Princess vs Carnival rate comparison

If you open my signature, you will see that we sail Carnival most often and we we like them. We travel with our kids during peak times, and with the exception of a couple of cruises, have found the rates to be cheaper. We do prefer Princess because you don't seem to have the same segment of crowd that states it is their vacation and they will do what they want, regardless of their fellow passengers, rules or dress code.

That said for all those that ask, I was able to book the Mexican Riv. for $964 balcony and $649 interior, a few months ago, with $1 deposit. This was very important because we don't have DS's college schedule yet. Total, it was a little over $800 more expensive than the same cruise on Carnival. We were going to eat that for the experience of sailing the "love boat" on her famous TV run. But Princess just sweetened the deal - no increase in rate, no increase in deposit, but free beverages in balcony. So for you Cheers people, you know that just wiped that $800 difference. Now we are not Cheers people, and would spend $500 perhaps on Carnival on drinks, maybe $400 on Princess because they are cheaper.

So, for those of you that like Carnival but don't appreciate some of the classless clientele, you might want to look at Princess right now!

Princess is one of the lines that we'd like to go on. We have gone on several Carnival cruises, also Royal Caribbean and Disney. But we have been disappointed with our most recent Carnival cruises so it's time to venture out and try other lines. Also looking at Celebrity, Norwegian and Holland America. We are even willing to pay more than what Carnival charges, in the hopes of getting a bit more bang for our buck.

We are diamond on Carnival and have enjoyed our cruises but have had enough Caribbean and few too many cutbacks.

We are now sailing to see the world and have done 4 cruises on Princess and while we pay more we do see a better value.

I have wanted to try Princess and thank you for the promotion information. We are trying Celebrity next and the promotion I got with them was OBC and drink package.

You got me super excited.... then sad.

We are booked for our first Princes cruise in Sept for the last Alaska cruise of the season. I was hoping this sale would apply to our sailing... but it is only for 2018-2019 sailings... Would really like to get their drink package for free.

Hopefully they will add it to ours, to help fill the ship.

We booked our Princess Panama Canal cruise for less $$ (about $200 PP) in a better cabin (aft balcony) with prepaid gratuities and a $250 (military) OBC each. The cruise is also a day longer. That is with Princess, not a TA.

Not all Princess cruises will yield the same results. We got an awesome deal!

both have there good and bad points.been on both and like them both.

For our two big specialty cruises to the Med and Alaska, we booked Princess without even checking prices on Carnival. Clearly we thought Princess gave us the most value for our dollars.

So, for those of you that like Carnival but don't appreciate some of the classless clientele, you might want to look at Princess right now!

And you guarantee that there will be no classless clientele on any Princess ship, how?

And you guarantee that there will be no classless clientele on any Princess ship, how?

We sail West Coast exclusively (did have one aberration to the Caribbean). On both lines, on occasion, we've met the same passengers cruise after cruise, doesn't matter which line.

Met plenty of classless people on both lines.

Pax on both lines seem to reflect the decor. Carnival seems to attract a more vibrant clientele, Princess a more 'beige' passenger.

Sail Princess for its variety of itins out of Los Angeles, Carnival for its fun.

I've sailed four times on Princess and have my first Carnival cruise booked. I love Princess, but am excited to try Carnival with the kids.

And you guarantee that there will be no classless clientele on any Princess ship, how?

Classless people are every where. Those Cruise snobs on HAL and others just are dressed better & like overpaying needlessly for silly stuff. :rolleyes:

As Princess is owned by Carnival corp. I think Carnival is happy with you choosing either.

Classless people are every where. Those Cruise snobs on HAL and others just are dressed better & like overpaying needlessly for silly stuff. :rolleyes:

Like better food?Shows?Cabins? Ships? Just asking for a friend.

We are platinum on Carnival and Princess. Five cruises on HAL. other cruises with RCI. Celebrity. NCL

Same People cruise on Princess and Carnival. Just older on Princess.

Holland American has lots of Canadians. Lots of North Easterners.

Carnival has more to do for guests who do not swim or sun on Sea Days. Passengers are more exuberant. If you sail when Public Schools and Private Schools are in Session, avoid Holidays, the demographics are the same except for HAL. it is much older. Few Children.

I have not encountered snobs on any of them. Chair Hogs on Carnival, people sending down little kids to save a row of seats seems to afflict folks on Princess too. That is a major irk for me.Not on HAL. Easy to get good seat there.

Food is good on all of them. HAL might be the best. Carnival is where you will see girls and young women in a throng and pasties, or almost that naked in the Lido Buffet. Often they do not have the figures to wear them.

Being in line to get your salad greenss and someone's nude rear end in your face is inappropriate and denotes someone desperate for attention, imho. MY chief complaint with Carnival is they do not stop them, or hand them a towel. . Princess.....Saw it once. HAL would not tolerate it.

Carnival.......more to do........Cleanest line at sea. People are having a good time. Not ashamed to show it. Exuberant. I like that. Like the casino better. Like the cabins better.

Princess and HAL are less expensive for us because we get Casino rates. Not the free ones. The ones with % off and we appreciate them.

We have two cruises booked on Carnival. One I booked as soon as 2017 rates came out. Got a good deal. the other............We are in inside . It Is during Super Bowl week in 2018. That was on my bucket list. My husband is going to enjoy watching that game on the ship.

Carnival. Not cheaper any more. Still my favorite.

Staff on all are excellent. Service best on HAL. Good on all.

All are good ships.

I have grown to enjoy the large number of New Yorkers who sail on HAL. They speak their minds. they are independent. They liven up any room they are in.........fun to be around. I was born in Alabama . Could not be more different. But I admire their spunk. I hope I don't offend anyone with that comment.

And you guarantee that there will be no classless clientele on any Princess ship, how?

No guarantee offered. But in my experience Princess seems to have many less people lacking class such as those men wearing tank tops and sweaty baseball caps in the MDR at dinner, and people trying to max their 15 drinks on Cheers "because they paid for them!" ....regardless of whether they should. Or even worse - stealing by sharing Cheers and trying to justify it.

In reading both the Carnival and Princess boards I find that Princess has less people trying to share the drink package or wondering exactly how casual they can dress on elegant evening.

There is a difference in mindset that I sense and experience when dealing with Princess. It's not stuffy but simply classic without being opulent or 5 star.

Don't get me wrong - I have 3 Carnival cruises booked and 1 Princess. We will continue to sail Carnival as it is good bang for the buck but if even up, I will be choosing Princess.

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Princess has no KAN onboard. Only way to go.

We are platinum on Carnival and Princess. Five cruises on HAL. other cruises with RCI. Celebrity. NCL

 

Same People cruise on Princess and Carnival. Just older on Princess.

Holland American has lots of Canadians. Lots of North Easterners.

 

Carnival has more to do for guests who do not swim or sun on Sea Days. Passengers are more exuberant. If you sail when Public Schools and Private Schools are in Session, avoid Holidays, the demographics are the same except for HAL. it is much older. Few Children.

 

I have not encountered snobs on any of them. Chair Hogs on Carnival, people sending down little kids to save a row of seats seems to afflict folks on Princess too. That is a major irk for me.Not on HAL. Easy to get good seat there.

 

Food is good on all of them. HAL might be the best. Carnival is where you will see girls and young women in a throng and pasties, or almost that naked in the Lido Buffet. Often they do not have the figures to wear them.

Being in line to get your salad greenss and someone's nude rear end in your face is inappropriate and denotes someone desperate for attention, imho. MY chief complaint with Carnival is they do not stop them, or hand them a towel. . Princess.....Saw it once. HAL would not tolerate it.

 

Carnival.......more to do........Cleanest line at sea. People are having a good time. Not ashamed to show it. Exuberant. I like that. Like the casino better. Like the cabins better.

 

Princess and HAL are less expensive for us because we get Casino rates. Not the free ones. The ones with % off and we appreciate them.

 

We have two cruises booked on Carnival. One I booked as soon as 2017 rates came out. Got a good deal. the other............We are in inside . It Is during Super Bowl week in 2018. That was on my bucket list. My husband is going to enjoy watching that game on the ship.

Carnival. Not cheaper any more. Still my favorite.

Staff on all are excellent. Service best on HAL. Good on all.

All are good ships.

I have grown to enjoy the large number of New Yorkers who sail on HAL. They speak their minds. they are independent. They liven up any room they are in.........fun to be around. I was born in Alabama . Could not be more different. But I admire their spunk. I hope I don't offend anyone with that comment.

If you have cruised Princess as you say, then you know they do not allow children without adults on first 3 rows.

Like better food?Shows?Cabins? Ships? Just asking for a friend.

Basic cabins on Princess are smaller than Carnival's. If you want a sofa, you'll need to book a mini suite. Showers are puny. Both use the same shampoo and underpowered hairdryers.

Our last Princess cruise a few months ago had a three day buffet rotation, not ABC but AAABBBCCCA. It was a 10 day cruise. Both lines have good fish chefs. Prefer Carnival's Steakhouse over Princess's Crown Grill.

Carnival has benches and seats in the showroom, Princess only has seats, larger pax will have issues.

Princess is MUCH better then Carnival, but maybe not for kids.

Classless people are every where. Those Cruise snobs on HAL and others just are dressed better & like overpaying needlessly for silly stuff. :rolleyes:

Ain't THAT the truth:)

Carnival cruiser but we took Princess to Alaska in 2015. Loved the way we were treated. Only thing that bothered us was most were older.

We are in our 50s and it seemed the average age was about 70 at least.

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We sail pretty evenly on CCL and NCL.....rates seem to be comparable ...

CCL had better cabins (sizes)...but NCL wins hands down on entertainment...(especially on the newer ships)...

We thoroughly enjoyed the Blue Man Group and Legends on Epic, Legally Blonde on the Getaway and Rock of Ages on the Breakaway..(and looking forward to cruising on The Escape next year)...whereas CCL seems to offer the same song and dance group on every ship, along with passenger based entertainment such as 'trivia' and 'karaoke'... (not our thing)...the Punchliner is hit or miss....we've seen good and bad...

We don't book our vacations with 'mingling' in mind....we pretty much stay away from the public areas like the pools, hottubs and sundecks....we've seen our share of distasteful behavior on both lines....(some people can be so gross)...

That said......we will be branching out in the future....I will be looking at RCL and perhaps Princess....(not sure that we are ready for HAL yet)....we may be leaving CCL behind....

Sometimes change is good....

No guarantee offered. But in my experience Princess seems to have many less people lacking class such as those men wearing tank tops and sweaty baseball caps in the MDR at dinner, and people trying to max their 15 drinks on Cheers "because they paid for them!" ....regardless of whether they should. Or even worse - stealing by sharing Cheers and trying to justify it.

 

In reading both the Carnival and Princess boards I find that Princess has less people trying to share the drink package or wondering exactly how casual they can dress on elegant evening.

 

There is a difference in mindset that I sense and experience when dealing with Princess. It's not stuffy but simply classic without being opulent or 5 star.

 

Don't get me wrong - I have 3 Carnival cruises booked and 1 Princess. We will continue to sail Carnival as it is good bang for the buck but if even up, I will be choosing Princess.

 

 

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Very well stated, thank you!(y)

I only wish Princess offered Caribbean itineraries in the summer. We'd sail them again in a heartbeat.

Like better food?Shows?Cabins? Ships? Just asking for a friend.

Hal America sails right from where I live and I refuse to sail them because I went on one of the weekend Mexico cruises and talk about boredom. Food was ok and the enthusiasm level was lacking. I am a 54 year old woman and it was as like being in a home for The aged. Did the same cruise on carnival with a cruise a year later and had a blast! I can afford to pay for HAL but I chose to cruise with a lively bunch and HAL is not it for me. Ymmv. I have no problem flying from San Diego to anywhere to cruise with fun people.

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