Carnival Valor vs. Princess

[HZ1112]

I was booked on the star princess for april 16th but since it was cancelled i am looking to rebook with another cruise line. Can someone tell me which cruise they believe was a better experience. Also I was just wondering if anyone has cruised with princess and carnival and can tell me if the food on carnival compares to that of princess. I have been on 2 cruises in the past the grand princess and the golden princess and have been very impressed with the food. Just wondering if those who have been on both can give me some advice. Also those who have just been on carnival valor please give me ur input as well.

Thank You

[GoodAsGold]

I actually liked the dining room food on Carnival more than Princess, overall. Oh, there were certain things I preferred on Princess and it could be that I enjoy the ambiance in the dining room on Carnival more. I will admit, the Lido deck buffet (Horizon Court) on Princess was tastier than Carnival.

 

I've heard very good reviews about the food on Carnival Pride, as well as other newer ships in the fleet. I've only been on older, smaller CCL ships, but even then, something about my dining room experience was better on those ships compared to my two Princess cruises. I don't know anything about the Valor, though.

 

I sailed on the Star Princess in 2002 when she was a few months old and the things I loved best about them regarding food is their Horizon Court, especially when they had this jumbo, ice cold shrimp in the afternoon. I would take a big plate of that back to my lounge chair and sit and dip it in cocktail sauce. Yum! Other times they had these wonderful deep fried butterfly shrimp. And, I really looked forward to the Afternoon Tea. Those little scones with whipped cream and jam were to die for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was booked on the star princess for april 16th but since it was cancelled i am looking to rebook with another cruise line. Can someone tell me which cruise they believe was a better experience. Also I was just wondering if anyone has cruised with princess and carnival and can tell me if the food on carnival compares to that of princess. I have been on 2 cruises in the past the grand princess and the golden princess and have been very impressed with the food. Just wondering if those who have been on both can give me some advice. Also those who have just been on carnival valor please give me ur input as well.

Thank You

[mame2boyz]

Well we were just on the Valor last month and we LOVED IT!

 

We had a great time and sure there were some very minor things that were no as we expected but honestly, nothing is ever perfect (althought I can't even think of one right now!)

 

Although I have never been on any Princess ships and I can't say about any of their ships...I can say I don't think you can go wrong by going on the Valor.

 

Kendra

 

P.S. Check out my very detailed review of the valor under member reviews. I got an email yesterday saying it had been posted.

[June Bug]

but I have sailed other Carnival ships like conquest and pride and have sailed on the Golden Princess to Europe. I have to say that I do like Carnival's food much better than Princess. Maybe it was the European itinerary, but the Princess food was soooo repetitive. I have never seen so many baby potatoes and white rice on a buffet. Everyday was some type of scallopine, ie. Veal, chicken, pork. There was no variety in the cooking other than the meat type. It was probably the worst food we have ever had on a cruise. The dining room on Princess was a little better, but we still found the food to lack variety and taste. Very odd selections, but then again, it may have been the European taste they were trying to suit. We have always found Carnival's pizza to be the best! Princess only served it from about 11am or so to about 7pm....not 24 hours...so if we didn't like the dinner...we were out of luck all together.

The Golden Princess was a beautiful ship, more golds and blues than anything else. More subdued than Carnival's ships, but we don't mind splashes of color.

The cabin on the princess ship was much smaller than any Carnival cruise we had taken...which was a shock for this family of 4! To make the room any smaller with 3 girls and one man in a room with 12 days worth of clothes was

not something we needed to have happen. But I must say that with all the differences, I'm glad we went on Princess...we LOVED the itinerary and everything that was different or worse didn't make us NOT enjoy our cruise. We had a great time....we are glad we are going with Carnival this summer, though...looking forward to more room in the cabin and lots of good food!

June

[direfun2000]

I was on the caribbean Princess last fall and it was alright. I think that I will probably try Carnival again before I do another Princess cruise. We found most of the food on Princess to be kinda nasty.

[elainestress]

We were just on the Valor last week. I thought the food was good for a ship that serves 2,900 people for 7 days. I did get a little tired of the same breakfast choices every day--I would have liked a greater variety of fruit. Also, at dinner were the same rolls each night and the colors in the salads were somewhat pale (light tomatoes, etc). However, the meals we had were very good. The service was excellent.

[HstTeacher]

I haven't been on Princess, but just returned from the western itern. on the Valor. It was great! The food was wonderful. We ate in the dining room each night, with the exception of the night we went to the Supper Club. The food in the Lido buffet was also good. The Valor also has 24 hour pizza, as well as a grill, oriental, sandwich and fish n chips stations in Rosie's.

[zydecocruiser]

Valor has better pizza and available 24 hours. You can get fried oysters and fish and chips at lunch. Thought prime rib better on Valor. You can wear jeans in the main dining rooms on Valor.

 

I thought breakfasts and lunches are better on Princess. Lobster better on Princess. Dining room service better on Princess. Alcohol cheaper on Princess. I like the Personal Choice dining, which Carnival doesn't offer.

 

Valor has ship wide WiFi internet, but Princess Internet access is - surprise - cheaper. If a frequent Princess cruiser it is free - cheaper still.