Princess vs. Royal Caribbean

[trvlbug08]

My husband and I are thinking of going on the Emerald Princess in February 09. We are platinum members with Royal Caribbean and have never sailed on Princess. I posted a thread on Royal Caribbean asking for honest opinions if any RC people had sailed on princess. Of course, the responses were mostly in favor of RC which could be somewhat biased. So now I am asking loyal princess fans who have sailed on royal caribbean what they thought of both. We like the caribbean itineraries on princess as some of the ports of call are different. I guess you could say we are apprehensive to try something new since we have been happy with Royal Caribbean for so long. Honest opinions please!

[Kathy130]

Both are just about the same.......however my first Princess cruise was in July and I give a win to princess.

 

The service was superior as well as the friendiness of staff. Lots of little things that I liked added up in the column for Pincess. I will sail on both again, but would search out Princess ships before RC.

[hughdm]

It's been a few years since our RC cruise, so it may be apples and oranges by now. I feel that the food was comparable. We saw Ben Vereen on RC, so I give them the edge in entertainment. I don't remember the service on RC, but it wasn't memorable in a bad way, either. I think it depends a lot on the ship. Crown Princess is by far the most beautiful ship we've been on in every way. I think Emerald is her sister ship. Whichever you choose, I doubt you would be disappointed.

[caribill]

I have found RCCL dining room food to be inferioir to that on Princess.

 

I prefer the Princess method of signing up for shore excursions which means you do not have to pay for them in advance.

 

Also like that Princess ships have self-service Laundromats which RCCL ships do not have.

 

But I agree with the poster that said you would have a great cruise on either.

[johnfas]

We have been of 5 Princess cruises and 3 with RC. The only newer RC ship we went on at the time was the Radiance and it was excellent and very beautiful. The other 2 RC cruises were on smaller and older ships and they were not as nice. All the Princess cruises were on newer ships and every one was top notch. We were on the Grand when it was only a year old, it was our first cruise, but we still remember it as one of the best. Rating the food we would give the edge to Princess. Service is about the same, both excellent. Shows and lounges give Princess the nod.

As far as only going with one cruise line I guess you build up this trust with them and if you were to take another you would probably be very intolerable to any dislikes (if RC did something this way and Princess another you may not like it even though it may just be fine). Our neighbors are in the 'same boat' as you guys as they have been on many cruises but only RC.

We figure try out different and see for yourself. In order we like Princess the best, then RC, we only went on one Carnival and one Celebrity but Carnival was surprisingly good. Have not tried any others.

Sooo, I would definitely give Princess a try, just be sure you like the ports and try and choose a somewhat newer ship. Princess does an excellent job. You probably will not be disappointed.

[horsefeathers75]

HI,

 

 

I like you am a RCCL loyal; however when RCCL came out with a 12 year old ship to do a 12 night Hawaiian cruise, my group checked out Princess and we will be sailing on the Golden Princess October 11. I couldn't believe they put their new ships in Asia for 4 & 5 night cruises and gave Hawaii a 12 year ship and are only doing 1 Hawaii cruise. Riduculus.

 

Some perks I have heard was that they have a laundrymat on each floor for you to do your laundry so you don't have to take as many clothes.

Their Soda card is less expensive. You can get a bathrobe in your cabin regardless of your status on the Princess' tier. Their excusions are less expensive (at least for Hawaii).

 

Bigger cabins.

 

The negatives I have heard:

 

They still have smoking in their cabins unlike RCCL who has stopped smoking in the cabins and the cabin steward was to report any violators.

That may not matter to you but my husband has severe allergies so it is important to us. Princess is suppose to clean our cabin thoroughly top to bottom before we come aboard. RCCL use to give us a ionizer in the event someone did smoke in the room. Princess told me that unlike RCCL they don't want to alienate their smoking passengers. I guess that is why they have had 2 fires in the past years that were caused by smoking. Princess will be having smoke-free night in the casino on formal nights like RCCL has started doing.

 

I have also heard from this message board that if you want traditional dining you have to be firm about it to the TA to be firm to Princess because some people have been bumped to Anytime dining because traditional was full. They found this out after arriving on the ship.

 

I have heard from some that Princess still has the curtain instead of the shower door. I have posted that question to see what people on this board say.

 

Princess is considered a 5 star cruise line whereas RCCL is a 4 star.

 

I have enjoyed sailing RCCL for 13 times and we are Diamond members but as my husband said when we first made these plans, it is time for a change.

This will be our Hawaii 5-0 cruise because we have 5 people in our group turning 50.

 

If I were you, I would give it a try and then if you don't like it go back to RCCL. My only fear is what if I like Princess more than RCCL.:eek:

 

Hope this helps somewhat.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Debi

[The Big Booper]

HI,

 

 

I like you am a RCCL loyal; however when RCCL came out with a 12 year old ship to do a 12 night Hawaiian cruise, my group checked out Princess and we will be sailing on the Golden Princess October 11. I couldn't believe they put their new ships in Asia for 4 & 5 night cruises and gave Hawaii a 12 year ship and are only doing 1 Hawaii cruise. Riduculus.

 

Some perks I have heard was that they have a laundrymat on each floor for you to do your laundry so you don't have to take as many clothes.

Their Soda card is less expensive. You can get a bathrobe in your cabin regardless of your status on the Princess' tier. Their excusions are less expensive (at least for Hawaii).

 

Bigger cabins.

 

The negatives I have heard:

 

They still have smoking in their cabins unlike RCCL who has stopped smoking in the cabins and the cabin steward was to report any violators.

That may not matter to you but my husband has severe allergies so it is important to us. Princess is suppose to clean our cabin thoroughly top to bottom before we come aboard. RCCL use to give us a ionizer in the event someone did smoke in the room. Princess told me that unlike RCCL they don't want to alienate their smoking passengers. I guess that is why they have had 2 fires in the past years that were caused by smoking. Princess will be having smoke-free night in the casino on formal nights like RCCL has started doing.

 

I have also heard from this message board that if you want traditional dining you have to be firm about it to the TA to be firm to Princess because some people have been bumped to Anytime dining because traditional was full. They found this out after arriving on the ship.

 

I have heard from some that Princess still has the curtain instead of the shower door. I have posted that question to see what people on this board say.

 

Princess is considered a 5 star cruise line whereas RCCL is a 4 star.

 

I have enjoyed sailing RCCL for 13 times and we are Diamond members but as my husband said when we first made these plans, it is time for a change.

This will be our Hawaii 5-0 cruise because we have 5 people in our group turning 50.

 

If I were you, I would give it a try and then if you don't like it go back to RCCL. My only fear is what if I like Princess more than RCCL.:eek:

 

Hope this helps somewhat.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Debi

 

The only RCI ships doing Hawaii this fall are the 7 year old Radiance and the 5 year old Serenade. The Golden is 9 years old.

 

From last year, the 9 year old Rhapsody (at that time) did Hawaii on its way to Asia.

 

We have been on the Grand, sister ship to the Golden (pre anytime dining) and enjoyed it.

 

If Princess sticks you with anytime, it is difficult to get to Traditional and you are stuck with beepers. Which is why we don't do Princess anymore; we don't book that far out and have always been told we would have to take anytime. Which we won't do. Our choice.

[Solara]

FYI when we first tried Princess we were also Platinum with RCCL. We got a really good deal at the last minute on the Sapphire to the Mexican Riveria. I was nervous the whole time before we left that I was making a mistake and I shouldn't have booked Princess. Well.....what can I say we loved Princess and since then have never gone back to RCCL. We are Platinum with Princess for a while now & someday we will probably try RCCL again but don't be afraid to try Princess and keep an open mind and you will have a wonderful time.

[critterchick]

HI,

 

I like you am a RCCL loyal; however when RCCL came out with a 12 year old ship to do a 12 night Hawaiian cruise, my group checked out Princess and we will be sailing on the Golden Princess October 11. I couldn't believe they put their new ships in Asia for 4 & 5 night cruises and gave Hawaii a 12 year ship and are only doing 1 Hawaii cruise. Riduculus.

 

I'm not sure of her age, but Legend will be doing Asia next year, and she's one of the older ships in the RCI fleet. But one Hawaii cruise must be disappointing to those who want to do more than one in a season.

 

Some perks I have heard was that they have a laundrymat on each floor for you to do your laundry so you don't have to take as many clothes.

Their Soda card is less expensive. You can get a bathrobe in your cabin regardless of your status on the Princess' tier. Their excusions are less expensive (at least for Hawaii).

 

Yes to all three, although I would prefer to have somebody else do my laundry when I'm on vacation.;)

 

Bigger cabins.

 

I don't know about the square footage, but I think that a standard balcony on RCI beats the pants off a Princess cabin because on RCI you will get at least a loveseat, if not a full sofa. On Princess you just get a single chair and not all that comfortable one, either. The JS on RCI are nicer to me than a minisuite on Princess (except for the Sun Class ships, where the minis are like full suites on a Grand class ship).

 

But RCI also tends to be more expensive than Princess, at least until you start applying loyalty program discounts, onboard booking, shareholder and other benefits. A caution here is that RCI is cutting back on the combinability of their discounts, so that might make them even pricier.

 

The negatives I have heard:

 

They still have smoking in their cabins unlike RCCL who has stopped smoking in the cabins and the cabin steward was to report any violators.

That may not matter to you but my husband has severe allergies so it is important to us. Princess is suppose to clean our cabin thoroughly top to bottom before we come aboard. RCCL use to give us a ionizer in the event someone did smoke in the room. Princess told me that unlike RCCL they don't want to alienate their smoking passengers. I guess that is why they have had 2 fires in the past years that were caused by smoking. Princess will be having smoke-free night in the casino on formal nights like RCCL has started doing.

 

I have also heard from this message board that if you want traditional dining you have to be firm about it to the TA to be firm to Princess because some people have been bumped to Anytime dining because traditional was full. They found this out after arriving on the ship.

 

I have heard from some that Princess still has the curtain instead of the shower door. I have posted that question to see what people on this board say.

 

 

As for the negatives, only the smoking policy really matters to me. RCI still lets you smoke on the balcony of your cabin, which is where the Star Princess fire allegedly started, so I don't see a clear advantage to RCI there.

 

I like both lines. We've sailed RCI more than Princess in the past couple of years, but I think the RCI product is now so family-oriented that it's time for us to move "up" to Celebrity and Azamara in that family. We still have a great time on any cruise, but I find that I'm doing a lot more reading than being out and about. And I'm certain that age has nothing to do with it!:eek: :D

[LENORA516]

I have sailed on one RC, one HAL, and five Princess, I guess that says something about my preferences. I think the rooms on Rc were a little bigger and they were very well laid out with lots of little areas to organize my "stuff".

I think that the food is better on Princess, I personally like the personal choice dining, I don't like to rush back to dress for dinner or watch the entertainment before dinner. I know that people like having the same waiter every night but while ours was an excellent server he was not very friendly despite our attempts to draw him out. We have built more of a relationship with a waiter we have only had for breakfast or lunch on Princess.

My biggest problem with RC was that for the size of the ship there was not enough elevators ! They were always packed (particularly right before dinner). Thank God I am capable of walking I felt sorry for the handicapped passengers that had to let elevator after elevator pass them by.

As far as smoking, I am extremely sensative to smoke and I don't know what princess uses to clean the rooms but I have never smelled smoke in my stateroom.

 

All that being said would I go on RC again ? Yes (I have to try that Oasis of the Seas!) but, I would never sail HAL again so that says something!

 

Lenore

[isujim]

Well now........this could be a feisty thread today.

 

I have sailed 15 RC cruises and 1 on Celebrity and 1 on Princess. I have 1 more booked on Princess and 1 booked on Azamara.

 

The bottom line is this.........they are both basically the same basic cruise experience. Princess excels in many areas but so does RC.

 

Critterchick (Hi Jean:) ) says it best however that RC is changing. And they are changing BIG TIME.

 

When you build 5,200 passenger ships you have to cast a wide net out to capture anyone you can to fill your ships 52 weeks of the year......talk about banquet style food...........:eek: try feeding 2,500 chicken cordon blues at the same time........

 

Like critterchick we are moving away from RC...........I can't tell you how much we are looking forward to the Pacific Princess and Azamara Journey.

 

The day may come when Princess also changes it's focus. It is one of those things that happens from time to time when a board of directors gets nervous and changes their business model which is exactly what RC has done IMO.

 

So in the end...........I still say they are basically the same base cruise product.......but I think at the end of the day Princess will end up providing a more consistant and likeable product..........unless they go crazy with their business model.

 

And if you make a comparison.........I hope you have sailed both and can really relate to the products based on experience......:)

 

Jean you should really try one of the smaller Princess ships like the Pacific.......if you like Azamara or think you will..........I think you'll like the PP and the price better than Azamara.

[CruisinMommas]

To the OP, We made diamond with RCI in Dec.07 but chosed to sail on the Diamond Princess in April. They were going to HI when we wanted. We enjoyed our cruise and did make comparisons. We sail gs on RCI and sailed full suite on the Diamond. There were some differences but nothing major. The ship was beautiful. The food was tasty but was not thrilled with all the choices but found plenty to eat many times a day. I am glad I made it to afternoon tea one day.

The layout of the ship was confusing but that is/was not a biggie. There was an a bout of noro on the ship and we were at red alert. The crew worked very hard to keep the germs down. The capt. would make announcements as to how things were going.

We enjoyed ourselves enough to by two FCC. We have three booked cruises on RCI for 2008-09. So we are looking forward to sailing on Princess again. Keep an open mind and enjoy yourself.

[willysgrandma]

RCL and Princess are my two favorite cruise lines and are very similar.

 

I like the food a bit better on RCL but the entertainment better on Pricess. Princess ships are a but more elegant than RCL ships. Cabins are similar but I'd give Princess a slight edge on service.

 

I also think Princess has better itineraries and better pricing.

 

I don't think you'll be disappointed in either line.

[bzplaying]

My husband and I are thinking of going on the Emerald Princess in February 09. We are platinum members with Royal Caribbean and have never sailed on Princess. I posted a thread on Royal Caribbean asking for honest opinions if any RC people had sailed on princess. Of course, the responses were mostly in favor of RC which could be somewhat biased. So now I am asking loyal princess fans who have sailed on royal caribbean what they thought of both. We like the caribbean itineraries on princess as some of the ports of call are different. I guess you could say we are apprehensive to try something new since we have been happy with Royal Caribbean for so long. Honest opinions please!

Recently sailed on the CB and it was a terrific cruise however sailed Grandeur of the Seas on RCL 3 years ago and the dining room experience and meals were much better on RCL could have been that we had signed up for traditional dining 1st seating upon booking and they stuck us into anytime dining even though we booked a year in advance though they claimed the menus were the same????

In my opinion Celebrity is hands down better food comparing the 3 lines.

Karen

[ocnlvr3]

Just gonna put my 2 cents in...

 

I have looked into cruises on RCI but I keep shying away from booking because their ships seem big and I always think LOTS of people. I love being with people mind you but I also like to relax (getting away from the hussle and bussle of life).

Seeing ships with huge malls etc ain't my cup of tea IMO

 

Andrea

 

I guess I like a happy medium

[mizLORInj]

Another opinion (subject to my tastes of course):

 

I have been on Caribbean & Crown Princess. Most recently Explorer of the Seas to Bermuda. Both lines are VERY comparable and I liked all the ships a lot. Balcony cabins were very similar, yes, shower "pod" on RC I liked better. I liked the open closet on Princess better than closed one on RC. But other than that, balcony cabins are much more similar than different. I did not notice a size difference either.

Our party of six preferred food on Princess. Not one thing on the 5 night RC cruise stood out as great.

Public areas very similar and attractive. I can't say I like or don't like Promenade area on RC, it's nice, but so is the layout of Princess ships. I like the automatic tipping on Princess, and the laundry facilities. Some lounges are cooler (not temperature-wise) on one than the other, but balanced out with other things.

I don't think you can lose on the Emerald Princess (I'm on a 10 nighter in November) esp. since it's relatively new. I understand wanting to try something new. I'm up for Celebrity next time . . .I have to say my one cruise on RC did not make me a RC loyalist. But I really enjoyed ALL my cruises (even Carnival!) LOL

ENJOY!

[kek123]

Both lines have very clean beautiful ships I haved sailed RCCL Majesty and Princess's Caribbean Princess. Food about the same on both although buffet much better on RCCL.

The biggest diference is how any problems are adressed. RCCL makes an effort to correct problems quickly and to the satisfaction of the passenger. Princess made on art of alternately ignoring, sloughing off or outright refusing to do anything. Non adherance to posted NO Smoking signs and No Reserving chair signs was rampant and made for a very frustrating and un-healthy week. RCCL staff members could not have been any friendlier. I was yelled at, threatened and blatantly discriminated against by Princess staff members.

[critterchick]

Jean you should really try one of the smaller Princess ships like the Pacific.......if you like Azamara or think you will..........I think you'll like the PP and the price better than Azamara.

 

I actually like the Grand class of Princess ships (other than the buffet at peak breakfast times, but the solution is to order room service or eat in the dining room:) ). The minisuites are a good size, there's good dancing in the Wheelhouse Bar pre-dinner and lots of nooks & crannies to read or do needlepoint. The gyms could be a little bigger, but I've never had much of a wait to use the equipment. And I love the adult-only pool area all the way up and aft - sailaway from Victoria in the hot tub on a sunny day was simply spectacular!

 

Although I know it's heresy, I didn't care much for the Island Princess and really disliked the Sun, although it was a Mother's Day weekend/Norovirus cruise, so I don't know how much more bad karma she could have had.:eek: I found the Island to be dirty and her crew a bit dispirited (that can of course change as people go on vacation or leave). The Sun was overcrowded and disorganized, for lack of a more precise way to put it.

 

But I am very much looking forward to the small ship experience!

[ssbeagle]

My husband and I are thinking of going on the Emerald Princess in February 09. We are platinum members with Royal Caribbean and have never sailed on Princess. I posted a thread on Royal Caribbean asking for honest opinions if any RC people had sailed on princess. Of course, the responses were mostly in favor of RC which could be somewhat biased. So now I am asking loyal princess fans who have sailed on royal caribbean what they thought of both. We like the caribbean itineraries on princess as some of the ports of call are different. I guess you could say we are apprehensive to try something new since we have been happy with Royal Caribbean for so long. Honest opinions please!

 

Both cruise lines have their good points and bad points. Don't be afraid to try something new. We started out on the old Emerald Seas and went to NCL and then took a Princess cruise. We've been on HAL and RCL as well. So far as you can tell by the number of cruises, we do prefer Princess. They seem to keep the ships in better condition than RCL and we like the dining room better on Princess. Also, the first choice for a cruise is the itinerary. I believe you will have a great time on any cruise you go on like we do.