CARNIVAL SPIRIT

[HCI]

LOOKING A BOOKING A CRUISE FOR 4 ADULTS & 3 CHILDREN IN DEC

I FOUND RUBY PRINCESS AND CARNIVAL SPIRIT

WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST ONE TO CHOOSE

DOES ANY ONE HAVE THE PRICE OF THE DRINKS ON SPIRIT

THANKS

[SinbadThePorter]

Ruby Princess by some margin.

 

Don't take this the wrong way, but there is no need to shout. Check your Caps Lock.

[By The Bay]

What are the ages of the children? If 16 and below I would recommend Spirit. They don't call Carnival the "Fun Ship" for no reason. Lots for the kids including water slides. The demographics on Princess are towards the mid 50's and up.

[vozzie]

Different strokes for different folks. It all depends on your budget and what you like and don't like. Carnival Spirit has it's processes in Australia down to a tee. It has a formula that works...for many people. One thing to be aware of is...no drink packages on Carnival Spirit...which is fine by us. We just pay as we go. From memory....about $10 -$12 for a cocktail (my go-to drink)..and its in AUD. Not sure about Princess in Australia.

[sewgood]

I agree with By the Bay.

I would think there will be more children on Carnival for the children to mix in with.

The kids on the Carnival cruise I went on seemed to enjoy the video/game arcade and kids always love a water slide.

[Hunter69]

If you only have 4 to 6 drinks a day; The Spirit would be a much better option;  I usually get 5 of there own Brew. thirsty Frog Summer Ales, to get me through. 595Mls brewed at The Rocks in Sydney for $8.95. Or a cocktail for $12(they usually have 2 or 3) shots of Alcohal in them.. 

As mentioned above about the age Demo's. There will be a lot of kids on both.. as X-Mas & school hols.. The Spirit is cheaper & they do all the right thing's that's why I have been back 15 times...

You could become hooked after your first cruise...

[Fletch1]

On 1/28/2019 at 5:01 PM, By The Bay said:

What are the ages of the children? If 16 and below I would recommend Spirit. They don't call Carnival the "Fun Ship" for no reason. Lots for the kids including water slides. The demographics on Princess are towards the mid 50's and up.

 

Good answer and I agree with this.

[Fletch1]

1 hour ago, Hunter69 said:

If you only have 4 to 6 drinks a day; The Spirit would be a much better option;  I usually get 5 of there own Brew. thirsty Frog Summer Ales, to get me through. 595Mls brewed at The Rocks in Sydney for $8.95. Or a cocktail for $12(they usually have 2 or 3) shots of Alcohal in them.. 

As mentioned above about the age Demo's. There will be a lot of kids on both.. as X-Mas & school hols.. The Spirit is cheaper & they do all the right thing's that's why I have been back 15 times...

You could become hooked after your first cruise...

 

15 times on the one ship.....WOW, you must really enjoy the Spirit. Are you a Music Manilla fan? 

[cruisin-m]

Carnival Spirit definitely! 

 

Ruby Princess only if you were an elderly couple looking to eat well and relax otherwise Carnival ticks all the boxes for you a lot better.

Better entertainment, activities and comedy with a lot more to keep the kids busy. Also a better “vibe” and loads of fun.

 

 Since you asked, Carnival has similar priced drinks as Princess, maybe a tiny bit cheaper.

 

$8.50 beer

$11.50-$12.95 cocktails

Carnival has fish bowl cocktails for 26.95 as well which totally negates even needing a drinks package to get good value for your cocktails 😉 

 

[Hunter69]

On 1/29/2019 at 9:20 PM, Fletch1 said:

 

15 times on the one ship.....WOW, you must really enjoy the Spirit. Are you a Music Manilla fan? 

8 on Legend & 7 on spirit. Music Manilla are good; but have seen better on carnival ship's. love the soloists/Dou's they have also & Piano bar. the best is The Punchliner comedy club.... Got 16 & 17 next month.. yeah....

[mr walker]

Based on a small sample size (2 Carnival & 1 Princess), with kids, Spirit would be a better option as there is much more for them to do.

 

In Dec there will likely be a lot of kids on both, but the average age on Princess will still be much higher than on Carnival.

 

That said, I wouldn't hesitate to go on either.

[Russell21]

Six of us experienced cruisers are going on the Spirit in 88 days time, it will be our second trip on her even though our preferred cruise is with Princess. The youngest is 69 and the oldest is 77, and we found Spirit quite comfortable thank you.

 

Edit. OK here's a secret, once a year in some years Carnival put on one 10 day cruise in the cooler months at a ridiculously cheap price. We are getting mid ship top category extended balcony cabins for $1559.00 pp which is $156.00/day. The following cruise on the Spirit is to the same area for 11 days, and the same class of cabin is $191.00/day.

Edited February 13, 2019 by Russell21
More info.