Carnival vs Princess- Germs & Boarding On/Off (labor cuts impacts)

[ScottChez]

Here is my Review , I did Carnival in April and just got off a Princess Cruise.

Carnival and Princess is own by the same company (Carnival Corp). It is my hope that Carnival Corp reads this and hires a few extra people to fix some of the concerns so it is fixed by my next Carnival cruise in December (yes 3 cruises this year).

 

I noticed Princess seems to charge a little more on the base rates. Labor Counts impacts Profit and pricing. I wonder if it is because they hire more people to help with the following:

 

GERMS

===========

1. Princess has a person stationed at EACH Buffet and Dinning room entry point , they make you use hand sanitizer or go and wash your hands BEFORE they hand you a plate. You can not enter the buffet line until you do this. This helps prevent the spread of the Norovirus and other Germs.

Once in the buffet you touch every scope handle, if someone before you had the Norovirus and you then touch your mouth later as you eat, you now have it

 

On Carnival any one can walk in, yes they do have the hand sanitizer there but no one uses it. They do not hire someone to watch the entry line or hand you a platte.

 

2. Princess hands you the platte and silver ware to prevent you from touching the other plates as you grab yours. Again think about that Virus that spreads on cruise ships.

 

On carnival you grab a platte, but when you do you hand touches the next platte in the stack. Same for the napkin.

 

BOARDING OFF BOARDING

 

3. Getting on the ship for Princess they had a lot more staff to help get you though, but telling you where and when to go to what line and place and to help with luggage, then at the counter , there was double the staff processing check ing.

The getting on board took us Half the time as it did on Carnival ad we boarding at the same time slot

 

On princess they had a Desk with a person sitting there all day to help with the getting off the ship the day before, you could change your off boarding time. ON Carnival there was no dedicated person there to help, again labor cuts.

 

4. Getting off the Ship, same thing, lots of extra staff telling your where and when to go. It was so fast I though maybe I missed a step.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

5. Same thing again, LABOR. I noticed on Princess in the Main theater they would have a live Band (a full band), for music for the shows, on Carnival they always used recorded music. Again Labor cuts on the band (there is none)

 

ROOM STEWARDS

 

6. Our room steward at 16 rooms, yet he would still do service TWICE a day.

On carnival, he also had 16 rooms but said they now only do Once a day.

My guess is Princess is using assistant room stewards to help with the main room steward so he can do 16 room, again all comes to labor cost.

 

EVERYTHING ELSE

 

For everything else the Two ships were the same from Food to shopping to wait staff, after all they are the SAME company Carnival Corp.

 

CONCLUSION

Carnival should hire more people to at least fix the GERM concerns.

 

[Micahs Grandad]

We are Diamond on Carnival and just reached Platinum on Princess and some of your statements are not corrected.

 

Entering Horizon court food area on Princess they have someone handing you a plate. They ask you to use hand sanitizer but do not force you. I wash my hands with soap and water before heading up to Horizon and see no reason to use sanitizer in addition to soap.

 

Crew does not hand you silverwear. It is waiting for you at your table. Princess does have more crew who will get you your drinks and more silverwear if needed.

 

Food on buffet far superior on Princess especially on their new ships Royal Class.

 

Princess stewards work by themselves with no assistants. Have no idea how many rooms they service but they do automatically give you 2x service and even leave chocolates on pillows in the evenings.

 

Princess is still doing the production shows Carnival used to do but also has at least four production singers for the shows. Much better than playlist.

 

Carnival has comedy club so you get a lot more comedy there than on Princess.

 

Overall we have great cruises on both but if you want to see the world cannot do it on Carnival.

[Fla Mike]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

[Kamloops50]

Carnival (correct me if I'm wrong) makes more money in the casino and drinks then Princess.

Princess room steward has some where between 20 and 40 rooms depending on the type.

[Fern Crest]

Well, it sounds like you prefer Princess to Carnival. Fortunately, there is a cruise line to suit most anyone's preferences. :)

 

I would suggest that you pick the cruise line that gives you what you want, and have a great cruise!

[poz222]

The extra costs for Princess cover these extra positions... Lower price point, less "extra" services... ironically enough, there is no marked difference in the reported Noro outbreaks on Princess vs. CCL despite the germ patrol unit... and According to CDC data, RCCL (which has a germ patrol as well) has a higher instance of Noro than either.

[ScottChez]

I just find it strange, that they are all the SAME company and they could do these very minor changes to make things better, do the two cruise lines talk to each other? Same company its all Carnival Corp.

[bar1068]

I just find it strange, that they are all the SAME company and they could do these very minor changes to make things better, do the two cruise lines talk to each other? Same company its all Carnival Corp.

 

Make things better, how?

[dmdiver]

I've always gotten twice daily steward service on Carnival.

 

As far as germ control goes, I've always been a hand washer, so I'm annoyed to have someone chase me down to squirt sanitizer on my hands or usher me to a sink in the walkway.

 

As far as why they do certain things differently when they are owned by the same corporation, I guess they just have different business models.

 

I didn't notice a difference in getting off the ship between the two lines. What I did notice, was that Princess made us put on the life jackets, whereas Carnival no longer does that.

[meatloafsfan]

The extra costs for Princess cover these extra positions... Lower price point, less "extra" services... ironically enough, there is no marked difference in the reported Noro outbreaks on Princess vs. CCL despite the germ patrol unit... and According to CDC data, RCCL (which has a germ patrol as well) has a higher instance of Noro than either.

 

I've always found it odd when people complain about no one "forcing" people to use hand sanitizer on Carnival. They have a better record when it comes to Noro virus outbreaks than the lines I've been on that do "force" you to use hand sanitizer (which I hate btw, that stuff destroys my hands).

 

Whatever Carnival is doing in relation to sanitizing is working.

 

When we were on the Sunshine they had a couple of those hand washing stations where you stick your hands in and it washes and dries them - they are the neatest thing - I used them just for fun a couple of times they were so cool!

[nchikk]

Here is my Review , I did Carnival in April and just got off a Princess Cruise.

Carnival and Princess is own by the same company (Carnival Corp). It is my hope that Carnival Corp reads this and hires a few extra people to fix some of the concerns so it is fixed by my next Carnival cruise in December (yes 3 cruises this year).

 

I noticed Princess seems to charge a little more on the base rates. Labor Counts impacts Profit and pricing. I wonder if it is because they hire more people to help with the following:

 

I don't think this is as easy as you make it sound. Maybe they have the exact number of cabins/beds available for staff/crew as they have staff/crew. Where would any additional crew live? If they were to replace crew or positions to make room for what you seek, what/who would they get rid of? Just wondering.

 

As someone else noted, you seem to prefer how Princess does things. Maybe that is the cruise line for you. For myself, I'm happy with Carnival. I've got my 10th coming up and thankfully have not gotten sick thus far.

[NightOne]

 

GERMS

===========

1. Princess has a person stationed at EACH Buffet and Dinning room entry point , they make you use hand sanitizer or go and wash your hands BEFORE they hand you a plate. You can not enter the buffet line until you do this. This helps prevent the spread of the Norovirus and other Germs.

Once in the buffet you touch every scope handle, if someone before you had the Norovirus and you then touch your mouth later as you eat, you now have it

 

Not really

 

 

See:

 

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/14/really-the-claim-hand-sanitizer-stops-norovirus-spread/

[dmdiver]

Interesting article. I wish those who use hand sanitizers in lieu of washing their hands would take note. I know people who think it's unnecessary to wash with soap & water if you use the sanitizer.

[Micahs Grandad]

I just find it strange, that they are all the SAME company and they could do these very minor changes to make things better, do the two cruise lines talk to each other? Same company its all Carnival Corp.

 

Would think the various cruise lines owned by Carnival would talk to each other and adapt best practices but they do not seem to.

[JaniceB]

Good point Micah's grandad!

[ARcruisin2]

re: Germs

I use the hand sanitize both before and after going through the buffet line.

Regardless of cruise line staffing... I don't trust that everyone will wash their hands or use sanitizer.

So I circle back after filling my plate and use the hand sanitizer again.

My husband used to pick on me for being a germ-a-phobe ...but i had him think about everything he touches between the room and dinner...then watch other folks a little...now he does the same.

Better safe that sick on my vacation.

[Drazil65]

I've always found it odd when people complain about no one "forcing" people to use hand sanitizer on Carnival. They have a better record when it comes to Norovirus outbreaks than the lines I've been on that do "force" you to use hand sanitizer

I agree 100%...if you are an adult, why in heaven's name does someone need to make you, ask you or force you to use hand sanitizer? Seriously???? Just do it and take care to do what you can, you cannot stop ALL germs and in 15 yrs of cruising my family has never been sick due to "germs" on a cruise ship. I am WAY more concerned about grocery shopping carts and germs....or the person that walks by my desk at work and coughs without covering their mouth...just do what you need to do not to add to the germ fest....

[Micahs Grandad]

I've always found it odd when people complain about no one "forcing" people to use hand sanitizer on Carnival. They have a better record when it comes to Norovirus outbreaks than the lines I've been on that do "force" you to use hand sanitizer

 

I agree 100%...if you are an adult, why in heaven's name does someone need to make you, ask you or force you to use hand sanitizer? Seriously???? Just do it and take care to do what you can, you cannot stop ALL germs and in 15 yrs of cruising my family has never been sick due to "germs" on a cruise ship. I am WAY more concerned about grocery shopping carts and germs....or the person that walks by my desk at work and coughs without covering their mouth...just do what you need to do not to add to the germ fest....

 

Unfortunately too many adults should not be allowed out in public without a supervisor.

[AdGuyMG]

The extra costs for Princess cover these extra positions... Lower price point, less "extra" services...

 

These "buffet monitor" positions are part of the overall dining staff and are compensated via the gratuity pool. You don't pay extra for them. They are not part-time hourly day labor nor are they salaried employees. They work a full 16 hour day.

 

 

The men and women handing you your plates and reminding you to sanitize in the buffet for breakfast may very well also be a waiter, assistant waiter or host/hostess that you would see in the main dining room or one of the specialty restaurants in the evening.

[chengkp75]

I just find it strange, that they are all the SAME company and they could do these very minor changes to make things better, do the two cruise lines talk to each other? Same company its all Carnival Corp.

 

And Chrysler, Jeep, and Fiat are all the same company. Do they do everything the same? If divisions of the same parent corporation did things exactly the same, what is the defining difference between divisions, and what justifies a consumer using one division over another. Each division is competing with another division in the corporation, instead of finding their own market and competing with other cruise lines.

[Athankfulheart]

"Once in the buffet you touch every scope handle, if someone before you had the Norovirus and you then touch your mouth later as you eat, you now have it"

 

 

Hand Sanitizer doesn't kill Noro so your point is moot.

I prefer to wash my hands, but will use sanitizer if I can't. My routine at any buffet or restaurant is to use my right hand to serve and my left hand to eat ( if I need to eat something with my hands, say a dinner roll). I also keep my hands away from my face and do not use my hands to scoot my chair in. I have sailed a lot have never been sickened by a cruise, so odds are that my routine works well.

[nhraformula00]

If you grab some silverware and a napkin before you enter the buffet, you could use the napkin in your hand to pick up all of the utensils to place food in your plate. Then simply get a new napkin. How hard is it really to stay germ free. Also keep your hands off the railings.

[AdGuyMG]

Would think the various cruise lines owned by Carnival would talk to each other and adapt best practices but they do not seem to.

 

The only common thread is that the individual brands fall under ownership of Carnival Corporation & plc. Each brand has it's own set of 1000's of home office corporate employees and executives and runs it's own day to day operations separately to fit the needs of it's customers.

 

 

They don't all have to talk and be on the same page.

 

 

The headquarters for Carnival Cruise Lines is in Miami. Princess is in Los Angeles. Holland America and Seaborn are in Seattle. Costa is in Genoa Italy. Aida is in Germany. Cunard and P&O are in Southampton England.

 

 

Just as the Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Capital Grille, Yard House and Cheddars) operate independently of one another.

[vamartha]

This link:

 

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/gilist.htm#2017

 

will show you that your analysis of Carnival vs Princess where hand sanitizer is concerned is completely incorrect. Seems that Princess has far more Noro outbreaks than Carnival.

[SadieN]

On Carnival we see stewards cleaning the common areas far more often than on Princess.

When the Crown was in San Pedro she carried Noro on her for weeks (seemed like months). Not too sure how it was finally stopped.

 

 

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