quote:

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Originally posted by Frosty 4:
http://www.crewoffice.blogspot.com/
Check out this site. A Princess crew members blog.
He kind of po po's the New FOTS. FYI.
Frosty 4

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Oh please ... he sounds like a PR person for Princess. Of course he is going to play down the FOTS and build up CROWN PRINCESS ... it's called job security! Personally I think he is full of sh--.

I don't like everything RCI does, and while they have amazing ships the food and service is not always up to par. This being said, I do have to give them credit where credit is due. They have done an amazing job marketing the FOTS. People who never cruise now know of the ship and just maybe even have an interest in taking a cruise. For those that would never consider a cruise, much of it is becuase of a certain stigma that surrounds cruising. RCI is doing a great job breaking through that barrier.

As for CROWN PRINCESS, she looks pretty good but generally seems like just another Grand Class. Princess has done very little in terms of marketing the arrival of this ship, and that might explain why most all of her cruises from NY are still available and now being offered to Interline and even travel agents at greatly reduced rates.

Ernie

[ 05-22-2006: Message edited by: eroller ]

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Originally posted by Ernst:
In which way is RCCL more innovative? Just because they put some more gimmicks on their ships?

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Ernst,
It's more than just gimmicks, it's the overall design of the their ships. They are the most innovative out there in regards to passenger design and technology.

Have sailed all the largest passenger ships in the world (Conquest Class, QM2, Voyager Class, and Grand Class) I think the Voyager Class ships are truly stand outs. Mind you I love QM2, but when I consider overall design and technology I think the Voyager/Freedom Class are hard to beat.

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Originally posted by sunviking82:
Innovation or market niche? RCL and Princess are very different from each other . Princess is more the upper middle class couples resort and RCL is more the upper middle class family adventure. I don't want a burger joint or rock wall when I go cruising, but that' my choice and the market niche that Princess has targeted. Carnival and NCL are going for middle America and HAL retired America. Celebrity and Cunard are going for the upper crust. It's more marketing then innovation. Princess know what their clients are looking for and continue to deliever. RCL changed their focus when Voyager was introduced and does a great job marketing to their niche as well.

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Good points but to be honest I don't notice any difference in the passengers between RCI and Princess. I'm sailing on FREEDOM OF THE SEAS on June 4th, and I would be willing to bet the same passenger demographic will be on CARIBBEAN PRINCESS the same week. If anything, it might be a bit more upscale on FREEDOM since the cruise is far more expensive than CARIBBEAN PRINCESS.

quote:

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Originally posted by eroller:

Ernst,
It's more than just gimmicks, it's the overall design of the their ships. They are the most innovative out there in regards to passenger design and technology.
[...]

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While there may be a mild resemblance between RCI and Princess, I think that Princess is, and always has been, a bit more elegant than RCI. These lines basically compete for opposite ends of the same market: those who want an active, mid-market product, and those who prefer a more sedate mid-market product. Pick your poison.

[ 05-24-2006: Message edited by: BigUFan ]

[ 05-24-2006: Message edited by: BigUFan ]

I have always suspected that RCCL's Voyager and new Freedom class would be subject to greater crowding than Princess ships.

For example you have one rock climbing wall for up to 4000 passengers, would a venue like that get overcrowded during peak demads? They also have ice skating rinks and other activities. These venues can only cater to a certain amount of people at a time, and the more popular ones I would imagine it would be hard to get to do it when you really want to.

Is this suspicion correct? can anyone who has been on those ships tell me how crowded popular public facilities get?

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Originally posted by Sutho:
Is this suspicion correct? can anyone who has been on those ships tell me how crowded popular public facilities get?.

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You are right to an extent. The Ice Show for example is repeated a number of times during the cruise and you are required to pick-up free tickets which may be for several days time. There can be a wait for the rock wall, too.

However, there are so many options. For example, not all 4000 passengers want to climb the rock wall at all, and not everyone wants to do it at the same time. Some might want to ice-skate or play mini-golf etc.

RCI ships are 'busy', but they do seem to handle the crowds pretty well. However, they hardly offer an 'intimate' experience, either.

[ 05-24-2006: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

I really didn't notice and more or less crowding on either ship but VOYAGER probably had less bottle- necks.

If crowds are a big concern, then it would probably be wise to avoid any of the mega-ships. Even QM2 has crowds and lines in certain places at certain times. Onboard the Silver Cloud, there was never a line or crowd for anything ... and that is no exaggeration. Space is the best luxury of all and while mega-ships offer a lot of space, they also carry a lot of passengers ... *all* of them.

Having an extra deck on the Caribbean/Crown ships is a mistake as the usual 2600 was acceptable but a few hundred more would make a big difference. Paticulary at ports with that ship the lines were long enough.