I Really, Really want to try Princess...but..

[packedandready]

Comparing Caribbean Princess 7 night western to RCCL Navigator 7 night western. Princess leaves on a saturday and RCCL on a sunday.

 

Price is $350pp more on Princess and would be more than that when I use our C&A balcony discount. That's A LOT of difference.

 

Don't have a question, just wanted to be sad :(

[TracieABD]

Keep watching the fares. There can be some flucuation in the prices. Sometimes up and sometimes down. You may find a fare that you can live with!:)

[-Lew-]

Have you priced the cruise with a TA who specializes in booking Princes cruises? You may be able to get a healthy discount.

 

Lew

[paul929207]

Princess allows a TA to discount, they just can't advertise the discount price. I recently transferred a booking from Princess to a TA and saved nearly 20%

[Kamloops50]

Comparing Caribbean Princess 7 night western to RCCL Navigator 7 night western. Princess leaves on a saturday and RCCL on a sunday.

 

Price is $350pp more on Princess and would be more than that when I use our C&A balcony discount. That's A LOT of difference.

 

Don't have a question, just wanted to be sad :(

 

Princess is considered a little upscale from RCI. I've cruised RCI before

Princess . After cruising Princess we aren't planning on going back to RCI. We found RCI to noisy and the staff pushing you to buy drinks . On Princess if you tell the staff you don't want anything from the bar they usually leave you alone. I don't know your age , we found RCI geared to the younger (or young at heart) or those that need a lot of activity and noise. Princess is quieter and not as active as RCI.

[Mekamax]

They have a few good prices out there - one at $599 pp inside on the Caribbean Princess. I figure it is worth the try to maybe get a lesser cabin but try Princess. Can't wait! So glad they are coming out of Galveston. Just hope the prices on the Crown will come down this year...

[packedandready]

Princess is considered a little upscale from RCI. I've cruised RCI before

Princess . After cruising Princess we aren't planning on going back to RCI. We found RCI to noisy and the staff pushing you to buy drinks . On Princess if you tell the staff you don't want anything from the bar they usually leave you alone. I don't know your age , we found RCI geared to the younger (or young at heart) or those that need a lot of activity and noise. Princess is quieter and not as active as RCI.

 

 

That's what I've heard. We have 8 RCCL, 2 X (plus one booked) and 1 Carnival cruises. We love X(our favorite), but since we're less than an hour from Galveston RCCL wins. We're loved all our RCCL cruises but have noticed that on the last 2 or 3 the age has somewhat dropped which brings on more younger familes so the whole atmosphere has changed.

 

I was excited to see Princess coming to Galveston so maybe I'll take a wait and see attitude toward the prices. Unfortunately, if they don't become somewhat more inline with RCCL and Carnival in Galveston I see a very short stay for them.

[JanetAlice]

That's what I've heard. We have 8 RCCL, 2 X (plus one booked) and 1 Carnival cruises. We love X(our favorite), but since we're less than an hour from Galveston RCCL wins. We're loved all our RCCL cruises but have noticed that on the last 2 or 3 the age has somewhat dropped which brings on more younger familes so the whole atmosphere has changed.

 

I was excited to see Princess coming to Galveston so maybe I'll take a wait and see attitude toward the prices. Unfortunately, if they don't become somewhat more inline with RCCL and Carnival in Galveston I see a very short stay for them.

 

They will find their market. Princess Cruises are move expensive in Alaska than Carnival or NCL but people still book with them (myself included). They are willing to pay a higher price for what they receive in return. People drive Chevys, Fords and BMWs. They all get you where you want to go, but people want a different ways of getting there.

[packedandready]

They will find their market. Princess Cruises are move expensive in Alaska than Carnival or NCL but people still book with them (myself included). They are willing to pay a higher price for what they receive in return. People drive Chevys, Fords and BMWs. They all get you where you want to go, but people want a different ways of getting there.

 

I agree. That's why I'd choose X over RCCL when I have a choice. By lurking on the Princess boards I think Princess would be a good fit for us. Just wish I didn't have to pay so much for that first "test drive":p.

 

I have a hard time (it's just a me thing) giving up something "known and liked" for something "maybe" better.:o

[dplusd]

To the OP, not sure what category of room you book. But if you book a balcony cabin, they are too small on Princess. On Royal we always book a Cat D balcony, but on Princess we have to book a mini-suite. Just something to be aware of when comparing lines.

 

That said, we like both lines equally. Princess advantage...Pizza and Trident Grille, Royal advantage...ship layout and design. Princess is certainly worth a try so you can make your own comparison.

[Kamloops50]

I agree. That's why I'd choose X over RCCL when I have a choice. By lurking on the Princess boards I think Princess would be a good fit for us. Just wish I didn't have to pay so much for that first "test drive":p.

 

I have a hard time (it's just a me thing) giving up something "known and liked" for something "maybe" better.:o

 

We are the same with Princess. I would love to try X or an other upscale line but keep getting push back from DW.

[Redwing55]

Comparing Caribbean Princess 7 night western to RCCL Navigator 7 night western. Princess leaves on a saturday and RCCL on a sunday.

 

Price is $350pp more on Princess and would be more than that when I use our C&A balcony discount. That's A LOT of difference.

 

Don't have a question, just wanted to be sad :(

 

That is a huge difference. And the Nav is a ship with a few more amenities than the CP. IF that's the best price you can get, I'd go with RCI. Strange, since I thought RCI was a bit more. Hmmmm

[JanetAlice]

I agree. That's why I'd choose X over RCCL when I have a choice. By lurking on the Princess boards I think Princess would be a good fit for us. Just wish I didn't have to pay so much for that first "test drive":p.

 

I have a hard time (it's just a me thing) giving up something "known and liked" for something "maybe" better.:o

 

I understand. The other posters are correct. I haven't booked a Princess Cruise yet where the price hasn't been reduced. Of course it is up to you go keep an eye on the price once you have booked. Since you don't have to worry about flying to the port you have a great advantage. There is really no reason to book ahead of time. I hope you get to try Princess and enjoy it as much as we do.

 

I would like to try Celebrity when the opportunity presents itself.

[hubofhockey]

They will find their market. Princess Cruises are move expensive in Alaska than Carnival or NCL but people still book with them (myself included). They are willing to pay a higher price for what they receive in return. People drive Chevys, Fords and BMWs. They all get you where you want to go, but people want a different ways of getting there.

 

Just got off the Caribbean Princess and we enjoyed our British Isles cruise. It was not much different than our cruises on the Ruby and Crown.

 

HOWEVER, I stopped by the future cruise desk to price out Alaska for our family of four and we will NOT be paying that Princess premium. The difference for the four of us is in the multiple $Thousands. We'll look to Carnival, NCL, or any other line we find a better deal on. We did buy Princess future cruise credits. But they'll get used much further down the road.

[spunkyhungry]

Try Princess during the off season. My husband and I sailed on Princess in late January 2011, and it was really cheap. I can't remember the amount though, but it cost less than our August cruise on Carnival.

[lcmslady]

I agree. That's why I'd choose X over RCCL when I have a choice. By lurking on the Princess boards I think Princess would be a good fit for us. Just wish I didn't have to pay so much for that first "test drive":p.

 

I have a hard time (it's just a me thing) giving up something "known and liked" for something "maybe" better.:o

 

I agree that I'd choose X over RCCL and possibly over Princess. That being said, I have my first Princess cruise since 1999 booked. We looked at X for this itinerary and it was significantly cheaper but we hadn't heard wonderful things about this particular X ship, so we're paying more $$. Just couldn't handle the thought of bad food, service, etc for 14 days......:)

 

I have seen promotions lately from Princess for certain itineraries. Unfortunately, the PC probably isn't going to be one of them.

[caribill]

Three ships, same 7-day itinerary out of Galveston in January,2013, sort of off-season. List prices not including past passenger pricing.

 

Princess: Lowest inside $699; Lowest balcony $999

 

Royal Caribbean: Lowest inside $557; Lowest balcony $857

 

Carnival: Lowest inside $569; Lowest balcony $879

[Nebr.cruiser]

Comparing Caribbean Princess 7 night western to RCCL Navigator 7 night western. Princess leaves on a saturday and RCCL on a sunday.

 

Price is $350pp more on Princess and would be more than that when I use our C&A balcony discount. That's A LOT of difference.

 

Don't have a question, just wanted to be sad :(

 

This is a little unusual, as I usually find Princess and Celebrity have much better prices than RCI. I will say that we have been on the Navigator twice, both for outstanding prices--maybe because it's a little older? We loved the ship and the cruises. It's the only RCI ship we've been on--the newer ones, especially, are very expensive.

 

Maybe we find such great prices on Princess and Celebrity because we are past passengers, get senior discounts (sometimes) and typically travel off season, like early December or repositioning cruises.

[packedandready]

Three ships, same 7-day itinerary out of Galveston in January,2013, sort of off-season. List prices not including past passenger pricing.

 

Princess: Lowest inside $699; Lowest balcony $999

 

Royal Caribbean: Lowest inside $557; Lowest balcony $857

 

Carnival: Lowest inside $569; Lowest balcony $879

 

 

We like to cruise in april, so that's the prices we're looking at. I'll edit my first post to say price difference of $320pp.

 

Princess cheapest balcony: $1199

RCCL cheapest balcony: $879

Carnival cheapest balcony: I don't care

[Nebr.cruiser]

We like to cruise in april, so that's the prices we're looking at. I'll edit my first post to say price difference of $320pp.

 

Princess cheapest balcony: $1199

RCCL cheapest balcony: $879

Carnival cheapest balcony: I don't care

 

We've cruised more on Princess than any other line partly because we do get great prices and we like the product as well.

 

That said, we loved the Navigator, so don't rule it out. We've also had great cruises on Carnival, but they strangley are usually higher than Princess. IMO Carnival gets an undeserved bad rap; however, I might avoid Spring Break cruises on them, or, frankly, any cruise line.

 

I am sure that cruising in April (still Spring/Easter break, possibly) is why the prices seem higher.

[Iamcruzin]

I am finding the opposite for the Nov 2013 Carribean cruises that I am looking at. Same weeks for both lines in interior staterooms. The Crown Princess is $599 pp, Royal Princess $699 pp (new ship) the Allure and Oasis are $829 pp. I am not interested in those Mega ships but you see my point in terms of price. I have noticed that Princess seems to jack the price up high when itineraries first come out and as time progresses they drop. I find that the other lines offer better deals to book early. I just can't plan so far ahead. I am only looking at Nov 2013 because I won't be able to go anytime sooner.

[piper28]

FWIW, when Princess last cruised out of Galveston, I think they tended to find the market a little on the soft side, and hence prices tended to go down. I know Princess went back to Galveston, but I suspect they're going to find that the market hasn't changed much, and I think it's likely that those cruises will come down in price.

 

I've also found lately that when Princess has put their prices out when they release the next batch of cruises, they've been noticeably on the high side. I think they're after people that will book early and never check pricing later. Thankfully later they seem to come down sometimes. (Even my upcoming Christmas cruise came down about $400 a person, and that's a ship that quite honestly, looked like it was selling pretty well.)

[shepp]

HOWEVER, I stopped by the future cruise desk to price out Alaska for our family of four and we will NOT be paying that Princess premium. The difference for the four of us is in the multiple $Thousands. We'll look to Carnival, NCL, or any other line we find a better deal on.

 

I'm thinking that although Carnival is overall cheaper than Princess, that's not always true, especially if you're vigilant and flexible, especially if you're OK with late bookings.

 

Random case in point (I was already looking at late-summer Alaska bookings):

 

Aug. 29 14 days rt. to Anchorage (B2B) from Vancouver including Glacier Bay on the wonderful Island, 909 inside, 1099 OV, 1999 balcony. On the Carnival Spirit, Aug. 28, 7 days rt Seattle including Tracy Arm: 779 inside, 979 OV, 1119 balcony. That means that for just $120 more, you can spend twice as long in a Princess OV than on the Spirit. (Or $200 more than a week on the NCL Pearl.) Not bad.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Well, we do tend to book fairly late, 1-3 months out since we can be very flexible. On Princess, that's when we get the best deals. But, flexibility is the key. We don't need to and don't even want to book very far ahead.

 

Also, I think Princess is probably more expensive for more than 2 in a cabin, while some other cruise lines have great 3-4 passenger rates. We've always just gone as a couple on Princess. We got great rates on RCI when we took 7 grandkids on a cruise last year.

[Times Prince]

Comparing Caribbean Princess 7 night western to RCCL Navigator 7 night western. Princess leaves on a saturday and RCCL on a sunday.

 

Price is $350pp more on Princess and would be more than that when I use our C&A balcony discount. That's A LOT of difference.

 

Don't have a question, just wanted to be sad :(

Sounds like you've already come to a decision based on your analysis. Don't have an answer to your non-question.

 

Enjoy your cruise.