Help in deciding between Princess and RCI

[jschoch]

I am trying to decide between the Star Princess and The Mariner of the Seas. We are a couple in the 40 to 50 range and have a 12 year old daughter. I have a deposit on a E1 aft cabin (7690) and would probably have a mini suite on the Star. The cruise on the Mariner prices out about $400 more with a smaller cabin. Is it worth it? Also, the itineray are the same except for the private islands (labadee vs princess cays). Is one island better than other?I have so many different opinions of food, service, etc. that I have low expectations for both. We are going over spring break so they both are going to be crowded. Any feedback would be appreciated to make this decision for my family.

[sports family]

Personally I would choose the Mariner of the Seas. We have 4 children and have sailed both the Voyager and the Diamond. Both were AWESOME vacations, just different. The kids had much more to choose from on the Voyager and were much more active. They didn't really participate in either of the "Kid's Clubs", but met many more kids their age on the Voyager. You'll have a great time no matter which you choose.

[05mak05]

If packing light is important to you, choose Princess as they offer free laundry facilities, irons, etc. We've been on both Princess and RCCL ... we've been extremely pleased with both. We think the food on Princess is fabulous and are always surprised when people say it's "so-so." I thought the food on RCCL was good but not great.

[39august]

Wow, I have compared prices of Princess mini-suites to RCI balcony cabins many times and have ALWAYS found Princess mini-suites higher! For instance, I just looked at a March sailing and the cheapest Princess mini was $1795 pp compared to a Mariner D3 that was about $1200 pp. Please advise what dates you are looking at, just to satisfy my curiosity. I have stayed in the mini-suites on Princess and both E and D cabins on RCI. The D cabins are about comprable in size to the mini-suites on Princess, with the only big difference in the larger bathroom you get with mini-suites. This is one big difference in Princess and RCI. In order to get a cabin with a sitting area on Princess, you have to move up to a mini-suite(except for Tahitian PRincess). All balcony cabins on RCI Voyager and Radiance class ships include sitting areas and are larger than Princess regular balcony cabins.

[critterchick]

Laundry isn't free on Princess unless you're in a full suite (not a mini) or an Elite member. There are coin operated laundries, I think on all the ships, but I know on Star, and there's an iron in the laundry room.

[ria]

I have never sailed Princess but, my best friend did. When I asked her which she liked better she said, RCCL for family. We have always sailed RCCL with family and everyone has a great time. That was another comment my friend made, more activities overall. I hear it can be a bit of a "gray-hair" cruise line.

 

Ria

[cruzindave]

Hi, I just came back from a Princess cruise and I was not that impressed. We sailed with our 8 & 11 year-old kids. Both begged us to sail on another Voyager class ship because there is so much more to do for the kids. Our kids have been on 7 cruises and Princess was their least favorite. My wife and I were very dissappointed with the service, food and entertainment. Our next cruise most likely will be on the Mariner of the Seas. Have a great day!

[05mak05]

We've been on two Princess cruises the last one being the 9/11/04 Canada/New England sailing out of NYC on the Royal Princess. The laundry room on our deck ran from one side of the ship to the other and all washers and dryers were free. There were four ironing stations with bars to hang clothes, spray water bottles, etc. The laundry facilties were also free on our '99 Dawn Princess Alaska trip. However, there are coin operated machines for Tide, and I believe the charge was $1.00 for a small box. (We packed our own.) Also on both times, Princess had the "All You Can Stuff" in a bag laundry special for $15 which is done by their staff. The laundry bags are generously sized and if you tightly roll your items, you can stuff quite a bit of dirty clothes into these bags.

Maybe some of the washers & dryers on Princess are coin-operated but not on the two ships we were on. We also like Royal Caribbean but packing light in a 22" rollerboard and not checking luggage sure simplifies matters for us.

[csk]

I have been on two Princess ships, and both had coin laundry, we have been on 9 RC cruises, we enjoy the RC cruises the best, think the customer service and employees are much more friendlier, as far as food and shows, enjoyed both, but our favorite ship so far is definately the Mariner of Sea. Either choice you would have a great cruise

[jschoch]

Wow, I have compared prices of Princess mini-suites to RCI balcony cabins many times and have ALWAYS found Princess mini-suites higher! For instance, I just looked at a March sailing and the cheapest Princess mini was $1795 pp compared to a Mariner D3 that was about $1200 pp. Please advise what dates you are looking at, just to satisfy my curiosity. I have stayed in the mini-suites on Princess and both E and D cabins on RCI. The D cabins are about comprable in size to the mini-suites on Princess, with the only big difference in the larger bathroom you get with mini-suites. This is one big difference in Princess and RCI. In order to get a cabin with a sitting area on Princess, you have to move up to a mini-suite(except for Tahitian PRincess). All balcony cabins on RCI Voyager and Radiance class ships include sitting areas and are larger than Princess regular balcony cabins.

Our cruise date is 3/27/05. Is a E1 balcony cabin facing aft worth $400 more than a minisuite? How small is the bathroom on RCI? There will be three of us. Both ships look nice. The Mariner looks amazing but it priced out $400 higher. Is it worth it??

[alexkrn46]

Was on the Star Princess 8/03, we had to pay to do our laundry.

The Star Princess is a beautiful ship, similar to the Radiance Class,

 

Things I didn't like:

 

Only one show per night, therefore not enough seats for everyone to view.

I did not like Personal Choice dining, had to make reservations everyday for dinner.

No towel animals!

[alexkrn46]

Was on the Star Princess 8/03, we had to pay to do our laundry.

The Star Princess is a beautiful ship, similar to the Radiance Class,

 

Things I didn't like:

 

Only one show per night, therefore not enough seats for everyone to view.

I did not like Personal Choice dining, had to make reservations everyday for dinner.

No towel animals!

You never saw the Captain.

 

Good things

Everything was cheaper, drinks, trickets, t shirts.

 

I didn't like the customer service, not like RCCL

[39august]

jschoch- I guess the $400 increase you cite is for all 3 of you. I did see that for Mar. 27 the cheapest mini-suite on the Star is slightly less pp than E1 Mariner, but very slight on the cites I checked. Yes, the bathroom is really small for the E and D catagories on Mariner. We've stayed in both catagories. The aft cabins on Mariner are partially obstructed with construction struts so you have to look through and around them. Not bad, but not a clear aft view that so many of us desire with aft cabins. Mini-suits on Princess have a full bathroom with tub, so it is much bigger bathroom than the E and D catagories. I personally would not book an E catagory for 3 people. The D is only a few dollars more on that sailing and you could certainly use the extra space. During spring break your daughter should have plenty of company on either line, tho' Princess does limit number of children on a cruise. You don't say if you are first time cruisers or veterans. If first time, either line will please you I think, and in that case, I'd go on the Star for more room and less money.

[Firefighterhoop]

Well, my dad and I love the voyager class better, my mom thought it was too big and liked the Princess Grand Class better, so it's almost a horse a piece.

 

I think for sure the 12yo will like the Mariner better, more options, bigger ship = more of a chance to meet friends.