CCL cruiser looking to try Princess

[rockinmlb]

Has anyone cruised on Carnival and Princess? Any comparison? Any tips?

 

Are you able to order liquor from BV and it be delivered to room like on Carnival?

[paul929207]

We almost always cruise on Princess. Two years ago we sailed once on Carnival and were very disappointed with the service. It is unlikely we will ever sail Carnival again.

[Pia1913]

Has anyone cruised on Carnival and Princess? Any comparison? Any tips?

 

Are you able to order liquor from BV and it be delivered to room like on Carnival?

 

Yes, you can order booze for your room and yes we have cruised many times with Carnival. There is no comparison. Princess is class; Carnival is not.

[OCruisers]

Cruised on both. Way more Princess but have also been on four CCL.

 

Princess is a bit more laid back and you aren't constantly bombarded with announcements. Princess still has live bands on the Lido deck around the pool which is way better than the DJ thing on Carnival. Yes, there are games around the pool but no "hairy chest contest".

 

CCL has things going on way later at night while Princess is normally pretty much done by midnight. That may or may not be important to you.

 

Princess has very good bar/lounge entertainment ... but no wild & crazy piano bars like CCL.

 

Food is very subjective ... but we like it LOTS better on Princess.

 

Do give Princess a try and see what you think! It's fun to "sleep around" on lots of different cruise lines! :D

[lor74]

Was on Carnival Freedom last May. In my opinion, based on my 2 CCL & 7 Princess cruises, the food and dinning service is better on Princess. Although food is completely a matter of personal preference, my 2 experiences on CCL....even though they were years apart.....were that the food visually looked good, but was completely lacking in flavour/spice. On CCL, the wait staff in the buffet area were only there to clean tables, not to offer you service like on Princess

[rockinmlb]

Cruised on both. Way more Princess but have also been on four CCL.

 

Princess is a bit more laid back and you aren't constantly bombarded with announcements. Princess still has live bands on the Lido deck around the pool which is way better than the DJ thing on Carnival. Yes, there are games around the pool but no "hairy chest contest".

 

CCL has things going on way later at night while Princess is normally pretty much done by midnight. That may or may not be important to you.

 

Princess has very good bar/lounge entertainment ... but no wild & crazy piano bars like CCL.

 

Food is very subjective ... but we like it LOTS better on Princess.

 

Do give Princess a try and see what you think! It's fun to "sleep around" on lots of different cruise lines! :D

 

this is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for your response. We are party people, or should I say drinkers, but not the redneck crazies I've seen on Carnival. I love most everything about Carnival and always go with an open mind so we wont be disappointed. Relaxing and a cold drink is what I want. Its been a rough past couple of months and I just want to enjoy

 

Princess' website doesnt give much info on their ships tho. Im trying to find more pics of the Caribbean Princess. We would be sailing out of Houston/Galveston

[sfo2008]

Has anyone cruised on Carnival and Princess? Any comparison? Any tips?

 

Are you able to order liquor from BV and it be delivered to room like on Carnival?

 

Have cruised both, I find Princess' ships more reserved/refined in appearance (less gaudy) but overall you'll find more similarities than differences.

 

How you feel about those differences will come down to your personal preferences. We've been doing more Princess than Carnival, but both are fine.

[rockinmlb]

Yes, you can order booze for your room and yes we have cruised many times with Carnival. There is no comparison. Princess is class; Carnival is not.

 

thanks for this info. I saw where my liquor of choice was only $17 a bottle whereas Carnival its $75. We are not looking to get sloshed every night but a good pineapple juice, cranberry juice and rum would be great by the pool :D

[rockinmlb]

Was on Carnival Freedom last May. In my opinion, based on my 2 CCL & 7 Princess cruises, the food and dinning service is better on Princess. Although food is completely a matter of personal preference, my 2 experiences on CCL....even though they were years apart.....were that the food visually looked good, but was completely lacking in flavour/spice. On CCL, the wait staff in the buffet area were only there to clean tables, not to offer you service like on Princess

 

good info. thanks. Im not picky when it comes to food. I usually dont gripe about particulars and have an open mind on everything. I think we are leaning more towards Princess since itll be just the hubby and I.

[OCruisers]

this is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for your response. We are party people, or should I say drinkers ....

 

We always have a multi-page bar bill at the end of a cruise so Hear You! :D

A fun place to go on Princess ships is Crooner's and sit AT the bar. You'll get to know the regulars and have fun! :D

 

;) The pax base is a way better fit for us on Princess.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[paul929207]

thanks for this info. I saw where my liquor of choice was only $17 a bottle whereas Carnival its $75. We are not looking to get sloshed every night but a good pineapple juice, cranberry juice and rum would be great by the pool :D

Princess sells 375 ml bottles via room service for prices in the high teens.

[dforeigner]

Princess sells 375 ml bottles via room service for prices in the high teens.

 

Princess Cellars

 

The following beverages are available as bon voyage gifts. Prices include gratuity

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/gifts_services/cellars_culinarydelights/princess_cellars/index.jsp

 

Here is a link to the Princess Cellars menu/prices

[dforeigner]

this is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for your response. We are party people, or should I say drinkers, but not the redneck crazies I've seen on Carnival. I love most everything about Carnival and always go with an open mind so we wont be disappointed. Relaxing and a cold drink is what I want. Its been a rough past couple of months and I just want to enjoy

 

Princess' website doesnt give much info on their ships tho. Im trying to find more pics of the Caribbean Princess. We would be sailing out of Houston/Galveston

 

For pictures and tour of the ship try:

 

http://beyondships.com/Princess-CB-Tour-1a.html

[Mekamax]

this is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for your response. We are party people, or should I say drinkers, but not the redneck crazies I've seen on Carnival. I love most everything about Carnival and always go with an open mind so we wont be disappointed. Relaxing and a cold drink is what I want. Its been a rough past couple of months and I just want to enjoy

 

Princess' website doesnt give much info on their ships tho. Im trying to find more pics of the Caribbean Princess. We would be sailing out of Houston/Galveston

 

 

We are going to go ahead and try her out of Houston ourselves. First time on Princess and 19 on CCL along with RCl and NCL and Disney. I'm tired of the DJ on CCL.... I toured the Crown Princess while it was in Galveston and the ship is a more quiet elegance - like a Four Seasons Hotel instead of a Vegas Hotel. The food I have to admit I liked better on Princess but then again I'm pretty happy on CCL with the food too... The people onboard were more laid back and older (50s to 60s) when we toured and the bars were already hopping. The people we met were very friendly and outgoing and very well traveled (not first time cruisers) which we found very interesting. Also seemed to be more couples than groups...

 

We toured using BVE - or the Bon Voyage Experience. It is $39pp and you get 3-4 hours onboard to tour it at will or by guided tour, lunch in the dining room with wine and the boarding picture are included. If you book within 3 months you will get the $39 back off your booking which we did. :D They will be doing this in Houston although it is not listed as some people have called on it. You do not have to know anyone sailing to do this as we didn't. If you want to see it first I'd suggest the tour as we had a great time and got to checkout cabins and such. :)

[Mekamax]

thanks for this info. I saw where my liquor of choice was only $17 a bottle whereas Carnival its $75. We are not looking to get sloshed every night but a good pineapple juice, cranberry juice and rum would be great by the pool :D

 

 

I agree the liquor is cheaper and we are glad but please notice they are 375ml or 1/2 bottles. Where CCL is 1 liter bottles. So the run will be $34 for the 750 ml (still a little smaller than CCL) but way cheaper.. :D

 

We are really looking forward to trying her as we really like sailing out of Houston and sailing down the ship channel. Did this a few times on NCL when they were here years ago... When are you going?

[echotumi]

what ships have you been on with ccl ?

i do like the lay out of the spirt class ships of ccl

where are you going?

princess is very nice .. the cabins arent as big as ccl

if u like ccl ull like princess for sure i think ,

i dont mind the crazy people on ccl there always enjoyable to watch :D

[Midwestern Cruiser]

Carnival balcony cabins are enough of a difference...have to buy a mini suite on Princess to get something similar. Princess has the advantage of a tub in the mini suite, but the cabin is smaller and their balcony layout is just wrong (exposed, partially exposed, teeny tiny in most cases). Beyond that, Princess sells too much and doesn't put much effort into their entertainment. Food's about the same, and so is the service, but Carnival prices are generally more reasonable.

Carnival has Fun Ships. Princess says escape completely. I think Carnival lives up to its pitch better than Princess.

That said, we're sailing Princess next week, and I'd recommend them with a couple caveats...but prefer Carnival. JMO

[rockinmlb]

we are looking at the one going to Belize but not sure when yet, as my husband just started a new job today and next fall will hopefully be my first semester in the nursing program. We will have to wing it and see how everything goes when we are ready to book. :D:):D

 

 

We are definitely not in our 50s-60s but fit in anywhere we go. we are mid 30s :D just looking for a great time

 

the size of the rooms wont bother us this time since itll just be me and him. we are only in the room to sleep and well, ya know :cool:. Soooo, Princess is sounding good.

 

Thanks everyone for your input. Its very much appreciated!

[rockinmlb]

Carnival balcony cabins are enough of a difference...have to buy a mini suite on Princess to get something similar. Princess has the advantage of a tub in the mini suite, but the cabin is smaller and their balcony layout is just wrong (exposed, partially exposed, teeny tiny in most cases). Beyond that, Princess sells too much and doesn't put much effort into their entertainment. Food's about the same, and so is the service, but Carnival prices are generally more reasonable.

Carnival has Fun Ships. Princess says escape completely. I think Carnival lives up to its pitch better than Princess.

That said, we're sailing Princess next week, and I'd recommend them with a couple caveats...but prefer Carnival. JMO

 

thats good to know! We arent ruling Carnival out this time but I would like to venture out and try other ships while they are here. Rough to have this decision to make lmao :p

[lovetocruise2020]

Has anyone cruised on Carnival and Princess? Any comparison? Any tips?

 

Are you able to order liquor from BV and it be delivered to room like on Carnival?

 

You will miss the Warm Chocolate melting cake, Mongolian Grill and the Tiramisu Martini, as well as the Fun Ship Special. Well, that is what i will miss. (And always miss when i am on HaL)...

[lovetocruise2020]

good info. thanks. Im not picky when it comes to food. I usually dont gripe about particulars and have an open mind on everything. I think we are leaning more towards Princess since itll be just the hubby and I.

 

Order 3 or four, as they are very small,

[rockinmlb]

You will miss the Warm Chocolate melting cake, Mongolian Grill and the Tiramisu Martini, as well as the Fun Ship Special. Well, that is what i will miss. (And always miss when i am on HaL)...

 

 

gaw .. making it difficult haha!!

[Midwestern Cruiser]

It IS a hard decision to make, rockinmlb -- haha!

And surfergirle makes some good points about all the stuff you'd miss.

[rockinmlb]

I love knowing the fact that I already know Carnival. Im familiar with all their rules and whatnot. They offer 4 and 5 day cruises year round, unlike Princess. I would like to sail out of Houston, since I havent before.

 

Damned if I do, Damned if I dont hahahaha!! :D:D:D

[lovetocruise2020]

I love knowing the fact that I already know Carnival. Im familiar with all their rules and whatnot. They offer 4 and 5 day cruises year round, unlike Princess. I would like to sail out of Houston, since I havent before.

 

Damned if I do, Damned if I dont hahahaha!! :D:D:D

 

We do really love some things on Carnival and Holland. Can we combine the best of 3? :)