Loyal Princess Passengers try Royal Caribbean

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your wonderful review.....:):):)

 

Bob

[diane.in.ny]

Thanks for the very thorough review. Much appreciated!!!

[luv4cruises]

Really hard to compare an older RCI ship with Princess. I have cruised on 6 different cruise lines and would be hard pressed to compare until I had done several cruises on both cruise lines.

There are so many variables.

 

We love both cruise lines for different reasons!

We are just off Allure of the Seas- cleanliness, service, entertainment, embarkation, disembarkation, handling of 6000 passengers top notch!

 

Happy cruising!

[elliair]

Thanks for your review. I think I'll stick with Princess. I like their salad bars, and the afternoon snacks. What I find lacking on ALL cruiselines I've been on are the sugar free desserts. It would be nice to have a few options instead of just 1 and sometimes those aren't classified as lo-carb. Food is usually the deal breaker for me. I'm diabetic (med free) so I have to be careful with the food. Also, the Promenade deck is my walking paradise. The Island Princess got screwed up on the last retrofit where you can no longer walk clear around the ship on the Promenade deck. She's scratched off of our cruising ship. We checked out the Allure for when we get back into FLL from our New England cruise. We decided on the Royal Princess as it was a 10-day cruise and we're elite, so may as well stick to Princess and get the perks.

[caribill]

Thanks for your review. I think I'll stick with Princess. I like their salad bars, and the afternoon snacks. What I find lacking on ALL cruiselines I've been on are the sugar free desserts. It would be nice to have a few options instead of just 1 and sometimes those aren't classified as lo-carb. Food is usually the deal breaker for me. I'm diabetic (med free) so I have to be careful with the food. Also, the Promenade deck is my walking paradise. The Island Princess got screwed up on the last retrofit where you can no longer walk clear around the ship on the Promenade deck. She's scratched off of our cruising ship. We checked out the Allure for when we get back into FLL from our New England cruise. We decided on the Royal Princess as it was a 10-day cruise and we're elite, so may as well stick to Princess and get the perks.

 

No walkable Promenade deck on the Royal. Not even down one side of the ship. And what little there is is not covered.

Edited June 11, 2016 by caribill

[diane.in.ny]

True that you can no longer walk all the way around on the island but we like other pax adapted and just made a u turn.

 

still like the ship and will be on her again in the Fall

[elliair]

No walkable Promenade deck on the Royal. Not even down one side of the ship. And what little there is is not covered.

 

I'll walk the inside decks. I do this when it's too hot outside to walk.

[ar1950]

I'll walk the inside decks. I do this when it's too hot outside to walk.

 

Plus the Royal, I believe, is like the Regal with an amazing array of passenger pictures on the hallway walls. We tried to walk every floor to see the pictures. A lot of talented Princess passengers when it comes to their photos. :D

[abbydancer2003]

No walkable Promenade deck on the Royal. Not even down one side of the ship. And what little there is is not covered.

 

That was a dealbreaker for us. It's too bad, because there was a lot I liked on the Royal (the other half of the dealbreaker was the lack of dance venues).

 

Plus the Royal, I believe, is like the Regal with an amazing array of passenger pictures on the hallway walls. We tried to walk every floor to see the pictures. A lot of talented Princess passengers when it comes to their photos. :D

 

It does - one of my friends has 3 pictures up. (Personally, I thought they should have max of 1 per passenger - lots of people were a little unhappy their pictures didn't make it.)

[wishfulone]

Thank you Ray and Ann for taking the time to write such a thorough report. We've sailed many times on Princess and occasionally with other cruise lines, but later this year we'll be taking our first cruise with RC. It's on the Oasis of the Seas so it should be a very interesting experience.

[Marisawrite]

The last time we sailed Royal, we were so inundated with sales pitches that it finally got under our skin, and we jumped ship.

 

That is very sad to hear. I felt the same way on the Regal Princess - and when I posted to ask the question on another thread, I got a lot of people (presumably loyal Princess-lovers) telling me to get over it, that I was being over-sensitive.

 

I was comparing it to RCC but my last cruise with them was back in 2011. It does sound as though they have gone the same way, which is a pity. I have no problem with them pushing their on-board services, they have to make money - but when it starts affecting the enjoyment of the passengers, it's gone too far.

Edited June 12, 2016 by Marisawrite

[mum and son]

Fantastic comparison. I really appreciate when someone can be objective and honest in a review. :):):)

[caribill]

 

one of my friends has 3 pictures up. (Personally, I thought they should have max of 1 per passenger - lots of people were a little unhappy their pictures didn't make it.)

 

Having more than one per passenger does not bother me.

 

I was bothered more by having multiple pictures (no matter how good) of the same exact scene, for example the pyramids.

 

Once reason pictures made not have made the cut is that I did not see any pictures with people in them, even in the distance and not recognizable.

[CrowCaw]

Thanks for the review.

 

As Radiance is the only Royal Caribbean ship we see in Vancouver this season, I have gone down to have a look at it on a couple of occasions.

 

It just doesn't inspire me to cruise like the beautiful Princess ships do. But that may just be a personal preference.

 

I have thought about booking a RCCL cruise, but I have been looking at the big ships for the spectacle. Some of your comments about the attitude of their staff give me pause, though.

[Coral]

I like the Radiance ship but in Alaska, I really thought RCCL did a poor job in Alaska compared to Princess. I sailed Radiance one year in Alaska and the next year Coral Princess so I could do the comparison.

 

Not sure if you had done Princess to Alaska. Princess has so many really good enrichment programs and RCCL paled in comparison. For me this is huge in Alaska.

 

Thanks for your comments!

Edited June 13, 2016 by Coral

[jt58203]

I would not hesitate to sail either line if the price is right!

 

However, what I thought was really odd both times I've sailed with Royal--no chocolates during the evening turndown service.

 

Also, no bathrobes in cabin. Not sure if robes comes with status or room category. I'm gold with them & sailed in an oceanview cabin and a balcony cabin.

[RLK33853]

 

Also, no bathrobes in cabin. Not sure if robes comes with status or room category. I'm gold with them & sailed in an oceanview cabin and a balcony cabin.

 

We didn't have any status with RCI and were in an inside cabin - but asked for robes as soon as we saw the room steward and they showed up a short time later. Not a lot different than Princess.

 

Chocolates on the pillows were missed but RCI certainly had lots of chocolate around the ship to meet our cravings.............

[caribill]

 

However, what I thought was really odd both times I've sailed with Royal--no chocolates during the evening turndown service.

 

 

RCCL used to have chocolates at turndown, but they were discontinued several years ago in a cost cutting effort.

[IsanTom]

Good review and comparison. I haven't sailed on Princess in about 10 years, but I'm thinking about booking a Mexican cruise next March. I'm an Elite with Princess and looking forward to my bar set-up and free laundry services.

[pilotwifey2010]

Thank you so much for the comparisons. You seem like very reasonable people when it comes to understanding what is the responsibility of the cruise line and what is not inside their control. Having only sailed Princess (although I sailed Carnival once on my own...never again!), I appreciated your thoughts. Sounds like based off what you said we will likely stick with Princess, but I could see potentially going RCI if we didn't like any of the Princess Itinerary options. So glad you enjoyed your time!

[RLK33853]

Thanks very much - yes we do enjoy our cruises with Princess but it certainly didn't hurt to see how another line does things. As we said, RCI does do some things better but overall we still prefer Princess as it suits our expectations and activities. It sure would be nice though if Princess would put in a real pub with some atmosphere.

 

Ray

 

Thank you so much for the comparisons. You seem like very reasonable people when it comes to understanding what is the responsibility of the cruise line and what is not inside their control. Having only sailed Princess (although I sailed Carnival once on my own...never again!), I appreciated your thoughts. Sounds like based off what you said we will likely stick with Princess, but I could see potentially going RCI if we didn't like any of the Princess Itinerary options. So glad you enjoyed your time!

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your review. I have not sailed on a Royal Caribbean ship this century. Maybe I'll start looking at its offerings when I'm ready to book.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Thank you; that was helpful.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[sunsetbeachgal]

We enjoy both lines and find them very similar with pluses and minuses to each, and little things we look forward to on each line. I enjoy the differences in each cruise line.

 

We find Princess (and Holland AMerica) an overall better fit for trips involving the just two of us, and with extended family and grandkids Royal Caribbean usually is the choice. Two upcoming cruises booked on Princess, and upcoming family Thanksgiving trip will be on RC!

Edited August 17, 2016 by sunsetbeachgal

[Ellipooh]

Thank you so much for this objective comparison! You did a very thorough job, and hit a lot of the "hot spots" in your review. We are looking at the Oasis for an extended family cruise next year (they are all RCI loyalty members), so I was particularly interested in your thoughts about the number of children we can expect to have running around. I think it's pretty clear that DH and I will prefer the higher average age of Princess cruisers, but as I said, we didn't get to select the line for the family vacation. :(

 

Anyway, the Oasis does have the perpetual wave machine that DH is excited to try. So there's that.

 

And I agree with the poster who mentioned the single choice option for sugar-free desserts! :mad: Princess could do better on that mark.