?'s about Princess vs. Royal Caribbean

[emhg89]

Have never sailed on Princess - Last cruise we took was on Brilliance of the Seas with Royal Caribbean - we had one of their Jr. Suites on the 10th deck it was spaciously and had alot of storage etc.
We are booked on the new Caribbean Princess in a mini-suite on Dolphin- it appears to be smaller and narrower - will we be diappointed? Would love to hear from those who have experienced both?

 

[DJA]

The overall experience on RCCL and Princess is very similar... we've sailed both many times. The suite will be fine, you may not like the balcony though... all the Dolphin balconies are overlooked by the balconies on the decks above as each deck is cascaded back from the one below ...and it's fully exposed, as there's no overhang from the balcony above.

One thing though... the ship you have chosen -- Caribbean Princess, may end up being a very crowded ship. It's not out yet so no one really knows for sure, but they've taken a ship the same size as their Grand class ships, added another deck and upped the passenger total by 500 (3,100 up from 2,600). The Grand class ships are already pretty crowded, so there's high odds that the Caribbean Princess will be really crowded. And since it's doing the standard Caribbean itinerary, people will be out and about in all the public areas as that route tends to have a lot of young people and many first time cruisers on board.

If you're disappointed, don't give up on Princess, just try a different ship.

 

[Lady Jag]

We've sailed the Grand Princess twice, once in a mini suite, once in a suite. We've also sailed on the Radiance in a Cat. C, or Junior Suite as they are now calling them. Below is my opinion, and could be totally different for someone else. It is very hard to beat the beauty, elegance and atmosphere of the Radiance Class ships.

There's a big difference in cabins on these two ships! The minis with Princess are REALLY narrow. The Cat. C's with RCI are really wide and spacious. I feel a bit cramped in the minis because of the narrowness. Both cabins bathrooms are almost identical, with RCI's being just a bit nicer looking. I like the TV set-up with Princess and the exposed balconies on the Dolphin Deck.

RCI and Princess are similar, but here's the difference that we see:

RCI is more young and more active. It's a fun, upbeat atmosphere with the crew being top notch. They are enthusiastic and this is apparent all over the ship. Their ships are the most beautiful things afloat. (again, my opinion).

Princess has a quiet, intimate atmosphere with a lot of couples. No one cares what you're wearing on the beach, what you're doing and no one seems to be trying to impress anyone else.

Give it a try, if you don't like it, go back to RCI. I think everyone should try as many different ships and cruise lines as possible to help them determine what suits them the best.

 

[kruznut]

In my opinion, there are many beautiful ships out there and cruise lines. They are all good in many, many ways. Your favorite really just depends upon what you personally like. I think if we look hard enough we could find something on any cruise line not exactly to our liking, but it shouldn't give the line a bad name. Princess has a certain elegance about that i especially like. I'm sure other lines have something i could enjoy also, but for me, Princess suits me.

 

[Lady Jag]

Great way to put it Kruznut! :thumb It's not a matter of 1 line being better than the others. They all do something really well. :thumb

 

[emhg89]

Thanks everyone for you helpful information. The information DJA gave regarding more people into the same size space is a bit roublesome to me. Sounds like they are trying to make more money with putting as many people on the ship as they could.

I also dont find having a balcony that has no privacy from above unappealing(can't imagine someone with a suite liking this).- maybe this isn't too much of an issue because you tend to be out and about the majority of the time. I think I will have to read about the Caribbean Princess after it has sailed to hear what passenger say. At this point I think I would like to try one of the Voyager class ships with RCl.