Princess, fun and relaxed or snobby and formal??

[Scotttyd]

I have been on two cruises, one was Celebrity Century and one was Carnival LIberty. I felt the Celebrity was too formal for us, while Carnival was light hearted and fun, under what category does Princess fall? (and Royal Caribbean and Norweigen for that matter?)

[obnurse]

A lot depends on when you cruise. If you go during the summer you'll sail with more families, during spring break more college-aged people and during school months more couples of varying ages. I've never found Princess to be too formal or snobbish.

[dsfitz]

I have cruised on Carnival, Princess, and Norwegian.

 

Princess may be slightly more "stuffy" than the others, but since most of the ships are so large (2000+ people) I find that there is a large cross-section - older, younger, etc.

 

On our recent Caribbean Princess cruise, there were plenty of light-hearted things like pool games, line dancing, etc. There were also more "sedate" type things like a piano bar. However, unlike Carnival, the waiters don't dance in the dining room.

 

These ships are so large that there is essentially something for everyone. I doubt you'll notice that big of a difference.

[DrivesLikeMario]

However, unlike Carnival, the waiters don't dance in the dining room.

 

Thank God!!! Although, I've always seen them dance, parade & sing on the last night.

 

Still, it's not the circus that Carnival is in the dining room - cheering, yelling, dancing, etc. We learned how to avoid this with Carnival. As soon as we were done with dessert - we got out of the dining room before all the wild stuff started.

 

I know there are many people that enjoy it, my mother included, but it's not our thing. Sorry, but the dining room is for eating. The waiters are for serving food, knowing the dishes and conversing, not memorizing songs and dancing around. They have to rush through their service so they can sing & dance. You can see the stress on their faces because they have to hurry. Sure wish Carnival would end this. :rolleyes:

 

Sorry to digress.

[PhoneGoddess]

I think that Princess falls right in between. You can have a lot of fun and still enjoy some class!:)

[Kerry&LuAnn]

I think that Princess falls right in between. You can have a lot of fun and still enjoy some class!:)

 

We would agree. We have sailed with Royal Caribbean and Princess, and we love them both. Our son (age 25) has sailed with Royal Caribbean and Carnival and he commented that Carnival is a bit too much neon and circus even for him!

[FrogLover215]

We've been on Carnival and Royal Caribbean, and took our first Princess cruise last August. There was a noticeable difference in the passenger ages on the Princess cruise - I'd say very few were under 40 - but I understand part of that was the destination (Alaska). People dressed more nicely for the dining room than on the other 2 cruise lines - there weren't the people wearing jeans or jogging suits to dinner, unlike Carnival. (I know a lot of people don't care about this, and it's not really a big deal for us either, but we do make an effort to dress nicely for dinner and it was nice to be in a group of like-minded people.)

 

Don't get me wrong, I loved our Carnival and RCI cruises, but Princess definitely felt like a step up without any of the snobbery I had feared.

[Tess2mommies]

I think it's nice and relaxed with a bit of excitement.

[Jacqueline]

It is fun and relaxed but with a bit of British reserve. It is not as lively as Carnival If you enjoy that level of energy you may not like Princess. It is more laid back, but not stuffy.

[Lifes_A_Cruze]

I have been on two cruises, one was Celebrity Century and one was Carnival LIberty. I felt the Celebrity was too formal for us, while Carnival was light hearted and fun, under what category does Princess fall? (and Royal Caribbean and Norweigen for that matter?)

We find Princess to be a step below Celebrity, yet a step above Royal Caribbean. IMO RCI ships are meant to be glorified Carnival ships with large public spaces for everyone to share. Princess chooses to design their ships with smaller public areas and more of them. This provides a more intimate feeling.

 

RCI/Carnival never appear to enforce rules/guidelines. On our Princess cruise most passengers follow the suggested dress codes and there tends to be less unruly behavior from children. The Youth Security onboard Princess actually do their job. I can't say that for Royal Caribbean. We find the food to be better on Princess than Royal Caribbean, but not as good as Celebrity.

 

Run a search and you will find threads like this every week.

[ssbeagle]

Princess falls in between the two lines. I have noticed more often people don't dress up for formal nights the way they used to. They choose to eat in the buffet that night as the formal nights are formal in the dining rooms on Princess.

 

Both RCL and Princess have lots of friendly people on board and they also have the more reserved people as well. Our grandchildren have been on several cruises with us and have always been well received in all areas of the ship on Princess; however, RCL let us know they were forbidden in the concierge lounge during cocktail hour even though we all had just as much right to be there as others (we had a suite). Of course, the casino as off limits at all times to them. I found the staff much frienlier on Princess. Princess is on a par with RCL and a big step above Carnival.

[cruisecrasy]

Thank God!!! Although, I've always seen them dance, parade & sing on the last night.

 

Still, it's not the circus that Carnival is in the dining room - cheering, yelling, dancing, etc. We learned how to avoid this with Carnival. As soon as we were done with dessert - we got out of the dining room before all the wild stuff started.

 

I know there are many people that enjoy it, my mother included, but it's not our thing. Sorry, but the dining room is for eating. The waiters are for serving food, knowing the dishes and conversing, not memorizing songs and dancing around. They have to rush through their service so they can sing & dance. You can see the stress on their faces because they have to hurry. Sure wish Carnival would end this. :rolleyes:

 

 

Sorry to digress.

 

I totally agree - thanks for posting how to avoid this. I have always avoided Carnival for the 'party' type reputation which they have modified now so am trying them for the first time this fall on a 12 day to Hawaii and am so glad u mentioned this.. Have been on all the other lines and while some still do a bit of this - I have noticed it less & less over the yrs so can't be that popular. Seems Carnival needs to time it better - say when they have more families onboard like spring break/Xmas etc. IF they even need to do it at all!

[willysgrandma]

I also agree that Princess is right in the middle. The only place we really felt "formal" on Princess was in the dining room.

 

The most informal cruise line I've ever been on was NCL - you didn't have to dress up at all to dine on those ships. I like the decorum of Princess better, but it is not as stuffy as Celebrity.

 

I also felt the food on Celebrity is by far the best of any cruise line.

 

Until we sailed on the Crown Princes, our Celebrity Century cruise was my fav.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Princess is definetly less stuffy than Celebrity. A good measure is the dress code. Celebrity has more formal nights (3 on a Celebrity 11 day cruise versus 2 on Princess) and when it isn't formal the dress is casual on Princess. I wish Celebrity would switch their informal nights to casual.

[iluvcruzin]

I've been on most of the cruiselines. Depending on the time of year, the clientel can vary. When I went on a 10+ days, the average age was about 60. 7-day it's more of a mix. I don't find it them stuffy at all. With the alternative dining you can skip the formality. However, don't expect to find jeans in the dinning room.

 

I agree with Lady Jag on the dinning room entertainment. Pass...

 

OT - Hey ssbeagle - if you still have my email, drop me a line. I'd love to hear about your last cruise. Tell Stella I said hi. :)

[TrojanJulez]

Any thoughts on how Princess compares to Disney? Is it liek apples and oranges?

[ssbeagle]

I've been on most of the cruiselines. Depending on the time of year, the clientel can vary. When I went on a 10+ days, the average age was about 60. 7-day it's more of a mix. I don't find it them stuffy at all. With the alternative dining you can skip the formality. However, don't expect to find jeans in the dinning room.

 

I agree with Lady Jag on the dinning room entertainment. Pass...

 

OT - Hey ssbeagle - if you still have my email, drop me a line. I'd love to hear about your last cruise. Tell Stella I said hi. :)

 

Hi, Maureen!

 

Your sister has my e-mail address and I can't find the card you gave us. I don't know if Stella has it or if I put it somewhere. I still haven't really unpacked from the last cruise. The Coral is truly a beautiful ship. It was a bit rough (seas 9-12 ft) and barf bags were out, but it didn't bother me any. In fact, compared to the transatlantic I did in 05, this was nothing. The food was great too. And I slept so well especially when the ship was rocking. If you don't have my e-mail, let me know and I'll post it.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

I think that Princess falls right in between. You can have a lot of fun and still enjoy some class!:)

 

Our thoughts too, we have cruised with CCL, Princess and DCL.

[iluvcruzin]

I will give my sis a buzz and get it from her. If not, I'll hunt ya down in a rollcall somewhere ;)

[waterrats]

We are in our 30's and love both Royal Caribbean and Princess. Neither one is too formal or snobby. On Mariner this past year, we showed up in short to dinner the last night and they let us in only because we said we were dropping off tips. We just have fun.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Any thoughts on how Princess compares to Disney? Is it liek apples and oranges?

 

We have found Princess and DCL pretty much on a par on most things.

We like the anytime dining on Princess but also enjoy the rotation on DCL and that the waitstaff are with you the whole cruise.

I love that the kids camp on disney is open for meals so we are not clock watching the whole time if the kids go to camp.:D

Love the split bathromm on Disney too.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Any thoughts on how Princess compares to Disney? Is it liek apples and oranges?

 

We have found Princess and DCL pretty much on a par on most things.

We like the anytime dining on Princess but also enjoy the rotation on DCL and that the waitstaff are with you the whole cruise.

I love that the kids camp on disney is open for meals so we are not clock watching the whole time if the kids go to camp.:D

Love the split bathroom on Disney too.

[TrojanJulez]

I also loved the rotating dining and split bathrooms on Disney! When I was on DCL, I remember the Cruise Director talking about all of the ways that Disney is better than the other lines... Of course, I have to consider the source, but it made me a little leery of trying other lines. Once my group decided on Alaska, Disney was out of the question, and I was still a little apprehensive. I've been reading good things about Princess, though, and I can't wait to get onboard! :cool: