Ships compare Royal vs Golden

[BcIcemen]

Looking for pros and cons for each ship. TIA

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Please enlighten me. What is Golden?

[partybarbie]

The Royal is much larger and newer.  The Golden is smaller and older.  I guess it would depend on where you are going and the type of ship that you like. 

[MissP22]

We haven't been on the Golden in a long time but you can't beat the food on the Royal if that's an important factor. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Dumb question. Forgot what title I was on. The Golden just returned from refurb. Should be nice.

[skynight]

They are totally different designs. Here are just some highlights. The deck plans will tell you a lot.

The Golden is an older Grand class ship with 4 pools, lots of upper deck forward, Aft and side viewing areas, 360 degree covered promenade, larger standard balconies with an entire deck of double sized balconies, Skywalker's Explorer's Lounge, Crooners, and more. We personally like the design of the Grand class ships better than the Royal class ships.

The Royal is a larger 3600 passenger ship. Limited upper deck viewing areas. There are 4 outside patios on deck 7, but no 360 degree promenade. 2 pool areas. Most balcony cabins have Hobbit sized 9'x4' balconies as compared to the standard 9'x5', 9'x6' and 9'x9' balconies on the Golden. No Skywalker's or Explorer's Lounge. It has a Princess Live TV studio venue which isn't one of my favorite venues. It has a very large buffet, one of the best I have seen,  with lots of good selections, it also has Alfredo's serving individual pizzas and other Italian selections, no charge. We enjoy Alfredo's for lunch or dinner. The Royal has a larger Piazza area where many of the evening activities are held.

[karatemom2]

They are both great ships but, as has been pointed out, very different. We have spent more days on the Golden then any other Princess ship, so it holds a special place in my heart. Although it is older, the Grand class design is wonderful. Skynight has done a really good comparison, so I won't repeat it all. But I would just say that I wouldn't hesitate to book a cruise on the Golden - in fact we just booked for next summer. I think for an Alaska cruise the Golden would win every time in my book.

 

We just completed a cruise on the Royal a few weeks ago and while it is a beautiful ship and sparkling new - I still prefer the Golden overall. But with that said, I would absolutely cruise on the Royal again - and we are over New Year's for a Mexican Riviera cruise. We have booked the forward cabins which provide large balconies and are excited to experience the ship again - even with some of the shortcomings that have been mentioned.

 

Both ships offer a great experience, but they are very different so it really comes down to what your priorities are in shipboard experience, price, and itinerary. Either way you will not be disappointed.