Celebrity vs. Princess

[asctony]

Celebrity does not charge extra for ice cream. Pizza is $3 through rs on Princess included on Celebrity. Sushi is $1 each, included on Celebrity.

A lot of snacks are extra charge at intl cafe on Princess.

Celebrity gives you cold towels to use when you come back to the ship each day.

All the towels you would ever want to use are up by the pools on Celebrity. Princess you have to bring the one towel per person they let you use from your room.

 

We just got off of the Emerald Princess and some of the above statements are outdated.

1. Princess does have free ice cream in the dining rooms and in the Horizon Court from 3:30 - 4:30pm.

2. Sushi was served twice at lunch in the Horizon Court.

3. A lot of snacks are free at the International Cafe on Princess and that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner times.

4. Celebrity lets you use a cold towel when you come back to the ship each day. Not really a biggie for us. I would rather have 250 minutes of free Internet on Princess than the 10 minutes on Celebrity.

5. Princess had all the towels on the pool deck and also 2 in your cabin. Princess has changed this recently by providing towels again on the pool deck. Other cruise lines hand out towels on the pool deck and you must give your cabin number to get the towels. Then you must return the towels to clear your cabin number. This reduces those who like to acquire additional towels for their trip home. LOL

6. We are Elite on both Princess and Celebrity and we see big differences in the benefits between Princess and Celebrity. Princess wins hands down. No comparison.

7. Personally, we do not see a big difference between Celebrity and Princess as some of the others write about the 'formality' and 'details' on Celebrity. Food is also very subjective and we have had good food on both. Each cruise and meal can be fair or excellent on both cruise lines.

We are glad that there are other cruise lines as we do cruise other cruise lines such as Celebrity, RCI, HAL, MSC, NCL, Costa and Princess. Each line has its + and -. It all depends on what you like and your personal experiences. A cruise is what you make it, not what someone tells you it is.

Happy Cruising!!

[simba1328]

Just got off the emerld and there were many people sick with the norwalk virus. Captain would not shake hands and there was no food servied at the party. All the butter was taken off the table and the waiter served one piece at a time. Dining room was roped off because of someone getting sick. Cabin servers were wearing a mask when they cleaned the rooms. If you are going in the next few weeks make sure you washing your hands and try not to touch the door handles or railing if possible.

[Go-Bucks!]

I have only sailed on Carnival and Princess. Had a fabulous time on each one. I totally agree that a cruise is what you make it - and I'm always excited and ready for fun and relaxation. I always get it.

 

My question is (after reading all these posts): When many of you say that certain cruise lines have "better service" or "more formal service", what does that exactly mean?? Can you please give specific, concrete examples. I am hoping to sail on different cruise lines in the future, so having some more explicit details of what better or more formal service really means might help me decide which ones to go on.

 

Thanks!!

[bdjam]

A whole lot more guests (3700+) on Crown compared to Summit (2038) and you'll notice it

Just so the comparison is correct, I believe Crown Princess carries 3100.

[dileep]

Just got off the emerld and there were many people sick with the norwalk virus. Captain would not shake hands and there was no food servied at the party. All the butter was taken off the table and the waiter served one piece at a time. Dining room was roped off because of someone getting sick. Cabin servers were wearing a mask when they cleaned the rooms. If you are going in the next few weeks make sure you washing your hands and try not to touch the door handles or railing if possible.

 

On the Star Princess they made everyone take some hand disinfectant when they boarded and made everyone use it before getting into buffet area.

[merela]

If you are traveling with children, Princess is better than Celebrity.

 

1. Princess has coin-operated laundry (washer and dryer)

2. Princess has indoor pools for kids.

3. Princess has anytime dining.

 

Generally speaking, the quality of kids clubs are about the same for both cruiselines.

 

As adults in our 40s, we prefer the food and service on Celebrity. I also enjoy the free juices (passion fruit juice was one, I can't remember the other 2 juices) served out of a spout in the buffet area on Celebrity. The free ice cream bar in the buffet area is a great hit for the kids. Juice and ice cream are the only areas that Celebrity surpassed Princess for the kids.

 

Princess also has better perks for their Captains Circle members. Free internet service, dry cleaning, and bar service for elite members keep passengers returning to Princess.

 

But for us, Celebrity was more expensive than Princess for the same category of cabins we booked. Was it worth it? It really depends on how much you enjoyed the differences in the quality of food and service. For us, the fact that our kids can't go swimming on board the ship will make us think twice before we book on Celebrity again....unless their prices are competitive enough for us to book them again. BTW, the kids CAN swim on Celebrity, but only in its outdoor pool. It was not possible for our kids to swim in Celebrity's outdoor pool when our itinerary was Alaska. Also, even if they were brave enough to swim in the cold, the salt water in the pool was not a pleasant experience for small children.

 

 

I did not notice any differences in dress codes and entertainment between the 2 cruiselines. The quality of service is really random, it depends on who you get as servers.

[newmexicoNita]

I have only sailed on Carnival and Princess. Had a fabulous time on each one. I totally agree that a cruise is what you make it - and I'm always excited and ready for fun and relaxation. I always get it.

 

My question is (after reading all these posts): When many of you say that certain cruise lines have "better service" or "more formal service", what does that exactly mean?? Can you please give specific, concrete examples. I am hoping to sail on different cruise lines in the future, so having some more explicit details of what better or more formal service really means might help me decide which ones to go on.

 

Thanks!!

when I refer to better or more formal here is what I am thinking; "better service" is normally more attentive, water glasses always full, never having to ask for anything while in the dining room. In the buffet wait staff that offers to carry trays, especially for the older clienete, table always cleaned as soon as vacated and cabin wise: beds made and bath cleaned within seconds of leaving for breakfast of daily walk. Of coruse ice bucket always full, or ide available in a minute or two when ordered and prompt room service. Of course happy faces from the crew and crew members calling you by name. There are more examples, I am sure, but these are the ones that come to my mind. "formal service" to mean is the litlte things like the presentation of a dessert tray each night instead of just the desserts listed on the menu, a wait staff that addresses the cruisers formally, Mr Smith, how are you doing? or Mrs Brown did you enjoy your day in port? Also formal service is seen on ships were the dress code in strictly enforced (not often anymore) The attitude of the crew toward the passengers can be pleasant, polite and yet a bit standoffsih, maybe saying "we are here to serve you" at all times. You are to be pampered. Others probably see the meanings differently, but this is how I see them.

 

Nita

[asctony]

On the Star Princess they made everyone take some hand disinfectant when they boarded and made everyone use it before getting into buffet area.

 

As I have said in a previous posting: We were surprised to learn that on the Emerald Princess, Nov 2007, they no longer require you to use the hand sanitizer as they told us it is not effective. I ask and that is what I was told by many of the upper staff personnel.

 

As for the virus, that is so common that it is everywhere on all the cruise lines, in the USA, etc. That has nothing to do with ship cleanliness. It has more to do with passengers and their way of touching food instead of using the proper utensils, plus washing their hands when necessary.

Many times you see passengers picking up food with their hands and then putting it back. We see that daily here in the USA, too.