Ncl regular takes a Princess ride

[jeo_la]

I've been a faithful NCL cruiser for over 10 years, but recently took a 4 night cruise with Princess out of Houston. Here are some of my pros/cons as the relate to NCL comparisons

 

1. Balcony room - princess balcony rooms have smaller living areas BUT their closet and storage area are huge!

 

2. Bathrooms are a draw almost identical

 

3. Movie screen by the pool-- hands down my favorite feature on the Princes ship, wish NCL would take note. So nice while laying by the pool, but also fun to watch NFL games with a blanket and popcorn at night.

 

4. Pools - I would give this to princess there was plenty of chairs, many had extra cushions -- comfy and several pools 4-5 on the ship.

 

5. Food - Hands down goes to Norweigan , never had a decent meal on the Princess cruise, I think I actually lost weight. I also prefer the freestyle cruising, we didn't have set dinner times on princess and we're always seated with other people-- not a deal breaker but not ideal.

 

6. UBP- I will be trying this on my next NCL cruise but we did have for princess -- it was awesome, specialty coffees, bottled water, wine, mixed drinks, really enjoyed. I am disappointed I've heard NCL won't include bottled water

 

7. Entertainment - nighttime shows are an even draw. I think very comparable. There was a horse race daily entertainment on the princess ship-- you should try not at all what I expected but the CD was great!

 

Overall I would do a Princess cruise again, but knowing I have low expectations on the food.

Still a NCL loyal

[sparks1093]

Thanks for the comparision, very helpful!

[fshagan]

6. UBP- I will be trying this on my next NCL cruise but we did have for princess -- it was awesome, specialty coffees, bottled water, wine, mixed drinks, really enjoyed. I am disappointed I've heard NCL won't include bottled water

 

NCL is booze only; no specialty coffees either. You have to calculate if it is a good deal if you are buying it; I think the break even is about 4 - 5 mixed drinks per day.

[MrMan]

I am "Loyal" to both. NCL wins for Specialty Restaurants and Entertainment/Shows, and innovation. Princess for International Cafe and more of a classic ship feeling. NCL Suite life (Haven) beats Princess IMHO> Have great times on both

 

My exception would be Alaska. Noone does Alaska better than Princess

Edited December 10, 2015 by MrMan

[mypleasure]

Thank you for making this comparison. We want to stay with NCL but are looking for new itineraries to try. Doesn't sound like Princess is a good fit for us. A couple of pluses but the dining is the absolute deal breaker.

 

I've been a faithful NCL cruiser for over 10 years, but recently took a 4 night cruise with Princess out of Houston. Here are some of my pros/cons as the relate to NCL comparisons

 

1. Balcony room - princess balcony rooms have smaller living areas BUT their closet and storage area are huge!

 

You probably need it for all the formal stuff you don't need on NCL. I have enough space on NCL if my husband is sailing with me. If it is my sister she hangs all the stuff she doesn't wear ever and I scramble around on the floor getting my suitcase out from under the bed as I had nowhere to put my stuff.

 

2. Bathrooms are a draw almost identical

 

3. Movie screen by the pool-- hands down my favorite feature on the Princes ship, wish NCL would take note. So nice while laying by the pool, but also fun to watch NFL games with a blanket and popcorn at night.

 

I don't watch NFL or movies much and wouldn't go to that area at night. I don't think I want to see that on NCL but expect it to arrive on new ships at some point in future

 

4. Pools - I would give this to princess there was plenty of chairs, many had extra cushions -- comfy and several pools 4-5 on the ship.

 

This sounds a good thing but we are not really pool folk

 

5. Food - Hands down goes to Norweigan , never had a decent meal on the Princess cruise, I think I actually lost weight. I also prefer the freestyle cruising, we didn't have set dinner times on princess and we're always seated with other people-- not a deal breaker but not ideal.

 

I like good food and sharing a table is a deal breaker for us.

 

6. UBP- I will be trying this on my next NCL cruise but we did have for princess -- it was awesome, specialty coffees, bottled water, wine, mixed drinks, really enjoyed. I am disappointed I've heard NCL won't include bottled water

 

I really wish NCL would let us have the coffee, I rarely drink water but the coffee is huge for us.

 

7. Entertainment - nighttime shows are an even draw. I think very comparable. There was a horse race daily entertainment on the princess ship-- you should try not at all what I expected but the CD was great!

 

Entertainment is what it is all lines. Love it or loathe it.

 

Overall I would do a Princess cruise again, but knowing I have low expectations on the food.

Still a NCL loyal

[Diver2014]

We've been on a lot of NCL cruises and just took our first Princess cruise on the Emerald Princess. We thought the food on the Emerald Princess was the best we've ever had on any cruise ship. We commented at every meal about how good everything tasted. I can't imagine what was wrong with the OP's food but I guess it's all subjective. We liked everything on the Princess ship but then we like most everything on the NCL ships. What's not to like on a cruise?

[jeo_la]

It is entirely possible the ship we were on "Caribbean princess" wasn't on its A game, as far as the food goes, this was the first cruise after repositioning, but I was disappointed at all venues we tried.

[pmd98052]

Food is super subjective - We much prefer Princess MDR but NCL's buffet is definitely better than Princess.

[hawk1972]

Thank you for your observations.

 

We have only sailed on Princess once, in 2009, to Alaska, so it's been a while. We will take our 3rd NCL cruise in January.

 

I have no complaints about the food on NCL -- to me it's good and plentiful. We eat mainly in the MDR and buffet (for breakfast -- we like the selection).

 

As I remember, the food on the Star Princess was the best we've had on the three lines we've cruised on, but not exceptionally so. They also had free mimosas at sailaway.

 

We enjoyed the outdoor screens on Princess and RCCL. It was a little cool to sit outside on the Alaska trip, but they had plenty of blankets. I too enjoyed watching an NFL playoff game outside on Mariner of the Seas before sailaway in Galveston. It was just sort of in the background the rest of the time, but gave us something to watch in the pool and hot tub.

 

ETA: We also much prefer freestyle dining to set times and dining partners. That's a plus for us over Princess (and RCCL).

Edited December 10, 2015 by hawk1972

[casofilia]

Our first cruise (great cruise even if we missed Ketchikan due to a storm) was Princess (Alaska) but then changed to NCL for Hawai'i. Glad we did as we really enjoy NCL. However if Princess continue to cruise where NCL doesn't we could soon return to them.

 

Mike

[Diver2014]

We'll be on the Caribbean Princess next November so we can compare the food and report back. Personally, I've never had food on a cruise ship that I didn't like. I did have to send a steak back at Cagney's once to have them cook it (no pink inside, please) but that's about it.

[GUT2407]

Of course you can always do any time on Princess.

 

We have never had a problem getting a table for two on Princess.

[hawkeyetlse]

3. Movie screen by the pool-- hands down my favorite feature on the Princes ship, wish NCL would take note. So nice while laying by the pool, but also fun to watch NFL games with a blanket and popcorn at night.

They have this on the megaships, at Spice H2O. The big screen over the pool, I mean. I don't know about the blankets and popcorn…

[mizLORInj]

I like both lines. Hoping to try out Regal or Royal Princess sometime soon.

And NCL Escape.

[shorefolks]

We like both NCL and Princess, with Celebrity an increasingly distant third. Although we sail mainly for itinerary, food is very important. Key to our enjoyment of the latter is being able to dine by ourselves at the time we wish. When on Princess, we always choose Anytime dining and decline to share a table. Although we are often told we will have to wait for a table, the "wait" usually involves standing to the side for, literally, one or two minutes. We rarely have had a problem with this. The mostly older, Italian maitre d's are quite professional and know how to manage a dining room well. As to the food itself, I would say that the MDRs are about even, but NCL definitely wins for the specialties.

 

By contrast, Celebrity employs an apparently Byzantine computerized system for table seating that will occupy the undivided attention of the young, female maitre d's who toss off platitudes without even looking up at passengers. Meanwhile, the line in front of their podium grows and grows. By the time you are seated, your attitude has soured any enjoyment you might get from the food- and their chefs really are not that good to start with.

[hateswaterloves2cruise]

We did Princess to Alaska many years ago and absolutely loved everything about it (land tour 7 days followed by 7 day cruise). We've been pretty loyal to NCL for about 10 years but did do a Princess Panama Canal cruise since it began and ended in Florida. Found anytime dining to be a pain. Every time we went to eat (and we eat early) it was a 45 minute wait. We settled for the buffet most of the time. :confused: Also we love the suite perks on NCL. We can't afford a suite every cruise but when we get a good deal it's heaven.

[2ManyCruises]

Of course you can always do any time on Princess.

 

We have never had a problem getting a table for two on Princess.

 

Ditto

[GORDONCHICK]

The only thing I loved about Princess was MUTS (Movies Under The Stars). Not only are they great during the day, but it was fun watching movies at night under the stars - hence the name. They would put out little throws on the lounge chairs and had popcorn, too.

 

Then Carnival started putting the huge outdoor screens on their ships.

Edited December 12, 2015 by GORDONCHICK

[sjh422]

I've been a faithful NCL cruiser for over 10 years, but recently took a 4 night cruise with Princess out of Houston. Here are some of my pros/cons as the relate to NCL comparisons

 

1. Balcony room - princess balcony rooms have smaller living areas BUT their closet and storage area are huge!

 

2. Bathrooms are a draw almost identical

 

3. Movie screen by the pool-- hands down my favorite feature on the Princes ship, wish NCL would take note. So nice while laying by the pool, but also fun to watch NFL games with a blanket and popcorn at night.

 

4. Pools - I would give this to princess there was plenty of chairs, many had extra cushions -- comfy and several pools 4-5 on the ship.

 

5. Food - Hands down goes to Norweigan , never had a decent meal on the Princess cruise, I think I actually lost weight. I also prefer the freestyle cruising, we didn't have set dinner times on princess and we're always seated with other people-- not a deal breaker but not ideal.

 

6. UBP- I will be trying this on my next NCL cruise but we did have for princess -- it was awesome, specialty coffees, bottled water, wine, mixed drinks, really enjoyed. I am disappointed I've heard NCL won't include bottled water

 

7. Entertainment - nighttime shows are an even draw. I think very comparable. There was a horse race daily entertainment on the princess ship-- you should try not at all what I expected but the CD was great!

 

Overall I would do a Princess cruise again, but knowing I have low expectations on the food.

Still a NCL loyal

 

we have sailed on the 2 new princess ships, the Regal and Royal Princesses. Found the food to be outstanding overall. Loved their Pizza and iItalian restaurant, Alfredos. The MDR and buffet were likewise outstanding. I have taken 2 NCL cruises butg only in the Haven so cannot comment on the comparison of food as we ate in speciality restuarants and the Haven restaurants. But I will say on Princess, we never felt the need to go to one of their speciality restaurants as the complementary dining was so good.

[jeo_la]

The only thing I loved about Princess was MUTS (Movies Under The Stars). Not only are they great during the day, but it was fun watching movies at night under the stars - hence the name. They would put out little throws on the lounge chairs and had popcorn, too.

 

Then Carnival started putting the huge outdoor screens on their ships.

 

I agree I loved that. not only did I find the food below par -- they had to have the worst laid out buffet and very small to boot

 

Pizza was good