how does Royal Caribbean compare to princess

[RickEk]

I just seen a show on the travel channel it was about cruises and they feature Royal Caribbean cruise lines(radiance of the sea) how does princess compare to this cruise line just curious if anyone had done both not necessary this ship

 

Be aware that Royal Caribbean pays for those shows on the Travel Channel. They're just hour long commercials... interesting, but completely biased. I do enjoy the Samantha Brown shows on cruises, even the Royal Caribbean ones... she is a bit more even-handed. Once in awhile, you'll catch "Cruising the Star Princess" which documents when the Star Princess was cruising the Mexican Riviera.

[kooljamming]

Hmm, maybe you should reserve your judgement until you've been on more than one Princess ship 6 years ago.

 

Thanks. I feel the same way when someone post on here and about Carnival, what they heard or the 5 years ago that they cruised:eek:

 

OP- I have done RCCL several times with Princess only once with another booked. Both are great lines that have strengths and weaknesses. How much you will like each will depend on what you like to do on your vacation. For a family I would choose RCCL hands down because of the livelier vibe. Princess I thought was more relaxing/sedated/boring, therefore I had time to slow down and take notice of the beautiful surrounding. While Princess ships are elegant, RCCL ships are stunning and breathtaking...a certain wow factor. I don't require that much of the staff, so for the most part service met my expectation (above average in most areas). Ultimately I would choose RCCL over Princess because I usually travel with kids, the livelier vibe, and more activities. However I am returning to Princess because of the incredible deal this summer. A more relaxing atmosphere go with Princess, more activities consider RCCL. Good old fashion FUN - Carnival (thought I would throw that in:D)

 

Princess - allows wine

RCCL - allows you to cancel your cruise if the itinerary has drastically change before cruising

[Ziggy7]

 

Princess - allows wine

RCCL - allows you to cancel your cruise if the itinerary has drastically change before cruising

So does Princess, also if your cruise ports cancel while your on your cruise due to the swine flu Princess gives those on board a future cruise credit and shipboard credit, RCI does not :)

[ckr31]

WOW very intresting post, about both ships. I think we will stick with princess I was reading in a cruise book that rcl ship are very noisy their is noise everywhere even the elavators talk and tell you what deck your on.for us the less kids the better. dont get me wrong we love our grand kids,but a vacaton is to relax.we dont have to rock climb,iceskate,or that other stuff just sit on a beach or pool and take it easy.

[NJRonbo]

This thread is a great read. As a cruiser of both lines, I think all

the replies pretty much are in line with my opinion.

 

It's very difficult to rate RCCL over PRINCESS. Both these lines fall

into the "mid-tier" category of not being geared towards budget

(Carnival) or luxury (CELEBRITY/HAL). These two lines are probably

the most popular for travelers as they offer the "best bang for the buck."

 

I sailed RCCL for years. Loved their mini suites which (at the time) were

less expensive and larger than what you get on Princess. People also

tend to marvel at their promenades which look like a city street lined

with shops and eateries. New ships have a "Central Park" landscape as

well as a boardwalk with a carousel. RCCL ships also have things like

rock wall climbing and surfing.

 

I remember as a minisuite owner on RCCL I got access to their VIP CLUB

which offered a limited selection of free booze, appetizers and a selection

of DVDs that you can take back to the room and play on your personal

DVD player. I don't know if Princess has any of that. Have not seen it

advertised. I just remember minisuites and that kind of access seemed

to be cheaper and more robust than what Princess is offering.

 

In all, I feel RCCL ships have more of that "WOW" factor to them.

As you would expect, I think it also attracts a younger kind of crowd

(I am in my mid 40s) as there is more for them to do onboard.

 

On the other side of the coin, PRINCESS offers a bit more elegance

and luxury. I think their ships look more refined. I think food and

service is a bit better (though food quality has diminished over the

last two years). I like the fact they offer freshwater pools over

saltwater, sanctuary for those that want extra comfort and that there

seems to be less kids aboard the ship.

[NH Cruisers]

 

On the other side of the coin, PRINCESS offers a bit more elegance

and luxury. I think their ships look more refined. I think food and

service is a bit better (though food quality has diminished over the

last two years). I like the fact they offer freshwater pools over

saltwater, sanctuary for those that want extra comfort and that there

seems to be less kids aboard the ship.

 

Just off the Star Princess, no complaints. Big beautiful ship, great crew and captain.

 

But... to say Princess offers more elegance and luxury? I don't see it. Especially the main dinning rooms. Princess is more like any nice resturant on land, low ceilings and good decor. Royal Caribbean has grand looking dinning rooms that harken back to the days of early 20th century voyages. Two even three level dinning rooms, grand stair cases, gold trim and fine looking drapery. A place for a string quartet to play. A grand Piano. A huge captains table with the Crown and Anchor made of rose pedals. Princess has no comparison.

 

Both lines have their pluses, my vote goes to RCI for the luxury and elegance feel.

 

Jon

[NH Cruisers]

 

It's very difficult to rate RCCL over PRINCESS. Both these lines fall

into the "mid-tier" category of not being geared towards budget

(Carnival) or luxury (CELEBRITY/HAL). These two lines are probably

the most popular for travelers as they offer the "best bang for the buck."

 

I made some good friends on the cruise I just got off of. One couple loved our cruise but she perfers Carnival over Princess. She always liked Princess more and has changed her opinion after this last cruise.

 

Another couple at our nightly dinner perfers NCL. But still very much like Princess.

 

I don't think they feel that Carnival (or NCL) is a budget cruise line. Also Carnival has the largest cabins catagory to catagory of the main line cruise lines.

[NH Cruisers]

WOW very intresting post, about both ships. I think we will stick with princess I was reading in a cruise book that rcl ship are very noisy their is noise everywhere even the elavators talk and tell you what deck your on.for us the less kids the better. dont get me wrong we love our grand kids,but a vacaton is to relax.we dont have to rock climb,iceskate,or that other stuff just sit on a beach or pool and take it easy.

We usually book a balcony room by the elevator (RCI), I have yet to hear it.

 

This last cruise we just got off of (Princess), the crew decided to start working. Banging and cranking on what ever outside our window. 6:30 AM on a sea day!!! Great!

 

I will sail both lines again and I have no loyalty to either.

 

You may not iceskate, neither do I. The professional shows they put on are not to be missed.

 

Your best bet is to experience it you self.

 

Jon

[Canusa02]

I just seen a show on the travel channel it was about cruises and they feature Royal Caribbean cruise lines(radiance of the sea) how does princess compare to this cruise line just curious if anyone had done both not necessary this ship

 

There are a lot of things that I like about both cruise lines. RCL has (or at least had 4 yrs ago) the better food, and on RCL you do not have to fight for a seat in the theater.

Princess provides a much easier experience getting on/off the boat. They also have bigger rooms.

While there are more pros and cons to be named, the biggest one is that Princess is a whole lot more affordable than RCL. With the outrageous prices of Canadian airfare keeping us from cruising every year, we will gratefully sacrifice the good of RCL for the few hundred dollar savings of Princess.

[cynbar]

So much of the preferences are personal opinion. For instance, I don't agree that RCI is more elegant, and in fact I prefer the 3 smaller, more intimate MDRs on Princess to the multi-tier MDRs on RCI which I find noisier. And the food on Princess has always beaten RCI, both MDR and buffet--- but again, that's just us, and it does seem to vary from ship to ship in the same company. Both lines offer a lot, and really, we have never found the perfect cruise ship. We choose by itinerary and often price, then try to appreciate the strengths of each line. By the way, we also enjoyed our two NCL cruises, a line that gets slammed on the Princess boards but is positively adored by its fans. Luckily, not everyone prefers the same ship or cruise line!

[margeg]

We have done 7 princess cruises, mostly different ships. This year was our first RC cruise on the Voyager.

 

The only thing I liked much better about the Voyager was the mini suite. It was HUGE compared to Princess minis which we always get.

 

Otherwise I thought they were both very good. Probably will stick with our Princess though, for the perks we get for being "loyal".

 

By the way, someone mentioned that you got some extra stuff for booking a mini on RC. We did not get anything extra besides the room being great.

 

If you like the sporty things like the rock climbing, ice skating, etc. choose RC. We dont do that stuff.

 

Oh one more thing. The theater on RC was probably twice the size of Princess theaters which meant you did not have to get there early to get a seat. We do go to almost all the shows, and we have to go almost a half hour early to get a good seat in the Princess theaters.

 

They had just started the "anytime"dining on the Voyager when we went. It was still in its first stages being organized so it was not so great in my opinion. You were very much "encouraged" to make a reservation the night before, which I thought defeated the purpose. And we had to sit in a small corner section of the dining room just for "my timers" that was not very pretty and quite congested. They did not have separate restaurants like Princess does.

[margeg]

Thanks keep info coming how are the mini rooms on princess compare to rccl mini state rooms

 

the mini we had on Voyager was WAY larger than all the minis we had on Princess. It was like staying in a hotel room!!

[rdsqrl]

I think this too is subjective. I just got off Star Princess yesterday. Best weather for an Alaska anyone could ask for. The ship is beautiful. The food: Average, just what I expected from the main dinning room. Same as any I have had on any RCCL ship. The Horizon Court buffett had the least choice I have ever had on a cruise. The food I ate was good, but not much choice. We actually opted for the awsome pizza at the pool and burger and fries at Trident for lunch over the buffett a couple days. Who likes squid meatballs, beef tongue sandwiches, greassy fried mackerel, or squid ball soup? This all may appeal to a lot of you, but I don't know personally anyone who likes that stuff. As far as service, ever since the pre-paid gratuities went into effect service is not the same. In the past our waiters knew us by name, not now. Our best ever experience with ships waiters was on Caribbean Princess in 2006. Our cruise we just got off of,dinning room sevice was not memorable in the long run. We have had good and bad in the past. I seems now its just average service both cruise lines.

 

Princess dinning rooms design and decor can't compare to the main dinning rooms on RCCL ships. That is really the biggest dissapointment to me.

 

Jon,

I found this quotation of yours amusing, as you have posted in another thread that you skipped your traditional dinner seating almost every night and went instead to anytime (or the buffet) -- how do you expect your servers to know your names if you're not at the table at which you were assigned but instead seated in a different table in a different dining room every night??

WOW very intresting post, about both ships. I think we will stick with princess I was reading in a cruise book that rcl ship are very noisy their is noise everywhere even the elavators talk and tell you what deck your on.for us the less kids the better. dont get me wrong we love our grand kids,but a vacaton is to relax.we dont have to rock climb,iceskate,or that other stuff just sit on a beach or pool and take it easy.

Well, I hate to break this to you, ckr31, but Princess elevators "talk" also -- as do many on land, for the benefit of blind passengers, so they know what floor they're on. And Princess ships can have kids on them, too.

[kooljamming]

 

Well, I hate to break this to you, ckr31, but Princess elevators "talk" also -- as do many on land, for the benefit of blind passengers, so they know what floor they're on. And Princess ships can have kids on them, too.

 

Yep, kiddos on board. Princess is NO longer a ship for the old and cold, newly wed or newly dead. That was my imagine of Princess for years or until this year. I am not ready to give up Carnival or RCCl but Princess is a sweet escape. They still could do with a good Reggae band by the pool, with a bit more action. Also someone coming around with drinks of the day, in the foo-foo glasses, which would make for a larger bar bill:p.

[ckr31]

by reading I think it is all a matter of what you personally like. All ship have their pro's and con's.For instance ncl out of all the cruises we have been on has the best embarkation party(at least as of 4 years ago) with a live reggae band. bbq ribs,hotlinks,sausage,brisket,and other goodies with drinks.they set up 4 huge bbq grills right by the pools as you left port with music people dancing and a huge festive mood.we thought that was great where as princess does not do anything close to tha,however we still like princess cause of the elegance and great service

[NH Cruisers]

I found this quotation of yours amusing, as you have posted in another thread that you skipped your traditional dinner seating almost every night and went instead to anytime (or the buffet) -- how do you expect your servers to know your names if you're not at the table at which you were assigned but instead seated in a different table in a different dining room every night??

For one thing they never asked our names. Also the others at the table were there every night, the servers never asked their names.

 

We saw our waiter "Romeo" in the HC at lunch or breakfast on a few occassions, he recognized us and talked with us but didn't know our names.

 

The few times we did show up to Main Dinning we got our ice teas without asking, because we ordered it the first night.

 

Still amused?

 

Jon,

[DrivesLikeMario]

While we've had over 10 cruises with RCI, I still prefer Princess mostly because of the food quality and service.

 

RCI has terrific, beautiful, spacious ships with incredible ammenities and atriums. Princess has a more intimate, elegant feeling to their ships.