Princess vs Royal caribbean

[pmcd404]

We sailed last Aug on caribbean Princess - very nice. I'm thinking of Roy.carib - Adventure of the seas out of San Juan. We like the 'anytime' dining on CP, do they have that on AOS? If not, can we get table for two?Also we brought most of our own wine on CP, can we do that on AOS? We are thinking of Balcony cabin on AOS, are any of them covered, or partially covered? ANY input would be very welcome. - Thanks!!!

[East Coaster]

We also sailed on the CP last November. We had done 3 previous cruises with RC but none on Voyager class ships. We plan on going on the Mariner this fall so we are also excited. There is no PC dining on RC just 2 seatings I believe its 6 pm for the first and 8:30 pm for the second seating. There is limited tables for 2 but you can request them. When you board the ship you can check out the dining room seating plan to see if you were given a table for 2.

We really liked the PC dining on Princess, too. Maybe someday, RC will try it out.

[abridalmaven]

We really liked the PC dining on Princess, too. Maybe someday, RC will try it out.

That is when I stop sailing on RCI

 

 

If you do not want to eat at set hours there is the Windjammer which serves a similar menu and Chops or Portifinos.

[dobie]

We had the corner aft balcony on AOS...huge. And I believe that all of the balconies are covered...they are not tiered as are the Princess ships. We were most recently on the Island, and frankly, I would not want an uncovered balcony cabin but I do not believe this is a problem on the AOS. I'm sure others can let you know on this question. The dining is fixed dining. I happen to love fixed seating, and book it even on Princess, I love having my waitstaff the same every night, and the personalized service. I did see tables for 2. I did not like sailing out of San Juan, and would not do it again. Getting off of the ship was a nightmare, hours in line, in the sun......my personal opinion, but we did not appreciate the disembarkation procedure at all. Perhaps it has changed recently....

[2forthesea]

They will MAKE a table for 2 for you, if needed. We always ask for it, they usually don't get it right because it's not part of the normal procedure, but the maitre d' always gets us one. We've had them set one up for us twice. The table is small, so there is usually a place to put another one. The dining steward doesn't mind two more people and tips, either. :D

 

The Windjammer, as abridalmaven said, is a good alternative for anytime dining, too.

 

Don't know about the wine.

 

The balconies are recessed slightly and have privacy from the side, also.

[Host Kewlguy]

Last time I said something negative regarding Princess I was attacked by two elderly women and nearly thrown over board. I think both cruise lines are wonderful. ;)

[JoyLar]

I have been on 4 RCCI and 2 Princess. Love them both, but on Princess I only take 1/2 the clothes because of their self laundry facilities. Great feature, wish RCCI would take a hint ! ! ! :cool:

[tkubi7]

We loved the anytime dining on Princess. It allowed us to enjoy our ports of call and not have to rush back to eat if we found something of particular interest. We never had to wait for a table either. We truly could relax if we weren't very hungry and eat when we were ready. Personally, after trying it in January, I wouldn't want to cruise without it.

[Cruising89143]

I use the Windjammer due to the fact that I do not like a set time to eat. I hope that RCI does in fact look at some type of anytime dining in at least one of their dining rooms. It would give something for everyone to choose from.

[Bonnie&Rob]

We liked Princess for the anytime dining and the self serve laundry. We liked Royal for the shower doors (no curtain attached to your body).

 

We had a great time, great service, great food on both. Between the 2, we choose future cruises on the iternary and cost.

[Cindy]

We've sailed both, and liked both. There are certain things I preferred on Princess, and things I preferred on Royal Caribbean. We currently have reservations on both lines, and I'm sure both cruises will be wonderful! :D

[jojo48]

We've previously sailed Princess and NCL - and loved certain things on both lines. We are booked on the Enchantment for 7/19 - looking forward to the comparison. We do, however, like the anytime dining.

[janine l.]

Both RC and Princess are great choices. We think the food and service were

better on the Princess, but RC has better entertainment and it seems to have

more kid/family programs. I don't know why RC won't put some self-service

laundries on their ships; they are really terrific for the longer cruises especially, and here Princess really shines... it's the little things that make

a difference.

[britchicknyc]

Goodness laundry is the last think I will ever do on a vacation!

[mariposas]

We sailed last Aug on caribbean Princess - very nice. I'm thinking of Roy.carib - Adventure of the seas out of San Juan. We like the 'anytime' dining on CP, do they have that on AOS? If not, can we get table for two?Also we brought most of our own wine on CP, can we do that on AOS? We are thinking of Balcony cabin on AOS, are any of them covered, or partially covered? ANY input would be very welcome. - Thanks!!!

 

After we sailed on NCL, we got spoiled by the "freestyle cruising" option. It was great for us, since we were able to eat whenever we wanted, and sit at a table for two. There is no anytime dining in the main dining rooms on the AOS. I was very anxious about our AOS cruise because I loved freestyle dining so much, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's nice to be served by the same waitstaff; they get to know your tastes and even waived the corkage fee for the wine we brought to dinner! We had a table for two, but I understand they can be quite difficult to get, since there are only a handful of them on board. I still prefer anytime/freestyle dining since the times we got hungry varied, though we always prefer the dining room over a more casual place like the Windjammer.

 

We had a nice balcony room on the 9th floor and there was a good amount of privacy. As for bringing your own wine, there are a few other threads (and lengthy ones!) on the RCL board that deals with this subject so I would check one of those out. Good luck planning your next cruise!

[PhoenixCruiser]

I use the Windjammer due to the fact that I do not like a set time to eat. I hope that RCI does in fact look at some type of anytime dining in at least one of their dining rooms. It would give something for everyone to choose from.

 

We too don't like to eat at a set time and agree if they did it correctly, it could work for everyone.

 

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[johndru]

We've been on both the Grand Princess (same layout as Caribbean Princess), and just returned from AOS.

The balconies on AOS are completely enclosed, as they're part of the structure of the ship. However, the newer Voyager class ships, such as Mariner, are not this way, and have more glass and visibility. I really liked our balcony on the Dolphin deck on the Grand, as it was completely open, and there was a "door" that opened to the balcony next cabin over, and since our friends were in that cabin, we had the door unlocked and left it open all the time. It was like we were in one big cabin with one big balcony!

Didn't care for PC dining on the Grand. Found that there wasn't the personalized service that we had fixed seating times, as you don't get to know your waiter, and they don't get to know you. We had met a family from Michigan while on the ship, and they had fixed seating, and were trying to change to PC dining, because they had poor service in that dining room. Ironically enough, we were trying to change to fixed seating from PC dining, because we weren't happy, so decided to just stick with PC dining after hearing that they also had poor service. I don't think the food on Princess is any better than on RCCL, just different.

I agree with previous posts that state that the laundry facilities on Princess were very convenient. I know alot of people say they don't want to do laundry while on vacation, but it didn't take long, because they're set up just like a laundromat - several washers and dryers.

I think the layout on AOS is better than Princess, as it "flows" better. Found alot of going up and down levels to get from one end of the ship to the other on Grand, whereas, not the case on AOS.

Try AOS, I think you'll really enjoy her!