Compare Princess to other cruise lines

[paddingtonbear]

I am trying to get my head around the different cruise lines. I am posting this here because I think I have a pretty good idea of Princess (but since I've never cruised this might be totally wrong). From an atmosphere and price (top most expensive, bottom least expensive) point of view is this list about right? I know there are a lot of other lines I just thought these are the most accessible and popular lines on the routes I am interested in.

 

Cunard – Most expensive/luxurious – excellent food

Seabourne Next most expensive/luxurious

Royal Caribbean Cruises – Pushy with selling you drinks.

Princess – passengers tend to be a bit older, except Alaska Cruises, less kids. Not so many announcements. Not pushy with selling you drinks.

HAL – passengers a bit older than Princess, quiet to no nightlife

Freedom of the Seas – Kid friendly.

Norwegian (NCL) – Party ship but not as hard core as Carnival. Good entertainment – good food

P and O -

Carnival – Party ship and night life – worst food.

[Pam in CA]

Cunard – Most expensive/luxurious – excellent food

Seabourne Next most expensive/luxurious

Royal Caribbean Cruises – Pushy with selling you drinks.

Princess – passengers tend to be a bit older, except Alaska Cruises, less kids. Not so many announcements. Not pushy with selling you drinks.

HAL – passengers a bit older than Princess, quiet to no nightlife

Freedom of the Seas – Kid friendly.

Norwegian (NCL) – Party ship but not as hard core as Carnival. Good entertainment – good food

P and O -

Carnival – Party ship and night life – worst food.

Most 7-day Princess cruises have a very good mix of passengers, particularly when kids are on vacation. In my experience, food and service are better than HAL, RCCL and Celebrity, more active vibe but still laid back. Good variety of entertainment choices during the evening. One of the best passenger loyalty programs. HAL, RCCL and Celebrity have nothing comparable to the Princess International Cafe (open 24-7) and Alfredo's (not all Princess ships have this.)

[rdsqrl]

Unless you're looking at a Queen's Grill cabin, I think Seabourn is going to be way pricier than Cunard. Plus, there's no comparison between them vis-a-vis ship size. Seabourn's kind of in a class by itself compared to the other lines you've listed. . .

 

[Cruise Junky]

Seabourne is definitely more expensive than Cunard. I have no firsthand knowledge of Carnival but I read they are not such a party ship anymore and their food is pretty decent.

 

You're missing Celebrity who we just enjoyed immensely

[paddingtonbear]

Unless you're looking at a Queen's Grill cabin, I think Seabourn is going to be way pricier than Cunard. Plus, there's no comparison between them vis-a-vis ship size. Seabourn's kind of in a class by itself compared to the other lines you've listed. . .

 

 

Thanks Pam. I am writing all this down for future reference.

 

Thanks rdsgrl. I have friends who sailed with Seabourn I had no idea they were the elite. I should have been more in awe :)

Seabourn are currently having an 80% off sale!

Edited May 24, 2014 by paddingtonbear

[swedish weave]

I will side with Junky on Carnival food and party. I have only sailed on Carnival Splendor and overall it was a nice trip with good food and service. Didn't see a lot of crazy partying either.

 

The thing I really like about all of the Carnival "family" is the way they handle their shareholder benefit OBC by allowing it to be combined. The other lines have too many restrictions to suit me.

 

NCL is upgrading several of their ships and the food is also good there.

Edited May 24, 2014 by swedish weave

[fishywood]

Other than Seabourn belonging at the top your price hierarchy is fairly spot on. Good catch that while other mainstream lines have crept up a bit, HAL's prices have actually gone down slightly since last fall putting them below RC and Princess. But always plenty of exceptions; one being if you compare similar sailings on their two newest ships, Royal and Regal Princess currently have better deals than NCL Breakway and Getaway.

 

But your'e sure to get taken to task for the age stereotypes. It is actually pretty simple to predict the average age of fellow cruisers: if a cruise is (1) longer than seven days; (2) not during traditional vacation times; and (3) point-to-point rather than round-trip, most passengers will be of retirement age--not just on Princess and HAL but Carnival, NCL and RC as well. And if the opposite is true there will be families of all ages and a spate of partying collegians onboard, even on the so-called "older" lines.

Edited May 24, 2014 by fishywood

[OCruisers]

I am trying to get my head around the different cruise lines. I am posting this here because I think I have a pretty good idea of Princess (but since I've never cruised this might be totally wrong). From an atmosphere and price (top most expensive, bottom least expensive) point of view is this list about right? I know there are a lot of other lines I just thought these are the most accessible and popular lines on the routes I am interested in.

 

Cunard – Most expensive/luxurious – excellent food

Seabourne Next most expensive/luxurious

Royal Caribbean Cruises – Pushy with selling you drinks.

Princess – passengers tend to be a bit older, except Alaska Cruises, less kids. Not so many announcements. Not pushy with selling you drinks.

HAL – passengers a bit older than Princess, quiet to no nightlife

Freedom of the Seas – Kid friendly.

Norwegian (NCL) – Party ship but not as hard core as Carnival. Good entertainment – good food

P and O -

Carnival – Party ship and night life – worst food.

 

No help on Cunard, Seabourne, or P&O because I've never cruised on those three. Also, will only address those of interest to you.

 

Princess ... Passengers do tend to be middle aged except on Holidays or when school in out. Then, there are lots younger families. There are very few announcements. Princess is our favorite ... just the best All Around fit for us. We like the passenger base which always includes many from the UK. We enjoy having dinner in specialty restaurants, but don't have a problem with the MDR. The IC (International Café) is open 24 hours. We are especially fond of the bar/lounge entertainment. The activity level suits us -- enough is offered to keep us entertained. :)

 

RCCL ... The Oasis class is a bit different from other classes of RCCL ships -- Oasis class in a "floating resort", others are "floating amusement parks". :D

That's not really a bad thing. We've had good cruises on RCCL ... probably Oasis most. Normally, a younger pax base ... depending on the time of year and length of the cruise. The MDR food does not suit us but they have wonderful specialty restaurants. Their entertainment options suit us best in the evening/late evening.

 

HAL .... "Floating Nursing Home"! :D Not that bad but there's no way to deny HAL has a older pax base with very little if anything to do after 11 PM.

We have enjoyed HAL for very port intensive cruises when we want to return to a quiet ship after a busy day in port and want to get to bed early. Actually, a very nice cruise line.

 

NCL .... Years ago we did enjoy NCL cruises. Now, we aren't fond of their "Free Style" thing and don't care at all for their food. Entertainment is still fine. Just with so many other options, we very seldom cruise on NCL.

 

Carnival .... Poor Carnival gets so much bashing that I refuse to do so. The Port of Charleston is extremely convenient to us and Carnival Fantasy is our only option out of Charleston so we sometimes do sail on her. The convenience is the only reason. :rolleyes:

 

Whichever you decide, have a wonderful cruise!

LuLu

[Shogun]

Hi There

What about

saga

Thomson

MSC

Regent

Silverseas

Etc

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[avalon1025]

In my honest opinion, having just sailed Celebrity, HAL and Princess all over the past 10 weeks, I'd have to say Princess is a step below the other two lines often compared in the same breath. The Princess ship was a floating nursing home with more scooters than on the HAL ship, dead after 11:00, mediocre food, crowds and lines. Celebrity, though the largest of the ships was not as crowded, much better food and restaurant selection. The HAL ship was uncrowded, great service and top notch lido and alternative restaurant food. Also, Celebrity and HAL have a far better suite experience (if you book suites). It's sad to see Princess become the bargain basement mass market line.

 

I'd put HAL and Celebrity on par with each other, with the choice being style and decor, and Princess aligned with Royal Caribbean with more sedately ships in decor (think beige)

 

Ships sailed were:

Celebrity Silhouette - Aqua class

Crown Princess - Cate BA

Westerdam - Neptune Suite

Edited May 24, 2014 by avalon1025

[HeartCrwnPrin]

Princess does have an older crowd on the more expensive cruises such as British Isles and Baltic. However the Mediterranean was a large mix of all ages. Caribbean was a good mix. Princess is very organized with shore excursions and I find the food to be very good. I love Princess. I've also been on NCL and Carnival. It seems like we have our favorites and part of it might be, for me, is the familiarity and I know staff that continue to be my friends. I'm loyal to Princess.

 

 

Elizabeth Lynne

[BCCRUSINGCOUPLE]

I am trying to get my head around the different cruise lines. I am posting this here because I think I have a pretty good idea of Princess (but since I've never cruised this might be totally wrong). From an atmosphere and price (top most expensive, bottom least expensive) point of view is this list about right? I know there are a lot of other lines I just thought these are the most accessible and popular lines on the routes I am interested in.

 

 

 

Cunard – Most expensive/luxurious – excellent food

 

Seabourne Next most expensive/luxurious

 

Royal Caribbean Cruises – Pushy with selling you drinks.

 

Princess – passengers tend to be a bit older, except Alaska Cruises, less kids. Not so many announcements. Not pushy with selling you drinks.

 

HAL – passengers a bit older than Princess, quiet to no nightlife

 

Freedom of the Seas – Kid friendly.

 

Norwegian (NCL) – Party ship but not as hard core as Carnival. Good entertainment – good food

 

P and O -

 

Carnival – Party ship and night life – worst food.

 

 

I think you hit the nail on the head.

[HeartCrwnPrin]

. Here we are on the Crown Princess. No scooters or walkers but respect those that do. We all will get old

 

 

Elizabeth Lynne

[berlingo]

Having cruised on only P&O and Princess on your can only help a little but for what it is worth we find them similar in many ways.

 

- P&O passenger profile the vast majority are British and the ship's are geared to British tastes. Demographics are dependent on the factors of length of cruise, destination and time of year. P&O offer two types of ship designated as family friendly or adults only.

 

- Prices very similar although Princess offer better. 3rd and 4th passenger deals in school holidays.

 

- Ships very similar although P&O have fewer they operate two Grand class ships and next year are launching a ship very similar to Princesses Royal/Regal.

 

- Quality of service much the same although P&O service is more reserved and lower profile which is geared to the taste of the mainly British passengers.

 

- Food quality and delivery very similar with P&O offering 2 extra cost dining venues.Again food and timings of meals very geared to British tastes. For example later traditional meal times and dishes more complex in their flavours and preparation but smaller portions. P&O all have in cabin hot drink making facilities.

 

- Again entertainment geared to British tastes with more solo acts, comedians and tribute acts. Less going on but more quieter spaces to relax and few announcements on P&O.

 

- Dress codes enforced and adhered to by 90% plus P&O passengers on the cruises we have sailed. Generally much less casual dressing. Formal nights with majority in tuxs/dinner suits and lots of long gowns. On other nights majority are still dressed up.

 

We happen to love both lines for their similarities and differences.

[hubofhockey]

The OP's generalization of Royal Caribbean is nothing less than silly an uninformed. Not sure why Freedom of the Seas is listed separately from Royal Caribbean.

[shipfriend_max]

I would add Celebrity: Food and service slightly better than Princess, few announcements. In comparison to Princess, you get no fruit basket.

No plastic plates at the buffet, more stations with fresh made food.

Nightlife similar to Princess, Princess ships offer more attractions such as Minigolf or open air cinema.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[geoherb]

Cunard – Most expensive/luxurious – excellent food

Seabourne Next most expensive/luxurious

Royal Caribbean Cruises – Pushy with selling you drinks.

Princess – passengers tend to be a bit older, except Alaska Cruises, less kids. Not so many announcements. Not pushy with selling you drinks.

HAL – passengers a bit older than Princess, quiet to no nightlife

Freedom of the Seas – Kid friendly.

Norwegian (NCL) – Party ship but not as hard core as Carnival. Good entertainment – good food

P and O -

Carnival – Party ship and night life – worst food.

I put Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America on the same level. Each has its advantages over the other two and some things they don't do as well. Overall, I wouldn't mind taking a cruise on any of the three of them.

 

I think you have Norwegian wrong. It's not known for good food. My friend who sailed to Bermuda last fall on Norwegian specifically complained about the lack of good food. She sailed with us on HAL the previous year and loved the food on it.

 

In the past couple of years, we've sailed primarily on Princess. But we also took a couple of HAL cruises and one Carnival cruise. The Carnival one was a party ship--but it was a short cruise from Charleston during spring break week. That's the downside of being married to a community college professor--we can only go during his school breaks.

[Aquahound]

Cunard – Most expensive/luxurious – excellent food

Seabourne Next most expensive/luxurious

Royal Caribbean Cruises – Pushy with selling you drinks.

Princess – passengers tend to be a bit older, except Alaska Cruises, less kids. Not so many announcements. Not pushy with selling you drinks.

HAL – passengers a bit older than Princess, quiet to no nightlife

Freedom of the Seas – Kid friendly.

Norwegian (NCL) – Party ship but not as hard core as Carnival. Good entertainment – good food

P and O -

Carnival – Party ship and night life – worst food.

 

These seem like Cruise Critic stereotypes rather than reality.

 

First, with Princess. I've been on 2 Princess cruises and did not think it was an older crowd at all. Also, cocktail servers were just as visible in all the venues as on other lines, so I disagree with it being any less pushy with drinks.

 

Second, RCI. Why do you have FOS listed separate from RCI? :confused: you do realize that is one of 3 in a ship class and the 5 Voyager Class ships are very similar, right? Also, I don't think they are any more or less pushy with drinks than Princess. In my experience, RCI has the best entertainment in cruising.

 

NCL. Yeah, entertainment can be decent, but food? I can't say I agree with that one. In all my cruises, my worst food experiences have been on NCL.

 

I'll also add Celebrity to this list. I don't think Princess can touch Solstice Class. The ships are beautiful and modern and with a much better smoking policy.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I think also that to some extent the itinerary and length of cruise defines who your fellow cruisers are. longer cruises attract a mature clientele, regardless of the line. Shorter cruises attract younger and first time cruisers.

Edited June 1, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[Shogun]

Hi All

Cunard for excellent may be at the top end but have shared a table twice with experienced Cunard cruisers who complained about the food but thought Princess was good.

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[Coral]

By most "professional critics" - Crystal Cruises is usually ranked #1. SilverSea would probably be 2nd.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Coral

[leventurian]

Travelled on Seabourn, P&O and Princess and we tend to book premium cabins on both P&O and Princess.

 

Apart from our trips on Seabourn, we used to cruise exclusively with P&O, but around four years ago, we concluded that many aspects of their customer service meant that they just did not value the custom of their premium grade passengers, so we decided to try Princess.

 

Now it is just Princess or Seabourn.

 

However, if you are not travelling in premium class cabins, P&O and Princess are very much on a par.

 

I must also confess to being prejudiced against Cunard because of the onboard class system. We tend to go for tables of eight and, although we usually travel in premium cabins, we have made many friends across all grades of cabin on both P&O and Princess and the idea that Cunard think that I am too important to dine with people in lower grade cabins does not sit easily with my social outlook.

[KruzPrincess]

A lot depends on the demographics of the specific cruise you go on and, as others have said, when you go. I've been on the same ship and itinerary within a couple months of each other and the cruises were completely different. It all depends on who happens to book a specific cruise. I've been on Princess cruises with a lot of older folks and others with more of a mixed age group.

 

I have to admit that it's been a long time since I've been on RCI and I've never been on one of their mega ships. Back when I sailed on RCI I always felt like someone was trying to sell me something, so I did feel they were pushier with sales.

 

It's also been a long time since I've been on HAL. When I went it was an older crowd, but food was good and service was pretty good. We happened to have a lot go wrong on the cruise and my friends don't ever want to sail on HAL again, but I intend to try it again someday.

 

I'm adding Celebrity. I think Celebrity and Princess are more alike than different. I didn't think the food was better on Celebrity. I went on a Solstice class ship and it was beautiful in it's modern design. The buffet is huge, but the food was the same most days and simple things like pizza and pasta were overcooked. I loved the cabin and the beds. Service was good.

 

I haven't been on the new NCL. My last NCL experience was before Freestyle, so I won't comment. I have friends who like it.

 

My Carnival experiences weren't great. One cruise had pretty much inedible food. One cruise had pretty good food. I believe the newer ships offer a better experience. I have friend who just went on a Carnival cruise and thought it was great except for crowding and wild kids, but this was a cruise during a school break. My Carnival cruises were never party cruises.

 

Princess is my first choice because I like the product they offer and they have a good loyalty program. Things have changed (as with all cruise lines), but I think they offer a good experience over all. I don't ever feel like I'm being pushed to spend money. Yes, they do try to sell stuff, but I never feel like I'm being hounded. Food is pretty good for me, but that's subjective. Most ships have a great salad bar in the buffet and I eat there a lot. The buffet has some theme lunches and dinners, so there's a good change in the food offered. MDR food is good. I enjoy the International Café. Balcony furniture is not very comfortable and beds may be hard depending on what kind of mattress you get.

[tarheelmjfan]

In my honest opinion, having just sailed Celebrity, HAL and Princess all over the past 10 weeks, I'd have to say Princess is a step below the other two lines often compared in the same breath. The Princess ship was a floating nursing home with more scooters than on the HAL ship, dead after 11:00, mediocre food, crowds and lines. Celebrity, though the largest of the ships was not as crowded, much better food and restaurant selection. The HAL ship was uncrowded, great service and top notch lido and alternative restaurant food. Also, Celebrity and HAL have a far better suite experience (if you book suites). It's sad to see Princess become the bargain basement mass market line.

 

I'd put HAL and Celebrity on par with each other, with the choice being style and decor, and Princess aligned with Royal Caribbean with more sedately ships in decor (think beige)

 

Ships sailed were:

Celebrity Silhouette - Aqua class

Crown Princess - Cate BA

Westerdam - Neptune Suite

 

We haven't sailed HAL, but I'd also put Celebrity ahead of Princess. Since the OP didn't mention Celebrity, it may not be an option. IMHO, if it's an option, it should get strong consideration over the other mass market lines.

[Mary Ellen]

The OP has fallen for the stereotype of HAL passengers. From a well-known member who has worked on cruise ships for decades:

 

For the past 8 consecutive years the average passenger on the Princess Fleet, worldwide, year round, is 58 years old.

 

For the past 7 consecutive years the average passenger on the Holland America Fleet, worldwide, year round, is 57 years old.

 

I find the passenger age has more to do with the time of year and the itinerary, rather than the cruise line. For me, the cruise where I found the average age to be the oldest (by FAR) was an 11-day r/t from Florida in early December. We typically take longer cruises (2 weeks is a short cruise for us) and haven't seen passengers who looked like they were on vacations from retirement homes like we saw on that cruise.

 

For me, Princess and HAL are similar quality - with HAL maybe a hair higher. HAL has better inside cabins for sure. Princess has a smoking policy that is a better 'fit' for us as non smokers. Different experiences, but we cruise both lines.