Princess has ruined me for NCL.

[j0el]

I have cruised a lot and on various lines. Years ago I went for the best deal I could fine, then I went for interesting ports, and now I just look for stressless cruising. I have enjoyed every cruise, although some more than others. I loved the Baltic and Istanbul -> Athens for the sights and was too tired form touring to notice much about the ship. But in the Caribbean I never leave the ship and most enjoy port days. I tend to not use the buffet anymore as I am never in a hurry and I like the service. I enjoy perks like free internet and free laundry, but they are not game changers. I like trivia contests, but do not need any more keychains, luggage tags, water bottles, etc. I have pretty much settled on Princess as my favorite line, but would use another line if there was a good reason.

 

My wife has had different experience. Her cabins were too hot or too noisy and the food was not always great, and sometimes the service was slow. The bed was hard or soft and the pillows were thick or thin. Sometimes too many people are on the ship. Or the waiter is not perfect. Or there are too many waves in the ocean. So she likes cruising, but never enjoys it as much as I do.

 

Oh, we cruise together.

[westoftheashley]

We're just off the Escape last month, and going on the Caribbean Princess next month. We were on the Regal two years ago on it's first seven day in the Caribbean. We enjoyed the Regal quite a bit. The buffet is great as most have said. We did not enjoy the incredibly long time it took to have dinner in the main dining room or the tiny balconies on this class ship.

 

What I'm not sure of is if you're going to spend the money for a Penthouse on Princess, have you tried the Haven on NCL? I think most of the things you complained about NCL would be remedied by staying there. We love our quite time together to decompress, and there is no better place to do it than in the Haven. And while they don't have their own buffet, they do have a private restaurant with excellent food and fast service. Also, you can order from any restaurant on the ship and have it served at the table in your room. For someone who wants a good bit of quite time, this is great. But you also get the benefit of having the large ship, being able to go to the excellent production shows, and many of the other positives that NCL has.

 

Just a thought....

[AdoraBelle]

Too bad you missed this perk. It's my favorite. We are like you and don't go to the MDR. It takes too long.

 

 

So what's the procedure, just call up room service and order off the posted day's MDR menu?

 

To the poster who asked about Haven on NCL, at the risk of spinning this thread off topic, I've simply read so many threads of people who used the Haven courtyard as their personal playground to drop off their kids to run wild unsupervised. Granted, these stories usually come from the larger ships and the Breakaway in particular. I'm not a kid "hater", I just don't relax well in the presence of intense screeching. :) And I had a very disappointing experience with the way a noro outbreak was handled on the Escape recently--essentially, on a solo trip I was stranded, ill in my stateroom, and they had for some reason closed my onboard account. Since room service is not free on NCL, I couldn't get anything like soup delivered. They told me I had to go to guest services. I was too sick to do so. It wasn't until I broke down crying that they relented and sent me some water and toast. (If you think you're spotting holes in this story, I'm editing for brevity. I can link to the relevant thread for those interested.) Anyway, I'm not the type to throw tantrums or demand "compensation", simply no more money from me for NCL. I'm sure this situation also made Princess shine even brighter by comparison.

Edited October 29, 2016 by AdoraBelle

[brian1]

It wasn't until I broke down crying that they relented and sent me some water and toast.

Sounds like it should be converted to a prison ship .perhaps they could moor it next to Alcatraz lol.

[westoftheashley]

We had heard similar with kids, but had no issues. It probably depends on when you go. We don't enjoy a bunch of screaming kids either, so we try and go when school is in. This time was just after labor day, and the ship as a whole had few kids. The ones we saw in the Haven were all well supervised.

 

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[Vacation Nut]

As you see from my signature we used to alternate RCCL and Princess, but now I have lost my interest in RCCL except for their Radiance Class ships. Princess is just right... Regal is beautiful and has the right blend of entertainment and quiet spots. We did try Celebrity Summit (I don't count Xpedition as that was a very special cruise) and I really disliked it as by 9:00 the ship was deserted, perhaps I should have tried a newer Celebrity ship. Ah well, I will stick with Princess right now. Love the line.

[mattie00]

We will be first time Princess cruisers with our upcoming cruises. As you can see by my signature line, all of our ocean cruises have been with NCL. We have always enjoyed NCL and never had any issues with food or service. However, we have stayed to the smaller ships of around 2000 passengers which may make a difference. We have really enjoyed the eat anytime, anywhere, with anyone dining on NCL and are somewhat apprehensive about being forced to eat at the same time and table every night which seems to be a requirement for Princess cruises in the Australian/New Zealand market. Before anyone else says it, we do realize that we have options to use the buffet or specialty restaurants.