Comparing Princess and Royal Caribbean--my thoughts

[divingaggie]

RC vs. Princess

 

Compared to most, I'm still a pretty new cruiser. I've been on two Princess cruises (Island and Ruby), and most recently, I went on Freedom of the Seas with Royal Caribbean. Before going on Freedom, DH and I tried to see what people thought of both and what the differences were. We have LOVED Princess, but since we have an 11-yr-old boy, we thought that we'd give Freedom a try to see if DS would like the activities better. So we went into the cruise with an open mind, excited about experiencing a new line.

 

So with that said, after returning, I jotted down a few things that we like better about one or the other, and I wanted to share that with everyone.

 

What we liked better about Royal Caribbean:

 

--Checking in was faster, even though we weren't experienced RC cruisers. We typically arrive by about 10 or 11, and we have had to sit in a holding area with Princess. But with RC, as soon as we checked in, we were able get on the ship.

 

--We loved the miniature ship models on each floor. We could always see where we were in reference to the rest of the ship.

 

--We also loved the touch screen guides on each floor. We could see where we were and how to get to any part of the ship. We could also see all of the activities going on and the menu for that evening.

 

--I actually liked the Royal Promenade much better than the Princess plaza concept. I liked being to walk up and down the mall area, and the parties along the promenade were great.

 

--Since we don't spend the money on balconies or suites, we usually book interior or oceanview. I appreciated the shower stalls with the actual sliding door. I can't stand the teeny shower stall on Princess, and I especially don't like the curtain.

 

--I know that it isn't that big of a deal, but we were always excited to see what towel animals would be waiting for us at night.

 

--I think that the shows on RC are much better than the shows I've seen on Princess. Now, shows aren't make or break for us, though.

 

--We liked the fact that there were two movies that were showing during our week that were brand new (in theaters at home).

 

--This is BIG for me. I LOVED the fact that RC had a one-price-pays-all for photos. I bought the photo package before the cruise, so since I knew that we already could get all of our pics, then we took advantage of as many photo ops that we could find. I wish, wish, wish that Princess would start doing this!

 

--I like the gym on RC better. It seems bigger, and the layout is nicer.

 

--DH loved that there were soccer games on the ship.

 

--Little things--I think I liked the design & art on RC better than on Princess, but I would never make a decision between lines based on that.

 

--DS liked self-serve ice cream. Easy to get.

 

--We loved the Tutti salad in the MDR for lunch. GREAT salad!

 

--The cruise directors and assistant cruise directors on RC seemed way more fun. And we saw the officers much more on RC than we ever do on Princess. The night activities seemed more enthusiastically attended on RC than on Princess.

 

What I liked better about Princess:

 

--The buffet! I think that although the layout on RC was better, the food choices and quality were better on Princess. I know that there are buffet staples for breakfast and lunch. I don't expect a buffet to be completely different every single day, but I do expect some variety. I don't remember much variety on RC. We like that on Princess, we can tell the difference between the days' offerings.

 

--The PIZZA is divine on Princess. DH, DS and I ate the pizza on Princess every single day, and some days, we ate it multiple times! I can pretty much eat any pizza. Even frozen pizza makes me happy sometimes. But my frozen pizza is better than the pizza I ate on RC. Ugh.

 

--The grill on Princess...it was nice to be able to get hamburgers, grilled chicken and hot dogs easily while we were at the pool.

 

--The MDR lunches were much better on Princess. And of the three sea days on RC, they used the same lunch menu twice. I was expecting three different lunch menus like we have seen on Princess...I sound so spoiled. But for foodies like us, it's nice to have different choices each day.

 

--MDR food was so much better for us on Princess. I love the fish dishes on Princess. I have enjoyed almost everything I have eaten in the MDR on Princess, and I just liked the food on RC. It's good, sure. I never sent anything back. I ate it and liked it. But I really like Princess MDR food that much better. There was nothing that made me go WOW on RC whereas I can list easily the things I love on Princess.

 

--DH and I love the tea times on Princess.

 

--Service in the MDR seemed better and more organized on Princess. I don't think that our waiters were bad at all. They just seemed more frazzled and rushed than the ones we've had on Princess. Also, we like having the bread basket at our table on Princess. Unless we flagged down our waiters or waiter assistants on RC, we would never get a second bread roll. But they were always so rushed that they often forgot to offer us more bread.

 

--We like the closet area and storage availability on Princess much better. Smarter layout.

 

--Smoking--I don't know what it is, but it seemed to me that in the public areas outside, there was more of a compliance with the smoking rules on Princess than on RC. I think that this is a fault of the passengers who could care less about rules and other people, but it is also because they weren't being told to stop smoking. But I am sure that the poor RC workers were afraid of the complaints that would have been turned in about them.

 

--Coming back on port days, we received cooling towels and bottled water with Princess. Nothing like that on Royal Caribbean.

 

--We like not having to check towels in and out on Princess. That got annoying on RC.

 

--Movies Under the Stars--SO much better on Princess. The popcorn, the blankets--so nice. I tried to watch a movie outside on RC, and I had to get five towels to cover myself with.

 

--The game room. We tried to find the game room on RC, and we found a room at the top that had some cards. There may have been some games in there somewhere, but if there were, they must have been hidden in the cabinets or something. It was also a quiet area, so it was hard for us to play games and chat. We aren't loud, but we want to laugh a little without getting looks from the next table. On Princess, we loved the fact that we could go to one of the restaurants (designated for family games) any time during the day, and there would be a table full of games we could borrow, and many tables that we could use. There is also a table set up with drinks and snacks for us. Nice touch.

 

--The International Cafe. Enough said. YUM.

 

--The fish and chips in the Wheelhouse

 

--The non-alcoholic beverage package was better for DS on Princess. The package on Princess included the mocktails, whereas the one on RC only included sodas (and other drinks, but not mocktails). Our kiddo loves his mocktails.

 

--We love the promenade deck on Princess much better. We love the loungers on Princess, and it just seemed more relaxing than on RC.

 

--There seemed to be less announcements on Princess. I liked that.

 

--The procedure for leaving the ship on port days seemed much more organized on Princess. It seemed confusing and crowded on RC.

 

BOTH:

 

To tell you the truth, if someone were to gift me a cruise on RC or Princess, I would be ecstatic. But if I'm paying, I would pay for Princess much more readily than RC.

 

But, I think that many things are similar. The service we have received on both lines has been super. The people who work the lines are hard-working, dedicated and friendly. There was nothing that they wouldn't do for us. We liked both cabins. We love trivia, and we enjoyed both lines. I think the shopping was similar on both lines, but I'm not that big of a shopper. There were activities throughout the day on both ships that have kept us occupied, and the music has been good on both. We have loved all of our cabin stewards, no matter what line.

 

Like I said above, I'd go back again on both, but if given the same itinerary that is served by both, I would probably choose Princess. I hope that this is helpful for anyone who is looking for differences and similarities between them.

 

Happy cruising!

Bernadette

Edited July 1, 2014 by divingaggie

[partybarbie]

Thank you for your well organized and thoughtful review.

[DubbyLee]

RC vs. Princess

 

Compared to most, I'm still a pretty new cruiser. I've been on two Princess cruises (Island and Ruby), and most recently, I went on Freedom of the Seas with Royal Caribbean. Before going on Freedom, DH and I tried to see what people thought of both and what the differences were. We have LOVED Princess, but since we have an 11-yr-old boy, we thought that we'd give Freedom a try to see if DS would like the activities better. So we went into the cruise with an open mind, excited about experiencing a new line.

 

So with that said, after returning, I jotted down a few things that we like better about one or the other, and I wanted to share that with everyone.

 

What we liked better about Royal Caribbean:

 

 

 

--Checking in was faster, even though we weren't experienced RC cruisers. We typically arrive by about 10 or 11, and we have had to sit in a holding area with Princess. But with RC, as soon as we checked in, we were able get on the ship.

 

--We loved the miniature ship models on each floor. We could always see where we were in reference to the rest of the ship.

 

--We also loved the touch screen guides on each floor. We could see where we were and how to get to any part of the ship. We could also see all of the activities going on and the menu for that evening.

 

--I actually liked the Royal Promenade much better than the Princess plaza concept. I liked being to walk up and down the mall area, and the parties along the promenade were great.

 

--Since we don't spend the money on balconies or suites, we usually book interior or oceanview. I appreciated the shower stalls with the actual sliding door. I can't stand the teeny shower stall on Princess, and I especially don't like the curtain.

 

--I know that it isn't that big of a deal, but we were always excited to see what towel animals would be waiting for us at night.

 

--I think that the shows on RC are much better than the shows I've seen on Princess. Now, shows aren't make or break for us, though.

 

--We liked the fact that there were two movies that were showing during our week that were brand new (in theaters at home).

 

--This is BIG for me. I LOVED the fact that RC had a one-price-pays-all for photos. I bought the photo package before the cruise, so since I knew that we already could get all of our pics, then we took advantage of as many photo ops that we could find. I wish, wish, wish that Princess would start doing this!

 

--I like the gym on RC better. It seems bigger, and the layout is nicer.

 

--DH loved that there were soccer games on the ship.

 

--Little things--I think I liked the design & art on RC better than on Princess, but I would never make a decision between lines based on that.

 

--DS liked self-serve ice cream. Easy to get.

 

--We loved the Tutti salad in the MDR for lunch. GREAT salad!

 

--The cruise directors and assistant cruise directors on RC seemed way more fun. And we saw the officers much more on RC than we ever do on Princess. The night activities seemed more enthusiastically attended on RC than on Princess.

 

What I liked better about Princess:

 

--The buffet! I think that although the layout on RC was better, the food choices and quality were better on Princess. I know that there are buffet staples for breakfast and lunch. I don't expect a buffet to be completely different every single day, but I do expect some variety. I don't remember much variety on RC. We like that on Princess, we can tell the difference between the days' offerings.

 

--The PIZZA is divine on Princess. DH, DS and I ate the pizza on Princess every single day, and some days, we ate it multiple times! I can pretty much eat any pizza. Even frozen pizza makes me happy sometimes. But my frozen pizza is better than the pizza I ate on RC. Ugh.

 

--The grill on Princess...it was nice to be able to get hamburgers, grilled chicken and hot dogs easily while we were at the pool.

 

--The MDR lunches were much better on Princess. And of the three sea days on RC, they used the same lunch menu twice. I was expecting three different lunch menus like we have seen on Princess...I sound so spoiled. But for foodies like us, it's nice to have different choices each day.

 

--MDR food was so much better for us on Princess. I love the fish dishes on Princess. I have enjoyed almost everything I have eaten in the MDR on Princess, and I just liked the food on RC. It's good, sure. I never sent anything back. I ate it and liked it. But I really like Princess MDR food that much better. There was nothing that made me go WOW on RC whereas I can list easily the things I love on Princess.

 

--DH and I love the tea times on Princess.

 

--Service in the MDR seemed better and more organized on Princess. I don't think that our waiters were bad at all. They just seemed more frazzled and rushed than the ones we've had on Princess. Also, we like having the bread basket at our table on Princess. Unless we flagged down our waiters or waiter assistants on RC, we would never get a second bread roll. But they were always so rushed that they often forgot to offer us more bread.

 

--We like the closet area and storage availability on Princess much better. Smarter layout.

 

--Smoking--I don't know what it is, but it seemed to me that in the public areas outside, there was more of a compliance with the smoking rules on Princess than on RC. I think that this is a fault of the passengers who could care less about rules and other people, but it is also because they weren't being told to stop smoking. But I am sure that the poor RC workers were afraid of the complaints that would have been turned in about them.

 

--Coming back on port days, we received cooling towels and bottled water with Princess. Nothing like that on Royal Caribbean.

 

--We like not having to check towels in and out on Princess. That got annoying on RC.

 

--Movies Under the Stars--SO much better on Princess. The popcorn, the blankets--so nice. I tried to watch a movie outside on RC, and I had to get five towels to cover myself with.

 

--The game room. We tried to find the game room on RC, and we found a room at the top that had some cards. There may have been some games in there somewhere, but if there were, they must have been hidden in the cabinets or something. It was also a quiet area, so it was hard for us to play games and chat. We aren't loud, but we want to laugh a little without getting looks from the next table. On Princess, we loved the fact that we could go to one of the restaurants (designated for family games) any time during the day, and there would be a table full of games we could borrow, and many tables that we could use. There is also a table set up with drinks and snacks for us. Nice touch.

 

--The International Cafe. Enough said. YUM.

 

--The fish and chips in the Wheelhouse

 

--The non-alcoholic beverage package was better for DS on Princess. The package on Princess included the mocktails, whereas the one on RC only included sodas (and other drinks, but not mocktails). Our kiddo loves his mocktails.

 

--We love the promenade deck on Princess much better. We love the loungers on Princess, and it just seemed more relaxing than on RC.

 

--There seemed to be less announcements on Princess. I liked that.

 

--The procedure for leaving the ship on port days seemed much more organized on Princess. It seemed confusing and crowded on RC.

 

BOTH:

 

To tell you the truth, if someone were to gift me a cruise on RC or Princess, I would be ecstatic. But if I'm paying, I would pay for Princess much more readily than RC.

 

But, I think that many things are similar. The service we have received on both lines has been super. The people who work the lines are hard-working, dedicated and friendly. There was nothing that they wouldn't do for us. We liked both cabins. We love trivia, and we enjoyed both lines. I think the shopping was similar on both lines, but I'm not that big of a shopper. There were activities throughout the day on both ships that have kept us occupied, and the music has been good on both. We have loved all of our cabin stewards, no matter what line.

 

Like I said above, I'd go back again on both, but if given the same itinerary that is served by both, I would probably choose Princess. I hope that this is helpful for anyone who is looking for differences and similarities between them.

 

Happy cruising!

Bernadette

 

 

I enjoyed reading your comparison. Next month is a Princess cruise for us and in Sept. we cruise on Royal Caribbean. I'm going to see if my reviews match yours.

[divingaggie]

Wow... I'm jealous that you have two cruises to look forward so close to one another! :-)

 

I'm interested to see what you think. It's all relative, of course. It depends on who you are and what you like.

[gcvt]

Totally agree with you on…

 

RCI (Freedom Class specific)…

Touch screens

Promenade

Shower door

Towel animals!!!

Photo package

 

Princess (Grand Class specific)…

HC has better food

PIZZA!!! Absolutely no comparison.

Love poolside burgers and PIZZA

MDR food is better on Princess, but service was better on RCI

Hadn’t even thought about the cold towels - they were great in Mexico!

Hate MUTS though.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Eagle_and_hawk]

That's a well thought out comparison as we just got back from a 5-day on the Vision of the Seas, which was our first RCL cruise. It has a completely different atmosphere onboard from Princess. Our son has been on two Carnival cruises and he told us, he could not tell much difference except the ship's layout. We decided we will stay with Princess.

 

David & Ellen

[TracieABD]

Excellent comparison of the two cruise lines. I really love Princess, and my never try RCCL (not into the big ships), but it is nice to know that they two lines are not all that different.:)

[-Lew-]

Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts, Bernadette.

 

We're sailing with our 13 year old grandson on Allure of the Seas in August while his parents are in Europe...our first RCCL cruise. We're going with an open mind...looking forward to a new experience.

 

Lew

[Dreamer333]

I'm curious about the photo package on RCCL. What was the cost? I agree that I would love it if Princess had that!

Edited July 1, 2014 by Dreamer333

[divingaggie]

I'm curious about the photo package on RCCL. What was the cost? I agree that I would love it if Princess had that!

I think it was $200 for the CD. You pick it up at the end of the cruise. During the cruise, you take as many pictures as you want and then find the prints. They will put those prints in a folder for you till the end. Then at the end, you can pay an extra 100 for all the prints. I added it up and even paying the extra 100, we ended up paying $3 a picture. We had 100 pictures on CD and prints.

[A1A]

Very nice review! Although I have not sailed RCI, you made me feel as though I should! We typically sail Princess and Celebrity a feel as though they are comparable and in the same class of cruises, so it sounds like RCI might be a viable option for us. Sounds as though crowds were a little more enthusiastic on RCI, were the age demographics a bit younger on Royal Caribbean?

Thanks Again!

Ken

[OCruisers]

Bernadetta .... Thanks for your very balanced comparison!

While we like Princess much better, we have no problem with cruising on RCCL from time to time. :)

LuLu

[divingaggie]

Very nice review! Although I have not sailed RCI, you made me feel as though I should! We typically sail Princess and Celebrity a feel as though they are comparable and in the same class of cruises, so it sounds like RCI might be a viable option for us. Sounds as though crowds were a little more enthusiastic on RCI, were the age demographics a bit younger on Royal Caribbean?

Thanks Again!

Ken

 

I honestly think that as a whole, the average age was younger on RCI. But there were plenty of people of all ages on the ship. But yes, more younger couples, more families, more groups of friends on RCI.

[mreasier]

We did our 1st Royal Caribbean cruise (Explorer of the Seas to Bermuda) last year after about 20 on Princess. We had a thoroughly wonderful time. I agree with most of your findings. In particular the entertainment on Royal Caribbean was superior to that on Princess. The Ice Show was the best show at sea we have ever seen. We would definitely cruise Royal Caribbean again. But price and itinerary being equal we would still choose Princess. It felt somewhat like a mall/amusement part on Royal Caribbean. The ambiance on Princess is more refined and elegant but not stuffy.

[RLK33853]

Thanks for a great comparison.

 

We are confirmed Princess cruisers for many of the reasons you mentioned, as well as many of the things that are signature things for other lines are not important to us.

 

It is nice to see that Princess is pleasing the younger demographic and not just the older cruisers. It bodes well for the line.

[sept10dsm]

We did our 1st Royal Caribbean cruise (Explorer of the Seas to Bermuda) last year after about 20 on Princess. We had a thoroughly wonderful time. I agree with most of your findings. In particular the entertainment on Royal Caribbean was superior to that on Princess. The Ice Show was the best show at sea we have ever seen. We would definitely cruise Royal Caribbean again. But price and itinerary being equal we would still choose Princess. It felt somewhat like a mall/amusement part on Royal Caribbean. The ambiance on Princess is more refined and elegant but not stuffy.

 

I agree. We have done 2 RCCL (Bermuda on Explorer and a western Caribbean on GOS) and quite a few on Princess and yes, we as well will pick Princess. No Princess to Bermuda and really not much out of NY area anymore. Wish they did more from local ports. RCCL does NJ and Baltimore and that's nice.

[Eileen G]

We sail RC and Princess often and enjoy them both. With RC you can get a completely different experience depending which ship you sail on. Sailing on the Radiance class and Vision Class is totally different than the Oasis and Allure or even the Freedom Class. I don't even want to call the Oasis or Allure a cruise ship. They are floating resorts and can be enjoyed for what they are. When we take a cruise we want to experience different things so we take each ship for itself and try not to compare. Although I really hate those clingy shower curtains:) BTW RC's older ships have them too.

[SeagoingMom]

Something else I would value is a point-by-point comparison of Princess and Royal ships which are comparable in size. Anyone sail on both Princess and Royal on ships of more similar to each other than Ruby/Sapphire and Freedom/Explorer?

[essgee_ca]

Thank you for your post. Unlike many of the people who have commented, I am new to Princess and have only cruised Royal Caribbean so far. I was looking for a fair comparison of the two and I think you have given it.

I have to say I was discouraged when you started listing all the things that were better on the RC ships. I thought "Oh no! Have I made a mistake?" I felt much better when you listed all the things you like more on the Princess ships.

I am looking forward to experiencing the differences myself in 10 short days!

[AZ Ocean Lover]

I want to thank you for your positive comparison. It's nice to see the review focus on what you liked about each ship vs what went wrong.

[geocruiser]

I agree the food is much better on Princess. I was on FOS in Jan the food was not that great.

[serene56]

Something else I would value is a point-by-point comparison of Princess and Royal ships which are comparable in size. Anyone sail on both Princess and Royal on ships of more similar to each other than Ruby/Sapphire and Freedom/Explorer?

Having sailed the Ruby and the Voyager-- I think its a fair comparison.

[Kenosha Cruiser]

I'm pretty much loyal to Princess, but thinking about trying the new mega ship "Quantum of the Seas" in the spring. I have always been interested in cruising on one of these large class ships since they came out a few years back. I appreciate your thoughts on the two cruise lines. I would think every cruise line would have an edge in some category onboard.

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

[OCruisers]

I'm pretty much loyal to Princess, but thinking about trying the new mega ship "Quantum of the Seas" in the spring. I have always been interested in cruising on one of these large class ships since they came out a few years back. I appreciate your thoughts on the two cruise lines. I would think every cruise line would have an edge in some category onboard.

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

Like you, we were interested in seeing what one of the mega ships would be like for ourselves so we took a cruise on Oasis last year. We booked Oasis as a "floating resort". It pretty much was ... but in a nice way. It was an enjoyable thing to do for a week. :)

LuLu