Personal Service on Carnival vs. Princess

[cruisenurse1]

Hello,

I have a very limited amount of time each year to take a vacation ( the last week in June) . So this year I was on the Emerald Princess to Alaska. The food and service were outstanding in the Main Dinning room and cabin service. In 2018 we are sailing on the Carnival Splendor to Mexico. Should we expect the same level of service on Carnival Splendor? I am not wanting to start a war, here. My mom and I have a limited budget and time off from work. If you have been on the Splendor , Please let us know what to expect as far as service quality. We love the main dinning room. My mom will not eat at the buffet as she had a bad experience with buffet at a country club as a young adult. I am trying to put her mind at ease. The last time I was on Carnival was 1990 on the Fantasy and we received outstanding service both in the cabin and the MDR. But, times have changed. I might add we are staying in an inside cabin in 2018. We don't expect to be treated like royalty , but it is nice to have a special time. Again, thank you in advance for your time to answer my questions.

 

Regards,

Cruisenurse 1:)

332 days until we leave. :(

[bury me at sea]

I think the quality of service on Carnival is excellent.

 

I found it is easier to develop a more personal experience with wait staff if you have set dining.

 

Last time I sailed on Princess was about 15 years ago so I can't offer any meaningful comparison.

 

Happy sailing!

[Micahs Grandad]

Room steward about the same as long as they keep giving 2x a day service.

 

DR servers have less customers on Princess so you get a higher level of service

[dmdiver]

Can't answer to these specific ships, but my experience with Regal Princess was that it was difficult to get drink service by the pool & in the dining room. Seriously, our friend would try to get their attention & they would just walk away. I thought he was crazy the first time he said that, but then I saw it first hand. Carnival staff seems to be a bit more attentive. No problems with dining room food on either line. Even if you do ATD on Carnival, if you like your waitstaff, you can request them every evening. We did this on Freedom last year.

 

Room stewards have been great on every ship I've ever sailed, regardless of line.

[bUU]

Room steward about the same as long as they keep giving 2x a day service.

Passengers who book cruises agree to conditions that permit the cruise line to change that without notice. While that's true of both cruise lines, so far we've only seen indications that Carnival is seriously considering such a change.

[Tatka]

I am a huge fan of Princess, and not so big of Carnival, but not because of service. Service on all our Carnival cruises was adequate.

Food is much better on Princess especially in buffets though.

[hapytobehr]

We are going on the Splendor in September for the 4th time.

We have always had great service.

However, our perception of great service may not be the same as yours.

Have a great cruise.

[A&Jfamily]

I find the biggest difference I see in a Princess cruise vs Carnival is in the dress and decorum of the passengers.

 

Carnival is certainly the fun ship and has a more relaxed atmosphere in the MDR at dinner, be it cruise casual or elegant/formal evening. Note the fact that Carnival no longer calls it formal evening, and the dress code allows men for example to wear a dress shirt with no slacks or jacket; the same dress code on Princess calls for a tux, dinner jacket or dark suit with a tie. Likewise, I do not wish to debate the codes - read them as stated and they are very different.

 

And on Carnival, I have been apt to spot people each cruise that were attempting to max the Cheers beverage program, regardless of whether or not they should have consumed another drop.

 

As for food, we like some things better on Carnival and some things better on Princess. A ship like Sunshine, which is our fav stands as being at least as enjoyable as the Grand or CB because of all the food options. We prefer alchemy on Carnival to the wine bar on Princess, but love them both. Tea is better on Princess. Carnival's sports squares are a ton of fun for my sons.

 

So for us it boils down to the fact that Carnival has a factor that is the lowest common denominator (people going to breakfast in the MDR in their bathrobe, men in tank tops at the dinner table etc) that can be very pushy and "me first." We just have not observed the element on Princess; I have been told it is there, but if it is, it is just not in the quantity that I have noticed on Carnival. And for the record, MOST people who cruise on Carnival are just ordinary people looking to relax and have fun and we enjoy that...its just the select few we have observed (more so on shorter cruises) consistently that detract from the vibe of Carnival. JMHO. YMMV

[meatloafsfan]

MDR on Carnival is great for dinner - and on Sea days they have the Seaday Brunch which is also great. Carnival also offers breakfast in the MDR on Port days.

 

Carnival "quick service" also offers more than just the buffet. They have a number of individual stations where food is made for you based on your individual order - the Splendour has the Burrito bar, Deli, Pizza, and Mongolian wok. They also have separate stations for Tandoor and BBQ (outside of the standard buffet line).

[Aquahound]

We don't expect to be treated like royalty , but it is nice to have a special time. Again, thank you in advance for your time to answer my questions.

 

In the past few years, I've cruised Princess 3 times and Carnival once. I know that's not the best control sample but from that little bit of experience, I would say the service is exactly the same on both lines. I thought both were great. No complaints. :)

[cruisenurse1]

Hello Again,

I thank you for your gracious responses. I take my mom on my cruises because I would rather pay her way than the single supplement. I would just like my mom to feel comfortable and taken care of as she felt on Princess.

 

Regards,

Cruisenurse 1

[Homosassa]

Stay on Princess. Carnival can not compare in service or overall quality of the cruise experience on Princess.

[Nic6318]

Stay on Princess. Carnival can not compare in service or overall quality of the cruise experience on Princess.

 

 

Hi

 

While I personally don't agree, go with this as your expectation and if you find it to be untrue, then you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

Who knows what you will think of you next cruise experience, whether it's Princess, Carnival or any other company. It's your perspective of the service you receive. Go with an open mind and you should enjoy yourself, but there are never any guarantees.

[Micahs Grandad]

Passengers who book cruises agree to conditions that permit the cruise line to change that without notice. While that's true of both cruise lines, so far we've only seen indications that Carnival is seriously considering such a change.

 

So far they have not said it but expect that to happen in the next year or two time will tell.

[Micahs Grandad]

Hi

 

While I personally don't agree, go with this as your expectation and if you find it to be untrue, then you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

Who knows what you will think of you next cruise experience, whether it's Princess, Carnival or any other company. It's your perspective of the service you receive. Go with an open mind and you should enjoy yourself, but there are never any guarantees.

 

Both cruise lines are good but we do consider Princess to be a notch above. And we are currently sailing on both lines. Caribbean is Carnival the rest of the world is Princess.

[OCruisers]

I am a huge fan of Princess, and not so big of Carnival, but not because of service. Service on all our Carnival cruises was adequate.

Food is much better on Princess especially in buffets though.

 

Basically agree with the above.

It's not the service on Carnival that's the issue, it's the Other Things ....

[Tatka]

I like this

The Other Things...

 

I will be using it from now on.

 

For me without going into details it's ambiance. Maybe it's just my luck though. I am pretty easy going, but something doesn't let me to enjoy this line as much as others.

[riclop]

Princess is much better.

[easyboy]

We like the personal services of Princess crew. Never had any bad encounters.

[Rosefloater]

I find the biggest difference I see in a Princess cruise vs Carnival is in the dress and decorum of the passengers.

 

Carnival is certainly the fun ship and has a more relaxed atmosphere in the MDR at dinner, be it cruise casual or elegant/formal evening. Note the fact that Carnival no longer calls it formal evening, and the dress code allows men for example to wear a dress shirt with no slacks or jacket; the same dress code on Princess calls for a tux, dinner jacket or dark suit with a tie. Likewise, I do not wish to debate the codes - read them as stated and they are very different.

 

So for us it boils down to the fact that Carnival has a factor that is the lowest common denominator (people going to breakfast in the MDR in their bathrobe, men in tank tops at the dinner table etc) that can be very pushy and "me first." We just have not observed the element on Princess; I have been told it is there, but if it is, it is just not in the quantity that I have noticed on Carnival. And for the record, MOST people who cruise on Carnival are just ordinary people looking to relax and have fun and we enjoy that...its just the select few we have observed (more so on shorter cruises) consistently that detract from the vibe of Carnival. JMHO. YMMV

 

As one of the ordinary people that enjoys Carnival, we have seen bad behavior and both lines. On Princess, on Formal night, we have seen men wore jeans and a polo shirt in the dining room and nobody said anything about his attire. We have sat next to people at muster drill who have bragged how much alcohol they have drank (which was obvious. In over 50 cruises (both Carnival and Princess), we have had the 2 worst room stewards on Princess One argued with us when we asked for clean towels and the other never fully made up a bed for the whole cruise. Our last cruise on Princess, there were buckets collecting dripping water from the ceiling in the buffet area for the whole cruise.

 

We do like the comedians on Princess better.

 

Overall, we prefer the livelier vibe on Carnival than on Princess.

 

We still cruise Princess as they have itineraries on the West Coast that Carnival doesn't offer. Otherwise we would stay with Carnival.

[Micahs Grandad]

As one of the ordinary people that enjoys Carnival, we have seen bad behavior and both lines. On Princess, on Formal night, we have seen men wore jeans and a polo shirt in the dining room and nobody said anything about his attire. We have sat next to people at muster drill who have bragged how much alcohol they have drank (which was obvious. In over 50 cruises (both Carnival and Princess), we have had the 2 worst room stewards on Princess One argued with us when we asked for clean towels and the other never fully made up a bed for the whole cruise. Our last cruise on Princess, there were buckets collecting dripping water from the ceiling in the buffet area for the whole cruise.

 

We do like the comedians on Princess better.

 

Overall, we prefer the livelier vibe on Carnival than on Princess.

 

We still cruise Princess as they have itineraries on the West Coast that Carnival doesn't offer. Otherwise we would stay with Carnival.

 

Think the steward thing is the luck of the draw. Generally happy with stewards on both lines but on 5 Princess cruises now all steward have been excellent.

 

We do miss the comedy club on Carnival when sailing on Princess but the Princess production shows generally better than the shows they used to have on Carnival and far superior to the playlist shows Carnival is now putting on.

[hightownCO]

Have cruised both lines and agree with comments here. The main differences I see:

 

-Princess buffet food is much better, especially the desserts.

-On Princess, in the buffet, the wait staff will get your drinks after you are seated. I really miss that in the Carnival buffet.

-I like Princess way of rotating the MUTS movies to different venues on following days, like showing in Explorers lounge or in cabin TV.

-I like Carnival's in cabin entertainment having regular network stations, ie ABC,CBS,NBC.

-I like Carnival's theater much better with the cushioned bench seats and cocktail stands.

-For OV and better cabins, I like Carnival's better with having a sofa.

 

Otherwise, both have generally excellent service and friendly crew. You'll have a great time. Haven't been on Splendor yet but will be for the Panama Canal in January!

[Micahs Grandad]

Have cruised both lines and agree with comments here. The main differences I see:

 

-Princess buffet food is much better, especially the desserts.

-On Princess, in the buffet, the wait staff will get your drinks after you are seated. I really miss that in the Carnival buffet.

-I like Princess way of rotating the MUTS movies to different venues on following days, like showing in Explorers lounge or in cabin TV.

-I like Carnival's in cabin entertainment having regular network stations, ie ABC,CBS,NBC.

-I like Carnival's theater much better with the cushioned bench seats and cocktail stands.

-For OV and better cabins, I like Carnival's better with having a sofa.

 

Otherwise, both have generally excellent service and friendly crew. You'll have a great time. Haven't been on Splendor yet but will be for the Panama Canal in January!

 

Also on Royal class you can watch movies on demand from cabin and stop them as you wish. Do not think Carnival has this

[BDRebel]

I find the service afforded by the crew and officers on Carnival to be slightly better than that on Princess (which in turn was a bit better than Celebrity).

[Micahs Grandad]

I find the service afforded by the crew and officers on Carnival to be slightly better than that on Princess (which in turn was a bit better than Celebrity).

 

Interesting how we all have such different experiences