First cruise with Princess

[Pam in CA]

One great thing about the balloons on the door is that it's easy to see which cabin is yours. :)

[shredie]

One great thing about the balloons on the door is that it's easy to see which cabin is yours. :)

 

I hadn't thought of that! Duh! I should have since I was counting the doors between us and the Anniversary balloons on Tim's and Ann's door on the last cruise. (I have no idea who Tim and Ann were, but there was their name tag and their balloons! I hope they had a great cruise!)

 

Whose thread am I high jacking? Oh yes, Princess vs. Carnival. I haven't done the special occasion thing on Carnival either. I don't think I even know what they do.

[Corinda]

Speaking of San Pedro - I'm traveling with a new cruiser in October and our flights arrive at like 7:30am...any suggestions on killing time? or what time princess starts picking people up from the airport?

[wizard-of-roz]

Haha! I read that "turning 21" (which I always suspected was probably the truth.):) I have broken down and listed my birthday for our October cruise. I never have done that because I didn't think I needed the fuss. On out last cruise, I decided I liked the look of the balloons outside the doors. (Yes, I will be turning 21--again--I have done that numerous times!)

 

No, seriously, I'll be "turning another age" on the 21st of September. I turned around, I blinked and I'm another age! How'd that happen? :o

[wizard-of-roz]

I hadn't thought of that! Duh! I should have since I was counting the doors between us and the Anniversary balloons on Tim's and Ann's door on the last cruise. (I have no idea who Tim and Ann were, but there was their name tag and their balloons! I hope they had a great cruise!)

 

Whose thread am I high jacking? Oh yes, Princess vs. Carnival. I haven't done the special occasion thing on Carnival either. I don't think I even know what they do.

 

Are you "sleep-walking" again?

[BrandiGreg]

We have done Carnival twice (caribbean, with our son when he was young). We had a good time, but with just the two of us we prefer Princess, especially because we have reached Elite and get all those perks like free laundry and mini-bar set up. It is hard to consider any other line at this point, now that they have us "hooked". We like Princess for the reasons already listed, at our age (62 and 48), we like to hang with "middle-aged" people who have a young attitude (whatever that means). There are exception however, because there are plenty of mature young people and immature old ones, and vice versa. The longer cruises or Transatlantics have an older crowd and more Elites, but they are usually more younger acting, open-minded, and tolerant than most elderly (at least the ones I know) since they travel a lot and are tolerant of people different than themselves. As if they have done it all, seen it all, heard it all. So that fits us fine. Lots more signs of people not handling their alcohol consumption responsibly on Carnival than Princess, but for a 3 night cruise the assumption is that most everyone there is there to drink and party (which is fine if they can do it responsibly and not barf in the elevator). There are no water slides or rock climbing walls or surfing machines like you see on other lines like RC and Carnival. So, in summary, don't judge a line by a 3 day cruise or even by one or two cruises. That would be like judging a restaurant by one bad entree or by one bad server. But for the perks, if you plan to cruise a lot, I think Princess does a good job with rewarding loyalty. And the best perks are available to all cruisers on Princess, and that are the cabin credit for being a Veteran and for owning 100 shares of CCL stock.....Look into these if eligible, because it is free money...Have fun!

[dopanate]

We are equal opportunity cruisers! I like to equate the cruise lines with shopping. Carnival is like going to Target. I like shopping at Target but don't want to shop at Target for everything. Princess is like going to Macy's. More refined and subtle.

 

If Princess had ports a little closer to home, we would sail more often with them. Carnival and RCCL both have several ports in northern and middle Florida that are much more convenient than Miami/Ft. Lauderdale for Princess. We only do Princess in Alaska. They've been doing it the longest and do it best.

 

Just like shopping, you will have some great customer service and maybe some not so great customer service on any of the cruise lines. Its what you make of your experience :) We like to see our glass as half full, with room for more!

[blkspy]

i think 3 days is the perfect amount of time to test it out. my first princess cruise was a 3 day coastal 'tester' and I was hooked. I loved it from the start and I had no idea that a longer trip would be even better!

 

O n a short Coastal what was it that you fell in love with......had you cruised before? im at 35 Princess cruises:) CURIOUS as to what hooked you :) thanks

[shredie]

We are equal opportunity cruisers! I like to equate the cruise lines with shopping. Carnival is like going to Target. I like shopping at Target but don't want to shop at Target for everything. Princess is like going to Macy's. More refined and subtle.

 

 

That's a good analogy.

[rdsqrl]

We are equal opportunity cruisers! I like to equate the cruise lines with shopping. Carnival is like going to Target. I like shopping at Target but don't want to shop at Target for everything. Princess is like going to Macy's. More refined and subtle.

 

Nordstrom. Princess is like Nordstrom. If it were like Macy's, your cabin closet would already be filled with someone else's discarded try-ons and you'd have to trek over three bars before you could find someone to ring up your drink purchase.

[dopanate]

rdsqrl - that's hysterical!

[shepp]

Nordstrom. Princess is like Nordstrom. If it were like Macy's, your cabin closet would already be filled with someone else's discarded try-ons and you'd have to trek over three bars before you could find someone to ring up your drink purchase.

 

Sorry, but as a confirmed Macy's shopper and Princess cruiser, the comparison is apt. Nordstrom is maybe, um, Celebrity. You did read that thread where all the Princess guys were saying their Tommy Bahama aloha shirts were the height of fashion?

 

Definitely not Nordstrom.

[Wheeler M]

My wife and I did 5 carnival cruises, they were fine, last year we did our first Princess cruise on the Caribbean Princess and next April we are booked on the Caribbean Princess again.We are now hooked on the Princess line, What a difference.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We are equal opportunity cruisers! I like to equate the cruise lines with shopping. Carnival is like going to Target. I like shopping at Target but don't want to shop at Target for everything. Princess is like going to Macy's. More refined and subtle.

 

If Princess had ports a little closer to home, we would sail more often with them. Carnival and RCCL both have several ports in northern and middle Florida that are much more convenient than Miami/Ft. Lauderdale for Princess. We only do Princess in Alaska. They've been doing it the longest and do it best.

 

Just like shopping, you will have some great customer service and maybe some not so great customer service on any of the cruise lines. Its what you make of your experience :) We like to see our glass as half full, with room for more!

 

Nordstrom. Princess is like Nordstrom. If it were like Macy's, your cabin closet would already be filled with someone else's discarded try-ons and you'd have to trek over three bars before you could find someone to ring up your drink purchase.

 

Actually I would go more with what rdsqrl said. My sister had worked for Macys for years, first in children's clothing and then in bridal, and was one of their top sales persons...yet they treated her badly, dumping her and other long-termers without any notice (like that afternoon:() and instead hired inexperience teenagers they can pay dirt bottom for. Yes, I know they're not the only company that has done that, but they are not customer-service-driven. And the over-priced, low quality stuff they sell now...I've found Target to have better made (with often better fabrics) clothing.

 

My first six cruises have been on Carnival. Mostly okay, but we had wondered what going on another cruise line was like. One cruise on Princess and it really did seem like it was where we belonged. Hanging out on the pool deck without having to endure one of those pool contests. I can't hear that "Dude, looks like a lady" song without images of passengers using a banana to lip sync to it -- I guess the use of the banana instead of a microphone was important (phallic?) for this contest. Also the stuff the bathing suits with ping pong balls contest. No thanks. Less PA announcements on Princess too (especially if you have a CD who is aware of how much those "Your last chance bingo..." announcements are annoying to many of us. Not to mention the lack of a Vegas-decor on Princess.