Princess and Celebrity Comparison

[Happiest when cruising]

7 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I just got finished posting the below on a Celebrity thread, but thought it would be fitting to post here as well.

 

Here’s a fun fact. If you add the Princess Plus Package to any of their refundable deposit bookings, it’s a flat $60 per person per day, regardless of your loyalty level or cabin category. If you add the Celebrity All Included package and upgrade the Basic Internet package to Premium, which would make it comparable to what you get with the Princess Internet service, it’s about $95 (or $82 for AI + $13 with the elite discount) per person per day. Then for me to get Baileys and Moscato included with my Celebrity AI package, I have to also upgrade the Classic beverage package to Premium, which is another $20 pp/day making it $115 pp/day to match what we’re getting with the $60 pp/day Princess Plus package. Sorry, Celebrity’s AI prices are getting a little crazy if you stop and do the math.
 

Then there is the ridiculous $100 pp/day cost difference, at least on our July 2024 12-day Apex cruise in Norway, when booking a Celebrity NRD booking versus a RD booking, while Princess bookings are all refundable unless you choose one of the cheapest guarantee cabin categories, which we never do.
 

Don’t get me wrong, we will still continue to book cruises with Celebrity when they have an awesome itinerary like going to the Galapagos, or a cruise to Norway when they include 2 days cruising above the Arctic Circle, or a cruise that docks in New Orleans for 3 days in 2025 during Mardi Gras. But Princess also has quite the selection of way more unique 3-5 week itineraries at much more reasonable prices. 

 

Have you done the New Orleans itinerary? I’m thinking of booking it for 2024. How close is the ship to the fun? 

[Ken the cruiser]

29 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Have you done the New Orleans itinerary? I’m thinking of booking it for 2024. How close is the ship to the fun? 

We have not. However, we have been to New Orleans before on a land vacation, at the cruise ships dock quite close to the center of town.

[Happiest when cruising]

11 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We have not. However, we have been to New Orleans before on a land vacation, at the cruise ships dock quite close to the center of town.

Thanks for your response. I just have to figure out if I can manage being in huge crowds of people. It would be a weird thing to just use the ship like a hotel on land, but I’m interested, for sure. 

[lx200gps]

We've sailed three times on Princess in the last year (Enchanted once and Sky twice) and left the Celebrity Equinox just last week. A few comments on the above comments:

 

1) The "live" TV on X is a bit better in that it has a good number more channels available than Princess. Sadly for us, most of the extra channels were sports which are of no use to us. The VOD movie offerings on X were pathetic, far fewer than Princess

 

2) It may have been just the crews on the Enchanted and Sky at the time, but we found the "crew attitude" on the Equinox to be far superior to the crews on our recent Princess sailings. Noticeably happier, more engaging with passengers etc. The Princess crews just seemed tired and overworked. Of course, the officers were everywhere on X, we even ran into the captain himself many times, walking the ship, eating with fellow officers in the buffet etc. On one of recent Princess trips we never even HEARD the captain on the PA let alone ever saw him.

 

3)  Somewhat related to the above, we also noticed that the Equinox was much better staffed than any of our recent Princess trips, though hopefully that is improving  now on Princess.  There were always a lot of waiters in the MDR and the specialty restaurants, no long waits for food and drink as we had on our Princess trips. We ate mostly in Murano, TG and Sushi on Five and the staffing levels were fantastic.  Bar waiter service was a bit thinner but still good. On our last trip on the Enchanted, I well remember there being exactly one waiter for all of Crooners.

 

4) One BIG negative on Celebrity is the amount of smoking allowed on the ship. People smoked in outside areas all over the ship, including in the Mast Grill on the upper deck

 

5) Further to what some others have said, we find X is much more expensive than Princess in an apples to apples price comparison, to the point where they are off our list of possible cruise lines.

 

We're back on Princess in October, on the Discovery out of San Pedro. It will be interesting to see whether they have progressed since our last trip this past February on the Sky.

 

 

[kywildcatfanone]

17 hours ago, dlh015 said:

On the Equinox, in a suite, the On Demand was absymal. I was actually shocked at the very few choices. (Fortunately, I had brought my fire stick and hence it was not an issue.)

Maybe I need help understanding your comment here, were you able to stream because you had premium wifi, or did you have shows/movies stored on your fire stick for offline viewing?

 

I don't take extra stuff on Princess because the on demand programming has plenty of choices between TV show seasons, and movies to entertain us when in the cabin, but my only Celebrity experience was on the Infinity, and it had few channels and no on demand of any kind.  Was hoping a revolutionized ship was better.  Is it not?

[villauk]

21 hours ago, lakegirl16 said:

I've always considered these two lines more similar than different.  We just returned from 10 Day Ruby Princess Round Trip Alaska.  Most recent Celebrity Sailing was December 2022, Mexican Riviera on the Solstice.  Both of these ships were built around the same time.

 

I know this comparison is subjective and every ship is different, many will say the opposite of my opinions but wanted to share my thoughts.  Happy to answer any questions.   

 

In no particular order, here's my thoughts ... 

 

Television - Celebrity.  I know we don’t cruise to watch TV but Princess TV is terrible.  

 

Internet - Celebrity.  Internet on the Ruby Princess was not good, very slow.  In fairness, the Solstice had just gotten Starlink and we were sailing south and not north.

 

Embarkation  / Disembarkation - Even. 

Although I heard passengers complain it took them 1.5 hours in the 12:30 boarding group on the Ruby.

 

Entertainment - Princess. We found the shows on the Solstice in December very average.  Star Princess shows were great.  I also like the wide variety of musical entertainment in the bars on Princess.

 

Pastries - Celebrity - I always felt like the pastries I had on the Ruby were a bit dry.  One exception, the almond croissant.

 

Coffee bar - Celebrity - Location, setting and coffee selection.  Service on the Ruby was terrible.

 

Friendliness - Celebrity.  I found a lot of staff on Ruby didn’t speak at all.

 

Cookies- celebrity.  Princess cookies were dry and hard.

 

Overall food - even.  I thought both had good and not so good selections.  My one concern on the Star was often my food wasn't hot.  Not cold, just not hot.

 

Desserts - slight to Celebrity.  I can’t believe Princess changed the Love Boat Dream to Raspberry!

 

Cocktails - Celebrity - Martini bar, big plus.

 

Beds - Even.  I always sleep great at sea

 

Activities- slight to Princess.  I love BINGO! 

 

Apps -  Celebrity hands down.  Princess app is pretty worthless, can’t see menus unless you are booked in the restaurant.  

 

Spa - even.  Although I had a pedicure on Princess and first time ever she didn’t try to sell me any products!! 

 

Toiletries - Princess love the hand soap

 

Ice cream -  Celebrity - love the Gelato!

 

Casino -Celebrity - smoking on Princess is a no go for me.

 

Dining Room Service - I’m not going to compare because our last cruise on Celebrity we were in a Sky Suite.  I will say service on the Ruby was so so.  In general servers were not terribly friendly.  We ate in the main dining room 4 nights.  Only one of those nights did we have a server who introduced himself, gave recommendations and was engaging.  Wait times went from really poor to good.  We had one lunch that took an hour and 20 minutes.  

 

Overall Ship Condition - Celebrity.  

The Star Princess is looking pretty ratty. Rusted off parts on our balcony.  Furniture in Wheelhouse, leather peeling off couches, looks terrible.  Before we sailed on the Solstice, I read lots of reviews saying the ship was in poor condition, I never noticed anything.  I don't really "look" for problems because I'm enjoying my cruise. These things on the Star, I didn't have to look for, they were obvious.

 

 

Thanks for the review; we also cruise both lines. Did you sail in a suite on X but a regular cabin on Princess?

[stevenr597]

The two lines are more alike than different.  One must also, when comparing, consider the class of ships as well as where one cruises.

We have sailed both extensively.  My last cruise was on Celebrity Reflection and my next cruise is on Regal Princess.

Personally, I would go with the Royal Class of Princess Ships. 

[lakegirl16]

1 hour ago, villauk said:

 

Thanks for the review; we also cruise both lines. Did you sail in a suite on X but a regular cabin on Princess?

Yes, I did sail in a Sky Suite on Celebrity.  Which I why I didn't really do a dining room comparison, only mention of the slow service on the Ruby.

 

Thanks for the other comparisons and comments.  Every ship and every person is different that's what make this board so informative.  

 

Also, someone mentioned bringing a streaming stick on the ship.  We brought a Firestick (I believe that was the device, could have been Roku) on the Solstice last December.  We were able to hook this up to WiFi via the TV and stream Hulu.  This was a Mexican Riviera Itinerary.  We brought it on the Princess ship, as well, but the internet would not support it.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by lakegirl16
Add and edit

[dlh015]

1 hour ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Maybe I need help understanding your comment here, were you able to stream because you had premium wifi, or did you have shows/movies stored on your fire stick for offline viewing?

 

I don't take extra stuff on Princess because the on demand programming has plenty of choices between TV show seasons, and movies to entertain us when in the cabin, but my only Celebrity experience was on the Infinity, and it had few channels and no on demand of any kind.  Was hoping a revolutionized ship was better.  Is it not?

Sorry I wasn't that clear about that. I had premium wifi and was able to stream using my firestick. I was streaming from Amazon Prime Video.

 

This was on the revolutionized Equinox this past January.  

[Ken the cruiser]

9 hours ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Thanks for your response. I just have to figure out if I can manage being in huge crowds of people. It would be a weird thing to just use the ship like a hotel on land, but I’m interested, for sure. 

Just to follow up on our March 2025 12-day Constellation cruise that includes stopping 3 days in New Orleans. Beware of cost increases. We booked an Aqua cabin on this cruise the first day it came out for $4,478 per person with a refundable deposit. Two weeks after it was released the price started shooting up. The per person cost now for an Aqua cabin with a NRD for our cruise is $5,211 or $6,253 with a refundable deposit. So, as you can see with Celebrity's fares usually based on Supply and Demand, booking early definitely has its advantages.

 

If you book your cruises through a TA, maybe they were able to secure a cheaper "group" rate when the 2024 cruise you're considering was first released?

[Purplsmurf]

3 hours ago, lx200gps said:

We've sailed three times on Princess in the last year (Enchanted once and Sky twice) and left the Celebrity Equinox just last week. A few comments on the above comments:

 

1) The "live" TV on X is a bit better in that it has a good number more channels available than Princess. Sadly for us, most of the extra channels were sports which are of no use to us. The VOD movie offerings on X were pathetic, far fewer than Princess

 

2) It may have been just the crews on the Enchanted and Sky at the time, but we found the "crew attitude" on the Equinox to be far superior to the crews on our recent Princess sailings. Noticeably happier, more engaging with passengers etc. The Princess crews just seemed tired and overworked. Of course, the officers were everywhere on X, we even ran into the captain himself many times, walking the ship, eating with fellow officers in the buffet etc. On one of recent Princess trips we never even HEARD the captain on the PA let alone ever saw him.

 

3)  Somewhat related to the above, we also noticed that the Equinox was much better staffed than any of our recent Princess trips, though hopefully that is improving  now on Princess.  There were always a lot of waiters in the MDR and the specialty restaurants, no long waits for food and drink as we had on our Princess trips. We ate mostly in Murano, TG and Sushi on Five and the staffing levels were fantastic.  Bar waiter service was a bit thinner but still good. On our last trip on the Enchanted, I well remember there being exactly one waiter for all of Crooners.

 

4) One BIG negative on Celebrity is the amount of smoking allowed on the ship. People smoked in outside areas all over the ship, including in the Mast Grill on the upper deck

 

5) Further to what some others have said, we find X is much more expensive than Princess in an apples to apples price comparison, to the point where they are off our list of possible cruise lines.

 

We're back on Princess in October, on the Discovery out of San Pedro. It will be interesting to see whether they have progressed since our last trip this past February on the Sky.

 

 

Not true what you are saying about smoking on Celebrity outside all over the ship. There are 3 smoking areas, all outside. One is deck 5 port side, one is starboard side by mast bar, and the third is starboard side by sunset bar. The smoking section by sunset bar is the one we see most used, but it definitely isn’t “all over the ship”. There is no smoking at all allowed inside, even the casino……unlike Princess 

[HotRoot]

One and only Celebrity cruise.  First morning at breakfast they refused our request for a table for 2 and put us at a table for 10.  We sat through people eating first courses.  Finally our food came.  I told the waiter that was not what I ordered.  He told me "Eat it, it is good."  Table was so tight you hit elbows with the person on each side of you.  Thankfully it was a 5 night cruise.  Service just kept getting worse.  We will never sail with Celebrity again.  Probably a one off but enough to turn me off.

[kywildcatfanone]

17 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

Sorry I wasn't that clear about that. I had premium wifi and was able to stream using my firestick. I was streaming from Amazon Prime Video.

 

This was on the revolutionized Equinox this past January.  

Ah, great, thanks.  I do have the premium wifi, but was nervous about it's reliability with regards to streaming.

[lakegirl16]

7 minutes ago, HotRoot said:

One and only Celebrity cruise.  First morning at breakfast they refused our request for a table for 2 and put us at a table for 10.  We sat through people eating first courses.  Finally our food came.  I told the waiter that was not what I ordered.  He told me "Eat it, it is good."  Table was so tight you hit elbows with the person on each side of you.  Thankfully it was a 5 night cruise.  Service just kept getting worse.  We will never sail with Celebrity again.  Probably a one off but enough to turn me off.

Curious what ship this was on and when?  Thanks for sharing.

Edited June 12, 2023 by lakegirl16
Typo

[lx200gps]

8 minutes ago, Purplsmurf said:

Not true what you are saying about smoking on Celebrity outside all over the ship. There are 3 smoking areas, all outside. One is deck 5 port side, one is starboard side by mast bar, and the third is starboard side by sunset bar. The smoking section by sunset bar is the one we see most used, but it definitely isn’t “all over the ship”. There is no smoking at all allowed inside, even the casino……unlike Princess 

Sorry, I was only slightly generalizing. Smoking was far more prevalent on the Equinox than we have ever experienced on Princess and was happening in many areas on the ship that would have never been allowed on a Princess ship. And yes, people WERE smoking in the eating/drinking area on the pool deck. Clearly the crew is not enforcing their own policy.

[HotRoot]

Constellation.  March 2015.  I checked my travel logs to get the exact date.  8 years later I still remember how bad it was.  It was an Osmond Brothers cruise.  We did not know that until after we boarded.  I do remember the fantastic free concert they did one afternoon.  That was the highlight of the cruise.  

[Honolulu Blue]

21 minutes ago, HotRoot said:

One and only Celebrity cruise.  First morning at breakfast they refused our request for a table for 2 and put us at a table for 10.  We sat through people eating first courses.  Finally our food came.  I told the waiter that was not what I ordered.  He told me "Eat it, it is good."  Table was so tight you hit elbows with the person on each side of you.  Thankfully it was a 5 night cruise.  Service just kept getting worse.  We will never sail with Celebrity again.  Probably a one off but enough to turn me off.

 

People sometimes ask me why I don't go to the MDR for breakfast.  Frankly, I'm afraid of getting treated like you did in your post.  I'm pretty sure it was a one off, though.  Celebrity's a good cruise line with good staff.  Maybe join me at the trough next time - though, of course, it gets crowded there at times.

 

The portion I highlighted above gave me flashbacks to my childhood.  I've always been a finicky eater and also stubborn.  I wouldn't tolerate anyone but Mom and Dad telling me to eat something I probably wasn't going to like.  "It'll put hair on your chest", Daddy said to me a few times.  Hair on my chest was a long way off.  Anyway, even from the folks I admired most, it only worked sometimes.

 

OK, back on track...

 

11 minutes ago, HotRoot said:

Constellation.  March 2015.  I checked my travel logs to get the exact date.  8 years later I still remember how bad it was.  It was an Osmond Brothers cruise.  We did not know that until after we boarded.  I do remember the fantastic free concert they did one afternoon.  That was the highlight of the cruise.  

Thanks for sharing this.  I always enjoy partial charter stories - especially ones involving music.  I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the experience as much as you could have.

[rj59]

You seem to be comparing old ships to each other, which isn't really fair. I've been on Discovery and was impressed, but it's not that different from other Royal class ships. I was on Apex, and it was the most amazing experience, in terms of design and uniqueness and wide variety of entertainment and other venues. Gary Bembridge on Tips for Travelers says the same, that Princess hasn't really innovated, whereas Celebrity has. I disagree on other points:

1--Internet. Celebrity throttles the basic internet, and makes it as painful as possible, to induce you to upgrade to a more expensive plan. Princess internet has a single speed, and is upgrading to Starlink as well, and Elite's get it for half-price. 

2--Desserts--nothing on Celebrity can compare with the Chocolate Journeys desserts, and newer ships have a gelato ship and offer it for free in MDR lunch.

3--MDR is subjective, but I like having only anytime dining, without the multiple caste systems of Celebrity. Again, though, the new Celebrity ships offer the great innovation of 4 different MDR restaurants, each offering some unique items. 

4--Room--Celebrity seems more spacious, with usually a loveseat or couch even in inside cabins. All Celebrity bathrooms have glass shower doors, unlike awful Princess curtains, and Apex has gorgeous faux marble walls in the bathroom. 

5--Entertainment. Celebrity wins hands-down, with innovative, sometimes daring shows, with aerialists and acrobats, and Apex adds a second theatre group for a club and the Eden Cafe. 

6--Price--Celebrity is fairly outrageous, and the only reason I was able to afford an inside was booking last year, while Covid restrictions were still in place. If you want to spend $5000 to get special access or a special restaurant, that's fine, but the main thing I hated about Apex was most of the front ship closed to those not in a special class, which doesn't happen on their older ships. The only space Princess closes off is the Sanctuary, although that probably will change with Sun and future ships--more people, more of a class system, paying more for exclusive areas.

7--Coffee/cafe--Princess's one is open 24 hours, includes a larger variety of food, and espresso drinks are half the price of Celebrity. The Celebrity cafes don't open until 7 sometimes, which is very annoying for early risers wanting espresso or an early snack. There's no food on Celebrity until the cafe or buffet opens, and they now charge $10 for any type of room service, whereas it's free, delivered anywhere on Princess. 

8--Newer ships on both have interesting extra free dining options. Alfredo's is great for pizza, but Apex has an Eden Cafe for breakfast and lunch with various healthy options. 

9--Sales pressure is horrible on Celebrity. You get harassed constantly the first few days if you don't have a beverage package, even in the MDR, and they pressure you to upgrade if you only have the basic ones. A minority of beers are covered under the basic package too, and most are deliberately priced too high for the basic package, even more painful if you don't have a package, so you're charged $5 for a latte and over $10 for a basic beer, plus you have to sign slips asking for additional gratuity, which I hate. Princess is pain-free, especially with Medallion technology, and I don't get sales pitches at bars or the MDR. 

10--Layout--Apex is amazing, with a long running/walking track that goes up and down over two decks, whereas the ones on Princess are pretty pitiful. Everything on Princess revolves around the piazza, which isn't enjoyable for me on full ships now, and you can still only get front-to-back on one side of the ship. There are only a few aft viewing/sitting areas outside by the water, one side usually for smokers, but Apex has a promenade that goes for most of the side on, and of course its Magic Carpet.

11-Embarkation/debarkation--Celebrity has a really nice terminal in FLL now, and it took me 15 minutes from shore to ship at 12 pm. One of the nicest parts of Apex is a large ship exit area, with spread-out security lines and the Magic Carpet a safe, comfortable, and convenient disembarkation/tendering spot.

[Dar & Bob]

One area I am in disagreement with on the discussions is how much more Celebrity is.  In the last few years I have started to create spreadsheets for similar itineraries comparing number of days, number of ports, similar cabin class and beverage package and also the amount of OBC included.  To my surprise many times Celebrity ends up being cheaper for us overall.  Within a few hundred dollars of each other we go with the best itinerary for us.  Note: at present it is Impossible to compare an Edge class ship to any Princess ship, Period

Also, I will agree with the staff on Celebrity being much more friendly, every employee greets you with a hello, good morning etc even if just walking past in a hallway.  It really does add to making the cruise a pleasant experience. 

[stevenr597]

If one wishes to compare classes of ship, Celebrity's Edge Class will be comparable to Princess Sphere Class Ships which are just coming out.

Edge Class is a significant move up for Celebrity with a corresponding increase in prices. Celebrity is trying to appeal to a younger crowd than they have had in the past. 
 
One thread I have heard from people who have cruised on the Edge Class is the absence of a separate balcony, with one's cabin in fact becoming the balcony.

Entertainment on both the Sphere Class and Edge Class will be a significant evolution or move upwards.

We are doing a Trans-Atlantic on the Regal Princess (Royal Class Ship) which all things being equal, I do feel is superior to Celebrity's Solstice Class Ship.

On Princess we book Club Class, on Celebrity Aqua Class.  

But my recommendation is try out both cruise lines.  

[Ken the cruiser]

I think it's interesting in this comparison, no one has mentioned the unique 3-5 week literary offerings Princess has year after year when compared to the more traditional 7-11 day and transoceanic cruises Celebrity usually offers. But then someone would probably only notice them if they enjoy going on longer cruises.

 

For us that's where Princess has a distinct advantage. Some of the ones that come to mind are the 16-day Antarctica cruise from Santiago to Buenos Aires where they spend 4 days cruising around the Antarctica peninsula followed by a 14-day cruise around Cape Horn back to Santiago, or a 25-day cruise from Ft Lauderdale through the Panama Canal, stopping at Easter Island before winding up in Santigo, or the bi-annual 32-day RT cruise out of LA to the Polynesian Islands by way of Hawaii and Tahiti. For us that's where Princess excells.

[dlh015]

14 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I think it's interesting in this comparison, no one has mentioned the unique 3-5 week literary offerings Princess has year after year when compared to the more traditional 7-11 day and transoceanic cruises Celebrity usually offers. But then someone would probably only notice them if they enjoy going on longer cruises.

 

For us that's where Princess has a distinct advantage. Some of the ones that come to mind are the 16-day Antarctica cruise from Santiago to Buenos Aires where they spend 4 days cruising around the Antarctica peninsula followed by a 14-day cruise around Cape Horn back to Santiago, or a 25-day cruise from Ft Lauderdale through the Panama Canal, stopping at Easter Island before winding up in Santigo, or the bi-annual 32-day RT cruise out of LA to the Polynesian Islands by way of Hawaii and Tahiti. For us that's where Princess excells.

You're right...I had forgotten about that. Which is kinda strange as our all time best cruise was a Princess 21-day Mediterranean on the Regal...round trip from Barcelona...everything was perfect and I mean everything (although I could have done with more sea days...lol...). (June 2022)

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

You're right...I had forgotten about that. Which is kinda strange as our all time best cruise was a Princess 21-day Mediterranean on the Regal...round trip from Barcelona...everything was perfect and I mean everything (although I could have done with more sea days...lol...). (June 2022)

We were on the 21-day "Real Love Boat" cruise RT Barcelona, probably right after yours (July 2-23), and had a blast (see my Live From thread in my signature below). And I have to add, the cruise director, Dan France, was awesome! He was just naturally a fun-loving person, participated in most of the game shows and always kept us laughing, and was just an all-around great CD!

[dlh015]

12 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We were on the 21-day "Real Love Boat" cruise RT Barcelona, probably right after yours (July 2-23), and had a blast (see my Live From thread in my signature below). And I have to add, the cruise director, Dan France, was awesome! He was just naturally a fun-loving person, participated in most of the game shows and always kept us laughing, and was just an all-around great CD!

Did he say this every morning, lol...

 

'This is Dan your cruise director speaking to you from the ceiling'... 

 

ETA: And that was the cruise right after us...

Edited June 12, 2023 by dlh015

[Ken the cruiser]

Just now, dlh015 said:

Did he say this every morning, lol...

 

'This is Dan your cruise director speaking to you from the ceiling'... 

That I don't remember, but it sounds like something he would do! 😂