Carnival Pride or Grandeur?

[SeaPeaInn]

We sail on both and have for the past several years. I would pick the Pride even with it's tacky decor.

 

Food in better on Pride.

 

We only do suites on the Grandeur and balconies on Pride. Wish Carnival had similar suite perks.

[GRANNYOFSIX]

We've booked out first inside cabin (I said I'd never do it) on the Grandeur for Oct. The cruise to New England.

I'm thinking we won't get much use out of the balcony that time of year heading north.

I am really concerned that we are going to hate it. Sounds so tight. It's 9 days.

 

Which category inside did you book? Regular interior or Large interior? We have found that with the regular interior one of us can't go around the bed (to use the bathroom at night) without going OVER the bed. The other side of the bed doesn't have that issue.

 

In the Large interior cabins you can walk on either side of the bed without going over the bed.

 

We are cruising on the Grandeur next month and recently cruised on the Pride. We would choose either ship - depending on price and itinerary but in our opinion the inside cabins on the Pride are definitely roomier than the Grandeur.

 

Enjoy your cruise:)

[WetToes]

retiredgram - I'll check into separating the beds if things seem super tight. Thanks!

 

GRANNYOFSIX - We are in a category I. Large.

[jetta8300]

We don't like an indoor Serenity area either but when sailing in November, you can swim in the pool because it is enclosed. If we were on a ship with an outdoor serenity area, we would have missed a day and a half without a pool because of the chilly weather.

 

Surely in warmer months, I'd prefer it to be outdoors.

 

Pride has an indoor pool in addition to the serenity area. There is an aft pool with a retractable roof. One of the necessities of sailing out of baltimore i guess :)

 

We were on the OASIS in 2012 and HATED the indoor serenity area. It sounded like your local indoor pool, it was LOUD and as hot as a sauna. We seriously couldn't breathe in there, and were disappointed since the outdoor Serenity area was one of the things we enjoyed the most on the Carnival Freedom. We spent about 20 minutes there the entire cruise before deciding we couldn't breathe, and never returned.

 

The other thing we didn't like about RCI is the lack of "Dive-In Movies" that they have on carnival. There were plenty of screens on the Oasis, none of which played any movies. One night they did play a sports game, but it wasn't any particular special game. I know the Grandeur has a big screen, but again I'm not exactly sure what they use it for since they don't put a lot of importance on playing movies.

 

So I guess it depends what you like. A lot of people reviewing the Pride have not been on it since the refurb in October of 2014. So I think it's kind of unfair to compare. We definitely wouldn't count the Grandeur out of a future cruise, but we would probably pick Norwegian Breakaway out of NYC before we would ever sail the Grandeur. To me the Grandeur just looks outdated/old and a bit stuffy. But we are in our early 30's. RCI definitely has the edge when it comes to entertainment on the Oasis, but I'm not sure entertainment on the Grandeur would be that much better than the Pride. Probably a little better though. I've heard it's also definitely a more older, subdued crowd on the Grandeur. We have an aft extended balcony on the Pride for less than we would pay for a regular balcony on the grandeur.

Edited March 25, 2015 by jetta8300

[DKane]

Pride has an indoor pool in addition to the serenity area. There is an aft pool with a retractable roof. One of the necessities of sailing out of baltimore i guess :)

 

We were on the OASIS in 2012 and HATED the indoor serenity area. It sounded like your local indoor pool, it was LOUD and as hot as a sauna. We seriously couldn't breathe in there, and were disappointed since the outdoor Serenity area was one of the things we enjoyed the most on the Carnival Freedom. We spent about 20 minutes there the entire cruise before deciding we couldn't breathe, and never returned.

 

The other thing we didn't like about RCI is the lack of "Dive-In Movies" that they have on carnival. There were plenty of screens on the Oasis, none of which played any movies. One night they did play a sports game, but it wasn't any particular special game. I know the Grandeur has a big screen, but again I'm not exactly sure what they use it for since they don't put a lot of importance on playing movies.

 

So I guess it depends what you like. A lot of people reviewing the Pride have not been on it since the refurb in October of 2014. So I think it's kind of unfair to compare. We definitely wouldn't count the Grandeur out of a future cruise, but we would probably pick Norwegian Breakaway out of NYC before we would ever sail the Grandeur. To me the Grandeur just looks outdated/old and a bit stuffy. But we are in our early 30's. RCI definitely has the edge when it comes to entertainment on the Oasis, but I'm not sure entertainment on the Grandeur would be that much better than the Pride. Probably a little better though. I've heard it's also definitely a more older, subdued crowd on the Grandeur. We have an aft extended balcony on the Pride for less than we would pay for a regular balcony on the grandeur.

 

As you can see from my signature I have sailed the Pride more than the Grandeur. To compare these two ships is like comparing apples to oranges. We sailed on the Grandeur over Thanksgiving week with our whole family. For what we paid on the Grandeur, we could have sailed twice on the Pride. But we wanted to go with everyone else and the Pride was either down in Tampa or being refurbished at that time.

 

I have been on the Pride in the past and saw a lot of "older seniors." More than I've ever seen on the Grandeur, the two times I've sailed her. All depends on the months you sail. Carnival is truly a party ship and fun to be on but I have to say the shows on RCCL were much better and the food definitely was - more offerings. When I hear people complain that the pizza on RCCL isn't as good as Carnival, my thought is that we don't cruise for the pizza - we cruise for the overall enjoyment.

 

I will say our cabin was larger on the Grandeur, the food and decor was better, the ship was smaller, liked the layout of the buffet better (and the dining room), didn't like the fact that the only people who got robes were the suite folks. We asked our steward for robes and he said he would talk to his supervisor - so the next day we found robes in the room.

 

As for the Breakaway, I was offered a free cruise and have yet to accept it. Maybe I'll look into that.

 

I will definitely sail again on the Pride but am getting just a little tired of the same two itineraries. I wish Carnival would at least offer Key West.

[WetToes]

 

I know the Grandeur has a big screen, but again I'm not exactly sure what they use it for since they don't put a lot of importance on playing movies.

 

The Grandeur does show movies, at least twice a day. 2 in the afternoon and maybe 8pm.

 

 

 

... , didn't like the fact that the only people who got robes were the suite folks. We asked our steward for robes and he said he would talk to his supervisor - so the next day we found robes in the room.

 

Platinum cruisers get robes too, no matter what cabin we are in.

[coasterjan]

Which category inside did you book? Regular interior or Large interior? We have found that with the regular interior one of us can't go around the bed (to use the bathroom at night) without going OVER the bed. The other side of the bed doesn't have that issue.

 

In the Large interior cabins you can walk on either side of the bed without going over the bed.

 

We are cruising on the Grandeur next month and recently cruised on the Pride. We would choose either ship - depending on price and itinerary but in our opinion the inside cabins on the Pride are definitely roomier than the Grandeur.

 

Enjoy your cruise:)

 

Hubby and I were definitely in the smallest inside cabin and neither of us could walk around the outside of the bed, but my side was piled up with empty suitcases and Hubby's side was obstructed by a tiny little "couch". . In retrospect, I certainly wish we would have been smart enough to separate the beds! That would have solved the whole problem! :rolleyes:

 

I liked the Grandeur overall, just hated the room. I thought the food was great and I especially loved the entertainment. The aerial shows in the lobby were fantastic.

 

But, I still think the Pride is the better ship. I loved the updated water park and slides, and Guys Burgers are so awesome (and fattening!). I found that we really missed the late night comedy while on the Grandeur. It's one of my favorite things on Carnival.

Janis

[jetta8300]

As you can see from my signature I have sailed the Pride more than the Grandeur. To compare these two ships is like comparing apples to oranges. We sailed on the Grandeur over Thanksgiving week with our whole family. For what we paid on the Grandeur, we could have sailed twice on the Pride. But we wanted to go with everyone else and the Pride was either down in Tampa or being refurbished at that time.

 

 

 

I have been on the Pride in the past and saw a lot of "older seniors." More than I've ever seen on the Grandeur, the two times I've sailed her. All depends on the months you sail. Carnival is truly a party ship and fun to be on but I have to say the shows on RCCL were much better and the food definitely was - more offerings. When I hear people complain that the pizza on RCCL isn't as good as Carnival, my thought is that we don't cruise for the pizza - we cruise for the overall enjoyment.

 

 

 

I will say our cabin was larger on the Grandeur, the food and decor was better, the ship was smaller, liked the layout of the buffet better (and the dining room), didn't like the fact that the only people who got robes were the suite folks. We asked our steward for robes and he said he would talk to his supervisor - so the next day we found robes in the room.

 

 

 

As for the Breakaway, I was offered a free cruise and have yet to accept it. Maybe I'll look into that.

 

 

 

I will definitely sail again on the Pride but am getting just a little tired of the same two itineraries. I wish Carnival would at least offer Key West.

 

 

I agree that's it's probably like comparing apples to oranges. But again it's unfair to compare the two in certain things if you haven't traveled on the pride since the refurb.

 

As for the food offerings, I'd argue that the Pride now as more offerings than the Grandeur with the addition of Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina, and Bonsai Sushi in addition to the MDR, specialty steakhouse, and buffet.

 

In general I thought RCI had better buffet food. More selection all around. And they have mostly the same offerings on all of their ships. carnival's buffet was more limited, however there where more changes each day and night. RCI had more selection, but the SAME selections day in and day out. However we enjoyed the MDR food much more with Carnival. Better quality in our opinion and better selection although neither was much better than typical banquet food, but we are excited to try the new selections with the 2.0 upgrades on the pride.

 

Yes they had movies playing when we went on RCI but they were playing indoors. Not outdoors like the "movies under the stars" with carnival. Maybe that's different on the Grandeur I don't know. But when considering the Grandeur I looked the Internet over for their recent daily schedules and none of them had any references to movies playing at night on the outdoor screen.

[cruizinisthebest]

Anyone sail on the grandeur with kids? particularly for a Bermuda itinerary? Just wondering if my two would be bored or not. Would love to go to Bermuda in the Summer and Norwegian can give out all the drink packages they want, their Breakaway prices for next Summer are insane!

[WetToes]

 

Yes they had movies playing when we went on RCI but they were playing indoors. Not outdoors like the "movies under the stars" with carnival. Maybe that's different on the Grandeur I don't know. But when considering the Grandeur I looked the Internet over for their recent daily schedules and none of them had any references to movies playing at night on the outdoor screen.

 

We were just on the Grandeur, March 3-13. They showed movies "under the stars". Definitely at 2pm and then again at night, 7:30 or 8pm.

They did also show movies in the theatre a few times. We never watched them there, so don't know how often, or the times.

[GRANNYOFSIX]

retiredgram - I'll check into separating the beds if things seem super tight. Thanks!

 

GRANNYOFSIX - We are in a category I. Large.

 

Hi WetToes - Glad to hear you are in Large Interior. The regular interior is 136 sq. ft., the large interior is 145 sq. ft.......still a small cabin but at least you won't have to fight the bed in the middle of the night! ;)

[guxu]

Anyone sail on the grandeur with kids? particularly for a Bermuda itinerary? Just wondering if my two would be bored or not. Would love to go to Bermuda in the Summer and Norwegian can give out all the drink packages they want, their Breakaway prices for next Summer are insane!

Me! Me! :D But my kids are 13 and 17. We bought the bus/ferry pass and planned our own tours. We had a great time.

[Grannycb]

We've been on Grandeur five times and have the sixth booked. It's a nice ship with quiet decor. We've been on the Pride three times and expect to do more cruises on her. The Pride is filled with laughter and 'interesting' decor. Both are great but I do prefer the itinerary of the Pride when she goes to Grand Turk over the Grandeur's usual itinerary. If you are a balcony person then I'd pick the Pride hands down as they are more affordable. Which ever one you pick will be a good choice.

 

Saw previous posts on Grandeur going to Bermuda. That's a lovely cruise and a good one to do with kids. We took the ferry and buses to beaches, the zoo, and over to Fort St. Catherine. Our grand daughter loved the 'haunted' stories of Fort St. Catherine. It really grabbed her interest.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Grannycb

[clskinsfan]

I have been on both. I prefer the Pride. I actually think the food is better on the Grandeur. But just about everything else is better on the Pride. The demographics of a RCI cruise are different as well. That may have an effect on which you book. I find that the Carnival boats are just more active throughout the day. RCI more laid back. And I also prefer Grand Turk way over Key West.

[1stimecruiser]

I stayed in inside cabin on Grandeur before. Honestly I do not remember the cabin was that small, maybe because we did not spend much time in the cabin anyway.

 

We had an inside cabin when we sailed New England/Canada - and didn't mind because the cruise is so port intensive.

[Cruzoholic]

Here's pix of our inside cabin on the Grandeur, #3045.

[Cruzoholic]

Here's another view with beds separated.

[grimmy35]

We have been on both and much prefer Grandeur of the seas, but both have pros and cons.

 

As far as the Pride goes, it is usually cheaper, they have comedy shows nearly every night (which we love more than regular shows), and better shows overall, and the food is better.

 

Grandeur has an adults only pool, big enough for laps, table tennis, shuffle boards, etc, which we enjoy. We also feel the Grandeur handles MUCH better in the water. Also, the food lines are usually much shorter.

 

Having said all that, we were on the Grandeur in 2013 and loved it. Went again in 2014 and noted on the top deck that the deck was actually coming apart (!!) and they had it covered with a long rubber piece to cover the gap. Probably a six inch gap or so. The ship was really showing wear and tear just a year later. We actually have a cruise booked for this year as well on the Grandeur, but have considered cancelling because we are afraid it's going to be even more in disrepair.

 

All that aside, we have not cruised on the Pride since 2011 because we felt it handled horribly in the water, the food lines were always atrociously long, and the listing and vibration are significantly worse than Grandeur.

[sweenbean21]

I preferred the food on the Pride, and the indoor pool. We have a 11 year old son and he couldn't swim leaving out of Baltimore because the Grandeur's indoor pool was adults only.

[mafiadon]

I just took the Grandeur, in May to Bermuda. I don't know if it was the crowd or what but I called it the Snooze Cruise, by 11 at night there wasn't anything going on anywhere. You could walk all the venues and there was no one and only one bar open on the Lido deck. Actually there wasn't much going on in the daytime either, I just found it a very boring ship with not much to do. Don't look for anything to eat late at night because there isn't any unless you get room service which is very limited and you will pay for it. Just saying I would not go back on that ship for anything. Don't get me wrong the ship was well maintained and the staff were friendly but if you were looking to have some fun it wasn't on this ship, also the food in the MD was not near as good as Carnival. I just wanted to say that I saw the inside cabins on this ship and I would go bonkers in such a tiny space, I have closets bigger then these rooms. We had a JS and they were really nice and big but I just could not believe how small the inside cabins were. I have had inside on Carnival and there is a big difference in size.

Edited July 29, 2015 by mafiadon

[WetToes]

... Snooze Cruise,

 

I agree. My husband and I thought the same thing on our last Grandeur cruise, and we are by no means partiers.

We've cruised her a few times, and I (my DH recently passed) probably will again. I want to do the NE cruise.

[guxu]

Exactly. As I posted before, it was just weird to see Lido deck became a ghost town at 10:30pm. Never saw that on any Carnival ships.

 

The only place to get food on Lido deck after they CLOSED (not just buffet lines were closed, the doors were closed too) the buffet was the Park Café, which ran out of most food EVERY night.

[Heather1972]

We have been on both and much prefer Grandeur of the seas, but both have pros and cons.

 

As far as the Pride goes, it is usually cheaper, they have comedy shows nearly every night (which we love more than regular shows), and better shows overall, and the food is better.

 

Grandeur has an adults only pool, big enough for laps, table tennis, shuffle boards, etc, which we enjoy. We also feel the Grandeur handles MUCH better in the water. Also, the food lines are usually much shorter.

 

Having said all that, we were on the Grandeur in 2013 and loved it. Went again in 2014 and noted on the top deck that the deck was actually coming apart (!!) and they had it covered with a long rubber piece to cover the gap. Probably a six inch gap or so. The ship was really showing wear and tear just a year later. We actually have a cruise booked for this year as well on the Grandeur, but have considered cancelling because we are afraid it's going to be even more in disrepair.

 

All that aside, we have not cruised on the Pride since 2011 because we felt it handled horribly in the water, the food lines were always atrociously long, and the listing and vibration are significantly worse than Grandeur.

 

 

I've been on both too. Grandeur is the ONLY ship I have been seasick on. I was miserable the first sea day. I had to sleep in the lobby on a couch, because I felt so bad. I couldn't go to the buffet without getting sloshed around. It was also very noisy in our room when we docked.

 

I have a thumbs down to the food on Grandeur. I think Chicken Cordon Bleu with a leg bone sticking out one end pretty much sums it up. About the food things I remember about the Pride was the pastrami sandwiches... to die for and I can't get enough cake pops!

 

Entertainment better on Pride. Grandeur relies heavily on karaoke for entertainment.

 

I personally would give the nod to Pride, but I always say there are NO bad cruises. :D