Mariner of the Seas vs the Princess Product

[truckmaker]

Good day everyone.

 

Sunday we returned from a Mariner of the Seas cruise out of Galveston TX and since we cruise mostly on Princess I thought I’d highlight some of the interesting differences.

 

To begin with we usually book a BA balcony on Princess and in a similar category stateroom on the Mariner we right away noted that the room was larger with a full size couch. Obviously there was more storage although we felt that the balcony itself was a little smaller. The halls are much wider even with ‘Stewart’s’ cart parked there. This is a large ship so the buffet food area and seating area are also much larger. Even with the full ship passenger load we could always find a table for the four of us and it was often adjacent to the window overlooking the wake. The larger size of the buffet lent itself to a larger variety of food being offered in the buffet. We usually eat in the MDR for dinner and all four of us enjoyed our selections whether in the buffet or DR.

 

We all felt that the entertainment was superior. On this 7-day cruise there was only a single production show and it was offered twice on one evening only. The singers and dancers were new to the ship this week and this showed in the performance that we saw. There was a vocal instrument group of 5 men called Free Force or something like that, I apologize ‘cause I can’t exactly recall their name, and they were fabulous. There were no instruments but it sounded like a full drum and base violin accompaniment. We also saw the Platters, a group from the 50’s, with one of the original members. In addition we were surprised to discover that Roy Rogers’ son and grandson were on board and put on a single show with the Diamond W Wranglers on the afternoon of the last sea day. All of this deserved a wow from us.

 

The interior promenade on deck 5 is where the shops, the My Time dining room, and the café are located. It was the opinion of our small group that we preferred the multi- level atrium approach that Princess but all four of us have cruised with Princess a lot.

 

Princess excels on tour organization. RCL seems to have a looser, apparently less organized approach, but it worked reasonably well for us.

 

We all had a grand time and enjoyed our cruise and it was different than we were used to and that is OK. In fact I wonder if we enjoyed that there is a difference.

 

We did dock in Cozumel across the pier from the Allure of the Seas. OMG that thing is huge and the crowd streaming off and on seemed endless. One big mother …

[dorisis]

Glad you had the chance to appreciate the differences. We have cruise on the Allure and on the Regent Navigator and enjoy what any cruise line has to offer. Allure IS huge and is certainly not like a traditional cruise but WOW!!!

 

We still prefer the smaller ships like Regent and Oceania but still can enjoy Princess, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean.

 

~Doris~

[PescadoAmarillo]

Thanks for the comparison. We took a couple of Mariner cruises in amongst a bunch of Princess cruises. They were our first (and only) RCCL cruises on a ship that size or larger. (We had cruised 4 or 5 times on their smaller ships). While there was plenty to prefer about the Mariner (their hot tub sizes and temp for just two), we really missed the Princess piazza and felt like we were not connected to the ocean. Someone here put it best...the larger RC ships are inward-focused, not outward-focused.

[isujim]

We too now sail both RCCL and Princess. They both provide a solid, good product. We think service is a little better on Princess but enjoy sailing both lines. Thanks for the comparison.

[Jasperdo]

Thanks for the comparison. We sailed on the Mariner a few years ago, and thought it was a beautiful ship. There were some things I liked about the Mariner better, and some things I felt Princess did better. But overall, I enjoyed both cruises equally, and would definitely sail on the Mariner again.

[jonesy111]

My first and only cruise so far was on the Mariner and I loved that ship! I am going on the Sapphire at the end of the month and am looking forward to trying Princess. I am sure you can't go wrong with either company. :D

[Retired Educator]

We have cruised on both RCCL and Princess and found both to our liking. The ocean view and balcony rooms on the Mariner are roomier with more options for sitting and relaxing in your cabin we feel; while the Princess ships seemed to have a nicer area to sit and relax outside your cabin. We also found the promenade area a bit closed in and wondered about the privacy of the promenade view cabins??? Will continue to sail both as we have booked a Galveston cruise for next year on the Mariner. Wish RCCL hadn't deserted their west coast fans :(

[Jasperdo]

Wish RCCL hadn't deserted their west coast fans :(

I totally agree with that!