Princess Cruise lines ?

[KevinC]

As the saying goes "Variety is the spice of life", we have cruised with DCL since inception, prior to DCL we did the Big Red Boat.
I am considering another cruise line for late 2005. We are booked for June 2004 on the Magic.

Has anyone been on Princess? They have a new ship coming on line in April 2004.

Thanks.

 

[kcashner]

Personal opinion....Princess is good, Disney is better. Of course, I'm comparing Princess many moons ago with Disney now, so that may not be a fair comparison. Both are infinitely better than the Big Red Boat was.

I think that the competition from Disney is forcing many lines to upgrade their service....bigger cabins, etc.
Kathryn

 

[SandraLee]

I have also been researching Princess. What is the name of the new ship? Do you know where it will be be based?

Anyone else have any experience with Princess? What about the kids programs?

Thanks.

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

I've sailed Princess twice, and I think they're every bit as good as DCL. It's a bit of a different feel than Disney, but just as enjoyable, in my opinion. I've sailed Star Princess out of LA and Golden Princess out of FLL. I don't have any info on the kids programs, but there did seem to be quite a few kids on board.

Princess actually has 3 new ships scheduled for delivery next year. Diamond Princess in March, Caribbean Princess in April, and Sapphire Princess in June.

Diamond will sail out of Long Beach, CA to the Mexican Riviera in the fall, and I think in Alaska in the summer. Sapphire will sail out of San Francisco during the summer, and I don't know if they've announced what it will be doing after November of next year. Caribbean will sail out of FLL with calls at Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Montego Bay and Princess Cays.

 

[Jules1]

We've spent 5 weeks on Princess ships and loved it. They are our favorite cruise line. Great food (we love personal choice dining where you can eat anytime you like), good entertainment (production shows and activities during the day).

 

[Miss Eeyore]

We have done Princess down the Mexican Rivierra and to Alaska....and we have loved it. What does anyone have to say about Princess Cay experience? We have stayed with DCL there just for the private island experience, but would love to do Caribbean with Princess if the island was good. We love Princess's Captain's Circle reward program for returning cruisers. Great, and I DO MEAN great discounts for repeat cruisers.

Marilee

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

I've only been to Princess Cays once, but I thought it was a worthwhile stop. I love to just hang out on the beach all day, and the private islands are great for that--no taxis to catch, etc. You do have to tender on Princess Cays, as opposed to Castaway Cay, where you just jump on and off the ship, but other than that, I thought it was a great day at the beach. If Castaway Cay is a 10, I'd give Princess Cays an 8.

 

[AnnMorin]

Of course her children are now grown men and don't accompany her husband and her but she say's they are treated like royalty on Princess that it is the cream of the crop. I just smile and nod since I love DCL but someday who knows?

 

[my3kids]

I loved Princess also. The meals were much more formal....so many courses...more food than you can imagine.

 

[tecdavidt]

We leave on our first Princess cruise Dec. 28th so I'll let you know how we think the two lines compare. Our TA's boss finally went on DCL for the first time this fall for some big travel agent event on the Wonder. This man sold a lot of DCL cruises but never had cruised on either ship. He has cruised on just about ever line out there and to his amazement the Wonder was fantastic. He raved about the service and ranked it right up their with Celebrity and Princess. I have a feeling he will be cruising with DCL again. Kathy

 

[Jules1]

We've been to Princess Cay twice (did back to back eastern and western caribbean). It's very nice. Beautiful beaches, rental water sports items. The only downside is having to tender from the ship.

 

[antmaril]

The Sapphire Princess is sailing out of Seattle in the summer - we are sailing to Alaska on July 11, 2004 for our 30th wedding anniversary. Haven't sailed Princess before, but we are really looking forward to it - especially on this brand new ship.

 

[Melrosgirl]

Princess's kids' program is very good. Their hours are limited compared to DCL, but my dd (then 4) really enjoyed it. Smaller program compared to DCL, of course, but still a nice program. Pagers provided.

 

[SandraLee]

Are pagers provided for all the age groups? Or, just the younger 3-4 age range. My DS will be 9 and I know I would want to be paged if he was ready to leave the club.

How do any of the kids get in touch with parents in a club without pagers? Do they just pick a set time to pick them up?

I guess the child / parent could have those walkie talkies?

 

[Melrosgirl]

Pagers - well we only had a 4 year old at the time, but from what I understood you could request a pager. Unlike DCL, you sign your pager in and out each time you drop your child off there. YOu don't keep it for the entire cruise.

We were on the Golden Princess last year if that helps.

Yes - if you don't have a pager, you would just pick up your child at the set time. I love having the pager. DD never paged us on Princess, but she did page us once on Disney. She said the water was gross in the kids' club, lol, and wanted to go back to the cabin!