What makes Princess a premium line?

[3GR8Sons]

We are going on our fourth cruise this winter (12/20 Coral Princess). We like cruising with our kids now that they are a little older (13, 11, 8) and can have a little freedom on the ship. Our past crusies have been on RCI and Carnival. We really really liked our last cruise on Carnival Valor.

 

When our TA (long term relationship) approached us about the Princess cruise we really liked the itinerary, price, and timing of the cruise so we booked it, not really realizing that Princess was considered a premium line. We are paying quite a bit LESS than we paid on Valor last year for the same week (Christmas).

 

So if price is not what separates the mass market lines from the premium lines what is it? What are the differences besides no 24 hour ice cream between Carnival and the premium cruise lines?

 

Jenna

[Coral]

What are the differences besides no 24 hour ice cream between Carnival and the premium cruise lines?

 

Jenna

 

The absence or presence of ice cream 24 hours a day has nothing to do with being a premium or mass line. It is a line choice. I was on Crystal last year and they did not have ice cream 24 hours a day and Crystal is often listed as the top cruise line in world with the ship I was on the top ship in the world.

 

One really needs to look at each line seperately and not compare such details such as "is ice cream available 24 hours a day". On my RCCL ship, they had ice cream 24 hours a day but it was pure liquid but they had it.....

 

One really needs to look beyond ice cream availability. How often do people really need ice cream???

 

I think people need to get out of the 7 night Caribbean mentality and realize there is more to cruising then that. Have you compared Carnival itineraries to Princess itineraries? How many ships does Carnival send to Europe every summer, to Asia, to the French Polynesian?

[iancal]

Having sailed on Princess, RCI, Crystal, Celebrity, and NCL, I would not consider Princess to be a Premium line. They are mainstream, they are priced mainstream, and the their target market is mainstream-albeit perhaps not the exact same demographic target as Carnival. I would consider Crystal, Regent, etc to be premium. Princess is a great cruise line. We have been on 2 sailiing so far and will be booking again if the itinerary/price/ship matches up to our requirements

[Druke I]

Princess is not a premium line.

 

Princess is a very good mainstream line.

 

24hr ice cream does not make or break a cruise line.

[3GR8Sons]

One really needs to look beyond ice cream availability. How often do people really need ice cream???

 

That's why I specifically excluded ice cream. I know it is one difference between the line and it really isn't a deal breaker for us. If the kids want ice cream we can get them some at the supermarket any day of the week.

 

What is wrong with the 7 day Carribean mentality?

 

What are the real differences between the mass market lines and the Premium lines?

 

Jenna

[mike35]

Since Carnival Corporation's acquisition of Princess, many cruisers have commented on Princess' slide toward mediocrity. While we still enjoy sailing on Princess, its "luster" seems to have lessened over the past couple of years. Little things like ship maintenance; uncomfortable mattresses; lack of daily newspaper summaries; constant hawking of art auctions, soda cards, wine tastings; erosion of some platinum and elite benefits - these things add up. IMHO, the line between premium and contemporary (mass market) lines, especially those owned by CCL, is getting more blurry as time goes on.

 

The Coral Princess (and its sister ship, Island Princess) are my favorite ships, and I'm confident the OP will have a wonderful time on her.

[3GR8Sons]

24hr ice cream does not make or break a cruise line.

 

That's why I asked for it to be excluded as a consideration.

 

Jenna

[Coral]

Most industry specialists put the following cruise lines together:

 

Premium - HAL, Celebrity, Princess

 

Mass - Carnival, RCCL, NCL

 

Luxury - Crystal, Seabourne, Regent

 

IMO - Princess is a premium line by these definitions.

[Coral]

That's why I specifically excluded ice cream. I know it is one difference between the line and it really isn't a deal breaker for us. If the kids want ice cream we can get them some at the supermarket any day of the week.

 

What is wrong with the 7 day Carribean mentality?

 

What are the real differences between the mass market lines and the Premium lines?

 

Jenna

 

By excluding it (ice cream) - it is like you are making it a criteria. One needs to look at the whole picture and not just one criteria.

 

7 day Caribbean mentality - I am just saying there is more to cruising then the Caribbean market. Most people do not realize this. The experience of a mega ship in the Caribbean of a cruise line is going to be a far different experience then a 600 passenger ship sailing Europe.

[Coral]

Since Carnival Corporation's acquisition of Princess, many cruisers have commented on Princess' slide toward mediocrity. While we still enjoy sailing on Princess, its "luster" seems to have lessened over the past couple of years.

 

On the other hand, many people have commented on the decline of Celebrity since RCCL purchased them. The Celebrity cruise board is filled with these comments.

 

I really think it has more to do with changes in cruises (overall) and what happened to the cruise and travel industry after 9-11. All cruise lines have changed since what they were in the 70s and 80s (and even 90s). Though, on a side note, all cruises have become more affordable then they were in the 70's and 80's.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Add me to the list of those who do not believe Princess is a premium line, at least not any longer. I believe Celebrity is still a premium (not luxury...those are Silverseas, Seabourn, Crystal, perhaps Regent Seven Seas) line, as Holland America, Cunard and Windstar may be (haven't sailed on any of those so I am going on hearsay). I just purchased Sterne's 2007 Guide to Crusing, and they still list Princess as premium, and I am trying hard not to discount the entire book because of that. Princess offers wonderful itineraries, and I've found that the more exotic the itinerary, the better the Princess cruise experience tends to be, but I would still not consider it a premium line, and I point to their service, both shore side and on board, as an example of that.

[Casey12]

Princess is definitely in the same league as Celebrity and Holland America as a Premium Line. Our service on Princess has been equal if not better than our previous cruises on X and HAL. As said earlier, most cruise lines have changed drastically in the 2000's.

[Casey12]

I just purchased Sterne's 2007 Guide to Crusing, and they still list Princess as premium, and I am trying hard not to discount the entire book because of that.

 

You may agree or disagree with Sterne's, they are experts in the industry and probably know more about cruising than most here on these boards.

[Druke I]

Far be it from me to argue with "the experts", but the Princess of today is certainly not what is was 10 or 15 years ago.

 

I do think that Princess was a premium line, but like so many others, they have "dumbed" down their product to appeal to a broader cross-section of the buying public.

 

Semantics perhaps, but I'll continue to call Princess, HAL, and Celebrity "mainstream".

 

Now Oceania I would label Premium, along with Crystal. Some would label these two Luxury.

[karatemom2]

I had no idea that Princess was considered a premium line when we booked our cruise. We chose them for the itinerary and price. Honestly, and this is not a criticism in any way, I could really not name one thing that is all that different about our cruise with Princess as far as food, service, amenities and entertainment than any of our other cruises on Disney, NCL, Carnival and RCI. Disney is probably the one that stands out the most to me because of the special Disney touches, but I wouldn't consider it premium either.

 

As I said, this is in no way a criticism of our experience on Princess. We liked it very much which is why we have booked two more cruises with them. However, I would also cruise on any of the other lines I mentioned again if the itinerary and ship appealed to me.

[pris993]

You may agree or disagree with Sterne's, they are experts in the industry and probably know more about cruising than most here on these boards.

 

These folks maybe experts as you say but what does that really mean these days?

 

I have cruised on 7-8 different lines, 30+ cruises in the past 20 years, all over the world, with the exception of the Far East.

 

My experience is similar to those on these boards, all lines have changed. Most lines are very similar too. They copy each other, i.e., NCL started freestyle, other lines follow.

 

Princess, Celebrity and Holland America are very similar. My experience tells me the differences on individual cruises is the staff. I have cruised on the same ship more than once, same thing, difference is the staff on any given cruise.

 

Ratings really don't mean much anymore.

[patandal]

I really hope Princess is more premium than the Valor having just gotten off of it in August. Keep the free ice cream and change my demographics. Before any Carnival lovers flame me Valor was my first cruise and I am now addicted to cruising but it was not a classy ship and I am choosing my cruises more carefully from now on. I hope Princess is more "premium" if not I will keep searching for our ideal cruiseline.

[CrusinAgain]

Princess is a good line and is definitely a keeper on our list but we liked Carnival also. Princess, HAL, Carnival, NCL, and Royal Caribbean are generally considered the same class. Celebrity a step above and Seabourne way out of my budget. I would consider Celebrity and Seabourne premium lines.

 

I don't think some keep track of Carnival that Carnival has been going to Europe with their newest ship.

 

Going to be trying NCL to see if we can add another choice of a cruiseline. Its exciting to try the different cruiselines and ships. We are certainly not ready to settle down to one cruiseline yet.

[YellowDog]

As I was reading all the above posts about what is "premium" and what isnt I was thinking about this:

Many of you have cruised a lot more than I have, but even I am starting to notice that things onboard are not "as special" as they were on my first cruise. Do you think though that it might be us? In other words we have seen the great service and eaten the great food so many times that it is becoming less exciting? Not because its worse, but because we have seen it all before. We cant be shocked forever and the little things that thrilled us once are now just expected. hmmmmm?

[kendon]

I would no longer categorize Princess as a premium line, especially on the Caribbean runs. From what I'm hearing (and noticing myself), they are becoming very mainstream since the Carnival aquisition. The quality of service on those massive ships they insist on having has been on a downward spiral the last few years. So sorry to have to say this.

[CruisenOne]

IOHO --

Princess seems to be two Cruise Lines --

 

If we sail on a seven day cruise to the Caribbean, we feel that the cruise tends to be "main stream". This being the case, we now avoid the seven day cruises

 

 

HOWEVER, we now book cruises longer than seven days; or as Princes calls several of them "Exotic". The atmosphere aboard seems to be, shall we say "premium".

We notice the difference in the attitude of the wait-staff, etc.

 

As others mentioned, cruising has certainly changed over the years.

 

As we stated -- IOHO.

[ron46936]

I personally classify most of the big mainstream lines together. They basically cost in the same ballpark. The demographics do vary quite a bit though. The true lower tier lines have essentially vanished ie Premier, Commodore, and others sailing old ships. The true premium lines would include Seabourn, Oceana, and Crystal.

[AZbeachboy]

I personally classify most of the big mainstream lines together. They basically cost in the same ballpark. The demographics do vary quite a bit though. The true lower tier lines have essentially vanished ie Premier, Commodore, and others sailing old ships. The true premium lines would include Seabourn, Oceana, and Crystal.

 

I would agree with this. Also others who think most lines are mainstream. My first cruise on Carnival 10 years ago was more premimum that my last two Princess. I have travel carnival since that time and it is down here from that expierence as well.

[TexBear]

We are going on our fourth cruise this winter (12/20 Coral Princess). We like cruising with our kids now that they are a little older (13, 11, 8) and can have a little freedom on the ship. Our past crusies have been on RCI and Carnival. We really really liked our last cruise on Carnival Valor.

 

When our TA (long term relationship) approached us about the Princess cruise we really liked the itinerary, price, and timing of the cruise so we booked it, not really realizing that Princess was considered a premium line. We are paying quite a bit LESS than we paid on Valor last year for the same week (Christmas).

 

So if price is not what separates the mass market lines from the premium lines what is it? What are the differences besides no 24 hour ice cream between Carnival and the premium cruise lines?

 

Jenna

 

I wouldn't say Princess is premium, based on price. I had a 7 day cruise on the Carnival Conquest last year and recently booked a 10 day with Princess. The cruise is about 42% longer and the per day rate (both balcony cabins) is 43% more on Princess.

[cactusrose]

Here's one site that talks about how cruise lines are classified and shows some of the lines and their classifications. I'm sure there are others with different opinions but this one seems pretty accurate to me.

 

http://www.oceancruiseguides.com/cruiselines/clclass.html