A Princess Cruiser on Carnival - Comparisons

[Midwestgal]

We too stay at Roadway Inn and yes, Izzy runs a tight hotel.

 

If you ever have the chance give Breeze or Liberty a try, we sailed Freedom and wasn't our favorite Carnival ship. Love the Breeze and Liberty is a great time.

 

 

Thanks for your review.

[foundmyMcGyver]

Thank you for the review. DH and I were on this Freedom cruise as well. Fantastic weather and we met some great ppl we had been on the Sunshine repositioning cruise with as well. All was well till we were stranded in Texas for 4 days after getting off the ship due to weather at home. Met some great ppl at the Hotel who had gotten off another Carnival ship (Magic I think) and were stranded as well. We cruise CCL and NCL (Platinum on both) and book by the deal going on and enjoy different things on each line and don't compare them just enjoy the cruise for what it is each time. I'd make myself crazy if I tried to compare $ to $. That being said I did enjoy your comparisons.

[xeroxme]

GweninTX,

That's a perfect comparison of Carnival to Princess that answers the differences perfectly. Anyone wanting to know the difference there it is. I really like Princess and love the walk around balcony off of the Promenade deck too. I enjoy both lines. I like the energy of Carnival for dancing and nightlife more and the slightly more refined atmosphere of Princess. Also I cant help myself from singing the Love Boat theme song while on Princess. LOL

[ScottsSweetie]

An FYI to the OP: On Carnival, you can also get your towels at the pool and turn them in before leaving. They have them at Serenity deck and at the main pool - check them out with your card and return after using. We always do this on sea days, and reserve the ones in our room for off-ship excursions. :)

 

And thanks for the side-by-side comparison. We see an Alaska cruise in our future, and it will most likely be on Princess.

Edited March 2, 2015 by ScottsSweetie

[GweninTX]

OP said she was in cabin 1226 F category. Not sure what the F stands for but according to CCL's website 1226 is a cat 4A so it should have been 185 sq ft.

 

 

 

You haven't seen small until you book an inside on the Majesty of the Seas and get a whopping 114 sq ft.

 

 

 

Bill

 

 

It could've been 185 Sq ft, but it was laid out poorly. I agree on the Princess coffee table - WHY - LOL! We did ok, we just took turns moving around the cabin. And like I say - we are not in the cabin very much!

 

 

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[GweninTX]

An FYI to the OP: On Carnival, you can also get your towels at the pool and turn them in before leaving. They have them at Serenity deck and at the main pool - check them out with your card and return after using. We always do this on sea days, and reserve the ones in our room for off-ship excursions. :)

 

And thanks for the side-by-side comparison. We see an Alaska cruise in our future, and it will most likely be on Princess.

 

 

Thanks - I did not realize I could check one out! I love the Coral Princess for Alaska! One of our favorite cruises!

 

 

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[GweninTX]

Thanks for your review. Fellow Princess cruiser here and hopefully, eventually will cruise Carnival as well. We also sail in inside cabins, so thanks for the heads-up on that. I think the one thing I will probably miss the most will be Alfredo's Pizza from Princess. After that, I am open to most things Carnival. I could do without waiters singing though. Just saying...

 

 

The pizza on Carnival is very good! I would probably give it a tie to Princess! I like the larger pizzas on Princess, but they do a good job on carnival too!

 

 

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[GweninTX]

GweninTX,

 

That's a perfect comparison of Carnival to Princess that answers the differences perfectly. Anyone wanting to know the difference there it is. I really like Princess and love the walk around balcony off of the Promenade deck too. I enjoy both lines. I like the energy of Carnival for dancing and nightlife more and the slightly more refined atmosphere of Princess. Also I cant help myself from singing the Love Boat theme song while on Princess. LOL

 

 

My favorite is the Love Boat horn on the Royal! On our transatlantic last year people came out in droves to see her and hear the horn! We had water parades and fireworks in many of the ports to recognize the largest ship they had ever had in their port! Too cool!

 

 

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[smyliecruising]

Carnival tip to get a bigger room- book a port hole. Same layout as ocean view and balcony rooms with tons of room. The price is the same as interior! You will be on riviera or main deck clear in the front. Some people don't like that but we don't mind. It is worth it.

[cruisecraze96]

My first cruise was on the Carnival Freedom before the 2.0 upgrades and at first I a was a little concerned with going on a Carnival cruise. I am now getting ready for my 4th one this June on the Breeze , which I loved.

 

I also just used the towel check out at the pool, but I brought my towel to the pool and my room steward took it with everything else and forgot to replace it, I let him know and he left another one on the bed for me :).

 

For the Steak House, I always get the Surf and Turf and so get to enjoy both lobster and steak and I usually never eat it all but on our last trip on the Breeze I was disappointed that there were no more bites left on my plate it was so good :)

 

I do have a friend at work who has cruised Princess and Royal and for him one of the same reasons applies on why he likes Princess better...FOOD :)

[sprint180]

I will second your review. That is pretty much my thoughts on the two lines. I figure I will go with Princess when my husband and I go and Carnival when my kids and I go. I do want to try Royal with my Grandson though!

Glad you had a great trip.

[golfb4cruzing]

Having migrated over to Princess, a couple of years ago, I thought your review was very fair and balanced. Safety briefing on Princess is so much better. We are heading back next year on a Carnival trip because of a group and not really looking forward to it. I really enjoy the Princess pools and the Sanctuary pool but never go in Carnival because of the salt water.The group will be great, I hope Carnival surprises me. We talked with our Carnival waitstaff and they really did not like the dancing. They echoed the dinner timing thing and I just would rather eat and move on. 12 days to next cruise!!

[Kristi Williamson]

Yep - I agree whole heartedly with you! The desserts always look so good, but tastes so bland. It has been the same on every cruise and every ship we have been on. I don't even bother getting a dessert anymore and instead buy a candy bar when my sweet tooth gets the best of me!

 

Great review - thanks for sharing!

 

 

We end up ordering cheesecake and/or chocolate cake from the room service menu on Carnival to get a good dessert that doesn't cost us anything. They are MUCH better than anywhere else on the ship. The for-pay desserts in the coffee bar are fabulous on Carnival.

 

We're trying our first Princess cruise in 2016, so thank you for the side-by-side comparison. :)

[dave_k58]

I love to see the comparison reviews. We have always gone Carnival but are thinking of taking Princess out of Houston in spring of 2016. Seems to me it would be hard to go too wrong, whatever we choose. Itineraries are the same, so I guess it would depend on price. On the other hand - just for something different we may do Caribbean Princess.

[gapearl]

Thanks for the review! Very thorough and balanced. I agree about Carnival's desserts. I don't care for them half the time at the buffet but I love my warm chocolate melting cake! I'm considering Princess for Alaska next year.