So with this sailing, I've now sailed with 10 different lines (if you count the two river cruise lines), and my macro take away is that each line has its pros and cons, with many having one particular "stand out" area, and that often depends on which ship you're on, how new it is, etc. The exception is, of course, Disney, which is superior in most every way. But then you get what you pay for!
For Princess, what stood out was the size of the cabin. I was worried about doing a 26-day transatlantic in an inside cabin, but since it was free, I didn't have a choice. Luckily, this was the largest inside cabin I've ever seen and - BONUS - a separate closet area with tons of hangers (that's right, Sheri Rand - TONS of hangers!). So Princess ranks #2 in my updated list for the cabon category (click HERE to see my previous rankings and to note how Princess "fits" in the various categories). It also had the largest TV I've had on a cruise, and a TON of free movie and TV show options.
After that, like I said above, most everything else was simiar to a degree. Like most cruise lines - and I don't know why this is - it's hard to get them to cook breakfast meat (bacon and sausage links) to a level I like. I don't need it burned, but I also very much do NOT want it medium rare. Alas, too, their orange juice and iced tea was shockingly bad. A bummer when those are among the main complimentary beverage choices. However, they had the BEST oatmeal cookies I've ever had (soft!), their pizza was really good and available from 10am - 9pm, the ice cream was good, and the food overall was generally good. A little heavy on the seafood for my taste, but plenty of other options always available. So for food, I'd rank them 4th with NCL, MSC, and Carnival.
Entertainment was mixed. The shows were nothing special, but I didn't see a lot of them. They do have the best pool collection I've seen, with a good size outdoor AND indoor/covered pool, along with another small one at the back of the ship, AND a medium sized one in the spa area that all ADULTS ONLY could access. Bonus! Plenty of jacuzzis. Decent amount of deck games, a family room with skee ball, air hockey, a nice collection of games & and books in the library (due to length of cruise, I was able to read EIGHT books - see my upcoming post in book group!). Overall, I'd rank them 4th again with the bulk of cruise lines for entertainment and 3rd just above Royal Caribbean for amenities/things to do on the ship - maybe even a tie for 2nd with MSC.
Speaking of entertainment, this guy below won the 80s trivia even though I was a team of one. Snagged a bottle of champagne I didn't even end up drinking. I also won (surprise!) the Disney trivia, but graciously donated my champagne to the runner up.
As for ship style/maintenance, I'd lump them in with all other lines at 2nd behind Disney. For staff/service, I'd put them 3rd with all other lines behind Disney and Avalon - again, yet to be on a ship that really sucked at this. They did have one of the least impressive Atriums I've seen. Barely 3 decks high.
Finally, even though it was free for me, in general their pricing is mid range, so they'd probably rank around 4th. Their wifi is a tiny bit pricier than average, their shore excursions definitely seemed higher, and they never had spa specials, so they might even rank 5th behind Royal Caribbean.
Other notes: I was pleasantly surprised at the number of kids on board (pleasantly surprised for DJ, that is), athough DJ made more friends in the leg after Barcelona (AND had his first kiss our last night of the cruise! awwww!). Their "medallion" thing in place of key cards was convenient (esp. after we got watch-style bands to put them in) and also allowed you to find where your cabin mates were. Nice to travel across the atlantic with gradual time change (1 hour every other day, basically). While a typical amount of relatively low level, typical Karen behavior, no extreme stuff, thank god (the least Karen behavior I've seen on a cruise, interestingly, remains on Disney - the theory being everyone is too happy to be dickish!)
Finally, you may have seen my rant about their big mistake re: visa requirements for Brazil, but to their "credit" (ba dum dum, tish), they did give every sailor (not just cabin) a $200 credit for the mixup, so we were able to get wifi a few days, the medallion bands, some souvenirs, sodas, photos, etc. Fair enough.
There was a bit of a moment during the 7 day crossing where I was a bit "over" being on the ship all the time, but DJ didn't want to EVER get off, and at the end I didn't either. Again, there's something to be said for having someone clean up after you every day, cook all your food, serve it, and clean up affter, and so on. Get off most every day in a cool new city and explore. And so on. So I THINK I could retire on a cruise ship, and if I waited until 70, I might even could maybe afford it combining my SS and savings. I priced it out and here's the comparison - note the VALUE definitely makes it worth it.
Right now if you worked it/planned it well, you could live on a cruise ship for about $3K a month. I did a Google search and these are the AVERAGE monthly prices for an individual in the U.S. (obviously certain areas of the country will be lower or higher on some of these things):
Studio apartment: $1700
Food (groceries - double this if you eat out a lot): $300
Utilities (electric, gas, cable, etc.): $350
Transportation (car payment, gas, upkeep, insurance, etc.): $750
So for "bare necessites" it's a push, BUT when you add in the "value" it's not even close:
Monthly gym membership (to be able to go whenever you want): $75
Daily maid service (minimum, per month): $500
Personal chef making all your meals every day, per month: Thousands
Travel between cities and hotel costs in same, every month: Thousands
Definitely will be giving this some more thought! lol
