Comparing Princess and Celebrity

[Bimmer09]

Thank you for your response. Because of the mild obsession I've developed for surfing the various cruise line websites, we've been invited to be Princess Private community members and are surveyed regularly for opinions about their website and marketing. Perhaps if I proceed the same way with Celebrity, they might ask me about their site as well (lol)!

 

We've learned much from you and your blogs and appreciate your even keeled approach to reviewing. We think from your comparisons thus far, we're sure to have a bang up time on X! Keep on writing! P.S.--love your taste in music.

 

Regards,

Trip

 

Trip, I like that highlighted in red part.

 

I surf the boards too, some more than others and look for photo reviews or informative threads. I imagine there are some Summit photo reviews-I'm sure I have read one recently. I look at Beyondships too but it's getting way out of date now as the M Class get their upgrades. I would definately be hitting the specialty restaurants.

 

My taste in music is very wide but I usually ease into a day listening to Debussy's La Mer (the Sea) which has to say something.

 

I'm glad you are reading along and getting something from this. It may get into some "picky" areas-like the automatic doors but once I started this I thought I should be thorough as it will be a long time before I do another comparison- until I try a third cruise line.

 

Thanks for all your compliments!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

 

I have been enjoying your comparison. I have only sailed on Princess and you are doing a great and through job. Most of the Celebrity advantages are not important to us so we will probably stay with Princess.

 

I do need to take some exception with your Promenade deck comparison. After seeing your video of the Silhouette's Promenade deck, I fully agree that the Grand class ships totally blow the Silhouette's design out of the water.

 

But Princess is evolving their Royal class Promenade deck design. I agree that the Royal's two small open sections lose out to the Silhouette but the Regal has opened up the sections behind the life boats to give about a 750 foot walkway on both sides including the open sections and the two sections behind the lifeboats. It is true that the walkway behind the lifeboats is only about 4 feet wide, but it does the job, IMHO.

 

 

Also, even though they are exposed, the midship and aft sections have seating areas at least as nice as the Silhouette so I would call it at least a draw between the Regal and the Silhouette.

 

The Majestic is advancing the design with the addition of mini-suites aft of the lifeboats that will provide cover to the aft section of the Promenade. There will also be mini-suites covering the forward section of the Promenade deck but that portion is not accessible to passengers :( It will be advantage to the Majestic, but unfortunately only for those sailing from China.

 

With all that said, I would call the Royal class/Solstice class promenade deck at least a draw.

 

Thanks for including those photos which speak for themselves...

 

What they say to me is;

 

1 We are an afterthought because people complained about the lack of a promenade and Princess opened up a formerly "crew only " space.

 

2 We are going to appease the power walkers walking in the same direction. They won't get the sea view (nor will they on X) but they'll be happy to keep those legs moving.

 

3 The couples that walk in single file will be ok with us but hand in hand strolling is right out.( Especially on Formal Nights people like to stroll hand in hand along the Grand Class decks.)

 

4 We are sure you will all be calm when the ship is listing to port and on fire and this tight space is where maybe 3500 of you will have to group to get into those lifeboats. We can't imagine there will be pandemonium.

 

I don't normally repost photos in a response but have left these two so that readers can look down at the Silhouette equivalent...

 

 

A 4ft wide deck vs an 8 ft isn't what I would consider a draw. I think one is twice as good as the other.

 

Thanks for the response! Debate is good.

 

Norris

[trystran72]

That bowl of fruit seriously needs to start pulling its weight. ;)

 

Your comparisons/reviews are awesome. Thank you for taking the time to compile and share!! I have yet to go on Celebrity so this has been really interesting. :)

[TorontoTL]

Norris, excellent thread with wonderful comparisons and photos and opinions. I hope Princess is listening and will hopefully evolve the Royal Class ships further and make wider the promenade deck area beside the lift boats to a similar width as the Celebrity promenade.

 

I've always loved walking the promenade decks on Princess ships and think that minimizing them on the newest class is very unfortunate.

[IECalCruiser]

Norris, excellent thread with wonderful comparisons and photos and opinions. I hope Princess is listening and will hopefully evolve the Royal Class ships further and make wider the promenade deck area beside the lift boats to a similar width as the Celebrity promenade.

 

I've always loved walking the promenade decks on Princess ships and think that minimizing them on the newest class is very unfortunate.

The width of the corridor behind the lifeboats is set be the size of the balcony above. Princess would need to make the Royal class ships wider to allow more space for a wider corridor behind the lifeboats. It is possible because the two Grand class ships built by Mitsubishi, the Diamond and Sapphire, were five feet wider than the other Grand class ships built by Fincantieri. I fully agree that Princess should add at least two feet to the width to enlarge the basic balcony and the "Promenade" deck to a minimum of five feet. Whether four, five or eight feet, that space is just a corridor behind the lifeboats and not a real Promenade deck. I still call the Royal class and the Silhouette class a draw on the basis of a lack of a real Promenade deck.

 

I look forward to more of your comparisons to see if there are Celebrity advantages that would make a difference to me.

Edited February 29, 2016 by IECalCruiser

[Bimmer09]

The width of the corridor behind the lifeboats is set be the size of the balcony above. Princess would need to make the Royal class ships wider to allow more space for a wider corridor behind the lifeboats. It is possible because the two Grand class ships built by Mitsubishi, the Diamond and Sapphire, were five feet wider than the other Grand class ships built by Fincantieri. I fully agree that Princess should add at least two feet to the width to enlarge the basic balcony and the "Promenade" deck to a minimum of five feet. Whether four, five or eight feet, that space is just a corridor behind the lifeboats and not a real Promenade deck. I still call the Royal class and the Silhouette class a draw on the basis of a lack of a real Promenade deck.

 

I look forward to more of your comparisons to see if there are Celebrity advantages that would make a difference to me.

 

Hello again IE. It's very possible that none of the comparisons are make or break with regards to you trying X. We tried X because I could forsee us getting jaded and blasé about cruising if we only sailed Princess. We're not chasing Elite status as we are there. There are other itineraries that PCL weren't offering and we took one of those and it was on X, a line that we were not reluctant to try-how bad can it be? The X board has it's share of happy campers, although I am sure that some of them are now casting a more favorable eye on Princess. The two lines have so much in common in terms of service, food and finding ways to amuse passengers.

 

OK, back to the thrust of your post. The Japanese built Princess ships and the two French built ships have wide promenades but the shipyard doesn't design them so Fincantieri has nothing to do with how wide decks or balconies are-they build what they are told to build. Princess decided to shrink the balconies,( in part I am sure to make a bigger piazza) and by your analysis the prom deck below. The ship can be made as wide as can be built-they are 200 ft high and could be 200 ft wide. They are far from being the biggest ships ever built. The only restrictions are canals.(Oasis class is 198 ft at it's widest point, 154 ft at the waterline)

 

Regarding lifeboats I would be happy to see them hanging over the side, only lower-just above that row of giant portholes on Oasis, where they don't block my view of the sea (like Oasis and recent NCL builds).

 

I don't feel any pressure to convince anyone reading this to try X or P. I am not paid (alas) to write this. If no one tries either line that's OK -it's what Carol and I want to spend our cruise dollars on that matters. I'm not writing this for Carol and I (which is the main purpose of my cruise reviews) but for P folk who have wondered "I wonder what X is like?" and vice versa.

 

Thanks for taking the time to disagree with me-truly. I am not a person who thinks I am always right and gets in a huff (with my humor that is not happening)

when someone disagrees. You are passionate about Princess. I love sailing Princess but am critical-as I am with X. I think they blundered in the design of the Royal class and the low rankings (both in the bottom 3 of 18 ships) in the members reviews would suggest I am not the only one who thinks they failed when designing the new wave of P ships.

 

The S Class arrived 10 years after the Grand Class. I think X put a lot of thought into that design. It's not perfect though and you'll see a lot of Advantage Princess already. I try to be fair but statistics matter to me-widths of prom decks being one of them.

 

This is not actually a contest even though I used boxing terminology on page 1 in a light hearted way. Your opinion re the prom decks is valid,as it's your considered opinion otherwise you wouldn't have committed it to text.

 

I respect that.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris, debate lover.

[KruzeKrazy!]

We are not regular prom deck strollers (let alone joggers) but we certainly do see why many prefer a wide, fully circling one. Plus we loke the option to have it if we want to use it.

 

And, after all, if there is one we may just try it and love it - and if there isn't one we are highly unlikely to... :sly:

Edited February 29, 2016 by KruzeKrazy!

[Jase0581]

Norris,

 

This is a wonderful comparison and I am loving it. I just returned Saturday from my wonderful Eastern Caribbean on the Emerald and have managed to get all caught up on this thread today.

I have a Panama Canal cruise booked for next year, and then after that I will look at trying other lines as I have only been on Princess. Your X review and this comparison has put Celebrity at the top of that list. It also didn't hurt that the Reflection was with us in St. Maarten and St. Thomas and was a beautiful ship to look at.

As a side note, my experience with the BBQ on Princess Cays was much better than yours.

 

Take Care,

Jason

[Bimmer09]

That bowl of fruit seriously needs to start pulling its weight. ;)

 

Your comparisons/reviews are awesome. Thank you for taking the time to compile and share!! I have yet to go on Celebrity so this has been really interesting. :)

 

Kim, thanks for the compliments and for reading along!

 

Cheers,

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

 

This is a wonderful comparison and I am loving it. I just returned Saturday from my wonderful Eastern Caribbean on the Emerald and have managed to get all caught up on this thread today.

I have a Panama Canal cruise booked for next year, and then after that I will look at trying other lines as I have only been on Princess. Your X review and this comparison has put Celebrity at the top of that list. It also didn't hurt that the Reflection was with us in St. Maarten and St. Thomas and was a beautiful ship to look at.

As a side note, my experience with the BBQ on Princess Cays was much better than yours.

 

Take Care,

Jason

 

Jason, thanks for joining us here and for coming over from my X review.

 

Glad to hear you got some warm BBQ food in Princess Cays.

 

We are on the Reflection next January.

 

Norris

[arnarhawks]

Have enjoyed all your previous reviews immensely and I'm really enjoying this comparison. I've only ever sailed Princess but your X review and this comparison have solidified what line we'll try after we get to Elite with Princess. Thank you very much.

[Bimmer09]

Have enjoyed all your previous reviews immensely and I'm really enjoying this comparison. I've only ever sailed Princess but your X review and this comparison have solidified what line we'll try after we get to Elite with Princess. Thank you very much.

 

Hi, and thanks for directing your first ever CC post to me!

 

I'm happy to see you have read my previous reviews and have become interested in X from the Silhouette review. It's good to have a choice.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I had been highlighting the smoking areas on Princess and now it's time to show the equivalent on the S Class.

 

The Casino, which runs down the center of deck 4 is open at the sides and opposite the shops so would be useless at containing smoke. It's non smoking as a result. There is no indoor smoking venue on the ship.

 

The closest thing-smoking under a ceiling with open sides is by the swimming pools and features comfortable furniture and tabletop ashtrays.

 

 

Outdoor smoking is available up by the Mast bar so smoker's can relax with a drink. Starboard forward deck 14.

 

 

 

Also with bar service, port side chairs by the Sunset Bar lawn**. Cigars OK.

 

** This lawn is where Bocce ball is played so if you want to play be aware you will be next to the many smokers who watch the games. Smoking is allowed in all the port side seating at the Sunset bar.

 

 

And lastly there are the two deep promenade deck areas on deck 5 each with a dozen comfy padded chairs. No ashtrays screwed to the walls.

 

(seen on the Promenade deck walk video)

 

SMOKING?

 

ADVANTAGE CELEBRITY

 

(FOR THE NON-SMOKING CASINO, SERVICE FROM 3 BARS AND COMFORT PROVIDED TO SMOKERS)

[Bimmer09]

MUTS (Movies Under the Stars) is a Princess innovation, first installed on the Caribbean Princess in 2004 and featured on all the Grand Class vessels.

It's located above the Calypso Pool and despite it's name plays day and night starting with the morning Wake Show where the Cruise Director will meet with various department people (Spa, Shops etc) and talk about sales going on, fun things happening on board. It's a light hearted show with morning banter which of course beats peace and quiet.

 

It is best seen at night for maximum impact and festive seat covers are applied to the loungers for the movie watchers. Free popcorn is passed around. The screen is about 30 ft wide and the sound is loud and clear. Movies which have recently left mainland cinemas are shown as are some oldies but goodies.

 

(regular blue and white lounger covers shown- red Movies Under The Stars covers replace them before movie time. You'll also get a red blanket as it will get colder after sundown).

 

As well as movies and nature documentaries ( e.g. Alaska) there are lots of live pop music shows-here's Pink for example.

 

 

You're also likely to see Bon Jovi, Tina Turner, Paul McCartney or Billy Joel.

 

The S Class ships don't have a dedicated big screen on deck. Movies are shown in the intimate Celebrity Central.

 

 

AT THE MOVIES?

 

ADVANTAGE PRINCESS

 

(FOR THE HUGE OUTDOOR SCREEN-HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET THE CHANCE TO WATCH A MOVIE OUTDOORS?)

[SheriffJoe]

I recall when MUTS was first introduced and the years following as it was added to each ship.....the outrage on here from Princess cheerleaders was always amusing to read! :p Not quite as good as jeans in the MDR outrage but close!:eek:

[Bimmer09]

I recall when MUTS was first introduced and the years following as it was added to each ship.....the outrage on here from Princess cheerleaders was always amusing to read! :p Not quite as good as jeans in the MDR outrage but close!:eek:

 

Joe, I can imagine even though I wasn't interested in Princess in 2004. I think it can be overused during the day but at least on the Grand Class it doesn't blast the entire pool deck thanks to the superstructure (stadium seating) that separates the Calypso Pool from the Neptune pool, where I live.

 

Of course that structure is missing on the Royal Class.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Entertainment -as subjective as food and a big part of the cruising experience for many.

We go to every show as it's so easy. If it was as easy as getting into an elevator in Chicago we'd probably fit in a show 3 or 4 times a week. Some would be better than others of course and the same is true on cruise ships.

As the cruise ships have long employed their own troupe of singers and dancers and paid writers and choreographers who design the shows for the ships we expect to see some singing and dancing, big production shows and Princess usually deliver them. Can they be corny? Sure that's often the nature of the beast but when the shows are 35 minutes long I can live with them and appreciate all the hard work and endless rehearsal that goes into them. If you've ever watched the documentary fly on the cabin wall cruise ship series on Costa Cruises you'll get an idea of how corny cruise ship entertainment can be. Neither Princess or Celebrity plumb those depths.

 

Different technologies are currently in use on the Grand Class ships-some like the Emerald still have a live band and 3 dimensional stage sets that have to he lifted or dropped to the stage as the show unfolds. Others like the Ruby have the wave of the future-canned music and a huge L.E.D. screen (think green screen in the movies). The canned music is good but obvious and of course being recorded always is at the right tempo and no mistakes can be made.

 

Here's a combination of live singing and real props plus the LED screen from the Caribbean Princess...

 

[YOUTUBE]4Qas4nZ3Kw4[/YOUTUBE]

 

[YOUTUBE]cAnNCyP02R8[/YOUTUBE]

 

When you add maybe a stand up comic in the Explorers Lounge, a solo pianist or Hungarian violin trio....

[YOUTUBE]4tf9OUpr8yw[/YOUTUBE]

 

a unicyclist or a balancer-like this guy.... (following the sunset on Ruby P.)

[YOUTUBE]WHrYscFIOl8[/YOUTUBE]

 

You'll see that there is plenty of variety on Princess.....

 

NEXT....X

[UpcountryTravelers]

Regarding MUTS at night: Uh, no, free popcorn isn't "passed around" (at least not on the 18 Princess cruises we have taken). You go to the ice cream stand and pick it up. And it isn't salted or seasoned in any way, so be sure to bring some salt packets from somewhere else on the ship.

 

The movies are fun, and sometimes (not always) they will have some blankets on deck.

 

But MUTS can be annoying during the day, when they are loud and interfere with trying to have a conversation on deck.

[Bimmer09]

Regarding MUTS at night: Uh, no, free popcorn isn't "passed around" (at least not on the 18 Princess cruises we have taken). You go to the ice cream stand and pick it up. And it isn't salted or seasoned in any way, so be sure to bring some salt packets from somewhere else on the ship.

 

The movies are fun, and sometimes (not always) they will have some blankets on deck.

 

But MUTS can be annoying during the day, when they are loud and interfere with trying to have a conversation on deck.

 

Thanks for the clarification on the popcorn-if it doesn't have salt that's disappointing. Needs a flavor boost!

 

Agreed on Movies Under The Sun -it's overkill.

 

Cheers,

 

Norris

[GUT2407]

Thanks for the clarification on the popcorn-if it doesn't have salt that's disappointing. Needs a flavor boost!

 

Agreed on Movies Under The Sun -it's overkill.

 

Cheers,

 

Norris

 

They had little salt packets alongside the popcorn on Diamond, in a little basket.

[MGnut]

Regarding MUTS at night: Uh, no, free popcorn isn't "passed around" (at least not on the 18 Princess cruises we have taken). You go to the ice cream stand and pick it up. And it isn't salted or seasoned in any way, so be sure to bring some salt packets from somewhere else on the ship.

 

Hmm.. we've only watched a few evening MUTS shows, but they did bring around popcorn, at least some of the times. Maybe it is 'ship dependent'? :confused:

[Gabrielle R.]

I Really have enjoyed reading the comparisons Norris! I enjoyed your posts on the Silhouette Makes me want to go try X again!

 

By the way... we have a Drive in Theater near our place.. so it's sort of like MUTS... since it really is under the stars!;)

 

It's been a great read! Great way for me to end my work day!

Gabrielle

[doug52]

Norris, thanks for the great review on the Silhouette and this side by side comparison of your cruise on Celebrity versus Princess. You motivated me to look at Celebrity for our 2017 cruise. After reviewing the S class cruises I found a great Transatlantic cruise on the Reflection for April '17 and booked it yesterday.

 

We always book mini-suites on Princess, so we went with the Sky suite(although an S2) and I am excited about all the extra benefits the Sky Suite offer that you don't get on a Mini-Suite on Princess. Like you, we have been committed to Princess the last several years(doing Hawaii on Crown next) so I would have never found this cruise if I hadn't become immersed in both of your threads.

 

Thanks again,

 

Doug

[Bimmer09]

I was looking forward to a "Cirque type show" (dancers, singers plus Cirque du Soleil inspired acrobatics) on the Silhouette but that wasn't happening. I read that X is moving away from buying shows to producing their own but they aren't on Silhouette yet (if anyone knows more please chime in).

 

Instead we had 6 shows- a stand-up comedian (Robbie Prinz) a Beatles Tribute band called A Hard Day's Night, Greg London a vocal impressionist/singer, Jayne Curry a British ballad singer in the Celine Dion mode, a high energy group called the Tenors of Rock and a killer stand-up comedian called Rondell Sheridan. We missed a juggling comedian by getting back to the ship late in San Juan after an excursion coupled with a dinner during his second show. All shows had two performances at 7 pm and 9 pm ,each lasting about an hour which is very generous compared to the shorter Princess times.

 

 

 

 

 



 



 

 

We enjoyed all the shows except for Greg London- good vocal impessions really aren't his thing, nor is humility.

 

Around the ship the entertainment was all music-bands or solo singers so we missed that surprise element you see in a Princess Piazza.

 

However we were entertained during the week and look forward to seeing one of the production shows on our next sailing. But for now....

 

ENTERTAINMENT?

 

ADVANTAGE PRINCESS

 

(FOR THE VARIETY, ENTERTAINMENT IN MULTIPLE VENUES AND STAGE TECHNOLOGY)

[capriccio]

Hmm.. we've only watched a few evening MUTS shows, but they did bring around popcorn, at least some of the times. Maybe it is 'ship dependent'? :confused:

 

We've had popcorn (salted) passed around on, most recently, the Royal and Ruby Princess.