Royal vs Princess

[robinsnest64]

We did our 1st cruise last month on the Princess and had a wonderful time on the Emerald Princess, Eastern Caribbean. Just wondering the difference in entertainment, food, rooms?? We are 45 and want to do something different next time around..any suggestions? Not interested in the huge new ships RC has maybe an older smaller one. I have a friend that sailed Celebrity but did not like compared to RC. Thanks for any help

[PSCruiser]

I always think of RC and Princess as the two lines most similar in "vibe". They have their differences, but almost everyone that likes one likes the other. Rooms - one difference in the lower categories is that most RC roomes have a sitting area with sofa, while Princess does not, they use the space for a larger closet/dressing area. Activities - a bit more active on RC - climbing wall, inline skating, ice skating, trampolines, etc., depending on ship. Food - very similar, but availability of snacks etc. at night is better on Princess because of their later buffet hours, snacks in the atrium including sushi, etc. RC has a Captain's party, Princess has the champagne glass fountain on formal night. Trying RC will give you some nice surprises!

[DonnaK]

Royal Caribbean is our preferred cruiseline, although we really love Princess too. In our experience, they are pretty much comparable, and provide a balanced and equivalent cruising experience. Princess has lots of entertainment at night in smaller venues around the ship. Royal Caribbean has a better variety in the buffet, and better pasta choices in the MDR. Princess offers more seafood/shellfish. Princess has the buffet open 24 hours and on Royal, you can only get limited snacks after 10pm. A regular D1 balcony cabin on Royal Caribbean is about the same size as a minisuite on Princess.

 

My suggestion would be the Radiance class of ships on Royal Caribbean. (Brilliance, Jewel, Radiance or Serenade). They are smaller, yet still have great amenities. Lots of glass, so lots of views of the ocean. The Voyager class ships are great too (Voyager, Explorer, Adventure, Mariner, Navigator)...they used to be mega-ships, but now they are "small" compared to RCI's latest two classes of ship. These classes would be most comparable to the Emerald Princess.

 

If you want to go even older or smaller, I would only recommend Enchantment or Grandeur....any older and the ships have very small cabins, less entertainment, etc.

[39august]

If you aren't interested in the bigger ships, perhaps a Radiance class ship (Radiance, Jewel, Serenade and Brilliance) would be a good fit for you. These have beautiful views all around the ship because there is so much window glass, even glass elevators looking out to sea. There will be no indoor promenade with a 23 hour cafe, but there will be snacks offered in the Solarium...which is gorgeous, and very good sandwiches, snacks, salads and desserts in the SeaView Cafe on deck 12. Hours will vary and you will have to look at your daily "newspaper", the Compass, for hours. This gives you some more dining/snacking options other than room service, dining room and buffet. You won't go hungry! And there is no charge for food in any of these venues. There is no ice rink on these ships, but there is a climbing wall and plenty of activities. All classes of RCI ships I have been on (most of them) are much easier to navigate than Princes, much better laid out. I prefer RCI's cabins as mentioned above. All have a sitting area, even inside cabins. Ther balcony cabins on RCI are much roomier than those on Princess. I sailed Princess 6 times and loved it(except for no sitting area in my cabin) but haven't been back since we first sailed RCI in late 2003! At your age, I think you will find RCI a bit more to your liking.

[The Big Booper]

The 5 Voyager class RCI ships carry 3,100 people, the same as the Emerald Princess, but are roughly 10% larger so if you were happy with the Emerald you should be happy with any of the 5 (Voyager, Explorer, Adventure, Navigator, Mariner).

 

RCI ship design is more open then Princess' design so the ship has a higher "Wow" factor, with large open multi-deck areas.

 

Also, the ice skating rink is more important as a show venue then as a passenger skating rink. Depending on the length of the cruise, there will be either one or two different professional ice skating shows, with each show repeated a half dozen times.

[robinsnest64]

Thank you so much for all the info, it really helps me as far as ship size, room size and entertainment. We will be booking our next cruise through RC and I am already excited!! Thanks again!! Happy cruising

[vmom]

Frankly, if you enjoyed your Princess cruise, you'll enjoy RCCL. As stated earlier, they offer similar experiences. There's some things that RCCL does better, and some things that Princess does better. In the end its a wash.

 

I think you will enjoy your cruise on RCCL. We enjoy both lines and variety makes cruising more fun.

[Lovincruisin1321]

No one has even mentioned the price factor and itinerary.

 

I've entertained the idea to try Princess several times for Alaska and Europe (which includes Egypt). Every time, I go back to Royal because you just get "More Bang for Your Buck" with Royal.

 

I love Royal, especial the Radiance class. Great service, itinerarie, entertainment and staterooms.

 

I would however like to try Princess one time so I'm not ignorant in my responses, but for right now......

 

still "Loyal for Royal" :cool:

[elcydcruiser]

I also agree - price & itinerary are important....I prefer RCI and they are my cruise line of choice. I've done Caribbean twice...and loved Mariner over the Princess ship. My first cruise to Alaska was on Princess and loved it. We're going back to Alaska and this time doing Rhapsody...mainly because of the itinerary. It's really what you're looking for and what ship fills that bill. Either way you'll enjoy your cruise.

[PSCruiser]

No one has even mentioned the price factor and itinerary.

 

I've entertained the idea to try Princess several times for Alaska and Europe (which includes Egypt). Every time, I go back to Royal because you just get "More Bang for Your Buck" with Royal.

 

I love Royal, especial the Radiance class. Great service, itinerarie, entertainment and staterooms.

 

I would however like to try Princess one time so I'm not ignorant in my responses, but for right now......

 

still "Loyal for Royal" :cool:

 

Don't know if you book direct, or through a TA, but something to remember - the price for RC is the "real" price - best deal you can get is some extra incentives like OBC from a TA. Princess, however, allows TAs, both local and online to discount, and its not odd to see a Princess cruise discounted to less than 50% of the Princess website price. With the discount, Princess is often competitive with RC.

Can't name an online TA here, but try a few and see who gives the best price.

[Lovincruisin1321]

Don't know if you book direct, or through a TA, but something to remember - the price for RC is the "real" price - best deal you can get is some extra incentives like OBC from a TA. Princess, however, allows TAs, both local and online to discount, and its not odd to see a Princess cruise discounted to less than 50% of the Princess website price. With the discount, Princess is often competitive with RC.

Can't name an online TA here, but try a few and see who gives the best price.

 

Wish I had known that and I would have joined my cousins on their July cruise to Alaska on Princess!

Please e-mail me and fill me in: rmartinez1321@hotmail.com

[uncleah]

We've sailed Princess a number of times and did RC (Exploroer) for the first time last year out of Bayonne. Maybe because we were used to Princess, we still kind of preferred Princess but we are going again on RC 1/11. The convenience of Bayonne was just too good to pass up. Pricing was also a plus. It looked like we would need at least a junior suite on pricess to get the room that we got on RC in a balcony cabin.

 

When we go in Jan in a grand suite, it will cost us substantially less that a comparable cabin on princess. That is even with the discounts we would get on Princess with a ta we have used for many years. You have to check with agents. Many quoted the same price but we got better on board credits, spa treatments and specialty restaurant credits with our agent.

 

Princess still has the 24 hour buffet. The RC buffet is only open certain hours. It is not a big deal, but it can be a little inconvenient some times depending on your activity plans.

 

We felt the food and entertainment were comparable (ice shows on RC were great). Service was similar but an edge to princess in dining room staff (our waiter& assistant were new to the ship).

 

Hard to go wrong with either and not having to fly made an easy decision for us.

[waterrats]

We love them both. We just haven't sailed on Princess in awhile because their cruises and itineraries are just not fitting into our schedule. If they were to move a few more ships to Florida during September I am sure that we would find our way back onto thier ships.

 

Joe

[robinsnest64]

I must say we enjoyed our Princess cruise, we are just wanting to try a few different ships to see which one we like the best. I would recommend if you want few kids, and lots of relaxation then Princess would be great to try. No rock climbing or activities like that but they do have beautiful areas for sunning and very good about letting you bring wine and champange on board which saved us in charges at the end. I think variety is the spice of life, give it a try, I would not recommend to a much younger age group though.

[satxdiver]

I prefer princess over RCL but feel they are similar in many ways. Being a senior citizen climbing walls, ice skating rinks and basketball courts are not my thing any more. On princess I am allowed to bring my own wine for a nice afternoon nip on the balcony while relaxing and watching the water. I also appreciate the 24 hour buffet which offers tables and chairs at any time for reading or other activities with refreshments nearby. While the voyager class and above have the cavernous interior promenade which is flashy, I prefer to see the ocean and seek out venues with windows to the outside. I am an outside person which is why I live in the southwest allowing me to be outside most days of the year without freezing or being hip deep in that funny white stuff.

 

It all comes down to itinerary and port of origin for me. So you will see me on either line's ships.