Celebrity vs. Princess: A recent comparison

[Cruise till you drop]

1 hour ago, villauk said:

IV cabins don’t interest us, which is a shame as we’d probably like the actual E-class ships themselves. We still love the aft cabins on M class though.

I would agree Celebrity really blew it with the IV cabins based on what I’ve heard through friends and Cruise critic reviews.  However we will give one a try in Jan 2025 on the Beyond.  Basically we love E class ships and this itinerary and kind of off Princess until they get their act together. 
 

And the reason we’re trying IV is all SV’s were sold out, which seems to be happening more and more.  So we’ll give it a whirl

[Guindalf]

Great comparison. Shame it's completely useless!

 

If you're going to compare two cruise ships, let alone two different lines, it's important to at least name the ships and itinerary! Alaska on the newest Princess ship, Discovery Princess, is NOT a direct comparison to the Reflection in the Caribbean!

[hubofhockey]

6 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

I read a lot of threads on here about complaints on things in Celebrity, including food.

 

My point I guess, was they are both considered premium cruise lines and equivalent in class.

 

Anyway, been on one Celebrity cruise and found the food very similar to Princess, and at least for us, no discernable difference.

Both have good service and updated ships. Both have good service.

 

Princess is quite overall cheaper in cost, and has more favorable pricing on virtually everything.

 

With that said, we are on the Equinox in October and we look forward to it.

 

Some of it is personal taste. I took one cruise on the Royal Princess when it was new, and it really ended Princess for me. After that, we started booking Celebrity and then Azamara.  On Celebrity, we liked Aqua Class and there really wasn’t anything similar on Princess.  Also thought the dining was awful on Princess and they ruined Sabatinis with menu changes. Also liked the “cool” and not overstated colors on Celebrity.  It’s personal taste, but just found Celebrity to be equal or better in all areas.  

[hubofhockey]

4 hours ago, Guindalf said:

Great comparison. Shame it's completely useless!

 

If you're going to compare two cruise ships, let alone two different lines, it's important to at least name the ships and itinerary! Alaska on the newest Princess ship, Discovery Princess, is NOT a direct comparison to the Reflection in the Caribbean!

 

Princess does Glacier Bay.  Celebrity does not.  That is the one time I would do Princess ahead of Celebrity.  

[kywildcatfanone]

2 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

Some of it is personal taste.

Most of it always is.  I wasn't trying to be controversial in my post.  For how we enjoy cruising, I do not see a real difference between Celebrity and Princess. But I do understand how people do for themselves.

[Ken the cruiser]

7 hours ago, Guindalf said:

Great comparison. Shame it's completely useless!

 

If you're going to compare two cruise ships, let alone two different lines, it's important to at least name the ships and itinerary! Alaska on the newest Princess ship, Discovery Princess, is NOT a direct comparison to the Reflection in the Caribbean!

Here’s a comparison that would have caused us to cancel a sunset sky suite on a Jan 20, 2024 14-day Celebrity Antarctica cruise on the Eclipse for an aft-facing vista suite on a 16-day Princess Antarctica cruise on the Sapphire Princess, both of which are priced with refundable deposits.
 

Basically, the 14-day Celebrity cruise in a sunset sky suite is current $9,549 pp versus $7,458 pp, with the Princess Plus package, for the Sapphire Princess vista suite. Besides the reduced cost, even though their cruise is 2 days longer, Princess offers 2 more days cruising around the Antarctica Peninsula than Celebrity does.

 
Celebrity Eclipse Sunset Sky Suite

 

 

 

Sapphire Princess aft-facing Vista Suite

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[chisoxfan]

15 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s a comparison that would have caused us to cancel a sunset sky suite on a Jan 20, 2024 14-day Celebrity Antarctica cruise on the Eclipse for an aft-facing vista suite on a 16-day Princess Antarctica cruise on the Sapphire Princess, both of which are priced with refundable deposits.
 

Basically, the 14-day Celebrity cruise in a sunset sky suite is current $9,549 pp versus $7,458 pp, with the Princess Plus package, for the Sapphire Princess vista suite. Besides the reduced cost, even though their cruise is 2 days longer, Princess offers 2 more days cruising around the Antarctica Peninsula than Celebrity does.

 
Celebrity Eclipse Sunset Sky Suite

 

 

 

Sapphire Princess aft-facing Vista Suite

 

As an aside we had a AQ on the 'same' cruise ( 14 day Infinity 2023) and opted not to go because the air connections were an expensive hassle. Fare with drinks tips and wi-fi was 4700. The Princess alternative at the time was more expensive although I think the 16 day is a much better alternative (as much as we like the Eclipse). My point as often repeated on posts is just how crazing pricing has become for most lines but X seems to be surpassing Princess in this area. JMHO

[jagoffee]

23 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s a comparison that would have caused us to cancel a sunset sky suite on a Jan 20, 2024 14-day Celebrity Antarctica cruise on the Eclipse for an aft-facing vista suite on a 16-day Princess Antarctica cruise on the Sapphire Princess, both of which are priced with refundable deposits.
 

Basically, the 14-day Celebrity cruise in a sunset sky suite is current $9,549 pp versus $7,458 pp, with the Princess Plus package, for the Sapphire Princess vista suite. Besides the reduced cost, even though their cruise is 2 days longer, Princess offers 2 more days cruising around the Antarctica Peninsula than Celebrity does.

 
Celebrity Eclipse Sunset Sky Suite

 

 

 

Sapphire Princess aft-facing Vista Suite

 

Celebrity’s refundable rates are tough.  The Celebrity price would be $3184 less for two people less with the non refundable.

[AbbyCruiser45]

On 8/13/2023 at 11:15 AM, Guindalf said:

Great comparison. Shame it's completely useless!

 

If you're going to compare two cruise ships, let alone two different lines, it's important to at least name the ships and itinerary! Alaska on the newest Princess ship, Discovery Princess, is NOT a direct comparison to the Reflection in the Caribbean!

Wow, sorry you felt it was useless. 
 

I mentioned later in the thread that I sailed on the Majestic, a modern ship that started sailing only in 2017. The price comp for Alaska was with the Millie because she’s sailing this season North and Southbound one ways. The Caribbean price comp was for the Beyond because that’s what I’m sailing next summer. The comparison was against the Caribbean Princess. Not the most even ship comparisons, but all are relatively new or really well updated (Millennium). I was really going for itinerary comparison. 

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, jagoffee said:

Celebrity’s refundable rates are tough.  The Celebrity price would be $3184 less for two people less with the non refundable.

That’s why if at all possible we’ll book refundable deposit “place holder” cruises as far out as possible while onboard a cruise, and then later on use them to transfer more desirable “newly released” itineraries which usually have a reasonable fare to them. 
 

For example, we currently have an Apex cruise booked in July 2024 and a Constellation cruise booked in March 2025 where their current nonrefundable deposit rates are at least $800 pp higher than the fares we originally booked them at with refundable deposits when they were first released. Go figure …

[Gracie115]

On 8/13/2023 at 6:23 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s a comparison that would have caused us to cancel a sunset sky suite on a Jan 20, 2024 14-day Celebrity Antarctica cruise on the Eclipse for an aft-facing vista suite on a 16-day Princess Antarctica cruise on the Sapphire Princess, both of which are priced with refundable deposits.
 

Basically, the 14-day Celebrity cruise in a sunset sky suite is current $9,549 pp versus $7,458 pp, with the Princess Plus package, for the Sapphire Princess vista suite. Besides the reduced cost, even though their cruise is 2 days longer, Princess offers 2 more days cruising around the Antarctica Peninsula than Celebrity does.

 
Celebrity Eclipse Sunset Sky Suite

 

 

 

Sapphire Princess aft-facing Vista Suite

 

 

Exactly...no brainer for me... ESPECIALLY on a cruise like this....

[brovol]

We have been on about 35-40 cruises over the years, and sailed most mainstream lines several times at least.  We found that over the years things change; both with the cruise lines, cruise industry, our family, our personal preferences, and just about everything else.  We have had great, and less than perfect experiences on every cruise line, and almost every ship we have sailed. We sailed more with Princess, HAL, and NCL than any other line, but also multiple cruises on Carnival and Royal Caribbean.  Mostly in the Caribbean, as we prefer getting out of the cold, and to the warmth. Haven't sailed Celebrity yet, but will be on the Apex in the spring.

 

In my mind cruises are like pizza and s*x; even when its "bad", its still good.  Having said that, cruise lines have personalities, and like people, some you like more than others, because their personality fits yours better.  For us it has been Princess, but we are eager to finally sail with Celebrity.  My wife and I have found Princess to be a more adult crowd and style.  I sounds like Celebrity is similar in that respect. 

 

Different strokes for different folks.  Some people love Carnival, and will never detour from that line, because it fits their style perfectly.  More power to them.  Sometimes the comparison between two good lines is a hairsplitting contest.  But I admit, I enjoy reading the comments, so keep it up. 

[hubofhockey]

12 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

 

Exactly...no brainer for me... ESPECIALLY on a cruise like this....

Whenever I see comparisons, I generally think about the cruise experience and cost for a typical verandah.  We like aqua class and better experiences and itineraries on smaller ships, so there is no comparable match on Princess.  Not really a Blu and Princess doesn't re-invest in its older smaller ships like Celebrity does in the M class.  As to the other stuff, I believe Princess cuts more corners and Celebrity charges more add ons, but doesn't cut as many corners.  This is my experience and those I'm friendly with, but you could talk to so many with feel much differently on this.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

With Equinox no longer going to Argentina in Nov 2024 and all of the other TAs are boring 

I am looking at the Island Princess for a TA 

Never been on Princess but we will get SHC and Military OBC so that can make life easier 

[UpcountryTravelers]

On 8/12/2023 at 10:23 AM, doghog said:

Were taking our 6th Princess cruise March 2024 (Enchanted, booked it December 2022) and have never experienced being moved from the specific cabin numbers we originally booked. 

Same here after 26 Princess cruises.  Never changed from what we booked.  Had an offer once, but declined.

 

[UpcountryTravelers]

On 8/12/2023 at 8:38 PM, mcatmcat said:

princes is related to Carnival right?, no thank you 

Not related to Carnival Cruises at all (worlds different).  Just owned by the same huge corporation.

[Shiba_Lover]

Thanks for taking the time to do a very detailed review.  Great information to know.  That is also one of my favorite parts of Celebrity - I really do love the crew.  I'm finally at the point where I am just starting to think of other lines but still just can't pull the trigger.

[D. B.]

4 hours ago, brovol said:

We have been on about 35-40 cruises over the years, and sailed most mainstream lines several times at least.  We found that over the years things change; both with the cruise lines, cruise industry, our family, our personal preferences, and just about everything else.  We have had great, and less than perfect experiences on every cruise line, and almost every ship we have sailed. We sailed more with Princess, HAL, and NCL than any other line, but also multiple cruises on Carnival and Royal Caribbean.  Mostly in the Caribbean, as we prefer getting out of the cold, and to the warmth. Haven't sailed Celebrity yet, but will be on the Apex in the spring.

 

In my mind cruises are like pizza and s*x; even when its "bad", its still good.  Having said that, cruise lines have personalities, and like people, some you like more than others, because their personality fits yours better.  For us it has been Princess, but we are eager to finally sail with Celebrity.  My wife and I have found Princess to be a more adult crowd and style.  I sounds like Celebrity is similar in that respect. 

 

Different strokes for different folks.  Some people love Carnival, and will never detour from that line, because it fits their style perfectly.  More power to them.  Sometimes the comparison between two good lines is a hairsplitting contest.  But I admit, I enjoy reading the comments, so keep it up. 

If you want to experience a more Adult crowd on X try the older M & S class ships.

[intr3pid]

Two words.  Shower curtains.  Can't imagine vacationing two weeks in a cabin with unhygienic, cheap curtains every day.  

 

Might give the new Sun / Star Princess a try.

[Gracie115]

3 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

Whenever I see comparisons, I generally think about the cruise experience and cost for a typical verandah.  We like aqua class and better experiences and itineraries on smaller ships, so there is no comparable match on Princess.  Not really a Blu and Princess doesn't re-invest in its older smaller ships like Celebrity does in the M class.  As to the other stuff, I believe Princess cuts more corners and Celebrity charges more add ons, but doesn't cut as many corners.  This is my experience and those I'm friendly with, but you could talk to so many with feel much differently on this.

 

The thing is that Princess AND HAL for that matter offer much better itineraries to many locations including the one @Ken the cruiser was referring to, as he said the Princess cruise is longer, with more days in the Antarctica area and less expensive.  Maybe doesn't have the bells & whistles of an X ship but on this kind of trip the itinerary would be a priority for me.  Princess does fine in the other areas for us too, but that is subjective as you say.

Edited August 15, 2023 by Gracie115

[reedprincess]

3 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

With Equinox no longer going to Argentina in Nov 2024 and all of the other TAs are boring 

I am looking at the Island Princess for a TA 

Never been on Princess but we will get SHC and Military OBC so that can make life easier 

Ooh, that's rough. The Island Princess is not a great introduction to the Princess line. She's very much a one-off.  And- by far - my least favorite Princess ship.

 

She was refurbed in 2015 and basically, butchered. They removed the spacious 2 story Universe Lounge and added 130+ cabins aft. Then, shrunk the casino and added another 20 or so cabins. Moved the gym downstairs to an indoor black box. And did not add any public space, including no additional dining space. She also has no International Cafe, which is a Princess win over Celebrity (24/7 coffee shop with light bites, both savory and sweet).  She's old, rattles a lot and  she's crowded. And it shows, on the pool decks, in rhe buffet, atrium, etc... And she's ugly! Lol.  The refurb really ruined her lines, to say the least.. 

Be prepared!   

 

The SHC and military OBC are nice though.. and you'll have good sized balcony, if you're in a balcony or higher type of cabin. And loads of closet space! 

 

She's basically the only Princess we won't sail again, unless, for some reason, she's the only ship from ANY line sailing an itinerary we really want to do..   

Good luck... 

[Ken the cruiser]

6 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

Whenever I see comparisons, I generally think about the cruise experience and cost for a typical verandah.  We like aqua class and better experiences and itineraries on smaller ships, so there is no comparable match on Princess.  Not really a Blu and Princess doesn't re-invest in its older smaller ships like Celebrity does in the M class.  As to the other stuff, I believe Princess cuts more corners and Celebrity charges more add ons, but doesn't cut as many corners.  This is my experience and those I'm friendly with, but you could talk to so many with feel much differently on this.

As of late, we usually book an Aqua cabin on our Celebrity itineraries because of the private "anytime" Blu Dining Room service. However, their dessert offerings have always been pretty weak, especially when it comes to chocolate desserts. However, with Princess because we have gotten spoiled with Blu, we usually book a Reserve Class (formerly Club Class) stateroom so we can eat in their private "anytime dining" Reserve Class Dining Room, which BTW also serves lunch on sea days whereas Blu does not. When compared to Blu's menu, we much prefer the RC dining room menu, which usually always includes tasty desserts, to include those with chocolate. 😀

 

As far as smaller ships go, the Princess Grand class ships are quite comparable to the M class ships, and their aft-facing Vista suites with a huge fully covered balcony are awesome and quite fairly priced. Not sure what you mean by cutting corners. But I will say Princess' Plus package for $60 pp/day is a much better deal than the Celebrity AI perk package which usually runs over $100 pp/day if you upgrade it to include the same services as offered in the Princess Plus package.

 

But I will also note, we have no issues with booking a cruise with either line (as you can see from my Live From threads in my Signature), as it really comes down to itineraries.

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[KKB]

Our 2 fav lines & I agree with most of what u said…Celebrity is a small step above Princess in most areas.

My only difference is that crew has been great I both lines— very personable. I suspect that odd line ugotis just that ship.

5 of each in last 2 yrs

[D. B.]

3 hours ago, intr3pid said:

Two words.  Shower curtains.  Can't imagine vacationing two weeks in a cabin with unhygienic, cheap curtains every day.  

 

Might give the new Sun / Star Princess a try.

Then don’t do Azamara unless you are in a suite

[hubofhockey]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

As of late, we usually book an Aqua cabin on our Celebrity itineraries because of the private "anytime" Blu Dining Room service. However, their dessert offerings have always been pretty weak, especially when it comes to chocolate desserts. However, with Princess because we have gotten spoiled with Blu, we usually book a Reserve Class (formerly Club Class) stateroom so we can eat in their private "anytime dining" Reserve Class Dining Room, which BTW also serves lunch on sea days whereas Blu does not. When compared to Blu's menu, we much prefer the RC dining room menu, which usually always includes tasty desserts, to include those with chocolate. 😀

 

As far as smaller ships go, the Princess Grand class ships are quite comparable to the M class ships, and their aft-facing Vista suites with a huge fully covered balcony are awesome and quite fairly priced. Not sure what you mean by cutting corners. But I will say Princess' Plus package for $60 pp/day is a much better deal than the Celebrity AI perk package which usually runs over $100 pp/day if you upgrade it to include the same services as offered in the Princess Plus package.

 

But I will also note, we have no issues with booking a cruise with either line (as you can see from my Live From threads in my Signature), as it really comes down to itineraries.

 

Grand Class ships have around 3,000 passengers and M Class has a little less than 2,000, so they are not comparable.  Princess has two ships similar in size to M in their coral class.  One, Island, they refitted with 10% more cabins and the other is the Coral.  I would consider the Coral and Club Class, IF I found an itinerary I liked and the price was competitive with M class and less than Azamara/Oceania.  

 

It was the food, worn out ships, tiny balconies, and getting rid of Explorers Lounge which really turned me away from Princess.  It would take a great deal to get me back.  

Edited August 15, 2023 by hubofhockey