Anyone sail on Princess cruise lines??

[Chris2597]

Dh and I are looking for a cruise to celebrate our 30th anniversary and my birthday this Spring. We have looked at the different cruise lines that sale out of Galveston Tx. and thought we had settled on Princess until we read some scathing reviews on a cruise web site....Royal Caribbean is also an option.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

I have not cruised princess--but have cruised royal caribbean 2 times--with the third time coming on sunday! I have only cruised Royal Caribbean and i find it amazing! If you have any specific questions about RCCL, id be glad to answer!

 

[dzneprincess]

post this question over on the cruise boards, there are a few who have sailed Princess.

 

[KathyTX]

I've cruised Princess twice, with another Princess cruise booked this spring. What would you like to know?

Have you cruised another line before, to have something to compare to?

With many lines, (RCCL and Princess included), your experience will really depend on the particular ship you're on. Sailing on the Dawn Princess and the Caribbean Princess (newer and huger) were totally different experiences.

 

[escape]

We sailed on the Star Princess for our Alaskan cruise. I loved it! I especially liked the "dining your way" option (I can't remember exactly what it's called.)

I wouldn't worry too much about what people say. Do your research...much like you would for planning a Disney trip. Find out what the ship offers and find the right match for you. Go to cruisecritic.com. You'll find people who absolutely love Princess as well as those who loathe it. You'll also find these same type of opinions about any of the cruise lines. I think a lot of it has to do with the experience you have and what you put into it.

Go with an open mind....just like you would for a Disney vacation. I've never had a perfect vacation....things happen....you just make the best of it. I've only been on three cruises (three different lines) and I had a great time on all three. Each offered their own unique experience and for me, Princess best matched what I was looking for in a cruise at the time. However, I'm not loyal to just Princess. Princess had what I wanted for my Alaskan cruise. Another line might have more of what I want for another destination. Unless you find an overwhelming negative response to a particular ship you are looking at, I wouldn't let some critics stop me from choosing Princess.

By the way, congratulations on your 30th anniversary! Here's hoping you have a great time on your upcoming cruise.

 

[Chris2597]

The Grand Princess cruises out of Galveston. We were all set to book but read some terrible reviews.

 

[escape]

I haven't sailed on the Grand but I think it's very similar to the Star Princess. Where did you read these terrible comments? What were the comments that bothered you? Did you go to the boards at cruisecritic.com? I will admit that I haven't read the reviews on the Grand in the past year but before that, I've heard a lot of good comments about the ship. Just curious.

 

[aprilgail2]

I have a friend that sails princess and they said its great for the 65 and over crowd....my neighbors sail Royal Carrib every year and love it.

 

[EthansMom]

We've cruised 3 cruises with RCCL out of Miami and really enjoyed ourselves. We'll be taking the kids on their first cruise (Norwegian out of NYC) in April.

I highly recommend RCCL, although I've heard that Princess is in the same class category (about the same price and amenities) as RCCL.

Another thing to consider is the itinerary -- is one cruise making stops at ports that interest you more than the other?

 

[mom2grace]

We sailed on the Galaxy out of Galveston last January. It was GREAT!

We have done DCL twice, and I was very hesitant to do Celebrity. We have 2 kids, they were 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 at that time. Celebrity was GREAT! In many ways, better than DCL! (Shh!)

 

[judi]

We love Princess. Our very first cruise was on the Grand and we all loved her. We also liked the Caribbean Princess with the "movies under the stars". Go to www.cruisecritic.com and you will get a better idea of the different lines. We have also done the Disney cruise line and were not impressed.

 

[Chris2597]

My dh actually read the bad reviews on Cruisecritic. They were listed under reviews for the ship/destination. The main complaint seemed to be the tendering, rude crew, disappointing food and entertainment. It sounds like it was practically everything the cruise offered. My dh stopped reading after he read 5 reviews and 4 out of 5 were unfavorable.\
Is Celebrity still cruising out of Galveston

 

[zalansky]

We cruised Princess for our honeymoon 5 years ago out of St. Juan, it was a very nice ship with a GREAT itinerary, but we did notice alot of older folks on board...when I say older I mean the retired aged crowd. We had a good time as that doesn't matter much to us.

We sailed RCCL Mariner out of Pt. Canaveral last year with my family and the ship was unreal. The food was just average, nothing to write home about, not many kids on board at all....but a good mix of all other ages.

I would say we preferred RCCL just because the ship was so amazing and there was so much to do.

I would try and cruise a newer ship regardless of which line you choose. In our experience I have found the newer the ship, the better our experience. We have been on 8 cruises. Alot of personal preference goes into those reviews so keep that in mind.

 

[preb]

We've been on over 20 cruises, but we're trying Princess for the first time this February, sailing on the Grand out of Galveston. I have also been reading all of the bad reviews, but they really seem to focus on tendering problems in some of the ports and now some mechanical problems. The ship recently moved over from their Europe route, so I'm hoping that they work the kinks out before we sail.

Having said that, I think Celebrity would be an excellent option for you. It is a more upscale experience, with fine dining and better service. It will, most likely, cost a bit more. We've also sailed Royal Caribbean 8 times. They are our personal favorite, but more of an "active" and moderately priced cruise.

Whatever you decide I'm sure you'll have a great time!

 

[minnie56]

Princess CL is a wonderful line as is Royal Caribbean and the 'Grand' is a lovely ship. There will never be any line and/or ship that will please everyone all of the time but odds are you would have a great vacation on either line.

Don't read reviews unless they are overwhelmingly terrible as no two people view things the same. You are in my age group, married the same amount of years and I would (and have) sailed PCL in a New York minute!!!

 

[shoes99]

We love Princess Cruise Lines. We have sailed on the Regal Princess thru the Panama Canal, the Diamond Princess in Alaska (Inside Passage) and the Golden Princess, British Isles. We are two 55+ adults, and have also done 4 Disney Cruises.

 

[tinatark]

Princess is great - fresh water pools, great value rooms (check out the mini suites), personal choice dining. Their kids program is awesome - our kids didn't want to leave. If you sail during non-peak family season - of course the median age will be older.

 

[bimshire]

We just returned from our Christmas (12/17-12/29) cruise on the Celebrity Galaxy out of Galveston. There were many bad and good comments of this older Celebrity ship, but we had a great time. This ship will not be sailing out of Galveston after it leaves for Europe in April. Celebrity is moving it to San Juan.

We have sailed on Princess 6 times and are Platinum members. We sailed on the Grand last Spring Break. Our kids love the activities on the Grand. Always read reviews with a grain of salt, as they say. Don't just read the reviews at cruisecritic. Go to the "boards" and post your questions to get a better variety of information.

 

[tigercat]

My dh & I have sailed on Princess, RCCL, Carnival and Disney. The only one I was not very happy with was Disney. We had a great time on the other 3 lines and would not hesitate to go on Princess again.
tigercat