close together😱

 

Agree a out the cabin size - nice big showers - and the sofa is nice but I did not expect a huge rip in the curtain 😉

 

And sorry but subjectively I think that Princess is a superior product. There was absolutely no wow factor on Constellation I'm afraid 😔

 

 

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[Dorset Cruiser]

I have sailed Celebrity and Princess both and I prefer Princess in terms of food. While dining on the older, smaller Celebrity ships was fabulous, my last 4 cruises on Celebrity were on combinations of the Millenium and Constellation. I totally enjoyed the cruises but the food in the dining rooms wasn't quite up to the standards of Princess. It seems these ships had difficulty getting the steaks cooked to your taste as well as having them arrive at the proper temperature. It was OK but I have always had much better dining experiences on Princess.

 

Hardly had one meal that was not lukewarm 😔

 

 

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[Dorset Cruiser]

While space-per-passenger ratios may be "objective", it is, in my opinion, the most overrated measure of a ship. Open space can come in bunches. But if it isn't space that you are going to use, who cares? For example, for our next cruise, I compared a Princess offering on CB to a Celebrity offering on Summit. The Mini-Suite on CB is 274 sq ft (not including the balcony). A Concierge Balcony cabin on Summit (which is comparably priced an laid out in similar fashion) is 191 square feet and has a much smaller balcony. And it has a "shower only" and no tub. 274 vs. 191 is a huuuuuuuge difference. That is the "space-per-person" ration that I care about, especially when we will have 3 people in said cabin. The overall space ratio of the entire ship is meaningless at 8:00 a.m. when three people are getting ready in the morning. What matters then is the size of the bathroom, the size of the dressing area, and the overall size of the cabin. Princess won out (again) because Summit doesn't have anything comparable to a Princess Mini at the same price point. The other thing I dislike about Celebrity is the way it has marginalized the open Promenades. Of course, the new Princess builds suffer the same malady.

 

Agree with a lot of what you say. Concierge cabins are just regular balconies with a few extra items to use on the cruise such as an umbrella and binoculars. They are in no way anything like a minisuite on Princess. The complimentary wine is undrinkable and the canapes are awful. You get nothing else. The toiletries are not as nice as Princess and the fruit bowl/plate is inferior. Interactive tv is a nice extra but the film offerings were poor. My husband did appreciate them showing the England soccer match though!

 

Really missed the launderette as well 😔

 

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[Coral]

I have cruised on 5 cruise lines so it is not that I haven't been exposed to other cruise lines.

 

Just a correction - I have been on 6 cruise lines plus a river cruise.

 

We also had problems with food temps and getting food done correctly (on Celebrity). My medium rare steak arrived we'll done and the replacement arrived when everyone was eating dessert and it wasn't done correctly either. Food was probably my biggest disappointment on Celebrity. The menu looked appealing but what was delivered was pretty tasteless and the temps were way off.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Coral

[Cruise Junky]

While food and entertainment and other things can be subjective...bottom line for us after our cruise on Solstice is I'm having a really hard time booking or being interested in Princess again. Way too Vanilla for us. Maybe it was time for a change, maybe it was the S Class that we adored but it will have to be one amazing itinerary for us to return to Princess.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Cruise Junky

[richsea]

I think that the lines are more alike than different, with both offering a very similar experience. Our first cruise was on Celebrity, & we loved it so much that we stayed with it. I suspect that if our first cruise was Princess, then Princess would be our first choice. It is a matter of what you get used to.

Each line has certain aspects that they excell in. M class ships have vastly superior theaters to those on Princess, which are too small with no comfortable place for drinks, as on M class. Princess has many more entertainment choices than Celebrity, although X is improving. As many others have said, food is subjective, but overall, I think the food is comparable. Celebrity used to be better IMO, but no longer. I find service on both to be pretty much the same.

The S class bathrooms are nicer than both Princess standard & Celebrity M class, & the couch in X standard balcony rooms is a nice upgrade from the one chair on Princess.

Funny, someone remarked how uncomfortable the balcony chair was on Celebrity, & I recall reading a lengthy thread here on the Princess boards about the "new" balcony chairs on Princess being the worst. To each his own!

I am very much looking forward to our sailing on Star Princess next month, our first on an older Grand class ship. Hope it's as great as our last Priness cruise on Emerald!

[Dorset Cruiser]

Just a correction - I have been on 6 cruise lines plus a river cruise.

 

We also had problems with food temps and getting food done correctly (on Celebrity). My medium rare steak arrived we'll done and the replacement arrived when everyone was eating dessert and it wasn't done correctly either. Food was probably my biggest disappointment on Celebrity. The menu looked appealing but what was delivered was pretty tasteless and the temps were way off.

 

Exactly - food looked good but was nearly always just luke warm and completely unseasoned and tasteless. Soups were good and the bread every bit as good as Princess although with not the same variety (same selection every single night). Desserts were a disappointment - first cruise where I have been served two tiny, tiny slices of a very inferior 'swiss roll' which was described as a roulade filled with lemon mousse with a berry coulis which was literally just a drip on the plate - it was a disgrace!

 

 

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[Coral]

Funny, someone remarked how uncomfortable the balcony chair was on Celebrity, & I recall reading a lengthy thread here on the Princess boards about the "new" balcony chairs on Princess being the worst. To each his own!

I am very much looking forward to our sailing on Star Princess next month, our first on an older Grand class ship. Hope it's as great as our last Priness cruise on Emerald!

 

I actually complained and should clarify. We had an oversized chair (wasn't quite a couch) inside our balcony cabin that made into a bed and that was very uncomfortable on Celebrity. Some cabins had couches but ours didn't. t wasn't referring to the chairs on the balcony.

 

The chairs on Princess's balconies are now very uncomfortable. I agree here.

[geoherb]

Celebrity is one of the cruise lines I recommend to my friends. The other two are Princess and Holland America. Lately, we've taken more on the latter two cruise lines. I haven't found a reasonable deal on a Celebrity cruise. There are two I'm watching for the end of the year, along with five HAL cruises and four Princess ones. As of now, the Celebrity ones are priced more than the other two lines'.

[Jetswdo]

I have been on Princess so far 3 times: Island, Sapphire, and Royal. Food on Island was ok, Sapphire- unedible, on the Royal-- quite good. Loved the layout of Island and Sapphire-- did not care for layout on Royal.

 

I was on Celebrity Reflection-- loved the ship--layout, and excellent food.

Will be on Celebrity Summit where I can tell that I won't particularly care for the ship, but food should be at least ok. (booked for Bermuda itinerary)-- NCL ship, too much "stuff" for us, so Celebrity has our business for that one-- (we need to leave from NY/NJ area at that time.

 

When there is a change of chef----that can make a big difference. The sailing after my Alaska trip on Sapphire--- the food apparently was much better according to comments on cc--- Other people who were on my sailing and the week earlier also couldn' believe how horrible the food was and filed complaints with Princess There are things I like better about Princess in general: self service laundry- ease of getting price drops after booking, not having to pre pay for shore excursions, specialty restaurants-

 

Things I like better about Celebrity-- food is consistenly rated decent to excellent- adult area with comfortable pool enclosed is included with any cabin booked-- much better than idiotic sanctuary on Princess. I say this because besides being expensive-- difficult on many sailings and ships to get a pass in the first place. On the Royal--- little shade- after we paid a ridiculous amount after running like a maniac to have the "privilege" of getting a pass, we discvered that people were successfully sneaking in for free! Also on Celebrity, any one can purchase a pass for steam rooms--

On Princess, at least on the Royal, if you are not one of the first 40 people to get a pass for the week, you are out of luck.

 

So for me: itinerary first, if more that one week on a cruise, I will use Princess for their wonderful self service laundry. I would do Celebrity only if there is time to do laundry at a port where laundramatt is nearby. (do to sensitive skin, I can only use free and clear detergent) and I only wear cotton so I only use cold water-

[richsea]

?........

Will be on Celebrity Summit where I can tell that I won't particularly care for the ship, but food should be at least ok......-

 

Wow, talk about setting yourself up for failure! Why would anyone bother to book a cruise on a ship that they know they won't like?

[bar_20]

I just had to change my reservation on Celebrity out of San Francisco because they chartered the ship. I have rebooked on Princess' Golden Princess for the same time next year to Alaska. So this thread is helpful as I have never sailed with Princess before but were on a 28 day btb cruise with Celebrity in April. Having sailed on two Holland America cruises last year I found that they have made way too many cutbacks and it's a shell of it's old self and will no longer sail with them. Keep the comparisons coming between Princess and Celebrity.

[bar_20]

I have sailed Celebrity and Princess both and I prefer Princess in terms of food. While dining on the older, smaller Celebrity ships was fabulous, my last 4 cruises on Celebrity were on combinations of the Millenium and Constellation. I totally enjoyed the cruises but the food in the dining rooms wasn't quite up to the standards of Princess. It seems these ships had difficulty getting the steaks cooked to your taste as well as having them arrive at the proper temperature. It was OK but I have always had much better dining experiences on Princess.

 

 

I bet they were done just right in their $40-50 pp upscale restaurants!;) In order to make the dining experience more special in the upscale restaurants they have lowered the quality in the MDR. It's all about the Benjamin'$.

[Dorset Cruiser]

I have been on Princess so far 3 times: Island, Sapphire, and Royal. Food on Island was ok, Sapphire- unedible, on the Royal-- quite good. Loved the layout of Island and Sapphire-- did not care for layout on Royal.

 

I was on Celebrity Reflection-- loved the ship--layout, and excellent food.

Will be on Celebrity Summit where I can tell that I won't particularly care for the ship, but food should be at least ok. (booked for Bermuda itinerary)-- NCL ship, too much "stuff" for us, so Celebrity has our business for that one-- (we need to leave from NY/NJ area at that time.

 

When there is a change of chef----that can make a big difference. The sailing after my Alaska trip on Sapphire--- the food apparently was much better according to comments on cc--- Other people who were on my sailing and the week earlier also couldn' believe how horrible the food was and filed complaints with Princess There are things I like better about Princess in general: self service laundry- ease of getting price drops after booking, not having to pre pay for shore excursions, specialty restaurants-

 

Things I like better about Celebrity-- food is consistenly rated decent to excellent- adult area with comfortable pool enclosed is included with any cabin booked-- much better than idiotic sanctuary on Princess. I say this because besides being expensive-- difficult on many sailings and ships to get a pass in the first place. On the Royal--- little shade- after we paid a ridiculous amount after running like a maniac to have the "privilege" of getting a pass, we discvered that people were successfully sneaking in for free! Also on Celebrity, any one can purchase a pass for steam rooms--

On Princess, at least on the Royal, if you are not one of the first 40 people to get a pass for the week, you are out of luck.

 

So for me: itinerary first, if more that one week on a cruise, I will use Princess for their wonderful self service laundry. I would do Celebrity only if there is time to do laundry at a port where laundramatt is nearby. (do to sensitive skin, I can only use free and clear detergent) and I only wear cotton so I only use cold water-

 

The indoor Thalassotherapy pool on Constellation was no better than the indoor pools on a lot of the Princess ships. DH found the indoor pool unbearably hot and the outside pools unbearably cold - they were salt water pools as well and we much prefer fresh water pools. Constellation had just a few of the luxurious loungers which were booked out with towels and books from early morning every fine day. Have to say I have used the Sanctuary in the past but would never spend $40 a day for the privilege - bad move Princess!

 

If you want consistently good, well seasoned, hot food book on good old Fred Olsen - food cannot be beaten 😄

 

 

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[OCruisers]

While be do also like Celebrity, Princess is our "All Around" favorite! :D

LuLu