Princess vs. RCCL: If you have sailed both please give me your opinion.

[jwave]

I understand I am opening a big can of worms here. I am posting this on the RCCL thread too. I have not sailed RCCL and am considering trying it out. I am looking at Freedom class ships. I have sailed Grand class ships on Princess (Grand and Star). I was thinking the additional recreational activities might appeal to my husband and child.

 

I am looking at Caribbean cruises.

 

I will be traveling with one child, age 11, my husband and my inlaws (both in their 60's).

 

Can you give me some advice. Esp. on cabin size, food quality, etc.

 

Thanks

[jwave]

We usually travel in a mini suite...so comparisons to that size cabin would be helpful.

[Tak8]

I like them both, but prefer Princess. In terms of what you want to compare. I feel Princess has larger cabins. It may be the layout, but it feels a little tighter on Royal. Both have good to very good food and service. I give the edge to Princess because I like the dinner choices more. Royal has the advantage in terms of activities especially for the teenager in your life. I have a 16 year old, so I can understand the leaning toward Royal. You will probably miss the freshwater pools in Princess.

Give Royal a try. It's nice to compare. You may find a new favorite or remember why Princess is your choice. Either way, you're on a cruise. Can't be bad.

[coops]

We always get a mini suite on Princess and RCCL balcony cabins are pretty close in size to the Princess mini. You do get a couch on the regular balconys with RCCL but no tub and only one tv. I loved both cruise lines just like Princess better .

Dawn

[jwave]

thank you both. The insights are valuable.

[emily rose]

I have sailed on Mariner of the sea and Rhapsody of the sea fr. Rci.I have travel on the Emerald on princess and I am presntly booked to travel on the Carribean princess.I love both lines equally. The cabins on princess are slightly bigger. Food and service are equal. There are more sports actvities on the larger Rci ships such as rock climbing skating [ice and inline skating],mini golf, volley ball.Rci also has the promonade deck which is huge they usually have a parade come right thru the center.Try Rci esp the larger ships.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We are Princess cruisers but sailed on the Mariner of the Seas a few years ago as we wanted adjoining cabins with family members and Princess could not accomodate. It was lots of fun-the lines are similar but different. We preferred the buffet on RCI, the main dining room food on Princess, but loved RCI's activities such as the ice show & the parades (on that trip we were traveling with 3 year old granddaughter). For each cruise since then I compare price and itinerary (which are more important to me) and Princess consistently wins out.

[cynbar]

I have sailed both and prefer Princess, but I bet that if you had boards populated by pre-teens and young teens, the vote would go to Royal! Seriously, I find the lines quite similar in many ways, and usually decide by price and itinerary. Give Royal a try, their active activities are particularly suited for kids and young adults, and then you'll be able to form your own opinion.

[JMG]

We have cruised both RCCL and Princess. On RCCL we get a Jr Suite and on Princess we got a mini suite. The JS on RCL is larger than the mini on Princess. I believe it also costs a little more. We prefer the Lido buffet on Royal over the Horizon Court on Princess. We Liked the

Royal DR better than the Princess DR. The food on Princess was slightly better but not as good as previous cruises on Princess. We like the Compass on R better than the Princess Patter. Royal lists the hours of the various bars and everyone we asked had different times when the various bars were open. The Patter just seemed to lack information that we easily find on the Compass. There seemed to be more activities on Royal. The Ice Shows on Royal are very entertaining as is their Adult show the Quest! Embarkation was easier on Princess. Disembarkation was easy on either line.

Basically we find both lines to be very enjoyable.

[bigeagle12]

We (both in 50's) love both. RCCL would probably be more fun for the 11 yr old. If that is not an issue, I would just pick based on price and itinerary.

[cjcruises]

We've sailed on both (Jewel of the Seas & Emerald Princess). We hands down prefer Princess, but our Royal Carib. experience may not have had a fair chance.

We were supposed to be sailing on the Princess ship that caught fire (don't remember which ship it was now). So we (and the other couple sailing with us) were left scrambling for a new cruise at the very last minute.

5 couples from the Princess ship ended up making the change to RC & we all ended up seated together in the MDR. We all agreed that the food was lacking in quality when compared to other cruises we had enjoyed (on other lines.)

 

So for me... food is better on Princess

service is better on Princess

cabin (OV) was more spaciou (or felt that way) on Princess

 

On the Jewel we did find.... more people our own age (late twenties/ early thrities) better "active" onboard activities (walking track, rock wall, etc.)

better buffet design

 

For me, it always comes down to the food. On our RCCL cruise, food was very disappointing. Esp in the dining room (where we tend to eat most often, save a few lunches)

 

If I were travelling with my kids, I think I'd opt for RCCL. For just DH & me, it's Princess hands down.

[jwave]

Great info...I think for my husband and I we would stick with Princess, but we might try RCCL for my daughter.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I have not yet been on the Freedom Class of RC ships (have been on the Vision, Radiance and Explorer Classes), but after I did cruises on the Emerald Princess and Mariner OTS last winter in quick succession I posted this comparison. Hope it helps a bit.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=944921&highlight=

[Asil65]

Big Princess fan here. We were on The RC Grandeur with our 2 kids and were not impressed with the service especially in the kids club and felt like our food has always been better on the Princess ships. My kids did like the rock wall. I even climbed to the top. Taking our kids with us for the first time on Princess this summer. Really interested in how the kids club, activities will be for our kiddoes.

[bigeagle12]

Here is just a quick comparision (our opinion) of the 2 and we would not hesitate to take either cruise line (Note: our recent expereince on RCCL is on the Voyager class ships):

 

Embarkation - equal

Disembarkation - advantage Princess

Muster Drill - adavantage Princess

Food - slight advantage to Princess - little better quality and more variety

Dining Room (service) - equal

Dining Room (decor) - advantage Royal

Cabins - advantage Princess - bigger closet - better layout

Entertainment - equal

Ship (Promenade vs Atrium) - advantage Royal

Casino - advantage Royal

Service (Dining Room) - equal

Service (Windjammer vs Caribe) - advantage Royal

Service (cabin) - equal

Johnny Rockets vs Trident Grill - advantage Princess (free)

Movies Under the Stars (MUTS) - advantage Princess

Promenade Cafe vs International Cafe - advantage Princess

Pizza - advantage Princess

Bars/Lounges - advantage Princess

Onboard Activities - advantage Royal

[NancyIL]

I have been on 7 RCI cruises and 2 Princess cruises, with 2 more booked on each. Both have beautiful ships, although I prefer the inside cabin layout on Princess ships. I'm not fussy about food, and thought it was about equal on both lines. (My husband thought the MDR food on Jewel of the Seas was superior to the same on the Coral Princess.) I thought the Horizon Court on the Golden Princess, even though newly refurbished last May, was very small compared to the Windjammer on RCI ships. Both have excellent entertainment and onboard activities. I prefer the smoking policy on RCI.

 

I usually choose cruises based on itinerary and price. Sometimes RCI wins and sometimes Princess does. No one cruise line is always the least expensive - unless you cruise with Carnival!

[hubofhockey]

Does RCCL have a free burger joint by the pool similar to Trident Grill?

 

After four years from our first RCCL cruise, we'll go back in 2012 when our kids are 14 and 12. Our kids love Carnival too. But RCCL is a better compromise for me.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Does RCCL have a free burger joint by the pool similar to Trident Grill?

No, and we missed the food available by the pool. On RC, we had to go into the Windjammer to get a burger and fries. I don't recall right now if pizza was available by the pool or not.

[johnfas]

Great info...I think for my husband and I we would stick with Princess, but we might try RCCL for my daughter.

 

For an 11 year old to have fun they do need activities. Our teen daughter always found things to do on Princess. Your daughter will love MUTS, popcorn, cookies, blankets etc. And she will really love the FRESH water pools on Princess. We have sailed both several times but have to give the advantage to Princess. You will love, Vines and the International Cafe. Plus the shows, give the edge to Princess there also. As far as the ships go both are well decorated and service is comperable. Pizza on Princess is very good as their burger and fries, both pool side.

[VAL57SMITH]

We have sailed on the Explorer of the Seas and Caribbean Princess. We like both about equally but I would say that RCCL has their buffet down to a science, very orderly compared to others and their pool bar is much, much better than Princess'.

[DonnaK]

We are experienced and loyal RCI cruisers who have our second cruise booked on the Caribbean Princess. We've found the two lines to be very similar. Some things are better on RCI, and other things Princess does better, but it all balances out to an equivalent cruising experience. To be honest, the things that were most important to us, RCI wins hands-down. And my teens thought Princess's activities were lame (their words not mine). But, this didn't stop us from sailing with Princess again.

 

Just a note: Be weary of those who are comparing older RCI ships to newer Princess ships. It's apples and oranges, and only Voyager class RCI ships will come close to what you'd experience.

 

If you click on the link in my signature to my review of Caribbean Princess, you'll find that I've made a lot of comparisons.

[CruisinEars]

We have sailed on the Mariner of the Seas and the Golden Princess.

 

Overall, I liked the Princess cruise better. There were some disappointments with our RCL cruise in that the food was awful and the kids clubs rarely followed the posted activity schedule. But, we really liked the Promenade connecting staterooms, the room steward was great and our dinner waitstaff was outstanding. The kids did like the things to do on the RCL, but they did not like the salt water pools.

 

On Princess, the food was really good even in the buffet, our room steward was great and they loved the pool. We only used the covered one since we were in chilly Alaska. I also liked the fact that on Princess, the buffet is open 24 hours and you can enter your stateroom as soon as you board. Btw, my son was 11 on both of our cruises.

[hubofhockey]

No, and we missed the food available by the pool. On RC, we had to go into the Windjammer to get a burger and fries. I don't recall right now if pizza was available by the pool or not.

 

Thanks, my only RCCL cruise was on an older ship that had no Rockets but did have a pool grill. It's a couple years out until our next RCCL cruise. But I guess we'll have to run into the windjammer to get a burger.

 

I was pretty excited to see Princess building a bigger ship and hope as my kids say that it will be more "kid friendly". We parents like Princess. The kids like Carnival and RCCL. Normally, the parents win on these calls. But, to the extent the kids are happy and occupied, I relax more.

[kenzie]

Been on 4 princess (Grand, Emerald ,Golden & Crown) and 1 Rccl, Jewel. We will be booking Rccl next due to kids as they prefer Rccl teens and kids activities (my kids were between 10 & 17) by miles.

Prefer buffet on Rccl ,so much better, food on Princess Dining room marginally better.

Pools on Princess fresh but on both last cruises (Golden to Hawaii last OCtober and Crown just last week) were freezing and definately not heated, they must lie about temperature. No-one in pools last week and only the brave last October.

Entertainment, difficult to compare as Jewel was too small, will try larger next time.

Hope this helps

[jwave]

thank you all for all your insights. There is a lot to think about. Esp. Pescadaro Amarillo and DonnaK for the links to really indepth comparsions. I really appreciate them. We have sailed quite a bit (for us) on Princess (6 cruises), but we are considering going to the "dark" side and trying RCCL. Of course, my platinum status and past passenger discounts are making it more challenging, as always (in my experience) Princess is less expensive at the mini-suite vs. junior suite level.

 

Again, I really appreciate all the help. That is why I love this website.