Princess vs NCL Suite Experience

[rsato]

I recently disembarked the Crown Princess after a 12 day British Isle Sailing. I thought I would share some of my observations comparing the Princess Suite Experience with the NCL Haven. I don’t wish to upset fans of either line, but some future cruisers may be interested in my thoughts. I have sailed in S4 Princess Penthouse Suites on the Crown Princess and the Island Princess, and have sailed in the Haven on the Jewel class ships (Jewel, Pearl, Jade, and Gem) as well as the Breakaway and Bliss. I am leaving out the physical differences in cabins (generally you get what you pay for) as well as the features of the Haven (Dedicated restaurant, pools, hot tubs, observation lounge on the Bliss, etc). I have not sailed on the newest Princess ships so I will try to stick with a more apples to apples comparison between the Crown Princess and the NCL Jewel class ships. Price often reflects the itinerary and length, so I will also leave that out. I would also admit my bias toward NCL due to entertainment focus which is a bit more in line with my tastes, no formal nights, and better outdoor running tracks (although I became attracted to the Crown Princess track – it was short with 16 laps to a mile, but protected from the wind, and I never encountered anyone else on it.)

 

Embarkation: Both lines provide priority check in lines (which sometimes aren’t faster than regular check in). At some ports, Haven passengers go directly to the Haven Lounge with refreshments, their own check in desk, and a briefing about the Haven and its amenities. Usually, a butler escorts passengers directly to their room or Haven Restaurant / Cagney’s (on Jewel Class) for lunch if the rooms are not ready. On the Crown, check-in was very fast at Southampton having done most of the work on-line & receiving the medallion in the mail. We basically went to the priority line desk, Princess collected our passports and scanned our medallions and we went on the ship. We didn’t have an escort or any briefing on suite perks. Of course, this information is readily available on-line and we did have a letter in our suite listing some of them (the complementary laundry was left off the list).

 

Bar set up: Both lines have drinks in the bar fridge waiting for you. NCL charges standard Haven guests for consumed beverages (Owners suites get some free booze). On NCL ,we just usually asked our butler to remove everything. Princess gives the entire contents of the bar to passengers. As a non-drinker, I had room service remove all the alcohol and replace it with canned soda which was nice. One tip – pre-order bottled water, Princess charges only $7 for a dozen bottles when you order ahead of time (and lets you bring whatever non-alcoholic beverages you want on board). NCL charges large amounts for bottled water (and won’t let you bring non-alcoholic beverages on board).

 

Butler: NCL provides each suite a butler to attend to your food needs – brings room service from any restaurant, breakfast in bed, meals on the balcony etc. The butler brings utensils eating food in the suite, clears dirty dishes, and provides nightly canapes. Canapes included small bite sized morsels, cookies, chocolate covered strawberries, even BLT sandwiches. Butlers provide treats that passengers want. My wife liked the peanut M&Ms in the haven on a prior cruise and coincidently, they showed up in our suite without asking. Do they keep a file on customers or have secret microphones hearing our discussion about our M&M preference? Admittedly, most of our canapes went uneaten as they are delivered in the late afternoon and we looked forward to dinner. Princess doesn’t have butlers (at least on the Crown) and food requests are handled by room service. We had first day treats but that was the end of it which for us meant less waste although they did refresh our fruit bowl.

 

Lounge: The Jewel class ships don’t have a Haven lounge, although the Haven pool area is stocked with sweets like M&Ms, cookies, juices, and continental breakfast items in the morning. The Bliss had a gorgeous Haven observation area separate from the pool. Princess used the Skywalker nightclub every afternoon for an executive lounge (suites and elite guests) and had food stations with daily hors d’oeuvres like smoked salmon, beef steak tartare, and sushi. They provided a calendar with the menu for the evening that was very thoughtful.

 

Breakfast: On the older jewel class ships, suite breakfast is at a specialty restaurant like Cagney’s. Princess used Sabbatini’s on both the Crown and Island. We aren’t big breakfast eaters, but the excellent speedy service was appreciated. The fresh squeezed orange juice was very nice. NCL had small buffets in the suite breakfast for your own browsing or for takeout, and the Havens often had continental breakfast foods. On the Breakaway and Bliss, the dedicated Haven restaurant inside the Haven served all meals.

 

Lunch: The Jewel class ships again used a specialty restaurant (Cagneys) for Haven lunch. NCL subsequently removed the New York Steak from the Haven lunch menu, but still many excellent dishes remain. Princess had lunch at the Club Class Dining venue (Da Vinci) on sea days only so most days no special dining is available. We were ashore on port days anyway and skipped many lunches. There were no special dishes available during our club class lunches.

 

Dinner: While the newest NCL ships like the Bliss have exclusive dining in the Haven restaurant, no special dinner perks are given on the Jewel class ships. NCL often has specialty dining packages available for only the gratuity costs which is something to consider for Haven passengers. Princess has Club Class dinner dining available every day. While others have argued the value of this perk, we had no waiting at all on a nearly full ship, had extremely friendly servers who quickly learned each diner’s preferences, and did have the advertised extra dishes prepared tableside. I thought the quality of the experience was similar to the Haven restaurant as far as personal service and attention to detail. One day the extra dish was a chicken teriyaki which was fine, but hardly gourmet. Another day, they served lobster thermador which was probably the best dish I have ever had on any cruise ship. Other times, the extra selection was a dessert - I found the Baked Alaska (they called it something) else, to die for!

 

Concierge: Each Haven has a concierge, the larger ships more than one. We did not have a concierge on the Crown. On NCL the concierge can get you into a booked specialty restaurant, help advise on shore excursions, reserve a special section (usually not the best seats) in the main theater for shows, and give you line passes for special amenities like the race cars on the Bliss. More importantly, the concierge gets you off the ship faster at ports and tenders – you meet at a specified place and s/he escorts you to the exit. On the Crown, we received line passes for tenders so when you feel like getting off you just use your pass instead of a timed ticket that other passengers had to obtain. For the stops at port, there was no special accommodation for leaving the ship but frankly, we had no problem getting off the ship within 10 minutes of the initial announcement of debarkation despite having a nearly full sailing.

 

Laundry – Princess includes free next day Laundry service to suite guests. NCL does not give you anything (although Platinum elites each get a bag of laundry washed complimentary).

 

Disembarkation – Both NCL and Princess had special areas for suite passengers to eat and lounge after leaving their cabins. Both offered priority baggage handling so that suite customers had their luggage available first. Anybody (whether in a suite or not) can just walk off carrying their own bags so the value of this perk is modest.

 

The British Isles itinerary was quite amazing and I’m sure would be a top factor in a cruise regardless of which line you sailed on. More on our journey:

 

http://rayandtraci.blogspot.com/2019/09/visiting-british-isles.html

[don't-use-real-name]

Most thoroughly enlightening - thanks for the keen observation of the differences between the two cruise lines.

 

NOW if the two could be shaken stirred mixed and combined to give the best of all the features noted.

[david_sobe]

Wow, that was a great comparison.  I never ate the NY steak in the Haven so I would not miss that.  But I could be wrong but noticed shrimp cocktail is not on the lunch menu (only dinner).  Maybe someone could correct me if I am wrong.

 

IMHO, I always thought NCL could really make the Haven experience so much better with little cost.   Some lines offer free drinks to suite guests but I wont even ask for that.  I remember when the Epic debuted, they would have 2 for 1 drinks in the Haven lounge early evening.  A real bottle of champagne in suite instead of sparkling wine.  Instead of one bottle of water, how about a case.  A changing Haven restaurant menu.   Bring back the big and fluffy Haven beach towels.  

Just tiny details that would have minimal cost and make the Haven so much more special.

Edited October 3, 2019 by david_sobe

[PammyMouse]

Thanks for this - looking at Princess for an Asia cruise in 2021.   Not sure yet if we'll spring for a suite, but it is good to know about the differences, as we've sailed Jade and Pearl Haven our last two cruises.