Princess vs NCL

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Thank you for the recommendation on Coral. I've been trying to decide which one would be better between the two ships.If memory serves me correct I believe the itinerary offered on Coral is the one that has a two day canal experience.

 

I would add only one caveat to the Coral vs Island discussion. We love aft suites and have sailed the Island in Aloha 727 aft corner suite with a wrap around balcony for the Voyage of the Glaciers cruise last May. It was amazing. The only down side is you have to go out the side door to get to the back part of the balcony and we all know how windy the side balconies are under sail.

 

We are in the full aft suite next door for the upcoming full transit Panama cruise and are really looking forward to it.

 

If you like to book aft balconies then Island is your girl.

[CRUISER144NJ]

I would prefer Princess over NCL any day...no comparison. Although we did the Panama canal ocean to ocean on Celebrity which was nice..but not an older ship.

[Essiesmom]

I have done full transits on HAL, Celebrity, and Carnival. Also a partial on Carnival. What I recommend is that you choose a ship that has a full wraparound deck. Although many people claim they will have the perfect balcony for the transit, there is no such thing. You want to be able to move around as the scene changes. EM

[cruzsnooze]

NCL and Princess are both mass market cruise lines and more alike then different. I prefer the restaurants on NCL but prefer the ambiance on Princess. Look at the price differences and ports and decide on those material items.

[Wishing on a star]

I can't make a comparison for you, as I would never choose to step foot on NCL.

Don't know if that helps!

[greenie082756]

DH and I did a round trip from LA to the Panama canal last April on the Island Princess. It was a 19 day cruise and we both agree that its one of the best we have taken.

 

Yes, I know, most of you do not care for the changes they did on the Island, however this was the first time we had been on that ship and found it to be mostly pleasant. Service, food and the sailing itself were fantastic.

 

The ship however did not stop in the Panama canal however we did spend overnight @ Gautan (sp?)lake.

 

I recommend you do a Princess cruise through the Panama canal. I can not speak of NCL as we have not yet sailed on that line.

[asctony]

I can't make a comparison for you, as I would never choose to step foot on NCL.

Don't know if that helps!

What a statement! How can that help anyone? LOL

[asctony]

I really enjoy these type of postings. We are here to try to help people based on our experiences and opinions. Yet, we have people who provide no valid reason other than pick A over B. That is real value added!

How can anyone make a value argument or assessment if you have never been on NCL or Princess?

Let's try to help, not just add to your posting count. JMHO.

[JimmyVWine]

I am starting to research a Panama Canal cruise for spring of 2018...

Was there any reason to revive this zombie? I kind of doubt that the OP is still soliciting opinions.

[mickanddoe]

I am starting to research a Panama Canal cruise for spring of 2018 with either princess or NCL. We've had 3 cruises with NCL and one with RCI so far. I'm wondering what are the differences between Princess and NCL as far as service, food, crowding and passenger demographic. Our last two cruises on NCL have been very crowded and has affected our enjoyment, so I'm wondering it it would be different on Princess. Also, who do you think does better with the Panama Canal cruise? I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future, so please be patient with me. Thanks for and input.

We did NCL Pearl through the Panama Canal at Easter time.. the Pearl is our favourite ship so there was nothing wrong there.. I would say maybe about 40 kids and hardly saw them .. wasn't crowded at all.. now with the food was awful green beans and more green beans .. my husband got mad a few times in the dinning room cause the food was not up to par.. there was about 200 Aussies so we had a lot of fun with them ... I would do the cruise again cause it's quite a experiment going through the canal.. so my only beef was the food .. love the ship..

[muggo11]

Thank you everybody for all the helpful replies. I'm definitely leaning heavily towards Princess for this voyage as I've always wanted to try them. I'm going to be deciding if I want to leave from California or Florida, and such things. Also, big thanks for the advice on the Coral!

 

 

 

We went from Ft Lauderdale to LA on Coral Princess. And then drove the coast road north to SF. Great sea and land vacay. And save money to get Sanctuary on sea days. Worth every penny on this voyage. Even if you have a balcony.

 

 

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[cynbar]

I just have to say, we prefer Princess and Celebrity but we have enjoyed our NCL cruises. Yes, NCL is different than the other two lines but does have its strengths such as more varied (and cheaper) specialty restaurants, very flexible dress code, friendly staff and a great suite experience. I don't like seeing people say they would never sail NCL --- if the price and itinerary are just what you want, grab it and concentrate on the good points of each individual ship.

[ddloml]

Thank you everybody for all the helpful replies. I'm definitely leaning heavily towards Princess for this voyage as I've always wanted to try them. I'm going to be deciding if I want to leave from California or Florida, and such things. Also, big thanks for the advice on the Coral!

Leave from Florida. Your cruise will be three hours longer, due to the time zone changes. Three 25 hours days East to West to savor rather than three 23 hour days going from West to East. We did the full transit on Coral Princess last fall, and it was one of my cruising highlights! My only gripe was that 5 hours in Aruba (on an early Sunday morning) and about 7 hours in Cartagena were way too short.

 

Whatever you do, get a port side balcony for a prime view of the lock operation during transit. There are six locks, though, so make sure you get different views from all areas of the ship. By the way, the Coral opens the forward viewing decks during the Canal transit. We got wonderful views of the Galliard Cut and the Bridge from Deck 10 forward before the sunburn got too bad!

[JimmyVWine]

Leave from Florida....

 

Whatever you do, get a port side balcony for a prime view of the lock operation during transit.

 

Folks...the posts you are replying to are from December, 2016 and pertain to a cruise that has already ended!!

[fishywood]

Leave from Florida. Your cruise will be three hours longer, due to the time zone changes. Three 25 hours days East to West to savor rather than three 23 hour days going from West to East.

 

Wouldn't that make the westbound transit six hours longer relative to the eastbound? Assuming of course that the embarkation and disembarkation times are 100% identical on the clock.

 

Whatever you do, get a port side balcony for a prime view of the lock operation during transit. There are six locks, though, so make sure you get different views from all areas of the ship.

 

But as each lock has two chambers (left and right) and you won't know until you get there which chamber the ship will be using, how does one assume which side of the ship has the better balcony view. If you are in the right chamber the only view from a port side balcony will be of the ship in the left chamber. And vice-versa re starboard.

 

As pointed out above though, none of this really matters as you are replying to a ghost...