Princess Positives for a Carnival Refugee?

[Seago2]

Hello Princess Board :)

 

Just got off my third Carnival B2B in three years and I. Can't. Take it. Any. More.

 

Had a beautiful sailing on CB in 2011- have to say it's my best cruise ever and I've cruised with HAL and Cunard. But a lack of Princess options on the east coast during the critical summer family cruise time has kept me away.

 

After stepping off 12 days on Carnival Fantasy I booked Regal within 48 hours.

 

I've been lurking here since and thought I would toss a thread up in the air. What do I have to look forward to? I really haven't been looking at the Princess board for years. I'm very psyched to have a coffee card again and to generally upgrade away from Carnival. I booked an inside guarantee (first time in an inside in ten years) so I don't think potential soot on an aft balcony will be an issue. Believe it or not that's all I've really seen on here about Royal or Regal in the ten days since I booked!

 

What do I have to look forward to? :cool:

[Disconnections]

Hello Princess Board :)

 

Just got off my third Carnival B2B in three years and I. Can't. Take it. Any. More.

 

Had a beautiful sailing on CB in 2011- have to say it's my best cruise ever and I've cruised with HAL and Cunard. But a lack of Princess options on the east coast during the critical summer family cruise time has kept me away.

 

After stepping off 12 days on Carnival Fantasy I booked Regal within 48 hours.

 

I've been lurking here since and thought I would toss a thread up in the air. What do I have to look forward to? I really haven't been looking at the Princess board for years. I'm very psyched to have a coffee card again and to generally upgrade away from Carnival. I booked an inside guarantee (first time in an inside in ten years) so I don't think potential soot on an aft balcony will be an issue. Believe it or not that's all I've really seen on here about Royal or Regal in the ten days since I booked!

 

What do I have to look forward to? :cool:

 

Welcome back, Seago2! I'm sorry your cruise on the Carnival Fantasy was that terrible.

 

Have you looked at the Royal/Regal overview on their website? If not, you can find it here: http://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/royal_princess.pdf

[Seago2]

Welcome back, Seago2! I'm sorry your cruise on the Carnival Fantasy was that terrible.

 

Have you looked at the Royal/Regal overview on their website? If not, you can find it here: http://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/royal_princess.pdf

 

Thank you! Are the non-cabana areas of Sanctuary free?

 

I have watched a few (hundred) youtube videos on Regal and Royal. She will definitely be the newest ship I've ever set foot on. Very much looking forward to it.

[Rosethorn40]

Thank you! Are the non-cabana areas of Sanctuary free?

 

I have watched a few (hundred) youtube videos on Regal and Royal. She will definitely be the newest ship I've ever set foot on. Very much looking forward to it.

 

The Sanctuary is not free, not no part of it. However, just outside the Sanctuary on the Royal/Regal is the adult pool and that area is free, except for the covered cabanas that are on either side of the pool.

[golfb4cruzing]

We used the Sanctuary pools when we sail. Have not been on the Royal to know if the pool is within the Sanctuary proper. I enjoy that pool because it has an against the current generator. And all the pools are fresh water. 58 days till our next Princess pampering.

[joeyancho]

What do I have to look forward to? :cool:

 

I also can't take carnival anymore. It has gone too far down hill. They market to a demographic that doesn't include me anymore. I just booked my first Princess cruise. I am looking forward to it. The first thing I noticed about princess is that their CC board is much more civil. No snarky postings. I like that a lot. From my research, it looks like princess is what cruising used to be when I first started cruising. More sedated and elegant. I hope I am right. I imagine we'll both have fun finding out. Bon voyage.

[cruisenshop]

Hmmm... I hesitate to give my opinion but.... You asked. I have sailed both lines - most recently the Royal Princess.

 

What Princess does well- pub lunch, Chefs Table, their Steakhouse. International Cafe.

Their dining room food did not meet my expectations - at all. The service was lacking. The service the first night in the Italian specialty restaurant was so bad I walked out after two courses - after two hours. The television offerings were amazing- and I'm not a big tv person. The theater shows were just ok- nothing wowed me. The comedian geared his show to an older crowd than me. So- not great.

 

So all the above said- I wouldn't consider my recent Princess experience an upgrade from Carnival. (Except that I had a suite and that certainly was a treat) I was on the Carnival Sunshine in April and the dining room food was better and the shows were better- in my opinion.

 

So I've concluded after more than 30 cruises that like people- no cruise line is perfect. It's vacation and I try not to let any of the less than perfect experiences ruin my days at sea!

Enjoy your next cruise.

[Seago2]

Thank you for your replies so far. I'm not expecting perfection by a long shot and we don't cruise for "perfect". I was quite happy with the Carnival cruises in the summer and hopefully a (better) mid year cruise with just DH, which tended to be HAL or NCL or even MSC. But Carnival has taken a nose dive IMHO. There is an acceptable point beneath which I'm not prepared to spend thousands of dollars. That's what it is when you add travel to and from, cruise fare, all that goes along with the cruise, and kenneling the dogs. I've got one Carnival cruise left- next summer is my son's last year in the kids club. Then I'm free. Actually he is still friends on line with the kids he met on the CB kids club in 2011. What great kids those were.

 

I've always thought Carnival's MDR had the best food, if not the best menu, but no longer. Not for the last three years. HECK NO.

 

I can't wait for the chocolate croissants. I'm even looking forward to MUTS. I honestly just can't wait for Princess and I can't even believe I'm going on such a new ship. Yay..

[G&T Cruisers]

We were just on the Regal and we really enjoyed the ship and all it has to offer from the amazing piazza,food,service and entertainment.We have never been on Carnival and probably won't in near or distant future but we were very happy with the Regal.

Happy cruising.

[shredie]

Since you were on short Fantasy cruises, I think I see your point. We will do a west coast Imagination or Inspiration once in awhile, but we primarily sail Princess. Aside from the noise, there are a few things you might notice being different. The food is a big one. I prefer the Carnival buffet with its sandwich station, but I hear something similar is on the Regal. I always preferred Carnival's soups, and I still do. Room service for breakfast is different--no bagels or cream cheese. Carnival room service coffee is better, too, I think. These are little things, but the best part of going Princess is the noise level is reduced.

[RMM34667]

I cruise Carnival. And I like it. Never had a bad Carnival cruise. BUT.. Princess feels different. A little better IMHO. I always feel special on Princess. Princess just feels more refined, less chaotic, more relaxing. Maybe it is because the age demographics are a bit older.

 

I don't think there is much difference in the food itself, but the atmosphere is very different in the Princess dining rooms. And to me that make the meal so much more enjoyable.

 

And price wise.. It doesn't seem to cost any more to choose Princess than Carnival. I did a lot of research before choosing Caribbean Princess over cruising Carnival out of Tampa. I was looking for a cheap cruise. And driving 30 miles instead of 300 miles put the advantage on Carnival. I could have done a 7 day on Carnival for what the 5 day cost. But Princess won out this time. I think I Princess Cays and Grand Turk won out over Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

 

But might go to Cozumel anyway cause those 4 day prices are a steal!

[HRPro]

I have done two cruises on Carnival and 5 on Princess and we much prefer Princess. Decor is much more elegant, food in the MDR is much better, and the service is more professional and courteous. Carnival is loud and the staff is very energetic but not as polished as Princess especially the CD staff IMHO. Robes and room service are better on Carnival, but I much prefer the entertainment on Princess. Regal has the wonderful Alfredo's for pizza, plus wonderful pizza by the slice on the Lido deck. Of the specialty restaurants, we prefer the Crown Grill--wonderful steaks and great service. The buffet layout on Regal and Royal are much improved over the Grand class ships, and I thought the food was excellent. we're sailing on Regal in November and have two cruises on Royal next year, so obviously we enjoy the new class of ships on Princess. The gym and walking track are on the upper deck and have great views. Enjoy!

[golfb4cruzing]

We haven't cruised Carnival to experience their new improved pizza. I think Princess pizza is great. I owned/operated a pizzeria and made our own dough. I hate to say this but last Princess trip, I ate their pizza everyday. I spent some time at the counter talking "shop" with the staff and couldn't have made a better pie myself. The champagne waterfall is a nice event. All dressed up, ceremony, some nice LIVE music and just mellowing. That is what cruising should be.

[Seago2]

Thank you, everyone!

 

The Fantasy B2B was a 5 and a 7. I knew full well what I was getting into by booking the oldest ship in the... most bare bones fleet. And I had never had a bad Carnival cruise. What I had was a series of cruises that got progressively less acceptable for the money spent and it all sort of came to a head about midway through the last cruise. Harried crew, food that was generally not ok, lack of this, lack of that. It is what it is. The fact that I booked Princess within two days should say it all. I needed to purge that image, especially for my husband, and replace it with a good cruising experience.

 

I became heavily reliant on pizza during the last cruise! Carnival pizza was good...

 

My CB cruise was in a other category entirely from my last three or four Carnival cruises so it's unfair to even do a comparison. They're not supposed to be the same, they're not priced the same, no one would agree they are the same.

 

Can I ask- is the bridge still largely English or will it be an Italian master? That was a huge surprise during my CB cruise- the captain was English and the announcements from the bridge were understandable. We actually were the last ship out of the port of NY before it was shut down due to a hurricane- in fact, there was no parking at the cruise terminal due to it being in a flood zone. We had to stay in a hotel in Brooklyn that miraculously had a park and cruise package. Airports had been closed all day. Trains stopped. So that might have a lot to do with how much we enjoyed ourselves- the ship was half empty! So the Captain was talking to us many times throughout the first two days as we obviously had very rough weather. The last few cruises I can't even begin to understand what the captain is saying so I don't even listen. Also, there is no "ship's log" arriving in your cabin every day- not by a long shot. DH is English so I like to hear the accent. Doesn't really matter- just wondering.

 

Honestly it was Princess or HAL and I knew I had to go for what I considered the best.