I Really, Really want to try Princess...but..

[wdnoble9999]

I agree. That's why I'd choose X over RCCL when I have a choice. By lurking on the Princess boards I think Princess would be a good fit for us. Just wish I didn't have to pay so much for that first "test drive":p.

 

I have a hard time (it's just a me thing) giving up something "known and liked" for something "maybe" better.:o

 

Wow. I could have written the same comments many times over the past few years. We've been taking Carnival cruises for a long time now, and never had a bad experience. But, we've been wanting to 'step up' for some time now, especially since it seems that Carnival has been doing away with so many of the little things over the past few years. The problem has been that I just couldn't quite get over the hump of paying significantly more for the 'test drive'.

 

Well, we finally bit the bullet, and are heading out on the Caribbean Princess in December. Since it appears that the standard balcony stateroom on the CB is substantially smaller than that of the Carnival ships, we're picking up a mini-suite. Really looking forward to seeing the difference.

[hubofhockey]

Wow. I could have written the same comments many times over the past few years. We've been taking Carnival cruises for a long time now, and never had a bad experience. But, we've been wanting to 'step up' for some time now, especially since it seems that Carnival has been doing away with so many of the little things over the past few years. The problem has been that I just couldn't quite get over the hump of paying significantly more for the 'test drive'.

 

Well, we finally bit the bullet, and are heading out on the Caribbean Princess in December. Since it appears that the standard balcony stateroom on the CB is substantially smaller than that of the Carnival ships, we're picking up a mini-suite. Really looking forward to seeing the difference.

 

The minis are great. If you are going as a couple, Princess balcony cabins are fine and you would do well taking one and pocketing the savings. They are smaller than Carnival's balcony cabins, but have better storage space and a nicer balcony with the sliding door. I find Princess a good sized step up from Carnival in just about every area except kids clubs. If Dan Styne is still the cruise director on the Caribbean, you're in good shape. He's very funny (much more so than Heald on Carnival) and there is constant entertainment everywhere on the ship. The new show with the pink cadillac and music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s is very good. But we have enjoyed every Carnival cruise we have been on as well and we may be back on one for Alaska. Have a great cruise.

[packedandready]

Sounds like you've already come to a decision based on your analysis. Don't have an answer to your non-question.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Well, actually no we haven't. Price has never been the deciding factor in our decisions. We look at it as part of the overall picture.

[generichandle]

I am not sure about all this 'pay more' for Princess. We use them for iteneraries, which we like.

 

But in May we sailed on Diamond from Beijing to Vancouver, 19 days, with stops in China, S Korea, Russia, Japan, and several great ones in Alaska. We got Ob OV for $1199, and got upgraded to fantastic BB balcony! That through Princess.

 

Can you match that itenerary and price in RCCI? I do not think so because we look on RCCI and many other websites all the time for deals. RCCI is short on iteneraries [unless you love the Caribbean, which I dont] and only occasionally has a tempting price.

 

So, for now, I still prefer Princess.

 

Doug

[5326jan]

Princess allows TA's to discount, which saves us quite a bit.

Princess allows us to bring our own wine, which saves us quite a bit.

Princess has (in our opinion) better service and better food.

[wdnoble9999]

The minis are great. If you are going as a couple, Princess balcony cabins are fine and you would do well taking one and pocketing the savings. They are smaller than Carnival's balcony cabins, but have better storage space and a nicer balcony with the sliding door. I find Princess a good sized step up from Carnival in just about every area except kids clubs. If Dan Styne is still the cruise director on the Caribbean, you're in good shape. He's very funny (much more so than Heald on Carnival) and there is constant entertainment everywhere on the ship. The new show with the pink cadillac and music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s is very good. But we have enjoyed every Carnival cruise we have been on as well and we may be back on one for Alaska. Have a great cruise.

 

Thanks, Hubofhockey, for the insights. We've gotten used to the extra room having taken suites on our last few Carnival cruises, and given that the price difference between the mini and balcony rooms wasn't all that much for us, we opted for the extra space. As for the kids' clubs, we're way beyond that until we get to a point where we'll want to take our grandkids with us. In any case, we're really looking forward to experiencing the differences between the two lines.

[happy cruzer]

Galveston rates have dropped a bit. I will still wait until Sept. to see what they are for the low season. Good luck to everyone wanting Princess and Galveston.

[iluvcruzin]

Comparing Caribbean Princess 7 night western to RCCL Navigator 7 night western. Princess leaves on a saturday and RCCL on a sunday.

 

Price is $350pp more on Princess and would be more than that when I use our C&A balcony discount. That's A LOT of difference.

 

Don't have a question, just wanted to be sad :(

 

Don't be sad. I can understand your delemia considering if comparing balcony cabins and use of the C&A discount. From my experience, sometimes Princess is less even with the Diamond Discount. For what it's worth, Princess is the same as RCCL. It's not "upscale" as some want to believe. Crystal would be upscale. It's the same basic product. Even X is similar but tends to draw an older crowd. I personally like RCCL and Princess equally and being on the western route more than I could count, I generally go with price as a determining factor when ports are all the same.