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

[lovevacadays]

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

 

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.

 

These are my thoughts on Princess as well. I've cruised Carnival twice. While I had a great time the "total" experience was much nicer on Princess.:)

[ChiefBoats]

Yes. Although they do have programs for kids you will not find that many on the cruises. The normal cruiser are those who have grown kids back home. That is one of the reasons my wife and I like Princess. We have raised our kids.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Yes. Although they do have programs for kids you will not find that many on the cruises. The normal cruiser are those who have grown kids back home. That is one of the reasons my wife and I like Princess. We have raised our kids.

 

But when there are kids onboard (summer, winter break, etc), many are involved in the kids' program. If there's an active and well-run kids' program (no matter the cruiseline), even a ship with a ton of kids can still be acceptable to those looking to stay away from kids. And when it comes to the older kids (the teens), many of them would rather hang out with each other than have to deal with grumbling adults.

[shepp]

I

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

 

Well, somebody has to hook up with a better trivia team.

 

Don't make me post a picture of my collection of Princess pocket flashlights.

 

And lanyards? Don't ask.

[TracieABD]

Well, somebody has to hook up with a better trivia team.

 

Don't make me post a picture of my collection of Princess pocket flashlights.

 

And lanyards? Don't ask.

 

Tote bags and coffee mugs???

[caribill]

What? No luggage tags??

[Cruisin' Chick]

Caps?

[fishfire]

I have sailed both Carnival and Princess. I enjoy Princess more. I must always cruise when school is out because I am a teacher. Even so I never feel like I am still "working". On the carnival cruise I wanted to put children on timeout frequently (and some of the parents too).

[Mississippian]

Several people have mentioned children. Princess actually limits the number of children on board in order to protect the adult cruising experience. We were turned down for our first choice of a cruise last year because the Grand had reached its capacity of children.

 

I've never cruised Carnival. One of my brothers has and likes it, particularly things like the dueling piano bar, which sounds like lots of fun. I wish Princess had this. But over all I think 10 out of 10 people would agree that Princess will provide a classier if somewhat more sedate experience.

 

One word of caution. I despise dancing, but some people like it. Many people have complained that the disco is far less "happening" on Princess ships than on Carnival. I generally get dragged into the disco one time where I have one drink, look around and think, "how dreadful," and then manage to leave, but generally the Princess disco isn't a giant party at sea. I would hate it even more if it was.

[Teddy11]

We took our 18 year old son on the Crown Princess this past february, and he had a fantastic time. Granted this was his first cruise, but overall he met lots of kids his own age (I made him go to the meet & greet for 18 to 20 year olds the first night). We would see him throughout the day dropping in to say hello...had dinner and saw a show together each night, then he was off with his friends until 2am. Also, the disco was not that busy...but the music they played was fantastic, better than any club we have been to on land!

[CI66774]

Mississippian - I've never heard such nonsense. Princess does NOT limit the number of kids, etc. except that the line does not permit infants less then a certain age onboard. Now, many room only have a capacity of two people. But those people could be a single parent and a child. Pray tell - where did you hear such rubbish?

[Thrak]

Only done one cruise so far and it was on Princess. I didn't think I'd like cruising but I went because it made my wife happy. As it turned out, I was ready to get right back on the ship the day we disembarked back in SFO. I absolutely loved it.

 

I'm 59 - 58 last year when we went to Alaska. My wife is slightly older (no, she doesn't read the boards ;)). There were other people our age but far more were older than us. We "did" take one of our kids along but he was a couple months short of 37 at the time. He found a handful of people his age but not a lot.

 

The ship was pretty much dead as far as social life after maybe 10:30. My son and some younger folks were still hanging out in one of the bars but most of the people were in their rooms by then. I walked around one night at maybe midnight and saw a few crew members but that was it. If you want late night action and "happening" excitement don't look for it on Princess. Personally, I loved the way it was.

 

I have friends who cruised once and will never cruise again. One of them refers to it as "that stupid cruise we went on". They cruised Carnival and it was overrun with kids and "young adults" although my friends questioned the "adult" part of that. I think if they had cruised Princess instead they may well have enjoyed themselves and not ended up thinking that cruising was horrible.

 

It all comes down to what you are looking for.

[Mississippian]

Mississippian - I've never heard such nonsense. Princess does NOT limit the number of kids, etc. except that the line does not permit infants less then a certain age onboard. Now, many room only have a capacity of two people. But those people could be a single parent and a child. Pray tell - where did you hear such rubbish?

I heard such "rubbish" when we called Princess and said we wanted to book the Grand Princess last Thanksgiving and they told us we could not book because they had reached their capacity of children. Our children were 11 and 12. There was plenty of space available on the cruise otherwise. So we booked the Ruby instead at a slightly higher price and had a fine time.

 

If I tell you a rooster dips snuff, you look under his wing and you'll find a box. And I'm telling you that Princess limits the number of children allowed on board. This generally only comes into play at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring Break, but it is company policy.

 

Why don't you call Princess and ask them. Then you can come back and apologize. I'll be waiting.

[junglejane]

Mississippian - I've never heard such nonsense. Princess does NOT limit the number of kids, etc. except that the line does not permit infants less then a certain age onboard. Now, many room only have a capacity of two people. But those people could be a single parent and a child. Pray tell - where did you hear such rubbish?

 

There have been many posts on this board over the years that report the same experience that Mississippian had -- people being unable to book their kids because the ship had reached its "limit" of kids onboard. I think that limit must be pretty high, because we've been on Princess cruises with 700 kids, but it has happened.

 

The only thing I would add is that I don't really think Princess does this to "protect the adult cruising experience." I think Princess does this because kids generate less onboard spending than adults. Kids don't buy alcohol, don't gamble in the casino, don't get spa treatments, etc. etc. They aren't as profitable as adults. We've booked our family of 4 on the Sapphire Princess Christmas cruise in a balcony and an inside. Princess would make more money if these 2 rooms were booked by 4 adults instead of 2 adults and 2 kids. Fortunately we booked almost a year ago. :)

[tfrcal]

From Princess Cruises Terms and Conditions (not sure how old this is though).

 

"For the safety and enjoyment of all on board, there are limits on the number of children and teenagers that can be carried within different age groups. The age of the passenger on the day they board the cruise, is the age we use for the entire holiday.We can advise you at the time of booking whether we are able to accept bookings for children on the cruise you have chosen."

[caribill]

The only thing I would add is that I don't really think Princess does this to "protect the adult cruising experience." I think Princess does this because kids generate less onboard spending than adults. Kids don't buy alcohol, don't gamble in the casino, don't get spa treatments, etc. etc. They aren't as profitable as adults.

 

I think it has more to do with the capacity of the kids clubs. Not every child will participate, but Princess must staff for the capacity the space can hold and be prepared in case 100% of the children in those age groups want to participate.

[kate59]

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

 

I tend to agree that the longer cruisers with Princess are more mature (not older) and less children. I haven't tried the shorter ones with them yet - still to come.

[Beachgirl19]

Great thread! We are considering our first Princess cruise next year on the Crown Princess. :)

 

We LOVE Royal Carrib, (cruised 2X with them and one upcoming in January), but they don't have a 7 day southern Caribbean itinerary from FLL at the time we wish to cruise. Been researching trying to find if Princess might be a good fit for us. We've done two cruises w/Carnival, but they are just not our style... way too many kids and too noisy. Been there, done that...

 

We're (barely) in the over 50 age group, usually cruise just as a couple, and occasionally with older extended family, & we like to spend our time relaxing, reading, etc, light activity. Normally cruise in the fall and winter to avoid the kids and crowds.

[CI66774]

I called Princess and asked the rep whether they actively limit the number of children onboard. The rep just laughed and said, "No."

[CI66774]

I want to add that the rep did say that capacity is dictated by the room congifurations. I you have a family of four and there is one cabin left on the ship and it's capacity is three, then the family is out of luck unless someone decides to stay home.

[Mississippian]

I want to add that the rep did say that capacity is dictated by the room congifurations. I you have a family of four and there is one cabin left on the ship and it's capacity is three, then the family is out of luck unless someone decides to stay home.

There was a plethora of cabins available and we were booking two cabins for two instead of one cabin for four. It frequently costs about 50 percent more to book one cabin for four than one cabin for two, so my son and I will go in one cabin and my wife and daughter in another. Usually we can be close together.

 

There is a high turnover among Princess reps, and many may not know this policy, but when they go to input names and ages the computer will spit back at them that the cruise can't accept any more children or any more children of a certain age. Other posters have confirmed this and Princess' own printed policies confirm this.

 

I suppose when I called Princess I could have dialed a wrong number and the person on the other line could have gone through a 20-minute conversation in order to play an elaborate prank on me and make me think Princess had a policy of limiting children when that was not the case. But that's really far-fetched, and that is really the only way you could be right on this.

[susancruzs]

I was onboard a Princess cruise for Thanksgiving, part of a fairly large group, singles, couples, families and several families could not book closer to the cruise.

 

There were cabins available but could not book because of the number of children involved. Three adults were going to be an adult in each cabin with 2-3 children in each, they specifically said they control the % of children to cruise capacity. They were apologetic and offered them a discount on another cruise.