Contrast Princess & Carnival, please

[CI66774]

Every Princess cruise we have been on, and we have been on plenty, tends to trend with mostly people in their 50's, 60's, 70's and above.....we tend to do 20 and 30 day cruises so maybe that would explain our different experience but it has never been what I would call a young crowd even on 10 day Mexico or 10 day Alaska cruises......I think people may think they are young but 60 is old....and I am in my 60's......:')

 

Sixty IS NOT OLD!!!!!!!!

[CI66774]

I wouldn't hesitate to book either cruise line depending upon itinerary and price.

[CA_Cruzing]

I did a companions from a Carnival cruise we did a couple of months ago. It was my first Carnival after doing mostly princess cruises.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2524492

 

Thanks for that share. your review is pretty spot on. We sailed the same cruise last year in late June/early July.

 

From your observations, we've never experienced a max of apps or dinner plates in the mdr. We've often made dinner of a slew of apps and shared a main. A few years back when sailing with a larger group on Splendor to Mexico, we had the waiter bring us one of everything on the menu, literally, each offering, and we all shared that on first night's dinner. never any pushback from wait staff on what we couldn't order.

 

Your beach lunch looks like The Office. Possibly the BEST food and drink in Cabo on the beach. Yes the food there is CA priced but both food and drink are always top shelf. And their margs for happy hour are top shelf and half price. I can feel the numbness in my fingertips just writing about it.

 

On your wrapup observations, chair hogs and packed pool decks, that is what we are hoping to miss on a Princess cruise. Hopefully a more civilized approach to cruising? We'd like to actually lounge and relax for once in a calm environment. Please let us know if this is achieveable.

 

As for packed with kids, when sailing Carnival in family season, they're always packed with kids, fams and extended fams. It's what is is. We call it assume the position and really get to use our balcony for relaxation.

 

On service, or lack thereof, we've overcome that by tipping upfront when we experience great service and then stick with the same staff if possible. Our MDR experiences have always been great after we learned to set expectations up front. Same for stew service, we have always requested 2x daily service and we give a tip up front to set the tone.

 

I've been skewered on the Carnival forum for tipping up front. Some even call it bribery. For us, we just want to maximize our vacation pleasure and cash tipping (in addition to pre-paid tips) has always delivered great service for us.

 

So now that you've experienced the FUN part of Carnival, how would you say Princess plans its daily activities in comparison?

 

DW and I have never really been into Carnival's production shows as they have been less than amazing (our opinion only). We pretty much make the R-rated comedy shows and have really enjoyed them. The Love and Marriage show is a must-see, and we almost were participants in the show on our recent cruise (25th anniversary celebration). Trivia contests for us are a try-and-do but we're usually distracted doing something else in daylight hours.

 

Thanks for your detailed observations. I very much enjoyed reading your experiences and look forward to your reply.

[Steelers0854]

Sure was the office, and I agree the food was great and the view was as good if not better. My favorite restaurant on that trip was in Cabo at Tacos Gus, that place I still dream about. Super cheap and the best tacos I’ve had.

 

As for the pools, you will still get chair hogs, but I think Princess with its skew to an older demographic tends to have less of them than we what saw on Carnival (granted we have just 1 carnival cruise for comparison). And even more opportunities exist if you don’t mind paying for entry into the Sanctuary, whereas carnivals adult area was a free for all.

 

As for activities that’s hugely personal. For me, I love trivia, lectures, maybe some movie watching and book reading. Princess covers my bases really well. I’m not into dance competitions on the pool deck or things of that nature so while Carnival did have some fun activities I’m still never bored on Princess, but it doesn’t take much to entertain me. [emoji41]

 

The one thing I will miss from Carnival is the comedy. Princess may have 1 comedian on board that does 1-2 unique shows on a 7 day cruise. Carnival had 2 different comedians a night in a great little comedy club. I really enjoyed that.

 

All in all I don’t think you will have a bad time on board a Princess ship.

[MadMouser]

Formal nights: My husband no longer travels with a suit (a tux long time gone). Since we enjoy dining at our assigned dining room, he wears a Black dress shirt, black slacks,and a white tie. He looks formal but is relaxed. I wear slacks and a dressy top.

 

I'm one of those guys who wears a kilt on formal nights. It's comfortable, and certainly an attention getter... :)

[Notonboard]

Two words “poop cruise” will keep me from Carnival.:eek:

[jennybenny]

We started cruising Carnival, then Royal Caribbean (only west coast for Royal Caribbean). We were happy with our move to Princess. I prefer the ship designs.

However, Carnival was fine. We just felt that Princess was more our style. More low key, not as "party crazy" as Carnival.

 

Recently did a cruise on Carnival and was pleasantly surprised. Carnival is cheaper than Princess on some cruises (not holiday), and since my pleasant experience I've been trying to talk DH into trying Carnival again, at least to try a full suite because they are so much cheaper than Princess, but he won't hear it.

 

The food is comparable, in my opinion, but we find that Princess is more laid back in a way that fits our personalities better. It does suck to not be able to enjoy the disco, but the Disco is empty on Princess. Other than that, it's our go to line.

 

We like the Crown. It's a great ship and we've always had excellent service on Princess. Try it out and see how you like it :)

[Tatka]

Oh... maybe Carnival’s food has greatly improved lately, or Princess’s on West Coast has declined, but I in our experiences food on Princess and Carnival ships was in different leagues. Both quality ant variety wise.

[s-Zee-G]

We are in our early 50s and have been happy on Princess for the number of years. Age range of passengers is all over the map, if your trip coincides with any countries school breaks you will find families on the ship. Mid-March is break is some Canadian provinces. We have met wonderful, active people no matter their age! However I will note that if you re looking for multiple party venues after midnight you won't find that on Princess. There is always one adult only that goes until I don't know when (I just don't stay) but otherwise in our experience the ship gets very quiet by midnight.

 

 

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