Princess vs. Celebrity

[Cruise Junky]

We've cruised both and have come back to Princess. Celebrity was a good cruise, but certainly not what it is cracked up to be here. This is the only cruise we've ever been on where dessert was disgusting. Red hot creme brulee...YUCK!!! The food was so, so. Now that Celebrity doesn't let you discount, Princess wins hands down. Their itinerary's are far better. The POD problems alone would keep me away from Celebrity unless you like playing vacation roulette. Never encountered the "Smell" that previous poster claims to.

 

Don't get me wrong, Celebrity was good, but certainly didn't hold up to expectations from the ravings of this board.

[ldoc31]

I do not need to be lectured on my response.

 

I'm sure that the OP did not like you saying that the question was ridiculous either.

[SoCalGal]

Thank you all for your responses to my question. However, I still haven't heard from anyone that has actually sailed on the Royal Princess. I personally LOVE Celebrity and her ships, but I'm not afraid to switch to another cruiseline if I see a better itinerary than Celebrity offers. I don't think it is ridiculous to hear from folks that have sailed both lines and especially those that have sailed on the Royal and the Summit or one of Summit's sister ships.

[mikjr]

I do not need to be lectured on my response.

 

Oh Please... no one is lecturing you on your response... I'm just trying to figure out why the loyalty to Princess over another... and some responses keep skirting the issue by saying... "it's personal taste" In reading the responses on this post, many like Princess, but there seems to be a leaning of positive opinion towards Celebrity, for whatever reason.

 

In fact, I spoke with several people on our last Princess cruise, and many cruisers that have tried both, Celebrity and Princess, ALL said the same thing... Celebrity was better in one way or another.

 

Personally I really like Princess, but I like Celebrity better...

 

You say personal taste?? Call it whatever you want... better is better!

[mikjr]

I personally LOVE Celebrity and her ships, but I'm not afraid to switch to another cruiseline if I see a better itinerary than Celebrity offers.

 

Lately, the cruises we take have been ITINERARY driven... If I like the itinerary and the port it leave from, that can become a deciding factor.

 

And, I really don't care what cruiseline it is... except Carnival that is!!

[Cruise Junky]

Thank you all for your responses to my question. However, I still haven't heard from anyone that has actually sailed on the Royal Princess. I personally LOVE Celebrity and her ships, but I'm not afraid to switch to another cruiseline if I see a better itinerary than Celebrity offers. I don't think it is ridiculous to hear from folks that have sailed both lines and especially those that have sailed on the Royal and the Summit or one of Summit's sister ships.

 

Keep in mind, Royal is so new, it might be hard to find someone that's done both. I really don't think you can go wrong either day. Go by the itinerary.

[watersprite]

We are from Studio City, CA and love Celebrity. we just had to have the Princess itinerary for our Feb 2008 Australia New Zealand. We did Princess once about 8 years ago, then the entertainment was special, now I am reading that it is not so great--ssee the spring reviews.

 

Hope the food is still wonderful in Sabatini's, looks like others are still willing to do the extra charge. we booked 2 visits it was so good.

[Coral]

When I first started cruising - I tried all the lines I could get a hold of (and afford).

 

Celebrity was the line that disappointed me the most. Our service was disappointing and food did not meet up to the hype.

 

It is just as easy to book a Celebrity cruise then it is to book a Princess cruise. There are many from this board who have sailed both and prefer Princess (I being one of them).

 

I only have so many vacation dollars and am hesitant to spend them on a line that greatly disappointed me the first time. Maybe I should give them another try but when I am pleased with the Princess product...

[amyr]

SoCalGal -

 

I haven't sailed Royal yet, but I spent 24 days on her sister, Pacific Princess. I've also sailed Infinity, Millennium, and Constellation. I think the important thing to consider here besides itinerary, is the actual ship itself and the size. While the larger X ships had more places to eat and drink (and thus more variety) I loved that little PP like it was home. I didn't want to get off, while I've always been ready to go home from my other cruises. Most of the comparison you read here will revolve around the larger Princess ships vs. X, and that's not fair in this instance. That's apples to apples, and this is apples to oranges. There are people even within the Princess loyalists that prefer these smaller ships to their larger ones.

 

The Royal won't have anytime dining, so if you're a traditionalist, that comparison won't work either. I'm not sure about the itinerary you're considering, but the little R ships can often dock in places the larger ones can't. I think this may only make a big difference in Asia though.

 

If the itinerary is better, and the price is comparable or better, give the Royal a try. It will have all the amenities you're used to, but on a smaller scale. I think you'll find that a balcony cabin is a bit smaller than M class ship Concierge Class cabins, about the size of a standard balcony on X. The cabin is layed out nearly identically, but that thin bookcase thing next to the desk on an M ship where they put brochures, binoculars, etc., is missing and the cabin is shorter by just that amount. For storage, it's replaced on Royal with shelving and a cabinet above the TV, where the TV on M ships sits on the fridge. Oh, the shower is a bit smaller they say, but I didn't really notice it. They both have that shower curtain that will latch onto you if you're not careful.:eek:

 

As for food? Well, that's subjective as we know and can vary from ship to ship even within a line based on the executive chef. YMMV.

[gillianrose]

SoCalGal -

 

I haven't sailed Royal yet, but I spent 24 days on her sister, Pacific Princess. .... <snip>

 

Most of the comparison you read here will revolve around the larger Princess ships vs. X, and that's not fair in this instance. That's apples to apples, and this is apples to oranges. There are people even within the Princess loyalists that prefer these smaller ships to their larger ones.

 

The Royal won't have anytime dining, so if you're a traditionalist, that comparison won't work either. I'm not sure about the itinerary you're considering, but the little R ships can often dock in places the larger ones can't. I think this may only make a big difference in Asia though.

 

It's going to get really interesting with the addition of the Azamara line from Celebrity, using the same R-ships as the Tahitian, Royal and Pacific Princess.

 

It still won't be "apples to apples" as the dining situation will be unassigned on Azamara as opposed to traditional on Princess. But the more interesting and longer itineraries will make for a good comparison.

 

The other big difference is the reason we will book Azamara before Princess, and that's Azamara's new smoking policy (only one place indoors will it be allowed, and one place outdoors). Hooray for Azamara! :D

[SoCalGal]

The June 6, 2008 itinerary that we've booked for the Royal:

 

Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy

Cannes, France

At Sea

At Sea

Lisbon, Portugal

At Sea

At Sea

Paris (La Havre), France

London (Dover), England

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Kiel Canal, Germany

At Sea

Helsinki, Finland

St. Petersburg, Russia

Tallinn, Estonia

Stockholm, Sweden

 

That's eleven ports in 16 nights. We can't wait to go!