Comparing Princess and Celebrity

[MicCanberra]

Public rest rooms- and no jokes about this following the section featuring my spicy Indian curries!

 

Without them it's a long walk back to the cabin so I always avail myself of them when up on deck.

 

On Princess they are always well maintained and there's usually a chart hanging to show how often it has been visited by a cleaner that day. Paper towels are provided by the sinks and there are signs advising you to use one to open the door on your way out.

 

 

On the S Class

 

 

Etched glass sinks, orchids, white terry hand towels give the restroom a luxury hotel feel. You can also learn some pithy new thoughts/maxims....

 

 

The best thing about the rest rooms though (apart from being there when you need them) is that the doors open electronically when you press a button so no door knobs and holding a paper towel to open them- I use my elbow on the way out.

 

PUBLIC REST ROOMS?

 

ADVANTAGE CELEBRITY

 

(FOR THE ELECTRIC DOOR OPENERS, LINEN TOWELS AND THE UPSCALE HOTEL LOOK-MODERN LUXURY)

 

So agree, helps keep Noro away, they also have bathroom attendants during evenings to maintain the bathrooms cleanliness and as an added benefit of ensuring passengers are washing their hands.:D

[cvpends]

I am not sure if this is new on all Princess ships, but I am currently on the Grand, And every public restroom now has seat covers. This is a first on any cruise ship on any cruise line I have been on, and IMHO swings the advantage back in Princess' direction :)

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

Fantastic review/ comparison Norris, loved all the photos so people could still have their own opinions of things even though they may have been on differing ships or cruises. Well done.:D

[NorbertsNiece]

Thinking of jumping ship..... loyal to Royal for many years and just off Celebrity Solstice..... looking at a Cruise Tour on Crown Princess to South America next year.... better start reading eh?

[chamima]

I am not sure if this is new on all Princess ships, but I am currently on the Grand, And every public restroom now has seat covers. This is a first on any cruise ship on any cruise line I have been on, and IMHO swings the advantage back in Princess' direction :)

 

 

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I'd love to give the advantage to Princess but Celebrity has these too.

So glad Princess has now added that!

 

Norris probably didn't notice since he's a man. ;) :p

[Bimmer09]

Hey Norris!

Thank you so much for your amazing comparision! We have yet to sail X, but I loved your detail-- and we just might have to go there. We love the specialty restaurants, and with X's variety, that may be a tipping point for us.

 

Princess needs to send you a thank you note. We have never seen the merit of the UBD, but with your two videos- SOLD! We will be doing this on our cruise in June (well, I hope so-- the balconies are really, really small on the Royal class ships)- not sure if it is going to work for us. We are actually considering upgrading ourselves to an OS and that would certainly solve the balcony size issue.

 

I adore your writing style and all of your pictures- I plowed through the 38 pages in two sittings-- so I feel like I have just been on a cruise! I appreciate all of the time and effort you have dedicated to the review- and to your thoughtful responses to people who have commented.

 

Thank you for a most entertaining evening!

 

Take care-

Tracie-Lynn:):)

 

Tracie-Lynn, thanks for the kind compliments and I'm glad you read the thing in two sittings.

 

Yes the UBD (Ultimate Balcony Dinner) on Princess is a unique treat if ever there was one. We have only done two and I can't think why we haven't done more. On two cruises, CB and Ruby we had friends on board who we dined with so that cancelled a UBD for two out.

 

Definitely will do another on our next PCL cruise (nothing planned as yet)

At $100 for two it is an experience that cannot be had on land and I wonder why all cruise lines don't offer it.

 

The Royal balconies -they'll have tables that fit but one of you will be trapped behind it I imagine. Go for the OS and enjoy the amenities and the space!

Free laundry, breakfast in Sabatini's etc.

 

Thanks for the response! I always like to know who's reading along.

 

Did you read my Silhouette review?

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

 

[Bimmer09]

Norris, I have spent hours reading your reviews and comparisons, and every second has been beyond enjoyable! I love the way you write and your amazing attitude!

.......

Next as a training experience for my new business we were on Celebrity Silhouette! We both recognize that X and Silhouette are "home" for us! We love this ship and line. Although we are less than impressed with MDR. However, Oceanview Café works for our needs. We are booked on Silhouette again December 2016 for Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Falmouth Jamaica. We will definitely be trying the LCG on your recommendation, as well as the specialty restaurants.

Thanks again for your amazing insight and willingness to share your amazing journey, wit and photos with us!

 

Hi, and thank you for responding with such generous compliments!

 

I see you are not a fan of the MDR on the Silhouette-can you say why?

 

Also I see you are sailing the Silly on the same route as our Reflection cruise in January. Does it include Labadee? I haven't been to Labadee since 1986 when it opened as a Royal beach stop.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Loving the review.:D

 

Mic, thanks and I'm glad to see you have been following along!

 

Cheers,

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Yes I have read them all, and thoroughly enjoyed the intricate detail that make your reviews so enjoyable.

I would love to cruise the British Isles. Born and raised there, but never went the the northern Isles. In Canada now and no one wants to go there with me. May do a solo.

 

Bingo!- I am also born and raised in the UK and would love to do a British Isles cruise at some point to see it from the sea on a cruise ship. You have to work on those Canadians! There have to be some great BI cruise reviews-Delorean girl has a good one that should be easy to find. Show them that!

 

If you have to go solo then do it. You'll soon find friends on the ship if you dine at a table for 8 or such.

 

Read that review first to see if it's really what you'd like as opposed to a land trip to England, Scotland, Wales or N Ireland.

 

Where were you born? Wouldn't it be nice to revisit?

 

Norris

[cvpends]

I'd love to give the advantage to Princess but Celebrity has these too.

 

So glad Princess has now added that!

 

 

 

Norris probably didn't notice since he's a man. ;) :p

 

 

Thanks for the info :) and lol!

[Deck Chair Queen]

Deck Chair Queen here, AKA Carol, Norris's faithful traveling companion:

 

I don't even know if anybody is still reading this thread but I did have a couple of comments from my perspective. Sorry for being a Carol-Come-Lately but this is the first free time I've had to read this epic.

 

Every person has his or her own cruise. That's what I love about it. There is something for everyone. Norris wisely decided not to weight his evaluations by importance, because different factors are of varying levels of importance to different cruisers.

 

But for me, the final assessment was far more in favor of Princess, simply because of the things I want or value most on a cruise.

 

What I love is to find a quiet spot (outdoors weather permitting) with comfy seating where I can gaze at the sea and read, with intermittent naps. I have a high pressure, all-consuming job and need to escape completely on a cruise. I found no such place on the Silhouette. Our deck furniture did not allow for napping. The Library and the Hideaway are jokes. The Alcoves are lovely but don't face the sea and are in major traffic zones, thus not very serene. In the alcoves there is comfortable seating for one person only. There is nothing to compare with The Sanctuary on a Princess ship.

 

Other factors in favor of Princess were the lectures (real lectures, not shopping tips), afternoon tea on the balcony, and the production shows. Weighed against this was the amazing museum quality art on the Silhouette and its specialty restaurants. Don't get me wrong, we already have another Celebrity cruise booked and I know it will be great. But for this cruiser Princess still rules.

[IECalCruiser]

Deck Chair Queen, aka Carol, There are still some of us out here that have the thread marked as a favorite and I appreciated your input. I enjoyed all of Norris' comparisons. Somewhat like you, for the most part what were the advantages for Princess were more important to us. Nothing to draw us to try Celebrity at this time, but who knows in the future [emoji848]

Edited April 11, 2016 by IECalCruiser

[KruzeKrazy!]

Carol -

 

I agree - there are no bad cruises (practically speaking, anyway), rather just bad matches of a cruise and one's personal preferences.

 

Brian

[Pmorton3360]

Always good to hear your input Carol. Glad you enjoyed the cruise. Just finished a Regal Princess cruise. The most beautiful ship I have been on to date. Traveled solo ,so a different take. Everyone was so nice. Pam

[kimcht]

as we were planning our retirement cruise feb 2017, I seriously looked at celebrity due to this thread, but in the end, even though there are things about the royal princess I am dissapointed in, at least on paper, both had similar dates and itineraries, and princess was significantly cheaper, so this time its princess. and after all I will be RETIRED!!! and on a cruise !!! so unless we run into something really unusual, we will have a wonderful time, even without our beloved promenade deck. thanks carol for your input.

[winncruiser]

Carol---as someone who loves The Sanctuary and has a traveling companion who also likes the smoking bar I value your honest opinion. Princess is just "home" for us right now. One day I'd love to try Sea Dream Yacht Club in the Caribbean and maybe Windstar ( one of the yachts) in the Med but for now Princess is good/great for us. Thank you again for chiming in!

[Gabrielle R.]

Carol, THANK YOU for the comments! Good to hear what you liked & Missed. Helps me to make a decision for us when we know we want to have a must get away...

I hope if I'm on a ship with you & Mr Norris, I hope I can stop and say hi to you.

Gabrielle

[MisterMet]

Carol--Thank you for your perspective as well. We love following your trips on Princess and have learned much from you both about both lines Now I know what you do while Norris writes the review! Lol

[Bimmer09]

Deck Chair Queen here, AKA Carol, Norris's faithful traveling companion:

 

I don't even know if anybody is still reading this thread but I did have a couple of comments from my perspective. Sorry for being a Carol-Come-Lately but this is the first free time I've had to read this epic.

 

Every person has his or her own cruise. That's what I love about it. There is something for everyone. Norris wisely decided not to weight his evaluations by importance, because different factors are of varying levels of importance to different cruisers.

 

But for me, the final assessment was far more in favor of Princess, simply because of the things I want or value most on a cruise.

 

What I love is to find a quiet spot (outdoors weather permitting) with comfy seating where I can gaze at the sea and read, with intermittent naps. I have a high pressure, all-consuming job and need to escape completely on a cruise. I found no such place on the Silhouette. Our deck furniture did not allow for napping. The Library and the Hideaway are jokes. The Alcoves are lovely but don't face the sea and are in major traffic zones, thus not very serene. In the alcoves there is comfortable seating for one person only. There is nothing to compare with The Sanctuary on a Princess ship.

 

Other factors in favor of Princess were the lectures (real lectures, not shopping tips), afternoon tea on the balcony, and the production shows. Weighed against this was the amazing museum quality art on the Silhouette and its specialty restaurants. Don't get me wrong, we already have another Celebrity cruise booked and I know it will be great. But for this cruiser Princess still rules.

 

This post was a surprise awaiting me when I got home from work last night and I am glad Carol found the snatches of time to read the entire comparison, something I haven't done yet. Most of what she says I knew already as she IS Sanctuary Woman and I did give Princess an advantage there.

I did give P more advantages overall I feel when it came to unique features but in writing it there was nothing that could negate my enjoyment of my time on the Silhouette. The ship became the destination for me and given my background with ships and my appreciation for marine architecture my feelings won't change.

The service was certainly on par with Princess and I ate well and slept like a baby which is to say most of my food I regurgitated down the front of my shirt and I woke up crying every half hour during the night as I wet myself.

 

Having another X cruise booked is great and we are both looking forward to it as it was a different, enjoyable experience and gave us a new appreciation for those things that Princess offers. We certainly didn't want to feel like a cruise was becoming routine with the same decor, food and entertainment. Having two lines to get excited about is now a reality and we have more ships and itineraries to experience.

 

When Carol says the Hideaway and Library on Silhouette are "jokes" she's not referring to the great designs but rather to the people chatting up a storm in what are meant to be quiet areas to curl up with a book. Enjoying them early in the day circumvents that, but then I am an early riser.

 

The Alcoves have only 1 couch (nap central) but have two other chairs for the restless like me just FYI. If they faced the sea they would not face the lawn and you'd see everyone walking by. Looking out on the lawn and away from the sea and the walking people was really their only option in the design.

 

Agreed that we all have our own way to cruise and enjoy different things onboard. Carol reads the patters daily and has a plan for her day. I just drift along and move around taking photos and talking to new people over a drink.

Mealtimes and shows are my markers. I am more into shore excursions (an excuse to take more photos and experience new island-specific adventures) while Carol loves her restful sea days more. We both like to eat well and see the shows on offer.

 

It's a win-win all the way for me with both lines.

 

Norris

 

[Buckcruise]

Deck Chair Queen here, AKA Carol, Norris's faithful traveling companion:

 

I don't even know if anybody is still reading this thread but I did have a couple of comments from my perspective. Sorry for being a Carol-Come-Lately but this is the first free time I've had to read this epic.

 

Every person has his or her own cruise. That's what I love about it. There is something for everyone. Norris wisely decided not to weight his evaluations by importance, because different factors are of varying levels of importance to different cruisers.

 

But for me, the final assessment was far more in favor of Princess, simply because of the things I want or value most on a cruise.

 

 

 

 

What I love is to find a quiet spot (outdoors weather permitting) with comfy seating where I can gaze at the sea and read, with intermittent naps. I have a high pressure, all-consuming job and need to escape completely on a cruise. I found no such place on the Silhouette. Our deck furniture did not allow for napping. The Library and the Hideaway are jokes. The Alcoves are lovely but don't face the sea and are in major traffic zones, thus not very serene. In the alcoves there is comfortable seating for one person only. There is nothing to compare with The Sanctuary on a Princess ship.

 

Other factors in favor of Princess were the lectures (real lectures, not shopping tips), afternoon tea on the balcony, and the production shows. Weighed against this was the amazing museum quality art on the Silhouette and its specialty restaurants. Don't get me wrong, we already have another Celebrity cruise booked and I know it will be great. But for this cruiser Princess still rules.

 

Carol. I think you would like the Solarium! It's quiet, really comfy chairs right by the ocean( not outdoors though ). Get Norris to score you a hammock or bed with curtains! or even the wicker " palapa" chairs... Very private...just you and the ocean!

[Cruzaholic41]

What I love is to find a quiet spot (outdoors weather permitting) with comfy seating where I can gaze at the sea and read, with intermittent naps. I have a high pressure, all-consuming job and need to escape completely on a cruise. I found no such place on the Silhouette. Our deck furniture did not allow for napping. The Library and the Hideaway are jokes. The Alcoves are lovely but don't face the sea and are in major traffic zones, thus not very serene. In the alcoves there is comfortable seating for one person only. There is nothing to compare with The Sanctuary on a Princess ship.

 

That is one of the biggest differences between Princes Royal Class and Celebrity Solstice Class. Solstice may not have a for-fee Sanctuary, but Royal/Regal doesn't have any seating in climate controlled lounges/pool area looking out to sea. Personally, I prefer the climate controlled loungers because they are relevant in all climates. Buckcruise mentioned the Solarium, which is heavenly, but also there are very comfortable loungers up in the Sky Lounge that are directly in front of floor-to-ceiling windows.

[Jasperdo]

When Carol says the Hideaway and Library on Silhouette are "jokes" she's not referring to the great designs but rather to the people chatting up a storm in what are meant to be quiet areas to curl up with a book. Enjoying them early in the day circumvents that, but then I am an early riser.

I feel that the libraries on Princess are hit and miss. On the Star and Golden it's tucked into a corner of the Internet Cafe, with just a couple of comfy chairs. On the Ruby, it was a narrow room with a few chairs. I felt claustrophobic in there. However, the Coral had a fabulous library, with amazing comfy chairs overlooking the ocean. The Dawn had a wonderful library as well.

[TracieABD]

Hi Carol-

Thank you so much for weighing in! I love to hear your experience balanced against Norris'. If you asked my husband and I to independently describe a cruise, you would be that we were on different ships!

 

This thread has been a great deal of fun to read, and is one of the few that has helped to "get me to my next cruise'.

 

Thank you so much for your input! It is a pleasure to finally meet you!

Tracie-Lynn:):)

[Deck Chair Queen]

I did like the gorgeous Solarium and that pool was just my speed. It was great at off hours and on a port day, noisy and crowded other times. I have to admit I never set foot in the Sky Lounge to my knowledge. I am like our cats - I just rotate among a few of my "spots" and let Norris do all the exploring! Next cruise!

 

 

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[Bimmer09]

I feel that the libraries on Princess are hit and miss. On the Star and Golden it's tucked into a corner of the Internet Cafe, with just a couple of comfy chairs. On the Ruby, it was a narrow room with a few chairs. I felt claustrophobic in there. However, the Coral had a fabulous library, with amazing comfy chairs overlooking the ocean. The Dawn had a wonderful library as well.

 

Jasperdo, agreed on the Coral and of course the Pacific has that R Class Country Manor gem.

 

The Ruby library off the Piazza is just poor placement and indeed a tiny space.

 

I still love the X one when there are no chit-chatters. Let it be said though that I have taken the same book on airplanes and ships for the past 5 years and have yet to read it all the way through (but I've read it before!). I stare at the sea.

I talk to anyone who sits close and have met some fine people I never see again.

I talk CC to anyone who listens but 9 out of 10 are unaware of it.

 

In my real life I am very quiet but on a ship it's a different story as I can talk about my cruising passion to people who feel the same way. Carol raises an eyebrow when she hears people saying "Hi Norris" to me around the ship and she's always amused when we sit down near the bar at Tradewinds and without ordering, my drink is brought to me. I place great value in having "my waiter for the week". Same goes for the ATD MDR but finding fun waiters isn't so easy.

 

Guys like these....my all-time favorites from

Thailand.

 

[YOUTUBE]CxfMbosajVU[/YOUTUBE]

 

Cheers!

 

Norris