Princess vs "the other lines"- WHY Choose Princess?

[FrankieJayIII]

There seems to be a lot of critics...  but lets discuss something that will bring us joy.

 

What makes you choose Princess over the other lines.   What is GREAT about Princess?

 

What can you really tell the difference in compared to other cruise lines...   

 

List your PRO's about Princess...  What makes it your go-to cruise line?

[Pizzasteve]

Had really good value recently. 

Staff are amazingly kind. 

Effort to support diversity in food and Ive been told 'ethnic groups' amkng are passengers treated with equal respect, whereas on some other lines I have heard complaints otherwise.

[cruzsnooze]

Princess is similar to other mass market cruise lines like RCL and Celebrity. All of them provide similar services. I like Celebrity food better, RCL's more activities and Promenade and Princess' Piazza.  I wouldn't hesitate to book any of them. 

[Guest ldtr]

Why not

 

Cruise lines are more alike than different.

 

Our decisions are basically itinerary and value for that itinerary.

[nini]

For us.....

The food is much better than Celebrity. And Princess is not SNOOTY!

We do not want hairy leg contests or a Sea World aft. We prefer to have our quiet wake view aft cabin.

Typically, the crew presents great customer service, unlike Celebrity.

 

[sirclean]

I am a fan of Alaska Cruises.

Princess has cruises that go into Glacier Bay Notional Park.  That is my absolute favorite itinerary.  Only 2 ships per day are permitted in the park!  

 

Also, IF you like the cruise tour options, Princess has several hotels and does a great job at the land portion as well.  

 

I like that you can get to Elite Status with as few as 15 cruise credits.  While the benefits of having 'the black card' are diminished, it was much easier to earn status on Princess than the other lines.  

 

I am not a "Fun Ship" person, so Carnival is not an option for me.  Im not yet 60, so Holland America is not yet for me, either. (as that clientele is a little older than Princess!)   

[nini]

4 minutes ago, sirclean said:

I am a fan of Alaska Cruises.

Princess has cruises that go into Glacier Bay Notional Park.  That is my absolute favorite itinerary.  Only 2 ships per day are permitted in the park!  

 

Also, IF you like the cruise tour options, Princess has several hotels and does a great job at the land portion as well.  

 

I like that you can get to Elite Status with as few as 15 cruise credits.  While the benefits of having 'the black card' are diminished, it was much easier to earn status on Princess than the other lines.  

 

I am not a "Fun Ship" person, so Carnival is not an option for me.  Im not yet 60, so Holland America is not yet for me, either. (as that clientele is a little older than Princess!)   

Believe me when I say, we were on Holland America once and do not think it will EVER be for us. There is not much happening past 8:00 pm. 

[jeromep]

1 hour ago, sirclean said:

I am not a "Fun Ship" person, so Carnival is not an option for me.  Im not yet 60, so Holland America is not yet for me, either. (as that clientele is a little older than Princess!)

 

1 hour ago, nini said:

Believe me when I say, we were on Holland America once and do not think it will EVER be for us. There is not much happening past 8:00 pm. 

 

Did the Ultimate Ship Tour many years ago and ended up in an hours long conversation with one of the other guests on the tour.  Talked about many things, including cruising.  He had cruised most of the lines including HAL.  He didn't have any lines he would not cruise, but had preferred ones.  Princess was one of them.  We talked about HAL.  While he liked the line, he always felt a bit out of place because each of the HAL cruises he had been on felt like, "God's waiting room."  He also quipped that at night the elevator lobbies all felt like the sales showroom of The Scooter Store (anyone remember their ads on late night television? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scooter_Store), with all the mobility scooters plugged into outlets and power strips along the walls.  He was a cool dude.  Only Texan I ever met with a British accent.  Oh, and he also mentioned that after 8pm, the ship is dead.

 

I would still sail with HAL, but you have to set your expectations accordingly.

 

I may post my own thoughts in a separate entry.

Edited March 27, 2023 by jeromep

[caribill]

1 hour ago, nini said:

Believe me when I say, we were on Holland America once and do not think it will EVER be for us. There is not much happening past 8:00 pm. 

Then you have not been on their newest ships.

 

Much is happening, especially musical entertainment, till much later than 8 PM.

[jeromep]

I commented in this thread a number of weeks back and I think it is relevant to you.

 

 

It is also a great thread to read.

[Honolulu Blue]

7 hours ago, FrankieJayIII said:

There seems to be a lot of critics...  but lets discuss something that will bring us joy.

 

What makes you choose Princess over the other lines.   What is GREAT about Princess?

 

What can you really tell the difference in compared to other cruise lines...   

 

List your PRO's about Princess...  What makes it your go-to cruise line?

I like some of Princess' itineraries and I really like their 80s themed cruises.  If I book on Princess in the future, it's a good bet that it will be because of one or the other of those factors.

[Gwendy]

Cruised on 8 cruise lines.  Tend to pick Princess if itinerary is good, because of Elite benefits.  However as Princess removes these benefits there is no incentive for me.

[Coral]

5 hours ago, nini said:

Believe me when I say, we were on Holland America once and do not think it will EVER be for us. There is not much happening past 8:00 pm. 

I haven't sailed HAL for awhile but on my sailing - I had the best entertainment on any cruise  ship ever and it lasted late.

[disneyochem]

6 hours ago, nini said:

Believe me when I say, we were on Holland America once and do not think it will EVER be for us. There is not much happening past 8:00 pm. 

Not so much my experience on HAL. Between the casino and the different music venues, I’m out until midnight on a HAL ship.  That being said, we prefer the night entertainment more on Princess (activites, music shows)!
 

We like that fact that Princess cruises out of San Francisco—our home port!  Nice to just hop on a cruise without flying anywhere!

 

Princess does the best job at accommodating my dietary issues.  Just very nice to know that whatever ship I’m on, I’ll have safe and good food!

 

Love the Medallion—the ability to order/receive drinks anywhere onboard.  Enjoy not carrying around a cruise card.

 

Fantastic crew and service!  

Edited March 27, 2023 by disneyochem

[billco]

We have been sailing on Princess and NCL for a long time (40 on Princess and 10 on NCL), Continue to do so, mostly because we know them. Have a four day cruise booked on Holland America just to try. Would like to try Celebrity, but every time I find something it looks like I can get the same for quite a bit less on the lines I am used to.

 

In other words, if it isn't broke why fix it. At least not yet.

[nini]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

Then you have not been on their newest ships.

 

Much is happening, especially musical entertainment, till much later than 8 PM.

We were on the Oosterdam and it was 4 years old at the time. It looked and felt like a bucket of bolts.

Maybe there is hope for HAL.

[Lady Arwen]

We like Princess for some itineraries and embarkation ports that are more attractive to us.  Especially, British Isles cruises out of Southampton.  We’re willing to accept the negative aspects, and there are a few, to enjoy certain itineraries.  If we’re sailing just to enjoy the ship, then other cruiselines suit us better.

 

 

 

[seeyouinthesun]

I have 4 Princess Cruises booked. Incredible value for money. 

https://www.cruisingforone.com/blog/10-things-i-love-about-princess-cruises

 

[nattie]

We have tried almost all mass market lines (except for Holland) and Princess is our "go-to" with second in consideration being NCL. We have 3 different generations in our family (DH59, DW44, DS14). Reasons we choose Princess:

- great itineraries with good port times

- good shore excursion selection at good prices even compared to "on our own" choices. Especially lately Princess has been adding a lot of "small group" and "local connections" tours that really appeal to us

- Medallion vs cruise card. Did NCL last year and I missed the wearable so much! 

- I actually like the plus/premier package options. With inclusion of digital pics, internet and gratuities it makes for truly "all-inclusive" experience for me

- Royal Class ships. We like the size (just big enough for us without being overwhelming) and the flow of these ships. 

- while crew is generally nice on any cruise, we find them much more personable and fun on Princess. Especially if you chat them up "off the clock" during the excursion or bus ride.

Looking forward to Regal sailing in less than a week! 

 

[caribill]

1 hour ago, nini said:

We were on the Oosterdam and it was 4 years old at the time. It looked and felt like a bucket of bolts.

Maybe there is hope for HAL.

 

So that was back in 2006.

 

Not an experience on any of the recent builds which have more entertainment venues and they stay open later..

[nini]

6 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

So that was back in 2006.

 

Not an experience on any of the recent builds which have more entertainment venues and they stay open later..

Good to know.

[Guest ldtr]

7 hours ago, jeromep said:

 

 

Did the Ultimate Ship Tour many years ago and ended up in an hours long conversation with one of the other guests on the tour.  Talked about many things, including cruising.  He had cruised most of the lines including HAL.  He didn't have any lines he would not cruise, but had preferred ones.  Princess was one of them.  We talked about HAL.  While he liked the line, he always felt a bit out of place because each of the HAL cruises he had been on felt like, "God's waiting room."  He also quipped that at night the elevator lobbies all felt like the sales showroom of The Scooter Store (anyone remember their ads on late night television? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scooter_Store), with all the mobility scooters plugged into outlets and power strips along the walls.  He was a cool dude.  Only Texan I ever met with a British accent.  Oh, and he also mentioned that after 8pm, the ship is dead.

 

I would still sail with HAL, but you have to set your expectations accordingly.

 

I may post my own thoughts in a separate entry.

HAL has changed over the last few years with their change to music walk. They now have a lower average age than Princess, in spite of having a longer average cruise length. Princessstill has more activities and imo better entertainment, but is nolonger a younger crowd.

 

HAL does have a smaller ship size and far more unique itineraries. As Princess ships get larger the variety of initeraries shrinks.

[Rick&Jeannie]

5 hours ago, ldtr said:

HAL has changed over the last few years with their change to music walk.

Going to have to show my ignorance here...what is "music walk"?  If it's a typo I couldn't figure out what was really meant...

[jeromep]

5 hours ago, ldtr said:

HAL has changed over the last few years with their change to music walk. They now have a lower average age than Princess, in spite of having a longer average cruise length. Princessstill has more activities and imo better entertainment, but is nolonger a younger crowd.

I'm glad to hear that all the effort HAL is putting in to marketing and ship design is changing their demographic.

[Torfamm]

The thing that drew me to Princess was unique, longer itineraries. Once I tried them, the other things I found that make those itineraries enjoyable were lots of storage in closets that are much bigger than I’ve had on other lines and self-service laundry. 
 

I also find the crew to be attentive, like the savory food that’s available in the International Cafe and think the price is good compared to similar cruise lines. It’s mostly about itineraries for me though.