Carnival Vs Princess???

[meluvtogocruise]

OOPS - I'm feeling the urge to move to another line. Received some interesting offers in the mail yesterday from Princess. Shipboard credits and upgrades.

 

Might be nice to see what another line is like. I've been so pleased with

Carnival I hesitate to try anything else.

 

Would like to sail ec this time - anyone know what ship Princess had going there in early December. If so, how old of a ship might it be??

 

mel:p

[Cathy p]

I will be going on the CB in July and just checked my book and she also leaves in Dec. The reviews I have read are fantastic and I can't wait to go.

 

Whatever you dicide I am sure you will have a wonderful time.

 

Happy cruising

 

Cathy p

[SROYCE]

As you can see I have cruised Carnival a few times myself but we are trying Princess for the first time in December but we are going on the SC. You might want to check that out as it is on the Crown Princess which is a brand new ship. The Crown sets sail for the first time out of NY in June of this year. We are going Dec. 9 out of San Juan as the Crown does the SC in the Fall. Just a suggestion.

[crisp1]

But! Our last cruise.... on the Golden, 5 ports in 7 days, A beautiful ship, the BEST lobster I ever ate. I would never hesitate taking another Princess cruise ( look at my sig- I love CCL)... and BTW- it is the LOVE BOAT LOL ( we renewed our vows last yr ( by the captain)). You won't be disappointed

[montgomeryfamily]

Meluvtogocruise, there are three Princess ships sailing the Eastern Caribbean route in December. The Crown Princess is sailing out of San Juan, and will become operational this year. The Caribbean Princess is sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL and became operational in 2004. These two are both seven day cruises and are both considered Grand Class ships. But if you go in early December, before the Christmas holidays, you probably won't see that many kids--certainly fewer than on Carnival.

 

The Sun Princess is sailing out of Florida on a ten day cruise. This is a smaller ship--the Sun class, but is nice too. But it doesn't have all of the features of the two Grand class ships above, like Movies under the Stars.

 

We also received those shipboard credit offers and they are nice. But we didn't get the upgrade offers. We are trying to decide what to book and what category now (we have cruised a number of times on Princess and really do enjoy the cruise line). The upgrade offers could be the deciding factor for us. Would you please email me at kacruiser@ev1.net and let me know what those were? Perhaps we have just overlooked them in the offering.

 

I'd be happy to answer questions you might have about Princess too. :)

[katier825]

Hope you don't feel guilty about trying another cruiseline! You never know, you might find one you like better!

 

Our 1st cruise was on NCL Sky (awesome!!!). Booked another while onboard, but once I saw pics of Golden Princess, I cancelled the NCL and booked w/Princess. We're going on our 6th Princess cruise 4/2. Went on Carnival Glory last year. Although it wasn't a bad cruise, we definitely prefer Princess. I'd gladly go on NCL again if the right cruise comes along out of Miami. They moved many of their cruises to other states and I don't want to spend extra on airfare since I live in FL.

 

I would love to try RCCL, but they seem to be a few hundred dollars more per person. If the right deal came along, I'd try them too.

 

I'd give Princess the edge on food/ship atmosphere/entertainment...I thought the Glory was the ugliest ship I ever saw. Very drab compared to Princess being very elegant. From my experience, Princess handles crowd control better. I prefer the layout of their buffet (kind of grab & go - rather than having to go through the whole line to get one thing). A couple of things I liked better on Carnival and hope they add to Princess is the self service ice cream, deli and having pizza available 24 hrs.

 

Would I go on Carnival again? Sure, if it was too good a deal to pass up. NCL - I keep watching & hoping something comes up that I want to try.

:cool:

[TrustNoOneKMC]

Isn't Princess owned by Carnival, or did I read that wrong?

[Laurba99]

Katier825--If Royal Carribbean is more $$ I don't think it's worth it-I have only been on two cruises--Celebrity Millennium and RC Radiance of the Seas--Millennium was so much better we thought! I would however try Princess and Norweigan--both sound great! Not up for Carnival--doesn't sound like it would appeal to me-:)

[lv2crooz2]

Mel, With credits and upgrades, now is the time to try a new line. The Caribbean Princess is one beautiful ship! I love RCCL myself but would definitely book with Princess again. You will not be disappointed:)

[CruisinMK]

I like all the cruiselines. :)

 

If you are thinking of an eastern or southern carribean itinerary, take a look at the ones going out of San Juan PR if you don't mind flying there.

[oldIrish]

Princess is a 10...Carnival is a 7...NCL is a 5... nuff said about that.

[kgfam]

Our family has cruised 5 times with Carnival and I must say we had a great time and would cruise again with them.:o That being said, we were curious what other cruise lines were like. Besides, a great deal came along for the Diamond Princess that we couldn't pass up. It is a beautiful ship and at the time was only 8 months old.

My husband and I prefer the entertainment on Princess as we thought it was less Vegas style and leaned more toward Broadway. We also thought the food was a step up compared to Carnival but we are not picky eaters and liked both. We have 3 children and they liked both children's programs.

We are just 9 days away from boarding the Island Princess for a 15 night cruise to Hawaii so we will be getting to see if we have another great experience with Princess. We sure hope so because our family is so excited!:)

In closing, if the price was right and opportunity came along, I'd try any cruise line at least once.

[agentJoey]

Carnival owns Carnival cruise lines, Princess cruise lines, Holland America cruise lines, Yachts of Seabourn, Costa Cruise lines, Cunard Cruise lines and Windstar Cruises. Every line is different in it's own way. That's why Carnival owns them. Each line caters to every crownd in a different way.

I have found Carnival to be less expensive than Princess but you may find that Princess is just a step up (but not by much)My opinion

[Laurba99]

Princess is a 10...Carnival is a 7...NCL is a 5... nuff said about that.

 

According to this scale where would you rate Celebrity

(or have you not had the pleasure of sailing on them yet?)

also--just out of curiousity what makes NCL a 5?

[fun cruiserz]

We have also only cruised on Carnival and are making the change to Princess in January 07. We are going on the new Crown Princess out of San Juan. I am excited to see the difference in the two cruise lines. We really liked Carnival, but can't wait for Princess

[Leafpeeper]

Princess is a 10...Carnival is a 7...NCL is a 5... nuff said about that.

 

We love new ships on every cruiseline.

 

I love NCL Dawn and can't wait to sail NCL Star in February. The prices, the food, the decor, the movie theater, ten different restaurants, freestyle dining, self serve laundry, andBimini Bar atop the stadium pool deck all make Dawn one of my favorites.

 

RCCL Jewel of the Seas is also a wonderful new ship. I recently sailed Carnival Triumph, which was a huge disappointment. However, the price was good, so I can't complain too much.

 

We are sailing Crown Princess in October.

[momofmeg]

According to this scale where would you rate Celebrity

(or have you not had the pleasure of sailing on them yet?)

also--just out of curiousity what makes NCL a 5?

 

 

I myself rate Celebrity and Princess right up there together-both are a 10- and on both of these cruises I was on some of their older ships. I have been on 6 lines and to be honest I rate by ship then on line-for example I loved the Sovereign of the Seas enought to cruise them twice-I was NOT impressed with Mariner of the Seas-a much newer ship. Same goes for Carnival-I took 4 cruises with them-three I liked very well and felt was a very good value-one was a big disapointment.

 

I liked my Disney cruise very well but still felt it was overpriced for what it was-I found HAL had just as great of entertainment in the main showlounge and food as Princess and Celebrity-but otherwise I found it sedate-not much going on after the show was over unless you live in the casino.

 

But even my least favoirite cruise was a "7"-never been on a "5 "cruise-if NCL is really that bad-I do not think I want to.

[kitty9]

My own personal ratings for the mass market lines are: Celebrity 10+, Princess 8, RCCI 7, Carnival 7, HAL, 6 (food and service are going way down lately), Costa 4, NCL, 3.

 

To the OP: look at it this way. You've only eaten vanilla ice cream (Carnival) and you think it's the best thing on the planet. Then, someone tells you to try chocolate souffle or creme brulee (Princess or Celebrity) and even though you hesitate, you try it and realize that while vanilla ice cream is good, you had no idea how great another dessert is until you gave it a try. You won't abandon vanilla, but once you tried that other dessert, you realize there's more than just vanilla.

[Buddysmom10]

Darcie, please let me know why you feel NCL is a 3. We're thinking of going to Alaska this summer with our 13 yr old son and 12 year old daughter. It's between the NCL Star and RCCI Vision of the Seas. The difference in price is about 1200 for inside rooms. But I see you really liked Celebrity. We sailed the Galaxy to Alaska on it (without kids) in 97. Did you have kids with you/how did they like it? Thanks everyone for your opinions.

[oldIrish]

My own personal ratings for the mass market lines are: Celebrity 10+, Princess 8, RCCI 7, Carnival 7, HAL, 6 (food and service are going way down lately), Costa 4, NCL, 3.

 

To the OP: look at it this way. You've only eaten vanilla ice cream (Carnival) and you think it's the best thing on the planet. Then, someone tells you to try chocolate souffle or creme brulee (Princess or Celebrity) and even though you hesitate, you try it and realize that while vanilla ice cream is good, you had no idea how great another dessert is until you gave it a try. You won't abandon vanilla, but once you tried that other dessert, you realize there's more than just vanilla.

 

Kitty has phrased it well. Celebrity just seems to have that extra edge, be it food, entertainment, or old fashioned good service.

[flamomo]

Princess has "class" but not snobbery.

Princess ships are beautiful; tastefully decorated. No garish colors.

Princess food is, at the least, very good and often excellent.

Princess crew and staff provide excellent service, and at the same time are pleasant and personable.

You need to give them a try. I think you'll easily see the difference.