British Isles--NCL vs Princess

Cross-posted for better response.

We want to take a British Isles cruise for our 10th anniversary--May of 2019. I am looking at either NCL Jade -or- Caribbean or Royal Princess (not sure since sailings aren't released yet). I'd love to try Celebrity but its out of our price range. I see that RCCL has a British Isles cruise, but it doesn't look like they have a lot of options for excursions. I've ruled them out unless somebody can convince me they would be the best choice

So, here's some info. about us. I am 34, DH is 49. I don't drink, he does a little bit. We don't gamble or participate in art auctions. Beverage packages will not be a consideration. We like to do fun, off the beaten path activities and shore excursions--as opposed to bus tours and sightseeing tours. Example--we did a rainforest/waterfall hike in Hawaii and also a volcano hike in Hawaii and those were two of our most memorable cruise excursions ever. We also kayaked in Key West and had a blast. We usually book ship excursions (just because I am paranoid about something happening and missing the ship). We have always done any time dining.

We sailed Princess for our 1st cruise--interior cabin to Alaska. We thought the food was really good and we felt pampered the whole time, but we were verrrrry bored during the two sea days. We resorted to Bingo out of desperation.

We sailed NCL's POA for Hawaii and it was an amazing time. We loved the shore excursions and the destination. The staff was great and service was really good; we felt the food was just okay. We didn't spend a lot of time doing ship stuff since we were in port every day.

We sailed Carnival this past February to Key West and Cozumel and had so much fun. We felt like as far as on-board experience, Carnival was the most enjoyable. We also felt the food was good. Of course, Carnival doesn't have a British Isles itinerary but I'm just including this so you have an idea of what we consider fun.

All that being said, would NCL Jade or Caribbean (or Royal) Princess (or maybe RCCL Brilliance of the Seas) be a better fit based on our likes and dislikes? Prices are comparable, so what we are most looking for are sea days that aren't boring, really good food, and interesting shore excursion options.

Are you young? I only ask because you said you were "verrrrry bored" during a mere two sea days with Princess. Whether one line or another is the best choice for someone depends entirely on that "someone". For me (and my wife) Princess is a perfect fit. For others it would be a nightmare of boredom and old people. Without knowing you and your preferences there is no real way for anybody to give you valid advice. I'm sure others will chime in here with reasons why Princess rocks (or doesn't rock) but it really is a personal lifestyle type of choice. Best of luck with whatever you decide and I sincerely hope that you end up with a truly wonderful cruise experience.

Are you young? I only ask because you said you were "verrrrry bored" during a mere two sea days with Princess. Whether one line or another is the best choice for someone depends entirely on that "someone". For me (and my wife) Princess is a perfect fit. For others it would be a nightmare of boredom and old people. Without knowing you and your preferences there is no real way for anybody to give you valid advice. I'm sure others will chime in here with reasons why Princess rocks (or doesn't rock) but it really is a personal lifestyle type of choice. Best of luck with whatever you decide and I sincerely hope that you end up with a truly wonderful cruise experience.

I am 34, DH is 49. I tried to give a good bit of insight into what we like/dislike and what we have enjoyed on previous cruises. Thanks for your kind words--I'm sure we'll end up with a great cruise!

If ship excursions are important to you then I would suggest that you take a close look at the cruise lines' respective offerings and see if you can find any reviews. My husband and I did a Mediterranean cruise on Princess 3 years ago (having previously only cruised Disney and RCCL as a family with our kids), we were then 45 and 48, we did almost all Princess excursions and were extremely pleased and impressed--they aren't inexpensive but we felt that they were well organized, had great tour guides, food and locations. Things were a little quieter on board than RCCL but we did the late seating requesting to be seated with others and we had an awesome group of table mates and met others our age, some of whom were traveling with kids, some without. Two years ago we did a Mediterranean cruise on Royal Caribbean with our kids who were then 16 and 19, the ports were easier for DIY and we were not very impressed with the RCCL offerings (and hadn't been impressed with their excursions when we cruised with them in the Caribbean), we loved the ship and entertainment on board and they cater more to families so combined wit the fact that the ports were easy to manage independently it was a great choice but would not have worked well for us if we were focused on using them for excursions. I can't speak to NCL specifically but am sure you can find a lot about excursions. This summer we are doing British Isles on Princess because we thought they did a good job with excursions but mainly because we thought they had the best itinerary and the timing worked best for us relative to work. We know it will likely be a slightly quieter crowd but especially with such a port-heavy itinerary that works just fine for us.

If ship excursions are important to you then I would suggest that you take a close look at the cruise lines' respective offerings and see if you can find any reviews. My husband and I did a Mediterranean cruise on Princess 3 years ago (having previously only cruised Disney and RCCL as a family with our kids), we were then 45 and 48, we did almost all Princess excursions and were extremely pleased and impressed--they aren't inexpensive but we felt that they were well organized, had great tour guides, food and locations. Things were a little quieter on board than RCCL but we did the late seating requesting to be seated with others and we had an awesome group of table mates and met others our age, some of whom were traveling with kids, some without. Two years ago we did a Mediterranean cruise on Royal Caribbean with our kids who were then 16 and 19, the ports were easier for DIY and we were not very impressed with the RCCL offerings (and hadn't been impressed with their excursions when we cruised with them in the Caribbean), we loved the ship and entertainment on board and they cater more to families so combined wit the fact that the ports were easy to manage independently it was a great choice but would not have worked well for us if we were focused on using them for excursions. I can't speak to NCL specifically but am sure you can find a lot about excursions. This summer we are doing British Isles on Princess because we thought they did a good job with excursions but mainly because we thought they had the best itinerary and the timing worked best for us relative to work. We know it will likely be a slightly quieter crowd but especially with such a port-heavy itinerary that works just fine for us.

Thank you! This is the kind of info I am looking for. I am leaning towards Princess based on itinerary and the larger variety of shore excursions. Plus we really enjoyed the food on our first Princess cruise. I think what's making me shy away is because we did Princess on our very first cruise and found the sea days to be boring, but as you pointed out, with a port-heavy cruise it will probably be nice to have those 'boring' days thrown in.

I'll give you a different perspective. Princess is my favorite cruise line but I'm trying to be objective here. I've been on the POA, about 16 RCI cruises and plenty of Princess cruises too. IMO, you'd be better suited for the nightlife that NCL has. Particularly in the British Isles, Princess quiets down at night (thank God for that - one of the reasons we love them). The itinerary is very port intensive and people have to get up early in the mornings. It's a fantastic itinerary though and if you get the chance to choose, I think you'd appreciate the Wales itinerary more than the Liverpool one (unless you're die-hard Beetles fans).

You really need to do private tours to get the best experience out of the British Isles. The ship's tours are okay, but nowhere near as special. They're tailored to your tastes and so very, very memorable. Plenty of companies offer guarantees to have you back on the ship in time for departure if that would put your mind at ease. Don't miss out on climbing all over the castles in Wales and Scotland on this tour - they're fabulous! Out of all my cruises, this was by far my very favorite! :)

On our Caribbean Princess British Isles cruise this May we have two sea days. I'll be doing laundry on the first one and then a massage. The second one we will begin packing. All the other days are in ports.

I have heard that 2017 is the final European season for Caribbean Princess.

I'll give you a different perspective. Princess is my favorite cruise line but I'm trying to be objective here. I've been on the POA, about 16 RCI cruises and plenty of Princess cruises too. IMO, you'd be better suited for the nightlife that NCL has. Particularly in the British Isles, Princess quiets down at night (thank God for that - one of the reasons we love them). The itinerary is very port intensive and people have to get up early in the mornings. It's a fantastic itinerary though and if you get the chance to choose, I think you'd appreciate the Wales itinerary more than the Liverpool one (unless you're die-hard Beetles fans).

 

You really need to do private tours to get the best experience out of the British Isles. The ship's tours are okay, but nowhere near as special. They're tailored to your tastes and so very, very memorable. Plenty of companies offer guarantees to have you back on the ship in time for departure if that would put your mind at ease. Don't miss out on climbing all over the castles in Wales and Scotland on this tour - they're fabulous! Out of all my cruises, this was by far my very favorite! :)

Thank you--I really appreciate this feedback! I was hoping to hear from somebody who had experienced the same/similar lines as we have that could help me compare. While we don't mind Beatles music, I wouldn't say either one of us are big enough fans to need to include Liverpool :). Appreciate the comments about the private tours as well and it is something I want to do more research on--have been lurking all over the Britian board!

I have heard that 2017 is the final European season for Caribbean Princess.

All of the itineraries I have seen for 2018 are on Royal, so I think you are correct.

A few thoughts:

The onboard experiences on your tropical cruises in Hawaii and the Gulf of Mexico will not be the same on a British Isle Cruise. There is little sitting around the pool deck with pool deck activities. I understand because of your age why you feel the Carnival onboard experience was so enjoyable, and I suspect there were many other passengers around your same age. The cruise was probably 7 days or less which attracts a more party crowd.

A British Isle cruise will be a longer one, attracting those that wish to explore the ports of call. The passenger demographic on all lines probably will be much different then your previous experiences. It is a port intensive, non tropical, cruise, not a party cruise.

All lines will have similar shore excursions. There are certain popular tourist attractions at all the ports, and that is where the excursions go. After many years of cruising we have found that private port tours are normally better and less costly than the ships' tours. We have never missed getting back to the ship. Private tours are arranged with fellow passengers on the Cruise Critic Roll Call sites.

Word is that Princess will release their 2018/2019 winter schedule soon. This may not include the 2019 summer schedule.

Princess has lots of free dining options. For example on the Royal Princess you have the MDR's, Alfredo's open 11am until late evening, the buffet area which is extensive open 6am until late evening, International Cafe 24/7, pub lunch at the Wheelhouse, Trident Grill and Prego Pizza by the pool open 11am until late evening, 24 hour room service. There are lots of choices at all hours of the day and evening. ATD is run well on the Royal. We find the food in these free establishments to be very good, with no need to go elsewhere. The Royal does have two special restaurants, Crown Grill and Sabatini's, and some other special dining experiences. The fees are very reasonable, $29 for Crown Grill, I think the new lower price for Sabatini's will be $25. Compare this to NCL where you have to book their pay restaurants for decent dining.

You may be interested to read a "Live from" a British Isles cruise leaving on Caribbean Princess on May 1st:

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2492674

I've cruised all 4 of the lines you mentioned in your first post. DW and I are low 40s and our likes/interests seem to be about the same as yours.

Regarding ships, I would pick Brilliance of the Seas. My opinion...RCI has better activities and entertainment, and Brilliance was designed for sea views. There is a lot of glass on that ship. This is a big negative about Royal Princess, which lacks lounges with sea views. About excursions...you can book private excursions...which are better anyways, and might be less expensive.

But that said, itinerary should be the number 1 consideration in Europe, with the ship as #2. If Princess has the better itineraries, I'd recommend Caribbean (or a similar ship) over Royal. It's hard to say why...I just wasn't impressed by Princess' newest ships. It's probably mostly due to the lack of ocean views.

Ref NCL, I have a hard time recommending anything older than their Breakaway Class ships. I cruised a ship very similar to Jade (Dawn) and hated it. It was a very cheap feeling ship with the worst food and service of all my 53 cruises.

I cruise both NCL and Princess. Both are great. NCL is more casual if that is important. Shorts in MDR gasp:eek: In addition, NCL has better production shows, entertainment and nightlife. In addition, if you are a foodie, NCL tends to have more specialty dining options (Typically Brazilian steakhouse, Benihana hibachi type, Traditional Steakhouse, Noodle Bars, Suchi bars, Upscale French etc)which we enjoy as we find the MDR gets old. Princess typically the steak place or Italian place only.

If you like more of a country club atmosphere, more formal, and traditional dining then your answer is Princess. Typically has nice lounge singers, quartets etc. Very nice.

If you want more entertainment, actual broadway shows/upgraded production shows and free-style dining then NCL is the way to go. NCL has a great free style dining and reservation system showing what venues are available and at what time with monitors throughout the ship with online reservations (which we never make, just show up with what type of food we fancy that night)which Princess is lacking. I know you are not gamblers, but NCL's casino program beats anything Princess has.

Again, both are great, just different experiences. You won't make a bad decision.

Thank you all, I have gotten so much good feedback! I am following the 'Live From' thread, very entertaining already.

It sounds like Princess has more included dining options, is that correct? We don't mind doing a specialty restaurant one or two nights, but don't want to feel like we have to do that in order to have a nice dinner. We don't typically visit the buffet on any ship unless its the only thing that works with our schedule. We don't mind dressing up once in awhile, I'm assuming all of the options have at least one 'formal' night. Really we dress more semi-formal than traditional formal but it seems that's pretty normal and acceptable.

We have enjoyed the production shows on all of our prior cruises, even though some of them are kind of dorky/amateurish. We're kind of dorky too, haha.

Brilliance of the Seas sounds like a really pretty ship but I wouldn't want to choose based off of that, as opposed to overall experience. Can anybody give me more info. regarding any time dining on the various options? I really can't see us choosing a fixed dining time. Maybe we will change our minds when it gets closer.

FYI, the Royal will be homeported in Los Angeles beginning March 2019 and will be doing the Alaska run in the summer of 2019.

If you choose the Royal, or the newest ship (not yet built) set to debut in 2019, those ships have the best buffet at sea, sometimes being better than the MDR!

Don't just look at the cruises from the uk. There are good british isles trips from Amsterdam andothers.

Also consider one that includes Iceland.

This year prices have been very high, and very few offers, we have these on the list to do every year when the prices drop, not this year.

look at the itineraries first and decide which ports are most important.

We went to Liverpool last year to see Silhouette. She had started her round Britain cruise in Amsterdam.

Sent from my iPad using Forums[/

Well, after getting feedback from CCers to choose based on itinerary, I made a spreadsheet last night of 8 different itineraries--4 on Princess, 1 on NCL, 2 on RCCL, and 1 on Celebrity. Based on itinerary alone, the Princess itinerary that includes the Orkney Islands is the winner! Soooo as long as that is still being offered in 2019, I think we've got our cruise picked :)

Hi. Just to confirm what others have already said. 1) this is a very port intensive itin so I wouldnt worry too much about being bored on the sea days. even if you took a 'fun" ship, you wouldnt have much time to participate in many activities. If this were a transatlantic sailing, than i would agree wrong ship for you. 2) the food on Princess should be much better than NCL or Carnival. 3) consider NOT using the ships excursions in many ports. you can find private operators that usually have better tours AND cheaper. check tripadvisor or this message board for recommendations. i find princess excursions to be very expensive. just my opinion.

good luck!

Boredom is such a subjective thing. Nothing bores me more than the thought of laying around a pool for hours just "relaxing". But, I work with a woman who only does Caribbean cruises so she can do that very thing.

Having said that there have been times on sea days with Princess when I spent a little too much time walking around looking for something to do. Not exactly bored, but, a little restless maybe? I always take a book or we play games, go to all the trivia, watch a movie, eat.

Anyway, I did the British Isles 2 years ago (minus Orkney) and as others have said this itinerary is so port-intensive and we were on the go every day. I think we had 1 or 2 sea days and I don't remember being bored. I think we were just happy to have a day to sleep in and re-charge. And do laundry. Ugh, there's a boring thought.

Boredom is such a subjective thing. Nothing bores me more than the thought of laying around a pool for hours just "relaxing". But, I work with a woman who only does Caribbean cruises so she can do that very thing.

 

Having said that there have been times on sea days with Princess when I spent a little too much time walking around looking for something to do. Not exactly bored, but, a little restless maybe? I always take a book or we play games, go to all the trivia, watch a movie, eat.

 

Anyway, I did the British Isles 2 years ago (minus Orkney) and as others have said this itinerary is so port-intensive and we were on the go every day. I think we had 1 or 2 sea days and I don't remember being bored. I think we were just happy to have a day to sleep in and re-charge. And do laundry. Ugh, there's a boring thought.

Haha. Yes, the second paragraph definitely describes our sea days on our first cruise w/ Princess to Alaska. However, after hearing from everybody I am no longer worried, as I do think they will be a welcome reprieve from all of the different port visits. And yes...laundry. Ugh.

We went to Liverpool last year to see Silhouette. She had started her round Britain cruise in Amsterdam.

 

We took the Celebrity British Isles cruise last year on Silhouette and were in Liverpool on Aug. 11, 2016. Maybe this is the day you were there? It was cloudy like this picture.

I loved our itinerary - Amsterdam, St. Peter Port, Cork, Dublin, Liverpool, Belfast, Shetland Island, Inverness, Edinburgh (2 days) and Bruges plus 3 sea days. We took a wonderful trip to Wales while in Liverpool. Fantastic cruise!!

We took the Celebrity British Isles cruise last year on Silhouette and were in Liverpool on Aug. 11, 2016. Maybe this is the day you were there? It was cloudy like this picture.

 

 

 

That was taken on June 1st! Although we only live 1 hr away ( by train ) I had never been to Liverpool before. I was very impressed.

The picture below is of the Catholic Cathedral, known locally as Paddy's Wigwam.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I cannot give an opinion on any other line than Princess, but our 12 day cruise on the Ruby for British Isles was extraordinary. We planned several excursions with folks on cruise critic; they were all superb. We used the Princess excursion to Normandy because of the distance. Our itinerary included Orkney, and what a treat that was. We went in August so we could experience the Tattoo in Edinburgh. What a memory. August in London is also usually the start of Buckingham Palace being open for tours, by the way. As a very port intensive cruise, the two sea days were days of rest and recovery and fish and chips in the pub! We had anytime dining and were totally pleased with that. We are also not art auction fans or bingo or such, but we can surely sit on deck and stare at that glorious wake. Made great friends with our tour buddies as well. Highly recommend Princess.

:D

And by the way, have you read DeLoreanGirl's thesis?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1652129

Whatever you decide, have fun. We LOVED it!