princess verse's radisson

[rakrak]

we are planning a trip to tahitin may2005 on the radisson pg we are looking at cat c. on princess which is a 10 day cruise we are looking at there mini suite. we have never been on radisson we have been on princess, crystal and hal. Is there that big of a difference between PG and TPrincess. please your imput is imprtant.

[JanMD]

Hi there,

 

I guess I will be the first to respond to your question. I have never been on PG before. I have been on Marnier, two times and then the Navigator, and soon to be on The Diamond. I am going to smaller ships as I go along. If you are used to the bigger ships stay with Princess.

 

If you don't want to sign your name to everything that you order on Princess, then go with Radisson. The food is excellent, the service, is outstanding and the overall experience is perfect. I refuse to go on a cattle call with Princess again. Yes, I am a plantium member of Princess. I won't be a customer to the soda cards, cost for wine at dinner, Wine tasting is $$, automatic tipping,(when they sit around and do nothing on Princess). Look at your last bill under your door, when you got off a Princess ship, and factor all that into the price. What you might want to do: compare the two trips and that might help you out a little bit. Remember to factor in the staff: guest radio to the mix. And Radisson adds alot of extras special touches. Once you are on board, you will notice. So, once we found Radisson, then our cruising has changed for the better! I hope this helps.

[rakrak]

Thank you very much for your comments. We are not into the mega ships. And it does help to hear from radisson customers. The radisson schedule fits perfectly. We where just hoping the cruise experience also fit perfectly. We are celebrating our anniversary and we want everything to be great. again thanks for your comments

[ginak1112]

Hi, I was on the Paul Gaugin in August 1999. It was quite a while ago but I have unbelievable memories of Radisson and Tahiti. I am an avid cruiser since I live in Ft.Lauderdale and take several cruises a year (mainly to the Caribbean).

 

My advice to you since I have sailed on both lines (just got off the Grand Princess 4/11) would be to go with Radisson. This is a very special trip and the intimacy of this ship will make it oh so memorable!

[bookman]

I've been on radisson twice and Princess once along with numerous other cruises on RCCL, NCL, Cunard and Celebrity. The biggest differences you will see are the service and the food and to some extent the clientele. The food difference is major- think buffet line and salad bar at a casual dining restaurant for Princess versus a gourmet fine dining experience for Radisson. Our food was so bad on Princess I will never darken their gangway again. The Radisson service while not as signicantly better as with the food was still a step up- imagine no tipping and no nickel-diming. Imagine staff meeting you and taking your luggage without their hands-out. For example, we took a water taxi from our hotel in Venice to the dock near the Radisson Voyager. We couldn't even get off of the water taxi before the Radisson staff was there to take our luggage and direct us to the boarding area.

 

The clientele issue is really about night-life and age. Radisson is more sedate V. Princess which is much younger and livelier. Also, Princess will have 1500-2500 passengers while Radisson will have 300-700. Bottom-line, there is nothing wrong with Princess for a mass-market experience although I much, much prefer Celebrity( the food is markedly better). Radisson is just a different experience and more upscale.

[Dolebludger]

If you don't like lines, crowds, fixed dining,formal nights in Polynesia, and nickel and diming, you will definitely go for the Paul Gauguin. If you like all of your soft and most of your hard beverages included, water sports and three great all inclusive bach days included, the best food and service and local oriented entertainment, you'll go for the Paul Gauguin. If you want good cruise line provided air and a nice place to stay while waiting for it, you'll go for the Paul Gauguin. If you just want to save a buck (which probably won't happen because of all the extras), you might take Princess.

 

The Paul Gaugan is the best cruise in the world, period.

 

Thanks,

Richard

[Jim B]

I agree 100% Radisson is superior and when you total up the bottom line the cost is very little difference over the other lines.

Little things that almost go unnoticed are what we realized after the cruise was over.

How much better the service was, the dining areas, friendly staff, etc.

 

02/15/2005 Radisson Diamond

11/12/04 Radisson Mariner "Mint" cruise

02/15/04 Norwegian Dream (terrible)

02/15/03 Radisson Paul Gauguin

03/22/80 Commodore MS Caribe.

[rakrak]

thank you thank you I'm convinced is the catergory c okay or do I need to move up to b.

[mp8shnt]

B has more square footage than C - about 50 (250 v 200). B has a larger balcony than C - about 14 (50 v 36) . B has a butler....

 

Todd

3/15/2003 Paul Gauguin

11/10/2003 Mariner - Cruising the Chilean Fjords

4/9/2004 Leaving Lost Wages Land Cruise

11/12/2004 Mariner - Cruising the Mexican Riviera (MINT Cruise)

 

Cruising Radisson - Where I belong!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

The last time we were on the Paul Gauguin, we met a couple who regularly cruised on Princess. They were also hooked on Radisson, and saved those cruises for the times when they could afford it, and used the Princess cruises as "filler" when they couldn't. They said there was no comparison between the two.

 

Wendy

PG May, 2000

PG April, 2003

Diamond, 14/06/04

[borntocruz]

rakrak,

I think you will be pleased with a category C cabin on the PG. I noticed you have cruised HAL in the past. We were also HAL veterans and all of our HAL cruises were in the large suites. Our first RSSC cruise was in a category C on the PG and we were very pleased. Unless you really want a butler, I can't see paying the extra for a category B. Enjoy!

Jacki

[rakrak]

thank you all for your comments my wife and I are now going to try radisson. we are now in the process of finding the best ta to book our cruise. again thank you all your comments where great.

[Jim B]

Send a personal email and we can give you suggestions on TA

[gdlamberth]

Jim,

The new public profiles on cc don't have e-mail addresses. So, I'm not sure how rakrak can get hold of you.

Greg

 

USNA72

[Jim B]

Opps!

Guess I never paid attention.

www.jim@wamitchellagency.com

[sita]

rakrak -- be sure to participate in the Anniversary/Honeymooner ceremony/blessing. It takes place while in Bora Bora -- can't remember which day but look for it in the daily schedule. They wrap each couple up in a Tifaifai(Tahitian Wedding Quilt), put flower crowns on you and snap a photo with 2 of the Gauguines. A very sweet poem is read and you are toasted with champagne and cake. It's free, just show up. It was so lovely that I wanted to buy a wedding quilt while in the Papeete market but the prices (like everythink in FP) were very high. Have fun -- I have to agreed with Dolebludger -- the PG is the best cruise in the world!

[rakrak]

thanks everybody my wife and I are really looking forward to our tahit trip