Lets talk about Princess Cruise line

[Disneyland1084]

I understand Princess has multiple ships. Is there really a significant difference between them? How are they different from one another?

 

[dcassetta]

No real experience with them as we only cruised with them once 25 years ago on a ship that no longer exists, but I did find this article that might be useful


https://thepointsguy.com/guide/princess-cruises-ships-classes/

 

[NYCgrrl]

Bought a cruise for my Mom from Princess but never traveled with them. I would go over to www.cruisecritic.com and read up on the different lines and itineraries. Well written reviews as well.

 

[robinb]

I’ve only cruised Princess once, on the Majestic Princess in Alaska back in 2022. I liked the Majestic because it was built for the Asian routes and had a lot of signs still in Chinese and had a real Asian feel to it. The Hollywood Conservatory on the Majestic is also open to everyone while the same area is not on other Princess ships. I liked the buffet, although I found it difficult to navigate. The noodle bar near the pool was great. The specialty restaurants were good. The main dining room was meh as was the entertainment. They were more like variety shows and the best was the opera singer. The crew was wonderful and the itinerary was awesome.

Just like every cruise line, Princess has “classes” of ships. The ships within each class are similar but are different between classes.

 

[starvenger]

I've sailed with them twice. On the old Regal Princess and the new Regal Princess. The old one I believe is a part of P&O Australia now. The new one is a nice ship. It doesn't have the amenities that you might expect on a family ship. And the clientele skews older. Vibe is a lot more relaxed than DCL, Royal, and I presume Carnival and NCL. Lots of trivia, and the game shows are a hoot. The productions on board were basically 45 minute concert medleys. Fine for what they were, but they aren't as entertaining as even the worst on-board jukebox musicals (side note: does DCL still do Wishes?). Musicians were varied and all pretty good on our cruise.

Overall, if you like to go around a ship and do things all the time (or at least have that option available), probably not the right ship for you. But it's not a bad ship to cruise on by any means.

 

[Karin1984]

I think with every cruiseline you see a difference between older and newer ships. The wants and needs change, technology changes.

Is there anything in particular you are looking for?

 

[Disneyland1084]

Is there anything in particular you are looking for?

Not really, just curious. I've never been on a cruise before and am just doing research on what to expect.

 

[kdonnel]

Carnival Corporation & plc owns a bunch of cruise lines including Princess.

To maximize economy of scale ships are rarely built as one offs and instead as a class of many ships.

In the case of Carnival owned lines there will often be the same class of ships built across cruise lines. So you could sail on Carnival and then on P&O or Aida or Costa or Cunard or Holland America and be on the same ship with cosmetic changes.

The Princess fleet is covered on Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Cruises#Current_fleet

So two ships in the Coral class, seven in the Grand class(there is some significant changes within this class), six in the Royal class, and soon to be 2 in the Sphere class.

 

[Karin1984]

I think the thing with cruising is, you have to do it before you know it if it is for you.

I wouldnt pay too much attention to ships. I would look at route, go to places you want to see/experience. And look at general impression of the cruiseline. If you want a party atmosphere you need a different line than if you want a relaxed adult only.

You have to get the basic right, going too much into detail about differences between ships probably won't be very helpful as you do not know the difference.

Newer ships often have a lot of bells and whistles, but they might not be necessary for a good first cruise.

 

[antmaril]

I have cruised on Princess five times. Once on the Golden Princess (Grand Class) in 2012 to Alaska and four times to the Caribbean on Royal Class ships - the Regal Princess (2x) and the Sky Princess (most recently in January).

I prefer the Royal Class, as I am drawn to the newer, bigger ships. The Sky Princess is a beautiful ship, but if you are planning a trip with children, it might not be the best choice. These ships do not have ice skating rinks or roller coasters, etc. It’s a relaxed vibe. Lots of older people, but I am sure there are more children on board during breaks and in the summer. I choose not to cruise during those times.

During my cruise last month, there were three production shows, which were great. Food is good, but not as good as pre-Covid, in my opinion. Staff is great. Very eager to please and incredibly hard working.

Not sure what you want to know. We were in a mini-suite, which is a lovely cabin. We also had the Plus Package, which includes WiFi, Drinks, Gratuities and some other perks.

 

[tazdev3225]

I cruised on the Crown Princess to Alaska 2 years ago. I loved the ports but the ship needed dry dock badly. The stabilizers were shot and I was seasick most of the time. That being said the staff were awesome, my husband and I enjoyed the food and loved the entertainment offered. I loved the experience (minus the seasick part) so much that we are cruising on the Majestic this summer to Alaska again and taking our grandson as a graduation present. I have no clue what class ships they are but we were happy with them.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I think the thing with cruising is, you have to do it before you know it if it is for you.

I wouldnt pay too much attention to ships. I would look at route, go to places you want to see/experience. And look at general impression of the cruiseline. If you want a party atmosphere you need a different line than if you want a relaxed adult only.

You have to get the basic right, going too much into detail about differences between ships probably won't be very helpful as you do not know the difference.

Newer ships often have a lot of bells and whistles, but they might not be necessary for a good first cruise.

Agreed. We went on our first cruise on Celebrity. It was an older boat and much much smaller than the RCL behemoth it was docked next to. Adored the food, nice workers, older rooms, ready for refurbishment.
We sailed with RCL next (Oasis of the Sea, a then new class of ship) and were amazed by the amenities offered: water park slides, ice cream machines located on different decks, huge buffet offerings, multiple swimming pools.They hadn’t thought up ice skating rinks yet however by our second RCL cruise we knew this wasn’t the line for us- too many people. Made a 180 degree turn towards Seabourn which was a much better fit.

The thing is we grew into our opinions and wouldn’t have known which line or type of ship we preferred until we tried the others.

 

[wide awake]

There are large differences between the classes. For example the older ships have a full promenade deck, important to me but perhaps not to you. The ship does make a difference so spend time doing the research. Also, while I really like Princess I don't like the fact that you have to get a deluxe balcony, (not an option on older ships), to get something besides a desk chair to sit on. If you want a couch you're looking at deluxe balcony or above. Again, maybe not important to you. They're moving away from that with the newer ships but those will only be sailing in Europe or the Caribbean for the next several years.
We took our first cruise in 2001 on an older Carnival ship, one of the four day ones out of Long Beach. We had a good time but it wasn't something I felt I needed to do again. In 2004 we sailed on the DCL Magic and that was a completely different experience and one where I booked our next cruise while still on board. We sailed DCL exclusively for many years because my son is autistic and he really needed a daily bath and all of DCL cabins except the cheapest have a tub.
In 2013 we tried a Holland America to Alaska because HA ships had tubs. Definite mistake and lack of research on my part. The ship was old and needed a dry dock. There was actually duct tape holding a ripped carpet together on one of the stair landings. The entertainment was laughably bad as well. Their newer ships have a Music Walk of some sorts that many hate because they feel it is too noisy. I loathe noise so won't be booking those ships.
I'll disagree with a PP, I thought the entertainment on Sky Princess was much better than our recent DCL Fantasy cruise. Great entertainers and loads of activities to do each day. This is personal preference so YMMV. This is an anniversary cruise for you and DH, correct? So you're not going to be too interested in kid's entertainment or activities.
Alaska is a pricey cruise. If at all possible I would try a 7 day on a newer ship before committing to Alaska. See what you enjoy and don't enjoy. I'm saying 7 day because the shorter cruises tend to be booze cruises, doesn't matter what line. Check out Cruise Plum to get an idea of pricing and what kind of deals might be available. Finally as I and many others have suggested check out Cruise Critic. That's where you find input from frequent cruisers of many different lines as well as specific port information, travel help, etc...

 

[TiggerTrigger]

My parents cruise Princess (as well as several others). They were on Enchanted Princess just last month, which is one of the newer ships in the fleet (2020- couldn't sail until 2021 due to Covid) and has more bells and whistles. I know they've been on several other Princess ships, including older ones like Coral Princess and Diamond Princess. They didn't share anything negative about the older ones, but they do tend to prefer the newer ships (regardless of the cruise line). With a few exceptions, they usually wait for a new ship to sail its preliminary itinerary schedule before booking since you almost always pay more for the newest ship in the fleet.

 

[NYCgrrl]

saying 7 day because the shorter cruises tend to be booze cruises, doesn't matter what line

What is a booze cruise?

 

[antmaril]

There are large differences between the classes. For example the older ships have a full promenade deck, important to me but perhaps not to you. The ship does make a difference so spend time doing the research. Also, while I really like Princess I don't like the fact that you have to get a deluxe balcony, (not an option on older ships), to get something besides a desk chair to sit on. If you want a couch you're looking at deluxe balcony or above. Again, maybe not important to you. They're moving away from that with the newer ships but those will only be sailing in Europe or the Caribbean for the next several years.
We took our first cruise in 2001 on an older Carnival ship, one of the four day ones out of Long Beach. We had a good time but it wasn't something I felt I needed to do again. In 2004 we sailed on the DCL Magic and that was a completely different experience and one where I booked our next cruise while still on board. We sailed DCL exclusively for many years because my son is autistic and he really needed a daily bath and all of DCL cabins except the cheapest have a tub.
In 2013 we tried a Holland America to Alaska because HA ships had tubs. Definite mistake and lack of research on my part. The ship was old and needed a dry dock. There was actually duct tape holding a ripped carpet together on one of the stair landings. The entertainment was laughably bad as well. Their newer ships have a Music Walk of some sorts that many hate because they feel it is too noisy. I loathe noise so won't be booking those ships.
I'll disagree with a PP, I thought the entertainment on Sky Princess was much better than our recent DCL Fantasy cruise. Great entertainers and loads of activities to do each day. This is personal preference so YMMV. This is an anniversary cruise for you and DH, correct? So you're not going to be too interested in kid's entertainment or activities.
Alaska is a pricey cruise. If at all possible I would try a 7 day on a newer ship before committing to Alaska. See what you enjoy and don't enjoy. I'm saying 7 day because the shorter cruises tend to be booze cruises, doesn't matter what line. Check out Cruise Plum to get an idea of pricing and what kind of deals might be available. Finally as I and many others have suggested check out Cruise Critic. That's where you find input from frequent cruisers of many different lines as well as specific port information, travel help, etc...

Not sure if you were referring to me, but I said that the Production Shows on the Sky Princess last month were great. We thought all of the entertainment was excellent. We didn’t go to any of the comedy shows, so I can’t offer anything about those. Musicians were very good.

 

[kdonnel]

What is a booze cruise?

Shorter cruises of 3 to 4 days, any cruise line, tend to be more of a party cruise with more drinking when compared to 7 day or longer cruises on the same cruise line.

It is also true that the shorter the cruise the more children.

If you don't want a lot of kids and much less partying, cruise 14 days or longer.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Shorter cruises of 3 to 4 days, any cruise line, tend to be more of a party cruise with more drinking when compared to 7 day or longer cruises on the same cruise line.

It is also true that the shorter the cruise the more children.

If you don't want a lot of kids and much less partying, cruise 14 days or longer.

Okay, good to know. The only time I booked a cruise of that length was when DCL repositioned to NYC for a short time. We were going to take DGD but her mother said she would go with her instead. Didn’t happen but fortunately she didn’t tell DGD of her plans in advance.

 

[wide awake]

What is a booze cruise?

A booze cruise is a short cruise with a lot of heavy drinkers on board. I like to drink and wouldn’t cruise without an alcohol package but I don’t want to be around large groups loudly drinking and partying.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

What is a booze cruise?

Some of the 3-4 day cruises to the Bahamas tend to have more of a party and boozy atmosphere. Especially on Carnival.

Now I will say the quality of ship has improved greatly on this route over 30 years ago. NCL the first year we did that route had the only ship that I wouldn't have considered completely trash at the time. But even that ship was trash compared to what goes there these days. Most of the excursions are beach excursions for more of that party vibe. And the Island tour ones just aren't that fun. BTW these are great cruises for an inside cabin. You will often be in port by the time you wake up and You simply won't be aboard the ship much at all. And uh those in the outside cabins let's just say I thought people turning green was a myth until that first cruise. HAHAHA.