RCCL cruiser with Q's on Princess

[Jtd724]

Hi, I am interested in sailing on the Princess cruise line, I really like the exterior style of the ships. I am interested in the "Grand" class I believe, the biggest of the fleet. Could you please tell me the pros of it and cons. Also, what is the main place to be on the ship? I really like the idea of swimming in fresh water pools too, just a quirk of mine. Thanks for any replies.

[ssbeagle]

Actually the new Crown Princess and the Caribbean Princess are the larger ships as well as the Diamond and Sapphire. They carry more passengers than the Grand class (Grand, Star, and Golden) carry. We have been on RCCL once and went straight back to Princess. The food is better, the entertainment is better and I like the cost and itineraries. We were on the Rhapsody of the Seas and it was a beautiful ship, but that doesn't make the cruise all the way. The food and entertainment are a major part as well as the ports we go to. I'm not saying I won't go on another RCCL ship if they have the prices and itineraries I would be interested. However, I don't like the large ships that hold over 3000 people. I stick to the grand class or smaller ships. One of the best was the Tahitian Princess in Tahiti.

[livsea2]

I am platinum on RCCL and am about to take my fourth Princess cruise in April just to give you backround on my opinions. I think by far the biggest difference is the any time dining. I can't tell you how much we love not having to leave what ever we are doing to rush back to the cabin to get ready for dinner. Some Princess devotees will tell you the food is better I can't agree the food on both lines is just okay. I haven't found great cuisine on a ship yet but I live in an upscale resort community so I am spoiled on great restaurants. The service is outstanding on both lines though. I think if no one told you what ship you were on and just dropped you off on a ship you probably wouldn't know wether you were on a Princess or RCCL ship.

The newer Princess ships have multiple specialty restaurants many of which are no fee which is nice. They also have pool attendants who on occasion will remove items left on pool lounge chairs if chair hogs bug you which i've never seen on a RCCL ship but I stress on occasion it doesn't happen very often. If you enjoyed Royal Caribbean I am sure you will enjoy Princess. Ask specific questions regarding comparison like and dislikes and I am sure they will be answered. Hope this helps!

[cynbar]

My family and I are big Princess fans (although we sail RCCL and Celebrity also)-- we particularly enjoy the freshwater pools and anytime dining, also the 24 hr buffet. You can choose traditional dining if this is what you prefer, but we love the chance to eat whenever we're ready and at a table for two, if that's what we're in the mood for. We have also sometimes found a waiter we liked and just requested him the rest of the week. The two specialty restaurants --- Sterling's for steak and Sabatini's for Italian -- are excellent additions although both have a surcharge (I'm not sure where the last poster got the idea that there are specialty restaurants without a fee, I have never seen this.) But one of the biggest differences between the 2 lines is in their decor. Princess ships are lovely, at least in our estimation, with softer colors and deliberately more intimate spaces. There is no enormous DR with multiple tiers, no enormous atrium with parades ---- some passengers put a lot of stock in these, then come back disappointed (and often post here to talk about it.) There are no skating rinks or rock climbing walls, either, on Princess. A little homework on these boards will improve the chance that your cruise will meet your expectations.

[livsea2]

As I said in my previous post some of the newer ships have .............

Pacific Moon

Santa Fe

Vivaldi

Savoy just to name the no fee specialty restaurants on the Sapphire Princess for example. Thay also have extra fee specialty restaurants if you prefer.

[Jtd724]

Thanks for the response so far, can someone give me some info about what Princess ships have to compare to RCCL sports deck, royal promenade,solarium, and room service. Princess requires suites for better room service selection, Am I correct?

[runningme1]

Hi , My wife and i just got back from the Grand Princess yesterday and it was our first time on a cruise and we loved it. The food was great the service was great and the entertanment great. Our cabin was on the 12th deck, (aloha deck) a525, oland as our caretaker and he was right on the ball with cleaning our room and making us comfie. The only bad thing about our cruise was getting on the ship and off.Some of the help at the port did not have a clue but acted like they did and took alot of our time getting off. other then that we are ready to go again. can't wait! runningme1

[DesrtDrmr]

Hello Jtd,

If you LOVE the Promenade on RCI ships, you wont find that on Princess. I didn't like the Promenade on Adventure of the Seas.........it was like being inside a Mall, to me, and I'd rather know I'm at sea. There is a sports deck with basketball. There is usually some kind of mini golf on Princess, as well as pay golf analysis. There are no rock climbing walls or ice skating rinks on Princess. There are 24 hour, fresh water, sometimes heated, pools, and hot tubs, which they do not have on RCI. The Windjammer, or Horizon Court as it is called on Princess, is open 24 hours a day, and there is a choice of where to eat dinner. There is no Johnny Rockets on Princess. There are two dining rooms on most ships..........one for traditional, fixed time, fixed table seating for dinner, and one for "anytime" dining, which is like going to a restaurant in town, with hours from 5 til 10, and you can just go anytime within these hours, and sit with eight other people, or just two of you. There is no baked Alaska parade in the Anytime Dining room, but you can have Baked Alaska on that last evening.........you just dont get a parade with it.

To me, the quality of the food is mostly comparable, as is the service, but I feel more like I'm on a ship on Princess, and have a closer connection to the Sea. I think Princess may be more laid back, and probably has a slightly older crowd, but that keeps changing around. On some Princess ships you can earn your PADI Diving Certification, and I haven't seen that on RCI. RCI does have internet access in cabins, Princess does not. Room service menus are limited on both lines as far as I can tell, but I haven't cruised in a suite, except for a mini suite on Star Princess...........at that time, you had a limited room service menu, but before that, they had a butler in minis, and now, they've fancied them up a bit again, with new bedding, etc.

Anyway, whereever your next cruise takes you, on whatever line, have a great time!

[cindyscruise]

Room service on the Princess is just for things like sandwiches, hamburgers etc. You cannot get full breakfast unless you are I believe mini and above. This is apparently a new change. On RCI you can get anything including the complete dinners served in the dinning room that night. On the Caribbean Princess they had more pools than on the Explorer. No promanade nor 8 story atrium. The sports deck had basketball court, miniture golf. Cannot remember if they had ping pong tables. I loved all of my cruises with RCI but originally chose Princess for the price of our Christmas cruise. Am going on the CB again in June. Food is such a personal thing but I enjoyed the food better on the RCI ships with the exception of the pizza. I did miss the cookies from the promadade on the Explorer. But with that said any cruise is better than no cruise. I think any cruiseline, ship etc is what you make of it. Each have their own good points and that is all that I look for.

[cynbar]

As I said in my previous post some of the newer ships have .............

Pacific Moon

Santa Fe

Vivaldi

Savoy just to name the no fee specialty restaurants on the Sapphire Princess for example. Thay also have extra fee specialty restaurants if you prefer.

We were on the Diamond Princess last year, and these four are just regular DRs with the regular evening's menu. At one time, they each had a specific supplemental menu which you were given along with the regular menu, but that has stopped now. I did hear that each has a sort of non-publicized special entree from the former themes, but I'm not sure of that. The decor is also a little different for each, but that's about it. Sapphire and Diamond also now do a Sterling steakhouse (for a fee) in part of the Horizon Court, and both have a Sabatini's as well.

[Tom O.]

We were on the Diamond Princess last year, and these four are just regular DRs with the regular evening's menu. At one time, they each had a specific supplemental menu which you were given along with the regular menu, but that has stopped now. I did hear that each has a sort of non-publicized special entree from the former themes, but I'm not sure of that. The decor is also a little different for each, but that's about it. Sapphire and Diamond also now do a Sterling steakhouse (for a fee) in part of the Horizon Court, and both have a Sabatini's as well.

 

Yes that is correct, all dining rooms now serve the same menu, except for the extra cost restaurants. Each "specialty" restaurant does have one special item, usually an apetizer.