Princess or Carnival

We are trying to plan a cruise for December- Right now I am trying to decide between Princess or Carnival. I have been on 1 Princess cruise in 09 and 5 with Carnival.. Princess would be an obstructed view balcony and Carnival is a balcony on lido.Price is pretty close..My question is given the choice between these 2 cruise lines which is better?

I will be sailing on Carnival for the 17th time 3/5/16. I love Carnival. Cruising is fun no matter what! It's always about what you make of it!!

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I like Princess but the median age of cruisers is much older which makes the clubs, bars, and other public areas kind of dead at night. On our last princess cruise the club was empty at 10:30 pm and there wasn't much going on. I was kind of bored after 10 pm. This is a deal breaker for me because I'm a night owl. My dh and I love Carnivals late night adult comedy shows and their karaoke bars that are a blast well into the night. But this is just a personal preference for me. Some people like the peace and want to turn in early. If I had a choice between an obstructed view balcony or a regular balcony on lido I'd take the lido balcony every time. One of my best cruises was a balcony on the lido on the Dream. We loved being near all the action on the lido, it was so convenient. We could grab a cup of coffe or a snack and take it to our room and enjoy it on the balcony without worrying about spilling something because it was right there. We often grabbed breakfast and took it to our cabin and ate out on our balcony. And even though we were very close to the elevators and all the people, our cabin was very quiet. I was never woken up and I'm a very light sleeper.

We've been on both and like them both. I like the food on both of them. Which is cheaper? How many are going to be in a cabin? Festival's rooms are bigger. We like the entertainment on Carnival better. I like that it's less formal, especially in the Caribbean. Which do you have more benefits with? Which ships are you talking about?

I have taken at least 17 Carnival cruises. Once I took a princess cruise there was no going back. Just a superior experience, all the way around.

We are trying to plan a cruise for December- Right now I am trying to decide between Princess or Carnival. I have been on 1 Princess cruise in 09 and 5 with Carnival.. Princess would be an obstructed view balcony and Carnival is a balcony on lido.Price is pretty close..My question is given the choice between these 2 cruise lines which is better?

I've been on both, had an incredible time on both. What ships were you looking at?

It really depends on the ship. Found a good deal on a California Coastal but it was on the Crown Princess. That ship's almost always under Noro watch.

The Princess cabin will be smaller with no sofa. Food is subjective. We prefer Carnival's MDR and Princess's buffet. Have to pay for the hot chocolate on Princess.

Entertainment is has its highs and lows on both lines. The fastest karaoke song we've heard on Princess has been 'My Way'.

Princess has a habit of upgrading with little notification. Sometimes it's good, other times not so good.

Look on the Princess board for a link to a website that shows how obstructed the cabin is. Some are fully and others have only a wire in a corner.

We liked them both.

Overall food and service much better on Princess, entertainment better on Carnival.

Without knowing much about what you're looking for on your vacation, it's hard to give you advice. I'd pick Carnival for a casual, unpretentious cruise with my family, but I would choose Princess for a more sophisticated cruise experience for just my wife and I, or for a special occasion .

In fact, our last cruise was aboard Princess to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary (link with photos in my signature) and that cruise easily ranks as one of the best cruises I've ever taken. We went on this cruise looking for a bit more upscale and special experience and Princess easily delivered that. A Carnival cruise, while fun, would've failed to deliver what we wanted.

If you give us a few more details (ships and itinerary, what you're looking for on this cruise, who's coming along, etc) we may be able to give you a bit more educated advice. [emoji3].

Chevy or Lexus? I'd choose Princess with the information you've given.

We aren't big into bars or drinking so the slow pace of Princess may be fine...I just remember Princess being so much nicer but I am so familiar with Carnival I'm nervous to switch...The ships we are looking at are the Regal Princess or either Magic or Sunshine for Carnival..I like that Carnival has the unobstructed balcony but Princess also has a deal where we would get $350 in on board credit... We like having Guys Burgers and the burrito stand on Carnival..What does Princess have that's like that?

We aren't big into bars or drinking so the slow pace of Princess may be fine...I just remember Princess being so much nicer but I am so familiar with Carnival I'm nervous to switch...The ships we are looking at are the Regal Princess or either Magic or Sunshine for Carnival..I like that Carnival has the unobstructed balcony but Princess also has a deal where we would get $350 in on board credit... We like having Guys Burgers and the burrito stand on Carnival..What does Princess have that's like that?

Princess has neither but does have burger grill and superior service. Very nice that you gather your lunch or breakfast sit down and crew brings your drinks.

Also nice that you order your omelet they give you a ticket, you find seats and crew brings omelet to you.

Also very nice assortment of items for lunch buffet that is kept much hotter than anything on Carnival.

I would go with the itinerary you prefer the most.

Keith

I have taken at least 17 Carnival cruises. Once I took a princess cruise there was no going back. Just a superior experience, all the way around.

What he said !!! We are going on Carnival in April and all we can think about is Princess in October. there is NO comparison.

We aren't big into bars or drinking so the slow pace of Princess may be fine...I just remember Princess being so much nicer but I am so familiar with Carnival I'm nervous to switch...The ships we are looking at are the Regal Princess or either Magic or Sunshine for Carnival..I like that Carnival has the unobstructed balcony but Princess also has a deal where we would get $350 in on board credit... We like having Guys Burgers and the burrito stand on Carnival..What does Princess have that's like that?

Princess has the IC, International Cafe, which is 24/7 and Carnival has nothing close. Bad Pizza and cheap soft serve??

Pretty much same stops..Carnival goes to 4 places and Princess goes to 3.

Having 60 cruises under my belt so far definitely PRINCESS!! Many more positives on Princess.

My favorite thing on our Princess cruise was the Movies under the Stars...I loved it..And I just remember it being so much nicer..We have to decide today or we loose the obc deal

What are the names of both Princess and Carnival ships you thinking of?

 

 

With all due respect, I wouldn't allow a burger joint be a deciding factor, unless you want that to define the overall kind of cruise that you want to experience. IMHO, Princess cuisine is far superior to anything on Carnival, unless you do spend a lot of time eating burgers and fries on a cruise..

I agree with Tapi, Princess food is much more superior than Carnival....but if you eat fast food type foods Carnival is the better choice (burgers, fries, pizza, etc)

I just remember Princess being so much nicer but I am so familiar with Carnival I'm nervous to switch...The ships we are looking at are the Regal Princess or either Magic or Sunshine for Carnival..I like that Carnival has the unobstructed balcony

Nervous? Don't be. I'm platinum on Carnival and I was treated BETTER on Princess as a first timer. They do a wonderful job and they truly make you feel welcome. You'll appreciate the little details on Princess that are either not available or cost extra on Carnival.

Just a little FYI, but balconies M109-M123 are classified as "obstructed" on the Regal Princess but they are not. Not only that, but they are some of the cheapest balconies on the ship. You may want to look into those if you want to get an unobstructed balcony at obstructed prices.

Speaking of obstructions, keep in mind that, unless you have a cove balcony on the Carnival Magic, your balcony will look down at a public promenade, and in some cases hot tubs. None of these balconies come with disclaimers about obstructions or location issues so be very careful and look at the deck plans before you choose.

Personally, I would select the Regal Princess, obstruction or not.

Thank you for that Tapi

OMGosh no way can you compare the Regal Princess to the Sunshine! The Magic is my favorite Carnival ship along with her sister ship the Dream. Magic will be getting upgrades in her dry dock this February but you can't compare any of Carnivals ships (perhaps the Vista that is coming out soon) to the Regal Princess! :eek:

Tape again is giving you good and proper info.

Regal Princess or either Magic or Sunshine with Carnival

That was helpful...Thanks...I'm pretty sure we are going with Princess