Cruise Spotlight
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Royal Princess vs Aura
The Princess Cruises Royal Princess was built in 2013. It was renovated in 2018. This ship is the third to carry the Royal Princess name. It's also one of 3 ships that feature Princess' Watercolor Fantasy Show, an outdoor dancing fountain show. It's 14 years older than the Aura, which was built in 2027. The Norwegian Aura is the 21th ship in the NCL fleet and their largest ship yet. It's an evolution of the Prima Class design with 20% more space than the Prima and all new attractions.
Comparison Overview
- Ship Size
- Number of Passengers
- Food and Restaurants
- Bars and Drinks
- Pools and Hot Tubs
- Ship Features and Activities
- Cruise Costs
- Onboard Costs
Ship Size
The Royal Princess is considered a medium size ship. Coming in at 1,083 feet long and 126 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 3 football fields, as wide as 2.4 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 19-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Aura, the Royal Princess is 17% smaller in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
Princess Cruises Royal Princess holds about the same number of passengers as the Aura based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you look at the "Space Ratio," or the total tonnage of a ship compared to the number of passengers, the Royal Princess has less space per person compared to the Aura.
| Princess Cruises Royal Princess | Norwegian Aura | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Royal | Prima Plus |
| Gross Tonnage | 142,229 | 172,000 |
| Length | 1,083 | 1,130 |
| Beam/Width | 126 | 133 |
| Passenger Decks | 19 | 15 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 3,560 | 3,952 |
| Crew | 1,346 | 1,388 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 40 | 44 |
Food and Restaurants
Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.
The Royal Princess has fifteen different dining options like Chef's Table Lumiere, Crown Grill, and World Fresh Marketplace. Of those options, ten are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other eight options have an additional fee.
The Aura has one more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Surfside Cafe, Hudsons, and Indulge Food Hall. Six of these restaurants are complementary and the other eleven have an additional fee.
The Princess Cruises Royal Princess has about the same number of dining options as the Norwegian Aura.
If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Royal Princess might be a better choice then the Aura. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.
| Princess Cruises Royal Princess | Norwegian Aura | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Dining Options | 15 | 16 |
| Complimentary Dining Options: | 10 | 6 |
| Additional Fee Dining Options: | 8 | 11 |
| % of Included Options | 47% | 31% |
| See the options | See the options |
In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. Both ships serve the Coca-cola family of products. That means Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship.
There are also plenty of bars available on these ships. You can check out recent the bar menus for the Aura below.
Pools and Hot Tubs
Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The Princess Cruises Royal Princess has a total of 3 pools and 7 hot tubs.
Norwegian Aura has more pools than the Royal Princess and more hot tubs. There are more exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Aura. If you don't mind paying for exclusive access to areas in order to have less crowds, this might be a better choice.
Tired of loud kids and splashing? One of the pools and two of the hot tubs are adults only on Royal Princess.| Princess Cruises Royal Princess | Norwegian Aura | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 3 | 4 |
| Pools - General Access | 2 | 3 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 1 | |
| Pools - Exclusive | 1 | |
| Total Hot Tubs | 7 | 9 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 5 | 5 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 2 | |
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 4 |
Ship Features and Activities
Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. On the Royal Princess, 73% of the activities below are included in the cruise fare. On the Aura, only 61% of the activities are included, meaning you might spend more money while on board.
| Princess Cruises Royal Princess | Norwegian Aura | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Adults-only area (additional fee) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Afternoon Tea | ✓ | ✗ |
| Animated fountain | ✓ | ✗ |
| Arcade | ✗ | ✓ |
| Art Auctions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cigar Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Climbing Wall | ✗ | ✓ |
| Comedy Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Horizon Park | ✗ | ✓ |
| Jogging Track | ✓ | ✗ |
| Kid's Play Area | ✗ | ✓ |
| Midway | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pool-side Movies | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ropes course | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - musical review | ✓ | ✓ |
| Spa | ✓ | ✓ |
| Splash park | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sports Court | ✓ | ✗ |
| Thermal Suites | ✗ | ✓ |
| Thrill Slide | ✗ | ✓ |
| Virtual Arcade | ✗ | ✓ |
| Water slides | ✗ | ✓ |
| Learn more | Learn more |
Cruise Costs
Princess Cruises is a premium cruise line. Premium cruise lines typically offer upscale food, accommodations, and service. These typically cost about $150 - $400 per person per day.
Norwegian, on the other hand, is considered a mainstream cruise line. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.
Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year. To get a good idea of how the pricing compares, visit the cruise line's website to price out the separate cruises or consult a travel professional.
Onboard Costs
Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests can also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.
Typically guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.
The table below will help you compare onboard prices to see if you might spend more on a specific ship.
| Princess Cruises Royal Princess | Norwegian Aura | |
|---|---|---|
| Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day) | $17.00 | $20.00 |
| Tip added to drinks & services | 20% | 20% |
| Soda Price | $3.00 | $3.50 |
| Domestic Beer Price | $8.00 | $9.99 See drink menus |
| Drink Package Price | $77 -$100 | $28.50 - $32 Learn more |
| Internet Plan | $24.99 per device per day | $29.99 - $39.99 per cabin per day, with $5 for each extra device |
| *Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates. | ||
Princess Cruises offers two packages to bundle onboard expenses. The Princess Plus package includes daily gratuities, the basic beverage package, 2 fitness classes, 2 casual dining meals, and internet for $60 per day per guest. The Princess Premier package upgrades to the premiere beverage package, wifi for up to 4 devices per guest, two specialty dining meals, unlimited casual dining meals, unlimited fitness classes, and a photo package for $80 per guest per day.
Norwegian Cruise Line offers a Free at Sea fare. Through this program, guests receive open bar, a discount on excursions, some free internet, and some meals at specialty restaurants. If you book using this promotion, you'll be responsible for the gratuities on the dining and drink package. If you won't be using these options, booking a "sail away" rate that doesn't include the Free at Sea benefits is considerably cheaper. Also, most of these benefits are the base packages; you can spend more to upgrade to better alcoholic drinks or faster/more wifi.
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