Mexican Riviera on Princess or Royal Caribbean?

[LoveByrds]

I am planning a family cruise December 11th or 12th 2010. We will be four adult couples with all different lifestyles. We have drinkers, gamblers, relaxers and sports-ters.

 

We have chosen to leave out of LA as it is a short flight or medium drive from us. This will be everybodys first cruise.

 

Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas and Princess Sapphire both leave within one day of each other and have nearly identical prices for the inside and partial view cabins.

 

Any one have a suggestion as to why we should go with one and not the other?

 

Thank you in advance, we are all soo excited to be going and can hardly wait till December.

[bobalink]

We cruised on the Diamond Princess to the Mexican Riviera. It was our first cruise and we got hooked. Beautiful ship, delicious food, fun ports, relaxing massage, friendly passengers, good entertainment, accommodating staff.

We really like Princess, and have sailed on 3 different Princess ships. All were absolutely beautiful, clean, well maintained.

 

I have been on one RCL cruise. Won't do that again.;)

I can't remember the name of the ship, but it wasn't the Mariner. I was not impressed with the ship or the stateroom. Food was pretty good.

 

Whatever you choose, have fun!

[MarkSeattle]

I've cruised the MX Riviera on both of those ships. They're very comparable.

 

RCI has a better schedule / time in port than Princess (7 -2 in Cabo for Princess, vs. 7 - 7 for RCI, for instance), they hit the same stops, but in the reverse order.

 

I think for the Drinkers, Gamblers, Relaxers it pretty well a toss up, but for the sportsters I'd give the edge to RCI.

 

I find the food somewhat better on Princess, the shows / entertainment is probably a toss up, they don't publish who the entertainers will be and it may be a little early to predict who will be there in December, could go either way.

 

Casino's, lounges, showrooms are similar, although I'd say the cigar bar on Princess is a little better and not quite as claustrophobic and smoky.

 

They have the same games by the pool, bingo, auctions (yeah! probably going away on RCI), although Princess does ice carving demo by the pool, and RCI has an ice rink.

 

I think you'll be happy with either one, I'd just base it on whether the extra time in port is a factor, cost, and whether a Saturday or Sunday departure makes a difference.

[DonnaK]

Mariner of the Seas is our favorite ship! Stunning, WOW factor! Lots of activities. Wounderful crew. Etc. She is leaving the west coast, so maybe it's a good idea to sail on her before she leaves. You can always pick the Princess ship for your next cruise.

 

Having said that - we've found that Royal Caribbean and Princess provide an equivalent cruising experience, so you can't go wrong with either.

[cruiselover57]

I am planning a family cruise December 11th or 12th 2010. We will be four adult couples with all different lifestyles. We have drinkers, gamblers, relaxers and sports-ters.

 

We have chosen to leave out of LA as it is a short flight or medium drive from us. This will be everybodys first cruise.

 

Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas and Princess Sapphire both leave within one day of each other and have nearly identical prices for the inside and partial view cabins.

 

Any one have a suggestion as to why we should go with one and not the other?

 

Thank you in advance, we are all soo excited to be going and can hardly wait till December.

 

Was on the Mariner of the Seas last Xmas and had a few "issues" with the line. One could say some of their staff was a bit rude at times. While it was a nice ship and I like the ice skating shows, I would choose Princess anytime! Do you want to be treated like royalty? Then choose Princess - you won't go wrong! They have the best perks. For now, I'm giving RCI a rest for a long time! Trust me on this one - you will have a lot of mixed views. In my opinion too, the food on Princess far exceeds that of any RCI ship - remember, a bigger ship does NOT always mean better - it does mean more passengers and more confusion on the staff, believe me! RCI was so disorganized on that last Xmas cruise! I've been on many Princess ships (Golden coming up at Xmas this year) and friends who were recently on the Sapphire and loved it!