Royal Caribbean or Princess?

BMoreBride6

Hi everyone,

We have 2 very similar options for our honeymoon planned for July/August 2014.  They are both Mediterranean cruises with very similar itineraries.  For the just about the same price we could either go on a Royal Caribbean ship (Serenade of the Seas) with a balcony room or on a Princess Cruises ship (Regal Princess) with an interior room.  The RC ship is a bit smaller and older whereas the Princess cruise will be brand new (only sailing for about a month before our trip) and apparently higher end.  I've only ever sailed RC, but we originally planned on booking the Princess Cruise but I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to really regret getting an interior room.  Does anyone have experience cruising the Greek Isles/Med. on either of these cruise lines?  Which way would you go?  Balcony room on a less high end ship or interior on an interior room on a high end?  Thank you! 

itzMS

BMoreBride6 said:

Hi everyone,

We have 2 very similar options for our honeymoon planned for July/August 2014.  They are both Mediterranean cruises with very similar itineraries.  For the just about the same price we could either go on a Royal Caribbean ship (Serenade of the Seas) with a balcony room or on a Princess Cruises ship (Regal Princess) with an interior room.  The RC ship is a bit smaller and older whereas the Princess cruise will be brand new (only sailing for about a month before our trip) and apparently higher end.  I've only ever sailed RC, but we originally planned on booking the Princess Cruise but I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to really regret getting an interior room.  Does anyone have experience cruising the Greek Isles/Med. on either of these cruise lines?  Which way would you go?  Balcony room on a less high end ship or interior on an interior room on a high end?  Thank you! 

I would never, ever, cruise without a balcony. Enjoying some quiet moments on the balcony with DH in the morning and whenever we needed some alone time was well worth it.

While he was getting ready for dinner, I could sit out on the balcony and enjoy the scenery and vice versa.

mlg78

Cruise rooms are small enough... Adding on a balcony is well worth it! We're doing our honeymoon on RC with a balcony.

BMoreBride6

Thanks for the advice ladies, checking out these particular ships, the Princess ship is by far superior, only problem is they don't have any ocean view rooms, only interior or balcony...Balcony is $1,000 more per person...

BMoreBride6

CMGr said:

Like I said, it is really too early to book.  Are your working with a travel agent?  Prices should come down after Christmas.  I have been on 16 cruises, and I'm really a cheapskate!
PS.  If you can wait a few weeks, you can save several hundred dollars by sailing at the end of the season.  TAs can get all kinds of bargains for you.  My agent shows a difference of $800 pp between balcony and inside.

I'm a teacher so we are going during my vacation so only one of us has to take time off.  We are actually getting married this November but holding off on the honeymoon.  And yes we are using a TA, she is my friend's mom so she is working really hard to keep an eye on all price drops for us.  Thanks for the advice!! 

dalm0m

It depends on what's more important to you.

RC has more on board activities:  rock walls, skating rinks etc.  I don't know the amenities on the Serenade but you need to compare apples to apples if you care about on board activies.

Our Princess cruise was nice.  The decor was elegant & understated but we didn't like the beds b/c the mattress was too hard & the whole experience was rather sedate.  Only the disco stays open past midnight.  It was like they rolled up the hallways or something because everybody seemed to go to bed around 10 pm.  We found it very dull.  The food was good.  MUTS was better than I thought it would be.  Loved the warm chocolate chip cookies every afternoon.

winelover123

I couldn't do an interior room - no window = me sleeping all the time. Do the balcony!

[Deleted User]

We were only in our room to shower and sleep. Honestly, we were having so much fun on the RC ship to notice.  Also, RC now has anytime dining as an option, but we have so much fun with our table mates that we always choose set dining!

JoanE2012

I'd go with a balcony.  It's so nice to sit out on the balcony at night with a glass of wine or early in the morning with a cup of coffee.  I could never stay in an interior room with no windows.

dalm0m

The "secret" to interior rooms involves turning the TV to the bow cam channel & turning the volume off.  At night you will just see black.  As the sun rises, you get "light" in your cabin.