Considering Princess...

[kollegekreed]

I've heard many good things about the Princess ships, particularly food and service. I have been on one Celebrity and one Carnival cruise, but the last six are NCL.

 

I prefer NCL because I don't do formal nights; I don't like "Traditional" dining and don't want stuff scheduled. Its my vacation; I don't wear a tie to work, certainly not wearing one to dinner.

 

For those that may have sailed NCL or other lines, is there any remarkable difference to the lifestyle? I'm looking at 10 day southern Caribbean in October.

[Musky Ike]

On Princess you don't need to do formal unless you want. On formal nights (2 on a 10 day) you can choose from a lot of different casual food options depending on the ship. Choose the anytime dining option and you can go to the MDR on other nights when you wish if you want to dress "smart casual". Or stay very casual and grab a burger or pizza by the pool, room service, or the buffet, it's up to you.

 

We have sailed Carnival and I think that Princess ships are just a bit more elegant in décor and demeanor, but not too much so. Tasteful without being snooty if that makes sense. We find it a great fit for us. There are many more similarities than differences IMHO.

[PhoneGoddess]

You can choose Anytime Dining and go to the MDR whenever you like for dinner.

 

Also, in addition to the above suggestions, on formal night you can eat in one of the specialty restaurants where the suggested dress is always smart casual.

 

By the way, the buffet is really nice in the evenings for dinner. They set the tables with glassware & utensils, the lights are turned down and they have waiter service for beverages.

[Iamcruzin]

If you enjoyed Celebrity you will enjoy Princess. They are more a like than different. Personally I think the food that is included in the fare is better on Princess with more options than on Celebrity. Celebrity seems to have more up charge specialty restaurants that are overpriced.

[jasbo49]

Like most lines, Princess has formal nights. And if you want to eat in the MDR, they "request" that you wear a jacket and tie. In practice, I guess you can get by with one or the other.

 

Of course you can eat in the buffet in casual clothes or you can go to a specialty restaurant, which at $25 is cheaper than most on NCL.

 

Just a few quick points on what I found different:

 

We found the entertainment better on NCL. More variety, more acts that caught our fancy, both the stage shows and the lounge music. It looks like maybe you're looking at the Royal. As a larger ship, maybe they'll have more and better stuff going on.

 

We like the MDR food better on Princess. We haven't liked any Princess buffet setup we've seen, but if you're on the Royal or Regal, people seem happy with those buffets.

 

Alcoholic drinks are much more reasonable on Princess than other lines. Last cruise I was on (June), I think I could get a gin and tonic for $5.75.

 

I found the furnishings on NCL kind of hard and cornered and chintzy looking, both in the cabins and in public spaces. Princess has much more comfortable and appealing furniture (except on balconies). Also, I remember NCL's decor as swirls and splashes of blue and orange. Princess, in the name of calm and elegance, tries to beige you into submission.

 

One thing you're sure to like, if you board early, is that your cabin is ready immediately. No lugging your carry-on to lunch or finding somewhere to hang out while waiting.

 

Jim

[cynbar]

If you liked Celebrity, you will like Princess, the two lines are quite similar. But I find both to be different from NCL, where the vibe is casual and lively everywhere. Yes, on Princess and Celebrity you can avoid formal by eating in the buffet or a specialty restaurant or room service, but most everyone will be observing the dress code pretty well. I have found these two lines to be more sedate with an older demographic than NCL --- if these things are OK with you, you should like Princess. Service is very good and I also think that the food is better than either NCL or Celebrity.

[ehogan]

I think you would love Princess. We have sailed most of the large lines including NCL but moved away from NCL because we found the food in the MDR to be quite poor. We enjoyed their specialty restaurants but always felt that the line used the poor quality of the MDR to encourage guests to use specialty restaurants.

 

Princess has now become our favourite line for many reasons...subdued, elegant surroundings, good food throughout, Movies under the Stars, good entertainment and the most user friendly website (great for self booking)

 

Also, once you have sailed many times with them, they offer the best member loyalty program of all the lines, especially with internet use.

 

One negative however is that their cabins are smaller than some lines, esp. carnival.

[kollegekreed]

How do you feel about princess as an active ship? I'm 31...Love NCL's later night deck parties and especially on their newer ships, always having something to do. I hear a lot about Princess being a "relaxing" line (which is good) but I like the cruise ship activities more than then the destinations, usually. I've heard it compared to HAL at times.

[Kauai Kid]

On Princess we always dress smart casual in the MDR, even on formal nights. If we have 4 people in our party we get a table for 4 and nobody seems to be offended. We wouldn't join a larger group that was dressed formally.

[Cruisin' Chick]

How do you feel about princess as an active ship? I'm 31...Love NCL's later night deck parties and especially on their newer ships, always having something to do. I hear a lot about Princess being a "relaxing" line (which is good) but I like the cruise ship activities more than then the destinations, usually. I've heard it compared to HAL at times.

 

Much of the night life depends on the cruise director, the itinerary (port-intensive vs a good mix of port to sea), the demographics. Our last three cruises have been the holiday Hawaiian cruise (the Island Princess and two on the Golden Princess) and because the ports were all together, the sea days had a nice amount of night life, especially on New Years Eve, when it seemed everyone of all ages wanted to party.

[kollegekreed]

This is the 10 day Royal, Ft Lauderdale Princess Cay, St Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire, Aruba and 3 sea days.

[OCruisers]

Anytime Dining on Princess allows you to show up whenever you wish.

On Princess you will need to wear long pants to the MDR for dinner.

[adaptabl]

How do you feel about princess as an active ship? I'm 31...Love NCL's later night deck parties and especially on their newer ships, always having something to do. I hear a lot about Princess being a "relaxing" line (which is good) but I like the cruise ship activities more than then the destinations, usually. I've heard it compared to HAL at times.

 

We are taking our 2nd princess cruise 10 day. We like everything on princess other than most of the entertainment. It seemed to be more suitable to an older demographic. Live bands played 50's and 60's music. The comedy was G rated and the live show seemed like they were from Vegas in the 70's. Carnival seemed to have far better entertainment. We do like the princess itinerary's far more and the Royal is a beautiful ship.

[JF - retired RRT]

We are taking our 2nd princess cruise 10 day. We like everything on princess other than most of the entertainment. It seemed to be more suitable to an older demographic. Live bands played 50's and 60's music. The comedy was G rated and the live show seemed like they were from Vegas in the 70's. Carnival seemed to have far better entertainment. We do like the princess itinerary's far more and the Royal is a beautiful ship.

Did you try Skywalker's? They have more modern music.