An Elite Princess tries to be a Celebrity

[cruisequeen4ever]

*I'm not a snot, just having fun with the title. [emoji38]

 

DH and I LOVE Princess. It's like coming home each time we board. The Elite bennies are awesome, the crew so eager to please, and the food, ohhhh the food. So why did we go Celebrity? Because we've done all the darn summer Princess Med itins, and the Royal Princess royally pissed off DH last summer when we had to skip Malta and Messina.

 

The whole time leading up to the cruise, I felt serious guilt and pangs of sadness to stray from our beloved Princess. Talk about successful brand loyalty!! I kept reassuring myself, though, that Celebrity is known to be on par with Princess and specializes in food, so we surely won't suffer.

 

I'm not going to do a whole trip report because this wasn't on Princess, but I wanted to share MY (emphasis on the MY) humble opinion of the pros/cons and similarities and differences of Celebrity and Princess based on our 6/15 Celebrity Constellation cruise.

 

*Celebrity loyalists need not attack. Everyone finds the cruise line that best suits them, and that's great!

 

Similarities-

1. Nice ships

2. Clean

3. Extensive buffets

4. General Pax demographics

5. Friendly crew

6. Hard working crew

 

Cons-

1. Celebrity's ops were pretty choppy. Maybe there was a lot of new crew, but things didn't run Princess smooth. In the middle of the Muster Drill, the sound cut out, then a staffer started making her own announcements, then the captain welcomed us, and then the staffer forgot to finish instructing us on the use of our life jackets, and it was over. Princess is so safety conscious. Throughout the cruise, sound snafus occurred in public areas, Bingo was run very loosely by 1 person who had to do it all and held in a room where the screen was directly next to the skylight roof, so you couldn't even see the numbers.

2. No; a word you never used to hear on Princess and rarely hear now but one we heard a lot on Celebrity. I had a very simple request, a package of crackers at 11:15 AM. I was sent on a wild goose chase around the huge buffet area by 3 different crew members telling me it was here or there until the 4th told me no, not available til Noon. Uhhhhhh I know you're not gonna swim ashore to get the crackers, so surely you could just run in the Galley and grab me some! On Princess, I would have been served a whole platter of crackers immediately! I would like to commend the 5th crew member I asked, however, because he ran to get me some and sent his colleague to give them to me!

3. The buffet opened 10 min late one day for breakfast, stressing out early excursion Pax. It finally opened when the head honcho heard some of us talking about it. One quick phone call from him, and it opened in a minute.

4. Holy Toledo, Celebrity price gouges! Everything costs 25%-100-% more, and the quality was no better.

5. The free drinks tasted better than the paid ones! I love my Virgin Strawberry Daquiris on Princess but wasn't even tempted to buy any on Celebrity after my first one tasted like ice with a little flavor added...and cost 40% more!

6. It's time for the biggy, the food! Our initial impression of the buffet was wow, lots of options. Ha! They may offer a variety, but the quality is just not great. Sure, we didn't suffer. I ate decent steak cooked to order (DH said meat quality was low, but I douse it in A-1 and char it, so it doesn't matter), customized stir fry, eggs cooked to order, homemade ice cream, and wonderful salad and fruit. What sucked was the rest. I am very easy to please with bread, pastries, burgers, and fries. Celebrity managed to fail on all of the above. The bread and pastries were dry and flavorless. The fries were cold and bland. The burgers were cooked on the outside but PINK on the inside!! I just can't believe how much better Princess's food is! We had planned on going to 1 or 2 specialty restaurants, but with how mediocre the food was, we just couldn't warrant spending extra to potentially be underwhelmed.

7. The constant selling. We even had a bartender run to us across the deck during the beautiful sailaway just to try to sell us the drinks package because he didn't think the first bartender had done an effective enough job! He was so dramatic about it that everyone around us turned.

 

*Disclosure- I understand that this was an older ship and that perhaps the newer ships may offer a superior cruise experience.

 

Pros-

1. There's EDM music being piped into the halls and most public venues all day every day. I personally loved this because that's my fav music.

2. Cooked to order steaks and pastas every night in the buffet

3. Complimentary Fruit Punch and Lemonade (I know Princess does offer Lemonade)

4. The shower was much bigger than the typical Grand class shower.

5. Varied itineraries with overnights! DH loved the overnights, no hurrying back to the ship and plenty of time to really experience the place. I hope Princess makes an effort to do this more.

 

So would I cruise Celebrity again? I would for a very unique itinerary that Princess never offered, but the intrigue I had about Celebrity prior to this cruise has been completely satisfied, and I just don't feel interested in cruising them again.

 

The beauty of having so many cruise lines is finding the one(s) that fits you, and for us, that's coming home to Princess! Cheers to sailing your preferred cruise line!

 

 

 

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[JoyMouse]

A very good and interesting review. I find comparison reviews helpful. I love the title!

 

 

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[4cats4me]

Solstice class ships are the really awesome ones. [emoji6]

Glad to hear about the EDM music being played everywhere. The fuddy duddy music on the Regal was getting on my last

nerve in March. [emoji33]

Both cruiselines definitely have their pros and cons.

 

 

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[partybarbie]

I did two cruises on Celebrity and that was enough. I also found that they charge more for everything and the quality isn't any better, and perhaps slightly worse. It sounds like they haven't really changed.

[mthomp5]

Thank you for your comparison. We are like you...have been loyal to Princess after trying a couple other lines. Just found Princes to fit us and we feel comfortable and at home when we're on one of their ships.

 

Had been playing with the idea of trying out a Celebrity cruise as we had never tried Celebrity and thought it might be the closest fit to Princess. But seemed like there are a lot of charges for the different dining venues so wasn't sure if it would end up being more costly than Princess. I think I read that there was a $15 charge for a burger and fries.

 

So appreciate your feedback! This helps with our curiosity of Celebrity.

[pris993]

unlike you, we have cruised 9 different lines, well over 50 cruises, lost count... more recently we have cruised Princess 25 cruises total, Celebrity - best guess 15 cruises, we are elite on both Princess and Celebrity. Plus, Cunard, HAL, and NCL in the past 10 years.

 

Agree with your critique of X, we much prefer Princess to X. One of the big factors for us, is X is the ship of "no" as you say, we have also found them to be hit and miss on special requests in the MDR especially. Princess far out shines X in responding to special requests in the buffet and MDR.

 

Even though you were on an older ship, we found the older ones better than the new ones... we have tried 4 of the new ships... similar to Royal/Regal in design... but something is missing... I do not need to be a celebrity to enjoy my cruise... I just need simple good food, service and entertainment. We have found Princess performance more consistently.

[PrincessMelody]

Thank you for the comparison review! We are also thinking of trying something new, but like you...we also feel like we are "home" when we sail Princess. :)

[neverbeenhere]

Celebrity's coffee in the buffet is brewed coffee not from syrup.

OBC is stackable on Princess.

They both have ships that sail in the ocean.

[easyboy]

Thank you for your comparison!

 

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[huskerdan25]

We are Princess loyalists but have done two Celebrity cruises, both on the Reflection. Absolutely love the balcony cabin on the Reflection which is more like the mini-suite on Princess but the bathroom blows away the ones on Princess, especially the showers. Other than that, we prefer the food on Princess and we were actually disappointed both times in the MDR on the Reflection. The specialty restaurants are outstanding but very pricey and we feel we get a much better value in the specialty restaurants on Princess. We just like the Princess product better even though we much prefer the balcony cabins on Celebrity. One thing we really missed was the chocolate desserts on Princess which was clearly lacking on Celebrity. It was rare that there were any chocolate desserts. Loved Cafe Al Bacio but prefer the International Cafe!

 

We do like the Celebrity product and the new ships but the loyalty perks, especially the military OBC keep us coming back to Princess and in general, we just like the Princess product better. Would we cruise Celebrity again? Absolutely, but probably for an itinerary that we can't get with Princess. Both are good products but Princess is better for our tastes.

 

Thanks for your review. We agree with you on many of your points.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Thank you for your comparison. We are like you...have been loyal to Princess after trying a couple other lines. Just found Princes to fit us and we feel comfortable and at home when we're on one of their ships.

 

Had been playing with the idea of trying out a Celebrity cruise as we had never tried Celebrity and thought it might be the closest fit to Princess. But seemed like there are a lot of charges for the different dining venues so wasn't sure if it would end up being more costly than Princess. I think I read that there was a $15 charge for a burger and fries.

 

So appreciate your feedback! This helps with our curiosity of Celebrity.

 

 

 

Happy I could help! The new Burger Bar they're putting on the various ships charges $10. I'll be in line at the Grill on the Regal for my awesome, free burger this winter! [emoji5]

 

 

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[geoherb]

Thanks for your thoughts. Our last Celebrity cruise was underwhelming, especially the food and service. I still look at X for cruises that fit our schedule. But when Princess and HAL have better pricing, it's a no-brainer to book them over X.

[cruisequeen4ever]

unlike you, we have cruised 9 different lines, well over 50 cruises, lost count... more recently we have cruised Princess 25 cruises total, Celebrity - best guess 15 cruises, we are elite on both Princess and Celebrity. Plus, Cunard, HAL, and NCL in the past 10 years.

 

 

 

Agree with your critique of X, we much prefer Princess to X. One of the big factors for us, is X is the ship of "no" as you say, we have also found them to be hit and miss on special requests in the MDR especially. Princess far out shines X in responding to special requests in the buffet and MDR.

 

 

 

Even though you were on an older ship, we found the older ones better than the new ones... we have tried 4 of the new ships... similar to Royal/Regal in design... but something is missing... I do not need to be a celebrity to enjoy my cruise... I just need simple good food, service and entertainment. We have found Princess performance more consistently.

 

 

 

Wow, that's interesting to hear! Yeah, I have cruised Holland America, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, and of course now Celebrity. On our Cunard cruise, we saw a Princess ship in port and told some pax we actually missed Princess. You just can't beat the feel of Princess; it's intangible.

 

 

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[Shelly97060]

Thanks for taking the time to write this. I found it very interesting having never sailed on X.

[floridalover5623]

From your write up it doesn't sound like the crew were all that friendly. Princess would fall over to get something for you at any time of day.

[love to cruz]

Just got off the Celebrity Equinox June 25. We will take Princess any day. It had been perhaps 15 years since we sailed Celebrity so decided to give it a try. The lamb shank & leg of lamb are some of the best I have had on any cruise ship. I realize food is very subjective but we felt the food on Celebrity was on a par with Princess food. Dinner rolls on the other hand were the same sliced baguettes every night with a few bread sticks.

Celebrity had 2 past passenger parties, both lasting 45 minutes. Drinks & canapes were plentiful. Perhaps a touch above what Princess offers.

Princess can learn a thing or two from Celebrity for the length & quality of their shows. The production shows were nearly an hour. There was not a weak voice in the group of 6 singers in the shows. There was ballet, acrobats, rope artists, etc. in the shows.

Savannah Jack performed one night in the theater, followed by a matinee performance on a sea day. If you have not heard them, you are missing some very talented entertainers.

Drinks were quite a bit more expense than on princess. The usual hawking of jewelry, bingo, bargain basement sale, etc.

We were in a state of shock over Celebrity's photo package. $250.00 for all your photos + 250.00 for digital copies (keep in mind this was a 7 day cruise). We just paid $99.00 for all our photos AND digital copies for our 16 day transatlantic cruise on the Crown Princess in September. The normal princess price is $250.00 for BOTH.

The day before disembarking I asked the Purser how I could print our airline boarding passes. I was told they had a special for $25.00 for 15 minutes internet service.

Would we take Celebrity again, yes, if they have a unique itinerary that Princess does not offer.

[mic123]

I find them more alike than different, and wouldn't hesitate to book either one.

[love to cruz]

I forgot to mention the mere $50.00 per person for Celebrity's steak house and $45.00 per person for their Italian restaurant.

[MixerDave]

We are planning a Princess 15 day to Hawaii, having just returned from a 9 nite Celebrity to the ABC islands. We were previous RCCL travelers, but selected X because of the itinerary.

Celebrity and RCCL have sofas in their balcony cabins and Princess does not, so we booked a mini suite. (15 nites with no place to sit did not cut it.)

 

On the plus side, what I read is Princess food is better. On Celebrity, when reading the dinner menus, nothing jumped out at us. It was more like settling for something. Also the specialty restaurants are over priced.

[soccergang]

I don't like the fact that Celebrity doesn't allow the military, police/firemen, shareholders credit to all be used. Princess gives all of them for every cruise. My sister booked a Celebrity California coastal recently for September, and they wouldn't give them all that they would have received on Princess.

[The Wilkies]

Thanks for comparison. Also elite doing our first Celebrity in September followed by a bucket list cruise on Celebrity in December, simply because of the itinerary. Princess doesn't yet do the Middle East/India. Will be interesting.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I've done four cruises on Princess on three different ships, and have a fifth coming up in September on a fourth ship. I've reached Platinum but still have a fair way to go to Elite. I've done two cruises on Celebrity Solstice, both NZ itineraries.

 

I like both cruise lines, they both have their pluses and minuses. However I am more likely to cruise on Princess than Celebrity as Princess is in the Australian region all year round and all cruises here are in AUD.

 

The cabins, and balconies, are definitely better on Celebrity. I love the sommeliers in the MDR, so much better than Princess where the assistant waiter has to go off and get wine by the glass every time you want another glass. I like the variety of speciality restaurants on Celebrity but not the prices - we often go to them for lunch though. I love the Sky Lounge on Solstice, it's wonderful to sit there with a cocktail while departing from interesting ports.

 

Princess has The Sanctuary, available to anyone who is prepared to pay the extra, which we are - so peaceful sitting high above the bow of the ship watching the ocean go by. I prefer the evening entertainment on Princess, and also like the shows better. The interior bars on Princess seem cosier than Celebrity, especially Crooners in the Atrium. The Celebrity Atrium bars seem cold and echoey. I also prefer the Wheelhouse Bar to Celebrity's Ensemble Bar as the Ensemble Bar just has too much through traffic.

 

I've discovered that the food appears to depend very much on the Executive Chef on each cruise. As far as MDR food goes at dinner so far we've had:

Princess - excellent, poor, very good, very good.

Celebrity - good, excellent.

For breakfast and lunch in the MDR Princess wins out hands down. Breakfast is a joke on Celebrity, poorly organised and often long waits for food. Lunch is almost as bad.

We've had breakfast in both cruise lines buffets and that has also varied. We haven't used the buffet on Celebrity for lunch but have had good food on Princess.

We've had mixed success with the speciality restaurants on both lines.

 

We switched to Celebrity for our first NZ cruise as they had more choice of one way itineraries at the time - we like to start in Auckland so we have plenty of time to catch up with friends and family before we embark. We've decided to stay with Celebrity for NZ cruises, the ship is good for that itinerary and it's nice to have a change occasionally.

 

Princess has more choice of cruises out of Australia at times we like to cruise, and often has interesting repositioning cruises to/from Asia. I think we'll be cruising with Princess for a lot longer.

 

For other parts of the world we go by itinerary. Princess won out for our upcoming Mediterranean cruise as it departs from and returns to Barcelona, and we wanted more that one day there.

[AZbeachboy]

I think a lot of people are trying other lines, not because Princess has gotten bad, but after 15 cruises there are not many itineraries left during the times we travel. We can only go to Mexico, California or the same Caribbean ports. So we are taking an MSC this September/October. They meet our loyalty level and I know it will be a new experience. It seems to me that since Princess has put it assets and emphasis on Alaska and Australia, It is difficult to go to other places.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments.

[DrJohn]

I think a lot of people are trying other lines, not because Princess has gotten bad, but after 15 cruises there are not many itineraries left during the times we travel. We can only go to Mexico, California or the same Caribbean ports. So we are taking an MSC this September/October. They meet our loyalty level and I know it will be a new experience. It seems to me that since Princess has put it assets and emphasis on Alaska and Australia, It is difficult to go to other places.

 

We have 88 cruises on Princess, have enjoyed the cruise line more in the past than in the present -- too many cutbacks! So we are just off a Celebrity cruise and have an MSC booked in a month, trying the opposition. We want to sail out of Florida ports year round but Princess has decided to put its focus elsewhere in the world. Celebrity was much like Princess but why give up Elite benefits for a very similar cruise line, and MSC is still an unknown -- so for now we will sail Norwegian -- or maybe MSC -- and Princess when the itinerary meets our needs.

 

DrJohn