Princess Crown on NCL Star?? Help me decide

[ejkj84]

I am posting this on both princess and ncl boards as we are trying to decide what cruise to go on the second week of March.

 

After much research I have narrowed down to 3 possible cruise choices for a group of 6 24-26 year old friends. We plan to get together on Friday and book one of these cruises. I keep going back and forth, as there are things I like and do not like about each. I know there are many more options but these 3 fit best with what we need and are a good price the week we are going. Here are the cruise:

 

Eastern Caribbean on the Princess Crown

Mexican Rivera on the NCL Star

Mexican Rivera of the Princess Sapphire

 

Considering air and cruise cost the Star would be the cheapest then the Sapphire and then the Crown, but only by a $150 from the lowest to most expensive. Also on the cheapest on (star) it would be 4 to a cabin and the other 2 are 2 to a cabin.

 

We have never been to the Mexican Rivera side so that is what initially drew us to that area. However, I am very concerned that it will be cooler over there than in the Caribbean. What we want to do on most port days is just get to a beach and stay there for awhile. I do not know how possible this is in the Mexican Rivera- it seems to be more of an excursion place. Plus I have heard that the Mexican Rivera side is not quite as safe, but who knows. This fact, along with a much longer flight time is the reason we are also considering the Crown.

 

The reason we are favoring the NCL is because of our age. We are all in our mid twenties and want things to do in the day and night. We do not need a wild party or anything, but to have the Night Club open late (with people there) would be a positive. We thought that possibly there would be a younger crowd on the Star than on the Princess cruises. Also they seem to have a lot of comedy shows, and I always like them. It is also the cheapest option which would leave us a little extra money.

 

The Princess Sapphire seems to be in the middle, both in price and advantages. We get a nicer ship (probably) than the Star but I still have reservations about the night time activities and the Mexican Rivera’s temperature. It is cold here, I want to be HOT!

 

 

Can anyone offer any insight on what might be the best for our group? Any thing else I should consider? We looked at the Pearl and Dawn but there prices were higher for that week. I think I am leaning towards the Princess Crown, the only thing making me hesitate is the possible lack of others our age and the slightly higher cost.

[mississauga]

I first read this on the Princess board but since you have not had replies on this board yet, I'll reply here. I have been on the NCL Star, the Princess Sapphire and the sister ship of the Princess Crown, the Emerald. All 3 ships are beautiful and you would like any of them and contrary to what a lot of people say, the cruiselines are more similiar than they are different. Each cruise of the same ship is different because crews change and of course, the passenger mix.

 

I am posting this on both princess and ncl boards as we are trying to decide what cruise to go on the second week of March.

 

After much research I have narrowed down to 3 possible cruise choices for a group of 6 24-26 year old friends. We plan to get together on Friday and book one of these cruises. I keep going back and forth, as there are things I like and do not like about each. I know there are many more options but these 3 fit best with what we need and are a good price the week we are going. Here are the cruise:

 

Eastern Caribbean on the Princess Crown

Mexican Rivera on the NCL Star

Mexican Rivera of the Princess Sapphire

 

Considering air and cruise cost the Star would be the cheapest then the Sapphire and then the Crown, but only by a $150 from the lowest to most expensive. Also on the cheapest on (star) it would be 4 to a cabin and the other 2 are 2 to a cabin.

I'm very surprised that you have to have 4 to a cabin on the Star to get similar pricing. 2 to a cabin would be more on the Star than 2 on Princess? If it is as you said, then the Crown and the Sapphire would be a better value. 4 to a cabin would be much too crowded. Right off the bat, I would personally eliminate the Star. However that may not be your priority.

 

 

We have never been to the Mexican Rivera side so that is what initially drew us to that area. However, I am very concerned that it will be cooler over there than in the Caribbean. What we want to do on most port days is just get to a beach and stay there for awhile. I do not know how possible this is in the Mexican Rivera- it seems to be more of an excursion place. Plus I have heard that the Mexican Rivera side is not quite as safe, but who knows. This fact, along with a much longer flight time is the reason we are also considering the Crown.

The Mexican Riveria would be warm, even hot in March ( temps may be hot but the waters of the Pacific are cooler than in the Caribbean ) but if your main interest is beaches, then the Crown itinerary would have better beach experiences. 4 ports vs 3 on the Star or Sapphire. 2 of the ports are beach experiences in themselves. Of course in Grand Turk, you have the added bonus of Margitville (sp?) On Grand Turk and Princess Cays, the beach is right there when you get off the ship or tender (Princess Cays) and you have no transportation charges.

 

The reason we are favoring the NCL is because of our age. We are all in our mid twenties and want things to do in the day and night. We do not need a wild party or anything, but to have the Night Club open late (with people there) would be a positive. We thought that possibly there would be a younger crowd on the Star than on the Princess cruises. Also they seem to have a lot of comedy shows, and I always like them. It is also the cheapest option which would leave us a little extra money.

You will probably have a better nightlife experience on the Star. Can't say what the passenger age mix ( but hey, there are 6 of you ) would be on any of the 3 ships but NCL does give a better nightlife experience. The CD staff plan much better and more activities at night than Princess. Also, these activities tend to last longer on NCL as the CD staff stay and participate much longer than the Princess staff. On Princess, once they get the party started, they tend to start disappearring within half an hour or less. NCL staff stay and keep the party going.

 

The Princess Sapphire seems to be in the middle, both in price and advantages. We get a nicer ship (probably) than the Star but I still have reservations about the night time activities and the Mexican Rivera’s temperature. It is cold here, I want to be HOT!

If you choose the Mexican Riveria, the Star is just as nice as the Sapphire. Only thing I didn't like about the Star is its buffet....looks like a cafeteria to me but the food is good. The buffet area on the Sapphire is more comfortable to eat in.(although harder to maneouver in the food area ). The buffet areas are much better on the Pearl and Jewel so I'm not knocking all NCL buffet areas, just on the Star.

 

Can anyone offer any insight on what might be the best for our group? Any thing else I should consider? We looked at the Pearl and Dawn but there prices were higher for that week. I think I am leaning towards the Princess Crown, the only thing making me hesitate is the possible lack of others our age and the slightly higher cost.

 

I guess it all depends on what your priorites as a group are but based on what you have posted, I would choose the Princess Crown.

Whichever cruise you choose, I'm sure you have a wonderful cruise. Enjoy!

[rubytue]

With six adult women, I would not consider four to a cabin. You could split into two cabins, but I would do it as three per cabin, and even that will be very tight. You would be most comfortable in 3 cabins. But a 4-2 split just makes no sense.

 

Good luck! I'm sure you all will have a blast whereever you end up :)

 

Oh, one other thing. You want the party atmosphere, right? Does the age of the partiers matter to you? My husband and I took a Holland cruise for our honeymoon. We were 30 and 31 at the time (but have never been big partiers). One of the best days we had was when we joined and impromtu tour group at the peir (they wer elooking for one more couple to reduce the cost per person). We were the only two under 60, but we had a blast! So, the older demographic doesn't nessecarily mean less fun ;)

[garycarla]

Not sure how one can even begin to compare a cruise with 4 to a cabin vs 2 to a cabin. Big, big difference in comfort,sleep, etc.

 

As to NCL vs Princess. The biggest variance is going to be dinner, and dress up. We have been looking at our next cruise and get close to going with Princess, but the fixed dining time thing is pretty much a deal breaker for us.

[mississauga]

Not sure how one can even begin to compare a cruise with 4 to a cabin vs 2 to a cabin. Big, big difference in comfort,sleep, etc.

 

As to NCL vs Princess. The biggest variance is going to be dinner, and dress up. We have been looking at our next cruise and get close to going with Princess, but the fixed dining time thing is pretty much a deal breaker for us.

 

 

Did you know that Princess has anytime dining? You have a choice ( if booked earlier enough ) whether you want traditional ( fixed ) but anytime dining is always available. There are a couple of the older Princess ships that do not have anytime but most do.

[sunshine40]

I had only cruised with Carnival before for comparison to my recent NCL Star cruise. The only thing I thought lacking on the Star was the nightlife. They did have a fun White Hot Party one night that went later, but the bars at night seemed pretty quite to me. Of course, I was comparing NCL to Carnival which I thought was more active at night. I don't know how Princess compares. The crew and entertainers did stay out at the party as mentioned by somebody else. The comedy shows were good and the magician was also a comedian since you mentioned you like that. There was a good mixture of people of all ages on board during our cruise.

 

As far as beaches go. Yes, you have to take a taxi or water taxi to reach the beaches in Mexico. Not a big expense. However, IMHO the beaches of Mexican Riviera Cruise don't compare with any Carribean beaches I have been to. Both the white sand and the beauty of the color of the water in the Carribean just aren't repeated in Mexico. Good luck on your decision! I have cruised to both places and enjoyed both so I don't think you can go wrong.

[jscruise]

This is somewhat difficult for me as an NCL loyalist, but I would definitely choose Crown Princess. While I have not sailed on the Star, I have sailed on her sister, the Dawn. I found the Dawn to be a great ship, with great dining options. However, the experience on Crown Princess was superior to NCL. We sailed with anytime dining, so we ate whenever we chose and never waited more than 5 minutes. For us, the food was far superior (loved the Fettuccine Alfredo and Princess Love Boat Dream every night) to the offerings on NCL, although with the implementation of Freestyle 2.0, NCL has begun to catch up somewhat. There are also far more areas outside to relax, including multiple pools that the Star just does not have.

 

Would I sail on the Star? Absolutely! If my choice was between the Star and Crown Princess...(if money was not object)...Crown Princess, hands down.

[mississauga]

So, which cruise did your group decide on? Come back and tell us.

 

Whichever ship or cruise you'll be on, I'm sure you'll enjoy it and have lots of fun!:D