First Princess cruise...

[sammyboots]

Hi every one! We're new to Princess and just booked our first cruise on the Ruby. We have sailed on many different cruise lines but mostly on Celebrity. Those of you that have sailed both cruise lines, what are the main differences? Any tips? Thank you. :)

Edited January 11, 2016 by sammyboots

[davekathy]

Hi every one! We're new to Princess and just booked our first cruise on the Ruby. We have sailed on many different cruise lines but mostly on Celebrity. Those of you that have sailed both cruise lines, what are the main differences? Any tips? Thank you. :)

 

Name of the ships (couldn't help myself) and no welcome aboard champagne. We've always enjoyed our Princess Cruises. Princess offers a Veteran OBC for all sailings. So if you or your spouse is a Veteran you will need to apply for the benefit.

Edited January 11, 2016 by davekathy

[sammyboots]

Name of the ships (couldn't help myself) and no welcome aboard champagne. We've always enjoyed our Princess Cruises. Princess offers a Veteran OBC for all sailings. So if you or your spouse is a Veteran you will need to apply for the benefit.

Lol like the humor :p

Shame about the welcome aboard drinks, particularly for our friends joining us on their first cruise, would've been a nice touch...

Appreciate the mention about the Veteran OBC. :cool:

[Colo Cruiser]

Congrats on booking the Ruby, she is a great choice. :)

[OCruisers]

Hi every one! We're new to Princess and just booked our first cruise on the Ruby. We have sailed on many different cruise lines but mostly on Celebrity. Those of you that have sailed both cruise lines, what are the main differences? Any tips? Thank you. :)

 

Hi and Welcome to the Princess forum!

 

Of all the cruise lines you've sailed you'll find Princess closest to Celebrity.

While Princess is somewhat of a better fit for us, we have also enjoyed cruising on Celebrity. Normally, a very nice pax base on both.

 

We were on Ruby for two weeks last January and loved her.

Be sure to give the IC (International Café) a try ... open 24 hours a day. Tasty sweet treats plus sandwiches, salads, & cheese plates.

There are always good entertainment options throughout the day and evening.

 

Can't compare cabins because I don't know which category you booked. Will say the mini-suites on Princess are very roomy for two people.

 

Good forward to having a WONDERFUL time on Ruby! :D

 

LuLu

[moki'smommy]

There is a long thread on this from just a few days ago.

 

They are very similar. We found the buffet on Celebrity to be better and the upcharges on Celebrity to be higher.

 

Celebrity afternoon tea is more fancy but is $25. On Princess it is free.

Soda alone on Celebrity is $8, the same price buys a "soda and more" package on Princess.

 

Princess doesn't have the amazing almond croissants that Celebrity does. Princess has better pizza.

 

But honestly, we find all lines to be very similar.

[skynight]

Here are some dining & drink options on the Ruby. You compare.

Free Dining:

MDR's Breakfast, Dinner. Lunch only on sea days.

Room Service, 24 hour, selected menu only, full menu available only for full suite passengers.

International Cafe 24/7

Pub Lunch in Wheelhouse Bar or Crown Grill on some sea days

Horizon Ct./Cafe Caribe Buffet, one or more sections open from 5:30am to midnight, never closes during these times.

Trident Grill open 11am to 11pm

Pizza and ice cream bar open 11am to 11pm.

 

Evening Surcharge Dining, make reservations after boarding

Crown Grill, $25/pp

Share by Curtis Stone, $39/pp

Salty Dog Gastro Pub @ Wheelhouse Bar, $19/pp

Crab Shack @ Cafe Caribe, casual dining, buckets of seafood, $20/pp

Also, Chef's Table and Balcony Dinner or Breakfast are available.

 

Drinks:

Most alcoholic drinks and wine are under $10, not just well drinks.

Sodas & some beers under $5

All Inclusive Beverage Package $56.35/day, must buy for entire cruise

Cafe Card punches never expire, (espresso drinks + unlimited brewed coffee and premium tea for the cruise) $35

Soda and more sticker $8.05/day entire cruise.

You can google Princess Cellars to see more details regarding these packages.

Edited January 11, 2016 by sknight

[kgjplym]

Brill info sknight.....you say most alcoholic drinks are under $10 ?....this wasn't the case on Celebrity and we needed to upgrade our pre-purchased all inclusive to a higher level package to get anything other than beer or wine eg Martini or cocktails..any thoughts? Thankyou :)

[Colo Cruiser]

Brill info sknight.....you say most alcoholic drinks are under $10 ?....this wasn't the case on Celebrity and we needed to upgrade our pre-purchased all inclusive to a higher level package to get anything other than beer or wine eg Martini or cocktails..any thoughts? Thankyou :)

 

 

We had the AIB package on the Island in Nov. It covers all drinks that I would ever drink. (under $10).

We got it added to our cruise under a promo.

Don't think I would ever buy it outright.

By day 3 we were water/drink logged. :)

[skynight]

Brill info sknight.....you say most alcoholic drinks are under $10 ?....this wasn't the case on Celebrity and we needed to upgrade our pre-purchased all inclusive to a higher level package to get anything other than beer or wine eg Martini or cocktails..any thoughts? Thankyou :)

Yes, martini's, cocktails, most straight whiskeys and liqueurs, wines, beers, all nonalcoholic drinks such as espressos, bottles of water, are included. Room service is excluded and there is a 40% discount on bottles of wine priced under $100. Also it is an individual package, all cabin occupants do not have to purchase. Take a look at the beverage package calculator attached. Add approximately $1 to each drink as prices were increased since the spreadsheet was done. You will see, as mentioned, most drinks are priced under $10. Princess has only one package level, not like Celebrity.

Copy of Princess Beverage Package Evaluator rev0 posted 5-7-2014.xls

Edited January 11, 2016 by sknight

[sammyboots]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate you all taking the time to post some helpful information. :)

[kgjplym]

That's really helpful, thanks again :)

[tserface]

In case you haven't seen it, this is a thread that started recently. It also has some links to older threads.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2297589

 

We cruise on RCI, Princess, and Celebrity and like them all. There are some things nice about Princess:

 

- Specialty restaurants cost less and are still really good. We've been to Crown Grill and the Italian restaurants ($25 each) and they were all really good.

- 2 for 1 drinks at the Wheelhouse bar usually at 3p.

- Bingo is cheaper and they still play 4 games.

- Very good, and slightly different, trivia games including visuals.

- Princess often has crafting classes that are sometimes cheesy, but fun.

- Free donuts (real donuts) at the International Cafe in the mornings.

- You can purchase a coffee card for cheaper specialty coffees and unlimited real brewed coffee.

- The buffet on Celebrity is much better.

- The food on both is good, but slightly different so it's nice for a change.

- The "shows" on Princess are pretty lame, but the specialty acts are usually pretty good.

- Many think the pizza is especially good on Princess.

- If you go to the Movies Under The Stars they will often give you popcorn or cookies and milk while watching. It's kind of fun.

- Princess does a lot of Love Boat trivia stuff. If you like trivia study up on Love Boat before you go. I always liked The Love Boat so I enjoy the connection.

- You can go right to your room when you get on the ship (on Princess) rather than having to wait and pack stuff around with you.

- Many Princess ships still have a deck (4 on the Grand for example) where you can walk all the way around if you like walking for exercise. I liked that rather than trying to walk around the swimming pool chair obstacle course.

- We got foot stools on Princess even without paying for Concierge Class like on Celebrity.

- There are a lot of little differences, but more similarities. It's really nice to have small changes that make the experience just slightly different, but familiar enough that you don't feel like you're missing out on something.

 

Enjoy.

 

Tom

[denamo]

tserface...Tom,

Thanks so much for your list. We are soon to be first time Princess cruisers. We've cruised Royal Caribbean and Disney. I liked your comment about things being similar, so you feel comfortable, but differences providing a new experience. Your perspective is pretty much what we were hoping for. Thanks again!

[sammyboots]

In case you haven't seen it, this is a thread that started recently. It also has some links to older threads.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2297589

 

We cruise on RCI, Princess, and Celebrity and like them all. There are some things nice about Princess:

 

- Specialty restaurants cost less and are still really good. We've been to Crown Grill and the Italian restaurants ($25 each) and they were all really good.

- 2 for 1 drinks at the Wheelhouse bar usually at 3p.

- Bingo is cheaper and they still play 4 games.

- Very good, and slightly different, trivia games including visuals.

- Princess often has crafting classes that are sometimes cheesy, but fun.

- Free donuts (real donuts) at the International Cafe in the mornings.

- You can purchase a coffee card for cheaper specialty coffees and unlimited real brewed coffee.

- The buffet on Celebrity is much better.

- The food on both is good, but slightly different so it's nice for a change.

- The "shows" on Princess are pretty lame, but the specialty acts are usually pretty good.

- Many think the pizza is especially good on Princess.

- If you go to the Movies Under The Stars they will often give you popcorn or cookies and milk while watching. It's kind of fun.

- Princess does a lot of Love Boat trivia stuff. If you like trivia study up on Love Boat before you go. I always liked The Love Boat so I enjoy the connection.

- You can go right to your room when you get on the ship (on Princess) rather than having to wait and pack stuff around with you.

- Many Princess ships still have a deck (4 on the Grand for example) where you can walk all the way around if you like walking for exercise. I liked that rather than trying to walk around the swimming pool chair obstacle course.

- We got foot stools on Princess even without paying for Concierge Class like on Celebrity.

- There are a lot of little differences, but more similarities. It's really nice to have small changes that make the experience just slightly different, but familiar enough that you don't feel like you're missing out on something.

 

Enjoy.

 

Tom

Great comments, Tom, thank you! We too enjoy a wrap around deck to walk on. :)

[FTLcruisers]

We have been on about 70 cruises - the majority of those on Royal or Celebrity. Last year we did 2 on Princess - a 4 day Caribbean and a 19-day TA from Venice to Fort Lauderdale. We just booked a 19-day cruise for Apr 2017 which goes from Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver through the Panama Canal.

 

Of course, being Elite on Celebrity, we missed our perks - free internet, laundry, etc. But Princess has self-service laundromats and that worked out fine. We were on the Island Princess - smaller, older ship which has recently been refurbished - but enjoyed it very much. The food was, in my opinion, better than what we have had on recent Celebrity ships. Service was excellent - especially in the dining room. Entertainment was probably about the same. We loved their Crab Shack when they offer an appetizer, soup, seafood "pot" and dessert for only $20 - great deal. We also enjoyed the movies under the stars.

 

One of the best things about Princess is that they allow you to combine OBC offers - there is currently a sale which is offering $300 OBC for an inside cabin - my husband is a vet so we get $250 because of the length of our cruise - and we had booked a 'future' cruise while on the Island and we EACH get $125 -- so we will walk on board with $800 OBC. If we decide to buy stock, we'll get more! Royal used to allow combining OBCs but stopped it years ago. Oh, and because we had the future cruise credits, we did not have to pay a deposit. For us, $800 was a big incentive to book this cruise - honestly we never even looked at Royal or Celebrity to see if they offered a similar itinerary.

 

I would say to give Princess a try - we aren't total converts yet but I sure see it being very possible in the future.

 

Marianne

[tserface]

Sounds like the OBC deal more than made up for the missing Elite perks. You could buy a lot of drinks and internet for the combined OBC you get :)

 

I wish more people gave veterans and currently active servicemen special deals. They certainly deserve it.

 

Tom

 

We have been on about 70 cruises - the majority of those on Royal or Celebrity. Last year we did 2 on Princess - a 4 day Caribbean and a 19-day TA from Venice to Fort Lauderdale. We just booked a 19-day cruise for Apr 2017 which goes from Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver through the Panama Canal.

 

Of course, being Elite on Celebrity, we missed our perks - free internet, laundry, etc. But Princess has self-service laundromats and that worked out fine. We were on the Island Princess - smaller, older ship which has recently been refurbished - but enjoyed it very much. The food was, in my opinion, better than what we have had on recent Celebrity ships. Service was excellent - especially in the dining room. Entertainment was probably about the same. We loved their Crab Shack when they offer an appetizer, soup, seafood "pot" and dessert for only $20 - great deal. We also enjoyed the movies under the stars.

 

One of the best things about Princess is that they allow you to combine OBC offers - there is currently a sale which is offering $300 OBC for an inside cabin - my husband is a vet so we get $250 because of the length of our cruise - and we had booked a 'future' cruise while on the Island and we EACH get $125 -- so we will walk on board with $800 OBC. If we decide to buy stock, we'll get more! Royal used to allow combining OBCs but stopped it years ago. Oh, and because we had the future cruise credits, we did not have to pay a deposit. For us, $800 was a big incentive to book this cruise - honestly we never even looked at Royal or Celebrity to see if they offered a similar itinerary.

 

I would say to give Princess a try - we aren't total converts yet but I sure see it being very possible in the future.

 

Marianne