Comparison: Princess vs. Celebrity

[El Crucero]

We are “Elite” category on Celebrity. We have sailed on both Millennium and Solstice class ships on Celebrity over the last four years. Every one of our cruises on Celebrity has been outstanding with only minor complaints that are not worth mentioning in retrospect. There are pros and cons to Millennium class and Solstice class ships, but that is the subject of another thread. We have always traveled in Concierge and Aqua class balcony staterooms on Celebrity. We have TWO cruises booked with Celebrity for 2016.

 

 

We have many friends who are fans of Princess. We were most anxious to give Princess a try, just to compare the two lines. We got a great price for a cruise on the Star Princess in early December, 2015, our first cruise with them. We booked a “mini-suite” on the Star Princess.

 

 

The following review reflects our personal experience and our personal interests. Our opinions are consistent with 80% of the previous comparisons between the two lines on CC. But, we recognize that reasonable people may disagree with our opinions.

 

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation: On Celebrity you can board about 11am but your stateroom will not be ready until about 1pm. On Princess you can board at 12:30 pm and your stateroom will be ready for you immediately. Disembarkation is similar and equal. The edge here goes to Celebrity because you can hang out aboard and get to the lunch buffet before the crowd arrives. We had to wait in line for the buffet aboard Star Princess, not a good first impression.

 

 

Ship maintenance: We are going to compare the Star Princess to the Celebrity Constellation which were built about the same time and are about the same size. Celebrity is the clear winner here. The Constellation is much better maintained than the Star.

 

 

Stateroom: We were overwhelmed by the size, layout, storage, and convenience of the Princess mini-suite. This stateroom is MUCH better than anything on Celebrity including Celebrity's “Sky Suite.” We LOVE Princess “mini-suites.” However a deal-breaker for us is that mini-suite balconies are not private! Because of the design of most Princess ships, the balcony on the deck above is setback and overlooks the balcony below. Every balcony we have had on Celebrity has been private with an over head cover. (we have since learned that that there are a handful of mini-suites on Princess at the stern of the ship that are private.)

 

 

There is much more storage in a mini-suites than on Concierge/Aqua staterooms. The closet in a mini-suite is huge and more convenient and better located! The mini-suite has a tub/shower (we used the tub sometimes) while Concierge/Aqua on Celebrity has shower only. Bathroom amenities on Celebrity are high end while on Princess they are basic. Bathrobes and towels are large, thick and luxurious and waiting for you in the closet on Celebrity. On Princess the towels are small and thin and you have to ask for bathrobes which are thin and basic. We found the mattresses more comfortable on Celebrity.

 

 

Overall, our compared staterooms are a toss up on both lines.

 

 

Buffet: Celebrity wins here, hands down. There is no comparison - larger, more variety, and better organized. On Princess you get complimentary ship water, orange juice, coffee and tea. On Celebrity you get all those plus about four selections of other fruit juices and punches. You won't go hungry at the Princess buffet but the food is pretty unexciting.

 

 

Pizza, Ice Cream, and the Hamburger Grill: In our opinion the pizza and hamburger grill are slightly better on Celebrity. Celebrity has the best french fries we have ever tasted anywhere and that includes Belgium where french fries are a national specialty. Soft serve ice cream (chocolate and vanilla) is complimentary but real ice cream (three flavors) is an extra $1.50 on Princess. Celebrity has about a dozen flavors of real ice cream that changes on a daily basis. It is delicious and always complimentary.

 

 

MDR: Princess has three MDRs and you are assigned to one. These rooms have lower ceilings and feel more intimate. Celebrity has one huge dining hall with a ceiling extending up two decks. It tends to be loud and noisy and hardly relaxing. Princess gets the nod here. However, if you go Aqua or Suite class on Celebrity you get your own private dining room which beats anything on Princess.

 

 

Food Quality: We find the food quality to be good and equal on both lines. You will find some hits and misses on both lines but that is a matter of personal taste. The food presentation on Celebrity is more “artistic” than on Princess. A slight edge to Celebrity here.

 

 

Specialty Restaurants: Princess restaurants are generally $25. You get three courses plus dessert. Celebrity restaurants are $35 to $50. You get five courses plus dessert. Specialty restaurants on both lines are fabulous, but again the presentation on Celebrity is more elaborate. We do find that Celebrity does offer “sales” on their restaurants at half off, generally on port days. This is an outstanding bargain! We did not experience any price reduction on the Princess restaurants even on an overnight port stay. One thing that Celebrity has that Princess doesn't is the “Q-sine” specialty restaurant. This is a dining experience that should be enjoyed at least once in a lifetime! Again, Specialty Restaurants are a toss up on both lines.

 

 

Ship layout: Both the compared ships are very similar.

 

 

Ship decoration: Princess decorates their ships and staterooms with traditional faux paintings that will not offend any taste. Some will call the decoration “bland.” There is much use of “wood paneling” throughout the Princess but it is really metal paneling cleverly painted to look like wood. Celebrity ships are decorated in a modern fashion with lots of high end contemporary art throughout the ship. Some will call the decoration a bit too “edgy.” What is better is a matter of personal preference.

 

 

Stage Shows: The production show on Princess was minimal! Performers lip-synced to a prerecorded sound track. There was minimal use of background staging and stage lighting. Celebrity performers are singing live with a live band and elaborate backdrops. I wonder why Princess even bothers to stage a production show. They could simply put on a video of a production show in the theater and accomplish the same thing.

 

 

Onboard Activities and Shopping: Similar on both ships. Celebrity does have the Solarium adults only pool and Princess doesn't. Princess has the outdoor movie theater but they never showed anything we were interested in.

 

 

Passenger Characteristics: We found that Princess passengers tend to be younger and into tee shirts and levis with holes in them as “smart casual” at least on our one voyage. In fact, I observed one female passenger with a Harley Davidson tee shirt and levis on formal night in the MDR! Princess should just skip the pretense and eliminate formal nights if they are going to allow this. In our experience, Celebrity passengers tend to be older, well heeled, and better dressed. We always dress up for formal nights and Celebrity fits our lifestyle better.

 

 

Staff: the International staff on both ships is outstanding! Some people cruise because of destination or convenience or price. Our primary reason for cruising is to interact with young people from all over the world. We have never been disappointed in their enthusiasm to share information about their home countries. Celebrity does have a better staff to passenger ratio than Princess. On Celebrity we have two stateroom stewards, on Princess just one. Staff officers were never seen on Princess. On Celebrity you see the staff officers everywhere asking how they can improve your cruising experience. Sometimes they even remember you by name!

 

 

Odds and Ends: Princess has “high tea” every afternoon served by the staff in one of the dining rooms with white table cloths. It is complimentary and surprisingly good. Celebrity has a “high tea” once a voyage and I think it is $25 (complimentary for suites). Bar drinks on Princess are generally $9 or less. They have a “happy hour” in mid afternoon and late evening with 2 for 1 price plus $1. This is an outstanding bargain for alcohol. Celebrity never has a “happy hour” and their drinks start at $10. However, Celebrity has a Captain's Reception every day for loyalty club members with free cocktails and snacks for two hours. We find the fresh bread on Celebrity to be very good. On Princess, we find the fresh bread outstanding. Princess has the complimentary bistro style International Cafe. It is very good and much better than their buffet. Celebrity has nothing like this that is complimentary. Celebrity stateroom interactive TV is much better than Princess. You can order room service, in room movies, view your account, and more channels to choose from. Celebrity has personal, white hand towels rolled in a basket in the public restrooms. Princess has brown craft towels in a dispenser.

 

 

Loyalty Programs: Celebrity has a much better loyalty program than Princess with better perks and easier to achieve loyalty goals, at least for our type of cruising which tend to be longer voyages.

 

 

Pricing: We find the cost per day to be about equal on Princess and Celebrity but we shop carefully.

 

 

So in the final analysis, Celebrity is a clear winner for our lifestyle. So why did we book THREE future cruises while aboard the Star Princess? We live in Southern California. We love cruising. Celebrity has pretty much abandoned the California market during the last two years. Princess has a home port in Los Angeles for three of their ships with lots of trips to Alaska, Hawaii, and Mexico with a Los Angeles back to Los Angeles itinerary. This eliminates the expense and hassle of airline travel for us. With Celebrity you can easily double the cost of your cruise when you add in airline travel to the East Coast, Asia, and beyond.

 

 

We hear rumors that Celebrity is going to homeport one of their older ships in San Diego in a few years. If that happens we will utilize Celebrity more on the West Coast, but in the meantime, Princess presents an overall better value for us without the added cost of air transportation.

[srpilo]

I think it's a good thing to establish a clear preference early on in a cruising career and stick with the one that personally suits you best. Good luck with your preferred cruise line choice on all your future cruises

 

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts

Srpilo

[moki'smommy]

An excellent review, and in general I agree with your comparisons. I'll note just a couple of differences based on our recent Caribbean Princess cruise.

 

Entertainment: We weren't thrilled with either Celebrity or Princess on the main stage. Both had a live orchestra and sang live. We'd give a slight nod to the Princess performers, but still didn't think the shows were very good. The variety acts were better on Celebrity, but that could change on the next voyage. Both had good "around the ship" entertainers. We particularly liked a quartet on Celebrity.

 

We were very pleased with the maintenance on the Caribbean Princess.

 

Pizza better on Princess, fries and ice cream definitely better on Celebrity. Celebrity had a bad habit of closing the ice cream location about 10-15 minutes before the schedule listed closing (so they could be totally cleaned up by the listed time). The problem with this was that we couldn't get ice cream after the show--we hurried over twice to find it closed. Agree, more variety on Celebrity buffet. The "healthy food" outlet on Celebrity was amazing.

 

We saw plenty of high ranking officers "out and about" on the Caribbean Princess.

 

Agree, dining room atmosphere better on Princess, food about equal.

 

There were 2 adult only pools on the Caribbean Princess. On Celebrity (Alaska cruise) the adult pool was listed as open to families a few hours each day as it was the only covered pool.

 

Overall, added cost items are a little less on Princess. This includes upcharge dining, alcohol, beverage packages. Sodas on Celebrity come in cans, on Princess the packages are fountain service.

 

Onboard credit--lots of opportunities on Princess--stockholders, military, future cruise certificates as well as from travel agents and booking deals.

 

My personal opinion--either line is totally acceptable. The differences are relatively minor. I could be happy on either one. The younger part of our travel group prefers the age spread on Princess

Edited December 21, 2015 by moki'smommy

[Keith1010]

Thanks for your comparison.

 

In the end, I am a believer to figure out which cruise line(s) work best for you.

 

It's also good to try new ones from time to time. You might find something you like better or you might find that the one you sail often is even better than you thought.

 

Keith

[hllwdcruiser]

Thank you for such a detailed comparison review. Celebrity is definitely on my bucket list but every time I comparison shop I can never find as good pricing as I do on Princess out of FLL.

 

Princess definitely fits our lifestyle more than NCL or RCCL so we kind of stuck with the notion, "if it ain''t broke..." but I think Celebrity will fit the bill as well and it's definitely time to change things up a bit.

 

DH loves a buffet - do you think the food tasted better (I've been underwhelmed by the Princess buffet as of late) or was there more variety?

[Croptop]

Thank you for posting your comparison between the two lines. As someone who has only sailed with Princess, I can't claim any knowledge about other lines but your assessment of Princess seemed reasonable and fair and I assume that your description of Celebrity ships is equally fair.

 

One small comment about Princess that I would like to dispute, however, is this one:

Celebrity does have the Solarium adults only pool and Princess doesn't

 

The Star (and her sister ships) has an Adults only pool just behind the Spa (and beneath the Sanctuary). It was my favourite place to hang out on most of my cruises (especially if the Endless Pool was functional as I could get a good swim workout in).

[RDC1]

Started cruising on Celebrity and for the first few years sailed them exclusively. Now 90 percent of my cruise days are on Princess. I do not care for the current direction of Celebrity.

[moki'smommy]

DH loves a buffet - do you think the food tasted better (I've been underwhelmed by the Princess buffet as of late) or was there more variety?

 

The buffet on Celebrity had more variety. They had a couple of excellent curry dishes (Indian curry, not Japanese). The food was very good. My take on the buffet on the Caribbean Princess was "OK, but nothing to write home about."

 

Celebrity also had an outlet where you could get munchies, mostly baked goods. The almond croissants were super. And there is an outlet by the adult pool with very limited hours that focused on healthy food. The grilled salmon was excellent (you did wait about 10 minutes while they cooked this item).

[El Crucero]

DH loves a buffet - do you think the food tasted better (I've been underwhelmed by the Princess buffet as of late) or was there more variety?

 

The buffet is 4 or 5 times bigger on Celebrity, even on their smaller ships. Celebrity has food stations specializing in particular cuisines - Asian (with Chinese and Thai selections), Indian with lots of curry, Italian (with 3 or 4 different fresh selections of pizza that changes daily), Mexican, huge salad bar with probably two dozen different selections, two or three different soups each day (my wife is addicted to the Mexican Bean Soup), and my favorite, the Mongolian BBQ station - you select the ingredients and they grill for you right on the spot. The traditional English breakfast station for breakfast is really good. I could go on but you get the point. You can go to a different station each day if you want and lunch is never boring. Yes Celebrity tastes better and has much more variety.

 

However, we think the International Cafe on Princess is very good although the lunch selections tended to be the same every day. Celebrity has the Spa Cafe out by the pool that serves a limited selection of healthier food. If you don't want to eat healthier, Celebrity has the Bacacio Bakery with lots of pastry and donut selections throughout the day. Celebrity also has a High Tea self serve station (which isn't as good as Princess) and a Sushi station late in the afternoon which isn't as good as the real thing in Japan but still very acceptable. All are complimentary.

Edited December 21, 2015 by El Crucero

[waltd]

Might just have been your cruise on Princess but we have been on many Princess ships where we boarded and were on the ship before noon time. In many cases Princess will start boarded around 11 am unless there are issues on board.

[hllwdcruiser]

The buffet on Celebrity had more variety. They had a couple of excellent curry dishes (Indian curry' date=' not Japanese). The food was very good. My take on the buffet on the Caribbean Princess was "OK, but nothing to write home about."

 

Celebrity also had an outlet where you could get munchies, mostly baked goods. The almond croissants were super. And there is an outlet by the adult pool with very limited hours that focused on healthy food. The grilled salmon was excellent (you did wait about 10 minutes while they cooked this item).[/quote']

 

I feel the same way about the buffet on Princess. There used to be so much variety that changed every day when we first started sailing. Now I feel like they serve almost the same foods daily.

 

The buffet is 4 or 5 times bigger on Celebrity, even on their smaller ships. Celebrity has food stations specializing in particular cuisines - Asian (with Chinese and Thai selections), Indian with lots of curry, Italian (with 3 or 4 different fresh selections of pizza that changes daily), Mexican, huge salad bar with probably two dozen different selections, two or three different soups each day (my wife is addicted to the Mexican Bean Soup), and my favorite, the Mongolian BBQ station - you select the ingredients and they grill for you right on the spot. The traditional English breakfast station for breakfast is really good. I could go on but you get the point. You can go to a different station each day if you want and lunch is never boring. Yes Celebrity tastes better and has much more variety.

 

However, we think the International Cafe on Princess is very good although the lunch selections tended to be the same every day. Celebrity has the Spa Cafe out by the pool that serves a limited selection of healthier food. If you don't want to eat healthier, Celebrity has the Bacacio Bakery with lots of pastry and donut selections throughout the day. Celebrity also has a Sushi station late in the afternoon which isn't as good as the real thing in Japan but still very acceptable. All are complimentary.

 

You had me at the traditional English Breakfast. With all those different stations the variety sounds just amazing. When we cruise the carribbean it is basically to relax and enjoy a no stress vacation. We barely get off the ship at the ports, if at all. Food is a huge part of the experience. You have convinced me to try Celebrity next. Thank you!!

[Cruise Raider]

Loved reading your honest and balanced review of these two cruise lines and couldn't agree with you more except I am not a huge fan of the design of the mini-suites on Princess.

 

While Celebrity has more or less abandoned us here on the West Coast, we now sail on Princess more often and are elite on both lines and appreciate any perks that are given to us from either line with respect to their loyalty program. And when comparing the S class on Celebrity with the Grand class on Princess, there really is no comparison at all.

 

Celebrity is our absolute favorite line on which we sail and would be so excited if they gave us one of their M-class ships out this way -- the Infinity is my favorite ship of all times so that one would work for me. Keeping my fingers crossed this is actually true!!

 

The one post that stated that the pizza is better on Princess is right on the money, though. The rest of the buffet options definitely goes to Celebrity in my opinion.

We also love that Celebrity has gone smart chic instead of required formal wear. One more point for Celebrity in my book.

 

The closets and nightstands are better on Princess, though ... and the room service award also goes to Princess -- not insofar as the choices but the service itself. We just sailed on the Grand for the first time and it is officially my least favorite ship in the Princess fleet, however, the service was so fabulous that it sort of made up for the ship itself.

[El Crucero]

Celebrity is our absolute favorite line on which we sail and would be so excited if they gave us one of their M-class ships out this way -- the Infinity is my favorite ship of all times so that one would work for me. Keeping my fingers crossed this is actually true!!

 

We are sailing Infinity for the first time next May in AQ stateroom on the Pacific Coastal cruise from San Diego to Vancouver. Really looking forward to it.

 

My TA who belongs to a large virtual travel agency says she hears rumblings from Celebrity they might put an older M class ship in California once their two new builds are completed in a couple years. I don't want to start rumors and neither does she, but it does give one hope for an alternative to Carnival/Nor/Princess here in CA. I find it interesting that my TA who is in her 60's prefers the new RCCL megaships to Princess and Celebrity although she sails on all three lines frequently.

 

How do you find pricing for similar stateroom on Princess and Celebrity recently?

Edited December 21, 2015 by El Crucero

[OCruisers]

When making comparisons, which Princess ship to which Celebrity ship is a factor.

[El Crucero]

When making comparisons, which Princess ship to which Celebrity ship is a factor.

 

I agree. I compared the Star Princess to the Celebrity Constellation which are similar size and age and now I have been on both. I find that Celebrity ships are pretty consistent in the product they deliver regardless of age or size. My Princess friends tell me they is more variation in the Princess fleet - some ships are good and some not. My attorney who sails generally on HAL was so upset with the Princess ship he took on a voyage to Alaska, that he wrote a letter to the President of Princess. He said ONE Princess experience was enough for him and never again. I don't know about his specific concerns other than the ship was a rust bucket, but it was more than that. I did find our experience on Princess enjoyable and a very good value with the pricing we got.

[venicecruiser]

RDC1 - I'm with you!

 

 

Claudia

[Coral]

I agree. I compared the Star Princess to the Celebrity Constellation which are similar size and age and now I have been on both. I find that Celebrity ships are pretty consistent in the product they deliver regardless of age or size. My Princess friends tell me they is more variation in the Princess fleet - some ships are good and some not. My attorney who sails generally on HAL was so upset with the Princess ship he took on a voyage to Alaska, that he wrote a letter to the President of Princess. He said ONE Princess experience was enough for him and never again. I don't know about his specific concerns other than the ship was a rust bucket, but it was more than that. I did find our experience on Princess enjoyable and a very good value with the pricing we got.

 

The interesting thing is that I have sailed Celebrity once (Millennium) and have not returned to Celebrity. At the time I sailed them, I really wasn't committed to any lines (had done 1 Carnival, 1 RCCL, 2 Princess and had another RCCL booked). I have never had as poor service as I have on Celebrity and the food was disappointing - they could not get an order correct.

 

And honestly, I am not committed to any line now but I don't think Celebrity will be in my future.

[Cruise Junky]

The interesting thing is that I have sailed Celebrity once (Millennium) and have not returned to Celebrity. At the time I sailed them, I really wasn't committed to any lines (had done 1 Carnival, 1 RCCL, 2 Princess and had another RCCL booked). I have never had as poor service as I have on Celebrity and the food was disappointing - they could not get an order correct.

 

And honestly, I am not committed to any line now but I don't think Celebrity will be in my future.

 

My first Celebrity sailing was on Millennium. We didn't hate it and really enjoyed the cruise but felt pretty Meh about the cruise line. Didn't quite get what the fuss was about. 8 years later sailed them again on Solstice..WOW...now I know what the fuss is about. We're on Connie in April and will see how she stacks up.

[Coral]

My first Celebrity sailing was on Millennium. We didn't hate it and really enjoyed the cruise but felt pretty Meh about the cruise line. Didn't quite get what the fuss was about. 8 years later sailed them again on Solstice..WOW...now I know what the fuss is about. We're on Connie in April and will see how she stacks up.

 

I didn't hate it but wasn't impressed. My medium rare steak or beef dish was served "well done" and when I pointed it out to the waiter, he didn't seem to care. No offer to go get another one. We had 3 in our room and getting 3 sets of towels was impossible. Getting a salad dressing not on the menu was not possible. The appetizers at the buffet were bizarre - I think there was a cracker, cucumber, tomato and slice of cheese stacked together with a tooth pick. Plus, everything was so much more - I had cruised Princess in December and then the Millennium in February - transfers were more expensive (yes, I did transfers back then), the same can of Coke, same drinks, the same tours, etc.... Instead of feeling nickel and dimed, I felt dollared to death.

 

Though I have to say their brochures were gorgeous.

 

It has been a long while and maybe I will give them another chance. Though, all main stream lines have declined so it will be interesting. I have heard the Solstice class is definitely in a class of it's own. My goal is to try some more river cruises and maybe try some more higher end lines. I would rather cruise less but have a better experience. And I see more land trips in my future.

Edited December 22, 2015 by Coral

[El Crucero]

My first Celebrity sailing was on Millennium. We didn't hate it and really enjoyed the cruise but felt pretty Meh about the cruise line. Didn't quite get what the fuss was about. 8 years later sailed them again on Solstice..WOW...now I know what the fuss is about. We're on Connie in April and will see how she stacks up.

 

If you liked the S class ships (Solstice) you will probably not like the M class ships (Millennium and Constellation). There is a difference. We actually like the M class ships better, but that is a matter of personal preference, but we jump on the opportunity to cruise on Celebrity, whatever class ship, when the right cruise for us turns up.

 

But back on topic (since this is the Princess forum), my Princess friends tell me that the Star Princess is not one of their more spectacular ships. So I am looking forward to a Future Cruise on Princess on one of their newer, more advanced ships.

[Coral]

If you liked the S class ships (Solstice) you will probably not like the M class ships (Millennium and Constellation). There is a difference. We actually like the M class ships better, but that is a matter of personal preference, but we jump on the opportunity to cruise on Celebrity, whatever class ship, when the right cruise for us turns up.

 

But back on topic (since this is the Princess forum), my Princess friends tell me that the Star Princess is not one of their more spectacular ships. So I am looking forward to a Future Cruise on Princess on one of their newer, more advanced ships.

 

Though she sailed the Millie first so she didn't have the Solstice to compare it to at the time.

 

Honestly, I think the Star is a decent ship. Though I prefer more traditional cruising experiences and don't need the more advanced ships.

Edited December 22, 2015 by Coral

[El Crucero]

Might just have been your cruise on Princess but we have been on many Princess ships where we boarded and were on the ship before noon time. In many cases Princess will start boarded around 11 am unless there are issues on board.

 

It was clearly stated by Princess that boarding was from 12:30 to 3:30 pm with departure at 4 pm. We arrived by private auto shortly after 12:30 and were in the first group to board.

[El Crucero]

Honestly, I think the Star is a decent ship. Though I prefer more traditional cruising experiences and don't need the more advanced ships.

 

I agree, the Star is a decent ship, but in my opinion she does not equal any ship in the Celebrity fleet.

 

It is unfortunate that some posters have been disappointed in past cruise experiences. I have always found the staff aboard both Celebrity and Princess enthusiastic to accommodate our every wish. We always become very good friends with our stateroom staff and MDR staff. It does wonders for getting the best service. ;) And we tip extra to those folks at the end of our voyage on both lines to show our appreciation for good service.

 

I have seen passengers on both lines (specifically MDR table mates) who were grumpy from the beginning and treated the staff with disrespect. Nothing could please them. I AM NOT SAYING THIS ABOUT ANYONE ON THIS FORUM, since to my knowledge I haven't sailed with you. The only thing our cabin steward on Princess could not provide us is a corkscrew to open our bottle of wine. He apologized profusely and said that Princess policy required that only room service could open a bottle of wine and he gave us their number. Room service came within a few minutes and opened the bottle for us. No harm , no foul. I guess we are just easy to please.

Edited December 22, 2015 by El Crucero

[El Crucero]

The appetizers at the buffet were bizarre - I think there was a cracker, cucumber, tomato and slice of cheese stacked together with a tooth pick.

 

That sounds like the High Tea buffet served in the afternoon on Celebrity. Everything is very British. Both my wife and I love those snacks with a cup of tea. Will someone from England please adopt us?

 

Back on topic, Princess served the same kind of tea snacks at their afternoon High Tea. What we liked better on Princess it was a sit down served high tea rather than the buffet on Celebrity. Celebrity does have an invitation only sit down High Tea for their Elite and above members. My wife is really into that kind of thing.

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your comparison. Unless things have changed, both cruise lines use a click track for the production shows. Celebrity has musicians there, but that doesn't mean you're hearing just them. They play along with the click track. The featured singers actually sing on both lines. It's the dancers whose voices you don't hear if they're singing along with the music.

 

Our last Celebrity cruise was a disappointment. I still look at Celebrity's pricing before booking a cruise, but so far haven't been tempted back by any bargains.