Carnival cruiser just off my first Princess cruise

[oncruisecontrol]

I posted this on the Princess page earlier today and thought I should post it here as well. I hate to say I was a bit disappointed, but I was. All of our previous cruises were on Carnival and with all the Carnival bashing I've heard my expectations were high. While the service and entertainment were better on Princess, I think Carnival's food was much better. I am a big salad eater so I was very frustrated to find they didn't offer any of the salad dressings (Lite Italian, French, Russian or Honey Mustard) I like on their buffet. Usually my lunch consists of a big plate of salad with a little protein. There was very little on their dinner menu that looked appealing and even less that tasted good. I did like the filet the night it was offered. The steakhouse was wonderful and we would do it again, but not any better than Carnival. However, if we ever cruise Princess again, I don't know that I would waste my time going to their dining room. The American Dinner buffet last night was very good. I wish they would offer "American" food every night on one of their buffets. We also enjoyed the buffet at Princess Cay. For the most part, we looked forward to ports so we could get something good to eat. I do give Princess kudos for having a wait staff bring us drinks in the buffet! It was so nice to sit down and start eating while they got them for us. I wish Carnival offered this service as well.

 

 

 

Another problem was our beds. The mattresses were hard as a rock. After the first night our steward brought us a pillow top which helped, but was still wasn't very comfortable. Unfortunately, he removed it our last night so we had another sleepless night and back pain this morning.

 

 

 

Now that I've mentioned the cons, there were also many pros. I thoroughly enjoyed the shows, which were much better than the ones we've been to on Carnival. The comedian was fabulous, I just wish he would have performed more than one night. It was refreshing to see a comedy show without all the vulgarity. We also enjoyed the house band, Fresh Power. We attended both wine tastings, which was a nice treat.

 

 

 

The Sanctuary had pros and cons. The seats were incredibly comfortable and it provided an extremely peaceful day. My disappointment was in the service provided there. We expected to be waited on, but there was never anyone around. When we wanted something to drink we had to fetch it ourselves or at least hunt down someone to get it for us. I never had to get my own drinks while tanning on Carnival. Speaking of tanning, I specified day one that we wanted seats in the sun. That's exactly what we got on the first day, however on our return trip we were shaded more than half the day so I was outside the sanctuary on the uncomfortable chairs looking at the seat I had paid for. There were open seats in the sun but we were told they couldn't switch ours. Even with that, I may be willing to do it again next cruise at least one day because it was so relaxing.

 

 

 

I can't forget to mention the cold towels upon returning to the ship. What a nice touch! Also, it was nice having our rooms ready as soon as we boarded and actually being able to use the elevators at that time. It seems like Carnival's elevators were closed most of the first day because of luggage. I also like having the muster drill seated in a lounge instead of standing in the heat.

 

 

 

Obviously I liked some things better on Princess, but Carnival has them beat in other areas. Would I cruise Princess again? Absolutely! I would bring my own salad dressing packets and plan to dine outside of the dining room. Is it worth more money than a Carnival cruise? I'm not sure about that. I guess it depends on if you care more about good food and more comfortable beds or better service and entertainment.

 

 

 

Next up is the Oasis of the Seas.

 

Thank you for your trip report. I was in your shoes not so long ago. I took my first Princess cruise a year and a half ago on the Crown Princess after sailing a dozen cruises on Carnival.

Regarding the passages I've highlighted in red: Overall, I thought that the food on Princess was leaps and bounds better than Carnival. The main dining room offerings, the buffet (I loved the German and Italian themed days), and the International Café were, in my opinion waaay better than what Carnival offers. Princess' pizza was also waay better than Carnival's IMHO. But, I get what you're saying about the amount of dressings Carnival has on their buffet.

 

You are so right about Princess' beds; they are not nearly as comfy as Carnival's. In fact the Princess cabin pales in comparison to Carnival's cabins in so many ways. Both the cabin and cabin bathroom on Princess are tiny and an extended shower head is not standard like it is on Carnival.

 

I also agree with you that Princess' shows are better than Carnival's.

 

While we did not have loungers in the Sanctuary (though we tried to get them--they were old out), we did sit in the loungers directly outside of the Sanctuary gates. It was near impossible to get beverage service up there. I was dying of thirst and had to go down one deck to the bar to get a bottle of water, and I asked the bartender to send the server up to the deck we were on so I didn't have to come back down there again. Carnival's deck servers are definitely better and there are more of them. But, I have to give Princess the edge over Carnival on the beauty and layout of their pool decks.

 

Glad you enjoyed your first Princess cruise. We will be sailing them again if we can get a great deal like we did on the Crown.

[MissyMac13]

We took a cruise on Golden Princess last November for my birthday. As you can see from my signature, we are platinum with Carnival and this was our first Princess cruise. I enjoyed it very much. I loved sitting in the Atrium and people watching. There was a professional dance group onboard with us and they got up and danced while I sat there one afternoon. I liked being able to purchase a coffee card and share it with my husband, so we could both enjoy specialty coffees.

As I said, we were celebrating my birthday and Princess had a "Happy Birthday" sign and balloons on my door when we arrived. The service was great and I enjoyed the dining experience. We also enjoyed sitting outside and watching football on the big screen television on Sunday.

There was a big group of Kickball players on our cruise, which I was told is somewhat unusual for Princess. Lines at the buffet and elsewhere were long. I didn't find them offensive in any way but some folks, who were expecting a quieter experience, did.

I agree that it is difficult to compare the different cruise lines. We prefer Carnival due to the value and service we have received. Would I go on another Princess cruise? Absolutely.