Princess to Royal Caribbean??

[English Rose]

Hi all,

 

Just taking a sneeky look at this part of the boards. We have just returned from a wonderful Christmas Cruise on the Sun Princess. This was our first cruise as a family and we all enjoyed it. We learned lessons on the way and taking everything into account have got myslef most of the cruise company brochures. Royal Caribbean is sticking out as favourite for our next Christmas cruise for a few reasons. Firstly I would love to try the Voyager Class ships - the big ship really appeals to me. Secondly my kids would just love the ice rink and the full basketball court. Thirdly (and mainly) because the kids club have a sensible split and my 2 children can be in the same age group (12 - 14). My one concern with Princess was that my young 13 year old was with a group of 13 - 17 year olds and was overwhelmed by the older American teenagers which put him off going. I thought the 12-14 age group was much more sensible.

 

I hope I am going down the right tracks here. I have called RC direct for a quote and was quite shocked at how expensive it was. No early booking incentives. Will try other TA's and see what they come up with. Can anyone else compare RC with Princess? Any input will be much appreciated.

[madforcruising]

Hi Cheryl,

 

I can´t help you with comparing RCCL and Princess as I never cruised on Princess.

 

It was just your remark about the quote that brought my attention to answer you.

You said you called RCCL for a quote and my first thought was with the new pricing policy you´ll have a hard time to find any lower quotes, however it´s not impossible.

But then I saw you are from Europe too. My experience is that RCCL charges a tremendous(sp?) higher amount for their cruises over here in Europe. Try to compare with US TA´s I always found much lower rates with them. Especially with the good exchange rate (not sure if it´s good between English Pound and Dollar too) it saved me alot.

 

But also be prepared cruising is geting more expensive and especially for holidays.

[torbs]

I have cruised both and enjoy RCL. Princess was nice but I will be going on my 3rd Voyager class cruise this summer. In my experience, RCL will give the kids more to do. Not that I have any that age, there seems to be more to do. Food was better (not much, but better) on my Princess cruise however. You will be amazed at the size of the Voyager ships!!!

[torbs]

One more thing, RCL does not allow for any discounting. While there might be a difference for an overseas passenger v. the states, all US TAs should be giving the same price. If they aren't, let me know!!!! Need to save some coin!

[RM]

Sometimes the prices drop after your booked and your travel agent will get you the better rate(if you have an agent that does that). We've cruised several Christmas cruises and the prices dropped prior to final payment and the agent adjusted the cost.

 

The kids will love the Voyager class ships but be advised that there will be over 1000 kids on these ships at Christmas.

[bahamapapa]

We just returned from the Sovereign of the Seas and sailed the Caribbean Princess in October. It is unfair to compare the two ships because of age, but some general observations can be made.

 

1. RCI was better in kids' activities (indeed, outstanding) and in the food court.

2. Entertainment was equal (again, discounting that Princess had much more on a larger ship), but RCI's timing was very uneven, e.g. Princess would flow from entertainment to dinner to entertainment, where there were long gaps in the RCI schedule. Also, Princess has much more to do earlier in the evening--7 to 11 p.m., where RCI doesn't really get started on dancing, etc. until 11 p.m.

3. Wait staff was very good on both lines generally, but things were clearly better managed and organized on Princess (again, perhaps because Sovereign just came out of dry dock). For instance, dinner routinely took two hours because of kitchen delays.

4. Princess' food quality, selection and presentation was significantly better. No contest here. This was especially the case in the dinner room and was most noticeable in the cuts of meat (in some cases inedible on RCI) and the creativity of desserts.

5. Extras much better on Princess....afternoon tea, freshwater pools, general elegance.

 

BP

[English Rose]

Thank you all so much for your input, very much appreciated. Its very interesting to hear people's point of view and I am taking in exactly what each of you are saying. Sounds to me like it's the food quality that wins Princess and the kids programme that wins it for RCL. Perhaps it will end up being the price that wins!!! We'll see.....

[cmjaffe]

English Rose,

We just got back from a holiday sailing on Brilliance...

my son is 12 and has done many cruises... this year's activities in the kids' program was lacking both choices and supervision... most times things were "cancelled" and the kids just hung out (even if some wanted to participate). I think it was just the counselors they had, but some of the girls were VERY precocious, even with the age split. It might also be a "cultural" thing w/your son as far as his recent experience. So, my advice, is decide viewing the "whole package", that said, after 3 holiday sailings the last 2 on RCCL, we're probably looking into Princess... esp. with the price difference.

We were far from impressed w/RCCL's entertainment offerings, esp. for a holiday sailing (both Xmas and New Years) and had the exact same shows and headliners as the previous year (RCCL sometimes keep the same shows albeit a different cast, for 3 years)

Good luck in your choice.

Carolyn

[ted1717]

English Rose,

We have done aabout a dozen cruises now. First 2 were RCCl I thought that they had sold us on cruising as a vacation.

After that we went on 2 Celebrity( they were still separate) and then 6 straight Princess. Last week we were on The Radaince of the Seas. She is a beautiful ship. The crew did what was required - nothing more. The food selection was dreadful. Same items on the lunch buffet every day, never saw a piece of tropical fruit, the entertainment was spotty at best.

Overall we decided that it had not been RCCL that had sold us on cruising but the first 2 waiters we had had on those cruises. We still remember them by name! This last week showed that Princess has a superior product and we are headed back! Our kids are too old now to use the kids program so I can't help you there but my feeling is go Princess!

Ted1717

[English Rose]

Thanks Carolyn and Ted

 

Nothing good there for RCI. I must say that looking around now at the TA's I cannot believe how expensive RCI is. I am drifting here now towards Princess. I can also say that the Princess brochure is so much easier to understand and you can work out the prices for yourselves to a degree. With my RCI brochure, it just gives a price range 'from and to' which are grossly different. Thank you for your input.

 

Just to throw in another question - what about Celebrity?? How do they compare?

 

Cheryl

[ted1717]

Cheryl,

Princess has a much better upgrade reward system than either RCCL or Celebrity.

Must say I had one lousey cruise on Celebrity but they did the right thing and offered us a free second cruise. The second cruise was on the Galaxy and she was as beautiful a ship as we have ever been on. Nevertheless we moved to Princess and should never have left!

Ted

[nomie]

We will be taking our first RCI cruise on the Jewel in Nov but now after reading this post I am a little worried. I am a true Princess fan and have taken three wonderful cruises with them. We will not be sailing with kids so that is not a concern. I am still booked on the Sun Princess for Nov. One of these cruises will have to be canceled. Most of you like Princess better and this is the RCI board. Am I making a mistake trying RCI?

[Seaside2358]

Jewel is an absolutely beautiful ship. I'm sure you will have a good time so my advice would be to go with what you have booked. I don't think you will be disappointed...

[emmy]

We will be taking our first RCI cruise on the Jewel in Nov but now after reading this post I am a little worried. I am a true Princess fan and have taken three wonderful cruises with them. We will not be sailing with kids so that is not a concern. I am still booked on the Sun Princess for Nov. One of these cruises will have to be canceled. Most of you like Princess better and this is the RCI board. Am I making a mistake trying RCI?

 

Nomie...I have sailed on Princess 3 times the most recent Oct on Caribbean Princess and am booked this April for Jewel our 6th cruise with RCI. I fully expect to have a wonderful time on Jewel and I enjoy both cruise lines with RCI a bit more especially for the beauty of their ships decor....dining rooms are spectacular.

 

I would happily sail either cruise line and in fact it makes cruising more interesting when you try different lines. Ready to book Sapphire Princess for Oct. 2005

 

Emmy

[Sheffie]

Emmy, I see you are from the Soo. We used to have a cabin in the "bush" up there. Mile 49 at the rock cut on the Algoma Central. Ojadaki. Quite a beautiful area.

 

Michelle

[emmy]

Wow..Michelle...only people who have been and know my area call Sault Ste Marie 'the Soo'... I agree quite a beautiful area up there.

 

Good show...thanks for posting...come and visit again!

 

Emmy :)

[alexkrn46]

Have taken 6 RCI, 1 Princess, and 1 Carnival. All where great, but Princess was my least favorite. I was on the Star Princess (beautiful ship) equal to the radiance class ships.

Major differences: Star Princess only had one show at night, many people where turned away. The quality of the show was equal to RCI.

Food Service: Quality of food the same. Service hands down better on RCI.

Price: Princess all around cheaper ( but you get what you pay for)

Embarkation and disembarkation: RCI much better

 

There is a major difference between the ages, Princess has much older passagers.

[judyinar]

I just returned from the Radiance cruise last week and I thought the service was exceptional. We had a fantastic week. One day we sat with others in the dining room at lunch and a woman from Montreal and her 5 yr.old daughter sat with us. This woman told us about a wonderful Princess Mediterranean cruise she had been on last year. However, she said there's no comparison with the service on the RC ships and the Princess - Royal Caribbean wins, no contest!

 

Just another opinion, Judy

[xujuice]

We have been on the 2 RCI cruises and 1 Princess, this year we are going back to RCI. Both cruise lines are wonderful however we prefer by far RCI.

We like the ship layouts better on the RCI ships along with the promenade, we also thought the entertainement was better on RCI. I agree with the previous post the age difference is different between the two cruise lines.

[Stffie]

I would just like to say that we traveled Dec 12,2004 on the Jewel of the Seas. She is an exceptional ship. So much attention to detail. Being a new

ship in May she's very clean. Loved the layout, easy to get around in. We found the Windjammer to have wonderful selections and lots of fresh fruit.

The dinner menu seemed more simplified than past RCCL. I enjoyed the

dining room. Our waiters were the best, We sat in the VIP section according

to the maitre'd. They were filming a new commercial at dinner one night and

in the spa. I think that says a lot about what RCI thinks of this ship.

Absolutely Beautiful. We had the Royal Suite. Loved it. I say stick with the

new ships, it seems to have the best of everything.

Enjoy,

I WISH I WERE BACK ON THE JEWEL

 

RCI 4 NCL 2 Carnival 3

Princess 1 Disney Premier 1

Costa 2 Am Hawaii 1

[English Rose]

This is all very interesting stuff. I think it is going to be a matter for me of the newer and larger the ship the better, but with a port intensive itinerary. I still haven't found the 'perfect' forumla yet, as many of the Christmas cruises have not come out in the UK travel agents. These are likely to be available very soon and will be cheaper than booking them directly with Princess or RCI. Thanks for the input!

[smoothdancer]

I have sailed both Princess and RCI..

I liked RCI better... The largest difference fo me was the ships staff. Not that service was lacking on Princess, but on RCI I found that staff to be much more friendly, and just this attitude of service that just was not present on Princess.

 

All things being equal, price, port of calls, ect, I would pick RCCL