We Tried Princess, Here's My Comparison Notes

[ChevyCruiser]

After RCI pulled their unannounced, "sneaky Pete" revision of their OBC and Loyalty programs last Fall, a week after I had purchased a couple of Next Cruise Certificates while on-board an Alaska cruise, four of us decided to try Princess and effectively moved around $10,000 worth of booking revenue over to Princess instead of booking a planned cruise on RCI.

 

We recently cruised on the Emerald Princess. All other things being equal, here's what we noticed that we liked about Princess over our experiences with RCI and Celebrity:

 

First impression when stepping onboard was that the ship was more richly appointed that either Royal Caribbean or Celebrity. It was warm, beautiful, and comfortable everywhere.

 

When we boarded, there was a crew member stationed in the elevator lobby to direct people to the next arriving elevator and an attendant on each elevator to get them to the right deck. It really sped up the embarkation day elevator process.

 

Our cabin was ready when we boarded at noon. Our luggage arrived not long after and was placed inside our cabin instead of being left in the hallway.

 

In our standard balcony stateroom, the walk-in closet was six feet long, with a shelf above. There was enough storage space that we didn’t even use all of the closet, shelves, and drawers!

 

In our standard balcony stateroom, we could order a complimentary fruit bowl every day.

 

The muster drill took place inside and they insist that you carry your life jacket to your muster station so that it is easier and safer to use the stairs. Once assembled in your muster station, everyone practices putting it on together. No standing on a hot deck in the sun packed in like sardines standing underneath a loudspeaker blaring garbled information.

 

About 4/5 of the passengers ate in the two big dining rooms which are dedicated to anytime dining. We were in a smaller, much more quiet dining room with an assigned table for four.

 

The "Windjammer" buffet was open 24 hours without closing for menu changeovers.

 

On sea days, a FREE pub lunch was available in the "Schooner Bar" consisting of fish and chips, bangers and mashers, or cottage pie.

 

Each production show runs for two nights with two shows each night, and a specialty act appears in the big lounge with three shows each night. That way one can attend one show one night and the other on another night - taking pressure off the venues so that neither is over crowded.

 

The sound volume at the shows was not deafening, a welcome relief from RCI and Celebrity where they must try to mask lip syncing with TOO LOUD music.

 

Each deck has a couple of laundromats with irons and ironing boards for passenger use. (MMMM, I thought irons were a fire hazard on ships :rolleyes:)

 

We could take on one bottle of wine per person on embarkation day, and nobody objected if we replenished our supply in other ports.

 

Tip/Gratuities/Service Charge or whatever you want to call them were automatically added to our account each day. Every single staff member we encountered was pleasant, hard-working, and an excellent ambassador for Princess. They compete for service-related customer evaluation reports and were thus tuned into making sure each passenger was happy. We saw our Assistant Head Waiter every meal, not just the last night of the cruise to make sure he received his tip.

 

Bottom Line: We were so impressed that the four of us booked another Princess cruise while on-board to take advantage of a double OBC offer and have cancelled an RCI cruise that we had planned for the same period.

[nursemom2]

We too are thinking of changing to Princess, WE are not unhappy with Royal, but like are tired of the ports on the TA's. How does Princess handle the price drops?

[MCManders99]

I was very impressed with your review. I like to read the comparisons between the two because we are traveling on RCI in December (not by choice- its my cousins wedding). I've cruised Princess twice and DH and I enjoy it. Everyone always points out the big stuff in comparison like food and entertainment and activities. I know we'll enjoy RCI but we always love the little stuff on Princess, like our room being ready when boarding. (we've always been on board by noon). Thanks so much. Can't wait till my next cruise!

[Winegirl58]

We too are loyal Princess fans. However, Princess, for some reason, doesn't sail the Caribbean after April:confused:. We really wanted to go on a Western Caribbean in May/June, so we chose RC over Carnival. Our first RC cruise will be on the Liberty on May 30th. I am hoping that we won't be dissappointed, but no matter what, we are going to have a great time, and bottom line is.... we will be on a cruise! woohoo! :D

[Schplinky]

Your review is interesting. We're trying Princess this fall. My only hesitation is that I find their ships to be very bland-looking and full of pastels and murals. That said, some rooms feel different in person than in pictures so we have high hopes.

 

It's interesting that you can get right into your rooms upon boarding. What time does that mean you have to be out of them on turn-around day? There has to be some time for the maids to work if they're cleaning them thoroughly between guests.

 

We had heard that the reason that Princess re-shows all their shows was because the theatre is smallish and they couldn't possibly accommodate as many. Any tips on not having to scramble for seats? On HAL, people actually lined up for the theatre to open, which I really don't want to do.

 

While I have no interest in saving $10 by spending part of a vacation that cost hundreds (or thousands) doing laundry, it's nice to see that they accommodate those that want to spend their holiday that way. My understanding from a couple of documentaries is that these laundry rooms are lined in fire retarant material. I doubt still that they allow irons in folks' individual rooms still.

 

Thanks for the tips.

 

p.s. We always have fruit in our room on RCL. A simple call to room service gets that done.

[madforcruising]

Thanks for putting this together, as I´m looking forward to my first Princess cruise in Sept.

 

I´m happy to read many nice things about Princess.

 

Now you said you only mentioned stuff being better on Prin with all other areas being equal.

 

This brings up the question, nothing that RCI has the edge on?

 

 

Only one remark regarding your comment about irons and fire hazards. Many cruise lines have laundry rooms where they provide irons. However these are monitored and the irons have auto shut off features and the rooms I´ve seen have been specially equipped with non-burning materials.

The existence of such rooms on other lines does not mean they are no fire hazards when in the stateroom and even worse irons taken onboard by guests which can be all kinds and even unsafe. Sure RCI could have such rooms onboard, but they don´t but all this does not make irons in staterooms safe.

[CruisinDawn]

We have not traveled on Princess since our first cruise. No fault to Princess, they are who addicted us to cruising. We were forced to go since my husbands brother was getting married on the ship. My thought's "How dare they tell me where I need to vacation" hehe. I agree with everything listed as the differences. We loved mustering in a lounge. The Horizon (Windjammer) just switched sides open during the times they were changing food available. Also loved food available poolside without having to get dressed to go inside to grab lunch. Hum may not be as many empty chairs with people inside eating if Royal had this available more often. Loved the adult only pool area with a live band. Laundry room, wonderful!

 

What we disliked about Princess: Ship itself...(Grand Princess)..When moving from venue to venue the halls were crowded and everyone was holder to holder. Imagine a theater of people trying to walk through the Schooner bar to move on to their next stop. The flow just seems so much better on Royal. Voyager class ships have the same problem at times in the Promenade. Cough Cough, the crowd was a bit older but ummm I am not getting any younger myself. Neither of these things should make one dislike Princess.

 

Would defiantly go on Princess again, unfortunately Royal had our Loyalty until their recent cutbacks. What good is a Loyalty program if they won't let you have a benefit for being "Loyal to Royal" (Diamond Discount) along with a Shareholder benefit one chose to pay for again feeling Loyal to Royal. Now they have taken away the dividend which didn't bother me until they said since were loyal enough to become Diamond we can't benefit for owning a part of the company as well.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[bridedoll1026]

After RCI pulled their unannounced, "sneaky Pete" revision of their OBC and Loyalty programs last Fall, a week after I had purchased a couple of Next Cruise Certificates while on-board an Alaska cruise, four of us decided to try Princess and effectively moved around $10,000 worth of booking revenue over to Princess instead of booking a planned cruise on RCI.

 

 

 

I was actually waiting for a thread like this. We did the same thing! 6 of us cancelled our Liberty cruise 10/09 & booked Emerald for the same week.

Sounds like RCCL is losing a lot of revenue! They denied us our military discount AND $200 balcony discount!!:mad: So we moved on......

[KAWS]

Bottom Line: We were so impressed that the four of us booked another Princess cruise while on-board to take advantage of a double OBC offer and have cancelled an RCI cruise that we had planned for the same period.

 

Curious: Can you tell me more about a "double OBC offer"? I know if you get the future cruise credit or book another cruise while onboard that you get the same deal of OBC for that cruise (and reduced deposit) but how do you get a double OBC? Or did you just mean that each couple got an OBC?

[skyking]

We are sailing on the Ruby Princess in just 19 days and I cant wait to try something new. When we sailed on the QM2 it was nice to have the cabins opened right away upon boarding, having to wait until 1pm can be a total drag. Dont get me wrong I love Royal, but with their prices higher than most I am open to finding another line to call home....Also this will be a spring beak cruise in the Caribbean, so I am expecting a somewhat younger crowd than you would find on other Princess sailings.

[EV2008]

We have cruised with Princess 2 times, once the Southern Carib on the Dawn and the other time in the Med on the Grand. We had a wonderful time both times. This time we are taken a RC in the Med to compare. Will see on what ship line we will end up after this Cruise.:rolleyes:

[megr1125]

interesting comparison...thanks! we, too are considering giving Princess a try and your nfo is quite helpful.......

 

(one of the biggest issues on RC is the elevator mess!!! they need to do this, especially on the 1st and last days...we had a wheelchair and waited probably 20 minutes for an elevator down to breakfast....

[cruisePRN]

I am a D+ on RCL and Elite on Princess so I have cruised both lines extensively. I think they are more similar then not. I like the higher energy on RCL and i think RCL has more activities. Princess has fewer kids, maybe because no rock climbing walls and similar attractions. Princess does longer more exotic cruises then RCL. We loved the Princess cruise to the Amazon, nothing like it with RCL. In the food dept. I give an advantage to Princess and their pizza is fabulous. I would rate the entertainment equal on both lines. The loyalty program on Princess is much much better then RCL. Princess has complimenary laundry, pressing and dry cleaning for their elite members and enough free internet to satisfy most users. Those two perks alone would beat RCL but they also give you a free mini bar set up with 21 beverages of your choice. Then there's 10% off the shops not limited to log stuff which RCL limits us to.

Back to the cruise experience, I think they're similar, a lot depends on what you prefer and if you're a family VS a couple who wants a more adult crowd when cruising. I have cruised RCL more because I could hop on the Monarch in LA for a short cruise whereas Princess doesn't have a short cruise out of LA.

[sailor moon]

What Princess ship would be similar to the Radiance class of RCCL?

[marco]

I too, amd D+ on RCi and Elite on Princess. The perks for Elite on Princess are much more extensive than D+ on RCI. The flow of passnegers seems to be better on RCI ships. Too many "can't get there from here" rooms on Princess and narrower hallways. The wait for elevators on RCI was longer than one would expect and surprisingly, I never saw a chair, settee or bench near ANY elevator bank while on EOS. At the casual buffet areas, there NEVER was a line on EOS (we've just been back a week now since sailing on EOS). I don't mean a short, quick moving line, I mean NO line! Only 4 or 5 people if you wanted made to order eggs. For us, what was the trump card in choosing RCI for a winter Caribbean sailing was the ship left out of NJ. Being an hour from the ship, no airports, no airport/plane luggage rules, fees, limitations, no airplanes, no additional $1000 for two people to fly, stay over in Fla, dinner, blah, blah, blah, blah. We do an annual winter Caribbean cruise, and until someone else (we won't do NCL) sails in the winter out of NY/NJ, it will be RCI. A 24/7 full buffet is nice, but not a deal breaker for us and over all, I thought the "fit and finish" of the ship was higher end on RCI than Princess, but again, not a deal breaker. Shows were pretty much equal other than the ice skating shows (on RCI) which I thought were the best entertainment I've seen on a cruise ship.

[Esmerelda]

Thank you so much for posting this comparison! We too are considering changing our cruise to do a Princess cruise as the savings are significant.

 

You gave me a lot to think about.

 

 

:)

[ChevyCruiser]

Curious: Can you tell me more about a "double OBC offer"? I know if you get the future cruise credit or book another cruise while onboard that you get the same deal of OBC for that cruise (and reduced deposit) but how do you get a double OBC? Or did you just mean that each couple got an OBC?

 

On Princess, any OBCs are per person, not per stateroom. I like that. The double OBCs that I mentioned was a "special" that double the normal OBCs for booking a next cruise. Instead of a $150 OBC per person, we got $300 per person. When we step on-board that cruise, we'll already have $600 to spend.

 

One other thing that I liked about Princess, you don't have to pony up for your pre-booked shore excursions. You can reserve them 120 days before the cruise, but you are not charged until you get on-board and then they go on your "sea pass" account.

[Cruise Junky]

What Princess ship would be similar to the Radiance class of RCCL?

 

I would think probably the Coral or Island Princess.

[ChevyCruiser]

It's interesting that you can get right into your rooms upon boarding. What time does that mean you have to be out of them on turn-around day? There has to be some time for the maids to work if they're cleaning them thoroughly between guests.

 

We had heard that the reason that Princess re-shows all their shows was because the theatre is smallish and they couldn't possibly accommodate as many. Any tips on not having to scramble for seats?

 

There was no "be out of your cabin time" on Princess, just a time to show up for your disembarkation group. Our time was 9:15, so we left our cabin at 9:00. A lot of the cabins were already vacated and cleaned by then, so I guess it's no problem for them since the times are staggered. One cabin a few doors down from us had to be "Haz Mat" cleaned since some heavy smokers were in it, but it doesn't seem to slow them down any.

 

We generally arrived at the theater or the lounge 20 minutes before show time and found lots of available seats. Never had an issue there. We also liked the fact that Princess figured out how to build a theater without support beams for some passengers to sit behind. Ever seat had a clear view of the stage.

[ChevyCruiser]

 

Would defiantly go on Princess again, unfortunately Royal had our Loyalty until their recent cutbacks. What good is a Loyalty program if they won't let you have a benefit for being "Loyal to Royal" (Diamond Discount) along with a Shareholder benefit one chose to pay for again feeling Loyal to Royal. Now they have taken away the dividend which didn't bother me until they said since were loyal enough to become Diamond we can't benefit for owning a part of the company as well.

 

Well said. We are Diamond and RCCl shareholders. We WERE Loyal Royals until RCCL made it very apparent that they don't value our loyalty. We have, so far, cancelled two cruises with RCCL and moved our cruise plans to Princess.

[laurspag]

Pricewise, are we comparing apples to apples? I ask that because I am wondering if the perks on line over another are the result of a price difference.

 

I would consider the cost of a cruise as well as comparing the details, so it would be interesting to know.

 

I've only sailed on RCI, so I would ask myself which of the items that you mention would matter to me, and if the cost was worth it.

 

I really like the fact that the cruise lines are different. It seems to give variety to choose from.

[GoodAsGold]

So far, I've really enjoyed my Princess experience. Will curious to see how RCI compares when I take my first cruise with them in April.

I love that their Horizon Court buffets are open 24/7 and have real food and not just snacks or sweets to munch on.

I'm glad that you enjoyed your Princess cruise enough to book another one!

 

After RCI pulled their unannounced, "sneaky Pete" revision of their OBC and Loyalty programs last Fall, a week after I had purchased a couple of Next Cruise Certificates while on-board an Alaska cruise, four of us decided to try Princess and effectively moved around $10,000 worth of booking revenue over to Princess instead of booking a planned cruise on RCI.

 

We recently cruised on the Emerald Princess. All other things being equal, here's what we noticed that we liked about Princess over our experiences with RCI and Celebrity:

 

First impression when stepping onboard was that the ship was more richly appointed that either Royal Caribbean or Celebrity. It was warm, beautiful, and comfortable everywhere.

 

When we boarded, there was a crew member stationed in the elevator lobby to direct people to the next arriving elevator and an attendant on each elevator to get them to the right deck. It really sped up the embarkation day elevator process.

 

Our cabin was ready when we boarded at noon. Our luggage arrived not long after and was placed inside our cabin instead of being left in the hallway.

 

In our standard balcony stateroom, the walk-in closet was six feet long, with a shelf above. There was enough storage space that we didn’t even use all of the closet, shelves, and drawers!

 

In our standard balcony stateroom, we could order a complimentary fruit bowl every day.

 

The muster drill took place inside and they insist that you carry your life jacket to your muster station so that it is easier and safer to use the stairs. Once assembled in your muster station, everyone practices putting it on together. No standing on a hot deck in the sun packed in like sardines standing underneath a loudspeaker blaring garbled information.

 

About 4/5 of the passengers ate in the two big dining rooms which are dedicated to anytime dining. We were in a smaller, much more quiet dining room with an assigned table for four.

 

The "Windjammer" buffet was open 24 hours without closing for menu changeovers.

 

On sea days, a FREE pub lunch was available in the "Schooner Bar" consisting of fish and chips, bangers and mashers, or cottage pie.

 

Each production show runs for two nights with two shows each night, and a specialty act appears in the big lounge with three shows each night. That way one can attend one show one night and the other on another night - taking pressure off the venues so that neither is over crowded.

 

The sound volume at the shows was not deafening, a welcome relief from RCI and Celebrity where they must try to mask lip syncing with TOO LOUD music.

 

Each deck has a couple of laundromats with irons and ironing boards for passenger use. (MMMM, I thought irons were a fire hazard on ships :rolleyes:)

 

We could take on one bottle of wine per person on embarkation day, and nobody objected if we replenished our supply in other ports.

 

Tip/Gratuities/Service Charge or whatever you want to call them were automatically added to our account each day. Every single staff member we encountered was pleasant, hard-working, and an excellent ambassador for Princess. They compete for service-related customer evaluation reports and were thus tuned into making sure each passenger was happy. We saw our Assistant Head Waiter every meal, not just the last night of the cruise to make sure he received his tip.

 

Bottom Line: We were so impressed that the four of us booked another Princess cruise while on-board to take advantage of a double OBC offer and have cancelled an RCI cruise that we had planned for the same period.

[GoodAsGold]

Gee, so far every cruise I've sailed had had my cabin ready when I boarded. And, I usually get on anywhere between Noon and 1:00 at the latest. So, when does RCI have their cabins ready? I really don't want to drag around a roll-on and my garment bag. :rolleyes:

 

We are sailing on the Ruby Princess in just 19 days and I cant wait to try something new. When we sailed on the QM2 it was nice to have the cabins opened right away upon boarding, having to wait until 1pm can be a total drag. Dont get me wrong I love Royal, but with their prices higher than most I am open to finding another line to call home....Also this will be a spring beak cruise in the Caribbean, so I am expecting a somewhat younger crowd than you would find on other Princess sailings.

[Lady Chew]

Mr Chew & I have been trying to find our cruise for Jan/Feb 2010. We've been discussing Oasis, B2B on Liberty or Freedom, maybe looking into other lines. Of course some of this depends on Mr Chew's job requirements at the time. (right now we're getting ready for our cruise on Liberty ON SATURDAY!!)

 

After reading this thread, I decided to check out the Princess website for cruises in our next cruise timeframe. Found the 14-night "Caribbean Collection" itinerary out of Ft Lauderdale. Great ports in the Southern Caribeean sailing out of Florida. This is now our Plan A. I've got to do a more detailed price comparison, but it looks pretty good!!

 

I do have to say, I don't like the way Princess has their deck plans on the website. Too hard to read. But I'll get it figured out.

 

From everything I've read here and heard from some folks we know who've cruised Princess, the two lines seem roughly the same. Yes the ships have different features (I do think the back of the Princess ships is kind of ugly and the funnel (?) is kind of industrial looking) but variety is the spice of life, right?? Each line does some things better than the other, I'm sure. I hope to find out for myself next year.

[CruisenLexie]

When we boarded, there was a crew member stationed in the elevator lobby to direct people to the next arriving elevator and an attendant on each elevator to get them to the right deck. It really sped up the embarkation day elevator process.

I remember this from our British ISles cruise on the Crown. It is a good idea.

 

Our cabin was ready when we boarded at noon. Our luggage arrived not long after and was placed inside our cabin instead of being left in the hallway.

I have never had our suitcases left in the hallway on Royal, HAL, Princess or Celebrity.

 

In our standard balcony stateroom, the walk-in closet was six feet long, with a shelf above. There was enough storage space that we didn’t even use all of the closet, shelves, and drawers!

On the Grand we had a minisuite in order to have a couch in the cabin but I htink the layout of the rest of the room is the same. I liked how the closet was like the ling side of an L and the shelves and safe were on the short end of the L. The shelves were much easier to access and the lighting was better to see.

 

The muster drill took place inside and they insist that you carry your life jacket to your muster station so that it is easier and safer to use the stairs. Once assembled in your muster station, everyone practices putting it on together. No standing on a hot deck in the sun packed in like sardines standing underneath a loudspeaker blaring garbled information.

We are usually inside on Royal for muster drills.

 

About 4/5 of the passengers ate in the two big dining rooms which are dedicated to anytime dining. We were in a smaller, much more quiet dining room with an assigned table for four.

On the Grand I did not like eating in the lowest dining room. It is smaller but there were no restrooms on the floor. You had to go up one floor to use the restroom and there was only one. Really poor design. Women might appreciate this more than men.

 

The "Windjammer" buffet was open 24 hours without closing for menu changeovers.

I was very unhappy with the buffet on the Grand. It was disorganized with people going in both ends and it was a very small space. I also thought the selection was far less than Royal has to offer.

 

On sea days, a FREE pub lunch was available in the "Schooner Bar" consisting of fish and chips, bangers and mashers, or cottage pie.

 

Sounds like the cafe in the prominade with a more limited menu.

 

Each deck has a couple of laundromats with irons and ironing boards for passenger use. (MMMM, I thought irons were a fire hazard on ships :rolleyes:)

Having an iron in a cabin is different than having them available for use in a specified room unless I misunderstood.

 

Tip/Gratuities/Service Charge or whatever you want to call them were automatically added to our account each day. Every single staff member we encountered was pleasant, hard-working, and an excellent ambassador for Princess. They compete for service-related customer evaluation reports and were thus tuned into making sure each passenger was happy. We saw our Assistant Head Waiter every meal, not just the last night of the cruise to make sure he received his tip.

For the most part we have always had great service with a few hits and misses every now and then which I expect.

 

Bottom Line: We were so impressed that the four of us booked another Princess cruise while on-board to take advantage of a double OBC offer and have cancelled an RCI cruise that we had planned for the same period.

 

I am glad you had a great experience on PRincess. It is obvious that you still have a grudge over the change Royal made and I can't blame you for that. Maybe you have found a line that will suit you better than Royal did. Good luck on your next cruise with PRincess. I hope they still meet your expectations. I myself am trying them again in 2009 on the Ruby after the Independence in 6 days :D