First Non Carnival Cruise

[Morebeer]

Hello All. Am a platinum cruiser on Carnival after our 10th strait Carnival cruise under the grandfathering program in 2013. However since Carnival has such a small prescense on the West Coast anymore booked a 7day Pacific Coastal cruise in October on the Crown Princess.

Departs Oct 11th from San Pedro with stops at San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Ensenada Mexico along with 2 sea days. Any comments or opinions that the wife and I will find on Princess vs Carnival are most appreciated. Thank You in advance.

[pattimelt]

Hello All. Am a platinum cruiser on Carnival after our 10th strait Carnival cruise under the grandfathering program in 2013. However since Carnival has such a small prescense on the West Coast anymore booked a 7day Pacific Coastal cruise in October on the Crown Princess.

Departs Oct 11th from San Pedro with stops at San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Ensenada Mexico along with 2 sea days. Any comments or opinions that the wife and I will find on Princess vs Carnival are most appreciated. Thank You in advance.

 

Will you come back and post after you take this cruise?? I am a Carnival girl, I admit they are my favorite!, but my group cruise that I normally take in January is moving to the same ship you will be on for this cruise, although we are only on her for 4 days!!! I am interested in your impressions!!!

[SadieN]

Our cruise history is very similar to yours.

After many cruises on Carnival (and a few on HAL) we sailed on the Golden and Sapphire out of San Pedro this past year. Going on the Grand in January. Haven't been on the Crown.

 

From what we have experienced on the two Princess ships you'll find the service to be the same great standard. Food is very subjective but we found Princess' lido pizza to be almost as good as Carnival's new pizza.

Buffet is set up differently, physically smaller but it does work. Read up on the Princess board about how they handle the buffet omelets. They only have pre-made sandwiches.

No great HC machines and no 24hour icecream.

But there should be a nice cheese selection at dinner at the buffet and a WCMC one night for dessert at dinner.

 

Cabins- We found these set up differently than Carnival, with an open closet. Bathroom vanity is nice but the shower is puny. Also the shower head does not come off the wall. If you are in a IS/OV there is an odd table that will probably always be in your way.

(Suites and minisuites have larger bathrooms, showers with a removable showerhead and no annoying table.)

 

Princess doesn't board until all the cabins are ready. Which means that boarding will start around noonish. At debark you'll need to be out of you cabin by 8 and wait in a designated area. The areas are seperated by color & number. 'Green' could have up to four sections. Last off the ship was scheduled around noon for both our cruises.

 

We found their 'Patters' to be a bit confusing (at first) in their set-up and there is no tear-off.

[kimmergal]

I'm the opposite of you. Cruised Alaska last year on Saphire Princess and now trying Carnival Freedom in 3 weeks. Saphire is a gorgeous ship. I loved the food and ate at a different dining room each night. We ate at Santorinis one formal night. The best meal of my life and I'm a food snob. The atrium is lovely and they always have entertainment. Loved the piano player. We enjoyed all the shows we went to. We just loved the ship. Now we are trying Carnival and it has alot to live up to!

[SkyMaster]

I'm Diamond on Carnival, and Platinum on Princess. We almost always do our "family reunion" cruises on Princess, as a few of our family seem to prefer that line. I don't see a lot of difference. I do like the Princess buffet area better, and the service in the buffet area is MUCH better. Never a dirty table, and when you sit down, someone is there to deliver your silverware, and ask what drink you prefer. As noted also, since Carnival has gone to the "Playlist Production" shows, I have to agree that much of the entertainment is better on Princess. Overall, I prefer Carnival, as I like the cabins, dining room service, and crew better, but you won't go wrong with a Princess cruise. ;)

 

"SKY"

[Luckysll]

I was on the Golden Princess last year. I loved the International Cafe - great soups, salads, pastries, etc., all free. Only problem was there was no free coffee there, only a pay coffee bar. In the dining room and buffet, coffee is free, but not the IC. There was an English pub style lunch on a couple of days, great food.

 

Beds were much harder than on Carnival, but I liked the room layout. I had an "obstructed" oceanview cabin, but still had a good view. I have been to Alaska several times, so it wasn't as important to see everything from my cabin.

 

The ship was quieter than on Carnival. Not only in activities, but there were a lot fewer announcements. Show productions were better and the service in the dining room (I had anytime dining) was excellent. Took me by surprise when I sat down after getting my food in the buffet and one of the waiters came by to ask me what I wanted to drink and got it for me. :)

 

Price for the internet was a little more than on Carnival. Also, some of the slowest elevators I've ever experienced on a cruise, to the point that, even with a bad knee, I took the stairs several times. Didn't matter where the elevators were, it seemed I spent a lot of time waiting for one.

 

I did enjoy Princess and definitely none of the above was anything major that would prevent me from cruising with Princess again.

[OCruisers]

While Princess is our favorite (best all around fit for us), we do sometimes cruise on Carnival.

Crown is a very nice ship. We were on her for 14 days in January and had an absolutely wonderful time!

You will not miss being bombarded by announcements like you are on Carnival!

Food is very subjective but we like the food much better on Princess. The IC (International Café) is open 24 hours and is a great place for tasty snacks, a light lunch, etc.

We especially enjoy the bar/lounge entertainment on Princess.

Most entertainment is over by midnight ... but Skywalkers Nightclub is open 'til. The 'til depends on how many people are there.

You won't go thirsty -- 11 bars on that ship. :D

There's no "hairy chest" thing by the pool ... but there is live music from time to time.

Look forward to having a great time on Crown! :)

LuLu

[flamomo]

I am one of those Princess "fans", with 26 cruises on the books, and 2 more booked. I have cruised on all but 4 of Princess's ships thus far. My very first cruise ever was with Princess, and I immediately fell in love with everything about Princess .... the ships, the subdued decor using pastels and light woods, the variety of itineraries all over the world, the comfortable accomodations, the meal options and the food, and the excellent level of service. I have never looked back since that first cruise nor considered any other cruise line.

 

I have spent 42 days on the Crown so far ... once doing a B2B, making it a 26 day cruise, and again earlier this year for another 16 days. JMO, but I think she's a great ship. She embodies all the things I like about Princess.

 

I hope you enjoy the atmosphere of Princess ships ... IMO, they are classy without being snobby.

[sewut]

We tried Princess and it was the Crown. We had a mini suite and enjoyed it very much. Our cruise started off on the wrong foot as we had stickers slapped on us and were shuttled off to a side gangplank for some reason, and entered into the smokey casino. We didn't get the "ah" factor from the atrium. Our first night we ate in the MDR, and it was open seating. We were seated with snobs who dropped names back and forth. Once we got past that, we enjoyed our cruise. We have always had our evening meal in the MDR, but for the first time, we ate at Horizon Court at dinner, even on my birthday. We are the type that dresses for dinner every night on Carnival, and DH wears a tux on elegant night, and I wear a gown. I wouldn't mind going on another Princess cruise, I wouldn't turn down any cruise. I love cruising.

[USNUZULOOSE]

We sailed on the coastal last Oct, on the Grand out of San Francisco. We found it very relaxing. We enjoyed all the ports. We really enjoyed the MUTS. That was our first time even having been on a ship with MUTS.

 

The food was good. The service was outstanding. We had an inside cabin and found it fit our needs. Service was really good in the MDR. You can always find enough to eat any time. I loved the pizza station on the lido deck. YUMMY!

 

We would love to do this cruise all over again.

[AmberTeka]

Hello All. Am a platinum cruiser on Carnival after our 10th strait Carnival cruise under the grandfathering program in 2013. However since Carnival has such a small prescense on the West Coast anymore booked a 7day Pacific Coastal cruise in October on the Crown Princess.

Departs Oct 11th from San Pedro with stops at San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Ensenada Mexico along with 2 sea days. Any comments or opinions that the wife and I will find on Princess vs Carnival are most appreciated. Thank You in advance.

 

We have been on the Crown twice. We love it. The food is very good. I like Carnival's food, and we have sailed plenty on Carnival, but Princess would be a notch above. The desserts are better. Breakfast is better. Bacon is not fatty, and well cooked. And it sounds like I am dissing Carnival..and we have a cruise booked on the 28th of June.

 

I LOVE Carnival. But Princess is a cut above. And you pay more! they have a lot of Activites....Lots of Trivia. And it is themed. Like Jeopardize Trivia. Golf Pro is on board.

CARNIVAL ++++ space in cabin. Like the entertainment better on Carnival. Staff..wonderful on both lines. Food..good on both with the + going to Princess for desserts. Steakhouse......better on Carnival. Passengers.....Carnival cruisers. Older. Children older. Lots of Canadians. And they are great.

 

If you like Carnival...I bet you like Princess...........just a bit better. But you pay more too. And while the Cabins on Princess are not as large. The closet space is wonderful. Like a walkin closet with set of drawers in the shower ...RR area. Right outside of it.

 

Happy Sails. Try the Turkey Pot Pie ( if you like pot pies) Really good. Also the Beef medallions. Their sundaes............really good. My husband had a different one each night at dinner. And the INTERNATIONAL CAFE....Free pastries. Fancy sandwiches. Coffee costs. Ice Cream costs. Warm cookies at night..free.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

Carnival is fine and we mostly book with them (price) But you will notice the difference. Princess is an upgrade.

[Morebeer]

So appreciate all the feedback everyone shared with the differences between Carnival and Princess. Not unhappy with Carnival they just don't offer a California coastal itinerary. Never have written a review on any of my Carnival past cruises but will try and comment on what I noticed as the differences after our October Princess cruise on board the Crown. Thanks again.

[lady_cruiser]

Our cruise history is very similar to yours.

After many cruises on Carnival (and a few on HAL) we sailed on the Golden and Sapphire out of San Pedro this past year. Going on the Grand in January. Haven't been on the Crown.

 

From what we have experienced on the two Princess ships you'll find the service to be the same great standard. Food is very subjective but we found Princess' lido pizza to be almost as good as Carnival's new pizza.

Buffet is set up differently, physically smaller but it does work. Read up on the Princess board about how they handle the buffet omelets. They only have pre-made sandwiches.

No great HC machines and no 24hour icecream.

But there should be a nice cheese selection at dinner at the buffet and a WCMC one night for dessert at dinner.

 

Cabins- We found these set up differently than Carnival, with an open closet. Bathroom vanity is nice but the shower is puny. Also the shower head does not come off the wall. If you are in a IS/OV there is an odd table that will probably always be in your way.

(Suites and minisuites have larger bathrooms, showers with a removable showerhead and no annoying table.)

 

Princess doesn't board until all the cabins are ready. Which means that boarding will start around noonish. At debark you'll need to be out of you cabin by 8 and wait in a designated area. The areas are seperated by color & number. 'Green' could have up to four sections. Last off the ship was scheduled around noon for both our cruises.

 

We found their 'Patters' to be a bit confusing (at first) in their set-up and there is no tear-off.

Thank you for your comparison of both cruise lines. I was planning on sailing on Princess out of Houston but I think I'll stick with Carnival and Royal Caribbean.