Favorite Princess Ship?

[Pat King]

We are new to Princess, and really like the ships and the onboard experience. We like Sky, but if there are significant differences in the ships that cruisers prefer, we would be thankful to hear about them.

[mtnesterz]

There is a new publication from Princess that was just emailed to us, perhaps a week ago, from our CVP. It's really to promote the new Sun Princess, but on page 37, I think, it shows a chart comparing features for all the fleet. I forget the title, but I think that is what you are looking for. Or call your CVP and it will be emailed to you.

If you like the Sky, good for you. For many reasons, we find smaller is better. The R-Class Pacific, before they sold it, was the best. The Island, before they added cabins, was really nice too.

[Bgwest]

#1 - Diamond

# 2 - Coral

[mreasier]

#1 - Coral - Smallest and least crowded ship with almost all the Princess features we like including the International Cafe.  Lacks Skywalkers but has the Universe Lounge.

#2 - Sapphire - Next smallest ship.  Extra wide Promenade  deck.  All the Princess features we like including the International Cafe and Alfedos.

#3 - Grand - All of the features we like except Skywalkers.

#4 - Diamond - Sister ship to Sapphire but lacks International Cafe and Alfedos.

 

Next in line would be the "Super Grand" ships - Caribbean, Crown, Emerald and Ruby.  They are very similar to the Sapphire and Diamond but they have an extra passenger deck adding about 500 passengers.

 

We do not care for the Royal class ships - Royal, Regal, Majestic, Sky, Enchanted and Discovery.  They lack good forward and aft viewing areas, have small balconies and seem more crowded.  We do have a cruise booked on the Sky solely due to a unique itinerary.

 

And last would be the Island Princess.  It was identical to the Coral until they butchered it by adding about 100 cabins (200 passengers) while removing one of the 2 show lounges and burying the gym in an area with no windows.  Also lacks the International Cafe.

Edited May 10, 2023 by mreasier

[Rick&Jeannie]

Pacific Princess, hands down!  Alas, we only got to sail on her one time just before the pandemic which was her world cruise.  (We were on the very first leg of that cruise, a Panama Canal full transit.  I know we can sail her again on Azamara...but that takes a bit more coin!

[StrawberryHill]

Same as mreasier post:

 

Coral - Smallest and least crowded ship with almost all the Princess features we like including the International Cafe.  Lacks Skywalkers but has the Universe Lounge.

Edited May 10, 2023 by StrawberryHill

[wcflats]

Agreed we definitely prefer the smaller ones…the gem class is our favorites…diamond,emerald,….that class.

[maggie777]

1 hour ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Pacific Princess, hands down!  Alas, we only got to sail on her one time just before the pandemic which was her world cruise.  (We were on the very first leg of that cruise, a Panama Canal full transit.  I know we can sail her again on Azamara...but that takes a bit more coin!

We sailed on Azamara Onward ( Pacific Princess ) Feb 2023. We even had the same cabin as we enjoyed on previous sailings. Princess prices are creeping up as we like the Plus fares. Compare this to Azamara ( includes beverage, gratuities and access to free laundromat )

[dweidensaul]

We will ONLY sail Royal Class ships.  MUCH prefer the food setups on Lido as well as the enhanced fitness facilities.

[Anubi]

Any of the Grand Class.  We love the walk around promenade.  

 

[LACruiser88]

Any ship that I'm onboard!   😀

[cr8tiv1]

31 minutes ago, maggie777 said:

We sailed on Azamara Onward ( Pacific Princess ) Feb 2023. We even had the same cabin as we enjoyed on previous sailings. Princess prices are creeping up as we like the Plus fares. Compare this to Azamara ( includes beverage, gratuities and access to free laundromat )

 

I thought the Pacific Princess became Azamara Quest....Hmmmm.  Need to revisit Azamara.

[Honolulu Blue]

I've only sailed on three Princess ships (though I was booked on the Grand at the beginning of the pandemic - cue dramatic music).  The Regal and Majestic are sisters and I didn't notice any major differences between them.  The Ruby is older and I didn't like her as much.

[wcflats]

Agree with L. A. Cruiser….but just a preference for the type of ship 🚢.   Going on emerald princess end of May then again on Caribbean princess in November for two weeks with family from California an the UK.  Can’t wait for either! 

[wcflats]

If we can squeeze one in between the two then we’ll consider that as well!😎😁

[LACruiser88]

13 minutes ago, wcflats said:

Agree with L. A. Cruiser….but just a preference for the type of ship 🚢.   Going on emerald princess end of May then again on Caribbean princess in November for two weeks with family from California an the UK.  Can’t wait for either! 

In the past 12 months, we have been on the Emerald, Regal, Discovery and Sapphire.  In July, we will sail again on the Emerald and the Enchanted in November.  Of the older ships, we like the Emerald and Ruby.  Of the newer ships we like the Royal and Regal.  

 

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by LACruiser88

[miagirl]

2 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Pacific Princess, hands down!  Alas, we only got to sail on her one time just before the pandemic which was her world cruise.  (We were on the very first leg of that cruise, a Panama Canal full transit.  I know we can sail her again on Azamara...but that takes a bit more coin!

Hands down the Pacific and her sister ship the Ocean!  We used to pick our cruises based on where they were sailing.  Following those, it would be the Coral and then the Grand class ships.

 

The new Royal class (if that's what they are called) are far to large and crowded for me.  And the lack of a Promenade deck at sea is dreadful!  No thank you!

 

I realize that the time is coming where I'll have to switch over to Azamara of Viking Ocean cruises.

[mtnesterz]

Found it, @Pat King. Click the link and download Princess Cruise Experience. Go to page 37.

https://www.princess.com/brochures/

[sirclean]

I liked the Star best. It was big enough, but not as big as the newer ones like Discovery.  As others indicated, I liked the Island better before the conversion. 

[Cruise Raider]

I love the Royal class ships and of the ones I’ve sailed on, the Royal is my absolute favorite Princess ship.  She just has everything we like: 

 

She has Vines

She has Crooners

She has Alfredo’s 

She has a large nonsmoking area of the casino that is completely blocked off from the smoke 

 

While we like the Discovery and the Majestic a lot, one doesn’t have Vines and the other doesn’t have Crooners.  The Ruby is a fine ship but doesn’t have an Alfredo’s or GiGis pizzeria.  
None of them have such an area in the casino that I’ve seen, except for the Royal.  
 

I love deck 8 cabins and the midship ones are my favorites as the balconies are so much more affordable.  

 

My least favorite ship in the fleet is the Diamond Princess.  She has nothing that really appeals to us.  

 

 

[nini]

We loved the Golden, but it was sold.

Our favorites have been the Regal, Grand, and Crown.

 

Many adore the Coral, but we were not fans of the design of the ship for various reasons.

[Kay S]

4 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Pacific Princess, hands down!  Alas, we only got to sail on her one time just before the pandemic which was her world cruise.  (We were on the very first leg of that cruise, a Panama Canal full transit.  I know we can sail her again on Azamara...but that takes a bit more coin!

Yes.  I did a month on the Pacific Princess.  The smaller the better.  I don't need multiple bars and restaurants, not to mention all the additional passengers.  After that, it would be the Coral (the only ship for Panama, IMO) and then the Diamond/Sapphire.  I don't mind the Crown class ships.  I haven't had an outstanding cruise on any of the Royal class ships because of size issues.  We are seriously looking at Azamara and Oceana because the prices on Princess are mounting anyway.

[Traveler1977]

1 hour ago, mtnesterz said:

Found it, @Pat King. Click the link and download Princess Cruise Experience. Go to page 37.

https://www.princess.com/brochures/

Thanks for posting the link. 

[SuzieQ521]

2 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

I love the Royal class ships and of the ones I’ve sailed on, the Royal is my absolute favorite Princess ship.  She just has everything we like: 

 

She has Vines

She has Crooners

She has Alfredo’s 

She has a large nonsmoking area of the casino that is completely blocked off from the smoke 

 

While we like the Discovery and the Majestic a lot, one doesn’t have Vines and the other doesn’t have Crooners.  The Ruby is a fine ship but doesn’t have an Alfredo’s or GiGis pizzeria.  
None of them have such an area in the casino that I’ve seen, except for the Royal.  
 

I love deck 8 cabins and the midship ones are my favorites as the balconies are so much more affordable.  

 

My least favorite ship in the fleet is the Diamond Princess.  She has nothing that really appeals to us.  

 

 

 

Thank you for this! First time sailing on the Royal in 10 days and we are on deck 8 (obstructed deluxe balcony although not really obstructed...).

 

What do you like specifically about Crooners if I may ask?

 

[startedwithamouse]

Discovery or Emerald.