Carnival vs Princess vs P & O

I have a mate who has never been on a cruise before and wants to go on a week long cruise to the South Pacific.

I have only been on RCCL and could not offer any advice about the three lines that he can select from. He can not go on RCCL as he wants to go around July sometime, and RCCL has already left Australian waters.

Can anyone advise or recommend which of the three?

He will cruise with his wife and two kids (18 and 16)

I have a mate who has never been on a cruise before and wants to go on a week long cruise to the South Pacific.

 

I have only been on RCCL and could not offer any advice about the three lines that he can select from. He can not go on RCCL as he wants to go around July sometime, and RCCL has already left Australian waters.

 

Can anyone advise or recommend which of the three?

 

He will cruise with his wife and two kids (18 and 16)

Hello DT1304,

You will get far better results if you go to each of the Carnival, P&O and Princess boards and ask the question from loyal passengers who know the lines.

Jonathan

OK, Princess will be very similar to RCCI. I have only been on a two Carnival cruises, and only one (Carnival Splendor) has been within the last couple of years. I like both Princess and RCCI and would gladly cruise on either. The Carnival ship decoration and atmosphere is I would say more modern and perhaps aimed at a younger crowd. The entertainment was decent and I thought the food was as good as either Princess or RCCI. I did not find the Carnival ship to be as "relaxing" as either Princess or RCCI. It is a fun ship, but those that say Carnival is a drunken party are grossly exaggerating. It is not as sedate as either Pincess or RCCI. I've not been on P&O so can't comment. If I can provide any specifics, just ask.

I wanted to add, that I belive the atmosphere on the ship is also driven by the itinerary. For example, a Mexican Riveria cruise, whether it be RCCI or Carnival, is much more lively than a Baltic or Med cruise. I expect the same is true of Caribbean. Not sure about South Pacific. .

I have sailed Carnival, Princess and Royal.

I found my cruises on Carnival and Royal to be on par with each other and Princess totally wow'd me from moment one.

We were booked on Ruby for January but i saw the Glory going the same week to the same ports--minus st marten for 1200 cheaper--

My vacation dollars dictate where and how I vacation.

Never sailed P & O so cant offer anything from that area.

Carnival-- really depends on the week- we sailed the Legend last valentines day and i was a minority as majority of the people were 70 and over.

If you go back to the index page, you'll find a site for Aus/NZ cruisers, where you will probably find people who've travelled with all these lines out of Oz. P&OPrincess was one line until Carnival bought it, so there's a lot of things the same on the -now 2 separate- lines; they share ships and sometimes crew members.

Hope you find some answers!;)

We have sailed with Princess several times and just recently took our first Carnival cruise. In spite of their rash of bad luck recently, I would go with them again.

I thought they compared very favorably to Princess. In fact there were a couple of things I liked better than Princess. I found Carnival's food offereings more within my comfort level. Some of the Princess dinner selections were just a little too fancy for me some nights. The passengers were a little younger and more energetic on Carnival.

Carnival was substantialy less expensive than Princess. I thought they were a great value. I'd go with Princess again if the price were right but Carnival met all my expectations.

I have sailed on Carnival and Princess. I loved my cruises on both cruise lines! I think the teens will enjoy Carnival more because, imo, it has better/more entertainment.

Princess would be my choice. Ihave 3 sons that started cruising at 13 years old. They prefer Princess, my wife and i agree. Better food, service and entertainment. Have a great cruise.

Haven't sailed P&O but between Princess and Carnival, Princess wins, hands down. However, the pricing on Carnival has been excellent lately- much less than Princess. For someone who has never been on a cruise before and has nothing to compare it to, I'd send him off on Carnival. He'll still have a great time and it will be half the price of Princess.