From Royal Caribbean to Princess

[bucky0926]

DH and I are thinking of an ABC cruise in April 2026.  Have never cruised with Princess and need to know the ins and outs of this line before I plunk down my money.  What are the most important things I need to know and what am I going to find shocking.  Thinking of the Princess Majestic, if that makes a difference.  Thanks to you experienced Princess cruisers out there....

[skynight]

Check out the plus fare and premier fares. In my case the plus fare works out to breakeven if I have about 3 alcoholic beverages/day.

majestic Princess does not have all the rock walls, surf pools and other youth oriented stuff. If you sail while youth are in school, not Easter weeks, there will not be many youth on board. If you sail during these dates you may hit youth. These youth will congregate at the main Lido deck pool as well as the Hollywood Pool indoor pool. The Majestic does not have a walking promenade deck.

Dining, there are three general evening MDR options, a) anytime dining, b) traditional dining with set times and set table, c) reserved dining where you reserve a dining time for each each evening on the app. That time can be different each evening or you can choose the same time for the entire cruise. If you book a full suite or a reserve class mini suite then your dining is in a special section of the DR. It's walk up anytime the DR is open with prompt seating and much improved service.

DRs are open for breakfast and dinner each day and lunch on sea days. One DR is also open for lunch on boarding day.

Specialty Dining. These have a surcharge. If booked in advance on line your credit card will be charged at the time of booking.

Excursions when booked on line your credit card is charged. However, if you have OBC it can be applied to these excursion bookings.

If you are a vet search Princess military benefit. There is OBC available.

If you own at least 100 shares of Carnival stock look up Carnival Shareholder's Benefit for OBC. 

[JimmyVWine]

41 minutes ago, bucky0926 said:

What are the most important things I need to know and what am I going to find shocking.

Boy, that is a loaded question.  Are you more familiar with Royal Caribbean in its Mega-Ship context, or in its 1980s-1990s iteration?  If you sailed on RC in the 80s and 90s on what would now be considered "smaller" ships, a cruise on Princess today would not shock you at all.  More similar than different.  But if your experiences with RC have been on Mega-Ships with interior balconies, Central Parks, go-cart courses, Flo-Riders and ice rinks, well, the Princess experience could not be more different.  You won't find "chain" restaurants on Princess.  So no Johnny Rockets, or Guy Fieri or Starbucks.  RC sells its Mega-Ships as the destination (along with its Private Island of water slides.)  Princess still markets the destinations as the destinations, with what it believes are just the right amount of onboard activities to keep people happy and interested.  

 

Assuming that by "ABC" you mean Aruba/Bonaire/Curacao out of Florida, then there will be quite a few Sea Days.  So how important is it to you that on those Sea Days that you have an amusement park atmosphere?  Or how important is it for you to read a good book, play trivia games, and get some alone time with your DH?   Any kids going along?  No one can ever tell you that a Princess cruise offers the same type and amount of distractions (and I am not using that in a pejorative sense) as an RC cruise.  But to the Princess loyalist, that is a positive, not a negative.  My older brother was an absolute believer in the RC Mega-Ship experience especially with his thrill-seeking kids.  Me?  I never bought into that type of cruise.  Neither one of us is any more right or wrong than the other.   

[akaCruiser]

Having cruised on both RCCL and Princess, as mentioned above RCCL Quantum, Oasis, and Icon class ships are designed to be entertainment centers themselves and also to hold 3,600 to 6,800 passengers. If you love to be able to do all the various active events that a RCCL provides, then Princess will be a change of pace being that it is more traditional cruising where you are focused on the ports of call then the ship itself.

 

Keeping that in mind, cost of going on Princess I find to be more affordable these days especially when you opted for the Princess packages, which RCCL doesn't have an equivalent offering. As my family of four with the kids turning to adults doing Princess is a good cruise line for us to sail on, as the need for using the entertainment venues are not as critical as it before they were younger.

 

Also if you are sailing on Princess most of their ships are smaller (except for Sun and Star Princess) and as such it's not as crowded compared to RCCL ships. For me, I like RCCL various activities, but to stretch my cruise budget I will be planning on Princess cruises for the next few years, unless I find a crazy good deal on RCCL.  

[bucky0926]

3 hours ago, bucky0926 said:

DH and I are thinking of an ABC cruise in April 2026.  Have never cruised with Princess and need to know the ins and outs of this line before I plunk down my money.  What are the most important things I need to know and what am I going to find shocking.  Thinking of the Princess Majestic, if that makes a difference.  Thanks to you experienced Princess cruisers out there....

I just realized from the responses I have received thus far that I did not paint a very good picture.  I am 65, hubbbie is 66.  We always choose our cruises based upon ports and never on the ship.  I do enjoy the hustle and bustle of the bigger royal ships but I do not enjoy the lines and waiting and crowds that are associated with them.  We have been going on the smaller ships as we like the longer cruises (10,11 days) and the bigger ships are shorter to attract more families and because they can go into less ports due to their large size.  One of the reasons I am looking outside of royal is because they do not have an ABC itinerary at all from any Florida port in the first 4 months of 26.  Not happy because we will finally be diamond and won't be able to take advantage of it.  Someone mentioned that princess tends to be less expensive but the one thing is this ship (majestic) doesn't have any ocean views cabins and I can't do interior so I am back to a balcony.  We tend to do ABC itineraries because we are big snorkelers.  We like to hang out in the indoor pool area because they are more quiet and no kids (being on longer cruises tends to also lessen the amount of kids traveling).  Hope that gives you some insight into us to help guide your answer.  Thanks again for all your insights.

[coopco]

I have only been on one RCCL cruise when our kids were young and totally loved it. That being said I think you will really like cruising with Princess. We are 64 and 71 and like the fewer children aspect of Princess. We just made Elite to illustrate how much we like Princess. Honestly the reason why I chose Princess years ago is I liked I could do laundry during the cruise and when you have young kids, that’s huge. Even though we don’t cruise often with the kids anymore, I like the laundry available aspect and am not sure I’ve been on a cruise without utilizing it (except maybe the one day cruise we did once).I know we will cruise RCCL again but am sure it will only be when our mid-20’s kids will join us. I think you will enjoy Princess. The food in the dining room is good (listen to your waiter and their suggestions), it doesn’t feel like a booze cruise (and we tend to drink a lot on vacation so it’s not like we look down on people enjoying their vacation), and you are going on a Royal Class ship so there will be plenty to do. Most of the time we haven’t had a problem with the crowds but I guess it depends on what you want to do and how early you get to the venue. I say give it a try. If you want a more relaxed, sedate atmosphere with still plenty to do, I think you will like it.

[memoak]

To me the biggest difference between RCL and PCL is that Princess for the most part does not have the big kids things like climbing walls go carts water parks. Princess is a little more quiet except on the piazza area

[Retired-N-Happy]

To OP,  just in case you did not know on August 9 of 2025 there is a repositioning cruise which is usually cheaper that visits the ABC's as well as other ports in the Eastern Caribbean.  It's on the Enchanted, it starts in Fort Lauderdale and ends in Brooklyn.  Stops include Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Barbados, Dominica, St. Thomas, & San Juan.  Has six days at sea. 2,3,7,11,12,13.

The ship was built in 2020 and is 145,000 tons.

[skynight]

You mention ocean view cabins. Check out the obstructed view balcony cabins on deck 8. They are a nice alternative to ocean view cabins.

Laundry. Princess ships have self service laundries on each passenger deck. $3 each wash & dry. Dryer sheets, detergent is available at a small cost or you can bring your own. No chare for irons.

There are no free happy hours on Princess no matter what your loyalty level. With the standard fare you pay for each drink. Plus & Premier fares/packages you are allowed up to 15 alcoholic beverages per day menu priced $15 or less for the plus fare and $29 or less for the premier fare. You also have unlimited non alcoholic beverages such as specialty coffees, sodas, and so on.

Without any package, standard fare, juices are no charge in the DRs and buffet at breakfast. Ice tea, lemonade, regular/decaf Lavazza coffee, hot teas available in the DRs when open and all day in the buffet.

The buffet, World Fresh Marketplace, is open from around 6am until late evening maybe around 11pm. While some sections change their offerings the buffet is always open during that time. The International Cafe is open 24/7. It has cont.; breakfast items and then switches for lunch, afternoon and evening items and desserts. There is no charge for food items.

If you are into dining experiences such as chef's table and others these are also available. There are a limited number of seats.

Theater shows are all walk in. No reservations. Arrive between 30 to 45 minutes early for production shows, 30 minutes early for guest entertainers. Normally two shows per evening, something like 7:30 & 9:30, but times can change. 

[knbcruisers]

Hi just got off the Freedom of the Seas with our family group of 14, including 5 kids ages 6-14.   RCL Freedom was chosen because we were taking DD her husband and the 3 GK.  It was the perfect ship for them, but DH and I would not go back with just the two of us.  Too crowded, every family seemed to be a big group like ours 😊 and all the bar and lounge venues seemed too small. Pool was crazy, thankfully we were able to use the Solarium adult only pool.   Food and service were comparable to Princess, and RCL resolved an issue with the cabin to my satisfaction with OBC . I did find the buffet hours were more restricted, closing as early as 9 one night.  On Princess even if the buffet is reduced during change over hours, you can find something.   No 9$ room service fee on Princess with the plus package. I think the casinos are nicer on Princess, but we lost so that might have something to do with it😂.    If you're looking for relaxation, decent service and food, and don't need to party until 1am, you'll find good value on Princess.     Looking forward to our 10 day Baja on the Grand next year.

[skynight]

Take a look at this recent post. The ship originally built for the Asia market is changing venues for the west.

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 7/30/2024 at 8:48 PM, bucky0926 said:

  I am 65, hubbbie is 66.  We always choose our cruises based upon ports and never on the ship.

you are going to love Princess.

If you don't want a hoard of kids, do not go during spring break, unless it's a 10 day cruise (that one will not have too many kids)

Edited August 1 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Esprit]

If the ships aren't important to you by comparison, I would just add that the food variety is bigger on Princess.

RCL is much more fast food orientated and lacking in international dishes IMHO.

I've never been a buffet fan but on RCL it was pretty awful. 

[RedJessi]

TL;DR I would only cruise Princess for the itinerary. 

Historically Princess catered to an older crowd - the active retired set. More recently, they seem to have pivoted to capturing multi-generational travelers (which is how I've ended up with them). As others have mentioned, you will not find flow riders, rock walls, zip lines, thrill slides or kids clubs on their ships; their ships are not destinies. Their itineraries are where they shine - especially land & sea packages like they offer with their Denali lodges. This is truly AWESOME and I have nothing but glowing reviews not only for this package but also for how responsive and accommodating their teams are when travel goes wrong thanks to airlines. 5 stars, A+, incredible customer service! Where they fall flat is the quality of their food. Granted, I've only sailed with them once before, but the MDR was, hands down, the blandest, worst quality food I've ever eaten in any restaurant - yes, not just on any cruise line, but being served out of any professional kitchen. I will give it another shot on our summer 2025 cruise (booked only because it was literally the only option out of any cruise line for the time and itinerary we wanted) but I fully expect to do most of my dinning in the buffet or on deck because, oof. Just, not good. Of course, tastes may very, and maybe I came in with higher expectations for this cruise line over CCL and RCCL, so your mileage may vary. 

[Scottdalfonso]

30 minutes ago, knbcruisers said:

Hi just got off the Freedom of the Seas with our family group of 14, including 5 kids ages 6-14.   RCL Freedom was chosen because we were taking DD her husband and the 3 GK.  It was the perfect ship for them, but DH and I would not go back with just the two of us.  Too crowded, every family seemed to be a big group like ours 😊 and all the bar and lounge venues seemed too small. Pool was crazy, thankfully we were able to use the Solarium adult only pool.   Food and service were comparable to Princess, and RCL resolved an issue with the cabin to my satisfaction with OBC . I did find the buffet hours were more restricted, closing as early as 9 one night.  On Princess even if the buffet is reduced during change over hours, you can find something.   No 9$ room service fee on Princess with the plus package. I think the casinos are nicer on Princess, but we lost so that might have something to do with it😂.    If you're looking for relaxation, decent service and food, and don't need to party until 1am, you'll find good value on Princess.     Looking forward to our 10 day Baja on the Grand next year.

I'm a Royal Caribbean guy, It's all I've done until this upcoming Princess cruise. We just got off Liberty (basically the same ship as Freedom) and my biggest thing about Royal, on any ship, is that food tends to shut down at 9pm unless you want pizza or cookies from the cafe Promenade. 

[skynight]

3 hours ago, Scottdalfonso said:

I'm a Royal Caribbean guy, It's all I've done until this upcoming Princess cruise. We just got off Liberty (basically the same ship as Freedom) and my biggest thing about Royal, on any ship, is that food tends to shut down at 9pm unless you want pizza or cookies from the cafe Promenade. 

On Princess sometimes I head to the buffet for a late evening snack. It may close around 11pm. Not actually certain other than I have gone there. The International Cafe which serves a variety of foods and desserts is open 24/7 and it's right next to a bar. 

[knbcruisers]

1 hour ago, skynight said:

On Princess sometimes I head to the buffet for a late evening snack. It may close around 11pm. Not actually certain other than I have gone there. The International Cafe which serves a variety of foods and desserts is open 24/7 and it's right next to a bar. 

I was very disappointed that the buffet closed at 9 when all aboard was 7:30 pm in Puerto Rico.  I do not understand that at all.   After showering etc there was very little time to eat.  Ended up with room service which was fine,  but the 9$ fee irks me a lot given the price of the cruise!  Cafe Promenade was ok for a quick bite, but nowhere near the variety or the IC on Princess.

Edited August 1 by knbcruisers

[skynight]

1 hour ago, knbcruisers said:

I was very disappointed that the buffet closed at 9 when all aboard was 7:30 pm in Puerto Rico.  I do not understand that at all.   After showering etc there was very little time to eat.  Ended up with room service which was fine,  but the 9$ fee irks me a lot given the price of the cruise!  Cafe Promenade was ok for a quick bite, but nowhere near the variety or the IC on Princess.

I think this post is referencing RC, not Princess. Princess' buffets remain open until later in the evening.