New to (possibly) Princess. What to expect?

[Meanee]

Hello.

 

Me and my girlfriend are fairly inexperienced cruisers. 2 cruises behind our backs. 2 on RCCL (Oasis and Allure) and one on Carnival (Dream).

 

We loved RCCL but not so much with Carnival. In fact, we agreed never to cruise with Carnival again. From limited food options, confusing ship layout, kids getting hurt in the pool (one had a concussion right in front of us), and a feel of a nonstop college kegger, I think it's just not for us.

 

I have a vacation coming up that I have to take, otherwise days will burn up. So we decided to try something else. Either Princess or Celebrity. So we will be either on Royal Princess or Celebrity Silhouette.

 

So, what should we expect from Princess? What would be differences from RCCL and Carnival?

[KruzPrincess]

Hello.

 

Me and my girlfriend are fairly inexperienced cruisers. 2 cruises behind our backs. 2 on RCCL (Oasis and Allure) and one on Carnival (Dream).

 

We loved RCCL but not so much with Carnival. In fact, we agreed never to cruise with Carnival again. From limited food options, confusing ship layout, kids getting hurt in the pool (one had a concussion right in front of us), and a feel of a nonstop college kegger, I think it's just not for us.

 

I have a vacation coming up that I have to take, otherwise days will burn up. So we decided to try something else. Either Princess or Celebrity. So we will be either on Royal Princess or Celebrity Silhouette.

 

So, what should we expect from Princess? What would be differences from RCCL and Carnival?

 

There won't be as many activities for children on either Princess or Celebrity. Both the Silhouette and the Royal Princess are newer ships. I've been on the Celebrity Equinox which is a sister to the Silhouette. The new Celebrity ships are very sleek and modern. Beautiful ships and they have a lot of fans. I found my cruise experience to be very sedate. I find Princess to have more activity, but nothing like the Carnival experience you describe. You won't find belly flop contests on either Princess or Celebrity. You also won't find rock climbing walls, flow riders, parades, ice skating rinks, etc. There are a ton of Princess vs. Celebrity threads on Cruise Critic. You can check those out. There a lot of posts about the new Royal Princess. You may want to read up on that. If you love the activities on the Allure/Oasis, I'm not sure you'll be happy with either of these ships you're thinking of. Princess is my favorite, but both Celebrity and Princess offer a good experience.

[Treven]

After having cruised on a few different lines, I think I found a temporary home with Princess. To me the ambiance is very comfortable; it's not "roll up the sidewalks at 9:00" sedate, but neither is it the college kegger you found on Carnival either. I think it's just a comfortable fit.

[Meanee]

There won't be as many activities for children on either Princess or Celebrity. Both the Silhouette and the Royal Princess are newer ships. I've been on the Celebrity Equinox which is a sister to the Silhouette. The new Celebrity ships are very sleek and modern. Beautiful ships and they have a lot of fans. I found my cruise experience to be very sedate. I find Princess to have more activity, but nothing like the Carnival experience you describe. You won't find belly flop contests on either Princess or Celebrity. You also won't find rock climbing walls, flow riders, parades, ice skating rinks, etc. There are a ton of Princess vs. Celebrity threads on Cruise Critic. You can check those out. There a lot of posts about the new Royal Princess. You may want to read up on that. If you love the activities on the Allure/Oasis, I'm not sure you'll be happy with either of these ships you're thinking of. Princess is my favorite, but both Celebrity and Princess offer a good experience.

 

 

Thank you for that answer.

 

I am actually looking for something a bit higher class and sophistication with this vacation. And my TA is telling me that Princess/Celebrity are in same "market space". As in something higher class than my previous experience.

 

What was the straw that broke camel's back on my last cruise with Carnival was their "Airplane" event on a final day. Being an aviation fan and a private pilot, I was hoping for something fun. Yet, I get there and we are supposed to "fold paper airplanes and hit the target". This was the activity on their Fun Times! Along with bad food options (who closes their buffet when people come back from shore?) and lack of things to do on board is why I won't go back.

 

So this is why my TA suggested these cruises. I've been to St Thomas (but I was sick and spent 2 hours on shore) and St Maarten. Just hope I won't get bored in Princess Cays.

[KruzPrincess]

Thank you for that answer.

 

I am actually looking for something a bit higher class and sophistication with this vacation. And my TA is telling me that Princess/Celebrity are in same "market space". As in something higher class than my previous experience.

 

What was the straw that broke camel's back on my last cruise with Carnival was their "Airplane" event on a final day. Being an aviation fan and a private pilot, I was hoping for something fun. Yet, I get there and we are supposed to "fold paper airplanes and hit the target". This was the activity on their Fun Times! Along with bad food options (who closes their buffet when people come back from shore?) and lack of things to do on board is why I won't go back.

 

So this is why my TA suggested these cruises. I've been to St Thomas (but I was sick and spent 2 hours on shore) and St Maarten. Just hope I won't get bored in Princess Cays.

 

OK, I have to admit you may find a lame activity on a Princess ship. On my last cruise on the Coral Princess in July, they had an egg drop contest. After many cruises I had never heard of that, but my next door neighbor asked for supplies to participate. We provided them some ribbon. Turns out that you have to make something that will "float" from the upper level of the atrium to the lower level without breaking the egg inside. Turns out only two people participated. My neighbors egg didn't break. If you see an egg drop...you may want to pass that up.

 

I've never been on a perfect cruise, but after trying several different cruise lines I found I'm most comfortable with Princess. They tend to do most things well. I like that I can count on a good experience with them. A lot about cruising is subjective. I suggest you go out and try different cruise lines, as you are doing, and you'll eventually find what you like.

 

Hope you have a great time.

[Ren1216]

Meanee -- do you and the GF have children? It was difficult for me to tell if you were speaking of children in general, or your own. This might make a difference in choosing your future cruise lines / ships.

 

You have set the bar pretty high with Allure and Oasis, RCI really delivers a fun time with all of those new innovations. I think both Princess and Celebrity tend to focus on a more "traditional" cruise experience. No matter which of these lines you choose, they wont likely be anything like your Carnival sailing, so no worries there. Personally speaking, I actually enjoyed my one Carnival cruise, but the rest of my family wasn't too thrilled with it. They prefer RCI, but have yet to try PCL (first for them coming up in January) or CEL (first will be next fall). BF and I like PCL very much, but we don't have young children... and don't much care about rock walls, ice rinks and zip lines. We're on a ship to CRUISE, and I think PCL delivers well in that regard.

 

Good luck finding just the right fit for you..... the good news is, there are options! Hope the next one is great.

[Meanee]

We do not have children. And if a cruise ship does have wall, ice skating rink, flow rider, I will use it. But if it does not, I will not be upset about it.

 

My main concern with Carnival was lack of decent onboard entertainment, bad food options.

[Ren1216]

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "bad food options"?

[miss honey]

I think you will enjoy Princess Cays. We always it back and let the crowd disembark, then we get off. We normally don't eat at the buffet they have. I t looks great, but after breakfast were normally not hungry. we rent a litt bungalow and Just play in the water and relax. If you don't want to get ff the ship it is a good day to visit the spa , or have the ship to yourself. I have cruised Carnival 5 times. My last 4 cruises have been Princess, and we are sailing on the Crown in two weeks. I love feeling like I am on a ship and not in a Mall. We have always had very good experiences with the staff and the food as lays been very good.

[janetz]

Both Princess and Celebrity offer a fine product, I would give the edge to Celebrity, if you are looking for more traditional cruise. We love Princess also but the reviews on the Royal are making us wonder if we chose the right ship for our next Princess cruise.

We have also sailed the Oasis and the Allure, and you will not find entertainment on any ship like you did on the big girls. :)

Edited November 4, 2013 by janetz

[shamda]

I think you will enjoy Princess Cays. We always it back and let the crowd disembark, then we get off. We normally don't eat at the buffet they have. I t looks great, but after breakfast were normally not hungry. we rent a litt bungalow and Just play in the water and relax. If you don't want to get ff the ship it is a good day to visit the spa , or have the ship to yourself. I have cruised Carnival 5 times. My last 4 cruises have been Princess, and we are sailing on the Crown in two weeks. I love feeling like I am on a ship and not in a Mall. We have always had very good experiences with the staff and the food as lays been very good.

 

I have been on the Allure. I have also been on the Dream, X Solstice and Equinox. Last year we tried the NCL Epic. We have been cruising since 1988. Like many others we do not like all the changes that have happened to cruising over the years. I agree with your statement about feeling like you are in a mall. I am not a fan of these big mega ships. I have no interest in sailing on the Royal. We are going on the Crown. Looking forward to a more traditional cruise. We loved the Solstice and Equinox. Did not like the Epic. I want to feel like I am on a cruise, not in Disney World. We were on the Grand Princess 12 years ago and figured we would give princess another go.

[Meanee]

I personally like bigger ships. I feel there's more to do. Allure and Oasis were great. Dream was big, but it was very meh experience. So I THINK (but correct me if I am wrong), RP would be a good fit. She's bigger, and looks like more upscale.

[OCruisers]

I personally like bigger ships. I feel there's more to do. Allure and Oasis were great. Dream was big, but it was very meh experience. So I THINK (but correct me if I am wrong), RP would be a good fit. She's bigger, and looks like more upscale.

 

Considering what you want, totally agree RP would be a way much better "all round" fit for you than any Celebrity ship would be. ;)

 

Plan to have a wonderful time! :D

 

LuLu

~~~~

[sunlover5]

Just off the Caribbean Princess and they had the airplane "game" also. People made paper airplanes and tried to hit the target. Just didn't seem right in the beautiful piazza.

 

This was our first Princess. We found the food good in the dining room. Thought Horizon Court was a chaotic lay out. Did not eat there. Pizza is great.

Not the best food we have had on our cruises but we didn't go hungry.

 

We loved being able to go to your cabin as soon as you board. Their robes were terrible....take one from home. We loved the International Café.

Cabins were smaller than other lines.

 

The things I mentioned were not major to us and we are definitely going to sale Princess again.

Whatever you choose, have a wonderful cruise!

[catugirl]

We were on X Silhouette in Jan. Such a beautiful ship! We were in Aqua Class, so we were assigned to Blu for breakfast and dinner. Food was incredible. Aqua Class also offered many of the amenities of Princess suite passengers. Service overall was great. It was a very upscale and sophisticated shipboard experience.

 

On the other hand, Princess has impeccable service, great food and less expensive prices for specialty restaurants and for alcohol. We found the entertainment to be comparable with Celebrity. The photos Royal Princess are quite stunning.

 

In other words, these two cruise lines are the best IMHO, and you will love either one.

[Meanee]

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "bad food options"?

 

Oh where do I start...

 

Buffet - It's large, but half of it is always closed. Very bland variety. For breakfast, they ration out bacon. If you ask them for 2-3 strips more, they look at you like they are cutting it off their family pig or something. And their timing sucks. Buffet was always closed when we got back on the ship. So all hungry people just off the shore excursions/activities were forced to go to other venues.

 

Other venues.

Pizza stand: The "stand" part is right. You stand in line for 30-40 minutes for fairly poor pizza. And I am the person who is ok with Papa Johns, arguably one of the crappiest pizzas out there.

 

Sandwich shop: Custom, made-to-order sandwiches. That's what paper said. And that what was delivered. Not in a good way. There are 3-4 sandwich types that they will make for you. Want something else? Tough luck.

 

Tandoori: Delicious Indian food, finger-licking good. If you manage to find it open. It's open/closed times are closely-guarded secret sequence of numbers, seemingly random-generated by ship's computer.

 

Pasta bar: Heard so much about it. Saw it once. It is actually open for 1 hour longer during port days than sea days. And it's open in a middle of the day, when most folks are on the shore. That will bring up the time it's open to 3 hours, instead of 2, per day. Once we managed to get there, were told that it's 1 hour wait.

 

I cannot say anything bad about MDR (other than hosts did not bother to ask us if we have anytime dining and just told us to go find our table. When we did, we were politely told to get the hell out since we are anytime and this table is for reserved dining), food was good. Chef's table was great as well.

 

(this post is about Carnival Dream, not Princess, so don't let this scare you)

[Ren1216]

Ah, ok... not so much that you didn't like the food, but the details were a mess. Gotcha. And I'm sorry things didn't go more smoothly, that stinks.

 

I have not been on RP so I can't make any comment one way or the other on that ship. But I worry, based on what you've said so far about what entertains you, that PCL or X might let ya down in comparison -- the mega RCI ships really offer a lot more in the way of extra-activities.

 

See, my family is spread out over several states, we meet on a cruise to spend family time together (aka - relax, chat, reconnect). Others like to DO more while cruising, and I think you fit into that latter category. The nice thing is, there are options for both. Our choice this time was between Crown Princess and X Silhouette. Though the Silhouette is newer, modern and sleek looking... we were put off by it appearing a bit cold. Hard to explain. My family is kind of traditional and to them, the appearance/theme matters as it sets a bit of the mood. In the end, my previous PCL experiences (which were great) drew me back, and to the Crown. For YOU, of the two, RP and X Sil..... I would probably suggest RP. But oddly, for our upcoming 10-day fall 2014 sailing... I think we'll go with X Equinox over RP due to what I've been reading. Haha - go figure.

 

So read lots of reviews for each ship, see which points you can relate to. And good luck with your decision... I'm sure either will be a good choice. Enjoy your cruise!

[hpeabody]

I am a Princess fan and I have not cruised on Celebrity. I have a suggestion. Don't limit your looking at Princess to the Royal. Other Princess ships are large too, but are not Mega ships like Allure and Oasis. They probably carry 3-4 thousand passengers. They have elegance, good food and dining choices and lots of activities too. Ruby Princess comes to mind for the Caribbean. Please do yourself a favor and read all the posts about the Royal before making a decision.

[Meanee]

I am a Princess fan and I have not cruised on Celebrity. I have a suggestion. Don't limit your looking at Princess to the Royal. Other Princess ships are large too, but are not Mega ships like Allure and Oasis. They probably carry 3-4 thousand passengers. They have elegance, good food and dining choices and lots of activities too. Ruby Princess comes to mind for the Caribbean. Please do yourself a favor and read all the posts about the Royal before making a decision.

 

My booking time is very limited by girlfriend's school schedule. While I am more flexible at work, she cannot take time off when school is in session. So my choices were pretty much limited to Celebrity and Princess. We already went on Displacement of the Seas and loved them, but would rather experience something new. Also were considering NCL but our TA suggested Princess and Celebrity mostly due to sales.

[mathan416]

My husband and I have found Princess to be very elegant but not over the top elegant. It's sophisticated.

 

You'll find things like wine tasting, lots of shopping opportunities, fun stuff like Princess Pop Star and some of the game shows, art auctions, food galore, etc... It's nicely elegant.

 

You've got movies and bars on the Lido deck which are great, and if you're looking for something more refined there is the piano bar, Crooners, The Wheelhouse by Crown Grill (on Royal Princess), etc...

 

Definitely not a party ship, but there's a time and place for everything. Just nicely relaxing.

[Antonintassie]

Hi

 

Royal Princess was our first cruise 12 days in the Med we are a couple in our late forties with an older teen and are well travelled.

Cruising really did not do it for us ,the ports were great but the atmosphere on the ship was extremely sedate and the entertainment very old and lame.We have decided that we prefer a more independent mindset that we found on Princess and "if " we cruise again it will be with an expediation type cruise product.

[likestorelax]

I have sailed Princess about 5 times, Celebrity and Carnival also. I find Princess Ships to be very elegant. I love walking into a room and having it wow me with its décor. The pool areas have beautiful mosaic tile aquatic décor. Some of the bars and lounges are real elegant. You can walk the promenade deck all the way around the ship. I find lots of varied evening entertainment, something for everyone. Although the food can be hit or miss, I do enjoy getting waited on in the MDR and having multiple courses served.--Appetizers are often very good. Vacations are whatever you want them to be. Most are not perfect but I try not to focus on the negatives and enjoy what I can. I hope everyone has a great vacation.