OK I KNOW THIS IS DUMB BUT......

[candigirl41]

You will be fine on Carnival.  I  have been on 16 Carnival, 3 RCCL, 4 Princess and 3 NCL.  I have NCL booked in October, Carnival next February and Princess Nov 2020.

 

They are more alike than different.  Some things will be better and some things not so much.  I really like the food on Princess and NCL.  NCL has a great buffet and I don't like buffets.  Carnival has the deli which is really good.  I think your kids will enjoy it.  I took my daughter on 9 Carnival cruises and she always had fun.  

 

Candi

[riffatsea]

On Carnival we love the comedians and the variety on the buffet too.

[FloaterBoat]

5 hours ago, CruiseGal999 said:

 

I am not a Carnival expert, but I have sailed Carnival 3 times and am scheduled for my 4th Carnival 8/31st out of NOLA.  I have sailed Princess 2x ... ever.  I MUCH prefer Carnival.  I would go out of my way to NOT sail on Princess ... a very bad experience with the staff (a staff member entered my room ... NO knocking .... NO announcing ... and it was NOT MY steward) ... it was a time when most cruisers would be out of their cabin but I happened to have laid down for a nap.  I DID report it (don't know who it was he ran) but nothing came of it.  Whether the DND sign fell off the door handle before or after he entered the room ... IDK ... But many other staff were surly and argumentative ... just NOT what I've come to enjoy from cruising. 

 

Whoa.  I need to hear more about this.  Think they were looking to steal? Or something more? I gotta know more, if theres more to know.

[FloaterBoat]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

I saw a little girl - maybe 7 or 8 - get out of a pool, come over to her family table beside us, SEMI-SQUAT and PEE right on the concrete, then go back to the pool ... NO, it wasn't her suit dripping ... it was a stream, and it was yellow

 

it was on our one and never again BARNIVAL cruise ...

 

i'll just leave that little nugget right here ...

 

 

0_0...what??!

[aimee0715]

We are platinum on Princess but have sailed several times with Carnival, and once each with DCL, RCI, Celebrity, and Azamara.  As someone else said above, they are more alike than different (well, obviously Azamara is quite a bit different than any of those other lines).  I have no issues whatsoever with Carnival and actually in many respects prefer them to Princess and I'm quite confident your kids will prefer Carnival to Princess.  I just went on my first RCI cruise in April and really don't get why people think there is a huge difference between Royal and Carnival.  I just didn't see it.  

[CruiseGal999]

15 minutes ago, FloaterBoat said:

Whoa.  I need to hear more about this.  Think they were looking to steal? Or something more? I gotta know more, if theres more to know.

 

I think they were looking to steal.  It was 3:30 - 4:00 p.m. and a good time to believe people are NOT in the cabin and probably ashore or elsewhere on the ship.  But nothing was ever done about it .... It is the one time I did NOT leave an extra tip.  Just my reg. grats.  FYI ... I DID use the deadbolt lock.  I thought that meant the keycard would NOT work on the door.  But ... 

[screamingreen]

DON'T CHANGE IT! The Horizon is a beautiful ship. We were on it for it's inaugural cruise out of Barcelona. We have done 3 Carnival and have our 3rd Princess booked for September. As others have said, some things we like better on Carnival and some things we like better on Princess. Our last Carnival cruise over spring break, I was surprised to hear there were over 700 kids on the ship. We saw some here and there, but I would have never guessed there were that many. Guess Carnival kept them busy! We choose the ship for the itinerary, and so far have been happy with our choices!

[Adventures ahead]

I wouldn't change it either.  You'll have fun.

Try not to sweat the small stuff and enjoy the best of a new experience.

[Skai]

As much as Princess tries to bill itself as family-friendly, the line can't really compete with the "fun ships", Waterpark-of-the-Seas et al. contemporaries for the summer (school)vacation season.

 

I can't imagine sailing on a Princess ship(or any ship for that matter) with 1000 kids,  nor would I want to.

 

 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

13 hours ago, tonit964 said:

That was a short 3 day weekend cruise which is going to be a "party" cruise.  I witnessed the same thing you did on my Princess 15 day Hawaii cruise last February. I would never take a 3 day cruise for that reason.

 

However, it's not a fair comparison to a 7 day cruise is August when most kids are back or going back to school. I am Platinum on Carnival and I enjoy both lines for different reasons. 

I’m not comparing anything.

 

I said this is anecdotal evidence and proves nothing. I simply said what I would do. I would err on the side of caution and book Princess as I do not care for the behaviors  my sister (7 day Caribbean cruise) and I (have no idea what the Inspiration itinerary was) saw on Carnival.

 

I’ve been on multiple 1-5 night Princess Cruises and the vast majority of folks were on short date night weekends like my husband and me. Not at all booze cruises. Not a one.

 

I think it’s great there are different lines that suit different styles. 

[MauiLvrs]

August is HOT 🔥and the middle of hurricane season ...

[plunker]

August works best for our family which is why we chose that month.  I thought i read hurricanes aren't as much of a problem way south by Aruba Bonaire and Curacao.   I guess you still have to get there tho.

[K.T.B.]

On 7/29/2019 at 7:00 AM, plunker said:

We have cruised 6 times all with princess.  It works out best for our family (my wife and I and our 2 kids(17 and 12) to cruise in August.  I went to book a cruise a couple months ago for August 2020 to the Caribbean and princess had no cruises going there.  We ended booking the carnival horizon for a 8 day to Aruba Bonaire and Curacao with a non refundable deposit.   Even tho it's booked I feel uneasy about going with carnival so I check a couple times a week to make sure princess hasn't added a cruise going to the Caribbean even tho I know it's impossible that that would happen. I would gladly eat the nonrefundable deposit to get back on princess. 

 

I've been on 7 Carnival cruises and only one was a "party boat" (our first one).  Carnival is definitely more rambunctious than most cruise lines, but not annoyingly so.  If you go in with the attitude of it being a more playful atmosphere, you'll be ok.  If you're looking for pure relaxation, then avoid Carnival.  The activities by the pool during sea days is anything but relaxing some of the time unfortunately. 

 

With your kids being 12 and 17, I think you'll have a fun time.  However,, if you truly feel uneasy about it, look into Celebrity.  IMO, they're better than Carnival and the atmosphere is quite relaxing.  They're what Carnival becomes once they're turn 40 and matured and the kids are nearly grown.  😃  Anyway, it looks like it's the Equinox during August of 2020.  I've been on Solstice (same type of ship) and it's my favorite ship from the 3 cruises I've taken with Celebrity.

 

What it comes down to is this:  If you're going to fret over it and be uneasy, then you may not enjoy yourself.  I honestly do not think you have any reason to worry.  I've heard and read a lot of good things about Horizon.  In the end, however, you need to be comfortable with your choice. By the way, I will say this, my last 2 Carnival cruises were anything but good, but the first 5 were very good to excellent.  

 

I hope some of that helped!

[jangor]

On 7/29/2019 at 4:29 PM, FloaterBoat said:

 

 

0_0...what??!

This has nothing to do with Carnival or Princess.  These are parents who have not raised their daughter to be in public places.

[Tapi]

On 7/29/2019 at 4:18 PM, candigirl41 said:

They are more alike than different. 

More alike how? I'm Platinum on Carnival and I have to say that I consider the experience on Carnival to be vastly different than on other cruise lines. To put things into perspective, we had been frequently sailing on Carnival for years when we decided to take our first Princess cruise. And I remember my wife, with tears in her eyes, thank me for taking her on Princess. First time in all of our years of marriage that she shed happy tears about going on a cruise. She absolutely loved Princess and thought that it was wonderful, something that she has never said about a Carnival (in fact, she flat out hates Carnival, and the times we've sailed on them, its after a lot of begging on my part). 

 

But personally, I've truly enjoyed sailing on Carnival, but I know that it's definitely not for everyone. When friends ask for my opinion about Carnival, I have to tailor my response based on who I'm talking to. 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Tapi

[babar25]

We just sailed the Carnival Horizon last January.  It is a beautiful ship and we had an amazing time.  The specialty restaurants are great and the buffet had a great selection.  I hope you enjoy your time as much as we did!

[GottaLuvCruising]

On 7/29/2019 at 8:00 AM, plunker said:

We have cruised 6 times all with princess.  It works out best for our family (my wife and I and our 2 kids(17 and 12) to cruise in August.  I went to book a cruise a couple months ago for August 2020 to the Caribbean and princess had no cruises going there.  We ended booking the carnival horizon for a 8 day to Aruba Bonaire and Curacao with a non refundable deposit.   Even tho it's booked I feel uneasy about going with carnival so I check a couple times a week to make sure princess hasn't added a cruise going to the Caribbean even tho I know it's impossible that that would happen. I would gladly eat the nonrefundable deposit to get back on princess. 

We've cruised 48 times and are Platinum on Princess, Carnival and Royal Caribbean.  

 

We no longer cruise Carnival but primarily because I am disappointed with "Playlist Productions" shows.  They have four male and four female singer / dancers with mediocre talent performing to canned music in front of a retina-blasting LED screen.  IMHO, this is not entertainment.   BUT do try out the shows...you might enjoy them.  

 

Since you have booked and paid a non-refundable deposit, I hope you are finding the responses reassuring.  I'd also like to reassure you.  You are on one of the newest ships, for a longer itinerary, while most kids are getting ready to head back to school.  You shouldn't be bothered by a party atmosphere.  Carnival's food is very good, IMHO comparable to Princess...sometimes even better.  Your stateroom is likely to be larger.  There will be plenty to do.  Go and have a good time.  

 

Edited August 11, 2019 by GottaLuvCruising

[Cafedumonde]

You will love carnival. 

[plunker]

I would say 70 percent of the time I'm excited to be trying the horizon and looking forward to a new experience.   But 30 percent of the time I freak out and go back to the princess website and look at August 2020 cruises again to make sure I'm not missing a Caribbean cruise even tho I know there aren't any. Lol

[ontheweb]

31 minutes ago, plunker said:

I would say 70 percent of the time I'm excited to be trying the horizon and looking forward to a new experience.   But 30 percent of the time I freak out and go back to the princess website and look at August 2020 cruises again to make sure I'm not missing a Caribbean cruise even tho I know there aren't any. Lol

in the words of the Rolling Stones:

 

"You can't always get what you want.

But if you try sometimes, you'll get what you need."

 

Stop fretting and just get ready to enjoy your cruise.

[Tatka]

If you check my signature we sailed on just about any line. 6 times with Princess which one of our favorites, although we have more cruises with Royal and NCL due to proximity to ports.

We tried Carnival with our then teenager 3 times. Did not work for us at all. Food wasn't the best, bur it is not the main reason I feel. Something about overall ambience, pax and activities geared to this pax. No, there was no party scenes or many drunks, we did not see it, just so less elegant that Princess or even Royal.

With teens my choice #1 would be larger Royal Caribbean ships or larger NCL ships (I am not a big fan of them, as I love their smaller ships, but large will have more to do)

Celebrity is also closer to Princess in quality.

[K.T.B.]

14 hours ago, GottaLuvCruising said:

Since you have booked and paid a non-refundable deposit, I hope you are finding the responses reassuring.  I'd also like to reassure you.  You are on one of the newest ships, for a longer itinerary, while most kids are getting ready to head back to school.  You shouldn't be bothered by a party atmosphere.  Carnival's food is very good, IMHO comparable to Princess...sometimes even better.  Your stateroom is likely to be larger.  There will be plenty to do.  Go and have a good time.  

 

 

The bolded part of your comment (which I bolded) worries me about Princess now....  IMHO, the food on Carnival was average at its best, but it's been below average my last 2 cruises with them.  However, I don't cruise for the food.

 

IMO, the best thing about Carnival is its very relaxed atmosphere.  But if you like really good food, you may get lucky in the dining room. one or two nights. And I hope Princess is far better than that!

[plunker]

We have been on 6 princess cruises and really enjoyed most of the dishes we had.  The international cafe is wonderful and open 24 hrs.  I am looking forward to trying guy's burgers tho.

[Lucky TGO]

On 7/29/2019 at 3:33 PM, INeedAMaiTai said:

On my last Carnival cruise, the number one thing I hated was they didn't have table cloths on the dining table at night.  Trying to cut a steak with my plate sliding around was not fun at all.  Though, it was just a weekend cruise and longer ones might be different; it's the little things that matter to me and princess makes those happen.

 

No table cloths 😳. That’s a game  breaker for me. 😁

Tony

[Sillyjilly]

On 7/29/2019 at 10:06 AM, HaveDogWillTravel said:

We’ve sailed quite a bit on Princess and have seen Carnival ships in port with us many times. Last Feb the Carnival Inspiration was in Ensenada with us. Our aft facing balcony was facing the aft of Inspiration. There was a group of young adults hanging out screaming “chug, chug, chug” loud enough for us to very clearly hear them. We cracked up and said we were glad ships like Carnival exist so there is a place for folks like that to be amongst others who enjoy that sort of stuff. 

I had a really hard time convincing my sister to cruise with me as her only experience was a family cruise on Carnival in the Caribbean.  She reported seeing some pretty wild behavior by PAX on the ship. Ultimately she sailed with me on Princess and loved it. 

 

Anecdotal evidence proves nothing, but I’d err on the side of caution and not choose Carnival. 

 

That is not the norm on 7 day cruises. The Inspiration does 3 and 4 day cruises and has many new cruisers that have many bachelor/bachelorette parties going on. Especially the 3 dayers.

 

I used to cruise mostly Princess, but very much enjoy carnival now. I think you should try it as I have been quite pleased with Carnival and lean towards them now.