Princess vs Celebrity: A Cruise Line Comparison
An honest look at the differences from making the booking to experiences on board
Reader’s Note: This is a long post.
In case you haven’t heard, cruising has increased substantially since the pandemic. During the initial shutdown in 2020 and the following couple of years, cruises were sidelined and suffered staggering losses industry-wide.
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But in 2023, the travel industry, and cruises in particular, made a comeback. Despite the bad press about cruise ships being “petri dishes for disease”, cruising grew more than 63% in 2023. “Revenge travel” is the common term for this sudden increase in travel. People who could not travel during the pandemic suddenly had an urge to go somewhere as soon as it was safe to do so.
So if you are considering going on a cruise, you have probably wondered what are some of the differences are between the different cruise lines. As a travel consultant, I have received many inquires about the differences and similarities of these two cruise lines. But, until recently, I had only cruised with Princess Cruises.
Now that I have cruised with Celebrity Cruises, I though it would be interesting to share my notes and compare the two. Incidentally, Princess and Celebrity are both considered in similar cruise categories so I can truly compare apples to apples as the saying goes.
To compare, I will identify several key areas that will benefit you when deciding a cruise line.
Pre-Cruise
Prior to booking your cruise, there are a couple of factors to explore.
1. The Public Website
Both Celebrity Cruises and Princess Cruises offer a convenient search engine for looking for a cruise. You can select a date, the number of people, the type of cabin and then the type of package. Depending on the current sale, you may discover some of the drinks, Wi-Fi, on-board credit and gratuities may be included in the fare.
2. The Deposit
Making the deposit is simple through both companies whether you are using a travel agent or booking the trip yourself. Confirmation is very quick to arrive and all the details are clear to read and understand.
3. Booking the Flights
Once you have received confirmation that your cabin is booked, you can start looking at the flights to get to the embarkation city. Both Princess and Celebrity offer options to book the flights as part of a package. Princess offers “EZ Air” while Celebrity offers “Sea to Air” rates.
By booking the flights through the cruise line, they can assist you will coordinating your flight times with the ship embarkation and debarkation times. If there are any issues along the way such as flight delays or cancellations, they can assist you so you do not miss the ship or return flights.
Although it can be cheaper to book the air separately, there are risks involved with flight delays as mentioned.
4. Booking Excursions
Booking excursions is where I noticed a difference between Princess and Celebrity. When doing research online for excursions with Princess, I am able to see all the different options including what to expect, duration and prices.
With Princess Cruises, I am able to search for a particular port and very quickly find a list of excursions in a grid format showing all the info I am looking for. With Celebrity, upon first search I am met with a general page showing different types of excursions but not specifically for individual ports.
In order to get the specific information with prices, I need to be booked on the cruise. Not very helpful if you are trying to determine additional costs for the vacation. During my research there were also issues with the website itself leading to “bad gateway” errors.
Once excursions were selected and booked, payment and confirmation was easy to do. Payment in full if you are booking past the final payment deadline.
5. Communication with the Cruise lines
Once you have decided to book the cruise, both cruise lines are eager to contact you. Both usually start with the thank you for booking emails and they very quickly move into the emails promoting amenities to make your cruise more enjoyable. These include how to book your flights, specialty dining, wifi and excursions.
You will be suggested to create a cruise line account where you can manage these aspects of your booking. Once you are logged in, you can review spa facilities, shopping and gift options.
6. Using the App
Both Princess and Celebrity have an App to use to keep track of your cruise but they are not on the same level. The Princess Cruise App is head and tails above the one for Celebrity.
With Princess, their App is an integral part of the cruise experience. In fact, it is almost essential for your cruise. As part of the embarkation process, you will upload your travel documents and enter relevant travel information, including your travel partners. By doing so, you achieve a type of “fast pass” when you embark for your cruise. In addition to embarkation, and booking dining and excursions, you can also link your travel party to ensure you are recognized as a group.
There are plenty of other applications for the Princess App including viewing the daily activities onboard. The App is also used in conjunction with their Princess Medallion, their innovative wearable technology that integrates with every aspect of your cruise. More details about the Princess Medallion can be found in this post:
The Celebrity App only seems to show your daily activities onboard on the “calendar page” and a listing of additional services you can book on the “ship page”. Prior to sailing, many options are not available until a check-in window opens.
Once the check-in window becomes available, you can upload your passport information and credit card and start the pre-embarkation process. You are still required to complete a “health questionnaire” within 24 hours prior to departure to complete the check-in process. Once onboard the ship, the App works fine for booking specialty dining, viewing the daily activities and keeping track of your onboard account.
7. Printing Cruise Documents and Luggage Tags
Having a printed copy of your cruise documents and luggage tags is always a good idea. This gives you a chance to thoroughly read and review the cruise lines rules, inclusions, exclusions and waivers. Printing your luggage tags prior to leaving ensures that your luggage will be properly labelled when the porters take it at the port to place on the ship and ultimately into your cabin.
With Princess Cruises, these documents are available several months prior to the cruise whereas with my Celebrity cruise, I could only get access to print these two weeks prior to the departure date.
This is not a huge issue for the luggage tags but not knowing what is included in the travel docs and not being able to print these is a bit of a stressor.
During the Cruise
1. Embarkation
Arriving at the cruise terminal and getting checked in seem to have a few differences. I’m not sure if they are related to the cruise line per se or with the port of embarkation. With Princess Cruises, I have departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Galveston, Texas. For Celebrity, I departed from Rotterdam, Netherlands.
With both my cruises out of Fort Lauderdale, I had no issue arriving either by taxi or shuttle from the airport, getting through terminal traffic and going through security and document control stations. There were no major lines and the drop luggage zones was well-marked. Once inside the terminal, a simple tap of my medallion gave me the GO to get on board the ship. In Galveston, there was high congestion in the port and long lines prior to entering the terminal. In bad weather, you run the risk of standing in the rain.
For Celebrity (Rotterdam), the embarkation process was extremely simple, well-organized and very fast! Although there were several document control stations, it was very smooth. Once fully registered, you are placed in a seated, covered holding area and directed onto the ship in small groups. Total elapsed time from arriving at the terminal to being in my state room, was 30 minutes!
2. Staff on Board
Staff on Princess Cruises are very knowledgeable and friendly and well-trained in customer service. They seem to know when to appear to assist you and when to hide out of site. Because of the medallion, they will say hello, address you by your first name and know your drink preferences based on previous selections.
Celebrity, on the other hand, seem to have trained their staff with more sales-based modules rather than customer service as I found them overly pushy, particularly in the bar areas. Even at breakfast, they are pushing drinks from the bar. If you have not purchased a drink package, they will try to sell you one at every opportunity. Both cruise lines have a mix of new staff and seasoned veterans but I found that Princess took more care showing the new staff the correct duties.
3. Sea Pass / Medallion
I have already mentioned the Princess cruise medallion when I spoke of the App. Onboard the cruise, the Medallion is used for everything; drinks, room entry, dining, chat with friends, crew chat, finding friends, games, etc. The best way to use it is to keep it within a wearable device such as a watch band or necklace. There are many options available and they can be customized to your taste.
Celebrity, like many cruise lines, still uses a “sea card” which is a pass about the size of a credit card. You must carry this pass with you at all times. For those that carry a wallet or have pockets all the times, it is not an issue. But, if you prefer not to have a purse or do not have pockets, this could lead too misplacing your card. Lanyards are available for purchase but they are not attractive.
Since I knew this would be an issue, I brought a retractable ID holder with me and had Guest Services punch a hole in my card to use it. (Note: This must be done through the cruise line as the card has chip technology and they know where to place the hole).
4. Cabins / State Rooms
With Princess, I have stayed in ocean view and balcony cabins. Both are large enough for one or two people . Sharing with 3 or 4 might get a little cozy especially with storage space and the bathroom. Friends of mine have stayed in a mini-suite and it is large enough for more than two people. Mini-suites have a pull-out sofa and a second tv. I have not seen an inside cabin on either cruise line so I cannot compare.
On my Celebrity cruise, I had a Veranda stateroom with partially obstructed view. The room in considerably larger than the balcony room on Princess. The bathroom is also larger and has a wonderful glass shower instead of a flying shower curtain that always seems to stick to you in the shower.
5. Excursions
Both Princess and Celebrity offer a wide variety of excursions at each port. I did find though that the number and types of excursions were more numerous and varied with Princess than with Celebrity. This may be due to differences in Caribbean vs European itineraries.
6. Food
Both Celebrity and Princess offered a variety of restaurants onboard as well as Main dining room and buffet options. I have tried the Crown Grill (steak) and Sabatini’s (Italian) on Princess and both were lovely options. I did not try any specialty dining on Celebrity as I did not feel the need. I am told Alfredo’s is lovely for Italian.
7. Changes in Itinerary
I have experienced changes in itinerary with both Princess and Celebrity cruise lines. Both offered great communication and alternative options.
8. Debarkation
With my recent cruise with Celebrity, I was blown away with how efficient the debarkation process was in Rotterdam. Perhaps it was the port itself, but I was from ship to airport in Amsterdam in less than 1.5 hours. (Amsterdam is a one hour drive). There were no lines to exit the ship. In contrast, with Princess, I have had long lines and wait times of up to 2.5 hours to get off the ship and through customs.
9. Miscellaneous
Bathrobes - I know it is kind of funny to compare bathrobes on a cruise but it is one of those little things that you might remember. On Princess, the robes are comfortable and are in your cabin waiting for you but, unless you are quite small, they do not always wrap closed! On Celebrity, the robes are ample size to wrap around and cover slightly larger people.
Smoking - As a non-smoker, I cannot understand the need for this habit but if you have it, I can also understand the need for suitable places to light up. On Princess, there are a couple areas to smoke but the most noticeable is in the casino. Here, even if you are a non-smoker, you will walk through smoky areas on your way to other parts of the ship. For some this can be a problem. On Celebrity, they have the smokers outside in two distinct areas on upper decks that are close to open air. Despite the smell on the way to the pool, I can accept this. I would rather they be outside than in indoor areas.
Final Thoughts -
With the resurgence of the cruise industry post-pandemic, travelers are now given plenty of options to consider. Both Princess Cruises and Celebrity Cruises have their unique strengths and areas for improvement, from pre-cruise booking experiences to onboard amenities and staff interactions.
As a travel consultant with firsthand experience on both lines, I hope this comparison helps you make an informed decision for your next cruise adventure. Whether you prioritize ease of booking, onboard technology, or overall service quality, understanding these differences will ensure your cruise is both enjoyable and memorable. Bon voyage!
Personally, I am still a Princess girl at heart!
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This is an epic resource for anyone looking to go on a cruise! For me, excursions and how well a company communicates are the biggest deciding factors choosing one or the other.
Thanks for the review. There's a lot of helpful information here.
My wife and I are curious about cruises and have only gone on one about 20 years ago. It was a Carnival cruise, and it could have been a better experience.
But we were thinking about checking out the possibilities near Greece.