Did we make a mistake?

[cruise4mom]

I have also traveled Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Holland American; Princess, Celebrity and some others that are no longer in business. 
 

I have had good and bad cruises on Carnival and Celebrity. You will find your question will solicit a million different responses. Everyone has an opinion however it isn’t your opinion. I can tell you I had an amazing time and someone else on the same cruise can say it was horrible. 
 

you have to read between the lines and sometimes judge for yourself. I used Holland American to go thru Alaska and I was not happy. The trip itself was amazing some of the other passengers tainted my trip. 
 

Personally, I think you have no need to worry. If something goes wrong roll with it. Make a complaint to guest service and don’t let it affect you. If it is a major issue then please make them do right to correct it. Each and every princess cruise I have been on if there is as an issue it was handled quickly. If the issue involved a severe inconvenience compensation was provided. I honestly think you will enjoy yourself. If you are worried about the food, don’t. Food is subjective and Princess also has options be it the MDR, Buffet( room service etc. Don’t worry just go have fun!!!

[guy01]

We’re on Majestic Princess in the South Pacific, it’s fantastic and I’m sure if would be great in Alaska. The advantage this ship would have is the indoor pool and the great Hollywood Conservatory (which is free to access). I’m sure that would improve the Alaskan experience. While everyone is entitled to their opinion, I suspect those with a need to complain will find a reason to do so and forums give them a chance to so without needing to reflect on the reasonableness or otherwise. 
If you come prepared to have fun and enjoy your experience, I’m sure you will have a great time.

[CatMom72]

On 2/10/2024 at 8:35 PM, rockraiders said:

We have cruised many times. Most recently our cruise line of choice has been Celebrity. We have also cruised Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, and Viking river cruise. We wanted to try Princess so we booked an Alaskan cruise tour.  We are pretty low maintenance but I have been reading some reviews on Royal Princess and they are not good at all. Is Royal Princess that bad?

In my experience, you can’t rely too much on other people’s reviews.  What might be the best thing ever for one person is absolutely terrible for another.  I would recommend reading the negative reviews and asking yourself, “Would that be a dealbreaker if it happened to me?” Or, “Does this seem like a reasonable complaint?” Sometimes I read other reviews and they totally resonate with me.  Others I read sound very petty.  And other times, people actually complain about things that I really enjoy!  Different strokes for different folks as they say.

[Donwoods123]

On 2/10/2024 at 5:35 PM, rockraiders said:

We have cruised many times. Most recently our cruise line of choice has been Celebrity. We have also cruised Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, and Viking river cruise. We wanted to try Princess so we booked an Alaskan cruise tour.  We are pretty low maintenance but I have been reading some reviews on Royal Princess and they are not good at all. Is Royal Princess that bad?

Just got off Royal Australian/New Zealand cruise today.  Had a great time.  Waiter Emilio and his assistant waiter Sommy in Allegro MDR are the best.  New CD Esther did a fine job.  The officers were around the ship and very approachable. Great meal in Crown Grill.  Entertainment was good, especially tribute to Neil Diamond.  

 

Sailed on Royal several times, including in Alaska.  I am confident you will have a great time.  Alaska is amazing.

 

 

[JLC0912]

We are planning a NZ cruise on Royal Princess next February.  I gave it a lot of thought and almost re-booked on the Beyond.  We have mainly done RC in the past (mainly Oasis ships) and as newly retired people in our late 50s, it seemed that Celebrity would be a good fit.  

 

Some of my pros and cons were:

 

Cons

Not happy about what I feel is antiquated entertainment. Celebrity offers entertainment directed towards our age and perhaps younger.  Also of note is that the newer Princess ships also have more modern entertainment and music choices.  I feel that the Neil Diamond tribute mentioned by another poster is not something I would be into;  that music is from my parent's era.  I will admit to being picky since my daughter was a dancer and was taught by top choreographers from the music industry and I am used to seeing "the latest" in entertainment and music.

 

Pros

I like the itinerary better. We got the mini-suite and I think we will really enjoy that. The food sounds comparable and will likely be to our satisfaction.  The pricing on the Plus package and speciality dining is much lower.  If we went on the Celebrity, I would not have bought the equivalent drink packaged as it is extremely expensive, IMO.  I don't care for their emphasis on tiered treatment in which they block off large parts of the ship for full suite guests. We will be spending quite a bit of money on this vacation and I am not into being treated like a second class guest. The cost is lower for the same itinerary on Princess compared to Celebrity.  Also, I really don't like Celebrity's new balcony style.

 

I think we will have a great time on the cruise on the Royal Princess.  Everything will be great except for the after dinner entertainment.  The ship is nice- elegant and I prefer their balconies over the new Celebrity ones.  The only reservation I have is that if the itinerary was not exactly what we wanted, I would consider another cruise line or at least a new Princess ship so I would enjoy the time on the ship more. This will likely be our first and last cruise on one of the older Princess ships unless they update the entertainment.

 

BTW- the entertainment on RC Symphony for our Mediterranean cruise blew me away.  The Circus Soleil water show was outstanding as were the ice skating performances.  They had 2-3 night clubs with DJs whick offered different, more updated music choices.

Edited February 19 by JLC0912

[rockraiders]

Thanks everyone. We are definitely looking forward to our Alaska cruise tour on Royal Princess. I’m sure we’ll have a great time. 

[Nelsj099]

Last summer I did the Crown to Alaska, causing the narrows was beautiful.  I am on a Casino fare, and the difference was more than 6000$ to take Royal.  So I booked a balcony on Royal, I am concerned about the size of the ship, but I know it will be Amazing either way.  6000$ will buy a lot of excursions.  

Edited February 26 by Nelsj099