Please compare RCI to Princess for this RCI potential Newbie

[nini]

Hi All-

We have never been on RCI. I know this is crazy times, however, Princess

just AGAIN changed itineraries and ships again. We were to go with DS and

DBIL next September on an itinerary that was one way from Barcelona to Rome.

That way, we could spend time in both Italy and Spain. Now, the only original

port is Rome; so quite a change.

 

I see that RCI has the Harmony doing a cruise that looks great next September.

So, for any of you experienced on both RCI and Princess, I would really appreciate

some friendly comparisons and comments between the two lines and the Harmony.

(food, staff, service, etc).

 

I see that the Harmony really does not offer regular aft balconies, but that is ok.

Thanks!

[grapau27]

16 minutes ago, nini said:

Hi All-

We have never been on RCI. I know this is crazy times, however, Princess

just AGAIN changed itineraries and ships again. We were to go with DS and

DBIL next September on an itinerary that was one way from Barcelona to Rome.

That way, we could spend time in both Italy and Spain. Now, the only original

port is Rome; so quite a change.

 

I see that RCI has the Harmony doing a cruise that looks great next September.

So, for any of you experienced on both RCI and Princess, I would really appreciate

some friendly comparisons and comments between the two lines and the Harmony.

(food, staff, service, etc).

 

I see that the Harmony really does not offer regular aft balconies, but that is ok.

Thanks!

Harmony is a fantastic ship and Central Park is our favourite.

We are Princess Elite and RCL Diamond+.

RCL are better in :-

High Loyalty benefits.

Onboard facilities.

Better and bigger ships.

Better Speciality Restaurants.

Princess are better in :-

Much better bar waiter service.

Food and service in main dining rooms.

Graham.

 

Edited September 24, 2020 by grapau27

[nini]

Thank you so much for your response! With your loyalty

levels, you do know what you are talking about!

 

We were on Celebrity for the second time in 2018 and it was just

not jiving with us. The ship gets great reviews but the staff just seemed

so cold, poor dining room service and buffet food not so great either, with flies buzzing the food.

 

Thanks again!

[Norwich Cruiser]

2 hours ago, nini said:

Thank you so much for your response! With your loyalty

levels, you do know what you are talking about!

 

We were on Celebrity for the second time in 2018 and it was just

not jiving with us. The ship gets great reviews but the staff just seemed

so cold, poor dining room service and buffet food not so great either, with flies buzzing the food.

 

Thanks again!

Totally agree with what Graham has said.

 

But just to add.

 

Although we’ve never been disappointed with RCCL food we think Celebrity food in the buffet and MDR is slightly better.

 

Specially restaurants never had a bad meal on either cruise line and about the same standard.

 

We've maybe been lucky but never seen any flies around any food in any venue and normally have had excellent service.

[spunks]

Princess Elite gives you unlimited free laundry. Also after only 5 cruises you become platinum and that gives you free internet( 100 min ea on a 7 day and 250 ea on over 13 days). The internet is better on RCCL speedwise.Princess does give you a tiny bar set up for being elite. The biggest Princess benefit .....and it is BIG...is that Princess lets you "stack" onboard credit.On a 14 day TA we get 250 past military(each)....250 stockholders per cabin...125each for getting a FCC on the ships...plus 25 over 20 cruises each, 50each for over 30,.....75 each over 40 and 100 each for over 50 cruises. Sometimes they have a promotion that gives you 300 or more per cruise as well. When we do a TA on Princess we always have $1000.00 to 1300.00 in onboard credit.

 

For some reason, it is always a fight with Royal to get stockholders credit.

 

RCCL has that wonderful Diamond Lounge after only 80 cruise points.We like the RCCL ships better (they still play duplicate on TA cruises). We have gravitated toward RCCL over the last few years and no prefer it to Princess

 

Hope this helps

 

Doug

Edited September 24, 2020 by spunks
thought of more

[firefly333]

I enjoyed celebrity myself, but started off with princess. It's easier to find a bridge game on princess. I find princess a bit more staid. Rcl is more like carnival with family things to do and will have more things like rock climbing. Etc to do. Rcl my favorite is their solarium. Adults only and shaded. I have a problem with skin cancer so it's perfect for me. 

 

I would say rcl will have more kids than princess and more fun things to do. More pools and more space per pax. I can always find a spot in rcl solarium which I cant say about other lines. 

[nini]

We are Platinum on Princess and so this is so frustrating.

I realize that things are crazy, but they are changing deployments

like a musical chairs game- sometimes 2 and 3 times for one ship.

 

[firefly333]

5 minutes ago, nini said:

We are Platinum on Princess and so this is so frustrating.

I realize that things are crazy, but they are changing deployments

like a musical chairs game- sometimes 2 and 3 times for one ship.

 

Be aware rcl is also changing deployments.

 

Also you might want to read the terms of cruise with confidence. I've moved just about all my cruises and rcl changed ships and dates on me, but overall I came out ok, but it's more thanks to my travel agent keeping up with changes.

 

I think all the lines are doing changes. I do prefer the perks on rcl, but as above carnival corp, which includes princess is a bit more generous with obc. That being said I have some awesome bookings lined up on rcl. 

[nini]

Thanks firefly333!

[firefly333]

6 minutes ago, nini said:

Thanks firefly333!

It's important. If you book before sept 30, you can cancel up to 48 hours before, though I wouldnt wait that long. But if you are going to book I'd get it in before sept 30 .... just in case you need the flexibility. Even a nonrefundable deposit can be cancelled and a fcc issued to be used within 12 months for what you have paid. 

 

Lift and shift might end sept 30th as well. We dont know it will get extended. Terms are under the cancel button. Can move a cruise a year later price protected, plus or minus 4 weeks.

 

I'm finally getting the hang of rcl categories. Odd numbers are for 3 or more, even for 1 or 2 people. Like a 3v might be a quad inside. A 2d is a balcony for 1 or 2. Suites give you double loyalty pts, js and above which I think is a nice perk, well 2 in cabin, each gets 2 pts, solo, you get 3 loyalty pts, so its fast to get up to diamond. 

[grapau27]

9 hours ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

Totally agree with what Graham has said.

 

But just to add.

 

Although we’ve never been disappointed with RCCL food we think Celebrity food in the buffet and MDR is slightly better.

 

Specially restaurants never had a bad meal on either cruise line and about the same standard.

 

We've maybe been lucky but never seen any flies around any food in any venue and normally have had excellent service.

I agree with you and we have never seen flies flying around in any inside food venue.

On some of the cruise lines private islands like Coco Cay there are lots of flies around the buffet area at certain times of year.

Edited September 25, 2020 by grapau27

[grapau27]

11 hours ago, nini said:

Thank you so much for your response! With your loyalty

levels, you do know what you are talking about!

 

We were on Celebrity for the second time in 2018 and it was just

not jiving with us. The ship gets great reviews but the staff just seemed

so cold, poor dining room service and buffet food not so great either, with flies buzzing the food.

 

Thanks again!

You are welcome.

[bonsai3s]

Agree with both grapau27 and spunks…great information.

We love Princess and Royal Caribbean and Celebrity as well.

 

We love Princess because of the OBC I’d get for military service…yup, $250 for 14 days or more sailings (I shouldn’t have told my wife…she spent it all!)

We chose Princess (when we were newbies) because it had self-service laundry onboard. This was important to us on longer cruises. (Forward over 30 years and we now get free laundry on both Princess and RCCL.)

 

Sorry to hear about all the itinerary changes by Princess…but back in the day, we chose Princess, ironically, for the itinerary.  One particular Princess sailing that comes to mind is the SF to Hawaii roundtrip…nothing more magical than sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge with the fog rolling in…and we can drive to SF.

 

Not quite sure what Princess ship you are currently booked on…but I’ll say this, the Harmony will be by far the better ship.  There will be so much to do and see onboard…the ship will become your destination. With most Mediterranean cruises being so port intensive, you may not have time to truly enjoy the ship.  (Disclaimer: We actually prefer smaller ships.)

 

Grapau27 and spunks pretty much covered everything….the only thing not mentioned that is important to us is the gym/fitness center.  The gym on the Harmony (and all Oasis Class ships) are massive compared to Princess.  In addition, Oasis Class ships, in our opinion has the best walking/running track…goes around deck 5, two lanes, one for walkers and the other for runners…it’s away from crowds (except perhaps the very aft area)…and great views.

 

One other thing that we love about Princess…the pizza! Reminds me of my childhood pizza restaurant in San Francisco called Dario’s Pizza.

 

Bottom line: You will enjoy the Harmony.  Please come back and give us a review after your cruise.  Happy Sailing!

[taglovestocruise]

23 hours ago, nini said:

Hi All-

We have never been on RCI. I know this is crazy times, however, Princess

just AGAIN changed itineraries and ships again. We were to go with DS and

DBIL next September on an itinerary that was one way from Barcelona to Rome.

That way, we could spend time in both Italy and Spain. Now, the only original

port is Rome; so quite a change.

 

I see that RCI has the Harmony doing a cruise that looks great next September.

So, for any of you experienced on both RCI and Princess, I would really appreciate

some friendly comparisons and comments between the two lines and the Harmony.

(food, staff, service, etc).

 

I see that the Harmony really does not offer regular aft balconies, but that is ok.

Thanks!

Sounds like you are booked on the Enchanted Princess.  Be aware that Harmony is 50% larger and carries over 6,000 passengers. Some find the size of the ship and passenger count overwhelming, although we find Oasis class ships far less crowed than the smaller ships. Much more entertainment nightly on Oasis class.  We have sailed both lines and find RCL is more to our taste.  We are in our 70's and absolutely love the mega ships.  We have Harmony booked next OCT.  for a Med cruise followed by a 14 night TA back to Fll.  Might check out Harmony on YouTube, happy cruising

[Aquahound]

23 hours ago, nini said:

 

I see that RCI has the Harmony doing a cruise that looks great next September.

So, for any of you experienced on both RCI and Princess, I would really appreciate

some friendly comparisons and comments between the two lines and the Harmony.

(food, staff, service, etc).

 

Between Princess and RCI, I'd rank service and staff exactly the same.  I've had nothing but wonderful experiences on both lines.  I'd rank the free food exactly the same, but with an advantage toward RCI with specialty restaurants.  

 

Where RCI has the distinct advantage is entertainment, especially on Oasis Class ships.  I would also give a distinctive advantage on ships themselves.  RCI's ships have a wow factor that I've never seen on Princess.

 

I also give advantage to RCI with staterooms.  All rooms have a couch.  I'm not a fan of Princess' cramped rooms and the fact you have to upgrade to a mini suite to get a couch.  Also, in general, RCI's balconies are bigger.  

[Anton]

I'm Royal Caribbean Diamond Plus and Princess Platinum.  Overall I like Royal better but Princess runs a close 2nd.   I've noted that Princess charges less for bar drinks, sometimes a lot less, which have become quite expensive on Royal Caribbean.  Royal Caribbean also allows nobody in their cabins until early afternoon (1pm or 1:30pm usually) whereas Princess almost always has cabins open when boarding begins.   So be ready to lug your carry-ons around for a little while.  Also, Royal doesn't have a main dining room open on embarkation day with limited lunch menu, which is something I like about Princess.  Royal's pizza isn't even in the same ballpark as Princess pizza.  They've made some improvement but Sorrento's is still frozen pizza quality to my tastes.    I've been on Harmony three times in the past two years and really like the ship.   I'm a fan of the Oasis class.  

[nini]

Thank you all so much for the insights!

[Merion_Mom]

5 hours ago, Anton said:

  Royal Caribbean also allows nobody in their cabins until early afternoon (1pm or 1:30pm usually) whereas Princess almost always has cabins open when boarding begins.   So be ready to lug your carry-ons around for a little while.  

 

 

Pre-Covid performance is not a predictor of future experience.

[Anton]

2 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

 

Pre-Covid performance is not a predictor of future experience.

True. But I'm certain Sorrento's will still be mediocre.

[firefly333]

5 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

 

Pre-Covid performance is not a predictor of future experience.

I dont remember which ships but some were seeing staggered boarding not starting until 2:30.

 

By the time we get boarded that late we possible could get into our cabins.

 

Agree who knows. The only thing I expect is it will likely be later than before due to extra cleaning. Covid isn't the time to be in a hurry.