Would a Celebrity elite be happy on Princess?

[aneka]

We are looking for a Norway Fiords cruise for 2017. We would like to go up the coast to North Cape. Celebrity does not offer this option. We have never sailed on either Norwegian or Princess. Norwegian is about 2T less expensive than Princess for the aft balcony we hope to book. If anyone has sailed these lines I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

Thanks in advance for your time.

[ggprincess2004]

We are looking for a Norway Fiords cruise for 2017. We would like to go up the coast to North Cape. Celebrity does not offer this option. We have never sailed on either Norwegian or Princess. Norwegian is about 2T less expensive than Princess for the aft balcony we hope to book. If anyone has sailed these lines I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

Thanks in advance for your time.

 

We sailed Celebrity Reflection in a suite in Nov/Dec 2015 and enjoyed the experience. The lines are very similar in feel, but there are some differences that may or may not matter to you. My remarks are based on the singular exposure we have had to Celebrity, which did not turn us off to Celebrity at all, but let us know we weren't missing out by being loyal to the Princess product either.

 

As a first time Princess cruiser, in an balcony rather than a suite, you will not have priority embarkation, or access to the Elite and Suite evening lounge. You might miss a few perks that you now have on Celebrity, but I think you will find dining to be equally nice on Princess (we still like menus on Princess better), pizza on Princess to be exponentially better than on Celebrity, cabins similar.

Princess has Laundromats for passengers - this is something that is important to me for longer voyages. Might just be my little quirk, but even though as elite on Princess, they will do my laundry for free, there are some things I prefer to launder myself, in a washing machine, on the delicate cycle and hang to dry.

Princess does offer afternoon tea at 3:30 every day but turn-around day in the dining room.

Princess bars and lounges are lovely, and the ambience in each very much depends upon the passenger demographic of the particular cruise. Entertainment on Princess compares favorably to that of Celebrity. Shopping on Celebrity is probably better, based on a walk-through of the shopping area on Celebrity. I don't go on a cruise to shop on board though.

Casino looked like it was comparable - also, do not frequent casinos on the ships, but I've walked through them as sometimes it is just unavoidable.

Service levels are similar, although we really did love our butler. He brought us cappuccino and croissants in bed each morning, and thought the doorbell was a great touch. Must say we much preferred the bathrooms in the Princess suites to those of Celebrity.

I think you will have positive experience that will feel familiar enough to make the cruise enjoyable, and with the scenery - I am sure it will be an excellent cruise for you. Enjoy.

[El Crucero]

We are Celebrity Elite also. We have cruised both NCL and Princess. NCL is definitely not for us, too many activities geared toward a younger crowd like beer chugging contest, belly flop contest, etc. I think you will be okay on Princess. Princess and Celebrity are more alike than different. In fact, there are a few things we like better on Princess. For example, we like Princess "mini-suites". They are not a suite and the name is misleading. But you need to get one on deck 6 aft if you want one that is covered and somewhat private. But we still prefer Celebrity given the same itinerary. We have three future cruises booked on Celebrity, well on our way to Elite Plus.

[fishywood]

To answer the question from the body of your post: comparing Princess and NCL is not even worth the breath it takes to do so. NCL is now and always was (apart from the SS Norway of years ago) an entry level mass market line; Princess and Celebrity both still have a few remnants of their history of being a step above average. But in my opinion that is where their similarities end; while Princess is my line of choice I have take one cruise each on Celebrity, RCI and NCL in the past few years and if I had to choose one of those three to sail again it would be NCL.

 

Which leads to the more telling question posed in the thread title but not revisited in the actual post: No one can answer for you to what degree you would miss your Celebrity Elite benefits. On Princess ships--and on this Cruise Critic board for that matter--people do not lead their conversations by blurting out their Captains Circle status as a routine greeting. The culture on Princess ships does not revolve around who gets to brag about their free booze and separate dining and activities because of their loyalty status or cabin class. On Princess no one--fellow passengers or staff--will shun you or talk down to you simply because of your first timer's blue card. On my one Celebrity cruise as a newbie (and RCI cruise as Gold thanks to sailing on the Sovereign in 1994) everything was about 'status'--and if that's the onboard culture you are used to Princess may not be the best fit for you. If Celebrity does not offer North Cape itineraries you may want to move up to one of the luxury lines instead.

[cruzsnooze]

I have cruised recently on both lines and find them similar. If you like one you will like the other. I am elite on both and the perks don't make a big difference to me. I sailed in a Suite just this past month on NCL Jewel and won't be considering NCL anytime soon, their service was non existent.

Edited February 27, 2016 by cruzsnooze

[Jetswdo]

If itinerary is equal to you on both Princess and NCL--

I would check out very carefully, the layout of both ships- again, if that is important to you. NCL is generally geared for a young crowd. Princess activity wise, I have found similar to Celebrity. On Princess, what in general I find annoying, is figuring out which cabins have completely covered balconies, etc. However a big plus on Princess for us is having the convenience of self service washers and dryers-- NCL has many different eateries, similar to Celebrity-

Princess not so much. Pizza is very very good on Princess- Celebrity it is ok, nothing great. I was just on the Coral Princess. Not very good for people who want to eat a bunch of times in main dining room, for a party of 2 for anytime dining. Yet on the Royal Princess, we had no problem whatsoever. So, I would make a list of things that are important to you, to decide. However, if NCL is that much cheaper, and itinerary is the same, the money savings may be the deal breaker.

[JF - retired RRT]

For example, we like Princess "mini-suites". They are not a suite and the name is misleading. But you need to get one on deck 6 aft if you want one that is covered and somewhat private.

Oops!! Did you mean deck 8 aft?

No aft cabins on deck 6.

Also, no aft minis on deck 8 on the Royal/Regal. The aft balconies on Royal/Regal are "deluxe" balconies.

[TracieABD]

I have one cruise on NCL. I have quite a few (I think around 12) on Princess. Let the numbers do the talking.

[OCruisers]

You'll find Princess WAY more like Celebrity than NCL is. :D

 

LuLu