Carnival Versus Princess a Comparison

[love my grandkids]

One nice thing on Princess is you sit down and one of the crew will get your beverage for you.

 

For omelets you get a ticket and hand it to crew member who will get it for you.

 

Both are very nice touches.

[PhoneGoddess]

I respectfully differ. We took our first Princess cruise last September and our opinion was that there's no fair comparison between the two. While Carnival offers a great cruise for budget seekers, we thought that Princess offered a considerably better experience, specially for those who appreciate the small details, a more refined cruise, a more diverse and innovative menu, better quality and varied entertainment, more tasteful and elegant ambiance and decor, less obtrusive and more professional staff, and worldlier itineraries.

 

For us, from the moment we flawlessly checked in at the port of Los Angeles at the hands of a very professional and courteous staff, until we participated in the silent debarkation on the last day, we were impressed with so many details that made our Princess cruise superior than most other cruises that we've ever taken.

 

Is Princess a better choice for everybody? Absolutely not. While we had an absolutely wonderful time and would sail on them again without hesitation, they wouldn't be our cruise line of choice if we are traveling with our very active small children. Also, I wouldn't recommend Princess to the "burgers and fries" crowd. They would probably find the food inedible, the ambiance too stuffy, and most details would go unperceived. Some people enjoy Guy's Burgers, others the International Cafe. Some enjoy the ever-changing neon, wild colors and flashy Farcus decor on Carnival's atriums, others enjoy the subdued and understated elegance of Princess' Piazzas. Some enjoy DJ's blasting hip hop by the pool deck, others enjoy piped in classical music throughout the ship. It's all a matter of personal choice.

 

Respectfully, any time I read a comparison that concludes that two cruise lines are more alike than different, I more often than not disagree. Whether the comparison is between Carnival, Royal, Princess, Holland, Cunard, Costa, or several others, there are sizable differences. Whether the reviewer has the ability to recognize or even care about what truly differentiates these cruise lines is a different story.

 

I couldn't have said it better myself. There is definitely a big difference between Carnival and Princess.

[SadieN]

Been on six Princess cruises and many, many Carnival cruises out of Los Angeles, with similar itins --3 & 4 dayers, Mexican Riviera, Coastals.

 

There are pluses and minuses on both lines.

 

Our ideal cruise line would have--

From Princess-

large theater (no poles in the way),

International cafe

Horizon Court food

Dinner time BBQ (though they think all brisket should be corned beef:rolleyes:)

Large number of waitstaff in the Buffet, dirty dishes rarely left on a table for more than a minute.

Suites (including window suites)

Ability to get an S&S printout just by swiping your card in the kiosk

Comedians Alfred & Seymour and Carlos Oscar

 

 

From Carnival-

Carnival's Piano bar (Princess's is in the Atrium, no sing along)

Hot Chocolate machines

24/7 soft serve

Carved Lamb on the buffet

Deli

MDR food (either the old menu or the new American menus)

ATD that has no reservations and assigned diners kept out

The tear-off from the Fun Times

Size of the showers

Vanity from any class other than the Fantasy class

Cabins (non-suite)

Bedding (beds that do not need any extra padding to be comfortable)

Room Stewards who know how to dust (6 cruises on Princess and not one dusted the shelf under the TV)

Room Steward Supervisors who check for dust in the emergency lighting tracks (Never seen any supervisor on Princess, No I didn't check for dust in the emergency lighting tracks)

seeing cleaning of the ship 24/7

Friendliness of the crew

Carnival's new pizza recipe

All ships have public center stairwells

Steakhouse

Large cross section of cruisers.

Vibrancy

Edited May 12, 2015 by SadieN

[W5KAP]

I tried really hard not to take the bait here but I couldn't resist. First, we are a couple in our mid-60's, We have done 4 cruises on Carnival and 7 on Princess. I can state categorically that we will never do another Carnival Cruise. Please understand I am not indicting anyone who likes Carnival. Cruise on the line you enjoy. You're spending a lot of money so it better be where you like it. We like Princess much, much more for several reasons. We find Carnival decor to be garish to the nth degree. A floating bordello if you will. Princess is by far classier looking. Elegant even. As far as food goes, we see little or no difference between the two. Love the Crown Grill. Entertainment is more our style on Princess but that is certainly subjective. Where we really diverge is the clientele. Forgive me for saying this but Carnival is for the drunk crowd! It;s crazy how much people drink and how drunk they get. I am sure I will get flamed for that statement but it's true. This is the principle reason we stay away from Carnival. If that is how you enjoy your cruise time, more power to you but you won't see us there.

 

Cheers, Kenn

[abisha]

OP..I have to disagree with you on some of the areas you commented on. I got off the Regal the day you got on for your 3 day. First let me say, being on the 7 night makes for a much different experience than what you may expect on a 3 night. I also sailed on the Ruby Princess, and my experience on the Ruby was even a bit different than on the Regal.

 

As far as the Princess terminal...yes, it's a bit more "stark" than Carnival's, but I honestly don't care too much as I am not vacationing in the terminal and don't spend any time in the terminal. The terminal for the Ruby Princess was nicer than Regal's terminal.

 

My DH is disabled and while we did have to enter that "room" you talked about, it was very pleasant. We were the 2nd ones to enter, and as the room filled up, we ended up talking to alot of very nice people. Our transition from that room and onto the ship was very quick. We were treated very nicely as we were also treated nicely on Carnival.

 

I really found many things on Princess to be very similar to what Carnival offers, but yet I also found many differences.

 

Food is very subjective, but when I was on the Ruby Princess, the buffet food was amazing..best I've ever experienced. On that cruise, I felt no need to even step foot into the MDR. And I do find Carnival's MDR much better than Princess's MDR. I find Carnival's buffet lacking (except for the Breeze where I thought the exact opposite).

 

I found numerous things to do for activities on Princess (once again..we are talking about a 7 night...not a 3 night). There seemed to be similar things that Carnival offered, but I found there was a bit more to do on Princess.

 

Afternoon tea (if you like that sort of thing) was a much more elegant experience on Princess (white glove service with scones, jam and clotted cream..the real deal) vs. Carnival's which is nice, but not a true tea in that sense.

 

I do like Carnival's main theaters much better..so much more easier to navigate and more room, along with the balcony. Princess theater setup not that great. But the entertainment on Princess for me personally is much better and to my own linking.

 

I found the Princess ships to be much more "classier" looking in their decor vs. Carnival's flashy neon Las Vegas decor (which, by the way, I also like). But I really liked how Princess makes much more use of their Atrium area with more entertainment and parties...for example, the Mardi Gras Party, the 50 year balloon drop, the champaign fountain on formal night, and tons of entertainment throughout both the day and night. It seems like much more of a gathering place.

 

The buffet on Princess is a nice experience whereas you get beverage service and the tables are set...a nice touch.

 

Princess is a much more subdued atmosphere and a more "mature" clientelle, and I found it nice to cruise with grownups for a change.

 

One thing I like better on Carnival...more shade around the pool areas. the Regal was terrible when it came to that.

 

I really like both lines and will continue to sail on both.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[Warm Breezes]

I tried really hard not to take the bait here but I couldn't resist. First, we are a couple in our mid-60's, We have done 4 cruises on Carnival and 7 on Princess. I can state categorically that we will never do another Carnival Cruise. Please understand I am not indicting anyone who likes Carnival. Cruise on the line you enjoy. You're spending a lot of money so it better be where you like it. We like Princess much, much more for several reasons. We find Carnival decor to be garish to the nth degree. A floating bordello if you will. Princess is by far classier looking. Elegant even. As far as food goes, we see little or no difference between the two. Love the Crown Grill. Entertainment is more our style on Princess but that is certainly subjective. Where we really diverge is the clientele. Forgive me for saying this but Carnival is for the drunk crowd! It;s crazy how much people drink and how drunk they get. I am sure I will get flamed for that statement but it's true. This is the principle reason we stay away from Carnival. If that is how you enjoy your cruise time, more power to you but you won't see us there.

 

Cheers, Kenn

 

I have to say that my experience on Carnival has been different. I have not seen this drunken crowd that you dislike. Having said that I think one of the things that bothered me most about our Princess cruise was also the clientele. We went on a 5 night Ruby Princess in March last year out of FLL. We expected a younger crowd due to it being a Spring Break shorter cruise. What we got was a ship full of Snow Birds and groups from Florida retirement villages...mostly people in their mid - late 60's and older. We were in our late 40's and felt like the youngsters. I enjoy going and listening to people try their hand at karaoke but you can only take so much of "My Way". Quite frankly I prefer the more lively (not drunken) Carnival scene.

 

On Princes we also ran into some of the rudest and seemingly unhappiest employees we've come across on any our cruises and we didn't like having to find someone to get serve us OJ in the morning in the buffet when we just wanted to grab a glass to take back to our room along with I missed the Hot Chocolate machine. We found the food on Princess to either be excellent or blah. On Carnival it is usually a consistent good for us. The décor has never been something I wasted my time worrying or getting upset over. We did like the production shows better on Princess than Carnival but Carnival has better comedy. I did like the smoke free night in the Casino. But in my opinion Carnival wins in the room department. I could not get comfortable at all on the balcony with the lack of privacy due to the layout and the extremely uncomfortable furniture. Give me a Carnival room any day. We just found ourselves getting bored on Princess and we usually don't have that problem on Carnival. It may be a while before we decide to try Princess again.

[BDRebel]

A lot of good points brought up here, and I cannot disagree with any of them.

What it seems to boil down to is: If you want an active, non-stop vacation, Carnival would be a good match. If you want to unwind and totally relax, Princess may be a better choice.

 

I like both for different reasons. If one were to adopt anything from the other, I would go with Princess' décor and service being used in Carnival.

[Tapi]

 

What it seems to boil down to is: If you want an active, non-stop vacation, Carnival would be a good match. If you want to unwind and totally relax, Princess may be a better choice.

 

 

I think that Princess' new slogan "Come Back New" is spot on. We returned from our Princess cruise relaxed, recharged, and renewed. On Carnival, although we've had a great time, we come back exhausted and in need to recover! I've slept all day after returning from my Carnival cruises more than once! [emoji5]️

[love my grandkids]

Great thread hope more folks weigh in.:)