Royal Caribbean vs. Princess - differences?

[louv2000]

We were on the Emerald Princess in September, but have previously done 7 RCCL cruises. We're going on Allure soon.

 

Princess seems to have more varied itineraries and lengths of trips. This was the deciding factor for us last fall.

 

That said, we really prefer RCCL. We're in our late 40's and are pretty active. Princess definitely skewed 'older' and we were looking for things to do at times. The sports area was severely lacking and hidden on the Emerald Princess.

 

As per an earlier poster....I'll steal their list and add my comments

 

Embarkation - equal

Disembarkation - advantage Princess

Food - advantage RCCL

Dining Room (service) - RCCL

Dining Room (decor) - RCCL

Cabins - advantage Princess - bigger closet - better layout

Entertainment - RCCL (we actually walked out of one Princess stage show and had trouble getting seating at the comedy shows--those srs. show up early and save seats on Princess!)

Ship (Promenade vs Atrium) - advantage Royal

Casino - advantage Royal

Service (Dining Room) - RCCL

Service (Windjammer vs Caribe) - advantage Princess

Service (cabin) - RCCL (we had dirty sheets our first night on Princess)

Johnny Rockets vs Trident Grill - I love Johnny Rockets!

Movies Under the Stars (MUTS) - advantage Princess

Promenade Cafe vs International Cafe - RCCL (we found Princess didn't change the menu all that much and the coffee machine broke down!--also hard to get service if seated at a table)

Pizza - RCCL

Bars/Lounges - RCCL

Onboard Activities - HUGE advantage Royal

Liquor--advantage Princess! loved being able to bring on 2 bottles of wine at the start of the cruise.

[kruzerci]

One of our favorite things about Diamond on Royal is the Diamond lounge with free drinks EVERY night on some ships (Oasis class). Other Royal ships have free wine & beer EVERY night with discounted hard liquor.

 

I think that's what keeps us loyal. I know our bar bill would go up considerably ;). But really, Diamond does give you some great perks that others don't offer.

[lvs2rd]

My family(husband, two sons and myself) took our first cruise in2006 on Star Princess. We booked a junior suite which was quite spacious and beautiful! The cruise was during Thanksgiving week and it was a Western Caribbean cruise: Jamaica, Cozumel, Princess Cays, and Grand Caymen. The weather was so so all week. Rough seas kept us from visiting Grand Cayman so we had an extra day at sea. My kids were much younger and did not want to use the kids club on board so they spent a lot of time in the suite or at the pool. Dining room was not very fancy.....food was good but service was slow. This past Feb. we cruised on RCCL Liberty of the Seas during school vacation week....Eastern Caribbean 8 night cruise. RCCL is more expensive, but there sems to be more for kids to do, larger ship yet never felt crowded even on school vacation week and all the ports were wonderful...and we docked at each port so we did not have to tender...much easier! My boys had an inside room and we had a balcony across the hall. They were 5 years older than the last cruise so they quickly made new friends and we seldom saw them during sea days...until dinner. Food was fabulous...dining room was beaufiful....wonderful service throughout the ship! Princess was a very pretty ship, and we have great memories from that trip....it was our first cruise so it was all new and exciting for us. I do feel that RCCL has more to offer its passengers, and especially is more fun for the teens and younger crowd...although I had a blast too! I am planning our next cruise for Feb. 2013 and it will be on RCCL again. Some day I would like to cruise Princess again but will wait until my boys are no longer traveling with me.

[lafngas]

I have sailed both Princess and RCi and will NEVER go RCI again. I was on Star Princess in October and on Adventure earlier this month for a conference. I thought I was at Walmart every day on AOS except the passengers only spoke Spanish. I am sprinting,not walking away from the RCI product. Embarkation in San Juan was a nightmare-so bad in fact that we got a bottle of champagne late in the cruise apologizing for the horrible delays. We sailed out of San Juan with only 2/4 stabilizers working and in Curacao there were divers working on the other 2 stabilizers that were leaking oil and broken-we left that port with NO stabilizers or ballast with 50 mph winds-people were so seasick and I am sure there were injuries. Don't even get me started on the Puerto Rico locals-it was a zoo-stairs were blocked at all times with people sitting in the way,children pushing and knocking people over,no discipline and the crew turned a totally blind eye. Many crew members appeared very stressed and unhappy. The food was awful compared to Princess. Dinner in the MDR was constantly interrupted with loud music and constant parades of the wait staff-do I really want to hear Olympic theme music,the macarena accompanied by wait staff jiggling their butts,etc, and a head waiter asking us to applaud the service? NO. Walmart at its worst on that trip.

The cafe Promenade had its still unedible pizza,donuts and crap compared to the Princess International cafe with wonderful salads,pastries,paninis and specialty coffees. The cardboard masquerading as pizza on RCi cannot compare to the Trident Grill specialty pizzas which are different everyday on Princess. There was constant pressure in the MDR to buy booze packages,even at breakfast. Could also not believe RCI even had a breakfast and lunch buffet set up in the MDR! Princess doesn't.

I am glad that I did not have to pay for the RCI trip. I would have demanded a refund if I had spent my own money for it.

The only thing decent on that cruise was the coffee.

Sailing on Ruby Princess in March and cannot wait to be pampered.

[Canusa02]

This thread has led me to make a hard decision. I have decided to take 2 years of my life to travel in alternating patterns on RCI and Princess cruises. As I would have no income during this time, I welcome any travel writing offers by newspaper publishers (kids, newspapers are an almost extinct method of telling you the news 12 hours after it was tweeted to you) or by travel channels on television. I will do the job for a meager $250,000 a year, plus benefits, and I can start as soon as my two week's notice runs out at work.:D

[Shippy]

I have sailed both Princess and RCi and will NEVER go RCI again. I was on Star Princess in October and on Adventure earlier this month for a conference. I thought I was at Walmart every day on AOS except the passengers only spoke Spanish. I am sprinting,not walking away from the RCI product. Embarkation in San Juan was a nightmare-so bad in fact that we got a bottle of champagne late in the cruise apologizing for the horrible delays. We sailed out of San Juan with only 2/4 stabilizers working and in Curacao there were divers working on the other 2 stabilizers that were leaking oil and broken-we left that port with NO stabilizers or ballast with 50 mph winds-people were so seasick and I am sure there were injuries. Don't even get me started on the Puerto Rico locals-it was a zoo-stairs were blocked at all times with people sitting in the way,children pushing and knocking people over,no discipline and the crew turned a totally blind eye. Many crew members appeared very stressed and unhappy. The food was awful compared to Princess. Dinner in the MDR was constantly interrupted with loud music and constant parades of the wait staff-do I really want to hear Olympic theme music,the macarena accompanied by wait staff jiggling their butts,etc, and a head waiter asking us to applaud the service? NO. Walmart at its worst on that trip.

The cafe Promenade had its still unedible pizza,donuts and crap compared to the Princess International cafe with wonderful salads,pastries,paninis and specialty coffees. The cardboard masquerading as pizza on RCi cannot compare to the Trident Grill specialty pizzas which are different everyday on Princess. There was constant pressure in the MDR to buy booze packages,even at breakfast. Could also not believe RCI even had a breakfast and lunch buffet set up in the MDR! Princess doesn't.

I am glad that I did not have to pay for the RCI trip. I would have demanded a refund if I had spent my own money for it.

The only thing decent on that cruise was the coffee.

Sailing on Ruby Princess in March and cannot wait to be pampered.

 

Since you NEVER intend to sail on them again !

That being said...I did find what you interesting although a bit slanted. I had noticed the Royal cruises out of San Juan were a bit cheaper & had actually thought about them because of that. What had held me back was the airfare.

[FOXTROT]

My three cents worth. Royal's beds are way better. Princess has a laundry room. Princess has better pools. RCL has the Solarium. The food is pretty much equal, except Princess serves cheesecake every night. RCL's Windjammers are organized much better. Entertainment pretty equal. Night life RCL noses out a win. Mutts is fun.

With all that we prefer Royal.:rolleyes:

[Cancruizer]

I think both cruise lines are great. I agree that generally they have more similarities than some other lines. To me this is apparent in service and contemporary decor. After sailing with Royal and loving it, we tried Princess reluntantly and were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed it. Princess is a more relaxing cruise experience, with entertainment and activities being more low key, but very enjoyable. We did find the age group on average a bit higher (median age 50), Royal (40, plus more families, kids grandparents). Generally I would say Royal attracts those that are young at heart and want more "wow" out of their vacation.

 

The plusses are, skating rink and show (amazing!), parades, Royal Promenade for people watching, flow-rider and waterpark for kids and teens, better quality entertainment (wow factor). Amazing ship designs - easy to navigate. Fun - Quest, 70's party, Love and Marriage. Much better sports area including mini-golf. Love the gym. Gorgeous, impressive diningrooms.

 

The negatives; food better on Princess (although not bad either), no 24 hour buffet, although they have 24 hour Promenade cafe, charge for late night room service. Do not feel as connected to ocean (ie. like you do at Terrasse Pool)

 

It is hard to sail with a new line and not compare, but I think at least the first few days it is good to just appreciate trying something new and fully immersing yourself in what it has to offer. You can make up your mind on what you prefer later on. For our family we realize that we really love both lines and tend to book one or the other depending on what we are looking for during that vacation. After a couple of years away from Royal, we realize we need that Wow factor again, which is why we booked Oasis. However, we have already talked about next year and figure we'll go back to Princess again for a more low-key, less planning type cruise.

 

Cruise with an open mind and enjoy!

[bigboffs]

While we do give RCCL an edge when comparing ships of equal size and age, they both provide a great cruising experience.

[pookah]

We've been on 7 Princess cruises, but have heard great things about RCI. So we have booked a cruise this June on the Oasis of the Seas. Already, I am regretting the decision. Let me be straight, you can have good and bad aspects on any cruise. We have thought that Princess has been sliding of late.

 

Here's what I understand. RCI has, by far, better large entertainment. Now I'm looking at the Oasis and the Allure with their Broadway musicals. I'm not sure what's available on the smaller ships, but there is more apparent flash.

 

RCI let's you reserve shows, specialty restaurants, drink packages online; Princess makes you race to reserve upon boarding.

 

IMHO, however, Princess has it all on the drink packages. Princess will allow you to bring your own soft drinks aboard; RCI forbids it. Princess' soft drink package includes milkshakes and non-alcoholic speacialty drinks. This is good for me since I don't drink Diet Coke. RCI is just Coke, Sprite and Diet Coke. This combined with the no personal drink policy is a customer service deal killer. RCI also has a juice and water program, but they are not unlimited--you have to decide how many bottles you want. Princess also has a specialty coffee plan that RCI simply does not have.

 

I'm going to guess that most of the standard activities are comparable, but my sources lead me to believe that activities are at a higher level on RCI. All in all, Princess' activities are good enough but their beverage packages are the winners. I could go a week with a variety of drinks (I mostly stuck with smoothies), which would cost me a fortune on RCI. I may change my mind after this RCI cruise, but my experience with the drink policy has lead to a bad taste in my mouth (and if I want that, I might as well just drink a Diet Coke).

[gcvt]

We'll be trying Princess in September so I find this thread interesting. Similar threads on the Princess forum lean the other way obviously. I'll post our findings in 180 days :)

[jstducky]

I generally cruise based on itinerary and price moreso than I do cruise line.

 

Having said that, I've been on 3 Princess cruises and 3 RCI cruises. I'm about to go on my 4th RCI cruise in a few months.

 

Personally, I prefer RCI over Princess, but they are very similar. What I love about RCI are their ships. I have been on 3 of the 4 Radiance class ships and I love them. I love the feel of the ships, I love the wow factor of the ships and the activies on board. I also love the Solarium. I felt overall, RCI was more "fun" and had a little bit better evening entertainment and nightlife.

 

I did however feel that Princess had slightly better service and slightly better food than RCI. But that's a personal opinion.

 

I personally don't feel like Princess attracts and older crowd vs. RCI which attracts a younger crowd as others have mentioned. But, then again, most of the cruises I've taken with either cruise line have not been itineraries geared towards a younger crowd. I tend to believe that the age of the crowd has more to do with the itinerary than the cruise line.

 

For reference, I'm in my early 30s. I first sailed Princess when I was 16 on the old Golden Princess (ship's engine room caught fire and we were stranded out at sea for awhile - that kept us away from Princess for awhile). I sailed Princess again on the Grand Princess when I was 28 on a British Isles cruise and again when I was 29 for my second Mediterranean cruise on the new (at the time) Ruby Princess.

 

I've been on RCI 3 times starting with my a Canada/New England cruise on Jewel (new at the time) when I was 24. Then again the next year on Serenade to Alaska for my 2nd trip there when I was 25. And finally, my first Mediterranean cruise on Brilliance when I was 26.

 

Each cruise on Princess or RCI, I never felt like the crowd was too old or too young or that there was much difference in the demographics of the cruise as far as age.

 

As far as I'm concerned, if the price, itinerary and timing was right, I'd take that specific cruise regardless of whether it was RCI or Princess. I have been on 4 HAL cruises and would probably think a little harder about choosing HAL over RCI or Princess.

[Wilda]

Team RCI here...although Princess offers a couple of things that I wish Royal would adopt:

 

An entire deck of mini-suites that are priced right, not outrageously priced like the JS on RCI

 

Self serve laundry on every other deck. Washer, dryer, and ironing boards.

 

Also, I do not find the crowd on Princess "older", just sedate. There is a buzz of energy on RCI that Princess does not have.

[nyyhoneybee]

I am looking at Princess for my first Alaska cruise due to the ports so I M enjoying the cruise

[05mak05]

We are RCI cruisers who ventured over to Princess twice. Price and the convenience of their Brooklyn departure port were the deciding factors.

 

There are some things we liked better on Princess, and other things we liked better on RCI. I think of all the cruiselines, Princess is the one that is most similar to RCI.

 

If you read my Caribbean Princess reviews by clicking the links in my signature, I've made lots of detailed comparisons.

It's me again. You answered my thread when I asked the same question about RCI vrs. Princess. We're veterans with RCI and have never had a bad experience. Over 10 years ago we were on Princess and your review brought back memories of the more crowded atmosphere in the buffet area and also the pool deck. We went back and forth and back and forth and had a very hard time making a decision regarding our Christmas cruise. We had such a wonderful time on the Mariner last December with family, however, this time around we're going to try the Crown Princess out of Galveston. We're all going in knowing what to expect thanks to your very insightful review. The 4 ports on the Princess itinerary are so much more appealing to our children and grandchildren than the 3 on the Mariner. (I know I'm going to have RCI withdrawal ... but when we sit on the beach in Mahahual with margarita in hand, I'll forget all about that - ha!)

[suds74]

My experience on the Grand Princess compared to several RCCL ships is that the Princess crowd tends to be much older. It just wasn't a young group at all. I am 37 and it seemed as if the crowd was closer to my grandparents age than even my parents age.

 

The food on Princess was good, especially the specialty restaurants.

 

I do like that Princess keeps fresh fruit in your room, but overall I believe I get a better value when sailing with RCCL.

 

RCCL is more geared towards family, has a better selection of on-board activities and is a great bang for your buck.

 

Thanks,

Bill S.

Dallas, TX

[05mak05]

My experience on the Grand Princess compared to several RCCL ships is that the Princess crowd tends to be much older. It just wasn't a young group at all. I am 37 and it seemed as if the crowd was closer to my grandparents age than even my parents age.

 

The food on Princess was good, especially the specialty restaurants.

 

I do like that Princess keeps fresh fruit in your room, but overall I believe I get a better value when sailing with RCCL.

 

RCCL is more geared towards family, has a better selection of on-board activities and is a great bang for your buck.

 

Thanks,

Bill S.

Dallas, TX

We are seniors and found the crowd on Princess to be old. One itinerary was Alaska and the other Canada/New England so we thought this might also have something to do with it. We're hoping that because our Crown cruise out of Galveston is during the Christmas holidays that it will be a younger crowd so that our children and grandchildren will meet friends like they did on the Mariner.

[smoosh21]

We are RCI cruisers who ventured over to Princess twice. Price and the convenience of their Brooklyn departure port were the deciding factors.

 

There are some things we liked better on Princess, and other things we liked better on RCI. I think of all the cruiselines, Princess is the one that is most similar to RCI.

 

If you read my Caribbean Princess reviews by clicking the links in my signature, I've made lots of detailed comparisons.

 

I have only sailed on the Coral Princess, but I would agree that the lines are very similar. A lot will still depend on itinerary too.

 

I can tell you that Royal doesn't show old episodes of the Love Boat on the TV :D

[bonsai3s]

I've sailed with Princess several times, not with Royal Caribbean. Looking for some help in comparing these cruise lines, how are they similar or different. What do you like/dislike on one vs. the other? Any info appreciated.

 

Fortunately for us, we haven't had a bad cruise and love them both. Royal has the mega ships...more activities and relatively younger passengers. Princess...a bit older (the average age of our most recent cruise on the Golden Princess to Hawaii was 63, and that included 80 children.) Nightly shows...better with Royal. If you love pasta and pizza...definitely Princess. Itineraries...about the same. Perks...most say Royal...but if you have prior military service, Princess gives you automatic OBC. I received $250 onboard credit for our 14-day cruise...I shouldn't have been so ecstatic...my wife spent it all. :)

[cruisegoal100]

We are Diamond Plus on RCCL (22 cruises) and Platinum (13) cruises on Princess. While there are positive and negative aspects of both and many have already been posted here a few additional ones.

 

Princess

Very attentive dining staff - Pay very close attention to food allergies once you alert them.

The best pizza on any mainline cruise line

Excellent cruisetours - We have done Alaska twice and Australia and the tours/cruises were outstanding.

Very good system to correct dining room misassignments.

Like all Carnival corporation ships it's a pain in the neck to get in/out of your dining room because you can't walk directly through on that floor because the galley is in your way, therefore you must go up or down on the elevator into a very small and crowded hallway.

There are no sofas/loveseats in the cabins.

 

Royal Caribbean

Great variety of activities.

Good benefits from loyalty program. Once you make Diamond you will get a $225 to $350 discount on the total cost of a Balcony or higher for each cruise. Amount depends on length of cruise.

Cruise Director very visible and accessible to cruisers.

Casino is smoke-free on formal nights.

Some lounges are smoke free including Schooner Bar.

Company takes good care of repeat cruisers in terms of getting reservations, etc.

Greatest variety of ships in terms of size and activities.

Oasis and Allure are "destination ships". There are so many different shows and all can be booked online after final payment. Princess has nothing to compare in this area.

 

All in all RCCL gives us the best cruise experience between these lines by far.

[Stu K]

Thanks to everyone who posted done 2 princess and trying oasis in September. Sounds like its going to be fun fun fun with just as good or better food.

 

Stu K

[critterchick]

I can tell you that I'm in my late 30's and always cruise Royal with my husband and kids. My dad is in his late 60's and only cruises Princess with his wife.

 

I think the age difference sums up the difference in focus between the 2 lines.:)

 

Nonsense (and I say that in the nicest way possible:p). There are plenty of long-in-the-tooth passengers on RCI who aren't sailing with the grandkids, and we've seen plenty of families with young kids on Princess. We sail on both lines, but have preferred RCI by a whisker because of what we believe to be superior service. We haven't been on Princess since 2009, but will be trying the Star in May, since the price on Rhapsody was gobsmackingly expensive and, IMO, not justified.

 

...now that we have Diamond status :O)

 

Royal has one of the best loyalty programs around. I love the perks.

Also, we are gamblers and belong to Club Royale, the Royal Caribbean casino club so we get lots of perks through them.

 

Princess has better ones if you compare Elite to Diamond, and they're equal but different if comparing to D+ IMO - free laundry & drycleaning, a one time minibar setup (you can change what they give you for what you want, within reason), more free Internet (those are the Big Three for me). I don't gamble enough for anybody to give me perks, but I imagine that Princess has something comparable - I know that their sister line Carnival does.

 

Princess still let you combine more benefits - on our upcoming benefit, we have OBC for using a Future Cruise Credit, a military OBC (offered on all sailings) and the shareholder OBC, for a total of $300 on a 7-night cruise. I think that Diamond would get a $100 balcony discount ($125 if booked far enough in advance) and $100 OBC for booking onboard.

 

I've never had a slice of pizza on RCI that was anything other than doughy and nasty. I've enjoyed the pizza on every Princess ship I've sailed on (not a factor in deciding on either line, but thought I'd throw in my two cents).

 

I would happily sail either line for the right price. On Princess, my preference would be Grand class or smaller (the Ruby and her ilk pack 500 more passengers into essentially the same amount of public space), and on RCI my preference is Radiance class or smaller.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Havent sailed on Royal Caribbean in five years, and have one upcoming so will make my own comparison as well, since we have done many Princess in the meantime. I liked our RCCL cruise five years ago, some things better than Princess, and some not as well, but the loyalty program pulled us back to Princess. All I can say is that Princess seems to be a better fit for us. This upcoming cruise on the Freedom is with extended family with small children and so far there seem to be alot for them to do.

[JohninTroy]

My wife and I would try just about any cruise - if the price was right. We've only had one bad cruise and that was neither a Princess or RCCL. We prefer Princess and RCCL over the other lines. I think everyone here captured both Princess and RCCL - with a little bit of personal flavor added in. With vacation time at a primium (AT LEAST FOR ME), we decide who has the best price - when we can go, Who's going where we're interested in going, and whether we want to lay back and relax (Princess) or stay busy (RCCL)We see more families on RCCL than Princess - but there are still plenty of kids on every Princess Cruise I've been on. I don't think the crowd is that much older. I find it easier to relax with MUTS but there's much more to keep me busy on RCCL. One thing that I haven't seen though is - except for the Oasis - Princess has better gyms (They Both are open basically the same times, Princess Gyms are usually empty and my wife can swim in their endless pools for hours. We can Ice Skate and Rock Climb along with the gym on RCCL) THe Oasis was a whole seperate category though, The Gym was bigger than my home gym and the Track on the Prominade connected to the gym was fantastic. With that said, I love the Huge RCCL with the Promanades and the Grand Class or bigger on Princess, but if I had to go on the same sized ship - going to the same ports - I would prefer............

Celebrity!

[critterchick]

We are seniors and found the crowd on Princess to be old. One itinerary was Alaska and the other Canada/New England so we thought this might also have something to do with it. We're hoping that because our Crown cruise out of Galveston is during the Christmas holidays that it will be a younger crowd so that our children and grandchildren will meet friends like they did on the Mariner.

 

Jewel of the Seas had a similar demographic on her Canada/New England itinerary (with a grand total of 11 kids under 18 onboard). We've always sailed Alaska during shoulder season, when most of the kids are still in school, so the crowd has skewed older on both Princess and RCI. Same with cruises of 10+ nights. I'm sure that any sailing on Princess when the kids are out of school (we tend to avoid those, more because the prices are invariably higher) will have plenty of other kids for your gc to play with.:)