Princess's Atmosphere

[redheadinlove]

I am looking to have my wedding on a cruiseship. We're down to Carnival or Princess (two of the three that sail from my home port) and I was leaning towards Princess, but I'm wondering if it's a good fit for us. We're very young (will be 20 and 22), are looking forward to going to the nightclub on whatever ship we're on, will probably stay up very late most nights. How active are the nightclubs? Is there generally a good number of younger passengers? We like that Princess sounds nicer and calmer than Carnival, but I don't want it TOO calm ;)

[Waynetor]

I think on 7 day cruises you would be fine with Princess but on longer cruises the average goes up and night life goes down.

[paul929207]

Since Carnival has few if any cruise longer than 7 days, it is hard to compare them to Princess. For the shorter, Caribbean cruises, you will be fine

[redheadinlove]

we are only looking at 7 day Caribbean so thats exactly the information I need =)

[caribill]

Time of year for your wedding will make a difference as Princess has no Caribbean sailings from early May until late October.

 

You said "We like that Princess sounds nicer and calmer than Carnival, but I don't want it TOO calm." So calmer can mean less activities late at night.

 

Every evening there will be one or two different entertainment shows, one or two live bands, Movies Under the Stars (MUTS), Passenger oriented activities such as karaoki and trivia, and a disk jockey. Most of these end by 11:30 PM or mid-night.

 

The late night disco will be open later, but depending on the passenger makeup, it may have little activity after 11 PM.

[notentirelynormal]

We're very young (will be 20 and 22), are looking forward to going to the nightclub on whatever ship we're on, will probably stay up very late most nights. ;)

 

Keep in mind that on both cruise lines you need to be 21 to drink.

[Pam in CA]

Keep in mind that on both cruise lines you need to be 21 to drink.

Good point. The legal age on Princess is 21 and if someone is not 21, their card will be marked as a minor. Also, if the 22-year old orders drinks for the 20-year old and the server doesn't check, they could be reprimanded or even fired and have to pay their own way home. It's taken very seriously; no "You're married, wink, wink."

[vancouvergirl2010]

If you want to party later than 11pm, I wouldn't go with Princess.

[shepp]

Honestly - and I love Princess - I don't think it's what you're looking for. Even on my last 7-day Caribbean, nightlife was, um, well.....

[Iamcruzin]

Since you plan on being married in the fall I would suggest Carnival. Princess tends to draw an older crowd 40's and up especially around this time of year. 21 yrs ago we wanted to get married on a cruise ship but Princess didn't offer that service at the time. Who knew? We grew up watching the Love Boat and saw Captain Stubing perform a ceremony. We did honeymoon on the Crown in 1991. I was 30 and my wife was one month shy of 22. The average passenger age was around 50. We were seated in early traditional even though we requested late seating (no anytime dining back then) I will never forget it we were seated at a table with a group from a Florida retirement community on the first night. They were very nice but we had nothing in common except that my wife reminded them of their granddaughter and there was no way that we were going to eat a 5:30 every night. At that time they didn’t offer the variety of dinning venues that they have now so it was traditional or nothing. My BIL and SIL were with us so each couple slipped $50 to Generoso and like magic we were in second seating the next night. The disco was dead at night, no MUTS and there was only so much money we were willing to lose in the casino. But… since it was our honeymoon we found other things to do ;)

[flamomo]

My description of Princess is "classy, but not stuffy".

There are no hairy chest contests, or similar juvenile (IMO) activities on Princess. But the cruise director's staff provides a variety of activities.

I have seen the wedding chapels on a number of the ships, and they look very nice.

[swedish weave]

Since you plan on being married in the fall I would suggest Carnival. Princess tends to draw an older crowd 40's and up especially around this time of year. 21 yrs ago we wanted to get married on a cruise ship but Princess didn't offer that service at the time. Who knew? We grew up watching the Love Boat and saw Captain Stubing perform a ceremony. We did honeymoon on the Crown in 1991. I was 30 and my wife was one month shy of 22. The average passenger age was around 50. We were seated in early traditional even though we requested late seating (no anytime dining back then) I will never forget it we were seated at a table with a group from a Florida retirement community on the first night. They were very nice but we had nothing in common except that my wife reminded them of their granddaughter and there was no way that we were going to eat a 5:30 every night. At that time they didn’t offer the variety of dinning venues that they have now so it was traditional or nothing. My BIL and SIL were with us so each couple slipped $50 to Generoso and like magic we were in second seating the next night. The disco was dead at night, no MUTS and there was only so much money we were willing to lose in the casino. But… since it was our honeymoon we found other things to do ;)

 

What other activities did you ------- OH ------ Never mind !!!!!:o:o

[lithlith]

Carnival! Especially for a younger crowd! (We're in our early 30s and have cruised Princess and Carnival.)

 

We've not cruised in the Caribbean with Princess (only Carnival), and we're sure it is a slightly younger crowd than the Alaska and Asia cruises that we took with Princess. For Alaska, the average age was pushing 70, and the Asia cruise were mostly people in their early to mid 60s. On both of our Princess cruises, the ship was dead soon after the first show got out, so by about 10:30pm it was quiet.

 

Dancing & Music - We think there is a huge difference here between Carnival and Princess. Princess seems to have more live music and less current music with a DJ. On Princess, the music is catered toward the older crowd. Carnival has several dance clubs in the evening, most with DJs and current dance and pop music. The Sail Away parties on Carnival are always packed full of people dancing and having fun. The two Sail Aways we've seen on Princess consisted of a few of the cruise staff dancing around by themselves with a few guests dancing as they walked by. We have a feeling that the Sail Aways on Princess in the Caribbean are probably more lively than what we saw on our Alaska and Asia cruises.

 

Other Activities - Carnival seems to have a lot more going on during the day like various games, game shows, and contests - with things one right after another. On Princess, we've found that activities often get canceled due to a lack of people (this happened several times for scheduled activities on our Asia cruise in March 2012) or there were a few activities that looked like fun that we went to where we were turned away because they were only for the Spanish speaking guests (would have been helpful to note that in the Patter). There are often long gaps between activities on our Princess cruises. Princess has activities like jigsaw puzzle time, book club, tap dancing (without tap shoes), and their beloved trivia (seriously...as people in our early 30s we had no chance at their 50s or 60s music trivia...). Princess and Carnival both have movies to offer, but we've found that Princess really pushes the movies an "activity" on their Movies Under the Stars screen outside, in the theater, and in staterooms. In our opinion, we don't pay a couple thousand dollars to sit around and watch a movie (but we know there are lots of cruisers who love the movies).

We give Princess the nod for better evening shows and there usually is a choice of 2 shows (a production show and a comedian) which is really nice, whereas on Carnival there is usually only one big show option in the evening...but there is still lots of other stuff going on if you don't want to see a show.

 

We pick our cruises based on itinerary and not on cruise line.

But based on age, dancing, and other activities on board, I think you would probably enjoy Carnival for your wedding cruise.

If you like the more low key activities and a quieter ship overall, pick Princess.

[klmorg]

I have sailed both Carnival & Princess, and for your ages & activities, I would suggest Carnival. I still LOVE Princess... but Carnival would definitely be my choice for this one.

[tpbf]

Most times, while the bride and groom matter, some thought has to be given to who will join you in your celebration. Should this just be your folks and your pals, I would do Carnival especially out of the summer season as Carnival has kids galore when school is out.

 

Now, if you will be joined by some relatives over 40 or 50 (got grandmas?) I would look hard at Princess. The crowd could be generally older, but this is a celebration about the joining of your families - not just the joining of you.

 

Be sure to ask what kinds of ceremonies each line will offer. We once saw a wedding of folks on NCL who were married on a beach by a pastor who joined the couple of the cruise. I suspect all lines have assorted options for who will perform the ceremonies and how, but they will have limits.

 

Cruise nightlife matters, but the details of your wedding matter more. Think about what you want and check how each line can meet what you want to do.

 

Or - bring your own crowd for the nightlife!!!

[camofwilliamsburg]

I would compare ships. If it is one of the older Carnival ships I would stick with Princess. They will put you with other younger people. Does not matter if there are only a handful for you to hang out with. BUT, I think you will have more fun on a Carnival ship. The food is very good, entertainment on Carnival is superior to Princess. They also have late night comedy shows at midnight and it does attract younger people. It is a louder ship also. You will hear people all over the ship. YOu will hear announcements all day for everything. On Princess you will not hear the continuous announcements.

Only you both can pick which matches your personality.

 

Aren't "minors" allowed to order wine? OH here is a big difference, Princess allows you to bring your own wine, 2 bottles per cabin.

[77Network]

I am looking to have my wedding on a cruiseship. We're down to Carnival or Princess (two of the three that sail from my home port) and I was leaning towards Princess, but I'm wondering if it's a good fit for us. We're very young (will be 20 and 22), are looking forward to going to the nightclub on whatever ship we're on, will probably stay up very late most nights. How active are the nightclubs? Is there generally a good number of younger passengers? We like that Princess sounds nicer and calmer than Carnival, but I don't want it TOO calm ;)

 

Unless bingo and wheelchair races are your thing, stay away from princess.

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

Have seen a few folks get married on Princess and chatted to a few all said the service they got was first class, you will only have one wedding

so you want to get it right,

 

as to night life much will be down to the folks on your ship, however if you start the party others will follow,

 

yours Shogun

[calikak]

I did a 30th birthday cruise with a bunch of my girlfriends on Princess a few years back, not Caribbean but Mexican Riviera, and in the fall. The nightlife was not as busy as on Carnival, but it was still active enough in the dance club to be a very good time. That said, if nightlife is what's most important in your cruise choice, go with Carnival.

[iluvcruzin]

I've been on most of the major lines many times. I would recommend either RCCL or Carnival if you want night life in which there are more than 3 people on the dance floor on any given night. For Carnival, look at the newer type ships like the Carnival Liberty out of Miami. The layout is like a Princess ship. For RCCL, any of the ones out of Florida would be good.

 

Although I do like Princess, it does seem a bit dead after 10pm.

[flamomo]

Unless bingo and wheelchair races are your thing, stay away from princess.

 

 

Despite the negative picture this poster paints with this generalization .....

 

Princess demographics are very different when the cruises are 7 days long, as opposed to 10 days and longer. On the longer cruises there are more older cruisers, because most are retired and have plenty of time.

 

On the 7 day cruises, it's whole different ballgame. There are plenty of younger folks, and the entire tone of the ship changes. More people milling about, more activity in the pool areas, more things that are going on in the evenings are well attended, and it's a bit noisier too, filled with chatter and laughter common where younger folks are socializing.

 

I have been on both kinds and have witnesed the difference. I was on a 28 day cruise, which had a much older demographic, and stayed on for the subsequent 7 day cruise loaded with younger people ..... Huge difference!!!

[PhoneGoddess]

Unless bingo and wheelchair races are your thing, stay away from princess.

 

Wow really? Then I guess that they'd better stay away from Carnival too because I went on a Carnival cruise where I would swear that we were the only people under age 70 and they rolled up the sidewalks at 8pm. It was the most boring cruise that I have ever been on.

 

OP, it is very difficult to predict what the energy level will be for any cruise. Whether or not there is a lot of night life will depend greatly on your fellow passengers and won't necessarily have anything to do with a particular cruise line or the average age of the passengers.

[RickEk]

I'd agree that most Princess 7-day cruises have a different energy level than the longer cruises... on our recent Golden Princess cruise to Alaska, Skywalkers was going strong well past midnight.

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

The fact that this is a 7-day cruise as opposed to a longer one is not the only factor in the demographics. The other big factor is that she gets to sail with a ton of other Texans, and that may tweak the atmosphere up to a level that is still calm, but not TOO calm for her. :D

[77Network]

Wow really? Then I guess that they'd better stay away from Carnival too because I went on a Carnival cruise where I would swear that we were the only people under age 70 and they rolled up the sidewalks at 8pm. It was the most boring cruise that I have ever been on.

 

OP, it is very difficult to predict what the energy level will be for any cruise. Whether or not there is a lot of night life will depend greatly on your fellow passengers and won't necessarily have anything to do with a particular cruise line or the average age of the passengers.

 

So are you trying to convince us that Princess is better choice than Carnival for people in their early 20s who are looking for a party type atmosphere? I don’t know about the particular cruise you were on, but most people would tend to disagree with you.