Princess vs. RCI...

[GigglewolfOfTheSeas]

I'm an avid RCI fan (Diamond member) who recently decided to give Princess a try. My general background: single, male, 39, active, non-gambler, native Floridian. I've sailed older RCI ships to Voyager-class and my Princess cruise was to the Caribbean aboard the Crown Princess from Fort Lauderdale (11/09). I had always been a bit disappointed by RCI's lack of interest in accommodating F.O.D./LGBT gatherings (beyond a hidden dry-erase board somewhere) and I'd heard Princess was better in this arena, so decided to give it a try...

 

Perhaps easiest for me to make my comparison by category, then try to wrap-up...

 

EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION: Princess embarkation/disembarkation was very tedious, not as streamlined as RCI's processes. Recent Navigator cruise took no more than 15 minutes curb-to-ship to embark; Princess= 45+ minutes, much of it standing in line.

 

MUSTERING: Princess announcements were SO VERY long-winded & chaotic; RCI's are straight to the point and let you get about the business of enjoying your vacation. (Haven't sailed with RCI since the new non-life jacket mustering, but sounds great.)

 

GUEST "FLOW": Overall, RCI ships do carry more people, but they seem to do a MUCH better job at managing passenger flow as compared to Princess. RCI ships feel more spacious; Princess ships try to create more intimate areas throughout their public areas, but with so many people onboard they just seem over-crowded. Seating in the Windjammer on RCI on embarkation day can be bad, but Princess was HORRENDOUS. Princess has resorted to using cheap plastic/stackable-type patio furnitire (like the kind you might buy at Walgreens, in a pinch) along the pool area windows to add some seating for the casual dining (TACKY!!). Seating in Princess' casual dining area was CONSISTENTLY bad throughout the cruise.

 

FOOD: I prefer the casual dining venues (just a lot less hassle). Princess' casual food was not presented in a very appetizing fashion and often many of the lunch items seemed partially recycled from breakfast leftovers. Deep-fried boiled eggs, anyone? In the main dining rooms, Princess' food flavor was inconsistent; hits & misses; portions seemed rather small. RCI dining room food quality has dropped a bit in recent years, but generally acceptable to non-foodies. Windjammer quality has improved considerably, with many venturous options.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Evening theatre shows were slightly more innovative & contemporary on RCI; Princess' shows seemed dated, with cheesey sets & lame story lines. Comedians on Princess were sooo low-brow (ie. tired old lost-luggage & f*rt jokes). RCI seems to provide a little better variety & caliber of entertainment. Also, Princess cruise staff did a bad job of allocating the right venue for the entertainment (I never had to stand to watch a comedian w/RCI). "Movies Under the Stars" was cool to watch the new Star Trek movie; weird to have it operating all day long (to each his/her own).

 

ONBOARD EMPLOYEES: Princess employees seemed very-much involved with each other at the expense of guests (ie. were more likely to be chatting amongst themselves then clearing/cleaning tables, providing utensils, etc). Didn't notice this as much with RCI.

 

CABINS: Showers in Princess standard cabin bathrooms are horrible and still include curtains (who does that anymore?!). Was very surprised to find the lay-out of the cabin to be so antiquated, given the Crown Princess was only 3 years old.

 

PUBLIC AREAS: Again, my personal preference is for a more spacious ship and attractive design; RCI excels at this. The Crown Princess often felt crowded and the interior design lacked imagination (ie. lots of beiges, faux painting, faux marble, tired pseudo-Mediterranean style throughout atrium).

 

ONBOARD ACTIVITIES: I traveled with an elderly aunt who was quite upset about the lack of daily activities during the day. She stated that had not been the case as recently as two years ago. She also noted a down-slide in food quality (she had been an avid Princess cruiser).

 

FELLOW GUESTS: I was quite surprised at how much older Princess seemed to skew as compared to RCI. My best guess is that the average RCI cruiser is in the 45-50 range; I'd say Princess is 60+. Nothing wrong with that, of course, just not what I had expected and does make the pace onboard quite a bit slower.

 

Princess did "formally" announce the daily LGBT Gathering in the daily newsletter (called Princess Patters) and I did meet a great group of guys who from CA, DC & FL that helped make my cruise a very enjoyable one. In the past, meeting other gay folks on RCI ranged from easy to impossible and the lack of a "sanctioned" event makes it a bit more challenging.

 

Additionally, my personal opinion is that the Carnival Corporations is marketing their two largest lines as follows=

Carnival Cruises: mass-market cruises for younger people

Princess Cruises: mass-market cruises for older people

 

Glad I gave another line a shot & still had a relaxing time, but think I'll stick with RCI.

 

:D

[bbenson]

Having done both princess, twice, and RCCL(3x) with #4 in two weeks, YEA!. I'm going to disagree a little.

 

I do think the average age of the passengers is somewhat higher on princess but found the food to be about equal. Dishes on both are hit and miss. The only real difference I see in the two lines is that RCCL does have more "activities" on their larger ships Voyager, Freedom, Oasis class.

 

RCCL is turning into more a "theme park on the ocean" and less a traditional cruise experience. I found pros and cons on both and enjoy both for different reasons.

 

RCCL is more entertaining but to me princess is more relaxing