Pearl vs Crown Princess

[boysmommy]

We are looking to sail over new years with a 21 and 17 year old boys. We are in our late 40's. Any preference to ship? The iteneraires are different. The Pearl go east and the Crown goes west. Thanks

[CruisinMaterial]

NCL is geared to a younger clientele than Princess so if you want your children to be happy and out of your hair then I would suggest the Norwegian Pearl. The Crown Princess is a good ship but their entertainment for that age group is rather lacking. They are good with younger kids but older teens and younger 20s are very boring at night onboard.

 

Ship-wise: The Norwegian Pearl is a smaller ship than the Crown but the layout is better IMHO. The food menus are comparable across both lines and you don't have to deal with formal nights on NCL that you do with Princess.

 

Both ships give you specialty restaurants to choose from with NCL having a more varied selection to choose from (Asian themed to Steakhouse to French cuisine). Crown has the Sabatini's Restaurant and Crown Grill (steak and seafood).

 

If you had to choose and price is a factor I'd go with Norwegian. I'm sure Princess is pricing out higher anyway.

[mmceachn]

I sailed on the Crown last January, and the NCL Dawn in November and like both cruiselines. I got a better deal on Princess for the same week, so decided to give Princess a try. Very glad we did,

 

I found the food in the main dining rooms on the Crown more to my liking.

My 26 year old son and his 23 year old girlfriend cruised with us and had a blast.

The soda card is cheaper on Princess and the drink prices are a bit lower.

Crown Princess had Movies under the Stars, a dedicated movie theater, three swimming pools and the buffets are open late with lots of choices.

 

Both cruiselines have anytime dining. Princess has a couple of formal nights where you might feel out of place if you don't dress up to go to the dining room.

[Leafpeeper]

I love both of these ships. Tough choice. I usually prefer the eastern caribbean but I do like the warm temperatures in the western caribbean that time of year. You really can't go wrong.

 

If given the choice, I would definetely love to sail Crown Princess once more. The outdoor movie screen was so much fun. The kareoke lounge was great. We really enjoyed going to the theater and then heading to the lounge near the atrium for music and comedy after 11pm.

 

Best thing on Crown Princess is the coffeeshop/bakery/deli on the lowest level of the atrium because the pastries are available 24/7. There is also a lovely bar area on the opposite side.

 

There are also 5 swimming pools on CP. We loved the one in the aft because we had it all to ourselves. Great bar above there and wonderful outdoor seating outside the bar area next to Sabatinis if you like to watch the wake while sipping a cocktail.

 

I guess I'll just have to take another cruise on this ship to see if it really is as nice as I remember.

 

We loved the Pearl too and recently sailed on GEM, which is a duplicate of the Pearl. Favorite spot is the bar and buffet area at The Great Outdoors on the aft. Great for reading in the afternoons too or a cocktail late night under the stars.

 

Wish I could take a cruise right now.