Difference Between Princess and Carnival

Hello,

I have been on two previous Carnival cruises (Inspiration and Dream) and have enjoyed both of them. I am looking at seven day Caribbean cruises out of Fort Lauderdale in December and found a very reasonably priced cruise on the Grand Princess. I was wondering if anyone could explain to me the differences between the two lines in areas such as food, entertainment, staterooms, teen programs, etc. I have enjoyed the fun, upbeat style of Carnival and was wondering if Princess would offer the same, or similar experience. Should I try Princess or stay loyal to Carnival? Any opinions are appreciated.

I have also sailed exclusively Carnival, but we've booked the Diamond Princess for Alaska out of Vancouver in 2012.

I have read a lot of posts on CC from folks who have sailed both, and a lot of comments said; with kids- Carnival. without kids- Princess.

I also like the fun, upbeat style of Carnival and consider the service, food & entertainment to be excellent, as big bang for the $$. I think Carnival gets a bad rap for being a "party/booze cruise". Depending on when you sail, this can happen on any line (except maybe HAL :p).

I am definitely hoping Princess will be just as fun as Carnival, but in a more "subtle" decor. I already like the idea of Princess having fresh water pools, where Carnivals' are salt water.

Anyway, don't worry about your loyalty. If you sail on Princess, you are staying loyal with Carnival (Corp)!

Marty

Cabins on Carnival are much larger. I found the food to be the same. The entertainment on Carnival is much better. I found Carnival cruises to be more fun.

I say since you have been on Carnival try Princess.

Give Princess a try...but you will miss the wonderful beds on Carnival! EM

Princessers do not party like Carnivores. That is my opinion. LOL

Beds on Princess -- very, very hard.

Entertainment on Princess -- kind of boring at times, yet sometimes

really good.

Relaxation -- Princess wins the award.

Subtle decor but nice.

I am a bit biased since I hated my one and only Carnival cruise.

However, the staff was very nice on Carnival, the food was good, WHEN

we could find any [seriously] and the fellow passengers were wonderful.

I like Royal Caribbean the best. It's a fusion of Carnival and Princess

IMHO

I have also sailed exclusively Carnival, but we've booked the Diamond Princess for Alaska out of Vancouver in 2012.

 

I have read a lot of posts on CC from folks who have sailed both, and a lot of comments said; with kids- Carnival. without kids- Princess.

 

I also like the fun, upbeat style of Carnival and consider the service, food & entertainment to be excellent, as big bang for the $$. I think Carnival gets a bad rap for being a "party/booze cruise". Depending on when you sail, this can happen on any line (except maybe HAL :p).

 

I am definitely hoping Princess will be just as fun as Carnival, but in a more "subtle" decor. I already like the idea of Princess having fresh water pools, where Carnivals' are salt water.

 

Anyway, don't worry about your loyalty. If you sail on Princess, you are staying loyal with Carnival (Corp)!

 

Marty

First, agree on families with kids are better off on Carnival/RCI. Without the kids, it's Princess.

The pools are fresh water and much larger on Princess than on Carnival. Pools are also brokent out into separate areas as opposed to the mass of humanity on the Lido deck on Carnival ships. Hard to get away from it all when you are in the middle of that.

Carnival's rap as a party cruise line is not deserved. But there is still much more of that going on there is on Princess and it might relate to the younger crowd.

Princess has much nicer buffets, especially at breakfast, but also table service at night. Things like cold wet towels handed to you on re-embarcation at ports is also a nice touch.

There's nothing wrong with Carnival and prices are good and cabins are big. Princess is just a better fit for some.

OP, your loyalty should be to yourself and not a cruise line. They care more about your money than you.

Well, I've never sailed Carnival, though I've spoken with many who have, most of whom enjoyed it.

For me, the difference that sticks in my mind - that epitomizes why I've kind of steered clear of Carnival (though I was in fact booked on the ill-fated Splendor) - is that on Princess the waiters don't get up on the table and sing and dance. Now, I know that folks say it's great, but to me, it seems like Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Saloon, not a fine restaurant. I happen, in fact, to really like Disneyland, waterparks, and the like, but that's simply not the ambience I personally want to cruise in.

Plus, just the photos of Carnival's decor give me slightly queasy giggles.

Carnival is for people who love to party or have kids. Princess is for people who like to cruise with sophistacated people. I suppose that's why Princess allows you to bring on wine and champagne without a charge and Carnival allows NADA. Princess recognizes they have less party animals coming aboard.

Sailed on Carnival Victory in Western Carrib, Carnival Spirit to Mexican Reviara and Diamond Princess to Alaska.

I thought the cabins were similar in size but liked the Princess cabin layout

better.

Many people say Carnival has the best food, but I liked Princess better. Loved the choice of four dining rooms for anytime dining.

I don't remember going to any of the big production shows on Princess, but the entertainment in the smaller venues was a lot of fun.

Never felt the Carnival ships were overly booze-cruise-ish. Wide range of ages on Carnival. The median age on Princess was older, but that could have been because it was Alaska.

Carnival beds are MUCH more comfy!

Never did figure out the aft layout of Diamond. The galley prevents you from walking all the way through on a couple decks. DD had to lead me to dinner every night!

I don't know if it was the ship or the itinerary, but the Princess cruise was my favorite. DD agrees. DH won't commit! If ages matter, I'm 52, DH is 53 and DD is 20 (18 at the time of the Princess cruise).

We'll always choose Princess over Carnival. Carnival's ugly decor alone is enough to keep us away.. Add to that the frenetic party atmosphere, hairy chest contests, belly-flopping exhibits...

We'll stay with "boring", "relaxing", "subdued" Princess.

Carnival is for people who love to party or have kids. Princess is for people who like to cruise with sophistacated people. I suppose that's why Princess allows you to bring on wine and champagne without a charge and Carnival allows NADA. Princess recognizes they have less party animals coming aboard.

Carnival does allow one bottle of wine or champagne per person. But that's it and they vigorously enforce this policy.

I like both and appreciate their differences. My first two cruises were on Carnival and I remember watching the then-brand new Caribbean Princess dock by us in Jamaica. I stood there in awe of that beautiful ship and did indeed go on it soon after! The Princess ships are beautiful. Decor is more subdued, less colorful than Carnival. Princess cabins are a bit smaller: e.g. a Carnival balcony cabin is somewhere in size between a Princess balcony cabin and mini-suite.

Princess pizza best at sea. Yet Princess has no match to Carnival's Mongolian Grill (on some Carnival ships).

Food & service comparable on both; I'd give Carnival shows the edge.

I like both lines and continue to sail both. Very happy I have tried out various cruise lines to see them for myself and form my own opinions, and I've not had a bad cruise yet!

ENJOY!

Cruising the Caribbean in December means lots and lots of older people from retirement homes, bussed in by the dozens. If this is a problem for you, better think about your choices.

Hmmm is this the deja vu thread....didn't we have the same one about a week ago. Not much difference between the two, food better on Carnival, larger staterooms, better decor on Princess

It has been several years since I have cruised Princess, but we are doing it "this" Saturday to the Riviera.

As for "one" of the things I liked about Carnival (we are NOT party people, but KNOW how to have a good time), I believe their rooms, no matter which one, are a little larger than the rest of the ships, unless you have a "suite,", and we cannot afford that.:(

I also like their beds/bedding. I feel like a baby in a "cacoon," when going to bed.:)

We are carnival junkies. But sail other lines too- We sailed Royal and tried Princess. LOVED everything about it.

In our 15 cruises our Princess cruises (3) have totally wow'd us the entire time- from the moment we checked it--til the minute we walked off the ship.

Princess does not have sofas in their cabin except for mini suites and for us it is surely missed.

Their buffet at dinner is amazing- only difference between the buffet and the dining room-- you get the meal yourself. There will be waiters walking around filling your water, getting your drinks or a soda- which is nice.

The buffet on Princess is a little wierd- there is no line-- just butt in front of anyone where you want to be--

I like that on Princess you have your choice of when to see a show- on Carnival you either miss dinner or go to the other shop.

On Carnival the show lounge is nicer-- where you have that table to sit your drinks on and you have room to stretch out while watching the show- On Princess its like a movie theater== you hold your drinks and keep your legs to yourself---

Princess costs a lot more then carnival. On our cruise in February- comparing Pride to Ruby. (we paid 1477 for 3 of us in a balcony.- Ruby was 2300 for 2 of us on a balcony

Don't know if you realize this, but you do not have to hold your drinks in the Princess theater. If you look at the arm of the seat, you will see a little slot. Just pull it up and over and you have a little table to set your drink:)

Princess costs a lot more then carnival. On our cruise in February- comparing Pride to Ruby. (we paid 1477 for 3 of us in a balcony.- Ruby was 2300 for 2 of us on a balcony

To be fair, you are comparing Princess' newest ship to an older Carnival ship and much of the price difference is related to that. But Princess does cost a bit more. I don't mind paying a premium cruise Princess over Carnival though. The cruises just have a different feel to them and it's not just the physical ship facility. No singing waiters, no in your face cruise directors (which many on Carnival love), no puny pools with freezing water, no crowded lido deck, no gaudy blinking lights, and not the same decor, or intrusive photographers. There is also a bit of a difference in the types of outside acts the cruise line's bring in. All of this makes for a more relaxing and different type of vacation. Of course, my kids would criticize Princess saying, "okay, where are the waterparks, slides, fun mini-golf, ice cream machines, great kids clubs, etc.?" :D

Seems to me that the only people who rave about Princess cruises have never sailed with anyone else.

We have just returned from a two week caribbean cruise on Sea Princess which is now the subject of a complaints letter telling them of 8 things they do not do as well as they should.

For our next cruise probably around Hawaii I will be looking at other lines..

I have sailed both lines as well as NCL, RCCL, Celebrity and HAL. In two weeks we will be embarking on our first Princess cruise in 2 years (since DS was born, we already did Carnival and NCL with him).

When I book a cruise my deciding factors are itinerary and price that's why such a wide range of lines. Overall, Princess used to be my first choice line for the following reasons:

• origin and age mix of passangers (we do shorter itineraries, so no retirement home crowds). Carnival has mostly US people and Princess has Canada, UK, Australia, NZ thrown in the mix.
  
• better customer service (entirely subjective to us)
  
• better decor
  
• better food choices (LOVE afternoon tea and Chef;s table is not to be missed)
  
• better pool layouts
  
• Caribe deck balcony cabins
  

However, after travelling with DS my opinion might change. I used to love Carnival too, but my last cruise out of Baltimore was less then satisfying. Overall thing I like about Carnival:

• More party venues, i.e. bars/lounges with entertainment
  
• more accessible home ports
  
• under 2 kids babysitting at night
  

As for price difference, I think that NCL, Carnival and Princess are very comparable on the shorter itineraries (7days). When I was shopping for my upcoming cruise (Western Carib, April) after airfare addons Princess actually won the pricing war (due to Saturday vs. Sunday departure).

Overall wether you like/dislike cruise line more depends on the ship you sail and itinerary you take and fellow passangers you luck into then cruiseline itself.

Seems to me that the only people who rave about Princess cruises have never sailed with anyone else.

.........

Hardly. We have sailed with Princess, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Disney, NCL, multiple times. Princess remains our favorite simply due to the quality of the experience (unless we have kids along - grands in our case!). We are going to try Celebrity, as we are almost Platinum (equivalent) there due to RCC travels.

I agree with the other posters. young adults, kids, party folk: Carnival. They live up to their name. If you want more refined, elegant decor, relaxation, quality food and entertainment: Princess (again living up to the name). (And if your focus is primarily the kids: Disney, obviously.)

Looking forward to seeing first hand where Celebrity fits.

I'm in agreement with Nattie about cruising out of Baltimore on Carnival Pride. I also found it less than satisfying. The food was particularly disappointing. Up until that cruise I found Carnival and Princess food comparable and subjective to my taste each having different enjoyable strengths (great pasta on Princess).

Seems to me that the only people who rave about Princess cruises have never sailed with anyone else.

Hmmm. I wonder where you got that seemingly thin-airish notion.

Seems to me, given the relative age and income level of the average passengers on the lines (a rickety generalization, I know), that would be more true of Carnival fans than Princessites. Or at least that Carnival fans would be more likely to be comparing their cruises to NCL's, Princessites to X's.

I've been on Carnival and enjoyed myself but was disappointed in choices for entertainment. Lots of bars which is ok, but not for Dh and I.

My son and his wife, just got back from a Carnival and were HIGHLY dissapointed in their food.

My Dil's mother just got back from a Carnival and said the same thing. I don't know why all of a sudden this has become an issue. :confused:

Dh and I had a suite on Carnival and just got a bigger room, on Princess you get many MANY perks.

Princess has a 24hr buffet, I don't think Carnival does but not sure.

We sailed our first cruise on CB and absolutely loved it!

We then quickly booked Golden Princess LA - Hawaii - LA for March (this past one) and had to cancel. Because of this my DW and I "needed" a little trip to tide us over until next year when we can again consider Hawaii so we booked Carnival Pride out of Baltimore.

In my signature you can find a link to our review of this cruise. We found the two cruises completely different. Different but both very much enjoyable in their own ways.

The Fun Ships are really fun. Not loud or obnoxious but Fun! The shows in the evening were better than Princess but the overall entertainment, as in there is always something going on at many different locations, hands down goes to Princess.

We will cruise with Carnival again, but Princess is the standard by which we judge everything right now. For us, personally, the ships of Princess are a nice fit for us.

Have fun choosing, either way you can't loose, IMHO!!