RCI wins!

[Alaskan Joe]

Hello all my wife and I just came off an 8 day Mexican Riviera holiday cruise aboard the Ruby Princess (first time on Princess). Although we had fun we believe RCI was three step above Princess (if not 3 then 5 step above). So for our next cruise we are looking into RCI. Now we have sailed the Oasis of the Sea (awesome time), we would like to know what ship(s) to sail next. If people can tell us what ship you would recommend for us to sail and a short why that would be great, thanks in advance.

[Clarea]

If you liked Oasis, I'd try Harmony next. It's very much like Oasis, with the addition of slides.

[39august]

Or Allure, the other Oasis class ship.

[skiiergirl]

Hello all my wife and I just came off an 8 day Mexican Riviera holiday cruise aboard the Ruby Princess (first time on Princess). Although we had fun we believe RCI was three step above Princess (if not 3 then 5 step above). So for our next cruise we are looking into RCI. Now we have sailed the Oasis of the Sea (awesome time), we would like to know what ship(s) to sail next. If people can tell us what ship you would recommend for us to sail and a short why that would be great, thanks in advance.

 

It would be helpful to know what you liked best / enjoyed most about OA and what you didn't like or liked least about Ruby.

[bobkat12]

If you like the Oasis class, try Harmony, should you want to go to a slightly smaller ship (though still larger than most) I would recommend Independence OTS.

 

 

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[BadgerFBfan]

Leaving on Harmony on 1/7/17. Been on Oasis (liked it more than I thought I would), and we liked Radiance class ships. Will try to respond after our cruise.

 

 

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[BadgerFBfan]

BTW...HIGHLY recommend an Alaskan cruise. Scenery on Radiance class ships are beyond phenomenal.

 

 

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[matj2000]

RC is not 3 steps above Princess.

 

I liked both Princess ships just as much or more than RC......

[Ashland]

We've always been pretty loyal to RCI and have sailed the Baja and the Mexican Riviera itinerary many times since the early 1960's. When RCI left the west coast, we wanted very much to love PCL and so gave it a try (Sapphire Princess mini-suite with a great aft location) .... Something just seemed "off" to us about the whole ship/experience...nothing we could put our finger on...but enough so that we don't think we would sail PCL again...We miss the Mexican Riviera itinerary and RCI sailing there...hoping that RCI will return someday....until then we just fly to ports to continue our RCI addiction ;)

Edited January 2, 2017 by Ashland

[Lionesss]

We have grown fond of the Allure of the Seas.

 

Almost identical to the Oasis, and enjoy almost everything on it from shows to the Itinerary we select.

 

Enjoy what ever you select.

 

Safe travels.

[riclop]

Hello all my wife and I just came off an 8 day Mexican Riviera holiday cruise aboard the Ruby Princess (first time on Princess). Although we had fun we believe RCI was three step above Princess (if not 3 then 5 step above). So for our next cruise we are looking into RCI. Now we have sailed the Oasis of the Sea (awesome time), we would like to know what ship(s) to sail next. If people can tell us what ship you would recommend for us to sail and a short why that would be great, thanks in advance.

 

Try the Allure next.

[JimAOk1945]

It would help to know where you are interested in going to next. How about a Southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan?

Edited January 2, 2017 by JimAOk1945

[Skai]

We've been considering RCI for future sailings. Your comments are interesting. Could you please explain in a little detail about what makes RCI 3 to 5 steps above Princess?

 

From most of what I've read about RCI is that there is a lot more available activities on board, but that the food offerings are rather subpar in comparison to other mainstream lines.

 

One concern that I have is how crowded do these larger PAX RCI ships feel? Standing and waiting in lines(whether trying to leave the ship in port, while trying to dine), scrambling for show seats, hunting for pool/deck chairs etc. lessen my overall cruising experience.

 

Additionally, most RCI itineraries seem to imply that the ship is as much of a destination as the scheduled itinerary itself. There seems to be more of a balance in the # of sea days/port days. 7 day offerings(3 ports) appear to be the majority of N. America offerings. Being itinerary based cruisers, I feel trying RCI would be as much or more about experiencing the ship life than sailing an itinerary for unique ports of call.

 

This is why I'd be happy to read about what makes shipboard life so much better than Princess.

 

We've sailed Princess the most of our handful of cruises, but we are not loyal to one line, and like the idea of variety being the spice of life.

[caribbeanboy]

I didn't like the Ruby or Caribbean Princess either, but loved the Regal. So I would suggest to try the newer ships. And the food is excellent. Buffet is much better on Princess.

[kuddles14]

Try Freedom of the Seas.

[Alaskan Joe]

We've been considering RCI for future sailings. Your comments are interesting. Could you please explain in a little detail about what makes RCI 3 to 5 steps above Princess?

 

From most of what I've read about RCI is that there is a lot more available activities on board, but that the food offerings are rather subpar in comparison to other mainstream lines.

 

One concern that I have is how crowded do these larger PAX RCI ships feel? Standing and waiting in lines(whether trying to leave the ship in port, while trying to dine), scrambling for show seats, hunting for pool/deck chairs etc. lessen my overall cruising experience.

 

Additionally, most RCI itineraries seem to imply that the ship is as much of a destination as the scheduled itinerary itself. There seems to be more of a balance in the # of sea days/port days. 7 day offerings(3 ports) appear to be the majority of N. America offerings. Being itinerary based cruisers, I feel trying RCI would be as much or more about experiencing the ship life than sailing an itinerary for unique ports of call.

 

This is why I'd be happy to read about what makes shipboard life so much better than Princess.

 

We've sailed Princess the most of our handful of cruises, but we are not loyal to one line, and like the idea of variety being the spice of life.

 

Well first off let me say we are not loyal to one line either. The first place we noticed the different was "The Food" we thought it was way better on RCI than Princess in the MDR. As for the buffet (only did dinner once) we thought it was subpar (just as good as any other cruise line we had been on). We always do the ships steak house (once per cruise), and between Chops (RCI)and The Crown Grill (Princess) Chops wins hands down. Now this is not to say we did not have a good experience in the Crown Grill but we just thought that the steaks were much better in Chops. Now everyone raves about the pizza on princess cruises which I thought was great also, but my DW wife thought it was just OK. With all this said remember food is subjective so what we thought was good or not, you may or may not have the same opinion.

 

Entertainment we thought was way better on RCI. The entertainment was good just thought RCI's was way better.

 

Princess did manage to win 1st in one category which was the "worlds smallest rooms on the seven seas". My wife and I have sailed in a balcony state room "EVERY CRUISE (5 of them)" so we have a little experience with this. This cruise we were in cabin L308 which I thought was a great location. As for storage in the room again Princess won hands down for having the most room a big plus for my DW (which I believe leads to the smaller rooms). So in short, this was why we said RCI was steps above Princess.

[sellwingri]

RC is not 3 steps above Princess.

 

I liked both Princess ships just as much or more than RC......

 

You forgot to add "in my opinion" to your comment.

[Skai]

So in short, this was why we said RCI was steps above Princess.

 

Thanks for your comments.

 

Does it seem more crowded on the larger PAX RCI vs. Princess ships?

[KuffMUp]

So, I have 1 coworker, my doctor, and an aunt and uncle go on Princess. Only the coworker has anything good to say. The other three said they would never go on a cruise again based on their experience. We were on 2 Carnival and hated both. I don't know how it would be now that we have been on Royal for several trips. I know someone who swears by Carnival. There is something out there for everyone.

[kalliekae]

Here's my two cents. Our friends took their first cruise last summer on Princess to Alaska. They were unimpressed with the ship and don't care to cruise again. We are trying to get them to go on the Allure with us this year for a totally different experience. Their complaints about Princess were that the ship was small and there was no nightlife after 11pm. Food was ok, nothing special. We have never cruised Princess, but have 7 cruises on HAL which I have been told is very similar to Princess.

 

The Allure is a destination itself. We've seen the islands enough that there aren't any more excursions we care to do so the Allure is perfect for us. If we want a European, Baltic, or Mediterranean itinerary, then I would choose HAL, Princess, or a smaller RCI ship. On those cruises, the ports are my destination and I'm usually exhausted at the end of the day so nightlife is not very important. I think the food on Royal is better than what HAL offers, but others will disagree. The op should try Royal and see for himself if it is better than Princess or other lines.