Best Princess Ship??

[cruzinj]

What do you think is the overall best princess ship? In terms of interior beauty, entertainment options, and space. I am looking forward to cruising the Coral. I have not cruised on many princess ships, and I would like some opinions on what ship you would reccomend for future cruises.

Also, Is the Coral the most beautiful princess ship? (In your opinion)

 

How do you think princess ships (espically the Coral) compare to Celebrity's M-CLASS ships?

 

 

Thanks for your help:) ,

 

Cruzinj

[bdjam]

What do you think is the overall best princess ship? In terms of interior beauty, entertainment options, and space. I am looking forward to cruising the Coral. I have not cruised on many princess ships, and I would like some opinions on what ship you would reccomend for future cruises.

Also, Is the Coral the most beautiful princess ship? (In your opinion)

 

How do you think princess ships (espically the Coral) compare to Celebrity's M-CLASS ships?

 

 

Thanks for your help:) ,

 

Cruzinj

Never done Coral Princess, but will do her sister, Island Princess in 2005. But, my vote for the most beautiful ship is Regal Princess. While she doesn’t compete with the bigger ships in terms of space, she is still the top of my list.

[cruiserforlife]

Have never cruised the Coral so can't comment there.

Love the Sun-class ships (cruised the Sea & the Ocean and will be on the Sun 1/28),but my favorite Princess ship so far has to be the Star.

 

Had a great time on her in a mini-suite for 7 days in the Mexican Riviera last year!

[BJS]

Never sailed the Coral but my vote is for her sister ship the Island Princess for beauty and size.

 

Entertainment options change from cruise to cruise so can't really rate this for any one ship.

 

Sorry can't compare to Celebrity.

[LARGIN]

My vote is the Coral/Island first and The Regal second.. I prefer ships that carry less than 2000 passengers as they usually have a better crew/passenger ratio..

[SaylorGirl]

I will rate the Regal as my favorite.

[CruiseFever]

I have not sailed on all the ships but so far the Caribbean Princess is the "best" on my list...that's out of just three Princess ships mind you, the Golden and Star being the others, all Grand Class.

 

Some stats from the Cruise Critic Ship's review section:

 

Overall Score-

Member rating CDC Score

Island 3.8 not rated

Dawn 3.7 95

Grand 3.7 94

Star 3.7 99

Caribbean 3.7 100

Diamond not rated 95

Royal 3.7 92

Tahitian 3.7 not rated

 

kind of iffy numbers but it was fun to look at

[spongerob]

There was a poll about this very thing some time ago, when we seemed to have a broader cross-section of Princess clientele posting here. There were 226 responses. I have taken the liberty of normalizing the results based on the number of berths each ship/class represents in the entire fleet.

 

Diamond/Sapphire - 5340 berths, 17.3% of Princess total berths, gets 10.6% of votes cast

 

Island/Coral - 3940 berths, 12.8% of Princess total berths, gets 13.7%

 

Grand class inc. Caribbean - 13510 berths, 43.8% of total berths, gets 28.3%

 

Tahitian/Island - 1360 berths, 4.4% of total berths, gets 8.0% of votes cast

 

Sun/Dawn - 3900 berths, 12.7% of total Princess berths, gets 23.0% of votes cast

 

Regal - 1590 berths, 5.2% of total berths, gets 9.8% of votes cast

 

Royal - 1200 berths, 3.9% of total berths, gets 6.6% of votes cast

 

The smaller ships get a disproportionately high number of votes based on their lower berth capacity. I included only lower berths because uppers are mostly used by children who are too young to vote. Regal Princess gets the highest loyalty rating ratio at 1.9 (defined as percentage of votes received divided by percentage of berths the ship/class represents). Tahitian/Island and Sun-class ships come in a close second at 1.8. Oddly, the Island/Coral don't get the same loyalty as the Sun-class ships although they are similar in many respects.

 

At this juncture, the Regal Princess is the favorite Princess ship!

 

And yes, it's a little slow around here today...:D

[Charliesmom]

We like the Sun Class ships (Sea, Dawn and Sun) because they have the best mini-suites afloat (IMHO). We had a great cruise with great service on the Sun last January.

 

Our next cruise on Princess will be in 2006 on the Island where we have reserved a suite.

 

Roberta

[cruzinj]

I've sailed one grand-class ship, the star. I loved it, and thought it was beautiful. That's what I'm most comparing to the Coral, but I've heard the sun, and regal are great too. I appreciate all the responses... my next cruise will be a tough choice!

 

 

looking forward to more responses:D

Thanks,

 

Cruzinj

[bdjam]

Regal - 1590 berths, 5.2% of total berths, gets 9.8% of votes cast

 

 

At this juncture, the Regal Princess is the favorite Princess ship!

And people say I’m crazy…! :D :D :D

[CMHF]

We were on the Coral last month, a beautiful ship that did not feel crowded with 1940 pax. The crew & staff were exceptional, everyone was happy & ready to please you. Have a great cruise!

Harvey

[CruiseAholic]

Without a doubt, the Royal Princess, but she isn't for everyone, not the glitz many of the new ships have, but a classic beauty.

[Beryl]

I really like the Sun Class ships and I had a wonderful time on the Grand Princess but my all time favourite (of the Princess ships I've sailed) is the Regal Princess! Her name says it all! She is a truly wonderful ship. I'm looking forward to trying the Diamond in February and I'm sure I'm going to have a wonderful time on board her as well!

[spongerob]

And people say I’m crazy…! :D :D :D

You are. But the math supports you. :)

[Justmetalkin]

And people say I’m crazy…! :D :D :D

If you are referring to statitics, bdjam, they can be exactly what you want to make them. From my perspective, MUTS, and less formal on formal nights, and larger ships, seem to be catching on like wildfire. Extra cost venues, and kids cruising are here to stay! If there are ships you can sail that meet your "desires", sail them. Give me something new and exciting. I might want to wear a TUX.... maybe not.... who really cares. I might want to see a movie by the pool (especially on the big screen) or not. I might want to eat when and where I want to. But to have the choices is what I want. Maybe I am the crazy one!!!!!! But Princess, "YOU GO GIRL" Give me choices... My choices!

[LARGIN]

yep. different strokes for different folks.. Myself I prefer smaller ships, more formal, more traditional.. I can't get the "silver service" I received in the olden days out of my head.. I guess one had to be there to truely enjoy it.. Princess is making an effort to satisfy the masses and be successful in today's market.. I hope they do not forget how successful they were in the past.

[Justmetalkin]

yep. different strokes for different folks.. Myself I prefer smaller ships, more formal, more traditional.. I can't get the "silver service" I received in the olden days out of my head.. I guess one had to be there to truely enjoy it.. Princess is making an effort to satisfy the masses and be successful in today's market.. I hope they do not forget how successful they were in the past.

I think I would have liked the "silver service" of the olden days, but it's not those days now. Actually I am very pleased with the service I get so far. I can't wait to experience it again. Change is inevitable (sp)... A new ship similar to the CB is an exciting possibility especially since it fits into my cruise plans date wise..... If I am one of the masses, then save me a place in the line! I want Caribe 514 or a great balcony close by. An improvement that would be nice to me would be to be able to book the balcony dinner online, as well as MUTS reservations.... But please ventilate the Princess Theater! Hot in there!

[irislady]

I haven't sailed on Celebrity, but DH and I sailed on the Coral last year and loved her... so much that we're booked on her twin, the Island, in early June. We enjoyed the Grand, and thought she was lovely, but definitely preferred the Coral.

Shae

[roe2ship]

From my perspective, MUTS, and less formal on formal nights, and larger ships, seem to be catching on like wildfire.

Catching on like wildfire..........I love that one! :)

[sue d. miller]

Rob, do you remember the old days when you would explain Ships and how they worked???? That was our first clue that we had a genius among us!! I begged you to please explain it to us in our somewhat challanged understanding, and you did!!! That was a great day!!!! :D

[spongerob]

Thanks, Sue, but I'd rather be criticized than praised - it helps keep me grounded. Swelled egos cause a lot of damage. We used to have some very knowledgeable posters here who could answer technical questions. Too bad they're not around anymore, it was really beneficial to learn how amazingly complex the machinery that supports our vacations really is.

[sue d. miller]

I will keep that in mind Rob. We really learned alot then, about many technical workings of ships. I agree, you have a different feel of the ship, not just a vehicle to transport you from port to port!!! :)

[stoneharborlady]

I think I would have liked the "silver service" of the olden days, but it's not those days now. Actually I am very pleased with the service I get so far. I can't wait to experience it again. Change is inevitable (sp)... A new ship similar to the CB is an exciting possibility especially since it fits into my cruise plans date wise..... If I am one of the masses, then save me a place in the line! I want Caribe 514 or a great balcony close by. An improvement that would be nice to me would be to be able to book the balcony dinner online, as well as MUTS reservations.... But please ventilate the Princess Theater! Hot in there!

I think I very much agree with you!! I want a ship with four pools, lots of hot tubs, and the choice of what time to have dinner, and where. The service I received on the CB, while not up to the standards of some long time cruisers, suited me just fine. Actually, it was above and beyond what I expected, it was, for me, perfection. :)

[Druke I]

As always, interesting responses. One minor error in Spongerob's numbers, he lists Island twice, when one of the listings should be Pacific, sister to Tahitian.

 

Of the ships currently in the fleet, I like Sun, Coral, and Regal (along with Royal, soon to leave).

 

One ship I liked better than any in the current fleet was the former Sea Princess, later Victoria, now Mona Lisa, (launched as Kungsholm). Lots of beautiful wood paneling, and a nice indoor pool and spa area down in the bowels of the ship.

 

I personally am not a fan of the behemoth Grand class.