What do NCL cruisers think…..

[suech1970]

….of Princess cruises?
 

We are well cruised with NCL, they are our  1st go to cruise line now.  Also like Celebrity & Marella. However have seen some very nice prices with Princess, with drinks and grats. We prefer relaxed casual dining over formal, live music, love a rock night, trivia and audience participation games show over theatre shows…yeh definination of NCL😆

ANY experiences for NCL cruisers, who have tried and liked or disliked Princess would be real welcome😁

[MagnoliaBlossom]

We are Diamond on NCL and recently tried out Princess after a 14 year gap.  We LOVE Princess.  They are a half step up from NCL, IMHO.  The dining is better, the ships are so tasteful and evening music, violins or piano, are so e joyable as we had a pre dinner beverage. We did not attend any of the shows as we spend the evenings in the casino, so I can’t comment on that.

 

At one time PCL was more expensive than NCL,  but now I’d say they’re about on par with each other.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Edited August 25 by MagnoliaBlossom

[hlperez]

Ditto the above.  Have sailed with both cruise lines several times and like them both.  Personally, what I appreciate about both lines is there are lots of activities going on.  Everything you mentioned you like on NCL, they have in equal measure on Princess.

[kitkat343]

We just sailed on the Enchanted.  The food is much better on Princess, and on the Enchanted the rooms were much larger than the Getaway.   

[rodndonna]

2 hours ago, suech1970 said:

….of Princess cruises?
 

We are well cruised with NCL, they are our  1st go to cruise line now.  Also like Celebrity & Marella. However have seen some very nice prices with Princess, with drinks and grats. We prefer relaxed casual dining over formal, live music, love a rock night, trivia and audience participation games show over theatre shows…yeh definination of NCL😆

ANY experiences for NCL cruisers, who have tried and liked or disliked Princess would be real welcome😁

 

Not "well"  seasoned but ave done 2 NCL and 1 Princess (both lines in the last 8 months), but from what you are saying, I don't think you can go wrong with trying Princess. The food is generally better and from your preferences in entertainment/activities, I think you would enjoy Princess.

 

We have also sailed Marella (although not since Covid) and Celebrity, and I would say Princess in more in line with those cruiselines than with NCL. If you didn't like Celebrity - I would be hesitant to think you would like Princess. 

[suech1970]

Thanks all for the replies, appreciate it😁. It seems like Princess may be worth a try. It was Caribbean Princess we were looking at, one of their older ships, but having only sailed Jewel & Sun class,  won’t matter to much to us.  It’s all about itinerary, good food, cocktails and fellow cruisers.

 

Won’t be permanently jumping ship from NCL, we made it to Platinum so finally got some free stuff🥳🥳🥳

[Travelling2Some]

We have generally looked first to NCL but have sailed many times on Royal, Carnival  and Celebrity too.  Probably will not do any Carnivals again.  We are going to take a northbound Alaska and Southbound Alaska on Princess with some time on land on our own in between.  Their all-in pricing was a bit better than NCL and I do not like the way NCL has been playing fast and loose with itinerary changes. (We have been burnt several times and do not trust them not to skip Glacier Bay for some BS fuel consumption reason.)   Also do not like that NCL docks all the way out at Ward Cove.  Glad to hear others have liked Princess as this will be our first venture with them.

[suech1970]

Totally agree with you on the itinerary changes! We did Sky for a 3rd time, deliberately for Bonaire as we’d only been once and they cancelled it, put some trashy island literally 2 miles off shore of the departure port in Dom Rep instead😡. 
 

We have 2 others booked with them for Indian Ocean and South Pacific, I’m going to be holding my breath when balance is paid, for itinerary changes, there’s a lot of bucket list places on those cruises for sure. Fearing the worst, hoping for the best🤞🤞🤞

[Mehroswitha]

Princess was our first cruise line! We have especially fond memories of the Island Princess, and we feel Princess continues to offer an excellent product at a price point that is realistic for what's provided. As others have said, Princess' food compares particularly well with what's available on comparable lines.

 

These days we cruise mostly on Viking, but when Princess, Celebrity, or NCL offers a particularly attractive itinerary or price we book without hesitation, knowing we'll have a wonderful experience.

[kitkat343]

50 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

We have generally looked first to NCL but have sailed many times on Royal, Carnival  and Celebrity too.  Probably will not do any Carnivals again.  We are going to take a northbound Alaska and Southbound Alaska on Princess with some time on land on our own in between.  Their all-in pricing was a bit better than NCL and I do not like the way NCL has been playing fast and loose with itinerary changes. (We have been burnt several times and do not trust them not to skip Glacier Bay for some BS fuel consumption reason.)   Also do not like that NCL docks all the way out at Ward Cove.  Glad to hear others have liked Princess as this will be our first venture with them.

Princess has historically done a very good job in Alaska.  We sailed them to Alaska many years ago, and loved talks from the naturalist on board.  They've also had puppies onboard in the piazza (not sure about naturalist/puppies currently but you can check here or on Alaska board).

[Travelling2Some]

Yes, I've heard nothing but good about Princess for Alaska.  We were on Celebrity recently and particularly enjoyed their very interesting presentations with intelligent guest speakers.  NCL, Royal and Carnival are lacking in that area.  It was very refreshing. 

[mexico8]

13 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

We have generally looked first to NCL but have sailed many times on Royal, Carnival  and Celebrity too.  Probably will not do any Carnivals again.  We are going to take a northbound Alaska and Southbound Alaska on Princess with some time on land on our own in between.  Their all-in pricing was a bit better than NCL and I do not like the way NCL has been playing fast and loose with itinerary changes. (We have been burnt several times and do not trust them not to skip Glacier Bay for some BS fuel consumption reason.)   Also do not like that NCL docks all the way out at Ward Cove.  Glad to hear others have liked Princess as this will be our first venture with them.

I agree.  NCL just cancelled about 3 ports on our upcoming November cruise.   Not happy about that and we have no recourse on it at all.

[Oceansaway17]

On 8/25/2024 at 9:48 AM, suech1970 said:

….of Princess cruises?
 

We are well cruised with NCL, they are our  1st go to cruise line now.  Also like Celebrity & Marella. However have seen some very nice prices with Princess, with drinks and grats. We prefer relaxed casual dining over formal, live music, love a rock night, trivia and audience participation games show over theatre shows…yeh definination of NCL😆

ANY experiences for NCL cruisers, who have tried and liked or disliked Princess would be real welcome😁

I think that Princess as well as NCL are setting nicer itineraries for Europe in 2025 and 2026 that the other cruise lines.  

[Travelling2Some]

22 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I think that Princess as well as NCL are setting nicer itineraries for Europe in 2025 and 2026 that the other cruise lines.  

Anyone can dream up nice itineraries but the key is to actually deliver them.  NCL seems to be having quite a bit of trouble delivering the itineraries they advertise.  We have booked Princess going forward as they seem much more reliable.

[darstamp]

I haven't paid much attention to this board but it seems like cancelling ports is becoming a habit with NCL.  I have sailed a lot with them but not for several years so was excited when they offered a repositioning from Vancouver to Ensenada, Mexico, and we signed up.  Sure enough, Ensenada was cancelled and Victoria, BC was substituted.  Now Victoria is a gorgeous city and we have spent a lot of time there so if I'd known that, I probably wouldn't have booked the cruise. The most annoying thing was that the shuffling of dates meant we had a conflict between a dinner reservation and an excursion.  I couldn't believe it when I tried to change the dinner reservation to another night they told me they were only taking reservations for 4 people, not couples!  Imagine that! It was their fault not ours and they could have fixed it but they wouldn't.  Faced with the choice of not being able to eat at Cagney's or cancelling the excursion, we won't be seeing San Francisco by night. 

[Goldenrosebags]

We're platinum with both lines and we bounce between the two. We love Princess.

[KKB]

On 8/25/2024 at 8:48 AM, suech1970 said:

….of Princess cruises?
 

We are well cruised with NCL, they are our  1st go to cruise line now.  Also like Celebrity & Marella. However have seen some very nice prices with Princess, with drinks and grats. We prefer relaxed casual dining over formal, live music, love a rock night, trivia and audience participation games show over theatre shows…yeh definination of NCL😆

ANY experiences for NCL cruisers, who have tried and liked or disliked Princess would be real welcome😁

Think you will find them more alike than different.

They have anytime dining, and DH wears golf shorts most nights. MDR generally a bit better on Princess, but specialty dining generally a bit better on NCL.

Princess EXCELS at trivia & gameshows, IMO.

We usually find a great group we love to listen to--"rock night"? Probably not, but plenty of top 40 music from 60s-today. 

Production shows r typically "meh"

We are a late 50s couple who like to be BUSY on a cruise. Started on Princess 20 years ago. Probably our 2nd fav line after Celebrity, but NCL, Carnival & RCCL are all right in there. We will happily sail any of them again.

[ronheg]

You don’t have to cancel your short excursion.   when you first board the boat, change your dinner reservations. The ship only allows a certain percentage of advanced reservations, and they’ll be a lot of dinner openings on the first day of the cruise.

[suech1970]

Sounds like they’d be good fit for us, which is just as well as we’ve booked it now😆. Noticed they have Dark & Stormys  on their cocktails menu, so we are half way happen just on that alone😆😆😆. 

[suech1970]

 Happy not happen 🙄

[Acruzaholic]

On 8/29/2024 at 3:56 PM, darstamp said:

I haven't paid much attention to this board but it seems like cancelling ports is becoming a habit with NCL.  I have sailed a lot with them but not for several years so was excited when they offered a repositioning from Vancouver to Ensenada, Mexico, and we signed up.  Sure enough, Ensenada was cancelled and Victoria, BC was substituted.  Now Victoria is a gorgeous city and we have spent a lot of time there so if I'd known that, I probably wouldn't have booked the cruise. The most annoying thing was that the shuffling of dates meant we had a conflict between a dinner reservation and an excursion.  I couldn't believe it when I tried to change the dinner reservation to another night they told me they were only taking reservations for 4 people, not couples!  Imagine that! It was their fault not ours and they could have fixed it but they wouldn't.  Faced with the choice of not being able to eat at Cagney's or cancelling the excursion, we won't be seeing San Francisco by night. 

Here is a way around your problem, Just book Cagneys for 4 people, I have done it before when 2 people booking was not available. When you show up they will seat you at four top table and tell the server the other 2 people couldn't make it. They will only charge you for your 2 meals.

[kalkal]

On 8/25/2024 at 9:48 AM, suech1970 said:

….of Princess cruises?
 

We are well cruised with NCL, they are our  1st go to cruise line now.  Also like Celebrity & Marella. However have seen some very nice prices with Princess, with drinks and grats. We prefer relaxed casual dining over formal, live music, love a rock night, trivia and audience participation games show over theatre shows…yeh definination of NCL😆

ANY experiences for NCL cruisers, who have tried and liked or disliked Princess would be real welcome😁

We are platinum with NCL and Elite with Celebrity.  Also,sailed with mSC.  Went back to Princess after a long hiatus in June aboard Enchanted.  What a great experience.  Booked the repositioning cruise for November and looking forward to Europe with Princess.  All your interest would certainly be met on the Enchanted with a nice price.  

[suech1970]

Our friends, Who are sapphire tier have been told by dining reservations that they can only book their FAS meals pre cruise and will have to book their free tier meals on board….anyone else encountered this “new rule”??

[Goldenrosebags]

I booked both my free at sea and tier meals precruise. You pay on the ship so they don't know how you're covering each meal. They always ask me when I get to the restaurant if I'm using my platinum meal.

[ronandannette]

On 8/25/2024 at 3:53 PM, suech1970 said:

Thanks all for the replies, appreciate it😁. It seems like Princess may be worth a try. It was Caribbean Princess we were looking at, one of their older ships, but having only sailed Jewel & Sun class,  won’t matter to much to us.  It’s all about itinerary, good food, cocktails and fellow cruisers.

 

Won’t be permanently jumping ship from NCL, we made it to Platinum so finally got some free stuff🥳🥳🥳

If those are the NCL ships you're referencing, you will be pleased with Princess. We've done quite a few Princess cruises in recent years because it's the line-of-choice of our regular travel buddies. For us, it's a snooze; we much prefer RCCL, NCL's flashier ships or even Carnival, because we like and make use of all the active recreation and various entertainment options. If that doesn't matter to you, (the NCL ships you've been on don't have any), Princess will be a very good fit for ambiance, dining and service. Enjoy! 😊

Edited September 2 by ronandannette