advice please

[lisa225]

my son (15) and i cruised the voyager from bayonne the past two years (in aug.). this year we were planning on trying the new princess (crown) out of n.y.c.. i noticed the explorer had a great deal (second person half price) so i placed a deposit on the 8/25 sailing . i now have two deposits one for the princess in the penthouse suite cat and one on the explorer in the grand suite category. i must cancel one by june in order to receive one of my deposits back. my son loves rccl and the voyager class but i am concerned i may be a little bored with a third summer on basically the same ship. last year i found it to be somewhat repetitious (same shows,food etc.) i am wondering if perhaps the explorer might change things a little even though it is a sister ship to the voyager. i have never sailed on princess but i love the itinerary for the 8/25 cruise. the princess will be quite a bit more and i am concerned about their teen programs and have no idea about their food, cabins, shows etc.. if anyone out their can send me advice to help me make an informed decision i would be very grateful.please feel free to also email me at lisa225@verizon.net.

thanks for your help!

lisa

[Merion_Mom]

Lisa, I can't report on the Crown until after you have to make your decision, but perhaps it would help to know that I had to make THE EXACT SAME CHOICE.

 

I double-booked us: Explorer 6/30 and Crown Princess 7/11. We have done the Eastern Caribbean on Explorer TWICE. Explorer was western itinerary when I booked it; RC switched it a couple of months later. Crown Princess is western itinerary, plus a new port: Grand Turk. (and both embark from ports that are driving distance from my home.)

 

Decisions, decisions, decisions. PLUS, I had to weigh in my Diamond status on RC with all its perks.

 

My kids decided that THEY didn't want to cruise this summer!!! :eek: So, I recruited a CC buddy, and this is now a Girls Gone Wild Cruise.

 

Which did we pick? Crown Princess. If I were still cruising with my kids, I think that I would have stuck with the Explorer. I know that I, as an adult, will have a great time on Princess. I'm not convinced about the kids. My kids are now 18 & 20, so a little bit older than yours, but my son was 15 on our second Explorer cruise.

 

Of course, one thing that helped is that just before final payment, the Princess cruise dropped FIVE HUNDRED SIXTY DOLLARS. (Princess won't do price adjustments after final payment; RC will. There are already some price reductions on late August RC cruises.)

 

I hope that this helps you in some small way.

 

(Oh, by the way, *we* like Explorer more than Voyager. I guess there is always *something* about your first cruise ship!! ;))

[lisa225]

merion mom,

thanks so much for your reply.you pretty much mirrored what i had been thinking. all things being equal i would probably stick with explorer, due to the large price difference but i love the fact that the crown sails to bermuda and would be a totally different experience than the past two summers. you liked the explorer better than the voyager, was this due to ship,food, show or activitiy differences or did you just enjoy the cruise more?

thanks again,lisa

[Merion_Mom]

Lisa, I know *just* what you are saying. I was very intrigued by the Bermuda stop, too, but that's not on our itinerary.

 

I'm not sure why we like Explorer better - just tiny little things. The Promenade was tweaked on the Explorer - I don't like that counter thing that sticks out into the middle of everything from the Cafe Promenade on Voyager. Another irrational thing: our cabin stewards on Explorer were GREAT; our steward on Voyager SUCKED. Only time I ever had to say that.

 

Other than that, they are pretty darn close clones. Just better memories on Explorer, I guess. :)

[superjerryw]

There is little difference between Explorer and Voyager so sailing on Explorr is not likely to be more exciting than Voyager and may in fact seem very repetitive. As far as your son is concened, how many of the features found only on a Voyager class ship is he concerned about. If he likes the rock climbing, ice skating, etc., he won't find any of that on Princess. If those features don't mean a lot to him then maybe it's not such a big deal and it would be worth trying Princess. As fas as food, service, etc., the two lines are comparable.