RCL vs Princess

[PhillyFan33579]

On 6/20/2023 at 12:21 PM, NightOne said:

 

Ignore the comparison between cruise lines as it is all subjective.

I disagree with this comment. It is a fact, not opinion, that RCI has amenities like water slides, flow riders, rock climbing walls, etc. that you will not find on a Princess ship. It is also a fact that RCI’s largest ships are significantly larger than Princess’ ships. I could go on, but I think you get my point. What is subjective is each individual’s preference. I prefer a ship with water slides, bumper cars, etc., but I have older friends who couldn’t care less about a lot of these amenities on RCI ships. 

[time4u2go]

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I disagree with this comment. It is a fact, not opinion, that RCI has amenities like water slides, flow riders, rock climbing walls, etc. that you will not find on a Princess ship. It is also a fact that RCI’s largest ships are significantly larger than Princess’ ships. I could go on, but I think you get my point. What is subjective is each individual’s preference. I prefer a ship with water slides, bumper cars, etc., but I have older friends who couldn’t care less about a lot of these amenities on RCI ships. 

When comparing the two cruise lines, another fact that relates directly to this thread is that Princess can cruise to Glacier Bay National Park whereas Royal Caribbean cannot.

[shofer]

On 6/17/2023 at 12:18 PM, George C said:

My big complaint on Princess was there ships seemed so crowded , they added cabins without increasing the size of showrooms etc , very hard to find a seat for shows , only time I ever saw a physical fight over saving seats. Oasis class may have more passengers but more venues for entertainment etc 

Princess's theater does not fit half the passengers.  They have another, smaller venue also with shows at the other end of the ship.  So if you want to see the "big" show, you have to get there at least 1/2 hour early.  Yes, there is competition for seats. DH had words with one guy over "saving" seats for me and my cousin who were standing right behind them.  The odd thing was the very next row was totally empty.

 

[cruisequeen4ever]

If you want the best Alaska experience, go Princess as they were one of the original cruise lines to do Alaska and have it down; plus they have Glacier Bay access and own their own lodges. If you prefer entertainment, go Royal. If you prefer food, go Princess. 

[tserface]

On 6/25/2023 at 1:23 PM, shofer said:

Princess's theater does not fit half the passengers.  They have another, smaller venue also with shows at the other end of the ship.  So if you want to see the "big" show, you have to get there at least 1/2 hour early.  Yes, there is competition for seats. DH had words with one guy over "saving" seats for me and my cousin who were standing right behind them.  The odd thing was the very next row was totally empty.

 

This has been our experience as well.  We've ended up standing in the back for a few shows.  Many of Princess's ships have pull up tables that are nice for setting drinks on, but the theater on RCL is much easier to enter.

That said, I really like the feel of Princess cruises.  It's more old school without the flashy water slides and rock climbing walls, etc.  For younger people this makes sea days more interesting, but at our age we like playing trivia, bingo, reading, playing cards, and more docile things during the sea days.  We hardly ever go out by the pool any more.  When go with our grandkids and kids we typically go on a RCL ship (doing Icon next year), but when we go alone we like Princess and Celebrity.

I don't think there's much difference in the food.  The three lines we go on Celebrity, Princess, Royal all have about the same quality food.  Royal and Celebrity are dropping some of our favorites like prime rib, and they only allow one lobster tail without paying more.  On our last Princess cruise the waiter brought out an extra plate of lobsters to give us all seconds.  I've heard rumors they are going to start charging for extras as well, on Princess, but that wasn't true on our cruise last fall.  Princess specialty restaurants are still a lot more affordable and still really good food.

We like cruise food, especially since we don't have to cook, server, or clean up, but the food is not as special as it used to be.  I think all of the lines have dumbed down the MDR experience to get people to see more value in the specialty restaurants.  We've never had trouble finding something to eat.

Also, Princess is still doing bingo the fun, old cruis-y way that we like.  The Medallion experience on Princess is getting really good.  It's nice being able to do room service like ordering from anywhere on the ship.  Royal and Celebrity charge way more for basic room service and you have to be in your room (maybe why the call it room service).  We think games are more fun on Princess.  On our last cruise they had a person who called herself Fortuna Luck, and she made bingo, and some other games, really fun.  It was kind of cheesy, but we loved it.

I think Princess and Celebrity have better itineraries, but Royal is focusing more on the ship experience as the destination.

Princess has laundry rooms so for longer cruises that's really handy.  You can also use an iron in the laundry room.   Rather than like $50/bag to do your laundry, you can purchase soap, washer, and dryer for < $20 a load.  Also, it's a lot less harsh on the clothes.  I think Celebrity puts the clothes in like a blast furnace to clean them 🙂

We've been to Alaska on Celebrity, Princess, and Royal.  The Royal ship we went on, Ovation, couldn't get into Glacier Bay since it was too large, but the Princess and Celebrity ships both did.  I think some of the newer Princess (Royal class) and Celebrity (Solstice class) ships may not work in some of the Alaskan ports also, but Princess and Celebrity have smaller ships going there still.

Bottom line: We'd go on any of the three based on the experience we're looking for at the time.

[Linsifer]

On 6/17/2023 at 7:33 AM, happy2bee said:

My son and his wife want to do a family cruise to Alaska next summer on Princess.  I've never been on a Princess ship.  Anyone know how they compare?

 

We really enjoy Princess, even more so because we can drive to the closest port of San Francisco.  And compared to RCI, Princess really knows how to offer up a comfortable mattress.  So comfy.  My last three RCI cruises the mattresses were ROCK hard. They couldn’t put enough extra padding on my side of the bed to make it feel soft enough.  That said, for a family I’m sure a Royal Caribbean ship will have plenty of fun activities for all age groups.  They tend to have all the super slides and rock climbing walls as well as other water activities.  As for Alaska sailings, Princess owns Alaska!  They really know how do it right.  Since it’s not really a warm weather itinerary, I don’t think many of those outdoor water activities would be beneficial, anyway.  They still have plenty of indoor fun for the kids at their kids clubs.  To me, Alaska IS the fun!  If I had to choose a cruise line to Alaska my preference is Princess.  In fact. We had a 10 day sailing out of San Francisco booked during COVID but had to cancel.  One of these days we’ll book it again!  Next up is an RCI sailing to Canada/NE and then back to Princess for the British Isles. Awww….a soft and comfy mattress once again! 🙂

[Linsifer]

On 6/21/2023 at 4:11 PM, RedJessi said:

I literally just got back from an Alaskan Cruise on Sapphire Princes just a few days ago. Please keep in mind that I have not cruised RCI since 2016, and I only have experience on Oasis class ships - so it's like comparing apples and orangutans. 

We chose Princess for Alaska because we wanted to do land and sea - so we had several nights at the Princess Lodge just outside Denali National Park ahead of our cruise.This was BEAUTIFUL and convenient if you have any interest in hiking in Denali. Plus, as others have mentioned, Princess is one of the cruise lines allowed in Glacier Bay National Park (only 2 ships per day and there are strict size restrictions) - and Glacier Bay was on our MUST - DO list. Further, the excursions through PCL were 100% what we wanted to do. That said, there were some things PCL truly excelled at. The biggie was that our connecting flights were cancelled, leaving us stranded in Newark for 2 days. Luckily, we had given ourselves an extra day in Anchorage in case of this, but one extra day does not cover 2 lost days and we weren't going to land in Anchorage until several hours after our transport to Denali left. Princess were the heroes, as they coordinated rooms for us at Captain Cook's in Anchorage and got us on a train to Denali that only put us about 24 hours behind our original schedule and I swear I truly believe we were given prime seating on the train with the best tour guide and it ended up being one of the highlights of the trip! Additionally, we had a mini suite room onboard and it was definitely the best cabin we have ever had - Spacious with a beautiful balcony, which you 100% want for an Alaskan cruise if you can at all swing it. 

On the downside....it was, hands down, the worst quality food and slowest service we have ever experienced on any cruise, ever. Entree's NEVER came out together. There were 12 of us and we were split into 2 tables of 6, and 2-3 meals would be delivered....and a few minutes later, another 2....than the final meals would show up a few minutes after that. Every single night someone was delivered an incorrect plate, or didn't get something they had ordered - and it wasn't that we were being extra picky or asking for things off the menu - we absolutely were not. It was things like, a ceaser salad was ordered, and French onion soup was delivered or someone ordered 2 starters, but only got one (or got one and then got the second when everyone else was getting entrees). Further, it didn't matter what you said when they asked 'how would you like that cooked?' - at least as far as we could tell. Almost uniformly, steaks were ordered medium rare. But we saw everything from well done to practically raw brought out in response to this. And dinner never took less than 2.5 hours. Twice we left before even getting to think about dessert or after dinner drinks because we were either bored senseless sitting there or because we had other things to do. And heaven help you if you wanted wine WITH your meal. You may as well ask for the moon. For the first time ever, my family opted to eat dinners more than once in the (lackluster) buffet because we just did not have the energy to deal with the MDR. Very disappointing as dinners together in the MDR was one of our favorite things on DCL. Lastly, veggies were bland (mint pea puree tasted neither like mint or peas), desserts (when we actually got to order them) were sickly sweet, and it was, hands down, the worst salmon I have ever eaten, anywhere. Which, when you are in Alaska.....I mean, the salmon should be gold star. 

In short, while I don't regret cruising Alaska with Princess.....I don't think I would ever cruise Princess for any other destination. 

My goodness, your MDR experience doesn’t sound like ANYthing we’ve experienced on our six Princess sailings.  I know things can vary from ship to ship or crew to crew, but it really sounds like you got the short end of the stick!  It’s too bad it’s steered you away from future cruises with Princess.  Again, we’ve always had wonderful dining on the Princess ships we’ve sailed. 

[Linsifer]

On 6/25/2023 at 8:56 AM, KKB said:

One of the best things of our Princess AK cruise was the naturalist (heard RCCL doesn't do this? Sailing Quantum to AK in Sept so I can do a true comparison then)

 

Also--different salmon EVERY night. It was fresh, they had different varieties & interesting preparation. I was in HEAVEN.

And they usually being Husky puppies on board when you’re in one port.  

[deliver42]

Royal not getting into Glacier had nothing to do with size. It has to do with permits, which Royal hasn't applied for. HAL and Princess have first dibs so there aren't many open slots available since only 2 ships per day can enter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RedJessi]

6 hours ago, Linsifer said:

My goodness, your MDR experience doesn’t sound like ANYthing we’ve experienced on our six Princess sailings.  I know things can vary from ship to ship or crew to crew, but it really sounds like you got the short end of the stick!  It’s too bad it’s steered you away from future cruises with Princess.  Again, we’ve always had wonderful dining on the Princess ships we’ve sailed. 

Honestly, we were really surprised and disappointed, because we had heard so many wonderful things about Princess - and my parents (whom we were traveling with) had sailed on Princess several times as well. I still have no regrets about the cruise - I am very happy with how Princess handled a travel snafu (flight related) for us, and the land portion of our vacation (the Princess Denali Lodge and McKinley Explorer train) were truly spectacular experiences. Further, being on a smaller ship with a crew that was obviously very familiar with the itinerary through Glacier Bay was 100% the right choice for us -and uniformly, the crew were friendly and pleasant to interact with. The MDR was just the big drawback.

[VTSKIandCRUISEGUY]

One thing I haven't seen discussed here is the non-show entertainment comparison.

We like to dance at night to live music. Royal always has a (usually) good band playing rock and pop music until around midnight.

Does Princess have similar?

 

We also like to dance later in the night club to a DJ, although RCL ship DJs are usually pretty bad, with mostly EDM-type music.

 

By the way, long time RCL cruiser, and about to be first time PCL cruiser on the Enchanted.

[NightOne]

On 6/25/2023 at 12:08 PM, PhillyFan33579 said:

I disagree with this comment. It is a fact, not opinion, that RCI has amenities like water slides, flow riders, rock climbing walls, etc. that you will not find on a Princess ship. It is also a fact that RCI’s largest ships are significantly larger than Princess’ ships. I could go on, but I think you get my point. What is subjective is each individual’s preference. I prefer a ship with water slides, bumper cars, etc., but I have older friends who couldn’t care less about a lot of these amenities on RCI ships. 

 

You are talking ships ... I said cruise lines 

[Biker19]

"Princess Cruises has announced a significant update to its embarkation procedures. Moving away from the pandemic-era system of scheduled arrival times, the cruise line will now employ a three-tiered approach. 

 

This new system, comprised of the Green Lane, Blue Lane, and Accessibility Lane, is expected to offer a smoother embarkation process for guests. Set to be launched in August 2023, it will offer guests much more freedom and choice when they want to arrive at the port and board their cruise ship. 

 

Starting August 1, 2023, Princess Cruises will begin operating a new embarkation system, with guests divided into three tiers: Green Lane, Blue Lane, and Accessibility Lane. 

 

The new system has been designed to differentiate the guests based on the completion of their travel checklist and the delivery of their Medallion.

The Green Lane will cater to guests who have completed their travel checklist and have chosen to get their Medallion shipped to their homes. This category will allow for expedited embarkation and a quicker boarding process. However, guests who fit the Green Lane criteria but opt out of having their Medallion shipped will be reassigned to the Blue Lane.

 

The Blue Lane will host guests who have partially or fully completed their travel checklist but have decided against shipping their Medallion. They will receive their Medallions at the cruise terminal and can still look forward to a streamlined check-in.

 

For guests with mobility or other accessibility needs, the Accessibility Lane will ensure that their check-in process is as smooth as possible, regardless of the status of their Medallion."

 

Princess Cruises Details New Embarkation Procedure (cruisehive.com)

[kitkat343]

I was very happy on RC and Princess.  Princess does a great job in Alaska, and can visit Glacier Bay because they and HAL used to have more of a monopoly on Alaska (not sure about RC visiting Glacier bay - I think some other lines go there now).  Princess also used to bring puppies on board in Alaska and have naturalists giving talks.  The food on both is good.  I think there is generally more to do on a RC ship, but Alaska is all about itinerary and I'd go for the best itinerary and price between the two lines.  

[bmc alabama]

I know many here have talked about Princess in Alaska, and we've sailed with them twice there and had great cruises both times. That said, I think that our British Isles Cruise on Regal Princess this year was better than all of those. One of our favorite cruises we've ever taken. One thing to note, the buffet is much better on the Royal class ships (Royal, Regal, Sky, Discovery, Majestic, Enchanted) than the older Grand class ships IMHO. Also, they will have an Alfredo's (included pizza/italian sit-down) in addition to the pizza and grill that are poolside. One other thing that we thought was that the International Cafe on Princess is light years better than Cafe Promenade.

[KKB]

On 6/21/2023 at 6:11 PM, RedJessi said:

On the downside....it was, hands down, the worst quality food and slowest service we have ever experienced on any cruise, ever. Entree's NEVER came out together. There were 12 of us and we were split into 2 tables of 6, and 2-3 meals would be delivered....and a few minutes later, another 2....than the final meals would show up a few minutes after that. Every single night someone was delivered an incorrect plate, or didn't get something they had ordered - and it wasn't that we were being extra picky or asking for things off the menu - we absolutely were not. It was things like, a ceaser salad was ordered, and French onion soup was delivered or someone ordered 2 starters, but only got one (or got one and then got the second when everyone else was getting entrees). Further, it didn't matter what you said when they asked 'how would you like that cooked?' - at least as far as we could tell. Almost uniformly, steaks were ordered medium rare. But we saw everything from well done to practically raw brought out in response to this. And dinner never took less than 2.5 hours. Twice we left before even getting to think about dessert or after dinner drinks because we were either bored senseless sitting there or because we had other things to do. And heaven help you if you wanted wine WITH your meal. You may as well ask for the moon. For the first time ever, my family opted to eat dinners more than once in the (lackluster) buffet because we just did not have the energy to deal with the MDR. Very disappointing as dinners together in the MDR was one of our favorite things on DCL. Lastly, veggies were bland (mint pea puree tasted neither like mint or peas), desserts (when we actually got to order them) were sickly sweet, and it was, hands down, the worst salmon I have ever eaten, anywhere. Which, when you are in Alaska.....I mean, the salmon should be gold star. 

In short, while I don't regret cruising Alaska with Princess.....I don't think I would ever cruise Princess for any other destination. 

NOT our AK experience on Discovery Princess! 

We had different kinds of salmon every night & it was DIVINE. 

The pork roast was inedible at both buffet & MDR...but everything else was top notch.

 

(Did sail Sapphire in Oct...while food was good, we did notice our servers seemed VERY stressed & overwhelmed...)

[roomba920]

On 6/17/2023 at 11:22 AM, 1025cruise said:

IMHO, if you are going to Alaska, go on Princess. Especially if the ship goes to Glacier Bay. RCL ships do not go there.

I agree. Princess knows Alaska, and does it right!

[simon.hed]

interesting information.  My wife and I went on Celebrity for our 25th anniversary a few years back and I never regretted that decision. Cruising with our early 20s kids now RC is the play due to the bells/whistles RC offers.

 

We plan to go back to Alaska for our 35th and we will look at Princess but I suspect it will end up being Celebrity due to reciprocal status with RC. It was exactly what we wanted when we went, perfect balance of more "grown-up"/upscale and cost.

 

Apologies to OP as I added nothing of benefit to this discussion.  

[The Fun Researcher]

Just returning today from an Alaskan cruise  on the Quantum of the Seas, a closed loop out of Seattle.  Unless glacier bay is a must, Royal was a great way to cruise Alaska.  The big benefit for our multigenerational group were all the ship activities and entertainment during the days at sea and in the evenings.  Loved the indoor solarium during the cool weather, and the great views from 270 in the aft.  If the standard stops of Skagway, Sitka, Endicott Arm and Juneau are enough for you then Royal really has some industry leading ships to enjoy the cruise on.

 

We were truly fortunate with fantastic warm sunny weather, especially in Sitka, Endicott arm with Dawes glacier, and Juneau which really all made for spectacular viewing.

 

It was typical top notch treatment onboard.  This was our first cruise at Diamond level and that was also a positive game changer.  The 4 daily drinks, the coffee machine in the Diamond lounge, and the free days of internet were all used extensively and very much enjoyed.

 

feel free to reply with questions 

[vacationlover_mn]

On 6/17/2023 at 9:33 AM, happy2bee said:

My son and his wife want to do a family cruise to Alaska next summer on Princess.  I've never been on a Princess ship.  Anyone know how they compare?

 

I have heard princess is the best. We almost did one, but long story short, we did RCI and really liked it.

[mygirlsemandsam]

We did Discovery Princess in May 2023 to Alaska, it felt like a Carnival cruise. We went on Princess to Alaska 20 years ago, it was elegant and special, not anymore. We preferred our Royal Caribbean cruise last October 2022.

[time4u2go]

On 7/19/2023 at 3:25 PM, vacationlover_mn said:

I have heard princess is the best.

For Alaska, it definitely is. 

[The Fun Researcher]

2 hours ago, time4u2go said:

For Alaska, it definitely is. 

Depends on which ports you are visiting 

[Cruise a holic]

IMO RC wins hands down.  We found Princess to be plain vanilla-  We were not impressed at all by the food choices, including the specialty restaurants, the service , entertainment and overall ship.  The Crown and Caribbean princess were very crowded also- no longer for us.  We stick to Royal Oasis class and Celebrity S and E class ships.

 

Edited July 21, 2023 by Cruise a holic

[The Fun Researcher]

After sailing on the Quantum, unless you are dead set on Glacier bay, I agree that the ship matters a lot.  If sailing closed loop out of Seattle or Vancouver, most sailings across all the different cruise lines stop at mostly the same places anyway and rarely include Glacier bay.

 

I'm so glad we were on a ship that had SO MANY excellent entertainment options and activities to choose from all week.  It really helped our extended family group of 14 (ages 13-53) find lots of fun things to do that suited their style.   In addition, it was awesome having the beautiful temperate indoor solarium with hot tubs, wading pools, and 180 degree views to the front of the ship.  The additional indoor pool and hot tub area was used extensively by families with young kids as well.

 

Food was just as good as what we've come to expect from Royal.  I'm sure Princess is great too, but now that we've actually done Quantum class in Alaska, I'm very glad that's what we chose.