Comparing Ruby Princess to RCI

[waterbugohio]

Just sailed our first time on Princess. The Ruby 4 night, from Fort Lauderdale, Grand Turk and Princess Cay.

 

Going to give my honest comparison, Have done 6 cruises on Royal Caribbean.

 

First off I want to say that overall they two cruise lines are very similar. More things alike than different. With that being said, I will comment on a few areas.

 

First off we took our two bottles of wine allowed per stateroom. Imagine our surprise when each room was given a free bottle of wine as a welcome gift. Very nice gesture. Wish we had known this. Ended up not finishing the wine we carried on.

 

Decor on the Ruby was beautiful. Very rice and elegant. Probably a little nicer than RCI

 

Pool areas: while it was nice to have several different areas to go to, with a group of six women, it was hard to find each other at some times. Lots of little "areas" that you could go to without others knowing where you were at. While this would normally be a plus, was just kinda different for us.

 

Shaded areas: This is one thing we found lacking. While I am a sun lover, several in our group are not. On Royal, it seemed like there were more areas to get out of the sun. Several of the open decks have lounge chairs up along the side of the walls, therefore creating a shade area on one or the other side of a walk way. This was not the case on Princess. Just hard to find lots of shade. (unless you paid the extra for the sanctuary area))

 

Food: Probably very comparable. I think I would give Princess a little edge on the buffet area and cafes. While I think I give Royal the edge on the dining room.

 

Staff: While everyone was very nice and pleasant. We did not find that the staff on Princess were very social able. Not sure if this is more of a company policy or why. This really didn't effect our cruise, we just noticed it. We have gotten to know many a waiter and bartender on Royal, but couldn't even tell you the names of anyone on Princess. Never talked to anyone long enough to learn a name.

 

Drinks: This is the one area we really noticed a big different. This was the least we have ever spent on booze. While this was a good thing in the end, it was lacking during the cruise. I don't think I was ever asked if I wanted a drink. Whether on the pool deck, the casino, the theater or a lounge. If we ever wanted a drink we had to seek out a waiter and call them over. On Royal, I don't think they are pushy, yet they are always asking if you want drinks, even walking around with the drink of the day around the pool and around the theater. This was a very surprising thing to me, as I would assume that alcohol is a very big money maker and could not understand them not having more waiters. Kinda become a joke till the end of the week wondering if we could get someone to ask us if we wanted a drink.

 

Muster, boarding, embarkation, tender process, shows, all about equal on both lines, and I'm sure all subject to sailing and ports.

 

All said, if the ports were the same, and the price equal, I think I would probably go back with Royal. However, if finding a good deal, would have no problem sailing Princess again.

 

Hope I don't get flamed on this by those loyal to Princess. Just trying to give my opinion.

[caribill]

First off we took our two bottles of wine allowed per stateroom. Imagine our surprise when each room was given a free bottle of wine as a welcome gift. Very nice gesture. Wish we had known this. Ended up not finishing the wine we carried on.

 

Thanks for your comparison.

 

The wine may have been a gift from your travel agent.

 

I agree that the RCCL and the Princess experiences are equivalent for similar size ships. Of course Princess does not have the rock climbing wall, the ice rink, and the Flowrider.

 

The 3 and 4 day cruises are hard on the staff. On the 7 day and longer cruises they have a better chance to know passengers better and interact with them more. In general we have flound the staffs of both lines to be about equivalent.

[jackieo]

I was interested to read the comment about the staff, and would sympathise. We actually did some short cruises with P and O last summer (we are usually Princess people). We found the same with P and O staff being less engaged than Princess. The P and O forum felt this was probably due to the short cruises as they all raved about the staff.

 

Personally we have felt Princess staff very engaging we know lots of them and they usually ask us which ship we will be on next and they give us names of the staff they know on the other ship.

 

I am left with the following thought. Although short cruises give you an idea of food standards, facilities etc. it does not give you a view of the usual ambience of the ship.

 

Thanks for your comments

 

Jackie

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Luvmyrotti]

Thanks for sharing your balanced comparison.

[Coral]

 

Drinks: This is the one area we really noticed a big different. This was the least we have ever spent on booze. While this was a good thing in the end, it was lacking during the cruise. I don't think I was ever asked if I wanted a drink. Whether on the pool deck, the casino, the theater or a lounge. If we ever wanted a drink we had to seek out a waiter and call them over. On Royal, I don't think they are pushy, yet they are always asking if you want drinks, even walking around with the drink of the day around the pool and around the theater. This was a very surprising thing to me, as I would assume that alcohol is a very big money maker and could not understand them not having more waiters. Kinda become a joke till the end of the week wondering if we could get someone to ask us if we wanted a drink. .

 

Thanks for your comments! It has been several years since I have been on RCCL but I found them overly pushy when it came to drinks and I was actually annoyed that I kept being asked for them. For example, I embarked with a cruise newbie and someone came over and asked if they wanted a drink - they said yes to be nice and didn't realize they would be charged until they had it in their hand and had taken a sip. They were naive but the person was pretty pushy.

 

I personally don't like people asking me all the time if I want anything. On the other hand, I have never had a problem finding someone when I wanted a drink.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[skynight]

Just sailed our first time on Princess. The Ruby 4 night, from Fort Lauderdale, Grand Turk and Princess Cay.

 

Going to give my honest comparison, Have done 6 cruises on Royal Caribbean.

 

 

 

Decor on the Ruby was beautiful. Very rice and elegant. Probably a little nicer than RCI

 

Pool areas: while it was nice to have several different areas to go to, with a group of six women, it was hard to find each other at some times. Lots of little "areas" that you could go to without others knowing where you were at. While this would normally be a plus, was just kinda different for us.

 

Drinks: This is the one area we really noticed a big different. This was the least we have ever spent on booze. While this was a good thing in the end, it was lacking during the cruise. I don't think I was ever asked if I wanted a drink. Whether on the pool deck, the casino, the theater or a lounge. If we ever wanted a drink we had to seek out a waiter and call them over. On Royal, I don't think they are pushy, yet they are always asking if you want drinks, even walking around with the drink of the day around the pool and around the theater. This was a very surprising thing to me, as I would assume that alcohol is a very big money maker and could not understand them not having more waiters. Kinda become a joke till the end of the week wondering if we could get someone to ask us if we wanted a drink.

 

 

Yes, we noticed this difference way back in the 90's and it is still very similar. To us this is a plus. If you noticed in lounges the waiter will ask if you wish to have a drink. If you say no, they will place a napkin on your table and not ask again unless you call them over.

 

We have also noticed less announcements on Princess, but Princess punishes you with the Morning Show on MUTS which they run over and over and over and over, and ....

[Lynda90]

After only one 4 day cruise on Princess and 6 cruises on Royal, I would think another cruise or 2 on Princess might give you a better comparison. But, I did enjoy your review. I have been on 3 or 4 Royal cruises and many on Princess, and I definitely prefer Princess. JMHO. :p

[sunsetbeachgal]

We just did an extended family cruise on the Freedom of the Seas, and had a great time but missed several things about Princess...the international cafe', the extended buffet times (the buffet closed at 3 PM on embarkation day), the pizza. The standard balcony cabin on the Freedom was extremely well designed with a lovely 6' balcony. It is a Great ship and cruise line for families with kids, and our sailing was full of them, but Princess just fits us better!