Princess compared to RCI

[spintowin]

Of course, RCI is my favorite, but should I even consider Princess here on the west coast? Did Carnival once and couldn't wait to get off. Should I just save my money for RCI? Thanks!

[JPRLHR]

Princess is a fantastic product, we enjoy everything about them, especially the benefits in their suites..!! Their ships are beautiful and not at all glitzy like Carnival. They cater to a much different clientele.

 

I'd recommend anyone to sail with them.

[Big_G]

Of course, RCI is my favorite, but should I even consider Princess here on the west coast? Did Carnival once and couldn't wait to get off. Should I just save my money for RCI? Thanks!

 

Although it's been a while, we liked our Princess cruises. We went back to Royal because they were just a tad better in both service and entertainment and the Princes ships just aren't as nicely designed. If I wanted to sail the west coast, I would look at Celebrity first but wouldn't have a problem sailing Princess.

[FOXTROT]

Princess & RCCL are more alike than not. Both do a great job. On Pricess you can order cheesecake every night. On RCCL you can fill your own ice cream cone.:D

[mrsfuzzmo]

We enjoyed Princess service, food, entertainment. The only thing that has us booking RCCL again after Princess (well, the main thing) is that Princess (Ruby) was just very beige. Every lounge looked like an old man's library. Now, that's fine for a cigar lounge or maybe even a martini lounge, but the piano bar, sushi & wine bar, comedy clubs....everything seemed to be themed in "Old rich man-cave" style. It was fine, comfortable, but there was no variety. Same drinks, entertainment, style in all the lounges.

 

Price was definitely nice, though.

[DonnaK]

We thoroughly enjoyed our two Princess cruises, and wouldn't hesitate to cruise with them again. We feel that although there are a few differences, Princess provides an equivalent cruising experience to RCI. The previous poster said that the ships are "beige", and they are kind of bland. They aren't as active as RCI ships, either. But, we liked the food choices better, and felt that the service was excellent.

[austinlw]

Been on Royal Caribbean 3 times and Princess 4 times (and Carnival and Celebrity once each). Our last 2 Caribbean cruises were on Princess.

 

As stated before they are more alike than different. We are very comfortable on both. Princess ships seem slightly more low key, both in activities and decor. Princess ship interiors are somewhat more divided up into smaller public spaces. It's intentional, to prevent the feeling of being on a ship with thousands of people, but the result can be that there are some areas of the ship that get very congested - notably the buffet areas, the theater, and the lounges when there is a popular event scheduled. The main dining room configuration is divided up into multiple smaller 1 story rooms as opposed to a large multi-story grand dining room. More like going to a fine restaurant at home - and we've found the MDR food to be consistently very good, with very few "misses". One thing we particularly like about Princess is that there is a coin operated laundromat on each cabin floor. It's very small, but with a little strategic timing, we've been able to catch it at non-busy times. Handy for vacations longer than a week.

 

Overall we've found the cruising experience on both lines to be very similar.

[gcvt]

We sailed on both RCI (Freedom) and Princess (Star) last year and found them quite comparable. We actually enjoyed the food a little more on Princess, but not the wait staff. All the rest of the staff and crew were about the same - fantastic. We'll sail on both again for sure.

 

For us, living in San Francisco, it's awfully easy to just grab a cab downtown and hop on a Princess ship without paying $1000+ to fly to Florida every time.

[KKB]

Having sailed Princess first, of course we were comparing everything...Princess has some things we like better, RCI others.

 

Now this is compared to our Mariner cruise...the big thing Princess had over RCI was more activity choices at any given time. We are very active cruisers & like to do lots of things...bingo, trivia, "horse races", game shows, karaoke, pool games, etc. On the Mariner we had some "dead" time every day where we really didn't have something to do...We NEVER have that problem on Princess. Seems we often have to choose between 2 activities!

 

THAT BEING SAID...Allure BLEW US AWAY. The activity offerings were more comparable to Princess--but I suppose they have to be for 6K passengers!

[mistshar]

We just recently returned from our first Princess cruise. I guess we expected too much but we were kind of disappointed. Everyone kept saying Princess was so much better than other lines but to us it was no better than RCI or Carnival. It was certainly better than NCL. The only thing that was really better was the staff and crew. They were always so friendly. Whenever we met them in the hall or anywhere, they always spoke to us. That is about all that we thought was better.

[dasi11]

You did not mention if you are taking kids on the cruise. I think they are both good cruise lines. BUT the camps at RCCL are by far better then Princess. Each ship is different. Some have good food and some not so good food. You will find this on both lines.

 

If you have kids going, do RCCL, if not, both cruise lines are great. I really like RCCL when given a choice. But with big family trips, it isn't always our choice.

[jbobst]

We just sailed on the West Coast (Sapphire Princess) a couple weeks ago. I LOVED the ship. We've done three RCCL cruises and 2 Princess cruises now. Like them both, but I thought our Princess cruise was just top notch. Very elegant, very classy, and service was great. They had great dining options and ship was just fantastic. I personally love swimming and their heated freshwater pools were extremely clean, sparkling, and the perfect temperature (loved that it wasn't salty!).

 

You did not mention if you are taking kids on the cruise. I think they are both good cruise lines. BUT the camps at RCCL are by far better then Princess. Each ship is different. Some have good food and some not so good food. You will find this on both lines.

 

If you have kids going, do RCCL, if not, both cruise lines are great. I really like RCCL when given a choice. But with big family trips, it isn't always our choice.

 

We didn't take our kids on our recent Princess cruise, but I was very impressed with the Sapphire's children's area. they had very nice covered outdoor play areas that looked great. I don't think I would say the RCCL camps are far better though. Again, didn't bring my kids this time, but the facilities looked great on Princess.

[iheartbda]

Have cruised both and, as others have said, found they are more alike than different. One person mentioned feeling like areas of the Princess ship was congested.....I didn't feel they were. Just difference of opinion.:)

LOVED being able to go to our cabin as soon as we boarded on Princess. Just had a hump cabin on the EOS and while nice, liked the balcony cabin on Princess better, especially the walkin closet setup next to the bathroom. It was almost like having another little room. One person can dress there without being in the way of the other. Also thought the cabin decor was much nicer.

 

Cafe' Promenade does not hold a candle compared to the International Cafe', IMO, of course.;) Take a look at the offerings. Only thing that was extra was the gelato which was $1.50 for 2, or was it 3, giant scoops. Had lunch from there more than once since it was never crowded.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1835544

 

Found service and crew to be comparable on both and have nothing negative to say about either line. Would cruise either in a heart beat.

[Happy2cruise]

Princess is a fantastic product, we enjoy everything about them, especially the benefits in their suites..!! Their ships are beautiful and not at all glitzy like Carnival. They cater to a much different clientele.

 

I'd recommend anyone to sail with them.

Totally agree:D:D:D

[Piepkorn]

DW and I have come to the conclusion that RCCL has abandoned us. Although we would prefer to sail on RCCL, and will if we want the Caribbean, we are sticking with Princess out here. Carnival?...been there done that. It was just ok.

 

When looking for trips on the Princess site - for the short cruises out of LA, make sure to check each itinerary, as the stops could be slightly different than what is displayed on the description line. They have Coastal/Mexico trips that stop in Santa Barbara, which you won't see at a glance.

[baldercash]

For me the differences are not that subtle.

Princess is going with half hour shows, long lines to get in that start a half hour before the doors even opens. RCL has full hour shows and they have spectacular ice shows with enough space to accommodate and on the big ships you get tickets to control crowds.

 

Princess has anytime dinning that often come with a pager from the Cheese Cake Factory while you wait for a table and a waiting list for the MDR because they are to small. RCL has a waiting list for My time dinning and you must prepay gratuities to be considered. A perk on one a punishment on the other.

 

Princess has dim low ceiling dinning rooms that remind you of a banquet hall. RCL has spectacular MDR's that give a sense of occasion.

 

Princess has cramped dim interiors, I was recently on the Emerald with it's cramped International Cafe jammed in a corner and make shift entertainment area at the foot of the stairs.

RCL has a spacious soaring Promenade with parties, parades and and buffets.

 

Princess has choir practice. RCL has Mob dances and the Quest.

 

I could go on but you get the picture the Princess ships are more cramped since they added extra cabins and additional passengers they were not originally designed to accommodate. They are dated and not innovatively designed. The new Royal is designed to try and change that.

You have a great time on either cruise line but they are not the same.

 

Princess has do it yourself laundry and they definitely have better pizza if that is what you cruise for.

[Melozone]

We love both lines. Princess has wonderful pizza and hot dogs and hamburgers out by the pool. Afternoon tea and International Cafe are wonderful. They also have a Mocktail drink package that we really enjoyed that included juice too.

[Desert Cruizers]

Our last Princess cruise was in 2006 on the much older Sun Princess, so we have not been on her newer, larger ones, although I am taking the Star Princess in Sept with friends and doing the Coastal cruise. We have always had good service with Princess and wonderful cruises, but RCL seems to suit us better overall. If the price is right we will not hesitate to cruise with Princess. Friends asked us to join them on the Coastal, so said yes, DH will wait until our Australia trip March 2014.

[awhcruiser]

Princess is my favorite, RCCL a close second.

[baldercash]

Princess is my favorite, RCCL a close second.

 

X is our 1st choice then Azamara so Princess is a distant 4th.

[gcvt]

We love both lines. Princess has wonderful pizza and hot dogs and hamburgers out by the pool. Afternoon tea and International Cafe are wonderful. They also have a Mocktail drink package that we really enjoyed that included juice too.

 

Ooooh, good point about the pizza- I had forgotten about that big difference (seriously) :) I would also have to say that the soft serve ice cream was better on Princess.

[johnsontrio]

We are Diamond on Royal Caribbean and have done only one cruise on another line. We sailed on the Grand Princess out of Galveston around 2006 and would probably only do another Princess cruise if there was an itinerary that was not comparable to anything on RCI.

 

These are the things we didn't like about our Princess cruise. We hated that the hallways don't all the way aft. Makes getting around the ship confusing. We found the food a little too foo-foo for our taste. Everything had a sauce or 5 flavors and our palates are not that diverse. Just the thought of the rabbit in the main dining room made me sick to my stomach. Didn't care for the all the British foods at breakfast. Also, we spend a lot of time talking to crew members while onboard and enjoy hearing about their lives at home. The crew did not seem friendly to us. We attributed that to the fact that we saw crew members (not just officers) dining together in most venues on the ship. Seemed to be much more fraternization going on among the crew than RCI and less interacting with the passengers.

 

That said, we needed medical attention on that cruise and the ship's medical facility and staff were wonderful and not expensive at all. We also liked the laundry facilities and the ironing boards.

 

We didn't note much difference in the facilities for kids or the entertainment.

[Langley Cruisers]

We also enjoyed Princess, but I don't think you can take anyone else's "word for it". This is a personal decision, obviously. Try it and see for yourself. :)

[spintowin]

Thanks for all the comments. The comment that stands out most is the idea of low ceilings. That may be the thing that makes me decide against Princess. Also, I am vegetarian. How are they with special diets? Thanks again!

[gcvt]

Thanks for all the comments. The comment that stands out most is the idea of low ceilings. That may be the thing that makes me decide against Princess. Also, I am vegetarian. How are they with special diets? Thanks again!

 

You'd have no worries at all regarding diet. The GF is veg, and as I said before, we found the food on Princess to be somewhat superior to that of the food on RCI. Additionally, we didn't notice any difference in ceiling heights between the two lines in the MDR or anywhere else...but again, we're comparing RCI Freedom Class VS. Princess Grand Class only.