Never cruised Princess, is it better for couples ....

[6 of us]

We have only ever cruised on Carnival. LOVE cruising!

We are planning to cruise w/o our kids, want to try a fancier, couples friendly (maybe not as many kids) line. Is that Princess?

 

ANY info you can give me on Princess & why you like it so much would also be a big help.

 

Thanks so much!

[TracieABD]

I have never cruised Carnival so I can't compare. I have never seen many unruly children on Princess. I have seen even less on HAL.

 

Lots of couples and families on Princess. The demographic on Princess may be a bit older and sedate. You will probably not witness a hairy back contest by the pool...

 

Hope this helps.:)

[hubofhockey]

I think Princess is couples friendly and NOT family friendly. Cabins are too small for comfort for more than two in a room and prices for 3rd and 4th passengers in a cabin are not that great. We brought our kids on one Princess cruise. They enjoyed the cruise, but told us that it really wasn't kid friendly. We got the message.

[shepp]

I have never cruised Carnival so I can't compare. I have never seen many unruly children on Princess. I have seen even less on HAL.

 

Lots of couples and families on Princess. The demographic on Princess may be a bit older and sedate. You will probably not witness a hairy back contest by the pool...

 

Which is a shame, since I have a hairy back, and I could really, really use yet another Princess fridge magnet. Ah well.

 

It really is a line pitched toward adults, and most people onboard - at least on my cruises - have been middle aged and above. There have been cruises where it seemed there were at most a few dozen kids onboard, though that can depend on sail date and cruise length.

 

I find cruising Princess to be a relaxed, somewhat luxurious experience. Romantic, too.

[amazinglife]

the longer the cruise the older the pax in general and more couples than children.

[TracieABD]

Which is a shame, since I have a hairy back, and I could really, really use yet another Princess fridge magnet. Ah well.

 

It really is a line pitched toward adults, and most people onboard - at least on my cruises - have been middle aged and above. There have been cruises where it seemed there were at most a few dozen kids onboard, though that can depend on sail date and cruise length.

 

I find cruising Princess to be a relaxed, somewhat luxurious experience. Romantic, too.

 

Shepp,

Send pictures. :D

[Astro Flyer]

We have only ever cruised on Carnival. LOVE cruising!

We are planning to cruise w/o our kids, want to try a fancier, couples friendly (maybe not as many kids) line. Is that Princess?

 

ANY info you can give me on Princess & why you like it so much would also be a big help.

 

Thanks so much!

I think that Princess will definitely provide the experience you're seeking & that you'll have a great cruise. A term used to describe Princess is 'casual elegance' which is what many of us seek & Princess provides a great experience for the amount we're paying.

 

I've sailed Carnival a couple of times in the past & definitely prefer a Princess cruise. It's a more peaceful cruise...one where you can get involved in many things or to enjoy the tranquility of being at sea on a cruise. :D

[skynight]

We have only ever cruised on Carnival. LOVE cruising!

We are planning to cruise w/o our kids, want to try a fancier, couples friendly (maybe not as many kids) line. Is that Princess?

 

ANY info you can give me on Princess & why you like it so much would also be a big help.

 

Thanks so much!

 

You should pick the line, port of embark and itinerary that best fits your desires. Princess crowd is somewhat more sedate than Carnival, but much more lively than HAL. However, choose your cruise week or weeks carefully. Weeks when kids are in school are best for couples. Avoid summer, spring break, holiday weeks such as Easter and President's week. Also sailings more than 7 days have less kids. Princess has a few warm weather ones to choose from, the 10 day Emerald sailings and 11 day Panama Canal.

 

Activities on Princess may include things like:

Poolside

The standard pool games

drink mixing contests

Music Trivia

live music

ultimate deck party

MUTS (movies under the stars)

 

Other activities

Theme nights such as 50/60/70's night & C&W night

Game Shows such as the not so newlywed game and others

Night time trivia games

Ballroom dancing

Live Music in various lounges, from ballroom, to jazz, to rock, to piano/singer

Late night Disco

Shows and entertainers

Movies each night at MUTS

 

Daytime (indoor) activities include (mostly on sea days)

Trivia

Bingo

Art Auctions

Line dance classes

Zumba

Ballroom dance classes

cooking demos

 

All their ships have excellent gyms with full equipment and scheduled classes. Some classes cost extra. The ships also have the Adults Only Sanctuary which must be booked soon after you board. Cost is $10/half day for a private lounge and other things. Look it up.

 

Activities mentioned are not on all voyages. Just mention them as activities we have attended.

[Princess Patches]

I have not sailed on Carnival but I have been aboard several Carnival ships (back in the days when they allowed guests onboard) and I have been docked next to a number of Carnival ships. You won't hear all the announcements you hear on Carnival. Princess keeps the PA usage to a minimum. The decor is far more elegant. It is a quieter, more elegant atmosphere.

 

You will find mostly middle aged and older cruisers except during summer, spring break, and the Christmas/New Year's holidays. Then you will see a lot of families. I also think the food and entertainment is better than the other lines I have sailed. Lots of fun games during the day too. They have great itineraries and the best loyalty program amongst the major cruise lines. Overall, Princess has the most to offer of the various cruise lines I have sailed on.

[shepp]

Shepp,

Send pictures. :D

 

Here y'go!

[Beej29]

Cruised Carnival for years when my son traveled with me. Now that I go solo, I had a great time on Princess. I tried NCL once and was not very happy. Would LikeSo try Celebrity at some point.

[rdsqrl]

Which is a shame, since I have a hairy back, and I could really, really use yet another Princess fridge magnet. Ah well.

 

It really is a line pitched toward adults, and most people onboard - at least on my cruises - have been middle aged and above. There have been cruises where it seemed there were at most a few dozen kids onboard, though that can depend on sail date and cruise length.

 

I find cruising Princess to be a relaxed, somewhat luxurious experience. Romantic, too.

It's probably the feel of that back hair waving gently in the sea breeze . . .

[TracieABD]

Here y'go!

 

Touché. :)

[TracieABD]

It's probably the feel of that back hair waving gently in the sea breeze . . .

 

Better waving than waxing...:eek:

[gcvt]

I have not sailed on Carnival but I have been aboard several Carnival ships (back in the days when they allowed guests onboard) and I have been docked next to a number of Carnival ships. You won't hear all the announcements you hear on Carnival. Princess keeps the PA usage to a minimum. The decor is far more elegant. It is a quieter, more elegant atmosphere.

 

You will find mostly middle aged and older cruisers except during summer, spring break, and the Christmas/New Year's holidays. Then you will see a lot of families. I also think the food and entertainment is better than the other lines I have sailed. Lots of fun games during the day too. They have great itineraries and the best loyalty program amongst the major cruise lines. Overall, Princess has the most to offer of the various cruise lines I have sailed on.

 

Understatement of the year :p I also couldn't agree more about the food!

[bdjam]

Here y'go!

 

Shepp have I mentioned lately that you kill me? :D

[shepp]

 

Shepp have I mentioned lately that you kill me? :D

 

 

Not lately, no. ;)

[oratheeexplorer]

Here y'go!

 

I thought they wanted hairy back pictures! LOL!

We've been on 3 Princess cruises and don't have and fridge magnets...I'm jealous!

[dcruisers]

May I offer my 2 cents?!

We have sailed on Princess, Carnival, NCL, RCL and Celebrity. I would choose Celebrity! We have been on 18 cruises but only 2 Celebrity BUT they are our favorite. We sailed on the new ship Silhouette in Jan in Aqua class and LOVED IT. So much more couple oriented., classier and great food.

We will be sailing on Sapphire Princess this Jan. to HI only because it is larger and newer then the Celebrity offering.

Whatever you decide, cruising is just the best ; and, luckily, whe have never had a bad one!

[Pam in CA]

One difference between Celebrity and Princess is that in order to get a better cruise experience, you have to book an Aquaclass cabin, which costs a lot more. A mere balcony doesn't give you the better experience. On Princess, you can be in an inside or oceanview cabin and still get the Princess experience.

[dcruisers]

One difference between Celebrity and Princess is that in order to get a better cruise experience, you have to book an Aquaclass cabin, which costs a lot more. A mere balcony doesn't give you the better experience. On Princess, you can be in an inside or oceanview cabin and still get the Princess experience.

 

We weren't in Aqua class on our first Celebrity and it was wonderful.

Also, you don't have to pay for a mini suite to get a nice room including sofa! Princesses' balcony rooms are small but you must pay for a min suite to get a larger room!

I would recommend Celebrity for couples..no matter what balcony room you select, you will have a classy experience!

[Sunsailor]

We have sailed both Carnival and Princess and are elite on Princess. We love the Casual Elegance of Princess and since DH and I have different ideas for the "perfect" cruise Princess always fits the bill. That said, we started sailing Carnival again because Princess no longer sails from Florida from April to November. While Carnival is younger and more family oriented, we have found the service and food to be very good, the cabins large and the entertainment very good.

The difference is that, while we enjoy the company of the Carnival crowd, we found real friends on Princess. We are in our 60s and there are more of our contemporaries on Princess.

 

If you are not sailing when school is out definitely try the Princess experience. It will make you feel like the cruise was just for you.

Our next cruise is the Emerald Princess in November. We will sail the Carnival Sunshine in May 2013

[tarheelmjfan]

We weren't in Aqua class on our first Celebrity and it was wonderful.

Also, you don't have to pay for a mini suite to get a nice room including sofa! Princesses' balcony rooms are small but you must pay for a min suite to get a larger room!

I would recommend Celebrity for couples..no matter what balcony room you select, you will have a classy experience!

 

We're going on our first Princess cruise in a week, so I can't offer a comparison. I do agree that Celebrity offers a great cruise. From what Pam has posted about her X cruise, she must have had the perfect storm of misfortune. We've never had an experience remotely like that. We did have one cruise that wasn't as great as the others, but it was still a great cruise.

[DrivesLikeMario]

We have only ever cruised on Carnival. LOVE cruising!

We are planning to cruise w/o our kids, want to try a fancier, couples friendly (maybe not as many kids) line. Is that Princess?

 

ANY info you can give me on Princess & why you like it so much would also be a big help.

 

Thanks so much!

 

IMO, Princess is light years ahead of Carnival in service and ambiance. I would describe Princess as intimate, quieter and more relaxing than Carnival. I'm sure Celebrity would be a good choice too.

[TracieABD]

I thought they wanted hairy back pictures! LOL!

We've been on 3 Princess cruises and don't have and fridge magnets...I'm jealous!

 

I totally wanted hairy back pictures!:cool: