Celebrity vs. Princess

[Seabreeze8]

Hello,

We have been on Princess cruise but not Celebrity cruises and thinking about giving Celebrity a try based on the itinerary. We are considering a 2-week Hawaiian cruise on Millennium for 2009 and would like to pack as little as possible. How are Celebrity cruises differ than Princess cruises in attitude and service? Does Celebrity require more formal dress for formal dinners? What is the dress code for informal nights? Thanks to all!

[eandj]

Haven't done Princess.

Celebrity formal nights could include tuxes or dark suits for men and long dresses, dressy pants or cocktail dresses for women. Their only other dress code now is nice casual. Meaning no shorts, tshirts etc. Figure golf shirts and khakis for guys (no sports coats and ties) and skirts, sundresses and capris for women.

[bar_20]

You forgot no jeans in the main dining room after 6PM!

[Seabreeze8]

Thanks, Eandj, for the info on dress codes. One thing we are worrying about is how to keep ourselves busy for 5 days at sea in a row. Are there many activities on the sea days? Do you have any suggestions? Also do you find the pricing for the shore excursions reasonable? Thanks again!:)

[Putterdude]

You will find that the service is at a higher level on Celebrity then Princess. We think the food is slightly superior on Celebrity. However Princess has seemed to a better job on cabin layout, furniture sizing and closet space. Princess fails hands down on their showers. Given the same itineraries and pricing (or even close) we would go Celebrity. We did the Hawaiian cruise on the Diamond over the holidays this year and did enjoy it. However you do have to like those sea days because there are lots of them in realtionship to port days. Bring some books that you have been meaning to read and afternoon naps sure become part of your day....it is very relaxing.:)

[usha]

We have been on Princess cruise but not Celebrity cruises and thinking about giving Celebrity a try based on the itinerary. We are considering a 2-week Hawaiian cruise on Millennium for 2009 and would like to pack as little as possible. How are Celebrity cruises differ than Princess cruises in attitude and service?

IMO, there's no comparison. Celebrity provides MUCH better service, and the staff seems to be much happier on Celebrity. This shows itself in their pleasant attitude toward passengers.

Does Celebrity require more formal dress for formal dinners?

What is the dress code for informal nights? Thanks to all!

Celebrity has phased out informal nights, so now their evening dress codes are almost identical to Princess' (formal & smart casual),except that jeans are not part of the evening dress codes on Celebrity at all.:o It seemed to me that on Celebrity cruises, there were more passengers that really dressed up (and stayed that way all evening) than I saw on Princess.

[fiona page]

Well I sat next to a number of people in denim jeans last week on Galaxy in main dining room at 8.45 sitting.

[aco44]

I just booked Galaxy for Feb. 9, 2009 can you provide any details on the ship such as crew attitudes and condition of ship since the ship is being sold in March. Also I am booked on cabin 4047 any information on this cabin you can provide such as noise, views, and where I could possible find any pictures.

[Cruise Junky]

Hello,

We have been on Princess cruise but not Celebrity cruises and thinking about giving Celebrity a try based on the itinerary. We are considering a 2-week Hawaiian cruise on Millennium for 2009 and would like to pack as little as possible. How are Celebrity cruises differ than Princess cruises in attitude and service? Does Celebrity require more formal dress for formal dinners? What is the dress code for informal nights? Thanks to all!

 

We've cruised both lines. Millennium is a lovely ship. Not sure if it was the itinerary (The Med.) but Celebrity was a bit too sedate for us, we'll be able to compare that to Princess next week in the Med. We're not party animals and don't go to shows but like to go out dancing, or hang out in the Wheelhouse and listen to great live music etc. and the comparable spots on Celebrity were dead! Even on sea days the events were just not well attended.

 

Service: bit of a toss up really, we had the best cabin steward that we've ever had, but our waiter wasn't that great, our last one on Sea Princess would have run rings around him.

 

Food: Again, from reading this board I think our expectations were that the food would be significantly better than other lines, it wasn't. It was good, but nothing like what is projected here and a few on our roll call commented on that, so it wasn't just us.

 

Smoking: Celebrity has banned smoking in cabins and balconies, personal choice as to whether that's a good thing or not for you.

 

In Cabin Drinks: Celebrity's prices are ridiculous and drink prices over all seemed to be higher...around $10 - $12 for a martini that would be $7 - $8 on Princess.

 

Don't get me wrong, Celebrity is a nice cruise line, we just feel more comfortable on Princess, just more to do and I like spending my sea days on the balcony with a glass of wine and a book, I'm not looking to be entertained the whole time.

[eandj]

Thanks, Eandj, for the info on dress codes. One thing we are worrying about is how to keep ourselves busy for 5 days at sea in a row. Are there many activities on the sea days? Do you have any suggestions? Also do you find the pricing for the shore excursions reasonable? Thanks again!:)

 

 

We tend to read a lot on sea days. And of course if the weather is nice, we're sitting around the pool. There are always some kind of activities going on. But I really can't comment on them. I'm not into games or card playing.

 

You might want to check out your ports before you get there and decide ahead of time what you want to do and see. Most seasoned crusiers would feel very comfortable in Hawaii planning thier own excursions, and will save a lot of money doing it. If you decide to do this cruise, head to the roll call board after doing research and see what tours people are forming on their own. Often a tour group privately arranged can save you up to 50%. Sometimes, my DH and I just plan what we want to see at a port, hire a cab and go off for a couple hours doing our own thing at our own pace. But that only works if you can tell the cab driver where you want to go. WE plan the day. Ship excursions are often over priced, but if you don't have time to research what you want to do and don't mind just going with the flow, they are fine.

[Artanis]

Same here wondering which Line.

Got totally spoiled on two X cruises, then sailed HAL and both service and chintziness on board was quite weird and it had a big impact on our vacation.

**This was most likely a fluke thing, just getting stuck with some very inexperienced crew. NOT a knock on the Line as a whole, though, because each sailing on any line can be different depending what crew is onboard***

 

With that said, we prefer the small ships and really want to sail a smaller shipto Alaska this time (took lovely Summit Northbound back in 2002) but are afraid that (all the?) lines may be "skimping" on the small ships too much these days?

 

Mercury = All Time Favorite ...which reminds me: Anyone know where Hotel Manager George Traganis is? I'd appreciate any scoop. (Googled him, but nothing since 2003.)

 

Would love to hear from Princess & X cruisers which line you think is doing less to "cut corners" on their smaller vessels, both service/training and standard-wise? We don't expect 5 Star service, like previous X cruises (which was more like 6 star anyway), due to business being business and budget restraints these days.

 

Would LOVE to do Mercury to Alaska! Just don't want such a drastic drop (as with our HAL) on the Line that spoiled us so in the first place ;) Or Princess, the Ultimate Alaska Pros, where we won't have as high expectations service-food-wise, thus can't be "let down" at all and just be pleasantly surprised if it's close.

 

Would just like the small ship.

Any and all observations would be appreciated.

[Seabreeze8]

Thank you all for your comments which leads to a few more questions.

 

Eandj, we've been at sea for 3 days in a row and by the end of the third day, we are beginning to get cabin fever. That's why we are a bit concerned about 5 days in a row. We are not into games or card playing either, but would be interested in lectures or lessons. My husband would like to have more activities for me so I would stay out of the shops on board. :D Thanks for the advice on the tours. We have been to Honolulu and Maui before and would be comfortable being on our own there. Will definitely look into private tours and the roll call board later.

 

Cruise Junky: Heard that Millennium has not been refurbished since 2000. How does the ship look? Does anyone know when it's due for refurbishment or renovation? One of the things that attract us to Celebrity is the food. Heard that they provide Michelin 3 star cuisine, is it noticeably different than the food on Princess? and worth it?

 

Usha: We didn't wear jeans on the Princess and won't be doing that on the Millennium either. It's nice to know that we don't have to dress up every night. It's hard enough to get him into a suit for the formal nights. :o

 

Putterdude: Does the library offers a good selection of books and magazines? We like reading a variety of magazines more than books. Do they offer lots of movies as well?

 

The questions are not directed to anyone in particular so please feel free to keep the comments coming. We found this board is really helpful and your comments helps us to decide if we are making the right choice. We greatly appreciate your comments.

[Cruise Junky]

Cruise Junky: Heard that Millennium has not been refurbished since 2000. How does the ship look? Does anyone know when it's due for refurbishment or renovation? One of the things that attract us to Celebrity is the food. Heard that they provide Michelin 3 star cuisine, is it noticeably different than the food on Princess? and worth it?

 

 

I didn't notice any wear, she was in great shape. Ok, the food... maybe she just had a bad 12 days when we were on her, but in all my cruises, this was the only time I've ever sent back a dessert. The Creme Brulee, I almost gagged on my first spoonful, it was hot, not warm, hot. Even my husband who is useless in the kitchen can make a mean cream brulee and serve it cold. The food to be honest was probably a bit better than Princess, but not enough to make me pick one over the other...miles better than NCL, but I digress... we ate at the specialty restaurant which again, in no way shape or form compares to a michelin 3 star restaurant, but for a cruise ship is was good. Service was good, and I loved the Cheese Cart, they had fabulous cheeses. Now in saying that...people on this board rave about the food, so either they all eat at applebees on a regular basis and that's what they're comparing it to, or we just had a bad 12 days, I'm thinking the latter because this many people can not be that far off...but please don't go expecting michelin 3 star food because you will be extremely disappointed. We eat at fantastic land based restaurants where I have been blown away with the food, nothing blew me away on Celebrity food wise, but realistically, how can you when you're feeding that many people?

[ECCruise]

\ One of the things that attract us to Celebrity is the food. Heard that they provide Michelin 3 star cuisine, is it noticeably different than the food on Princess? and worth it?

 

Having done give or take 100 days on each line, I would classify Celebrity's food as slightly better than Princess but nowhere near any Michelin stars let alone 3.

[Seabreeze8]

I'm surprised that the food is only slightly better than Princess and that how bad the food can be at times on Celebrity, given that they won awards for best dining on cruises. It seems that they have a problem with providing good food on a consistent level. Then I don't understand how they can win awards, Or am I missing something here? :confused:

[fernem]

Hi. I just left the Millennium last Friday and would like to say that I thought the food in the main dining room was really quite good in general and the food at the Olympic was splendid. The goat cheese souffle was lovely and the risotto was the best I have ever eaten, cooked to perfection. It is an extraordinary treat to dine in the Olympic. But the Metropolitan did a very nice job, both in presentation and taste. And I really liked the fact that each course was small enough that one could eat a number of courses and still feel good and just pleasantly full but not stuffed. I liked that. And my creme brulee was cold and good and had a lacy flower cookie on top that was elegant. I did not find the lunch buffet as satisfying as the breakfast buffet or the dining room meals, but many people were quite happy and there were many choices. I got a veggie burger from the grill by the pool and brought it back to the main buffet and added salad and then sat outside in back at the lovely wooden chairs and tables. I also loved getting sushi in little ceramic boats and adding soy sauce and ginger and wasabi and a small bowl of miso soup and then either sitting outside with my snack or bringing it back to my room and sitting outside on the veranda with a white wine and sushi. Quite a wonderful afternoon treat in my book.:)

[dutchess43]

Celebrity hands down. We sailed on the mercury in april & 6 days later did a ta on the crown. The service alone in the dining roon on the mercury was spectacular where the service on the crown was less then stellar. What we found & it was a lot of passengers complaints princess has given out more tables to the waiters. The ass't seem to work with more then 1 waiter therefore less time for genuine service. With this tactic they have to pay less in salareies with less staff. We found our waiter did nothing but run back & forth it was terrible too many tables & pasengers at late seating to take care of. I also do not like the idea that I found out that my tip for the wait sraff included tipping the dishwashers. As they do a genuine service that is part of my paying for a cruise, we feel that our tip should go to the waiters, & the ass't waiters. Lunch time in the dining room on the crown we found to be very disorganized. Food was slightly better on Celebrity, I will say that the beef on Princess was delicious. Loved the sushi bar at 5:30 on Celebrity as well. Guest relations on Princess also pales in comparison to Celebrity. We found the M class & the mercury easy to get around. The crown & grand was confusing at times with some of the decks not always going through from the front to the back.

We sailed on the infinity in april 07 the hawaiian itinerary & enjoyed the cruise.

[AAAAmerican]

X vs P..

 

Each Cruise line , actually, RCL and CCL both NYSE firms have distinct advantages.

 

Quaility Control is lacking on RCL ships now but they are miles ahead in IT.

 

Culinary arts are really so very subjective and a personal matter.. comparisons should be for the individual to decide.,

 

IMHO CCL Ships have come a very long way and are steps ahead of all RCL Lines and ships.

 

Service too is very subjective. I do think it helps when the HotMan is well qualified and does go above and beyond the normalcy of the Hotel managers Position.

 

 

Celebrity Cruise lines did one year win a few Culinary Awards.. But then it reversed course and it went amidships way... some think they went a ground...

 

 

I guess when they are trying to save a few nickels and dimes it counts more to have them save than have Paying Passengers Wave and Rave...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello,

We have been on Princess cruise but not Celebrity cruises and thinking about giving Celebrity a try based on the itinerary. We are considering a 2-week Hawaiian cruise on Millennium for 2009 and would like to pack as little as possible. How are Celebrity cruises differ than Princess cruises in attitude and service? Does Celebrity require more formal dress for formal dinners? What is the dress code for informal nights? Thanks to all!

[wolfshadow]

Was on the Millie in June in Alaska. She was in beautiful shape! And we totally enjoyed the food in both the Metropolitan and the Olympic. I just don't get how others say that the food is just okay. My DH and I loved everything we ordered. We had fantastic service with our waiter and assistant and the service in the Olympic can't be beat. We first fell in love with Infinity and now we feel the same about Millennium. ;)

[Seabreeze8]

Thanks, everyone for your latest update on the food quaity. In their brochures, it indicated that they received Best Food/Dining in the Large Ships Category Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards in Feb. 2007. Also received Best Overall Onboard Dining and Best Alternative Dining Facility from TravelAge West WAVE Awards - Editors' Picks 2007. It sounds like that they are maintaining the food and service level more consistently since last year. We love to try a variety of food, and prefer quality over quantity. We just hope that they will be at the same or higher level in 2009 as in 2007 & 2008.

 

Does anyone know whether they have sashimi as well as sushi at the Sushi Bar?

[Despegue]

Just for everybodies information:

Crème Brulée is meant to be served lukewarm, NEVER cold.

;)

[Cruise Junky]

Just for everybodies information:

Crème Brulée is meant to be served lukewarm, NEVER cold.

;)

 

Hmm no :eek: And when you've been to culinary school as I have, you'd know. The secret of a Crème brûlée is a very cold custard followed by a very quickly toasted sugar topping. Crème brûlée is best made two days ahead and left in the fridge. This is why a blow torch should be used rather than risking heating the custard by putting the sugar under the broiler.

[meow!]

We have not been on Princess, so we don't know whether it is better or worse, and we haven't been following news on it. The reason: it takes a while to get used to a line, and quite a bit of effort to learn the "tricks" of any line. So we avoid getting ourselves too confused.

 

When we go on a big ship (under 2,000 passengers please, don't want to get lost in the maze and "smothered" in the crowds), we choose the "gentle mass market line" of Celebrity, which was the line we started with and we cruised several times after.

 

When we get super discounts to go on a small ship, we go with Silversea, twice so far, both in cheap geographic locations such as Mexican Riviera and Panama Canal.

 

Being unable to afford expensive itineraries such as the Mediterranian on a small ship, we went with Oceania, at a good price in 2004 from Barcelona to Venice, and a not so good price (they have been increasing at double the rate of the others in the last five years) this upcoming October, from Venice to Athens (like a continuation of the last voyage).

 

There are points to both trying as many cruise lines as you can to get a wide scope of experience, and staying with just several, for familiarity and therefore ease of handling. We don't have the strength to try the "activity mass market" lines, or those with 5,000 passengers!

[Breezey]

OK so you asked specifically about Celebrity vs Princess. I have been on the Celebrity Mercury and the Grand and Golden Princess. I also think it matters where your ship cruises to. This is very subjective as a previous poster said but here is my experience.

 

Celebrity Mercury was to Mexico - service fantastic, food great to good and they had excellent evening entertainment including regular parties on deck. Dont recall any sea days and when we have them spend the time at the pool anyway. A few nice perks at the time like cold towels while we waited to board ship after a day in port, afternoon sorbet brought around while we lounged at the pool and trays at the buffet. As far as formal nights, small percentage of men wore tuxes, many women wore pant suits and some were very casual.

 

Golden Princess was Eastern Caribbean - same great service, food and parties as our experience on the Celebrity. When we sailed on Princess the first time, I thought, OK now I get why there are so many loyal Princess cruiser. But..

 

Grand Princess to the Mediterranean - our friends who were loyal Celebrity cruisers complained the entire trip and for this one they were right. Service was adequate, food good to adequate and it was BORING. I suspect because everyone was tired after the end of full days in port but it seemed that everyone went to bed right after dinner. It was terrible. We found on both Princess cruises that formal nights turned into casual nights. People wore their formal outfits during meals and then changed back to casual wear for the evening. We found that odd.

 

BTW we chose NCLA to do Hawaii precisely for the concerns you have about all those sea days. We flew into Hawaii, did the cruise and then stayed in Maui for a week. Would I recommend NCLA? Only for the transportation. Ship was very pretty but service, food and entertainment very average.

 

We just booked an Alaskan cruise trying to decide between Princess or Celebrity and chose Celebrity because of our last experience with Princess and the departure and return city offered by Celebrity. The Princess ship we were considering had fantastic reviews on CC boards but we were curious to see how Celebrity is after not being on a celebrity ship for about 4 years.

 

In the end, you are going to Hawaii! Fantastic!!

[TomTN]

Sailed Millennium Nov 07 and Caribbean princess a week ago.

 

My ratings on things that matter to me. on a 1-10 scale.

 

rooms overall cp7 m7

Layout cp 7 m7 I like the closets out of the main hall entering the room on cp, but there is no love seat.

Balconies cp 7 m 7

Beds cp 6 m 7 Pappa bear beds on cp (too hard)

room steward cp 8 m 8

showers cp 6 m 8 Small on cp

 

 

Food

Main dining room cp 6 m 8

Buffet cp 8 m 5 Sushi is better on M. Nothing else.

Pizza cp 8 m 2

Coffee cp 3 m 1 Supposedly now rectified on Celebrity.

Service cp 7 m 8

 

Shows

Quality cp 7 m 7 My wife's score. I could care less.

Theater cp 2 m 7 CP was a complete mess. Had to be

there at least 30 min early to get a seat.

horrible acoustics!

 

The large cp(3100) did not seem crowded except at the shows, and breakfast buffet.

 

The Celebrity product seems a little bit more refined. Not snobby. Great cruisers on both cruises.

 

Overall i would rate Celebrity an 8 and Princess a 7.5, but that is based on 5 Celebrity cruises and 1 princess cruise. I would not hesitate to sail on either line again. Itinerary and price are more important.