What has changed ?

[Negril60]

Hello all. I started cruising with Carnival in 1996 . We  hopped over to Princess in 2005. We quit cruising and started flying into Islands and staying . We  just returned from a 7 day cruise to the Western Caribbean with Carnival. We chose Carnival because we had originally booked for Cuba and it was canceled. We were disappointed and this was basically booked at the last minute. I will say the entertainment was great. So much good music and such a variety of comedians. The food not so much. They had  quite a variety outside of the dining room and that was good. The dining room had a small menu, slow service and food was normally not hot just not good. The pay restaurant didn’t compare with Princess. We aren’t picky eaters as we have to drive 40 minutes to get anything other then Subway. The waiters and bartenders were very overworked. We had our room atttended once a day as they are overworked and have so many rooms. Our steward was awesome . It wasn’t like our last Princess ship in 2013. I would cruise with them again but it just wasn’t the same type of vacation. I’m wondering if Princess has changed. I know most things has now days. We are booked on the Grand for Alaska in May. We cruised Alaska in 2005. 

[tillys mom]

I think Princess is a much better product overall- and we have tried all the mid- range cruise lines. Food depends on what you like, but we can always find some that we think is good even though we notice cost cutting measures. We think the entertainment is better on other lines, but it varies by ship. The deciding point for us is the wonderful service and comfortable beds on Princess.

[Sea Hag]

I've cruised on Carnival, but I like Princess better. For me, it's not any one thing but a combination of many things that makes me prefer Princess. Not all the food on Princess is great, but I can always find something that is. And somebody else is doing the cooking!

[Negril60]

We always found something as they do have some good eating options. The service was good but they were stretched thin. I felt bad for some of them. Like I said great entertainment and we would sail again. Princess does have a good product. I always felt their ships felt like I was on ship and were decorated so nice.

[JimmyVWine]

Honestly, I would say that the decline you noticed on Carnival is not all that different than the decline you would note on Princess, only that the end result is that Princess was a higher product back in the day, and remains so still.  So if you go on a Princess cruise today and compare it to what you remember in 2005, you will conclude that the food isn't as good, the staff is working harder and more stressed than ever before, the shows are shorter and the ships are more crowded.  Still, the "declined" Princess product is still pretty darn good for the price you pay.  Just don't expect a 2020 cruise to recreate what you experienced in 2005. The tasteful decor that enjoyed in 2005 is still there, only better!  

 

And I will add that this is going to be the same experience on any cruise line.  Peruse the HAL board, the Celebrity board, the Royal Caribbean board, the Norwegian board and you will see the same thing from people who have been 20+ year loyal customers: "Things are not as good as they used to be."

Edited September 28, 2019 by JimmyVWine

[Negril60]

Thanks for the replies. Along with changes in food there were good changes. Fast check in, we literally walked off the ship the last day which was amazing. Hopefully Princess has an app as that was handy . Very excited and glad we chose Princess again for Alaska. 

[patrickmoran]

If entertainment and music are important to you,then P is not your cruiseline.  Carnival and RCCL do a better job. Entertainment has really been cut back on P, especially the new, bigger ships.

[nanwel]

I have travelled both. Had better single experience on Carnival - put a group of us together at one big table.

Cheaper fare, not as much  included - on deck Princess on a cold wet day we were all handed out hot cocoa -topped with booze if you wanted for free.

Less free stuff to do on a sea day

Cabins ok,  nicer on P

You get what you pay for - depending on # of sea days or all port days and the time on board.

If I do a last min all port tour - ship is not important

If I do a relaxing some days at sea - ship is important