I have travelled both ships, and hands down, Princess remains my favourite... It knows how to look after you, it is not about silly tech gimmicks, but pure grand luxury and class! Awesome foods!
I have no experience with Princess, but I have been on two Celebrity cruises. I met a retired airline captain from the Netherlands who explained that Celebrity was his favourite because of their emphasis on a culture of safety, Crew Resource Management, etc. for me, that is a pretty powerful reason to put Celebrity high on my list.
As a person with a disability (able to walk but cannot climb stairs - I use a cane or a walker) - SO - the Edge has Princess beat. Their lifts to and from tender platforms makes my life so much easier and more relaxed - no disembarking/embarking anxiety. The only line with balcony single rooms as well -Super!
Just a quick Alaska note. I agree. Princess has the best lodges, connections and service ashore. (And Princess Bloody Mary’s are the BEST-exhausting research here 😃). Hubs and myself book a land package with Princess and the Sea segment with Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. You must be UBBER organized to plan and execute. I have done this 7 times now, each shore segment has been different.
In 2017 we did back to back cruises one week on celebrity and one week on Princess in the Eastern Caribbean. In the end - we spent $1,000 more on Celebrity than on Princess - and my wife preferred Princess!
Celebrity was the choice, 20 years ago. They had the best food of any cruise line, hands down. But in recent times Celebrity seemed to have leveled off in my opinion. Good but not great. Princess has maintained a high level of quality over the recent years. When I board a Princess cruise I know what I'm going to get with very little surprise. Looking forward to a Princess cruise to Alaska hopefully in 2022.
I have sailed Princess many times. I sailed on Celebrity Edge in August and loved it! I absolutely love their bathrooms! Princess needs to get rid of those dreadful clingy shower curtains! Love the gorgeous finishes on the Edge as well!
I’ve cruised twice on the Celebrity Edge since the resumption of cruising and I must say that the Edge is a GORGEOUS ship with fabulous bathrooms and stateroom decor (it couldn’t be better in my opinion) the food on the Edge was awful. I’ve never tasted worst bread products and desserts in my life. All the breads tasted like they’d been frozen. It was so awful, I cancelled my Christmas cruise with Celebrity.
Gary, we used to like Celebrity until they decided to market to a new and different demographic with the Edge class. Now they're all about suites, loud music, and weird performance art in Eden. Not to mention now they're incredibly expensive - much more than Princess and Holland. Our personal favorite is Holland America. We absolutely love it.
Have to agree with Gary’s opening comments, I think Celebrity and Princess are vying for the same cruise dollar. Although I’ve sailed on both I found that Princess had much better sailings from Australian and Asian ports. The one thing Princess does far better than Celebrity is their loyalty program. 🇦🇺🚢👍
We have done more Princess than Celebrity, but like both.the Asia repositioning cruises are great value with Princess. We are Platinum with Princess but those benefits have changed and aren’t as good as before. I think Princess is more relaxed and only a handful of kids when we have sailed. We like the trivia and the shows but hate the shower curtains. Celebrity cabins are nicer I think with a decent shower and the food is better. Celebrity is a younger crowd, and seems a lot more drinking around the bars and it has an open feel, but not the grand atrium that Princess has. the specialty restaurants on Celebrity take up more room on the ship.Celebrity can be more expensive generally but Princess is catching up.there are a lot more older travellers with walkers on Princess that I found, but at the same time it didn’t seem as loud and noisy as Celebrity at night. Princess seems more friendly to me, a late Sunday arvo bbq compared to a restaurant lunch in the city. We generally let the price and destination decide. Happy cruising to everyone😄🇦🇺
Been on three cruises since last August. Two Princess, Emerald and Majestic and the Celebrity Edge. Celebrity won hands down. I can only base this on my Edge experience but I loved the 4 dining rooms, the specialty restaurants were exciting and all great experiences. I found the food superior (except the pizza on deck the Emerald was amazing the Majestic didn't have it). The bathrooms are better and bigger (door not curtain for shower), Medallions on Princess were more frustrating than useful, found the Edge artwork more interesting and made the ship nicer to walk around, did not like the reduced photo packages being offered on the Emerald. Different Princess ships have different photo set ups (printed copies vs in computer to look at) and different options. Photo books available on Majestic and not the Emerald. And food was so much better on Celebrity. I kept hearing about COVID issues and lack of supplies on Princess, never on Celebrity. But lack of supplies should not affect how one cooks and serves. Picky detail but plates should look the same when served. Also liked seeing so many officers around the ship on Celebrity. They jumped in WHEREVER needed even serving food. The cruise director was everywhere. At the pool running classes, DJing at Silent Disco. Going on a Celebrity cruise next year, not E class but M class and I will see how I feel about the older ship. BIGGEST WIN FOR CELEBRITY. NO SMOKING IN THE CASINO.
I agree. The service is top notch. What I really like about Celebrity is the no smoking casinos. It's a nasty habit. We just did another southern Caribbean cruise with Celebrity in December. Although we prefer Celebrity, we've never been too loyal to any cruise line and have sailed with all of them except for Princess. We have booked our very first Princess cruise to Alaska in September on the Majestic. We took advantage of a great deal for a suite. I've watched some videos of the Majestic and it looks very nice. My wife loves to gamble so I won't be hanging around too much in the casino. Not sure why most cruise lines allow smoking in the casinos as Celebrity easily draws in gamblers without the smoking. Although the food is important, it has never been a deal breaker for me. As a pizza and burger kind of guy, it doesn't take much to make me happy. lol.
They are both great. Princess has better itinerary planning and larger ships and more consistent experience across their fleet. Celebrity has the Retreat class and different size ships, which is great if you can afford it.
Have been on 5 different lines; Carnival, NCL, RC, HAL and Princess over 19 cruises. IMO, Carnival is indeed the “FunShip” line, inexpensive and lively. Was on the Epic, too big and too crowded for us. RC about the same. It seems to me that HAL is more traditional with superb music venues and well thought ship design. Princess is really classy and we noticed that the flowers on Board are real. If I were going on a cruise for longer than a week, HAL and Princess would be my 2 choices, based on entertainment and the quality of the food. I am sure others will disagree, but we will be sailing from Southampton early November and will see how that cruise goes.
Hi Gary, been on 8 Princess and 3 Celebrity. Going on the Sky December 18th I Like them both but i love Princess more. It has exactly what i want I am looking for, I am a traditionalist as I have been cruising since 1972. You have hit the nail on the head about the traveler. I fit perfectly with Princess
@@JulieWallis1963 Princess is not as formal as the Queen Mary but i love Princess, I really do not need rock climbing and roller coasters, bumper cars and all the other glitz. On my cruise there are 2 formal nights and although most dress up and some do not, but i do If you are going on the sky like me, i hear it is a beautiful clean ship and service personnel are exceptional…enjoy your trip🚢🚢. As I am sure you will😊
I pretty much agree with Eminiar VII. Started cruising on Princess (Pre-P&O) on the original Island Princess on an 11-day Mexican Riviera cruise. In 2005, we had a direct comparison. 17-day cruise from Valparaiso to Ft. Lauderdale on the original Royal Princess. Later that year, we went Ft. Lauderdale-Los Angeles on Summit. My wife liked Summit much more than any Princess. However, I understand that Summit has changed a lot since then. I still prefer Princess. Was going to go to Bermuda on Summit because Princess didn't go there, but had to cancel that one.
As a younger traveler, personally I’m much more excited about what Celebrity is doing. I want the feeling of a swanky Las Vegas resort at Sea. I also like the idea in general of different ships having different things to discover. I love change and adventure!
and as an older traveller the Celebrity freak show from the clips here are a great reason to avoid it at all costs. The added benefit is that they take you youngins and all your ranting and raving to your own little world so we do not bother each other. Works for YOU works for me.
We have cruised both, but Celebrity is by far our choice. It is obviously our personal opinion and choice, but that is how it is. Thanks again for the wonderful reviews and for your incredible objectivity and expertise.
Thanks as always for watching and support. Celebrity versus Princess is always a hot topic and, as you say, is about what is important in each person's travel must have list...
I have never wanted to take a cruise, especially since working in health insurance, and yet I am strangely addicted to your channel! I am super happy that for people who do want to cruise you make these amazing videos!
Princess has self serve laundry on each deck. My wife likes that on longer cruises. Also we bought 100 shares of Carnival stock when it was $10/share. Now we get extra on board money on Princess because we are shareholders.
@@patsylouallenjones9270 I think I remember there is a website on how to do this. We were going on a 14 day Mediterranean cruise and were receiving about half the money back of what we paid. Unfortunately that was canceled. The stock is around $23 now and could still be a good buy if a person cruises Carnival products a lot. But I am not a financial advisor.
I agree with everything you said. I personally prefer Celebrity. I sailed on Celebrity Edge for Spain/Portugal. Fell in love with the Infinite Balcony cabin - unbeatable.
Great video Gary!! One thing when taking value into consideration (especially when booking suites on these lines) is that once you look at the total fare including all of the included extras like gratuities/drinks/wifi/specialty dining etc. and then including airfare and excursions, it could be very valuable to do a comparison with the luxury lines (ie Silversea/Regent/Seaborn) to see how it compares. If those cruise line experiences suite you (pardon the pun), the value proposition could change for what you get.
I have been cruising on Princess since I was in my early 30’s. I love that they are more traditional. And that the experience is similar no matter what ship you are on. Personally when I hear about the different classes on ships it gives me the creeps and reminds me of sailing on ships like the Titanic. I like that on Princess every area is available to everyone except the special breakfast restaurant for suite passengers.
BIG DIFFERENCE is that as an Elite on Princess, (15 cruises), I get FREE, UNLIMITED laundry and dry cleaning. Therefore I do not need to bring luggage, just carry-on for any length of cruise as I do laundry every 2 days. No lost luggage. No waiting at airports.
I will be interested to see your opinion on the new Princess Sphere Class ships when they debut! I have already booked on the Sun Princess next fall in a Cabana Mini-Suite. 😊
From the comments below it looks like Princess is better for the older more settled crowd wanting a more home comfort feel and quieter experience. However I see recently it's become more child friendly so it has become more lively with alot more children than before
Thanks, Gary. I was particularly interested in this as these are our two favourite lines. Food is better on Celebrity. Last time on Princess, the eggs Benedict were smothered in cheese, and cold, not fresh and individually prepared, which was an unwelcome surprise. Princess' food seems to have gone a bit downhill over the years. Speciality dining is good on Celebrity, but agreed, the pizza on Princess is good!
Princess for me I like that it’s familiar I don’t have to spend time exploring and looking I’m on vacation I live to relax on the ship on sea day and then explore the ports celebrity rooms are hands down nice and more up dated But for us as we are in our 50 I like the easy going familiar old way of princess would be nice if they upgraded the showers
Although I have enjoyed both lines, I am elite on Princess and never really had a bad experience with them. Sadly my last voyage on the Celebrity Silhouette had too many poor outcomes from food to shore excursions to hostile front desk staff to an awful debarkation in New Jersey. But the size of the ships has become a little too much for the two of us. Lately I have found refuge in Oceania and Azamara for not that much more than the total cost of the 2 bigger lines. The difference in the quality of food alone is worth the extra cash. In fact the trip from 18 day Auckland to Tahiti and the 16 day from Auckland to Sydney were a lot cheaper because of the terrific deal Oceania got on the airfare. Check it out.
Love both, but Princess takes me to longer cruises. For shorter cruises the bigger are best for shows but similar in service and atmosphere. Our observation is that the longer the cruise,the better the service!
We start with the itinerary. So far Princess has always had better itineraries for our needs, in terms of where the ships go and how long the cruise takes. Open to try Celebrity, and always look at them, because we are at the lower end of the Princess demographic and in theory might enjoy Celebrity more. But the sort of ship experiences you talk about don’t interest us. We get a basic balcony cabin, don’t use specialty dining, use sea days to do our laundry (the self service Princess laundries are a plus for us), and can always find a quiet corner of the ship when not in port. Once we are retired, the other line we will look more closely at is HAL, who seemed the hVe longer and more in depth itineraries. Would be interested to see a three way shoot out video with them as well,
I had 3 wonderful cruises on Celebrity, and 1 bad one. Overworked staff, food shortages, and maintenance issues. Can you imagine a premium cruise line running out of vegetables, syrup, humus, pineapple, during the previous cruise, without restocking before embarkation? The good news is that they found frozen mixed veggies in Maui, but no luck on pineapple. Well, it is 2021, and those problems are hopefully a thing of the past, but not without a hefty price increase. We switched our leaning towards HAL in 2019, at age 39, and haven't looked back. The food, service, mattresses, suite affordability, and itineraries, exceeded our expectations. Entertainment is the weakness, but we're low key and love live music.
@@thejokerspeaks I admit when we went to Antarctica, I read negative reviews like that of Celebrity. But it happened that Princess just had a sail date and itinerary that was perfect. Interested about HAL entertainment. That’s actually the main thing I would change about Princess. A lot of the music is geared towards someone 5-10 years older than us. I thought HAL had an older demographic than Princess. But like you we are low key, and cruising is about the destination. The ship is really just floating accomodation and restaurant.
@@thejokerspeaks is the entertainment poor cause they don't have live modern musicals, Broadway style theater performances? We are 54 and have cruised 15x since our 30s an we LUV vacaying via cruises. HAL cruise line we have been deciding if we would like this line. We are NCL & RCC for all of our 15 cruises we've done. Would love to hear more from you about Hollands performances as that's 1 of our main events we like about cruising is going to the theater for all the great show performances.
I sailed on the Celebrity Edge and the Apex and a few of the newer Princess ships. I do like the Atrium area on the Edge Class ships with the Martini Bar. Plus it is easy to navigate the ship. For Princess, using the Medallion to order drinks or room service was great! You can get easily lost on the Princess ship, as you have to be aware which level you need to be on for what venue you are looking for.The downside of the Celebrity Ship, you cannot order drinks as room service. That was a plus with Princess.
Princess is a no brainer for us as we travel with 2 kids. Princess is far better with kids. Our kids did Disney and Princess in the same year as 7 and 8 year olds and they preferred Princess over Disney!
As always, your comments are right on! We are cruising with Princess next year and chose them for a few things. For that particular trip, they offer what we need. We will be in Europe for 1 month, the cruise being only 12 days of it so the self-laundry was a plus. We want to visit all the ports so the ship's entertainment is not that important to us. Basically it will offer what we prefer in a cruise: a comfortable way to travel in-between destination.
I've seen a lot of anti-Celebrity opinions lately, and for very...vacuous reasons. Thank you for going in-depth about why you like one or the other and thank you for admitting it really does depend on what you're looking for. You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard a variation lately of, "[Insert line here] is better than Celebrity, and if you disagree, then [insert personal insult here]."
The similarities between Princess and Celebrity are just a comforting, cozy feeling. They feel like well worn slippers, rather than new shoes, when we cruise on each of them. We love having earned elite status many years ago on Princess, and the Medallion just adds a little edge to Princess, but we enjoy both cruise lines!
My experience on Princess has never been great. I’ve sailed with them three times over the last three decades and each time I say never again. I tried again for an itinerary or just to see if they’ve gotten their act together, but was always disappointed. Service has never been anywhere close to that on Celebrity or even RCCL and the state of the ship always seemed cheap. Princess is not for me.
I agree completely! I have cruised both of these lines many times. They are our two favorite cruise companies, by far. Great video! Keep up the good work!
We just went on the Celebrity Solstice to Alaska, our first Celebrity cruise, with two prior cruises on Princess. I must say that the food and entertainment on Princess were significantly better. Even those contract performers at different lounge bars were better. We hope the experience will be much improved on the next trip with the Edge class.
Went on Celebrity Solstice Pacific tour for 13 days. The hard sell on upgrading for food and drink beverages never stopped ! Will not do Celebrity again because of it
Love both Princess & Celebrity but the Retreat/Aqua Class category on Celebrity has by far changed how we look & book cruises. We can’t go back to standard rooms, even a balcony category. Hope to sail the Edge, Apex or Beyond in 2023.
An interesting and useful review Gary - thanks! I shall only say that I have been a loyal and very happy Celebrity cruiser in the past but my last trip with them on the Edge has brought that to a crash. Their 'change', which you describe very well, I found has left their newer ships with no place for the older, more traditional cruiser who is looking for a relaxing as well as exciting holiday. There was nowhere on that ship where I could find a quiet spot when I wanted to relax and get away from the noise and din. Ken
I’d prefer the ships being unique. The first time I cruised one of the highlights was discovering the ship. I mean it was all new on that trip but I’d like a bit of that mystery on each cruise. Not that they can shake things up too much.
Celebrity does offer cruise only sales on select cruises. I've sailed both and love them both. We have the Beyond booked for next December, and will probably go either the Sky Princess or one of the newer Royal Class for the Caribbean for Dec, 2023. We're waiting for Princess to offer beyond April, 2023. For financial reasons, it has to be past April.
I much prefer Princess ships. Being the same layout its easier to find your way around. Being elderly, this is a big plus for me. I love the atrium and central staircase. Celebrity Solstice I didn't like much. The layout was hard to find your way around and for some reason I just didn't like it. The new ships might be different of course.
Interesting. We have sailed both lines on multiple occasions. We like them both. There are pluses and minuses to both. We have booked 2022 and 2023 cruises on both lines. Trying to figure out which one is “better” is a fun but, in my opinion, a futile exercise.
I have not sailed on either yet. I will sell on the Edge in December. We do like the fact that Celebrity offers tips, drinks and Wi-Fi included in the cruise fare.
My wife and I recently returned from a two-week Alaskan cruise on the Grand Princess out of Vancouver. It was our first cruise with Princess. We also did a 12-day Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Equinox last February. We are both in our 60s and have cruised on some of the other major cruise lines as well. I will just say that our overall Celebrity SHIP experience was easily better than Princess and we did not have any of the upgraded classes with either line and just had a "normal" balcony stateroom. But I must say that we loved our first Princess cruise and the Alaskan destination had a lot to do with that. Princess does Alaska right! Princess got a lot of other things right from booking to disembarkation, but the one thing that stood out for us was the low quality of the Princess food, most notably in their Lido dining venue. The worst cruise ship food experience I've had. The food in the DaVinci main dining venue was similarly lack luster. BUT...this was the ONLY significant issue I had with Princess...albeit a semi-important one. We had no such complaints with Celebrity.
Working out a trip for 2024. One of the major segments is going to be a trans Atlantic cruise. Your videos have been very helpful in defining the questions I should be asking about choosing a line. Between these definitely Princess. Not even a question. But I'm still looking to see if anything else would fit me better. I like a more traditional approach, but not to over the top stuffy. Thanks for the information. And please, have fun.
I just got back from my 1st cruise. We did the Celebrity Solstice to Alaska. It was a great experience but I have nothing to compare it to. To prepare for my 1st cruise I watched many of your videos, they were most helpful, as well as others and now that I’m back there’s an elephant in the room that you and the other video bloggers didn’t really address. Covid! I just heard that cruise lines have abandoned the restrictions that our party had to endure. Proof of vacations and negative test 48 hours prior to boarding. The other couple in our party had been on a Mediterranean cruise in March and they had a 30% positivity rate upon disembarkation. While only 3 cases were reported by the captain mid week, there is a Facebook page dedicated to my cruise and upon return people are posting of numerous positive tests. This includes my wife who just went through the infusion and both of her cousins that did the exact same cruise just weeks before. Cruise lines only voluntarily have to submit Covid infections to the CDC and have no records of infections that occur after disembarkation. In the end I think it would be safe to say that 30% plus infection rate could be the norm. Now that the cruise lines have removed any health restrictions I would say that’s likely to spike upwards. In the end I’m not sure you can say that it is safe to cruise. I’d like you to address this as you are way more knowledgeable than I am. Thank you.
I completely agree. We are destination and itinerary focussed and the cruise line is somewhat secondary but still very important. We have done cruises on both lines and until Celebrity began to "Edgify" their ships, ripping out the very plush and comfortable Michael's Club and replacing it with The Retreat Lounge, "refurnishing" the suites into something like a cheap end of an Ikea showroom, we would have said that Celebrity has a lead over Princess for the onboard experience. The Luminae restaurant on Celebrity is, in my view, the one really outstanding innovation with fantastic food and service. That said, both lines are different shades of the same vanilla experience. Maybe one uses pods and the other essence but essentially the same. Itinerary every time for us. Regent is our next new line next year and of the one's we've tried before lockdown, Scenic Eclipse is the outstanding ship experience for small ship cruising.
Then there are the self-operated laundry rooms on Princess. A real plus on longer cruises. Celebrity can give you discounted or free laundry service. My choice is Celebrity because of the difference of the ship. Fifty-Sixth cruise coming up Oct. 24 on the APEX!
Gary I really enjoy these videos packed full of the sort of info cruisers are looking for and this means they’re more likely to pick the right product thanks to you! Keep up the great work…😊
Holland America for me, thanks. I’m not going on one of those huge party ships. One of those lines was docked beside us on my last cruise and I spent the late afternoon listening to the dance music pouring from the PA system they seemed to need to have on the dock to check their passengers back in. If that’s a sample of what goes on on-board then I’m going to pass.
Thanks Gary for doing this interesting comparison. We've sailed 8 times on Celebrity and twice on Princess. I enjoy the more modern and interesting decor on Celebrity even as I also appreciate the classic feel of public spaces of Princess ships. I thought the food was better overall on Celebrity, although Sabatini is my favorite at sea Italian restaurant and Princess pizza is among the best. We just got off the Edge and had a fantastic experience, partly because it was only 30 percent full. The public spaces are beautiful and Eden was a favorite hangout. The food was good overall and their new pizza place may be as good as Princess. We are booked on the Majestic Princess in early December and can't wait to see how we like the latest offerings from Princess especially since we haven't sailed with them since 2010.
I've heard that Princess cruise ships allow cigarette smoking in their casinos while passengers play at their slot machines, whereby the smell of smoke lingers not only in the casinos... but, also into the show venues that are located right next door... whereas Celebrity cruise ships don't allow smoking in their casinos and thereby, preventing the smell of smoke to permeate into other areas of the ship. Furthermore, I've heard that Celebrity has better shows and food than Princess. Not to mention, I think it's very sad that a cruise ship like Princess would allow cigarette smoking within any public area these days... especially, since it's so offensive to most people, all in an effort to bleed out more money at their slot machines.
Sailed on Celebrity twice this year, the med and Alaska. Totally enjoyed the cruises. We are heading to the Panama Canal on princess next spring can't wait to experience the difference.
A really balanced and considered comparison Gary. We’re just fortunate to have such a diverse choice in cruise lines. A poor cruise can so often be as a result of poor research and prioritisation. Thank you Gary 👍
I've never sailed with celebrity, but have been on several cruises with princess. stepping onto a princess ship always feels like coming home, regardless of whether or not I've cruised on that specific ship before. Though every ship has its small differences, they are all quite similar and have the same atmosphere so you always know what to expect which I really love. not to mention the fact that princess has a great loyalty program.
Agree, we’ll said Aria Maeve.Princess is a very comfortable ship, the crew are always the same friendly people. You know what to wear at dinner, no stress at all. Very well organised. Celebrity has nicer cabins and I think the food is better, but the staff make Princess in my opinion.😃🇦🇺
All Princess ships are somewhat different by class, but the footprint is very similar. There’s too much to do and see than to spend time figuring out where everything is. It’s very relaxing. Princess is a much better value IMO.
Gary, I like both lines. As Celebrity tries to expand their audience, however, I am inclined to stay with the more traditional Princess. The other key for me is that TA's are still able to discount on Princess, a clincher.
I was a Celebrity fan until they decided to market to a new and different demographic. Now they're all about suites, loud music, and weird performance art in Eden.
My wife and I took two cruises on Celebrity and they were among the best we had ever taken. Staff was friendly and helpful, service & food very good. Our one Princess cruise was a disappoint with an argument with our first room steward (who was replaced) and a rude waiter at one lunch service in the Main dining room who all but tossed our plates onto the table. We would never cruise that line again.
I like to have each ship different so it’s a unique experience and I don’t know what’s around every corner. Also enjoy less formal and casual youthful cruise. Celebrity wins.
Great video, perhaps your best yet! We've cruised on both, and you're right, it all depends on where you're going and what you want to do. When I started cruising on Celebrity it was on the Horizon class, then we've moved up to the Galaxy class, then to the Millenium Class, and finally the Solstice Class. All great. But as I've said before, the jury is still out on the Edge Class, it may be a little too "out there" for this guy who's been on forty plus cruises. We may end up on Princess exclusively when the Solstice Class ships are finally sold off. I'm still "upset" that they got rid of Silk Harvest in order to introduce QSine. I'll end up on Princess just to eat at Alfredo's. Best pizza at sea! Again, great video, keep up the good work!
What you need to consider is Celebrity doesn't charge for drinks, internet or gratuities, equal to approximately $900 per person on a 10 day cruise. Also, the one major difference for me is they prohibit smoking in the casino, where smoke has chased me out of in the past. I haven't been on Princess in years and don't know their current policy. For me, it's a major difference as I like to hang out there occasionally
You are paying for those inclusions as the prices went up drastically when they added them in the Fall of 2020. Princess offer a choice of inclusive rates or not.
@@chriswilliams6568 I have to admit I was not happy on my last Princess cruise. It seemed they nickeled & dimed me every time I turned around. Not to mention I found the food sub-par compared to other recent cruises. So I never went back. EVERY cruise line increased it's prices after Covid, but when I calculated it with the amenities, Celebrity came out on top. But their main attraction? Fewer kids and no smoking in the casino, where I do like to hang frequently. The only other line I'm really fond of is Royal Caribbean.
@@ginnyyamamotosyphax291 I've heard this also but hope things are more relaxed on my next cruise. It will be hard to enforce as people like to look around on which machine to lose money on next.
@@Shay-ik1xq Princess also offer the choice of all inclusive rates. I like Celebrity too. I have only been on one RCI cruise, in 1999, very nice but the newer ships are full of toys which attract teens and families. So no thanks.
We've been on Princess Cruise on several occasions. Our experience with Princess is very positive. I must say although the first reason we pick a cruise line is for the cruise experience & Itineraries. The lesser is the main reason. We pick the cruise line based on the trip experience. For example in 2023 we will be cruising to Norway because of the ports. Princess was selected because of the itinerary venue. For 2024 we are planning to visit New Zealand, for that trip Celebrity will be our selection because again based on their itinerary. This will be our first time with Celebrity. We've also traveled with Norwegian Line, in my experience this line offers an average experience not as good as Princess. Appreciate your channel, please continue the good work.
great comparison. Essentially, its horses for courses. We loved our alaskan trip on Princess although didn't use their excursions or places to stay as they aren't as good (price wise) as privately. Oh, they also own most of the shops in Juneau up to the main pub so be aware of that
Having done both now, I would choose Celebrity. Not for one particular reason but for lots of little reasons where they edge ahead. Princess seem to priority put on cabin numbers and loose out on space
Princess’s medallion is the best, so easy to use and buy anything you need wherever you are. Now just get rid of mandatory formal nights, why any guy would want to bring a suit on vacation is beyond me. Pants and collared shirt is fine for formal night.
Not a copout at all. If I'm going somewhere I've never been before, my focus is on the best itinerary coupled with what the cruise line can do to enhance my experience on land (like your Princess/Alaska experience). If I'm going somewhere I've been, I opt for the cruise line that provides me with the best ship experience. I get the "loyalty" thing to some extent and I'm building loyalty with a couple of cruise lines, but people that continually sail one brand without comparing other itineraries/experiences really miss out on a variety of new experiences.
Like Adamson Robinson our cruises are driven by itinerary, You can throw in dates and costs as well. We are not bothered about balcony cabins but will take what is available, we like to watch what is going on and have the view that the view is important!! You can guarantee that the view from the other side of the ship is better than your side.
I just finished my 1st cruise with princess and it was phenomenal! We did a 7 day cruise up to Alaska and I couldn't have asked for a better experience...even the weather cooperated! Only downside was the princess app...it was uneven and we had trouble with it all week. Plus our onboard billing kept getting charged to the wrong room and accounts...with all the tech on board it's not surprising to run into issues, not to mention this is the maiden season for the discovery princess...she had her maiden voyage in February so issues aren't surprising however they did dull the experience a little bit... We're gonna go again soon as we can...loved the whole cruising experience and a much better way to vacation!
@@tipsfortravellers we saw the majestic while on our cruise...in fact we saw a royal Caribbean and Holland America as well...all 4 ships were hitting the same ports at the same time which made it interesting when it came time for excursions... I like the princess app, and as a tech guy I'm pretty savvy in using apps and IT stuff, but this app really gave us trouble. I'm hoping that it was simply due to the ship being so new
I am a Elite passenger on Princess. One thing I don't like they strip the benefit like free Wi-Fi. Usually we have free minutes from 150 to 250 minutes depending on the length of the cruise. Now that they remove that and ask you to buy the WiFi package for half price. Normally we Only use the WiFi for checking E-mail periodically and print boarding pass at the last day. I think it is a rip off instead.
I recently travelled last month to the Caribbean, and took a Celebrity cruise first then took a Princess cruise immediately after. while I liked different things about each cruise… I felt Celebrity came on top with food quality, service and the overall experience.
Thanks Gary. This is perfect. Having not sailed Princess only Celebrity Aqua Class just twice , I was interested in your assessment. Basically it depends on the destination. Both cruise lines seem to attract the same cruisers from the people I met on board, although when asked they all responded with Celebrity! I do agree Celebrity supply bespoke areas so if your not a fan of crowds or like space they are probably the best option but will definitely book Princess for Alaska. Thanks again.
I have been on both and have nothing but positive things to say. I love them both, but , I also love RCL and Carnival. I go on cruises with an open and positive mind, thus, all 13 cruises have been wonderful. I eat what I love and skip what is so so. Got 3 more cruises planned within next year.
You are right, depends on what you are looking for, and how much money you have. I have never been on celebrity, it sounds good, though I love Princess. Happy anniversary.
I have sailed on both ships and find that, in my opinion Celebrity is the better line. I have sailed in an inside cabin, Ocean view cabin , balcony cabin and in a sky suite on Celebrity and only once on princess and that was in a suite. Overall I find the food to be much better on Celebrity which is a big factor for me when choosing a cruise. Celebrity offer a much better suite experience which includes more perks and facilities.
My wife and I have sailed on NCL, HAL, RCCI, Carnival, Princess and Celebrity. (36 cruises.) Enjoyed them all. I think it's the people (crew and fellow passengers) that make the wonderful memories. Funny, we have to choose between the Eclipse and the Grand for an upcoming Australia-NZ cruise. It has come down to us favoring Princess as they offer both a piano lounge and self-serve laundromats. Two essentials for us NOT found on a Celebrity ship. Lame I know. (Perhaps the Edge Class will offer such.) While we think we are still youthful I guess not. Us aging couples need the tried and true (AND our piano tunes.) DO like Cafe al Bacio though. The best coffee at sea!
I so enjoy your coverage and insights Gary. Today I put a dep on a forward facing deluxe ocean view cabin on Celebrity's Reflection ship - which I understand has just completed a refurbishment. It's not until Jan 2025 but again, based upon your invaluable advice, I have now booked 5 cruises from Dec of this year outward. I watched your channel and Emma Cruises throughout my cancer treatment last year and feel like I've now graduated from Cruising 101 😁 Thank you so much for putting such fabulous content out there! Cheers,
I have travelled both ships, and hands down, Princess remains my favourite... It knows how to look after you, it is not about silly tech gimmicks, but pure grand luxury and class! Awesome foods!
Helpful tip, thx!
I have no experience with Princess, but I have been on two Celebrity cruises. I met a retired airline captain from the Netherlands who explained that Celebrity was his favourite because of their emphasis on a culture of safety, Crew Resource Management, etc. for me, that is a pretty powerful reason to put Celebrity high on my list.
As a person with a disability (able to walk but cannot climb stairs - I use a cane or a walker) - SO - the Edge has Princess beat. Their lifts to and from tender platforms makes my life so much easier and more relaxed - no disembarking/embarking anxiety. The only line with balcony single rooms as well -Super!
Celebrity Edge class is unrivalled truly magnificent
Both are similar Cruise Ships. Had wonderful experiences for 22 Cruise trips.
Just a quick Alaska note.
I agree. Princess has the best lodges, connections and service ashore. (And Princess Bloody Mary’s are the BEST-exhausting research here 😃).
Hubs and myself book a land package with Princess and the Sea segment with Celebrity or Royal Caribbean.
You must be UBBER organized to plan and execute. I have done this 7 times now, each shore segment has been different.
ルワーズ通りワイキキビーチウォークからスタートして、アストンワイキキビーチホテルまで。
今回はハワイ旅行で人気のワイキキを散歩します。
この日はワイキキでサーフラックの火災がありました。
In 2017 we did back to back cruises one week on celebrity and one week on Princess in the Eastern Caribbean. In the end - we spent $1,000 more on Celebrity than on Princess - and my wife preferred Princess!
Celebrity was the choice, 20 years ago. They had the best food of any cruise line, hands down. But in recent times Celebrity seemed to have leveled off in my opinion. Good but not great. Princess has maintained a high level of quality over the recent years. When I board a Princess cruise I know what I'm going to get with very little surprise. Looking forward to a Princess cruise to Alaska hopefully in 2022.
As I known, for going to Alaska, Discovery Princess will stop at Glacier Bay, however Celebrity Edges won’t.. it only stops at Endicott Arm.
Celebrity every time. I’ve just been on Apex and it’s incredible. Best cruise ship in the world.
I have sailed Princess many times. I sailed on Celebrity Edge in August and loved it! I absolutely love their bathrooms! Princess needs to get rid of those dreadful clingy shower curtains! Love the gorgeous finishes on the Edge as well!
I’ve cruised twice on the Celebrity Edge since the resumption of cruising and I must say that the Edge is a GORGEOUS ship with fabulous bathrooms and stateroom decor (it couldn’t be better in my opinion) the food on the Edge was awful. I’ve never tasted worst bread products and desserts in my life. All the breads tasted like they’d been frozen. It was so awful, I cancelled my Christmas cruise with Celebrity.
agreed. edge was most beautiful ship and room so far for sure. I think princess has slight edge on food and service.
Gary, we used to like Celebrity until they decided to market to a new and different demographic with the Edge class. Now they're all about suites, loud music, and weird performance art in Eden. Not to mention now they're incredibly expensive - much more than Princess and Holland. Our personal favorite is Holland America. We absolutely love it.
Norwegian Fjords in September 22. First HAL for us!
It depends on the budget
Just got off HA Eurodam. Won't cruise them again. Poor sanitation with several COVID cases.
Definitely Holland America. They have really upgraded and have great venues, superb music , and most of all class !
I'm curious, what demographic are they trying to capture??
Have to agree with Gary’s opening comments, I think Celebrity and Princess are vying for the same cruise dollar. Although I’ve sailed on both I found that Princess had much better sailings from Australian and Asian ports.
The one thing Princess does far better than Celebrity is their loyalty program.
🇦🇺🚢👍
We have done more Princess than Celebrity, but like both.the Asia repositioning cruises are great value with Princess. We are Platinum with Princess but those benefits have changed and aren’t as good as before. I think Princess is more relaxed and only a handful of kids when we have sailed. We like the trivia and the shows but hate the shower curtains. Celebrity cabins are nicer I think with a decent shower and the food is better. Celebrity is a younger crowd, and seems a lot more drinking around the bars and it has an open feel, but not the grand atrium that Princess has. the specialty restaurants on Celebrity take up more room on the ship.Celebrity can be more expensive generally but Princess is catching up.there are a lot more older travellers with walkers on Princess that I found, but at the same time it didn’t seem as loud and noisy as Celebrity at night. Princess seems more friendly to me, a late Sunday arvo bbq compared to a restaurant lunch in the city. We generally let the price and destination decide. Happy cruising to everyone😄🇦🇺
@@leanneneville2431 you guys pop lol I l lol I’m I o i I o lol o o o o lol I polo k I k I o o I o my
Isnt celebrity's loyalty program actually royal Caribbeans loyalty program? I know being a RC shareholder gets you perks on celebrity.
Been on three cruises since last August. Two Princess, Emerald and Majestic and the Celebrity Edge. Celebrity won hands down. I can only base this on my Edge experience but I loved the 4 dining rooms, the specialty restaurants were exciting and all great experiences. I found the food superior (except the pizza on deck the Emerald was amazing the Majestic didn't have it). The bathrooms are better and bigger (door not curtain for shower), Medallions on Princess were more frustrating than useful, found the Edge artwork more interesting and made the ship nicer to walk around, did not like the reduced photo packages being offered on the Emerald. Different Princess ships have different photo set ups (printed copies vs in computer to look at) and different options. Photo books available on Majestic and not the Emerald. And food was so much better on Celebrity. I kept hearing about COVID issues and lack of supplies on Princess, never on Celebrity. But lack of supplies should not affect how one cooks and serves. Picky detail but plates should look the same when served. Also liked seeing so many officers around the ship on Celebrity. They jumped in WHEREVER needed even serving food. The cruise director was everywhere. At the pool running classes, DJing at Silent Disco. Going on a Celebrity cruise next year, not E class but M class and I will see how I feel about the older ship. BIGGEST WIN FOR CELEBRITY. NO SMOKING IN THE CASINO.
I agree. The service is top notch. What I really like about Celebrity is the no smoking casinos. It's a nasty habit. We just did another southern Caribbean cruise with Celebrity in December. Although we prefer Celebrity, we've never been too loyal to any cruise line and have sailed with all of them except for Princess. We have booked our very first Princess cruise to Alaska in September on the Majestic. We took advantage of a great deal for a suite. I've watched some videos of the Majestic and it looks very nice. My wife loves to gamble so I won't be hanging around too much in the casino. Not sure why most cruise lines allow smoking in the casinos as Celebrity easily draws in gamblers without the smoking. Although the food is important, it has never been a deal breaker for me. As a pizza and burger kind of guy, it doesn't take much to make me happy. lol.
The no smoking in the casino on Celebrity gives them the win for me
I prefer Celebrity head and shoulder over Princess. I was extremely underwhelmed by my cruise on Princess
They are both great. Princess has better itinerary planning and larger ships and more consistent experience across their fleet. Celebrity has the Retreat class and different size ships, which is great if you can afford it.
Have been on 5 different lines; Carnival, NCL, RC, HAL and Princess over 19 cruises. IMO, Carnival is indeed the “FunShip” line, inexpensive and lively. Was on the Epic, too big and too crowded for us. RC about the same. It seems to me that HAL is more traditional with superb music venues and well thought ship design. Princess is really classy and we noticed that the flowers on Board are real. If I were going on a cruise for longer than a week, HAL and Princess would be my 2 choices, based on entertainment and the quality of the food. I am sure others will disagree, but we will be sailing from Southampton early November and will see how that cruise goes.
Agree about the Epic, dont know why but its not a nice ship. Its all there but we found it too crowded.
So how was the cruise?
Hi Gary, been on 8 Princess and 3 Celebrity. Going on the Sky December 18th I Like them both but i love Princess more. It has exactly what i want I am looking for, I am a traditionalist as I have been cruising since 1972. You have hit the nail on the head about the traveler. I fit perfectly with Princess
@@JulieWallis1963 Love, love Princess and would not cruise with anyone else. Have a great cruise!
@@JulieWallis1963 Princess is not as formal as the Queen Mary but i love Princess, I really do not need rock climbing and roller coasters, bumper cars and all the other glitz. On my cruise there are 2 formal nights and although most dress up and some do not, but i do
If you are going on the sky like me, i hear it is a beautiful clean ship and service personnel are exceptional…enjoy your trip🚢🚢. As I am sure you will😊
I pretty much agree with Eminiar VII. Started cruising on Princess (Pre-P&O) on the original Island Princess on an 11-day Mexican Riviera cruise. In 2005, we had a direct comparison. 17-day cruise from Valparaiso to Ft. Lauderdale on the original Royal Princess. Later that year, we went Ft. Lauderdale-Los Angeles on Summit. My wife liked Summit much more than any Princess. However, I understand that Summit has changed a lot since then. I still prefer Princess. Was going to go to Bermuda on Summit because Princess didn't go there, but had to cancel that one.
As a younger traveler, personally I’m much more excited about what Celebrity is doing. I want the feeling of a swanky Las Vegas resort at Sea. I also like the idea in general of different ships having different things to discover. I love change and adventure!
and as an older traveller the Celebrity freak show from the clips here are a great reason to avoid it at all costs. The added benefit is that they take you youngins and all your ranting and raving to your own little world so we do not bother each other. Works for YOU works for me.
Well , I'm glad I will not have to see your old grumpy butt on the newer Celebrity ships !
We have cruised both, but Celebrity is by far our choice. It is obviously our personal opinion and choice, but that is how it is.
Thanks again for the wonderful reviews and for your incredible objectivity and expertise.
Thanks as always for watching and support. Celebrity versus Princess is always a hot topic and, as you say, is about what is important in each person's travel must have list...
I have never wanted to take a cruise, especially since working in health insurance, and yet I am strangely addicted to your channel! I am super happy that for people who do want to cruise you make these amazing videos!
Same!! I’m a reluctant cruiser who finds myself binge-watching Gary’s videos! 😆
Princess has self serve laundry on each deck. My wife likes that on longer cruises. Also we bought 100 shares of Carnival stock when it was $10/share. Now we get extra on board money on Princess because we are shareholders.
I bought CCL STOCK at $55 PER!!! GULP!!!!😝
Samuel Collins It will come back. 🙂
I have stock and am trying to find how to get the onboard credit. The Princess agent didn’t know 😕. Still working on it.
@@patsylouallenjones9270 I think I remember there is a website on how to do this. We were going on a 14 day Mediterranean cruise and were receiving about half the money back of what we paid. Unfortunately that was canceled.
The stock is around $23 now and could still be a good buy if a person cruises Carnival products a lot. But I am not a financial advisor.
NCL and Celebrity have similar OBC for owners of their stock.
I agree with everything you said. I personally prefer Celebrity. I sailed on Celebrity Edge for Spain/Portugal. Fell in love with the Infinite Balcony cabin - unbeatable.
Great video Gary!! One thing when taking value into consideration (especially when booking suites on these lines) is that once you look at the total fare including all of the included extras like gratuities/drinks/wifi/specialty dining etc. and then including airfare and excursions, it could be very valuable to do a comparison with the luxury lines (ie Silversea/Regent/Seaborn) to see how it compares. If those cruise line experiences suite you (pardon the pun), the value proposition could change for what you get.
I have been cruising on Princess since I was in my early 30’s. I love that they are more traditional. And that the experience is similar no matter what ship you are on. Personally when I hear about the different classes on ships it gives me the creeps and reminds me of sailing on ships like the Titanic. I like that on Princess every area is available to everyone except the special breakfast restaurant for suite passengers.
BIG DIFFERENCE is that as an Elite on Princess, (15 cruises), I get FREE, UNLIMITED laundry and dry cleaning. Therefore I do not need to bring luggage, just carry-on for any length of cruise as I do laundry every 2 days. No lost luggage. No waiting at airports.
❤️💙💜that unlimited laundry! Some cruise lines you might get free laundry but it’s limited!
@@ginnyyamamotosyphax291 It is as addictive as heroine.
Now this is amazing
I wouldn't want to be washing on a cruise ship wouldn't have time to fit it in, speaking as an experienced cruiser.
@@christinepotts6415 So become Elite on Princess.
I will be interested to see your opinion on the new Princess Sphere Class ships when they debut! I have already booked on the Sun Princess next fall in a Cabana Mini-Suite. 😊
From the comments below it looks like Princess is better for the older more settled crowd wanting a more home comfort feel and quieter experience. However I see recently it's become more child friendly so it has become more lively with alot more children than before
Thanks, Gary. I was particularly interested in this as these are our two favourite lines. Food is better on Celebrity. Last time on Princess, the eggs Benedict were smothered in cheese, and cold, not fresh and individually prepared, which was an unwelcome surprise. Princess' food seems to have gone a bit downhill over the years. Speciality dining is good on Celebrity, but agreed, the pizza on Princess is good!
Princess for me I like that it’s familiar I don’t have to spend time exploring and looking I’m on vacation I live to relax on the ship on sea day and then explore the ports celebrity rooms are hands down nice and more up dated
But for us as we are in our 50 I like the easy going familiar old way of princess would be nice if they upgraded the showers
Although I have enjoyed both lines, I am elite on Princess and never really had a bad experience with them. Sadly my last voyage on the Celebrity Silhouette had too many poor outcomes from food to shore excursions to hostile front desk staff to an awful debarkation in New Jersey. But the size of the ships has become a little too much for the two of us. Lately I have found refuge in Oceania and Azamara for not that much more than the total cost of the 2 bigger lines. The difference in the quality of food alone is worth the extra cash. In fact the trip from 18 day Auckland to Tahiti and the 16 day from Auckland to Sydney were a lot cheaper because of the terrific deal Oceania got on the airfare. Check it out.
I agree the front desk staff were horrible on celebrity
Love both, but Princess takes me to longer cruises. For shorter cruises the bigger are best for shows but similar in service and atmosphere. Our observation is that the longer the cruise,the better the service!
We start with the itinerary. So far Princess has always had better itineraries for our needs, in terms of where the ships go and how long the cruise takes. Open to try Celebrity, and always look at them, because we are at the lower end of the Princess demographic and in theory might enjoy Celebrity more. But the sort of ship experiences you talk about don’t interest us. We get a basic balcony cabin, don’t use specialty dining, use sea days to do our laundry (the self service Princess laundries are a plus for us), and can always find a quiet corner of the ship when not in port.
Once we are retired, the other line we will look more closely at is HAL, who seemed the hVe longer and more in depth itineraries. Would be interested to see a three way shoot out video with them as well,
I think you will love Holland America. It is our absolute favorite.
I had 3 wonderful cruises on Celebrity, and 1 bad one. Overworked staff, food shortages, and maintenance issues. Can you imagine a premium cruise line running out of vegetables, syrup, humus, pineapple, during the previous cruise, without restocking before embarkation? The good news is that they found frozen mixed veggies in Maui, but no luck on pineapple. Well, it is 2021, and those problems are hopefully a thing of the past, but not without a hefty price increase.
We switched our leaning towards HAL in 2019, at age 39, and haven't looked back. The food, service, mattresses, suite affordability, and itineraries, exceeded our expectations. Entertainment is the weakness, but we're low key and love live music.
@@thejokerspeaks I admit when we went to Antarctica, I read negative reviews like that of Celebrity. But it happened that Princess just had a sail date and itinerary that was perfect.
Interested about HAL entertainment. That’s actually the main thing I would change about Princess. A lot of the music is geared towards someone 5-10 years older than us. I thought HAL had an older demographic than Princess.
But like you we are low key, and cruising is about the destination. The ship is really just floating accomodation and restaurant.
@@thejokerspeaks is the entertainment poor cause they don't have live modern musicals, Broadway style theater performances? We are 54 and have cruised 15x since our 30s an we LUV vacaying via cruises. HAL cruise line we have been deciding if we would like this line. We are NCL & RCC for all of our 15 cruises we've done. Would love to hear more from you about Hollands performances as that's 1 of our main events we like about cruising is going to the theater for all the great show performances.
I sailed on the Celebrity Edge and the Apex and a few of the newer Princess ships. I do like the Atrium area on the Edge Class ships with the Martini Bar. Plus it is easy to navigate the ship. For Princess, using the Medallion to order drinks or room service was great! You can get easily lost on the Princess ship, as you have to be aware which level you need to be on for what venue you are looking for.The downside of the Celebrity Ship, you cannot order drinks as room service. That was a plus with Princess.
Princess is a no brainer for us as we travel with 2 kids. Princess is far better with kids. Our kids did Disney and Princess in the same year as 7 and 8 year olds and they preferred Princess over Disney!
As always, your comments are right on! We are cruising with Princess next year and chose them for a few things. For that particular trip, they offer what we need. We will be in Europe for 1 month, the cruise being only 12 days of it so the self-laundry was a plus. We want to visit all the ports so the ship's entertainment is not that important to us. Basically it will offer what we prefer in a cruise: a comfortable way to travel in-between destination.
I've seen a lot of anti-Celebrity opinions lately, and for very...vacuous reasons. Thank you for going in-depth about why you like one or the other and thank you for admitting it really does depend on what you're looking for.
You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard a variation lately of, "[Insert line here] is better than Celebrity, and if you disagree, then [insert personal insult here]."
The similarities between Princess and Celebrity are just a comforting, cozy feeling. They feel like well worn slippers, rather than new shoes, when we cruise on each of them. We love having earned elite status many years ago on Princess, and the Medallion just adds a little edge to Princess, but we enjoy both cruise lines!
My experience on Princess has never been great. I’ve sailed with them three times over the last three decades and each time I say never again. I tried again for an itinerary or just to see if they’ve gotten their act together, but was always disappointed. Service has never been anywhere close to that on Celebrity or even RCCL and the state of the ship always seemed cheap. Princess is not for me.
I agree completely! I have cruised both of these lines many times. They are our two favorite cruise companies, by far. Great video! Keep up the good work!
We just went on the Celebrity Solstice to Alaska, our first Celebrity cruise, with two prior cruises on Princess. I must say that the food and entertainment on Princess were significantly better. Even those contract performers at different lounge bars were better. We hope the experience will be much improved on the next trip with the Edge class.
And, was it.?
1:20 Hey! It's Ben and David!
Went on Celebrity Solstice Pacific tour for 13 days. The hard sell on upgrading for food and drink beverages never stopped ! Will not do Celebrity again because of it
Love both Princess & Celebrity but the Retreat/Aqua Class category on Celebrity has by far changed how we look & book cruises. We can’t go back to standard rooms, even a balcony category. Hope to sail the Edge, Apex or Beyond in 2023.
We have only sailed on Princess so far, but have a March 2023 Caribbean booking on Apex in Aquaclass. Can't wait!
When we sail celebrity we always sail Aqua class, Blu is just too good !
Celebrity Retreat provides an outstanding experience that can’t be replicated on Princess
An interesting and useful review Gary - thanks! I shall only say that I have been a loyal and very happy Celebrity cruiser in the past but my last trip with them on the Edge has brought that to a crash. Their 'change', which you describe very well, I found has left their newer ships with no place for the older, more traditional cruiser who is looking for a relaxing as well as exciting holiday. There was nowhere on that ship where I could find a quiet spot when I wanted to relax and get away from the noise and din. Ken
I’d prefer the ships being unique. The first time I cruised one of the highlights was discovering the ship. I mean it was all new on that trip but I’d like a bit of that mystery on each cruise. Not that they can shake things up too much.
Celebrity does offer cruise only sales on select cruises. I've sailed both and love them both. We have the Beyond booked for next December, and will probably go either the Sky Princess or one of the newer Royal Class for the Caribbean for Dec, 2023. We're waiting for Princess to offer beyond April, 2023. For financial reasons, it has to be past April.
I thought the service on Celebrity was far superior to Princess. However, Oceana is my now go to
I much prefer Princess ships. Being the same layout its easier to find your way around. Being elderly, this is a big plus for me. I love the atrium and central staircase. Celebrity Solstice I didn't like much. The layout was hard to find your way around and for some reason I just didn't like it. The new ships might be different of course.
Interesting. We have sailed both lines on multiple occasions. We like them both. There are pluses and minuses to both. We have booked 2022 and 2023 cruises on both lines. Trying to figure out which one is “better” is a fun but, in my opinion, a futile exercise.
I have not sailed on either yet. I will sell on the Edge in December. We do like the fact that Celebrity offers tips, drinks and Wi-Fi included in the cruise fare.
My wife and I recently returned from a two-week Alaskan cruise on the Grand Princess out of Vancouver. It was our first cruise with Princess. We also did a 12-day Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Equinox last February. We are both in our 60s and have cruised on some of the other major cruise lines as well. I will just say that our overall Celebrity SHIP experience was easily better than Princess and we did not have any of the upgraded classes with either line and just had a "normal" balcony stateroom. But I must say that we loved our first Princess cruise and the Alaskan destination had a lot to do with that. Princess does Alaska right! Princess got a lot of other things right from booking to disembarkation, but the one thing that stood out for us was the low quality of the Princess food, most notably in their Lido dining venue. The worst cruise ship food experience I've had. The food in the DaVinci main dining venue was similarly lack luster. BUT...this was the ONLY significant issue I had with Princess...albeit a semi-important one. We had no such complaints with Celebrity.
Agree on the food !!!
Working out a trip for 2024. One of the major segments is going to be a trans Atlantic cruise. Your videos have been very helpful in defining the questions I should be asking about choosing a line. Between these definitely Princess. Not even a question. But I'm still looking to see if anything else would fit me better.
I like a more traditional approach, but not to over the top stuffy.
Thanks for the information.
And please, have fun.
I just got back from my 1st cruise. We did the Celebrity Solstice to Alaska. It was a great experience but I have nothing to compare it to. To prepare for my 1st cruise I watched many of your videos, they were most helpful, as well as others and now that I’m back there’s an elephant in the room that you and the other video bloggers didn’t really address. Covid! I just heard that cruise lines have abandoned the restrictions that our party had to endure. Proof of vacations and negative test 48 hours prior to boarding. The other couple in our party had been on a Mediterranean cruise in March and they had a 30% positivity rate upon disembarkation. While only 3 cases were reported by the captain mid week, there is a Facebook page dedicated to my cruise and upon return people are posting of numerous positive tests. This includes my wife who just went through the infusion and both of her cousins that did the exact same cruise just weeks before. Cruise lines only voluntarily have to submit Covid infections to the CDC and have no records of infections that occur after disembarkation. In the end I think it would be safe to say that 30% plus infection rate could be the norm. Now that the cruise lines have removed any health restrictions I would say that’s likely to spike upwards. In the end I’m not sure you can say that it is safe to cruise. I’d like you to address this as you are way more knowledgeable than I am. Thank you.
I completely agree.
We are destination and itinerary focussed and the cruise line is somewhat secondary but still very important. We have done cruises on both lines and until Celebrity began to "Edgify" their ships, ripping out the very plush and comfortable Michael's Club and replacing it with The Retreat Lounge, "refurnishing" the suites into something like a cheap end of an Ikea showroom, we would have said that Celebrity has a lead over Princess for the onboard experience. The Luminae restaurant on Celebrity is, in my view, the one really outstanding innovation with fantastic food and service. That said, both lines are different shades of the same vanilla experience. Maybe one uses pods and the other essence but essentially the same. Itinerary every time for us. Regent is our next new line next year and of the one's we've tried before lockdown, Scenic Eclipse is the outstanding ship experience for small ship cruising.
Then there are the self-operated laundry rooms on Princess. A real plus on longer cruises. Celebrity can give you discounted or free laundry service. My choice is Celebrity because of the difference of the ship. Fifty-Sixth cruise coming up Oct. 24 on the APEX!
Happy anniversary, Gary❣️
Gary I really enjoy these videos packed full of the sort of info cruisers are looking for and this means they’re more likely to pick the right product thanks to you! Keep up the great work…😊
I find it hard to believe safety is better anywhere than on Princess. Love Princess.
Holland America for me, thanks. I’m not going on one of those huge party ships. One of those lines was docked beside us on my last cruise and I spent the late afternoon listening to the dance music pouring from the PA system they seemed to need to have on the dock to check their passengers back in. If that’s a sample of what goes on on-board then I’m going to pass.
Thanks Gary for doing this interesting comparison. We've sailed 8 times on Celebrity and twice on Princess. I enjoy the more modern and interesting decor on Celebrity even as I also appreciate the classic feel of public spaces of Princess ships. I thought the food was better overall on Celebrity, although Sabatini is my favorite at sea Italian restaurant and Princess pizza is among the best. We just got off the Edge and had a fantastic experience, partly because it was only 30 percent full. The public spaces are beautiful and Eden was a favorite hangout. The food was good overall and their new pizza place may be as good as Princess. We are booked on the Majestic Princess in early December and can't wait to see how we like the latest offerings from Princess especially since we haven't sailed with them since 2010.
I've heard that Princess cruise ships allow cigarette smoking in their casinos while passengers play at their slot machines, whereby the smell of smoke lingers not only in the casinos... but, also into the show venues that are located right next door... whereas Celebrity cruise ships don't allow smoking in their casinos and thereby, preventing the smell of smoke to permeate into other areas of the ship. Furthermore, I've heard that Celebrity has better shows and food than Princess. Not to mention, I think it's very sad that a cruise ship like Princess would allow cigarette smoking within any public area these days... especially, since it's so offensive to most people, all in an effort to bleed out more money at their slot machines.
Brilliant video. Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
Sailed on Celebrity twice this year, the med and Alaska. Totally enjoyed the cruises. We are heading to the Panama Canal on princess next spring can't wait to experience the difference.
A really balanced and considered comparison Gary. We’re just fortunate to have such a diverse choice in cruise lines. A poor cruise can so often be as a result of poor research and prioritisation. Thank you Gary 👍
I've never sailed with celebrity, but have been on several cruises with princess. stepping onto a princess ship always feels like coming home, regardless of whether or not I've cruised on that specific ship before. Though every ship has its small differences, they are all quite similar and have the same atmosphere so you always know what to expect which I really love. not to mention the fact that princess has a great loyalty program.
Agree, we’ll said Aria Maeve.Princess is a very comfortable ship, the crew are always the same friendly people. You know what to wear at dinner, no stress at all. Very well organised. Celebrity has nicer cabins and I think the food is better, but the staff make Princess in my opinion.😃🇦🇺
Great job Gary. We'll compare too. On Celebrity Summit tomorrow and Regal Princess a month later ☺️🚢🚢
I would choose Celebrity. It looks lovely! I love dressing up! The classic ships are far more wonderful!
Good info. I’ve been looking at some Celebrity Cruises lately. They intrigue me as a solo traveler. Thanks.
All Princess ships are somewhat different by class, but the footprint is very similar. There’s too much to do and see than to spend time figuring out where everything is. It’s very relaxing. Princess is a much better value IMO.
Gary, I like both lines. As Celebrity tries to expand their audience, however, I am inclined to stay with the more traditional Princess. The other key for me is that TA's are still able to discount on Princess, a clincher.
TA's can discount final payment online on Celebrity also .
@@stephenhayes9876 Good to know. Thanks.
I was a Celebrity fan until they decided to market to a new and different demographic. Now they're all about suites, loud music, and weird performance art in Eden.
Did anyone else see Ben and David in the video?
1:20
My wife and I took two cruises on Celebrity and they were among the best we had ever taken. Staff was friendly and helpful, service & food very good. Our one Princess cruise was a disappoint with an argument with our first room steward (who was replaced) and a rude waiter at one lunch service in the Main dining room who all but tossed our plates onto the table. We would never cruise that line again.
Wow! That is a shocking experience to fight with the staff! Service is a cruise line’s boasting point. Sorry about that!
Been on celebrity, never again.
Never been on Princess, so cannot really comment.
Cunard is our favourite.
Been on 32 cruises, 31 with Princess, 1 with Celebrity, conclusion - no brained!
I like to have each ship different so it’s a unique experience and I don’t know what’s around every corner. Also enjoy less formal and casual youthful cruise. Celebrity wins.
Great video, perhaps your best yet! We've cruised on both, and you're right, it all depends on where you're going and what you want to do. When I started cruising on Celebrity it was on the Horizon class, then we've moved up to the Galaxy class, then to the Millenium Class, and finally the Solstice Class. All great. But as I've said before, the jury is still out on the Edge Class, it may be a little too "out there" for this guy who's been on forty plus cruises. We may end up on Princess exclusively when the Solstice Class ships are finally sold off. I'm still "upset" that they got rid of Silk Harvest in order to introduce QSine. I'll end up on Princess just to eat at Alfredo's. Best pizza at sea! Again, great video, keep up the good work!
Yes! Alfredo's is the best!
What you need to consider is Celebrity doesn't charge for drinks, internet or gratuities, equal to approximately $900 per person on a 10 day cruise. Also, the one major difference for me is they prohibit smoking in the casino, where smoke has chased me out of in the past. I haven't been on Princess in years and don't know their current policy. For me, it's a major difference as I like to hang out there occasionally
You are paying for those inclusions as the prices went up drastically when they added them in the Fall of 2020. Princess offer a choice of inclusive rates or not.
Some lines don’t let you “hang out” in the casinos now. Have to be a player to stay seated now.
@@chriswilliams6568 I have to admit I was not happy on my last Princess cruise. It seemed they nickeled & dimed me every time I turned around. Not to mention I found the food sub-par compared to other recent cruises. So I never went back. EVERY cruise line increased it's prices after Covid, but when I calculated it with the amenities, Celebrity came out on top. But their main attraction? Fewer kids and no smoking in the casino, where I do like to hang frequently. The only other line I'm really fond of is Royal Caribbean.
@@ginnyyamamotosyphax291 I've heard this also but hope things are more relaxed on my next cruise. It will be hard to enforce as people like to look around on which machine to lose money on next.
@@Shay-ik1xq Princess also offer the choice of all inclusive rates. I like Celebrity too. I have only been on one RCI cruise, in 1999, very nice but the newer ships are full of toys which attract teens and families. So no thanks.
We've been on Princess Cruise on several occasions. Our experience with Princess is very positive. I must say although the first reason we pick a cruise line is for the cruise experience & Itineraries. The lesser is the main reason. We pick the cruise line based on the trip experience. For example in 2023 we will be cruising to Norway because of the ports. Princess was selected because of the itinerary venue.
For 2024 we are planning to visit New Zealand, for that trip Celebrity will be our selection because again based on their itinerary. This will be our first time with Celebrity.
We've also traveled with Norwegian Line, in my experience this line offers an average experience not as good as Princess.
Appreciate your channel, please continue the good work.
great comparison. Essentially, its horses for courses. We loved our alaskan trip on Princess although didn't use their excursions or places to stay as they aren't as good (price wise) as privately. Oh, they also own most of the shops in Juneau up to the main pub so be aware of that
Thanks for watching! And good watch out!
Having done both now, I would choose Celebrity. Not for one particular reason but for lots of little reasons where they edge ahead. Princess seem to priority put on cabin numbers and loose out on space
Sat through this to hear an opinion. What I got was both are good; but different. Kind of left me flat.
Great review. You are consistently the best reviewer.
Wow, thanks!
Princess’s medallion is the best, so easy to use and buy anything you need wherever you are. Now just get rid of mandatory formal nights, why any guy would want to bring a suit on vacation is beyond me. Pants and collared shirt is fine for formal night.
Then it will not be a formal night😂😂😂
My 16 year old son loves formal nights and that's one of the big reasons why we are considering Princess. I think I am raising him right. 😊
Not a copout at all. If I'm going somewhere I've never been before, my focus is on the best itinerary coupled with what the cruise line can do to enhance my experience on land (like your Princess/Alaska experience). If I'm going somewhere I've been, I opt for the cruise line that provides me with the best ship experience. I get the "loyalty" thing to some extent and I'm building loyalty with a couple of cruise lines, but people that continually sail one brand without comparing other itineraries/experiences really miss out on a variety of new experiences.
Like Adamson Robinson our cruises are driven by itinerary, You can throw in dates and costs as well. We are not bothered about balcony cabins but will take what is available, we like to watch what is going on and have the view that the view is important!! You can guarantee that the view from the other side of the ship is better than your side.
I just finished my 1st cruise with princess and it was phenomenal! We did a 7 day cruise up to Alaska and I couldn't have asked for a better experience...even the weather cooperated! Only downside was the princess app...it was uneven and we had trouble with it all week. Plus our onboard billing kept getting charged to the wrong room and accounts...with all the tech on board it's not surprising to run into issues, not to mention this is the maiden season for the discovery princess...she had her maiden voyage in February so issues aren't surprising however they did dull the experience a little bit...
We're gonna go again soon as we can...loved the whole cruising experience and a much better way to vacation!
Great to hear you had a good trip… sorry to hear about the glitches. I’m interested to see how it works when on at the weekend on Majestic Princess
@@tipsfortravellers we saw the majestic while on our cruise...in fact we saw a royal Caribbean and Holland America as well...all 4 ships were hitting the same ports at the same time which made it interesting when it came time for excursions...
I like the princess app, and as a tech guy I'm pretty savvy in using apps and IT stuff, but this app really gave us trouble. I'm hoping that it was simply due to the ship being so new
I am a Elite passenger on Princess. One thing I don't like they strip the benefit like free Wi-Fi. Usually we have free minutes from 150 to 250 minutes depending on the length of the cruise. Now that they remove that and ask you to buy the WiFi package for half price. Normally we Only use the WiFi for checking E-mail periodically and print boarding pass at the last day. I think it is a rip off instead.
I recently travelled last month to the Caribbean, and took a Celebrity cruise first then took a Princess cruise immediately after. while I liked different things about each cruise… I felt Celebrity came on top with food quality, service and the overall experience.
At the moment the Celebrity cruise fares seem to be way too expensive. Do not know what happened? It seems 20-30% price increase.
Congratz on your upcoming Anniversary. I just wish I knew which cruise line was best when going to New Zealand.
Thanks Gary. This is perfect. Having not sailed Princess only Celebrity Aqua Class just twice , I was interested in your assessment. Basically it depends on the destination. Both cruise lines seem to attract the same cruisers from the people I met on board, although when asked they all responded with Celebrity! I do agree Celebrity supply bespoke areas so if your not a fan of crowds or like space they are probably the best option but will definitely book Princess for Alaska. Thanks again.
I have been on both and have nothing but positive things to say. I love them both, but , I also love RCL and Carnival. I go on cruises with an open and positive mind, thus, all 13 cruises have been wonderful. I eat what I love and skip what is so so. Got 3 more cruises planned within next year.
I like your reasoning.
Thanks!
You are right, depends on what you are looking for, and how much money you have. I have never been on celebrity, it sounds good, though I love Princess. Happy anniversary.
I have sailed on both ships and find that, in my opinion Celebrity is the better line. I have sailed in an inside cabin, Ocean view cabin , balcony cabin and in a sky suite on Celebrity and only once on princess and that was in a suite. Overall I find the food to be much better on Celebrity which is a big factor for me when choosing a cruise. Celebrity offer a much better suite experience which includes more perks and facilities.
My wife and I have sailed on NCL, HAL, RCCI, Carnival, Princess and Celebrity. (36 cruises.) Enjoyed them all. I think it's the people (crew and fellow passengers) that make the wonderful memories. Funny, we have to choose between the Eclipse and the Grand for an upcoming Australia-NZ cruise. It has come down to us favoring Princess as they offer both a piano lounge and self-serve laundromats. Two essentials for us NOT found on a Celebrity ship. Lame I know. (Perhaps the Edge Class will offer such.) While we think we are still youthful I guess not. Us aging couples need the tried and true (AND our piano tunes.) DO like Cafe al Bacio though. The best coffee at sea!
Super analysis and comparison!! Love this Vlog!! Can't wait for my next cruise. Thanks.
I so enjoy your coverage and insights Gary. Today I put a dep on a forward facing deluxe ocean view cabin on Celebrity's Reflection ship - which I understand has just completed a refurbishment. It's not until Jan 2025 but again, based upon your invaluable advice, I have now booked 5 cruises from Dec of this year outward. I watched your channel and Emma Cruises throughout my cancer treatment last year and feel like I've now graduated from Cruising 101 😁 Thank you so much for putting such fabulous content out there! Cheers,
fantastic you have so many now lines and trips lined up