Explorer of the Sea vs Caribbean Princess for next July?

[Just Joan]

As you can see I'm new here and new to cruising. I'm trying to decide between Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas on July 3, 2008 or Princess's Caribbean Princess on July 1, 2009.

 

Since this is the Princess board, maybe you would be kind enough to tell me the pros and cons of Caribbean Princess.

 

We're a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 young adults. We will be booking two cabins. I should mention our young adults will both be in college by next summer. They are the more conservative types - they enjoy the beach and historical sites but, things like the Rock Wall on Explorer of the Seas aren't going to impress them - I know they won't even bother with it.

 

Any advice which to book?

[coombs2]

never did RCL but we were on the CB Princess in April 2006 and loved it. It was a great ship. we are actually on the Jun 22nd sailing so we will be back in port on the 1st, in time for you to cruise. I dont know the RCL itinerary but I think the CB itinerary sounds really good. I can vouch for the cleanliness, excellent food, tons of games and entertainment, and friendliness of the staff on CB.

[ggprincess2004]

Also, at that time of year there will be plenty of young people on board, so your young adults will have plenty of social outlets. Usually the first evening on board, there is a get-together for the 18-21 pax. When you get to your stateroom after boarding, check the Princess Patter (newsletter) that is waiting for you - the meeting time and location will be in there. The kids should definitely go to that.

On our most recent b3b we had my 19 yr old step son and my 19 year niece aboard with us. They had a great time. We had only 2 rules for them: Be ready and on time for anything we have reservations for - shore excursions, dinner, etc. and After dinner, the buddy system is mandatory, no exceptions, do not party alone, you two are joined at the hip. Worked very well - and we had some great laughs about comments some of the other passengers made, kind of assuming they were a "couple". Actually they are night and day.

Also, Princess has been sticking to its policy of not serving alcohol to anyone under 21. The room cards have an indicator that tells the server if the pax is under 21. Since we do allow our teens to have a glass of wine with dinner (as long as they are not going out or driving that evening), we did take bottles of wine onboard with us. Our cabin steward kept us supplied with clean wine glasses, and the kids were free to have a glass of wine before dinner with us on the balcony, and we took full glasses of wine down to the dining room. Kept our servers off the hook, and let us deal with our young people drinking responsibly.

We really enjoy the Caribbean Princess, and I am sure your kids will have a great time as well.

Bon voyage whatever you choose!

[fozziscooter]

I haven't been on a Princess cruise yet, but have been on 2 Carnival and RC Explorer of the Seas. I think that either boat would be great for you guys:D Let me know if you have any questions about the Explorer!

[Homebody]

I am also looking at both ships for next July. I will also be sailing with my young adult children (25,23,21,15). Explorer and Caribbean both have similar itineraries, so the choice for me is about the ship and price. I think the EoS has more activities to offer than the CB, (Rock wall, Ice skating, rollerblading), but, and this a big but, the CB is currently about $300 less pp for a balcony. for my familyof 6 that is almost $2000. I am leaning towards the CB for this reason and this reason only. I have never sailed on Princess, but did sail on Voyager of the Seas, so I know what to expect there.

 

My parents are frequent cruisers, having over 20 cruises on both Princess and RCCL, they like both lines equally, though they think Voyager class ships have a lot more to offer as far as activities, and are more nicely decorated than Princess, but they like anytime dining, and MUtS on Princess, they also love the terrace pool on Princess.

 

Coincidentally, two friends of mine are currently on cruises, (both first time cruisers), one is on the 7/5 sailing of the Crown, the other on the 7/6 Explorer. My friend who sailed on Crown picked the Crown because of the price difference, her only concern was that there would be enough for her 16 and 20 year old boys to do. The other is doing the Explorer with extended family, and activities was a factor in their choice of ship.

 

I will post back with their opinions after I hear from them next week. But my 2 cents is, if price is not an option, I would pick Explorer.

[FishyFam]

The two features I liked the best about Princess over RCL is MUTS (which Caribbean Princess does have) and anytime dining, especially for traveling with teens. My daughter, too, is not that into organized activities and has yet to make new friends on ship. We have sailed both the Navigator of the Seas and Grand Princess. It was very reasonable to get a balcony on the Grand, so we did and loved it. The in room movie choices as well as the movies showing in the other venues during the day was a real added plus for us. We don't really enjoy the Las Vegas style shows. We loved the hypnotist on the Grand - saw his show 3 times. So for us the balcony, entertainment, and anytime dining were the deciding factors for liking Princess over RCL. I will say, the Navigator class boats are beautiful (we loved the Promenade), have a huge selection at the buffet (but a bit chaotic), a phenominal fitness center, and as a general rule more outgoing, friendly staff. Princess does have great cheesecake, but RCL has 24x7 soft serve ice cream. Truthfully, loved them both - don't think you could go wrong on either. Good luck deciding!

[gatour]

I have been on both RCCL and Princess each several times. While I would give the nod to RCCL for activities, based on your comment about your young adults, I would think most things on-board either ship would be a wash. I.E the food is similiar, they have both have some of the same type of activities, but Princess maybe not as much "pool games".

 

The biggest difference in my opinion is that Princess has anytime dining for dinner. Two out of three main dining rooms are devoted to this. You can show up anytime you want and be seated (there may be a wait during certain time periods). The third dining room is devoted to traditional dining where everyone shows up at the same time for one of two seatings. On RCCL, they only have traditional dining dinner. However, both RCCL and Princess have what I would call informal dining up in the buffett, for dinner