Princess vs. Carnival

[I love my cat Licky]

I am thinking of booking a cruise on Crown Princess, but have never sailed with Princess before. I am not sure what to expect. I really like Carnival and have always had fun on the Fun Ships. I did sail with Celebrity last year and it was just okay. The majority or the bars closed way too early and found the ship to be dead after 10:00 PM. My husband and I are in our 40's. We still have lots of life remaining and want to have fun on our vacations!

 

Anyone with information on Princess, please let me know what you think.

 

Thanks,

 

Rita

[mngolfer]

I would say that maybe Princess isn't the right line for you. My wife and I have sailed on Carnival, Princess, and Celebrity. Carnival would definately be the party ships and Celebrity the most elegant and highest service and then Princess somewhere in between.

 

We love Celebrity and Princess and have always had fun on Carnival, but we enjoy a little quieter crowd and tend to be more toward the wine crowd as opposed to the vodka crowd.

 

We did think that Carnival has had some of the best food of any of the 12 cruises we have been on.

 

Hope it helps!

[paul929207]

It isn't that one cruise line is "better" than another. It is that some are a better fit for a person than others.

[caribill]

What is the itinerary you are considering on Princess? That could make a big difference in how lively the passengers will be.

[treasure4two]

We also love Carnival(we are older 57/66-just so you know, my daughter and her husband are your ages and can not keep up with us) and enjoy it and just took our first Princess and would say that I think you would have a great time on Princess also-I do not think the food is as good on Princess but the activities are good, crew is good, and will keep you busy. I know people put certain age groups and demographics with different cruise lines, but I think it is about the people going and their attitude-fun is where you make it! We had our most romantic cruise ever on Carnival with 800 of 2400 passengers being kids! If the stops are what you want, go for it!

[moniquet]

I would say that maybe Princess isn't the right line for you. My wife and I have sailed on Carnival, Princess, and Celebrity. Carnival would definately be the party ships and Celebrity the most elegant and highest service and then Princess somewhere in between.

 

We love Celebrity and Princess and have always had fun on Carnival, but we enjoy a little quieter crowd and tend to be more toward the wine crowd as opposed to the vodka crowd.

 

We did think that Carnival has had some of the best food of any of the 12 cruises we have been on.

 

Hope it helps!

 

Everyone says that carnival is a party ship but we have cruised once with them. Was early December so maybe it's different then. We got a suite for a knock down price and were pleasantly suprised.

 

I agree about the food, we thought it was better than Princess and Cunard. The only negative for me was the huge amounts of wasted food left on the outside tables close to the pool.

[Izzziee]

I too have cruised with Carnival before and with P&O I loved them both for different reasons :) I am assuming that Princess will be somewhere in between the two, but I know I'm going to have a great time no matter what, I will be on a cruise!

[Iamcruzin]

We are in the process of possibly booking a Celebrity cruise next spring. What I have been doing is reading the role calls for the sailings that I am interested in. The role call conversations say a lot about the passenger demographic and how lively the cruise will be. It there is a lot of talk about drink packages or different cocktail venues then you know you will be traveling with night owls. If there is a lot of talk about bringing kindles and the library or enjoying the balcony at night then you can be sure that these folks will turn in at 8:00.

[Iamcruzin]

We also love Carnival(we are older 57/66-just so you know, my daughter and her husband are your ages and can not keep up with us) and enjoy it and just took our first Princess and would say that I think you would have a great time on Princess also-I do not think the food is as good on Princess but the activities are good, crew is good, and will keep you busy. I know people put certain age groups and demographics with different cruise lines, but I think it is about the people going and their attitude-fun is where you make it! We had our most romantic cruise ever on Carnival with 800 of 2400 passengers being kids! If the stops are what you want, go for it!

What the young folks don’t realize is that the new groups of seniors coming on the scene were in their 20’s during the drug related 60’s. These are not your soda shop parents or your prohibition grandparents. Even if they were not part of the drug scene they still grow up in a different social situation. I think this can also explain the resistance to dressing up on formal night. These folks wore jeans and tee shirts everywhere. I predict that in 10 to 15 years that HAL will be the new Carnival.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Both are very nice

[Anubi]

What the young folks don’t realize is that the new groups of seniors coming on the scene were in their 20’s during the drug related 60’s. These are not your soda shop parents or your prohibition grandparents. Even if they were not part of the drug scene they still grow up in a different social situation. I think this can also explain the resistance to dressing up on formal night. These folks wore jeans and tee shirts everywhere. I predict that in 10 to 15 years that HAL will be the new Carnival.

 

That is a very interesting and spot on observation. I never thought of it that way!!

 

[hubofhockey]

I am thinking of booking a cruise on Crown Princess, but have never sailed with Princess before. I am not sure what to expect. I really like Carnival and have always had fun on the Fun Ships. I did sail with Celebrity last year and it was just okay. The majority or the bars closed way too early and found the ship to be dead after 10:00 PM. My husband and I are in our 40's. We still have lots of life remaining and want to have fun on our vacations!

 

Anyone with information on Princess, please let me know what you think.

 

Thanks,

 

Rita

 

We have a Carnival cruise next week on the new Magic. Our cruises the last two years were on the Crown Princess and the Ruby Princess. Before that, we had two on consecutive years on the Carnival Liberty. Next summer, we'll be on the Caribbean Princess for British Isles. So, I am quite familiar with both lines.

 

The Crown Princess mainly does the 7-day Caribbean itineraries and is also moving to the Med next summer from its current summer base in England. So, that means demographics will be younger in summer months as well as during the spring months and holiday time in the winter. If you are in your 40s, you will be two of many. Nightlife and entertainment seemed to be pretty alive until 11:30 or after. The Crown Princess offers a greater variety of entertainment at night and has more entertainment venues than the typical Carnival ship (Main theater, Explorers, Club Fusion, Skywalkers, Wheelhouse, Crooners, and I may be missing others). Both have outdoor movies. While Carnival entertainment may go on longer, they are far more reliant on cruise directors and audience participation shows than Princess, which regulalry brings in quality performers for a night or two. But if you are intent on partying until 1 or 2 am, you ought to stick with Carnival.

 

As far as the rest goes, Princess has the separate and much nicer pools (fresh water) and pool areas. Princess has much better buffets and, especially buffet breakfasts. Dinner in the MDRs is about equal. The Crown Princess will have two specialty restaurants while Carnival only has an upcharge steakhouse. But I prefer Carnival's steakhouse to the Crown Grill. Carnival cabins are bigger (also have sofas) and offer a better value.

 

Carnival has better kids clubs and more to do for kids, especially those who like waterslides. Carnival has better prices. We simply could not afford to do a Med cruise with our kids on Princess. But the Carnival Magic is affordable and our kids enjoy all of the stuff for kids on the newer Carnival ships. When we don't have the kids, I relax more on Princess and enjoy the more upscale feel and the classier ships.

 

OP, if you really like Carnival, are you interested in the Crown Princess to get a different type of vacation? What are you looking for? You may need to define "fun". Does that mean singing waiters, towel animals, very active and alway "on" and performing cruise directors, bars that are open until 1 to 2 pm with active disco scenes, and more along those lines? If that's how you define fun, you may be better off on a Carnival ship.

[Square]

I've been on two Carnival cruises and one Princess and am in my lower 30s. I guess I must have missed the big party cruises because my times on Carnival (both 7 night eastern and western Caribbean) were never really what I would call heavy on partying. They had some, but I didn't' really notice that much difference between them and Princess. That being said, Princess does have a bit more of an elegant, resort feel. I still like to party, but after chasing rug rats around at home being a little more laid back with an upscale hotel feel, I think Princess was pretty good. At the end, it is what you make of it.

[dclark]

I am plat on CCL and cruised them last month (my 14th cruise). Bottom line is that it'll be a long time before I cruise them again.

Cost cutting was evident everywhere. Entertainment? They used to offer a show or entertainer almost every night. On this 8 day cruise, there were three shows, one (poor) entertainer and the other four nights were cheap audience provided stuff, like talent night,etc.They even brought back the stupid color wars game- ugh! The outdoor TV, before 8:00pm show one and one thing only- an endless loop of CCL excursions (that can be purchased at the excursion desk!) It was almost like brain washing.

Oh, the next time you hear someone rave about that wonderful deli, check out the "meat" before it is sliced- nasty pressed stuff!

Combine that with more kids than a Justin Beiber concert and you have a less than satisfying cruise.

[hubofhockey]

I am plat on CCL and cruised them last month (my 14th cruise). Bottom line is that it'll be a long time before I cruise them again.

Cost cutting was evident everywhere. Entertainment? They used to offer a show or entertainer almost every night. On this 8 day cruise, there were three shows, one (poor) entertainer and the other four nights were cheap audience provided stuff, like talent night,etc.They even brought back the stupid color wars game- ugh! The outdoor TV, before 8:00pm show one and one thing only- an endless loop of CCL excursions (that can be purchased at the excursion desk!) It was almost like brain washing.

Oh, the next time you hear someone rave about that wonderful deli, check out the "meat" before it is sliced- nasty pressed stuff!

Combine that with more kids than a Justin Beiber concert and you have a less than satisfying cruise.

 

I never thought Carnival entertainment was on par with entertainment on the larger Princess ships. I don't even think it's close. We have our Med cruise on the Magic next week. Make no mistake about it. We are bringing the kids and we are going on Carnival for two reasons: (1) Spa Balcony cabin for four people for less than $5K for a 9-day cruise, (2) Kids will enjoy waterslides and kids clubs. I barely tolerate sea days on Carnival cruises and plan to spend our only sea day of the nine day cruise in the spa and on my balcony. I plan to avoid the zoo. Now OP said she loves Carnival. I don't understand why she is looking at the Crown Princess. I guess I am not one of those people who believe that they are more similar than different.

[paradiseisaprincessaway]

I like the caliber of princess better than carnival however ive had fun on both

 

if i was to choose i would go princess!

[dclark]

I like the caliber of princess better than carnival however ive had fun on both

 

if i was to choose i would go princess!

 

Much better o Princess. CCL used to rotate entertainers at each port so you'd see three or four per cruise. Now, just one!

They used to have steel bands play at the pool, now they have just two musicians playing to a tape.

They also used to have four piece bands that would play a variety of stuff, didn't see them at all last cruise.

When something is cut on CCL, it never comes back. Each CCL cruise is a whittle down version of a cruise we did prior and it seems they have accelerated the cuts. I am not eager to spend $$$ to cruise them and see what has been cut next.As for "fun ships"- really? Look at the daily planner of things to do and most cost money. Fun? Where????

[hillslife]

Have done Princess cruises about 18 times and really like them (we are Elite...so love all the perks, too!)....I feel Princess is middle of the road - not upscale but not Carnival either.

 

Have been on Carnival twice...just got off the Triumph last week for a 4 day Cozumel from New Orleans. The ship was packed full of 'party' people, which is fine...we knew what to expect. But the show entertainment was very poor; food, dishes, trash on all the tables - had to bus our own tables to have a place to sit EVERY DAY - so not a random thing; they don't serve you drinks in the buffet, so many people milling around trying to find the beverages; strong sewer smell two different days - staff said they are aware and it happens often, but they did remedy it after many complaints; no jam for the 'high tea' and they refused to get any for us, etc. IMHO, Just a lower class of cruise, obviously costs less and you get what you pay for.

 

Have never gone on Oceania, Celebrity, etc. They are usually pretty pricey and we have always been satisfied with the Princess ports. Maybe one day we will try them.

 

My obvious choice - Princess. No, I am not OLD and GRUMPY, just know what I like...

[DrivesLikeMario]

I've been on 4 Carnival cruises. Only 1 of those was my choice, the others were chosen for us by DH's work as a reward (they weren't very rewarding BTW).

 

Carnival does some things really well IMO, two of which are The Splash Park & water slide area and the other is night life. Princess is more elegant IMO. I much prefer Princess and we're in 40's also, but in this case, I think the OP would be happier with Carnival.