Carnival vs RCL & Princess

[dok4933]

We have booked a cruise on the Liberty in January and have not ever cruised with Carnival. We are aware that the crowd is younger and that's a plus. Will we see a any difference in service, just wondering about the amenities and things like that. Any help would be helpful. Also, does anyone suggest making a flight for 11:30 am. Thanks

[rain_bowbrite]

We have booked a cruise on the Liberty in January and have not ever cruised with Carnival. We are aware that the crowd is younger and that's a plus. Will we see a any difference in service, just wondering about the amenities and things like that. Any help would be helpful. Also, does anyone suggest making a flight for 11:30 am. Thanks

 

I haven't sailed on Princess yet (1st in april next year) but I have sailed on Carnival and RCCL and find them very comparible and others will probably tell you that you will find more similarities than differences and I agree.

 

I give a slight edge to Carnival for food. Both lines have upgraded bedding which is very comfy. Carnival ships are decorated a little more lively than RCCL with the older ships being more over the top. The Liberty is a fairly new ship and has the pool theatre screen. I think you will have an awesome time on her!

 

As for your flight, you don't mention if it's pre or post cruise but I would not recommend it for a post flight. I have read some posts on here of people who do it and make their flights but I would not risk it.

 

Have a great time on your first Carnival cruise!! A couple of things I LOVE about Carnival ~~ Sushi snack every evening before dinner and smoked salmon snack from room service in the mornings:D ~~

 

Happy cruising!

[bphman]

I've sailed on all three and my rankings would be Liberty first, Crown Princes second and Adventure of the Seas third. You'll find more similarities than differences. Princess and Carnival win with regards to food. Princess has the least amount of public space and felt the most crowded to us. AOS had alot of nice bars but found the service to be very indifferent as a whole on the ship. Entertainment equal. So, as you can see, they're all pretty comparable.

[dclark]

I'll be objective here:

Food- Princess is best. The quality of the food is better as they only use US/Australian meat. Also, they offer more of the "expensive" food items, like king cfab, better lobster, better cuts of fish (like sword fish).

CCL food is also quite good, but doesn't offer some of the seafood or nice deserts (like souffles every night) that Princess does. Still, they offer great pizza and your choice of yogurt or ice milk around the clock.

RCL-Bottom of the heap food wise. Still, their supper clubs are the best of all the three.

Entertainment- RCL clearly is tops. They have regular shows, head liners, ice skating shows and promenade parades. Anyone who argues that Princess has better entertainment must be asleep!

CCL gets a second place because they have more going on than Princess and nightly comedians

Princess-Just not a lot.

What you will notice about going on the Liberty- there are a lot of people (I hate that class of ship for that reason), and it will just be louder. The buffets are crowded (do dining room instead), the pool deck is very crowded, plus chair hogging galore (and yes, I have had people try to fight me when I removed the apple or whatever they used to 'save' a lounger). You might miss some of the food on Princess, but you might find some things you really like on CCL. You'll also find that they serve free espresso/capuccino in the dining room, but also that the dining room can be noisy with all the people and dancing waiters. You will love the bedding in the CCL room.

I think everyone should try CCL at least once.

[grammyandpoppy]

1) Royal Caribbean

2 Carnival

3) Princess

 

We will not go back on Princess. We are going on Carnival Miracle this month, Navigator of the Seas in November, and then Mariner of the Seas next October.

 

Princess was a true disappointment - especially the food and service - we were on the Caribbean Princess.

[pink roses]

I haven't sailed on Princess yet (1st in april next year) but I have sailed on Carnival and RCCL and find them very comparible and others will probably tell you that you will find more similarities than differences and I agree.

 

I give a slight edge to Carnival for food. Both lines have upgraded bedding which is very comfy. Carnival ships are decorated a little more lively than RCCL with the older ships being more over the top. The Liberty is a fairly new ship and has the pool theatre screen. I think you will have an awesome time on her!

 

As for your flight, you don't mention if it's pre or post cruise but I would not recommend it for a post flight. I have read some posts on here of people who do it and make their flights but I would not risk it.

 

Have a great time on your first Carnival cruise!! A couple of things I LOVE about Carnival ~~ Sushi snack every evening before dinner and smoked salmon snack from room service in the mornings:D ~~

 

Happy cruising!

loved your photos! Thanks for sharing.

Just curious, how do you get to tour the ships? Are you a travel agent??