Princess vs. Royal Caribbean

[pxgrant]

My DH and I are looking at both Princess (who we've cruised before) and the new FOS. We are leaning towards Royal Caribbean this time and know virtually nothing about their line.

 

After speaking to a current RCCL cruiser, she told me that they are very similar except that RCCL seems to be a bit more attentive to the guests needs.

 

We are planning on sailing in October of 2007 and would like to book within the next month or so to secure a good balcony stateroom.

 

Thanks to anyone for your thoughts on this.:)

[TheWog]

I just booked the Freedom today. RCI is offering $99 discount for booking soon on some sailings. Can't tell you much of the differences between the two, but RCI was excellent on our Enchantment cruise and we are returning to do the Freedom over Disney with our son. Good luck deciding.

[superjerryw]

Here's a review I just did comparing my recent sailing on the Grand Princes to RCCL -

 

I was a traitor and I loved it. We just did a 7 day repo cruise on the Grand Princess from San Juan to Brooklyn and I have to report that Princess is equal to RCI. As far as the size of the ship goes, the Grand Princess would be equivalent to the Radiance class.

 

Cabin – we had an outside cabin that was nicely appointed but seemed to be rather small. I seem to remember most of our RCI cabins having a small sofa but you simply could not fit one in our cabin on the Grand Princess. In addition, the closet lacked doors and the bathroom was rather small as well. Definite edge to RCI.

 

Food – Dinner - The Grand has three separate dining rooms as opposed to one multi-level dining room. The service provided by the dining room staff was equal to that on RCI. As for the food; appetizers, soups, salads and entrees were about the same. I found the meat dishes about the same as RCI. My wife ordered fish each night and she said the fish was better than on RCI, being more moist and flavorful. Deserts were generally better on the Grand with New York style cheesecake and their special Love Boat desert (a thick chocolate mousse type cake) available every night. There was also a much larger selection of ice cream flavors each night along with a different plate of assorted cookies almost every night. A basket of bread was placed on the table each night in contrast to our last RCI trip on the Jewel where bread was given out on request by the asst. waiter. As far as dinner in the dining room is concerned I would have to give a slight edge to Princess.

 

Food – Lunch – On my last few RCI cruises I have found the Windjammer lacking at lunch time. I frequently looked at the food and don’t see anything I really wanted and ended up going to the grill for a burger. The buffet on Grand Princess is called the Horizon Court. It had a nice variety of food and I found something to my liking each day so I never had the need to sample the hamburgers. Slight edge to Princess

 

Food – Dinner – Buffet – We normally eat dinner in the dining room, but we always walk up to the buffet afterwards to see what they have so we have a general idea of what’s served in case we decide to eat there one night. (Actually, we're pigs and we go to the buffet after dinner to see if they have any different deserts....:D ) The Horizon Court seemed to have a more interesting selection of food compared to the Windjammer including a chocolate desert buffet one night. Slight edge to Princess.

 

Gym – the gym on Grand Princess is too small for a ship of that size and lacks sufficient equipment. In addition, the space allocated to the equipment is cramped and the machines are all jammed one next to the other. Edge – RCI.

 

Entertainment – Production shows were equal to RCI as were the headline entertainers. The significant difference is that you can attend two shows most nights on Princess. In addition to the main show in the theatre, there is usually another show in one of the lounges. I’m not talking about a special late show by a comedian for adults only, but a comedian or singer or hypnotist giving a show for anyone that wants to attend once or twice that night. Slight edge to Princess.

 

Swimming Pools – the Grand Princess has 4 pools, one of which in the aft part of the ship is limited to adults. I think the forward pool may also be limited to adults but I’m not sure. The two main pools seemed to be a better idea than the single main pool found on many RCI ships. One of the main pools also has a retractable roof. Slight edge to Princess.

 

Misc. – The cabin steward continually provided packages of shampoo, conditioner and body lotion as opposed to that glop in the dispenser on RCI ships. The future cruise consultant is only available on a first come, first serve basis as opposed to RCI where you can make an appointment. The video arcade is huge, with a wide selection of video games.

 

Overall, we had a great time on the Grand Princess. I have sailed with Princess in the past, but had not done so for a few years. I would not hesitate to cross over again. To be honest, I’m sick of going to Florida to get on a ship so the cruise line that has the best offerings from the New York area is the one that is going to get my business.

[Merion_Mom]

Book both, then wait until July 20th when I get back from the Crown Princess, and you can either add my praise to Jerry's or count my criticism against his review.

 

I expect to have a great time, but I will also write up a comparison for everyone.

 

I'M SURE THAT IT WON'T BE AS GOOD AS JERRY'S, BUT A GIRL'S GOTTA TRY. :D

[LLindaC]

We enjoyed our cruise on the Caribbean Princess, but aren't in a hurry to book another. The things that we enjoy- shows, bars, music, theatre were just so doggone crowded we weren't able to do everything we wanted. That's a shame. On the other hand, Princess did a much better job controlling onboard secondhand smoke. I thought the food was pretty equal on both; we did enjoy the ease of freestyle dining and liked meeting new people. But as far as beauty goes, it couldn't hold a candle to the Eagle class ships and no place is as much fun as the Promenade. I did a review of the Caribbean Princess vs the Mariner. Here's a link to it.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=15201

[Philly Ken]

I happen to really like the flexibility of the Anytime Dining on the Princess ships, which RCI doesn't offer. You can have a traditional dining time, either early or late in that dining room, but if you aren't ready at that time or just want to eat at a different time, you can go to an identical dining room and get great service and the same food. I never had to wait more than 5 minutes.

 

I'm also surprised to hear that the pools on the new Freedom are saltwater. All of Princesses pools are freshwater, which I find more fun to swim in. I have also heard that RCI empties their pools at night, while Princess allows swimming at just about all hours. I've had a few fun nights being the only one in the pool area, which can be very romantic under a full moon.

 

With that said, I think the lines are very similar. I've found the rooms on Princess to be very nice and spacious (for a ship), and the same for the Voyager that I was just recently on. I think you'll have a great time on either ship. Enjoy!

[love2cruiseseattle]

THIS IS JUST MY OPINION

 

We were on the Golden in late October and here is who I prefer:

 

Pools: Princess - freshwater and a few more

Service: RCCL

Food: about the same

Entertainment: RCCL

 

When we got to our cabin, it was not very clean, the refrigerator still had grapes from the previous week and when we asked for extra towels, none were given.

 

Unless we get another fabulous deal on Princess we will stick with RCCL.

[spowell]

My husband and I cruised aboard Caribbean princess last July. We also cruised on Voyager of the Seas via RCCL. In my opinion, RCCL is far more better when it comes to customer service and treating you like a person and not just a number.

 

Princess-We missed a couple of islands due to problems with the ships speed and also had some terrible service with our luggage. They take everyone's luggage and just pile it up in a building for you to find your own. Our cabin steward was very nice and attended to us very well. We did have some fun with the people we met on the cruise.

 

RCCL- Very nice and elaborate cruise. You are treated more like a person and with great customer service. Food was much better and ambiance of ship was far better to me. I also like the fact that all of your luggage is placed on a conveyer which makes much easier access for you to get to your luggage. In my opinion I would choose RCCL over princess.

 

Once again, this is my opinion and one would have to decide what is best for them.

 

Good Luck

[faithwins]

We sailed on Princess (Golden) and although we had a good time, we will stick with RCCL. The kids prefered RCCL 10000x to princess, they only had a good time bc of the kids they met, not the ship.

 

Also, you said you were intreseted in Freedom, youd have the advantage of sailing on a new ship, biggest ship.

 

Basically what it boils down to

 

RCCL: If you have kids or are more active/partying people

Princess: If you want a more laid back cruise, relaxing

[pxgrant]

I appreciate all the feedback on my thread.

 

I do have one more question, though, if someone wouldn't mind answering.

 

On the Caribbean Princess they had self-service laundry machines, which was great in that I hate going home with dirty laundry, especially after a week.

 

Do the Royal Caribbean ships have that luxury (not that it's a luxury) :D

 

Thanks

 

Peggy, Norwood, MA

[GMoney]

No self - service laundry on any RCI ship.

 

As far as differences go, they are very similar products. To get a better idea, I would look at it on a ship-by-ship comparison.

 

I mostly sail RCI, but really enjoy Princess and will be back on them in Nov.

[pacurnl]

I feel that both cruise lines are comparable, but I think you need to wait to hear how people like the larger ship. I am not sure where RCCI is getting the demographic that tells them that everyone loves a larger ship, but I'm not so sure it really will work that well. They will be limited to ports due to their size, tendering will be a nightmare, and you may be standing in line for everything. I shudder to imagine the line at the Purser's desk with 4,000 pax on board. So read some reviews and see how other people feel it works. I'm certain the Freedom will be beautiful, but dealing with so many passengers may be difficult. And yes, Princess does have laundry on board, and they may add it to the Freedom, but they do not have it on any older ships.

[isujim]

We decided to try and Princess and went on the Caribbean Princess. This was not one of our better cruises...........but I hate to judge a cruise line by one ship. We found the Caribbean Princess was too large, and not well designed as far as public area's like you find on all RC ships. The food was better on Princess......but we aren't foodies so that wasn't a big factor to us.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with either line. I think they are very similar.......but make sure you pick the Princess ship that is right for your style of cruising. We prefer RC, but will try Princess again if the itinerary and the price is right.