We Are Diamond Plus With 313 Cruise Points

[Trainman-2]

We really enjoyed out last cruise on the Allure this past January.

 

 

Read My Live Report: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2148676

 

 

I have read lots of threads moaning and groaning about RCI's decisions to reduce their costs, cut back amenities, add new cabins, and increase prices for on-board activities.

 

 

I accept as a fact of life that RCI is in business to make a profit and provide a good return on investments by its stock holders. I realize that the small decisions RCI makes to reduce expenses, when considered "across the fleet" can add up to big bucks.

 

 

I have never had a "bad" cruise with RCI and still consider what I get to be well worth the price I pay.

 

 

But, along with our best cruising friends, Kathie (aboat1) and Jack we are going to try a 5 night "Caribbean Sampler" cruise next January on the Emerald Princess.

 

 

We will visit two destinations that we have never been to.

 

 

 

 

And the ship looks nice.

 

 

 

 

But here is where it gets "funny"

 

 

I have been spending some time recently on the Princess Boards, and Guess What!

 

 

They are moaning and groaning about the same things on the Princess Boards as we are here on the RCI Boards.

 

 

I have formed a mental image of a long line of cruisers, towing their luggage from the RCI Terminal to the Princess Terminal carrying signs that say "We Are Gonna Try Princess" passing another long line of cruisers towing luggage in the opposite direction carrying signs that say "We Are Gonna Try RCI!"

 

 

Happy Cruising Everyone!

 

 

My next Live Report will be from the Serenade Of The Seas sailing on November 13th

[LovesCruising]

Being Long time cruisers with Royal and D+ - we did our first Princess to Alaska this past year - loved it. Very similar but different. It was nice to have a change - Im sure you will have a great cruise on Princess.

[goodycruising]

I can so picture those lines! We agree, we see value for money, particularly compared to land based holidays we have done. :)

[transam84]

Great observation. Thanks for sharing. Like they say "the grass is always greener"...till you get there.

[C2174]

My next Live Report will be from the Serenade Of The Seas sailing on November 13th

 

See you there! I can't wait for that trip. :-)

[afurman]

I have to say I'm Elite with Princess and looking at RCI for my next cruise. Princess is nice not saying they aren't but if you are looking for Anytime Dining it doesn't really exist. They are cutting back and I fell it's becoming like Carnival. How is RCI Anytime dining?

[Big_G]

I have to say I'm Elite with Princess and looking at RCI for my next cruise. Princess is nice not saying they aren't but if you are looking for Anytime Dining it doesn't really exist. They are cutting back and I fell it's becoming like Carnival. How is RCI Anytime dining?

 

It depends on the ship. We had great experiences on our last three cruises which included Freedom, Brilliance, and Independence but although the cruise itself was great, not such a great My Time Dining experience on Allure.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Big_G]

We did a stretch with Princess before Regal and Royal came out. Had a great time on all but the experience at the time was a little vanilla compared to Royal. Looking forward to trying Princess again and maybe NCL.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[spunks]

Strange you should say that....We are Elite on Princess and Diamond on RCCL.

I would say exactly the opposite of what you said. Princess anytime dining is exactly that. You show up at the dining room at anytime you want and they feed you. Our experience with RCCL is that you have to make a reservation way ahead of time which defeats the purpose. That said, we very much like both lines. After 35 Princess cruises we have been cruising lately on RCCL Trust me, both have cut back. Each has its advantages...Elites on Princess get unlimited free laundry...Virtually unlimited free internet and they allow you to "stack" all your available OBC. So much so that on 14 day cruises we generally have about $800.00 OBC each time....RCCL gives us the Diamond lounge and some free internet min.....each line has its own unique experiences.

 

Doug

[Paulette3028]

But here is where it gets "funny"

 

 

I have been spending some time recently on the Princess Boards, and Guess What!

 

 

They are moaning and groaning about the same things on the Princess Boards as we are here on the RCI Boards.

 

 

I have formed a mental image of a long line of cruisers, towing their luggage from the RCI Terminal to the Princess Terminal carrying signs that say "We Are Gonna Try Princess" passing another long line of cruisers towing luggage in the opposite direction carrying signs that say "We Are Gonna Try RCI!"

 

 

Happy Cruising Everyone!

 

 

 

LMAOROTF -- got the visual for sure......as it is said -- "The grass isn't always greener on the other side, it just may be different".

[bigeagle12]

Variety is the spice of life ... haven't had a bad cruise yet ... the grass is green on both sides of the fence.

 

All the cruise lines are comparable .. food is subjective .. all have good ships and not so good ships .. entertainment is subjective .. grumpy people aren't happy on any ship or cruise line .. etc

 

Bottom line .. a cruise is what you make it .. do your homework before the cruise .. kick back and enjoy :-)

[Cruzin-K]

I like both lines. Royal has had an edge until recently. Now I'm looking forward to three Princess cruises in 2016 and 2017 after my two RCI cruises this year. I'm anticipating good cruises on both lines. They are so close, in my opinion. Like posters above have said, each line has its good/bad points.

 

Be sure to try the Princess pizza - best on the high seas.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Cruzin-K

[bigeagle12]

Be sure to try the Princess pizza - best on the high seas.

 

 

Theirs is the best .. Carnivals is pretty good too, and is availed 24 hours a day.

[bigeagle12]

Jim .. you have to try the English style pub lunch on sea days. It is served in one of the lounges. I think the Wheelhouse on Emerald.

[spunks]

Princess buffet is open 24 hrs also, although with the cutbacks, limited choice after midnight

[rubrrick]

One will never know if the grass is really greener on the other side unless you have tried it.

 

I'm Pinnacle with Royal Caribbean, with just over 1300 points when we disembark the Vision of the Seas in a few weeks. Home for a week and a half, then on to the Ruby Princess for a Mexican Riviera cruise after that. I'm also Elite with Princess but only have 25 cruises with them.

 

The price for cabins on Princess seems to be a bit lower than Royal Caribbean. The suites on Princess are not that well laid out, and I much prefer any suite, GS and up on RCCL.

 

While the drinks in the lounge are not free for Elite members, I am able, with Princess to stack my stockholder credit, Elite credit, military credit, and on board booking credit, so I wind up with anywhere between $400 and $600 for a 7 day cruise. It costs me about $30.00 per night for two of us drinking in the lounge, or about $210.00 of my OBC's used. I tip cash on top of that.

I'm still left with plenty of money for gratuities, and a night out (or two) at a specialty restaurant.

 

On Royal Caribbean, the drinks are free in the DL or CL at happy hour, but our greatest problem is overcrowding in the lounges. We don't want to hog an area, but it's a much different atmosphere in a Royal Caribbean top tier lounge, than that of a Princess top tier lounge. Royal Caribbean wins that hands down.

 

Oh, one other thing about drinks on Princess vs Royal. In a Princess suite, we get 20 miniature bottles, of different varieties, which we can trade in for just vodka, for instance. So on a 7 night cruise, we can enjoy a cocktail, on Princess, in our cabin.

 

I do enjoy a cocktail in the cabin, and on most CL's on Royal, they now allow most folks to take their drinks with them, so if the CL is overcrowded, I'll get our drinks from the bartender, and then take them back to our cabin. No concierge has stopped us from doing that in the past year.

 

Well, that about covers suites, and the cocktail hour on each line.:)

 

The major plus for Royal Caribbean is the openness and friendliness of it's officers. Maybe we would see a difference leaning the other way if we had as many points on Princess, but I don't think so. As far as the attitude of the officers, Royal Caribbean beats Princess, hands down.

 

I could go on, but I'm sure that there are others here that will give their impressions, good or bad.

 

Rick

Edited March 25, 2015 by rubrrick

[Paulette3028]

.. grumpy people aren't happy on any ship or cruise line ..

 

 

and I seem to meet those grumpy people when I go to breakfast in the MDR.....so sad....are THEY!

[John&LaLa]

One will never know if the grass is really greener on the other side unless you have tried it.

 

I'm Pinnacle with Royal Caribbean, with just over 1300 points when we disembark the Vision of the Seas in a few weeks. Home for a week and a half, then on to the Ruby Princess for a Mexican Riviera cruise after that. I'm also Elite with Princess but only have 25 cruises with them.

 

The price for cabins on Princess seems to be a bit lower than Royal Caribbean. The suites on Princess are not that well laid out, and I much prefer any suite, GS and up on RCCL.

 

While the drinks in the lounge are not free for Elite members, I am able, with Princess to stack my stockholder credit, Elite credit, military credit, and on board booking credit, so I wind up with anywhere between $400 and $600 for a 7 day cruise. It costs me about $30.00 per night for two of us drinking in the lounge, or about $210.00 of my OBC's used. I tip cash on top of that.

I'm still left with plenty of money for gratuities, and a night out (or two) at a specialty restaurant.

 

On Royal Caribbean, the drinks are free in the DL or CL at happy hour, but our greatest problem is overcrowding in the lounges. We don't want to hog an area, but it's a much different atmosphere in a Royal Caribbean top tier lounge, than that of a Princess top tier lounge. Royal Caribbean wins that hands down.

 

Oh, one other thing about drinks on Princess vs Royal. In a Princess suite, we get 20 miniature bottles, of different varieties, which we can trade in for just vodka, for instance. So on a 7 night cruise, we can enjoy a cocktail, on Princess, in our cabin.

 

I do enjoy a cocktail in the cabin, and on most CL's on Royal, they now allow most folks to take their drinks with them, so if the CL is overcrowded, I'll get our drinks from the bartender, and then take them back to our cabin. No concierge has stopped us from doing that in the past year.

 

Well, that about covers suites, and the cocktail hour on each line.:)

 

The major plus for Royal Caribbean is the openness and friendliness of it's officers. Maybe we would see a difference leaning the other way if we had as many points on Princess, but I don't think so. As far as the attitude of the officers, Royal Caribbean beats Princess, hands down.

 

I could go on, but I'm sure that there are others here that will give their impressions, good or bad.

 

Rick

 

I am always surprised at the amount of people in here who beam about RCL but have no other reference point since they have never cruised with anyone else. Same with those that bemoan other lines but have never cruised them. We enjoy RCL, but I do have a reference point, and if Princess or HAL ever put a ship in PC, i'll find a way to work them back in

[rubrrick]

I am always surprised at the amount of people in here who beam about RCL but have no other reference point since they have never cruised with anyone else. Same with those that bemoan other lines but have never cruised them. We enjoy RCL, but I do have a reference point, and if Princess or HAL ever put a ship in PC, i'll find a way to work them back in

 

 

You two are Florida cruisers, lucky you!! I'm from Arizona, and Royal Caribbean took almost everything away from the West Coast. We would book a Royal Caribbean life raft........if it were running from the West Coast.

 

You presently have more cruises on NCL......but we are trying that out this September, as the only Norwegian cruise that we experienced, far exceeded our vision of the line, and never wanted to go back to see how much they had changed. Now we move forward.

 

Rick

[nacdcruiser]

Variety is the spice of life ... haven't had a bad cruise yet ... the grass is green on both sides of the fence.

 

All the cruise lines are comparable .. food is subjective .. all have good ships and not so good ships .. entertainment is subjective .. grumpy people aren't happy on any ship or cruise line .. etc

 

Bottom line .. a cruise is what you make it .. do your homework before the cruise .. kick back and enjoy :-)

 

Eased the effort of a response - well said.

 

John

 

p.s. Current next 4 cruises are RC, but planning has Disney in Jan 2016 and NCL Haven after that . . . haven't had a bad cruise yet!

[Big_G]

and I seem to meet those grumpy people when I go to breakfast in the MDR.....so sad....are THEY!

 

Last time we had breakfast in the MDR we sat with an older couple who during a nice chat asked what kind of cabin we booked and then pretty much told us we were doing it all wrong sailing in a JS. :eek: They said they always book insides but are able to cruise multiple times a year. According to them balconies and suites were a waste of money. :eek: My eyebrows actually began to ache from being so wide eyed. Even if I wanted to respond I couldn't get a word in edgewise. For the rest of the cruise the running joke was, "Honey, you know we're doing this all wrong." :D We still laugh about it.

[John&LaLa]

You two are Florida cruisers, lucky you!! I'm from Arizona, and Royal Caribbean took almost everything away from the West Coast. We would book a Royal Caribbean life raft........if it were running from the West Coast.

 

You presently have more cruises on NCL......but we are trying that out this September, as the only Norwegian cruise that we experienced, far exceeded our vision of the line, and never wanted to go back to see how much they had changed. Now we move forward.

 

Rick

 

We did an Owners Suite on the Gem. Cheap price of a December TA allowed us to afford it. Pre Haven days, but we had the butler, and the private pool area. Bad weather kept us indoors, would have killed ourselves if we had a std cabin. Had two balconies, one forward and one to the side, but couldn't use forward one once we left Azores. The one on the side whistled all night because it was a new ship and still working out the kinks.

[dplusd]

I'm sure you'll enjoy the Emerald Princess! We enjoy Princess and Royal about equally, for different reasons.

 

I don't like the ship layout on Princess as much as Royal...decks that don't go through and stairs that don't go all the way up. But, Princess has the very best pizza at sea and for fresh burgers and hot dogs, try the Trident Grill poolside. Royal has nothing to compare to these two gems on Princess.

 

If you're sailing in a balcony, consider a Mini-suite on Princess. Princess balcony rooms are much smaller than Royal without even a love seat. And the way Royal is priced these days, you can get a Mini-Suite on Princess for less than a balcony on Royal. But, we aware the Dolphin Deck mini's have totally uncovered balconies, which we do not like. Go for the few Emerald Deck mini's with fully covered balconies.

[robandana]

YES...THE PIZZA...Princess hands down, also the anytime dining is much better on Princess (some ships have 4 different AT restaurants to dine at)

Love the promenade on the bigger Royal ships...really nothing like that anywhere...love the DL/CL on Royal

 

In both cases we seem to like the slightly older ships as opposed to the latest and greatest.

 

Finding the prices better on Princess lately....

 

You will love Princess! :)

Edited March 25, 2015 by robandana

[somerandomidiot]

I don't like the ship layout on Princess as much as Royal...decks that don't go through and stairs that don't go all the way up. But, Princess has the very best pizza at sea and for fresh burgers and hot dogs, try the Trident Grill poolside. Royal has nothing to compare to these two gems on Princess.

QUOTE]

 

I also like the fact that they do the burgers to medium. On Royal, all I seem to get are these charred hockey pucks.

 

Something I found really annoying was how easy it was to get your room key de-magnetized. I try not to take the elevators because I eat way too much so I found myself running up and down 5 flights on 3 separate occasions. Odd thing is the room keys on Carnival(Royal, NCL, Celebrity) don't seem to have this problem.

Edited March 25, 2015 by somerandomidiot