Princess vs Carnival.

[pe4all]

18 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

That's odd, because I just checked the prices on the other brand to my March 2024 Carnival cruise and my February 2025 Princess cruise and they were pretty comparable.Maybe there's a much bigger price disparity other times of year, or in different cabin categories. (I looked at cheapest non-obstructed balcony)

I checked on some cruises at end of April/beginning of May 2024.  Part of the pricing difference is that I get casino rates on CCL.  Hard to give those up - literally 1/3 of the price v Princess.  However - the cruises I compared without casino rates still had CCL less expensive by a pretty decent margin.  

[ABQrobin]

Just did a 10-day on Princess, we are Platinum on Carnival.  BIG difference it two things that matter to us! 

1.  Music - Carnival wins hands down.  Princess music was like horrible elevator music, rock band outright stunk, and there were 3 "lounge singers" in the bars.  Boring..  We love the variety of music on Carnival ships and go see a band or singer every night. 

2.  Comedy - Princess had a comedian do 1 show twice, he was great, but nothing like you get almost every night on Carnival with a dedicated Comedy Club. 

 

Production Shows were good, but nothing worth booking the ship for again.  In fact, my hubby says he will give up cruising before going back on Princess... he likes his rock bands and shows on Carnival.  

[ldubs]

My immediate reaction is Carnival is much more energetic.  Princess ships are much more comfortable and have more places to sit and enjoy.  Carnival MDR is better and Carnival sea day brunch is terrific.  Princess Lido buffet is better.  Princess International Cafe is unique and enjoyable. Princess Theater offerings are better (at least lately).  

 

I prefer Princess.   People seem happy on both.  

Edited December 1, 2023 by ldubs

[pellanor]

1 hour ago, ABQrobin said:

Just did a 10-day on Princess, we are Platinum on Carnival.  BIG difference it two things that matter to us! 

1.  Music - Carnival wins hands down.  Princess music was like horrible elevator music, rock band outright stunk, and there were 3 "lounge singers" in the bars.  Boring..  We love the variety of music on Carnival ships and go see a band or singer every night. 

2.  Comedy - Princess had a comedian do 1 show twice, he was great, but nothing like you get almost every night on Carnival with a dedicated Comedy Club. 

 

Production Shows were good, but nothing worth booking the ship for again.  In fact, my hubby says he will give up cruising before going back on Princess... he likes his rock bands and shows on Carnival.  

Totally agree. I wish there was a rock band on my Princess cruise. And live music is often just like piano music with no vocals. I often can barely hear the music over crowd chatter. Carnival always had a rock band, guitar music, and piano music close to every night.

[Honolulu Blue]

54 minutes ago, pellanor said:

I wish there was a rock band on my Princess cruise. 

Not only was there a rock band on my last Princess cruise on the Ruby in April, there were THREE.  And they all played in the main theater.  And they were all tribute bands.  Did I mention this was an 80s themed cruise? 😃

 

 

 

[jsglow]

Done both. Like Princess; prefer Carnival. YMMV.

[DCDragonfly]

On 11/28/2023 at 11:14 PM, Bostonjetset said:

Their ships are more elegant and have a more neutral color palate (think elegant hotel rather than the inside of a pinball machine).

I see you've sailed the Magic.

[Bostonjetset]

59 minutes ago, DCDragonfly said:

I see you've sailed the Magic.

Haha. I haven’t but my first ever cruise was on the late Fascination. Talk about a pinball machine!!! 😹🤪

 

From what I’ve seen online of their newest ships, they seem to have gotten their act together design wise but I've yet to sail on one of the newer builds. Mardi Gras and Celebration both look quite nice though.