Celebrity or Princess???

[Lois R]

Sorry your cruise was terrible:(

 

I can't give a comparison since I have never sailed Princess

but I can say after 11 cruises on Celebrity all of mine

have been wonderful.:)

Was everything perfect everytime? Nope, I can't say

that, but I can say whenever I am disembarking I know I am

going back on another cruise with them.

 

Hope things work out better for you next time.

[rebeccalouise]

I am not a Princess or Celebrity cheerleader and the parts I quoted from your post were specific to pods, A/C, etc.

 

Since you have never been affected by a pod problem and were apparently unaware of the cancelled cruises that did affect many, I felt your post was inaccurate. Since the recurring pod problems cost X millions of dollars, I daresay they consider them to be quite problematic:cool:. I guess that "glaring" is subjective.

 

We were doing a comparison of the two lines. Someone mentioned the pod problems. I was pointing out the problems with Princess as well. They have had their own issues. In fact, I wouldn't take the Crown to Bermuda- if that port is important to you. Apparently smaller ships can dock there without any problem but Crown has had to skip this port on days when other ships were able to dock there. So, Celebrity has had pod issues. In my view they are overblown. That's my opinion based on the fact the "M" class ships have been consistently voted the top four vessels on any line by Conde Naste traveler.

The larger Princess ships aren't even in the top ten- none of them. Even in guidebooks like Berlitz- Princess isn't even in the top ten.

Bases on my experience with both lines- Celebrity wins.

Having said that- the per diem on Celebrity is higher- so one would expect it to be better.

My opinions are based solely on the ships themselves- not the itineraries, excursions, etc.

[junglejane]

No cruise line is perfect and they all have their issues. A preference for one over the other is a matter of taste and priorities.

 

I totally agree with this statement. These sorts of Princess vs. Celebrity, Celebrity vs. HAL, RCCL vs. Princess comparisons are most helpful when they focus on specifics and don't degenerate into bashing the cruiseline that's being compared to your favorite.

 

Maybe I've been lucky but so far I haven't had a bad cruise. I like Princess and Celebrity both -- although I feel each has its strengths and weaknesses. On Princess I love the Anytime Dining, freshwater pools, excellent and numerous entertainment options, large Caribe deck balconies, self service laundry, and good past passenger discounts. On Celebrity I love the ship layout, superior food, and slightly more upscale and formal ambiance. I adjust my expectations from one line to the other and try to be adaptable. So far, so good.

 

BTW, the only time I've had a problem with embarkation was on the Celebrity Infinity, when pod problems delayed the ship's arrival in Vancouver. Pod problems also caused our itinerary to have to be rearranged. Once I realized that all my shore excursions had been successfully rescheduled, I was fine with this.

 

--Junglejane

[Jimsgirl]

Perhaps I should have said that I was comparing inside cabins. On Celebrity I had a small sofa and table as well as a chair at the dressing table, on Princess I had just one chair and a small table . there really was not room to sit at the small table using the chair, I had to sit on the bed . So for me Princess inside cabin was not as good as Celebrity.

 

I do wish however that Celebrity would take a good hard look at their itineraries, they are very much the same old, same old one but even more they would get out their information much sooner than at present. Their are passengers who have to work, and need to get their vacation bids in early. As for retirees like myself, I would like longer cruises from the USA such as the HAL 28 day South Pacific cruise R/T USA.

 

Flying out from Florida to Sydney to board the Sapphire was a very LONG and EXPENSIVE trip , going on HAL I only had to fly to the LA or San Diego it was much easier on me and my cheque book

[Jimsgirl]

Perhaps I should have said that I was comparing inside cabins. On Celebrity I had a small sofa and table as well as a chair at the dressing table, on Princess I had just one chair and a small table . there really was not room to sit at the small table using the chair, I had to sit on the bed . So for me Princess inside cabin was not as good as Celebrity.

 

I do wish however that Celebrity would take a good hard look at their itineraries, they are very much the same old, same old one but even more they would get out their information much sooner than at present. Their are passengers who have to work, and need to get their vacation bids in early. As for retirees like myself, I would like longer cruises from the USA such as the HAL 28 day South Pacific cruise R/T USA.

 

Flying out from Florida to Sydney to board the Sapphire was a very LONG and EXPENSIVE trip , going on HAL I only had to fly to the LA or San Diego it was much easier on me and my cheque book

[larronry]

As for Princess... at least two of the ships "listed". (Grand and brand new Crown). The Star caught fire. In all three of these cases the cruise was cut short and people sustained injuries. All in the past two years. Sea Princess cancelled one of its recent sailings entirely because of mechanical issues. The Crown Princess was unable to dock in Bermuda several times because the ship is too big and can't handle the elements. Another Princess ship recently was unable to stop at 4 ports in a row because of mechanical problems.

 

I just want to quickly add that before the newsworthly fire on The Star there was a fire on the Star while it was in port a month or two prior (I believe Dec 2005). We went to the port to visit friends who were boarding they were going to check in drop of things and then we were going to grab a bite to eat and bring them back but that didn't happen because they didn't know what was going on and they weren't being kept informed and there was no one to even ask if it was OK for them to leave and come back.

 

Now in reading the post I am having my memory refreshed. I loved the Celebrity Century in Oct 2004. But the room was Ice Cold. I couldn't make the room warmer. When I asked about it apparently they turned the A/C off. So of course the room was then very warm. Other then that the staff was top of the line. Right down to my looking for some super glue to fix the sole that broke off my shoe. The fixed my shoe at not charge. I was scheduled to go on the canceled Dec 10 2006 voyage of the Millennium. Because my husband was scheduled to have those days off of work and our friends had plane tickets for those days we were looking for cruise with the same dates and ended up on the Caribbean Princess. That ship is the last of the Grand Princess line and there is one extra deck of rooms. They didn't make any extra room in the public areas so the crowds at times tended to be more exaggerated. Our cabin steward was on par with the best of them. No other staff can I say that about. Other then the first sea morning I was woken up every morning by a 15 minute advertising of the days events by the cruise director. If you attended the MUTS (Movie Under the Stars -which also happens during the day) you would miss 15 minutes of the movie as well as the sound would be turned off while the cruise director would tell you what was going on around the ship. I truly don't like not having the same wait staff every night. I enjoy the wait staff getting to know you and your likes and dislikes and knowing you drink a lot of water or you don't like a certain item or whatever. The buffet on Princess does not have trays. You put all your food on your one plate and if you get a bowl of soup or salad or oatmeal or muesli you put that on that plate and put your other food around that. It really becomes a problem. Especially when you have a child and you are getting food for more then one person. I didn't have my son with me but others did.

 

I also found disembarkation the easiest I have ever experienced on princess and in fact the night before they could tell me the half our range I would be disembarking so I could tell the person picking me up about when to show up. I am hoping that Celebrity can do that for me this time. Also the life boat drill was so easy. In our case we carried our vest to the princess theater. Watched the movie with directions were shown which doors we would be walking out of, put on our life vests and that was it. We never walked out of the theater. I swear it took like 10 minutes. On the century I was standing in the Casino with the vest on then had to go outside and it was either up or down another deck and the whole process took at least a half our.

 

I think that each cruise like has it's good points and bad and it's a matter of figuring out which one fits with your style.

[shipshape sam]

[DeepWaterMariner]

I would cruise on either line without hesitation. All things being equal on the same itinerary I would take Princess. That is based on what we like in cuisine (more varied on Princess), more casual nights, better perks (we're Elite on both lines), better evening entertainment options, and personal choice dinning. We also generally prefer the English and Italian officers on Princess.

[twosit]

We have sailed on RCCL once, Princess twice, Carnival once and this will be our second on Celebrity.

Our first Princess cruise was on the Dawn Princess when it was new. We had 4 of us- husband, two early teens and myself. We had a wonderful time. The ship was in wonderful shape and the teens program was outstanding. They even opened up the arcade and golf simulator free of charge for them to use on several different occasions. This was before "anytime" dining really took over- but we really enjoyed the access to the 24 hour buffet and drinks available at all times. We especially enjoyed the cool drinks when returning from excursions. The embarkation and debarkation procedures were, by far, the easiest and quickest we ever experienced. The Muster drill on Princess was the best and simplest. I do not understand why all cruiselines don't do it the same way. At that time, they ran two sets of everything so you didn't have to worry about missing entertainment because you chose second sitting for dinner. The food was good- but not outstanding.

 

On Celebrity Century we enjoyed the service in the dining room and the cabins. It did seem to be at a slightly higher level than Princess. Their embarkation and debarkation were not as bad as RCCL or as good as Dawn Princess. The teen program was not as good as the Dawn Princess. The casual dining and the desserts were much better on Celebrity. Overall- there was not a significant difference between the two.

 

Carribean Princess, a year ago, was different from our experience on Dawn. We felt the public areas of the ship were not being kept clean. Trash was everywhere- just not being emptied and toilet paper was not refilled. We had a difficult time getting a traditional dining table at the second seating. They seem to really try and push us in to the anytime. We missed the opportunity of sitting with other people and getting to know them that way. The service was not nearly at the same level in the dining room as it had been on our previous cruises. We loved Muts. Not for night-time movies, but for the daytime movies. We found it amazing that we did not hear it when we were sitting at the other pool.

 

We thought the food on Princess and Celebrity was better than RCCL and way better than Carnival.

The only thing we liked about Carnival was the fact that it was a non-smoking ship and the price!

 

We are going on Millennium in the Mediterranean at the end of August. We feel comfortable cruising on either of them- whichever itinerary and price meets our needs. We are considering trying RCCL again- if that itinierary looks good.

[lovely12no]

I have not sailed Princess, but NCL and RCI along with Celebrity. POD problems apparently exist but during our cruise experiences we have never experienced loud vibrations, even while staying in the aft back cabins which are wonderful. But, our cruise last December 06 was cancelled by Celebrity due to the ship being pulled out because of the pod issue. I thought initially this was a real bummmmmmmmer! However, Celebrity fulled refunded the cruise (we had 3 cabins) and gave us a free cruise for 6 people! All of us had a small charge to deal with on airline changes..and one hotel loss, but the free cruise made up for any crankiness we were feeling.

 

Eventually we will probably sail with Princess, but we too enjoy the more traditional dining accommodations offered by Celebrity. I am hoping to also get in a Crystal cruise one of these days as well. Don't we all deserve it? (no need to respond as I have already determined the correct answer). :O)

 

Happy cruising to all.

Susan

[Wilcoam]

I have sailed Princess once (Star Jan 07) and Celebrity 4 times (Xped, Connie, Mille, and Galaxy)

 

Princess has some huge advantages, sun filled caribe n dolphin balconies, more modern ships, 24 hrs buffet, 24 hrs pools n hot tubs, more selection of entrees at dinner, more casual evening n dinner dress and a more happening nightlife. It's usually also less expensive to sail.

 

X also has some huge advantages. Butlers in suites, Sommeliers at dinner, higher level of service, sometimes higher level of quality of food, smaller ships, etc...

 

Honestly, IMO, the Star is a nicer ship than both the Connie n Millie, no matter what Berlitz or Conde Nest say.

 

IMO, Princess is my choice hands down, for cruising with both larger groups of families, and in the Carribean and from what I'm told, in Alaska.

 

X is my choice hands down for cruising just with my wife, and in Europe.

 

I's take both X and Prin anyday over HAL, but am darn curious to try Oceana.

 

jc

Toronto

[RLM77]

I often browse Cruise Critic forums for lines other than Celebrity and across the board, loyal passengers on all the major lines are complaining about things not being the way they used to be. Princess and HAL passengers complain about changes since Carnival took over; Celebrity passengers complain about changes since RCCL took over. Someone rates Celebrity food the highest and someone else replies that food on their X cruise was inedible. Guess it's just a sign of the times. After 39 cruises and reading these boards for several years, I've learned that for every complaint there's a rave review; and for every rave, there's someone who finds something to complain about. I've read stinging reviews of cruises we've been and have scratched my head in amazement. What appears on these boards is enormously useful but it's also often very subjective. Bottom line - don't panic when you read something negative about a cruise you're looking forward to. Go with an open mind, have realistic expectatons, be flexible and enjoy!

This post is the most insightful I've read anytime, anywhere on the Cruise Critic boards. I'm going to print it out, keep it next to my computers, and refer to it when reading the more extreme posts, positive or negative. Thank you.

[rebeccalouise]

I did a family vacation on Oceania Regatta in January. It was lovely. You will not find much nightlife on board and the casino is very small but intimate. The food was outstanding. My favorite thing was the afternoon tea in the front lounge. It was FANTASTIC! The food was wonderful but the ambiance and the musical trio made this a not to missed experience. My father, aunt, uncle and I went everyday. The food in the buffet was great. The pool chairs were padded and very comfortable. Staterooms are smaller than they appear in the brochure and the sq.ft.includes the balcony. If you don't want to contend with crowds and want to go to interesting itineraries- then I recommend Oceania.

 

For me, I'll stick with Celebrity. I got a bit bored on Oceania- and spent too much money in the spa. The services were typical of cruise ships but with the tacked on gratuity, my massage was $ 150. A bit steep in my view. The steam room was lovely though and it is free (in the changing rooms in the spa)

[DeepWaterMariner]

rebeccalouise, what type of cuisine did they have on Oceania? Was it always continental like Celebrity, or did they mix in any Italian, Asian, etc.?

[rebeccalouise]

There was on dedicated Italian restaurant, which was wonderful. My favorite dish was pesto gnocchi. Then there is one called Polo, which was steaks and lobster fare- I found both the steak and lobster to be overcooked- so this wasn't my favorite specialty restaurant. The buffet has the most varied fare. We ate quite a few of our dinners there. It was really good. The buffet seating is quite elegant- linens, fine china- the waiters carry your food over for you and they are attentive with water and drink orders. Not your typical buffet- dimly lit and very romantic at night. There was Mexican, sushi, spanish, greek, etc. The main diningroom it is Continental and was my least favorite dining venue. It is large, brightly lit and noisey. Don't miss the afternoon tea- that was the best part of the cruise for me. Just wonderful.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Thanks for the info. Oceania is one of several cruises we are considering for next winter.

[cruise182]

Sailed RCCL, Celebrity, Princess and NCL.

 

My feeling is that princess has not found their niche. They seem to try to attract all groups and cater to all groups. Result, a product neither here or there.

 

I find Celebrity to be marketing towards a more refined upscale clientele that is not looking for an experience quite as intimate and pricey as seabourne and the like. Just above RCCL..a little more pampered, elegant, and a great staff that is there to do their job, not to be your friend.

 

I find Royal Caribbean to be marketing towards families that are looking to do a lot of activities. Offering good food with friendly service. Not as standoffish as Celebrity. Not an all out party atmosphere, but just more so then Celebrity.

 

I find NCL to be marketing towards those who are looking to save a few bucks and are not interested in the "classic" cruise agenda. More of a "do what when I want" As a result of their business model, the staff is not that good at all

 

I find that Princess markets towards families, older adults, passengers that appreciate the classic cruise agenda, those who prefer to eat when they want, people who like the small ship feel, people who prefer bigger ships and so on. The Result, a product that really doesn’t have a distinct feel other then trying to please everyone.

 

I am sure there is more here then you ask, and it is just my humble opinion.

[Griff4AU]

This has been a good thread. Thanks.

 

I've been a Princess guy who has tried to put together a last minute Alaska run for next month. It's my SO's first cruise, and our first trip to Alaska, so I want it to be very nice. I was obviously looking to Princess, although for the same (?) type of cabin (balcony), the Coral Princess is $900 more than the X Summit.

 

I appreciate everyone's preferences, and cruise line comparisons are usually overloaded with emotions, but in reading this thread and some others, I am now willing to try out Celebrity. Hopefully the dreaded "Pod" problem (need to do some homework on that) won't be around.

 

Have a nice weekend.

[bunduo]

I have cruised several times on both, Celebrity and Princess.

 

In the recent past, there have been several posts comparing Celebrity with Princess... and in reviewing the Princess boards, I find a strong loyalty to the Princess Cruiselines.

 

Some of the comments I have read are:

 

1) Celebrity is not as good as it used to be, and that quality had declinded

2) The food on Celebrity is far better than Princess

3) Celebrity's staff are much more friendly

4) Celebrity rooms are bigger/nicer

5) Production shows are better

 

I have my own thoughts about the two cruise lines, but I'd like to hear what others have to say

 

So... any Celebrity/Princess cruisers on the Celebrity boards want to toss in their two cents???

 

We just got off the Coral Princess after sailing the Celebrity Century in April. You nailed it the differences between the two cruiselines. Celebrity tends to do things the right way in their own way.

 

I have to disagree about the cabin size. We had roughly the same category balcony cabin for both cruises. The cabin on the Century was so small that it made the Princess cabin seem spacious. The cabin size is really the only place that Celebrity is lacking. We have Princess tied with RCCL and HAL for second among cruiselines with Carnival and NCL trailing by a large margin.

[rebeccalouise]

Thanks for the info. Oceania is one of several cruises we are considering for next winter.

 

Drew- I wrote a review of Regatta under "Reviews". It was in January 2007

[DeepWaterMariner]

cruise182, Princess seems to be pretty successful with their ever expanding fleet (17 ships and counting) without finding a niche. They must be doing something right to fill all those berths. We love the part of Princess that appeals to cruisers that like varied itineraries. They can use their larger ships to appeal to the younger and less traveled passengers.

[Tatka]

We sailed 3 times on Celebrity and once on Caribbean Princess

 

1) Celebrity is not as good as it used to be, and that quality had declinded

 

Maybe a bit in food, but service is superb.

 

2) The food on Celebrity is far better than Princess

 

A bit in DR, but Princess is still very very good. In buffets Princess is more interesting and varied. Seafood buffets are to die foor. Quality food is available almost 24 hours in buffet area.

 

3) Celebrity's staff are much more friendly

 

Not friendly but more polished "white-gloved", but still Princess service was above all other lines including HAL. Our steward called us by names, we had personal greeting message on answering machine. We got Princess membership at the end of the cruise.

 

4) Celebrity rooms are bigger/nicer

 

I wouldn't say I felt it. Celebrity regular room about 171-174, Princess 160, but I didn't notice.

 

5) Production shows are better

 

Production shows are a bit better, but Princess has more and varied entertaiment. Live intertainment in 4-5-6 lounges every night.

 

 

Grand class of Princess has wonderful beautiful 4+ pools in separate areas. Adult only rules are greatly enforced in 2 pools!

[MortgageChick]

I have been on 18 cruises

3 of them on X

My most recent on Princess was on the Crown for 9 nights out of NYC just last month.

 

I would have to say the food quality is comparable and actually I would say that the food was better on Princess than on my last X cruise on Summit in 2005.

 

The alternative restaurant on Princess (the steakhouse , I forget the name) was not worth an extra fee. Now on Summit the alternative dining made me feel like Royalty. The service was impeccable on X

 

Princess does a lot of things well HOWEVER, princesss has about 500 more passengers in the same space/size ship and it really feels like it too. Also I was shocked at the number or small children and babies on board Princess. This is not something we had experienced on our Celebrity cruises.

 

I would sail on princess again for the right price and itinerary, however the edge goes to X

[SheltieLady]

I have started looking at cruises for 2009 Celebrity and Princess both are Eastern Caribbean both are 10 days.

Celebrity on the Consullation goes to St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Maarteen with a total of 4 sea days.

 

Princess on the Emerald Princess goes to Prince Clay, St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and Antigua with a total of 3 sea days.

 

I have heard Celebrity is stuffy?? more upscale we cruise this year on RCL Jewel of the Seas and loved it. Cabin prices between the two are within $100 or so for balcony cabins.

 

What to do, I'm afriad Celebrity might be out of our league, we not party animals but we like to have a good time and meet new and interesting people.

 

Christine

[Tatka]

I have heard Celebrity is stuffy?? more upscale we cruise this year on RCL Jewel of the Seas and loved it. Cabin prices between the two are within $100 or so for balcony cabins.

 

What to do, I'm afriad Celebrity might be out of our league, we not party animals but we like to have a good time and meet new and interesting people.

 

Christine

 

Have to disagree on that. Never felt Celebrity was stuffy or out of our league (we are two mid 30-ies professionals with a teenager).