How is Princess different

[JimmyVWine]

8 minutes ago, richandcindy said:

It was a much older crowd, since it was 16 days long and after labor day

 

It was a much older crowd than what?  You have to compare apples to apples.  The particular itinerary that you took would have skewed older no matter which cruise line you were on.  

[Tatka]

30 minutes ago, richandcindy said:

We just got off our first and last Princess cruise (have not updated our signature).  The comments are what we experienced and what was told to us aboard the ship.  It was a much older crowd, since it was 16 days long and after labor day so only about 15 kids on board (they skipped the beginning of school).  And many poorly ambulatory guests with wheelchairs, canes and scooters making it difficult to get into venues, getting on and off the ship etc.  And there was close to 2000 Elite and Platinum members so they have a big following.  You can read about the Elite snobs on cruise critic reviews, as we witnessed several instances ourselves.  So for these reasons once is enough for us

 

The oldest crowd in all our 43 cruises with 8 lines was in September after Labor Day on Royal Caribbean (!!!!) 7 days cruise to Canada. People were celebrating 95th birthdays in drowes... I wouldn't judge line by 1 cruise. Princess is a wonderful line.

[sprint180]

The short answer for me....If I go with my kids (age 21-30)  we go on NCL.  It is more lively, a younger crowd.  If I go with my husband (age 50) we go on Princess.   More quiet.  Not as active.  (Kinda boring for me but my husband really likes it.)  

[Level six]

We are 3 days from elite on Princess and about 10 from Platinum plus on NCL.

 

We like both, but as RichandCindy said, we were on that same cruise to Greenland and it made us like Princess a lot less.  Almost to the point of never sailing on Princess again.  The hour long wait in theater and extreme crowding made for a stressful vacation.  I agree 100% with what was said. 

 

Anyway:  NCL wins with entertainment and overall fun.  Especially regarding trivia, where people are much more "normal" on NCL and not acting like they will get a kidney if they win as they do on Princess.

Food:  Really about the same for me.  NCL rocks chicken wings and Cagney's is way better than Crown grill.  Princess has better desserts by far.

Cabins: same

Less smoking on Princess, sometimes NCL smells like an ashtray in the casino. 

Kids: the same really, it just depends on time of year.

People: much more fun on NCL and younger in age.  People don't seem as entitled on NCL as they do on Princess.

Either are fine, that is why we have split our 300+ days and just pick which has the best itinerary and price.  

 

[richandcindy]

Thanks Level Six, at least someone agrees with us.  Older than what?  This thread is comparing NCL to Princess.  So by older crowd we meant in general Princess has an older crowd than NCL.  Interestingly NCL must be trying to get an older crowd as they removed the kids play area on the NCL Star while Princess must be trying to get a younger crowd as they added a kids splash area on the Caribbean Princess.  We agree that one should not come to a conclusion about Princess based on one cruise or one ship.  However we were warned prior to booking the cruise that it will be full of senior seniors and talking to people on the ship who have more than 50 cruises on Princess they all love Princess because of the older crowd and lack of kids.  Of course during a school holiday, shorter cruises to warm places will be full of kids regardless of cruiseline

[RNRcruisers]

We have been on 7 RCL cruises, 3 NCL and 3 Princess and find them overall to be more alike than different, although we haven't been on any of the megaships. Of the 3 we prefer Princess mostly because they have kept the traditional cruise ship vibe. I haven't really found Princess to be particularly old although I am 57 so maybe that is why :)  and we usually cruise during family off-seasons. I don't care for the "freestyle" dining concept, I like to have a set time and table and don't like to pay extra for food and we have never felt it necessary to do so. We have kept away from RCL lately because of the amusement park atmosphere although our cruise in January is on the newest NCL ship so that may change our minds (but maybe not). 

 

These are all personal preferences, any day on a cruise is fine with me.

[c-boy]

👆  good to read

[mcrcruiser]

For Mexican Riviera cruises we find Princess higher than Holland America  for the same 7 day cruise . since we live in San Diego ,we are more likely to sail HAL from the port of SD vs the port in San Pedro  .

 

 Princess  entertainment is more elaborate   than HAL . However ,for food & service we favor HAL ,

 

 We do sail both lines ,when the particular itinerary suits us 

[MissP22]

23 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

the outfit doesn't have to be all that fancy on Princess either. I never got a side eye even when I wore $15-20 dresses or $10 slacks and a $5 top from Kohl's.

Do you have a Bealls outlet near you in Ga? 

I just picked up 2 tops on Monday for $3 each. Terrific buys every now & then. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

22 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Do you have a Bealls outlet near you in Ga? 

I just picked up 2 tops on Monday for $3 each. Terrific buys every now & then. 

Never heard of them. :)

[Gold Mine Gal]

22 hours ago, richandcindy said:

We just got off our first and last Princess cruise (have not updated our signature).  The comments are what we experienced and what was told to us aboard the ship.  It was a much older crowd, since it was 16 days long and after labor day so only about 15 kids on board (they skipped the beginning of school).  And many poorly ambulatory guests with wheelchairs, canes and scooters making it difficult to get into venues, getting on and off the ship etc.  And there was close to 2000 Elite and Platinum members so they have a big following.  You can read about the Elite snobs on cruise critic reviews, as we witnessed several instances ourselves.  So for these reasons once is enough for us

 

I have to agree with richandcindy,  on our first Princess cruise, when we were asked which cruise lines we had sailed and gave our answer, we were immediately looked down upon.  They had remarks about hairy chest competitions, bad food, etc.   Second cruise, we included Princess in our answer and things were a bit better.  The Elites are definitely cheerleaders.  Had to laugh though, as I did mention to them, Princess has a hairy leg contest!!  

 

Rooms are smaller, showers are very tiny, food comparable.  Mainly an older crowd.  We complained as there were two scooters plugged in at the elevator lobby and people getting in and off the elevator were running into them all the time.  

 

We really enjoyed the Hawaiian embassador program.  They were great!