Is Princess cruise a premium cruise line?

[Dunk]

A person that I knew who worked in the cruise industry said that there are three kinds of cruise lines: 

 

1. Beer & Pretzels Lines

2. Wine & Cheese Lines

3. Champagne & Caviar Lines

 

I always thought that was an astute observation. And Princess is solidly #2. 🍷🧀

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 12/8/2019 at 8:12 AM, zltm089 said:

Is Princess cruise a premium cruise line?

 

Not even close. It is a nice, mainline cruise line.

 

On 12/8/2019 at 8:12 AM, zltm089 said:

Is Princess cruise in the same league as celebrity cruise and Holland and America line?

 

Yes, same exact tier.

 

On 12/8/2019 at 8:12 AM, zltm089 said:

How do you guys rate the dining onboard?

 

Decent. Like eating at your standard Marriott or Hilton hotel dining room.

 

On 12/8/2019 at 8:12 AM, zltm089 said:

Or are they just a mainstream cruise line trying to be premium light?

 

They are a mainline cruise line not trying to be anything but a mainline cruise line.

 

The premium lines are Silversea, Seabourn, Crystal and Viking. Premium Light is how I'd place Oceania and Cunard.

[kywildcatfanone]

Not a premium line, but not a value line either. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Some interesting answers. I am saying there are three categories, low, middle and high. Give them any label you like; Princess is in the middle.

[npcl]

17 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

Some interesting answers. I am saying there are three categories, low, middle and high. Give them any label you like; Princess is in the middle.

More like 4.  Clear separation between Oceania, Viking and Azamara and the luxury lines of Regent, Crystal, etc  Just as at the lower end there are also clear separation between the two groups.

 

 

[PrincessLuver]

12 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Not a premium line, but not a value line either. 

 

I agree that Princess is not a premium line even though most Princess passengers probably think it is (just like they think the demographics are not an old crowd compared to other lines)....to me it is a basic Ford or Chevy!!!  When staying in a full suite it can approach a Mercedes......

Edited December 10, 2019 by PrincessLuver

[vakamalua]

No, not premium.  Nor are Celebrity or Holland America.  Just mass market.

[Tatka]

Premium Massmarket

 

A bit above Massmarket

[zltm089]

On 12/10/2019 at 10:02 PM, vakamalua said:

No, not premium.  Nor are Celebrity or Holland America.  Just mass market.

Mass market lines are NCL, Royal Caribbean, Carnival and PnO.

 

HAL and Celebrity are a step up imo.

[getting older slowly]

Princess mid tier yes

 

I like the posts which state price point cost per person per day.......

 

This is the marker we use   fare plus OB Account divide by days.....

 

Princess is good for this you can get a suite with the perks and have a great time without breaking the bank....

 

We have thought about going more up market..... but the cost is simply too much......

 

Also it is other things..... the style / feel / vibe of the cruise line.....

 

like Cunard  with its  high standard of dress required ( not our scene )  so we would not travel with them.

 

Cheers Don...

 

    

[neverbeenhere]

I’m pretty sure Budweiser is the leading Premium Beer. Watch out what you wish for. 

[fishin' musician]

Consider the term mass-market; I'd consider any cruiseline that has ships with a capacity of 2500+ pax to be mass-market. I think rather than a subjective term like premium, a more quantitative term would be "targetted demographic".   CCL and RCL are going after the 25-40 something with kids; Princess and X are adding 15 years to that and HAL is taking the seniors.  (NCL seems to target all age groups.) Each line caters to their target demographic.  Of course the lines are blurry, and more so during peak periods.  My thinking is that in this thread "premium" is misconstrued as more mature taste and preferences.  ???

[Vexorg]

Disney seems like a bit of a weird case here.  From what I've heard it seems to be somewhere on the upper end of the premium mass market lines, but manages to price itself well into premium territory on pricing mostly because people will actually pay it for the whole Disney experience.  My wife and I are Disney junkies (have had Disneyland annual passes for a number of years in spite of living 1,000 miles away) and would like to try a Disney cruise at some point, but it's a lot harder to justify the cost when the cost for 7 nights in an interior cabin on Disney may cost as much as 7 nights in a Club Class mini on Princess or 10 nights in a balcony.

[npcl]

12 hours ago, fishin' musician said:

Consider the term mass-market; I'd consider any cruiseline that has ships with a capacity of 2500+ pax to be mass-market. I think rather than a subjective term like premium, a more quantitative term would be "targetted demographic".   CCL and RCL are going after the 25-40 something with kids; Princess and X are adding 15 years to that and HAL is taking the seniors.  (NCL seems to target all age groups.) Each line caters to their target demographic.  Of course the lines are blurry, and more so during peak periods.  My thinking is that in this thread "premium" is misconstrued as more mature taste and preferences.  ???

from my last couple of cruises on HAL and Princess the demographic seems similar on similar length cruises. HALs demographic is getting younger and Princess older.

[npcl]

12 hours ago, fishin' musician said:

Consider the term mass-market; I'd consider any cruiseline that has ships with a capacity of 2500+ pax to be mass-market. I think rather than a subjective term like premium, a more quantitative term would be "targetted demographic".   CCL and RCL are going after the 25-40 something with kids; Princess and X are adding 15 years to that and HAL is taking the seniors.  (NCL seems to target all age groups.) Each line caters to their target demographic.  Of course the lines are blurry, and more so during peak periods.  My thinking is that in this thread "premium" is misconstrued as more mature taste and preferences.  

the major division are based upon cost and inclusions, as well as food quality and staffing. Clear lines between mass market (rcl, NCL, princess, celebrity, hal, etc) and premium (viking, oceania, etc) And luxury ( crystal, regent, etc)

[vjmatty]

On 12/9/2019 at 11:16 PM, scottca075 said:

Some interesting answers. I am saying there are three categories, low, middle and high. Give them any label you like; Princess is in the middle.

 

Except if you can get on Pacific Princess during a BSE promotion.... then you have the benefits of luxury cruising at a premium cruise price 😉

[npcl]

3 hours ago, vjmatty said:

 

Except if you can get on Pacific Princess during a BSE promotion.... then you have the benefits of luxury cruising at a premium cruise price 😉

one offs are not a definition.

 

even with the promotion, if you travel on the same r class ship on Oceania (same class as pacific) you will find cabins much nicer, better service staffing. No comparison on the food quality. For example on my last Oceania you could find lobster tails in the buffet most, if not all evenings.  the promotion certainly does not make it the same experience. So with the promotion you really don't even make it to true premium let alone luxury.

Edited January 25, 2020 by npcl

[vjmatty]

21 minutes ago, npcl said:

one offs are not a definition.

 

even with the promotion, if you travel on the same r class ship on Oceania (same class as pacific) you will find cabins much nicer, better service staffing. No comparison on the food quality. For example on my last Oceania you could find lobster tails in the buffet most, if not all evenings.  the promotion certainly does not make it the same experience. So with the promotion you really don't even make it to true premium let alone luxury.

 

I didn't say it was a definition, hence my use of the word "except".

 

PP has been refurbished since the last time I sailed, so I can't confirm or deny current quality of cabins or common areas... I will know next year though!

 

As for the food, with DH being gluten free and me as a vegetarian, we're always off menu with specialized meals so I can't compare to what the typical passenger experiences. My bad for not taking that into account.

 

All in all, I still consider PP premium as compared to the rest of the fleet....the balcony cabins are bigger and include a couch, the ship is more intimate and the staff ratio is better. I don't consider service on Oceana better than my last PP cruise, but then again maybe that has changed, which I will find out soon. 

Edited January 25, 2020 by vjmatty

[LB_NJ]

On 12/8/2019 at 11:12 AM, zltm089 said:

Doing some research about the premium cruise lines available.

 

Is Princess cruise in the same league as celebrity cruise and Holland and America line?

 

How do you guys rate the dining onboard?

 

Or are they just a mainstream cruise line trying to be premium light?

 

All the cruise lines you mention are mainstream cruise lines.  On average they are probably slightly better than Carnival and RCL the two companies that own Holland and Celebrity but not premium cruise lines.

[RMMariner]

Glad to see this thread resurrected, but nothing has changed. Princess is still squarely in the middle. Carnival, RCL and Norwegian below. HAL about the same. Probably slightly lower than Celebrity, and then well below Oceania and Azamara. Then the sky is the limit. (Crystal etc.)

[fishin' musician]

DW and I have sailed mostly Princess, but also several HAL, RCL, NCL, 2 Costa, 1 X and 1 CCL.  We've also recently enjoyed 3 Windstar cruises aboard their 212 passenger power yachts.  These 3 formerly Seaborne vessels are all suites and have 150 crew members, so guest to crew ratio is huge.  The size of the ships allow them access to tiny ports and harbors so the itineraries are incredible.  I wouldn't call it luxury, but it is certainly a more upscale experience than the mass-market lines we've been on (great service, amazing food!).  So perhaps premium?

[pris993]

On 12/8/2019 at 8:12 AM, zltm089 said:

Doing some research about the premium cruise lines available.

 

Is Princess cruise in the same league as celebrity cruise and Holland and America line?

 

How do you guys rate the dining onboard?

 

Or are they just a mainstream cruise line trying to be premium light?

Yes, I can tell you I have cruised Princess, Celebrity, Holland America, Cunard recently... we are elite on both Princess and Celebrity... very little difference between of them.   Different cruises prefer on line over another, each has its pluses and minuses.  

[OCruisers]

On 12/8/2019 at 11:12 AM, zltm089 said:

 

 

Is Princess cruise in the same league as Celebrity cruise and Holland America line?  

 

Absolutely .... Princess is equally as good if not better!  

 

[OCruisers]

On 12/8/2019 at 11:12 AM, zltm089 said:

 

 

Is Princess cruise in the same league as Celebrity cruise and Holland America line?  

 

Absolutely .... Princess is equally as good if not better!  

 

[OCruisers]

On 12/8/2019 at 11:12 AM, zltm089 said:

 

 

Is Princess cruise in the same league as Celebrity cruise and Holland America line?  

 

Absolutely .... Princess is equally as good if not better!