Is Princess better than Celebrity?

[terrierjohn]

Just enjoyed our first cruise on Celebrity Millennium and now, as promised I need to compare it with Princess & P&O, our last three cruises. Difficult choice as each one has its plus points. For service I think Celebrity just has the edge, on food again I would give Celebrity the top ranking, as regards ship décor and style then probably Princess gets top marks mainly because of the Atrium, when it comes to ease of getting around the ship then Princess is well out on top, for friendliness of the staff I would give this to P&O, but as that cruise was 14 days you do get to know the staff better.

As regards negatives, for Celebrity it has to be those so called art photos along all the corridors, we had a large photo of a run down warehouse outside our cabin, on Arcadia it has to be the interior design, a bit like Hampton Court maze, as regards Princess it has to be the shower curtains.

Is there an overall winner, possibly Princess by a nose because of anytime dining but we have enjoyed traditional on our last two cruises, and it will also be traditional on our upcoming Tahitian Princess cruise. Final verdict dead heat Princess and Celebrity, but I would be happy to sail Arcadia again if the price was right.

 

Link to my review of Millennium:- http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=26631

[Toto2Kansas]

We sailed on Celebrity twice (once being on the Millennium). Didn't care for it on either ship. The decor of the ships wasn't what we expected, and neither was the food. We were very disappointed so came back to Princess.

 

It was back during our phase of trying each line (at least twice) to see which one fit us the best.

[Coral]

We sailed on Celebrity twice (once being on the Millennium). Didn't care for it on either ship. The decor of the ships wasn't what we expected, and neither was the food. We were very disappointed so came back to Princess.

 

It was back during our phase of trying each line (at least twice) to see which one fit us the best.

 

Likewise. I sailed on the Millennium. The hype about the food and ship didn't live up to my experiences on Princess.

 

We all have choices when we cruise and IMO, my Celebrity experience was inferior to my Princess experiences. Everyone has their own experiences.

[woodofpine]

on what you like...

 

They're both good lines. X does some things very nicely and is held in very high esteem by the persnickity (except when its not) and Princess does some things very nicely and is held in very high esteem by the gregarious (except when its not).

 

It's all about attitude... the passengers'...

[mr green]

I have only cruised Celebrity once, and I considered the line to be grossly overrated. The line may have been good once, but I did not enjoy it, in fact had it been my first cruise, I doubt that I would have cruised again!

 

john

[jff50]

It is for me.

[Druke I]

Only one cruise with Celebrity, on Mercury. I was not overly impressed.

 

Princess has, I think, the best variety of itineraries, particularly their "exotics".

[cruzinchris]

I have only cruised Celebrity once, and I considered the line to be grossly overrated. john

 

Ditto.

 

Chris

[dulcineahong]

I've cruised before on Celebrity Century and am ready for an upcoming cruise on Princess.

 

Celebrity was my first cruise and left positive feeling which spurred me on to cruise more. It does have good service and the food is quite good. Surprising for ship food.

 

DH and I had a tough time choosing between Celebrity and PCL for my upcoming cruise but went with PCL 'cus:

 

1. it was a new ship - the Emerald

2. self service laundry

3. anytime dining

4. affordable balcony cabin - same cost as the OV on Celebrity Millenium!

5. more entertainment choices

 

Great food personally is not a huge deal for us because we don't want to stuff ourselves silly if the food is too good!

 

Hope that helps!

[PescadoAmarillo]

We love Princess (9 cruises) and Celebrity (10th cruise coming up) both. They are very different cruise lines. Princess is more cruiser-friendly, offering flexibility and better itineraries. Celebrity is more elegant and formal, and we've always had superb food and service on a Celebrity cruise. I would rate the ships about equal.

 

We are Elite status on both lines, but I know for certain that on our upcoming cruise, I will miss free internet, free laundry (in fact, a self serve laundry), and the mini bar setup. On the other hand, we were only greeted with a "good evening" about half the time when we entered the Anytime dining room recently on the Sun. I KNOW that we will be greeted, sometimes by name, by every single crew and staff member we pass on Celebrity...there is that much difference in culture and attitude.

 

It amuses me sometimes that people want the traditional dining and formal cruise experience on a Princess cruise, but are adverse to trying Celebrity. Celebrity is a far more formal and traditional cruise experience...Princess is more like Royal Caribbean (5 cruises on them for us).

[rebeccalouise]

Everyone has an opinion. Some people value itinerary and price over substance. I think that is the case with many of the Princess passengers. They feel that they get a good deal on the cabins are more interested in the ports. There is nothing wrong with that.

 

For me, I spent 14 days on Millenium. Six sea days in a row. When we finally got to Lisbon I, of course, got off the ship. I returned two hours later, went to my favorite bartender by the pool and said "I don't like the real world". I like the ship way better. For me the ship is the destination.

 

We are giving Radiance of the Seas a try this Easter and I will let you know how Radiance (the same hull as Millenium) compares.

[Nanatravel]

As mentioned before, we all have opinions. I have never been on a cruise nor a ship that I didn't like. Each line has good and not so good features but nothing that I would cause me to not recommend a cruise line nor newer class ship.

 

Balcony Cabin Size = Celebrity but biggest = Carnival

Dining Room Food & Service = Celebrity

Buffet Food = Princess 24 hr. availability

Entertainment = Princess

Value= Celebrity (Elite gives good past guest $)

Itinerary = for Med - it was a toss up. Choose Emerald Princess vs. Millennium because she offered the majority of ports we want on a One-Way cruise and we have cruised on Millie twice already.

Dining Options = Princess Anytime and 24 hr. buffet - trying this for the 1st time. I think it will work out well for Europe and the late time in port.

Entertainment & Activities = Princess with MUTS, multiple Pools and Enrichment classes at Sea. I hope they have Scrapbooking.

 

Bon Voyage

[Coral]

Some people value itinerary and price over substance. I think that is the case with many of the Princess passengers. They feel that they get a good deal on the cabins are more interested in the ports. There is nothing wrong with that.

 

For myself and several of my friends (and I assume many people on this board) - we would pay more money to be on a Princess ship compared to a Celebrity ship. We believe the Princess experience has more substance compared to the Celebrity experience. Thus, we sail Princess over Celebrity. It has nothing to do with costs. It is preference.

[cruzinchris]

For myself and several of my friends (and I assume many people on this board) - we would pay more money to be on a Princess ship compared to a Celebrity ship. We believe the Princess experience has more substance compared to the Celebrity experience. Thus, we sail Princess over Celebrity. It has nothing to do with costs. It is preference.

 

In total agreement with this statement, too. Ditto.

Chris

[Toto2Kansas]

For myself and several of my friends (and I assume many people on this board) - we would pay more money to be on a Princess ship compared to a Celebrity ship. We believe the Princess experience has more substance compared to the Celebrity experience. Thus, we sail Princess over Celebrity. It has nothing to do with costs. It is preference.

 

Yep, Exactly correct!

[mafig]

Much prefer Princess.

 

I thought the entire experience on Celebrity was over-rated.

 

I was bored with the food by the end of 10 days.

 

Entertainment was amateurish.

 

There's not one ship Celebrity has now that I would want to sail on. The M-class is unreliable because of pod problems that they can't/won't fix. The others are old and boring.

 

Would I sail Celebrity in the future? Perhaps, when their new ships come out. Right now, they are the only line that I have no interest in sailing again.

[luvthis]

I had to chuckle when I read all these posts. If you booked this pole on the Celebrity board you would probably get the reverse answers. Ha! We've sailed Celebrity 2 times within the last 5 years and are now going on the Sun Princess for our 8th voyage on Princess. The last Princess voyage was in 1997 so I'm sure things have really changed since then.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the food and the dining on Celebrity. The shows were entertaining and the activities on board easy to watch or get involved in. Great fun.

 

Bottom line, I think Princess & Celebrity are on a par basis. Celebrity's advertising tries to make it sound upscale while Princess's advertising tries to seem more relaxed and pampered. I can hardly wait to give Princess a try again. We have very fond memories of our past voyages with Princess...but we also have very fond memories of our past voyages with Celebrity.

 

So, the teeter-tauter goes up and goes down. These two lines may just plain balance the board. Ha!

 

--Jean

[readytogo2]

My first cruise was on the Mercury/Celebrity. Thats when we got so hooked on cruising. I do feel it is a notch up compared to Princess, in all respects. I really like the fact that the TV's are interactive on Celebrity ( I think Princess is a bit behind the times), it's nice to check your shipboard account instead of going to the Pursers desk.

When we cruise we go according to out pocketbook, so in that respect, I will most likely always pick Princess over Celebrity:D

[PescadoAmarillo]

We are giving Radiance of the Seas a try this Easter and I will let you know how Radiance (the same hull as Millenium) compares.

 

Lucky you!!! The Radiance class are my favorite ships. If you could combine a Radiance class ship with Celebrity food and service on a Princess Exotic itinerary with anytime dining, freshwater pools, self serve laundry and a 24 hour buffet...PERFECTION!

[Coral]

I had to chuckle when I read all these posts. If you booked this pole on the Celebrity board you would probably get the reverse answers. Ha!

 

You are absolutely right. And if you go to the Disney board, or the HAL board, those cruisers on those boards probably prefer those particular lines also!

 

And if you hit the Hilton, Radisson, Hyatt, Sheraton, Marriott boards on other websites, I bet the majority of those people have a preference also.

[Toto2Kansas]

I had to chuckle when I read all these posts. If you booked this pole on the Celebrity board you would probably get the reverse answers. Ha!

--Jean

 

Oh, you most definitely would. But the fact that some of us have tried X and found that it wasn't to our liking is why we stick with Princess. We were so sure our first Celebrity cruise was just a fluke when we found that it was not as good (in our minds) as Princess, that we tried it a second time, thinking it would get better. It was actually worse then the first time around. :(

 

I know we were all excited to try X and couldn't wait. Afterwards we kept saying "should have booked with Princess", as after all the build up from those on the Celebrity boards gave this line, we were definitely disappointed. But of coarse, that is just our view on it.

[PescadoAmarillo]

If you booked this pole on the Celebrity board you would probably get the reverse answers.

 

Kind of, but they are a little more open minded. Regardless of which cruise line one prefers, it's hard to dispute that Princess has the best itineraries, and Celebrity the most bizarre artwork.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=9432278#post9432278

[catmand]

Score so far..........Princess 3 Celebrity 3, we have enjoyed each day of each cruise and have yet to wish we were on the other line.

The only thing that is a for sure "better" for me are the desserts that Princess serves in the buffet and the free in-room entertainment.

Chuck

[southnevada]

They are pretty much the same in food, cabins and service. RCL and Princess or more fun.

 

Fair Princess 1994

Regal Princess 1995

Crown Princess 1995

Song of America 1997

Sun Princess 1997

Song of America 1998

Crown Princess 1998

Sea Princess 1999

Rhapsody of the Seas 1999

Ocean Princess 2000

Sea Princess 2000

Rhapsody of the Seas 2001

Radiance of the Seas 2001

Mercury 2001

Sea Princess 2002

Radiance of the Seas 2002

Splendor of the Seas 2003

Mercury 2004

Serenade of the Seas 2005

Grand Princess 2006

Radiance of the Seas 2006