Cmoore19

That is exciting! We are going on our second Princess in September and been on RCCL 3 times, but I agree they are more expensive. Princess won't have an ice skating rink, a rock climbing wall, or any of that other stuff, it is just traditional cruising with regular pools and hot tubs.

 

I do think the appointments in the staterooms are prettier in most RCCL ships, the staterooms tend to be more plain on Princess but other than that both ships are pretty.

 

I think you will find a huge difference in cleanliness of ship, at least in my experience on RCCL people's leave dirty dishes in pool areas etc and the dishes stay for hours. Princess seemed to clean everything right away all the time.

 

The food is much better on Princess in my opinion too. I think Princess has better deposit and refund policy too if you have to change after booking.

 

The only thing is if you are younger in 20's or 30's you may find Princess is an "older" crowd for you, there are still young people but the majority seem to be 40 or up. Which we are in that category, we sailed Disney Cruise the most while our kids were growing up but now that we are empty nesters I think Princess is going to be our number one line. I like a cruise on any line though, a cruise is a great vacation.

 

Joy

That actually works better for us. We are in our 30s but we tend to see eye to eye with older people rather then people our age. We want to relax and not have a party atmosphere all the time. Thats why carnival scares us... we havent tried them yet.

Tou will love Royal Princess. If you have been in the military, you can get OBC.

 

Enjoy!

Ok thanks!

We are diamond plus on RCCL and I can tell you from experience that Princess does a better job! Sad that we only got the Sip and Sail promo. Would have liked prepaid grats. But looking forward to our upcoming cruise on Coral. Joyce

Yay! Good to know... maybe we will get hooked on princess now!

You picked the right ship that's for sure. The Royal is a beautiful ship and you will be happy on her. It's been years since we cruised on Royal Caribbean so I can't tell you what the difference is. Every ship is different in every fleet. I wouldn't mind cruising on the Royal again.

Oh good! That makes me feel good. I am excited since she has been remodeling she looks beautiful!

We just booked the Royal for next January, after thoroughly enjoying the Regal this past March. This will be our 4th Princess cruise. We haven't sailed Royal Caribbean and I can't compare there, but we think Princess is great, we love the atmosphere, the food is good, and we have enjoyed the excursions. I love the quiet in the morning, which usually involves a trip to the International Cafe. On our last cruise, we really enjoyed Alfredo's (only on the Regal and Royal...I think?) and went there several times. We are also huge fans on the Crown Grill and always book a specialty night there.

 

We also have purchased two of the the Future Cruise Deposits while on the ship every time we have cruised with Princess, as Thrak suggested. In fact, we just used ours to book the upcoming trip on the Royal! Enjoy!

Yeah it seems every video I see of Royal it never seems crowded. Which is nice. It seems the new cruise ships like to pack people in.

I assume you are speaking about the Royal Princess fall 2019. I can't comment fully on RCI but here is some information regarding the Royal Princess.

Food at no extra charge:

DR's open for Breakfast and dinner each day & lunch on sea days

International Cafe, open 24/7 no charge for food, espresso drinks have a charge

Alfredo's waiter served pizza and other Italian selections, open 11am to late evening every day.

Pub Lunch in the Crown Grill/Wheelhouse Bar served some sea days

Horizon Ct/Bistro/Pastry Shop buffet - All or some sections open 6am until 11pm or midnight every day. Never closes during that time. This is where you can get free coffee, tea, hot chocolate. The buffet on the Royal & other Royal Class ships is the best and largest in the Princess Fleet. Like made to order omelets? Prepared to order in the Horizon Ct.

Trident Grill & Prego Pizza by the Lido Pool. Open every day 11am until late evening.

Room Service 24 hours, limited menu.

Shows & Entertainment

All shows in the Princess Theater and the Vista Lounge are walk in. No reservations. Arrive early.

You will also find live music in the Piazza, Wheelhouse Bar, Vista Lounge, Crooner's & a late night DJ in Club 6.

Beverages

Mostly all alcoholic beverages are menu priced $12 or lower and most are below $10. A 15% gratuity is added to all alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Beverage Packages have the gratuity included in the price of the package, nothing more is added when drinks are ordered.

Each person 21 & over can carry on 1 x 750ml bottle of wine at no charge for use in your cabin. Additional bottles can be brought on board and they are subject to a $15/bot corkage fee. These bottles can be used anywhere on the ship. You can also bring on board as much non-alcoholic beverage as you wish. No limit.

Wow thank you for all the information! This is all great to know. I have heard you have to arrive early to the shows. I hear the food is great on the ship too. :)

I've never sailed on RCCL, but many differences are apparent from just looking at ads and reading the reviews.

1) no water slides, carousels, etc.

2) fewer pay for the food restaurants (there are 2 on most Princess ships and a couple that "pop up" occasionally.

3) probably less of a party ship than RCCL or Carnival...possibly fewer bars depending on the RCCL ship.

4) as noted in the above posts, Princess doesn't hold as tight to your money as RCCL does.

Princess cruises are more laid back than some other lines. There's still lots to do, it's just not as frenetic.

Princess gives a nice OBC for veterans/active military (send in proof once), check here or Google to get the info for signing up; for purchasing Future Cruise Deposits; for shareholders. And almost all OBC can be combined, you don't have to choose which one you want.

Yeah like that they are less tight with money and the price was right for us with no flying. I also like the less party atmosphere. I dont want to have to deal with drunks. I want to relax.

Our first cruise was on Princess Cruises. Our second cruise was on Royal Caribbean International. Based on our comparison of those two cruises, our next 30 + cruises were on Princess and none on Royal Caribbean.

Thats a good thing! I like to hear that! How come you never booked with RC again?

If you decide you like Princess and plan to sail again you should definitely purchase Future Cruise Deposits while onboard. Buy at least one each. The cost is $100 and it is refundable if not used within 2 years. The $100 can be used as the total deposit on a future cruise and will also provide free on board credit depending on the length of cruise and type of cabin you book. It's a totally risk-free thing to do that can not only save a bundle on the deposit but provide free spending cash onboard.

 

OBC From FCD

3 - 6 Days $15 Inside, $15 Outside, $25 Balcony, $25 Suite

7 - 10 Days $25 Inside, $25 Outside, $50 Balcony, $50 Suite

11 - 16 Days $75 Inside, $75 Outside, $100 Balcony, $100 Suite

17 + Days $125 Inside, $125 Outside, $150 Balcony, $150 Suite

Great to know! Yeah we are kinda getting tired of how greedy RC is becoming. No half off deposits and there is some deposits that are non refundable. We also noticed that they have a standard price and then when they have a sale they jack it up and mark it back down to the original price... so really no sale. This is a bummer. Our very first cruise was with them and it was what got us hooked on cruises. So we kinda have a special place for RC. But I am really excited about this cruise on Royal. Try out another line. We are trying to avoid carnival cause everyone I talk to says nothing but bad things about them.

I have made many cruises on Princess but only on the Ruby, Crown and Sapphire.

 

The Royal is finally coming to Los Angeles next year and we would love to try her out. The snag may be the pools. We love the Terrace Pool on Deck 14 in the back. It is removed from most other ship activities and is adult only. I have checked the deck plan for the Royal and don't really see anything comparable. We are considering a 7 - day to Mexico and a pool will be required for us. The only pool I am really seeing is the one large pool midship. I am aware of an adult only pool forward but do not know if this requires an additional charge like the Lotus Spa.

 

Any input on this who from those who love pool activities (adults only) would be greatly appreciated.

 

Note: Because of my work schedule we would need to take the cruise during Spring break in LA. And we all know how many kids that will draw out!

We will be going on Royal october of next year for a cruise to cabo. This will be out first cruise with princess. This would be good to know for us also.

Hello all,

Me and DH just book a cruise on the Royal Princess next October for Cabo. I know that's a long time... we might have to book another in between that. :) We normally cruise with Royal Caribbean but this one we don't have to fly anywhere and with Royal not doing the half off deposits anymore we decided to try another line. The price was very affordable. And this will also be our first Interior room as we normally book ocean view and one time we booked a promenade. The interior room is the horizontal layout too. Anyways I was interesting in people opinion on princess vs. RC and what are the differences? Again this will be our first princess cruise! Very excited!:):D:D

We did the same cruise in sept of last year. Loved it! The CD was the best! We got to meet him before one of the shows. I see he shaved his head. :) I have yet to do a review or a video... we plan on booking Liberty again for the opposite ports. We loved going out of Texas! We flew from California. We used to live in Texas so we felt right at home. Love the people on the ship and the shows were awesome! The only thing we didn't do was the slides and the flow rider... maybe next time!:D

I was on thursday evening and there was a ton of photos. Did something happen? Like the ones of Pompeii?

Omg! What a neat trip!!! I will be following this one for sure! Cant wait to see updates!

That's a bummer cause we have an open bar in Cozumel at the beach resort we are going to.

Love the review! We will be sailing this next month!

Havent been on either ship but we are going on liberty in sept! I will let you know how that is.. If it were me I would select RC over Carnival any day! :)

We went on jewel last sept. (2016) and we enjoyed it. There was nothing that disappointed us except for getting on and off the ship was a nightmare especially on the last day. But I think that was because it was a cruise that they don't normally offer out of California. So things were a little unorganized and the crew was off their game. But I wouldn't blame the ship and crew since it was a new itinerary.

Food was good in the main dinning room. Entertainment was good. Windjammer is the Windjammer...

I will say that Enchantment crew was way better. But as far as the ship goes I thought it was fine. Nothing to scream home about though.

I don't understand why they leave the survey to the cruisers but then tell them to put 5s..... that defeats the purpose of a survey. If you want me to take a survey... then let me take the survey and rate what I want. I know that sounds kinda harsh but its a little weird when someone tells you to take a survey on your opinion and then tells you what your opinion should be... Maybe its just me..

Awesome cant wait to hear more!!

Great review! Our cruise is in Sept so this gets me pumped!:)

Hubby took this shot on this ship the night before I think... Thought it was neat..

I dont have the proper lense for the aquarium and I havent looked into how to photograph them so dont judge me on these....lol

I spy a turtle

Here are some photos from Monterrey.... We loved it there! SO awesome... I dont have much time so this will be a quick post. We walked through cannery row and went to the aquarium, of course. In between we had lunch at a little Mexican restaurant... I had to have my Horchata ya know. ::wink wink:: So here are some photos of our day there.

Great review! It was like I was there with ya guys! Makes me so excited for our next cruise... :)