Comparing RC and Princess...my thoughts

[MichaelCMTX]

Appreciate your feedback. DW and her boss are trying to do a "girls cruise" on the West Coast and that obviously rules out RCL unless something changes. I'll be sure to run this by her.

[Qcruise]

Small things make a big difference ....they have carved butter in dishes for dining, and they clean the linen table cloth with the crumb blade. RCI uses foil paper wrapped butter and does not clean table of crumbs after your meal. Little things like that make you feel it's more upscale and are nice while on vacation.

[OCruisers]

Thanks for a very fair and well written comparison! :)

LuLu

[blondie from arizona]

Small things make a big difference ....they have carved butter in dishes for dining, and they clean the linen table cloth with the crumb blade. RCI uses foil paper wrapped butter and does not clean table of crumbs after your meal. Little things like that make you feel it's more upscale and are nice while on vacation.

 

Yes, small things do make a difference. On Carnival they give you a dollop of margarine (or something) and pretend it is butter. And, no one ever cleaned the table with the crumb blade. They always have on RCI. You don't know what you have until it isn't there anymore. I will take foil wrapped butter if it is REAL butter. What I don't like is having to hunt around the ship for real milk, 1/2 and 1/2 or cream. That fake stuff in the little cups is gross. :eek:

[taxgal]

Having done 1/2 a dozen cruises on both Princess and RCI, I think the review is great and confirms what we have observed over the years. We like both lines but since DH is now a teacher and we like the Carib, we no longer have Princess as an option for summer cruises...It has virtually abandoned it during the summer. [Recently, CB is the ship that spends the most time there in the summer, been on her twice, but DH doesn't care for her because there is no running track--very important to my Marine.:rolleyes:]

[World Traveler 81]

Thanks for compiling your thoughts. I've only been on one Princess cruise and it was miserable. I've been told by many that it was likely due to the itinerary (LAX-YVR) and the clientele that such a cruise typically attracts. We've been considering giving them a try for a Caribbean cruise and your input was helpful. Thanks again for taking the time to put this together!

[divingaggie]

Yes, small things do make a difference. On Carnival they give you a dollop of margarine (or something) and pretend it is butter. And, no one ever cleaned the table with the crumb blade. They always have on RCI. You don't know what you have until it isn't there anymore. I will take foil wrapped butter if it is REAL butter. What I don't like is having to hunt around the ship for real milk, 1/2 and 1/2 or cream. That fake stuff in the little cups is gross. :eek:

You're right! I had forgotten about the fresh butter on Princess!

 

Our waiters on both Princess and RCI cleaned or Yankees with the crumb blade.

[jayblue]

Thank you for your insight. I'm taking two more cruises with RCI and then I want a different experience. I looked at Princess and liked what I saw.

 

jayblue RCCL cruiser

[Linsifer]

Thank you for your comparison. I've only been on one RCI cruise and just booked our second. I've sailed more on Princess and their parent company, Carnival. Once on NCL. I especially have to agree about the food on Princess and in the MDR, even CCL. I just love the buffets on Princess. I loved going at midnight or later and on certain times have deep fried shrimp available. Or sometimes they had large fresh shrimp. Yum! I'm a night owl, so I loved that they were open late. I love afternoon tea. Pizza was good, too! And, I love the poolside grill! So convenient when hanging out on deck. I really missed that on Mariner. I like freshwater pools, too. Overall, I'm a Princess fan. But, I'm still looking forward to our Brilliance of the Seas cruise next year. But, one of these days I'm going to get my husband on a Princess cruise! I've only sailed with our daughters and other family members on that line.

 

 

 

RC vs. Princess

 

I've posted this in the Princess forum, but I wanted to share here as well...

 

Compared to most, I'm still a pretty new cruiser. I've been on two Princess cruises (Island and Ruby), and most recently, I went on Freedom of the Seas with Royal Caribbean. Before going on Freedom, DH and I tried to see what people thought of both and what the differences were. We have LOVED Princess, but since we have an 11-yr-old boy, we thought that we'd give Freedom a try to see if DS would like the activities better. So we went into the cruise with an open mind, excited about experiencing a new line.

 

So with that said, after returning, I jotted down a few things that we like better about one or the other, and I wanted to share that with everyone.

 

What we liked better about Royal Caribbean:

 

--Checking in was faster, even though we weren't experienced RC cruisers. We typically arrive by about 10 or 11, and we have had to sit in a holding area with Princess. But with RC, as soon as we checked in, we were able get on the ship.

 

--We loved the miniature ship models on each floor. We could always see where we were in reference to the rest of the ship.

 

--We also loved the touch screen guides on each floor. We could see where we were and how to get to any part of the ship. We could also see all of the activities going on and the menu for that evening.

 

--I actually liked the Royal Promenade much better than the Princess plaza concept. I liked being to walk up and down the mall area, and the parties along the promenade were great.

 

--Since we don't spend the money on balconies or suites, we usually book interior or oceanview. I appreciated the shower stalls with the actual sliding door. I can't stand the teeny shower stall on Princess, and I especially don't like the curtain.

 

--I know that it isn't that big of a deal, but we were always excited to see what towel animals would be waiting for us at night.

 

--I think that the shows on RC are much better than the shows I've seen on Princess. Now, shows aren't make or break for us, though.

 

--We liked the fact that there were two movies that were showing during our week that were brand new (in theaters at home).

 

--This is BIG for me. I LOVED the fact that RC had a one-price-pays-all for photos. I bought the photo package before the cruise, so since I knew that we already could get all of our pics, then we took advantage of as many photo ops that we could find. I wish, wish, wish that Princess would start doing this!

 

--I like the gym on RC better. It seems bigger, and the layout is nicer.

 

--DH loved that there were soccer games on the ship.

 

--Little things--I think I liked the design & art on RC better than on Princess, but I would never make a decision between lines based on that.

 

--DS liked self-serve ice cream. Easy to get.

 

--We loved the Tutti salad in the MDR for lunch. GREAT salad!

 

--The cruise directors and assistant cruise directors on RC seemed way more fun. And we saw the officers much more on RC than we ever do on Princess. The night activities seemed more enthusiastically attended on RC than on Princess.

 

What I liked better about Princess:

 

--The buffet! I think that although the layout on RC was better, the food choices and quality were better on Princess. I know that there are buffet staples for breakfast and lunch. I don't expect a buffet to be completely different every single day, but I do expect some variety. I don't remember much variety on RC. We like that on Princess, we can tell the difference between the days' offerings.

 

--The PIZZA is divine on Princess. DH, DS and I ate the pizza on Princess every single day, and some days, we ate it multiple times! I can pretty much eat any pizza. Even frozen pizza makes me happy sometimes. But my frozen pizza is better than the pizza I ate on RC. Ugh.

 

--The grill on Princess...it was nice to be able to get hamburgers, grilled chicken and hot dogs easily while we were at the pool.

 

--The MDR lunches were much better on Princess. And of the three sea days on RC, they used the same lunch menu twice. I was expecting three different lunch menus like we have seen on Princess...I sound so spoiled. But for foodies like us, it's nice to have different choices each day.

 

--MDR food was so much better for us on Princess. I love the fish dishes on Princess. I have enjoyed almost everything I have eaten in the MDR on Princess, and I just liked the food on RC. It's good, sure. I never sent anything back. I ate it and liked it. But I really like Princess MDR food that much better. There was nothing that made me go WOW on RC whereas I can list easily the things I love on Princess.

 

--DH and I love the tea times on Princess.

 

--Coming back on port days, we received cooling towels and bottled water with Princess. Nothing like that on Royal Caribbean.

 

--We like not having to check towels in and out on Princess. That got annoying on RC.

 

--Service in the MDR seemed better and more organized on Princess. I don't think that our waiters were bad at all. They just seemed more frazzled and rushed than the ones we've had on Princess. Also, we like having the bread basket at our table on Princess. Unless we flagged down our waiters or waiter assistants on RC, we would never get a second bread roll. But they were always so rushed that they often forgot to offer us more bread.

 

--We like the closet area and storage availability on Princess much better. Smarter layout.

 

--Smoking--I don't know what it is, but it seemed to me that in the public areas outside, there was more of a compliance with the smoking rules on Princess than on RC. I think that this is a fault of the passengers who could care less about rules and other people, but it is also because they weren't being told to stop smoking. But I am sure that the poor RC workers were afraid of the complaints that would have been turned in about them.

 

--Movies Under the Stars--SO much better on Princess. The popcorn, the blankets--so nice. I tried to watch a movie outside on RC, and I had to get five towels to cover myself with.

 

--The game room. We tried to find the game room on RC, and we found a room at the top that had some cards. There may have been some games in there somewhere, but if there were, they must have been hidden in the cabinets or something. It was also a quiet area, so it was hard for us to play games and chat. We aren't loud, but we want to laugh a little without getting looks from the next table. On Princess, we loved the fact that we could go to one of the restaurants (designated for family games) any time during the day, and there would be a table full of games we could borrow, and many tables that we could use. There is also a table set up with drinks and snacks for us. Nice touch.

 

--The International Cafe. Enough said. YUM.

 

--The non-alcoholic beverage package was better for DS on Princess. The package on Princess included the mocktails, whereas the one on RC only included sodas (and other drinks, but not mocktails). Our kiddo loves his mocktails.

 

--We love the promenade deck on Princess much better. We love the loungers on Princess, and it just seemed more relaxing than on RC.

 

--There seemed to be less announcements on Princess. I liked that.

 

--The procedure for leaving the ship on port days seemed much more organized on Princess. It seemed confusing and crowded on RC.

 

--Wheelhouse Bar's fish & chips lunch

 

BOTH:

 

To tell you the truth, if someone were to gift me a cruise on RC or Princess, I would be ecstatic. But if I'm paying, I would pay for Princess much more readily than RC.

 

But, I think that many things are similar. The service we have received on both lines has been super. The people who work the lines are hard-working, dedicated and friendly. There was nothing that they wouldn't do for us. We liked both cabins. We love trivia, and we enjoyed both lines. I think the shopping was similar on both lines, but I'm not that big of a shopper. There were activities throughout the day on both ships that have kept us occupied, and the music has been good on both. We have loved all of our cabin stewards, no matter what line.

 

Like I said above, I'd go back again on both, but if given the same itinerary that is served by both, I would probably choose Princess. I hope that this is helpful for anyone who is looking for differences and similarities between them.

 

Happy cruising!

Bernadette

Edited July 4, 2014 by Linsifer

[divingaggie]

You're right! I had forgotten about the fresh butter on Princess!

 

Our waiters on both Princess and RCI cleaned or Yankees with the crumb blade.

 

...cleaned OUR TABLES... Ugh...that's what I get for trying to post from my phone! :D

[Cruzingal#9]

I felt like I was reading my personal comparison! I agree with 99% of what you said. We are Diamond members on RCCL and Platinum members on Princess. We feel very lucky to have two great cruise lines to choose from. We know what to expect on each line (better food on Princess, nice promenade on RCCL, etc.), therefore we are not disappointed no matter what line we're on. We were just on the Caribbean Princess in June and had an awesome time. We will be on the Allure in October and can hardly wait! Again, you did a great comparison; thanks!

[hollon]

Small things make a big difference ....they have carved butter in dishes for dining, and they clean the linen table cloth with the crumb blade. RCI uses foil paper wrapped butter and does not clean table of crumbs after your meal. Little things like that make you feel it's more upscale and are nice while on vacation.

 

On my cruises, Rccl always used the crumb blade, maybe we had more crumbs than your table:rolleyes:

[divingaggie]

Thanks for taking the time to offer the well thought comparison. From your likes outlined I would suggest you give Celebrity a try in the future. Be sure to book one of the newer class of ships.

 

Yes, I agree based on reviews that I have read. We hope to try Celebrity out some day soon!

[luckyprincess]

I'm always looking at different cruise lines so this was a great and fair review! Thanks!

[Pedro2400]

Yes, I agree based on reviews that I have read. We hope to try Celebrity out some day soon!

 

You did awesome job on the comparison, If you love entertainment and food, you must try Allure and Oasis ... you won't regret..

 

Cheers...

[roe2ship]

I agree with many of your thoughts. I actually forgot about the bread basket on the tables. That really is a nice plus along with the fancy butter.

 

I"m so looking forward to trying out the Royal or Regal in the future when the time is right for us.

 

I always enjoy reading cruise line comparison thoughts. Thanks for posting.

[Llmtax2000]

Having sailed on both lines more Han once, I would only add to the discussion that the Princess passengers tend to skew much older, and tend to be much less ethnically diverse.

 

 

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[OCruisers]

Having sailed on both lines more Han once, I would only add to the discussion that the Princess passengers tend to skew much older, and tend to be much less ethnically diverse.

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Interesting observation that I've never considered. You are probably right when I think about it ... but have never seen Princess as anything other than very inclusive to all and guess that's why I never noticed.

LuLu

[CP3o]

Having sailed on both lines more Han once, I would only add to the discussion that the Princess passengers tend to skew much older, and tend to be much less ethnically diverse.

 

 

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That is interesting, seems like advertising is sort of in line with Celebrity crowd (a sense of upscale) where RCCL and Carnival are trying to focus on active ethnically diverse families in a lot of their ads. I remember cruising DCL thinking maybe I would try Princess as kids got older but went instead to RCCL/Carnival to try. Almost seems like I'd try Princess if ports were good and I wanted better food (which I do like) but might not be worth the premium to pay for Princess if teens prefer RCCL and aren't too picky about food. RCCL loyalty program does work b/c in a pricing comparison I do think about bottom line cost including Diamond balcony discount, and somewhat consider the C&A perks won't have on Princess.

 

I'm sort of surprised I haven't yet cruised Princess and that a cruise on a new NCL ship seems to be more likely than Princess but it's nice to try new things and thanks for the review; maybe someday. When price and ports have come into consideration, NCL Pride (ports-HI) and Carnival Caribbean (ports-southern route, price) cruises have persuaded me away from RCCL for a trial.

 

This review reminds me to look at Princess again.