Carnival v. Princess

[nibbs]

Having had two fantastic cruises on the Glory and Liberty around the Caribbean and Europe, we are thinking of taking a Princess cruise next year.

 

Can anyone tell us how Princess compares to Carnival and whether one is better than the other?

 

Thanks!

 

Neil

[newmexicoNita]

Wow, what attracts one person could leave another cold. I am going to give some generals, but nothing is in black and white. Princess is said to have better food, but Carnival has better entertainment and more night life. Princess is a little subdued and attracts a quieter, somewhat older crowd. This does not mean everyone on Carnival is 20ish and all on Princess 60ish. The newer Princess ships are decorated more to my liking as I find Carnival ships too gaudy and I am not alone, but the cabins on Carnival ships are larger. Rather than compare cruiselines it is better to compare ships. A new Carnival ship may offer many things an older Princess ship does not offer and visa versa. One thing that would not make any difference to me, but does to some is: Princess ships have fresh water pools and Carnival ships do not. Carnival will have more children on their vessels than Princess. Hope this helps you a little. NMnita

[streaks23]

I agree -

We have sailed Carnival, Princess, NCL, RCCL, and Costa and Princess is our favorite -just nudging out Carnival.

But, like NMNita said - each to their own -

Loved the fresh water pools on Princess and the "somewhat freestyle dining", balconies were huge.

But,,,,Carnival is more fun - food about the same.

I would try Princess - you may really like it.

Nothing ventured - nothing gained.

Enjoy.

[Cruisin Oma]

My DH and I have cruised Princess 5 times in the last 6 years. Our last cruise was on NCL and we didn't care for it. (Even though we had a Penthouse Suite) This cruise will be my DH, his kids and thier SO (23-25) and my Brother and SIL and their 3 kids 5-14.

 

After our NCL experience, we've been somewhat apprehensive. Plus all the others have never cruised before, so we are introducing them and want to make sure they love the experience as much as we do. From your great comments I feel like we've done a good job and picked the right ship for our group.

[serene56]

I have sailed one time on Royal-- a few times on Carnival. Have 2 more booked on Carnival and booked recently because I want to try Princess. After reading the Princess boards a few weeks- I decided the Caribbean Princess will serve my needs. Personal choice dining is what got me to try it. I want to try a cruise where I dont have to rush for a dining time.

[Umbarger]

I prefer Carnival because they are much more fun. Also, Princess has no 24 hour ice cream and in the buffet there is only water, tea and coffee to drink. Carnival cabins are also larger. This is only my opinion. Try it. You might find you love Princess........wont know till you try.

[sgriff17]

I've been on 4 Carnival and we are going on our first Princess in January. We basically did it just to try something new, not that we dislike Carnival. I'll tell you my thoughts then - if you still care :)

[CruiseNut7]

I love them all, but Princess comes in first place for me. The personal dining choice is a huge plus. :)

 

As the other posters say "give it a try" ....

[Twinflow]

NEVER AGAIN! I just came off the Caribbean Princess from a 7-day cruise. Out of our group of 16 people. NO one would return to a Princess Ship. Also, you should know we had folks in our group of all ages. We are heading out on Carnival Liberty 12/10/05.

 

Don't waste your money on Princess.....

 

Tim

Fort Myers, FL

[bickee]

Wow that's surprising. My husband and I went on the Carib Princess in October, FABULOUS! That was the consensus of all we met and cruised with. Having only sailed Carnival previously, we found the food on Princess to be much better, although definitely less nightlife. That being said, we still found lots to do. I say give it a try!

[SPARKY12]

I have sailed on 2 princess cruises and one carnival. The party/fun factor is nearly non-existent on princess, if you want a party atmosphere in other words. Example - on my carnival cruise they always had a steel drum band at the pool deck, on both princess ships they have one guy singing to recorded music for 2 hours a day. On carnival the night clubs have plenty of people in them and are great for dancing. The island princess does not offer any dancing till midnight and believe me there is no one awake after 10 pm. I love the neon bright lights and beautifully decorated clubs on carnival, princess is dark wood paneling. Princess had one deck party but it was a quiet, subdued atmosphere, on the other princess ship they cancelled their deck party. Princess does not have any music recorded or live when you sail away the first night. The food was just ok on princess, i've had much better at a local low end restaurant. No midnight buffets. Some of the public bathrooms on princess were gross, obviously not being cleaned. Other than that Princess has nice ships and there were always plenty of deck chairs.

[SPARKY12]

P.S. I'm in my 50's, not a 21 yr old hard partier, just love to dance.

[tnf]

We are giving Princess a try in 27 days, we love carnival but I thought we'd give Princess a try, I am not too sure that we will like it.

But we will make the best of the cruise no matter what!

What we do like about princess is the anytime dining.

[glr068]

My SO and I have sailed on Carnival, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. All are great and it's to each his own as to what is better. We always seem to come back to Carnival for the atmosphere. I'm 58 and SO is 48 but we like to dance and have found the clubs on Carnival are more to our liking. Princess and RCCL seem to role up the carpet and turn the lights out early. At least on the cruises we were on, it was that way. On our Princess 12 day cruise to Tahiti, I think we were the only people up past 11:00 PM....:)

[Onebusyman]

Having sailed on a couple of Carnival Cruises, the wife and I decided to try a Princess cruise and selected a 10 day cruise on the Dawn Princess. All the hype about better service and food, was just hype. Not a lot of FUN. A lot of things Carnival does for free, Princess charges extra or just doesn't do it.

 

Little things like no free ice cream, no juices or fruit drinks, no lemon aid. The room service breakfast menu was a joke on the Princess. Very few activities, hardly any pool games.

 

Like everyone seems to agree on, for many Princess is just thier speed. For other who like to have fun, time stands still.

 

Being the step child of Carnival, when there were no dock spaces in Cozumel, all the Carnival ships had a space, we ended up having to skip the port because we could not tender in. Princess response was "paper box making", I kid you not. They didn't even offer a drink special.

[Twinflow]

Caribbean Princess

 

10/22/05

 

Cabin Aloha A312

 

It?s a big ship with the little ship feel as they state. They are correct the ship is cut up into small areas/rooms with low ceilings. Even the dinning rooms have low ceilings. I found the ship difficult to find your way around. The hallways around the cabins were narrow and with cabin Stewarts carts were hard to walk by. The Stewarts were using large paper bags to hold clean laundry because their carts were too small.

 

The Princess Theater seated about 800 people and usually passengers that arrived at show time were found standing in the walkways. I even witnessed a crew member suggesting they leave and find entertainment in other areas of the ship.

 

The food was a real disappointment compared to my Carnival Cruises. Many times during dinner we ordered off the available every night selections. The dinners were a real disappointment compared to Carnival?s signature meals. The lunch buffet was basically four identical stations with the same food. Try to find a fresh Deli Sandwich like Carnival offers was impossible. One day I went back to my cabin and ordered a turkey sandwich and it was processed meat. This was the worst food I have ever eaten on a Cruise. The only drinks available at no extra charge were coffee, hot tea and ice tea. Try to find Hot Coco and they send you to a bar and charge you extra. Carnival offers you many more choices of drinks at no extra charge. I purchased a Soda Card and found the soda being dispensed at the Horizon Terrace Pool bar coming from a large thermos. The soda was always flat and I refused to drink it. The only Ice Cream was available at one location and the minimum charge was $1.50. Carnival has ice cream available 24-hours per day at no extra charge. Oh, one person tried the pizza and recommended us not to eat it. On Carnival they always have a line at the pizza station.

 

The cabin and bathroom were large because we had a handicapped room. We were not handicapped but the room was assigned to us at no extra charge. The shower did not have the usual shampoo and body soap dispensers like Carnival. They had ketchup style packets of shampoo that you had to open with your teeth. The soap was supplied in round bars. I had to steal bath towels off the Stewarts carts to have enough for our cabin.

 

On Carnival before dinner you could find several selections of live music. This ship was catering to an older crowd and I am 49! Only one piano player before dinner playing slow older songs. BTW, and I like all kinds of music.

 

The Crew! Someone told them not to talk to the passengers. They were very cold and never smiled. It seemed like they were told to just do your job and not bother the passengers. Crew interaction with the passengers is a must! This was one big problem all over the ship. I even had a crew member riding the elevator with me complaining about the passengers holding up the elevators. The elevators were slow and the wait time was longer then expected. I know people will wait 5-minutes to go down one flight of steps.

 

Reading areas, I found the library closed all afternoon. So my usual reading area under the life boat deck was a jogging track. They had wooden chairs for passengers to sit on but the joggers would come by and I felt I was going to trip them. I headed to the Skywalkers Night Club and found a quite place to read. But around 930 am the music started playing over the speakers and made reading difficult. I found the same people trying to read everyday in the Night Club. The place smelled of smoke from the previous night. Late in the week I found a teenager studding his history book in the closed Churchill Lounge.

 

This was my 4th Cruise in 12 months. The three previous were all Carnival Cruises. I am not a drinker or a party person but I do want to have fun on a 7-day Cruise. I find the crew and passenger much friendlier on the Carnival Ships. Usually by the end of the week I have made friends with many crew members and passengers.

 

One last note: on Friday evening I had a older couple tell me they have been on 39 Cruises all over the world. They also stated they would never return to a Princess Ship.

 

Our Cruise Group was made up of 16 persons. Their ages ranged from a 9 year old girl to folks nearing retirement in their 60?s. We all agreed to never return to a Princess Ship.

 

Sailing on the new Carnival Liberty 12/10/05 my holiday Cruise.

[CruiseFever]

Some easy to identify differences include

• Princess Grand Class ships have Skywalkers- a nightclub that blows away anything Carnival ever thought of having
  
• But nightlife, in general, is more plentiful on Carnival. On some Princess sailings most stuff shuts down early
  
• Princess does a better job of breaking up huge, open deck space into smaller more intimate areas
  
• Some Princess fanatics think Carnival people are trailer trash, Some Carnival fanatics think Princess people are snobs. Both are right sometime and wrong sometime.
  
• Carnival has FunVision- Princess has nothing like it
  
• Carnival has the "fun ships" and they mean it, Princess had The Loveboat but seems embarassed about it
  
• Both lines have had the same basic menus for a long time, Carnival is adding stuff by a famous chef who I can't remember the name of
  
• Princess has better, sometimes excellent dining room food but lacks consistency
  
• Carnival has 24/7 Pizza and Ice Cream, Princess just at certain times
  
• You can buy cartons of cigarettes on Princess and they hold them until the end of the cruise, on Carnival you can have them when you buy them
  
• Carnival has Uncle Bob, Princess has....um...well...somebody
  
• You can buy bottles of booze on Carnival and they hold them until the end of the cruise, on Princess you can order bottles from room service and have them right now, at reasonable prices
  
• Carnival has an incorrect reputation for being a big drunken party all the time (not any more, although finding a good party is not difficult), Princess has an incorrect reputation for catering to boring old people (although there seem to be more)
  
• Carnival has a better kids program- Princess' is good but inconsistent from ship to ship. Carnivals recent concentration on teens with "O2" is awesome...dude
  
• Pricing is competitive, comparing numbers to numbers Carnival will come out less expensive but Princess can be a better value
  
• Princess ships all seem to have a similar layout and decor, each Carnival ship has a different theme
  
• Princess rules embarkation, Carnival is trying but still not there
  
• Carnival has the reputation for the best shows, I rate both lines the same
  
• Carnival blows away Princess in casino operations. Carnival invented the Ocean Players club and plays it like a piano, Princess begrudgingly has it but is getting better
  
• Princess sails to more places
  
• Carnival management is totally accessible, good luck emailing somebody important at Princess
  
• Princess employs more muted tones and promotes a subdued but semi-elegant ambiance, Carnival is very glitzy, Vegas style with lots of neon which I don't think is a bad thing

I'm sure someone else can add more to this list but those are the things that jump out at me as being different. You be the judge if each one is a good thing or a bad thing.

[buggsie10]

we have cruised in carnival about 10 times but decided to try princess this oct.05'. i must say i was impressed and although i love carival would do it again.Carribean Princess was definetly a quieter ship with much less kids(much to my kids (ages 20-21 ) disappointment, but it had the out door big screen like a drive in and it was awesome. the food on carnival is a little better, mostly gormet food on princess and the kids werent always sure what they were eating. No free ice cream on princess and the rooms were a little smaller but the service was outstanding as was the room steward on princess. its always been hit and miss with carnival. one trip is great and the next, you cant get a bar of soap. also loved the fresh water pool on princess. and they werent to crowded. sailed through wilma and had good weather. 240

I agree -

We have sailed Carnival, Princess, NCL, RCCL, and Costa and Princess is our favorite -just nudging out Carnival.

But, like NMNita said - each to their own -

Loved the fresh water pools on Princess and the "somewhat freestyle dining", balconies were huge.

But,,,,Carnival is more fun - food about the same.

I would try Princess - you may really like it.

Nothing ventured - nothing gained.

Enjoy.

[basketsiam]

Having sailed Carnival numerous times, my husband and I were excited to give Princess a try. Maybe we expected too much, but we were disappointed in many ways. The Caribbean Princess is a beautiful ship, and although large, it never felt crowded. However, our dining room experience was largely hit or miss. Service, even from the same waitress, diminished as the cruise progressed. Our food was not good......our soups were cold (that were meant to be hot) and our steaks were tough. Because food selections weren't the greatest, we frequently ordered from the "always available" menu. This got quite boring after several days. And, believe it or not, we actually missed the dining room entertainment from the wait staff that Carnival delivers daily.....:rolleyes: As a previous poster mentioned, some of the things we take for granted on Carnival (like 24 hour pizza) either aren't available on Princess, or come with an additional charge (like juices other than breakfast time). The nightlife, especially the lack of a true piano bar, is also significantly different.

 

That being said, I guess it all depends what you are looking for. I would not hesitate to sail Princess again because I do believe they offer a good cruising experience at a competitive price. However, my expectations would be different if I do ever sail them again.;)

[GoodAsGold]

We sailed on the Star Princess when she was just 3 months old and she was beautiful! I like the food in their Horizon Court buffet better, but I liked Carnival's dining room cuisine more. I also like the waiters "performing" in there. I will say the decor is nicely subdued and very pretty on Princess. We were on the Sun Princess the following year and that was also nice. One thing about Princess, though. The decor is always the same on all their ships for the most part. Not much variation or individual ship themes.

 

 

Having had two fantastic cruises on the Glory and Liberty around the Caribbean and Europe, we are thinking of taking a Princess cruise next year.

 

Can anyone tell us how Princess compares to Carnival and whether one is better than the other?

 

Thanks!

 

Neil

[GoodAsGold]

Oh, yes, I forgot about those wonderful fresh water pools! And, they're open 24 hours. They don't stack the lounge chairs at night. Anytime Dining is a nice concept and we traded off between that and Traditional Dining.

 

I agree -

We have sailed Carnival, Princess, NCL, RCCL, and Costa and Princess is our favorite -just nudging out Carnival.

But, like NMNita said - each to their own -

Loved the fresh water pools on Princess and the "somewhat freestyle dining", balconies were huge.

But,,,,Carnival is more fun - food about the same.

I would try Princess - you may really like it.

Nothing ventured - nothing gained.

Enjoy.

[GoodAsGold]

We also cruised on NCL for the first time this past summer and I honestly can say I wasn't as impressed. I don't plan any cruises with them again if I can help it.

 

My DH and I have cruised Princess 5 times in the last 6 years. Our last cruise was on NCL and we didn't care for it. (Even though we had a Penthouse Suite) This cruise will be my DH, his kids and thier SO (23-25) and my Brother and SIL and their 3 kids 5-14.

 

After our NCL experience, we've been somewhat apprehensive. Plus all the others have never cruised before, so we are introducing them and want to make sure they love the experience as much as we do. From your great comments I feel like we've done a good job and picked the right ship for our group.

[kydale]

Carnival is part of Carnival Corp. Carnival Corp. owns, besides CCL, Princess, Holland American,Seaborne, Windstar,Cunard(QE2), P&O, Ocean Village, Costa Swan and a couple of others.

[spongerob]

I haven't been on a Carnival vessel, but one thing about their ships really impressed me. The balcony furniture looks like teak from a distance - whether it is or not someone might be able to clue me in - but it looked so much nicer than the tacky white Wal-Mart style stuff Princess uses except for the suites. I thought whatever Carnival (might have been the Conquest I was looking at next to us) uses looked very elegant.

[CruiseFever]

I haven't been on a Carnival vessel, but one thing about their ships really impressed me. The balcony furniture looks like teak from a distance - whether it is or not someone might be able to clue me in - but it looked so much nicer than the tacky white Wal-Mart style stuff Princess uses except for the suites. I thought whatever Carnival (might have been the Conquest I was looking at next to us) uses looked very elegant.

 

It's official designer plastic.....but quite comfy