Royal vs. Princess

[robptaylor]

Having never cruised Royal I am looking for some guidance comparing it to what I am familiar.  I scanned the RCI board for similar discussion and didn't find anything specific.

 

We have cruised Carnival, Holland America, and Princess.  Princess has so far been our favorite but we are always looking for something new.  We are looking at an itinerary that we have wanted to do for some time and it is only available on Freedom of the Seas (Southern Caribbean out of San Juan).

 

What is the same between Royal and Princess?  What is different?  How does the food compare?  Entertainment on RCI looks a little more "fun, youthful", true?  RCI seems more family oriented, will I be overrun by kids (we are looking to cruise in May)?

 

One thing I have picked up on reading reviews, forums, etc. is RCI seems to nickel and dime more than other cruise lines, do you get that sense?  

 

Any advice and comparison would be appreciated.  

 

[seeyouinthesun]

I have cruised on RCI and looking to go on my first Princess Cruise. The Freedom class ships are my favorite. I think you will find quite a few families with children on that ship as they have excellent youth activities available. 

 

I don’t think they nickel and dime any more than others but I get a lot of complimentary benefits due to my status (Diamond Plus) so first time cruisers may feel they are. 

 

If you are into fitness, that ship has the best gym I have ever seen, much better than Oasis class in fact. 

 

I can’t speak to the food in main dining as I have never eaten there, I go for the healthier options at the buffet which has an excellent selection. 

 

Hope that helps some. 

[JaniceB]

I did not find that Royal nickel and dimes you.  I have not sailed Princess only Carnival and Holland.  I have 2 different friends that sailed princess and thought they nickel and dined you and were constantly trying to sell you something so if that is true you may like Royal better 

[Aquahound]

RCI and Princess are very similar regarding food, service and evening entertainment outside of the main shows....meaning passenger participation game shows, trivia, etc.  

 

RCI is superior in the main shows.  Two other areas I think RCI blows away Princess is the staterooms and overall ship design.  On Freedom, you get a couch in your room regardless of the category you book, and the balconies are larger.  RCI's ships are more open and don't feel as crowded as Princess ships.  

 

And no, I do not get the sense RCI nickel and dimes more than the other major lines.  The only line I would say stands out in that regard is NCL.  

[gerig]

I have cruised the caribbean princess and royal princess have 20+ cruises with RC.  The Royal princess is by far the most elegant ship and has the best pizza "Alfredos".  Both cruise lines nickel and dime you.  However if you want variety and more options I would say Royal has princess beat.

[George C]

I have done a few princess cruises but perfer rccl , ice show is amazing , I think food is even, but princess has much better pizza . Really like freedom class ships . Even though they are large they didn’t seem as crowded as our princess cruises. Only show that is really crowded on rccl is ice show but that is repeated several times.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

We hated Princess - RCI has a lot more enegy and vibe!

Princess is more for old people.....but the food is MUCH MUCH better on Princess!

[MsYukon]

I only cruised with Princess once - Tahiti to Hawaii on the old Royal Princess. We really wanted to cruise that itinerary and Princess was the only one offering it on my scheduled.  Everything was perfectly fine, food, tours etc but  there  didn’t seem to be much to do on sea days.  

 

 

 

 

[OCruisers]

15 hours ago, robptaylor said:

Having never cruised Royal I am looking for some guidance comparing it to what I am familiar.  I scanned the RCI board for similar discussion and didn't find anything specific.

 

We have cruised Carnival, Holland America, and Princess.  Princess has so far been our favorite but we are always looking for something new.  We are looking at an itinerary that we have wanted to do for some time and it is only available on Freedom of the Seas (Southern Caribbean out of San Juan).

 

What is the same between Royal and Princess?  What is different?  How does the food compare?  Entertainment on RCI looks a little more "fun, youthful", true?  RCI seems more family oriented, will I be overrun by kids (we are looking to cruise in May)?

 

One thing I have picked up on reading reviews, forums, etc. is RCI seems to nickel and dime more than other cruise lines, do you get that sense?  

 

Any advice and comparison would be appreciated.  

 

While we like Princess lots better (best fit for us), we would not hesitate to cruise on RCCL again to take an itinerary we wanted.  

[Expat Cruise]

Royal has a better buffet than Princess. But the number of guest Royal packs on the ships make you feel like cattle. Much longer waits for everything on Royal. Also Royal does several PA address per day into he cabins,  things like ship's sales, or other money making things. Princess limits these PA address with only the muster drill and really import news,  maybe 2 per cruise vs many per day. 

 

Overall I find Princess to be  better fit. Much more likely to find drunk passengers on Royal. If you like McDonald's service Royal will be a good fit for you. 

[ProvoAggie]

Princess and RCCL are the only 2 lines that I've done (twice each). They are very similar and the small things really come down to what you like and need. Right now with work I'm in a job where I can't really disconnect. Princess Internet is very expensive and they still limit you by minutes. Royal Caribbean has better internet and they have a reasonably priced unlimited package. 

 

As far as food goes, the MDR is very similar. I really couldn't tell you the difference. As for the buffet's go, I like the variety on RCCL slightly better but the quality is about the same. 

 

For drinks, Princess charges a lot less (at least for non-alcoholic). The soda pass on Princess is a reasonable price and the pass that includes mocktails is about the same as the soda pass on RCCL.

 

As far as ships go, this is the biggest differentiation. RCCL has more activities, more entertainment and I also like the rooms better. RCCL ships typically have waterslides, ice skating and other activities like that on board where Princess doesn't.

 

For kids, RCCL caters more towards families but my kids actually liked the kids club on Princess better. I think that because they have fewer kids they are able to do more.

 

I like both for different reasons but overall they are more similar than they are different.

[robptaylor]

Thank you for everyone's feedback, it was helpful and informative.  It would be interesting to post the same question on the Princess board to see how those "fanboys" respond.

 

We have booked the cruise on Freedom.  It primarily came down to itinerary, we have family in PR so leaving San Juan was a big plus for us and the only other ship that seemed to be departing from San Juan was the Carnival Fascination.  We have  cruised on the Fascination and honestly it is time for that old girl to retire so we weren't doing that again.

 

We also chose this cruise out of curiosity.  We have done the other big lines so wanted to try something new.  We are empty nesters so all the kid-friendly activities, e.g., water slides, kid's club, etc., are actually a little negative for us but hopefully we will not be overrun with kids because they should all be in school.  When it is time for us to take the grandson on a cruise we will have a good point of reference between RCI, Carnival, etc.

 

One final question.  The one big thing we like about Carnival is they have a comedian nearly every night.  We much prefer a comedian to a big production show.  Does RCI usually have a comedian every night or only a couple in the theater?  

[Cruise a holic]

I really think you are in for a real treat!  Having sailed on all cruise lines not HAL- Hands down Royal beats princess.  The service, food, entertainment- staff and cabins excel princess which in my opinion was only fair in all areas.  We also were in a suite the few times we were on princess.  Found the ships very crowded- 

Royal ships are designed very well- especially the Oasis Class and you will find nice quiet spots all over the ship.  Not at all so with Carnival- which was at the bottom of our list.  I think you would also enjoy Celebrity ships-

Edited October 22, 2018 by Cruise a holic

[JaniceB]

Have a wonderful time on your first Royal cruise.

[Crazy planning mom]

Royal only has a comedian one or two nights.   Carnival definitely has the advantage there.  However, Royal has ice shows , game shows, and trivia in the Schooner Bar.

[Aquahound]

11 hours ago, Expat Cruise said:

Royal has a better buffet than Princess. But the number of guest Royal packs on the ships make you feel like cattle. Much longer waits for everything on Royal. Also Royal does several PA address per day into he cabins,  things like ship's sales, or other money making things. Princess limits these PA address with only the muster drill and really import news,  maybe 2 per cruise vs many per day. 

 

Overall I find Princess to be  better fit. Much more likely to find drunk passengers on Royal. If you like McDonald's service Royal will be a good fit for you. 

 

I pretty much disagree with all of this.

 

The best cruise ship buffet I have ever seen was on Regal Princess.  I always felt much more crowded on Princess' ships, especially Grand Class ships, than on any RCI ship.  I have never heard announcements in RCI cabins unless it was something safety related, like the muster drill.  

 

I have several cruises on both RCI and Princess.  I have found service to be exactly the same (both great).   

[ProvoAggie]

44 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Royal only has a comedian one or two nights.   Carnival definitely has the advantage there.  However, Royal has ice shows , game shows, and trivia in the Schooner Bar.

 

Except on the Oasis class ships where they have a dedicated comedy club. My upcoming Allure cruise has at least 1 comedian every day. There are some days that they have a 2nd Stand-up show in another theater.

[BNBR]

4 hours ago, robptaylor said:

We are empty nesters so all the kid-friendly activities, e.g., water slides, kid's club, etc., are actually a little negative for us but hopefully we will not be overrun with kids because they should all be in school. 

 

Keep in mind that Freedom has a nice, large adults area with pool, bar, hot tubs, etc.  That's one thing I like about Royal ships is that it's not completely adult/quiet and not completely kids/loud.  You can have both.  And they do both really well.  Sometimes it's fun to see a more lively atmosphere at the pool, and sometimes you just want quiet and to read a book.  You can do both.

[BNBR]

2 minutes ago, ProvoAggie said:

 

Except on the Oasis class ships where they have a dedicated comedy club. My upcoming Allure cruise has at least 1 comedian every day. There are some days that they have a 2nd Stand-up show in another theater.

 

On the last night of the cruise, they will do a family and adult comedy show in the main Amber theater on Allure.  It's for those who weren't able to get in at the smaller venue.

[matj2000]

If you like Princess, you will like RCCL.....

Edited October 22, 2018 by matj2000

[EeyoreRN]

I think that the different responses above go to show that there's no right or wrong answer.  You have to experience it for yourself!

 

We have never sailed on Princess but have sailed on 3 other lines, Royal Caribbean x2, Celebrity x2 and HAL x1.  We found them to be more similar than different.  Food quality varies by night and venue...I can say we had both our best and worst cruise dining experience on our HAL cruise. Entertainment varies by night and venue. We had both our best and worst entertainment experience on Royal...you see what I'm getting at.

 

I would not hesitate to book any of the lines we have tried so far...or a different one...for the right itinerary at the right price.  Like you, we will be sailing out of San Juan on Freedom because that itinerary cannot be beat.  It is very port intensive, so sadly...or happily, depending how one frames it...we won't have much time on the ship anyway!  Personally I can't wait for this cruise!

 

Happy sailing!

[Desert Cruizers]

I have sailed mostly Royal and while they may be standing there upon boarding to sell, your not obligated to buy. I have enjoyed the 3 cruises on Princess but for over all cruising experience prefer Royal. One of the main things I have noticed, Royal Caribbean's rooms are larger since they don't include the balcony with their room measurements. Food is subjective but have enjoyed my meals on Royal & Caribbean. O Cruisers, we are going on the Freedom out of San Juan March 1 & 8 of 2020, come join the Roll Call. Entertainment, prefer Royal. 

[sellwingri]

On 10/21/2018 at 10:13 PM, Expat Cruise said:

Royal has a better buffet than Princess. But the number of guest Royal packs on the ships make you feel like cattle. Much longer waits for everything on Royal. Also Royal does several PA address per day into he cabins,  things like ship's sales, or other money making things. Princess limits these PA address with only the muster drill and really import news,  maybe 2 per cruise vs many per day. 

 

Overall I find Princess to be  better fit. Much more likely to find drunk passengers on Royal. If you like McDonald's service Royal will be a good fit for you. 

I’m not sure when you last sailed on Royal Caribbean but the only announcements they make that can be heard in your cabin are those pertaining to Muster.  All other announcements can only be heard in the hallways and public rooms.  This changed many years ago.

We sailed on Princess when we first started cruising and will occasionally still sail with them.  However, we find Royal Caribbean to be more fun with more activities.  Im also a card player and the casinos on Princess tend to be much smaller. 

[RDC1]

Have sailed a number of Princess cruises, as well as several Royal cruises (the last Royal was in July).

 

Food on both is good.  Royal buffet has a good selection, but has far less daily change than Princess. Good for a week long trip, gets rather boring for longer trips.

 

The entertainment in the main theater on the 7 day Royal cruise very similar to Princess.  Only real difference was the ice show on Royal, which Princess does not have. On Royal you all have a couple of things like the parade.

 

Very similar levels of nickle and dime selling between the two lines.

 

When it is just my wife and I, especially on longer cruises, we prefer Princess.  On shorter cruises with the daughter's family we will take Royal.

 

PS during the last Royal cruise in July we did get announcements from the CD, including some sales, in the cabin.

 

Edited October 23, 2018 by RDC1

[eastoftheboston]

I found the pizza on Royal to be very good, but Princess has hands down the best pizza at sea. I think Royal has nicer cabins in general, and more activities  (which isn't necessarily a plus for me, I just like to relax!). Princess was quieter, fewer kids. Oh, and the behind-the-scenes ship tour on Princess was better than Royal. I guess it depends on what you're looking for as to which line is "better." I'd happily cruise both. If you're lucky enough to get in the Sanctuary on Princess, then that's another story!