RCCL vs. Princess quandry

[LoriAB]

I welcome the great guidance I have always received here...here's my quandry...

 

I am booked on Ruby for 11/27. Just found Navigator of the Seas for an 8 day at the same time. The Navigator for a balcony cabin (similar to minisuite booked on Ruby I think) for about 500 less...and an extra night. Can I have your opinions please? I have no preference, and we have only been on a few cruises...loved them all. My feeling is if you're lucky enough to be on a cruise, you're lucky enough...so we rarely complain. Thanks!

[The Big Booper]

I welcome the great guidance I have always received here...here's my quandry...

 

I am booked on Ruby for 11/27. Just found Navigator of the Seas for an 8 day at the same time. The Navigator for a balcony cabin (similar to minisuite booked on Ruby I think) for about 500 less...and an extra night. Can I have your opinions please? I have no preference, and we have only been on a few cruises...loved them all. My feeling is if you're lucky enough to be on a cruise, you're lucky enough...so we rarely complain. Thanks!

 

8 days vs. 7 days

 

$500 less.

 

That says it all.

[KruzPrincess]

Tough choice. Last year, I had a Princess cruise booked and Celelbrity was considerably less expensive for a similar cruise. I cancelled Princess and booked Celebrity. After I had my airfare booked, Princess dropped the price. I wished I'd stayed with my Princess cruise. Since your cruise is the week after Thanksgiving, there could be price drops coming but you never know. I usually go for more days if possible, but I really prefer Princess to RCI. If you like RCI as much as Princess, then I'd probably go with RCI. Good luck. Hope you enjoy whichever cruise you choose.

[DeRon]

I would go Princess over RCCL any day...and pay $500 more if I had to.

[Iamcruzin]

I welcome the great guidance I have always received here...here's my quandry...

 

I am booked on Ruby for 11/27. Just found Navigator of the Seas for an 8 day at the same time. The Navigator for a balcony cabin (similar to minisuite booked on Ruby I think) for about 500 less...and an extra night. Can I have your opinions please? I have no preference, and we have only been on a few cruises...loved them all. My feeling is if you're lucky enough to be on a cruise, you're lucky enough...so we rarely complain. Thanks!

I am platinum on Princess and have only done one 4 day cruise on Royal. An extra day and $500 less...I vote Royal.

[Coral]

I personally think that one should try several lines. You may find you like several lines or find that you prefer a specific line. I personally prefer Princess to RCCL but it is all individual preference. I have friends who think the opposite.

[mamagina]

ROYAL!

Just did our first Princess after many Royals and found Princess to be at least equal to Royal on many fronts--food, time in port, service--- with some Royal ships totally having the edge on cabin size, entertainment and comfort (noise and amenities--much more comfortable loungechairs-free solarium vs. paid santuary, totally free, all inclusive spa(not treatments--use of facilities). Our Princess cruise was way cheaper than any Royal cruise we ever have ever taken so we were very satisfied and Princess totally has the edge on PIZZA (LOL). But with Royal less being less money and one extra day, I think it is a "no-brainer"

[vmom]

We have gone on several cruises in November and December in the Caribbean. My experience with all of our Princess cruises is that if you avoid Thanksgiving week completely, then Princess usually drops their prices on Nov and Dec Caribbean cruises. I usually book 50-90 days out. My experience is that I have had less of a price drop or no price drop with RCCL. I usually start monitoring prices and then make a decision when to book. The last few I booked in Sept and was very happy with the pricing.

 

That said, I am not particular about having a specific cabin or cabin type, cabin location. That is just not important to me. If it is important to you, then you should take that into consideration when making this decision.

 

Also, did you book through a TA? TA's often are able to offer good price reductions on Princess cruises, but not typically on RCCL cruises.

 

All that said, I have been on the Crown Princess 2 x's in recent years (sister ship to the Ruby) and I've been on the Navigator and Explorer (sister ship to the Navigator). While I enjoy Princess a bit more, I had a wonderful time on the Navigator and Explorer. If you've never been on one of these ships, it might be a fun oppurtunity to try something new.

 

I'd monitor prices for a while and see which way things are going before making a decision.

[dplusd]

Royal and Princess very similar (except for the pizza!). The Royal balcony cabins are larger Princess with the D category slightly larger than the E. We always get a mini-suite on Princess, but just a category D balcony on Royal. For the extra day and $500 savings, definately sail the Navigator!

[Grannycb]

I'd pick Navigator. It's got the ice rink in addition to the better price.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I would also go back to your TA or Princess and double-check the price of the Ruby-have seen lots of new discounts lately and perhaps the Ruby sailing that you have reserved went down as well. If not, for me that price difference is worth making the change!

[MAZANDSTEVE]

We have done one cruise on each line, Princess just two weeks ago and to be honest, we would go with RCCL as our first choice.

We choose by itinery so its not always an option.

We found the ships had more of a wow factor on RCCL ,the staff were far nicer too and the balcony rooms seemed bigger.

The buffet is better laid out and better food.

The only thing we found better on Princess was the food in the main dining room but they rushed you so much, it was like being in a fast food restaurant, we had to slow it down a bit but this seemed to irritate our waiter.

[CARIBBEANBLUESKY]

I usually sail with Royal and have enjoyed all my RC cruises. I recently went on my first Princess cruise (Crown), and we had a great time. I am looking forward to sailing with Princess again. But in this case, I would definitely choose the Navigator.

[Sapphire723]

I've been on both Princess and Royal. I think the food variety and quality is better on Princess and so is the specialty coffee. I also think Princess pays a little better attention to the details and has more scheduled events (rather than activities that you can do during a block of time), but RCCL has a younger, more diverse and more active crowd.

 

However, I was not disappointed with RCCL. I thought they did a good job and I was able to get a suite for less than what I would have paid for a balcony on Princess.

 

All other things considered equal, I would book Princess. For $500 cheaper and a day longer, I would definitely consider RCCL.

[azdmelani]

I am a Princess cheerleader, RCCL is my 2nd favorite. Last week there was a WOW sale and the Navigator had dirt cheap prices for a 7 day cruise in the wester caribbean and we booked without hesitation.

 

1 extra day plus $500 more to spend? Go for it!

[FLACRUISER99]

I welcome the great guidance I have always received here...here's my quandry...

 

I am booked on Ruby for 11/27. Just found Navigator of the Seas for an 8 day at the same time. The Navigator for a balcony cabin (similar to minisuite booked on Ruby I think) for about 500 less...and an extra night. Can I have your opinions please? I have no preference, and we have only been on a few cruises...loved them all. My feeling is if you're lucky enough to be on a cruise, you're lucky enough...so we rarely complain. Thanks!

I'm Elite on Princess & D+ on Royal, lot of cruises on both and would choose Royal even if the price was =.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Here are my thoughts from a couple of years ago. The Mariner is a sister to the Navigator, and the Emerald is a sister to the Ruby, so the comparisons should be about the same.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=944921

 

In the Caribbean, I like to see the ocean, and that's more difficult to do on the Navigator.

[camofwilliamsburg]

The extra day and for $500 less is a no brainer for me too. Do RCI. WE have done 9 on Royal and 2 on PCL and I love PCL now. RCI just started to be boring for me. The production shows on both are about the same: BAD! nothing more than High School productions in comparison to the entertainment we have seen on our MSC USA cruises.

But PCL does do the comedy in many venues over the course of many days so there are more options. I also think PCL food is better. NOS is a nice ship with a lot of fun things to do if you have not gotten your fill of rock climbing and ice skating while cruising. We have so we tried PCL.

I also love PCL cabins with the bathroom separated from the sleeping area- no light to wake on person up if the other gets up to use the bathroom.

 

I think service is better on PCL and much more personal.

But for 500 less and an extra day I would grab it and enjoy it. I loved RCI while I cruised it and never had a bad cruise, just food no WOW factor any longer. They also became very family friendly with no late night comedy and really G rated comedy as the headliner shows.

 

Do RCI and enjoy the extra money in your pocket and the extra day.

[isujim]

Funny how different people like or dislike different cruise lines. I'm no different.........we are Diamond + on RC but have just recently switched to Princess..........we now just love what I call the "Princess Friendly Attitude"........HOWEVER........for an extra day and $500 less we would still go with RC........

[royalcruz]

While Navigator offers more for kids, and Ruby is newer, both ships offer a very nice product. Ruby has a very slight edge on adult entertainment for me. However, I would go for the Navigator based on the price difference and extra day.

[Redwing55]

Unless you don't like the ports, Nav is the way to go. You mentioned that it's balconies are like the Princess's mini's. If that's an issue you may want to check that. Point being, the mini on Princess is usually quite a bit more than a balcony. Maybe that's why you're seeing the price difference in favor of the Nav.

Compare apples to apples- just sayin'

[michigan tim]

RCL targets a younger demographic and definitely has more poolside/kid/family activities. RCL has a more rah rah/loud/party vibe, while Princess is more subdued (some might say refined?) vibe in both atmosphere and design. RCL has far better production shows, while Princess has great alternative shows. I've enjoyed both immensely! It mostly depends on what makes you tick.

 

The extra day and $500 price difference while seemingly signiificant is somewhat trivial this far out. Consider putting a deposit on each and then bailing on one just prior to being penalized (75 days?). This way you can capitalize on any price fluctuations.

[Iamcruzin]

The extra day and $500 price difference while seemingly signiificant is somewhat trivial this far out. Consider putting a deposit on each and then bailing on one just prior to being penalized (75 days?). This way you can capitalize on any price fluctuations.

I like your thinking. Good idea.