RCCL Serenade or Golden Princess?

[travelhound]

My husband and I are looking at the Golden Princess or RCCL Serenade of the Seas for next February. Has anyone been on either/both and have a recommendation. They do the exact same route, so that won't make the decision and a charter company in Minneapolis is offering both for about the same cost.

 

We've been on 15 cruises, but never on Princess. We like active excursions, especially snorkeling/catamaran. Any insight is greatly appreciated.

 

Teri

[bUU]

I did the same research a few months ago, deciding between these two ships for the first week of February 2005. I think you'll find it will come down to a matter of personal preference, and perhaps money. We found RCI's regular prices to be less expensive than Princess' deepest discounts -- that was a major factor for us. Beyond that, we got a clear message that Princess was a bit more "traditional" and RCI was a bit more focused on being "active" and therefore fit our personality better.

 

Both ships offer similar excursions (often the same excursions.) We found active excursions for each of our five ports-of-call.

[Tra4]

I've been on the Grand (sister to Golden) and Radiance & Brilliance (sisters to serenade, and we prefer RCI. The ship is much more beautiful than Princesses larger class ship. The service on Princess especially in the dining room is better and the food is a tad better. Princess also has fresh water pools which is very nice.

 

RCI has nicer staterooms, better entertainment, and more activities. You'll have a great time on both ships, and it will depend on your overall preferences. Have fun!

 

Tracey

[PR1NCESSD1ANE]

I've been on both the Serenade and the Golden and prefered the Serenade, hands down. The ship is beautiful and very easy to get around. We found it difficult for us to find our way around on the Golden throughout the cruise for some reason. I will not say that I didn't enjoy our cruise on the Golden, just that when comparing the two ships, Serenade was far superior to us.

 

I also agree that the Princess experience seems to feel a little more traditional whereas the Royal Caribbean experience feels to be geared more toward the younger, more active cruiser. You should take that into conideration also.

 

I'm not able to help you with shore excursions, since our cruise on Golden was the eastern caribbean and on Serenade it was a repositioning cruise to Hawaii.

[travelhound]

Thanks for all of the great responses. I doesn't sound as if we'll be disappointed with either ship. Being on a ship in the Caribbean is always better than Minnesota's February!

 

Thanks again,

Teri