How Magical is Princess?

Hi all. I've never taken a cruise before, and of course as a Disney Mom, they're my first choice, right? The price is a little out of my budget right now, so I'm hoping that Princess will do the trick. My girlfriend told me about the new Enchanted ship, and these are really pretty ships! Is there a magic there, too?

Now that my son is off to college, we're not renting extra DVC points like we used to. We have a resale membership, and have had some wonderful and amazing experiences. My son still goes with me in the summer (it is weird when your baby turns 21 and can have a drink with you!). My husband and girlfriend want a break from the Disney Resorts. Is Princess a better choice for us?

Hi Princess is a good main line cruise line . These are the cruise lines we prefer to cruise & have done 80 past cruises . Princess , Holland america ,Celebrity & their parent company Royal Caribbean .

Royal Caribbean has the mega sized ships with lots & lots of entertainment venues .Celebrity is more upscale . Holland America competes well with Celebrity ;but gets a much older demographic passenger . Princess is not quite Celebrity class ;but a over all good cruise value .

You should study the 4 cruise lines . your age in in your 40s or 50s fit well into all but Holland America ; because Holland attracts much older even up to their 90s . All depends what you want on a cruise ship & the itineray for ports . For sure cruise critic general boards & the specific cruise roll calls will greatly help you in your decision making .Ask away

Welcome to Princess, fellow DVC member...

While most here on the Princess board will not know DVC, resale memberships, etc, I hear you! We usually spend five weeks at Old Key West each winter after cruising the Caribbean on Princess. In 2019 we're looking forward to three weeks at Aulani on O'ahu.

We began cruising with DCL, but after a few cruises we decided to try another line: Princess. We have since cruised 450+ days with Princess and haven't looked back.

Poor food quality on DCL back in 2006 was one of the primary reasons we decided to try Princess. We found there to be no comparison...Princess menus, food quality, and dining room service was head and shoulders above DCL.

Anytime dining is a big plus! With traditional dining, we always found ourselves planning our day around our dinner seating time. With anytime dining you go to one of the two anytime dining rooms when you're ready. It's as simple as that!

Cabin for cabin type, Princess is less expensive. This was not the deciding factor for us, but it's a fact.

The DCL ships are spotless and so are Princess. You're going to have a wonderful time on either cruise line. Princess just seems to do it consistently better.

How do you feel about sailing with 4,000 other people? Some folks love these big ships, others don't. I prefer smaller ships with excellent service and NO lines for everything.

Take a break from Disney. Try a cruise when youth are in school, not during heavy school vacation times, so very few youth will be on board. 10 day cruises are nice, more time to adjust and relax. The 7 day ones seem to be over just too fast. One tip, assuming you are flying to the embarkation port it is best to arrive at least one day early and stay overnight in a hotel, especially in winter.

On Princess you will find an older crowd, and with a 21 year old I'm thinking you will fit right in. Expect lots of live evening entertainment and live music around the ship. You will not experience a late night, 3am, club type of parties. The ship quiets down around 11pm/midnight.

The next thing you have to determine is where you want to go, Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, California Coastal, Panama Canal, Alaska, Europe and more. Alaska and Europe are port intensive. The Caribbean and Panama cruises are more relaxing, not much of that all day port touring, many ports with nice beaches.

I love Disney and really enjoyed my one Disney cruise. One day I may sail with them again, but as you mentioned the prices are much higher than most mainstream cruise lines. I prefer Princess. You may not have as many magical moments, but the service is very good and overall I really like the food. Princess has some good entertainment options also.

How do you feel about sailing with 4,000 other people? Some folks love these big ships, others don't. I prefer smaller ships with excellent service and NO lines for everything.

For most, there is magic on any cruise, particularly the first. You enter these beautiful atriums and generally find amazement at what is basically a giant floating resort. They love watching the water, feeling the breeze, looking for flying fish and experiencing sunrise or sunset on the water. The reason I say "for most" however, is that there are some people that just don't appreciate being on a cruise ship because they either get sea sick, don't appreciate the water, or are "bored," a foreign concept to most on here.

I have cruised RCI (did not like the service and have since learned why as they staff is encouraged to be very stand-offish with guests), Carnival (great value for the $) and Princess (our favorite). I often tell people on these boards when shopping for a cruise line - look at how the lines market themselves. Of these 3, RCI talks about "bragworthy moments" and they put a lot of effort into ice shows, flow riders etc, especially on the newer ships. Carnival is the FUNSHIP - and that is very true with hairy chest contests, deck parties, Seuss at Sea etc. Princess is "Relax. Come Back New." And that is exactly what they offer. They are are more classic cruise experience and still have a formal dress code for those nights and the clientele - while you will see families to older couples - has a classier demographic, which children in polos and khakis/sundresses at cruise casual dinner.

Our boys are 14 and 20, and have cruised Princess a couple of times and greatly enjoyed it. The younger prefers the kid programs (we will see this year how he likes the teen) and the older gives the edge to Carnival for the girls in bikinis.

Personally I like the Princess product, and while we will continue to use Carnival for cheap/quick Bahamian or Caribbean getaways, Princess will be our choice to sail the world.

NO, Princess is not magical...pay the price and go Disney.....even though I do not think that a Disney cruise is magical at least you don't have to second guess your choice.

I have never been on a Disney cruise but I have heard that all of the entertainment is Disney, Disney, Disney. That is NOT what I want on a cruise. To me Disney is not magical it is commercial. Maybe when I was 10 it might have been.

How do you feel about sailing with 4,000 other people? Some folks love these big ships, others don't. I prefer smaller ships with excellent service and NO lines for everything.

I suspect you have not been on a “big ship”. Just off New Symphony of Seas. Less crowded feel and shorter lines including embarkation than any Princess Cruise I have been on. Again assuming you have not tried a bigger ship with more venues and space to compare with Princess.

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I love Disney and really enjoyed my one Disney cruise. One day I may sail with them again, but as you mentioned the prices are much higher than most mainstream cruise lines. I prefer Princess. You may not have as many magical moments, but the service is very good and overall I really like the food. Princess has some good entertainment options also.

I honestly feel like that’s part of the problem when people move to the cruise lines and let their emotions control what is really a financial decision. I ABSOLUTELY should try a Disney Cruise Line whenever I can catch a sale though. :):hearteyes::ship:

Welcome to Princess, fellow DVC member...

 

While most here on the Princess board will not know DVC, resale memberships, etc, I hear you! We usually spend five weeks at Old Key West each winter after cruising the Caribbean on Princess. In 2019 we're looking forward to three weeks at Aulani on O'ahu.

 

We began cruising with DCL, but after a few cruises we decided to try another line: Princess. We have since cruised 450+ days with Princess and haven't looked back.

 

Poor food quality on DCL back in 2006 was one of the primary reasons we decided to try Princess. We found there to be no comparison...Princess menus, food quality, and dining room service was head and shoulders above DCL.

 

Anytime dining is a big plus! With traditional dining, we always found ourselves planning our day around our dinner seating time. With anytime dining you go to one of the two anytime dining rooms when you're ready. It's as simple as that!

 

Does dining room staff still beg for good reviews on the cruise survey at the end of the cruise? We found this very annoying and a big turn-off! Evening entertainment is superior and different from cruise-to-cruise on Princess. The same shows were presented on each DCL cruise we took. It became boring after awhile.

Cabin for cabin type, Princess is less expensive. This was not the deciding factor for us, but it's a fact.

 

The DCL ships are spotless and so are Princess. You're going to have a wonderful time on either cruise line. Princess just seems to do it consistently better.

Hawaii for 3 weeks how awesome! Have you been to that part of Hawaii before? We stayed right next door (at the Marriott) for 2 weeks last summer and it is honestly heaven on earth. We made it over to Aulani for dinner one night and just wow. You'll love it there!

Our home resort is Vero Beach with 160 points. I cried like a baby the first time they rang the bell for our first time home. It is PERFECT for us because I'm more of a Deluxe Girl. Basically, if I'm not staying Deluxe (or at least moderate) I'm probably not going to Disney;). My husband feels like he's over here printing money with our DVC membership so that is why we're looking at Princess because it looks AWESOME!.

Thanks for sharing it sounds like I'm in good company. <3

I am a huge Disney fan, and DCL is generally my preferred cruise line, but we like sailing Princess for the great itineraries.

We first started sailing Disney when our kids were small, and they're both adults now. We continue to sail DCL, even without them, because they have the most "magical" cruise for us. We no longer participate in the family activities, but stay mostly on the adult parts of the ship, including the adult only pools, nightclubs and shows. We still enjoy the Disney entertainment, and their shows, both Disney and outside entertainers, are superior to all other cruise lines we have been on, and there have been quite a few.

Disney is by far the most expensive, but we feel we are getting a different value from them. However, we enjoy Princess too, but have only done port intensive cruises with them, such as a Baltic and an Alaskan cruise.

For a relaxation/Caribbean cruise, our choice would be Disney. For us personally, we find there is so much more that we enjoy doing around the ship, and for us, it is worth spending more for that. For a port intensive cruise, we prefer Princess. They are much cheaper, and we are off the ship most of the time. For these cruises, we find that there are not many activities WE enjoy doing on the ship, but our focus is visiting all of the great ports that they visit.

I have never been on a Disney cruise but I have heard that all of the entertainment is Disney, Disney, Disney. That is NOT what I want on a cruise. To me Disney is not magical it is commercial. Maybe when I was 10 it might have been.

Not at all what it's about, but yeah, a Disney Cruise probably isn't the best call for you.

Hmmm... Magical... I guess the casino is magical as it can make my money vanish without a trace. Other than that I don't really get the question.

Hmmm... Magical... I guess the casino is magical as it can make my money vanish without a trace. Other than that I don't really get the question.

I think if you ever stay at a Disney Resort you'll have a very different understanding but you can't go wrong giving money to the slot machine of your choice;)!! And yes, Never mind.