louv2000

We were on the Emerald Princess in September, but have previously done 7 RCCL cruises. We're going on Allure soon.

Princess seems to have more varied itineraries and lengths of trips. This was the deciding factor for us last fall.

That said, we really prefer RCCL. We're in our late 40's and are pretty active. Princess definitely skewed 'older' and we were looking for things to do at times. The sports area was severely lacking and hidden on the Emerald Princess.

As per an earlier poster....I'll steal their list and add my comments

Embarkation - equal

Disembarkation - advantage Princess

Food - advantage RCCL

Dining Room (service) - RCCL

Dining Room (decor) - RCCL

Cabins - advantage Princess - bigger closet - better layout

Entertainment - RCCL (we actually walked out of one Princess stage show and had trouble getting seating at the comedy shows--those srs. show up early and save seats on Princess!)

Ship (Promenade vs Atrium) - advantage Royal

Casino - advantage Royal

Service (Dining Room) - RCCL

Service (Windjammer vs Caribe) - advantage Princess

Service (cabin) - RCCL (we had dirty sheets our first night on Princess)

Johnny Rockets vs Trident Grill - I love Johnny Rockets!

Movies Under the Stars (MUTS) - advantage Princess

Promenade Cafe vs International Cafe - RCCL (we found Princess didn't change the menu all that much and the coffee machine broke down!--also hard to get service if seated at a table)

Pizza - RCCL

Bars/Lounges - RCCL

Onboard Activities - HUGE advantage Royal

Liquor--advantage Princess! loved being able to bring on 2 bottles of wine at the start of the cruise.