Five Carnival Cruises, First Princess what big changes are there?

[coveman]

Been on five Carnival cruises want a change so booked Dawn Princess in Apr. 05. Is there any big changes I should be aware of? Really looking forward to the change.

[mek]

First, let me start by saying, I am not a Carnival basher. I have had some fun times on several Carnival ships through the years. But , I am a Princess lover, so I will tell you what is different and what I really like about Princess.

 

Freshwater Pools

Decor on Pricess ships is much classier, (actualy, this is the only thing I really dislike about Carnival)

PC Dining

Spas - Fantastic and beautiful

Cabins - very nice and all have refrigerators on Grand class ships.

Overall experience is simply more elegant than Carnival, but ships are still fun.

[melissa_bel]

Since you are cruising the Dawn, the spa will be a little smaller than on the Grand Class.

 

Personnal Choice Dining is great. First, Princess does not have those huge 2 floors dining rooms. In the case of the Dawn, they go for 2 smaller dining rooms. PC works this way. You have the choice to book "Traditionnal Seating" (early or late seating) with the same tablemates, same waiters just like you are used to. The other option is Anytime Dining where you and your party just show up during dining hour. They deal with it as in any land-based restaurants, if the dining room is full, they give you a pager but the longest I had to wait was maybe 10 minutes. You can also reserve a table, a time for the whole trip (for instance if you like to eat at the same time but not at the time settled for early and late seating, or because you'd like to keep the same waiting team). On the Dawn, the tradional seating dining room is the Venetian and PC is the Florentine.

 

The buffet's open 24/7.

 

Freshwater pool (I heard it makes a world of difference).

 

No towel animals in your room ;)

 

Ask for robes when you meet your cabin steward. You can slos ask for feather pillow or egg-crates mattress-top.

 

Don't miss the Champagne waterfall in the atrium during the second formal night. It's very nice and the bubbly's free.

 

I'm going to be on the Dawn for the first time in 21 days so... I'll keep everubody posted.

[bcs819]

-the pool areas are better

-the cabins are slightly smaller

-the nightlife is not as good (I guess it depends on the ship, but we weren't impressed on either of the Princess cruises we were on)

-no drink tickets :(

[donnaw]

Congrats on picking the Dawn which is our favorite ship. Doesn't take more than 5 minutes to get anywhere. Less neon and more brass and wood. Princess does much less nickel and diming than Carnival (Still do their fair share, however). Food is better overall and much better in the buffet. Drinks are slightly more expensive but well worth it since they are about double the size. Laundry rooms are wonderful on a 10 day cruise. Cabins are smaller but much more attractive (subdued) and better laid out. Overall, a great way to move up from the fun ship. If they have the Sterling Steakhouse out on deck then be sure to try it since it is wonderful. Also, don't miss the pizzarea. That is where we head when we board the ship to watch everyone wondering about and enjoy great pizza at the same time!

[coveman]

Thankyou all for replys sounds good so far.

[cruzindave]

No awesome desserts, no midnight buffets, no extended night-life, smaller cabins, no singing waiters, and the food & service is better on Carnival but they do have nicer pools.

[coveman]

Guess Each Has It's Good And Bad Points.

[CruiseFever]

Sure,some easy to identify differences include

• Princess Grand Class ships have Skywalkers- a nightclub that blows away anything Carnival ever thought of having
  
• Princess does a better job of breaking up huge, open deck space into smaller more intimate areas
  
• Carnival has FunVision, an in-cabin interactive system that lets you view your shipboard charge account, buy shore excursions and watch pay-per-view movies
  
• Princess has better, sometimes excellent food
  
• Carnival has an incorrect reputation for being a big drunken party all the time (not any more), Princess has an incorrect reputation for catering to boring old people
  
• Carnival has a better kids program- Princess' is good but inconsistent from ship to ship
  
• Pricing is competitive, comparing numbers to numbers Carnival will come out less expensive but Princess is a better value
  
• Princess ships all seem to have a similar layout and decor, each Carnival ship has a different theme
  
• Princess rules embarkation, Carnival is trying but still not there
  
• Carnival has the reputation for the best shows, I rate both lines the same
  
• Princess sails to more places
  
• Carnival management is totally accessible, good luck emailing somebody important at Princess
  
• Princess employs more muted tones and promotes a subdued but semi-elegant ambiance, Carnival is very glitzy, Vegas style with lots of neon
  

[OrlEngr]

I noticed the service was more refined.

 

 

No waiters running around the pool with drinks on the head screaming "Coco-Loco - Get your Coco-Loco". While there were servers around the pool ... would ask you politely if you wanted a drink ... If you didn't, you were not constanly bothered.

 

We loved our room steward ... but not for his personality but his ability to find the time we were not in the room .. and to clean it completely.

 

Anytime dining is a big difference. Traditional dining of course is available if that is your preference.

[Tarheelbelle]

I think that the staff on Princess is much classier and much friendlier... much more helpful than what I experienced on Carnival.

[Michael Kays]

We have been on three Carnival cruises, west coast, Mexico, with the two girls, but prefer Princess when it's just me and the DW..more fun things for the kids on Carnival..if you're family oriented..it may be a plus..

 

not to seem snobbish but on Princess you meet a better class of people..sorry just my opinion..less party atmosphere..the way the original cruises used to be..more elegant areas..smaller more personal dancing clubs..

 

we were just on the Caribbean Princess it was incredible..but the smaller Dawn has its features as well..lots of real teak wood and brass..smaller (Dawn) means more attentive personal touch service..I have never been on a Princess cruise where the food wasn't uncredible.

 

Freshwater pools are always an upgrade to me..nothing worse than laying in the sun while salt dries on your skin..

 

personal service with robes, pillows and the extra touch are all princess..

 

of course you don't get the characters made out of your wardrobe selectively laid out in your cabin like they do on Carnival and others....

 

enjoy your cruise..

 

life is a beach~

[coveman]

Thanks for all the great info. Just wondering about what time do they start embarkation?

[coveman]

Just moving this up. Carnival embarkation is a mess how about Princess?

[CruiseFever]

"The difference between night and day" is (IMHO) a very accurate way to describe Embarkation procedures of the two lines....and I think Carnival really does try. With the addition of FunPass priority procedures things really have improved but Princess wins in this category hands down.

 

We always go to the port way too early just to stand in line and be one of the first to get on the ship. Always. I know how long it takes for both lines and know that from the time we enter the terminal until we are in our cabin it's maybe ten minutes. I know that's hard to believe but it is true.

 

If we were to come later and stand outside in a line that time doesnt count but I frequently read of passengers that come at, say, 1:00 and walk right on the ship too.

 

What I see standing in that line for a couple hours before they even open the doors is that Princess is much better organized. Carnival appears as though its the first time they ever did it every time. Nothing against Carnival, that's why we started going early in the first place, but Princess really does win this one without question as far as I can tell.

[coveman]

What time is way to early?

[kodiac]

Princess has many good advantages as you can see from the above. We would cruise with Princess and CCL again. Also, RCI is great.

 

However, Princess is the ONLY cruise line I have cruise with that destroyed 3 out of the 5 of my luggage bags and was very unorganized at embark. We were the one of the first colors called to get off and were almost the last ones to leave the terminal.

 

We never let one thing ruin a cruise or line, we will try them again and hope for the best.

 

Kodiac :)

[MauiLuvr]

No awesome desserts

 

Whoa! If you don't like the desserts on Princess, then the Carnival ones must be truly spectular, because I think Princess does great on desserts. OTOH, I have only sailed Princess thus far.

 

So what are your favorite awesome desserts on Carnival?

[CruiseFever]

German Chocolate Cake!

[rucruizin]

Hi,

 

Sailed on Royal Caribbean the first cruise, have sailed Carnival eight or nine times and a Princess cruise in there somewhere.

 

Just my opinions but I HATED the PC dining, it was a nightmare from day 2. I like the traditional dining and feel we get better service...it just works better for us. I wasn't impressed with Princess food, I much prefer Carnival food. Didn't like the pizzeria closing early, liked that midnight slice when I had the munchies. I did indeed prefer the fresh water pools and fewer children than on Carnival. I found the people in the Princess lines (passengers) weren't very friendly, or talkative in comparison to the Carnival folks who are happy to chat about ANYTHING with you. No Bashing me for that comment, it's just what I observed. Princess decor is definately classier as are the clientel. Again...no bashing.

 

We have had a couple bad experiences on our last Carnival cruises with young, drunk, vulgar jerks sitting very near us during dinner, at the pools and in lounges. Simply couldn't believe the number of times I have heard swear words fly around the Carnival dining room lately. Not the type of atmosphere I want during as part of my dining experience. Tired of the half dressed hotties parading around making me look OLD. he he.

 

So, we are coming back to Princess for another try. Gonna make the most of my vacation in spite of those things that I found disappointing on my first Princess cruise. I still think Carnival's got the fun.

 

Happy Cruising

[Salty Dawg]

Tired of the half dressed hotties parading around making me look OLD.

Janet,

 

That could never happen... you would put those babes to shame!