Help me pick - Southern Carribbean - Carnival Victory or Caribbean Princess

[DrNex]

Hi Team,

 

We are considering two cruises on March 11. One is a cruise on the Carnival Victory, the other is on the Caribbean Princess. Both share the same dates and the itineraries are close but not identical. We need some help in picking. The prices are essentially identical ($549 for lowest oceanview cabin on Princess obstructed view vs. $569 for highest oceanview cabin on Carnival).

 

Carnival Victory was built in 2001, Caribbean Princess in 2004. Reviews for both are close with 4.3 overall for Victory and 4.4 overall for Princess. One thing to note: I am 25 and my travel partner is 23. I have sailed on Carnival, RCI, Holland and Princess before.

 

What really concerns us though is the difference in itineraries, as follows:

 

Victory:

1San Juan, Puerto Rico 10 PM Departure

2Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas 7 AM - 5 PM

3 At Sea

4Bridgetown, Barbados 8 AM - 5 PM

5Castries, St. Lucia 8 AM - 5 PM

6Basseterre, St. Kitts 8 AM - 6 PM

7Philipsburg, St. Maarten 7 AM - 5 PM

8San Juan, Puerto Rico Arrival 7 AM

 

As you can see, all ports are from 8 AM to 5 PM or longer. Also, the ports include St. Thomas, Barbados, and St. Kitts.

 

Vs. Caribbean Princess:

 

1San Juan, Puerto Rico Departure 11 PM

2Philipsburg, St. Maarten 10 AM to 6 PM

3Castries, St. Lucia 9 AM To 6 PM

4St. George's, Grenada 7 AM to 2 PM

5Bonaire, Netherlands Special Municipality 12 PM to 7 PM

6Oranjestad, Aruba 7 AM to 5 PM

7 At Sea

8San Juan, Puerto Rico Arrival 6 PM

 

This substitutes Grenada, Bonaire, and Aruba. I know Aruba is supposed to be fabulous, but don't know much about the others. Also, the times in port are erratic, and generally shorter than with the Victory (total of 48 hours in port for Victory versus 41 hours in port for Princess). For example, we get hardly any port time in Grenada, especially considering we won't roll off the ship until 10 AM at the earliest.

 

Please help us pick!!!!

[Russell in MD]

I was on the CB a couple years ago and found it a little crowded. IIRC it has an extra deck compared to its sister ships. I liked the balcony cabin better then most CCL cruises Ive been on.

 

If you could get an aft balcony on CB it would be a no brainer.

 

Different vibe between PCL and CCL. Ive grown to like PCL compared to the spring break atmosphere of CCL. Less rug rats to step around to.

 

R

[Minoushka]

Go to Bonaire if you like to snorkel AWESOME place!!!

[Ginnyfyr]

We've been on both ships out of San Juan and we far preferred the Caribbean Princess. The ship was nicer (the Victory is soooo gaudy in the decor department!) and the food was far superior to Carnival. We've never been to Grenada or Bonaire, but we visited Aruba on our first CB trip and wow, was it ever stunning! That alone would sell me on the CB itinerary.

[WaggesAZ]

The itinerary for the weeks before & after for CB are very attractive to me, but this itinerary made me go with Victory...We had a view of the ship as a floating hotel, and because of the port intensity didn't care about shows or the bar scene.

 

I have read many reviews that are very unkind to the locals and I can honestly say it was an amazing cruise & we had no issues and we sailed virtually the same week you are planning to go. We had intended to return in 2011 again with our kids to repeat what was a fantastic trip. (unfortunately I ended up in surgery 2 days prior to our scheduled flight to San Juan).

 

I am certain CB is prettier and the ambiance a little different, but for us the islands made the trip. The food wasn't over the top, but I am not sure how to cook for 3,000 people and make it fabulous! Our table mates were fantastic and we had late seating, as the days were so busy, it worked perfectly. We didn't usually go "out" after dinner, as we needed to get to bed to be rested for the next day's adventures!

 

One last thought, IMHO, the cost of the flight to Puerto Rico, in addition to the cost of the cruise, helps decrease a "spring break" feel to this cruise. Enjoy whatever cruise you pick, the Southern Caribbean is beautiful!