Why switch to Princess?

[newmexicoNita]

Im excited to try Princess in May, im sure it will be different from NCL just like RCCL was different but I dont trash one line over the other.....that isnt what this website is about......different opinions yes but dont make stuff up.....Nita with 18,000 posts Im sure you know what I mean.....youve probably heard it all...lol;)

 

Have heard and read it all more than once. I agree with you about blashing a line. To come back from a cruise and give a sensible review even if it isn't always positive is expected and appreciated, but to continue to knock anything is probably counter productive and causes some to get defensive.

 

I also have a problem (this isn't what is happening here) when people who know they will never cruise a particular line again continue to post on that line. If you know you are not going to sail the line why waste your time. As I said, this isn't the case here. The OP did ask for opinions about Princess. I will add she didn't ask anyone to judge NCL or any other line. She had already expressed her views on NCL.

 

Nita

[wizard-of-roz]

To the OP Please try Princess, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

And, please come back and share your cruise with us. :)

[newmexicoNita]

To the OP Please try Princess, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

And, please come back and share your cruise with us. :)

 

that is reasonable and I agree with you for the very first time. We tried it and will cruise them again this year.

 

Nita

[Adkmom]

Thank you everyone for your Input. From what I have read here and other places I feel Princess may be the right choice for us. I am looking a the Ruby Princess and well as the Celebrity Equinox and possibly MSC Poesia. The Ruby and Equinox for the ship as well as itinerary and the MSC just for the Itinerary and kids sail free. I must say at this point I am strongly leaning towards Princess. Thanks Again I will post what I decide. Unfortunatly the ultimate choice usually comes down the the best iterary for the money and the preference of the others sailing with us.

[newmexicoNita]

Thank you everyone for your Input. From what I have read here and other places I feel Princess may be the right choice for us. I am looking a the Ruby Princess and well as the Celebrity Equinox and possibly MSC Poesia. The Ruby and Equinox for the ship as well as itinerary and the MSC just for the Itinerary and kids sail free. I must say at this point I am strongly leaning towards Princess. Thanks Again I will post what I decide. Unfortunatly the ultimate choice usually comes down the the best iterary for the money and the preference of the others sailing with us.

I think Princess will suit you just fine. You used to like NCL, now have second thoughts, Princess is similar in many ways but hopefully, will be more to your liking. Let us know after your sailing how it went.

 

Nita

[shark_bait]

oh, you had the two main dining rooms (yes with the same menu) but many lines don't offer two main dining rooms, you had the buffet, you had Las Rambles and Pacific Heights plus the sports bar serves sandwhiches, salads and other comfort food and the outside grill serves much of the time. I think that is a little more than 3 choices. Am I wrong here or can I not count. As for ordering a bottle of booze, you can't even get one on Princess unless you count .375 a bottle of booze...We have never had any trouble with NCL, we just do a bar set up prior to sailing like we do with Celebrity and HAL.

 

You do have a right to your opinions, I just don't think you were aware of the choices you had. Yes, the newer ships are very nice, but Princess does have a more subdued decor. I love the NCL energy, some think it is gaudy. I can understand why..Of course I also love the Sun, one of my favorite ships. We always hear food is subjective, I think cruising period is subjective...

 

Nita

 

Buffet and Finger Food notwithstanding.:rolleyes: Las Rambles charged extra and Pacific Heights WAS our third option. Nita,are you in Marketing???:D I'll help you with the math, Princess also offers an outside grill and a buffet with two different dining rooms serving the same menu. Soooooo, that leaves the Norwegian Sun with one, count em one extra "Free" restaurant choice. Good enough, sure. But when comparing these two lines (again with just the Norwegian Sun under our belt) didn't really see what this "Freestyle" thing was all about.

 

As far as bottles go, looking more for convenience (you know, like in a freestyle kinda way);). If the bottles are small, I'll order two. Needing to get my TA involved to finally track down someone to get a bottle ordered pre cruise because that's the ONLY way you can get it done, not so much Freestyle.

 

Look I'm not trying to slam NCL, just saying that on that particular ship, I really didn't see any difference in Freestyle compared to Princess' Anytime Dining. Maybe the Formal Attire rules but that's easy enough to get around on Princess if you're not into that kinda thing.

[wizard-of-roz]

Careful, shark_bait, you may become it! Thanks for the information. :)

[newmexicoNita]

Buffet and Finger Food notwithstanding.:rolleyes: Las Rambles charged extra and Pacific Heights WAS our third option. Nita,are you in Marketing???:D I'll help you with the math, Princess also offers an outside grill and a buffet with two different dining rooms serving the same menu. Soooooo, that leaves the Norwegian Sun with one, count em one extra "Free" restaurant choice. Good enough, sure. But when comparing these two lines (again with just the Norwegian Sun under our belt) didn't really see what this "Freestyle" thing was all about.

 

As far as bottles go, looking more for convenience (you know, like in a freestyle kinda way);). If the bottles are small, I'll order two. Needing to get my TA involved to finally track down someone to get a bottle ordered pre cruise because that's the ONLY way you can get it done, not so much Freestyle.

 

Look I'm not trying to slam NCL, just saying that on that particular ship, I really didn't see any difference in Freestyle compared to Princess' Anytime Dining. Maybe the Formal Attire rules but that's easy enough to get around on Princess if you're not into that kinda thing.

 

 

Basically you are correct about the difference in "freestyle" and "personal choice" our problem with personal choice, the small tables (which there were only a few" were reserved so we were always at tables for 8 and it seemed like the wait staff was over worked and had no time to even smile. On NCL it is opposite, most tables are 2 or 4, some 6. Of course this doesn't work as well for large groups I agree. It is simply what you are accustom to plus as you said the ship. We enjoy Princess and will sail her again this year but our Jan cruise on the Golden did leave things to be desired. I have often said, i think it was just the luck of the draw in our case. We had a less than great cabin stewardess, we had some less than friendly wait people, we had bad food at the table for breakfast and pretty poor service and we didn't like the set up for the buffet, plus the grill was not opporating daily (believe it or not) and when it was it was so far from the Horizon Court that running from one to the other, everything got cold. As for the dress code, I agree, it is easy, I saw everything, but that bothers me as well. I happen to feel, if it says "formal nights" we sould abide by their request...

 

Again, I certainly am not putting Princess down. I see no reason for people to waste time blasting any line.

 

Nita

[mjmalino]

[How are the preteen teen programs on princess?

 

My kids are both in the 8-12 YO programs and they really enjoy. Please take that with a grain of salt as both of our cruises have been Princess, but our kids Love the camp. In fact, many times they would rather go to camp then go into port (the only time we don't allow them to go to camp).

[newmexicoNita]

[How are the preteen teen programs on princess?

 

My kids are both in the 8-12 YO programs and they really enjoy. Please take that with a grain of salt as both of our cruises have been Princess, but our kids Love the camp. In fact, many times they would rather go to camp then go into port (the only time we don't allow them to go to camp).

 

we were with a group last Jan and the one child in the group also liked the program. I think most lines are now offering very good kids programs. bTW, good for you, not allowing your kids to go to kids camp when you are in port.

 

Nita

[sp2]

We are just of the NCL Jewel in early January.

 

As you might see from my signature, we have dabbled with several cruise lines over the past 8-9 years. Celebrity notwithstanding, we have found Princess to be our favored line. We like the 'freestyle' offering, but NCL has placed restrictions on making reservations. PRincess offers the best of both worlds, reserved sittings OR the ability to dine anytime AND make reservations to boot.

 

Princess also offers the option of shared tables, which we find a great way to make new acquaintances and friends. The onboard activities seem to be more varied and more frequent, and the ships seem better appointed.

We DID enjoy our earlier cruises with NCL, pre-Princess, but feel the are not on the same page, value wise as of now.

 

NCL's dance troupe is still one of teh best at sea, though.

 

I agree with everything you have said above Chucklet! Some of our earlier cruises were with NCL, and they were our favourite line until we tried Princess. We tried one more with NCL just to be sure, but its just not on par with Princess (or Celebrity) for our purposes (likes and dislikes). Its like we "grew up" to Princess and Celebrity (but not quite yet ready for HAL, although I'm sure our time will come)! In my opinion NCL's Jean Ann Ryan Company still provides the best entertainment at sea; but in all other areas Princess and Celebrity provide a superior experience.

The OP should also seriously consider Celebrity Equinox; we were on her sister the Solstice in December and enjoyed it immensely. Half the fun of cruising is planning and looking forward to it, so enjoy!