Help me decide Southern caribbean cruise Princess vs. Royal

[Yurita]

Royal Princess vs. Explorer of the Seas

 

My dilemma…. Looking for a Southern Caribbean cruise for next November. I have narrowed it down to my 2 favorite cruise-lines: Royal Caribbean and Princess.

 

Ships

 

Royal Princess vs. Explorer of the Seas

 

Royal Princess highlights: Brand new ship, Movies under the stars; Our favorite. Pools look awesome as always, food and movie diversity inside the

cabin.

 

Explorer of the Seas: Activities & shows (ice skating show, which we love), good pools, night entertainment on Royal Caribbean could be quite INTENSE. The Quest show, parades, Royal promenade, parties, etc. Also Royal Caribbean seem to have more adventurous actives like rock climbing, pool games, competitions, very helpful during a 9 night cruise. The few new reviews I have read about Royal Princess, most people seem to complain about the lack of things to do.

 

For some reason Princess does not seem to have much to do at nights except for their movies under the stars; which on a 10-night cruise could become quite boring if you don’t find where to go or what to do after dinner (especially for two brand new 30 year olds). Explorer, on the opposite side, seems to be the winner with tons of activities, night shows and entertainment.

 

Dates: Ships leave within 1 day difference, so it does not really matter.

 

Ports of call (10 nights vs. 9 nights)

 

10 Nights on Royal Princess: 4 Sea days, then Aruba, Grenada, Curacao, Dominica (are all new ports for us), and then two repeat ports we don’t really care much for (Princess Cays & St. Thomas.)

 

9 Nights on Explorer of the Seas: 4 Sea days, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao (all new ports for us), and then one of our favorite Repeat ports Labadee (which we totally enjoy everytime).

 

Princess seems to have best port variety with 4 never-visited before ports. Royal seems to have only 3, and we will also get to Aruba at noon instead of early morning. Princess definitively wins the port battle.

 

Sailing out port:

 

Royal Princess leaves from Ft. Lauderdale, which probably represents leaving 1 day earlier for us. Plus, renting a hotel, one more day of dog sitting for my mother, hotel car parking fees; basically one extra night. We too hate leaving from Miami and Ft, Lauderdale (crowds, terrible traffic, tons of ships in port)

 

Explorer of the seas leaves from Port. Canaveral. Easiest, quickest port to get to for us. We could leave the same day and stay at Park-and-cruise, like we have done before.

 

Price: For a 1 night difference between both ships, Royal offers best price – hands down. We are talking $270 difference per person. That means $540 total. But, since it would be our 2014 only long vacation, we will not pay much attention to price-tag as other years before. One last thing to be considered, I’m a diamond member with RCCL, which means I will get extra discounts, better cabin, plus a $50 onboard credit.

 

Sometimes I feel I’m definitely decided to book the Royal Princess, and then again, other times I feel I’m ready to book the Explorer.

 

What would u do??? your thoughts! We are back from The Jewel of the seas and READY to book our next cruise!!!!

[cruiserking]

Hello Yurita,

 

I usually opt for the ship that is closest to get to. We are booked on Explorer next February because it is a cab ride away for us and have also always been intrigued with cruising on Royal Caribbean.

 

The Royal Princess looks like a truly gorgeous ship and I toyed with booking her next year as well but, in the end the easy route wins and it seems like Explorer is the ship in your case too. Plus you are a Diamond Member on RCCL and get all sorts of nice perks.

 

Jonathan

[hellsop]

Bonaire has a flamingo tour. Flamingos are cool. That you can go to an easier departure point, go to four places you might like (with one a known winner), save $500, AND get to look at flamingos in trade for a few fewer hours at a new port and one more night? That seems a win.

[Jackbasset]

I've done both and felt like Adventure won hands down.

 

We did like the movies and wish more ships did that. But Princess felt bland in a lot of ways that are hard to describe. It was our only Princess cruise we've done. However it sounds like Princess has a better itinerary and if that's important, it's a huge factor.

 

I've never had a bad cruise. You can't go wrong. Enjoy the decision and the trip.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Janet524]

Leaving out of Bayonne in November, it can be pretty cold for the first couple of days. If I'm looking for warm weather, I'd head south to get on a ship.

[yogimax]

$540 and an easier departure point?

 

Seems like an obvious choice.

 

It also may not mean much to you now, but you would be getting closer to Diamond status on RCCL, which has real value!

[yogimax]

Leaving out of Bayonne in November, it can be pretty cold for the first couple of days. If I'm looking for warm weather, I'd head south to get on a ship.

 

You might want to read the OP's post again. She is planning a trip for November 2014. Explorer does indeed leave out of Port Canaveral then!

[Clarea]

Leaving out of Bayonne in November, it can be pretty cold for the first couple of days. If I'm looking for warm weather, I'd head south to get on a ship.

Explorer will have left Bayonne by the time of the OP's cruise and will be in the middle of a short stint out of Port Canaveral.

 

Another point in favor of Explorer is that it will only be in Port Canaveral for a short time, so this is a rare chance to do a Southern Caribbean cruise on Royal without having to go to San Juan.

[crazyventures]

OP I don't know if you were planning on getting a balcony room or how important a balcony is to you, but you should take a look at the teeny-tiny (and I mean TINY) balconies on Royal Princess. It's been a pretty big complaint since the ship launched.

[39august]

And balcony cabins are smaller on Princess than on RCI ships. All I can say is we did 6 Princess cruises before we sailed on RCI. Have not been back.

[JMG]

Princess tends to be a little more laid back than Royal.

 

The ABC islands are beautiful. The Pontoon bridge in Curacao, the pastel painted buildings all make it rather picturesque. Aruba is a completely different island. Windy and dry...definitely different scenery than the lush tropical islands. Bonaire has been known as the scuba diver's paradise for many years. Bonaire is not as touristy as Aruba and Curacao.

 

Dominica and Grenada are less developed islands but are still very much worth a visit. We took a spice tour on Grenada from a private guide that was absolutely wonderful. Again, beautiful scenery on both islands.

 

Then there is Labadee...Labadee is whatever you want it to be...either very busy or very laid back!

 

I really do not think you can go too far wrong with either cruise.

[peanutter]

We've been toying with these same options. While I love everything about the Explorer itinerary - especially that is leaves from PC - something keeps nagging at us to look at Royal Princess. We've only been on one Princess cruise on the Coral and that ship was absolutely beautiful. We loved everything about the trip. I think I keep looking at how pretty the Royal appears to be (even with all the complaints) and it is newer. However, I'm guessing RC will win for us mainly due to the port. All in all, I don't think we can go wrong with either!

[printingchick]

Have you considered leaving out of San Juan? I understand that you can drive to the Florida departure ports, which makes a HUGE difference in cost - NO debate. But you could visit as many ports in FEWER days cruising out of San Juan. I bet the cost difference would defray all or most of the air fare??

 

That said, between your options, I'd face the same dilemma. I like the Princess ports better, but am concerned out the lack of nightlife you alluded to on the Princess ship. The cost difference is also a factor, even if you have more wiggle room this year.

 

If you're really THAT undecided, I think I'd suggest sticking with what you KNOW you like (Royal, since you're Diamond) and pocket the cost savings. You can use the savings to splurge on a cabin upgrade, specialty restaurant or pricey shore excursion. Why not save the money if you don't have a strong preference one way or the other?

[Yurita]

We've been toying with these same options. While I love everything about the Explorer itinerary - especially that is leaves from PC - something keeps nagging at us to look at Royal Princess. We've only been on one Princess cruise on the Coral and that ship was absolutely beautiful. We loved everything about the trip. I think I keep looking at how pretty the Royal appears to be (even with all the complaints) and it is newer. However, I'm guessing RC will win for us mainly due to the port. All in all, I don't think we can go wrong with either!

 

Glad I'm not the only one!!!!!:o

 

But I think JMG nailed it. The reason why I'm so drawn to Royal princess is mainly the itinerary. I did my own little research to find AMAZING things to do and see in both Grenada and Dominica. The scenery, waterfalls, rain-forest, beaches and true unspoiled Caribbean beauty are hard to find elsewhere. That's what I'm looking for.

 

Honestly, if the Explorer was offering the same ports, I would totally book the explorer in a heartbeat, but for some reason Bonaire seems to be a bland port compared to Grenada & Dominica.

 

Crazyventures &39august are totally right!!!! those balconies are TINY!!!! I would definitively NOT book a balcony, it might be hard to take a deep breath. WOW, how tiny.

The good thing is I still have some time to decide. I will keep an eye on both itineraries; that will keep me entertained for a while