10 Things I Love About Princess Cruises
For this post, I'll talk about the ten things I love about Princess Cruises. As you can see from My Cruise History I have mostly sailed on Royal Caribbean, but I wanted to give another line a try. I'm glad I did. Although I still like Royal Caribbean, Princess offers some advantages that I think are especially nice for a solo traveler but also for everyone. So far, I have done two Princess cruises and I have four more booked, two for this year and two for next year, both seven day back-to-back (b2b) cruises. So, let's get to the list and let me know which ones you agree with or disagree with.
Price
Go to any travel booking site and search on a seven-day Caribbean cruise, balcony cabin for one on a premium cruise line and more than likely the lowest fare will be on Princess. Cruising solo usually means paying a premium for the cruise fare as the cruise lines are hoping to get at least two people in a cabin. Princess does not have solo cabins like some other lines, however, the cost of an interior solo cabin on other lines is about the same as a regular inside cabin on Princess and you get roughly twice the space. An additional benefit for booking "exclusive access" on Princess is that Princess will also double your cruise credits for loyalty status on their Captain's Circle program. That way you will get to Elite Status twice as fast.
Port Everglades Terminal 2
My favorite cruise port overall is Port Everglades and Princess has the best terminal location in the port. If there is only one Princess ship in port, you will most likely be at Terminal 2. Terminal 2 is the first terminal once you enter from the north entrance at SE 17th Street and Eisenhower Blvd. For the two times I have sailed with Princess, I've never had more than a five-minute wait to get checked in. Usually, the entire process is about 15 minutes especially if you have done all your pre-work on the Medallion App.
Medallion Class
I know this one will be controversial as many have had trouble with the Medallion App. I also have had difficulty with the app but overall, it's one of the main reasons I have rebooked with Princess. As a solo traveler, one problem is having someone watch your stuff while you go get something. With Medallion, everything comes to you. It’s so easy and makes the cruise much more enjoyable. The app even opens your stateroom door for you, which is nice if your hands are full, as is often the case as a solo traveler.
Sanctuary
For a solo traveler, The Sanctuary is going to be a real plus on your cruise. The Sanctuary is an adults-only area of the ship that offers upgraded padded lounge chairs, attendants and in some cases a hot tub. The Royal class ships, like Sky Princess, have probably the nicest Sanctuary offering. On the other class of ships, you will find The Sanctuary offering will vary. Majestic Princess does not have a Sanctuary but has the Hollywood Conservatory which is a beautiful area but does not offer the same services as on the other ships. As far as I know, Majestic is the only ship that does not have a Sanctuary. There is a fee to use The Sanctuary. The cost is $20 for a half day and $40 for a full day per person to reserve a lounger. Reservations cannot be made in advance but must be done onboard. If you are interested in reserving a chair, I highly recommend you do so as the first thing you do after boarding as it books up quickly. On some ships, cabanas are also available at a much higher cost. On some cruises they may offer a "Scenic Sanctuary Package" at a higher cost. As most cruisers know, reserving a lounge chair can be a real challenge. This is especially true for solo travelers as there is no one to watch your belongings while you get up to get something. The Sanctuary solves this problem. First off, nearly everything you need will be brought to you by one of the attendants. When you do need to leave your chair, there is no worry someone will move your things and take the chair as may happen with the loungers by the pool.
Service
The service in general is good on Princess but I think because they have smaller ships, I find there will be crew members who will go out of their way for you. For instance, on Sky Princess the manager there found out that I liked Perrier water better than San Pellegrino. For some reason they were very low on stock, and Perrier was not easy to find on the ship. The next day the manager asked if I would stop by the desk before I left for the day. When I did, he brought me over to a refrigerator and opened it to reveal a completely full refrigerator of Perrier! The manager actually reached out to others on the ship and had them send what was left of their Perrier stocks so I would have it while I was in the Sanctuary. I couldn't believe it. This was my first Princess cruise, so it wasn't like I was Elite status or anything. I don't see that happening in general on Royal Caribbean, except maybe in the Diamond Lounge. On the large ships you get good service but not generally extra special service like that.
Sabatini's Italian Trattoria
Sabatini's Italian Trattoria is one of the specialty dining venues you will find on Princess. There is an additional cost to eat at Sabatini's for dinner however the food and the service make it well worth the extra cost. I recommend you book at least one evening in Sabatini's. There is a wide variety on offer, and you can find the menu posted on the Princess website. On Sky I tried all three of the specialty restaurants, but Sabatini's is the only one I really liked. Additionally, it is the least expensive of the three with a $25 surcharge. I have Sabatini's booked for the first night for each of my upcoming cruises. Pro tip: If you are in a suite, they often offer breakfast at Sabatini's.
Ship Design
One comment you will often hear about Princess ships is that the design is consistent between them. Actually, I find there are quite a few differences between the ships, but the general idea is about the same. I really like the artwork and general layout of the ships. One thing I notice is there is an effective use of space with little dead space. Princess currently has four classes of ships: Grand Class (1301-1569 cabins), Sun2 Class (1000-1107 cabins), Crown Class (1530-1533 cabins) and Royal Class (1780-1834 cabins). The newest, Royal Class ships, are quite different from the other three, being much larger and offering more venues. If you are familiar with the larger resort ships from Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian, you will not think Royal Class ships are exceptionally large at all, but many traditional Princess cruisers find them too large. For me, I love both Sky Princess (Royal Class) and Caribbean Princess (Grand Class), but I have to say, I did find I liked the smaller Caribbean Princess better. On the smaller ships, it's so easy and convenient to get around. Consistency across the line gives returning guests a welcoming feeling even if it is the first time on the ship. Knowing where things are (in general) right from the start, really adds to your cruise vacation as you don't have to spend time getting used to the layout.
Community
As I have written before, I'm a planner. When I decided to take a Princess cruise, I did a lot of research. The good news is, there is a lot of information available about Princess. YouTube is a good place to find information on Princess. I found the information from Allison and Gordon from Let's Go Travel Tips extremely helpful. Because of their help and the larger "Let's Go" family, when I stepped aboard Sky Princess for the first time, I felt like I had been there before, they made things so clear.
Laundry
For a longer cruise it's nice to have access to a laundry and I was really happy to know that Princess has excellent laundry facilities onboard. Nearly every deck has a laundry room and unlike other lines, there never seems to be any waiting for a machine. Included in the laundry rooms is an iron so you can get the wrinkles out of your fancy duds. There is also a nice big sink in case you want to do any hand washing.
Captain's Circle Loyalty Program
Princess may not have the best loyalty program, but I do love how you can get to the higher levels easily. Most other lines set a much higher bar to get access to the top tier. Keep in mind that as a solo cruiser, you earn loyalty levels twice as fast. Your cruise credits are doubled when you pay "exclusive occupancy". If you would normally earn one cruise credit, you get double that. And if you are in a full suite, you earn three cruise credits.
Bonus: No hard sell
Within the first five minutes of stepping onto a large resort ship, you will probably be asked to buy something and more than once. It might be the drink package, photo package, drink of the day, whatever. And it continues for nearly the entire cruise. Walk down the promenade in the evening and you will be asked a dozen times if you want to buy jewelry, watches, liquor etc. But on Princess when you walk onto the ship, you are greeted warmly and welcomed onto the ship like a long lost relative. And no gauntlet of hawkers trying to sell you anything, it really is very comforting that you can relax and enjoy the ship and not have to duck and hide from all the sales pitches. Even at the photography stands on Princess, they politely stand there, smiling, and wait for you to approach them. On other lines they block the aisle to stop you to ask if you want your picture taken.
Double Bonus: Princess Plus
Ok, so I can't leave this topic without mentioning Princess Plus. Princess, like most lines, offer discounts on packages that you can buy before the cruise and sometimes on the first day of the cruise. For instance, you can pre-pay gratuities, buy photo packages, beverage packages, etc. But Princess has bundled these packages into two offerings which they now call Princess Plus and Princess Premier. By purchasing the bundle, you can save a great deal. Normally everyone in the stateroom must buy a package but as a solo traveler, that's just me. The value for me is excellent. I would normally prepay for gratuities and Wi-Fi so for a little more I also get the beverage package, which if nothing else gets me unlimited Perrier and espressos, which is pretty much heaven.
Summary
Between Princess Plus, the Medallion Class app, and the base cruise fare, it's very hard to beat the value Princess offers for a premium cruise line. I do plan to book with Princess in 2024 and look forward to discovering even more things that I love about Princess.
Additional information
Fort Lauderdale Port - Official Port Everglades Site - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Princess MedallionClass® – Download MedallionClass App - Princess Cruises
The Sanctuary - Princess Cruises
Sabatini's Italian Trattoria - Princess Cruises
Sabatini's Trattoria Dinner Menu
Specialty Cruise Restaurant Options - Princess Cruises
Types of Cruise Ships: Ship Information - Princess Cruises