We are loyal Princess cruisers, but...

[DeRon]

We love Princess for many reasons, but the last cruise I was on we felt there was a little too much smoke in certain areas. Now we are thinking about trying the Voyager class ships. Will we like it? Here are my concerns:

 

1. Is there any kind of smoking problem?
   
2. Is the food really that bad?
   
3. Does it seem crowded or claustophobic on the ship?
   
4. Is it hard to get a chair around the pool?

Thanks for your comments!

[Merion_Mom]

We love Princess for many reasons, but the last cruise I was on we felt there was a little too much smoke in certain areas. Now we are thinking about trying the Voyager class ships. Will we like it? Here are my concerns:

 

1. Is there any kind of smoking problem?
   
2. Is the food really that bad?
   
3. Does it seem crowded or claustophobic on the ship?
   
4. Is it hard to get a chair around the pool?

Thanks for your comments!

 

These are all good questions, and the answers are somewhat subjective, but here are my thoughts.

 

1. I have never encountered a smoke problem, except in the casino, and that's just sometimes. Thought that the smoke was much worse in the Princess casino.

 

 

2. Depends on the ship. I have *never* experienced bad food on an RC ship, but people whose opinions I value say that they have. Some cruises are better than others, but I have always enjoyed the food on board.

 

3. I have only felt crowded when disembarking or when waiting for tenders. (Muster Drill doesn't count!) Maybe my Patience Gene just kicks in when I am on vacation. :)

 

4. I am not a sun worshipper, but when I have wanted a lounger, I have always found one. If you insist on being as close to the pool as possible, you may have to be more vigilant in your search. There are ALWAYS empty chairs somewhere!

[Firefighterhoop]

We love Princess for many reasons, but the last cruise I was on we felt there was a little too much smoke in certain areas. Now we are thinking about trying the Voyager class ships. Will we like it? Here are my concerns:

1. Is there any kind of smoking problem?
   
2. Is the food really that bad?
   
3. Does it seem crowded or claustophobic on the ship?
   
4. Is it hard to get a chair around the pool?

Thanks for your comments!

 

Hi, just thought I'd also take some time to answer.

 

1) I have had less problems with smoking (well the smell of) on RCCL than on other lines, which besides carnival aren't that bad

 

2) Food is an item of preference. I enjoy the food on RCCL much more than princess, but again, thats me, might not be the same for both.

 

3) The crowds on the Voyager class are less than other ships i have been on. People dispurce throughout the ship and you really don't notice it.

 

4) I haven't had trouble finding chairs, unless its the first row by the pool at 1pm on a sea day...

 

RCCL and Princess are very similar, I think you should give it a try, as there are some things on princess I like better, and some things on RCCL I like better.

 

Scott

[cruzr4vr]

I've cruised both RCCL and Princess. My husband and I personally prefer RCCL but to answer your specific questions..

 

1. I have only encountered a smoking problem in the casinos and it really wasn't that bad at all.

 

2. I felt the food on Princess was hit or miss most nights. Definitely felt the food was better on RCCL.

 

3. I am claustrophobic and have never had a problem on RCCL including their smaller Sovereign Class ships. The only time a large crowd gathers on a Voyager Class ship is to view the parades down the Promenade.

 

4. We have always found deck chairs..I am not a sun worshipper so I prefer the shade but you can always find a chair to pull out into the sun or even closer to the pool.

[DonnaK]

We love Princess for many reasons, but the last cruise I was on we felt there was a little too much smoke in certain areas. Now we are thinking about trying the Voyager class ships. Will we like it? Here are my concerns:

 

1. Is there any kind of smoking problem?
   
2. Is the food really that bad?
   
3. Does it seem crowded or claustophobic on the ship?
   
4. Is it hard to get a chair around the pool?

Thanks for your comments!

 

1. I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke. The Voyager class ships are very well ventilated, and the smoking areas are well contained. The only time we had a minor issue with smoke was over this past summer on Mariner - it seemed their air conditioning system wasn't working as efficiently as it could have been, and the temperature seemed spotty and warm on certain areas of the ship, and there was a faint smell of smoke wafting into some of the public areas, but it was not bothersome, just surprising because we had never noticed it before. Other CC posters mentioned the same thing in their cruise reviews, so I know it's not just me. I haven't seen anyone mention this recently, so it seems the issue was resolved?

 

2. I don't understand the negative comments about food on RCI. We've always thought the food was delicious, and never had a bad meal on an RCI ship.

 

3. One of the beauties of the Voyager-class ship is that they are so spacious. There is plenty of room to spread out, so it never feels crowded. (We cruise in August when the ships are sailing at capacity). Sometimes it's a bit difficult to find a table at the buffet during prime dining times, but not impossible.

 

4. We like to sit in the shade, and never have a problem finding chairs on the pool deck. (We look for 4 chairs together, too). This past cruise, we spent a lot of time in the solarium, and still no problem finding chairs.

[gnparend]

 

1. Is there any kind of smoking problem?
   
2. Is the food really that bad?
   
3. Does it seem crowded or claustophobic on the ship?
   
4. Is it hard to get a chair around the pool?

Thanks for your comments!

1. RCI is upgrading the smoking policy in January, have not seen a published version but currently the casino is smoking if your the two bookends at the slots both smoke. Most nticable in the Casino at time. Pool deck only the port side on our last ship. No smoking in other public areas

2. The food on any ship can be bad at times. I have been in 5 star restaurants with a famous chef on the sign, but apparantly he wasn't cooking that night so only gave it 3 stars. Every RCI ship has a different chef but similiar menu's, most of them if not all are good.

3. I find more public space on the bigger ships. I think as capacity expands so does the public area. Do stay out of the WJ on last day, or between 7 & 7:30 AM.

4.Otherwise never had a problem finding two empty lounge chairs any time of the day. Finding shade on the open seas is more of a problem, so there is always the boat deck/promanade

[gnparend]

double post sorry

[CLQ]

Here are my concerns:

 

1. Is there any kind of smoking problem?
   
2. Is the food really that bad?
   
3. Does it seem crowded or claustophobic on the ship?
   
4. Is it hard to get a chair around the pool?

 

Let me add my perspective as well:

1. I agree that the Casino has been the chief source of smoke for us most of the time. While we don't hang out there, we have cut through there on the move. If you get near a casino, there is smoke potential. Otherwise, I'm trying to remember if the sports bar might have had a little. Overall, and I'm pretty allergic to smoke, it's not been a problem.

2. We're foodies, and I have to say that I've only had 1 bad meal on a ship. And that was this summer on Majesty where overall we felt the food and service might've been as good as we've ever had. So, you can have an off night. But, we don't expect GREAT food. We expect good food, and we let mass-service food preparation be what it is.

3. Amazing how as the pax count goes up on these big ships, so does the public space and activity that spreads everyone out. It's always felt proportionately about the same to us.

4. There just about always seems to be one or two somewhere. Of course, if you bump into EBQ on here you'll notice from her signature that we're balcony snobs, so we always try to have that option to go back to.

 

Hope you'll come on over to RCI and give it a try. Wish we had the "Movies Under the Stars" type program that Princess does. Maybe that'll spread industry wide.

[Guest scfjjb]

We sail Princess and RCI. We like Princess dining rooms better than RCI but have always avoided the buffets on Princess because of quality of food and odd layout of serving areas - RCI is far superior but since we like Princess dining rooms we eat almost every meal there except for Sterling Steakhouse night.

 

We don't go to casino so can't comment on smoke in there. Never had too much of a problem with smoke on either line except in some lounges.

 

Don't think overcrowding is a problem in either except the Theaters are some times harder to get into on Princess (if you want a good seat).

 

We haven't had a difficult time finding seats in the pool areas (as long as you don't insist on being right at the pool)

[Don Pedro]

 

1. Is there any kind of smoking problem?
   
2. Is the food really that bad?
   
3. Does it seem crowded or claustophobic on the ship?
   
4. Is it hard to get a chair around the pool?

We have not sailed on Princess so can not give you a direct comparison. But in answer to your questions -

 

1. Like many people we are not smokers and are quite sensitive to cigarette smoke. Except for the casinos we have not noticed any major smoking problems, unless you are a smoker. It seem that the options for smokers become more restricted on nearly every cruise we take. On our recent Hawaii cruise, on the Radiance of the Seas, smoking was even prohibited in the casino on formal nights.

 

2. As others have pointed out, food quality is rather subjective. Cruise ship food is cruise ship food. Unless you dine in one of the ship's specialty restaurants the food is not cooked to order. It must be mass produced to serve a lot of people in a short time span. We think they do a good job, but concur that the food on some ships is much better than on other ships.

 

3. No, we have not felt crowded or like we were a part of a herd. There are, of course, times when you are in with a large group of people for a short time. But, for the most part RCCL's ships have so much to do that people are spread out all over the ship. The Voyager class ships are quite amazing. We think that you'll really enjoy the experience.

 

4. Pool side seats are at a premium so you may not get the front row, however there are plenty of deck chairs available on the pool deck and on the deck above the pool deck. We've never had a problem find a good place to soak in a few rays.

[DeRon]

These responses have really helped! Thanks to everyone for your comments!

[willysgrandma]

We love Princess for many reasons, but the last cruise I was on we felt there was a little too much smoke in certain areas. Now we are thinking about trying the Voyager class ships. Will we like it? Here are my concerns:

1. Is there any kind of smoking problem?

Stay away from the starboard side of the ship on the decks, as that is designated as smoking. Many of the clubs allow smoking, so you need o be careful there. And the casino is always smoky. I found there were more non-smoking areas on Princess than RCCL

 

Is the food really that bad?

 

I thought the food on RCCL was much better than on Princess - less fish. Food in the Crown Grill was terrific, but I liked Sabatinis' on Princess much better than Portofinos on RCCL.

 

Does it seem crowded or claustophobic on the ship?

 

No, but the pool does get crowded on sea days. However we never found a problem finding a lounge chair. Other than that, you would never know there are over 3,000 people on the ship. The Crown Princess is very similar.

 

Is it hard to get a chair around the pool?

 

On sea days, it is hard to find one right next to the pool, but if you are willng to go to upper decks, you won't have any problem finding a seat.