RCCL vs Princess

[houch]

Guess I'll put in my two cents worth. Princess is my favorite and probably will always be! I've always thought the ships I've been on looked spectacular. I always like having the Buffet open 24/7, not that I eat that often it is nice to know I can anytime I want. I missed this on both RCCL and Celebrity. I think the food is better with more variety on Princess than the other two. Infinity/Celebrity....the decor was rather dull and bland and I had heard the service on Celebrity was fantastic. I found it no better or worse than the other two. RCCL's food was not as good as Princess but that doesn't mean I went hungry! I would try both of those lines again if the ports had what I wanted.

I haven't heard much good about Carnival and I am older and not interested in partying all the time so I doubt I will ever cruise on Carnival. I haven't liked what I have read about NCL so won't try them either.

When you get right down to it if it is a ship on the ocean.....it's got to be good. There are just some that are better, depending on what you are looking for.

Happy cruising, Carol

[woodofpine]

I've mainly done Princess and Celeb. I did one super short (3 day) Carnival cruise (Fantasy), cheap cheap date fare. Having been aboard these boards for too long, and having read some very experienced posters (ocyngypz for instance), I'm willing to try Carnival again - not based on my shortie on Fantasy.

 

I think-suspect that the Carnival experience reflects its fleet. Point: Carnival is extremely varied. Look at their fleet: they have the most age and design varied fleet of any line. As a business decision, you can't fault them for trying to offer something for everyone, except that you get a lot of mixed expectations with potential resulting disappointment. I suspect the service and overall product varies as much as the ships. I've read that the newer bigger ships (esp. loner cruises) are tres excellent. On the makeover due Fantasy, when I cruised her 10/02, the crew seemed burned out and the pax (sorry, I'm not "classy", but I wouldn't have left my kids alone in a bathroom with some of these cretins). That said, the truffle and pasty encrusted Beef Wellington was possibly the best piece of beef I've had on a ship. Go figure...

 

Sorry, I know this was a RCI comp, and I look forward to it sometime... too

[DesrtDrmr]

We have been on Princess and RCI. I think they are comparable in most cases. The Windjammer might be a bit better than the Horizon Court, the Princess Dining Rooms might be a little better than RCIs. The bread on RCI is heavenly, the desserts on Princess are to die for............ :) I was last on AOS for RCI, and was rather overwhelmed by the Promenade and the parades. I felt that the Promenade was too much "inside" and not enough "at sea" if you know what I mean. I like cruising for being on the Sea, and on the AOS, I felt rather disassociated from the sea. We did enjoy our balcony cabin on the AOS, a D9, I think, and liked the little sitting area, which we dont have in Princess balcony cabins. I love the fresh water heated pools on Princess, and the 24/7 Horizon Court. To me, entertainment is comparable. I think if you enjoy one, you'll probably enjoy the other.

RiverRev, I think the official Princess boarding time is usually about 1:00pm, but we've been on before that, on every cruise. Princess serves lunch in their buffet, the Horizon Court, during embarkation, coffee is not so great for real coffee lovers, and just okay for the rest of us, but they do have better coffee at their Patisserie, and you are assigned a beach towel, and may take it off the ship when you are in port. You have to bring it back to your cabin, as your steward is responsible for it.

[Tarheelbelle]

Is there any GLARING differences between Carnival and Princess? We have done 4 Carnival cruises mainly b/c of the ports and timing, but are now going on our first Princess cruise in January.

 

Now, I could care less about the "class" of people on board or how the food tastes, etc...but what about entertainment? Do they also have activities going on during the day and shows at night? Im guessing that's a yes. Just wondering what I should expect...or should I just expect the same basic thing in regards to policies? Such as, you have to pay for sodas, room service is still free, they have a midnight buffet, they'll have some comedians, las vegas style shows, and other fun stuff at night. They will have Calypso music by the pool during the day!!? (I hope so, that's my favorite part :) )

 

Any help would be great! I'm sure the OP wouldn't mind some additional info like this too.

I thought that the service I got on Princess was 1000 times better than on Carnival. After my last Carnival Cruise in 2003, I swore I would NEVER again cruise Carnival no matter the deals or itinerary. I will pay more to have better service. The ship [Victory] is a beautiful ship and the itinerary [NE/Canada] was wonderful---these were the only things that made the cruise bearable--the staff and crew were so rude and ignorant.

I also found the general ambience on Carnival to be more of a Party atmosphere than on Princess. Much classier on Princess.

There are things on Princess I also do not like, such as the Art auctions, port talk mentality [i.e. buy only at the stores we recommend=we have a kick back from them], silly pool games, etc., but you find that on most cruiselines, and they are easy enough to avoid.

 

As to the OP, GucciGirl, I would say that if you are willing to sail out of a port other than NY, a good option for a 10 night cruise is the Panama Canal RT--we did that last November on the Coral Princess and loved it. There is a beautiful Lotus spa area with indoor adults-only pool area and the thermal suite is wonderful. I sailed Coral again the May to Alaska and still love that ship more than any other I have sailed.

[newmexicoNita]

I saw that a couple of people had issues with NCL. I've cruised Princess and Costa and I am considering an NCL cruise with my extended family (mainly because of price). How does NCL compare to Princess? Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

this depends on what you are looking for in a cruise and which ship you are thinking of cruising. Some swear by Princess, others say, NO WAY> The difference in NCL versus other mass marketed lines is freestyle cruising and choices of restaurants. You say you have cruised Costa, how did you like the line? Again, many do not like Costa, me being one, but it does not mean Costa isn't a good line. NCL will be a bit livelier than Princess with probably a little better entertainment. Most think the Princess ships are nicer and some say the food is better. Princess does have fresh water pools which is a plus to some, to me, it would not be an issue either way. Hope this helps you some. NMnita ps btw; whichever board you are on will determine the responses you get.

[ssantow]

After many years with Princess we tried RCI. We were not displeased with Princess, but just wanted something diferent. We have now completed 4 cruises with RCI and this December will be returning to Princess for a 15 day Hawaii cruise. The demographics are diferent on the two lines. RCI caters more to famlies with children. I have heard their kids program is one of the best. As stated before you will find an older group on the longer Princess cruises. After all they do have the time and finances to usually take a longer cruise. I think one important thing to consider, that you do not hear a lot about, is the passenger space ratio. Princess has a lower passenger to space ratio which leads to less crowding and more open spaces. I have never felt crowded on a Princess ship, yet there were many times on both the Mariner of the Sea and the Jewel of the Sea we did notice the crowds, even in the open spaces of the Promenade. I found the food and entertainment comparable on both lines. Dining room service was a bit better on Princess, but I was totaly blown away by the ice show on the Mariner. We went to see it twice.

[iancal]

We have been on both and find them very comparable. Not much difference-it really comes down to personal preference. Go with the schedule that meets you needs. I am certain that you will be happy...provided you match your personal tastes to the size of ship that you are selecting.

[threeofus]

We've done RCL, NCL and Princess.

My first choice would be to do Princess again...but we have a teen and there are more families on RCL so we are going with them this year.

 

We found the entire cruise experience to be just a little bit better in every category on Princess.... food, staff, service etc.

You will really enjoy Princess - Have a great cruise.

[threeofus]

We've done RCL, NCL and Princess.

My first choice would be to do Princess again...but we have a teen and there are more families on RCL so we are going with them this year.

 

We found the entire cruise experience to be just a little bit better in every category on Princess.... food, staff, service etc.

You will really enjoy Princess - Have a great cruise.

[LARGIN]

Since our kids are all grown, we prefer the non-kid cruises. Longer Princess cruises are our choice.

[racnwdow]

I wonder how much is "which cruise line did you cruise on first"? That would be what you are used to and the next cruise line of course would be different. And most people tend to view different as wrong or not as good. I have done 4 RCI cruises and the one in December will be my first cruise on Princess. I am really looking forward to the new experience.

 

Jen

[trixie54]

RAcn - your post made me remember 2 lovely NCL cruises (Star & Dawn) - on the 1st we were in one of those great PH suites, so chose one again for the 2nd cruise: but it was "flipped" right-left, & I spent almost the entire cruise walking into this gorgeous suite & feeling that it was somehow "wrong". Can you believe it? I'm normally a very sane & logical gal. Go figure. We have enjoyed NCL, Princess, & RCCL equally - what seems to make the difference for us is size & age of ship, whether our daughter is along, & just the particular group of people on that sailing - for example, have had more similar demographics on 2 RCCL & Princess cruises than on 2 on Princess.

[enymarsh]

Had to comment...

My first two cruises were on RCL then we tried HAL, then we tried Princess. I like all three lines, it's just that I feel that Princess is still the best fit. I'm open to trying other lines (like Celebrity) but for now, I am leery of spending my treasured cruise funds on something other than what has pleased me so much in the past!

 

Oh, and Trixie... your recount reminds me of my cruise on the Coral right after being on the Golden... I thought I knew the ship but kept going the wrong way because the pools are reversed! I would set off in one direction, so sure of myself, only to find myself at the wrong end of the ship!

[cruise182]

I will let you know when I return form my Golden then Serenade vacation!!

[Lynda90]

I have cruised with Carnival, HAL, RCCL and Princess. Can't say that I had a bad time on any one of the lines. I love to cruise and have never been unhappy with any of them. That's not to say that some have been better than others in different categories. I thought the food on HAL was a cut above the others but not enough difference for any comlaints. So whether you choose Princess or RCCL, you will have a great time. Happy cruising. :D

[floridarob]

as someone else mentioned, the service at Princess overall (there are always bad apples) I think is better....why?

well, I have gotten to know some of the crew on various lines after having done the same ship sometimes or seeing them on another ship and the thing with Princess is that almost everyone working there is treated well and enjoy their job.

RCCL and Carnival apparently treat their crew ...let's say not so nice.

I am sure we have all had jobs with bosses that were...a little too bossy maybe and also have had nice bosses...which job did you like going to more?

IT SHOWS when you are being treated nicely and fairly.

I have noticed and also spoken to some UK crew thats things are changing ever so slowly at Princess to be more like Carnival in some ways...they are not making any sweeping changes all at once but little things seem to creep in.

Anyway, this is just 1 man's opinion and having been in the hotel Biz many years, I have seen land operations that operate on the same basis....good service and happy workers=usually nice bosses....it starts at the top.

[sgriff17]

In what year did Carnival purchase Princess? Have you, as pax, noticed a change since then?

[Iamthesea]

I will let you know when I return from my first Princess cruise in a couple of weeks.

We love RCCL (4) and Celebrity (1). Did not care for HAL (1) all that much, although they do have great suites and bathrooms. Carnival was the worse (1) and we also loved Disney (2).

# 10 coming up on the Coral.:D The comparison between RCCL and Princess should be interesting.

[beckers]

[quote name='GucciGal']Thanks for your help.....I loved RCCL,but the only cruise that is sailing the weeks we can go is not really that exciting to me.

We want at least a 9 night cruise,and I believe there are a few out of NY that will fit our schedule.

Are there a lot of activities on Princess? Are there pretty much the same type shows and number of bars as RCCL?

Thanks again for your help...I asked questions on the NCL forum when I was thinking of trying that line and I got a lot of rude responses.[/quote]


I was asking questions on NCL forum also for a friend of mine doing a one day sail and got rude responses also. Princess is the friendliest board. :D
I even told them so. I said I don't want to sail with you guys.

[MrPete]

[quote name='GucciGal']I had thoughts of booking on NCL,but the rudeness of the people on the boards and other things I have heard turned me off....
[/quote]

Probably because you laced your post with references making sure you were only sailing with people in your "class" that met your standards.

The results were the same as the other two boards you tried that on, under your other name.:eek:

[yancycruiser]

I'll add my two cents worth. We've never had a bad cruise either, 2 NCL, 1 RCL, 1 Carnival, and 2 Princess. We had our minds made up that under no circumstances would we cruise Carnival. Friends of ours talked us into going on the Pride out of Port Canaveral. This is is when I found these boards and the sentiments toward Carnival was bout 50-50. The bad posts were really bad and the good, really good. Too make a long story short - we had a marvelous time and the food and entertainment was as good as the other lines. Most of our cruises have been in January and that may have been part of the reason. We want to try Holland America soon, since we have heard wonderful things about this line.

Happy Cruising everyone. Did I mention 28 days until our first 10-day cruise after six seven-day cruises?