Mariner of the Seas vs. Caribbean Princess

[cassidyk]

Hello all! I am new here and am looking for some advice. My husband and I are in our late 20's and are looking to take a cruise the week of labor day and I am torn between either the Mariner of the Seas or the Caribbean Princess. We have cruised previously on Celebrity, Disney, and twice on Carnival so we don't have any experience with either RCL or Princess.

 

I am hoping there are some of you out there who might have cruised on both of these ships or at least both of these cruise lines that could offer some feedback on which you would recommend or what you feel are the pros and cons of each. This would also be our first time sailing the larger class of ships so I am sure that will be a new experience in and of itself. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer!

[bubbadog]

i think they both are good,id probably take the cb over mariner,cause of anytime dinning,fresh water pools 24hrs,crew members,and prefer princess,but you may like rcl better for their prettier ships,more for younger crowds(rock wall,stuff like that),but to me they are about equal in most other ways ,but the choice is yours,have fun:)):p ;)

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I agree with Bubbadog 100%. Both ships are beautiful but the anytime dining is great. Plus the food on RCI reportedly leaves something to be desired.

The freshwater pools are also a plus but on the caribbean Princess they close at midnight except the pool by the Movies under the Stars which cloes at 5:30pm.

 

The ice skating show on RCI is a winner.

 

If you are very active and like rock climbing and rollerblading I'd go with RCI.

 

If a little less active I'd go with Caribbean Princess.

 

One more thing, if you like seafood Caribbean Princess can't be beat.

 

Bill

[cassidyk]

Thank you all very much for your input. I really appreciate it!

[Iamthesea]

We loved the Mariner and the RCCL AOS.

 

We will be taking our first cruise on the CB this fall. We have only cruised with Princess one other time and really preferred RCCL over the Princess Coral because of their suite staterooms. Other than that, they were equal in service and food.

 

We are looking forward to trying the CB.

[kkorman]

One more thing, if you like seafood Caribbean Princess can't be beat.

 

Bill

That is so true... I have never seen so much offered on a cruise before.

 

Both ships are fantastic... I would take either in a second.

[Host Caroline]

Much prefer CB over the Mariner: was on Mariner in Sept 04 and CB last Sept and going back this year.. yes the rock wall etc. are fun but IMHO the Mariner just isn't up to par with Princess in terms of dining, nightlife etc.. I have friends who have been on Mariner as well and even though we are older than you guys we like nightlife.. it was pretty dead a couple of nights on Mariner but with MUTS, disco etc. there was pretty much always something going on with Princess.

[joand452]

We sailed on Mariner in April 05 and are getting ready for Sapphire later this month. We haven't sailed Princess yet and are looking forward to a new experience--we signed up for Anytime Dining. However, the food on Mariner was fine (I didn't have to shop, cook or clean so I never complain), but we had the best server at dinner. Mehi from Romania. I know I've misspelled his name, but he made the whole cruise. He was wonderful, and I'm sure I'll judge every dinner from now on. I found the activities staff to be warm and friendly, too. Our other experience was on HAL, which I found very elegant, but just not as warm to me.

 

I'm sure you'll have a great cruise on whichever line you choose. We're gonna try 'em all until we find the one we like the best--so many itineraries, so many ships to choose!