Considering Princess. Please help!!

[frisbeeace]

We are 3 couples in our 40's and we are looking into Star Princess for a Baltic itinerary in June. I have previously cruised with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. RC was fine, Celebrity's Solstice was amazing and Millenium dead boring. How does Princess compare to these lines? Is it a step below Celebrity in service, facilities or dining? Is it more fun with a younger crowd?

 

Finally, i have checked at their website and found no data about how big veranda and minisuites are. Prices are similar, which one do you recommend. Thanks a lot for your help.

[mycruz]

We also sailed the Baltic on the Star Princess a few years ago. We are Princess fans and have no problems with the level of service we have received on any of our cruises. At the time we sailed we were both in our 40's as well.

 

About the balconies, you definitely want one on this cruise. We however went with a balcony, usually book mini's, but because it's so port intensive we saved the money to use for shore excursions since the only time we were in our cabin on this one was to sleep. Balconies tend to be larger aft and on the Caribe deck.

 

This was one of my favorite cruises so far and one of the most memorable.

[NotWthOutablcony]

Hi frisbeeace, I have a frisbeeraja here at home :D, we're not even aloud to say the "F" word in the house :rolleyes:

Anyhow, I have not sailed RCI or X, BUT, just recently we were going through photos of RCI, X, HAL, and Cunard, and I've got to tell you, Princess has a "one up," in most areas of their ships, at least on Princess there is enough space to walk all the way around your bed, with plenty of room on the side, I saw some other lines' rooms where you BARELY had any room to scoot along the side of the bed, we were shocked. The rooms are nice, not quite as spacious as Carnival it seems, but very well appointed and comfortable. I highly recommend the mini suites! We fell in love with them, its SO wonderful to have a bathtub at the end of a long day, especially while touring in port, plus the sitting area is a great addition, with an extra television and a much larger balcony than a regular balcony cabin.

Also, I'd have to say Princess has the lead as far as public spaces and decor are concerned, very very nice, warm woods used in contrast with multi faceted glass ads a very nice touch to the ambiance, classy yet not stuffy, fun yet not eccentric.

If you do choose to go with the Mini suite, I recommend the Emerald deck minis, they are aft on either side, and the last aft cabin on both Port and Starboard side, have extended balconies, almost twice the size! Which would be wonderful to have for the 6 of you, you may be interested in having them over for the 'Ultimate Balcony Dinner" on your verandah, maybe during sailaway at sunset from one of the ports. Its a "white glove" experience, you'll pick what you want from the menus including drinks etc. and have your own personal wait staff, who set and serve the whole thing up seamlessly, they also provide you with a photo of the event and fresh flowers to enjoy in your cabin. Just an idea :D Anyhow, I hope this helps a bit, I'm sorry I'm not so familiar with the other lines' products, but I can certainly help you on the Princess side!

[knittinggirl]

at least on Princess there is enough space to walk all the way around your bed, with plenty of room on the side, I saw some other lines' rooms where you BARELY had any room to scoot along the side of the bed, we were shocked. The rooms are nice, not quite as spacious as Carnival it seems, but very well appointed and comfortable.

 

Are you referring to inside staterooms here? On our next cruise, we're getting an inside so we can allow for shore excursions.

[Toto2Kansas]

Keep in mind, that on Princess ships, a balcony (veranda) cabin is more or less just a bedroom and bath. A mini suite is much larger with a sitting area (sofa, chair, tables, lamp), bedroom area, full bathroom with tub/shower combination.

 

The balcony sizes on the larger ships for a mini are approx 9' X 7', where as balcony saterooms the balcony ranges either 9 X 5 or 9 X 9, depending on the deck.

[BobT172]

Keep in mind, that on Princess ships, a balcony (veranda) cabin is more or less just a bedroom and bath. A mini suite is much larger with a sitting area (sofa, chair, tables, lamp), bedroom area, full bathroom with tub/shower combination.

 

The balcony sizes on the larger ships for a mini are approx 9' X 7', where as balcony saterooms the balcony ranges either 9 X 5 or 9 X 9, depending on the deck.

 

Defintiely the balconies are smaller than the mini-suites but the "bedroom" also includes a a refrig, tv, chair, small table, and sitting area at a desk/drawer area.

 

But the point made by mycruz is very important...this cruise is VERY port intensive...you will be pooped!!! We spent little time in the room.

 

You will love every minute of it. We may do ti again.

[NotWthOutablcony]

Are you referring to inside staterooms here? On our next cruise, we're getting an inside so we can allow for shore excursions.

Hey Knittinggirl, yes, even the Inside Staterooms seemed to have more room on Princess than other lines I mentioned, if you choose to have the beds seperated into twins, it actually makes it even more spacious, seems to open the room up a bit.

[OutofNJ!]

Hi!

Just back from a 10 day on the Ruby. Don't know about RC, but in comparison to Celebrity Millie, the Ruby was alot more entertaining, but the food and service were severely lacking. The food on the Ruby was somewhat comparable to a chain restaraunt. 3000 people is alot of folks to feed! Crew is not as nearly as eager to please. Princess has entertainment all over Celebrity (although we were on the Millie and loved her just for herself). Great bars, great bands. Crowds were about the same.... mostly older (and we're 10 years older than you!), but a little older on Princess. Maybe the 10 day had something to do with that. Listen, a cruise is a cruise. Choose it for the itinerary and the ship and the price. You get what you pay for. How can any cruise be bad, really?

 

Good Luck and Bon Voyage!

[Sillyjilly]

Having sailed on HAL, RCI, Celebrity, NCL and Princess I have to say that Princess is the best fit for me. It's a little below Celebrity on service and food, but not by much. It's a step above RCI. (NCL is horrible. Won't go there again.)

(Princess pizza is the best on the seas. IMHO) OMG, I'm drooling now. :D

 

Give it a try. I think you'll like it. I love that the buffet is open all day and night. Sometimes I just want a mid afternoon or late night snack without having to go through room service.

 

Love their adult only aft pools too.

[spongerob]

If there isn't a big difference in price I would highly recommend the minisuite. You lose a little in terms of balcony space compared to the Caribe-deck balcony cabins but you'll appreciate the larger bathroom and sitting area. The interiors of the balcony cabins are space-challenged and many find the shower enclosure rather small.

 

The crowd you'll find on board really depends on the time of year and luck of the draw.

 

Compared to RC, Princess definitely wins in the main dining room, but doesn't do the specialty restaurants quite as well. RC's Portofino is superior to Sabatini, which I've long argued needs to have a menu make-over.

[Embracedbylife]

I have traveled on Princess to many places including the Baltics, and I must say that our experience in the Baltics was unique as the majority of the passengers were from Europe. The culture on the ship was different from other cruises we've been on - a lot of pushing and shoving of fellow passengers in the buffet area. Perhaps this was just my experience, but the ship was wonderful and once we started going to the dining rooms for breakfast instead it just made it more wonderful and things went back to the standard i've come to know from Princess - elegant, and relaxed and a great professional experience. So, I just wanted to tell you this so if you find the same issues on the ship, it's not the ship or the cruise line, it's the other passengers that are the issue and their culture of not waiting in lines, and pushing and shoving, but we ended up having a wonderful time once we avoided that crowd in the buffet! Very port intensive cruise also! Have fun!!

[bubbadog]

I Also recommend a mini-suite,Due to the intensive ports,and a bathtub is very nice to have,along with some extra room to move and relax after a long day,you will be very glad you did;)