How does Princess compare?

[jeast]

We're looking at alternate cruise lines for a trip in a couple of years. I have looked at RCCL and it looks nice, but may not fit the bill as far as scheduling and ships.

Another alternative I've never looked at is Princess. We live in the panhandle of FL and can't afford to fly AND cruise, so it has to leave from anywhere in FL or New Orleans. Princess seems to have ships sailing from Ft. Lauderdale and New Orleans although I can't seem to find specific cruises from NO, maybe they stopped sailing NO after Katrina?

Do they have nice big ships? I don't like the smaller ones like sovereign of RCCL. I want larger, nicer ones with lots of things to do.

How are the kids clubs? I imagine there are fewer children and possibly an older clientele? Are there sufficient families so that we would not feel out of place?

I always hear RCCL being compared to Disney. How does Princess do for families?

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

We're looking at alternate cruise lines for a trip in a couple of years. I have looked at RCCL and it looks nice, but may not fit the bill as far as scheduling and ships.

Another alternative I've never looked at is Princess. We live in the panhandle of FL and can't afford to fly AND cruise, so it has to leave from anywhere in FL or New Orleans. Princess seems to have ships sailing from Ft. Lauderdale and New Orleans although I can't seem to find specific cruises from NO, maybe they stopped sailing NO after Katrina?

Do they have nice big ships? I don't like the smaller ones like sovereign of RCCL. I want larger, nicer ones with lots of things to do.

How are the kids clubs? I imagine there are fewer children and possibly an older clientele? Are there sufficient families so that we would not feel out of place?

I always hear RCCL being compared to Disney. How does Princess do for families?

Princess are very good at the top end of the market imho with DCL.

Princess generally has, better food, pools, cruise ports and types of trips.Formal evenings. Adult entertainment, casino, spa services.

DCL Has better entertainment shows family,, themes,kids clubs, service in guest services. Stateroom size.

Castaway cay is sooooo much better than princess cays, where you tender in.

Age groups, Princess generally a bit older on average age, Disney generally younger feel. more family's with Grand parents,parents and kids.

 

[Joan1]

I really liked Princess Cays - It was a very pretty island
If you are going when school is out of session you will have a lot of families onboard
Pools are great and at least one is always open 24 hours a day
Their larger ships are
Grand Princess
Crown Princess
Caribbean Princess
Emerald Princess
Ruby Princess


Some are my photos, most taken from a google search

 

[jeast]

Very pretty.

How are the kids programs, specifically? Will a 9 and 6 yr old find enough activities in the program?

 

[scm]

Earlier threads have indicated that Princess has more extensive arts and crafts programming which posters indicate are very popular with their kids.

 

[unionville]

We sailed the Carribean Princess the week of Easter 2007. Our son was 7 years old. He loved the kids club (maybe even more than Disney). Even though it was a spring break week, there were not as many kids in the club as Disney. This meant that he got more individual attention and made some really good friends. There are more arts and craft activities, but there were other activities as well. One night they had a "disco party". One thing that is different from Disney is that the club closes during lunch (maybe 12 - 2) and before dinner (5 - 7). On a couple nights (I think it was formal and semiformal) they actually would take the kids to dinner, but this didn't happen every night. We absolutely love "anytime dining" on Princess, so we always fed our son earlier by the pool and would drop him off in the club at 7 and go to dinner alone. Also, after a certain time (10 or 11pm), you must pay for additional kid sitting services (I think it was around $5 an hour). Another thing to consider is that the pool does not have a slide. I was worried about this, but my son never missed it. We are cruising with Disney this summer out of California, but I feel certain our next cruise will be back on board Princess. The minisuite is comparable to a Category 6 on Disney - and usually much cheaper!

 

[jeast]

this is wonderful info. Thank you all so much. I was surprised to see princess was so reasonable. Ft. Lauderdale is a little further, but do-able.

We were also looking at NCL's Spirit out of New Orleans but it seems to have received spotty reviews. I've never heard anything too bad about princess and this info confirms it.

Thanks!

 

[travelgirl06]

I agree that Princess is wonderful. I believe Sea Princess is one of the slightly older (and slightly smaller) ships, just in case you were looking for the newest/biggest ships, I thought you might like to know. Overall Princess ships are well-maintained though and they have more space per guest (vs. Carnival and RCCL), so even their smaller ships shouldn't feel overly crowded.

 

[yazee1]

What is embarkment and disembarkment like with Princess? We've only been on Disney cruises.

 

[awatt]

We sailed the Carribean Princess the week of Easter 2007. Our son was 7 years old. He loved the kids club (maybe even more than Disney). Even though it was a spring break week, there were not as many kids in the club as Disney. This meant that he got more individual attention and made some really good friends. There are more arts and craft activities, but there were other activities as well. One night they had a "disco party". One thing that is different from Disney is that the club closes during lunch (maybe 12 - 2) and before dinner (5 - 7). On a couple nights (I think it was formal and semiformal) they actually would take the kids to dinner, but this didn't happen every night. We absolutely love "anytime dining" on Princess, so we always fed our son earlier by the pool and would drop him off in the club at 7 and go to dinner alone. Also, after a certain time (10 or 11pm), you must pay for additional kid sitting services (I think it was around $5 an hour). Another thing to consider is that the pool does not have a slide. I was worried about this, but my son never missed it. We are cruising with Disney this summer out of California, but I feel certain our next cruise will be back on board Princess. The minisuite is comparable to a Category 6 on Disney - and usually much cheaper!

Princess compares very favorable to Disney. In fact we liked it better. There was more to do for various age groups. Food was th ebest we've had on a cruise ship, with teh exception of Palo. Princess Cays was wonderful, although Castaway Cay is a little better IMO. Our girls really enoyed teh kids club. We were not sailing on a holiday week, so there were not as many kids in the club, so they got to do unique things like visit the captain at the bridge, go backstage in the theater and meet the entertainers and try on their costumes etc. Loved the 2 adult pools. Also loved teh poololice that kept the chair hogs to a minimum. Evening entertainmnent was very good to excellent. Of course, no Mickey on Princess. Anyway, we can't wait to sailPrincess again, it was that good.

Also sailed teh NCL Spirit out of NOLA in January. I love teh Spirt, have sailed her 3 times. But overall it does not compare to Princess or DCL, they are just a little bit nicer all around. I will say that if you sail NCL, a suite is the way to go asteir suite service is excellent, better than most other lines.