New to Princess

[rlkubi]

We have mainly cruised Carnival and just booked a South American cruise on Princess in 2020. We love Carnival but they don't go to SA. For those who have cruised both, what is different? Any tips ?

 

Thanks !

[neverbeenhere]

Princess has less partying, older clientele, more sedate atmosphere, better food, nicer staterooms, good entertainment, MUTS, better stateroom attendants, great debarkation, usually great embarkation,

 

Carnival has cheaper drinks, better entertainment choices, hotter passengers, cheaper prices, hot bread at dinner,

 

 

YMMV

[jennybenny]

Having cruised both, they are very different. Princess is much more laid back, quiet, and quiets down much earlier than Carnival.

Food is similar, less kids on Princess, I prefer the ship layout of Princess ships, I feel they are more open.

 

The biggest difference to me is the time that things slow down on Princess vs Carnival, and less kids.

 

I have never been on a bad cruise, so I hope you have a great time too.

[moki'smommy]

You're basically going from the low end of cruising to the moderate. The other big change is the clientele. Princess will be significantly older, more sedate, better behaved. You will likely have few, if any, kids on this cruise.

[EnjoyingCruising]

For the most part, I agree with the previous comments here. I have found that Carnival's biggest weakness is their nighttime entertainment. They use comedians to compensate for poor theater shows and weak entertainers. I have found the food on Carnival to be as good as Princess. The Carnival website is much better than the Princess website. Especially when looking for information regarding excursions.

 

If you enjoy hanging around the pool and playing group games, you will probably enjoy Carnival more. I prefer Princess because I don't spend time playing games around the pool and Princess has much superior entertainment.

[satxdiver]

There will be maybe 10 or so kids aboard compared to the usual 200 on Carnival. The ships are much better decorated without the bright colors like on Carnival. The meals in the MDR are more formally (they still use table clothes) presented and IMO better. The staterooms are cleaned twice daily. There are laundromats on almost every deck for pax to use. You will encounter an older crowd that is not so much interested in drinking until they are blind and I feel friendlier. It just is an upscale experience some what like the difference in going to Chili's or going to a nice restaurant.

 

On the South American cruises that start and end in South America (Chile/Argentina), there will be a large number (majority?) of South Americans aboard. They of course speak Spanish with a few speaking Portuguese (Brazil) and like Central America like to go to dinner late (8 - 9 PM). They also tend to dress nicer than cruisers do in the Caribbean. You will see older men in the pool area wearing what we call speedo swimsuits. Older women in bikini's as well. When you sign in for the cruise, Princess will take your passports giving you receipts and return them just before the end of the cruise. This is required by the governments.

[skynight]

We have mainly cruised Carnival and just booked a South American cruise on Princess in 2020. We love Carnival but they don't go to SA. For those who have cruised both, what is different? Any tips ?

 

Thanks !

Can't comment on Carnival, but have been to South America twice on Princess and would not hesitate to return. On these cruises you will find a mix of nationalities which is different from Caribbean cruises where your passengers are mostly North American. Very few youth on board. Announcements will be in both Spanish and English. Dining tends to shift as most of the South Americans tend to dine later. Some entertainment will be in Spanish. Live bands play lots of Latin music. The passenger base is older but like to dance and party, but by party I don't mean excess drinking. Ports are very interesting. Lots of research and planning is needed to fully enjoy the ports. Would highly recommend spending some time pre-cruise. In 2016 we spent 4 nights in Vina del Mar, a beach resort 90 minutes from Santiago and really enjoyed the different culture. Our cruise also spent 3 days in Buenos Aires where we hired a private tour guide to show us around. Well worth the price. On a previous cruise we spent 3 days pre-cruise in Rio. We had private tours there. Princess did a nice job in South America.

[capriccio]

While many posters have noted that a Princess cruise has fewer kids (usually) than a comparable Carnival cruise, please note that there will be children on any cruise that begins in SA because it is summer and, therefore, SA families with kids on summer break are vacationing. We experienced that on December/January LA to Valparaiso to Rio de Janiero cruises in December 2016/January 2017. The kids were no problem for us.

[flamomo]

NOT casting any aspersions on anyone, but I do think that overall kids are better behaved on Princess. perhaps in some part because of the sort of people who choose the cruise with Princess. That does not imply snobbishness, just a different sort of passengers.

I did 32 days around South America on Princess, from Ft Lauderdale, around the Horn to Valpariso, Chile, and the few children that were onboard were well behaved, and were rarely even seen out and about on the ship. On a different cruise I did Valpariso to LA, also with Princess, and don't recall even seeing any kids.

 

Of course, these are just my opinions based on my observations.

[riffatsea]

Most long cruises have fewer kids both on Carnival and Princess.

We are one of the older couples(seniors) who have enjoyed many Carnival cruises but are now trying Princess for the Panama Canal .

We have noticed that Princess offers more suite perks than Carnival and there are also more enticing booking benefits on Princess.

We actually love the comedians on Carnival and if Princess doesn't have them we will miss that more than wanna be Broadway production shows.

I have been told that Carnival has the largest cabins of the mass market lines so we will see how that compares when we are on board.

Looking forward to a new experience!

[susancruzs]

Princess does an excellent job on their SA cruises, I was on the Emerald in March Buenos Aires to LA, it was an awesome cruise. A South America cruise is all about the ports, destination so if you aren't expecting a Princess ship to be close to a Carnival cruise you experience should be fine. You will find a very diverse, well traveled crowd on a SA cruise.

[Pia1913]

Carnival awards the "ship on a stick.":eek: Princess does not.

[moki'smommy]

Interesting comment about cabin size. I guess it depends not only on the cruise line, but on the specific ship and which lines you consider to be mass market.

 

However, we found Princess cabins to be tiny compared to what we were used to. Princess insides are listed at 159-162 sq. ft. Carnival lists at 175. Celebrity 170-200. Hmmm....they didn't show the 160 that we stayed in! The line we've cruise most lists 189. I chose inside to eliminate the variation in size of the balconies. On the other hand, Princess cabins are well designed and seem to have more storage space than some bigger cabins. In fairness, I randomly took two ships from each line based on the first two that google gave me. Other ships may have different sizes.

[tourismtessy]

Carnival is the “fun ship” where Princess says you escape completely and “come back new”. Different demographics for sure. Younger, louder, more party atmosphere and crowd on Carnival. Princess is much more laid back, quiet, and relaxed with older passengers.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[rlkubi]

Thanks for all the responses - please keep them coming!

 

I'm excited to try Princess and I too have heard Carnival has the bigger cabins. What about the Sanctuary? I guess that is like the Serenity deck on Carnival but more upscale and you have to reserve and pay? Is that correct?

 

Thanks for your help! Again any tips would be appreciated!

[OCruisers]

Yes, we've been on both Princess and Carnival.

Princess is an excellent choice for a South American cruise! (y)

Noticed you have cruised on HAL.

While Princess is not as active (pool games, late night, etc.) as Carnival, it is much more so than HAL.

You'll be fine and have a wonderful time. :D

[rlkubi]

Another question......Carnival has Early Saver where if there are any price drops you will get either money taken off balance or OBC if paid in full. Does Princess do that?

[moki'smommy]

Another question......Carnival has Early Saver where if there are any price drops you will get either money taken off balance or OBC if paid in full. Does Princess do that?

It is not automatic. If the price drops in your category before the penalty period, you can re-fare your cruise to match the new rate. You or your TA (if you used one) will need to contact Princess. After final payment, it is a lot more spotty--the answer then is a qualified "sometimes."

[EnjoyingCruising]

I never found the refund to be automatic with Carnival either. I always had to ask for it.

[tourismtessy]

The sanctuary on Princess is the adults only area that you do have to pay extra for. I found the adult only area on Carnival Magic much nicer and FREE. That was probably the only thing I would give Carnival over Princess. When we cruise on Princess, there are hardly any kids at all so we don't feel the need to pay for the Sanctuary.

[Essiesmom]

There is no comparison between a 3-7 day Carnival cruise, and a 7+ day Princess cruise. If you are going to compare, do so with a 14 day Princess cruise and a 10-14+ day Carnival. We have done several longer cruises on Carnival and the last time, I looked around at my fellow passengers, and concluded that anyone who still had hair and it wasn't gray or white, was coloring it. Much older demographic, not many kids. You will find this on all cruise lines. I did a B2B2B on Celebrity one Feb. 5/5/4. I was warned by the most traveled passenger, who winters on Celebrity, that I would see a difference in the passenger demographic and behavior on the 4 day, and he was right. Even on Celebrity. The only exception in our experience was a 4 day cruise on Cunard. We were greatly in the minority, not being from the UK or Europe. And the 'locals' loved to dress up. Formals on nights that were not formal. EM

[Skai]

Princess has ... better food, nicer staterooms, MUTS

 

Carnival has cheaper drinks

 

 

YMMV

 

Our mileage has varied...

 

We've actually found Carnival's cabins to be a little nicer than Princess -- From beds(Yes we've tried the newer Princess ones), to the size of the showers, to not needing to purchase a mini-suite for a love-seat/couch to sit on, to more actual floor space in the main cabin that's not being utilized(wasted IMHO) for a pseudo walk-in closet.

 

We've overall found the food to be on par and both play current/recent run movies on a large screen at night.

 

We've also found drinks to be a little more expensive on Carnival, both at the bars and via room service liquor selections(to be consumed in cabin). However, Princess has raised their prices in recent years.

[Margo39]

The one Princess sailing we experienced was more laid back than Carnival (sailed twice) as well as Norwegian (also twice), in the sense that the activities were not as varied nor as plentiful. On a 12-day cruise, the same crew members led the very same line-dancing activities with the same songs. I don't remember that happening on Carnival.

 

But Princess has better service, IMO, and overall is a step up (like a half step up maybe - it is not a luxury line by any means). They also have Movies Under the Stars, which is cool. The food is good.

 

You'll enjoy Princess, for sure!

[rlkubi]

We have done several 2 week cruises on Carnival and definitely an older crowd. Another question......Does Princess ever sell discounted gift cards?

[suzyed]

Most long cruises have fewer kids both on Carnival and Princess.

We are one of the older couples(seniors) who have enjoyed many Carnival cruises but are now trying Princess for the Panama Canal .

We have noticed that Princess offers more suite perks than Carnival and there are also more enticing booking benefits on Princess.

We actually love the comedians on Carnival and if Princess doesn't have them we will miss that more than wanna be Broadway production shows.

I have been told that Carnival has the largest cabins of the mass market lines so we will see how that compares when we are on board.

Looking forward to a new experience!

I agree with your kids comment. I think it's more a function of the length and the itinerary of the cruise. I was on a 7 day on the Caribbean Princess in May and there were a ton of kids! No problems with unruly kids however, most of them were either in the kid's club or with their parents at the pool. It was fine.

I also agree on the Cabin size being bigger on Carnival.

I think the shows are hit or miss on both lines.