Input

[travelfool123]

I would like to hear from those who have cruised Princess.  Pros, cons.  I don’t want anything rigid, etc. but do want some class, etc.  I do not want to sound like a snob.  I’m not. Just exploring different possibilities.  Thanks!

[TheDawg79]

Princess isn’t a snobby line. It’s laid back and elevated from lines like Royal and NCL, but not pretentious and no Carnival crowds.

[charliedalrymple]

1 hour ago, TheDawg79 said:

Princess isn’t a snobby line. It’s laid back and elevated from lines like Royal and NCL, but not pretentious and no Carnival crowds.

 

I completely agree with this general statement. 

 

Your question is rather broad, but I'll take a stab.  We've cruised seven different lines and Princess is our favourite.  I wouldn't say Princess is elegant, but it feels a bit more refined than most mid-range lines and the passengers tend to well-traveled and well-behaved.  One thing that we really like about Princess is the exceptionally broad range of activities available on board compared to most other lines, so just about everyone can find something that interests them.  As a result, it's more lively than some other lines, but we like that.  

 

I'm not sure whether that helps, but I'm sure others will chime in with many other opinions.

[iamaqt2]

3 hours ago, travelfool123 said:

I would like to hear from those who have cruised Princess.  Pros, cons.  I don’t want anything rigid, etc. but do want some class, etc.  I do not want to sound like a snob.  I’m not. Just exploring different possibilities.  Thanks!

I've cruised Princess, Holland, Celebrity, NCL & MSC.  Hands down Princess is my favorite.  The line draws a more middle aged crowd. And they know their demographic.   Entertainment is good to great on the Royal Class ships. The older ships are tired.

[IndyKid]

These responses pretty much dovetail with what I know about Princess. My wife and I are 59 and 60 respectively, we were looking for a laid-back, more mature crowd and experience with fewer kids and a smaller ship so we're embarking 1 week from today on the Caribbean Princess, this will be our first with PCL so we'll see how it goes...

Edited December 3, 2023 by IndyKid

[SCX22]

It's up to you if these are pros or cons:

Pricing is more reasonable than other cruise lines (compared to X).

Dress code is loosely enforced now a days.

The crowd is more mature (geriatric in some cases, especially on longer cruises).

Ships have more activities during the day (compared to Viking).

Ships have casinos.

Dining is anytime (with a temperamental reservation system).

Some ships feel dated because of the decor, but still in great condition.

[MissP22]

6 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

I've cruised Princess, Holland, Celebrity, NCL & MSC.  Hands down Princess is my favorite.  The line draws a more middle aged crowd. And they know their demographic.   Entertainment is good to great on the Royal Class ships. The older ships are tired.

I couldn't agree more. We recently returned to the Ruby after 9 years and were a little disappointed. It's not the same experience as we remembered it long ago. 

 

 

5 hours ago, IndyKid said:

These responses pretty much dovetail with what I know about Princess. My wife and I are 59 and 60 respectively, we were looking for a laid-back, more mature crowd and experience with fewer kids and a smaller ship so we're embarking 1 week from today on the Caribbean Princess, this will be our first with PCL so we'll see how it goes...

Good luck. It's not a Royal class experience. 

[skynight]

Generally middle age to older crowd, but it really depends on the itinerary. One week or shorter cruises younger crowd, longer cruises older crowd, holiday and Alaska cruises lots of families. The idea of the plus & premier fares are attractive to me.  I like the no reservation shows, daily activities, some serious, some silly. Do I like everything Princess does? No. But the positives rule by a long shot. Princess provides a nice relaxing experience.

Princess is class if you want class. But, you will not find passengers dressed to kill. It's more relaxed while still being classy.

Suggest you follow some of the live threads. There is a current live from the Emerald Princess. There was also a very detailed live from the 14 day November Ruby Princess circle the Caribbean cruise. 

[MissP22]

Two weeks ago on the Ruby you would have thought they had emptied out the nursing homes to fill the ship. 

[travelfool123]

Haha!  Thanks for the input!  

[Honolulu Blue]

57 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Two weeks ago on the Ruby you would have thought they had emptied out the nursing homes to fill the ship. 

I was on the Ruby in April and the average age, it seemed to me, was around 50. Yes, there were some oldsters onboard that cruise, but four factors brought the average age down:

 

* There was an 80s theme onboard that attracted some of us. My experience is that most of those 65+ think the 80s was just another decade rather than the best one (IMHO 😎).

* There were a fair amount of children onboard

* This was a 5-day sailing into the western Caribbean

* We sailed from Galveston, a relatively new port for Princess

Edited December 3, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[Ken the cruiser]

13 hours ago, travelfool123 said:

I would like to hear from those who have cruised Princess.  Pros, cons.  I don’t want anything rigid, etc. but do want some class, etc.  I do not want to sound like a snob.  I’m not. Just exploring different possibilities.  Thanks!

I have some Live From threads, to include a few from recent Princess cruises, in my expanded signature below. We are in our early 70s and have a great time on our Princess cruises, but I'll let you be the judge as to why.

[MissP22]

3 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I was on the Ruby in April and the average age, it seemed to me, was around 50. Yes, there were some oldsters onboard that cruise, but four factors brought the average age down:

 

* There was an 80s theme onboard that attracted some of us. My experience is that most of those 65+ think the 80s was just another decade rather than the best one (IMHO 😎).

* There were a fair amount of children onboard

* This was a 5-day sailing into the western Caribbean

* We sailed from Galveston, a relatively new port for Princess

Ours was a 14 day Caribbean. Maybe 2 kids onboard that I could see. 

Big difference.

[Honolulu Blue]

4 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Ours was a 14 day Caribbean. Maybe 2 kids onboard that I could see. 

Big difference.

Yeah, I bet. My best guess is we had 200 to 400 kids onboard. They didn't dominate, but they were always around.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Yeah, I bet. My best guess is we had 200 to 400 kids onboard. They didn't dominate, but they were always around.

On our July 2022 Regal B3B in the Med, there were at least 400 children and young adults on each 7-day leg, and BTW the onboard drinking age in the Med is 18. Our lesson learned from that cruise was to make sure to book 3-5 week "single itinerary" cruises anytime school is out. 😉

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Yeah, I bet. My best guess is we had 200 to 400 kids onboard. They didn't dominate, but they were always around.

I honestly didn't see them. I guess the children's center keep them well occupied. 

[IndyKid]

17 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

On our July 2022 Regal B3B in the Med, there were at least 400 children and young adults on each 7-day leg, and BTW the onboard drinking age in the Med is 18. Our lesson learned from that cruise was to make sure to book 3-5 week "single itinerary" cruises anytime school is out. 😉

You meant NOT to book when school is out, right? That's always my goal..

[IndyKid]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Good luck. It's not a Royal class experience. 

Yes, I know the CB is an older ship, but she went through dry dock just before the pandemic hit. I don't need the latest and greatest features (or the crowds - I'll leave those for the floating amusement parks like Icon OTS. As long as it's been maintained, clean, comfy and comes with good service and food I'm all in.

[skynight]

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Two weeks ago on the Ruby you would have thought they had emptied out the nursing homes to fill the ship. 

For information for the original poster: That is because it was a longer cruise, 14 days, plus schools are in session. Longer cruises that are not b2bs tend to have an older demographic of retired people that have the extra time.  

[Ken the cruiser]

13 minutes ago, IndyKid said:

You meant NOT to book when school is out, right? That's always my goal..

No, we try to just book longer 3-5 week "single itinerary" cruises during those times, especially during school breaks and holiday vacations, if at all possible. We usually find there are very few children and young adults on the longer ones. However, sometimes you just can't avoid it, especially in the summertime. In those instances, we try to book a B2B where one leg is at least 14-days long. 

[Teechur]

We've cruised Carnival, RCL, Princess, and NCL. Princess is the runaway winner for us.

 

A combination of good prices, service, food, accommodations, and fellow cruisers. 🙂

 

Next up is an Alaska cruise on the Majestic Princess with two of my grandsons and 3 friends.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Teechur

[nini]

We describe Princess as "Casual & Comfy Elegance", as well as affordable. We are able to cruise when kids are typically in school, therefore they are very scarce when we are onboard.

We like the "Anytime Dining" concept because passengers can select a regular "Traditional Dining" experience or go to any dining room and at anytime they choose.

 

Holland America did not have many activities and it became rather quiet about 8:00 p.m.The ship we were on was only about 4 years old at the time and I thought it was very well worn.

 

We have only been on Celebrity, Holland America, and Princess. Our last Celebrity cruise convinced us to never cruise with them again. I know they have a very faithful clientele, but we describe them as "Lazy Snootiness". It was an all around negative experience, including the food and dining. The itinerary was really good and we enjoyed all of the ports.

Edited December 30, 2023 by nini

[skynight]

"We like the "Anytime Dining" concept because passengers can select a regular "Traditional Dining" experience or go to any dining room and at anytime they choose."

No more signing up for traditional dining on Princess. It's all Dine My Way. You may be able to arrange to have the same table and waiters each evening once on board. Anytime is still available. Just show up and they will try to seat you. 

[IndyKid]

We just came back from 7 days on the Caribbean Princess 2 weeks ago. I think @nini's "Casual & Comfy Elegance" remark is spot-on, we really enjoyed it. Yes, the ship is showing a few age spots but she's well-maintained, and service was excellent. My wife is more of a cruise fan than I am, but when we go again we will put Princess at the top of our list.

[IndyKid]

2 hours ago, nini said:

Our last Celebrity cruise convinced us to never cruise with them again. I know they have a very faithful clientele, but we describe them as "Lazy Snootiness". It was an all around negative experience, including the food and dining.

Celebrity was one that we considered before choosing Princess. Just curious, what was it about Celebrity that you didn't like?