RCI or Princess or P&O Australia

[irishcraig]

Hi we've just cruised for the third time with RCI, east and west Caribbean on Freedom and Oasis in June 2011 and 2012. This year it was on Mariner from Singapore to Shanghai.

 

We're already planning our next cruise in 2014 and have decided to try Australia, so we have a couple of questions regarding the cruise companies that offer the best routes and prices.

 

There's 2 itineraries with RCI that we're interested in, a Great Barrier discovery which is 11 nights departing and returning to Sydney on Rhapsody of the Seas and a 16 night northern circumnavigation with a stop in Bali also, departing Sydney and finishing in Perth on Radiance.

But with RCI they only have these cruises in either March or October 2014 during the Australian spring and autumn.

 

Princess have pretty much the same itineraries both sailing on Sea Princess but are more expensive but they cruise during the European summer months, which will be the Australian winter.

 

From what we can gather from the forums here that RCI and Princess are pretty much the same standard, but Princess is a little more expensive and cater more for an older passenger, we're 26 and 31.

 

P&O Australia have a Great Barrier Reef discovery itinerary which also sails during May, June, July and August on either Pacific Pearl or Jewel, both ships seem abit old going by the reviews

 

We dont really know much about P&O, very little info about them on cruise critic so we'd welcome any experiences anyone has cruising with them.

Would they be a disappointment after 3 cruises with RCI?

 

Would it be better to cruise in March/October with RCI or take the chance and go in June/July when maybe the Aus weather might not be as good but easier to get annual leave from work during the Irish summer months (that just means the weather changes from heavy rain to not so heavy rain :))

[GHDPeter]

For the northern Australian cruises then mid year will be far more comfortable, our summer is hot and humid and gets worse the further north you go.

 

P&O (AU) is much more geared towards families and the younger party cruise crowd and you have much fewer dining and drink options and inclusions.

 

Princess is a level or two up from P&O and the Sea Princess is the youngest of the sun class in Australia and was a former P&O UK ship. The passenger demographic will depend on the time of year and type of cruise. Holiday cruises will have multigenerational family groups, longer "out of season" cruises will have less children and older groups.

 

But it is a great way to see Australia, I am doing a barrier reef/queensland cruise on the Sea Princess out of Brisbane in May 2014 because I like tge ship and it should be good weather, not too hot and fine.

[lizzy77]

Ok so I will put my 2 cents worth in.

Have a look at Celebrity Solstice. They have a great promotion on at the moment if you book outside Aus with free gratuities, free drinks or free OBC. Great ship. If you decide on Princess look at the Diamond Princess, not the Sun or Dawn.

[Aus Traveller]

For the northern Australian cruises then mid year will be far more comfortable, our summer is hot and humid and gets worse the further north you go.

 

P&O (AU) is much more geared towards families and the younger party cruise crowd and you have much fewer dining and drink options and inclusions.

 

Princess is a level or two up from P&O and the Sea Princess is the youngest of the sun class in Australia and was a former P&O UK ship. The passenger demographic will depend on the time of year and type of cruise. Holiday cruises will have multigenerational family groups, longer "out of season" cruises will have less children and older groups.

 

But it is a great way to see Australia, I am doing a barrier reef/queensland cruise on the Sea Princess out of Brisbane in May 2014 because I like tge ship and it should be good weather, not too hot and fine.

 

I agree with these comments. You have expressed them well.

 

To the OP - When you will be spending a lot of money on your airfares, I suggest you don't choose you cruise simply by going for the cheapest.

[mr walker]

Only cruised on RC, but have heard good things about Princess & Celebrity.

 

We did our 1st ever cruise on the Rhapsody OTS Qld cruise Mar/Apr 2011. Fantastic experience that has seen us do 3 more cruises & a fourth in 117 days (who's counting? :D)

 

As others have suggested summer is hot & humid in Nth of Australia, so Sept/Oct/earlyNov & Mar/Apr would be best timing, or otherwise in winter, but there are less options then.

[jessica3152]

Avoid the southern summer months. It is humid, cyclone season and you can't swim in the sea due to stingers.

 

August/September have really good weather in north Qld. You can expect high 20's, low '30s and sunny skies.

[Sparky74]

Hi we've just cruised for the third time with RCI, east and west Caribbean on Freedom and Oasis in June 2011 and 2012...

 

 

From what we can gather from the forums here that RCI and Princess are pretty much the same standard, but Princess is a little more expensive and cater more for an older passenger, we're 26 and 31...

 

 

We dont really know much about P&O, very little info about them on cruise critic so we'd welcome any experiences anyone has cruising with them.

Would they be a disappointment after 3 cruises with RCI?

 

Let me say upfront that DW & I have only sailed with RCI but we have spoken to other many cruisers, including family, as well as Travel Agents.

 

The impression I have (other's may disagree) is:

Princess - 4 1/2 stars

RCI - 4 stars

P&O - 3 stars

 

After loving our 1st cruise we immediately went to our TA to book another one. She basically refused to offer us a P&O cruise saying that having done RCI we wouldn't enjoy it.

 

Since then we have decided that RCI offer a product DW & I enjoy at a price we're happy with. Also there is some comfort in the familiar.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Fletch1]

I would agree with the previous poster.....and someone mentioned before the Diamond is a class above the Sun and the Dawn Princess. This is true.

 

P&O are definitely at a lower level and tend to attract the younger Australian set, hence most of their cruises are 7-10/11 days as most of the clientele are still working and cannot get that much time off work.

 

We have done 32 cruises......mostly with Princess. The rest with P&O and one with Carnival and we are booked on an RCI later this year and Celebrity in February next year.

[fishtaco]

Top end and Bali in March you will melt and have to be posted back home in a waterproof container:D:D:D You will wonder how and why people actually live here lol

[The_Big_M]

Let me say upfront that DW & I have only sailed with RCI but we have spoken to other many cruisers, including family, as well as Travel Agents.

 

The impression I have (other's may disagree) is:

Princess - 4 1/2 stars

RCI - 4 stars

P&O - 3 stars

 

I'd agree with that - BUT there's a big age skew as the OP posted with Princess having an older crowd. RCI has more activities onboard, and the night club is busier. That can also have an effect depending on what the potential passenger is looking for.

[Sparky74]

I'd agree with that - BUT there's a big age skew as the OP posted with Princess having an older crowd. RCI has more activities onboard, and the night club is busier. That can also have an effect depending on what the potential passenger is looking for.

 

Fair enough.

 

Of course, other variables also effect the demographic on a cruise. Itinerary, cruise length and school holidays are all contributing factors.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Bellamariya]

Hi we've just cruised for the third time with RCI, east and west Caribbean on Freedom and Oasis in June 2011 and 2012. This year it was on Mariner from Singapore to Shanghai.

 

We're already planning our next cruise in 2014 and have decided to try Australia, so we have a couple of questions regarding the cruise companies that offer the best routes and prices.

 

There's 2 itineraries with RCI that we're interested in, a Great Barrier discovery which is 11 nights departing and returning to Sydney on Rhapsody of the Seas and a 16 night northern circumnavigation with a stop in Bali also, departing Sydney and finishing in Perth on Radiance.

But with RCI they only have these cruises in either March or October 2014 during the Australian spring and autumn.

 

Princess have pretty much the same itineraries both sailing on Sea Princess but are more expensive but they cruise during the European summer months, which will be the Australian winter.

 

From what we can gather from the forums here that RCI and Princess are pretty much the same standard, but Princess is a little more expensive and cater more for an older passenger, we're 26 and 31.

 

P&O Australia have a Great Barrier Reef discovery itinerary which also sails during May, June, July and August on either Pacific Pearl or Jewel, both ships seem abit old going by the reviews

 

We dont really know much about P&O, very little info about them on cruise critic so we'd welcome any experiences anyone has cruising with them.

Would they be a disappointment after 3 cruises with RCI?

 

Would it be better to cruise in March/October with RCI or take the chance and go in June/July when maybe the Aus weather might not be as good but easier to get annual leave from work during the Irish summer months (that just means the weather changes from heavy rain to not so heavy rain :))

 

Hi Irishcraig, we may have bumped into each other recently, I was also on the Mariner Singapore to Shanghai with my husband :)

Having been on P&O three times and loving it, I now have to say that I probably won't go back after being on RCI for this recent cruise, it would be very hard to go back.

It will depend on what is important to you. Drink package? 24 hour food? Not on P&O.

Go to their website and take a look at the deck plans, you will see they are a no frills cruiseline with none of the amenities you would be used to on RCI.

They do however seem to have more scheduled activities on the P&O ships than they had on Mariner.

 

As to the travel times you are looking at, if ship was not in the equation there is really very little between them.

It is Winter now and Cairns in Nth QLD is still averaging 26 degrees.

March and October are also fine although many will warn you that March still falls into cyclone season.

[joybook]

Most of the comments expressed have an element of truth about them and there have been some very good responses. I have cruised with Princess 3 times and RCL once. From my experience and knowledge I am of the opinion that in terms of quality etc there is not a lot between Princess and RCL. P&O are considered to be a more budget type cruise line in Australia and tend to cater for a much younger traveller and particularly families. Princess, without doubt would attract more of the older passengers while RCL probably slightly younger passengers than Princess but older than P & O. These of course are fairly broad statements.

 

If you decided to do the northern area of Australia/Barrier Reef I would think hard if you were to do it between say November and March as this time of the year is very much our hottest, but not necessarily unbearable - on a ship with pools etc it may not be too bad.:)

[irishcraig]

Ok so I will put my 2 cents worth in.

Have a look at Celebrity Solstice. They have a great promotion on at the moment if you book outside Aus with free gratuities, free drinks or free OBC. Great ship. If you decide on Princess look at the Diamond Princess, not the Sun or Dawn.

Hi Lizzy77,

 

Thank you for your reply,

 

Was looking at Celebrity Solstice, the offers you mentioned caught my eye!! But that ship is sailing more so around New Zealand in 2014. And its the same with the Diamond Princess that you recommended. Sea Princess seems to be the only ship cruising Queensland/barrier reef in 2014. I think we'd rather see more of Australia than New Zealand this time.

[irishcraig]

Thanks for the replies everyone,

 

Just a little update, from the info we got from you all, we've probably crossed P&O off the list and I know I didnt mention Celebrity in the original post but they havent really got an itinerary that we fancy.

 

Alot of the companys seem to be more focused on cruising around New Zealand, but departing from Sydney or Melbourne. Think we'd rather see more of Australia.

 

Its looking like a straight shoot out between RCI and Princess, factoring in when we want to go and the price!

 

7 night Queensland/Barrier Reef from Brisbane on Sea Princess is €1000 in May or June.

16 night Brisbane to Perth on Sea Princess is €2200 in June or September.

 

11 night Queensland/Barrier Reef from Sydney on Rhapsody OTS is €1000 in March or October.

16 night Sydney to Perth on Radiance OTS is €1500 in March or October.

 

Is Princess really that much better according to the price or is it the time of year thats affecting the price?

[irishcraig]

Hi Irishcraig, we may have bumped into each other recently, I was also on the Mariner Singapore to Shanghai with my husband :)

Having been on P&O three times and loving it, I now have to say that I probably won't go back after being on RCI for this recent cruise, it would be very hard to go back.

It will depend on what is important to you. Drink package? 24 hour food? Not on P&O.

Go to their website and take a look at the deck plans, you will see they are a no frills cruiseline with none of the amenities you would be used to on RCI.

They do however seem to have more scheduled activities on the P&O ships than they had on Mariner.

 

As to the travel times you are looking at, if ship was not in the equation there is really very little between them.

It is Winter now and Cairns in Nth QLD is still averaging 26 degrees.

March and October are also fine although many will warn you that March still falls into cyclone season.

Hi Bellamariya,

 

Just read your review of your recent Mariner cruise, congrats on your recent wedding.

 

Have to agree with you on most points of your review, windjammer just crazy at breakfast and lunch, a little less so for dinner as the selection at dinner was poor to say the least. We had dinner there a few nights and a few nights in the MDR as my wife is a very fussy eater, hard to find something she actually likes!! she was very disappointed with the windjammer compared to Oasis and Freedom.

Sorry to hear that you werent impressed with "My Time" in the MDR, we also had that option and never had a problem, we always got the time we wanted and a table for 2 (we're not good at making small talk with strangers and I'd get p*****d off pretty quickly listening to people complaining about anything and everything).

 

Not too sure about the nightly entertainment, the ship's cast put on a couple of decent shows, but the guest performers werent great, thats just my opinion, I know RC have to try cater for every taste on board, but that Magician and his side kick.....?? it was like an act in school talent contest and not a good one. Then that juggler, its was good for about 30 seconds, and the penguin he had on stage? He was beyond bad!!!

The ice show was amazing tho.

 

Like you, we were really looking forward to the ports as we had never been to any of the places but like you said in your review, there was nothing to get the heart pumping, alot of time spent sitting on a bus then spending 30 mins at a place where 5 mins would be enough.

 

That said we both really enjoyed the cruise, it was different after being on the east and west Caribbean for the past 2 years.

 

Just trying to decide which Australian cruise we're going to do next year, P&O would probably be a good choice if we hadnt of cruised with RCI before, especially Oasis of the Seas, what a ship..... breathtaking.

[rkmw]

Thanks for the replies everyone,

 

Just a little update, from the info we got from you all, we've probably crossed P&O off the list and I know I didnt mention Celebrity in the original post but they havent really got an itinerary that we fancy.

 

Alot of the companys seem to be more focused on cruising around New Zealand, but departing from Sydney or Melbourne. Think we'd rather see more of Australia.

 

Its looking like a straight shoot out between RCI and Princess, factoring in when we want to go and the price!

 

7 night Queensland/Barrier Reef from Brisbane on Sea Princess is €1000 in May or June.

16 night Brisbane to Perth on Sea Princess is €2200 in June or September.

 

11 night Queensland/Barrier Reef from Sydney on Rhapsody OTS is €1000 in March or October.

16 night Sydney to Perth on Radiance OTS is €1500 in March or October.

 

Is Princess really that much better according to the price or is it the time of year thats affecting the price?

 

i would consider the 16 night Brisbane to Peth in june as its our winter time and going over the top of australia the temperature would be nice and once you get to Perth the ship goes to Asia and time permitting and money you could do a b2b

 

march or october going around australia its still hot and humid so june or even september would be ok

[Bellamariya]

Hi Bellamariya,

 

Just read your review of your recent Mariner cruise, congrats on your recent wedding.

 

Have to agree with you on most points of your review, windjammer just crazy at breakfast and lunch, a little less so for dinner as the selection at dinner was poor to say the least. We had dinner there a few nights and a few nights in the MDR as my wife is a very fussy eater, hard to find something she actually likes!! she was very disappointed with the windjammer compared to Oasis and Freedom.

Sorry to hear that you werent impressed with "My Time" in the MDR, we also had that option and never had a problem, we always got the time we wanted and a table for 2 (we're not good at making small talk with strangers and I'd get p*****d off pretty quickly listening to people complaining about anything and everything).

 

Not too sure about the nightly entertainment, the ship's cast put on a couple of decent shows, but the guest performers werent great, thats just my opinion, I know RC have to try cater for every taste on board, but that Magician and his side kick.....?? it was like an act in school talent contest and not a good one. Then that juggler, its was good for about 30 seconds, and the penguin he had on stage? He was beyond bad!!!

The ice show was amazing tho.

 

Like you, we were really looking forward to the ports as we had never been to any of the places but like you said in your review, there was nothing to get the heart pumping, alot of time spent sitting on a bus then spending 30 mins at a place where 5 mins would be enough.

 

That said we both really enjoyed the cruise, it was different after being on the east and west Caribbean for the past 2 years.

 

Just trying to decide which Australian cruise we're going to do next year, P&O would probably be a good choice if we hadnt of cruised with RCI before, especially Oasis of the Seas, what a ship..... breathtaking.

 

We very much enjoyed the cruise as well, and for me it was the first time I understood people saying they didn't need the ports as being on the ship was so good. I really looked forward to the sea days!

I do agree about the magician, that is my husbands favourite sort of entertainment and he was very disappointed, especially as they were built up as award winning ;)

Loved the Aussie piano player and Metro though we didn't really expect to!

 

We are planning an Alaska cruise and after reading a great review of a recent Radiance cruise I think we have found the ship and itinerary we want :)

We also want to do at least one cruise on the mega ships and are planning another visit to Europe so may get to go on the Allure if she stays on the European route.

 

Personally, as Australia is so far from anywhere and the bulk of the expense is just in getting there, I would take the longest cruise I could afford to cram in as much of the country as I can!

When we travel to the Northern Hemisphere it is normally for over a month to make the expensive flights worth it.