Princess vs Carnival

[Postman806]

Have only cruised Carnival. Any differences? Similarities?

 

 

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[Sea Hag]

In my experience, Carnival has a more informal atmosphere. Princess is quieter - again, in my experience. I'd still sail on either one.

[Thrak]

Have only cruised Carnival. Any differences? Similarities?

 

 

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• Never seen an obnoxious drunk on Princess
  
• Never heard the "F" word on Princess
  
• Not many tattoos on Princess
  
• Older crowd on Princess
  
• No loud color scheme on Princess
  
• No stupid "Hairy Chest" type of activities on Princess
  

[easyboy]

It is more laid-back in Princess.

 

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[Jeter02]

Princess is Casual, Elegant, and Traditional. A massive upgrade from Carnival all around. Princess is also a much more quiet and relaxing atmosphere.

[Postman806]

It is more laid-back in Princess.

 

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Do you mean Carnival is more laid back? Or Princess is?

 

 

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[raea416]

Carnival was definitely a younger, more party going crowd. Princess felt more refined. I thought princess food was better. Some on the entertainment on carnival was better (comedy shows, piano bar).

 

 

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[OCruisers]

On Princess you'll enjoy being able to go directly to your cabin when you first board the ship! :D

[joeyancho]

The food is much better on princess. The buffet is open from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. as opposed to Carnival where they close the buffet at certain hours. Carnival does not have the international cafe which is open 24 hours. The pizza is much better on princess. The room service menu on princess how some hot items. Carnival does not. And from what I read the alcoholic beverages are a bit cheaper on princess. Princess ships are much nicer. Decor will not give you a headache. The fellow passengers on princess are step up. The entertainment in the main showroom is much better on princess Our last cruise on Carnival was the final straw. We will not be going back on Carnival. Carnival has gotten quite ghetto.

[jasbo49]

• Never seen an obnoxious drunk on Princess
  
• Never heard the "F" word on Princess
  
• Not many tattoos on Princess
  
• Older crowd on Princess
  
• No loud color scheme on Princess
  
• No stupid "Hairy Chest" type of activities on Princess
  

All due respect, Thrak, buy why would you want to compare when you've never been on Carnival? I much prefer Princess, but I've been on both.

 

Jim

[raea416]

The food is much better on princess. The buffet is open from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. as opposed to Carnival where they close the buffet at certain hours. Carnival does not have the international cafe which is open 24 hours. The pizza is much better on princess. The room service menu on princess how some hot items. Carnival does not. And from what I read the alcoholic beverages are a bit cheaper on princess. Princess ships are much nicer. Decor will not give you a headache. The fellow passengers on princess are step up. The entertainment in the main showroom is much better on princess Our last cruise on Carnival was the final straw. We will not be going back on Carnival. Carnival has gotten quite ghetto.

 

 

Spot on! Totally didn't mention the international cafe. Loved the specialty coffees and never ending delicious pastries.

 

 

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[ohhbother]

• Never seen an obnoxious drunk on Princess
  
• Never heard the "F" word on Princess
  
• Not many tattoos on Princess
  
• Older crowd on Princess
  
• No loud color scheme on Princess
  
• No stupid "Hairy Chest" type of activities on Princess
  

 

Well, my tattooed self has cruised both Princess and Carnival, as well as several other lines. I actually have cruises booked on Carnival, Princess and Celebrity right now. I enjoy all of them, and I think the experience is more determined by the destination than the cruise line. One of the quietest cruises I've been on was a 12-day Carnival cruise through the Hawaiian islands and back to Vancouver. And conversely, I saw plenty of people who'd enjoyed the bar a little too much on the Emerald Princess in the Caribbean last year.

[Lucky TGO]

Princess is Casual, Elegant, and Traditional. A massive upgrade from Carnival all around. Princess is also a much more quiet and relaxing atmosphere.

 

I totally agree with you. When it comes to liquor drinks Thrak knows see post #3. Princess over Carnival ever time.

Tony

[Bemidji Ty]

A Youtube search of Cruise Fights, will reveal that one line is the clear winner.

[4cats4me]

• 
   
  
• Never seen an obnoxious drunk on Princess
   
  
• Never heard the "F" word on Princess
   
  
• Not many tattoos on Princess
   
  
• Older crowd on Princess
   
  
• No loud color scheme on Princess
   
  
• No stupid "Hairy Chest" type of activities on Princess
   
  

 

 

 

Unfortunately, we have experienced #2 on Princess on occasion. [emoji33]

Yes, more the exception than the rule.

We never heard any foul language on Our one Carnival cruise.

And although I don't recall hairy chest contests on Princess, I've seen plenty of hairy leg contests while onboard throughout the years, not to mention diving for fruit and fruit being stuffed down one's swimming trunks [emoji23]the pool games.

 

Carnival had a much more uptempo vibe than some of the Princess cruises I've been on. Food on Princess is better, IMHO

 

 

Basic cabins are much larger on Carnival.

 

Pool areas are prettier on Princess. I hate all those slides that Carnival has on their ships.

 

Princess can be a 'fun' ship but sometimes it feels too subdued for us, and we are in our early to mid fifties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[4cats4me]

"

A Youtube search of Cruise Fights, will reveal that one line is the clear winner.[/]"

End Quote by Bemidji"

 

 

 

This happened on Crown Princess and everyone was talking about it back here in the day. (2006)

 

Google crown princess brownie riot. I can't link because of foul language banner at the beginning of the video, and I don't want to violate the rules of CC

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=416457

 

 

 

 

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[SadieN]

Total West Coast cruiser here.

Crew on both lines say we're just different out here. :D

Diamond on Carnival but am more than halfway to Elite on Princess.

--The short Carnival cruises are more Weekend in Vegas. Can be extremely sedate on Princess.

--The longer cruises (9-14 days) draw pretty much a similar, mellow crowd. Though Carnival does draw from a wider variety of people and occupations.

--A big difference, a big picture example: our last few Princess cruises karaoke never got any later than '50s Elvis, with some Sinatra thrown in. Carnival does more rock and some rap.

-Never seen a fight on either line (have seen one on HAL!) but only on Princess have I heard one pax say that another should have jumped overboard.

-Food is very subjective. We prefer Carnival's MDR and usually Princess's buffet. Our last Princess cruise the buffet was in an odd three day rotation, three days same menu, then another menu would be repeated the next three days.

Princess ships are prettier but there is almost no seating along the indoor Promenade. Also the Princess ships we've been on, seem to have the Promenade windows covered up. On Carnival it's very easy to see the ocean from most of the public interior areas.

-Princess cabins are smaller, need to get a mini suite before there's a sofa in the cabin. Both have horrible shampoo and blow dryers.

 

We sail Princess for itins Carnival doesn't offer.

[Thrak]

All due respect, Thrak, buy why would you want to compare when you've never been on Carnival? I much prefer Princess, but I've been on both.

 

Jim

 

Friends who cruised Carnival for their first (and last) cruise. They will never set foot on a cruise ship again.

[SantaFeFan]

A Youtube search of Cruise Fights, will reveal that one line is the clear winner.

 

There was a long thread here on Cruise Critic a couple of years ago discussing which was the worst cruise line. Right out of the gate, NCL and Carnival ran neck in next at the front of the pack. The leader kept switching back and forth between the two for several pages of comments, but both of them were always way ahead of the rest. As the thread finally wound down, one courageous CC member took one for the team and went through ever post and tabulated the score. In the end, Carnival was the winner of the Worst Cruise Line Award, but only by a smidgen. It must have been quite the honor to have won such a prestigious award. ;p

[keithm]

Have only cruised Carnival. Any differences? Similarities?

 

 

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Food is better on Princess. More relaxed crowd. Less stupid pool side competitions. Crowd is generally older on Princess. Less low class schleps on Princess(though I've seen some)Overall Princess has a nicer clientele. This is most evident on longer cruises. Shorter Carnival/NCL trips(under 5 days) tend to get the boozers/ghetto types/uncontrolled kids than most other lines.

[SadieN]

Food is better on Princess. More relaxed crowd. Less stupid pool side competitions. Crowd is generally older on Princess. Less low class schleps on Princess(though I've seen some)Overall Princess has a nicer clientele. This is most evident on longer cruises. Shorter Carnival/NCL trips(under 5 days) tend to get the boozers/ghetto types/uncontrolled kids than most other lines.

 

 

 

You're right. I do see less pax schlepping off their own luggage at debarkation on Princess. Maybe you meant schlubs? But don't see too many sloppy pax on either line. Have seen a few more putz's on Carnival but more kvetches on Princess. Kvellars on both lines.

[stoneharborlady]

And conversely, I saw plenty of people who'd enjoyed the bar a little too much on the Emerald Princess in the Caribbean last year.

 

 

On one of my Princess cruises we saw a very pretty woman who had way too much to drink and seemed to be all alone dancing very suggestively by herself on top of one of the tables near a bar. The bartenders were trying so hard not to laugh. But it was a one time event. Not something I ever saw again on Princess, although I have only been on three cruises.

[keithm]

You're right. I do see less pax schlepping off their own luggage at debarkation on Princess. Maybe you meant schlubs? But don't see too many sloppy pax on either line. Have seen a few more putz's on Carnival but more kvetches on Princess. Kvellars on both lines.

Yeah, unfortunately "Spell Check" doesn't have "schlub" as a legit word. More mensch on Princess as well. Not Jewish, but used to hang with Jimmy Goldstein's family in Fanwood, NJ as a kid. His Gramma was from the old country. I could pick up her dialect at 5 years old. My parents knew instantly where I had been.

[Thoth]

I love both Carnival and Princess. One aspect that gets overlooked is destination. The cruise-lines get stereotyped based on destinations. When I cruise Carnival it tends to be to warm weather destinations such as the Caribbean or Mexico. Princess caters to cooler weather destinations which offers culture/history and scenic attractions, so needless to say most of my Canadian or Alaskan cruises are Princess.

I find it difficult to compare the two since beaches attracts younger crowds, families, and more blue collar...so don't expect great numbers of wine drinkers or Frank Sinatra fans on the Carnival ship to Cozumel. In the same way, Alaska and New England attracts( relatively speaking) older adults who frown upon dirty jokes and hard rock music.

The biggest difference I see between the two is Carnival is "fun" ...often silly fun. Princess offers a more dignified experience. Carnival ships are whimsically decorated while Princess are classically staid.

[lbfluffy]

My husband prefers Carnival, I prefer Princess. However I used to like Carnival better. Yes I love to have fun and I do enjoy the crazy Carnival contests. And I love the water slide. But I love getting dressed up, not so with my hubby. On smart casual nights I still like to dress up. My husband is happy with a pollo shirt and black pants. I enjoyed the comedy shows on both.