Royal vs. Princess

[LAKaye]

On 9/25/2023 at 9:00 PM, vjmatty said:

Yeah, luckily my refusal to sail anything less than Club Class due to the dining issue automatically means at least a mini suite (similar to JS) which includes a full couch. It’s ridiculous though….even Carnival inside cabins have a couch. 

My inside room on Lido deck Carnival Horizon had only a backless vanity pouf!

[JamesEM]

I have sailed on several Princesses when I was part of a travel group (Ducks), what bothered me was their version of the Windjammer. On RCL they have food stations where you just walked up and selected your item, the Princess cruises that I sailed on you had to go through the entire cafeteria style type line, very time consuming if you have to made multiple trips.    

[Tatka]

13 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

 

The ship was in excellent shape.  I heard more than one person comment that they believed it was a new ship (obviously it's not).  Whatever problems existed have been resolved.  

 

We'll be in the Explorer for two weeks next month, and then the Emerald Princess (identical sister ship of the Crown) for two weeks over the Holidays, so we'll be able to compare as well :).

 

 

 

Glad to hear this!

Maybe Grown went through drydock?

Our cruise was fir New Year 2020.

 

All other ships we sailed on Caribbean (2006, 2009, 2010), Ruby (2008), Grand (2012), Royal (New Year 2017) were in good or great shapes, but this was something else. Engine issue (missed Grenada, late to St Thomas and Turks&Caicos. Peeling color. Smell... Even though celebration of New Year was as always amazing, many things were not Princess like.

 

My friends sailed on Royal Princess preCovid and said it was in need of dry dock. In 2017 it was perfect.

 

[Tatka]

10 hours ago, JamesEM said:

I have sailed on several Princesses when I was part of a travel group (Ducks), what bothered me was their version of the Windjammer. On RCL they have food stations where you just walked up and selected your item, the Princess cruises that I sailed on you had to go through the entire cafeteria style type line, very time consuming if you have to made multiple trips.    

 

Royal class (Royal, Regal and newer) has great buffet setup. The best buffets at sea.

[George C]

7 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

Royal class (Royal, Regal and newer) has great buffet setup. The best buffets at sea.

I think most ships have a better buffet than rccl

[RedIguana]

2 hours ago, Tatka said:

Maybe Grown went through drydock?

She was in drydock fall (October?) of 2022 I believe. Not sure how much was done, but I recall there was a propulsion issue that was fixed.

[RedIguana]

On 9/27/2023 at 11:57 AM, Tatka said:

In 2019 we had Side by Side Explorer for Christmas (5 days) and Crown Princess (10 days) for NYE. Explorer was just an add on ... never ever I expected Explorer to be much better experience.. even in Food department.

I was on Explorer (August 2022 8 days) and Crown (May 2023 10 days), both in junior suites so regular dining. I found the overall Princess experience to be better, especially the food. Where Royal can't be beat is the shows (especially the ICE shows!, always enjoy them on the larger ships) and stuff like the flowrider. I've been on 4 royal since the restart (last one Jewel, Norway, sept 2022), and have found the food better on HAL, Celebrity, and Princess (1 cruise each) since the restart. 3 Radiance class and Explorer, it might be better on the larger classes for RCL. 

[Tatka]

13 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

I was on Explorer (August 2022 8 days) and Crown (May 2023 10 days), both in junior suites so regular dining. I found the overall Princess experience to be better, especially the food. Where Royal can't be beat is the shows (especially the ICE shows!, always enjoy them on the larger ships) and stuff like the flowrider. I've been on 4 royal since the restart (last one Jewel, Norway, sept 2022), and have found the food better on HAL, Celebrity, and Princess (1 cruise each) since the restart. 3 Radiance class and Explorer, it might be better on the larger classes for RCL. 

 

HAL, Celebrity, and Princess are premium massmarket so they must be better in food.

I still remember those Seafood buffets on Princess with lobsters and crab legs split in half.

 

In some weird reason on that last Crown Princess cruise in 2019-2020 regular stake was not available daily in MDR. Overall food on Royal Princess was better than on Crown (but maybe 3 years of differnce?)

 

We were not fans of one premium mass market line food. Cunard's (Queen Mary 2). Amazing experience, but food was nothing to write home about.

[baileymouse]

17 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

 

If you had said the you didn't think the food was as good as RCL, I could understand.  But when everything is inedible and the signature dessert tasted like "lipstick," it sounds like you're comfortable/ partial with RCL and didn't like the change.  And flavor chemist, really, lol?  It'd be more believable if you said Gordon Ramsey was onboard critiquing the cooking :).

 

Really? Attacking my friend's position is your defense? She worked for many years for Seagrams in exactly that capacity. 

 

So, have you tasted the dessert in question? Or are you cheerleading for Princess? I am not in any way partial to Royal except to say that my other friend's pre-cruise assessment of the food on Princess was wrong. It was terrible. Royal has had their ups & downs with food, as evidenced by many of the reviews on these boards and others. The friend who was partial to Princess had been on the Ruby Princess over the summer right after sailing on Oasis, and said that Princess won that round hands-down. On Emerald none of us were happy with the food.

 

[moposh]

On 9/25/2023 at 11:40 PM, Itried4498 said:

Princess' production shows still use live music (that is, people actually playing instruments) which makes them stand out IMO.

So does Royal.

[tw0sugar5]

It’s difficult to compare pre and post-pandemic cruises.

 

Here’s my food ranking for 5 cruises including RCL and Princess:

 

1.  Cunard

2/3. Disney/Princess (For the food.  The Disney experience is a class in it’s own.)

4. Royal Caribbean (Everything was satisfactory-just not as excitement inducing as 2/3.)

 

 

5.  Norwegian (The only post-COVID cruise on this list)

 

Edited September 28, 2023 by tw0sugar5

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 9/24/2023 at 5:44 PM, baileymouse said:

Would I cruise with them again? Only if the price and itinerary were irresistible

I believe you would love much newer Princess ships a lot more, despite the itinerary/price. It's the old ships that are meh, not Princess in general. We have made a decision in 2016 not to ever sail on anything older than Royal Princess and never looked back. That was after sailing on Caribbean Princess in 2016. But anything Royal Princess and newer is very enjoyable.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 9/25/2023 at 6:07 PM, Mittens101 said:

Last November was our last cruise with Princess for awhile.

funny, that's what I have just said about RCI... Not because they've done something wrong, but because their prices are out of control.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Enchanted Princess cruise in November 2022 and Oasis of the Seas cruise in April 2023.

[Tatka]

14 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

funny, that's what I have just said about RCI... Not because they've done something wrong, but because their prices are out of control.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Enchanted Princess cruise in November 2022 and Oasis of the Seas cruise in April 2023.

 

  After pandemic and one cruise with Celebrity (same corporation) we completely switched to RCI (cruised with 8 lines for 17 years).

 

  We book early and often (booked through March 2025) We book 4 cruises from NJ and one from Baltimore a year where we do not need to fly. This, variety of ships, amazing solariums and the fact that we are Diamond+ with RCI (nice perks) works the best for us.

 

 

Edited September 28, 2023 by Tatka

[Itchy&Scratchy]

6 minutes ago, Tatka said:

we completely switched to RCI (cruised with 8 lines for 17 years).

unfortunately, our kid turned 12 this year and is now considered an adult by RCI, which makes the pricing for a 3-person cabin to be quite unreasonable, especially since we can only cruise during school breaks. Gone are the days when we paid $258 pp for a 7 day cruise on RCI...

We enjoyed our last cruise on Oasis very much.

Edited September 28, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Tatka]

5 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

unfortunately, our kid turned 12 this year and is now considered an adult by RCI, which makes the pricing for a 3-person cabin to be quite unreasonable, especially since we can only cruise during school breaks.

We enjoyed our last cruise on Oasis very much.

 

We cruised with our kid from 2003 till 2014 (he was already adult, but third in a room). I do not think we ever used "Kids sail free" with any lines... just never worked for us. 

Back then we cruised twice a year. Since 2016 - 5 times a year. Many of our cruises are around holidays to maximize a number of cruises. Some of our cruises up to 2019 even featured my work days to have enough days for 5 cruises. Now I have enough PTO days.

Cruising is one of our priorities so we find ways. 🙂

Edited September 28, 2023 by Tatka

[baileymouse]

52 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

I believe you would love much newer Princess ships a lot more, despite the itinerary/price. It's the old ships that are meh, not Princess in general. We have made a decision in 2016 not to ever sail on anything older than Royal Princess and never looked back. That was after sailing on Caribbean Princess in 2016. But anything Royal Princess and newer is very enjoyable.

 

I think you're right. My one friend said there was a huge difference between this cruise and the one she had on Ruby Princess to Alaska. 

[SportsFanatic]

On 9/26/2023 at 10:32 PM, Russ Lomas said:

I guess everyone is hoping the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.  You were unhappy with the cutbacks on Princess, so you are going to try RCCL for a change.  We have grown unhappy with the cutbacks on RCCL, so we are trying Princess for a change.  Guess we should compare notes again after we have each sailed another cruise line.  I guess if you are not familiar with the product that the other cruise line offered previously, we are ignorant to how much the quality has fallen and that is what cruise lines appear to be banking on going after new customers and alienating previous passengers who have shown loyalty to one line or another.  I hope we both find the grass greener on the other side.  Hope you enjoy your upcoming RCCL cruise.  We are looking forward to our Princess cruise because is was 1/3 the price that RCCL was asking for the same cruise (different ship obviously) and the PLUS package with Princess is a steal compared to what RCCL asks for the same perks.

We have done 2 Princess cruises since Covid, Discovery and Regal,  and I absolutely loved the ships. I like that their restaurants and pools are open later. We had free room service 24/7. I felt that the  food was comparable to our RCL, we were always seated right away, and had excellent service.  We only went to a couple shows, but the comedy show we saw was really good. The other cruise was an 80s cruise and the entertainment was outstanding. I really like the medallion as you could find others in your party easily. 

[Tatka]

13 minutes ago, baileymouse said:

 

I think you're right. My one friend said there was a huge difference between this cruise and the one she had on Ruby Princess to Alaska. 

 

We actually liked Ruby/Caribbean/Crown design ... 4 pool zones. It is just upkeep that upset last time.

The only negative in design on this class gym is right over cabins, so it only opens at 7 am... did not work for me was on my good behavior and exercised in the morning.  🙂

[vjmatty]

20 hours ago, LAKaye said:

My inside room on Lido deck Carnival Horizon had only a backless vanity pouf!

Yikes….I guess seating in the cabin is being limited company-wide. I haven’t sailed Horizon though, my experience is limited to Destiny, Victory and Sunshine….and that was years ago since the kids have grown and we don’t sail Carnival anymore. 

[vjmatty]

6 hours ago, Tatka said:

 

Royal class (Royal, Regal and newer) has great buffet setup. The best buffets at sea.

I didn’t care for the buffet on Regal last year…so many different rooms and I couldn’t find things. I spent most breakfasts at the International Cafe. 

[Itried4498]

2 hours ago, baileymouse said:

 

Really? Attacking my friend's position is your defense? She worked for many years for Seagrams in exactly that capacity. 

 

So, have you tasted the dessert in question? Or are you cheerleading for Princess? I am not in any way partial to Royal except to say that my other friend's pre-cruise assessment of the food on Princess was wrong. It was terrible. Royal has had their ups & downs with food, as evidenced by many of the reviews on these boards and others. The friend who was partial to Princess had been on the Ruby Princess over the summer right after sailing on Oasis, and said that Princess won that round hands-down. On Emerald none of us were happy with the food.

 

 

I’m loyal to my wallet, not a specific cruise line.  In the past year I’ve been on RCL, Carnival, Princess and Disney.  I’ve never been on an NCL cruise, but they sent me a sweet offer that I would’ve taken advantage of had we not already made other plans prior to its expiration.  As I mentioned earlier, ultimately any cruise is more similar than it is different.

 

Here’s reality: it’s inevitable that you’re going to get a subpar or even awful meal on a single cruise.  But the odds of every piece of food being “inedible” and signature desserts tasting like “lipstick” are probably less than those of willing a billion-dollar jackpot.  Generally when people use that type of verbiage, it’s because the cruise wasn’t something they wanted to begin with.  If my wife suggests McDoanld’s and I take her to the best restaurant in town… I’m going to hear that the food was overcooked, spoiled, too salty; or that the restaurant was having problems with the kitchen, etc.  Not because it was, but because it wasn’t what she wanted.

 

2 hours ago, moposh said:

So does Royal.

 

Consistently or just on the Oasis class?  I've been on 3 RCL ships and none featured live music during their production shows.

 

 

[vjmatty]

6 hours ago, George C said:

I think most ships have a better buffet than rccl

I’ve been to the WJ on Anthem and Enchantment….both extremes lol and I found them to be better than most buffets. Never tried the buffet on Oasis because we had CK access. 

[baileymouse]

32 minutes ago, Itried4498 said:

 

 

Here’s reality: it’s inevitable that you’re going to get a subpar or even awful meal on a single cruise.  But the odds of every piece of food being “inedible” and signature desserts tasting like “lipstick” are probably less than those of willing a billion-dollar jackpot.  Generally when people use that type of verbiage, it’s because the cruise wasn’t something they wanted to begin with.

 

 

 

 

Quite honestly, I really wanted to go on this. It was a great deal and it gave me a chance to try a new cruise line, which I've been wanting to do. Do. I was thrilled about the ports. When Royal goes up there they generally just go to Halifax and Bar Harbor. I like stopping in a different port every day and I was very happy to be going. I was also taking my friend Lee's word for it that the food would be better. I was very surprised that it was in bed as it was.

 

I think I mentioned that there were things that I enjoyed. I think that they tender much better than royal does, and I enjoyed being able to visit five ports in a single week. Service was fantastic. Our waiter, junior waiter and hour cabin attendant were all really great people. He had much better cabin service than I have had on my last couple of cruises.

 

I've never been on an Oasis class ship, but Anthem had plenty of live music in the bars and venues. I don't think I've been on a cruise that didn't have live music.

[Russ Lomas]

1 hour ago, SportsFanatic said:

We have done 2 Princess cruises since Covid, Discovery and Regal,  and I absolutely loved the ships. I like that their restaurants and pools are open later. We had free room service 24/7. I felt that the  food was comparable to our RCL, we were always seated right away, and had excellent service.  We only went to a couple shows, but the comedy show we saw was really good. The other cruise was an 80s cruise and the entertainment was outstanding. I really like the medallion as you could find others in your party easily. 

Looking forward to trying another line just shaking things up.  My not like it, may love it.  Will not know til we try.  Thing is that if RCCL had not cut their food selection and quality so much (as well as other cuts we did not like - the way they handle MTD, cutting cover bands in the Music Hall, etc.), along with doubling and tripling their prices, we likely would be sailing on RCCL instead of Princess in March.

 

We tried Celebrity and loved some things and did not like others.  We did the same with NCL and really enjoyed it overall, but pricing was always about one and a half times RCCL, so we stuck to RCCL (now NCL is half the price of RCCL, we would likely look at NCL first).

 

Do not get me wrong.  We still enjoy RCCL.  We have 3 upcoming cruises booked with them, but the first of those 3 is not until next summer.  Hopefully, RCCL starts to realize by then that insane demand for cruising now (due to a lack of cruising during the pandemic) will likely subside somewhat and they will have to do something to try to bring back their loyal customers that wandered elsewhere when they decided to downgrade the quality of their product and over price it as well.