Princess vs. Celebrity

[travellgirl]

We have been on 6 Celebrity cruises and have loved every one of them. We just saw an itinerary for Europe for next June on the Grand Princess. We are considering this because of the itinerary. Has anyone sailed on Princess? We did try RCCL once and liked it, and while the food and the room were both wonderful the service just wasn't the same. We just came back from Tahiti on the Paul Gaugin and it's hard to compare because that's a ship with only 320 passengers and it's just 19,000 tons. A completely different experience. I didn't post this on the Princess board because i would really like to hear what Celebrity cruisers have to say. Thanks.

[Host Anne]

travellgirl ~ I have sailed both lines, almost equally. We enjoy both lines as well. The thing I like about Celebrity better is that their ships are smaller. The Grand Princess is more than 20,000 tons bigger than the biggest Celebrity ship. Bigger ships mean more people and we just prefer the smaller ships whenever possible.

 

For us, the difference has often been the itinerary, the other passengers, crew members we've gotten to know, etc. The Sun-class ships are among our favorites. The Grand-class ship are not. BUT....that doesn't mean I wouldn't sail on them if the itinerary and price were right. We sailed the Golden Princess (sister to the Grand) in the Med four summers ago and it remains one of our all time best cruises. So it just depends on a number of factors.

 

I think Princess has far better perks for their loyalty programs. I like the food on both lines but I'm not that picky (Princess has far better pizza). We've had great crew on both lines.

 

Trying other line is often a good thing. If you notice differences between the two lines, I don't think they are big enough to impact your enjoyment. That said, we wouldn't hesitate to sail on either line. We've had great service and great cruises with both.

 

ENJOY!

[barbarah33]

That's a tough call to make - I can say that having been on several cruises on both lines. Of the lines I have sailed on: Celebrity, Carnival, NCL, RCCL and Princess, Celebrity is my favorite but Princess is a close second. I think you get more personalized service on Celebrity and the food is a bit better overall. You have more food variety on Princess - and more dining options.

 

I always cruise in suites and am Platinum with Princess and Elite - or is it select? (Which ever one is higher,) on Celebrity so I do feel that between those two things the staff does a great job of getting to know me and my wants and needs. Princess has the larger ships with a lot more to offer no matter what interests you yet I think Celebrity's ships are nicer - more elegant. Of course I write this as the reviews for the new Crown Princess are pouring in after it's first 2-day cruise to nowhere ever and everyone is saying she is much classier and refined than all the others - I am sailing on her in October.

 

I tend to cruise with a group of 6 people; all of whom I met on the Century 10 years ago and we have cruised together ever since. We got bored of the same itineraries Celebrity is offering so we switched to Princess last year - sailing on their Caribbean Princess and now we are all cruising Princess again; as I said the brand new Crown Princess, this fall. That's because we like the Caribbean so much and the Crown's itinerary offers some new ports for all of us. After 27 cruises I have seen and done the 'usuals' in the Caribbean so Dominica, Antigua and St. Kitts held a lot of appeal. Princess is also cheaper than Celebrity - not that any of us care about the money too much: it just means we spend more other places, but we are able to book two of us in suites - both last year and this year, for the price of one person on Celebrity. That's a big difference!

 

I saw the Grand while I was on my Mediterranean cruise but I did that one on the Legend of the Seas so I can't help out with the exact cruise you are looking at. If you do decide to sail with Princess just go into it knowing that the food will not be the same quality as the food on Celebrity but you will have more options! More specialty restaurants, more casual restaurants and they offer the traditional assigned dinner times or Personal Choice where you chose which dining room to eat in and when to eat - not to mention with whom.

 

If you have any specific questions I am happy to try and answer them - I know I kept things broad in here but I wanted to give you more of a 'general' idea of what to expect. No matter what you decide enjoy it - the Med is a great cruise! (Exhausting but wonderful.)

[catmand]

Hi there, what I post is just our opinion and you know what they say about that..:) Some of these things may or may not be important to us, or you, they are just differences we have noticed. Also, before I begin I need to mention, we would sail either line at anytime, love them both.

Princess pools and tubs are open 24/7 which is really nice for that "late night dip".....however, for some reason they insist on blasting music at the main pool area also 24/7, so find a quiet corner elsewhere.

Princess has more entertainment selections. There are usually two large venues going each night as well as several smaller ones. They have much newer films and the in room entertainment is "free"....with several channels of movies and decent entertainment. Last Princess cruise they had many of the American Film Institute Top 100 documentaries.

If taking less and doing a load of laundry is your thing, Princess offers self serve wash/dry/iron rooms on most every deck.

Princess offers traditional dining as well as "Anytime" so your day can be more flexible.

The buffet is open 24 hours.......although it's not as if you can't order room service on Celebrity.

I won't get into the things we find different on Celebrity. Princess provides a darn nice cruise experience. Try Golden, the Grand Class ships are truly grand, and why not branch out a little, especially if there is an itinerary that strikes your fancy.

[TeaBag]

:) We sailed on the Grand from Istantbul to Barcelona. Fabulous itinerary. We have cruised equally (3 times) on each line! We thought Celebrity had better food and Princess had better entertainment. However, we have not cruised since 99 so this may have changed. My "cruising" these days consists of reading this forum and looking at the various "Kroooz-cams"! Hope to replace this with some real cruising soon:D!

[Desertbelle]

I have sailed on the Star Princess and the Dawn Princess and I would say, as far as cruises go (you know "the Worse day on a cruise is still better than the best day at home" mentality) they were my least favorite cruises. Putting aside my huge problem with my last Princess cruise (old news) Princess is the only cruise line I have sailed where I felt that the crew were rude, distant and unhelpful. Plus, the food on Princess is mediocre at best.....I can't say I have ever had a great meal on a Princess cruise with the exception of one meal my sister and I had in one of the specialty dining rooms on the Star Princess.

 

I have had cruises on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, NCL, Carnival and Princess. My order of best to last, based on the things that are most important to us, would be Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, NCL and then Princess. I can't see myself booking another Princess cruise except perhaps to Tahiti some day, where they are about the only cruiseline there I can afford. :)

 

If Princess offers you the best itinerary and price then choose it, but if there are other choices, my advice would be to avoid Princess if possible.

[C 2 C]

We have cruised a whole bunch with Celebrity and ten times with Princess. Celebrity has provided cruises that offered better service and better dinners...and I like the formality of X better. No-one does pizza better than Princess... which is good because I was forced to depend on it more often because I did not like the alternatives.

 

Now if you plan to do a lot of cruising then pick Princess because the perks such as free internet is worth a lot over the long run. Celebrity offers very little for the frequent cruiser.

 

If the price is comparable I don't think you will regret cruising on Princess. I know I'll be there again. Both lines keep their faithful happy; both lines have created disgruntled pax that will cruise only other lines.

[julinue]

We have done 2 Celebrity and 2 Princess and I would say that the attention from Celebrity is much better.

I must own up to the fact that our first Princess cruise was on the Star - over the Christmas - New Year week. Who knew that EVERYONE cruises that week? All this time i thought people went to Grandma's!

What I found overwhelming was the sheer size of the Princess ships (Caribbean was our other cruise). I also agree that the staff aren't as service oriented in terms of being helpful and attentive.

I like the little things from Celebrity - like the stand at the end of the gangway with water and towels when you are returning from excursions.

 

We really like the size of the Celebrity ships. I suppose in fairness, we should try a smaller Princess. I just don't think we'll do it though!

[cruisingdelt]

We used Princess this year after 4 cruises on Celebrity. FOr the most part the Princess ships are newer and bigger. Princess has the edge in entertainment and Celebrity has a slight edge in food except for the buffet where I think Celebrity has a big edge. Celebrity also has a big edge in service. They seem like they are much more eager to serve you. I was surprised upon our Sapphire Princess embarkation that we were escorted to the elevator and then left on our own, I missed the champagne and escort to the room. All in all I would take Princess again, it has a much wider variety of itineries but would prefer Celebrity. I think you will enjoy either one.

[Ballwin Babe]

We've sailed several times on both, and like most of the other posters, we wouldn't turn down a cruise on either! They are both great cruise lines.

 

From my vantage point, Celebrity wins on dining room food and a sense of "warmth" with their service. Celebrity also wins for great pricing promotions when they want to move cabins! We've had some amazing deals from Celebrity and have one of those booked for this fall, as a matter of fact. Princess wins with their dining flexibility. Although we tended to head toward the dining room "around" the same time each evening, it was wonderful knowing that we had flexibility. As mentioned elsewhere, the Princess pizzerias are phenomonal...not just pizza but a variety of amazing Italian temptations.

 

We've found that the kids programs are both fine and the entertainment is OK on both as well. The last plus goes to Princess for laundry rooms. We do like packing light and tossing in a load of shorts and tee-shirts midweek! ;)

[OuiOnboard]

We've cruised both many times in the past....for all the reasons stated above...we will cruise them both, God willing, far into the future. Both are great cruise products....different high points....but variety is good.

.......................Oui

[mason525]

Another vote for both lines. I haven't sailed nearly as much as some of the previous posters, but I find there is a lot to love about both. I think the level of service better on Celebrity but some charmers on Princess too. Good luck!Meg

[Keith1010]

I would go with the itinerary.

 

Ironically in our case, we had sailed Celebrity six consecutive times in the 1990's. We always had enjoyed Celebrity. We then were searching for a particular itinerary and we chose the Grand Princess as it had the best itinerary that we were looking for at the time. We had a nice time on the cruise. We then decided to sail on some other ships to broaden our overall cruising experience.

 

I would recommend making your decision on the itinerary. Just like other things in life if you sail Princess you'll probably determine for yourself what you like better about Princess and what you like about Celebrity.

 

Keith

[woodofpine]

I've cruise Princess, X, HAL, Carnival (and Epirotiki... and Imperial Majesty)

 

For "elegance", Celeb is on its own amongst "mass market" lines. The service style fits in with that characterization. Celeb's ships are very nicely decorated in keeping with that (although I think that Princess' crew work harder with more resources to maintain theirs day to day, week to week). Celeb's dining rooms are far more impressive than Princess; Celebs food carries a bit fancier rep.

 

But Princess remains a favorite of mine too. The pools and chipper crew style are nice. I have stronger positive memories of service staff (simply because they tend to be more gregarious on Princess). And, there's service in the sense of "bring me a drink, please" and crumbing the table, and there's another kind. Taking an amputee family member to the Med in '03, we had to ship and lug a Hoyer lift to and fro Barcelona and Venice which was like a boxed refrigerator in size.

 

Princess had a crewman meet us at the hotel in Barcelona with an extra vehicle to do transit of this monster (likewise Venice) - all with a smile and a "no problem" attitude. Unfortunately, when faced with extra-ordinary service issues with X, I've been seriously disappointed.

 

They're both excellent lines. If you go with a bit more casual down graded expectation of things with Princess, you'll have a very pleasant and pleasing experience.

[thepeacha]

Celebrity over Princess, hands down... did a holiday sail on Diamond Princess from Singapore to Sydney in Dec/ Jan this year and I was quite ready to get off the ship at the end! We chose because of the amazing itinerary but found ourselves handicapped on such a large ship in such non- cruise- oriented ports, it was a nightmare at times. The staff were efficient but grim, there was almost a mutinous undertone. I am appalled at how Carnivalized the ship was, our last Princess cruise was prior to Carnival buying them up and the difference was not to my liking. I will be sailing the Med with X this fall and cannot wait to fix the lingering bad feelings from the Diamond experience.

So for elegance, staff, dining, activities, amenities- you name it!- I prefer Celebrity.

[m steve]

Having cruised on each line twice as well as others I think X is a step above P. CC class cabin was about same price as mini suite of P , couch, balcony more room but P had a bath tub so shower was large as well as entire bathroom. Closet space, bed and stoare equal. Big shows were about the same but X theatre better. Food and service better on X and they have a real wine steward. Liked the dinner music on X. Drinks were more expensive on X but they seemed to pour a bigger shot. Preferred the CC full bfst on the balcony and liked the canapes late in the day delivered to the room. There was a name card in the room for the steward which was nice rather than a passenger name on the door as on P. On board shops were about equal as was the casinos. The coffee on X was drinkable vs. the syrup blend on P. Towels and room ammentites better on X.

I will still choose based on itinereries with the nod to X if they are close.

[Druke I]

Only once on Celebrity, the Mercury, and some 17 or so times on Princess (not counting forebear P&O & Sitmar).

 

We thought food and its presentation in main dining slightly better on Celebrity, but think food in Lido better on Princess.

 

Mercury very comparable to Sun class ships in the Princess fleet. We think production shows on Princess more polished than Celebrity, but that is of course a very subjective opinion.

 

Princess, with many more ships, has a much greater variety of itineraries, which is our main "draw" when looking at a cruise.

 

Isn't it wonderful we have so many choices?

[superjerryw]

I have sailed numerous times on Celebrity, Princess and Royal Caribbean. Most recently we sailed on the Golden Princess which is a sister ship of the Grand Princess (been on that one too). Overall, the service is a little bit better on Celebrity and the basic cabin size a little larger. Having said that, I am the type of person that would choose the itinerary over the ship. If the Grand Princess has the itinerary that you want, go for it. Your memories years from now will be of the ports you visited, not some minor differences in cruise lines. There is no reason you would not have a great time on the Princess cruise. Here is what I wrote comparing my recent cruise on the Golden Princess to Royal Caribbean -

 

I Was A Traitor And Loved It

I was a traitor and I loved it. We just did a 7 day repo cruise on the Grand Princess from San Juan to Brooklyn and I have to report that Princess is equal to RCI. As far as the size of the ship goes, the Grand Princess would be equivalent to the Radiance class.

 

Cabin – we had an outside cabin that was nicely appointed but seemed to be rather small. I seem to remember most of our RCI cabins having a small sofa but you simply could not fit one in our cabin on the Grand Princess. In addition, the closet lacked doors and the bathroom was rather small as well. Definite edge to RCI.

 

Food – Dinner - The Grand has three separate dining rooms as opposed to one multi-level dining room. The service provided by the dining room staff was equal to that on RCI. As for the food; appetizers, soups, salads and entrees were about the same. I found the meat dishes about the same as RCI. My wife ordered fish each night and she said the fish was better than on RCI, being more moist and flavorful. Deserts were generally better on the Grand with New York style cheesecake and their special Love Boat desert (a thick chocolate mousse type cake) available every night. There was also a much larger selection of ice cream flavors each night along with a different plate of assorted cookies almost every night. A basket of bread was placed on the table each night in contrast to our last RCI trip on the Jewel where bread was given out on request by the asst. waiter. As far as dinner in the dining room is concerned I would have to give a slight edge to Princess.

 

Food – Lunch – On my last few RCI cruises I have found the Windjammer lacking at lunch time. I frequently looked at the food and don’t see anything I really wanted and ended up going to the grill for a burger. The buffet on Grand Princess is called the Horizon Court. It had a nice variety of food and I found something to my liking each day so I never had the need to sample the hamburgers. Slight edge to Princess

 

Food – Dinner – Buffet – We normally eat dinner in the dining room, but we always walk up to the buffet afterwards to see what they have so we have a general idea of what’s served in case we decide to eat there one night. (Actually, we're pigs and we go to the buffet after dinner to see if they have any different deserts....:D ) The Horizon Court seemed to have a more interesting selection of food compared to the Windjammer including a chocolate desert buffet one night. Slight edge to Princess.

 

Gym – the gym on Grand Princess is too small for a ship of that size and lacks sufficient equipment. In addition, the space allocated to the equipment is cramped and the machines are all jammed one next to the other. Edge – RCI.

 

Entertainment – Production shows were equal to RCI as were the headline entertainers. The significant difference is that you can attend two shows most nights on Princess. In addition to the main show in the theatre, there is usually another show in one of the lounges. I’m not talking about a special late show by a comedian for adults only, but a comedian or singer or hypnotist giving a show for anyone that wants to attend once or twice that night. Slight edge to Princess.

 

Swimming Pools – the Grand Princess has 4 pools, one of which in the aft part of the ship is limited to adults. I think the forward pool may also be limited to adults but I’m not sure. The two main pools seemed to be a better idea than the single main pool found on many RCI ships. One of the main pools also has a retractable roof. Slight edge to Princess.

 

Misc. – The cabin steward continually provided packages of shampoo, conditioner and body lotion as opposed to that glop in the dispenser on RCI ships. The future cruise consultant is only available on a first come, first serve basis as opposed to RCI where you can make an appointment. The video arcade is huge, with a wide selection of video games.

 

Overall, we had a great time on the Grand Princess. I have sailed with Princess in the past, but had not done so for a few years. I would not hesitate to cross over again. To be honest, I’m sick of going to Florida to get on a ship so the cruise line that has the best offerings from the New York area is the one that is going to get my business.

__________________

[atb]

We have sailed Celebrity, Princess and Crystal.

To me - any day at sea is better than a day at home.

That being said - my DH would probably never go on a Princess Cruise again because of the way they handled a luggage problem.

But he was the one at formal night in sneakers, pants, and a button down shirt - no jacket / tie - etc - as our luggage toured New York in the Princess bus.

The food is good - I especially liked the soufles on Princess. But I am not a foodie.

We look at itineraries - and we both love our sea days - so we are booking mostly TAs -

[donnaw]

Travellgirl,

 

Behind on a deadline but the reveiw links below on both Princess and X cruises do a lot of detailed comparisons. We would do either but not everyone feels that way!

[CGTNORMANDIE]

PRINCESS has a lot of nice things going for it...the Grand Class ships are nice and offer a lot to do...more activities than Celeb. However...Celebrity is nicer...most of the time. Princess is really mass market and Celebrity is on the fringe but still manages to offer a better product...just my opinion.

 

FOOD: My experiences on Grand Class ships leave me a bit cool towards Princess. They did not know how to cook roasts. The souffles were like cement. Any time dining produced mediocre service with waiters who did not care...until you could find a good wait team. The pools were great but the music was so loud you could not enjoy it. The cafe was just mediocre...I like Celebrity quality much better. The pizza is also mediocre by Boston/New York standards. The Italian food was strictly Olive Garden.

The best meal was in the Sterling Steak House...a great dinner...too bad they did not put it in a room with atmosphere. The Italian specialty restaurant was strictly Olive Garden...don't even bother. All that being said...I would highly recommend a CARIBBEAN PRINCESS 7 day cruise for newbies. It has a lot to offer and is a great place to start cruising...especially for the price...it is a very good deal...the Mini Suite has to be one of the best deals out there for a 7 day cruise when the price is right. A Princess cruise is like a "one size fits all" type of cruise...there is something for everyone but nothing certain for everyone.

 

Good service is a big factor with me. There is a big difference between perfunctory and gracious. Celebrity offers better service...most of the time...and certainly has higher food quality...most of the time...lol. A Celebrity Cruise on a Millennium Class ship is like a stay in a classic mansion...most of the time...lol.

 

ROSS

[travellgirl]

Thanks to all of you. It's true, it's good to compare. We really like Celebrity so much that we tend to go with their itineraries. That being said, my husband found a RCCL with an itinerary we seem to like better than the Princess. We did the Millennium Mediterranean last year and i would do it again in a hearbeat, but this Navigator of the Seas has a few different and interesting places on it. We had been on Adventure of the Seas and while it was not my favorite, I can't even think of a major complaint. The food was wonderful, our cabin was spacious, the ship was beautiful, a little big, but was easy to navigate. This is a 14 night European cruise during the school year so there will not be many children I would imagine. The service was not Celebrity, but it was certainly fine. We looking at the Australia cruise for 2008 so we will be back on Celebrity then.

Thanks again for everyone's thoughts. This board has always been a wealth of information and ideas.

[Ridget]

Whether you like Celebrity or Princess is a matter of what your personal preferences are. We like food so we sailed Celebrity for the first time last July. I'm here to tell you (in our opinion) that Celebrity is head and shoulder better than Princess when it comes to food. Princess has changed over the years. Seems to have become more of a people mover to us.

[caviargal]

Whether you like Celebrity or Princess is a matter of what your personal preferences are. We like food so we sailed Celebrity for the first time last July. I'm here to tell you (in our opinion) that Celebrity is head and shoulder better than Princess when it comes to food. Princess has changed over the years. Seems to have become more of a people mover to us.

 

Hi Ridget. I saw Song of America in your post. She is one of my all time favorite ships!