Princess VS Carnival ?

[shonandsuzie]

How does the Princess cruise line compare to Carnival? We have been on 3 Carnival Cruises and this year will be our first on Princess. (Caribbean Princess) From what I've read it seems that we are in for a treat. ??? Has anyone been on both?

 

[mikesteg]

I think it depends on what you're looking for. I thought the food, entertainment, and most other things were pretty equivalent. The ship (Grand Princess) was nicer, but I can't make a comparison to an equivalent Carnival ship in size and age. I'm sure other people have opinions both ways, though I'd guess you'll find more pro-Princess people on this group.

If you give an idea of your favorite things to do on a ship (dinner, shows, gamble, read by the pool, piano bar, disco, waterslide, etc) you might get an answer more applicable to yourself.

 

[Cruizer]

Carnival attracts a younger crowd than Princess.

 

[shonandsuzie]

For our cruise we like a variety of things. We aren't late night people but we like to have lots of fun things to do during the day. We like the organized activities and games on Carnival. Most importantly we desire good service and that is what we have heard was better on Princess in general. The rooms on Caribbean Princess (mini suites) look better than any room we've had on Carnival. Is this accurate? Do they have many organized activities besides the classes?

 

[docbfree]

Absolutely no doubt you will love your mini-suite on Princess. Have been on Grand and Star Princesses and Triumph and Legend. Stayed in Cat 11/12 suites on Carnival and I would prefer the MiniSuite on Princess to a Cat 11 on Carnival.
Agree with other comments. Service may be better on avg on Princess. Food better on Princess, although I thought the Legend was excellent and the Triumph subpar. Princess is dead after 11PM, Carnival is hopping. Casino much livelier on Carnival.
Ultimately, I suspect from your comments that you will like Princess more.

 

[Miss Honey]

I have sailed with carnival 5 times and just did my first Princess cruise. I loved all of my Carnival cruises. We were on the Caribbean Princess and it was great. The service was better, the staff seemed more willing to help . We always had great food on Carnival , but Princess was better. We loved the Personal Choice dining on Princess. You will enjoy either. Miss Honey

 

[shonandsuzie]

Thank you everyone for the info.. I feel much more at ease and VERY excited!

 

[maw]

Would choose Princess over Carnmival any day. we think food better, condition of ships. Just a more classy operation.

 

[shonandsuzie]

I think I made a good decision. I know the room is nicer. Still a little weary about the choice dining thing but I'm sure it will be fine. I wish they had a layout of all of the restaraunts diagram and what is served at each so we could fugure it out in advance. We love everything about cruising and are about to explode from excitement as ours grows nearer!

 

[mlzangel78]

i love both lines and have sailed rccl princess and carnival, i love them all youll have a great time no matter what,,, it all depends on the mood of the crew, and your willingness to have a good time no matter what line your on, some people have a had good and bad cruises on the same line,, to me any ship any line is better than being home in NJ at work

 

[sailingrose]

We're going on the Caribbean Princess on 8/27. Looking forward to it and I'm sure you'll love it.

 

[Beryl]

LaShon and Suzy, Go to http://www.princess.com then check out ships. It will lead you to the Caribbean Princess and you can check the deck plans. It will give you a pretty good idea of how the dining rooms are set up! Try this site for menus. http://cruiseclues.com/shipstips/caribbeanprincess.htm You will also find lots of other info about the Caribbean Princess here!

Whether you are in traditional or anytime dining you will be offered exactly the same menu.

 

[serene56]

I used cruiseclues to find my way around the ships. I , too am a carnival junkie. and booked the Caribbean Princess for February 2007.

From reading cruise boards i see that what is served in the other dining places for personal choice is what is served in the dining room- excpet Sterling and Sabatinis.

I know that your account will be charged 9.75 pp for tips...but if a person is doing personal choice and my waiters will all be different- do I tip at the table like I would in a regular resturant?

 

[shonandsuzie]

That is a good question. Does anyone know about the tipping for personal choice dining?

 

[DJA]

Princess will put $10.00 per person, per day on your shipboard account unless you tell them not to. That amount is intended to provide the guideline gratuities to all personnel that would typically be tipped by a passenger.

PC dining was one of the reasons they switched to the automatic pooled tipping -- so you wouldn't have to worry about all the different waiters. If you feel you got extraordinary service from a particular waiter, you can tip them personally above and beyond the automatic gratuities; but in theory, that money is supposed to get pooled as well -- however nobody knows for sure if it all does, it varies greatly depending on the staff.

 

[Lady Jag]

The difference? Apples and oranges. :grin

 

[ch12]

I've sailed Carnival twice and Princess three times with another Princess booked for April. I have only given an extra tip one time (Grand Princess, March 2005). The service was so extraordinary one night in the personal choice dining room that I felt an additional tip was in order, but certainly not expected. I would always pick Princess over Carnival.