NJCruiser23

Following along.  Thank you for the live reviews.  We will be on the Escape in less than two weeks! Our first with NCL.  Sounds like you are enjoying yourself so far! 

Excellent review. Thank you for sharing all of your insights and great pictures.

Thank you for the awesome live reviews.  I’m glad you all had a great time, despite the crowds.  Can’t wait for our December cruise! Hopefully we’ll have less people.  Lol

I loved your review. Very detailed and interesting. I’m glad you enjoyed your trip and your solo cruising. I can’t wait to go in December! Thank you!

So very sorry for your loss.  I'm happy you had some kind help for him on the ship.  My heart and prayers go out to your and your family. 

It is a blessing his last days were doing something he loved, with the love of his life! 🙏🙏

Thank you for the detailed explanation.  It will be very helpful next month, since we haven't been to Port Everglades for a few years 

Thanks for the great and thorough review.  Completely agree about the plugs and the shower curtains.  

We are going on Regal in December when she's back in the States.  Can't wait!! 

Thanks for the reply, Paul58

Did you reserve your chairs and umbrellas directly through Palm Court Gardens? 

Thanks in advance!

Ugagal07, I am interested in this answer as well.  I hope you receive some answers soon.  We leave next week!!!  Thanks for asking the question. Following

Has anyone had any current Gluten Free experience on Caribbean Princess?  I am sailing first time with Princess in December and curious of any more current information.  I have already notified the Special Diets department.  

Thanks in advance 

I would just ask your cabin steward for some extra chairs.  Especially if you have the larger balcony.

Enjoy your trip!! We will be on her in December! Can't wait! 

Thank you for a great review and the details about your wife's dietary issues.  This will be our first cruise on Princess and it was great to hear such good things about their handling of food.  

Your review was very detailed and informative and I enjoyed reading it!!! 

2 hours ago, Tyskie said:

We're Platinum on both NCL & Princess.  I have not been on the Escape but on the Caribbean Princess (CB) multiple times.  For us it's usually price & itinerary as to what line to choose.  I must say the CB is one of my favorite ships.

 

-If you have the beverage pkg - NCL charges you extra for gratuities.

-Adult area on NCL is Vibe $200+ for 7 days, Sanctuary on CB is approx. $400 ($60per day if available)  Service in both - exceptional.

-Casino is bigger on NCL than Princess

-Food used to be far superior on Princess, especially on CB, just on Regal Princess this fall was less than stellar

-Princess has self serve laundry - pay with your cruise medallion

-Love Crooners, International Café & Market Place on CB.

-I'm sure they are both more alike than different.

-Depending on time of year, most likely less children on Princess than NCL.

 

Will be interested to hear what you decide.  Happy Planning!

 

 

 

Thank you for your input.  That's exactly my quandary, both are very close in price and Itinerary.  I usually go with Itinerary as my first choice, but we are taking my in laws and I've been a bit concerned with Escape's size. Even though they are game for whatever I choose.  

We may be leaning towards the Caribbean just for size, I'll make my decision soon.  Thanks for your time.

29 minutes ago, Tatka said:

It’s not a size. Royal Caribbean larger ships handle crowds almost perfectly. NCL added more passengers, but pool facilities don’t match this. I’m even reading this from die hard NCL cruises who exclusively cruise with NCL.

 

We recently cruised on Crown Princess which is almost identical to Caribbean Princess on which we sailed 3 times in the past. We noticed some cons, but it was still much more comfortable cruise than on almost sister to Encore from NCL side (Breakaway).

 

Aside from absence of indoor pools Caribbean Princess has the best variety of pools and that’s what you need on Caribbeans.

 

Enjoy your cruise}

Thank you for your input.  I appreciate it.  It is making my decision much harder. LOL. But might be leaning toward the Caribbean! 

50 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

Mini suites on the Escape are no different than a regular balcony, but the bathroom is larger. We've been on the Ruby, which is about the same as the Carib, and the Escape. for my money, I

d take the Escape, but stay with a regular balcony. We had a blast on the Escape, and is one of our favorite ships. That's after some 20 cruises on all the mainstream lines except HAL.

Thank you for your thoughts.  We liked the idea of the larger bathrooms in the mini suites, but may reconsider a balcony. 

6 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

The Caribe deck rooms are actually all standard Balcony rooms on the Grand Class vessels (of which Caribbean is a member).  They do indeed have extra deep balconies (I'd estimate close to 9' in depth) that are half covered by the Baja deck balcony rooms above, and the category BE rooms near the front and the BD rooms near the back are EXCELLENT value! 

 

The Minisuites on these vessels are primarily on Dolphin deck, and whilst quite deep have ZERO shade as the railing of the Caribe deck rooms above are even with the external wall of the Minisuites on Dolphin Deck.  The only minisuites with shade are on the Emerald deck far aft above Club Fusion, or the Vista Lounge depending on the ship.

Atlanta Cruiser, that if very helpful information.  My in laws would like a mini suite, but my husband and I do like a little shade on our balcony.  That might make me want to switch us to one of the balconies that are deeper and with some shade.  Thanks again!! 

6 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Caribbean Princess HANDS DOWN!!!!!!  The NCL Escape was one of the most claustrophobic, crowded vessels I have ever sailed.  Virtually impossible to find a calm area for good conversation.  All the bars and lounges are fairly small to make way for all the specialty dining, shopping and casinos.  Pool decks are very crowded and noisy as so much space is devoted to the ropes course and waterslides.  The Escape had a beautiful color palette and nice furnishings, but that didn't compensate for the crowds and noise .......  Caribbean Princess may not be as new or modern, and her standard balcony rooms may be a bit smaller, but her expansive decks and 5 pools, combined with a large variety of decently sized bars and lounges means you can always find an uncrowded spot if desired.

I appreciate your thoughts. That is definitely a major concern. I don't want to feel overcrowded too much while I'm on vacation.  Makes it a little harder to relax.  I'm used to a lot of people on a cruise, but not 5000.  Thanks for your opinion  

7 hours ago, cheezenip said:

The new NCL is NOT the same as what people remembered 10-15 years ago. The entertainment is indeed outstanding and the food is actually quite good. The key as you  pointed out is the vibe. Each cruiseline has their own personality.

You are exactly right.  That is my struggle as aspects of both cruise lines personality appeal to me in different ways.  I've never had such a hard time deciding on my next cruise.  LOL Thank you for your thoughts! 

8 hours ago, MJSailors said:

      My DH and I have had min-suites on both the Caribbean Princess and the Crown Princess as well as on the NCL  Breakaway. 

      We found the mini suites on Princess to be roomier, with larger balconies than those on the Breakaway. Mini suite balconies on the Caribe deck of the Caribbean Princess are exceptionally large and offer half sun,half coverage. We found the balconies on Breakaway to be  very small.

         As to cruise experience, we are not interested in the NCLproduct ,but continue to book with Princess 

Thank you for your description of the mini suites on both lines.  That is really helpful.  It's really pushing me towards Princess! I appreciate it!! 

8 hours ago, cheeseclan said:

We have cruised on Princess over 30 times.  Wanted to try something different so we went on the Escape to Bermuda last summer and had a blast.  Totally different vibe: loud and fun.  The food was outstanding in all venues, the staff was phenomenal and the shows were great.  We even saw Choir of Men twice.    The meet and greet was great and had seven officers attend.  Would run into them all over the ship and they would remember us.

The downsides were the small room size and the pool area.  We had a mini suite and it was small but the bathroom was huge with a double sink.  We did not hang at the pool as it was like sardines.  We went to the adult area with the grotto.

 

Would we cruise again with NCL, you bet to Bermuda or the Caribbean!!
We will be on the Emerald to the Panama Canal next year.

 

 

Thanks for your reply.  Again, this is why I'm torn.  I was looking forward to the Escape, but the large amount of people concerns me especially with my in laws joining us. 

Can you tell me more about your thoughts about the food and room sizes on Princess ships, the Caribbean in particular if you have any experience?  Thanks again 

9 hours ago, Tatka said:

We cruised with both companies multiple times and many others. I also like large ships (for example large Royal Caribbean large ships) so my reasons won’t be size.

 

I don’t know your preferences, but when cruising with NCL we do it only on their smaller (90k tons) Dawn & Jewel classes because on their large ships pool areas and pools are designed horribly. Adult area doesn’t have pools. Pool that is supposed to be adult only features kids. Whole area is hugely overcrowded. 

Caribbean Princess offers nice 4 uncrowded pools two of which are adult. Princess experience is more refined so is pax. NCL entertainment will be more upbeat, although I like variety of music in various lounges on Princess. 
 

 Food on Princess is also more sophisticated, although steak isn’t offered in daily menu if this is important.

Thanks for your input.  This would be our first Mega ship, so we were excited but my in laws are coming now and I was a little concerned with the size of the Escape vs the Caribbean.  

Would definitely prefer less crowds, so we may lean to the Princess. 

10 hours ago, capriccio said:

If price and cabin categories are similar, how much of a difference is there in the 'somewhat similar itineraries?' 

Thank you for your reply. 

The Escape is going to Puerta Plata, Dominican, St Thomas, Tortola and Great Stirrup Cay.

The Caribbean is going to St Thomas, St Maarten and Princess Cays. 

Torn between which cruise to pick.  Both have similar price, somewhat similar itinerary, both would be in mini suite cabins.  Any thoughts or suggestions about which you would choose and why? Thanks in advance for your input.