Princess as alternative for Europe

[ldo]

We just got back from British Isles cruise on Princess. We did DCL Magic to Norway 2 years ago. I have gotten lots of help from disboards, so thought I'd post a brief IMHO Princess vs DCL comparison. Family of 2 teens, 2 adults.
Cost was the same $6K: DCL Magic OV cabin 7 days Norway vs. Royal Princess 12 days balcony deluxe. The balcony would have been $1K extra on Magic and we had 5 extra days on Princess.
Room: with 4 you need the deluxe, which has a fold out single bed (comfy gel foam mattress) and pullman overhead just like DCL, except pullman and fold out run length of balcony door. Princess says balcony canot be used when beds are unfolded, but any agile person can climb over the bed and get out--I did it every evening. DCL is slightly better set up, and no privacy curtain, but room was fairly equivalent.
Bathroom--adequate--but we missed the split baths, esp. with 4 persons trying to get ready in the AM.
Food: Princess has lots of options--pay and free. We never paid extra. We enjoyed Alfredo's-an upscale pizzeria with great pizza (including adult versions like eggplant and mussels) and antipasto-no extra charge. We ate here one night after hiking when we didn't want to eat in MDR. For MDR you can do set times, or my time. We did a hybrid--set time at 5:45, but then could flip to my time or eat at buffet if 5:45 didn't work for us. For Europe, where we might get back late--or get back at 4 and want to eat a burger and then a later supper, this worked great. We used our set dining 7/12 nights, my time 1-2X, buffet 2Xand pizzeria. The buffet had food all day and heavier dinner buffet from 5:30-9:30 and still some food at 10:30pm at night! There are also very good burgers, dogs, chic sand and good pizza by the pool until about 9:30p.

 

[ldo]

Entertainment: Princess has stepped up their game. Some really excellent singing/dancing productions--equiv to DCL quality IMHO, a broadway styled play, a comedian that my teens went to see a 2nd night at the club, and several cultural offerings--from Ireland and Scotland. they also had The Voice of the Seas auditions that you could watch and then a finale. A very fun Dancing with the Stars in the very nice piazza.
Movies: a few R played in a back lounge/theater (Red Sparrow, 15/17 to Paris), and some G during the day by the pool. Always a PGish movie at night, except when World Cup played. Princess movie screens by the pool are very good and sound is excellent. Can't say the same about RCCL IMHO.
I asked the kids if they missed DCL (which was not an option due to schedule). DD missed the characters all around the ship, and split baths, DS missed the movie theater playing 1st run movies (Princess movies are what you'd get a redbox-Darkest Hour, The Post, Black Panther, Murder on Orient Express). It was very chilly and you needed a blanket (Princess provides nice fleece ones and popcorn).
Bottom line: we loved DCL in Norway, and if $$ was the same, we'd always pick DCL. Even if $$ was a bit more, we'd pick DCL, but Princess did a great job and some things were even better (like more food offerings, and easy options all day long, and being able to eat whenever you wanted in addition to a set routine). As DCL only has 1 ship in Europe, location and schedule don't always align, as with us. IMHO Princess is a good alternative.
Kids did not go into kids club--so no views--there is a good walking deck (7 laps=1mile with circuit trainers set up), ping pong, basket ball, pickle ball, and small putt-putt.
also happy to answer any British Isles, Norway or Med questions.

 

[KashasMom]

Sounds like a nice cruise! We really love the option of a dinner buffet.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Thanks for the review! We really enjoyed Princess though we have only done two shorter cruises with them, but both excellent. I can say that the kids clubs for younger kids were a hit with my children, no experience with teen clubs yet.

I think if price was the same I'd also always pick DCL. The trouble is that it's never the same! lol.

 

[mmmears]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Princess has some nice Eastern Med cruises that look appealing to my family and there's no way we will sail DCL around in the same circle 20 times since we want to see new places, so it's great to hear that you enjoyed yourself. My mother and her siblings have taken a bunch of Princess cruises and they have been quite happy with them. Since DCL had the itinerary we wanted (and the exact dates that we needed) we booked it for Europe this year, but if we decide we like that kind of cruise Princess is one of the lines we'll be looking at.

 

[tidefan]

We just got off of the Emerald Princess in Alaska and had a good time. You are right, it is NOT DCL, however, our Alaska trip was less than half of what DCL was. I posted a review over on the Royal Caribbean forum (which, apparently, I am not supposed to do, although I though it was just a non-DCL grab-bag forum).

You are right, the pizza is much, much better.

We liked Princess better than RCCL, however, we really also liked Carnival (I know, I know...) and that may be our first non-DCL choice. However, if we can make DCL happen, we generally try to do that first...

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Our Disney-loving friends just sailed on Princess for their British Isles cruise and said it was their best vacation ever! They have sailed DCL Wonder and Fantasy in the past for Alaska, Mexico and Caribbean but could not justify DCL's prices this time, so they chose Princess. They liked it well enough but did say they were a bit bored on sea days. But! Still said it was their best vacation ever. After seeing their photos, I can believe it!

 

[Intr3pid]

Some very good points, OP. If you are thinking itineraries, Princess is one of the best all around.

Now, we don't quite view it as an alternative to DCL when sailing with kids - it's still pretty much a cruise geared towards the grown-ups if your kids are used to what DCL does. For adults, it's very good value - and just a different type of vacation. (Cunard is also a good step-up.)

DCL is doing some interesting things in Europe next year. Starting up what they are calling 'signature' experiences. And doing lots of exclusives.

For example, next year's Norway cruise has an exclusive themed takeover of the Sunnmore Village near Alesund, where DCL plans to bring out the Frozen crew in carriages. In La Spezia, you can ride a carriage to a sprawling Tuscan estate and learn how to cook pasta. In Invergordon, Hector Munro from the Munro clan will show you exclusive parts of his family's estate in the Foulis Castle. Then, there is the Backstage Russian Ballet tour in St Petersburg.

Of course, these are expensive excursions - but just a thought for those looking to see how DCL is attempting to compete in Europe. Good times for those looking for options!

 

[mmmears]

They liked it well enough but did say they were a bit bored on sea days. But! Still said it was their best vacation ever. After seeing their photos, I can believe it!

ldo - Did you have many sea days? That's what concerns me about choosing another line. I guess we are kids at heart, since we really enjoy the entertainment on DCL.

DCL is doing some interesting things in Europe next year. Starting up what they are calling 'signature' experiences. And doing lots of exclusives.

Just to let you know, those aren't new excursions. Most of these are offered this year and we also offered in past years. (Which is think is great since you can get reviews of them - some are crazy expensive and I wouldn't want to pay that kind of money not knowing if they were worth it or not).

 

[ldo]

Most European have few sea days. We had 2 on 12 days. We were exhausted. I slept in, did laundry, sat by the pool and people watched, there was a 2 pm movie by the pool, went to history lecture, power walked on deck, hit the jacuzzi, ate, and went to pm entertainment.
Teens did most of above and chilled in the room. The teens club had activities and there were more things to do like basketball contest, skeet shooting for over 18, etc. we would have done putt putt but i didn’t find it until the last day.
on sea days on dcl we did similar as above plus character breakfast meet greet Anna Elsa and theater movie.
On princess, I did not even have time to read my book.

 

[Intr3pid]

Just to let you know, those aren't new excursions. Most of these are offered this year and we also offered in past years. (Which is think is great since you can get reviews of them - some are crazy expensive and I wouldn't want to pay that kind of money not knowing if they were worth it or not).

True, some are old, some are new. What's definitely new though is how DCL is rebranding them. I expect many more of the third-party excursions to convert to these exclusives over the next few years.