Cruise advice...need help choosing btwn Princess & Royal Caribbean

[Jess]

I've been on both and I really love Princess cruises. I felt the food was a lot better on Princess than on RC - plus I love the being able to dine when you want and not at a certain time with a random group of people. It definitely is not much of the party crowd, but if you want that you can find it on any cruise ship.

[*Heather*]

I haven't been on Princess but we did the RC Eastern Carribbean cruise exactly one year ago, and I LOVED it!

[TA Dina]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JUSTUSTWO Carly, this is the exact thing that I'm thinking, this is gonna be our anniv trip. Even tho its a month late, I thought it was still a good idea & a good value. I went to each individual website & found GREAT deals. RC is even having a sale right now & have reduced their deposit from $250 p/p to $125 p/p. I even got specials based on the fact that we reside in NY! Here's the link for Adventure of the Seas itinerary: Cruise Details - Royal Caribbean International= Here's for Serenade: Cruise Details - Royal Caribbean International= And here's Princess: Princess Cruises : Classic Southern Caribbean - Roundtrip San Juan : Details & Availability= When you go onto the sites, definitely change the state that you reside in & see if the prices go down. And also look at the "hot deals". The price that I had gotten for Princess was absolutely surprising. It was for a mini-suite & it was like $899 or $999...something like that.

And remember girls....if you use your favorite BDW TA you get the BDW perks. Which for cruises equals free onboard credits. Pricing is usually pretty much the same (at least with RCCL it is), so check us out

Help the forum and get some free stuff!!

[Sapphire723]

I love Princess. I wouldn't recommend it if you're looking for all of the people on it to be young. There are some younger passengers but it mostly older couples (who are usually nice and have fun stories, anyway). I have been on two Princess cruises and their goal is for the service they provide to be perfect. Not just exceptional, but perfect! Their food is great, too. Plus, Princess offers rewards to repeat cruisers. On my second cruise, I was invited to a Captain's party for circle club members only where they had free drinks. They gave bottles of champagne to the people on the ship who had gone on the most Princess cruises and then raffled off a few bottles of champagne to those of us less experienced.

 

I have not been on RC, but my MOH has been on both Princess and RC and said that she definitely prefers Princess. I have, however, been on Carnival, and in my opinion, Princess is MUCH better.

[Sapphire723]

I believe Princess's drinks are more reasonably priced as well, if I'm not mistaken.

[jodylynn007]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JUSTUSTWO We did the Western Caribb itinerary too on RC. Went to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios & one other place. We loved our short time in Ocho Rios so much that thats how we decided to have our DW in Jamaica.

Hi there!! My hubby and I booked a cruise (the same itinerary you were on) for March of 09. We have booked shore excursions for all ports except Ocho Rios... was wondering what you did there that made you love it? We are thinking a trip to Dunn's River Falls but another thought was when I was a teenager my family went to Jamaica on a cruise as well and my brother and I went horseback riding on the beach. I LOVED my day in Jamaica and was leaning towards that again however my hubby didn't like it when he was there (nothing planned) and would like to see the sights. Any recommendations?

[JUSTUSTWO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jodylynn007 Hi there!! My hubby and I booked a cruise (the same itinerary you were on) for March of 09. We have booked shore excursions for all ports except Ocho Rios... was wondering what you did there that made you love it? We are thinking a trip to Dunn's River Falls but another thought was when I was a teenager my family went to Jamaica on a cruise as well and my brother and I went horseback riding on the beach. I LOVED my day in Jamaica and was leaning towards that again however my hubby didn't like it when he was there (nothing planned) and would like to see the sights. Any recommendations?

We did 1 tour that included Dunn's River, Shaw Park Gardens, Shopping at Island Village/Taj Mahal & then lunch at Margaritaville!

We did Shaw Park Gardens first, which was beautiful, if you're into Botanical Gardens. Then they took us to Dunn's River which was followed by shopping at Island Village & I think Taj Mahal shopping center.
When they dropped us off after the tour, I think we had like an hour left before we had to board the ship. So at that time, the ship was docked right next to Margaritaville so we went there to try authentic Jamaican food.
I really enjoyed the day there sooo much! I think it was the best port with the exception of Grand Cayman altho Labadee was pretty nice too, even though its their private island.

If you do that tour, definitely take a change of clothes for after Dunn's River. Someone gave us that tip & it was nice to be able to change after climbing the falls so that we weren't drenched while we were shopping. We were able to leave our belongings on the bus since the tour operator & driver stayed there while we did the climb. And don't forget your sneakers or water shoes!!!

[Banana11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JUSTUSTWO We did 1 tour that included Dunn's River, Shaw Park Gardens, Shopping at Island Village/Taj Mahal & then lunch at Margaritaville! We did Shaw Park Gardens first, which was beautiful, if you're into Botanical Gardens. Then they took us to Dunn's River which was followed by shopping at Island Village & I think Taj Mahal shopping center. When they dropped us off after the tour, I think we had like an hour left before we had to board the ship. So at that time, the ship was docked right next to Margaritaville so we went there to try authentic Jamaican food. I really enjoyed the day there sooo much! I think it was the best port with the exception of Grand Cayman altho Labadee was pretty nice too, even though its their private island. If you do that tour, definitely take a change of clothes for after Dunn's River. Someone gave us that tip & it was nice to be able to change after climbing the falls so that we weren't drenched while we were shopping. We were able to leave our belongings on the bus since the tour operator & driver stayed there while we did the climb. And don't forget your sneakers or water shoes!!!

You didn't happen to visit Shaw Park Beach Hotel did you?

[JUSTUSTWO]

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Originally Posted by ~Andrea~ You didn't happen to visit Shaw Park Beach Hotel did you?

No we didnt. Is that close to the Gardens?

[Banana11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JUSTUSTWO No we didnt. Is that close to the Gardens?

It's about a mile or so away from the Gardens. We are getting married there and I love to talk to people who've been there! I've only seen a few small pictures.