Celebrity versus Princess - a view from the other side

[Ken the cruiser]

 

Hi all, as some of you may know we’ve been on a variety of Celebrity cruises since August which I usually posted our experiences to in “Live” Celebrity threads, whether it was on our Edge B3B in August, our Apex B2B in November, our Constellation B2B in December or our Reflection B2B in February..

 

Well, right now we’re on an 18 day Panama Canal cruise from SF to Ft Lauderdale on the Caribbean Princess in a Vista Suite and having a great time. So if by chance you have any questions about how the onboard experiences on the Caribbean Princess may differ from those on Celebrity, you can check out the Princess thread I’ve opened. And of course if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. 😎

 

 

 

Happy cruising everyone!!

[zestyzorra]

Thanks for sharing, I will definitely check it out as I am considering a Princess cruise. I've never been on that line before.  I have heard that they allow smoking in the casino, and on a few CC threads in the Princess forum, there were comments that the smoke smell could also be found elsewhere near the casino. I was wondering if that was your experience on board? I am very sensitive to smells and have gotten quite used to Celebrity's no indoor smoking policy.  TIA!

[Ken the cruiser]

9 minutes ago, zestyzorra said:

Thanks for sharing, I will definitely check it out as I am considering a Princess cruise. I've never been on that line before.  I have heard that they allow smoking in the casino, and on a few CC threads in the Princess forum, there were comments that the smoke smell could also be found elsewhere near the casino. I was wondering if that was your experience on board? I am very sensitive to smells and have gotten quite used to Celebrity's no indoor smoking policy.  TIA!

The only time I’ve very faintly smelled cigarette smoke was when I first enter the casino on deck 7 on the way to the theater. However, you can access the theater from deck 6 bypassing the casino altogether. I have not encountered the hint of smoke anywhere else around this ship.

 

Edited May 2, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[the penguins]

17 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

 

Hi all, as some of you may know we’ve been on a variety of Celebrity cruises since August which I usually posted our experiences to in “Live” Celebrity threads, whether it was on our Edge B3B in August, our Apex B2B in November, our Constellation B2B in December or our Reflection B2B in February..

 

Well, right now we’re on an 18 day Panama Canal cruise from SF to Ft Lauderdale on the Caribbean Princess in a Vista Suite and having a great time. So if by chance you have any questions about how the onboard experiences on the Caribbean Princess may differ from those on Celebrity, you can check out the Princess thread I’ve opened. And of course if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. 😎

 

 

 

Happy cruising everyone!!

Hi Ken,

We have our first Princess Cruise booked - March 23 transatlantic. Trying Princess due to AI pricing dramatically inceasing the prices for those of us that can't drink alcohol on X. My questions concerns the Coffee Shop. How does it compare to Al Bacio? Can you get table service for lattes, teas and the "goodies" or do you have to line up? Thanks Geoff and the boss (Anita).

[Treasure Hunter]

Princess has the International Cafe . It has a very large variety with great little sandwiches and treats. Nice tables but I don’t believe there is table service. 

[lola2013]

I have sailed twice on Caribbean Princess along with two of their other ships (Coral and Sapphire).  I find, for my likes, they are very similar.  One plus for me on Princess is the self-serve laundry rooms.  

[Moochi]

Thank you for sharing! How is the alcohol situation on Princess compared to X? More specifically, is there larger selection of bourbon?  Large ice cubes available? What kind of straws do they use? What brands of sweet vermouth available? Sorry for the loooong list of questions. I appreciate if you can find out any information about cocktails.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

Hi Ken,

We have our first Princess Cruise booked - March 23 transatlantic. Trying Princess due to AI pricing dramatically inceasing the prices for those of us that can't drink alcohol on X. My questions concerns the Coffee Shop. How does it compare to Al Bacio? Can you get table service for lattes, teas and the "goodies" or do you have to line up? Thanks Geoff and the boss (Anita).

The International Cafe is awesome! We have lunch there every day, including sea days. They have different sandwiches, salads and desserts every day, but you have to go to the counter to make your selections. But they do have waiters to order your your lattes or teas from. It’s like they combined the services of Al Bacio and the Spa Cafe into one place.

[Ken the cruiser]

3 minutes ago, Moochi said:

Thank you for sharing! How is the alcohol situation on Princess compared to X? More specifically, is there larger selection of bourbon?  Large ice cubes available? What kind of straws do they use? What brands of sweet vermouth available? Sorry for the loooong list of questions. I appreciate if you can find out any information about cocktails.

No idea, as all I drink is Moscato and Baileys, but there is only one drink package, unlike X where there is the Classic (cheap brands) and Premium (expensive brands) packages. But my guess is they don’t have the high end varieties like X has.

[the penguins]

43 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

The International Cafe is awesome! We have lunch there every day, including sea days. They have different sandwiches, salads and desserts every day, but you have to go to the counter to make your selections. But they do have waiters to order your your lattes or teas from. It’s like they combined the services of Al Bacio and the Spa Cafe into one place.

Sounds perfect just what we want. Many thanks Geoff and the boss (Anita).

[klfhngr]

We did Princess twice, but on Ruby and Star and hated it! Maybe we'll reconsider on a newer ship. Did one X and loved it, and we leave next Tuesday for a 10 day Euro cruise on X!

Edited May 3, 2022 by klfhngr

[Silkroad]

It’s great to see your thread! Having enjoyed your previous live reviews so much, I’ll definitely head to Princess for your live blog. My DH and I have considered Princess for the Panama Canal transit, but have had some reservations (based on reviews made by friends).   Knowing we share similar tastes and preferences, your review will be extremely helpful. 

[Ken the cruiser]

45 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

It’s great to see your thread! Having enjoyed your previous live reviews so much, I’ll definitely head to Princess for your live blog. My DH and I have considered Princess for the Panama Canal transit, but have had some reservations (based on reviews made by friends).   Knowing we share similar tastes and preferences, your review will be extremely helpful. 

Thanks. I need to qualify something. We have been spoiled by Club Class dining and decided we’ll only book a Princess cruise if we’re in at least a Club Class balcony or higher. There’s just something about showing up when you feel like it, which for us is when they open, and then being seated instantly with the same waiters. 😁

Edited May 3, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, the penguins said:

Sounds perfect just what we want. Many thanks Geoff and the boss (Anita).

Here’s some pictures of the International Cafe counters. 
 

 

 

[Silkroad]

39 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks. I need to qualify something. We have been spoiled by Club Class dining and decided we’ll only book a Princess cruise if we’re in at least a Club Class balcony or higher. There’s just something about showing up when you feel like it, which for us is when they open, and then being seated instantly with the same waiters. 😁

I think we’re on the same page🙂 We prefer turning up when we’re ready, and once we find wait staff we like, we try to stick with them. Having recently experienced a Sky Suite on Edge and an Aqua cabin on Equinox, we’ve decided that future bookings will be in aft Sky Suites on S-class, and either Sky Suites or SVs on E-class. 
 

Would you say your Vista suite is similar to a Sky suite? Is the dining experience comparable (including your enjoyment of the food)? Update! Just saw your post comparing suites, so please ignore this😁

 

I’m not quite caught up, but I’m enjoying your review very much. Thank you!😊
 

 

Edited May 3, 2022 by Silkroad

[Ken the cruiser]

10 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

I think we’re on the same page🙂 We prefer turning up when we’re ready, and once we find wait staff we like, we try to stick with them. Having recently experienced a Sky Suite on Edge and an Aqua cabin on Equinox, we’ve decided that future bookings will be in aft Sky Suites on S-class, and either Sky Suites or SVs on E-class. 
 

Would you say your Vista suite is similar to a Sky suite? Is the dining experience comparable (including your enjoyment of the food)?

 

I’m not quite caught up, but I’m enjoying your review very much. Thank you!😊
 

 

If you go to page 12, post 276, on the “other” thread, I gave a brief summary of our opinion of cruising in a Princess vista suite versus a sky suite which may help answer your question. But please feel free to ask if you have others, as I’m just sitting here on our fully covered aft-facing vista suite with the sun directly overhead looking at folks having fun on the Huatulco beach. 😁 

 

 

 

Edited May 3, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Silkroad]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If you go to page 12, post 276, on the “other” thread, I gave a brief summary of our opinion of cruising in a Princess vista suite versus a sky suite which may help answer your question. But please feel free to ask if you have others, as I’m just sitting here on our fully covered aft-facing vista suite with the sun directly overhead looking at folks having fun on the Huatulco beach. 😁 

 

 

 

Lol I was editing my post while you were writing this post. Sorry. I should have finished your other thread before querying you. Great view! 

[Ken the cruiser]

13 hours ago, Moochi said:

Thank you for sharing! How is the alcohol situation on Princess compared to X? More specifically, is there larger selection of bourbon?  Large ice cubes available? What kind of straws do they use? What brands of sweet vermouth available? Sorry for the loooong list of questions. I appreciate if you can find out any information about cocktails.

OK, I did some research this evening and they use paper straws and the Cinzano vermouth. As far as what type of spirits that have, I took a picture of the back counter. If you use your two fingers, you should be able to enlarge the picture to see some of the brands.  Hope this helps. 
 

[Moochi]

Thank you very much! 

[prmssk]

We have sailed both Princess and Celebrity since the restart with cruises on both coming up as well.  Related to the International Cafe on Princess compared to Cafe al Bacio, International Cafe has a lot more food options.  As someone with a dairy allergy, I can't eat many of those food options so that is not a plus for me.  I personally thought the specialty coffees are better at Cafe al Bacio so prefer Cafe al Bacio.

 

One thing that really stood out was how much better Celebrity handled my dairy allergy.  Celebrity labels common allergens on menus.  And the staff were more willing to guide me in picking dishes that could be successfully accommodated and still taste good.  Furthermore, the buffet on our last Princess ship was quite limited (and when you have an allergy it feels even more limited)

 

Another noticeable difference is that for balcony and lower cabins, Princess does not have a couch or any seating area inside.  They have such a large walk-in closet area (which some may like) that the rest of the room feels so much smaller and cramped.  You generally have to book a mini suite or higher to get seating room in your cabin.  Princess suite benefits are pretty minimal compared to Celebrity and so when you book a suite on Princess you are really booking it for the room.  I personally enjoy the suite benefits (especially Luminae)  but don't really need that much space in the room.  So for us, we wouldn't waste the money on a suite on Princess but do sometimes splurge on a suite on Celebrity.

 

We have a B2B on the Caribbean Princess in June which is with family.  We also originally had a cruise booked on the Crown Princess to Hawaii next year but have since switched the Crown to the Eclipse and aren't looking to book anymore Princess cruises anytime soon.  Princess isn't a bad line, it just doesn't quite fit what we like.

[Willwils]

Had a wonderful experience on the Majestic Princess last month in Alaska. Our cabin was a DELUXE BALCONY with extra room that included a small sofa bed. + desk in addition to the queen bed.