Princess Cruisers Should Not Book Carnival!

[UpcountryTravelers]

e!

 

To the OP: You were on a holiday sailing on Carnival. Had you been on Princess during a Christmas sailing, you may had felt the same way about the vibe on Princess.

 

....

 

Actually, we WERE on a holiday sailing on the Princess just before. Check the date: and there were 600 kids aboard the Sapphire Princess for Thanksgiving. Generally the same proportion. And, yes, it was different from last January in the Caribbean, but nothing like the Carnival. My complaint is not about "the vibe", but rather the quality of service offered by the ship.

 

And to the earlier poster: you can see below the Princess ships we have sailed. Every one of them has sliding doors to the balconies.

 

And, yes, the entertainment is subjective. That was obviously opinion (we do live in a city that has an exceptional community of the arts).

[lovevacadays]

Thanks for your balanced review. I think you pointed out the plusses and minuses as you experienced and viewed them. That's what a review is.

 

I've cruised Carnival twice and agree with your take. I think I would only book Carnival again if I had an itinerary I really wanted to do and Carnival was the only option. But, I have a friend who cruises Carnival regularly and likes them. So, cruise ships like food, entertainment, etc are subjective to what each cruiser is looking for.

 

Thanks again. I enjoyed reading your thoughts.

[UpcountryTravelers]

Evidently Carnival Corporation (which owns both Carnival and Princess) agrees with our assessment of the entertainment and food. It was announced on our cruise that the Carnival Division would be getting several millions of dollars in the next couple of years to upgrade the entertainment and dining. Good for them!

[Kmkub]

Princess balcony doors slide. All of them on all ships I don't remember a Princess ship with a door, though perhaps some real old ones many years ago.

 

Definitely. I was a bit taken aback by that comment. The sliding doors are very nice. I can see how a swinging door would be annoying. I also vouch that Princess doors slide.

[VegasGreen]

Evidently Carnival Corporation (which owns both Carnival and Princess) agrees with our assessment of the entertainment and food. It was announced on our cruise that the Carnival Division would be getting several millions of dollars in the next couple of years to upgrade the entertainment and dining. Good for them!

 

I haven't heard this, but if this is the case and it is a zero sum situation it is beyond disappointing.

 

Carnival's shows use live bands, have larger dance troupes, have elaborate set changes, and use numerous visual effects. Unless there's some limitation with the facility at the Princess Theater (which i can't imagine to be true), I really wish this would have gone Princess' way if true. Carnival's entertainment budget is substantially higher per show (per conversations with entertainers on both lines), and while I understand that these shows are a bigger "priority event" on Carnival, I really have enjoyed the new shows Princess has added the last couple of years to attempt to compete in this area (not that that's really the game Princess is playing here).

 

I'm guessing what you heard is referring to the Fun Ship 2.0 initiative: http://www.carnival.com/cms/funship20/default.aspx?cid=DM_Redirect_49

 

This just rolled out late last year, is gradual across the fleet, and is a substantial investment in entertainment (Punchliner Comedy Club, signature DJs, the "Playlist" production shows) and dining (Guy's Burger Bar, the Rum & Tequila Bars, Alchemy) among other things.

 

I can't imagine Carnival is dumping ADDITIONAL millions into the onboard product beyond this fairly massive project. Heck, speaking of entertainment, they just rolled out the industry's first Laser Show set to music on the Magic.... again, not because Carnival was lacking, but because that's not something that would fit on Princess.

 

Regardless, I would respectfully disagree that it is any sort of agreement or admission by Carnival Corp that CCL's entertainment is lacking in comparison to Princess. It's a big investment in a lot of things - most of which wouldn't fit in the Princess brand. Carnival is competing directly with RCI and its insane festival of frivolity... keeping up with flow riders, water shows, and ice rinks is serious business. Carnival's target demo generally needs a lot more flash and sizzle to be wooed than Princess' does... a fact that I think is good for both lines.

[hubofhockey]

OP has it wrong. SHE should not book Carnival. But I think kids of certain ages are much better off on Carnival than on Princess or even better off on Royal Caribbean.

[UpcountryTravelers]

I haven't heard this, but if this is the case and it is a zero sum situation it is beyond disappointing.

 

Carnival's shows use live bands, have larger dance troupes, have elaborate set changes, and use numerous visual effects. Unless there's some limitation with the facility at the Princess Theater (which i can't imagine to be true), I really wish this would have gone Princess' way if true. Carnival's entertainment budget is substantially higher per show (per conversations with entertainers on both lines), and while I understand that these shows are a bigger "priority event" on Carnival, I really have enjoyed the new shows Princess has added the last couple of years to attempt to compete in this area (not that that's really the game Princess is playing here).

 

I'm guessing what you heard is referring to the Fun Ship 2.0 initiative: http://www.carnival.com/cms/funship20/default.aspx?cid=DM_Redirect_49

 

This just rolled out late last year, is gradual across the fleet, and is a substantial investment in entertainment (Punchliner Comedy Club, signature DJs, the "Playlist" production shows) and dining (Guy's Burger Bar, the Rum & Tequila Bars, Alchemy) among other things.

 

I can't imagine Carnival is dumping ADDITIONAL millions into the onboard product beyond this fairly massive project. Heck, speaking of entertainment, they just rolled out the industry's first Laser Show set to music on the Magic.... again, not because Carnival was lacking, but because that's not something that would fit on Princess.

 

Regardless, I would respectfully disagree that it is any sort of agreement or admission by Carnival Corp that CCL's entertainment is lacking in comparison to Princess. It's a big investment in a lot of things - most of which wouldn't fit in the Princess brand. Carnival is competing directly with RCI and its insane festival of frivolity... keeping up with flow riders, water shows, and ice rinks is serious business. Carnival's target demo generally needs a lot more flash and sizzle to be wooed than Princess' does... a fact that I think is good for both lines.

 

The "Fun Ship 2.0" could very well be what they were talking about, not in addition. And nobody said they were doing it because of any comparison with their sister division. But they did say it was to upgrade their current offering in regards to food and entertainment. That's what they said, and that's one area that I saw as lacking.

 

Grand Princess and Sapphire Princess both had more elaborate staging, larger troupes, just more impressive talent, than we saw on the Dream as well as live bands and impressive costume and set changes. This may or may not be the same on other ships of both divisions, I can't say.

 

They did the laser show set to music on the Dream.

[Denisern2]

Oh but the beds on Carnival are amazing!!!! But the warm food every night does suck.

[AmberTeka]

Oh but the beds on Carnival are amazing!!!! But the warm food every night does suck.

 

They are the most heavenly beds in the world. It is like sinking into a cloud. Princess beds are OK..with an eggcrate cover..but those beds on Carnival...love them.

 

Carnival has a live band at the Casino. Where they get them..I don't know. But they are great. They also have a small sitting area around the Casino bar..and I see folks sitting there..watching sports..chatting...and when that band is playing..pop music...country..good mix...DH and I sit there he sips a Martini..I drink a diet coke..we enjoy that. And we are not bar sitters usually.

On the Dream..they had a Young lady Singer..who performed at the Plaza area..I mean she could sing. I would stop and listen to her when I was moving from place to place. REally good. Carnival Needs to put the steel drum bands back on for boarding day..I still miss the sound of those steel drums as we FINALLY boarded.

I love Princess..I love Carnval..just as much.

[paradiseisaprincessaway]

I like the OP am a fan of Princess but ventured out in the carnival world! My experience on Carnival 1st time wasnt as good as my experience on Princess....I did however have an amazing time and did not let the bumps and blunders along the way ruin my trip.

 

I have since sailed with princess again and am sailing with carnival in a little over a month, with a princess cruise to follow the year after!!!!

 

all in all differences vary, opinions vary - the thing to remember is dont sweat the small stuff (hard to do sometimes trust me) and your on vacation have a blast!!!!:p

[OhioDogLover]

We have done 5 Princess and 2 Carnival. (And gone on some other lines, too, so I think we have enough experience to compare. not as much as some people, but a sample. ) I think that there is lot to be said that is positive on most lines. (There is only one line that I will never cruise again.)

I really liked our first Carnival cruise on the Freedom. The next Carnival was the Pride. We had a lot of fun on the cruise, but frankly, the food and waitstaff were the worst we have ever had on a ship. I am certain this was just a function of some people having a bad week. The entertainment was very good, the cruise director and staff funny, etc.

 

Clearly the atmosphere on the two lines is different. We prefer Princess and X. We would do HAL again, no problem. Carnival, yes, if factors indicated that there was some reason to book it. But, any time you cruise, the experience is different from the last cruise unless the dates, ports, ships, embarkation port, cruise director, etc. are all the same. Everyone wants a certain experience on board. Fortunately, there is enough difference to accomodate most preferences.

Ohiodoglover

[Ldyandrea]

I've sailed on Princess several times, and Carnival a couple of other times, once in 2001, and most recently back in April of 2011. While it's true that many things are going to be a subjective experience (such as food, entertainment, activity levels, decor, etc.), I did find that my biggest issue with Carnival is how they have the music on the Lido deck absolutely BLASTING so loudly to the point that you can't have a conversation with anyone.....right from embarkation day before we'd even left the port.

 

Related to this, is my annoyance with them having shipwide announcements for every little activity while Princess figured out a long time ago that you can just go by your printed schedule. You certainly would never know these cruise lines are owned by the same company based on how very differently they're run, that's for sure!

 

Generally speaking, while my preference is primarily for Princess, second for Royal Caribbean, and Carnival comes up last for me, if it means I'm on a cruise at all then I'm a happy camper! :D

[spunkie4]

Thanks for your indepth review. I agree with almost everything.

 

We have 21 cruises with Princess, one with P&O and 13 on Carnival. We always have fun on Carnival, which is used for family cruises with the grandchildren and for short cruises when we find a bargain.

 

We cruised on Carnival over Christmas. At dinner, we had anytime dining, we shared a table with a family who never removed their hat. The younger man had his on backwards. All three had on shorts and t-shirts. They asked why we like Princess and what was the difference. Took all I could not to say "well, you won't see anyone at dinner in shorts and with their hat on", but I was nice.

 

We enjoy the shows more on Carnival. the casino pays better (LOL). There seem to be more activities during the day on Carnival compared to Princess.

 

We are trying not to repeat a cruise unless we find a real bargain. So, we find we are taking longer cruises on Princess now as compared to when we first began cruising. It is doubtful we would take a cruise longer than 7-days on Carnival.

 

I have no hesitation cruising Carnival. Always fun. I check the site each day and the last minute list every Wednesday.

 

Our next cruise is on the Island Princess in April.

 

Shirley

[happy cruzer]

Thanks for your indepth review. I agree with almost everything.

 

We have 21 cruises with Princess, one with P&O and 13 on Carnival. We always have fun on Carnival, which is used for family cruises with the grandchildren and for short cruises when we find a bargain.

 

We cruised on Carnival over Christmas. At dinner, we had anytime dining, we shared a table with a family who never removed their hat. The younger man had his on backwards. All three had on shorts and t-shirts. They asked why we like Princess and what was the difference. Took all I could not to say "well, you won't see anyone at dinner in shorts and with their hat on", but I was nice.

 

We enjoy the shows more on Carnival. the casino pays better (LOL). There seem to be more activities during the day on Carnival compared to Princess.

 

We are trying not to repeat a cruise unless we find a real bargain. So, we find we are taking longer cruises on Princess now as compared to when we first began cruising. It is doubtful we would take a cruise longer than 7-days on Carnival.

 

I have no hesitation cruising Carnival. Always fun. I check the site each day and the last minute list every Wednesday.

 

Our next cruise is on the Island Princess in April.

 

Shirley

 

I have seen the hat backwards on formal night on Princess, and shorts each night on Princess. It happens more on Carnival, put it happened on Princess too.

 

Carnival provides FUN if you want it. If you want to escape and relax, you can on Carnival too but you do have to avoid the lido pool and the promenade level during peak times. Many Carnival cruisers would complain about the nightlife on Princess being boring and ending early. Just read reviews and know what to expect and you can enjoy both lines IMHO.

[karatemom2]

Thank you for an interesting review, but I have to say I am a Princess cruiser who is very much looking forward to my upcoming Carnival cruise. After 11 Princess cruises I am ready for a change of menu, entertainment and decor. And I'm definitely ready for a comfortable bed. Variety can be a great thing as long as you keep an open mind. I know that our experience on Carnival will be different and there will likely be things I miss about Princess, but also will likely be things I enjoy more on Carnival. This will be a Princess free year for us as we are trying Carnival and Holland America instead due to some really attractive itineraries and prices. I know we will be back on Princess, probably next year, but in the meantime I am really excited about the prospect of a having some new experiences.

[mississauga]

Thank you for an interesting review, but I have to say I am a Princess cruiser who is very much looking forward to my upcoming Carnival cruise. After 11 Princess cruises I am ready for a change of menu, entertainment and decor. And I'm definitely ready for a comfortable bed. Variety can be a great thing as long as you keep an open mind. I know that our experience on Carnival will be different and there will likely be things I miss about Princess, but also will likely be things I enjoy more on Carnival. This will be a Princess free year for us as we are trying Carnival and Holland America instead due to some really attractive itineraries and prices. I know we will be back on Princess, probably next year, but in the meantime I am really excited about the prospect of a having some new experiences.

 

 

Good for you for keeping an open mind. You have the right attitude so will enjoy your 2 upcoming cruises.:)

[AmberTeka]

Good for you for keeping an open mind. You have the right attitude so will enjoy your 2 upcoming cruises.:)

 

Totally second your words. Well Said! It has been two years since we were on HAL and now I find myself wanting to cruise with them again..and Celebrity. It is nice to have a change..and somethings are better on some ships..sometimes just different..then when you come back to Princess...it is like New again.

[DrivesLikeMario]

We also experienced a Carnival cruise close to 2 Princess cruises. The only reasons why we booked the Carnival Splendor was:

 

1. We had 3 young children in our large group that were able to use Carnival's kids' program, but would not have been able to on the Sapphire

 

2. The ship has a water park for kids and the slide (which I actually enjoyed and none of the kids did!)

 

3. We were able to book 22 months in advance; the Sapphire's schedule wasn't available when we booked our group

 

4. A variety of entertainment for the 80+ yr. olds, the young adults and everyone in between

 

5. Most of all - the prices - Carnival's cruise was significantly less than Princess'.

 

In our group, there were many previous Princess cruisers. We sincerely tried to appreciate Carnival for what it was, but we found ourselves often saying, "I like the way Princess does that better". The Carnival cruise was okay, the food was good, the service was pretty good, the cabins were nicer than Sapphire's reg. balcony cabins, but the main difference we saw was the clientele.

 

There were some amazingly nice people onboard and we were lucky to have met some wonderful fellow passengers, but there was also a large contingent of out-of-control people. In particular, two women (a mother and daughter) that nearly ruined our entire cruise experience. Although you can never predict a cruise's atmosphere or clientele, it was very hard to go from Princess to Carnival in quick succession and not notice differences that made us quite uncomfortable. (This was not a Christmas cruise, but a 'normal' sailing.)

 

I understand the Splendor has a "brig". I can imagine that it was quite busy for our cruise. The domestic violence and battery my niece & nephew were witness to was shocking to say the least and definitely affected their first cruise experience for days.

 

In both cases, Carnival's security department was very professional. Their communication and follow-up was excellent days after these events, but for two serious, terrible incidents to have occurred on different decks with different members of our group, it was just too much to ever want to repeat the chance of these things happening again.

 

I know the chances are much better on Princess that we'll never have happen what we did on the Carnival Splendor. I've had other good and bad experiences with Carnival, but that was the last time I will ever step foot on one of their ships again. I've learned my lesson. Out of all the Princess cruises we've had, we have never encountered anything remotely close to what we experienced in 1 week with Carnival. I cannot wait to get back to Princess!

[Woobstr112G]

My very first cruise was on the old Carnival Holiday. 11 cruises later have seen 1 on HAL, 2 on RCCL, 3 on X, and the last 5 on Princess. I was in my mid 30's on my first cruise in 93. 18 years later I now enjoy the great understated elegance that Princess offers. Don't think I'd enjoy the Vegas glitz anymore so a cruise on Carnival probably isn't in my future.

 

Bob

[Whoo]

Totally second your words. Well Said! It has been two years since we were on HAL and now I find myself wanting to cruise with them again..and Celebrity. It is nice to have a change..and somethings are better on some ships..sometimes just different..then when you come back to Princess...it is like New again.

 

I'll "third" your words! We're going on Carnival for the first time since 1989, after going on 8 Princess cruises. We also want to try Holland America someday when the price and itinerary is right! It's fun to try something different, even though we have always been happy with Princess.:)

[UpcountryTravelers]

They are the most heavenly beds in the world. It is like sinking into a cloud. Princess beds are OK..with an eggcrate cover..but those beds on Carnival...love them.

 

Honestly, I didn't notice any difference in the beds. Both are quite comfortable to me, but than I have an old back injury that DEMANDS a firm bed, otherwise I'm in pain.

 

Carnival has a live band at the Casino.

 

Not on the Dream.

 

On the Dream..they had a Young lady Singer..who performed at the Plaza area..I mean she could sing. I would stop and listen to her when I was moving from place to place. REally good. Carnival Needs to put the steel drum bands back on for boarding day..I still miss the sound of those steel drums as we FINALLY boarded.

I love Princess..I love Carnval..just as much.

 

Never saw a lady singer at the plaza area on the Dream. Must have been a short term engagement. About all they had on our cruise in the Plaza was break dancers who weren't very good.

 

And, yes, I love the steel drums on the Lido. ALL ships should have them.

[mississauga]

Originally Posted by AmberTeka

Carnival has a live band at the Casino.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not on the Dream.

 

There was when we were on the Dream too.

 

Originally posted by UpcountryTravelers; Never saw a lady singer at the plaza area on the Dream. Must have been a short term engagement. About all they had on our cruise in the Plaza was break dancers who weren't very good.

 

And, yes, I love the steel drums on the Lido. ALL ships should have them.

 

Most definitely a full time band at the Ocean Plaza. It is more of a center of activity than the Atrium ( which has it's own musical group ). In reading reviews of the Dream, I have read mention of bands there also and lots of queries whether a particular band is still there on a particular cruise. So others have enjoyed the bands at the Ocean Plaza.

[DrivesLikeMario]

The Carnival beds we had in the past were wonderful. Not anymore - at least on the Splendor. They were much harder/stiffer than those on Princess and totally different than the ones we had on the Spirit.

[SheGeek]

I would have to concur. Not a big Carnival fan at all. We tried it a second time to make sure that we were not judging hastily, but Carnival is just not our style. The only plus was that the Carnival beds were much more comfortable - never had a bad nights sleep which I can't really say about Princess.

 

We would only consider cruising with Carnival again if we were going with some of our friends that love Carnival, but in that circumstance I would definitely try to push towards a Royal Caribbean cruise which I think is a little classier version of a Carnival Cruise.

[Tatka]

I completely agree with OP, with the exception.

 

Our experience with both lines started in 2005 and 2006 with horrible cruise on Carnival Liberty and wonderful on Caribbean Princess.. After that we returned several times to Princess and finally decided to try Carnival again.

 

This time we picked 8 dayer out of NYC (as opposed to 6 dayer out of Ft Lauderdale). This was not a school vacation week - mid May. And we booked balcony.

 

This way we hoped to avoid sailing with 46732846 kids, and if it still felt crowded we could hide on our balcony (it was not fun hiding in the inside cabin)

 

Plus we picked ship with better design - Miracle vs Liberty.

 

This cruise still wasn't as nice as with Princess, but it was much better than on Liberty (worst ship design)

 

Minuses:

 

- Food in main DR was a bit better than the first time, but buffets were not good. Everything was over-fried, salty etc.

 

- Decor... what can I say.. Joe Farcus. Purple main dining room, red buffets etc. :D

 

- Shows were on the weaker side, but overall entertainment was good, much better than on Liberty.

 

Pluses

 

- Carnival has nicer bath amenities and larger staterooms.

 

- we liked mini-golf, Caribbean Princess doesn't have it anymore.