saphire princess VS Mariner of the seas

[lcurtis87]

we will have 4 adults

1 15 year old

1 3 year old

 

looking at a 7 day out of LA on one of these ships during Thanksgiving.... what are your suggestions?

 

Princess cruise line is like $600 cheaper, but I have heard that the mariner on RCL is amazing! So i was just wondering if the RCL is going to be worth that extra money, or if we should go with PRincess? thanks everyone

[MTJSR]

I sailed past the Mariner coming in and out of San Pedro on Princess and thought, WOW what a beautiful ship, I would love to sail on that. Now back to earth.....you will have a fantastic time on either ship (if you plan to have a good time) overly picky travelers will tear apart both cruise lines/ships if they really want to.

 

On a seven day cruise to warm climates, you will find them all pretty comparable. My suggestion is put the 600 bucks in your pocket and put it towards another cruise in the future and take Princess this time. Enjoy your cruise!

[Kruisenut]

Wow a 115 year old, I would go with Holland - Ha Ha

[Coral]

Your 3 year old will have fun on either. Your 15 year old will prefer Royal.

 

Not sure what the adults are looking for on their vacation.

[FLACRUISER99]

we will have 4 adults

1 15 year old

1 3 year old

 

looking at a 7 day out of LA on one of these ships during Thanksgiving.... what are your suggestions?

 

Princess cruise line is like $600 cheaper, but I have heard that the mariner on RCL is amazing! So i was just wondering if the RCL is going to be worth that extra money, or if we should go with PRincess? thanks everyone

If the price was close - Mariner no contest, but $600 Princess wins hands down.

[Jasperdo]

I sailed on both the Sapphire and the Mariner last year. They were both great ships and I would gladly go on either one of them again. The Mariner has a "Wow" factor that the Sapphire can't match. It has the Royal Promenade, Ice Skating show, a bigger main showroom, a beautiful 3 story main dining room. But the Sapphire is beautiful as well. It has a more sophisticated look and feel. I have photos of each ship below in my signature. That might help you decide which you prefer.

[michigan tim]

RCL will also have a lot more family/poolside activities, way more announcements, a more energetic/louder vibe and an average age that is probably 10 years younger than Princess. If this style of cruising sounds good, you just have to decide if it's worth $600 (per person or total?).

[DonnaK]

I would choose Mariner, even though it's $600 more for your family of six. It offers so much more for the children, especially the teens, plus everything to appeal to the adults in your party too. Mariner has an awesome crew - there's a certain aura aboard that ship than cannot be described. Take advantage of the opportunity to sail her before she leaves the west coast.

 

To the above poster: There are several pools, so if you are turned off by poolside activites, you can move to the other pool. And, you can turn all non-essential announcements off in your cabin.

[COMBOY]

we will have 4 adults

1 15 year old

1 3 year old

 

looking at a 7 day out of LA on one of these ships during Thanksgiving.... what are your suggestions?

 

Princess cruise line is like $600 cheaper, but I have heard that the mariner on RCL is amazing! So i was just wondering if the RCL is going to be worth that extra money, or if we should go with Princess? thanks everyone

 

Hi...just going my own price check....yes the Mariner is more expensive then Princess for Thanksgiving week. The other weeks they both tend to be fairly competitive in price. I think that since it's a school holiday RCCL prices that sailing much higher because they know they'd have a higher demand for that week from families. I went on the Mariner and I would agree that the Mariner is much better ship for families. It's a great ship. Is it worth $600? Only you know what's right for you. I just think they'll be more for your kids to do on the Mariner than Princess.

[esmo]

We chose the Mariner for our June cruise to Mexico primarily because I felt there would be more for our two teen-agers to do than on a Princess cruise, which if it had been just my husband and I would hvve been my first choice. They did have a wonderful time but neither of them really participated in any of the "organized" activities. It could have been more a factor of the ages/types of kids that were on the cruise more than the ship itself.

 

We are doing on Princess with them next year to Alaska and we will see how that goes.

[momzcruzing]

I've been on both ships and they are both fantastic!

 

I took my 3 adult children, spouses & grandbaby on Mariner this past Feb. and they loved it. Sapphire was less expensive (and when you are paying for a cruise for 8 people) the price difference is significant. I chose to pay the extra for Mariner for the rock wall, ice rink, Johnny Rockets, etc. All were used and enjoyed and the $$ well-spent.

 

This is a decision only you can make, and there is no wrong decision-you will love either ship. Enjoy!