Carnival Cruiser looking to try Princess!!

[Littlegoo75]

Hi all,

I have been on 4 cruises so far; 1 on Sitmar, when I was a little kid, and then three on Carnival as an adult. I really like Carnival a lot, although at first I was weary because of things I had heard about Carnival.

 

I am always open to trying out another cruise line, and I found the perfect cruise on the Grand Princess.

 

My boyfriend and I are looking at the 7 night Western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston in November - calling at Roatan, Majahual, Belize, and Cozumel. I have been to all of those ports except for Majahual, and have loved them all, Roatan being my favorite. In my opinion, this is the best itinerary that I have seen, and since we will be in Houston for Thanksgiving, it would be perfect to take this cruise right after that.

 

I am just wondering what a typical Princess experience is like, and what the Grand Princess is like. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!!

[mii]

Hi and welcome to Princess. If you look back on page 1 and 2 some people have done reviews of that very same cruise. There is also a "sticky" on top of page 1 that is information made by CC members of all sorts of things about Princess.

 

Marilyn

[AdiosReality]

Hello there, we too came from a history of 3 Carnival cruises, we LOVE Carnival, but.... Princess has won us over, I have not sailed on the Grand, but did do her sister ship the Sapphire and will be cruising the Caribbean Princess this October for a back2back Caribbean. These ships are huge! Yet, big ship small feel really comes into play. I liked Carnivals cuisine, Princess beats it hands down, Princess has all of the elegance you'd expect to find on the super liner Titanic, but with so many more things to do and see, you will either be entirely consumed in staying busy, or completely relaxed to the point of not knowing what time or what day it is. Princess makes you forget everything, its wonderful. Going on our first Princess cruise, we thought that the majority of cruisers would be, ummm, AARP members? Okay I shouldn't say that, my father is a member, but we thought they would be VERY mature, not true! There was a huge fluxuation in ages, and I appreciated that only about 15% were kids, or under the age of 18. Although kids and famalies are welcomed alike, its so much more of a personal experience. At times we feel as though we are the only passengers on the ship, treated like royalty when all we really expect is our beds to be made, its truly a wonderful experience. If you have found an excellant cruise, whose ports suit you to a T, grab it! Don't let it slip away, you may not get the chance or convienience of this itinerary again. Hope you take a chance, Happy cruising! -Val-:D

[Littlegoo75]

Thanks Val,

I too was concerned about not too many younger types (late 20's to late 30's) on board, but an aquaintance had mentioned that they always sail on Princess and really enjoy it.

 

I love Carnival, but on this last cruise, there were so many rude passengers- the first time I have experienced that on Carnival. I don't know if it was because it was such a huge ship (Liberty), but I didn't experience that on the Valor, which is the same size. The kids were actually not the issue on the ship, it was the adults. Although a small ratio of under 18 year olds would be nice.

 

After my first visit to Roatan, I vowed to return, and there are still not a lot of ships that go there, which might actually be a good thing, I would hate for it to change, and become too commercialized.

 

Since I wouldn't plan on going until November, Cozumel might be somewhat back to operational status, but you never know what this next hurricane season might bring...hopefully it won't be too damaging of a season._

 

I also heard that cruising out of Texas is a treat because of all the fellow Texans on board. Friendly, lively group of people....can't wait !!

[ppeckham]

On behalf of those of us living in Texas, I'm thrilled with the reputation we've tried to build. Notice that I didn't say Native Texans? I've been here for more than 20 years and even married a native texan but I'm still not a native Texan.

 

But onto your question. I've sailed on four Carnival cruises and will be on the Grand in less than two weeks for my first Princess cruise. When I return, I'll let you know my impression.

 

I'm a little older than your age range. Early-early 40s. But there are loads of folks on our roll call in their 30s. But I'll be happy to let you know my impression.

[Jocia]

Hello there, we too came from a history of 3 Carnival cruises, we LOVE Carnival, but.... Princess has won us over, I have not sailed on the Grand, but did do her sister ship the Sapphire and will be cruising the Caribbean Princess this October for a back2back Caribbean.

 

When are you taking your B2B? I'll be on the 29 October sailing. :)

[GottaLuvCruising]

We've sailed Carnival 10 times (plus Disney, Celebrity, NCL and Royal Caribbean). But we took our first Princess cruise earlier this month. We loved it!

 

We will be very happy to sail Princess again and agree that it may very well become our favorite line. The food was wonderful and we loved Personal Choice dining. Entertainment was very good (not the best we've seen, but quite enjoyable) with so many options, we couldn't do everything we wanted. Service was superior to Carnival, but not quite as good as Celebrity. The ship (Caribbean Princess) was the prettiest we have ever seen. Our fellow passengers were a cross-section of America with a great demographic spread (more mature people than on Carnival, but lots of young adults, too). The atmosphere was perfect - relaxed and not-at-all stuffy.

[serene56]

Hi Holly- We are trying Caribbean Princess February 2007. Been booked for a few months now and was able to score an aft cabin on the Caribe deck.

It tok me a few days of reading the boards here to learn the ins and outs.

 

Although run by carnival its a different line completly. joe & I are looking forward to trying anytime dining. (and hope the dress code is enforced on the Princess since it even states on their web page that jeans are not acceptable in their dining rooms.)

[montgomeryfamily]

Littlegoo75, welcome to Princess. I agree with you about how friendly the Texans are--:) . (Although I've lived in Houston for 15 years, I'm originally from Tennesseee). Both the Grand and the Rhapsody-both sailing out of Galveston- are usually filled with friendly Texans. :)

 

We've sailed on the Grand three times and are planning another cruise early December. We've always had a great time! Those ports are great and I'm sure you like Majahual. Very pretty beaches and friendly people. I'm looking forward to visiting Roatan again--this will be the first time the Grand has gone there.

 

Going to Princess can be a little confusing, especially with their Anytime Dining, since Carnival only offers traditional. But there is a lot of great info on this board and the sticky above has a lot of good info on it, as has already been referenced.

 

If you have any questions or need any info, especially when you trying to figure out cabin selection or coming to Houston, please feel free to email me at kacruiser@ev1.net.

[Littlegoo75]

Wow....thanks for all the responses...especially from all you friendly Texans!

I am actually looking to relocate to the Houston area, if I can find the right job! Ya'll are giving me a good impression so far!!