Thread: considering princess !!!!!!

we are considering our second cruise and like the look of Princess but would like to ask anyone who has cruised with them if they picked the ship first or picked the destinations first.After being on the Oasis where the ship was more important than the ports,just wondered if the same thoughts would apply to Princess ???????

Daz .... When we get back from Oasis, I'll be able to give you a better reply!

Princess is our favorite cruise line ... but we cruise on others as well.

Darren, I've been on 4 Princess cruises and 3 with Royal Caribbean. We were on the Crown Princess in Sept for a Canada/New England cruise and couldn't help but feel that the Oasis really spoiled us. If entertainment is a priority, then you'll be disappointed with the Princess theaters which are way too small for the amount of passengers so seating tends to be an issue. Princess also has a more subdued atmosphere than RC with no Royal Promenades, parades, flow riders, skating rinks and such. In the past we gave higher marks to Princess for food but felt that they're cutting corners now. We generally choose an itinerary first then decide on the ship but obviously for the Oasis it was all for the beautiful ship!

cheers Lulu and Janice,appreciate your reply and look forward to more advise/views.think we have been spoilt by going on Oasis and prob think most cruise lines are very similar so any insight would be welcome

Having been on several RCCL and Princess cruises, plus having sold hundreds of clients on each of these, most people feel as others have already stated that for amenities, you can beat the larger ships of the RCCL fleet, especially for families. Princess does not have as many amenities, but the ships are very nice and the food is better than RCCL.

We don't push one over another, but most families prefer RCCL while most couples prefer Princess.

So it really depends on what you're looking for in a cruise; is the ship the most important part of your vacation? Or is it the itinerary? Or perhaps it's the money?

Obviously, it also has to do with your lifestyle and what you like to do. For example, we're 61 and more laid back than most, so we prefer Celebrity because the food is very good, their new ships are wonderful, and the service is always great. Some people find them more subdued because they do tend to cater more towards an older crowd, but that's what we like - it may not be what you like.

We've been on the Allure of the Seas and while we found the ship amazing with alot of amenities, we found the food in the main dining room to be disappointing. A few months later we were on the Celebrity Eclipse and found the food outstanding, yet this cruise cost less than the Allure. So sometimes you can get more and pay less.

Keep in mind that opinions are like bellybuttons; everyone has one. And what one person loves, another will hate. So it's important for you to find something that meets your needs. Of course, that's the fun part about cruising is trying them all so you can find the one that fits you the best.

Pete

We haven't been on Royal Caribbean so can't compare Princess to it other than to talk about what's important to my family.

Years ago, we were thinking of trying RC for a Baja Mexican cruise (we live about an hour's drive from the Port of LA), but when I called up to double check on whether they allowed smoking in the dining room (this was in the mid-90s), I was told there was a smoking section. Carnival didn't allow smoking in the dining room, so we went back on another Carnival cruise.

We were interested in trying Princess so when this guy who worked for my hubby about eight years ago said he can get us a friends and family discount (his girl friend at the time worked for Princess), we jumped on it.

To us, Princess seemed a good progression from Carnival. We liked the fact that they had fridges in all of the cabins, that they had a 24-hr buffet (which sadly is disappearing, even though if you're on a ship with the International Cafe ), they have self-service laundries (that's a must for us now that we're trying to do longer cruises).

And if you want to do an Alaskan cruise -- which is an incredible experience -- consider Princess as they have both types of 7-day cruises (the one-way and the round-trip) as well as longer variations. Also a naturalist onboard during the glacier cruising. When we were planning our Alaskan cruise, we wanted the round-trip and at that time, the Diamond and the Sapphire were brand new. We selected the Sapphire in its third month of sailing. A beautiful ship. Of course, no flow riders, rock climbing walls, etc., but that was fine for us. And our 7-yr-old enjoyed the kids' program with all its science-oriented activities, besides the usual ones. So for us, we wanted the nice new ship and we wanted to leave from Seattle. (we also looked at Holland)

We also wanted to do the Hawaiian cruise so that was our next choice. The Island Princess was nice and there was plenty to do.

We had to wait five years before going on another cruise, but we definitely wanted to repeat the Hawaiian one. Went on the Golden Princess, which was a wonderful experience. It's more than just simply a cruise to Hawaii...it's a Hawaiian experience. Unlike other cruises on probably most ships (no matter the line), you can't be on this ship and not know you're going to Hawaii, as opposed to the Caribbean or Europe or wherever. If you go on this cruise, with all the Hawaiian activities, the Hawaiian-inspired items on the menu, the movies shown on MUTS or in your cabin, you'll be humming along when you heard Izzy on the PA singing his version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

thanks Pete and Patty for your thoughts and info its much appreciated and will take it all on-board (unintentional pun!)lots of things to consider so wont be rushing into anything without doing plenty of homework cheers

Sometimes I pick for the ports first and then the ship. But I have picked the ship first before.

Daz, you've got some great responses. I have a random way of deciding which cruise line and ship to go with. It does not matter to me what line I cruise with, etc. I will just decide I have not cruised with XYZ line, lets try it if it's the first time or I may decide to go back again. Whatever ship and line I've cruised with, I thoroughly enjoyed it, I can't complain.

I have a 72 year old client who recently returned from a 10 night Princess cruise. He liked the cruise, but his dislike was that there were too many old people on the cruise. Now, keep in mind, he's 72 yrs old. He told me the cruise he took in April on the Carnival Freedom was far better than that on the Emerald Princess, and he also loves the Oasis Class Royal Caribbean ships. He vows not to book another Princess cruise. I cannot tell you how many Seniors love and rave about Carnival Cruise Lines because their ships are a lot livelier, as is the Costa ship in the Caribbean. Princess, Celebrity and MSC ships are more sedate.

We were booked on Liberty of the Seas for Thanksgiving, but cancelled and booked the Eurodam instead because A. it will be our first HAL cruise and we wanted to try HAL, B. it was the economics, a better deal on a longer cruise, C. though minor this is, only one port of call we've never been to in the Caribbean, and that is Half Moon Cay, HAL's Private Island.

Originally Posted by dazman 61

cheers Lulu and Janice,appreciate your reply and look forward to more advise/views.think we have been spoilt by going on Oasis and prob think most cruise lines are very similar so any insight would be welcome

Daz .... I'm back but still don't know how to give you a good reply.

Both Princess and Royal Caribbean have Large ships and your experience on either line will be about the same. Problem is ... Oasis is a MEGA ship with lots more going on and places to go. It's sort of an apples & oranges thing.

Since you're considering Princess, I'll give you a few of why I think you might like Princess:
~ Princess normally has good production shows. There's normally something else going on in a smaller show lounge. You do NOT have to book these in advance.
~ There's music in a variety of bars/lounges and other things to do in the evenings.
~ You can book any shore excursions you wish in advance on line but they are NOT charged to your account until you actually go and you can make all the changes you wish on line until ten days prior to your cruise ... or then cancel them on the ship within 24 hours.
~ There are laundry rooms w/irons on the ship if that's important to you.
~ You can order bottles of booze to your cabin from Room Service.
~ The Lido Buffet while can get somethat crowded at times is no way as crowded as the Oasis buffet ... and stays open longer.
~ You'll get the feeling you've been on a real cruise!

We totally enjoyed Oasis way more than we expected! Yes, we will take another on Oasis/Allure ... but we would never let the Mega ships replace our more traditional cruises which we so much like!

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to answer. You certainly were so great about helping me with Oasis!