Why do you like Princess?

[dmen131]

Please tell me why you prefer to sail on Princess.

I am currently deciding between Oosterdam; Sapphire Princess; Norwegian Spirit; and Infinity to Alaska (group of 5 DH and I, almost 30; my parents in their early 60's and newly widowed Aunt in her late 50's).

My previous cruise experience includes:
-Crystal (LOVED it)
-Celebrity (liked it a lot)
-Princess (liked it)
-Carnival (did not like it)

I'd love to hear your opinions on what makes this line special!

Thank you

[Druke I]

The main reason Princess gets the bulk of my business is they have a very good variety of itineraries, including some off the beaten path. They used to be in a separate brochure, Exotic Adventures, but now are broken down by geographic area.

Like you, we have been on Crystal, but they are expensive!

We like HAL very much, but again, I think Princess has better variety of itineraries. We tried Celebrity for the first time March 04, and liked it very much - and thought it very comparable to Holland America.

Princess' pricing is very competitive, and I think reasonable.

Michael

[sue d. miller]

ships are beautiful, not overly done. Lots of intimate spaces. big ship, small ship feel, is true. 24/7 freshwater pools and hot tubs. 24/7 buffet. great food and great service. Truly pampered. entertainment is great, and many choices.

Sue
7 days on Star Princess 10/24

[verwirrt]

Personal choice, anytime dining.

[cruiserforlife]

Agree completely with sue d. miller!

In it's price range,it's hard to beat a Princess cruise.

Kinda hard to compare to a Crystal cruise,huh?
You can probably do what,5 cruises on princess to one on Crystal?

"a bad day at sea is better than a great day at work and a lousy day at sea is still pretty damn good!"

[tapper]

I agree with most of the other observations wholeheartedly. Service is great. Always new itineraries. Clean! Excellent food--you can order whatever you want. Comfort--I have never felt ill at ease on a Princess. Courteous staff. And, I think the pricing is very good.

[Italy52]

Affordability, service, nice variety of food, robes in cabin, and PC dining.

[CruiseFever]

I'm not totally sure yet because I've only been on one Princess cruise but I suspect that "it's where I belong"

Happy Cruising

Chris

www.LifeIsCruising.com (http://www.LifeIsCruising.com)

Next up:
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04
Star Princess 10/24/04
Diamond Princess 12/22/04
Carnival Miracle 03/13/05

[srphnx]

Because the people on this board answer this same question every week without acting annoyed.

We like the ships, service and food.

Life is at it's best when your address floats
<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>
Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02
Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95
<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>
Diamond Princess 12/04
Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04
Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>
West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>
Ecstacy 09/01
<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>
Century 12/97
<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>
Century 9/96

[Jacqueline]

Frankly, there is less and less to differentiate the cruiselines.
Among the mainstream lines I tend to be guided by pricing and itinerary.
Princess service is friendly - the pools and deck spaces are about the nicest. I love the hot tubs open at night and like the 24/7 of the horizon court. The in cabin tv is also excellent.

Jacqueline
Constellation 3/20/04
HAL Westerdam 7/30/04
Tahitian Princess August 2003
Grand Princess Western Caribbean 2003
Brilliance of the Seas Baltic 2002
Ocean Princess- Alaska 2001
Celebrity Zenith- Bermuda 2001
Grand Princess Med 2000

[dmen131]

Thank you so much for your replies! I think I agree with you all. It is a great value! (several Princesses for one Crystal!!! LOL) Anyway, my only complaint with them was I didn't think the food was very good. But I am willing to give it another try! Thanks again.

[cruzfiend]

I have to agree with everyone else and add that the age of the passengers seem to be about the right mix. We were on a 10 day Celebrity a few years ago, and we were the youngest people on board.(40 to 45yrs) We at least won all the pool games. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Aweigh we go
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;10;10;23;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500

[BJS]

Varied itinerary and price are what we love,a balcony is what we prefer and find that is where Princess' prices shine.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Anyway, my only complaint with them was I didn't think the food was very good. But I am willing to give it another try! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Food can vary from Princess ship to ship and head chef to head chef with identical menus. On some cruises it has been Excellant and others we were not that impressed. We are not fans of the Horizon Court for lunch. If you had lunch in the Horizon Court try the dining room for lunch and your opinion might also change.
I don't think you'll be disappointed when you give Princess another try.

Future cruises:
May 04 Amsterdam
Sept. 04 Star Princess x 2
Jan. 05 Diamond Princess
July 05 Star Princess
Aug. 05 Star Pincess

Past cruises:
04 Dawn Princess x 2
03 Grand,Sun,Tahitian,
Royal Princess x 2,Island Princess
01 Ryndam x 2
00 Sky Princess
79 Sitmar's Fairwind

[dmen131]

BJS,
funny you should say that about eating in the dining room. on our last cruise, i honestly believed it wasn't open during lunch because the hours weren't posted anywhere and it wasn't advertised. granted, we could have shown up or asked the head waiter about it at dinner, but i thought it strange that it was kept so quiet unlike on the other ships.

i certainly thought princess was a fine product and i believe it would be even better in alaska than in the caribbean (my last experience). certainly, the price is good value--a minisuite on a brand new ship for the price of a low-end balcony cabin on HAL or Celebrity.

you've all been very helpful. thank you for sharing your opinions. we have a while to make up our minds. it sounds like between princess, HAL and celebrity, we can't choose a bad one!
thanks again.

[Commodore Suzy]

I like "Personal Choice Cruising". It has no equal in my mind. I'm not talking JUST about the Anytime dining, but also the huge amounts of choice you have for entertainment and activities you can do.

You can read my Diamond Princess review to FULLY understand what I'm talking about. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif You might find it useful if you have chosen Sapphire anyway!

Cheers!

Suzy

NEXT --> Monarch family weekend 10/15/04 & Grand Galveston 12/11/04
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