Princess Comparison

[bigjohnwvu]

Have cruised on Royal Carribean and Norwegian and long been interested in Princess. What similarities and differences will I encounter?

[CRUZIN'NANA]

We had previously cruised only on NCL and RCI also. Our last 3 cruises have been with Princess. For the most part, we like Princess very much. Here are some comparisons, our opinion, of course, so others may disagree:

Food - good to very good, but not necessarily in the buffet, which, on the Princess ships we've sailed, is set up as food stations, not a traditional buffet. At first, we found that rather confusing. I would prefer those on RCI or NCL. The specialty restaurants serve food a step or two above that served in the main dining rooms. The very best eating experience was the Chef's Table, on our recent cruise on the Emerald Princess. Did not care for the buffet on Princess Cays, the cruiseline's private island.
Found the buffet food served by NCL on their private island was much better. One feature we enjoyed is the International Cafe, where you can get nice pastries, salads, desserts, and more importantly--good brewed coffee (along with specialty brews, like cappuccino, lattes, espressos, etc.) Princess' regular coffee served in the dining room and buffets is pretty awful stuff. I recall RCI having sort of weak coffee, but Princess has worse.

Staterooms--the balcony cabins on NCL and RCI are roomier, often with a settee or sofa. With Princess, you need to book a mini-suite to get the extra room. Can't compare the inside or outside categories, as we've only been in balcony cabins, and a mini-suite on our most recent cruise this Oct.

The ships are lovely--elegant, not gaudy, but no real "Wow Factor" like some of the RCI ships. I do feel there's less of a party atmosphere, like we found on a few of the RCI ships. One of our favorite activities is "M.U.T.S." (Movies Under the Stars). This is a great feature. They seem to have less youth-oriented activities.

Entertainment--I'd give the edge to NCL and RCI as far as the size of the main theater. There aren't enough seats. You have to get in the theater at least 30 min.or more to be able to pick a decent seat. And there are chairs hogs in the theater, too--as well as on the pool decks.

Ship excursions--probably about the same. Think the prices have gone up on these for all the lines. There is always the option for private excursions, of course. Depending on the itinerary, we have done both.

Our one "complaint" is that Princess doesn't go overboard to help when a Roll Call group is trying to arrange a Meet-and-Greet onboard. RCI does a much better job in this regard. Princess doesn't seem very interested. They totally screwed up our meet-and-greet on the Emerald which I'd been trying to get set up for months. When the time came, they "forgot" to have a bar server for us for our appointed place and time. This really is a black mark against Princess as far as I'm concerned.

Overall, although our next cruise booked is with NCL, we will sail with Princess again--actually have already paid future cruise credits for a Princess cruise. Our favorite Princess ship so far is the Coral. It is still considered a large ship, but carries under 2000 passengers. Would love to take another Panama Canal cruise again, like we did in 2008 on the Coral. Outstanding cruise--wonderful Cruise Critic members made it all the more special.


Hope this helps. Good luck with your future cruise plans.

[Zubsin]

Haven't cruised RCL but Princess and NCL. We too did the Chef's table on the Caribbean Princess and it was worth every penny of the $75 pp if you can get it! Otherwise, I think the food is all ok. Some of the speciality dining rooms on NCL I liked - East Meets West especially and I LOVE Sabatini's on Princess but the steak place on both I would pass on. I found NCL breakfast buffett very confusing even after 6 days.

Entertain on both I think is only OK..Celebrity has the best IMHO. But I LOVE MUTS! (movies under the stars) on Princess. Very fun!

Pools... I like the fresh water pools on Princess.

Cabins...we book BD or higher balcony rooms...NCL wins with more storage space and the little couch. Princess needs to get rid of the ONE chair, besides the desk chair thing. We like Celebrity cabins better than Princess.

Excursions...if we book excursions we use the ships excursion and they are all about the same...I think location is the key to excursions.

My DH likes Princess the best...I think I vote Celebrity but we usually cruise NCL or Princess...I like their itineraries.

It's all good! Cruise On...Donna

[DeRon]

We've cruised 10 times, 3 times on RCCL, but never on NCL. We MUCH prefer Princess over RCCL (and Celebrity). It has an upbeat, fun atmosphere, but not a party atmosphere. Our last cruise on the Freedom of the Seas seemed not as classy, a bit lower class than a Princess cruise. It also seemed a lot more crowded to us. We just prefer the "feel" of Princess. I also think I am the only one that prefers the Princess buffet vs the others. ha!

[sydneycruiser]

I've cruised Princess and RCI. We prefer the cabins on Princess, have had insides on both and Princess had a better layout and quality of furnishings. Having said that though we won 'Upgrade Bingo' on Rhapsody of the Seas and the prize was the Owner's Suite which was superb so we love RCI Bingo!

We like the food on Princess especially the desserts. RCI seemed to lack a 'little something' with their dining.

RCI to me was much more 'fun' with the activities etc aimed at a younger demographic, to DH Princess was all about the food.

Our next two cruises are with Princess (1 inside, 1 outside) however I would book RCI again depending on the itinerary but book an outside or balcony.

Enjoy whatever you decide!

[bigjohnwvu]

Thank you for your very helpful insights and time. Will continue to study and surf the boards. Happy cruising.

[Joshua1]

We have travelled on Princess (golden) around the carribean and loved this cruise and the ship perfect (balcony cabin). We then travelled Princess to French Polynesia (tahitian) this ship was older but still was a great cruise.
Then we went on RCL (freedom of the seas) to Jamaica, Mexico etc. and although this ship is enormous and we still had a balcony cabin, did not find it as nice as Princess ships. Too big for us and it seemed to have lost something of its cruise character and were surprised you had to pay for room service.
This year we cruised Thomson (celebration) around the Greek islands and hated it, old boat very dated and not at all up to the standard of previous cruise ship. We thought not having a balcony would not matter, oh but it did. We paid for a de luxe room and were very disappointed, never again with them.
This year we have booked Princess again to travel to Hawai and Mexico in 2010.

[lel5344]

Princess does not subject you to frequent "fund-raising activity announcements" from the Cruise Director and staff.

Also, excellent closet and storage space on Princess.

[kooljamming]

Originally Posted by Joshua1

We have travelled on Princess (golden) around the carribean and loved this cruise and the ship perfect (balcony cabin). We then travelled Princess to French Polynesia (tahitian) this ship was older but still was a great cruise.
Then we went on RCL (freedom of the seas) to Jamaica, Mexico etc. and although this ship is enormous and we still had a balcony cabin, did not find it as nice as Princess ships. Too big for us and it seemed to have lost something of its cruise character and were surprised you had to pay for room service.
This year we cruised Thomson (celebration) around the Greek islands and hated it, old boat very dated and not at all up to the standard of previous cruise ship. We thought not having a balcony would not matter, oh but it did. We paid for a de luxe room and were very disappointed, never again with them.
This year we have booked Princess again to travel to Hawai and Mexico in 2010.

I think the $3 charge is from 12 midnight til 5 am with all other times being free....correct?

[kooljamming]

We have done 6x RCCL, 2x Carnival and 2x Princess! Clearly more similarities than differences.

The biggest differences might be the vibe and liveliness of the ship and muster drill. Princess is a more relaxed/sedated, ocassionally boring, with many activities centered around classes@sea, demonstrations and trivia. On our cruises pool activities were limited (Sapphire Princess) and on another replaced by a giant TV screen 'MUTS' - Movies Under the Star (brilliant idea) that was really on going all day (Golden Princess). The muster drills are humanely done in a comfortable lounge.

The food in Horizon Court (the buffet) was very good with lots of variety but the layout is horrid. The food is set up at stations but without the room for people to amply move around. I preferred the food on RCCL and Carnival with the latter being my favorite.

Cabins were smaller on Princess and you will need to book a mini-suite in order to have a sofa. If this matters, smoking is allowed (though not recommended) in the rooms on Princess. You know how well recommendation works for some

Princess does for pools what RCCL does for atriums/centriums, simply breathtaking. The afternoon tea, champagne waterfall and New year Eve party are definitely worth checking out. The live bands are great and the disco rocks when offering theme night for the '70 or even '80 music. The ships are beautiful and give you a lot to look at. After sailing Sapphire Princess and Golden , you do get the feeling see one see them all. Identical photo set up on each ship (one way to not purchase pic).

I went from a wonderful cruise on Carnival followed by a fantastic cruise on Sapphire Princess. If you are seeking a upbeat, more lively and fun atmosphere, RCC tops Princess!
For one that is relaxing and not having to worry about what am I missing, then Princess.

Enjoy!

[cruzmax]

We have cruised with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival and tried Princess 3 weeks ago - had a great cruise.
My view is:
Princess decor is more like Celebrity - very nice, but understated - not a lot of color.
Maybe it was the time of year, but Princess atmosphere is very relaxed - not a lot of stuff going on. Also noticed there wasn't any 'Caribbean' music playing.
Food selection was similar in the buffet, but we actually liked Carnival's Dining Room food better - more selection. We love Carnival's 'stir fry' station.
Pool Bar area - on Carnival and Royal, the staff was working so fast to make drinks, it was unbelievable. Princess - they take their time.
Entertainment - good on all four.
We have enjoyed all our cruises - it's good to try something new!

[Colo Cruiser]

Originally Posted by CRUZIN'NANA

We had previously cruised only on NCL and RCI also. Our last 3 cruises have been with Princess. For the most part, we like Princess very much. Here are some comparisons, our opinion, of course, so others may disagree:

Food - good to very good, but not necessarily in the buffet, which, on the Princess ships we've sailed, is set up as food stations, not a traditional buffet. At first, we found that rather confusing. I would prefer those on RCI or NCL. The specialty restaurants serve food a step or two above that served in the main dining rooms. The very best eating experience was the Chef's Table, on our recent cruise on the Emerald Princess. Did not care for the buffet on Princess Cays, the cruiseline's private island.
Found the buffet food served by NCL on their private island was much better. One feature we enjoyed is the International Cafe, where you can get nice pastries, salads, desserts, and more importantly--good brewed coffee (along with specialty brews, like cappuccino, lattes, espressos, etc.) Princess' regular coffee served in the dining room and buffets is pretty awful stuff. I recall RCI having sort of weak coffee, but Princess has worse.

Staterooms--the balcony cabins on NCL and RCI are roomier, often with a settee or sofa. With Princess, you need to book a mini-suite to get the extra room. Can't compare the inside or outside categories, as we've only been in balcony cabins, and a mini-suite on our most recent cruise this Oct.

The ships are lovely--elegant, not gaudy, but no real "Wow Factor" like some of the RCI ships. I do feel there's less of a party atmosphere, like we found on a few of the RCI ships. One of our favorite activities is "M.U.T.S." (Movies Under the Stars). This is a great feature. They seem to have less youth-oriented activities.

Entertainment--I'd give the edge to NCL and RCI as far as the size of the main theater. There aren't enough seats. You have to get in the theater at least 30 min.or more to be able to pick a decent seat. And there are chairs hogs in the theater, too--as well as on the pool decks.

Ship excursions--probably about the same. Think the prices have gone up on these for all the lines. There is always the option for private excursions, of course. Depending on the itinerary, we have done both.

Our one "complaint" is that Princess doesn't go overboard to help when a Roll Call group is trying to arrange a Meet-and-Greet onboard. RCI does a much better job in this regard. Princess doesn't seem very interested. They totally screwed up our meet-and-greet on the Emerald which I'd been trying to get set up for months. When the time came, they "forgot" to have a bar server for us for our appointed place and time. This really is a black mark against Princess as far as I'm concerned.

Overall, although our next cruise booked is with NCL, we will sail with Princess again--actually have already paid future cruise credits for a Princess cruise. Our favorite Princess ship so far is the Coral. It is still considered a large ship, but carries under 2000 passengers. Would love to take another Panama Canal cruise again, like we did in 2008 on the Coral. Outstanding cruise--wonderful Cruise Critic members made it all the more special.


Hope this helps. Good luck with your future cruise plans.

Well said!!!

Great comparison.