please help xxxxx

[little miss chatterbox]

:confused: Please help, Planning to go on our first ever cruise and I'm not sure which ship to go on. It's a choice between The Grand Princess or The Independence of the Seas? Any pros and cons would be super. I want this holiday to be fantastic, I know that the Grand is an older ship- but is it dated???? Please help xxxxxxx:)

[cruiserbryce]

while Grand is older than Indy its by no means an old ship. The cruise lines do a really great job of keeping the ships nice. For us a lot more of the decision of which cruise to go on would have to do with price and itinerary

[gooselover]

While I really can't help you decide, ANY crusie is a wonderful vacation. I think you should decide where you want to visit first. My husband and I's first cruise was on Carnival - you will get alot of bashing about Carnival on this website from loyal followers of other cruise lines - we were 50 at the time, but honestly, it was WONDERFUL.

 

Decide your itinerary, your budget and then just see what line has the best deal for you. Again, ANY cruise will be wonderful.

[honeywell]

My kids asked to cruise on the Freedom class ship because of the climbing wall, ice skating rink, flow rider, H2o zone, mini golf, etc. I chose the Indy because it leaves from Ft. Lauderdale, offers an 8 day itinerary and has heated fresh water pools.

[TEXASMUNK]

the layout is difficult to get around, up stairs, down stairs, to get places.

Serivce is good, but not RCI level.

Food ok, not much difference.

Adventrue Ocean is great on RCI.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

:confused: Please help, Planning to go on our first ever cruise and I'm not sure which ship to go on. It's a choice between The Grand Princess or The Independence of the Seas? Any pros and cons would be super. I want this holiday to be fantastic, I know that the Grand is an older ship- but is it dated???? Please help xxxxxxx:)

 

Both ships are wonderful and you will love either one. If you are going with kids then I would say INDEPENDENCE. If you are a couple then either one is fine...it all depends on the deal. Either ship will give you a fine first cruise experience although the INDEPENDENCE definitely has the WOW factor...and 8 days is better than 7.

[ERTHDOG]

i would vote independence:)

 

but being your first cruise,i think you would be thrilled with either

 

i love the rci experience,but am fond of princess as well;)

 

dave

[firefly333]

Iv been on the Grand Princess and I felt like it was dated. Just me. I loved the Caribbean Princess, but the overall effect of the Grand Princess wasnt as much of a hit with me.

 

..... just my opinion. RCL Independance is a better choice. yes, the grand has a dated feel. I was on her in Dec 2006, and it was pretty with all the xmas decorations but didnt like the overall feel of her as much.

[shmthaus]

Sailed on Grand but not Independence.

 

Look at itinerary, sailing port, cost of similar staterooms, etc. I think that both ships will offer similar options.

 

I think you will find pros and cons from these boards, but any cruise is a great vacation. Just book one and then go with an open mind and enjoy. At least you won't be at work.

[little miss chatterbox]

Can I just say Thank you to everyone for responding so quickly.

The reason why I have mentioned these two crusie liners, is that they both have the 14 day meiterranean cruise. They both leave on the same day-(1st Aug 09) which is ideal, as DH and I only have that time off work.

We dont have children, so would ideally like a pool where we could just chill without lots of splashing (I do like children)

Food is important to us- my DH gets bored of the same food. My husband is in catering and wants to be served, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We would like room service- with a good snack menu .

The room is important to us- clean, fresh without the old feeling. Size not important, but we love films, so TV quite important (on a great ship and i'm talking about the tv- how sad am I)

I'm not too fussed about the price, just want a really good holiday.

We are also celebrating our 6th anniversary whilst away. Forgot to say that we are in our early thirties- not really bothered about clubs/bars or discos. Many thanks once again xxxxxxxx

[pepsicruiser]

Ok now we know more about your needs. I'd say that Princess may outdo Royal (don't flame JMHO) in the food except the specialty restaurants are great on Royal. TV ... dont get your hopes up. It is not like home TV. They do play some movies over and over and you can keep up to date on news on either ship but thats it. Don't go on a cruise to watch tv its just not happening lol. The 2 ships have adult only pools I believe so you will be able to chill by the Solarium on Royal but do forget the Princess adult pool. As far as being able to dining in for BL&D you are going on a Med cruise so it will be tour extensive and you will probably have to get up early every day for tours so to me breakfast will be rushed, lunch will be off the ship and dinner on ship. Both ships will have room service probably about the same .. ie: sandwiches, pizza, salads, desserts, cheese/crack etc. Hope this helps.

[05mak05]

We had great experiences on Princess but do prefer RCI. We're "seniors" and felt the Princess crowd was older than the ones on Royal Caribbean. Of course, it may have simply been the itinerary. However, RCI seems more upbeat to us. We've not been on the Grand so I have no business commenting. But, here goes anyway - we didn't book the Grand because we read it was dated. I have no idea if it's been in dry dock the last 3 or 4 years or not. I think I'd ask on the Princess board to see when it was last updated. We love the new bedding on RCI - duvet covers, good mattresses, nice pillows, etc. I'd rate our Princess cruises a 7 to 8 and RCI a 9 to 10. You can see where our loyalties lie! The Med is a fabulous cruise and as others have stated, port intensive. (The plus for us on Princess is the laundry facilities. Makes packing so much easier. Having said that, the laundry/dry cleaning services on RCI are not terrilby expensive.)

[land lover]

Your first ever cruise, no children, during August...want to relax, better food choices.....PRINCESS...

 

We went on a Med, last OCT. with Royal(NOS) thought the food selection was not as good as our Princess(Royal) Med. cruise in 2007.

 

But if you like physical activities Indy would be great.

 

And don't forget MUTTS on the Grand, for those movies under the stars.

 

Its your first cruise, whatever ship you pick, you will be happy.

[scayuga]

Compare the iteneraries, costs and I think both have adequate food, RCI probably has more activities on board.