Just an observation about Princess boards.....

[Texas_firefighter]

Congratulations ! After spending so much time on the Carnival boards, mostly reading, over the last year ,I am beginning to read more on the Princess boards. This is because we are strongly considering an Alaska cruise on Princess in a couple of years. I have already gotten a feel for what we should do thanks to the great info over here. I couldn't help but notice ,however,the difference in questions and topics of discussion here. On the Carnival board it seems to be mainly about alcohol ,smuggling alcohol,games involving alcohol,consuming massive quantities of alcohol,etc. On the Princess board ,I see more questions about the ships ,cabins, comparisons between ships and cabins,ports,overall cruise experience,etc. Does this carry over onboard as well ? Are does the partying go on with Princess just as much?

[4275princess]

princess cruises seem a little more "reserved" than carnival; and it is still a "fun ship"...after all carnival owns them too.

 

i sailed several ships on carnival years ago and seemed to like them. my in-laws suggested princess 10 years ago and i've never been back on a carnival ship.

[mollyanne]

Congratulations ! After spending so much time on the Carnival boards, mostly reading, over the last year ,I am beginning to read more on the Princess boards. This is because we are strongly considering an Alaska cruise on Princess in a couple of years. I have already gotten a feel for what we should do thanks to the great info over here. I couldn't help but notice ,however,the difference in questions and topics of discussion here. On the Carnival board it seems to be mainly about alcohol ,smuggling alcohol,games involving alcohol,consuming massive quantities of alcohol,etc. On the Princess board ,I see more questions about the ships ,cabins, comparisons between ships and cabins,ports,overall cruise experience,etc. Does this carry over onboard as well ? Are does the partying go on with Princess just as much?

 

In my opinion...no. We have been on one Carnival and three Princess cruises. We have found Princess to be a little lower key in the drinking and partying department. That's not to say Princess isn't fun! We have experienced all age groups. We experienced our biggest bunch of partiers ever on the Celebrity Millennium!

[zaandam_2]

we debate those topics, too. don't even bring up smoking :D

 

princess is not the party atmosphere carnival has, thank god, but a goos time can be had there, too.

[benmon]

We just party more responsibly. We figure, if we are going to spend that kind of money on a vacation, we would at least like to remember parts of it, enjoy the amenities of the ship, be able to get up and visit the sites of the port before the ship is about to leave, etc. etc.

 

Our bar bill can rival the national debt... I like single malt scotch, DW likes fine wines. We just don't make a game of it.

 

Welcome to Princess Boards. We are going to Alaska this summer.

[BalconyLover]

we debate those topics, too. don't even bring up smoking :D

 

princess is not the party atmosphere carnival has, thank god, but a goos time can be had there, too.

Oh come on, I LOVE a good "smoking" discussion, LOL!

[BJS]

Are does the partying go on with Princess just as much?

This might help answer your question if you are referring to partying at night.... Princess always has some late night party and frequently you hear that no one shows up depending on the cruise. There is a standing joke frequently made by the CD that once 10 pm rolls around there are very few people up and about. The early shows are packed and people have to arrive 1/2 hour or more early to get a seat and the second shows are rarely full.

 

There are always exceptions to this but for those looking for an active night party cruise they are frequently disappointed.

[Texas_firefighter]

I know cruise ships have to offer activities for many tastes,I have never been bothered by anyone on a cruise.I just noticed that Princess faithful seem to be interested in other things first and foremost. I love to have fun as much as anyone. Drinking just would not be my primary objective on a cruise (or secondary). I'm really not trying to start a drinking debate here. Really !

[sunneesmile]

I know cruise ships have to offer activities for many tastes,I have never been bothered by anyone on a cruise.I just noticed that Princess faithful seem to be interested in other things first and foremost. I love to have fun as much as anyone. Drinking just would not be my primary objective on a cruise (or secondary). I'm really not trying to start a drinking debate here. Really !

 

I think the clientele aboard Princess are more refined. I was afraid the passengers might be alot older than we were, but not true...we saw all ages. There is alot of fun going on, but people are not trying to impress others with how fast they can down a bottle of Jack Daniels. I love Princess and won't go back to the others. We are cruising to Alaska in Sept 08 aboard the Golden with some folks that we met on our last cruise on the CB. Check out our small but active roll call for 9-13-08 on the Golden Princess. Think about booking with us. We are from Euless, Texas.

[Colo Cruiser]

. On the Carnival board it seems to be mainly about alcohol ,smuggling alcohol,games involving alcohol,consuming massive quantities of alcohol,etc.

 

 

That is one of the reasons why we don't sail Carnival. ;)

[raydon]

We find it a more civilized version of Carnival....also the anytime dining option allows more freedom to plan evening activities.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I've sailed both lines many times and the thing that I notice immediately when onboard a Carnival ship is that you see people carrying beer bottles everywhere they go. They usually aren't drunk or loud, they just do this. It's something you rarely see on Princess ships.

 

I've noticed that teens on Princess are more out of control than teens on our Carnival cruises. The Carnival cruises have had more out of control adults. :cool:

 

Princess definitely has a quieter, more intimate feeling than Carnival.

[flamomo]

I can't imagine spending 7 or more days aboard a ship where the overriding basis of activities is booze. I've only sailed with Princess, and have no plan of ever going with Carnival if I have any control over which cruiseline we'll be on. It has nothing to do with snobbery, and I'm not anti-booze. It has to do with "class" when it comes to atmosphere. There's no shortage of drinking on Princess, but it's not often that one sees people that are out of control due to alcohol. I'm usually up very late in the casino, and even there, I rarely see anyone who is obviously "under the influence" and loud &/or obnoxious. Not my lifestyle, and I don't want to watch or listen to someone for whom it is.

[Kirsten T]

We've only been on Coral's 10-day Panama intinerary, which doesn't attract a hard-partying crowd. In fact, that's why we keep repeating it. People seem to have a genuinely good time, but there's never been an ugly incident - something that we've seen even on an "upscale" line like Celebrity. We've never had a problem on Princess and we're glad of it.

[GBeret]

Hmmm ... Just don't bring up formal dress on formal nights. :D

[vickie_bernie]

he he funny post, you will miss a few things from carnival, like their interactive t.v. that shows your onboard bill, or maybe you won't when you see the total.

[DrivesLikeMario]

And Carnival's buffet, which is the best in the industry IMO. And their beds & linen which are much better than Princess'. ;)

[Clutterlady]

And Carnival's buffet, which is the best in the industry IMO. And their beds & linen which are much better than Princess'. ;)

 

Don't agree with the buffet, but the beds and linen's are heavenly:)

[Texas_firefighter]

I think the clientele aboard Princess are more refined. I was afraid the passengers might be alot older than we were, but not true...we saw all ages. There is alot of fun going on, but people are not trying to impress others with how fast they can down a bottle of Jack Daniels. I love Princess and won't go back to the others. We are cruising to Alaska in Sept 08 aboard the Golden with some folks that we met on our last cruise on the CB. Check out our small but active roll call for 9-13-08 on the Golden Princess. Think about booking with us. We are from Euless, Texas.

 

 

I wondered about the age group as well,though not really concerned ,as we also have friends who are older. Age is just a number. I wonder if once we try Princess, that we also may be sold. We'll see one day. We wanted to try another line for our Hawaii cruise ,but Carnival blew away the others with price and itenerary. But it seems as if Princess is the one for Alaska.

[Texas_firefighter]

I've sailed both lines many times and the thing that I notice immediately when onboard a Carnival ship is that you see people carrying beer bottles everywhere they go. They usually aren't drunk or loud, they just do this. It's something you rarely see on Princess ships.

 

I've noticed that teens on Princess are more out of control than teens on our Carnival cruises. The Carnival cruises have had more out of control adults. :cool:

 

Princess definitely has a quieter, more intimate feeling than Carnival.

 

 

I saw more people carrying buckets of beer on our weekend cruise on Ecstasy than on my first Carnival cruise on Conquest which was a 7 day.I guess it was just the nature of the shorter cruise. There are many things I do like about Carnival,however. We really want to try other lines though. I have no interest in trying to become platinum on Carnival. :rolleyes:

[sunneesmile]

I wondered about the age group as well,though not really concerned ,as we also have friends who are older. Age is just a number. I wonder if once we try Princess, that we also may be sold. We'll see one day. We wanted to try another line for our Hawaii cruise ,but Carnival blew away the others with price and itenerary. But it seems as if Princess is the one for Alaska.

 

I wish that Princess would put another "newer" big ship in Galveston. Iw ould be conveninet for last minute getaways

[DrivesLikeMario]

I saw more people carrying buckets of beer on our weekend cruise on Ecstasy than on my first Carnival cruise on Conquest which was a 7 day.I guess it was just the nature of the shorter cruise. There are many things I do like about Carnival,however. We really want to try other lines though. I have no interest in trying to become platinum on Carnival. :rolleyes:

 

Yes, you're right. That's very typical of the short cruises with Carnival. They are the essence of the Party Cruise! The 7 night cruises are better, especially on the Spirit Class ships, but it's still a different scene than with Princess. Carnival does have it's good points, as do all the other lines IMO.

 

I'm with you - I'm not working towards the next level with Carnival's loyalty program either. ;)

[Texas_firefighter]

I wish that Princess would put another "newer" big ship in Galveston. Iw ould be conveninet for last minute getaways

 

 

It's just rumor,but I hear that Houston's new Bayport terminal is courting Princess pretty heavily. Princess confirmed in an article I read that ongoing talks were occuring. We'll see. It would be great,however..

[Texas_firefighter]

Yes, you're right. That's very typical of the short cruises with Carnival. They are the essence of the Party Cruise! ;)

 

 

That was the last one of those for us.We had fun,but much prefered the longer cruise.

[WISH84]

I've posted this before but since this topic is dead on that subject, I'll post again. We've sailed primarily on Carnival and I was working hard to get to the next level however when I booked the Jan 12 sailing of Carnival Freedom I just couldn't get any love from Carnival on pricing and amenities. Then my TA suggested the CB which sails on January 13th (our next cruise) and for the price and what we were looking for, I just couldn't make any excuses for not moving over to Princess. So, we take our first Princess cruise in January and other than Princess Cays, which I expect will be up and running by then, it's the same schedule, same ports as Freedom and for the cost of my category 8B balcony cabin on Freedom (let's not start a Cat 11 Snob thread), I have a mini-suite on CB and expect for our 40-something age group that we will have a great time on Princess. This cruise will determine whether or not I go back to Carnival or stay with Princess.