Just a thought

[rdsqrl]

I note that many people posting here have numerous frequent Princess cruises. While there's nothing wrong with a Princess cruise I have a suggestion. If you can afford so many cruises, take a Crystal cruise instead of two mass market cruises. It's a totally different experience on board. They go out of their way to pamper you and cater to your every wish. The food is several notches above what we've had on Princess, Holland America and Celebrity. Their special buffets are amazing and they will prepare almost anything that you'd like for dinner if you request it a day ahead of time.

Unfortunately our budget won't allow frequent Crystal cruises but when we do go on a Crystal cruise the difference is eye opening. If you can work it out don't pass up the pleasure of at least one Crystal cruise. And, BTW, I don't have any financial interest in Crystal.

I believe you have set up a false dichotomy. I want to spend as much time as possible on a ship, so choosing to sail one 14-day cruise on Crystal in the place of two 14-day cruises on Princess would leave me unsatisfied. I'm sure the ship(s?) is(are?) lovely; I'm sure the service is fabu; I'm sure the food is orgasmic, but I choose quantity over quality, especially when the quantity side of the equation remains up to a level of quality that I'm quite happy with - -as in, you don't see me taking four NCL cruises in place of two on Princess!

 

I did Crystal in the Caribbean and the shore excursions were not more then other cruise lines "in the Caribbean". Though in Europe - they had some pretty specialized "build your own" excursions that no other line has. For example - in St. Petersburg Russia, they had an excursion that was going to fly you to Moscow in a mic fighter plane (spelling on mic?) or something like that.

Okay, now that's one way cool excursion. It would be a MiG (Mikoyan Guryevich -- sorry, I don't have Cyrillic on this machine but you get the idea). That might be enough to change my mind about quantity v. quality!!

[zoomerica]

Meh, I would split the difference and sail Cunard. Great food and service, elegant atmosphere...

 

Plus side, I hear Cunard and Princess share crew members. Some long time Princess folks may find an old Head Waiter they miss...

 

Crystal does sound intriguing but the small ship size worries me as to mal de mer in rough seas. Still sounds heavenly though.

[Cruisin' Chick]

OK, so you all have cruised on Princess... I haven't... have had two recent cruises on Royal Caribbean. So if you have cruised on RC too... tell me why you like Princess better!

 

Haven't been on RC, but I'll try you one reason we're not planning to. We are aiming for longer cruises, but my hubby prefers to keep down the luggage as much as possible (even when we drive to the port). So a self-service laundry is a must for us. And we're not about to use the ship's laundry as we have a family member who's allergic to most detergent (we use an allergen-free detergent that doesn't give her a rash).

 

I know Crystal cruises are probably fantastic, but I think I would personally feel uncomfortable on one. I much prefer a laid back vacation experience. I just look to have a relaxing time away and visit interesting ports at a great price. And I want to go as often as possible. I fear that a Crystal cruise, although very highly rated, may feel stuffy to me.

 

I believe you have set up a false dichotomy. I want to spend as much time as possible on a ship, so choosing to sail one 14-day cruise on Crystal in the place of two 14-day cruises on Princess would leave me unsatisfied. I'm sure the ship(s?) is(are?) lovely; I'm sure the service is fabu; I'm sure the food is orgasmic, but I choose quantity over quality, especially when the quantity side of the equation remains up to a level of quality that I'm quite happy with - -as in, you don't see me taking four NCL cruises in place of two on Princess!

 

 

Okay, now that's one way cool excursion. It would be a MiG (Mikoyan Guryevich -- sorry, I don't have Cyrillic on this machine but you get the idea). That might be enough to change my mind about quantity v. quality!!

 

We're not foodies so any perceived gourmet factor will be lost on us. But like you I have no desire to try NCL from what I've heard from people (even from one who was okay with the concept of having to make reservations in the am just to get a decent dining room -- not my idea of relaxing on vacation).

 

And since we're the type who drive Saturns, and certainly not SUVs, in my family, we're not interested in trying a fancy cruiseline when Princess seems to fit our idea of a cruiseline just fine.

[kkorman]

I note that many people posting here have numerous frequent Princess cruises. While there's nothing wrong with a Princess cruise I have a suggestion. If you can afford so many cruises, take a Crystal cruise instead of two mass market cruises. It's a totally different experience on board. They go out of their way to pamper you and cater to your every wish. The food is several notches above what we've had on Princess, Holland America and Celebrity. Their special buffets are amazing and they will prepare almost anything that you'd like for dinner if you request it a day ahead of time.

Unfortunately our budget won't allow frequent Crystal cruises but when we do go on a Crystal cruise the difference is eye opening. If you can work it out don't pass up the pleasure of at least one Crystal cruise. And, BTW, I don't have any financial interest in Crystal.

 

While I see you logic, I would have to say that I do not see the value in Crystal. While I had great food and service, but I cannot see paying 2X the price for the experience. I would only cruise them again if the prices came down or my financial situation changes. :)

[1 HappyCruiser]

I worked for a living so I choose quantity over quality any day....within reason.

[Bobed1927]

I must repeat that I was addressing my suggestion to those people who can afford to cruise several times a year and who might prefer quality over quantity once in a while. Difference of opinion--that's why they have horse races.

Except for the formal nights (and many men don't wear tuxedos) I have never dressed differently on Crystal than I have on Princess and I never have felt the crowd to be stuffy.

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

I did Crystal in the Caribbean and the shore excursions were not more then other cruise lines "in the Caribbean". Though in Europe - they had some pretty specialized "build your own" excursions that no other line has. For example - in St. Petersburg Russia, they had an excursion that was going to fly you to Moscow in a mic fighter plane (spelling on mic?) or something like that.

 

 

That sounds like a pretty fantastic excursion. And I am sure it would cost whole lot more than the prices I was quoting from that other post. He was talking about slightly more mundane things. Copied and pasted an exerpt below:

 

Anyway, some (not all) of the pricing blows me away.

 

I'm not talking about the ~$400 for a bus to sample gourmet foods and wines, and then have a nice lunch at a fine hotel.

 

It's sometimes the "Signature Collection" options, like a day on a private motorboat (not "yacht") touring Positano and Capri, with a fine lunch, champagne, for $1643 per person! (I imagine it could be privately arranged for a fraction of the cost at amalfiboattours.com - amalfiboatexcursions has a 79 Euro per person day of boating on private skippered boats).

 

Or taking a public hydrofoil from Sorrento to Capri, a private "motor launch" around the island, and a rowboat into the Blue Grotto, for $712.

 

Flightseeing (45 minutes aloft) and the rest of the day by taxi and public boat to see the Blue Grotto, and a fine lunch. $2895 per person. (I would have expected it to be 1/3 that at most). You can fly business class overseas for that price!

 

Amalfi coast by minibus with lunch. $437 per person. (We have hired a well-recommended minibus and driver for 150 Euros for the whole group for the whole day - yes that is quite a bargain, and we made certain it was not per person! It will be 10% of the cost, though we do need to buy our own lunch.)

 

Mt Etna by helicopter. $1997 for a 30 minute flight, plus minivan transfers to the helipad. For fun, I Googled "mt etna helicopter tour" and the price for 6 people is ~$500 per person. We could have a private flight for just the two of us for 3/4 the price of booking through Crystal, and having the share the windows.