Royal Caribbean vs. Princess Cruises

[ksjayhawks]

Dawn--The Oasis is fantastic. It is a destination in itself! When you are in Central Park, you forget you are on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean! There is so much to do onboard, you wouldn't have to get off in ports.

We love RCCL. Have also been on Disney Magic.

 

[frndshpcptn]

This was our experience as well. We LOVED our Princess cruise, but we were definately in the minority as far as age. We enjoyed it, because it was a "quieter" cruise, and there weren't very many kids on board at all. The food was good, the staff was great and the whole thing was very relaxing, which was exactly what we wanted for a couples only trip. If you end up going to Grand Turk and want an idea of an excursion, there is a bed and breakfast that offers day passes with lunch and private beach. It was the highlight of our cruise.

When we take the family this summer, we're going RCCL because I think it's a better fit for our kids. There wasn't a lot of "active" activities on Princess.

thanks! this is what I am imagining...quieter - more relaxation - less running / yelling / noise. Plus the extra port days vs. three days at Sea...

I just don't know which would be better at the moment.
Ack!

 

[NHdisneylover]

thanks! this is what I am imagining...quieter - more relaxation - less running / yelling / noise. Plus the extra port days vs. three days at Sea...

I just don't know which would be better at the moment.
Ack!

I am sure you will have a lovely time no matter which you pick--and since you cannot take both at the same time you will not be able to compare and know what you are missing anyway--so just relax and enjoy getting to choose a vacation that you know will be awesome I am with Dawn that if other things are equal we go with the better deal price wise.

 

[Skywalker]

Just throwing my 2 cents out there...

We have been on Royal Caribbean, Disney and Princess and my vote would go toward Princess. We just really loved it. In fact we just came back from the Caribbean Princess a few weeks ago and I am still on cloud 9.

Oh how I wish I could go back...

(This is not to say I disliked the others. I LOVED my cruise on Royal Caribbean...also enjoyed Disney. Go where the price is best...I don't think you can make a bad choice here!)

 

[lucas]

We've sailed with both Princess and RCCL. Love them both. Didn't really notice an age difference between the two. We've sailed many times with Holland America and that is the older group.

We sailed on the Voyager and Explorer and especially loved the ice skating shows and the "street" that has the parades. I think the Oasis/Allure would be too big for us.

We have sailed with Princess on several Caribbean cruises and also to Alaska. Next month we are sailing on the Emerald Princess on a 10-night cruise. And, what I am looking forward to is that it goes to different islands, not just the same places. We sail to: Aruba, Curacao, Grenada, Dominica, St. Thomas and Princess Cays. Can't wait!

 

[frndshpcptn]

With everything I'm reading, Ruby Princess seems like maybe the right choice. Which is totally different than the direction I was headed in this morning!

I really appreciate all the opinions shared.

I still can't decide - I'm going to stop by a travel agency on my way home tonight and see if they have full color brochures to review - I'm still not sure what there is to do during sea days on Princess if I get restless at the pool - and I'm not finding that info easily on the website.

Basically - the Flow Rider sounds fun. I'd probably do it once. I wouldn't skate - I'm not schlepping my skates on board and I don't really like to skate on rentals. I may or may not use the rock wall...

I feel like I must be coming across as totally indecisive - which is generally not the case with me.

I'm just very used to my vacations being Disney / disneyland that throwing something new in the mix throws me of my game a bit

 

[Muushka]

Dawn I would love it if you would post more of your opinion on Celebrity. We are sailing them for the first time in 3 weeks. I have browsed cruise critic but I like opinions of people I feel like I "know"

I think that CC for Celebrity is one of the friendliest boards out there! We are Celebrity cruisers (5 so far) and it is our cruise line of choice. The RCI board on CC is not as helpful. What X ship are you going on?

We just got off of Freedom. I don't know what Princess's smoking policy is, but on RCI, you can smoke on your balcony. And we got put next to a chimney, actually 2 of them who decided when we opened up our door to go out on the balcony, that was their cue to get out there and puff. Disappointing is not the adequate word to describe that situation. X does not allow smoking on their balconies so I will avoid RCI like the plague because of this.

 

[frndshpcptn]

I think that CC for Celebrity is one of the friendliest boards out there! We are Celebrity cruisers (5 so far) and it is our cruise line of choice. The RCI board on CC is not as helpful. What X ship are you going on?

We just got off of Freedom. I don't know what Princess's smoking policy is, but on RCI, you can smoke on your balcony. And we got put next to a chimney, actually 2 of them who decided when we opened up our door to go out on the balcony, that was their cue to get out there and puff. Disappointing is not the adequate word to describe that situation. X does not allow smoking on their balconies so I will avoid RCI like the plague because of this.

that's a interesting note. I'm a non-smoker and would be unhappy if my entire balcony experience smelled of cigarettes...

 

[tinatark]

thanks!

Do you think the weather will make the water unswimmable for the Eastern itinerary?

It was for us in late March - sorry!

Princess actually has a better rate at the moment - I can get a mini-suite on the Ruby for the same price as a balcony room on the Freedom.

The only real difference in itinerary is the stop at Grand Turk on the Ruby - otherwise it's pretty much the same Eastern Caribbean trip.

Urgh....I know I'll probably be happy either way - I just can't decide! DBF is leaving it pretty much up to me - his only request was a relaxing week away and people somewhat near our age on board (so, no Holland America).

It's also our first real vacation together...so I'm probably stressing a bit mroe than I usually would because I want it to be great and for him to think I'm good at planning trips

The difference between a mini suite and balcony cabin would make Princess the winner for sure. Mini suites are waaayy nicer than balcony cabins!

I have heard from cruise ship staff that Grand Turk is one of their favorite stops in the E. Caribbean.

 

[DawnCt1]

Eeeek...I defintiely don't want it to be college-kid heavy.

I don't mind an inside room, but I think since we will be on board for 7 nights, I'd like to spend part of the time on the balcony of my room reading / watching the water go by. I don't want to be "in the mix" at all times for the week - I'm definitely the type of person that needs a bit of quiet time here and there...

Ships are so big that there are plenty of areas where you can sit quietly and read, while watching the water go by. I think that Carnival will be more likely to be college kid heavy. Those that are on RCCL will probably be traveling with the rest of their family.

 

[DawnCt1]

Dawn--The Oasis is fantastic. It is a destination in itself! When you are in Central Park, you forget you are on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean! There is so much to do onboard, you wouldn't have to get off in ports.

We love RCCL. Have also been on Disney Magic.

I am really looking forward to the ship. The ports? eh. I enjoy my days at the beach on Labadee, and Cozumel is nice. Haven't been to Costa Maya, but the ship sounds so wonderful, I might just enjoy staying on this ship instead. What ports did you stop at? Same ones?

 

[MeggerasMa]

We have sailed on HAL, RCCI, Disney and Princess. You will certainly enjoy either selection, but I will share my opinion FWIW. RCCI - Pros would be the activities for your age category. They were definately a "younger" crowd on our RCCI cruise than the Princess crowd and the activities were geared toward same. Con - it felt like a cattle call when it was time to disembark at all of the ports on RCCI. Princess handled that much, much better and we never minded the process to get on or off of the Princess ship. Food was good on both. Beds on RCCI were horrible. Princess had great beds (with an eggcrate we requested prior to departure), but the ship had major bathroom problems. Thankfully, not on our floor, but our traveling companions neighbors got flooded out several times! We saw entire rooms having their carpeting replaced and fans in the hallways trying to dry out hall carpets. While neither line is our favorite, we will not be sailing with Princess again. It just felt like an old, tired ship (that had plumbing problems). I also know that this varies greatly between individual ships within the same cruise line and for that reason want you to know that the ships you are considered are not the same as either one we sailed. RCCI - Explorer of the Seas; Princess - Golden. I'd go by the itinerary or perhaps just by the flip of a coin. Enjoy your vacation. Sea, sun, no work. . . it's all good.

 

[mumom95]

I'm in my mid 30's and I vote RCCL hands down. I did one Princess cruise to Alaska and where Alaska was wonderful, not impressed at all with the cruise line. It wasn't bad, but it was our first cruise and we came off of it trying to figure out what people saw in cruising. Have since cruised Disney and RCCL and LOVED both experiences, so I'm guessing it must have been something with Princess. The crowd was much older (we were some of the youngest) but I think that is fairly common with an Alaska cruise.

 

[LoraJ]

I have sailed on Carnival, Royal and Princess and loved Princess the best. It's been a while since I have sailed on RCCL, but I just loved the variety of things to do in the evening that Princess had. MUTS was great. I didn't find the crowd to be older at all. Had a good mix of ages, but that could have been the time of year we sailed.

My parents are on the Ruby right now and are enjoying it. They usually sail HAL and aren't used to such a large ship. They told me that they also seem to have a good mixture of ages on the ship.

If you search around on Cruise Critic or Webshots you can probably find the scans of the papers that they leave in your cabin every day with the list of activities. This can give you a good idea of what you can expect entertainment-wise.

 

[DawnCt1]

I'm in my mid 30's and I vote RCCL hands down. I did one Princess cruise to Alaska and where Alaska was wonderful, not impressed at all with the cruise line. It wasn't bad, but it was our first cruise and we came off of it trying to figure out what people saw in cruising. Have since cruised Disney and RCCL and LOVED both experiences, so I'm guessing it must have been something with Princess. The crowd was much older (we were some of the youngest) but I think that is fairly common with an Alaska cruise.

I think that there tends to be an older age group on most cruises to Alaska.So I think its a function of the destination and not the cruise line. I know we have wanted to go as a family and we have found it was much more expensive than a Caribbean cruise, so that could be why the people were older.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I think that CC for Celebrity is one of the friendliest boards out there! We are Celebrity cruisers (5 so far) and it is our cruise line of choice. The RCI board on CC is not as helpful. What X ship are you going on?

We just got off of Freedom. I don't know what Princess's smoking policy is, but on RCI, you can smoke on your balcony. And we got put next to a chimney, actually 2 of them who decided when we opened up our door to go out on the balcony, that was their cue to get out there and puff. Disappointing is not the adequate word to describe that situation. X does not allow smoking on their balconies so I will avoid RCI like the plague because of this.

It is so nice to hear more good things--thanks I have read over on CC but not gone to the trouble of registering I guess I am lazy. Last i checked there was no meet thread for out apparently empty cruise otherwise I probably would have done that. Anyway, we are on the Constellation out of Barcelona. It is shirt for a med cruise (7 nights) but just exactly fits into the kids' fall break and since we can drive to the port just 7 nights works. We are very excited to try out a new line and are eying a couple of other Celebrity cruises next year if this one goes well.

 

[frndshpcptn]

Thanks again everyone!

24 hours later and I'm still totally unsure, but am really appreciating the review and thoughts from the DIS!

I looked at NCL Epic, after reading through the comments on this thread. It's actually more expensive than either the Freedom or Ruby - so it's off the table at the moment.

Freedom...Ruby....Freedom...Ruby...

 

[DawnCt1]

Our sailing in January 8th on the Oasis. We took the last triple. I didn't believe it until I tried so get a triple with another TA. I couldn't. That tells me that a lot of people are going to be looking for hotel rooms on Friday, the 7th from the colder climates. We leave the day before in the winter due to concern about snow, etc. The price of hotel rooms is still up for that time period. They could be down before we go, they could be up higher, they could be harder to get. I rolled the dice, took the Ftl Lauderdale Beach area for $143 on Hotwire and got the II Lugano. Tripadivisor has mixed reviews. People either LOVE it or hate it. It looks nice, its convenient to the water taxi which is fun, its 800 square ft which is far more room than we will have on the ship, and its a done deal.
Its also ten miles from Pt. Everglade but a taxi ride for $30 will do the trick. Have fun planning.

 

[Wishing on a star]

The Ruby is a nice, new, gorgeous ship!!!! (We were on her for a 'shorty', a short filler cruise between the main iteneraries.)

It will probably have a slightly older demographic than RCCL.

Princess has EXCELLENT pizza available for the taking on deck.
And, check out the foods and snacks offered at the International Cafe right in the main Piazza.

We loved the Ruby, but had a horrid experience when it came to dining/food/beverage. Hopefully it would be MUCH better with the regular full-time staff in Jan. on a full length sailing.

Compare the prices on a Balcony on the Caribe Deck...
Large balcony, half covered, half open... very nice!
If there is any way that you can net any real savings by doing that, it is well worth considering. On these Caribe balconies, they are a bit more semi-private because they are half covered. Minis on the Dolphin deck have no cover, at all... step right out into the elements, all upper decks looking straight down onto Dolphin from above. I took a heavy vinyl round tablecloth, and set up our balcony table for the duration... (you need the heavy vinyl, not something lightweight that will blow. It was so upscale and romantic looking!

I would be afraid to hope for swimming weather in Jan....
Maybe at the furthest south points????
Is it important, or necessary, that you travel in Jan...

Check out weather on weather.com
On Wunderground.com you can even pull up the specific weather for your dates for the last few years.

One thing that we did on the Ruby was the dance lessons....
When we got there a crowd was having the best time doing Western Line Dancing... We did the ballroom, cha-cha... The cruise director herself was leading this. She was really great.

On any ship, there is the disco/dance/party venue...
We did not check that out on our short cruise.
I will tell you that the other venues were definitely quieter and not for a younger party-crowd.

PS: For 'sailaway'..... go up to Adagio, order some nice drinks, and watch Ft.Lauderdale disappear into a romantic sunset....
Unless the weather is really overcast and bad... this is the most awesome way to start your cruise!