Princess versus RCCL Review

[Sandytoes]

For all those who wonder what the difference is between Princess and RCCL here is my review.

 

Embarkment Day

 

Princess has staff members on every deck level, including cabin decks waiting outside the elevators, directing you to your rooms. Cabin Stewards are near your cabin as you arrive. Introducing themselves. You are hounded to buy soda cards. You are allowed to bring wine onboard.

 

Royal Caribbean just a handful of crew members welcoming you onboard. You are not allowed to bring any liquor onboard.

 

Ships

 

Princess ships have a more "classy" feel to it. Far more elegant.

You never got the feeling that any particular area of the ship was overcrowded.

On each deck there are laundry rooms with washers, dryers, and a row of ironing boards with irons. Public bathrooms are easily accessible near dining area and theatre.

 

RCCL Large glitzy promenade with more detail located on one deck. Each deck is tastefully decorated and comfortable. Decks are detail decorated. Never felt crowded.

No laundry rooms. Lacked of public restrooms which were not easy to find.

Ship was worn, not well maintained.

 

Cabin

 

Princess cabins offer you a free bathrobe. More space for storage. Plus, egg-crate foam mattress support, if needed. Shower has a curtain, no racks to place toiletries. Balconies are bigger, with comfortable chairs and table.

 

RC if you want a bathrobe, you have to buy one, unless you book a suite or have higher member status. . Small drawers for storing clothes.

Bathroom shower was larger, with a tubular shower door and had racks to place shampoo, shaver, etc. On balcony there’s a small side table with two uncomfortable chairs.

 

Mustering

 

Princess mustering drills are done in the lounges and the theatre. You don’t have to wear your life jacket until after they did the demonstration and gave you time to practice. The Princess mustering drill was also more informative. There was a recording that played over the PA system that told you exactly what you would have to do in the event of a real emergency.

RCCL you had to put your life vests on while going to your outside lifeboat station and wait for the cruise staff to do roll call. You are crammed into tight rows in the heat. Given a small lecture on safety measures.

 

Horizon Court vs. Windjammer

 

Princess the Horizon Court was open 24 hours. Fresh squeeze orange juice. Food was always hot. Cooks will prepare eggs anyway you like them. Make your own sandwiches. More of a variety of food. You have to get your own coffee, tea, or juice, but service carts do come around offering you refills of coffee.

Royal Caribbean ’s Windjammer had nothing spectacular to offer. Basic food. They have an omelet station. Food was always cold. Pancakes hard. Wait staff comes and serves you juice and coffee. You have to pay extra for fresh squeezed OJ.

 

 

Dining

 

Princess offers Personal Choice you can reserve a table anytime you choose and with what waiter you want. Wait staff remembers what your likes and dislikes are. I would go Personal Choice over Traditional anytime. Food is more delicious, with unique presentation. Higher quality of food. Lobsters are larger and tastier and the King Crab Legs are perfectly prepared. Princess has more to offer on menus, plus the dessert menus have a larger variety to choose from. Several dining options are available. Free hamburgers and hot dogs and a pizza station near pool area. Jeans and shorts were never seen in dining area or public spaces. Everyone is elegantly dressed. The liquor on Princess is far cheaper than RCCL.

Royal Caribbean has friendly dining room service. We were able to have a table for two. It felt more like anytime dining than Traditional dining. Passengers were allowed to enter and leave dining room anytime. The servers sing to you three times during the seven day cruise. The menus are much to be desired. Offering less to choose from. The quality of food was basic. Nothing to write home about. On two nights only one salad was offered. The potions are smaller and less tasty. The dessert menu had nothing to rave about. Extremely small portions. Not enough dining choices throughout the ship. You have to pay for hamburgers. Pizza is offered in a small out of place area. Saw more passengers wearing jeans in dining room and public areas. Extremely casual ship.

 

Entertainment

 

Princess has first class entertainers. Singing and dancing, comedians, jugglers, magicians. Bands playing throughout the ship. Several shows to choice from during the night. Large lounges. The Princess production shows are more elaborate and better done.

Royal Caribbean the entertainment factor was geared towards the Puerto Rican cruisers. (As told by the cruise director). Only one show during the night, with only a singer, band, or guitarist here or there. Tickets are necessary for the one-of-a-kind ice-skating show. RC entertainers sing off key.

 

Pools

 

Princess pools are larger and have fresh water. More pools to choice from. Large amount of wait staff hounding you for drink orders.

RC pools are salt water. Small. Less wait staff. Watched Pax’s (so called chair hogs) fighting over one lounge chair while vacant ones where right next to each other.

 

 

Disembarkation

 

Princess is easier and faster. When your color\number is called you walked right off the boat, we didn’t have to wait in any lines.

RCCL they call by color then you have get on this long line that you have to wait in. It probably took close to 35 minutes to disembark in the heat. Finding your luggage was extremely difficult.

Based on our experience, we are sticking with Princess.

[ArizonaRalphie]

A very nice and detailed comparison. I'm sold.

[LARGIN]

Thanks for the info.. Question.. Are your comments ship specific? If so, what ships?

[ArizonaRalphie]

Thanks for the info.. Question.. Are your comments ship specific? If so, what ships?

LARGIN - Just as an aside, where in the San Francisco Bay Area? I was born and raised in SF and spend the first 60 years of my life in the "Bay Area" finally leaving Antioch for Arizona.

[BobBeaSea]

Thanks for the comparison. We have only cruised RCI (5x) but are willing to give another cruise line a shot next time. We have not been disappointed in RCI and I think they have the best designed ships afloat (from outward appearance) but it's time to try something different.

 

While I am sure there is no bias intended in your comparison, did maybe "just a little" bias creep in? Please don't take this as crticism in any way but you are a Princess vet with Princess expectations. For instance, I have never had any difficulty finding a washroom on RCI. I have also asked for and received the use of robes when we were not entitled to them. I have also not had a problem seeing our cabin attendant the first day. Yes, I believe you can bring wine on board Princess but how about a bottle of Vodka? If I can buy a bar set up on Princess, that is a big plus. Is this possible?

 

We have never had a problem with storage space on RCI, don't know about the shower as we only book Junior Suites that have a tub. What is the Princess equivalent to this?

 

As far as ship maintenance goes, we've never encountered a lack of maintenance...not saying it can't happen. As for entertainment some in house productions are hit or miss on RCI but the last cruise was fantastic. Perhaps sailing out of San Juan might lend itself to a more Latin flavour?

 

Anyway I appreciate your comparison. Princess is definitely on our short list of lines to try. :)

[The Big Booper]

A lot of this comparison is right on target. Some parts are absurd. The RCI ship is obviously the Adventure of the Seas which has always sailed out of San Juan and always carries a large contingent of Spanish speaking passengers, as would ANY ship out of Puerto Rico. If this bothers the poster than so be it.

 

RCI balconies are smaller but at least you have privacy, especially on the humps. I would never take a Princess balcony where you are completely open above and a careless smoker can flick an ash and start a bad fire.

 

We had been thinking of taking the Crown out of Brooklyn but Princess is relocating it and bringing the CB up from Florida, abandoning the market there. Evidently they have had trouble filling up one ship in South Florida and had to have an extensive price cutting program to get people on the ship, wheras RCI fixes the prices and sells out the ships.

 

Based on my experience with Princess I prefer the original Grand ships to the newer Crown type , which stack an extra passenger deck holding 500 on to the Grand framework with no increase in common area. And friends of ours who recently sailed the Grand in Europe told us that the Grand appears even more worn than the AOS.

 

So for now I will stick to RCI's Radiance type of ships which are comparable to Princess in terms of shipboard experience.

[Coolmama_1]

Thanks for the comparison.

[Sandytoes]

The RCI ship is obviously the Adventure of the Seas which has always sailed out of San Juan and always carries a large contingent of Spanish speaking passengers, as would ANY ship out of Puerto Rico. If this bothers the poster than so be it.

 

Over 1600 Spanish speaking passengers were onboard. Did this bother me?

Of course not. Only the rude and arrogant ones did.

 

AOS did cater to the Latino pax.

_________________

 

As for privacy on balconies, there are different types. Fully enclosed, semi, and fully exposed. You have a choice on Princess. Where as, on RC you don't.

 

________

 

Bar service is available on Princess, you can pre-order ahead of time or while onboard.

 

Tubs are available in the suites on Princess.

[The Big Booper]

Another thought to add to my post. We went to Alaska in 2003 out of Seattle round trip on HAL's Amsterdam which shares the dock with the Star. When we disembarked, there were long lines for both ships, much longer for the Star which carried far more people than the Amsterdam. The lines were incredibly long for the Star people.

 

Disembarkation depends entirely on the port you are at, because customs controls the ship upon docking, not the crew.

 

More than " a little Princess bias" here.

[Clutterlady]

Booper, it is a Princess board............:)

[gfromftlaud]

Having been on 3 Princess cruises (Grand Class and CB), 1 Celebrity cruise aboard Infinity, and 1 RCI cruise aboard Freedom of the Seas, the only cruise that really stood out as at all different from the rest was Celebrity Infinity. My 3 Princess cruises were extremely similar in experience to RCI abord Freedom. In fact, we have Liberty of the Seas booked for January 2008. But then again, yesterday we booked Sapphire Princess for September 27th, 2008. There so similar that it is a toss up for us. Here is my thought on the categories discussed above.

 

EMBARKATION:

Princess/RCI- close enough to not tell a difference.

Celebrity- Glass of Champagne

 

SHIPS:

based on ship classes noted above...

Princess/Celebrity - soft and refined

RCI - A mix of refined areas and themed atmospheres. Very good attention to detail in terms of themes. Epcot at Disney meets RCI's Royal Promenade.

 

CABINS:

Princess/RCI/Celebrity: so close as to not have a preference. Caribe deck on Princess Grand Class ships have an extra large balcony, 1/2 covered 1/2 uncovered, did love that!

 

Bathrobes are available on RCI Freedom of the Seas, one just need ask one's steward. Same as we have experienced on Princess. Celebrity had the robes in the stateroom upon arrival.

 

MUSTERING:

Princess wins with the drills taking place in the lounges.

 

BUFFET AREAS:

Princess/RCI - No preference, Princess may have a slight edge on RCI, but not a decision making factor.

Celebrity - Hands-down winner. Regular buffet good, and the Spa Cuisine was excellent.

 

DINNING:

Princess/RCI - extremely similar, no preference. 1 plus for Princess is the Balcony Dinner option. Very worthwhile.

Celebrity - Just a slight bit better than Princess and RCI

 

SPECIALTY DINNING:

Equal on all.

 

ENTERTAINMENT:

All too similar to have a preference.

 

POOLS:

Freedom of the Seas does indeed have fresh water pools, as does the Princess fleet. Not sure if all RCI ships do or not.

 

Saltwater on Celebrity

 

OVERALL SERVICE:

All too similar to have a preference, but Celebrity was a bit more "anything to please" in attitude.

 

Bottom line...I love Princess, RCI, and Celebrity! I failed to mention that we have also cruised aboard Carnival Victory. She was only a few months old at the time. The staff and crew were comparable to Princess/RCI/Celebrity, however, all other aspects didn't even come close.

 

Best Regards,

g

[ck53]

Did I read that right, you have to pay for hamburgers??

[gfromftlaud]

on RCI, hamburgers are free unless you are dinning at "Johnny Rockets", one of the specialty restaurants. If I remember correctly the upcharge was only 5 or 10 dollars.

[coiran]

This is why we stay with Princess - I'ts where we belong!!

 

Ron

[spiritkat090909]

Excellent points for those wavering on making a decision between the two lines!

 

All things being equal (price, ship age, itinerary), I typically choose Princess for their past pax program. About the only area that IMO RCI beat PCL, that hasn't been mentioned, was in the quality & taste of the bar drinks. Less expensive, but much less tasty.

[kafitty]

okay, i realize i'm being completely nitpicky, but i HAVE to say this:

 

the menus LEAVE much to be desired

NOT "are much to be desired!"

 

you did this in your review way back too (and i actually went back and checked on this because i'm a freak) and it drove me bonkers.

 

i'm sorry, i am absolutely being picky and unnecessary...but you've got the expression wrong!! ;)

i even have a source, i am such a geek.

 

 

...i did enjoy your comparison, though, especially since i'm considering a RCCL cruise in the future!

[sept10dsm]

We've sailed both. Our first Royal Caribbean cruise was last fall. Price (499 pp 9 day western caribbean) was the reason we picked it. We had a wonderful time. There are differences in the lines but not that extreme. We just booked the Crown Princess for the same price this fall. It's only a 7 day but still a great price and Royal Caribbean had no such sales (like last year on GOS).

[NOBADDAYS]

You know I've been devouring these boards since I discovered them last week. My husband and I got married in Feb of this year in St THomas...it was our first cruise ever and we chose Royal Carribean at the time because we were trying to get to St Thomas on a certain date and early in the cruise.

 

We've never been to the carribean and this whole trip was just fantastic. We were on the Serenade of the Seas and even though as we contemplate we think...yah some of the food was just ok. But, goodness, I didn't go on the cruise for food!

 

What amazes me is that people will correct other's grammar on this site, almost get irate with each other over what is said and also be sooo adamant that their experience is the ultimate truth about any one ship or cruise.

 

Everything is truly subjective and one must give their experience to other's subjectively and be received as such .

 

We've just booked our next cruise for our anniversary and guess what? We've booked on the Crown Princess. Why? Not because we were dissatisfied in any way with RCL but because they simply weren't going where we wanted to go during the week we wanted to go! :)))

 

I appreciate all the advice about the ports of call and hotels and all the things they loved. I also appreciate the stories about things to watch for. I take it all subjectively and think....WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THE TIME OF OUR LIVES...AGAIN! I can't even have imagined a year a go that I would be doing these things and now my husband promises one a year! We are blessed and so are all of you who have been able to vacation to such lovely places aboard such lovely vessels.

 

S

[Clutterlady]

S, that's exactly the way it should be looked at. We try to pick our destination than see what ship is going, look at the price and book! Have never been disappointed so far. Sure, some are better than others and yes (have to admit) that we do favor Princess only because we feel it's the best fit for us.

[PescadoAmarillo]

We've just booked our next cruise for our anniversary and guess what? We've booked on the Crown Princess. Why? Not because we were dissatisfied in any way with RCL but because they simply weren't going where we wanted to go during the week we wanted to go! :)))

What a happy perspective!! I'd like to think we feel the same way.

 

Sandytoes: I think that comparative reviews are the some of the most helpful things that get posted on Cruise Critic. I suspect that some of your observations about RC are unique to the larger ships, but that doesn't negate them...you saw what you saw and know what you know. I will admit that the singing waiters are my least favorite thing about RC...part of the reason I like Anytime Dining on Princess is to avoid the Baked Alaska song and dance. Thanks for posting the review!

[coiran]

okay, i realize i'm being completely nitpicky, but i HAVE to say this:

 

the menus LEAVE much to be desired

NOT "are much to be desired!"

 

you did this in your review way back too (and i actually went back and checked on this because i'm a freak) and it drove me bonkers.

 

i'm sorry, i am absolutely being picky and unnecessary...but you've got the expression wrong!! ;)

i even have a source, i am such a geek.

 

 

...i did enjoy your comparison, though, especially since i'm considering a RCCL cruise in the future!

 

Maybe they meant that the menu was much to be desired meaning that it was a very desirable menu or mthat the selections were much to be desired.

 

Ron

[S.S.Oceanlover]

A lot of this comparison is right on target. Some parts are absurd. The RCI ship is obviously the Adventure of the Seas which has always sailed out of San Juan and always carries a large contingent of Spanish speaking passengers, as would ANY ship out of Puerto Rico. If this bothers the poster than so be it.

 

RCI balconies are smaller but at least you have privacy, especially on the humps. I would never take a Princess balcony where you are completely open above and a careless smoker can flick an ash and start a bad fire.

 

We had been thinking of taking the Crown out of Brooklyn but Princess is relocating it and bringing the CB up from Florida, abandoning the market there. Evidently they have had trouble filling up one ship in South Florida and had to have an extensive price cutting program to get people on the ship, wheras RCI fixes the prices and sells out the ships.

 

Based on my experience with Princess I prefer the original Grand ships to the newer Crown type , which stack an extra passenger deck holding 500 on to the Grand framework with no increase in common area. And friends of ours who recently sailed the Grand in Europe told us that the Grand appears even more worn than the AOS.

 

So for now I will stick to RCI's Radiance type of ships which are comparable to Princess in terms of shipboard experience.

 

So what made you change your mind about cruising from Brooklyn? Just because they switched ships?

 

Bill

[play21cw]

okay, i realize i'm being completely nitpicky, but i HAVE to say this:

 

the menus LEAVE much to be desired

NOT "are much to be desired!"

 

you did this in your review way back too (and i actually went back and checked on this because i'm a freak) and it drove me bonkers.

 

i'm sorry, i am absolutely being picky and unnecessary...but you've got the expression wrong!! ;)

i even have a source, i am such a geek.

 

 

...i did enjoy your comparison, though, especially since i'm considering a RCCL cruise in the future!

 

 

Hmm... you are very observant... But i ask you this, "anyone off the crown yet" :D

[johnlcruise]

What amazes me is that people will correct other's grammar on this site, almost get irate with each other over what is said and also be sooo adamant that their experience is the ultimate truth about any one ship or cruise.

 

Everything is truly subjective and one must give their experience to other's subjectively and be received as such .

S

 

Well Said..:)

[The Big Booper]

So what made you change your mind about cruising from Brooklyn? Just because they switched ships?

 

Bill

 

We book far in advance to get Late Traditional, no beeper roulette for us.

 

This past spring we took the Explorer because it had a better itinerary for us (and Bayonne is more convenient than Red Hook) and they had a senior special.

 

We have nothing set for next spring.