Indecisive cruiser seeking seasoned advice

[millstastic10]

I have recently asked for some advice on my choices for my march anniversary cruise. I have narrowed it down to the Norwegian Epic, Freedom of the Seas and the Caribbean Princess. I have been given a wealth of info on the first two from other cruisers and on the reviews page. However I have not been seeing the same detailed info on the Caribbean Princess. So any cruisers who have been with Princess before is it worth it? Would you recommend it? Is the atmosphere relaxed or stuffy? Thanks in advance for any info. Hopefully ill get this figured out soon

[Treven]

I've cruised on most of the mainline cruise companies and I think Princess suits me just fine. My last four or so cruises have been on various Princess ships and doubt that I'll change for future cruises.

 

Princess ships are just comfortable; I'm not sure I can explain it in any other way. They've had nice casual entertainment in the afternoons and evenings. I've never complained about any of the food, either in the main dining rooms, the buffet or the speciality restaurants. Also the crew that I've encountered have always been pleasant and efficient.

[fishywood]

I don't find Princess stuffy at all. Their decor is a bit more traditionally nautical than NCL or RC, which suits me fine. On any line you will find some of the least stuffy crowds of the year in March; plenty of families and college students should be onboard. For a livelier time I would choose an itinerary that includes the ship's private island--of these three only the Freedom of the Seas does. But checking the schedules has me curious as to how you came up with three finalists that sail from three different ports: Caribbean Princess from Galveston, Freedom of the Seas from Port Canaveral, or Norwegian Epic from Miami? Is your preference of ship more important than itinerary?--these three sailings are noticably different.

(We are talking about March 2014, right?)

Edited August 11, 2013 by fishywood

[millstastic10]

Thank you for replying and yes the ship does matter more. On our previous three cruises (all with carnival) we have seen the ports we really wanted to see. I am trying to provide a somewhat more exciting, upscale and different experience. And the prices for these three are right around where I want to be because I would like to do more of the added features on whichever trip I decide upon

[millstastic10]

Thank you for your reply

[Keith1010]

I have recently asked for some advice on my choices for my march anniversary cruise. I have narrowed it down to the Norwegian Epic, Freedom of the Seas and the Caribbean Princess. I have been given a wealth of info on the first two from other cruisers and on the reviews page. However I have not been seeing the same detailed info on the Caribbean Princess. So any cruisers who have been with Princess before is it worth it? Would you recommend it? Is the atmosphere relaxed or stuffy? Thanks in advance for any info. Hopefully ill get this figured out soon

 

The honest answer is that we can tell you what we like but we are all different.

 

Knowing your age(s) would really help and what you like and dislike will help too.

 

If yo want a little more sedate cruise then go with Princess and the Caribbean Princess and not with the other two.

 

Again, knowing more both of you really helps.

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have friends who sail only on Princess and they love the cruise line.

[dorisis]

We have well over 30 Princess cruises and 2 more booked. My "seasoned" advise would be to go with Princess. But take any advise with a grain of salt. Celebrity is also a fine line and my favorite is Oceania.

 

Check on a few of the cruise line forums. you might find more insight there.

[flamomo]

I have cruised with Princess 17 times so far, on 12 different Princess ships, and have 3 more cruises booked on Princess ships.

 

My description of Princess ships ...... CLASSY without being stuffy.

[millstastic10]

The honest answer is that we can tell you what we like but we are all different.

 

Knowing your age(s) would really help and what you like and dislike will help too.

 

If yo want a little more sedate cruise then go with Princess and the Caribbean Princess and not with the other two.

 

Again, knowing more both of you really helps.

 

Keith

 

Well me and my wife are 28 and 26. We have been on three Carnival Cruises and loved them!. However we want to try something different. We would like more dinning options, more "quiet" areas (its our anniversary) and a nicer cabin. We dont have this list of things we dislike because we have not been through a negative experience on a cruise yet. We just want a nicer ship with a nicer spa and more options to different things.

[millstastic10]

We have well over 30 Princess cruises and 2 more booked. My "seasoned" advise would be to go with Princess. But take any advise with a grain of salt. Celebrity is also a fine line and my favorite is Oceania.

 

Check on a few of the cruise line forums. you might find more insight there.

 

Thank you doris

[Winnigirl]

We've cruised all three lines and to tell you the honest truth - I don't think there's all that much difference among them. Diehards of one line or another will disagree, but I think you'll have a great cruise on any one of them.

[D&L Thomas]

We have cruised only on Royal Caribbean and Princess so I think I can fairly compare the two.

 

Royal to me is a bit more lively and perhaps a bit more busy, could say bordering on frenetic depending on the cruise director and the sailing/length/time of year. I'm thinking hairy leg and belly flop contests, Quest, flow rider, rock climbing wall, DreamWorks characters.

 

Of course you can pick and choose and avoid all that entirely.

 

Princess I think is a bit more classy and sedate but without being stuffyor too formal. The International Cafe makes it a better trip for us all by itself. And if you want to splurge the Solarium can't be beat for adult time and pampering.

 

Just my two cents!

[OCruisers]

We've been on NCL and RCCL and LOTS of Princess cruises.

 

There's a reason for that: Princess is the best fit for us! :)

 

Honestly, most people who like NCL and RCCL will also like Princess.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[paluni]

Well, I'm only an "expert" on Princess because I've taken three long cruises with them. But we both like Princess, and we keep taking them also to get to higher "perk" status with them. They have a nice loyalty program. Hearing you are young is my only caveat here. The times we have gone, I'd say the majority of the people are in their 50's and 60's. Maybe in March there are more younger people, or even children. So, I don't know how you feel about a possibly older crowd than Carnival. I think the passengers tend to be nice, and not stuffy. So, it depends on you, how you feel about being with perhaps an older crowd than you are used to. And of course you can dine at a table for two if you want. Being a baby boomer myself, well, I am used to them and they still have some life in them!

[janetz]

I have recently asked for some advice on my choices for my march anniversary cruise. I have narrowed it down to the Norwegian Epic, Freedom of the Seas and the Caribbean Princess. I have been given a wealth of info on the first two from other cruisers and on the reviews page. However I have not been seeing the same detailed info on the Caribbean Princess. So any cruisers who have been with Princess before is it worth it? Would you recommend it? Is the atmosphere relaxed or stuffy? Thanks in advance for any info. Hopefully ill get this figured out soon

 

 

All three lines are good. March, you might run into the spring break crowd, with any choice, just so your aware. We have sailed twice on the Caribbean Princess. The ship is beautiful and the service is excellent. There is a very nice adults pool )the terrace pool) in the back of the ship that we really enjoy. We never found it stuffy and had a great time. Yes it is relaxed. The Freedom of the Seas has great reviews also but I think you would find it louder and busier then the CB. We have been on many ships, the Allure and Oasis included and I have to say the Caribbean Princess is still my favorite. Here are two pictures of the terrace pool/:D

 

 

 

 

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ4PaBNDr4jWHS-zfzHLz-w45EBRel-pKTIuZ1S1YOseHnqU5YT

Edited August 11, 2013 by janetz

[janetz]

If you want some good input on the Caribbean Princess you should visit the Princess board also. :)

[millstastic10]

If you want some good input on the Caribbean Princess you should visit the Princess board also. :)

 

Thank you

[janetz]

Thank you

 

 

You are so welcome. :D

[Roce48]

I have sailed on RCCL, NCCL, Carnival, and Princess.

 

 

You asked for input on the Caribbean Princess...

 

We were on the Caribbean Princess last February to Aruba and Curacao

 

The crowd was older like us (60).

 

I found the dining rooms to be boring. There is no large tiered dining room with huge stair cases in it.

 

The International Cafe was a nice 24 hour place to pick up a sandwich, or dessert.

 

This is not as large of ship as the NCCL Epic, or Freedom OTS.

 

The Aft Terrace Pool is deep and usually only has a few people in it.

 

I won't offer comments on food, as one man's delight is another's comlpaint. My wife and I can get the same dish, and totally disagree about it.

 

My suggestion would be the Liberty OTS due to your'e age.

 

Final note is itinerary. March in the Bahamas can be cool, meaning less pool use/activity.

[#1TravelMom]

I definitely recommend the EPIC. We just did back to back cruises - Epic, then Allure of the Seas. The entertainment on the Epic is fabulous. There are lots of dining options. You can find something to keep you busy every minute or find a quiet deck and feel like you are the only ones on the ship - we've taken walks outside about 10pm and see no one. We are mid 40's but feel 28. We love the waterslides on the Epic - so fun (of course we only do them because our daughter forces us to hang out with her).

 

We've been on 35+ cruises. While we really enjoy Princess, it is just a bit more formal. It is just not as "fun". We just enjoy a little younger crowd. The Epic has a variety of activities. Dinners are great - dress as formally or casually as you like - others will be dressed just like you either way!