Loyal to Royal tries Princess

[suesnake2002]

I am so over the towel thing that i pack a light weight micro fiber beach towel. It weighs ounces

[NthernLgts]

On 1/7/2020 at 5:39 AM, Iamcruzin said:

I have seen comparisons on the other boards but this is the first time I have seen Royal Vs Princess. It's usually Carnival vs Royal or NCL or Princess vs Celebrity or HAL.  Royal and Princess are two different animals so it's interesting to see the comparison from a first time Princess passenger.

Then you will get another (Vice-versa) from me too, albeit after our 9 day trip December 4.  Long time Princess cruiser here who is looking forward to our first trip on Royal.  We are giving the Explorer a shot, post drydock!

Edited January 14, 2020 by NthernLgts

[Rogueperson]

I did a live thread on the princess board comparing it to Royal.  I love Royal and Royal is my brand, but my cruise on the Ruby Princess last May threatened that standing.  Sure, Princess can't compare to the major entertainment spotlights that Royal Caribbean has, but it makes up for keeping a lot of the old cruising standards.  I found the service to be WAY better on both my Princess cruises.  Something that has been slipping on Royal and Carnival.  Its kept a lot of the classic cruising details that other mainline ships have dropped. (chocolates on pillow!)

 

The two things that stood out for me on Princess.  First.  Their burger at the Salty Dog edges out for me as best burger at sea, even beating out Guys which i love.  The main reason is that its a similar burger BUT they cook it to order and that wins out.  Second.  Their bed is absolutely amazing.  Its to the point where I'm looking to see if i can buy it for my house and dropping 1600 bucks for a king size mattress (not quite there yet).

[crusinthrough]

FOOD

 

I think the food is comparable.  I only ate in the MDR twice towards the end of the cruise.  I cannot remember what I had the first night.  Nothing seemed appealing on the menu the 2nd night so I opted for the Linguine with Alfredo in the Princess classic side and added chicken.  The worst meal I had onboard.  My friend ordered the pork belly, which was good.

 

 

 

[crusinthrough]

Sabatini's an Italian restaurant and the Crown Grill a steakhouse are the two speciality restaurants.  The cover charge for both is only $29.  

 

The food at Sabatini's was tasty and the service wasn't slow.  I went the 2nd night around 8:00 PM and there were a lot of empty tables. 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2020 by crusinthrough

[crusinthrough]

Crown Grill was excellent for half the price of Chops.  I ordered a Crab Cake, French Onion soup and Ribeye. I did not want dessert but the server brought out  a sampler.  This was the only place on the ship that gave a receipt to sign.

 

 

 

[crusinthrough]

Alfredo's Pizzeria is a complimentary sit down pizza restaurant located inside.  I had soup and salad. 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2020 by crusinthrough

[crusinthrough]

Prego Pizzeria is located on the pool deck.  It closes at 11pm not 24 hours.  I ate a lot of pizza from here.  It must have been the sauce.  Kinda of reminded me of NYC pizza. 

 

 

USA Today agrees.

 

Edited January 16, 2020 by crusinthrough

[crusinthrough]

Trident Grill also outside on the pool deck and opened to 11 PM.

 

 

Garnishes

Bacon, Guacamole, Salsa, Chopped Onions, Sweet Relish, Pickle Dill Chips and standard condiments (Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo)

[crusinthrough]

I ordered  complementary room service breakfast on the TV. Both times the food was delivered on time but cold. 

[crusinthrough]

Ice cream is not self served.  There is an ice-cream counter with a server. 

[crusinthrough]

The filtered water pitchers are a nice touch.

 

 

[crusinthrough]

Ocean Terrance Seafood Bar - small venue with a limited menu for an extra charge.  There were 3 sushi rolls.  California rolls... 

[crusinthrough]

For those who like afternoon tea... quite a bit of a selection 

 

[crusinthrough]

On a port day, I ordered food using "Ocean Now" in the Medallion app.  Ocean Now allows you to order whatever you need and have it delivered to you.  I really liked this.  The only downside (if you can call it that) is that you have to order a drink that is on the list.  You can not craft your own drink.  Note - The drink is complementary because I had the drink package.

 

Placed order at 3:56 PM.

 

 

Received order at 4:02 PM. Server able to locate me by my Medallion  

 

 

Definitely a win for Princess.  

 

[birdylady]

On 1/14/2020 at 4:06 AM, SSMEX said:

We're only occasional cruisers but were on Caribbean Princess last year and just got off Oasis last week. Here are some differences that we care about:

 

1. In the MDR, dessert is on a separate menu, delivered after the main course. Again, this is a small thing, but I frequently misjudge how much room I'll have after appetizers and entrees, so being able to decide later is a big plus.

Royal used to do it this way. I actually like the dessert options on the main menu for the same reason you don't. I like to 'plan' whether I would rather have appetizers/main meal or save room for dessert. 🙂

Erika