So what am I really going to like about Princess?

[keithm]

Yeah, but the trade off is a later boarding time.

 

That said, this was not true on my Regal cruise. The cabins weren't open until 1 or 1:30.

On our 2016 B 2 B we were on board by 11:30 & in our cabins by noon. Earliest I ever saw on a ship. Of course luggage didn't arrive till later.

[Lucky TGO]

Great thread! I was laughing and told my husband some of the replies. He said, oh, so it is like Jersey shores over on Carnival? hahaha He is now worried we booked an old person cruise. I was trying to explain, this is supposed to be a relaxing vacation to make up for the 14 years we have not had one. hahahaha

 

Wow an old person cruise :o. How old are you?

Tony

[Tatka]

Older crowd can happen on any ship depending on itin and time of year. In fact our "oldest" cruise was to NE and Canada on Royal Caribbean. We weren't very young at early 40s, but felt like grandkids to a majority of pax. People were celebrating their 90-95 birthdays, 60 years of marriages.

Wasn't a problem for us, we were happy to see them still cruising and dancing!

[SadieN]

We sail Carnival for its fun and Princess for the itins. Almost all of our cruises have been on the West Coast. West Coast Cruising is different than Caribbean Cruising.

 

We've had good and bad on both lines, including 'Weekend in Vegas' on both lines. Our wildest cruise was a Princess three day in November by a large group that was asked NOT to sail Carnival again. It was much wilder than our short Carnival Spring Break cruise. (Somehow I think they were asked not to sail Princess again either.).

 

Unfortunately, our last Princess cruise was a bust. We usually like Princess's buffet and they were using an odd three day rotation, not ABC but AAABBBCCC. There were other things but this is the thing that sticks out after 4 months.

 

Can really tell the difference between the lines by what's sung during Karoake. Carnival is CW and rock. Princess is Sinatra and 50's Elvis.

If Alfred and Seymour are on your cruise, do not be late to their comedy show.

 

We do ATD on both lines. Carnival checks to confirm your Dining assignment, Princess does not. To avoid waits we've learnt to eat at the MDR that serves Assigned first seating, then switches to ATD at 7:30.

 

California Coastals skew old. At 54 I was one of the youngest onboard.

 

 

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[Tatka]

Looks like West coast is different. The same week we sailed with MSC out of Fort Lauderdale, Caribbean Princess had 700 kids... which is pretty unusual, as it is in 400-500 range for Caribbean sailings, but still.

Carnival for Thanksgiving cruise we sailed had 1200. It was too many.

[cruisinsly]

All good info. We have been on other lines, but just booked our first on Princess today.

 

 

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[A&Jfamily]

The posters on here that describe the fellow passengers are spot on. We have done plenty of Carnival cruises and just booked our 3rd on Princess.

 

We enjoy Carnival - it is the best bang for your buck. But as Princess was offering $1 deposits and we are doing Mexican Riviera I wanted to do the line that sparked Love Boat! Just seems appropriate.

 

Carnival just tends to have an element - more so on shorter cruises - that are lacking in class. So far we have not experienced that on Princess.

 

I like to describe it as the difference between Walmart and Target. Plenty of normal people shop Walmart - but then you have the PJs, slippers and men's tank top crowd. You just don't see people in Target making such choices. The same with Princess - less cursing, binge drinking and more appropriate clothing.

 

 

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[HaveDogWillTravel]

I just completed my first 1-day (weekend) repositioning cruise on the Emerald Princess from Vancouver to Seattle May 20. I was worried it would be a bunch of out of control drunks. Surprise, surprise !!!! The crowd was younger and there were more kids but it was like everyone was there on "date night" or "family night". People dressed nice for the MDR, danced like crazy in Skywalkers, sang badly but with good humor and lots of crowd support at Karaoke, and in general a good time was had by all I saw. I really enjoyed the younger yet still acting like adults crowd.

[Katwoman007]

Wow an old person cruise :o. How old are you?

Tony

 

Old enough to know that I do not want a party like jersey shore boat! :'):'):'):') Hubby and I will be 40 and 38 at our sail time. :cool: Old enough to know how to relax and chill.

[satxdiver]

Princess is the L O V E boat! What else does one need to know? ;p

[4cats4me]

Princess is the L O V E boat! What else does one need to know? ;p

 

 

 

Now we're talkin'.

 

[emoji3][emoji177]

 

 

 

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[happy cruzer]

Princess has larger and more pools with fresh water. They have the Movies under the stars, done better than on Carnival.

 

Princess dining rooms are one story and bit closed in feeling compared to two story ones. They are quieter and I think they don't do a "show".

 

Princess inside cabins are smaller than Carnivals. Or maybe it's just the layout with the closet in the middle. No sofa.

 

Princess Atrium is more open with better activities.

 

The buffet has more choice, less choice as far as Mongolian wok, Guy's, and Blue Iguana. Room service is no charge.

 

Alot of things are subjective. Just keep reading and go with a good attitude.

[Tatka]

I believe it is a layout, which provides a separate dressing room.

I don't remember sofa in our insides on Carnival (maybe sofas in larger insides) OTOH on Princess there are no sofas in balcony rooms too.

 

I think room service is free on both now?

It is not free on RCCL and NCL.

[Thrak]

Great thread! I was laughing and told my husband some of the replies. He said, oh, so it is like Jersey shores over on Carnival? hahaha He is now worried we booked an old person cruise. I was trying to explain, this is supposed to be a relaxing vacation to make up for the 14 years we have not had one. hahahaha

 

Princess can sometimes be more of an "old person" cruise line. If you book a TA or the 28 day or 49 day or the World cruises you will definitely find more of an older crowd as the younger folks don't generally book those cruises. On our 17 day cruise a while back they moved the late BOGO up an hour earlier. When I asked a bartender why it was changed (I liked the change) he said it was because so many of the passengers were older and went to bed earlier than on some cruises.

[Katwoman007]

Princess can sometimes be more of an "old person" cruise line. If you book a TA or the 28 day or 49 day or the World cruises you will definitely find more of an older crowd as the younger folks don't generally book those cruises. On our 17 day cruise a while back they moved the late BOGO up an hour earlier. When I asked a bartender why it was changed (I liked the change) he said it was because so many of the passengers were older and went to bed earlier than on some cruises.

 

 

Haha! We are doing a 5 day LA to Cabo. Our only choice based on when the kids were out of school AND have someone watch them. I would love a longer one, but 5 might be pushing it with our kids and inlaws being left alone together ;) Hopefully Thanksgiving is a nice time to cruise.

[happy cruzer]

I believe it is a layout, which provides a separate dressing room.

I don't remember sofa in our insides on Carnival (maybe sofas in larger insides) OTOH on Princess there are no sofas in balcony rooms too.

 

I think room service is free on both now?

It is not free on RCCL and NCL.

 

Well, I think the devil is in the details. I kept it brief earlier. Most insides on Carnival are bigger than Princesses and have sofas. Generally all categories on Carnival have sofas. I have had sofas in the balconies on Princess but not sure exactly how common that is.

 

Here is the newest room service menu on Carnival:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2367254&highlight=room+service

Some is free and some is an extra charge, details again.

 

Since OP did mention ships to compare, we kinda have to keep it general.

[Tatka]

We didn't have sofas in insides on Liberty and Glory, but had in balcony room on Miracle. We didn't have sofas in balcony room on Caribbean and Ruby Princess, and in Oceanview on Caribbean.

 

Thank you for information about RS on Carnival. We are not planning to sail with them again for now, but who knows.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

To the best of my knowledge Princess only puts sofas in mini-suites or higher category staterooms.

[happy cruzer]

I yield to all the Princess cruisers on the sofas. So the point would be the cabin layouts are different. I prefer Carnivals, just me.

 

Back on topic-

Princess has the silent disembarcation. I hate the unorganized disembarcation that I have experienced on Carnival.

[Thrak]

I believe that the Deluxe Balcony and Premium Deluxe Balcony categories on the Royal Class ships include a sofa. Otherwise there are none in balcony cabins on Princess ships.

[sandy999]

I have only been on one Carnival and really enjoyed it. The food was excellent in the MDR. We have booked another for later this year. We have been on a few Princess cruises. I love the Movies under the stars, the crab shack, the chocolate journey desserts, afternoon tea, fettuccine in the MDR, pub lunches and the Jazz bands.

The Carnival buffet had the meat selection in a different location to the salad, so there was a bit of a walk and queue if you wanted both. The Mongolian wok was good but long queues.

So to answer your question - I enjoy both cruise lines.

Edited May 27, 2017 by sandy999