princess or carnival

[laura21123]

Hi. We are going to celebrate our 25 anniversary. We have sailed with celebrity (our favorite), royal, princess and carnival. The last carnival we were on was ok. It was definately more las vegassy than the other lines. We love great service, great food and a more elegent ambiance. I've heard that the more recent pride and spirit ships have become more elegant. Is this true and how do those ships compare to princess. Thanks

[halos]

A good person to hit up for that info would be Host Chris on the Princess boards. He has sailed both carnival and Princess and could give you an honest, unbiased opinion.

[MEGADAN]

Never thought I would say this but after crusing with Carnival 6 times,just got back from the Hurricane Frances Glory Cruise), I enjoyed my cruise on the Grand Princess more than my last Carnival Cruise. I enjoyed the service and the food better on Princess. I also disliked the layout of the Glory.

[marly]

We've been on Caribbean Princes twice since May and really enjoy that ship. We also really like Celebrity Constellation. We'll be on Carnival Miracle in November -- from what I've read, the ship sounds really interesting. We're looking forward to seeing it for ourselves. But right now, since you've asked, my vote is for Princess.

[hstrybuf]

My two most recent cruises were on the Carnival Legend (Spirit class) and the Grand Princess. It would be hard to choose between the two as each had something I enjoyed. I guess the Grand would edge out the Legend, but only because we were sailing with some good friends that I hadn't seen in nearly a year.

[Cruisegirl6]

I have sailed on many Carnival cruises and the Grand Princess, always end up going back on Carnival. I find more entertainment choices is offered on Carnival and more activities. I like the fresh water pools that Princess has but I am unsure whether your cruising during winter or summer months. Some of Carnivals ships have domes and so does the Princess line. Food I prefer Carnival, Princess tends to have more seafood items (we do not eat seafood). In the past service on a couple of Carnival ships in the dining room was a hit or miss, it depends upon who you get as with any ship line. I only can compare one Princess cruise as that was the only one I have taken on that line and the service was wonderful. But I have had many waiters on the Carnival ships to be wonderful also. I find more choices of food on Carnival such as their pizzeria that serves ceasar salad and calzones, the grill with choices with chicken and steaks, pizza on Carnival was better. During dinner on Carnival you can always order a steak, baked potato to name a few choices. I was chased out in the casino on Princess at 1:15am, (a few nights this happened to me as I was told in order for them to stay open they had to have a certain amount of people in the casino, what a shock and disappointment as I like to go to the casino after the shows). I want to say that I traveled in July so it was a full ship, never ever did that happen to me on a Carnival ship casino. The decor on Princess ships are elegant but the newer Carnival ships are very nice also, the older Carnival ships are very glitzy but I don't mind gives the ship some contrast and color and gives a lively appearance in my opinion. When I cruised on the Grand I found the ship to be very quiet and "vacant" after 11pm, while Carnival had many options on entertainement after the main show ended. Carnival offers the midnight adult comedy shows which I always found to be excellent on every cruise. Princess shows movies in the lounge with a huge screen but lets face it they use up that lounge just to show a movie and you have to watch what is offered, Carnival has movies right in your stateroom choices of a few each day. Carnival offers a larger television in the staterooms and I find more space to put your clothing than Princess, this is very important especially if you have more than two people in the cabin. Stateroom wise, they are both very nice and decent size.....bathrooms in Carnival contain a medicine cabinet not on the Grand. Carnival offers more choices on their room service menu. I do not like the buffet (alternative to dining room) in Princess always constant long lines, they have a true bad traffic flow as it is poorly designed and difficult to find a table and chair Carnival has much more tables in that area. Princess always long lines, Carnival has lines also but two different areas so it flowed better. Carnival still offers midnight buffets that have more choices than Princess, actually I found Princess not to offer much at buffet at night, perhaps they might of taken the midnight buffets away on Princess as they did on RCI??? Also the newer Carnival ships offer a "Sandwich station, sushi station, chinese station", grill and pizzeria just to name a few. I recall in port days breakfast was always in dining room which was a buffet with exceptionally long umbearable lines, wonder if they still do this? Carnival offers dining room and buffet. Ok, I can go on and on, to sum it all up:

 

Entertainment Carnival

Activities Carnival

Solarium Princess

Service cannot judge only went on one Princess cruise

Food Carnival although Princess was even when it came to dining room but not as good at buffets.

Staterooms Even

Outdoor Deck Space Even

Video archade even

Salads Princess

Meats Carnival

Seafood Even

Soups Carnival

Desserts Even

Pizza Carnival

Midnight Buffet Carnival

Cleaniness Even

Buffet area and food Carnival

Service Even

Size of ship Even

 

Would I go on another Princess cruise, definately only if the price is cheaper than Carnival. Carnival has really done a wonderful job and improved so much within the past three years. But I always go back to Carnival as I prefer the Casino, Buffets more choices and has a large salad bar and the midnight adult comedy shows. :)

 

If you have questions feel free to ask me anytime.

[BobbieSu]

Thanks for that very informative response. I am a new cruiser too and it is so hard to know which line will "fit" best. One thing I am finding though is that no matter what ship, which line, or which intinerary it seems that first time cruisers always rave about their cruise. So I figure I'm going to enjoy it no matter what. I had decided Carnival fit me better than Princess, but my son wants to go RCCL....so since it is his cruise that's what we are taking.

[kkorman]

Most would say that cruisers start out on Carnival and graduate on to Princess. I am a huge fan of Princess and have beem on 7 cruises on the Coral and Dawn since May and will be on the Dawn again in October. I had never been on a ship before where I wanted to come back, but now I do it all the time.

 

I would have to disagree with lydamar on a few points.

FIrst, I have had some of the best meals at seas on my Princess cruise. The food is more sophisticated on Princess, but there are still the always available menu. The overall dining on Princess is defintely superior to Carnival in just about every area, but Carnival has improved over the past few years. As for buffets, I really do not think there is a such a thing as a "great" buffet, but neither Princess nor Carnival have one to write home about. As a general rule of thumb I stay on the cold side of the buffet and that works for me. Depending on which ship you are on the pizza place is setup as a restaurant rather than a walkup place. There is a full dinner menu in here that includes pizza, salads, antipasta, and pasta dishes. IMO Princess ahs the best pizza of any ships and is better than most places on land. I am one who can entertain myself, but I found a much more diverse list of activites and shows on Princess than I have on Princess. The biggest difference though is seen in the consistency of service. While Carnival is hit or miss, I have never had a bad experience with staff on Princess. Another key is the space ratios on the cruise lines. Carnivals are pretty low with the excpetion of the Spirit class. Princess' ships are much more spacious. Hope this helps.

[Peanuts]

We've sailed on both and if you're looking for a romantic cruise to celebrate your 25th I would recommend Princess. We are true blue Carnival cruisers but sometimes you need a change or want something different. Our next cruise is on Celebrity. The cruise after that is back with Carnival.

 

We enjoyed our Princess cruise it was relaxing and fun. Actually that cruise was the best for relaxation and quiet time together. I'm sure we will go back to Princess at some point. Princess is somewhat more elegant and refined compared to Carnival (please no flaming we love Carnival).

 

For an anniversary cruise I would highly recommend Princess.

[klfhngr]

I agree with Lyndamyr 100%, and i've done them both!!!