Comparing Princess and Royal Caribbean--my thoughts

[divingaggie]

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

 

Yes, I did this comparison after my cruise on Freedom. A year before that, we had cruised on Ruby.

[PescadoAmarillo]

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

I so agree. Privately, I discounted the idea of those biggest RC ships for years, but, after being on the Allure, I can say we loved it. Do we want a steady diet of it? No. But for a week it was fun to enjoy really good entertainment. Sure, we nearly starved, but we were well entertained and quite drunk (from their Diamond Lounge) the entire time.

[Oxo]

I so agree. Privately, I discounted the idea of those biggest RC ships for years, but, after being on the Allure, I can say we loved it. Do we want a steady diet of it? No. But for a week it was fun to enjoy really good entertainment. Sure, we nearly starved, but we were well entertained and quite drunk (from their Diamond Lounge) the entire time.

 

Last year we were on the Allure OTS and Royal Princess. Both were excellent.

 

We found Allure very much more organized, elevators very fast, Diamond Lounge in Blaze Lounge excellent with free drinks and food from 5-830pm. Entertainment was excellent and a lot of it on the Allure, too. Ship was big with 6,500 passengers but never seemed crowded.

 

Royal was excellent in the sense of International Cafe, Horizon Court with so much more of a selection than Allure's Windjammer. MDR on Royal had better food than Allure.

Many people are afraid of the BIG ships, but it is really an experience. Would we do both again? YES, as they both provide different experiences.

[Reader0108598]

Wonderful post! I agree with most every thing you said.

 

I like both lines but Princess still has an edge.... a very slight one;)

 

Reader

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review. I love comparison reviews. It has been many years since I cruised Royal Caribbean. However, I would like to try them again sometime.

[lovevacadays]

I so agree. Privately, I discounted the idea of those biggest RC ships for years, but, after being on the Allure, I can say we loved it. Do we want a steady diet of it? No. But for a week it was fun to enjoy really good entertainment. Sure, we nearly starved, but we were well entertained and quite drunk (from their Diamond Lounge) the entire time.

 

Why did you nearly starve? I want to try RCI again after about 15 years but curious about this. I don't remember having issues with the food.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Why did you nearly starve? I want to try RCI again after about 15 years but curious about this. I don't remember having issues with the food.

 

We chose to not pay for any specialty restaurants. While the dining room food was quite good, the quality and availability of food in the Windjammer was limited. Furthermore, pizza and burgers were not available on the pool deck. The worst was when we returned from St. Martin around 4pm one day having not eaten since breakfast and the buffet was closed until after 6pm. Food that was available was what I consider snacky food; I never wanted to see another section of sandwich sliced off with a fuzzy toothpick stuck though it. Some of the food in the Solarium Cafe was ok; some was really bad. And again we had issues with opened and closed times.

[stag]

RCL

-In-room TV shows the detailed account information and balance

-Lobster and fancy dishes are extra cost in Main Dining Room.

-Less menu choices in MDR

-Major entertainments have more variety

-Mega ships (Allure, Oasis) have plenty of spaces. We could easily find quiet locations.

 

Princess

-Patter are clear and more organized

-Webcam channel shows current air temperature, wind and sea condition

-Major entertainments are similar on different ships

[divingaggie]

Stag, that was another thing...the menu choices on RCI. I had grown used to more courses from which to choose on Princess. I didn't feel as badly ordering a couple of appetizers and a salad. But on RCI, it was all grouped together (appetizers, soups, and salads) so I was given weird looks for wanting all three. I love food...lol.

[SeagoingMom]

Stag, that was another thing...the menu choices on RCI. I had grown used to more courses from which to choose on Princess. I didn't feel as badly ordering a couple of appetizers and a salad. But on RCI, it was all grouped together (appetizers, soups, and salads) so I was given weird looks for wanting all three. I love food...lol.

"Given weird looks" by whom? If the staff made you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable in any way, then there is a customer service problem on the ship, not a menu problem! If your table companions gave you weird looks, they are simply rude.

[divingaggie]

"Given weird looks" by whom? If the staff made you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable in any way, then there is a customer service problem on the ship, not a menu problem! If your table companions gave you weird looks, they are simply rude.

The wait staff was wonderful. They never have me a hard time. If anything, they were just surprised at how much I ate! My table mates were the ones that gave me weird looks and muttered under their breath. Fortunately, that was only during the MDR lunch. We had our own table for dinner.

[JenaMH]

Thank you so much for your comparison. My husband and I are considering our first cruise on Royal Princess. It will be an 11 day we have chosen because of the ports - there aren't that many itineraries across the board that go to St. Lucia!

We are nighttime people and are concerned about there being no night life.

We enjoy dancing the younger entertainment seen with Carnival, RCI, and NCL. How were the options for this with Princess? I'm afraid we might be spoiled with the typical 2-3 club options from the other lines.

How is the pool side entertainment? What type of activities are there?

I've heard from others that the average age is skewed to the older crowd, we know to expect this anyways with any cruise longer in length.

[Jasperdo]

An excellent comparison. Even though we've sailed mostly on Princess recently, we have greatly enjoyed our Royal Caribbean cruises. Your observations pretty much match mine. Both lines offer a great cruise experience. I'd be happy sailing with either one.

[JimAOk1945]

Thanks for your comparison. We have enjoyed cruising with RC but are looking forward to our Island Princess cruise in December.

[SeagoingMom]

The wait staff was wonderful. They never have me a hard time. If anything, they were just surprised at how much I ate! My table mates were the ones that gave me weird looks and muttered under their breath. Fortunately, that was only during the MDR lunch. We had our own table for dinner.

Wow, mutterers! That really is very inconsiderate. Not much to be done about that. I am just glad to hear it was not the staff.

[Videophile]

We are nighttime people and are concerned about there being no night life.

We enjoy dancing the younger entertainment seen with Carnival, RCI, and NCL. How were the options for this with Princess?

 

We got off of the Caribbean Princess last Sat, and dancing was nearly non-existent. There were opportunities to dance, but very few (aside from my wife and I) decided to.

 

We went to a club at 10:00 pm on the first night and we were literally the only ones there for the 80's themed dance. The DJ came over, asked us what we wanted to hear, and after he saw the twinkle in my eye said "you guys can pick the play list if you want." That was very cool. I suggested a list songs and he played about 80% of them (I assume he didn't have the others). We danced until we dropped, alone on the dance floor the whole time. It was great, though it would have been more fun if someone else had been there. A couple of younger couples walked in while we were there but left, while a few other couples did stay and watched the show. (When I dance I probably look like Joe Cocker singing, so that could have had something to do with it. :) )

 

The other time we went dancing it was in a smaller club with live music, no one danced either.

 

That's not to say I didn't have a good time, I had a blast. Maybe I just missed the good dance parties...

[divingaggie]

Thank you so much for your comparison. My husband and I are considering our first cruise on Royal Princess. It will be an 11 day we have chosen because of the ports - there aren't that many itineraries across the board that go to St. Lucia!

We are nighttime people and are concerned about there being no night life.

We enjoy dancing the younger entertainment seen with Carnival, RCI, and NCL. How were the options for this with Princess? I'm afraid we might be spoiled with the typical 2-3 club options from the other lines.

How is the pool side entertainment? What type of activities are there?

I've heard from others that the average age is skewed to the older crowd, we know to expect this anyways with any cruise longer in length.

We did notice that the night life isn't all that active. I think it would depend on the itinerary and timing, though.

[divingaggie]

Wow, mutterers! That really is very inconsiderate. Not much to be done about that. I am just glad to hear it was not the staff.

One thing that I found interesting was that I had always read about people being really snooty about their elite status on Princess, but I have never encountered that. On Freedom, however, a couple of the "mutterers" brought up their platinum status during the meal. One even put another table mate in her place by explaining how their diamond (I think) status was better than the one the other person had. Here I was on my first RCI cruise, happily eating my numerous dishes that I ordered. ;-)

[donnablue]

We have been on over 50 cruises on different lines, but are mostly "loyal to Royal"! They do have the best perks for past pax---free drinks & appetizers before dinner after completing 70 nights (about 10 cruises) on Royal. They have a club for these Diamond members on most of their ships, which are open all the time & have free specialty coffees & continental breakfast daily.

I really love the entertainment on the bigger ships,esp. the awesome ice skating shows! And, as many have said, the Oasis & Allure are a destination in themselves, regardless of the ports! They even have a dedicated craft room for scrap booking, card-making, & jewelry! Their Broadway quality shows are excellent as well as the water shows & Cirque du Soleil shows. You can tell I love shows!

 

That being said, we did a 4-day on the Ruby Princess in Jan. & are doing a 10-day on the Royal 11/4/14. We had not been on Princess for many years & were impressed. I did enjoy the Movies under the Stars with Popcorn! Food was very good, too.

So, we are looking forward to our Royal cruise & feel, as others have said, we would be happy on either line. Sometimes we book for itinerary & other times we book for a great deal. We just love cruising, & DH is a diver.

 

 

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[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks for such a comprehensive review! great read!! :)

 

We are Elite on Princess, but here and there take Royal and lately have been taking Holland America as they have some wonderful itineraries. The lines to me are a lot alike, and I enjoy experiencing the differences.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

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?

 

This is an accurate comparison of ships. They were designed/built in response to each other at similar time periods as each lines way of reaching out to their target market.

 

Between the two lines I'd say apples to apples would be:

 

Princess Sun Class to RCCL Vision Class

Princess Coral Class to RCCL Radiance Class & Celebrity Millennium Class

Princess Grand Class to RCCL Voyager Class

Princess Crown Class to RCCL Freedom Class

Princess Royal Class to Celebrity Solstice Class

 

Princess has no ships to directly compare in size or scope to RCCL's Oasis Class or Quantum Class.

 

RCCL has no smaller ships to compete with Princess' Explorer Class. Instead RCI created Azamara to compete with Princess' smaller ship offerings, using the sister ships to the ones Princess acquired following the demise of Renaissance Cruises.

 

 

Having sailed both lines several times I'd tend to agree almost 100% with the OP's assessments as to each lines strength and weaknesses. I will say that I prefer the Radiance/Vision class ships on RCCL over the Voyager/Freedom class. I simply will not book the larger RCCL vessels as I do not like the layout of the ships. There is no connection to the ocean. By contrast I have no qualms in sailing ANY of Princess' ships, in any class, as they are well designed and laid out, with near constant ocean views from all the public spaces which is an important factor to me when choosing a ship.

[OCruisers]

It's impossible to do a "blanket" comparison of cruise lines. :o

LuLu

[jcike1980]

Thank You for your Comparison...we will be celebrating our 50th WA on either the Royal or Regal...My DW will make the final decision...

[DebJ14]

Thanks to the OP for the comparison. We have sailed both lines and like both Princess and RCCL very much. I was interested in the comparison of the buffets. We don't do buffets. Period. End of story. Not on land and not at sea either.

I hate having to serve myself and then wander around looking for a seat. I used to love it on Royal Olympic and on Celebrity (before being bought out by RCCL) when white gloved waiters would not let you carry your tray. They took it from you at the end of the line and found you a place to sit, took drink orders and then went off to get the drinks.

 

We take a full suite on both cruise lines so breakfast is taken care of in Chops on RCCL (or continental breakfast in the Concierge Lounge) and we have breakfast in Sabbatini's on Princess. Sabatini's wins that one hands down with the free Mimosas and specialty coffees and creative breakfast dishes. Chops is nice because it is quiet and no problem being seated, but is just the normal breakfast fare.

 

We're off on RCCL Navigator on Sunday and then the Emerald Princess in January.

 

On embarkation day Princess does have an MDR open, which we really like (more like the old days of cruising). The rest of the time if the MDR is not open for lunch we have room service on Princess. On RCCL we can also have lunch in Chops on Sea Days. If we are ashore we usually eat there, but if not we order room service rather than eat in the Windjammer.

Edited August 26, 2014 by DebJ14

[greenbank1958]

Looking forward to BtoB christmas&new year cruise on princess ruby.

Having sailed carnival, ncl ,rccb and p&o.

i have found the posts on this thread very intresting.

However royal caribbean has the wow factor for me! so far:D