My first and only cruise came sept 06 and it was on NCL. I had a great time but from what I have read and heard about princess some of their procedures are different, such as dining and boarding. Can someone fill me in on how it is different? Just curious, I have no doubt princess will be just as if not more fun.

I've been on 6 cruises and the last one was my first time on Princess just recently. It was FANTASTIC and by far the best cruise I've been on. The crew/staff was much more happier and seemed to enjoy their job. Their muster drill was a little different than any of the others but the actual procedures were the same. As far as dining, they have traditional dining, which involves early or late seating at the same table at the same time each day with the same waiter *or* anytime dining, which was great and you can go anytime. There's also the 24 hr buffet in Horizon Court which was great as well. Boarding was not any different than any other cruise line we've been on. I'm sure it would have been more faster through the express check-in if we had been a Princess Circle member (people who have cruised w/ Princess more than once). The majority of the crew were from England and spoke fluent English so we didn't have to worry about listening hard through heavy accents. There's no doubt you'll be very happy with Princess. Happy Holidays!

Hi raffles,
CRUISEMAMA pretty much summed it up as far as dining and boarding. Just like to make one little correction, CRUISEMAMA; the Express Check-in is for passengers who have filled out all their paperwork on-line and printed out their e-boarding pass; there is a Platinum check-in for Platinum and Elite Captain's circle members (6 cruises and up) and full suite guests.
But you know how I feel about Princess; if you liked NCL you're gonna love Princess.

We have only sailed 6 times. One with Dolphin (no longer exists) one with Costa, and the last 4 with Princess. We really enjoy Princess for two reasons. First, we like the personal choice dining. Gives us an opportunity to meet different people. Second, we really enjoy the fresh water pools. I do not enjoy swimming in salt water, unless I am on a beach. All other cruise lines have salt water pools. I think the exception might be RCCL Freedom of the Seas. Not sure, we've never sailed on her. Everyone has there favorite cruise lines, but ours, hands down so far is Princess.