Comparison of Princess, RCCL, and Carnival. My review of the Crown Oct 5th - 12th

[flvol77]

You are so lucky to be able to drive. We have to fly from Texas. By taking our free credit cards miles on Southwest, it is usually a full day event since they make 2-3 stops along the way. :cool:

 

Also, I see that you have been on the Caribbean Princess several times as well as the Grand. Did you like the Crown better, or not. New layout vs. old. Crowded feeling, etc. How do they compare between themselves? We've been on the Grand, Star, and Caribbean and thinking about the Crown and Emerald. Thanks!

 

We really liked the new layout of the ship, the international cafe was very nice, and the piazza style atrium was also nice. I like how the club is no longer "hanging" in the air, I think the Crown moved a lot less because of that and the aft pool gets all day sun because of no club above.

 

My wife said it was her favorite ship she has been on, I liked the Star and the Grand because of the closed pool area, but now that Princess is moving towards MUTS on all Grand Class ships the covered pool is a thing of the past:(

[DeRon]

We are going to try to get on one of the newer ships soon.

[RealDeal]

Thanks for the thoughtful, comprehensive comparison. From everything I've read, it sure doesn't seem as though RCL gives a terrific "bang for the buck"...in any regard. I primarily cruise Princess and Celebrity. I do consider Celebrity a slight notch above Princess, but the price generally reflects that.

[flvol77]

The more I try other lines I have realized that the cruise lines more more a like than different.

 

We like Princess obviously, but we try other lines because we get bored (actually I get bored) if it was up to my wife we would have only cruised on Princess and we would be close to elite by now. I just want to see the other lines and make my mind up for myself. We want to try HAL and maybe even Celebrity (especially with their new ships coming out) I think for me its we live in FL, my wife doesn't like to fly so we sail out of Fl and we are limited in our work schedule at how long of a cruise we can go on. So for us its usually the same ports, that is why the cruise ship itself is very important to us. Some don't care about the food or the entertainment as much because they are going to new and exciting islands. Us that is what we usually base a lot of our review on, also we work so many hours a week that when we cruise to get away from it all, we like to be unreachable, because if we stayed in town our phones would ring off the hook, and we would be working while on vacation.

 

When it comes down to it we would cruise any cruise line that we have cruised before, a cruise is a cruise and its what you make of it, even NCL, but that would be based totally on price alone.

[RickEk]

We really liked the new layout of the ship, the international cafe was very nice, and the piazza style atrium was also nice. I like how the club is no longer "hanging" in the air, I think the Crown moved a lot less because of that and the aft pool gets all day sun because of no club above.

 

My wife said it was her favorite ship she has been on, I liked the Star and the Grand because of the closed pool area, but now that Princess is moving towards MUTS on all Grand Class ships the covered pool is a thing of the past:(

 

BTW, the older Grand Class ships will have the MUTS installed over the main pool. They are NOT taking out the Magradome.

 

Check this link... http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/news/photoquality/GrandPrincess1.jpg

[RealDeal]

I have a question for you all....As I previously wrote, I'm a fan of Princess & Celebrity. If I were going to try either NCL or Carnival, any suggestions? I'm getting the feeling that Carnival is preferred over NCL...Any advice?

[flvol77]

I have a question for you all....As I previously wrote, I'm a fan of Princess & Celebrity. If I were going to try either NCL or Carnival, any suggestions? I'm getting the feeling that Carnival is preferred over NCL...Any advice?

 

Please don't try Carnival during spring break especially if you are doing a 7 day out of FL. If you are going in the fall or winter when kids are in school you will be fine. Just remember that their ships are very loud in color and the passenger mix will not be what you are use to, but as I said we earlier we enjoyed our Carnival cruise and would travel with them again.

 

NCL - well, I was on a bad cruise when we went on the Jewel, IMO the dining room food was plain awful. I know they have made some changes with regards their food so maybe its better. I just don't think they offer the kind of freedom with anytime dining like Princess does. They have a lot of different styles but you have to make reservations in advance to try them and they are all pay restaurants and honestly I don't think that gives you the freedom to do whatever.

[RealDeal]

Thanks, flvol77. I wouldn't cruise on ANY ship during any kind of school vacation period....including the summer! Does that paint the picture? LOL.... Sounds like it's worth a try, especially if the price is right.

[Clutterlady]

I have a question for you all....As I previously wrote, I'm a fan of Princess & Celebrity. If I were going to try either NCL or Carnival, any suggestions? I'm getting the feeling that Carnival is preferred over NCL...Any advice?

 

Although Carnival and NCL both have their pros and cons, in my opinion I would give Carnival a try before NCL........food is the big problem:)

[RealDeal]

Great...more Carnival reinforcement! Well, food is a HIGH priority for me, so that's very good to know!!

[ERTHDOG]

op-thanks for the compare-o:)

 

our first cruise was on princess(which we loved),and after looking at some of the cruises available from our side of the country,i am pretty sure we will be back on princess pretty soon

 

i do enjoy the rccl experience alot,but i seem to have a hard time finding their cruises to fit our schedule:( but thats not their fault

 

curiosity about carnival is starting for me,so i think we must try them to decide for ourselves;)

 

i think variety is good,so no one should poo-poo any of the lines until they try them...just my 2 cents

 

dave

[Minoushka]

It is really interesting to see other people 's point of view .

I found food on Princess good to excellent except on Sausage night in Caribe Cafe-last summer after shore visit in SJU on CB missed dinner went to buffet.Do not like sausage -that was the only bad meal all cruise.My hubby and kids did not mind ..chacun son gout!!!

Love seafood buffet

Love seafood ...yummy lobster --best ever on Adventure OTS-had 2 son had 4 -best waiter Lubo

RCI food better in dining room especially at night buffet VERY ORDINARY

Carnival portions smaller ...no waste tried different things

ON ALL SGHIPS LOVE TABLE BY THE WINDOW -I WATCH THe WAVES AS I AM WAITING -even saw a full moon

I like all cabins of these companies MSC NCl cabins MUCH SMALLER!!!

Love Caribe balconies

Love big ships Freedom was awesome -we loved all sports venues except boxing ring ..I did not get the importance of having one ..Bocci ball court would have been prefered .Loved it on Costa ships .Love Costa ambiance in GENERAL

Love mini-golf -wish they were more decorated and funky on every ship

Love shuffleboard but not all ships have them anymore .I miss that.

Shows on Miracle ,CB and Freedom really good .Ice shows great

Can you tell I love to cruise ?

 

Cannot wait for my next one GRAND JAN 09

[dancemom50]

Just another point of view so take it for what it's worth....we did the Pearl last Dec. The ship is built for freestyle. We did not make reservations every night and ate in several different venues....always at a table for two. We only made reservations the night of our anniversary. We were flexible though if one spot did not have anything at the time we were ready to eat...we tried some place else. That happened once. We thought the food was very good. Course food is subjective. There were lots of choices. All of the restaurants do not cost extra.

[HMSDingy]

Every cruise we take I we look at the pricing on RCCL and they are ALWAYS 25% higher, maybe not for you because you have sailed with RCCL many times and receive discounts for your status.

 

RCCL is more expensive and I have friends that are Diamond Plus and we cruise about the same time during the year and we compare prices and Princess is always cheaper.

 

I did a quick comparison between RCI & Princess for a 10 day Panama crusie and Princess was on average more expensive. Pricing is also relevant to your age group. RCI offers discounts for 55+ whereas Princess does not. We have sailed 4 times with Princess but opted for RCI because of a considerable saving. The only way we can truthfully compare is by sailing on both lines. We will be very objective come our next cruise. Only after the cruise can we decide which one is our favorite.

[flvol77]

I did a quick comparison between RCI & Princess for a 10 day Panama crusie and Princess was on average more expensive. Pricing is also relevant to your age group. RCI offers discounts for 55+ whereas Princess does not. We have sailed 4 times with Princess but opted for RCI because of a considerable saving. The only way we can truthfully compare is by sailing on both lines. We will be very objective come our next cruise. Only after the cruise can we decide which one is our favorite.

 

Interesting - I see that. The Jewel for the 3rd of April is about 75pp cheaper than Princess for a balcony. I have never had that happen for a 7 day. I hope the trend continues.

[flvol77]

Just another point of view so take it for what it's worth....we did the Pearl last Dec. The ship is built for freestyle. We did not make reservations every night and ate in several different venues....always at a table for two. We only made reservations the night of our anniversary. We were flexible though if one spot did not have anything at the time we were ready to eat...we tried some place else. That happened once. We thought the food was very good. Course food is subjective. There were lots of choices. All of the restaurants do not cost extra.

 

Question? So you didn't have to book alt restaurants the first day for the week?

 

I heard they were going to change the policy that you couldn't book an alt restaurant more than 24 hours ahead of time, if they made that change that is very cool and we may try them again.

[Tatka]

Although Carnival and NCL both have their pros and cons, in my opinion I would give Carnival a try before NCL........food is the big problem:)

 

I don't think DR food was worse on NCL than on Carnival.. But on Carnival red-white-blue competitions and dancing waiters are a bit annoying.

 

On NCL you can get table for two by the window easily.. more flexibility.

 

I am talking about Sun and Spirit, we haven't sailed on Dawn class of their ships.

 

Overall feel of NCL ships... much cozier and classier than Carnivals.

[dancemom50]

Question? So you didn't have to book alt restaurants the first day for the week?

 

I heard they were going to change the policy that you couldn't book an alt restaurant more than 24 hours ahead of time, if they made that change that is very cool and we may try them again.

When we were there (last Dec.) you could only book 24 hours ahead. We boarded on our anniversary so the first thing we did on board was book dinner for that night. After that we sometimes ate early, sometimes later depending on excursions, etc. We liked the Italian (no charge) restaurant better than the Mexican one. We were on a 5 day Western cruise. Two nights we ate in the regular dining room. Sometimes we had to wait a little bit for a table for two which is our preference, but would not have had to wait if we had wanted to share. We LOVED it.

[DonnaK]

Every cruise we take I we look at the pricing on RCCL and they are ALWAYS 25% higher, maybe not for you because you have sailed with RCCL many times and receive discounts for your status.

 

RCCL is more expensive and I have friends that are Diamond Plus and we cruise about the same time during the year and we compare prices and Princess is always cheaper.

 

Actually, I have cruised RCI 4 times, and am still a lowly Gold member,so I do not receive ANY discount for my status yet. I always cruise at the end of August, and I find plenty of "bargain" prices on RCI for that time of year. (We paid $747 pp for a balcony on Mariner, and $699 for a baclony on Adventure) In fact, we could not cruise otherwise, as we are on a relatively strict budget.