Which One is Better ? Celebrity Century or Princess Star

[Michelle326]

We are planning to the trip to Scandinavia & Russia in this Aug, anyone can tell me which ship is better ? Celebrity Century or Princess Star ? Or what is their difference ?

[Fblack]

I have been on the Star Princess and the Mercury. But not on the remodeled Century. They are two vastly different ships. While I like Celebrity a lot, the Star is a much newer ship and has more space and balconies and a very nice indoor pool area for cooler weather. It may just come down to itinerary.

[Rev22:17]

Michelle326,

 

We are planning to the trip to Scandinavia & Russia in this Aug, anyone can tell me which ship is better ? Celebrity Century or Princess Star ? Or what is their difference ?

 

I would opt for MV Century over MV Star Princess without thinking twice about the decision for two reasons.

 

>> 1. My fourth cruise was aboard MV Grand Princess, which is a sister to MV Star Princess, and I was less than impressed with her overall layout. After twenty-two cruises, it remains the most dysfunctional layout of a cruise ship that I have ever seen. The minor changes incorporated into sisters MV Golden Princess and MV Star Princess did not begin to address the problems. It would take either a special event (friend's wedding, company function, etc.) or a phenomenal deal on a truly extraordinary itinerary to get me to consider another cruise on any of these ships or on any vessels of either the Diamond Princess class or the Caribbean Princess class, which really have the same basic layout.

 

>> 2. Princess was a very good match for my style back in the late 1990's, but the line introduced several changes at the advent of the millennium that made it a poor match for me. In particular, the line's "personal choice cruising" advertising campaign and its decision to drop "semiformal" evenings before any of the other major lines did so brought a very different, and much more arrogant, element of the population onboard. The "formal" evenings lost their ambiance because a significant fraction of the passengers disregarded dress codes and the line did not attempt to enforce them, and "Traditional Dining" often had very long wait lists (about five hundred for first seating on my dad's last Princess cruise) but the line did nothing to accommodate them.

 

Of course, with regard to the second point, YMMV. The "Celebrity Cruises" brand (not to be confused with the "Celebrity Expeditions brand) still maintains the tradition of holding "informal" evenings in addition to "formal" evenings, so only about half of the evenings on a typical "Celebrity Cruises" cruise admit "casual" attire, and nearly all of Celebrity's passengers do adhere to the prescribed dress codes. If you don't want to dress up for the evening when you are on vacation, another line would be a better choice.

 

Norm.

[mrmac]

I have been on both Mercury, sister to the Century, and Star Princess twice each. While we love the Mercury, Star Princess is a far superior ship in accomodations, facilities, entertainment choices and pools. It's a big ship with a small ship feel becuase of so many different spaces to escape to. $ and itinerary being equal and going to northern Europe I would choose the Star in a heartbeat.

[Tatka]

Tough choice! Century and Grand Class of Princess are my two favourite ships.

 

For this specific cruise I'd pick Star, because in colder weather inside pool might be a better option. Plus pools on Princess are open much longer, so you can actually find a time to swim. ;)

 

Overall IMHO Celebrity beats Princess in more refined service, although we got great service on Princess.

 

Princess beats Celebrity in overall entertainment. More options. Although on this port intensive itinerary this might be not that important.

 

Anytime dining (Princess) could be also a better option over traditional. Enjoyed food on both lines with a slight advantage to Celebrity in DR and Princess in buffets.

 

All in all either cruise should be great. Good luck!

[Wilcoam]

I have not been on the Century, but have been on both Star and Galaxy. I love X, but the Star is a wonderful wonderful ship. I enjoyed it more than both thre millie, connie, and galaxy.

 

Dare I say, if you're older, looking for better service, a more refined cruise, stick with the Century, but if you're younger, looking for a more casual vacation, with longer hot tub n pool hours, 24 hrs buffet/food, uncovered balconies, a much much newer ship with excellelant amenities, the Star is really hard to beat.

 

jc

toronto

[rebeccalouise]

I sailed on Sapphire Princess, which is almost exactly like the Star. I beg to differ. I prefer the layout, service and food on Celebrity way more than Princess and I'm 42. I feel like every crew member smiles and tried to make you feel welcome on Celebrity. Unlike Princess where I felt like they couldn't care less.

The Princess ships are pretty but not functional. I hate the little diningrooms, the anytime dining, etc. I never felt like there was a center of activity. The pools are compartmentalized, there are deadends everywhere. The buffet was horrible. There are no free refreshing drinks by day- just coffee and tea.

Nope- I wouldn't say I preferred it over the Millenium Class ships.

[rebeccalouise]

I have not sailed Century yet but I have sailed Galaxy, Constellation and Millenium and I am sure that you will get the same quality of food and service on Century.

Whatever you decide- have a fantastic trip.

[Tatka]

I sailed on Sapphire Princess, which is almost exactly like the Star. I beg to differ. I prefer the layout, service and food on Celebrity way more than Princess and I'm 42. I feel like every crew member smiles and tried to make you feel welcome on Celebrity. Unlike Princess where I felt like they couldn't care less.

 

Ja beg to differ. We sailed on Caribbean Princess and got excellent service. Yes, on X it's even better, but in no way it was bad on Princess.

 

We got greeting message on our phone and our steward always called us Mr and Mrs. XXX. Everywhere else it was wonderful too. So, besides greeting with shampagne, carrying trays in buffet and hot/cold towels there was no significal difference.

 

The Princess ships are pretty but not functional. I hate the little diningrooms, the anytime dining, etc. I never felt like there was a center of activity. The pools are compartmentalized, there are deadends everywhere. The buffet was horrible. There are no free refreshing drinks by day- just coffee and tea.

Nope- I wouldn't say I preferred it over the Millenium Class ships.

 

We loved anytime dining. They not that small, but very cozy, and you can dine in different location with different views. On Celebrity we usually are stuck between food preparation station when request table for 2-4.

 

If anything.. Grand Class of Princess beats every other cruise lines and ships with their pools. so many choices and cozy places. 2 adult only areas (greatly enforced!!!) And pools are open until midnight.. Something to consider on portintensive itinerary.

 

Princess didn't have anything besides coffe and tea.. but buffets are wonderful.. and seafood buffets (yummy!). Buffets are also open much later in the day and night.:)

[junglejane]

As you can tell from the responses so far, people tend to have strongly held opinions about their favorite cruise line. I happen to like both Princess and Celebrity quite a lot, but feel they have different strengths. Princess has better and more entertainment options, but it's not a party ship by any means. Celebrity has a more traditional feel, slightly more upscale, and you will see better compliance with the dress code. I also prefer the food on Celebrity. Like Rebeccalouise, I thought the buffet on Princess was poor, but unlike her I like the Anytime Dining concept.

 

I beg to differ with Norm about the layout of the Grand class Princess ships. While I prefer the layout of the Celebrity M-class ships, I would in no way call the Grand class ships "dysfunctional." My 10 year old had no trouble figuring out the deck plan on the Diamond Princess and knew exactly where everything was and how to get from Point A to Point B. You just have to remember that one dining room is accessed by the aft elevators, and the others by the midship elevators.

 

And I'm not sure I understand Norm's oft repeated claim that "In particular, the line's 'personal choice cruising' advertising campaign and its decision to drop 'semiformal' evenings before any of the other major lines did so brought a very different, and much more arrogant, element of the population onboard." Does "very different, and much more arrogant" refer to people who disregard the dress code? If so, then Norm's probably right. But if "much more arrogant" means people who think they're better than their fellow cruisers, then I think there are just as many of those on Celebrity.

 

To the OP, first look at the itinerary. Then ask yourself how important are considerations of ship size and amenities, food quality, entertainment options, dress code compliance, etc., to help you decide. But once you board your cruise, resolve to enjoy yourself (even if you spot a pair of jeans in the dining room) and I'm sure you will.

 

--Junglejane

[Tatka]

As you can tell from the responses so far, people tend to have strongly held opinions about their favorite cruise line. I happen to like both Princess and Celebrity quite a lot, but feel they have different strengths. Princess has better and more entertainment options, but it's not a party ship by any means. Celebrity has a more traditional feel, slightly more upscale, and you will see better compliance with the dress code. I also prefer the food on Celebrity. Like Rebeccalouise, I thought the buffet on Princess was poor, but unlike her I like the Anytime Dining concept.

 

I completely agree with you. (except we had wonderful buffet on Caribbean.. and those Alaskan crab legs, split in halves).

 

During the last cruise I was again sooo impressed with service on Century. Almost felt like too much. I am 35 and usually got 2-3-4 offers to help me with my tray in buffet. It's nice but not necessarily.

 

However I really missed pools and hot tubs opened late at night (and would miss even more in Europe) and nice lounges with entertainment.

[junglejane]

I completely agree with you. (except we had wonderful buffet on Caribbean.. and those Alaskan crab legs, split in halves).

 

I do remember the buffet on the Caribbean Princess as being pretty good, and the addition of Cafe Caribe was nice. I just recently came off the Diamond Princess, though, and thought that buffet was quite disappointing, which has definitely colored my opinion. But that didn't stop me from booking a cruise on the Golden Princess, so I'll have another chance to check out a Princess buffet!:)

 

--Junglejane

[Tatka]

I do remember the buffet on the Caribbean Princess as being pretty good, and the addition of Cafe Caribe was nice. I just recently came off the Diamond Princess, though, and thought that buffet was quite disappointing, which has definitely colored my opinion. But that didn't stop me from booking a cruise on the Golden Princess, so I'll have another chance to check out a Princess buffet!:)

 

--Junglejane

 

Thank you!

 

It's good to know. We will adjust our expectation for our next Princess cruise. :)

 

IMHO, cruise ships and cruises differ from one to another even within the same line (even the same ship during different sailings). People, who sailed with us on Mercury 2 years ago and had a great experience, just returned from quiet disappointing cruise on her. :(

[karlm]

Dear Michelle326.

My wife and I had the same dilemma last year. Both advertised prices were very good. We decided to go with Century because:

1. The new fit out.

2. Princess was charging extra for the shuttle into town which we thought was a bit rude.

3. Century travels all the way into Stockholm, where Princess stops quite a long way out (60 minutes by bus)

Overall we were impressed by Century. The new fit out is lovely; certainly much nicer than the older ships cruising the south Pacific that we are used to. The ports are fascinating. The crew were fantastic.

Our only problem with Century was that we felt they were always trying to trick you into paying out money. For example, it was the first ship we had been on that had no self service laundry - making it compulsory to use a very expensive laundry service. They also changed their policy since we booked and introduced a shuttle bus fee.

I'd forgotten the shuttle bus fee! When you first get on-board they will push you very hard to pre-book the shuttle bus for all ports (saying it saves time). They outright lied and said it is impossible to walk into town, saying the shuttle bus into Copenhagen is 20 minutes each way. I had a map and soon worked out the distance to be 1.5 miles. My wife and I walked it in 20 minutes and had a wonderful time as many attractions (eg the little mermaid) are on the walking route. The other passengers were angry when they found out that the shuttle was not necessary as the pre-booked shuttle bus tickets were non refundable. You will need to book a tour or use the shuttle in St Petersburg and Helsinki. Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn and Oslo are easy walking distance.

We took Century tours in St Petersburg. They were great and much simpler than organising visas from Australia.

Cruising was by far the most efficient manner to get around the Baltic. To see what we saw in just 12 days was amazing. Our fellow passengers (mostly Americans, Canadians and an unusually large group on Gibraltans) were friendly, respectful, entertaining and thoroughly charming.

We hope you have a wonderful holiday (know you will!!!).

[DancerOT]

I will say first off, that I think Century is a beautiful ship and as you can tell I love sailing on her. We went on a Princess cruise a few years ago and while I did have a good time (I was away...nuff said), I found that customer service on the ship lacked in many ways (our waiter on the other hand was excellent - but very overworked).

 

I will now give you the same advice that people gave me when my family was looking at Carnival vs. Celebrity for a European cruise for next year. Look at many different things including:

1. Itinerary - which ports are you more interested in going to, how many hours in each port does each ship offer, where do they dock

2. Ship - size, passenger to crew ratio, amenities on each ship, review of each ship recently

3. Price - is one more expensive than the other, dates - airfare prices, before and after stays

 

Whatever you decide have an excellent trip. I am sure both would be wonderful options!

[hcat]

Have not been on any Princess ship but was on Century in April to the carib & will return for a Medit cruise in Sept. We had a very enjoyable time . The service & food were excellent, esp Muranos restaurant. Music was good to very good, shows OK. But this is still an older ship, spruced up in some parts-- like cabins with flat screens etc but no T pool or any indoor pool & the free sauna was a tiny little closet. Soe deck flow is odd & requires going up & down stairways to get to there from here! For Europe we think it is fine but would not do another carib itin on her--we like our pools more modern & more of them...

[caviargal]

I have not sailed Century yet but I have sailed Galaxy, Constellation and Millenium and I am sure that you will get the same quality of food and service on Century.

 

That was not my recent experience. Food quality and service in the dining room was not up to any of my previous X cruises.

 

And the onboard ambiance and demographic was decidedly different.