Princess vs Norwegian

[merrilldean]

We have cruised 5 times with Princess and would like to compare Norwegian. Looking at a repositioning April 2019 Barcelona to Florida. Would appreciate any advice..

[tortoisegirl]

We have cruised twice on Norwegian, once on Princess, and twice on Royal. My husband and I both agreed that we thought Princess had significantly better food (quality & selection) and service than Norwegian. However, Norwegian's prices are typically lower, plus they have perks (such as a free beverage package, although you need to pay the gratuities). Norwegian seems to attract younger folks than Princess, although I imagine on any longer cruise like a re-positioning it will skew older. I can't comment on that specific itinerary though.

[merrilldean]

Thank you Tortoisegirl! (we have 2 California desert tortoises) Yes the price is only about $100 a day each plus the pick 5 perks, especially the drink package. The rooms seem smaller than on Princess. How did Royal compare to Princess?

[#1TravelMom]

We have done 10+ on each - RCCL, Princess, and NCL. For different reasons, we love some ships on all three. I would say overall, Princess is the most formal, then RCCL, and NCL fairly casual. The crowd tends to be the same - slightly older and more formal on Princess with the most casual on NCL. We like the newer, larger ships. We just feel there is more to do. Others prefer the smaller ships and almost detest the larger ones. I honestly can say I've never been on a terrible cruise - just ones that I preferred over others. I would love to cruise Barcelona to Florida - so jealous!

[tortoisegirl]

How did Royal compare to Princess?

 

We liked the food slightly better on Princess, but the service was about equivalent, itineraries are pretty similar for what we have wanted, and Royal wins for us as far as ships, activities, and overall vibe.

 

We've done a balcony room on each cruise, and they are all pretty similar, although vary slightly by ship as far as square footage and layout. Our favorite has actually been with Royal Caribbean, on the Explorer, as we got a slightly larger square footage balcony cabin for barely more money than a regular one (its still a regular balcony too, not a junior suite). I think the moderately old ships seem to have the biggest cabins, as they are pretty small on the really old ships, and they went small again (but better laid out and with more storage) on the newer ships.

[sykimball1498]

It can also depend on which Norwegian ship this itinerary is on. On the larger ships there is more to do on a re-positioning cruise across the Atlantic. For instance, there might be shows that you have to sign up for at night as the theater is small and there are over 4000 passengers wanting to see them. They also do repeat the shows a few nights. For instance, Million Dollar Quartet might be on Thursday and Friday nights for a total of 4 of the same shows. These larger ships have the water slides, but same size pools so very crowded it seems.

 

The older ships like the Dawn and Star class, and the jewel class are smaller and do not require as much planning ahead. You can just go to the shows that you want so it is more true "freestyle".

 

I have not been on Princess yet but we do cruise Celebrity as well as Norwegian. I believe I have read that Celebrity and Princess are a lot alike. More subdued crowd, better food, etc. We like both of these lines so I'm sure you will possibly like one better than the other, but it really is hard to have a bad cruise. The perks also help. As another poster said you do have to pay 20% of the service charges for these packages but at $18 a day for the unlimited beverage package is still a deal as long as you have 2 drinks a day at least.