Princess age ranges vs. Carnival...varies???

[only1deejay]

So I picked princess as my first cruise line experience over Carnival because I here that Carnival is more about the PARTY boat feel, and princess is more relaxed.

 

BUT,

 

does princess have a more older demographic, whereas Carnival likes a younger demographic???

 

Im in my mid 30's and am taking my co-worker who is mid 20's...so we both want different things out of our first trip....

 

I would hope that their would be an even mix of young,old, families, singles, and the like on princess....true or false???

 

thanks.:)

[S.S.Oceanlover]

So I picked princess as my first cruise line experience over Carnival because I here that Carnival is more about the PARTY boat feel, and princess is more relaxed.

 

BUT,

 

does princess have a more older demographic, whereas Carnival likes a younger demographic???

 

Im in my mid 30's and am taking my co-worker who is mid 20's...so we both want different things out of our first trip....

 

I would hope that their would be an even mix of young,old, families, singles, and the like on princess....true or false???

 

thanks.:)

 

First of all the "PARTY" boat thing is way overblown.

 

It does happen on short 3-4 cruises "sometimes".

 

The demographic is going to be different because Princess mainly sails in Alaska and Europe and only homeports in the Caribbean for a few months a year as opposed to Carnival which is in the Caribbean all year.

 

It depends on what time of year you cruise and where you are cruising to.

 

I just read this post a few post down. This will give you some idea of what I am trying to convey to you.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1509277

 

Bill

 

Bill

[Umbarger]

On Carnival not everyone parties. You can party as much or as little as you want. I don't party at all and enjoyed all my Carnival cruises. I did want to let you know you will have many more children on Carnival than on Princess.

If you truly want to relax, I would recommend Princess.

[Stevesan]

On Carnival not everyone parties. You can party as much or as little as you want. I don't party at all and enjoyed all my Carnival cruises. I did want to let you know you will have many more children on Carnival than on Princess.

If you truly want to relax, I would recommend Princess.

 

I sailed Grand Princess out of Galveston during Spring Break three consecutive years. Each year there were 700+ children on board.

 

I sailed Carnival Conquest out of Galveston August 2010 with few children on board.

 

The age demographic is more dependent on time of year (see Spring Break) and itinerary than anything else.

 

I should note that the children on Grand and Conquest were well behaved. The great majority were from Texas so they had proper upbringing. Nuff said. :p

[newmexicoNita]

So I picked princess as my first cruise line experience over Carnival because I here that Carnival is more about the PARTY boat feel, and princess is more relaxed.

 

BUT,

 

does princess have a more older demographic, whereas Carnival likes a younger demographic???

 

Im in my mid 30's and am taking my co-worker who is mid 20's...so we both want different things out of our first trip....

 

I would hope that their would be an even mix of young,old, families, singles, and the like on princess....true or false???

 

thanks.:)

like most things, you are going to get different views on this, but we have done 3 Princess cruises: the last one was 12 days, the other 2, 7 dayers and all have had an older, pretty sophisticated group. The casinos are a bit small (of course you are coming from Vegas so probably dont really care about that) and the entertainment is geared to a slightly older crowd, but you will see young people on the cruise as well.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

I sailed Grand Princess out of Galveston during Spring Break three consecutive years. Each year there were 700+ children on board.

 

I sailed Carnival Conquest out of Galveston August 2010 with few children on board.

 

The age demographic is more dependent on time of year (see Spring Break) and itinerary than anything else.

 

I should note that the children on Grand and Conquest were well behaved. The great majority were from Texas so they had proper upbringing. Nuff said. :p

 

I understand what you are saying, but I don't think comparing spring break with any other time of the year other than maybe Christmas is going to give the OP a true picture of what to expect. As I just mentioned we have sailed 3 times on PRincess, each time from a different embarkation port and all 3 the crowd was older. yes, the time of year has a lot to do with what to expect. We cruised Jan, May and Oct.

[MCC retired]

When comparing CCL & PCL , the same week , simular itinerary and cruise length , there should be no big difference in age demographics .

 

CCL has many ships doing short (3-5 night cruises ) that tend to draw the party crowd . PCL , with fewer ships ,rarely has a cruise less than 7 nights .

 

Time of year and cruise length have the biggest effect on age demographics onboard.

[cruise&travelgirl]

I find there is a good mix of ages on Princess. I haven't been on Carnival myself, so I can't compare with that line, but I am also in my mid 30's and love Princess! When it's just my husband and myself, or if we're cruising with friends our age, we go with Princess, but if we're bringing the kids along, we tend to go with Disney or Royal Caribbean. I think of Princess as a more 'grown up' line! :)

[hubofhockey]

Carnival attracts younger people and there are many reasons for that. Kids clubs are better. Prices are more affordable and that is more important to younger families. Carnival quad and all balcony cabins are larger and more "family friendly". Carnival's Lido deck has the watersides and the more fun mini-golf course. I am not suggesting that Carnival is the choice of all young people and young families. But they serve that market well. So does Royal Caribbean, at a higher price.

[Stevesan]

]I understand what you are saying' date=' but I don't think comparing spring break with any other time of the year[/color'] other than maybe Christmas is going to give the OP a true picture of what to expect. As I just mentioned we have sailed 3 times on PRincess, each time from a different embarkation port and all 3 the crowd was older. yes, the time of year has a lot to do with what to expect. We cruised Jan, May and Oct.

 

I said the same thing, but in fewer words:p:

 

"The age demographic is more dependent on time of year (see Spring Break) and itinerary than anything else."

[Vanilla]

I think it has less to do with age, and more to do with attitude and expectations. To me - Carnival is more of a party ship with more to do at night - late night more people seem to be up and moving around. Princess is more relaxed and the ship is quiet after midnight. Royal Caribbean is activity after activity up until midnight. We have been on all three cruiselines and that is just my observations and thoughts - but we always have a good time and come home very satisfied with our vacation.