Is Princess becoming the new X?

[klfhngr]

I'm really enjoying hearing everyone's comments and opinions...

 

Seems like people are divided, almost 50/50.... I really wasn't trying to start anything but get people's honest opinions... It also appears that for many, Princess is seeking to 'replace' X as the next step up from CCL/RCCL. I've always put Princess in with those two and X above.

 

Only time will tell and my own personal assessment. I'm really looking forward to trying both back to back.

 

I did post a similar post on Princess, and some feel that Princess is moving up, while others think that it's spiraling down, i.e., old ships, declining food, small theaters, etc.

 

No matter where you post/ask, people will give THEIR honest opinion, which I think we should all respect regardless if it's positive or negative.

[Cruise Junky]

I'm really enjoying hearing everyone's comments and opinions...

 

Seems like people are divided, almost 50/50.... I really wasn't trying to start anything but get people's honest opinions... It also appears that for many, Princess is seeking to 'replace' X as the next step up from CCL/RCCL. I've always put Princess in with those two and X above.

 

Only time will tell and my own personal assessment. I'm really looking forward to trying both back to back.

 

I did post a similar post on Princess, and some feel that Princess is moving up, while others think that it's spiraling down, i.e., old ships, declining food, small theaters, etc.

 

No matter where you post/ask, people will give THEIR honest opinion, which I think we should all respect regardless if it's positive or negative.

 

It will be very interesting to get your opinion when you do both your 2017 cruises. Ruby was my favourite ship until we sailed on Solstice.

[Host Jazzbeau]

It also appears that for many, Princess is seeking to 'replace' X as the next step up from CCL/RCCL. I've always put Princess in with those two and X above.

 

Princess has always been a step up from CCL [and in Carnival Corp's view a small step below HAL, although most Princess cruisers probably don't agree] The stratification of cruise lines is pretty clear and stable, at least if you stick to broad bands. CCL, MSC, NCL and RCL are the bottom tier [with no consensus on how to rank them among themselves]. Celebrity, Princess and HAL are the next tier [and you are seeing the lack of consensus comparing them]. Azamara and Oceania are next; and Crystal, Regent, Silversea and Seabourn are the top. [i left out Cunard because it depends too much on which class you book; Viking Ocean because they are too new; and several really small-ship lines.] It is highly unlikely IMHO that any line will move up or down from those bands, but there is lots of jockeying back and forth within the bands.

[caribill]

According to an email I received from Cruise Critic today http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1470&et_cid=2869519&et_rid=58480087&et_referrer=NULL, Celebrity Classic Package is $55 plus 18% gratuity for cocktails up to $8. Princess is $56.35 plus 15% gratuity for drinks up to $10. So essentially the same price with the gratuity added. Personally, for the cocktails I order, they are $8 on Celebrity and $10 on Princess, so the maximum is not an issue. Another downside is that the Princess beverage package is only available for itineraries of 7 days and longer (according to Cruise Critic) whereas Celebrity does not set a limit.

 

 

Princess pricing is $49/day + 15% gratuity which is a total of $56.35.

 

Only a handful of drinks on Princess cost more than the $10 limit.

 

The package is available on all Princess itineraries of 3 nights or more. Just not available on one or two night itineraries.

 

If Celebrity Classic package is $55+18%, that is $64.90, $8.55/day more than Princess.

[meatheadink]

We have sailed a lot on both Princess and Celebrity; for us, Princess is easy - the LA port is a 10 min drive and last minute deals are hard to beat, Celebrity usually requires a lot more effort. We often sail in suites so that may skew this, however:

 

Both lines in terms of amenities are quite similar, and we have always had **great service** top to bottom on both lines.

 

The one *huge* differentiator that nobody mentions, is the overall design and aesthetic of the ships.

 

Maybe because Im in the 'visual' business, the aesthetic of the two lines are polar opposites: Celebrity is a W hotel: modern, luxe.. Princess is Marriott.. classic, maybe a bit 'dated'... (though if one looks at the "luxe" lines like Seabourn, Regent etc, their vibe is much more Princess than Celebrity - classic cruise ship).

 

MDR food on both is fine; and some of the dining rooms on Princess ships are our all time favorites (pretty much any dining room on Sapphire Princess for example - small, dark, intimate). Ive had one of the best meals ever at sea at the gastroub on Princess, and great sides - though never great steaks, at their Crown Grill.

 

Drinks are cheaper on Princess, specialty restaurants are cheaper, but all the little details that make some of the Celebrity ships special are not present on Princess..nice pool loungers, hammocks, Bali beds poolside etc, restroom attendants, towels, etc.,

 

The differences are many, but in the grand scheme of things, the two are much more similar than not.. we love them both, but if push comes to shove, Celebrity usually wins.

[Gordoncruickshank]

We have sailed a lot on both Princess and Celebrity; for us, Princess is easy - the LA port is a 10 min drive and last minute deals are hard to beat, Celebrity usually requires a lot more effort. We often sail in suites so that may skew this, however:

 

Both lines in terms of amenities are quite similar, and we have always had **great service** top to bottom on both lines.

 

The one *huge* differentiator that nobody mentions, is the overall design and aesthetic of the ships.

 

Maybe because Im in the 'visual' business, the aesthetic of the two lines are polar opposites: Celebrity is a W hotel: modern, luxe.. Princess is Marriott.. classic, maybe a bit 'dated'... (though if one looks at the "luxe" lines like Seabourn, Regent etc, their vibe is much more Princess than Celebrity - classic cruise ship).

 

MDR food on both is fine; and some of the dining rooms on Princess ships are our all time favorites (pretty much any dining room on Sapphire Princess for example - small, dark, intimate). Ive had one of the best meals ever at sea at the gastroub on Princess, and great sides - though never great steaks, at their Crown Grill.

 

Drinks are cheaper on Princess, specialty restaurants are cheaper, but all the little details that make some of the Celebrity ships special are not present on Princess..nice pool loungers, hammocks, Bali beds poolside etc, restroom attendants, towels, etc.,

 

The differences are many, but in the grand scheme of things, the two are much more similar than not.. we love them both, but if push comes to shove, Celebrity usually wins.

 

We did 6 princess cruises over a number of years, all in either suites or mini suites and enjoyed every cruise we did with them. We discovered Celebrity in 2012 and have never thought about going back to Princess.

 

We are in the position where every cruises needs flights so we can never take advantage of any late deals.

 

We did a number of Aq cabins at the start mixed in with a few Sky suites and there is no doubt that Celebrity handle the whole suite thing so much better even before they introduced suite class. All you received in a full Princess suite was a mini bar set up and breakfast in Sabattinis. The suites were well laid out but stuck in corners at the front or back of the ship.

 

We had one on the Ruby where it was at the front on the Lido deck just next to the"secret" door that let people on to the deck area above the bridge. When that area was accessed we had guests staring straight into our cabin, not good. We would never do that cabin again.

 

I agree that Celebrity S class ships are much more modern compared with even the new Princess ships and they seem roomier and less crowded with more dining options. Yes the are dearer than Princess but they are much better.

 

The whole suite package as it is now is miles better than on others who are now playing catch up, adding in what Celebrity did some years ago.

 

We have always had a drinks package on Celebrity and most times it has been included as part of the booking deal. That made a difference compared to the 15 pages of on board account we had to go through on Princess with the big bill at the end.

 

Would we go back to Princess now, probably not having done 13 with Celebrity with 2 more over the nex few months. Over all you seem to be better looked after on Celebrity.

Edited December 30, 2016 by Gordoncruickshank

[roxievegas]

our first cruise was Celebrity and we continued to book with them. Now we don't want to fly any more - we have been to Europe 3 times in the past 5 years and the long flights are such a hassle. We are in the LA area, so we have booked a Princess in 2018 - 28 nights to Hawaii and Tahiti around trip - no flights. We got a drink package and OBC with our booking and OBC with our travel agency. We are really looking foward to this cruise and hope we wont be disappointed.

[njsonja]

I'm one of those people who must stay in touch due to my elderly mom....and other reasons....and Princess doesn't have an unlimited internet plan....that doesn't work for me....I did a b2b baltic and transatlantic...Princess Regal...it was okay, but not spectacular...as far as the ship goes...I'll wait until they update their internet plans...I have plenty of other options to choose from, Celebrity, Royal, etc. But that's me...and that was my experience.

[ChucktownSteve]

Yes, the cabin assistants have been eliminated but the number of cabins each cabin attendant has to clean has been significantly reduced. On our recent cruise our guy had only 11 cabins. As a result, service has improved.

 

Have people been complaining about this?

 

On my recent Equinox cruise earlier this month, my cabin attendant said he now has 14 cabins in Concierge by himself. He said he used to have 24 cabins with his assistant. The math comes out to the two staff now doing a total of 28 or four more cabins if they were combined.

[ISABELLA]

This is one of the advantages of one person per stateroom, there is only one person responsible instead of two. Our female head steward on the Solstice last September was excited about the change. Her assignment was being reduced by half the rooms and she would be solely responsible for the results. She said she had several different assistants and some were worse than others and she had to take up the slack. She said her life was now easier. Her housekeeping skills and service were excellent.

 

My steward did not have an assistant. I traveled with friend and family and all our 3 cabins had similar experiences. It was one thing or another....

[jagoffee]

Princess pricing is $49/day + 15% gratuity which is a total of $56.35.

 

Only a handful of drinks on Princess cost more than the $10 limit.

 

The package is available on all Princess itineraries of 3 nights or more. Just not available on one or two night itineraries.

 

If Celebrity Classic package is $55+18%, that is $64.90, $8.55/day more than Princess.

 

Drink prices on Princess are significantly less than on Celebrity in all areas. Princess only offers one tier of an alcohol drink package and you must pay the full price for any drink/wine over the limit. As you stated there are only a limited number of options above the limit, but based on my one experience with a drink package on Princess the range is much less than Celebrity's options. (Celebrity carries high end wines, drink brands, and beers)

IMO the Celebrity drink package is a better deal because it has more options and you can just pay the difference. Princess's average price per drink is so much less you are actually receiving less value for the package IMO. (You have to drink a lot more on Princess to make the package a value.)

 

Princess has been offering an occasional package that includes a "free package", but nothing like Celebrity's bundling.

 

I am not really disagreeing, but just sharing my observation.

Edited December 30, 2016 by jagoffee

[Cruise Junky]

Drink prices on Princess are significantly less than on Celebrity in all areas. Princess only offers one tier of an alcohol drink package and you must pay the full price for any drink/wine over the limit. As you stated there are only a limited number of options above the limit, but based on my one experience with a drink package on Princess the range is much less than Celebrity's options. (Celebrity carries high end wines, drink brands, and beers)

IMO the Celebrity drink package is a better deal because it has more options and you can just pay the difference. Princess's average price per drink is so much less you are actually receiving less value for the package IMO. (You have to drink a lot more on Princess to make the package a value.)

 

Princess has been offering an occasional package that includes a "free package", but nothing like Celebrity's bundling.

 

I am not really disagreeing, but just sharing my observation.

 

But you can't pay the difference on X's classic package and that's the two that are being compared. And you're absolutely correct, I think Princess's is only offered once a year but does include repositioning cruises which X doesn't

Edited December 30, 2016 by Cruise Junky

[klfhngr]

Princess has always been a step up from CCL [and in Carnival Corp's view a small step below HAL, although most Princess cruisers probably don't agree] The stratification of cruise lines is pretty clear and stable, at least if you stick to broad bands. CCL, MSC, NCL and RCL are the bottom tier [with no consensus on how to rank them among themselves]. Celebrity, Princess and HAL are the next tier [and you are seeing the lack of consensus comparing them]. Azamara and Oceania are next; and Crystal, Regent, Silversea and Seabourn are the top. [i left out Cunard because it depends too much on which class you book; Viking Ocean because they are too new; and several really small-ship lines.] It is highly unlikely IMHO that any line will move up or down from those bands, but there is lots of jockeying back and forth within the bands.

 

Thanks for the info... Just one thing: I never knew or thought that X, Princess and HAL were on the same level. Maybe X and HAL... We sent our parents on HAL, they then did Princess. They said, without a doubt, HAL is was way above Princess! Service, cuisine, luxurious (in comparison to Princess), cabins, etc. They've never been on X, so we can't put that into the equation :)

[klfhngr]

our first cruise was Celebrity and we continued to book with them. Now we don't want to fly any more - we have been to Europe 3 times in the past 5 years and the long flights are such a hassle. We are in the LA area, so we have booked a Princess in 2018 - 28 nights to Hawaii and Tahiti around trip - no flights. We got a drink package and OBC with our booking and OBC with our travel agency. We are really looking foward to this cruise and hope we wont be disappointed.

 

Wow, 28 day round tripper from LA! I'm drooling and would love that, but my wallet is not big enough, lol!! Nor my vacation days!

[Cinerama]

I will be on a Celebrity cruise for the first time 4/30/17 to Bermuda, room 3128 Ocean View with Classic Drink package, cost about $2000 for the both of us. We picked Celebrity as Princess does not offer a 7 day cruise to Bermuda.

 

On Ruby Princess 12/9/17 to Mexican Riviera, room C753 Aft Balcony with included drink package, cost about $2,000.

 

We have been on many Princess ships and enjoyed them all. The Princess drink package (about the same price as Celebrity) includes a lot more variety of wines than what I am seeing on Celebrity Classic (only one white and red each day?)

 

We have also been on the Royal Oasis mega size ship. Great shows - a lot better than Princess. Plus I like the idea of reservations for shows as you know you will have a seat.

[El Crucero]

I think your prices are right but on X you need to upgrade to Premium for martinis, they are under $10 on Princess so included and you get 40% off bottled wine on Princess vs 20% on X

 

I always get basic martinis at the Martini Bar on Celebrity with the Classic Package. No extra cost. I tried the premium package once and didn't like it. I don't like the fru-fru martinis that come with the Premium package.

 

It is my opinion that Princess inflates the price of a bottle of wine so they can offer 40% off. In my opinion, Celebrity inflates the price of wine too but not as much as Princess.

[El Crucero]

Several of our recent X cruises have been in Aqua...which we feel has lost much of its luster due to the menus in Blu.

 

That is a subjective comment, which is fine, but hardly definitive. We cruise in Aqua because of Blu, much better than the MDR on either Celebrity or Princess. Again my opinion is subjective and hardly definitive.

 

while Princess has the better Lido.

 

Again subjective. Objectively, Celebrity Oceanview buffet has at least two times the choices as in the Lido buffet (Star Princess). Although we have been on Celebrity for several cruises we have yet to try everything in Oceanview. Of the food items we did try, 90% of it we thought was delicious (not a big fan of Kymchee). We have not been on Princess' two new large ships so cannot compare to that.

 

We have never figured out what the mystery meats are at the Celebrity sandwich station in its Lido....but those meats are not fit for my dog (who is dead).

 

That's a bit over the top. Don't eat it then.

 

If "Princess Lisa" keeps cutting back on her ships while increasing prices..we will soon be rating X as somewhere behind even Carnival

 

That is an unfortunate, sexist remark, and denigrates any valid points you were trying to make.

Edited December 30, 2016 by El Crucero

[Tedferg]

I am elite on celebrity but have taken the last three cruises on Princess. I must say, their drink package is far above celebrity. It is one price and includes your drinks, no select, classic, premium, which to me is ridiculous and confusing! Princess premium restaurants cost is still reasonable and they do put on a good cruise, I enjoy them very much. Celebrity's rules and packages and cuts here and there and rising cost on everything is driving me nuts.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I agree with you. Looking forward to first X cruise March 2017 and ignoring negative comments, but various cabin classes, dining options and drink packages is confusing.

[El Crucero]

Princess pricing is $49/day + 15% gratuity which is a total of $56.35.

 

Only a handful of drinks on Princess cost more than the $10 limit.

 

The package is available on all Princess itineraries of 3 nights or more. Just not available on one or two night itineraries.

 

If Celebrity Classic package is $55+18%, that is $64.90, $8.55/day more than Princess.

 

If you clicked on my link, you would see, I guess, that Cruise Critic got it all wrong! I guess Princess website got it wrong too "All-Inclusive Beverage Package is only available on voyages 7 nights and longer."

[2onboardagain]

The question raised by the OP is whether Princess is becoming the new X and in my humble opinion the answer is NO not even close. Putting aside comparisons of food, service, cabin size and location (all of which can be very subjective and influenced by interpersonal interactions with a bartender, cabin steward or waiter) and just comparing the "friendliness" of Ship design I think back to our two most recent experiences on the two cruise lines (Celebrity Equinox in July and Royal Princess in October). Our first impression of each ship happened at lunch in the buffet upon boarding each vessel. On Equinox the buffet area was extensive, bright and open to observation which made it easy to "find" what we wanted to eat. On Royal it is an exercise in frustration to "find" anything since the entire area is broken into a warren of nooks and crannies that seemed designed to confound and obscure the choices from the passengers. Another example for comparison is how a passenger "reaches" the aft dining room for each evening's meal. On Equinox we just got off the elevator on the appropriate deck and walked aft. On Royal Princess we had to get off on the deck above our dining room transit aft and then take stairs or elevator down one deck to reach our dinning room. If you add in the "recent" opening of a staircase to passengers during it's last drydock and the less than impressive atrium and you would almost think that Princess is purposefully trying to loose its "Premium Cruise Line Status"

Edited December 30, 2016 by 2onboardagain

[bigbenboys]

It has been 5 years since we have cruised on Princess. We have 33 nights with Princess. Princess website has us with 3 cruises. I thought we have 5. I did see that Princess has a drink package for $56.35 pp per night. Our last cruise with Princess we were a party of 6. They put us at a table of 8. We have not booked Princess since.

 

We might try Princess again. As there is not much choice on the west coast to Mexico. I just saw that Princess still has formal nights. That might be a deal breaker. I'm sure we could eat dinner at Lido or in our suite and not have to dress up.

 

We booking Aqua or Suite Class with Celebrity. I like getting the 4 perks and Michael's Club with suites. Also the smaller dining venue. We book Aqua when I just cant justify the cost of the suites.

 

Of the cruise lines we have cruised on they all have been very nice. I would have to say nothing real bad about any of them. At this time Celebrity seems to be our preference.

[jagoffee]

But you can't pay the difference on X's classic package and that's the two that are being compared. And you're absolutely correct, I think Princess's is only offered once a year but does include repositioning cruises which X doesn't

 

My mistake I was comparing the Princess package to the Premium package.

I concur that Princess's package has more options than Celebrity's Classic package. I always upgrade because the Classic is too limiting for me. Of course I still believe the Celebrity Premium package is significantly better than both the Princess's package and the Celebrity Classic package.

[Cruise Junky]

My mistake I was comparing the Princess package to the Premium package.

I concur that Princess's package has more options than Celebrity's Classic package. I always upgrade because the Classic is too limiting for me. Of course I still believe the Celebrity Premium package is significantly better than both the Princess's package and the Celebrity Classic package.

 

Completely agree with you on that assessment :)

[El Crucero]

We might try Princess again. As there is not much choice on the west coast to Mexico. I just saw that Princess still has formal nights. That might be a deal breaker.

 

No worries. On our last cruise on Princess which was to Mexico out of LA, the pax were much less well attired than on Celebrity. On formal nights in the MDR on our Princess cruise, we saw pax wearing NHRA tee shirts, baseball caps worn backwards, and one guy in bib overalls. It is a totally different vibe on Princess, for better or worse.

[Siora7777]

I just got back from my first Princess cruise a couple of weeks ago on the Regal Princess. I found the food to be very good overall but it wasn't a perfect experience. I didn't see a steak option every night in the MDR which is my go to if there is nothing that sounds good. Many times nothing looked good on the menu. Breakfast is the same every day, very similar offerings. The pizza and desserts, same most days. Buffet was good for lunch and dinner.

 

Entertainment was very limited. Cabin seemed small for some reason but movies were good..

 

The experiences are more similar then different. I'm not in a rush to go back on Princess anytime soon. It's not that fabulous.