New to Princess

[ivopera]

I have cruised a lot on Costa (not my cup of tea), Celebrity (7 times and love it), Regent seven seas... and would like to try Princess for a caribbean cruise.

 

I wanted to know from you people who are princess fan what are the advantages of this company and what would be the main differences with Celebrity.

 

Here are some questions :

- How dinner work ? For the anytime dininf, if I am with a party of 5, are we sure to get a table alone? How do we book alternative dining, is there always seats available?

- are the ship not too crowdy (what i like on Celebrity is the feeling of space....and would hate a very crowded ship)?

- Can you find chairs outside on sea days?

- are there some small intimate and calm bars or is it fiesta everywhere ?

- what are the extras compared to celebrity (are there some place you have to pay to go (apart from alternative dining?)

- how are the shows ?

- Is there a good children club?

 

To help you I would hesitate between Carabbean Princess or Ruby Princess.

 

Thanks for your help

[Grego]

I have cruised a lot on Costa (not my cup of tea), Celebrity (7 times and love it), Regent seven seas... and would like to try Princess for a caribbean cruise.

 

I wanted to know from you people who are princess fan what are the advantages of this company and what would be the main differences with Celebrity.

 

Here are some questions :

- How dinner work ? For the anytime dininf, if I am with a party of 5, are we sure to get a table alone? How do we book alternative dining, is there always seats available?

- are the ship not too crowdy (what i like on Celebrity is the feeling of space....and would hate a very crowded ship)?

- Can you find chairs outside on sea days?

- are there some small intimate and calm bars or is it fiesta everywhere ?

- what are the extras compared to celebrity (are there some place you have to pay to go (apart from alternative dining?)

- how are the shows ?

- Is there a good children club?

 

To help you I would hesitate between Carabbean Princess or Ruby Princess.

 

Thanks for your help

First of all, Princess has been a very enjoyable experience during all the 12 voyages we have taken and if you choose the Caribbean Princess, you won't be disappointed. It's a lovely ship.

 

Dinner arrangements for anytime dining with a group of 5 won't be a big challenge, but it really all depends on when you are choosing to dine. You might want to ask the Matre 'D the first night out, what times are best to show up and he'll be able to give you some ideas. It is also possible that you can make standing reservations for a specific time for the entire cruise, at the same table, etc. by working with him (with or without a little cash gratuity....)

 

As for the crowd on the ship, any large ship such as the Caribbean will have some occassions where lots of people will be in some of the popular areas, but generally speaking we have never noticed a feeling of being in a crowd on any of the Princess ships. A lot has to do with the layout of the ship and the habits of the passengers.

 

Finding deck chairs on sea days is always an adventure. Usually the chairs near the pools go first and the best bets are those up on the Sun Deck or areas fore and aft. From what I'm reading from you questions, you would prefer the quiet areas anyway, and those are better choices for chairs.

 

There are many out of the way bars and lounges for you to escape to. One thing to know is the for the most part, Princess is not a "Party Barge". Sure there is fun type activity much of the time, usually in the open deck area near the pools, and that's fine. We are all on the cruise to have fun and if that's what you want it is available. If you want quiet this is also available. In the end, it will be what you make it.

 

The only extras on the ship are the Alternative Dining restaurants (which are very good and worth that little extra), the shops of course, any beverages other than water and coffee in the dining areas and all the other usual stuff.

 

The shows are generally good to very good. There is a lot of competition out there to be part of the show's company and we have yet to be really disappointed. Same is true with the other acts, such as comedians, vocalists, magicians, etc. Remember, this ain't Vegas.

 

Children are well taken care of especially on the shorter Caribbean cruises that usually have a fair amount of young folks traveling with their parents.

 

There are always good things about each cruise line that are different about their competition. As the market grows, these differences shrink. If you enjoy cruising, you'll enjoy Princess.