Grand Princess-- Atmosphere

[waterbound]

Not sure how to write my question, but here it goes..

 

We have cruised Carnival 5 times so far and have loved it... We tried RCCL in April just because Ive never been on that cruiseline.. My boyfriend had but it had been years ago and he didnt remember anything about it.. we had a good time, but not a great time.. I dont think it was really any one thing and we recvd good service.. I think the atmosphere just wasnt to our liking.. There wasnt as much to do onboard (at least we didnt think so) and it was a little more older and sophisticated crowd I guess I would say... We are thinking we might try RCCL again some time in future to give it a second chance.. But right now we are thinking of trying Princess in January.. My question is ... What is the atmosphere?? Is it again generally an older crowd? ( I realize there are people of all ages, etc on every ship but on the RCCL cruise we went on it seemed like our age was a minority.. we are 35 and 40)... is it a fun atmosphere and laid back or is it more proper, etc?? Either way I think we are going to do it because we want to try the different cruiselines to see if we are missing out on anything with cruising with Carnival so much.. But I was just wondering what to expect..

 

TIA

[cherylandtk]

OK I will try and take a stab at it here. If you look at the photos posted by both the cruiselines and the passengers, Carnival tends to have a lot more Vegas style hot/bright colors and flashiness/glitz. Princess is more understated elegance, with beiges and brass trims. Look at the atriums on any two recent ships..see what I mean? RCCL tends to fall in the middle of that range. Not to say that the decor influences the people, but it does give an overall atmosphere. IF that is what you noticed, and found RCCL to be too sedate, then you probably will find Princess even more sedate.

 

If your RCCL and Carnival cruises were to the same general locations (such as Caribbean) and times of year, then what you noticed was the differences between lines. If you are comparing summer vs. winter, or Alaska vs. Caribbean, then the difference might be due to itinerary as well.

 

Anybody else?

[mycruz]

We have cruised Eastern Carribean on Carnival and Western on the Grand. I would say that the Grand by comparison would be more laid back than Carnival, but not boring or too proper. We sailed in April so there were fewer kids than in the summer.

[waterbound]

Thanks for the replies.. We cruised on RCCL to the same places that we have cruised on Carnival and same time of year approx that we have cruised Carnival... so I didnt put it down to that.. it just seemed like they were more reserved I guess I could say.. and theres nothing wrong with that.. Carnival is usually referred to as the party ship.. we're not really partiers, although we do have some drinks but it just seemed like on RCCL that noone did anything.. maybe it just happened to be the particular people that were on that cruise as Im sure every group of cruisers is different.. I just wondered if Princess was like that in general..

[PescadoAmarillo]

Cruises out of Galveston, regardless of cruise line, tend to be very different than cruises out of Florida. A huge percentage of people drive to the ship, lots of people from TX, OK and LA, and when we cruised in January and February last year, there were not a lot of kids, not a lot of night life on either the Grand Princess or the Celebrity Galaxy. Definitely not as dress-up a crowd as on Florida cruises, LOTS of jeans in the dining room.

[waterbound]

Cruises out of Galveston, regardless of cruise line, tend to be very different than cruises out of Florida. A huge percentage of people drive to the ship, lots of people from TX, OK and LA, and when we cruised in January and February last year, there were not a lot of kids, not a lot of night life on either the Grand Princess or the Celebrity Galaxy. Definitely not as dress-up a crowd as on Florida cruises, LOTS of jeans in the dining room.

 

That makes sense.. Maybe that could be the difference I noticed.. It makes sense..

[Baxter]

We have sailed Princess out of Galveston, Ft Lauderdale and San Francisco. We are mid-30s and usually travel by ourselves. We enjoy traditional dining and like to dine with other people...to us, a fun part of the trip is hearing about others' experiences. Each time we have cruised, we have been assigned to a table with couples who were 50+ (which is fine by us). We don't see a lot of other 30-something couples who also travel alone.

 

If you're looking for a lot of action, I would argue that Princess is not the ship for you. We love it, and sail again in 2.5 months....but when we vacation we look for something quiet, laid back and sedate. If I want crazy, I'll stay at work ;)

[CTP]

Our first cruise (5 yrs to the date of our upcoming cruise) was on RCCL - Explorer of the Seas out of Miami (Eastern Carib). The ship was loaded with activities and we found the crowd to be a large mix. There weren't as many young kids, but a good crowd around our age (25-30). I thought that it was because of the type of ship we chose (brand new and sports theme). There was a rock climbing wall, skating rink, roller blade track, mini golf ... you get the picture:D The only time that I noticed there was much of an older crowd, was on formal evenings ... they came out of the woodwork on those nights.

 

We also cruised Celebrity to Alaska out of Vancouver and found it an older crowd .. and a boring ship (but still nice). We also cruised Carnival - 4 day Baja cruise out of LA. That was such a big party. Staff spent a lot of time picking up beer cans off the decks:D

[jerseygirl3]

I have cruised on Princess in January/February time frame, and although it is probably my favorite cruise line, the answer to your question is "yes" there will be an older crowd on board. Any ship sailing mid to end of January/early February tends to have older crowds, as kids are in school that time of year, and colleges don't break until later in the winter/early spring. As I said, I love Princess, but you will notice a more sedate crowd.

[Scotto97]

My wife and I will be sailing on the Grand in November and have sailed Princess out of San Juan and Los Angeles before. This is what we've seen for average ages on cruise lines..

 

Carnival 20's +

RCL 30's +

Princess 40's +

 

Of course this is just a generalization, there's a 20 year olds on Princess and 70 year olds on Carnival, but the averages are correct from my experience. Princess is a more subtle cruise line than the others above. The service is better and the ships are more elegant. That being said, they can be a little boring unless you enjoy less "active" activities such as strolling on deck, lounge bands,ect. You won't find lots of great looking young people partying by the pool, dancing at the disco, ect that you will find on Carnival, but if you want a classy, elegant vacation with your parner - Princess is hard to beat.

[geoherb]

We had a great cruise on the Grand. Our tablemates ranged from a newlywed couple in their late 20s to a couple in their early 50s who were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. We fell in the middle of the age range--42 and 47.

 

Both couples loved going up to Skywalkers at night. Island Night was another fun activity.

 

On Princess ships, I find there's a lot of variety--whether you want to join in fun and games or just sit back and relax. I tend to do more of the latter.

[phaelon56]

My only reference point is my one cruise on the Grand but my GF was 51 at the time and I was 47. She had been on Carnival three separate occasion and felt that the overall vibe of the passengers was more energetic and younger in "feel" even if not in age.

 

In terms of the lounges having livelier entertainment and the disco being more lively - it may be more than just age - the lounge acts on Princess weren't to my taste but I tend to have younger and more progressive taste in music than most of my late 40's / early 50's peers. She (my GF) felt that the on-board live musical entertianment on Carnival was far better than on the Grand.

 

Overall our dining room serveice was very good and our room stweard was fantastic. The relatively subdued atmosphere (we went in late October when there were few kids or teens on the cruise) made it a very romantic experience for us and the understated elegance of the rooms and the public areas contributed to that.

 

But even at that time of year the overall tenor of the passengers can change dramatically from week to week. Desmond, the bartender at the bar in the main atrium wher I went most days to get coffee, advised me that the crowd the week before our cruise had been very lively - up and around late at inght and fillign the lounges and disco to the wee hours. In contrast - the lounges were dead most evenings during our week. He also mentioned that during winter schol breaks and during the sumemr when families can travel with younger kids - the ship can get to be a zoo with 600 - 700 kids ramming around.

[yancycruiser]

We cruised in late January on Grandeur of the Seas, Carnival Pride, and Grand Princess and noted the same age groups on all three ships - between 30 and 70 with a good mix of all ages.

[vmom]

We have cruised 2x's with RCCL and 2 x's with Princess.

 

Frankly, If RCCL was not to your taste, I don't think Princess will be to your taste either. I'm not trying to discourage you, but Princess is not any more party like than RCCL, in fact maybe a bit more layback if anything.

 

If you find a product you like (Carnival) I'd say, stick to it. Cruises can be a bit of $$$ so why spend you time and money on something that may be just ok for your tastes when you can get something you are more likely to prefer.

The great thing about different cruise lines is that there is something out there for everyone. Carnival has so many different ships, especially new ones, why not just try some different Carnival ships for now.