RCL vs Princess

[Winesnob]

My husband & I have taken 2 grand class Princess cruises and have a wonderful time, but we are looking into trying something new. We are thinking of trying RCL...any suggestions? We want to travel to the Caribbean in Feb '06 and looking for ship suggestions as well. Thanks!

[LARGIN]

Since you have already taken 2 Grand Princess cruises you should have a handle on Princess. You would probably get a better response in a RCL forum. Most here are Princess loyalists..

[maestra]

Try one of the larger ships. (Adventure of the Seas, Explorer etc.) Nice ships. It really depends on where you want to cruise. This is our first Princess. The rest have been with RCI and 2 Carnival. We have never had a bad cruise. (Well maybe one)

 

Maestra

[Coral]

My husband & I have taken 2 grand class Princess cruises and have a wonderful time, but we are looking into trying something new. We are thinking of trying RCL...any suggestions? We want to travel to the Caribbean in Feb '06 and looking for ship suggestions as well. Thanks!

 

On the newer RCCL ships - I think you will find the entertainment better, the buffet laid out better, the ship has more of a WOW factor, the ship seemed crazy and busier a lot of the time.......The rooms seemed a tad bit larger, balconies were smaller.

 

I like the subdued colors on Princess, I found the food better (dining room) on Princess, generally less kids, overall envrionment is quieter, fresh water pools, etc. .

 

Service is so difficult to judge because it is primarily judged on 2 people (room steward and waiter) - my service on RCCL was fine.

 

I prefer their Radiance class but if you have kids, go with the Voyager class.

[vmom]

I'd recommend you try the Navigator of the Seas. We really enjoyed it. Also, you may want to consider the new ship that's coming out this year, Freedom of the Seas.

[susancruzs]

I'll agree with Coral here, I sail with both Princess and RCI. I really like the Radiance class ships alot, they are really great. Big, but not too big, amenities but not knock your socks off overwhelming. With kids, their mega ships are the way to go. I don't think you can go wrong trying a cruise with them.

 

Susie

[Jesseer]

If you choose on of the Voyager class ships you won't be disappointed. We have sailed on the Voyager class & the grand class with Princess and we have to go with RCCL over Princess for this size ship. If you can, book a corner aft balcony, the balcony has got to be about 8 x 10 at least.

[Tak8]

Although I like Princess better, Royal has some excellent entertainment options. If you really want something different, I would try Adventure. It has all the Royal extras and a great Southern itinerary.

[Grumm]

We've had several excellent cruises on the Brilliance-great food,service etc. Whatever you pick, have a great time!

[critterchick]

We have sailed the Grand & Sun class ships on Princess and Radiance, Vision and Sovereign class on RCI. I don't think you could call the Radiance ships "small," but they are very intimate in many respects - lots of nooks & crannies to hang/hide out in, and other than getting into the dining room right at the opening bell, it never seems very crowded. I don't know whether you get that on a Voyager class or not, but 3000+ seems like an awful lot of pax, IMHO.

 

Radiance is just a gorgeous ship - lots of glass, lots of "wow". I highly recommend her. We have trips lined up on Brilliance & Jewel and want to add Serenade, too.

 

I think the service on RCI tends to be a notch higher. We've never had a cruise with a surly crew - they are always smiling and greeting us, and "happy" to do whatever we ask (not that we're demanding, we really aren't). On Princess, we have often had lackluster service, not from everybody, but it's a noticeable difference.

[Suze17]

I have cruised Princess x6 (and booked for 8/06) and Royal Caribbean x2 (with another booked for 1/06) and feel that although I have a preference for Princess (love the ships, fresh water pools and Anytime dining!!), I wouldn't hesitate to sail with RCI, if a ship or itinerary were of interest to me. The Royal Caribbean ships are beautiful. I think it is worth a try. Despite my loyalty to Princess, I like to try different lines once in a while (trying Celebrity in 9/05). Good luck with your choice.-Sue

[Winesnob]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I should also add that we are in our early 30's with no kids and travelling with our in-laws in their 50's. How does the food on RCL and Celeberity compare with princess as well.

[critterchick]

I think the food on Princess is a little better than on RCL. The traditional dining service is usually good on both of them. I like Princess pizza (nice & crisp crust), but don't much care for RCI's version. The Radiance-class ships have the Seaview Cafe, which has killer onion rings among its offerings (which are free). Voyager class have Johnny Rockets, which imposes a surcharge.

 

Given your screen name, you might be particularly interested in this: I think the Princess wine selection is better and more reasonably priced than RCI. Also, Princess states that you can bring your own wine or champagne on board, while RCI has conflicting information - part of the website says you can't, but another says they'll charge corkage if you bring your own into the dining room. Some pax have gotten cruise dox that say you can't bring any alcohol, others have docs that say they reserve the right to limit quantities. Having said all that, we've never had wine confiscated, and have only seen booze checks on the 3-night weekend cruises (where they make a ton of money on drinks). We've openly carried a bottle or two on board almost every cruise we've been on. I think they're really after the hard liquor, especially in the Caribbean, where it's cheap.

 

Just my random thoughts...

[JordanF]

We have sailed on both. We just returned from 10 days on the Star Princess, and spent 9 days on Voyager of the Seas in June 2004. They are both excellent, and I would let other factors (where it is going, how much is costs, dates available) determine my choice. Having said that, I prefer Anytime Dining on Princess to the traditional dining on RCCL, but I prefer the large open areas on the Voyager to the more intimate areas on the Star. However, this is all being picky--as they are pretty equal--like Coke and Pepsi...

[yancycruiser]

We have also sailed on both as listed below. We liked both equally well with a nod to RCCL for their outstanding dining rooms which are more glamorous than any of the other lines including Princess. I wouldn't hesitate to cruise either line depending on itinerary and price.

 

Give it a try, you can't go wrong. Whatever you decide - have a great cruise!