Is Princess becoming the new X?

[klfhngr]

Our options are very limited on the West Coast... CCL, with Princess and NCL seasonal... I always keep hoping that X, Princess, CCL and RCCL would bring a larger and NEWER ship out here, full time! That way, we can try them all again!

 

Again, I can't speak to much about Princess, it's been a long time. Because of limited options, I sent my friends and family an email and text for an Oct. Princess cruise this past Tuesday. Well, we have close to 15 that are going! Most were excited that it's on Princess and not CCL. Most have cruised, so this will be interesting... getting there opinions.

Edited December 30, 2016 by klfhngr

[bigbenboys]

Our options are very limited on the West Coast... CCL, with Princess and NCL seasonal... I always keep hoping that X, Princess, CCL and RCCL would bring a larger and NEWER ship out here, full time! That way, we can try them all again!

 

Again, I can't speak to much about Princess, it's been a long time. Because of limited options, I sent my friends and family an email and text for an Oct. Princess cruise this past Tuesday. Well, we have close to 15 that are going! Most were excited that it's on Princess and not CCL. Most have cruised, so this will be interesting... getting there opinions.

 

Keep your fingers crossed. We all want to know where Celebrity Eclipse will be cruising to out of San Diego on April 8, 2019.

[caribill]

If you clicked on my link, you would see, I guess, that Cruise Critic got it all wrong! I guess Princess website got it wrong too "All-Inclusive Beverage Package is only available on voyages 7 nights and longer."

 

My statement of "The package is available on all Princess itineraries of 3 nights or more" came from the Princess website.

[Hlitner]

It is very interesting to look at USAToday's 10-best awards that was recently published. Princess won best cruise line, best food, and best entertainment. I think X came in 6th place..overall. There was a time, not long ago, when most cruise insiders thought that X had the best food of all the mass market lines. We understand at least one poster (in this thread) thinks we are biased against Celebrity which is not true (we already have 21 days booked with X for 2017). Although Reader's Polls (like done at USAToday) are far from definitive, it is interesting to note the rapid rise (in the last two years) of Princess....while X has not fared quite as well. We also noted that it is the newest Princess ship class (Royal and Regal) that have driven the ratings. Here is a link to their 10 best page..

http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/all/

 

What is fascinating is that a Carnival ship beat out the best rated Celebrity ship in the dining category and Carnival also beat Celebrity in the Best Ocean Cruise Line. We have not cruised on Carnival for about 12 years.....but perhaps we shall have to go back on that line....when all the kiddies are in school :).

 

 

Hank

Edited December 31, 2016 by Hlitner

[ChucktownSteve]

It is very interesting to look at USAToday's 10-best awards that was recently published. Princess won best cruise line, best food, and best entertainment. I think X came in 6th place..overall. There was a time, not long ago, when most cruise insiders thought that X had the best food of all the mass market lines. We understand at least one poster (in this thread) thinks we are biased against Celebrity which is not true (we already have 21 days booked with X for 2017). Although Reader's Polls (like done at USAToday) are far from definitive, it is interesting to note the rapid rise (in the last two years) of Princess....while X has not fared quite as well. We also noted that it is the newest Princess ship class (Royal and Regal) that have driven the ratings. Here is a link to their 10 best page..

http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/all/

 

What is fascinating is that a Carnival ship beat out the best rated Celebrity ship in the dining category and Carnival also beat Celebrity in the Best Ocean Cruise Line. We have not cruised on Carnival for about 12 years.....but perhaps we shall have to go back on that line....when all the kiddies are in school :).

 

Hank

 

Hank, I wouldn't put much stock in the list. It is a popularity contest where people can vote multiple times using different browsers each day. Also the more populated the geographic area or in this case the number of cruisers that would take the time to respond skews the results. I highly doubt Oceania, Azamara and the more premium cruise line passengers would bother responding to the survey.

 

We had a local contender and several emails were distributed to remind people to continue voting over the month or so the contest was open. It's a way to boost USA Today's web traffic.

 

I don't want to burst your bubble because I do share some similar thoughts about Celebrity's direction however we don't need surveys to feel the way we do. Besides, the cheerleaders won't change their opinions unless Celebrity crosses their personal line.

 

I've also come to the realization that which ship and which crew you have can make a world of difference on the quality of the cruise you experience. The variations even exist on the same ship at different times.

Edited December 31, 2016 by ChucktownSteve

[Ex-Airbalancer]

:rolleyes:

Reading anything into Readers Choice awards is a bit of a joke

 

The only purpose of those awards is to sell ads

[Hlitner]

:rolleyes:

Reading anything into Readers Choice awards is a bit of a joke

 

The only purpose of those awards is to sell ads

 

Yep, almost as useful as cheerleader comments here on CC. And by the way, you might want to also consider that "ads" pay the electric bills here on CC :). But seriously, we do agree that readers polls are completely biased and useless. Folks should simply listen to my opinion which is much more valid :D

 

Hank

Edited December 31, 2016 by Hlitner

[mafig]

:rolleyes:

Reading anything into Readers Choice awards is a bit of a joke

 

The only purpose of those awards is to sell ads

 

True. But when Celebrity was #1, that's all you read here.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Yep, almost as useful as cheerleader comments here on CC. And by the way, you might want to also consider that "ads" pay the electric bills here on CC :). But seriously, we do agree that readers polls are completely biased and useless. Folks should simply listen to my opinion which is much more valid :D

Hank

Really

I am told by my wife it is her opinion is the one that counts :confused: :p

[Aquahound]

It is very interesting to look at USAToday's 10-best awards that was recently published. Princess won best cruise line, best food, and best entertainment.

 

Best entertainment.....on Princess? That's when you know those awards aren't accurate.

Edited December 31, 2016 by Aquahound

[jagoffee]

Best entertainment.....on Princess? That's when you know those awards aren't accurate.

I cruise mostly Celebrity, but IMO Princess's entertainment is significantly better than Celebrity's entertainment. You do not agree?

[wallie5446]

Not trying to upset people, but I've been reading many posts and reviews and have seen many complaints regarding the quality of food, lack of assistant cabin steward and service along with other cutbacks on X. I've also been reading how Princess is improving it's cuisine, its service and so on. Is X downgrading while Princess is upgrading? Is the perception changing/swapping on these cruise lines?

 

I have both an X cruise and a Princess cruise booked, hence the 'research'.... Not BASHING, just asking.

 

Our 1st Princess was in 1992, last one was the Ruby in 2012. 1st Celebrity in 1994, last 3, 2013, 2014, 2015 were on Celebrity, with 2017.

 

It will be a long time before we consider Princess again.

[actuarian]

Best entertainment.....on Princess? That's when you know those awards aren't accurate.

 

I agree. I have been on both X and Princess multiple times and, IMHO, the entertainment is about equal there. I think MSC entertainment is better than either X or Princess but even MSC cannot compare (for entertainment) with the only cruise line that really specializes in entertainment. IMHO, no cruise line can compete with Disney for entertainment and it is hard to imagine any cruise line other than Disney being rated as "best entertainment".

[sippican]

We will be taking our first Princess cruise soon and I am hopeful that we will enjoy it it even half as much as our recent Silhouette experience, which was the best cruise we've been on.

We always travel with an open mind and are looking forward to trying something new.

Edited December 31, 2016 by sippican

[Aquahound]

I cruise mostly Celebrity, but IMO Princess's entertainment is significantly better than Celebrity's entertainment. You do not agree?

 

In general, yes, I do agree. But best overall? No freakn' way. RCI's entertainment blows away that of both Celebrity and Princess.

[Cruise Junky]

In general, yes, I do agree. But best overall? No freakn' way. RCI's entertainment blows away that of both Celebrity and Princess.

 

And NCL's does.

[Aquahound]

And NCL's does.

 

Yep. Them too.

[Hlitner]

Really

I am told by my wife it is her opinion is the one that counts :confused: :p

 

Yeah, we do hear ya. Tis the secret of a long and happy marriage.

 

Hank

[wallie5446]

We will be taking our first Princess cruise soon and I am hopeful that we will enjoy it it even half as much as our recent Silhouette experience, which was the best cruise we've been on.

 

Going in being ok with 'Half as much' you should be safe.;) it will be on par with your Carnival experience's

Edited December 31, 2016 by wallie5446

[iancal]

We like Celebrity. Our last Sun Princess cruise was one of the very best we have ever had. Next month we are on Crown Princess for two weeks.

 

We find Princess and Celebrity to be very similar. We prefer S class ship design but best value based on itinerary,price, and our preferences always wins the day. We really do not see the point to being 'loyal' to any one cruise line.

 

Besides, things like food and entertainment are subjective and they can vary so much between on ship and another or between on sailing or another on the the same cruise line.

Edited December 31, 2016 by iancal

[Hlitner]

Best entertainment.....on Princess? That's when you know those awards aren't accurate.

 

We would agree that they certainly do not compare to the large ships of RCI or NCL. That being said, on our most recent Princess cruise (Regal in October) we were really surprised at the high quality of entertainment. A drastic improvement from some of our previous Princess cruises and much better then what we had a few weeks ago on the Eclipse. Some of it is luck of the draw on particular cruises. But just consider that Perry Grant, who was once a beloved (by many) entertainer on Celebrity is now working for Princess (and Crystal).

 

Hank

[El Crucero]

I cruise mostly Celebrity, but IMO Princess's entertainment is significantly better than Celebrity's entertainment. You do not agree?

 

No. I don't agree. A year ago on the Star Princess their "stage show" was five "performers" lip syncing to a sound track. No live band, just a sound track. Awful and terrible are the most positive things I can say.

[Aquahound]

We would agree that they certainly do not compare to the large ships of RCI or NCL. That being said, on our most recent Princess cruise (Regal in October) we were really surprised at the high quality of entertainment. A drastic improvement from some of our previous Princess cruises and much better then what we had a few weeks ago on the Eclipse. Some of it is luck of the draw on particular cruises. But just consider that Perry Grant, who was once a beloved (by many) entertainer on Celebrity is now working for Princess (and Crystal).

 

Hank

 

I'll agree with you on Regal. I don't remember what the name of one of the main productions was, but I was impressed. It was the one with all the modern music. Plus, the Mardi Gras band in the Piazza was a lot of fun.

 

But still, RCI and NCL have cornered that market on their newer ships with the Broadway productions and really impressive niche' shows like in Studio B and Aqua Theater .

Edited December 31, 2016 by Aquahound

[Hlitner]

No. I don't agree. A year ago on the Star Princess their "stage show" was five "performers" lip syncing to a sound track. No live band, just a sound track. Awful and terrible are the most positive things I can say.

 

Sounds like a Celebrity production show....except they only have 4 singers :). But seriously, you are talking about "a year ago" and not about the newer Royal Class ships...which are the one's leading many ratings/reviews. In the world of cruising a year can be a very long time.

 

But Princess still does use pre-recorded sound tracks for most of their production shows...just like Celebrity and HAL.

 

Hank

[janetz]

In general, yes, I do agree. But best overall? No freakn' way. RCI's entertainment blows away that of both Celebrity and Princess.

 

You are so right! RCI has it down with the entertainment. :)

Our most recent cruise on Princess was the Royal. The food was in the MDR was exceptional as was the entertainment.

Sailing the Silhouette in April after not sailing Celebrity in awhile and are looking forward to it.

Edited December 31, 2016 by janetz