Why Princess?

Ok all you Princess experts - help me out! I've cruised Carnival & RCCL. Looking at maybe cruising with Princess next year out of NYC. What are your opinions on why I should choose Princess?? I don't really know anything about the cruise line! Thanks in advance!

wow - 55 views so far and not one response. I guess that answers my question!

Well you don't tell us much about yourself so it's a little difficult to pinpoint what type of information you are looking for, but I will answer as to why I like Princess best after trying a number of different lines.

I find Princess ships to be very beautiful and inviting. The decor is elegant without being too formal, but without being garish or over the top. The service is friendly and efficient and the food is excellent. We like the option of Anytime Dining and the choice of dining venues onboard. We travel with our kids and feel that Princess has the best childrens program and overall mix of family friendly activities. Others things we love: fresh water pools, fantastic ice cream, afternoon tea, milk and cookies, ceramics at sea, trivia and great live music.

I hope that provides some of the information you are seeking.

I'm not at all Brand Loyal.

I have a reservation for next April's sailing on the Emerald Princess to the Southern Caribbean. The reason I chose princess was simply I've never sailed on a Princess ship before, and I liked the itenerary.

I am a loyal Princess cruiser for a variety of reasons:

1. GREAT repeat passenger program -- we're almost to Elite and we like the Platinum (and soon to be Elite) "Perks"

2. Overall lowest price balconies. My DH won't cruise unless we have a balcony. The other cruise lines really take a jump in fare when you get a balcony.

3. Consistency. We've been cruising Princess every year since 1999 and overall they provide a consistent product across their various ships.

We know what to expect on a Princess ship and are very rarely disappointed. Things have changed over the years a bit, but we can count on daily tea in the dining room, at least one night of lobster, and one night of prime rib. These things have remained the same. Overall, the cabins are primarily the same as well (at least within the same class of ship). It's kind of like going back to your favorite land resort, but getting to see a different part of the world.

I think one of Princess's best selling points - wide variety of itineraries.

Thank you!! I knew there had to be someone out there who could help me out.

karatemom2 - I was only looking for general information - which I received - so I didn't feel it necessary to describe myself or what I was looking for. I was just looking for some honest reasons why people cruise with Princess. Didn't realize they had a choice for dining options. That's nice! Basically, not interested in a snooty cruise where no one likes to have some fun and rather just sit around and read books or something.

Cindep - great help! Thank you for all the info!! Consistency is really nice!

Druke I - itinerary is very important too!! That's what caught my eye!

Thanks to all!

I find Princess ships to be very beautiful and inviting. The decor is elegant without being too formal, but without being garish or over the top. The service is friendly and efficient and the food is excellent. We like the option of Anytime Dining and the choice of dining venues onboard.

Hi Mary. Your reasons to book a Princess cruise are right on. :)

Great Ships

Great Itineraries

Large balconies on Caribe Deck without added cost

Anytime dining

good mix of ages

mix of quiet time and good activities

decent food

not overly geared towards kids like RCI but has a good kids program

very reasonable prices for drinks on board

can take your own wine/champagne

can buy booze for the room

great value for money

When we began our cruising vacations, almost 20 years and over 35 cruises ago, we tried different cruise lines. For about 10 years we tried most of the main stream lines out there. We always came back to Princess. Their ships, their itinearys, their staff, have been some of the best fleet wide.

And now that Princess past guest perks include things like free unlimited laundry and dry cleaning, initial bar set up, priority tender passes and priority embarkation/disembarkation, complimentary internet packages. We decided it was time to stick with one and stop 'playing the field'. Many times while sailing other cruise lines, we had an enjoyable time, but missed some of the great things Princess has to offer.

Princess really knew what they were doing when they began offering all the perks with past passenger status (over 15 cruises or 150 days sailed with them) as this is just an added bonus for us to stick with the ships and cruise line we always loved best.

Great Ships

Great Itineraries

Large balconies on Caribe Deck without added cost

Anytime dining

good mix of ages

mix of quiet time and good activities

decent food

not overly geared towards kids like RCI but has a good kids program

very reasonable prices for drinks on board

can take your own wine/champagne

can buy booze for the room

great value for money

"can buy booze for the room"

Is this still true? I know a few years ago you could get a 1 liter bottle delivered. Not sure this is true anymore. Recent cruisers...help?

"can buy booze for the room"

Is this still true? I know a few years ago you could get a 1 liter bottle delivered. Not sure this is true anymore. Recent cruisers...help?

I wouldn't lie to you ;)

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/services/gifts/princess_cellars/index.jsp

I wouldn't lie to you ;)

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/services/gifts/princess_cellars/index.jsp

These are not liters.

These are not liters.

These are not liters.

They stopped the liter bottles a couple of years ago, then last year they stopped the smaller bottle packages that included mixers with them.

Now, what you see on that list is about all you can get. There are several more brands that are listed in your cruise answer book, far more than listed online, but they are all the smaller sized 375 ML bottles for about the same price we used to pay for the liters.

Times they are a changing, but at least we can still order them and have them delivered.

But ordering several liters to set up a bar for a cocktail party is just not available any longer I am afraid. :(

Nice ships, anytime dining and the adults only pool are some of our favorite reasons.

Although I have only been on Princess and NCL, I found the drinks to be a lot cheaper on Princess!

Also the anytime dining and the fact that you can bring a bottle of wine on board appeals to us.

I like the range of pool choices on the larger ships (aft pool is often empty/shady; MUTS pool is fun; music/games pool is lively; spa pool is quiet and adults only) and all are freshwater, not salt water...

The seafood on Princess is THE BEST (RCI does better with steaks, at least in the main dining room, but their seafood does not compare). The sailaway cold seafood buffet is amazing, and most of the seafood entrees are delicious.

I like the room layout with the closet "changing room" area; very functional and private when sharing a cabin with family/friends.

Ticket prices are very competitive (though I wish their shore excursions were cheaper! for some reason their markup is higher than other cruiselines... and I think their photo prices are higher, too... hate that).

I enjoy the mix of people, from young to old, and the variety of entertainment offerings to satisfy all and sundry... Princess Idol is always fun to watch... production shows are well designed and staged... interesting specialty performers... nice rage of music groups from pianists to 3-piece jazz combos to acapella groups to rock bands...

Love the gym, spa and thermal suite (though most cruiselines do pretty well with these)... somehow I always think of Princess as a "spa cruise"...

Pleasant staff who are not forced to put on "shows" all the time (i.e., no dancing/singing waiters, no towel animals -- unless you specifically request them); they provide good service but are not obtrusive.

I would describe Princess as "classy" not "snooty" -- as I said, there is certainly a wide range of people (yes, some like to sit and read books, and others go to the Skywalkers disco and dance till all hours!) but there is at least an attempt at a level of civility, rather than a "let it all hang out" atmosphere you can find on many cruiselines...

Decor is beautiful and subudued, elegant without being overwhelming; doesn't have the glitz of Carnival or the "wow" of RCI, but very pleasing to the eye and calming to the spirit.

Having a 24-hour buffet available is awesome when you're in need of a nibble after a late night dancing (or whatever!)... like the island-style layout in the buffet where you can pick and choose without having to wait in line...

Self-service laundry lets you pack less, as do their decent quality free toiletries (body wash, lotion, shampoo and conditioner)... I REALLY appreciate these amenities and MISS THEM terribly when I cruise with other lines... (of course, if doing laundry intereferes with your cruise vacation, or if you don't like their bath products, they do provide the usual cruise laundry services for a fee, and you can always bring your own stuff if you can afford the extra bag fee!!!)

I look forward to trying some of Princess's more exotic itineraries... they do have some great trips planned all over the world...

Can't advise on drinks as I don't drink, but they do offer a nice selection of specialty coffees and nonalcoholic spa/energy beverages in the bars... (though I sure wish they had a broader selection of free soft drinks like on RCI, such as lemonade, fruit punch, etc.... you get awfully tired of that bad iced tea after a while!!)

Love the scholarship at sea programs... wish they'd offer even more, and real port talks, too, rather than the typical kickback-driven "port shopping talks"... plus they have the usual bingo, casino, trivia offerings...

Free afternoon ice cream in the buffet (do NOT pay for the specialty ice cream; I tried it once and it was awful)...

Terrific Future Cruise Credit (FCC) system: fully refundable for 4 years, $100 serves as your deposit, gets you a $25-75 OBC for the first two people in the cabin based on the level of cabin you book. Always good to have a few of these on hand.

Honestly, Princess oughta pay me for writing all this up! I do appreciate all these qualities, though. Most cruiseline advertising is pretty right on (Carnival is fun, RCI is exciting... haven't been on Celebrity or HAL yet, but I bet they're pretty much like their image...) -- and the slogan for Princess is "Where I belong"...

Princess really does let you be yourself and create your own cruise; it's very individually focused -- if you want an active vacation, you can do that... if you want a relaxing vacation you can do that... if you want a cultural vacation you can do that... if you want to drink and play silly pool games you can do that... you don't feel "out of the loop" (the way you might on an RCI or Carnival cruise if you are seeking a quiet, introspective trip) -- you create your own loop!

Anyway, give Princess a try. Pricing and itineary can't be beat, and it has a lot of wonderful amenities and terrific people.

Why not try them? And you should also try out Celebrity and HAL. There are so many good products out there, and a choice of ships. We like them, but we have liked all of the cruise lines that we have travelled on. It's is such a personal thing. Princess, like others, has a very good product.

Thank you all again for your help. We are considering going with Princess next time.

EmpressofPurple - They should pay you!! Great info. Thank you so much!

Does Princess have those cruise director announcements constantly like Carnival does?

What a great thread for a Princess 1st timer:)

HI!

Empress of Purple - very nice description. I'm so looking forward to my first Princess cruise in Oct & my first RCI in April. Have tried X, HAL, Orient & NCL which were all great. I tend to choose by itinerary & will have my first TA on Princess.

A cruise is what you make it & that's the beauty of it.

~Jo~ :)

We love and cruise Princess because of the Movies Under the Stars feature. It's a huge LCD movie screen by one pool that plays movies, concerts, and other shows of interest. At night, they cover the pool chairs so water doesn't soak into your clothes, put out soft blankets, give out FREE fresh popped popcorn, sell movie-size boxes of candy, and play first run movies. You can sit in the open ocean breeze smelling the wonderful salt water surrounding you and enjoy a movie with the ones you love. It's absolutely our favorite thing about Princess!

Be aware though, only some of their ships have it (mostly the Grand Class vessels). Carnival offers it on a few of their newer ships and Disney has it on all of their ships.

This is a nice thread for the first-timer. I hate the threads that end up bashing the different lines.

Like others, I find Princess to be a great blend. It's not the Super fun atmoshpere of Carnival (which I also enjoy), but it's not the super-subdued atmosphere that many find on X or HAL. I think Princess does just about everything well.

I will have a nice time on any cruise line, and I will enjoy everything that ship / line has to offer. I just happen to prefer Princess. Another poster referred to the consistency of Princess. While every line has ships that have a little different "personality", I do find Princess to be very consistent. There is a reason why it is the line I chose for a part of my honeymoon, and I can sail on any line. It is NOT a Premium line like a Seabourn or Cunard (with loads of staff to take care of every need), but I find a good class of people on the Princess ships which sometimes can make it feel like a Premium line. I'd (usually) rather sail Princess twice for the same cost of one Seabourn cruise.

As for amenities, I guess I'm simple: I love MUTS and the freshwater pools and Anytime Dining!

Good luck, and have fun!

I would like to add that they seem to have a pretty good multi-generation appeal. Being 23 and 24 on Star last year, and 24 and 25 on Crown this year, DW and I definitely were at the young end of the passenger spectrum (that weren't on as someone's children). Staff were always very polite and professional to us and treated us appropriately as passengers [not the same experience we always get in restaurants back home]. There were always things for us to do, and there were other young professionals on board, but the whole ship was not a bunch of college age and young professionals either.

Both cruises I'm using as reference for this comment were done towards the end of April, Star 4/21/07-4/28/07 and Crown was 4/26/08-5/3/08