RCI vs Princess....the verdict is in!

[Cruisin'40]

We had only sailed Princess until earlier this year when we took a short SOS cruise and booked our Mariner cruise. I have to admit the SOS cruise was disappointing, not close to Princess standards so we were a little nervous regarding our Mariner cruise. No need. We loved the Mariner, one of our best cruises.

Beautiful ship, wonderful cruise director, supurb service and food. There were a few areas Princess was better but I think the two lines are very comparable and allow for variety in itineraries.

I missed the fresh water pools on Princess.

Entertainment was great on both lines, loved the Ice show, wish they had dueling pianos on all ships.

Food was comparable, RCI had a better buffet, Princess slightly better dining room food. RCI had MUCH better coffee (biggie for me).

Both lines offered abundance of shipboard activities but Mariner seemed to be a little "younger".

RCI seems to offer more options on excursions.

Big minus for RCI is in baggage handling, Princess wins hands down. We always had our luggage well before dinner on Princess, on both our RCI cruises they were delivered either after dinner or 10 minutes before dinner.

I liked the RCI option of carrying off your own luggage at disembarkment and they are offering an airport check-in and baggage handling that seemed promising.

Well time to do my post cruise cleaning, laundry, cooking.......blah!!!

[DeepWaterMariner]

On our recent Princess cruise you could carry your own bags off the ship for an early departure. That seems to be something that is spreading throughout the cruise industry. Another Princess feature we like is having food available in the Horizon Court 24 hours a day. RCI closes down the Windjammer in the late evening and the best you can do is pizza or a hot dog in the Solarium. Otherwise I agree. We cruise both lines. For veteran cruisers Princess offers the advantage of more varied and exotic itineraries.

[Roses2]

We too are Princess cruisers who recently tried Royal Caribbean and to us (admittedly subjective) Royal Caribbean just does not compete in the major elements of the cruise experience.

 

RCI does a great job a embarking passengers and does have helpful crew and staff.

 

RCI lags far behind in most other categories that make the cruise experience.

 

In our opinion, the amenities, the food, the more exotic itineraries, the ambiance of the ships, and the benefits to loyal cruisers are all far better on Princess.

 

RCI was worth a try. It is too bad that they did not measure up.

[Cruisin'40]

When I was on the Soverign I also felt the amenities, food and ambience were not close to Princess but when we were on the Mariner it felt like a completely different cruiseline (maybe the 3 night cruises aren't for me).

I have only been on the Sea, Grand and Diamond Princess but I have to say I thought the Mariner was more beautifully and tastefully decorated than the Princess ships. I also liked their cabin layout with the sofa rather than the table/chair combo, don't know what the suites are like (gotta stop bringing the kids before we sample the suite life!).

I still love Princess but am just not as brand devoted to them now that I have wandered.

[Aquahound]

It's really not too fair to compare cruise lines based on specific ships. For example, on RCI, the Empress, Enchantment, and Freedom would all be completely different cruise experiences. These three classes of ships are, in no way, alike. And I'm sure it's the same on Princess. IMO, you would have to try several cruises on both lines to really compare the two.

That being said, and being loyal to RCI, I plan on trying the new Emerald Princess next year. Let's hope she lives up to the Princess hype!

[wraithe]

When I was on the Soverign I also felt the amenities, food and ambience were not close to Princess but when we were on the Mariner it felt like a completely different cruiseline (maybe the 3 night cruises aren't for me).

I have only been on the Sea, Grand and Diamond Princess but I have to say I thought the Mariner was more beautifully and tastefully decorated than the Princess ships. I also liked their cabin layout with the sofa rather than the table/chair combo, don't know what the suites are like (gotta stop bringing the kids before we sample the suite life!).

I still love Princess but am just not as brand devoted to them now that I have wandered.

 

Thanks for the objective comparison of a couple RCL ships vs. Princess, it's nice to see that you had a couple experiences instead of letting your one cruise on an older, smaller RCL ship characterize the entire line. Since RCL offers 20 different ships ranging from small and intimate to the largest cruise ship currently plying the seas, it's hard to imagine that one couldn't find something in the fleet to like about RCL. Thanks again.

[time4u2go]

We had only sailed Princess until earlier this year when we took a short SOS cruise

OP: Which SOS? Sovereign, Splendour, or Seranade?

[cruisin4kicks]

When I was on the Soverign I also felt the amenities, food and ambience were not close to Princess but when we were on the Mariner it felt like a completely different cruiseline (maybe the 3 night cruises aren't for me).

I have only been on the Sea, Grand and Diamond Princess but I have to say I thought the Mariner was more beautifully and tastefully decorated than the Princess ships. I also liked their cabin layout with the sofa rather than the table/chair combo, don't know what the suites are like (gotta stop bringing the kids before we sample the suite life!).

I still love Princess but am just not as brand devoted to them now that I have wandered.

Post number 4 from the OP. Looks like the answer to your question is Sovereign.

 

Tim

[Merion_Mom]

OP: Which SOS? Sovereign, Splendour, or Seranade?

It has to be the Sovereign. She mentioned Dueling Pianos. :)

[aqhacruiser]

We had only sailed Princess until earlier this year when we took a short SOS cruise and booked our Mariner cruise. I have to admit the SOS cruise was disappointing, not close to Princess standards so we were a little nervous regarding our Mariner cruise. No need. We loved the Mariner, one of our best cruises.

Beautiful ship, wonderful cruise director, supurb service and food. There were a few areas Princess was better but I think the two lines are very comparable and allow for variety in itineraries.

I missed the fresh water pools on Princess.

Entertainment was great on both lines, loved the Ice show, wish they had dueling pianos on all ships.

Food was comparable, RCI had a better buffet, Princess slightly better dining room food. RCI had MUCH better coffee (biggie for me).

Both lines offered abundance of shipboard activities but Mariner seemed to be a little "younger".

RCI seems to offer more options on excursions.

Big minus for RCI is in baggage handling, Princess wins hands down. We always had our luggage well before dinner on Princess, on both our RCI cruises they were delivered either after dinner or 10 minutes before dinner.

I liked the RCI option of carrying off your own luggage at disembarkment and they are offering an airport check-in and baggage handling that seemed promising.

Well time to do my post cruise cleaning, laundry, cooking.......blah!!!

 

We had our luggage by 3pm on the Explorer. I do think the experience one may have would depend on the ship. :)

[Cruisin'40]

OP: Which SOS? Sovereign, Splendour, or Seranade?

 

Sorry, I didn't realize RCI had so many SOS ships! It was the Soverign and it wasn't "awful", we booked it as an inexpensive getaway and we took the cheapest cabins. The service wasn't bad just not stellar like we are used to when cruising. I do think they failed to reach minimum standards in our cabin bathroom there was mildew in the caulking, pretty gross. We probably could have complained but I didn't want to waste my vacation time complaining, I like to save that for home!

I do agree with the poster who asserts you have to sample different ships before making a judgement on an entire line. I think I will make it my life goal to "sample" many ships on many lines.

[AFT_LOVER]

For years we cruised Princess getting a cruise credit for each cruise. So we are Platinum with 10 cruises. Have they started giving extra for mini suites, long cruises (2 weeks), etc? I now see Platinum Elite mentioned. SO we are not top tier with them anymore.

 

We too are Princess cruisers who recently tried Royal Caribbean and to us (admittedly subjective) Royal Caribbean just does not compete in the major elements of the cruise experience.

 

RCI does a great job a embarking passengers and does have helpful crew and staff.

 

RCI lags far behind in most other categories that make the cruise experience.

 

In our opinion, the amenities, the food, the more exotic itineraries, the ambiance of the ships, and the benefits to loyal cruisers are all far better on Princess.

 

RCI was worth a try. It is too bad that they did not measure up.

[M&M CRUZERS]

For years we cruised Princess getting a cruise credit for each cruise. So we are Platinum with 10 cruises. Have they started giving extra for mini suites, long cruises (2 weeks), etc? I now see Platinum Elite mentioned. SO we are not top tier with them anymore.

 

Elite status on Princess is for 16th cruise and more; they've had it for several years now.

[Luv4dacruise]

Also dont agree it is fair to judge a cruise line entirely based on one ship, especially whn you are comparing the oldest one in the fleet. To each their own though.

[Roses2]

De gustibus non est disputandum

[beeneyboy]

Having cruised both RCI and Princess, my wife and I give the nod to RCI, hands down. In fairness, we have only cruised the Grand Princess, and have cruised the Rhapsody, the Radience, and the Enchantment on RCI. The Grand was one of their signature ships so it should have measured up. Unfortunately it didn't. I will say that the excursions at Princess were outstanding in every way. We did the Mediterranean on the Grand and the guides and service were excellent. My views about the two are from the perspective of, primarily, the service and attitude of the crew. We have also been on NCL, Carnival, Celebrity and none come close to the service you get on RCI. The dining experience on RCI, with their service, is something to look forward to. The personal choice dining on Princess, while convenient, left much to be desired in the attitude of the dining staff. They had a very nonchalant, disinterested attidue. The food was surprisingly bad, also. I actually lost weight on this 12 day cruise which is near impossible. We will have another good test for Princess as we will do the Austrailia/New Zealand cruise in March. But, when cruising, any ship is wonderful.

[TexasMom2]

I have to agree that Princess didn't measure up with my RCI cruises (two on Rhapsody, one on Adventure). I am so excited to be trying the Jewel a week from Sunday.

 

Virtues of various ships mean different things to different people. You will hear people go on and on about fresh-water pools on Princess, but it matters not one whit to me. I can't bring myself to hop into a tiny pool after watching beer after beer consumed all afternoon without a single potty break. It's a personal problem. :)

 

The biggest differences to me were the aesthetic beauty of the ships and the service. The Grand Princess was just plain boring - not "quietly elegant". You had to make a special effort to find ocean vistas from the inside. The dining room looked like a really plain restaurant in a really plain hotel. I really prefer an elegant atmosphere.

 

These "blah" feelings could have been made up for with excellent service, but it wasn't. The service was "blah". I didn't get the feeling that employees were happy to be working on Princess, or even happy to see you, the customer. Service in anytime dining was unbelievably bad, and this is a kind statement. I would never choose a sailing where I couldn't get traditional dining (luckily on Tahitian, it is traditional only). Some casino dealers were downright rude.

 

Another major difference is the balcony staterooms. The club chair on Princess is useless and you have to continuously move it out of the way. It's either in front of the fridge if you want to use the balcony, or in front of the balcony door if you need to get to the fridge. There is no space for it anywhere else. There are tiny showers and clingy shower curtains and limited storage space.

 

The great thing about RCI is you can build the kind of experience you want. Yes, there are many attractions for the active passenger, but there are also spaces and opportunities for major relaxation. If you aren't into rock climbing, then you don't have to visit the tiny portion of the ship dedicated for the activity. I personally love the Solarium and vegging with a good book!

 

With all that said, we are sailing Princess next summer and will continue to sail Princess when we want an exotic itinerary. If RCI offered a French Polynesian itinerary, there would be no question which line to sail. For the Caribbean, Alaska, Bermuda and Europe, there's no question that we would choose RCI in the future.

 

As always, your mileage may vary. :)

[Fritz265]

We're big RCI fans but will try Princess for the first time in '08 for a Tahiti cruise (which RCI does not offer or we'd be on RCI).

 

I'm curious to see the difference since we haven't tried any other line except for Carnival and there's NO comparison to be made there.

[CMurph]

We are huge RCI fans. We are sailing Princess for the first time in one month (woo-hoo!!!). I will be happy to report our experiences upon our return.

[pmshirl]

I am a Loyal RC cruiser also. I have tried Carnival (never again) Celebrity( it was okay) Princess Crown ( a total disaster) and I am giving Crown Princess another chance next yr. From my experience ( not counting the triple cabin with no 3rd berth, the air conditioning in our cabin, not working the entire nine days, some other amenity problems) I feel the Ship itself is Beautiful, I can't compare it to the Freedom or Liberty since I won't be crusing them till 2007. The Service is no comparison to Rc. On Princess not once did our waiter call us by name, not once were our drinks served prior to asking what we would like to drink (dining room issues). We always get this personal touch from RC. Food tasting, was about the same on both cruiselines. Nothing to write home about. The theater was so small, limited seating, never found that on RC. The friendly atmosphere on the (one and only) Princess Ship was just not there like you get on Rc Ships. I like to try different Ships, and I always come back to RC.