Royal Caribbean vs. Princess?

[wdwmickey]

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me the basic differences between Royal Caribbean and Princess? We have only cruised Princess before, but, we're looking at booking an 8 night out of FLL on the Navigator. TIA

[dplusd]

We fine both lines very similar. We do like Royal's ship layout better and they have nicer, larger balcony staterooms. We do miss Princess pizza and poolside Trident Grill when we sail Royal as they have nothing similar. If you like MTD, we think Royal manages it better and tables for two are much more comfortable than on Princess. We enjoy both lines and I bet you will too. Navigator is lovely and in great shape following a major dry doc last year.

[wdwmickey]

Thanks so much. Exactly the type of info I was looking for.

[tserface]

We find them mostly similar and travel on either, but Royal's MTD is way better managed than Princess's Anytime dining. For Princess "Anytime" usually means 45 minutes after any time you want to eat. If you go a the very beginning and get in line 15-20 minutes early you can typically get in pretty quickly, but if you go later you almost always have to wait with a beeper.

 

The other thing I don't like is you can't make reservations on Princess except the "day of" which is very confusing to remember every morning.

 

Princess bingo costs less and they have more game cards included.

 

The food is very similar.

 

Most Royal ships have way better buffet setups than the Princess ships we've been on. To be fair, we haven't gone on any of the newer Princess ships, but the ones we have been on have really bad buffets that are almost unusable.

 

To make up for that Princess still has reasonable rates for specialty restaurants compared to Royal's pretty inflated rates.

 

The rooms on Princess ships tend to be smaller, but if you go on Carib deck you can typically get a really nice balcony.

 

The crews on both lines (all ships we've been on) have always been excellent.

 

Princess has a Piazza in the center rather than a Promenade, but they are very similar. I love the Princess International Cafe and find it to be much better than the Promenade Cafe on Royal. Princess also does fun things like a Fondue night, Crab Shack, etc. Royal has some special eating things like Mystery Dinner, but they are typically expensive.

 

Both have fun games and events. The shows on Royal are better, but we really enjoyed the specialty acts on Princess (magician, comedian, etc.) My guess is it's hit and miss on all ships.

 

Princess has ships on the West Coast. This is huge for us. Royal has abandoned us out here for the most part except for really expensive Alaska cruises that mostly go one way and leave you stranded way out in the Tundra. I like how Princess has lots of round trips available for much better prices and I love that they have ships leaving from California and Washington ports.

 

I like that Princess still gives you bathroom amenities and leaves things in your room like a pen and paper to write with and other "trinkets". These are small things, but make the room a little more special.

 

Princess has laundry rooms with irons that are available for anyone to use. This is really really nice especially for formal nights where you don't want to wear a wrongly creased shirt or pants.

 

All that said, we tend to cruise on both lines and are happy on either based on what kinds of deals we can find. Since Princess still has a west coast presence for a reasonable fare and we live in Oregon we tend to do a coastal cruise once a year just because it's a great deal and really convenient. We also tend to use Princess when cruising Alaska. That wouldn't mean anything to people on the east coast since they have tons of options.

 

Tom

[Desert Cruizers]

Having sailed both, the standard balcony cabins are larger on Royal. The room size & balcony sizes are separated unlike Princess where they combine the measurements. Example, a 200 sq ft room on Royal then adds for their balcony, another 46 sq ft on the standard size D-1 category, 178 for E Category while Princess may will show 200 or a little more but that includes the balcony so your actual size of the room is smaller. We personally have found the entertainment better on Royal and crew seems more outgoing. We have had wonderful cruises with Princess but overall prefer Royal.

[tserface]

Also, as someone else mentioned, the poolside grill (Trident) is very nice on Princess. It is typically very easy to get a burger or hot dog with short time, for free, and the food is really good. We eat lunch there often since it's so easy and there are a lot of choices. The Pizza place is usually really near so it's easy to even have pizza and burgers for lunch if people in your group want different things.

 

It's another simple thing, but we loved that it was so convenient. We miss this kind of grill on Royal ships. They seem to be slowly phasing them out.

 

Tom

[Aquahound]

We fine both lines very similar. We do like Royal's ship layout better and they have nicer, larger balcony staterooms. We do miss Princess pizza and poolside Trident Grill when we sail Royal as they have nothing similar. If you like MTD, we think Royal manages it better and tables for two are much more comfortable than on Princess. We enjoy both lines and I bet you will too. Navigator is lovely and in great shape following a major dry doc last year.

 

I very much agree with this. I've mostly cruised RCI, but I've been on 3 Princess cruises in the past couple years. You can see which ones in my signature.

 

RCI's rooms are much more spacious...not the closet, the rooms. The balconies are also larger. I also much prefer RCI ship designs and find them much easier to navigate around. You'll be impressed with RCI's decor. Princess seems dated in their stateroom decor and in certain areas of the ship, like the theater. RCI just has more wow factor.

 

You'll find entertainment between Navigator and Princess ships to be the same. The live bands are great, and they do the same night time game shows (Battle of the Sexes, Love and Marriage, Majority Rules, Quest, Liars Club, etc).

 

Food seems the same to me but like dplusd said, My Time Dining seems to be better managed on RCI and the dining room feels far less cramped than Princess (Royal/Regal withstanding). You'll like RCI's buffet layout better (again, Royal/Regal withstanding), but I think you'll find Princess has more selection.

 

Enjoy your cruise. I think you'll love the Navigator. :)

[emory2001]

I sailed on the Dawn Princess 15 years ago in a balcony room. More recently I only sail Royal Caribbean. The bathroom was definitely smaller on Princess than Royal. I remember being shocked at how cramped the Princess bathroom was.

 

Royal dining rooms are absolutely grand and gorgeous. I love walking into them. Princess wasn't even close (although maybe it has been refitted since then).

 

From what I can remember of the food on Princess, I think they are similar. Both have hit or miss items.

[iheartbda]

Didn't do MTD on Princess so can't comment on that. Found food to be comparable in the MDR but the International Café on Princess beats, by a mile, Café Promenade of Royal.

 

Strange but I didn't feel the balcony cabins were larger on Royal and I actually like the layout better on Princess, especially the closet area and bathroom.

 

OP, IMO, you will probably find the two lines are more alike than different.:)

[FlyStef]

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me the basic differences between Royal Caribbean and Princess? We have only cruised Princess before, but, we're looking at booking an 8 night out of FLL on the Navigator. TIA

 

Princess balcony cabins are typically larger than RCCL equivalent. A standard balcony room on Princess is around 233-298 sq ft (not a mini suite), where as standard ocean view balcony rooms on RCCL tend to be 182-200 sq ft. That extra room is basically where Princess has a more generous closet and bathroom. Regal and Royal Princess ships you finally got a seating couch, where as most RCCL equivalent rooms already included a seating area. Coral, Caribbean, Ruby Princess ships etc you would get 1 chair in a balcony stateroom with no couch.

 

Princess soda package is MUCH more affordable at $5.18

per person/per day before taxes and gratuity. RCCL's is $22 per day. When you get to adding beer, wine and cocktails, the prices get much closer, princess at $56.35 per day per person, and RCCL's premium package at $57 per person per day.

 

Princess target audience seems a bit older IMO than RCCL's IMO. There are more active things to do on RCCL's ships, such as rock walls, flowriders, zip lines, ice skating etc. Princess doesn't really offer anything along those lines, which is fine, lots of people don't want or need them. RCCL's H20 zone for kids is great for young families. IMO, this is one of the reason's RCCL attracts more young families than Princess. You will see young families on both lines, especially depending on sailing and ship, but RCCL tends to cater to young families more so than Princess IMO. This can be a positive or negative depending on what you are looking for.

 

Princess does Movies Under the Stars better than RCCL, and has better pizza. Both have good food and service.

 

My parents are avid Princess cruisers, and we just took a big family vacation on RCCL's Oasis of the seas for Thanksgiving, and it was a bit of an eye opener for my parents. Princess ships tend to be very classy and very tame, where as RCCL's goes for the wow factor and packs a whole lot of punch in every corner. I think when we cruise together as a multi generational family, we will cruise RCCL as it offers more activities across a broader range of interests. However when my parents cruise by themselves, they will likely go back to Princess for a quieter more serene experience (less kids).

Edited December 4, 2015 by FlyStef
clarify pricing of package

[wblynch]

We just sailed Ruby Princess a month ago and much prefer RCCL. The ships are more open and grand and the atmosphere on Royal Caribbean suits us better.

 

i wasn't impressed with the food on Ruby Princess and the traditional wait staff was slow. (you could not get a refill on iced tea or coffee to save your life).

 

We are sailing on Royal Caribbean next but since RCCL abandoned California we will likely go on Princess again. Or maybe try Norwegion?

 

I do have to say it was fun sailing Princess on their 50th anniversary year.

[Aquahound]

Princess balcony cabins are typically larger than RCCL equivalent. A standard balcony room on Princess is around 233-298 sq ft (not a mini suite), where as standard ocean view balcony rooms on RCCL tend to be 182-200 sq ft. That extra room is basically where Princess has a more generous closet and bathroom. Regal and Royal Princess ships you finally got a seating couch, where as most RCCL equivalent rooms already included a seating area. Coral, Caribbean, Ruby Princess ships etc you would get 1 chair in a balcony stateroom with no couch.

 

That extra room must be all closet because I felt very cramped in my Princess rooms. This was my standard balcony on Navigator:

 

 

Whereas this was my standard balcony on Ruby:

 

[wblynch]

 

Whereas this was my standard balcony on Ruby:

 

Yep that looks familiar. Not to mention the bathroom was as small as those on the old Monarch of the Seas back in the 90s

[FlyStef]

It's one of the area's where RCCL IMO, does more with less. RCCL's cabins are much more efficiently laid out IMO. Princess wastes a lot of square footage in the closet and the hall to the closet, and the bathroom is also not as efficient. Where as RCCL has a much tighter and more efficient closet and bathroom, which allows more room in the stateroom.

 

[Aquahound]

Thanks Stef. :) But I gotta say, if you look at my picture compared to that Princess rendering, I'd say Princess exaggerated a little. ;)

[knittinggirl]

We find them mostly similar and travel on either, but Royal's MTD is way better managed than Princess's Anytime dining. For Princess "Anytime" usually means 45 minutes after any time you want to eat. If you go a the very beginning and get in line 15-20 minutes early you can typically get in pretty quickly, but if you go later you almost always have to wait with a beeper.

 

The other thing I don't like is you can't make reservations on Princess except the "day of" which is very confusing to remember every morning.

 

Princess bingo costs less and they have more game cards included.

 

The food is very similar.

 

Most Royal ships have way better buffet setups than the Princess ships we've been on. To be fair, we haven't gone on any of the newer Princess ships, but the ones we have been on have really bad buffets that are almost unusable.

 

To make up for that Princess still has reasonable rates for specialty restaurants compared to Royal's pretty inflated rates.

 

The rooms on Princess ships tend to be smaller, but if you go on Carib deck you can typically get a really nice balcony.

 

The crews on both lines (all ships we've been on) have always been excellent.

 

Princess has a Piazza in the center rather than a Promenade, but they are very similar. I love the Princess International Cafe and find it to be much better than the Promenade Cafe on Royal. Princess also does fun things like a Fondue night, Crab Shack, etc. Royal has some special eating things like Mystery Dinner, but they are typically expensive.

 

Both have fun games and events. The shows on Royal are better, but we really enjoyed the specialty acts on Princess (magician, comedian, etc.) My guess is it's hit and miss on all ships.

 

Princess has ships on the West Coast. This is huge for us. Royal has abandoned us out here for the most part except for really expensive Alaska cruises that mostly go one way and leave you stranded way out in the Tundra. I like how Princess has lots of round trips available for much better prices and I love that they have ships leaving from California and Washington ports.

 

I like that Princess still gives you bathroom amenities and leaves things in your room like a pen and paper to write with and other "trinkets". These are small things, but make the room a little more special.

 

Princess has laundry rooms with irons that are available for anyone to use. This is really really nice especially for formal nights where you don't want to wear a wrongly creased shirt or pants.

 

All that said, we tend to cruise on both lines and are happy on either based on what kinds of deals we can find. Since Princess still has a west coast presence for a reasonable fare and we live in Oregon we tend to do a coastal cruise once a year just because it's a great deal and really convenient. We also tend to use Princess when cruising Alaska. That wouldn't mean anything to people on the east coast since they have tons of options.

 

Tom

 

Pizza much better on our Star Princess last April. But toiletries really pathetic. We got one bar of soap we kept having to move back and forth between the tub & sink, and a tube of lotion (but it lasted the entire 15 days). Also dispensers of mystery hair shampoo and body shampoo in their Mini Suites. We paid suite gratuities, and got only single credit. Still have pad and pen. We also get special requests. I requested an appetizer sized entree to come w/ the first course, and they happily did it. Love the coffee cards! Hate the sloppy maintenance. Both washers across the hall were out of order the whole cruise, and one of two elevators to the MDR were out of order for the first six or seven days of a 15 day cruise. Drink prices looked lower compared to Royal Caribbean. Good photography lectures.

 

On Royal Caribbean we pay regular gratuities and get double credit in the JS. Also, we had four or five tubes of toiletries plus the bar soap. Horrid pizza. Pizza is usually a red flag food for me, but it took no willpower at all to pass it up. No enrichment program, but better artwork. Royal Caribbean has those rounded corner beds that give you an illusion of more space. But DH's feet stick a foot off the end.

Edited December 4, 2015 by knittinggirl

[FlyStef]

Thanks Stef. :) But I gotta say, if you look at my picture compared to that Princess rendering, I'd say Princess exaggerated a little. ;)

 

Quite possible, Princess may be including the thickness of the walls, where as Royal maybe only be including clear open space. There are a lot of ways to calculate square footage. Sometimes something as imperceptible as 6-8" of additional width can add quite a bit of square footage to a room but not really feel much more generous, especially if it's not taken advantage of with clunky boxy furniture.

[Desert Cruizers]

I sailed with friends on a Coastal on the Star Princess and was amazed when I saw their JS, it was actually narrower and smaller then my Baja Mid Ship Balcony. My husband & I also experienced a little difficulty in passing each other at the end of the bed on Princess while there was plenty of room on both our Radiance & Serenade cruises in a JS.

[dplusd]

That extra room must be all closet because I felt very cramped in my Princess rooms. This was my standard balcony on Navigator:

 

 

Whereas this was my standard balcony on Ruby:

 

 

Totally agree. On Princess we always get a Mini-Suite but on Royal we're quite comfortable in a regular category D balcony. I think FlyStef got it backwards! Standard balcony rooms on Royal are larger than on Princess.

[OCruisers]

We book Mini-Suites on Princess and find them perfect for two! :)

[brillohead]

Princess soda package is MUCH more affordable at $5.18

per person/per day before taxes and gratuity. RCCL's is $22 per day.

 

I think you've been hitting the unlimited booze package a little hard there.

 

Royal's soda package is $8.00/day for adults and $5.50/day for children, both prices including gratuity.

[CFD130]

We have sailed on both and find them very similar-One thing that I do miss on RCL is a fridge that works -They have them put them arent cold at all just barley even cool.

[FlyStef]

Removed

Edited December 4, 2015 by FlyStef

[wdwmickey]

Thanks everyone. Lots of good info...the pics were especially helpful.

[knittinggirl]

Some promotional stateroom pictures are taken w/ special lenses to make them wider.

 

Now a days, you can use a fisheye, then go into Photoshop and remove all the curvy lines at the edge.

 

I think on Royal Caribbean, two guests aren't allowed to book a D1, they're saved for 3+ passengers.

Edited December 4, 2015 by knittinggirl