Crown Princess or Serenade of the Seas

purplechic7106 · January 23, 2007

Hello!

I'm looking for some feedback on both the Crown Princess and Serendade of the Seas. My husband and I are deciding between the 2 for a 2008 Southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan, and are interested in the pros/cons of each from simply a ship perspective. The ports of call are equal in our eyes.

We've cruised on Princess and RCCL before and enjoy both; so I know we really can't go wrong, but I'm curious to hear what others experiences were.

Your opinions are welcomed!!!

THANK YOU!

giadav · January 23, 2007

I have cruised both and as you stated, pros and cons to both. I have also found every cruise to be an individual experience.

I do find the food to be better on Princess but the service in the Horizons Court is terrible. They won't help you to a table if they see you trying to carry your tray and coffee in the morning and ignore you if you have a soda card. We were defininately not the only ones that felt this way. This was also the only area that we noticed a problem. The main dining room, pursers desk, and cabin steward were always fantastic.

With RCCL I think the food is good (but Princess is better) and the service in the Windjammer is outstanding, staff comes running towards you to help you to a table, and is always attentive.

Obviously, neither one of the issues is a big deal to me, seeing that I'm sailing Princess in March. I always have fun when I'm on vacation!! These are just differences I have noticed.

Engine643 · January 23, 2007

My DW and myself did the Serenade in Nov. of 05 and the Crown in Dec. of 06 and I would have to say the Serenade is a little better in my opinion. I think the food was better, the ship was much easier to navigate, the balcony cabin was roomier that also had a sofa which the Crown did not. The buffet on the Crown was layed out poorly as there is hardly any room to navigate w/o bumping into another person. I would have to say the Crown's entertainment was a little better but that could be hit or miss depending who they have on the ship.

I think that you will be happy on either ship. We totally enjoyed both cruises and would not hestitate to sail with Princess again.

critterchick · January 24, 2007

The Radiance class is my favorite, and the Serenade is a beautiful ship - easy to navigate, terrific staff and crew, food was very good. I haven't been on the Crown, but I prefer the layout of a Radiance class to a Grand class ship.

If cabin size is important, as another poster said, the balcony cabins on Serenade are nicer than Grand class cabins (although the BA cabins on Caribe deck have huge balconies). The junior suites are nicer than the Princess minisuites, too, IMHO. They are wider rather than longer and I like the living room space better.

hshowalter · January 24, 2007

My wife & I were on the maiden voyage of the serenade of the seas & loved the ship On 9-22-06 we were on the Crown & it too is a great ship. I would have to say they are close:but the Serenade is a little better. I would take the one with the best price.

TexasMom2 · January 24, 2007

We faced the same choice for April '08 and chose the Serenade. Went on the Jewel in December (made Platinum after 4 cruises) and it's a beautiful ship, lots of glass and the solarium is wonderful and free. JS 1100 on the corner was available and that sealed the deal. Hitting St. Thomas first (no immigration) instead of last is also a plus. The alternating itinerary on the Crown (with Grenada) has St. Thomas first.

The Serenade was $300/pp more but we get the platinum discount, shareholder discount, plus we should have about $300 cabin credit on our RCI Visa by then so it will be easier to accept the price difference. I'm looking for price drops every week or so but don't expect to see any until next fall.

What we enjoy most is having a hot breakfast on our balcony and meeting people at late dining and in the casino, and of course Quest. Can't wait to get back to Barbados and do the Silvermoon again. I've heard so much about the 360 deg turns at the Pitons and Montserrat, hope they are still doing that when we go.

plantlady104 · January 24, 2007

Sailed on the CP and had wonderful time; and have read same type of reviews for SS. Depends upon what you want. CP has more outdoor pools, MUTS, and bar lounges. SS has indoor pool. RCCL seems to get better guest entertainers vs Princess, but staff productions shows better on Princess. Food is probably equal. We had great traditional dining; dinning rooms are smaller, more intimate, while on SS probably more stately with 2 floors. We had no problem with the horizon court setup, not really crowded as others have stated, plus you have the option of Cafe Caribbe. Windjammer Cafe on SS is bigger and probably does have more room to navigate. Comments on both buffets seem about the same. I did like having a variety of premade egg choices on CP. Our decision between the two was based on the cheaper cost, ship ammenities that we prefer, and the fact CP was also newer. If I went again, I would try SS since we like to have a new experience. Seems like I remember someone blogging that SS will be having an upcoming drydock time. Just for curiosity, why do you and others book a cruise so far into the future? Are prices better? Or because holiday time? I always book only 3-6 months ahead of a cruise after monitoring the prices over the internet sites. It does not seem that booking a cruise a year ahead offers less price, but rather more, since the cruise line has no incentive to offer discounts yet.

TexasMom2 · January 25, 2007

Sailed on the CP and had wonderful time; and have read same type of reviews for SS. Depends upon what you want. CP has more outdoor pools, MUTS, and bar lounges. SS has indoor pool. RCCL seems to get better guest entertainers vs Princess, but staff productions shows better on Princess. Food is probably equal. We had great traditional dining; dinning rooms are smaller, more intimate, while on SS probably more stately with 2 floors. We had no problem with the horizon court setup, not really crowded as others have stated, plus you have the option of Cafe Caribbe. Windjammer Cafe on SS is bigger and probably does have more room to navigate. Comments on both buffets seem about the same. I did like having a variety of premade egg choices on CP. Our decision between the two was based on the cheaper cost, ship ammenities that we prefer, and the fact CP was also newer. If I went again, I would try SS since we like to have a new experience. Seems like I remember someone blogging that SS will be having an upcoming drydock time. Just for curiosity, why do you and others book a cruise so far into the future? Are prices better? Or because holiday time? I always book only 3-6 months ahead of a cruise after monitoring the prices over the internet sites. It does not seem that booking a cruise a year ahead offers less price, but rather more, since the cruise line has no incentive to offer discounts yet.

To answer about booking way in advance, I like aft cabins so you have to book those early. On RCI, you can get price drops, even after final payment. It doesn't matter what price you are booked at up front because if/when it drops, you can get the price reduction anyway. You just have to watch it and call in for the reduction when it happens. If there is a Happy Hour or Promowave special that is new bookings only, you can cancel and rebook if cabin location is not important and your deposit transferred. My last cruise featured a senior discount, then a resident discount in the last 4 weeks before sailing which was more than the resident discount. It was no problem to take the biggest discount.

I look at it this way - by booking in advance, if the price goes up, you've booked at the lower price. If it goes down, you can get the lower price. And you can always change dates/cancel as long as you're within the final payment cut-off.

purplechic7106 · January 25, 2007

Hi! Thanks everyone for your advice! Definitely some good points to consider.

Plantlady...Good question regarding why I'm already thinking about a cruise a year away...my husband thinks I'm nutty...especially since we have one coming up in a few weeks. :)

My reasoning is two-fold...we can only take one vacation a year (save a couple long weekends), and I've found I get the best prices/room locations booking 9 months or so in advance. But is mainly the satisfaction of having something to look forward to! We probably won't book until this summer, but I'm starting to get some ideas now and I'm one of those people who like to do lots of research.

CAcruzfunatic · January 25, 2007

We sailed the Serenade to the Southern Carib. for Thanksgiving 2005 and would have to say it was one of best cruises ever. We loved the ship. I will say that we have never sailed the Crown and she appears to be a beautiful ship. We have sailed on the Diamond, Sapphire and the Grand. I know there are differences but many similarities. The Radiance class ships are one of my favorite. Many of the reasons have already been stated.

Here are a few of the things that made our Serenade sailing outstanding:

Staff on the Serenade was outstanding. From the Windjammer, to the Dinning Room staff, to the staff in the Seaview Cafe. All remembered names made our children feel welcome and worked to ensure we had a great time.

The Ship - I love the openness of the ship. There are windows to the sea everywhere. We sailed by many small islands that the captain would tell about, particularly the last day. Where ever you were there were windows to take in the views.

The Captain - The captain pulled the ship in front of the Pitons and spun the ship around in a 360 degree turn for all to enjoy the views. Sectacular! On the last sea day the captain purposly wound through many islands pointing out various interesting sights. Monserat with steam venting up from the sea. The old stone fort on the hill, forgot the island name. The small island of Saba.

Windjammer - The food, I believe, was significantly better than Princess and the layout is definitely less congested. I also agree that the service is the Windjammer exists!

Cabin - We had a category D1 Balcony stateroom which was much nicer than a category B on Princess. The D is a bit larger than an E balcony which we had on the Radiance and I felt both were nicer than a standard balcony on Princess. I enjoy haaving a sofa in the room for lounging, reading or watching TV.

I will resoundingly concur with TexaasMom2 with regard to Barbados. We sailed on the Silver Moon also. It was just our family of six and one other family of four. The day was a highlight of our trip. The vessel was great, the staff was excellent, drinks, LUNCH!!!, snorkeling, swiming with sea turtles. Can it get any better. A must do!

Joyce Prince in St Marteen

Cosol in St. Lucia

I could go on and on but by now you've got that my vote would be Serenade of the Seas.

As to booking early, anticipation is half of the fun!!! We booked our Nov. 2007 Med. Cruise last October. And we did get two aft staterooms.

Enjoy the southern caribbean!!

cws · January 25, 2007

I have sailed Radiance of the Seas (nearly identical to Serenade) and just returned from Crown Princess a few weeks ago. In my mind Crown Princess wins hands down. Here's why:

1. I found the dining room food to be much better on Princess.

2. I actually found the Horizon Court to be superior to the Windjammer. I thought the food was better and the overall decor of the room much more elegant than the Windjammer. There was as much people-bumping in Windjammer as Horizon.

3. Cafe Caribe on Princess is an outstanding dining option, with nothing similar on RC. The dinner buffet would open at 5:30p, and since I had late dinner seating I would always go and get a few pre-dinner snacks.

4. Afternoon tea on Princess is a wonderful tradition. RC did not offer this.

5. The champagne waterfall on the last formal night was also great fun and was not on RC.

6. Movies Under the Stars is awesome! It was so much fun to relax by the pool during the day with a movie showing, or enjoy sports at night with the popcorn they hand out. And if this is not your thing, there are three other pools you can go to.

7. The staff on Princess was much friendlier. On RC everybody was just okay. Not bad but nothing great. On Princess the staff was outstanding. Examples: On RC our matre d' only came by our table the last night, as if it was only for the tip. On Princess our matre d' came by the first night, and every night brought us a nice Italian appetizer. On RC I asked for copies of the menus and my waiter said no problem, that on the last night he would have them all for me. The last night comes and he had nothing, despite the fact I reminded him a few times during the cruise I wanted them. On Princess my waiter handed me all the menus on the last evening.

8. Pizza and hamburgers - I am a big fan. RC could have the worst pizza ever, and their hamburgers are precooked sitting in gravy in the Windjammer. Princess has awesome pizza and the hamburgers are cooked made-to-order on an outside grill.

9. Crown has Princess' new bedding in all cabins, which is very comfortable. Radiance had the older RC bedding that was a thin, low board.

10. Crown has the International Cafe for quick treats all throughout the day. There was nothing similar on Radiance.

11. The cruise summary showing the routing delivered to my cabin on the last day was a great souvenir. RC did not have this.

I could go on, but you get the idea. Don't get me wrong, Radiance was a lovely ship and still a great vacation. I had a great time. But in my opinion the Crown was a very elegant ship and an even better vacation. Princess just seemed one notch above.

cws · January 25, 2007