What sets Princess cruises apart from the others

[Princess Chatterer]

Here's what sets Princess apart from RCI according to my T.A. (posted with written permission)

 

"When you make a booking you get an immediate e-mail confirmation as opposed

to faxes frm RCI that take days (IF we ever get one)

 

The booking system is easy to use and I can work selling Princess 24/7 if I

want to (RCI's Cruising Power is impossible)

 

Cruise rates start out higher on Princess but always go down later unless

it's a super popular cruise that sells out immediately

 

RCI rate go up as the ship sells and start off ridiculous

 

RCI dropped letting TA's give back commission as a discount to our clients

in Aug. 2004 and would rather have people paying full rates by doing their

own booking online themselves

 

When there is a problem...Princess cares. RCI could care less (I see this

all the time)

 

You can book a future cruise onboard Princess for $200 any cruise and get

shipboard credit and if you change your mind later you can re-deposit the

FCC's for another cruise sometime within 4 yrs. , RCI makes you pay full

deposits and if you change your mind on the cruise too bad.

 

Princess not only has onboard booking with shipboard credit and low

deposits but they also have a referral program where you and the new

passenger both get $25pp off of your cruise

 

When booking groups with amenities I have a long time to sell into the

group and even after the group is closed the amenities for passengers are

still on the booking. With RCI you have to sell a cabin in the group within

30 days or lose the space. Even if you sell 7 cabins into the group you

lose the space in a few months because you don't have 8 cabins. No

amenities are given at in this case. With Princess you sell one cabin in a

group and they get amenities.

 

I can go online and buy gifts from commission when making final pmt. on

Princess (but most of the time I give the commission back as a discount

instead) On RCI if you get caught buying gifts you can be barred from

selling RCI and Celebrity.

 

My District Sales Manager can always be contacted when needed. I don't even know who my DSM is at RCI

anymore They changed all the time. I don't blame them and can see why....

 

I sell a really high volume on Princess and before Aug. 2004 sold an equal

volume on RCI/Celebrity. Now when someone asks for RCI I send them rates

for both Princess and RCI and they always take Princess. Once on Princess

they are hooked.

 

My Princess cruisers always go back to Princess. A lot of repeat business

(including my own bookings) When I sold the volume on RCI the cruisers hop

cruise lines looking for more satisfaction in a cruise with the exception

of a very few people who think that the $50pp discount after 5 sailings on

RCI is too good of a deal to change cruise lines even though they can get a

balcony on Princess for what they are paying for an inside on

RCI/Celebrity. Or because a free category upgrade for past passengers on

Celebrity (worth $10pp) is a whopping deal that they can't pass up."

[cruiseapril]

Great itineraries and very good service.

[Boo's Mom]

For me cruising on Princess is like staying at the Marriott Courtyard. I know exactly what to expect and everything is so comfortable and familiar from one cruise to the next. I've not seen any national media stories about folks getting wasted in the Princess casino and then going missing. Allow me to be totally politically incorrect. Carnival can keep their party all night nude sun bathing crowd, R.C. can keep their cabin drapes being clipped to the curtain rod with safety pins, Celebrity can keep their snooty officers, Norwegian can keep their dirty tenders and Holland can keep their past their prime crowd. I'll take Princess - my yuppie ship - the best cruise value for my money period.

 

Hey, wOKie....

You made me laugh.

Thanks. :D

[SeaTeacher]

I am new to cruising, so I lack broad experience. But I’ve done a ton of reading and research. I learned that different lines cater to different crowds. Princess seems to be a good fit for my partner and me.

 

Price: Crystal, Radisson, Seaborne, etc. are too expensive. Though we could probably afford one luxury cruise every couple of years, I’d rather spend less and be able to take a more vacations or cruise more often.

 

Ship Style: I’ve seen pics of RCCI ships. They are very large and the marine architecture tries very hard to impress. Also, almost all the ships are very large. But they seemed too much like a big suburban mall (which I refuse to go to). I prefer a ship that has a quiet elegance to it, is more understated and anchored in old style marine architecture. I don’t like the cabins on NCL ships – most are smaller than average. I like cruising on a line that has smaller, midsize, and larger ships. So we chose Princess for its diverse ships and low-key traditional elegance – yet they have all the modern conveniences and the balcony cabins are a little larger than the industry standard.

 

Food: We may try Celebrity some day. The excellent reputation for fine dining is attractive to me. Princess food has its ups and downs. But generally, it is on a par with RCCL and sometimes with Celebrity. I have seen HAL menus, but they are a little bit too pedestrian for what I want. Princess has good basic food, and the line experiments with some special styles and flavors – often enough to add some interest. Princess is middle of the road and that’s good enough for me right now. Add to that the variety of dining options (traditional seating, personal choice, specialty, bringing wine onboard, reasonable alcohol prices, etc) then I think the scales tilt in favor of Princess.

 

Personal Issues: RCCI and Celebrity get mixed reviews for the way they welcome gay passengers. They can be inconsistent – sometimes welcoming and other times cold and downright homophobic (on the part of corporate policies and cruise directors – not crew). Since this is not an issue for most people, I wouldn’t expect it to matter for the OP or most others. But it does matter to me. If I have a choice, my money goes to corporations and products that show me consistent respect, both on paper and in person.

 

Passengers: I am a middle age urban school teacher. I have a wide variety of friends and acquaintances. I wanted a cruise line that catered to a broad cross section of people, including children, middle age folks, young adults, retirees, people of all colors, creeds, and political philosophies. Celebrity skews a little older, HAL a lot older. NCL is about the same. The luxury lines skew older as well. So, again Princess was the best match.

 

Activities: RCCI offers very active ships. I like that. HAL and Celebrity do not. Carnival ships definitely tilt too far toward a floating party. Princess provides activities that are almost as diverse as RCCI including everything from pool games to golf to SCUBA and dance clubs. Also, most ships have a pool designated for adults only. Again, it’s a good match for us.

 

Overall: When I balance ship style, food, corporate policies, activities, demographics, and price – Princess is the right line for us. Finally, my travel agent agreed it was probably the right match. For others, a different choice may be appropriate. Research and conversation with many experienced cruisers is always helpful. My vacation money does not come easily. I don’t want to waste it.

[Love Boat Dream]

I like that each ship has it's own personality, but I can always expect a spotlessly clean ship that is decorated elegantly, and is not at gaudy. The staff is friendly and they go out of their way to make your trip wonderful, without being subservient. I like the mix of passengers. We cruised a lot before we had a child, and now that I am almost 50 and have a 6 year old, I don't want to go on a "kid's cruise" I want my child to have a great time and I want to be able to have grown up time and family time.

 

The food on Princess is always excellent. I love the soufflé! And, they treat their past cruisers very well!

 

I think the entertainment is a little "old" though. RCCL does a better job on appealing to younger people with their shows.

 

We've been on RCCL and Celebrity and I would definitely go back on those ships. We've been on Carnival and I will never go back there!

 

I do think your trip is what you make of it and you can have alot of fun no matter what line you are on!

 

Susan