Royal Caribbean vs. Princess - differences?

[svsw]

I've sailed with Princess several times, not with Royal Caribbean. Looking for some help in comparing these cruise lines, how are they similar or different. What do you like/dislike on one vs. the other? Any info appreciated.

[sea_la_vie]

I'm curious too, as we've only sailed on Princess and have booked a cruise with RCI in March! Hopefully the food will be as good :-)

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

I can tell you that I'm in my late 30's and always cruise Royal with my husband and kids. My dad is in his late 60's and only cruises Princess with his wife.

 

I think the age difference sums up the difference in focus between the 2 lines.:)

[DonnaK]

We are RCI cruisers who ventured over to Princess twice. Price and the convenience of their Brooklyn departure port were the deciding factors.

 

There are some things we liked better on Princess, and other things we liked better on RCI. I think of all the cruiselines, Princess is the one that is most similar to RCI.

 

If you read my Caribbean Princess reviews by clicking the links in my signature, I've made lots of detailed comparisons.

[bmccarthy]

I have sailed on 4 Royal Caribbean cruises, then tried Princess. We are going on Royal Caribbean again leaving in 11 days. We enjoyed all of our cruises, but strongly prefer Royal Caribbean. We find the food in the MDR and specialty restaurants to be better. We also enjoy the activities and entertainment more on Royal. We enjoyed the aft pool on Princess, the English Pub lunch in Wheelhouse Bar, and the grill by the pool.

 

All in all, a cruise is what you make if it. If the itinerary and price were right, I would probably cruise on Princess again. We went on the first Caribbean cruise of the season after a transatlantic. There were crew changes, boarding was delayed due to customs, and several venues were closed or being repaired throughout the week. It didn't ruin our cruise. Just made us think about when we book our cruises next time.

 

Give a Royal a chance. If you like it great, if not then go back to Princess.

Beth

[Shippy]

...now that we have Diamond status :O)

 

Royal has one of the best loyalty programs around. I love the perks.

Also, we are gamblers and belong to Club Royale, the Royal Caribbean casino club so we get lots of perks through them.

[Artemis908]

My husband and I got married on a Princess cruise ship in June. Their loyalty program is better. I would say most things like food was comparable though I hated their quick service food (like Windjammers, I can't remember the name). I am usually alright with Royal Caribbean's Windjammers.

 

The ship was very nice but I missed having the ice skating rink and mini golf. There is also no "wow" factor. I love the Promenade on Royal Caribbean ships and it felt so nice and big. Princess doesn't have that, their shops are closed in and I wasn't impressed by them.

 

The age group was definitely older on Princess, we rarely sat with people our age for meals. Most people were old enough to be our grandparents.

 

For us, Royal Caribbean is just our preference. I know plenty of other people who prefer Princess, it's just what's important to you. The only other cruise line I am interested in checking out is Disney. I am a Disney World fanatic and I am impressed with the technology I have heard about on their newer ships, like the inside rooms having digital port holes and you can see Nemo swimming by now and then etc.

[Topo Gigio]

I have sailed on 4 Royal Caribbean cruises, then tried Princess. We are going on Royal Caribbean again leaving in 11 days. We enjoyed all of our cruises, but strongly prefer Royal Caribbean. We find the food in the MDR and specialty restaurants to be better. We also enjoy the activities and entertainment more on Royal. We enjoyed the aft pool on Princess, the English Pub lunch in Wheelhouse Bar, and the grill by the pool.

 

All in all, a cruise is what you make if it. If the itinerary and price were right, I would probably cruise on Princess again. We went on the first Caribbean cruise of the season after a transatlantic. There were crew changes, boarding was delayed due to customs, and several venues were closed or being repaired throughout the week. It didn't ruin our cruise. Just made us think about when we book our cruises next time.

 

Give a Royal a chance. If you like it great, if not then go back to Princess.

Beth

 

You will love the Mariner!

[hollon]

I have cruised both Princess and RCCL. For our family, we love RCCL. I love the fact that when you see the ship for the first time, it is a WOW feeling. (Love the larger ships). The Princess ships to me just seem to go in a circle from store to store (hope that makes sense). Thought the food was better on Royal, A younger crowd on Royal and just seem to be more fun, w/ the Quest show, ice skating, love and marriage, shows were more fun, just seems like there was more to do on Royal, etc. I couldn't find my way around the ship on the Princess line, I kept running into dead spaces, Rccl just has it laid out perfect. Just my opinion. I will say I've on tried the Diamond Princess.

[kruzerci]

From what friends have told me, Royal and Princess are comparable.

[rancan]

I have been on Royal Caribbean a few times, and Princess once. They are pretty comparable. Royal Caribbean has lots of fun things to do on their ships. When I cruised Princess last year, I was very inpressed with their customer service and I felt their desserts where much better than Royal Carribbean and Disney Cruise Line. I thought the food was comparable. The entertainment was better on Royal. That being said, I feel as long as I'm on a cruise, I'm a happy camper!

[Canusa02]

I've sailed with Princess several times, not with Royal Caribbean. Looking for some help in comparing these cruise lines, how are they similar or different. What do you like/dislike on one vs. the other? Any info appreciated.

 

I've only been on 3 cruises (Royal in 2005 & 2006, Princess in 2008), but I enjoyed both lines as follows:

 

I liked the food better on Royal, but people on these boards say the food has gone downhill the last few years. I'll find out in a few weeks.

I liked the show venue on Royal because there was always enough space to find a seat. Since I was on Explorer class ships prior to having to book the shows, I'll have to wait and see if it makes a difference.

I like the fact that Royal doesn't charge for the adults only area.

Princess has the best sized rooms.

I like the fact that you can bring a couple of bottles of wine onboard Princess, rather than having to pay $45 for a $8 bottle of wine.

I like the fact that the bar servers on Princess didn't hassle me when I was relaxing on deck. Royal bar servers are annoying, and I will actually go to another area of the ship to make a purchase.

Pizza on Princess is the best of the two.

Fresh brewed coffee and the coffee card from Princess hands-down beats Royal and their new affair with Charbucks.

Princess is good about not letting people hold seats in the theater (they were trying to get us to give up one seat we were holding, and there were seven of us), but neither line does a good job clearing out the wasted seats by the pool.

 

I know I am missing something, but I thoroughly enjoyed all three cruises, and I will likely continue to sail with both Princess and Royal in the future. Have a great trip!!

[Big_G]

From what friends have told me, Royal and Princess are comparable.

 

I would have said the same up until Royal put out the Freedom and Oasis Classes. We found the food and entertainment right up there with Royal. We found the service slightly better on Royal but then Freedom and Oasis brought the WOW factor and we haven't been back. Not ruling out another cruise with Princess but DW really really enjoyed Celebrity so we may not get the chance.

[ryano]

Pizza on Princess is the best of the two.

!

 

And Im a pizza lover too! :) Princess claims to have the best pizza on the sea. Now thats not the only reason I would think of booking Princess at all but I have seen pictures of it and it looks like real NY style pizza that I love with REAL cheese.

 

Royal Caribbean pizza is terrible IMO. Your common frozen Red Baron or Tombstone is much better.........There are so many other things to choose from I just leave my pizza craving for my favorite place on land. :)

[kruzerci]

And Im a pizza lover too! :) Princess claims to have the best pizza on the sea. Now thats not the only reason I would think of booking Princess at all but I have seen pictures of it and it looks like real NY style pizza that I love with REAL cheese.

 

Royal Caribbean pizza is terrible IMO. Your common frozen Red Baron or Tombstone is much better.........There are so many other things to choose from I just leave my pizza craving for my favorite place on land. :)

 

I think it varies ship to ship.

 

We had very good pizza on the Liberty a couple years ago, it was decent on Freedom and Majesty, but Monarch's pizza was absolutely terrible. I don't know how they pulled it off, but the bottom was always burned, the "cheese" on top was hardly melted, no sauce. It was just gross.

[ryano]

but Monarch's pizza was absolutely terrible..

 

Thats the ship I tried it on and I concur :) "Never again" I think were my exactly words. lol I dont recall seeing pizza on the Radiance anywhere but maybe I just missed it.......I just thought all the pizza on all RCI ships was like Monarchs :o

 

I will give it another try on the Freedom. :)

[CFIGuy]

The one thing that we didn't like on Princess was that there were multiple floors where you couldn't walk from forward to aft without having to go up a flight of stairs and then back down. Dining rooms were typically one floor (no grand three level rooms), and their version of My Time Dining was severely lacking compared to RCIs.

[bigeagle12]

We have sailed both Royal and Princess and although we prefer Royal (mainly because of the Voyager class ships) we would do either again in a heartbeat.

Here is just a quick comparison (our opinion) of the 2:

 

Embarkation - equal

Disembarkation - advantage 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 Princess

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 (larger)

Onboard Activities - advantage Royal

[Pinkbaby01]

I have only cruised on Princess, but after 7 cruises it got really boring. It was the same thing over and over. There was nothing that changed, same shows, same corny jokes, etc. Princess lacks the WOW factor that Royal Caribbean has. Don't get me wrong Princess has beautiful ships, and good food, and a GREAT kids program but my family needs a change. So after being loyal passengers on Princess we are sailing on Royal Caribbean and we can't wait! It just seems like Royal has so much more to offer, especially now that my daughter is older she can do a lot more than she could on Princess.

[TEXASMUNK]

but is you want a comparison..Princess is vanilla. RCI is a full blown banana split

[Shippy]

My husband and I got married on a Princess cruise ship in June. Their loyalty program is better. I would say most things like food was comparable though I hated their quick service food (like Windjammers, I can't remember the name). I am usually alright with Royal Caribbean's Windjammers.

 

The ship was very nice but I missed having the ice skating rink and mini golf. There is also no "wow" factor. I love the Promenade on Royal Caribbean ships and it felt so nice and big. Princess doesn't have that, their shops are closed in and I wasn't impressed by them.

 

The age group was definitely older on Princess, we rarely sat with people our age for meals. Most people were old enough to be our grandparents.

 

For us, Royal Caribbean is just our preference. I know plenty of other people who prefer Princess, it's just what's important to you. The only other cruise line I am interested in checking out is Disney. I am a Disney World fanatic and I am impressed with the technology I have heard about on their newer ships, like the inside rooms having digital port holes and you can see Nemo swimming by now and then etc.

 

 

One of our favorite things about Diamond on Royal is the Diamond lounge with free drinks EVERY night on some ships (Oasis class). Other Royal ships have free wine & beer EVERY night with discounted hard liquor.

I do not think Princess offers anything like that.

[jawouds]

We've been on both, but definately prefer RCC as Princess is best suited for an older crowd. We're not "young" but in our 50s.

[Drill2dk]

Have been on five princess cruises. Older crowd on princess. More for families to on rcl. Also I feel princess has gone down since it was bought by carnival. Just my take. princess does have good food in MDR. Just depends on what u are looking for.

[bigeagle12]

I really do not feel age is the determing factor here.

 

We are in our 50's and very active. Sometimes we want an active fun-filled vacation and other times a quiet relaxing vacation. Remember .. variety is the spice of life.

 

Same with our land vacations. Maybe a quiet condo on the beach relaxing on the beach. Or Disney World showing up when the gates open and being the last ones kicked out at night. Or snow skiing in Colorado. Or a mountain cabin and stream fishing and being isolated from the world.

 

I know we are relatively new to the cruising world compared to some on here, but why put all your eggs in one basket. The perks of the loyalty programs compared to what you spend on a cruise are not worth it.

 

Get out there and explore :eek:

 

Doing the same thing over and over again will eventually get boring. Well except for golf and ***.

[KALCJ1]

We cruised with Princess for the 1st time over Thanksgiving. After cruising with RCCL 5 times, we decided to give Princess a try because of the itinerary. I boarded the ship with an open mind and I have to say that we had a great time. But with that being said, we can say we tried it, but in the future we'll stick with RCCL. The Ruby Princess was a very nice ship, but a little hard to get around. We felt like the service wasn't as good and the buffet was not set up as nice as the Windjammer. It also did not have as nice of a selection of food. I will say that we will not cruise on any class below the Voyager class, but that's just our preference. We tried the Majesty once and it was awful. I know some will disagree, but we did not like it...mostly because we were spoiled by the Voyager class! Well best of luck to you whatever you decide!!