RCL vs Princess

[happy2bee]

My son and his wife want to do a family cruise to Alaska next summer on Princess.  I've never been on a Princess ship.  Anyone know how they compare?

 

[firefly333]

I felt they were more staid. Easier to find a game of bridge lol. Food was good though. Red and blue carpets along cabins. One side is port and the other starboard so you know which side your cabin is. Kinda neat. More dressy than rcl but imo rcl has no dress code any more.

[Kellie in Texas]

Our first Alaska cruise was on Princess, albeit 12 years ago. At the time, as I recall, Princess was only one of perhaps two cruiselines that were allowed into Glacier Bay National Park, which we definitely wanted to see. I do agree with @firefly333that it was a little quieter than Royal, but I think that's also due to nearly all ships having more "stuff" going on all the time nowadays. Our stops were in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria. I would definitely cruise Princess again based on itinerary and price. 

[1025cruise]

IMHO, if you are going to Alaska, go on Princess. Especially if the ship goes to Glacier Bay. RCL ships do not go there.

[jagsfan]

1 hour ago, happy2bee said:

My son and his wife want to do a family cruise to Alaska next summer on Princess.  I've never been on a Princess ship.  Anyone know how they compare?

 

Princess is more like sailing on a ship rather than a floating hotel. 
It doesn’t have the bells and whistles Royal has. 
That said, they have better itineraries, and definitely a bigger presence in Alaska. 
We prefer Princess’s food, and their longer itineraries. 
For activities and entertainment, Royal wins. 

[George C]

My big complaint on Princess was there ships seemed so crowded , they added cabins without increasing the size of showrooms etc , very hard to find a seat for shows , only time I ever saw a physical fight over saving seats. Oasis class may have more passengers but more venues for entertainment etc 

[Aquahound]

It depends on what Princess ship and on what itinerary.  Generally, I am not a huge Princess fan, starting with their staterooms.  They are small and do not have a sitting area.  No couch and no extra chair.  Only the vanity chair.  On their new ships, the majority of balconies are ridiculously narrow.  

 

Also on their new ships, there isn't a single lounge on board with outward views.  Kinda bad for Alaskan itineraries.

 

But that said, Princess' Alaskan itineraries tend to be much better than RCI's.  

[luckyinpa]

been on regal and enchanted. my comparison is to oasis

 

theres 'nothing to do' on the top deck of princess. it's all about relaxing. no slides, no zip lines. just pools hot tubs, bars and snack places. regal had a nice water show at nite on their central 'stage' on the lido deck. enchanted doesnt have this. on rainy / crappy days there's alot of indoor room to find to sit and crash for a while and there was a 'tv studio' where games were held etc. oasis has the huge indoor promenade and uses karaoke and other bars for activities. so bigger ship means more activities are possible.

 

on princess i'm one of the younger ones. one cruise i think i saw 10 under 18 people the entire cruise. i wouldnt wanna be a kid on princess lol.

 

i second the other comments about princess being made more for alaska because of where they can go. when i save up ill def be doing princess to alaska. they have their own lodge and from everything i read it's very well put together for the land tours.

[The Fun Researcher]

We're doing Royal for our first cruise to Alaska in a few weeks, but there are reasons why.  We have 16 of us, my sister's families and my parents.  We know Royal very well, and pretty much everyone else is new to cruising.  We will have kids, ages 13-21, on the cruise so we wanted enough activities for them, and Royal fits that well.  We chose Royal (Quantum) because I knew I could make sure everything was planned out well since we know the cruise line so well.  We are also confined to leaving from Seattle, where one of my sisters lives.  So that is why we chose Royal

 

Having said that, I would probably choose Princess or HAL if it was just my wife and I, especially if we were trying to get into Glacier Bay.  Princess really does Alaska right, from what I've looked into.

 

Happy cruising.

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, George C said:

My big complaint on Princess was there ships seemed so crowded , they added cabins without increasing the size of showrooms etc , very hard to find a seat for shows , only time I ever saw a physical fight over saving seats. Oasis class may have more passengers but more venues for entertainment etc 

RCI had done the very same thing on its ships, too.

[time4u2go]

3 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

IMHO, if you are going to Alaska, go on Princess. Especially if the ship goes to Glacier Bay. RCL ships do not go there.

I agree with this.  Glacier Bay is amazing, not to be missed.  Also Princess has some incredible lodges.  Highly recommended if you can add some land time to your trip.  Princess does other things like having a naturalist onboard, and bringing National Park Rangers onboard.  Definitely go with Princess to Alaska.

 

Edited June 17, 2023 by time4u2go

[coops]

I would do either cruiseline. We love them both but I wouldn't do any of the  older ships. 

[Tatka]

Before switching almost completely to RCI we loved Princess. It is slightly more premium. Outside of one unfortunate experience (on Crown in 2019) food was better than on RCI. Princess doesn’t have indoor solariums on most ships. Check particular ship as it could be important for Alaska. Also on ship prior to Royal class gym is located above cabins so it’s not open until 7 which could be important (it was for me. If I exercise it is at 6am).

 

Buffets on Royal class are terrific 

Edited June 17, 2023 by Tatka

[livingonthebeach]

Princess has an older crowd and better food in the MDR. If food and older people is to your liking then go for it. 

[smokeybandit]

Princess sounds like a base model version of Celebrity.

[livingonthebeach]

Back in the day if you had Elite status in their Captain’s Circle you could bring your cabin mates to happy hour / no questions asked. 

[elaine5]

We've had many sailings on both. Decide if Glacier Bay is a must. If so, do Princess. For DH and I, we enjoy the bit more elegant Princess and would choose over RCCL except for newer larger RCCL ships, which we enjoy a lot for variety and top entertainment. When adding our young adult kids, we only consider RCCL and NCL, and (oddly) Disney (which has great venues for the young 20s), and possibly Celebrity as it has a bit "hipper" vibe than Princess, in various small pocket bars and entertainment choices.

Princess as others have stated doesn't have enough "fun/young" stuff. Holidays and cruises during school breaks tend to have more kids on Princess than other times. RCCL has more kids/young adults all times. 

Edited June 17, 2023 by elaine5

[Aquahound]

2 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Princess sounds like a base model version of Celebrity.

 

That's a good description.  It's not a bad cruise line at all.  I just don't think there's anything unique about the line that sets them apart in any category.  

 

For Alaska, I tend to recommend Holland America over Princess.  Despite HAL being somewhat lacking in entertainment, their ships are much better suited for Alaska.....and they, too, go to Glacier Bay.

[latebuyer]

I think what hasn’t been mentioned is that princess’s depositing system is much better. Right now you can get a100.00 refundable deposit while with royal caribbean you have to pay extra for refundable and starting at 265.00.

Edited June 18, 2023 by latebuyer

[jasbo49]

We are long-time Princess cruisers about to take our first Royal Caribbean cruise since 2000.

 

I'm concerned as I look at CC's Royal Caribbean forum that people have to reserve shows in the theater and pay a $7.95 service charge for room service. 

 

You will face neither of these obstacles on Princess.

 

And their access to Glacier Bay is a deal maker.

 

Jim

[cruiserking]

Princess is more old school. A bit dressier, no rock climbing walls and slides. Very elegant lounges, great service. We've very much enjoyed several Princess cruises. 

 

Their brand new Sphere Class Sun Princess due out in February 2024 is the game changer for the cruise line. They have taken a lot of design themes from Royal Caribbean with a full kids area with rope bridges, a rollglider and a rock climbing wall. 

 

There is a large interior domed area forward with a water show that's very reminiscent of Icon of the Seas. 

 

Jonathan

[Tlbecker1]

4 minutes ago, jasbo49 said:

We are long-time Princess cruisers about to take our first Royal Caribbean cruise since 2000.

 

I'm concerned as I look at CC's Royal Caribbean forum that people have to reserve shows in the theater and pay a $7.95 service charge for room service. 

 

You will face neither of these obstacles on Princess.

 

And their access to Glacier Bay is a deal maker.

 

Jim

You will not need to book any of your shows on the Quantum Class, that only is necessary on the Oasis Class ships. Room service has never been important to us, so I can’t comment on that.

[Ocean Boy]

7 minutes ago, Tlbecker1 said:

You will not need to book any of your shows on the Quantum Class, that only is necessary on the Oasis Class ships. Room service has never been important to us, so I can’t comment on that.

The main show in Two70 does require reservations. It was the only show on Odessey that did.

[Tlbecker1]

3 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

The main show in Two70 does require reservations. It was the only show on Odessey that did.

Exactly, that is The Book.  Odyssey isn’t cruising in Alaska and that is why I mentioned it that way.

[Ocean Boy]

14 minutes ago, Tlbecker1 said:

Exactly, that is The Book.  Odyssey isn’t cruising in Alaska and that is why I mentioned it that way.

Ok, just sounded like a general Q class post. I just didn't want others to interpret it that way.