Comparisons between Carnival and Princess?

[Disneycruisers]

Let me start by mentioning that we'd love to stick with CCL, but we don't like the itinerary (Key West, Freeport, Nassau) during spring break week. If we do a cruise that week, it'll be from Galveston so we don't have to pay for airfare (we save that for better itinerarires during summer.)

 

The Crown Princess is available (Belize, Roatan, and Cozumel.) We're good with those ports.

 

Would like to read likes and dislikes about Princess.

 

Thanks!:)

[jpg1747]

They're much more similar than different. The only thing Princess has that I miss on Carnival is the extended kids drinks package that includes all non-alcoholic beverages. It's a bit more per day but definitely worth it.

[moopig]

While I find the food in the dining rooms comparable, the buffet on Princess was MUCH better then on Carnival.

[firefly333]

Why not post this on the Princess threads, since you have never been on either Princess or Carnival .. only Disney .. I would think you would get a lot more info there.

 

Ive done Princess, and it felt stuffy to me. I preferred RCL to Princess, more beautiful ships, love their loyalty program.

 

I did Caribbean Princess and Grand Princess, the first being a sister ship to Crown. It was a nice ship, but I bet they have cut back like everyone else. When I did it they had a big seafood buffet the first night with all the crab legs you wanted to eat.. betcha its gone.

 

Every line has cut back food wise in the last year or so.

[romancing_the_sea]

While I find the food in the dining rooms comparable, the buffet on Princess was MUCH better then on Carnival.

 

The Princess buffet is my favorite. Princess has much nicer hardware, furnishings, etc., but it can feel stuffy. Princess has better alternative dining - love Sabatinis - the best at sea for us.

 

We loved Carnival's service and fun atmosphere, shows, etc.

 

There are pros and cons for each cruise line - so hard to choose sometimes. Sounds like the itinerary matters in this case so go for it!

 

The fun for us is trying different cruise lines/ships just to change it up. One thing we noticed is that in some ways they're all the same - they're ships. But each has its own personality.

[Spudder]

Why not post this on the Princess threads, since you have never been on either Princess or Carnival .. only Disney .. I would think you would get a lot more info there.

 

Ive done Princess, and it felt stuffy to me. I preferred RCL to Princess, more beautiful ships, love their loyalty program.

 

I did Caribbean Princess and Grand Princess, the first being a sister ship to Crown. It was a nice ship, but I bet they have cut back like everyone else. When I did it they had a big seafood buffet the first night with all the crab legs you wanted to eat.. betcha its gone.

 

Every line has cut back food wise in the last year or so.

 

OP has been on RCCL, Disney, and Carnival....

 

Edit:... and I agree with Firefly, try the Princess board also...

[klfhngr]

Been on both. Food better on Princess.

Carnival a bit more livelier, but just by a little.

Carnival better shows.

Older crowd on P, but not by much.

We took our kids, they were 4 and 10, they both loved P.

Now, if they had a choice, they'd probably pick CCL.

If P was the only option, they'd go!

[firefly333]

OP has been on RCCL, Disney, and Carnival....

 

Edit:... and I agree with Firefly, try the Princess board also...

 

Oh I read a post they made that her husband vetoed Carnival, said he didnt like it and wouldnt book Magic.

 

I think Magic would be about as good as Princess.

 

I have signatures blocked and just thought that from another thread they posted that her husband would not book Carnival... that they hadnt done it.

[MarkRosenthal]

I agree with this post, different but both good. I love the Princess buffets and Sabatini's too.

 

The Princess buffet is my favorite. Princess has much nicer hardware, furnishings, etc., but it can feel stuffy. Princess has better alternative dining - love Sabatinis - the best at sea for us.

 

We loved Carnival's service and fun atmosphere, shows, etc.

 

There are pros and cons for each cruise line - so hard to choose sometimes. Sounds like the itinerary matters in this case so go for it!

 

The fun for us is trying different cruise lines/ships just to change it up. One thing we noticed is that in some ways they're all the same - they're ships. But each has its own personality.

[RuthlessBoss]

If smoking is an issue, avoid Princess.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Let me start by mentioning that we'd love to stick with CCL, but we don't like the itinerary (Key West, Freeport, Nassau) during spring break week. If we do a cruise that week, it'll be from Galveston so we don't have to pay for airfare (we save that for better itinerarires during summer.)

 

The Crown Princess is available (Belize, Roatan, and Cozumel.) We're good with those ports.

 

Would like to read likes and dislikes about Princess.

 

Thanks!:)

 

they have both gone downhill.

 

Read last night on the Princess board that they are now doing 3 shows per night but they are only 30 minutes in length.

 

Since the Grand class ships hold over 3000 pax and the theater holds 800-900 pax somebody has to give.

 

They have also closed their late night buffet and now have what they call the International Cafe for little snacks.

 

The food on Princess is on par with CCL or a notch above. They also have some comfort foods on their menus.

 

Ships are definitely prettier on Princess.

 

Bill

[AmberTeka]

No. They are not similar. They are very different. I am a VIP on Carnival. My next book cruis

is on the Ruby Princess this coming November.

 

Carnival is much, much less expensive.

Princess has the 24 hour International Court..warm cookies...party sandwiches..shrimp and chicken salad..all free except the ice cream and for 1.50 I challenge you to eat all that you get......

 

Carnival is clean. squeaky clean. Passengers who are jubilant about being on vacation..having a great time..don't care who knows it...Loud music....Good Production shows.

Princess is more laid back. Quieter. Bad Production shows. Food is better On Princess but not that much.

Ship activities....JUST EXCELLENT...TRIVIA..LINE DANCING. NEEDLE WORK..CRAFTS..LEARNING HOW TO DIVE OR SCUBA....

 

Steak house on Carnival......fabulous..worth the money

Princess...Save your money. Ditto for Sabatinis. Go to the International Court and have some shrimp salad followed by cookies from heaven.

My DH and I are 65 & 70 He is a still in shape former athlete..I am not. We play Trivia a lot..like the casino..see the shows...

PRINCESS IS OUR ALL TIME FAVORITE.

 

SECOND IS CARNVIAL.

BUT A CRUISE ON EITHER IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. LOTS OF CANADIANS ON PRINCESS. I HAPPEN TO REALLY LIKE THEM..THEY ARE EXCELLENT TRIVIA PLAYERS!

 

NOW I WONDER ABOUT ROYAL CARRIBEAN..NEVER BEEN ON THEM.

[klmorg]

Been on both. Our preference is Carnival, even though we had a great cruise with Princess. There were some things we were more impressed with on Princess, such as their very organized silent debarkation. But overall, Carnival gets our vote.

 

I will say the robes & the pool towels are MUCH better on Carnival than on Princess, LOL...:D People probably make their choice between the two based on that. Not!

[Cruisegirl6]

My favorite is RCI, then comes Princess and lastly Canival but each have pros and cons. For me its the actual ship that comes first, what they have to offer, how new and when was it last refurbished if it is an older ship. Then comes food, to me food is important what I put inside my body and how I eat, like to eat healthy and only buy quality at home and eat in fine restaurants when I go out.

 

Breakfast in MDR for all are all about the same, with the edge on RCI.

 

Buffet Lunch:

RCI the best my first choice

Princess next in line and very good

Carnival well, I haven't been on a newer ship in a few years (going on the Dream in Sept because we want to leave out of Pt. Canaveral and not want to take the RCI FOS a fifth time just need a change of scenery). On my last carnival cruise they only offered two hot dishes which were usually a meat of some type and a fish dish, otherwise it was burgers, fries, hot dogs, sandwiches, pizza, chicken nuggets, they only offered one type of vegetable and a potato/rice dish. I am hoping that this has changed and being on a newer ship get more hot dishes, meat carvings and soup, we didn't have that on the Fascination three years ago.

 

Dinner MDR:

For me both RCI and Princess but RCI edge up.

Carnival was good nothing special that stood out although I do like the idea that Carnival remains to have the baked alaska.

 

Daytime snack

RCI has the promenade cafe always serving salads, italian antipasto salads, sandwiches of all different kinds, pizza, muffins, cookies and pastries.

Princess I recall pizza and some other cold items in the buffet area but cannot recall what they were, fruit and cheese I do recall

Carnival offers cookies at certain times of the day, pizza, burgers, fries and hot dogs.

 

Nighttime snacks after 10pm:

RCI again has the promenade open to the wee hours with same items as snack

When I went on Princess last they had salads, fruit, cheeses and pizza

Carnival offers pizza and ceasar salad that is all

 

Carnival not give you any hot foods for breakfast in room service if you wish to eat in your cabin or balcony where RCI and Princess does.

 

ENTERTAINMENT:

RCI offers jazz/blues in the viking crown lounge, they do have a small band or two but offered in afternoons and early evenings only.They have broadway type production shows and comedy shows. They do offer late night dancing/dj. You will also have a piano player or two in various areas playing music.

 

Princess offers production shows and I cannot recall having live music....they do have a nightclub/disco that plays to the wee hours.

 

Carnival offers live music outside the casino, in addition to having a rock n roll band to the wee hours. Their shows are not broadway production types. Some ships have punchliners a comedy club. They also have a piano bar.

 

SERVOCE:

 

Overall RCI is excellent following by Princess. Carnival has always been a hit or miss from all its areas, dining room, cabin steward, etc.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

No. They are not similar. They are very different. I am a VIP on Carnival. My next book cruis

is on the Ruby Princess this coming November.

 

Carnival is much, much less expensive.

Princess has the 24 hour International Court..warm cookies...party sandwiches..shrimp and chicken salad..all free except the ice cream and for 1.50 I challenge you to eat all that you get......

 

Carnival is clean. squeaky clean. Passengers who are jubilant about being on vacation..having a great time..don't care who knows it...Loud music....Good Production shows.

Princess is more laid back. Quieter. Bad Production shows. Food is better On Princess but not that much.

Ship activities....JUST EXCELLENT...TRIVIA..LINE DANCING. NEEDLE WORK..CRAFTS..LEARNING HOW TO DIVE OR SCUBA....

 

Steak house on Carnival......fabulous..worth the money

Princess...Save your money. Ditto for Sabatinis. Go to the International Court and have some shrimp salad followed by cookies from heaven.

My DH and I are 65 & 70 He is a still in shape former athlete..I am not. We play Trivia a lot..like the casino..see the shows...

PRINCESS IS OUR ALL TIME FAVORITE.

 

SECOND IS CARNVIAL.

BUT A CRUISE ON EITHER IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. LOTS OF CANADIANS ON PRINCESS. I HAPPEN TO REALLY LIKE THEM..THEY ARE EXCELLENT TRIVIA PLAYERS!

 

NOW I WONDER ABOUT ROYAL CARRIBEAN..NEVER BEEN ON THEM.

 

Im booked on Caribbean Princess in December. $699 for a balcony isn't much more money.

 

i found the international Cafe to be a major disappointment on our Crown cruise in February.

 

Sandwiches pre made and in a refrigerator, cake pieces had an hard outside from being out too long.

 

Shrimp salad was mostly celery and watery white substance floating around in it. I guess it wasn't watery when they made it and it was mayonaise at one point.

 

The Princess steak house is good but Sabatinis I could live without plus the Princess steakhouse is $25 compared to $35 for Carnivals steakhouse.

 

Bill

[Musky Ike]

As you can see by my signature, we have been on both lines. We prefer Princess, but I am a sucker for a deal and Carnival is almost always cheaper.

 

You should check out the review sections on CC for both. Look for reviews from passengers similar to you in age, location, gender, lifesyle etc. What one person likes or dislikes may not be relevant to you. Have fun

[OCruisers]

We've cruised on Princess LOTS of times but only four times on Carnival. There is a reason for that! :D

 

The only thing we like better about Carnival: Carnival has cruises out of Charleston and JAX which are convenient for us. Princess does not!

 

Disneycruisers .... Having a cruise out of Galveston with an itinerary you like might be reason enough for you to give Princess a try.

It's fun to cruise on different cruise lines and ships from time to time. :)

 

LuLu

[cruisinkid]

Let me start by mentioning that we'd love to stick with CCL, but we don't like the itinerary (Key West, Freeport, Nassau) during spring break week. If we do a cruise that week, it'll be from Galveston so we don't have to pay for airfare (we save that for better itinerarires during summer.)

 

The Crown Princess is available (Belize, Roatan, and Cozumel.) We're good with those ports.

 

Would like to read likes and dislikes about Princess.

 

Thanks!:)

They both are great lines...Princess is a little more laid back, and people definitely dress for dinner etc. My experiences on Princess is the sidewalk literally rolls up at 10pm. They have a lot of great things to do wine tasting, British Pub Lunch, etc. It's been a while since I have sailed CCL but both lines were great for me. Just 2 different atmosphere's so to speak.

[Cruisegirl6]

cruisinkid your right after 11pm it pretty much not much to do other than the disco, heck, I even was kicked out of the casino two evenings around 1am because the casino didn't have quota! I forgot about this lol

[Another ship trip]

Let me start by mentioning that we'd love to stick with CCL, but we don't like the itinerary (Key West, Freeport, Nassau) during spring break week. If we do a cruise that week, it'll be from Galveston so we don't have to pay for airfare (we save that for better itinerarires during summer.)

 

The Crown Princess is available (Belize, Roatan, and Cozumel.) We're good with those ports.

 

Would like to read likes and dislikes about Princess.

 

Thanks!:)

 

The Crown Princess is a nice big ship. I like the decor. I like variety and seeing different styles of cabins too. They are similar but maybe a bit more pricey in general. If you like Carnival, I think you will like Princess. A standard princess cabin may be slightly smaller than Carnival's. Suites on Princess and most other lines are much nicer than Carnival's. The only thing I didn't like about Princess was once was when we were on a Princess Alaskan cruise, the clientele was older and they closed the casino at about 11 or 12 some nights due to low attendance. Less of a party crowd. If you are going to the Caribbean, Princess should be about on par with most others.

 

I get tired of Carnival because every ship cabin is practically identical across the line and I actually like to see differences in ships. The same shows get old too if you cruise often. If you go only every couple of years, then hopefully you won't have the same shows after than much time. This is just a personal preference though.

 

I love it when a line has variations amongst their ships. For example, with NCL, I love the oversized inside cabins on the NCL Sun. The NCL Spirit is like no other in their line from the cabins to the common areas. The NCL Epic is entirely different than all the others. The NCL Dream (formerly Dreamward--I was on both) had interesting non balcony mini suites. The NCL Norway was majestic and had more than 20 kinds/sizes and configurations of cabins. The Southward was a tiny little cork of a ship and my first exposure to cruising more than 25 years ago.

What I am saying is that I like variety. Carnival is a cookie cutter cruise line and it is like going to McDonalds. (not an insult--I like McDonald's--just go with me). If you go to any McDonalds just about anywhere, your Big Mac will be the same. Kind of the same with Carnival. You know what you are gonna get before you get there. An inside or outside or suite cabin is identical to almost all others Carnival ships across the fleet, from the color of that Orange sofa, to the same desk/cabinet and wood color, the same 1970's colored bathroom with the curtain in the shower in the standard rooms, etc. I am happy to see the Magic and Dream with the new dual bathrooms in their deluxe outside cabins though everything else in the room will look just like the last Carnival room I was in. Kind of like going to the same Holiday Inn in different locations. I know this appeals to lots of people.

 

Go on the Princess. I loved that ship and would go on her again. I wish Carnival wasn't "the same" on all ships, as it would be more exciting to see different presentations, but it doesn't keep me from sailing on Carnival. Variety is the spice of life--go on Princess!

[loubetti]

Just a bit of history:

 

Princess started off as Flagship Cruises, and their ship "Sea Venture" would become the most famous cruise ship in the world to this date.

 

Flagship Cruises was bought out early on by P&O (Peninsular & Oriental), the world's oldest line (beat Cunard by a year or two- we're talking late 1830s here), and they used the first two Flagship sister vessels to create Princess Cruises. P&O realized that line voyages were a thing of the past, and cruising was the future. Of course, Sea Venture became "Pacific Princess" of TV's "Love Boat fame". She has now been sold for scrap- how very sad.

 

Years pass and, Carnivore... oops...Carnival enters the equation, and buys P&O / Princess, along with a host of other lines, including Cunard, which now is run by Princess. Think mostly British officers with P&O, Princess and Cunard.

 

While I have never been on Princess, I have spoken to many who have been. I would place them somewhere between RCI and Celebrity. They are not Carnival, and not Celebrity. For children, Carnival or RCI, Disney too, would probably be better. Perhaps I should say that Princess is Carnival's version of Celebrity, but not quite at that level, and Celebrity is RCI's version of Cunard, but not quite as stuffy, or with all the history behind it.

 

Welcome to marketing 101! :D

[MarkRosenthal]

Great job, but let's add a side in that that P & O (Princess) in 1988 bought Sitmar, the line of service and an amazing italian dining room. Where has that service and dining gone through the years, dang bean counters taking over (I am one of them).

 

Just a bit of history:

 

Princess started off as Flagship Cruises, and their ship "Sea Venture" would become the most famous cruise ship in the world to this date.

 

Flagship Cruises was bought out early on by P&O (Peninsular & Oriental), the world's oldest line (beat Cunard by a year or two- we're talking late 1830s here), and they used the first two Flagship sister vessels to create Princess Cruises. P&O realized that line voyages were a thing of the past, and cruising was the future. Of course, Sea Venture became "Pacific Princess" of TV's "Love Boat fame". She has now been sold for scrap- how very sad.

 

Years pass and, Carnivore... oops...Carnival enters the equation, and buys P&O / Princess, along with a host of other lines, including Cunard, which now is run by Princess. Think mostly British officers with P&O, Princess and Cunard.

 

While I have never been on Princess, I have spoken to many who have been. I would place them somewhere between RCI and Celebrity. They are not Carnival, and not Celebrity. For children, Carnival or RCI, Disney too, would probably be better. Perhaps I should say that Princess is Carnival's version of Celebrity, but not quite at that level, and Celebrity is RCI's version of Cunard, but not quite as stuffy, or with all the history behind it.

 

Welcome to marketing 101! :D

[pinkdiamonddolly]

My 66 year old mother said the crowd seemed to be too old ROTFL! she said they had valet mobility scooter parking in the dining room. In all fairness it was an Alaskan cruise which tends to cater to a slightly older crowd. I just thought it was the funniest statement I had heard. :D

[mek]

Princess is my favorite line and I love the Crown, but I always have a great time on Carnival.

 

I love MUTS on Princess, but Carnival has the equivalent on the newer ships, I just think P does a better job of it. Definitely like the pool areas on Princess better than C and the aft pool on P, (adults only), is my favorite place on any ship I've ever sailed.

 

The International Café is great - much better than anything offered on Carnival.

 

The decor is much nicer on P than C.

 

Cabins are more spacious on C than P.

 

I enjoy the food on both and they both do a nice afternoon tea.

 

I find the entertainment to be similar.

[Disneycruisers]

Thank you for all the replies! Looks as if our family will be giving Princess a try!:)