Princess Newbies

[CruiseLovininIL]

Hi. We are cruising to Alaska this summer on The Star Princess. In the recent past we have cruised NCL a few times and we really like it. Years ago cruised RCL and Carnival. How different is Princess from Norwegian?

 

Thanks for any info [emoji4]

 

 

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[masterty]

Princess,

Better food, older clients, more self entertainment, ghost ship after 10pm.

Carnival, lively entertainment, more port and sea day activities, young families, and nightlife.

Royal Caribbean, Great shows and entertainment, variety of young families and older couples with everything in between. More nightlife than Princess

I would probably cruise with lines other than Princess if they came to San Francisco. I love sailing out of SF so I will continue to use Princess. I am a simple man and have no problem entertaining myself. I leave again this Saturday. :D

[Kamloops50]

In many like comparing apples and oranges.

I have noticed that NCL comes into port earlier and leaves earlier . In Skagway , NCL arrived around 5AM and left at 6PM.

[AF-1]

I sailed both NCL and RCCL. NCL is very casual; nice staff, lots to do onboard. Good shore excursions. RCCL: smart casual, great shows and onboard entertainment; great kids programs. Good shore excursions.

[CruiseLovininIL]

How is the dress on Princess? More formal?

 

 

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[JF - retired RRT]

How is the dress on Princess? More formal?

Only if you want.You don't have to go all out on formal night. A nice shirt & tie with dress pants for the guys. A top with some sparkles for the gals. You're good to go.

Or wear a tux and a cocktail dress (not on the same person:p) and you're still good to go.

[Colo Cruiser]

How is the dress on Princess? More formal?

 

 

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From a sign posted outside the main DR's:

 

 

DRESS CODE

 

Formal: A dinner jacket or dark business suit for gentlemen and a full length evening gown, cocktail dresses or trouser suit for ladies.

 

Smart Casual: An open-neck shirt and slacks for gentlemen and a dress, skirt and blouse or trouser suit outfit for ladies.

 

Shorts and T-Shirts are not permitted in the Dining Rooms at Dinner

[floridalover5623]

How is the dress on Princess? More formal?

 

 

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They also say that if you don't care to dress formally in the DR, at the very least, a shirt, tie and slacks will suffice although the tie is a dying thing. They have become very lenient in the last 10 years.

http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/pre_cruise/bring.jsp

 

 

[Cairn Mom]

Only if you want.You don't have to go all out on formal night. A nice shirt & tie with dress pants for the guys. A top with some sparkles for the gals. You're good to go.

Or wear a tux and a cocktail dress (not on the same person:p) and you're still good to go.

 

 

I agree. The majority of people dress as described. A tux or cocktail dress are not required,but some people enjoy dressing up. I'm told you can go to the buffet if you want to escape formal night. We don't mind it. My husband wears a sport jacket,slacks and tie. I wear slacks and a sparkly top.

 

 

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[Robinsoncruiseso]

We are also visiting Alaska this year on the Star. This will be our 17th cruise with Princess and we have enjoyed entertainment in the form of Comedians, live music and dancing well past the 10pm time. If the crowd going to Alaska retires earlier, then more room for us at Skywalkers!!!

[CruiseLovininIL]

We are also visiting Alaska this year on the Star. This will be our 17th cruise with Princess and we have enjoyed entertainment in the form of Comedians, live music and dancing well past the 10pm time. If the crowd going to Alaska retires earlier, then more room for us at Skywalkers!!!

 

 

We love to Karaoke. Do you know if Princess has karaoke?

 

 

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[satxdiver]

We love to Karaoke. Do you know if Princess has karaoke?

 

 

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Yes they have karaoke. My partner loves it while I prefer other entertainment. Carnival Corp which owns 9 cruise lines has them positioned in different market segments. Their equivalent to NCL is CCL while Princess is considered a step up in the market. You should see a markable difference between what you saw on NCL.

[Robinsoncruiseso]

Yes, they normally have Karaoke in one of the clubs in the evening. Also some ships have Voice of the Ocean which is a mini version of The Voice. Auditions are Karaoke while the final performance is usually with a band.

[Corsair415]

Last time on the Grand little less than a year and a half ago there was a guys wearing shorts, tank top and flips to dinner regularly one table over from us. Plenty of people in sports jersey's. Definitely didn't seem any sort of dress code was being enforced.

[floridalover5623]

Last time on the Grand little less than a year and a half ago there was a guys wearing shorts, tank top and flips to dinner regularly one table over from us. Plenty of people in sports jersey's. Definitely didn't seem any sort of dress code was being enforced.

So you're saying that there was only one guy that didn't follow much of any dress code?

[Cairn Mom]

We were on the Regal in February. In the main dining room, on formal night, during late seating,the guy at the table for two next to ours was in a sport jacket and jeans, no tie. There were not many men in tuxs or women in gowns, but people were nicely dressed. I did not see anyone in shorts and a tee- shirt. The people who really did not want to dress went to the buffet. We saw them up there when we went to see the water show.

FYI, people on Princess take their Karaoke seriously lol. Not into it myself, but we met people who told us about it.

 

 

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[floridalover5623]

We were on the Regal in February. In the main dining room, on formal night, during late seating,the guy at the table for two next to ours was in a sport jacket and jeans, no tie. There were not many men in tuxs or women in gowns, but people were nicely dressed. I did not see anyone in shorts and a tee- shirt. The people who really did not want to dress went to the buffet. We saw them up there when we went to see the water show.

FYI, people on Princess take their Karaoke seriously lol. Not into it myself, but we met people who told us about it.

 

 

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Gotta love that Princess dress code. Dress if you want to, or not. :D

[jeromep]

To the OP. I actually had an idea which might get you some perspective about Princess. What are your 5 favorite things from each of the lines you have sailed on in the past. Just list the line and the things you really liked and then I think the rest of us here will pipe in and state if Princess does anything comparable or even better. How about doing that for us?

 

I think you'll get a much more detailed response that way, and it will be more useful to you.

[easyboy]

Gotta love that Princess dress code. Dress if you want to, or not. :D

Flexible.

[cruiselvr1]

Last time on the Grand little less than a year and a half ago there was a guys wearing shorts, tank top and flips to dinner regularly one table over from us. Plenty of people in sports jersey's. Definitely didn't seem any sort of dress code was being enforced.

I would talk to the maître d' and find out why they are allowing people in the dining room dressed as you described. I'm sorry, people wearing tank tops don't belong in the dining room.

[Lucky TGO]

I would talk to the maître d' and find out why they are allowing people in the dining room dressed as you described. I'm sorry, people wearing tank tops don't belong in the dining room.

I totally agree with you 100%. It's the maitre d's fault. He was performing his duties in a lackadaisical manner.

Tony

[loretde]

We are also visiting Alaska this year on the Star. This will be our 17th cruise with Princess and we have enjoyed entertainment in the form of Comedians, live music and dancing well past the 10pm time. If the crowd going to Alaska retires earlier, then more room for us at Skywalkers!!!

So good to hear there is dancing after 10pm! I will be on the Star Sept 9 and will definitely be at Skywalkers!!

[Robinsoncruiseso]

So good to hear there is dancing after 10pm! I will be on the Star Sept 9 and will definitely be at Skywalkers!!

 

Also from 11pm - midnight - buy one drink get one for a dollar every night at Skywalkers! They will usually start taking the orders at quarter till then ring up the drinks at eleven. Only downside is the $1 drink must be the same as the reg priced drink.

 

For those who retire early...same deal at 3 pm at Wheelhouse/Crooners (depending on the ship)

[floridalover5623]

I totally agree with you 100%. It's the maitre d's fault. He was performing his duties in a lackadaisical manner.

Tony

It's safer for his career to ignore all but the worst than to satisfy a few of the formalists.

[azteachergal]

Formal nights. . .on my two Princess cruises I didn't get very formal. With casual long dresses being quite popular I have many. I wear those and I've also worn casual cotton dresses with a sweater or jacket. I saw a bit of everything from jeweled gowns, cocktail dresses, to fairly casual attire like mine on formal nights. Sometimes I actually wear sandals instead of my jeweled flip-flops on formal night!