Any Princess cruisers?

[drgonzogoo]

HEY NOW! We're thinking of trying a cruise on Regal Princess for several reasons, but as we enjoy a robust crowd, we are wondering if we'll be bored. We mostly hang around the pool area, does Princess have anything going on around the pool during the day? Im going to post in the Princess forum too, so woah woah woah stop the clock. 

 

Any info would be appreciated! Thanks

[jsglow]

Your experience on Princess will be different.  It's more geared to a 45+ crowd.  You'll see this reflected in the theater productions as well as the poolside activities.  All very nice, but there's no rap party at sail away, for example.

 

We love Princess for what it is.  It travels to far more exotic cruise destinations.  But Carnival has the week long Caribbean vacation for the young and young at heart down to a science. For a comparable itinerary sailing out of south Fla for 7-8 days, I'd choose Carnival every time at a comparable price point.  

Edited November 17, 2019 by jsglow

[Crusin Hogs]

We are late 50's ,Tried them once  ,Funeral home at sea ,, Boring , stuffy crowd compared to Carnival ,,Love Boat was shown everyday on the big screen for several hours at a time ,9:30 to 10 PM  No one in sight in main public areas I got pictures of the lobby  , 3 floors no one in the pictures at all , I joked to my wife  , Time for the crew to roll up the carpets for the night ,, and announce bed time for everyone ,,   They do offer milk and warm  cookies every afternoon 

[Host Carolyn]

We go on both Princess and Carnival. Main thing that I notice is there don't seem to be as many activities going on around the ship during times production shows  are going on in main theater on Carnival.  Piano bars on Princess are great. More trivia and atrium centered activities on Princess.

    Carnival has better Lido area and selections IMHO. Also warm chocolate melting cake😊😁. Carnival and Princess are pretty much equal in my book, each have pros and cons

[CruzerDeb]

We sailed to Alaska on Ruby Princess this past June. Lido was quieter, but it was cold out. The entertainment crew was outstanding, very energetic and talented. Lots of fun in the Atrium with line dancing lessons and other things. Good music throughout the ship. Saw people of all ages - lots of families with children. I think those who sailed were comparable to Carnival. I missed Guy’s Burgers, Blue Iguana and the fun Lido, but would definitely sail Princess again. 

[CC Rider 69]

We just returned from a repo of the CB from Quebec City to FLL. I'll give you a quick take away. Yes, there is no LOUD pool activities, but it was the end of October, beginning of November (cold on deck).

Yes, this was an older crowd, but so was our 9 day CCL Valor Panama PT we did in February of this year. As for activities, plenty of trivia, bingo, etc. Outside venues were not used until we reached warmer weather and then people started showing up.

The bars were always active late into the evening. The casino active until about 10-11, depended on whether your winning or not.

You won't find a comedy lounge, a comedy show might be incorporated into show in the theater but don't count on it.

Bottom line we never ran out of things to do, just time to do them. 

[lcpagejr]

Quieter and a bit more upscale. We cruised on Royal Princess (Regals sister ship) in 2015. We are Platinum on Carnival and wanted to try Princess. Lounges are great...service is great...Just a more quiet atmosphere...If your looking for a party atmosphere even if your reserved but like to be around partiers...stick with Carnival

[drgonzogoo]

Well, after i went through a few pages of the princess board i decided against even posting there. I appreciate the replies, and i believe i will recommend princess to my parents for their annual bday cruise but we will skip them for now. 

  We enjoy all of the shenanigans and antics on the Lido and would probs be really bored if it wasnt like that. Thanks again everyone, and Baba Booey to you all! 

[jsglow]

Yep.  It's different strokes for different folks.  If I were looking for a week in the Caribbean sun, I likely wouldn't consider Princess.  If I wanted to get back into Glacier Bay or travel deep to South America, I wouldn't consider Carnival.  Have fun!

[NCbmwmom]

We are doing Princess to the British Isles only because Carnival doesn’t do the itinerary I want. The ship looks beautiful, and with such a port intensive cruise, I really think we will enjoy Princess for this trip.    

[OCruisers]

5 hours ago, drgonzogoo said:

Well, after i went through a few pages of the princess board i decided against even posting there. I appreciate the replies, and i believe i will recommend princess to my parents for their annual bday cruise but we will skip them for now. 

  We enjoy all of the shenanigans and antics on the Lido and would probs be really bored if it wasnt like that. Thanks again everyone, and Baba Booey to you all! 

 

Probably as good decision for you at this point ... but do keep Princess in mind when you are planning a cruise outside of the Caribbean.  

Also, the Holidays and Spring Break cruises tend to have a younger crowd.  

[xitappers2bx]

We cruised on the Caribbean Princess a handful of years ago (maybe like 3 or 4?) and I was happily surprised to see a good mix of ages!  My kiddo had a ton of kids her age to play with and the pools were FILLED with kids.  We went in the fall, I don't recall it being a school holiday, definitely before Thanksgiving, so I was really expecting a subdued low key crowd.  

[rnff2]

We have cruised on the Regal Princess and they did have a few events by the pool on sea days.  They had a bartender competition and I remember them doing an ice carving.  They also play movies and concerts on the big screen throughout the day.  But if you are looking for the cruise director activities, music and games like Carnival has you won't find it on Princess.  That being said we love cruising on Princess and so does our 14 yr old but we usually cruise during spring break when it's a younger crowd and there are more kids.  

[pacruise804]

On 11/17/2019 at 8:09 AM, drgonzogoo said:

HEY NOW! We're thinking of trying a cruise on Regal Princess for several reasons, but as we enjoy a robust crowd, we are wondering if we'll be bored. We mostly hang around the pool area, does Princess have anything going on around the pool during the day? Im going to post in the Princess forum too, so woah woah woah stop the clock. 

 

Any info would be appreciated! Thanks

 

On 11/17/2019 at 10:29 AM, drgonzogoo said:

Well, after i went through a few pages of the princess board i decided against even posting there. I appreciate the replies, and i believe i will recommend princess to my parents for their annual bday cruise but we will skip them for now. 

  We enjoy all of the shenanigans and antics on the Lido and would probs be really bored if it wasnt like that. Thanks again everyone, and Baba Booey to you all! 

 

Even though you aren't sailing Princess, maybe this will help others: we sailed Regal Princess in late October 2017 and thought there were several pros & cons.  It was an older crowd (but also older itinerary - Canada/NE), we were definitely on the young end in our 40's.  There was a lady in her 50's sailing with her mom who was thrilled to be away from Carnival, but we also met a couple in their 60's who found the ship too boring and couldn't wait to get back to Carnival.  We found it a nice level of entertainment (decent shows, good 70's & 80's music in one of the lounges) and loved the bagpipe group in the afternoons, but we are pretty laid back.

 

The dining options are nice on Regal.  Alfredo's and Winemaker's Table are big standouts, plus the International Cafe.  The layout of the ship was odd though and had a "can't get there from here" feel for some venues.  Timing for traditional dining was odd too - originally said 6pm but was actually 5:30 (early to us).  Balconies were very tiny, Carnival has better cabin space.

[serene56]

Our first princess cruise was a few years back-  caribbean princess.  I was so worried about reviews and people thoughts about it being an older crowd.  nothing to do at night.  food so bland they do not add anything to the food.     Figured let me try it and find out myself.   I was bowled over from the moment we walked on til the monent we stepped off we were completely wow'd      Wish we can take more princess cruises but they cost more then a carnival  and i like my vacations

 

[dmdiver]

We sailed Regal Princess and the ship is beautiful.  The cabin dressing area is really nice.  You have to have an upgraded balcony to get a sofa, though.  Standard balcony only had a chair.  We were not impressed with any crew other than our steward.  Trouble getting bar service by pool and even in main dining room.  I kid you not - we would try to get their attention & they would look and walk the other direction.  The other 3 people I sailed with said never again.  My favorite thing about that particular ship was the game show.  We were not selected as participants, but really enjoyed watching.  They have a very nice adult only pool that we never used - a large group was sailing that pretty much took over that area.  They have a nice cigar bar, but a very drunk guy knocked over one of our beers, so that put a damper on that afternoon.  While watching a performer in the atrium, a woman proceeded to shove her chair in front of me, almost putting it on top of my foot.  I exercised much restraint.  So, don't think that just because you are on a pretty ship with stuffy staff that the other passengers are going to be any different than the other mainstream cruise lines.  They had a rifle shooting simulator that we tried to check out, but it was never open and none of the staff knew when it would be open.  

[coevan]

On 11/17/2019 at 6:57 AM, Crusin Hogs said:

We are late 50's ,Tried them once  ,Funeral home at sea ,, Boring , stuffy crowd compared to Carnival ,,Love Boat was shown everyday on the big screen for several hours at a time ,9:30 to 10 PM  No one in sight in main public areas I got pictures of the lobby  , 3 floors no one in the pictures at all , I joked to my wife  , Time for the crew to roll up the carpets for the night ,, and announce bed time for everyone ,,   They do offer milk and warm  cookies every afternoon 

 

 

What ship were you on and what year? This is nothing like we heard about Princess. 

[OCruisers]

21 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

What ship were you on and what year? This is nothing like we heard about Princess. 

Wondering the same as you are about coevan's post. 

This is nothing like any cruise we've taken on Princess.  

[auburn77]

We are Carnival Platinum. Just booked our first Princess Cruise on the Emerald to Alaska. Booked the Mini-Suite which is a glorified balcony cabin. In our 60's, but not bedtime at 9 people. Hope we're not making a mistake.

[Crusin Hogs]

3 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

What ship were you on and what year? This is nothing like we heard about Princess. 

Caribbean Princess  around 2009-2010

 

[serene56]

On 11/18/2019 at 9:13 PM, Crusin Hogs said:

Caribbean Princess  around 2009-2010

 

was it a longer cruise- like a 10 day?   I have never experienced that.    But before our first cruise that is all I was reading and was very worried.   

 

[OCruisers]

We were on Caribbean Princess this past January (2019) for a14 days circle cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale.

Never bored ... lots to do  ... great evening entertainment.