Princess vs NCL or RCCL

[Bella O]

we have taken muliple cruise on RCCL, and a number on other cruiselines - Carnival, Disney,NCL. So far our favorite line has been Royal Carribean. For our nest cruise in Match, a search turned up Regal Princess. For the same dates we could also sail Freedom of the Seas or NCL Escape. Itineraries pretty similar- the ship being the big difference.

 

We have never cruised with Princess. Should we try something new?

[easyboy]

Having trued other cruise lines, you can try Princess to experience any similarities or difference. Regal would be a nice ship to start with.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[vmom]

I frankly enjoy cruising more than one cruise line. Each has something special to offer and variety adds interest. If you like RCCL, I think you would enjoy Princess. Younger children, teens and twenties might enjoy some of the more active activities that RCCL offers.

[Bella O]

Thanks for both your responses. Does the demographic skew older? I will have a teen with us, but it is a spring break week

[Host CJSKIDS]

Thanks for both your responses. Does the demographic skew older? I will have a teen with us, but it is a spring break week

 

I always found that my kids had plenty of company when we did the spring break sailings on Princess. They always enjoyed them. Any other time of the years besides school break time, you may find Princess has an older crown.

[Bella O]

I always found that my kids had plenty of company when we did the spring break sailings on Princess. They always enjoyed them. Any other time of the years besides school break time, you may find Princess has an older crown.

 

I know this is a personal opinion, but I noticed you have also sailed Getaway, which was our last cruise. Do you prefer the Princess line over that ship? How would you compare them? Thanks!

[Cuizer2]

we have taken muliple cruise on RCCL, and a number on other cruiselines - Carnival, Disney,NCL. So far our favorite line has been Royal Carribean. For our nest cruise in Match, a search turned up Regal Princess. For the same dates we could also sail Freedom of the Seas or NCL Escape. Itineraries pretty similar- the ship being the big difference.

 

We have never cruised with Princess. Should we try something new?

 

I'm Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean, Platinum on Carnival, three cruises on NCL (with two more booked), four cruises on Princess (with one more booked) and zero on Disney.

 

Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney and NCL are all family oriented lines. They offer a lot of activities that children enjoy.

 

Princess has a children's program and a swimming pool. No water slide, no rock climbing walls, no rope courses. If you go on Princess, you are more likely to run into the grandparents of your children's friends then you are to run into your children's friends on the ship.

 

I just got off a cruise on Princess. Someone at my dinner table said that most likely I was the youngest at the table. He was likely correct, and I'm 62. There were so few children on the ship that unless you went to the children's pool (which was often populated by adults), you wouldn't know there were any children on the ship. Now it was a ten night cruise during school time, so that also has an effect on the number of kids on the ship. But I would not be surprised if the average age on Princess is fifteen years higher than the average age on Carnival, NCL, or Royal Caribbean.

 

You know what the Royal Caribbean, NCL, Carnival, and Disney ships look like. The links below will take you to some pictures of the Crown Princess and the Royal Princess. Compare the pictures below to the ships you've been on. Which would someone under eighteen enjoy more?

 

Crown Princess -- https://smugmug.com/Crown-Princess

 

Royal Princess - https://smugmug.com/Royal-Princess-2017

[Host CJSKIDS]

I know this is a personal opinion, but I noticed you have also sailed Getaway, which was our last cruise. Do you prefer the Princess line over that ship? How would you compare them? Thanks!

 

I’ve done 21 Princess cruises so it’s really easy to guess which is my preferred cruise line! I will say that the Regal is honestly one of the prettiest ships that I have been on and I really do love it.

 

That being said, the Getaway was a great cruise ship and both have their pluses and minuses. I was lucky to be in the Haven on the Getaway which made that experience just amazing.

 

I didn’t try the main dining room at all so can’t compare it to the Regal. I also didn’t eat a dinner in the MDR on the Regal these past 2 Regal sailings. I did enjoy the alternative dining rooms on The Getaway and had some great meals. Loved that we could do a Teppanyaki at sea while on the Getaway. The food in the Haven dining room was fantastic. The buffet on the Regal will blow away the one on the Getaway. And the International Cafe is always great on Princess.

I will say that I really do like the dress codes for the night time dining fantastic on the Getaway because I like being able to go in shorts while in the Caribbean.

 

I will say that the nightlife is much more active on the Getaway vs Princess. There will be more things to do and you will find more people out later. I was a huge fan of the dueling pianos venue on the ship and spent quite a bit of time in there. It was always just a lively crowd.

That’s probably why NCL was voted best Nightlife 2017 by Cruise Critic which if you look on their site is proudly displayed as soon as you sign on.

 

The crew on Princess is always top notch and the Regal has one of the best. The cabins are so very well appointed.

 

I’m a big sucker for the Sanctuary space on Princess, especially on the Regal. There is nothing like sitting in those big huge comfy chairs while seeing the sea go by. They will even come by a spritz your face and hand you a cold towel. And afternoon tea is always a nice way to close out the afternoon there.

 

If you do a search someone posted the “patters” for the 7 day Western Caribbean Regal recently. I’ll try and link it back here for you. May be interesting for you to read so you can see if you like some of the things that take place on board the Regal. That may help you make your choice.

 

I’ve only done the short older sailings on Royal so can’t compare that. It’s been years since we did Disney but loved those sailings.

 

Good luck making your choice!!

[7Broker]

Having trued other cruise lines, you can try Princess to experience any similarities or difference. Regal would be a nice ship to start with.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

Easyboy

We are getting ready to take our first cruise on Princess and I see that you have experience on the Royal Princess which is the ship we are going on. I was wondering if you’d like to share your favorite things about the Royal and if you could tell me if they have karaoke on the Royal? Thanks!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[7Broker]

I’m new to this forum so I hope I’m doing it right lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Host CJSKIDS]

I’m new to this forum so I hope I’m doing it right lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Perfect place to ask questions and read all about cruising!

[easyboy]

Easyboy

We are getting ready to take our first cruise on Princess and I see that you have experience on the Royal Princess which is the ship we are going on. I was wondering if you’d like to share your favorite things about the Royal and if you could tell me if they have karaoke on the Royal? Thanks!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We like the public places on the Royal. It has the same layout as the Regal. Suggest you familiarize yourself with the venues from the deck plan that you can go

https://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=RP&version=1

I echo Host CJSKIDS impression on the buffet. It basically has 2 sections, the Horizon Court that has the warm food on several stations and the Horizon Bistro that has the Pastry shops for desserts, snack or light meal. We also like the 24hour operation of the International Cafe at the atrium for light meal, salad and pastry while watching/listening to entertainers. There is also a full pizza meal at Alfredo’s at the next level of the atrium.

In addition, we also spend time having drinks at Bellinis bar, alternating at Ocean Terrace for some seafood, both at the atrium. For some dancing, we have drinks at the Club 6 disco till 12am or 1am at times. When the weather is nice, we spend our night instead at the Retreat Pool area that transforms to Chill Lounge at night.

You can check the locations on the deck plans.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[7Broker]

Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Cruise Raider]

We sail a lot across different lines with most of our cruises on Princess.

While I have never been on the Royal class on Princess before, their ships generally are not geared towards teenagers like they are with RCCL. However, spring break cruises (especially those that are only 1 week in duration and in the Caribbean) will have a lot of kids / teenagers onboard so don't think boredom will set in.

If it were me, I would stick with a known favorite but I guess a little variety never hurts.

[Cuizer2]

Easyboy

We are getting ready to take our first cruise on Princess and I see that you have experience on the Royal Princess which is the ship we are going on. I was wondering if you’d like to share your favorite things about the Royal and if you could tell me if they have karaoke on the Royal? Thanks!

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I was on the Royal Princess in early December. My review is long (over 10,000 words) and includes more than 600 photographs. If you want to read it, click on the link below ...

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2575145

[geoherb]

We took our first cruise on the Royal earlier this month and have just booked a cruise on the Regal for February. I guess you could say we enjoyed it. I had my doubts about the layout of the ship--without a proper Promenade Deck where we could walk outside. But I found I did not miss it as much as I thought I would.

 

When DH taught at a community college, we took several cruises during his spring break week. There were a lot of families with children on those cruises. The good thing about Princess ships is that there are places to go to avoid children.

[susancruzs]

I cruise with Princess the most, wasn't sure I would like the newer ships, but I do love the Regal and the Royal. However, I think I would lean towards Royal Caribbean if I was traveling with a teenager.

 

Being older, traveling as a single, I don't travel during Holiday times now although I have. I realize that Princess will have more families during Spring breaks, but RCI still has the edge with more activities on their ships for families.

[sassyredhat]

Princess is our preferred line--we are 71 and 69.

However, our adult children---50 and 41 think PCL doesn't have enough activities for them. They prefer RCI.

We have sailed NCI in suites, and LOVED the suite package. Can't say anything about the other cabins.

We are booked with Carnival only because we are taking the 5 year old granddaughter with us, and they have great children's programs.

Personally, I would eliminate Freedom if I had a chance to sail the other two. :)

 

Patti

[Loonbeam]

I'm on mobile or I would link, but if you dig into my post history you will see notes from NCL and RCCL Princess edition. A lot depends on ship to ship comparisons though. Comparing say the NCL Breakaway to the Coral versus the Regal is a very different proposition...

[jswdlw]

I have sailed NCL solely and decided to do the a 10 day Princess cruise on the Island ship. Can anyone tell me what the ship is like after the dry dock? Any photos? What is the dress attire? Their website makes it sound like it is resort dress attire all the time.

[Bella O]

I appreciate everyone taking the time to reply. Think I will leave the decision to my dh, because all three choices look great to me!

[7Broker]

I was on the Royal Princess in early December. My review is long (over 10,000 words) and includes more than 600 photographs. If you want to read it, click on the link below ...

 

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2575145

 

 

 

Thanks! I’ll check it out!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[drsel]

Carnival 4* is the ultimate party Cruise ship.

Royal 4.5* has non stop activities and entertainment for all ages.

Celebrity 5* is a class above Carnival and Royal, but with less activities (and is more relaxed).

Princess 5* is very classy like Celebrity, but with even lesser activities and an older crowd.

Norwegian 4* has the best nightlife and shows.

Disney 5* is great for kids, but is very expensive.

Costa 3* is economical, but has bad reviews.

Azamara, Crystal, Cunard, Oceania, Seabourn, SilverSea and Viking are 6* and 7* cruises and the most expensive.

Edited December 30, 2017 by drsel

[drsel]

Kindly correct me if I am wrong. Differences in opinion are most welcome!:)

[Cuizer2]

Kindly correct me if I am wrong. Differences in opinion are most welcome!:)

 

Cruise Critic allows differences in opinion. Some of the posters do not.