Princess..I will never leave you again!

[monakayk]

I have cruised Carnival 3 times.....enjoyed those cruises, but as you said..."you get what you pay for".

 

Princess is certainly a step above Carnival, IMHO for what my DH and I want from a cruise. But I will go on another Carnival cruise....mainly with my 2 DDs or for a 'Girls Only Cruise' with friends (cause of the lower price) since that is what they can afford. However, a true, relaxing, super-serviced cruise..I will choose Princess, Royal Caribbean or Holland America before Carnival every time.

[trojangirl90066]

For sure! We did Carnival exactly once and vowed never to return! We are trying NCL next year and kind of nervous about it....We alwasy seem to conpare to Princess or HAL our two favorite lines.

 

If you are fortunate enough to have a full suite on NCL it is fantastic. The suite perks are great! However, once was enough for me. Constant announcements, selling everywhere you go, loud, loud music on most decks. Buffet horrible! I am really looking forward to my suite on the the Island in February.

[windsor26]

I am a Princess elite fanatic but I must say Celebrity is good very good:)

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I know just what you mean. We tried a Carnival ship and found it so different than our beloved Princess ships and the service so disappointing that we will never go back.

 

You'll love the Crown Princess! We were on her last week...everything was perfect...we had a fantastic cruise.:D

 

Could you put that in writing?;)

 

Bill

[tailspintom]

My thanks to the good people here for sharing your experiences. I have cruised predominately on Princess but also with RCI, NCL and Celebrity. I was planning on trying out Carnival with a first cruise couple but may change to another line.

 

My experience with NCL was interesting. They did a very commendable job with a Mexican cruise while a Hawaii cruise was less than satisfactory.

 

Princess has been quite consistant in their delivery of their product. I have also found that their management has been very receptive to constructive criticism.

 

I really believe that setting one's expectations is key for any cruise. Set your sights on finding something wrong will have you find something wrong..... every time.

[H2O skier]

A group of us sailed on the Costa Fortuna a few years back. Couldn't wait to get off that ship. Fortuately is was only a 7 day cruise. Will never choose any line but Princess again.

[honey8572]

We did the Carnival Splendor over spring break (probably not a smart choice). We're Elite on Princess, but money was tight this last year, so we ended up on Carnival. One thing I like about Carnival is that the balconies are much more easily affordable. I have booked two Princess cruises within the last two weeks and could only afford an inside and an outside guarantee. But the whole time on Carnival we were comparing it to Princess. Spring break was awful--drunk college spring breakers along with over 1000 kids and cold weather (in the 50s).

 

I'm so looking forward to Princess again--Sapphire over Xmas and then the Grand to Alaska.:)

[PescadoAmarillo]

For some people, it seems, comfort in the familiar is paramount. I understand that. Every time we've tried a new cruise line, it's a bit like the first day in a new school or job. It's not that it's bad...it's just different. But when I've been able to accept that separate, in this case, can be equal (or even better), I've always been more than pleased with a new cruise line.

 

We cruised several RC before our first Celebrity. DH was aghast...there was a period one afternoon where he was HUNGRY and only room service or the grill/pizza was available (as was the case on Celebrity 12 years ago). He was quite unhappy, but after several days loved Celebrity.

 

We went from Celebrity to Princess and were shocked at the lower level of service and (we thought) unfriendly crew (this was the Sun Princess in 2003). But we stuck with it for the itineraries. Now, 8 years and 31 Princess cruises later, we love Princess.

 

I wonder now, when we go back to Celebrity again, if it will feel "first day of school" uncomfortable. But thank goodness we are ultimately open to change. Otherwise we'd still be cruising only RC and would have missed out on a lot of incredible cruise memories.

 

And indefinitely want to take a Carnival cruise, just to see for myself what all the hub-bub is about. But, as with Princess, I won't choose a 7 night cruise during a holiday break period. No sense in stacking the deck against the cruise line.

 

And I will admit we most likely won't be returning to NCL. Loved the cruise but that cabin... Cruise experiences can change from one cruise to the next, but small cabins remain small even years later.

[LHARTWICK]

We sailed on the Conquest out of Galveston 2 years ago. Worst of out all of our cruises! First off, we made the mistake of booking a Guarantee cabin and ended up right under the Lido deck and the loud speakers. All we heard 24/7 was the bass noise - awful! The food was average at best, as well as the entertainment. Embarkation/debarkation in Galveston was a mess, too. I've heard it's always like that in Galveston though. We had a great time in the ports and the band on board, Blackjack, was great ! Our cabin steward was great, too. We just made the best of it, but neither Galveston nor the Conquest are not on our to-do list anytime soon that's for sure.

 

Having said all of that, some of our absolute best cruises have been w/Carnival. One of our best cruises was w/RCCL, but we had a not so great cruise w/RCCL. When people ask me which line we prefer, I tell them that's difficult for me to answer. For us, it's really a comparison of ship to ship - not cruise line to cruise line. It seems to depend on where you are sailing to and where you board the ship from. But we always try to have fun and make the best of it regardless of whose ship we are on.

[Ldyandrea]

Princess has definitely become my favorite cruiseline, though my first cruise ever was on the now-defunct Windjammer Cruises ship, the Polynesia. My first "big ship" cruise was on the Carnival Paradise, and it was several years later that I experienced my first Princess cruise on the Caribbean Princess.

 

Now, I enjoy any kind of cruise in general, but there are distinct differences that I found between Carnival and Princess:

 

- Decor on Carnival is "fun", but a bit on the Vegas tacky side for me. Princess might be considered "boring" by some, but I see it as more understated elegance.

 

- One of the things I found most annoying on Carnival is that the music is eardrum bustingly loud out on the pool deck, and the constant PA announcements really get irritating when you're trying to relax and read, nap, etc. Princess has an atmosphere that is more conducive to relaxation; shipwide PA announcements are minimal as they provide everyone a very nice Princess Patter every day to let you know when various activities are going on.

 

I still do mix it up a bit, and have sailed on Royal Caribbean, NCL, and would be very interested in trying out Celebrity as well. But, I will say I'm most comfortable now sailing on Princess, for the reasons I've already listed, and many more! :)

[Pam in CA]

My opinion is based on over 40 cruises. Been on RCI over 12 times, Celebrity 10 times, Princess 9 times and HAL 5 times. Celebrity and Holland America are a noticeable step up. HAL has the best dining but I have a slight preference overall for Celebrity over HAL. I don't know where you get the impression they are a step down. Both also have a better passenger / staff/ space ratio then Princess and RCI. Less crowded ships. Been on Allure and Oasis by the way and they are both awesome ships.

You can have two people on the same cruise at the same time with totally opposite experiences. I took Princess, HAL and Celebrity cruises last year within six months and our Princess cruise experience was much better than the other two, far better than Celebrity. It would take a lot to get me back on Celebrity. The balcony cabin was tiny and cramped, the food in both the buffet and dining room was really bad (subjective, I know, but when you can't cut meat with a steak knife and six of eight people send their entree back, you know it's not just you), and my cabin toilet didn't work for three days with absolutely no acknowledgement or even an "We're sorry" from Celebrity even though over 60 cabins were affected. Very poor Customer Service, IMHO. Plus, there was no Internet or WiFi anywhere on the ship other than in the Internet Cafe. I will say that our dining room waitstaff was terrific, among the best I've ever had.

[Charles4515]

 

And I will admit we most likely won't be returning to NCL. Loved the cruise but that cabin... Cruise experiences can change from one cruise to the next, but small cabins remain small even years later.

 

NCL is like two different cruise lines. If you book a suite it will be pretty good. A regular cabin, not too good.

[LHARTWICK]

 

And indefinitely want to take a Carnival cruise, just to see for myself what all the hub-bub is about. But, as with Princess, I won't choose a 7 night cruise during a holiday break period. No sense in stacking the deck against the cruise line.

 

My advice is to stay with Carnival's newer ships and defintely avoid a holiday or Spring Break on ANY ship if possible. The Conquest was our only really bad experience on Carnival. That was also a Spring Break cruise. I tried to warn others in our group that it would be Spring Break in Texas, but they refused to listen to me. But we loved the Spirit, Victory, Miracle and Glory. Those were great cruises! No cruise line is perfect.

[Charles4515]

You can have two people on the same cruise at the same time with totally opposite experiences. I took Princess, HAL and Celebrity cruises last year within six months and our Princess cruise experience was much better than the other two, far better than Celebrity. It would take a lot to get me back on Celebrity. The balcony cabin was tiny and cramped, the food in both the buffet and dining room was really bad (subjective, I know, but when you can't cut meat with a steak knife and six of eight people send their entree back, you know it's not just you), and my cabin toilet didn't work for three days with absolutely no acknowledgement or even an "We're sorry" from Celebrity even though over 60 cabins were affected. Very poor Customer Service, IMHO. Plus, there was no Internet or WiFi anywhere on the ship other than in the Internet Cafe. I will say that our dining room waitstaff was terrific, among the best I've ever had.

 

I don't just rely on one cruise on a line to form an opinion. Also my opinion does change over the years. At one time Princess was a premium line and I would have put it up there with Celebrity and HAL. Now they try to compete on the same level as Royal Caribbean. An example is the buffets. Celebrity and HAL have omelet stations, waffle stations and Eggs Benedict stations. Last few sailings on Princess you can get a made to order egg only if you know about it made in the back. Celebrity and HAL provide ice cream for long periods in the buffet. Last time on Princess, about an hour in the afternoon.

 

As far as Wi Fi in the cabins. You will find among the cruise lines across fleets that the older ships tend only to have hot spots while newer ships have it everywhere. I have not been on a Celebrity ship that only had Wi Fi in the Internet Cafe. They all had at the least multiple hotspots.

[mycruz]

It's like coming home. :) Some say the ambiance and decor on Princess are boring, but I love boarding a Princess ship and feeling familiar with everything.

 

I agree! It's like coming home!

[CHELSEADOG]

Hello Pam,

Just got back from Diamond Princess Beijing to Singapore. It was great. Something I've always wanted to do was an African Safari. I love cruises but can't do a cruise for this.

Tell me about your safari. How long was it, where did you go? What company did you use? How much was it?

Thanks

Carol

[rferr]

Been on four Carnival Cruises. Then switched to Princess and did four Princess Cruises on the Grand and Golden. Then switch to NCL and did 4 or 5 on different ships. I liked them all but for me the Princess ships were kinda boring, especially at night. It was like Mayberry RFD where they rolled up the sidewalks after 10 pm. n You would go into the casino at night and the place was empty. I had never seen anything like it. That was the big difference for me. I really do not tell much difference in the food or service between the three personally but it was too sedate for us. I would still go back on Princess again if the itinerary was right but the other lines were more fun overall.

[Putterdude]

I can't say I have a warm fuzzy feeling about Princess, they are a business that represents good value but in my mind that is where it ends. We have enjoyed Princess but as a result of some of their cut backs in the past year we have voted with our wallets and tried HAL which we found to be a disaster and will not be in any great hurry to return. We then tried Celebrity again and found it every bit as good as the first time .... we will definitely be back as we found their product more to our liking. That said our next 3 cruises are with Princess and we will likely trade off between the two lines. Princess has demonstrated no great loyalty to its passengers and we will respond in kind focusing on value and itineraries.

[indiaksue]

I just have never understood what people are talking about. I have been on Princess, Carnival, RCI, and we are looking at NCL next. I do not see any real differences on any of them just a few subtle things. Besides decor, Carnival is a wonderful cruising experience and is far more affordable. We are staying in an inside cabin our next princess where we have been doing Lido balcony's on Carnival. I have loved all our cruises with maybe the exception of the 4 day party cruise we took last year. :eek:

 

I do agree with the OP about Nachi Cochem, and Carlos was the best!

[gubby]

As another poster has said, and I agree, we have enjoyed all of our cruises and they have been on different lines. We have been on Celebrity, Princess, HAL, RCL, NCL, and a now defunct British line. When asked, DH answers that each line has some area that they excell in and it is not really possible to choose a favourite one. We have not yet cruised with Carnival, but have a TA booked for 2013. We deliberately stayed away because of the " party ship" reputation. However, it appears as I suspected that is for short cruises and spring break periods. A 16 nighter in November will likely be a quieter experience.

Ciao,

Nikki

[aikensbest]

I can't say I have a warm fuzzy feeling about Princess, they are a business that represents good value but in my mind that is where it ends. We have enjoyed Princess but as a result of some of their cut backs in the past year we have voted with our wallets and tried HAL which we found to be a disaster and will not be in any great hurry to return. We then tried Celebrity again and found it every bit as good as the first time .... we will definitely be back as we found their product more to our liking. That said our next 3 cruises are with Princess and we will likely trade off between the two lines. Princess has demonstrated no great loyalty to its passengers and we will respond in kind focusing on value and itineraries.

I totally agree after our last cruise that HAL is a disaster. However I cannot agree that Princess has no loyalty to past passengers. The perks for internet usage, shipboard credit for past military, additional credit if a stock holder, is way above other lines. After 19 cruises we have decided that not only were the 12 on Princess the best, but our only line in the future.

[paddingtonbear]

I totally agree after our last cruise that HAL is a disaster. However I cannot agree that Princess has no loyalty to past passengers. The perks for internet usage, shipboard credit for past military, additional credit if a stock holder, is way above other lines. After 19 cruises we have decided that not only were the 12 on Princess the best, but our only line in the future.

 

I couldn't find a review of your HAL cruise, aikensbest. Did you do one? just wondering what went disasterously wrong for you.

[Charles4515]

I totally agree after our last cruise that HAL is a disaster. However I cannot agree that Princess has no loyalty to past passengers. The perks for internet usage, shipboard credit for past military, additional credit if a stock holder, is way above other lines. After 19 cruises we have decided that not only were the 12 on Princess the best, but our only line in the future.

 

Princess perks are not way above other lines. They are good but Celebrity and Royal Caribbean have better past passenger perks.

 

I can't imagine cruiseing on only one line. But if I could only cruise on one line it would not be Princess. And while some of my best cruises were on Princess, so were some of my worst.

[aikensbest]

Princess perks are not way above other lines. They are good but Celebrity and Royal Caribbean have better past passenger perks.

 

I can't imagine cruiseing on only one line. But if I could only cruise on one line it would not be Princess. And while some of my best cruises were on Princess, so were some of my worst.

I am unable to find any perks for celebrity or royal caribbean that are better. Please enlighten me

[Charles4515]

I am unable to find any perks for celebrity or royal caribbean that are better. Please enlighten me

 

On Princess as Platnium, 6 to 15, I get priority check in, debarkation lounge, complementary internet package.

 

Celebrity as Elite, 10 cruises I get, priority embarkation ad priority debarkation, debarkation lounge, complimentary interent package, complimentary laundry, dry cleaning one garment, Captains Club lounge which has specialty coffees and fresh orange juice and other goodies in the morning social hours. In the evening social hours with free drinks in the lounge. Priority for shore excursions. Priority for dining room times. Elegant tea event. Wine seminar. Senior officers cocktail party. Pre sailing specialty restaurant reservations. Priority tender service. If you book their air, complementary air deviation.

 

 

Royal Caribbean Diamond, 10 cruises I get, priority check in, priority departure and departure lounge. Welcome gift amenity with a beverage. Priority for shore excursions and spa. Daily breakfast with specialty coffee. Diamond Lounge. Diamond event every night, complimentary drinks. Priority for seating in main dining room. Complementary air deviation. A discount booklet that has always had some free interent time among other goodies . And a discount for booking balconies and suites. For a Diamond that is a $200 discount for a balcony.

 

I think I left a few out for Celebrity and Royal Caribbean....