Princess vs other cruise lines

[rxnrn]

Hi, I'm new to this board. My family and I are considering the Emerald Princess 7 night Eastern Caribbean next summer 6-10. You can see in my signature what cruise lines we have used. We sail for the ports of call, but we do expect the dining and stateroom service to be above par. Recently it seems on NCL and Carnival the wait staff has been less than average. We felt more pampered(at least be able to make recommendations) at our local Olive Garden than on the ship. Maybe we just got a couple of bad apples. I would like to know from those that have cruised on various lines how Princess compares in making customers feel important enough to come back year after year.

[AAAAmerican]

Princess is still a few steps ahead IMHO.

 

HAL also. As they have there own schools in different Countries to teach there staff.

 

On each ship it does depend mostly on there leadership.

 

If a weak HotMan is there then the staff may be more lax.

 

I was discussing the same situation with a gentleman and his wife from Malta aboard a ship and low and behold after about 20 -25 min he told me his son was the HotMan aboard that ship. He was top notch at his profession!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, I'm new to this board. My family and I are considering the Emerald Princess 7 night Eastern Caribbean next summer 6-10. You can see in my signature what cruise lines we have used. We sail for the ports of call, but we do expect the dining and stateroom service to be above par. Recently it seems on NCL and Carnival the wait staff has been less than average. We felt more pampered(at least be able to make recommendations) at our local Olive Garden than on the ship. Maybe we just got a couple of bad apples. I would like to know from those that have cruised on various lines how Princess compares in making customers feel important enough to come back year after year.

[hubofhockey]

Hi, I'm new to this board. My family and I are considering the Emerald Princess 7 night Eastern Caribbean next summer 6-10. You can see in my signature what cruise lines we have used. We sail for the ports of call, but we do expect the dining and stateroom service to be above par. Recently it seems on NCL and Carnival the wait staff has been less than average. We felt more pampered(at least be able to make recommendations) at our local Olive Garden than on the ship. Maybe we just got a couple of bad apples. I would like to know from those that have cruised on various lines how Princess compares in making customers feel important enough to come back year after year.

 

I don't think that dining in the main dining rooms on Princess is superior to what you have experienced on Carnival. I would give Carnival an edge there. However, buffets are much better on Princess as are choices such as sushi at Vines and Tapas at International Cafe. Pizza and burger stations on both lines are good. I liked Carnival's pizza better. As far as stateroom service goes, I don't know how pampered you want to be. I haven't seen any major difference among RCI, Carnival, and Princess. What will stand out on Princess is the layout and quality of the ships. We love the freshwater pools, the lack of congestion on the ships, and the different entertainment choices on board. Other nice things that really stood out for me are the ease of original embarcation and the embarcations and disembarcations at ports. The provided cool towels upon embarcation at hot Caribbean ports. Maybe that's the pampering you are looking for. Didn't see that at long lines on other ships. But if you are doing this for food or stateroom service, you might be setting up unfair expectations.

[Embracedbylife]

Just off the Emerald and found the service in the dining rooms to be very good. The buffets are serve yourself basically. Not a whole lot of people asking you for regular drinks, but it was good if you wanted to just get some food on your own. Room service was perfect. I think you'll enjoy princess. The service at Sabitini's is exceptional in my opinion. You pay an extra $20 per person but it's really great! Nice way to spend a quiet romantic evening in a smaller restaurant!

[cynbar]

We have always had excellent stewards on our Princess cruises, they knew us by name and always spoke to us in the halls, made up our room promptly when we put the little card out asking for service. Generally no towell animals on Princess, however. As for dining , you would want to request traditional dining if you expect pampering, so your waiters will get to know you and your preferences, have your favorite drink waiting, etc. I have heard favorable reports re passengers being able to request certain food choices the day before, although I have never done this myself. I have also heard that the maitre d' in traditional will sometimes bring over little extras, above and beond the menu, but I don't think this happens on every cruise. My family prefers anytime for the flexibility---- you get efficient service but no pampering, different waiters every night. You should be able to get traditional this far out. The Emerald is a beautiful ship (we have been on her sisters the Crown and the Ruby) with lovely touches such as MUTS and the International Cafe, but the decor is more elegant and subdued than most Carnival ships, so just be forewarned. We see some posts on these boards from cruisers who complain about differences from their favorite cruise line, when some homework would have alerted them in advance.

[clintnj]

have sailed NCL 3 times, Royal Caribbean 1 and Princess 11 times

We love Princess

[fllady]

another vote for Princess. We nevr had a "bad" cruise on Princess, can't say the same for some others.

[FLACRUISER99]

I have had excellent and not so hot service on just about every line.

[cruisegal98]

I have sailed many other lines too and I feel princess dining room and service is miles ahead of the other lines. Royal caribbean was the next best followed by canival and then NCL. I always find myself raving about Princess's food and service after I go on another line. But i love cruising so any cruise is a great one. I love carnival entertainment and litlle things about all the other lines. I always have a great time on any cruise line. But for food I prefer Princess.

[bubbadog]

We sail on princess,or royal caribbean,that should clear it up for you:))):D

[royalcruz]

The only cruiseline that has had consistant service for us was Celebrity. On the CB Princess, I asked the stateroom attendant for wine or champagne glasses (I wanted them sometime that day, but not immediately), and he told me I would have to call room service. I also found Anytime dining service to be spotty on both, but I still prefer it to having to be at the dining room at the same time every night.

[chipmaster]

Hi, I'm new to this board. My family and I are considering the Emerald Princess 7 night Eastern Caribbean next summer 6-10. You can see in my signature what cruise lines we have used. We sail for the ports of call, but we do expect the dining and stateroom service to be above par. Recently it seems on NCL and Carnival the wait staff has been less than average. We felt more pampered(at least be able to make recommendations) at our local Olive Garden than on the ship. Maybe we just got a couple of bad apples. I would like to know from those that have cruised on various lines how Princess compares in making customers feel important enough to come back year after year.

 

I've found Princess and Carnival a toss up. Of course the individual style of the waiters and Maitri'd also come into play but I think as for pure service quality they are about the same. Disney was no question superior IMHO even after this many years.

 

Personally I like larger theme, style and taste of Princess way above Carnival but that is just me ;)

 

You don't always get what you pay for but you must pay for what you get :D

[Wavrider]

First time poster - thinking of cruising on the Caribbean Princess.

 

Would you recommend this ship - why?

 

How's the entertainment compared to other lines?

[badgerdee]

I don't need to feel important or have service staff treat me as if I'm superior to them.

 

I do expect to be treated with courtesy and respect, and have any extra reasonable requests fulfilled with a smile if it's achievable.

 

In this regard, Princess ticks all the boxes.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Princess has a very good product. Don't expect perfection, but do expect excellent service, good food and terrific cabin stewards.

[Wavrider]

Princess ticks all the boxes.

:confused:

What does that mean?

[Worn out mailman]

Hi, I'm new to this board. My family and I are considering the Emerald Princess 7 night Eastern Caribbean next summer 6-10. You can see in my signature what cruise lines we have used. We sail for the ports of call, but we do expect the dining and stateroom service to be above par. Recently it seems on NCL and Carnival the wait staff has been less than average. We felt more pampered(at least be able to make recommendations) at our local Olive Garden than on the ship. Maybe we just got a couple of bad apples. I would like to know from those that have cruised on various lines how Princess compares in making customers feel important enough to come back year after year.

 

We enjoyed our cruise on the Ruby immensely, but I definitely felt rushed through our meal during anytime dining, especially when it was just the two of us. On the two nights when we ate with another couple, the service was a little more relaxed and intimate.

 

For a few different reasons I enjoyed our Princess cruise a little more than our RCCL cruises, but I'd also like to try a Carnival, NCL, or another RCCL cruise given the right itinerary at the right price.

[badgerdee]

:confused:

What does that mean?

 

That Princess meets my service expectations.

[Unca Pete]

You'll find the service, food and entertainment (more choices) to be a step up on Princess. We've only done one Carnival Cruise (Victory, same as yours.) We'd do Carnival again, but we do prefer Princess.

 

Pete

[Fore on the Floor]

Have never had a problem with service on Princess. Have always had a good time with the cruise staff as well. On most of our cruises the cruise director staff were mostly British and we enjoy the dry humor so it works well for us. We only use anytime dining but when we find a server combo we like we just ask for their section when being seated. On our last cruise we really liked our wait staff on the first night and asked for their section when being seated and had a great time and great service the rest of the cruise. When we were unsure about what to have for desert on the second night we asked the waiter for a recommendation between the three choices. He said he would surprise us and came back with one of everything. An instant friendship was born. We have found that this setup works really well because if you don't like the serves you can just keep getting different servers until you find people you click with. If you do click with a set of servers early in the cruise you have a better chance of getting to know them better because they are not dealing with 8 other guest at the same time and that = better service.

[cruisergal 1]

We alternate between Princess & Celebrity. Have tried RCCL, Costa, Carnival, and always seem to go back to Princess & Celebrity. You can't go wrong with either of them.

[psyfi]

We were on the Emerald in January--she is a very beautiful ship. We found the service to be very good--friendly staff, etc... We liked having MUTS, but would tip the quality of the food overall to Celebrity. Not that the food on the Emerald was bad, just not "oh my goodness, you have to taste this". The exception would be Sabatini's--well worth every penny of the $20 per person charge.