Princess, now managed by Carnival...have many changes taken place?

[luvthis]

Hi Princess Cruisers,

 

DH & I embark on the Sun Princess Grand Canal Cruise on April 19th. It's been 10 years since our last Princess Cruise. Lots has changed, including the takeover by Carnival. We have only cruised with Carnival once and it was by far our least enjoyable cruise ever.

 

We are sailing with an open mind, assuming that Carnival has strived to maintain Princess reputation as not being a "party cruise line". We are trusting that Princess still offers a quality product.

 

Anyone out there willing to share your experiences about things & ammenities we might not know about since we haven't sailed with Princess since 1997?

 

Also, have you noticed any marked improvements or downgrades since Carnival took over?

[Princess Chatterer]

Princess does not have the wild party all night reputation that Carnival has. Well, maybe except for Spring Break on the Grand Princess. Since Carnival bought Princess the photo prices have gone way up and some things that were free now cost. I don't know what Carnival is doing now but Princess is looking at every opportunity to increase their on board revenue.

[luvthis]

I know the average age on the cruise I'm taking is going to be over 65, so I'm not at all worried about Spring Breakers or children. I have read about soda cards, coffee cards, ice cream fees, etc. I wish they offered lemonade free, but will settle for iced tea, no problem. I love a good cappicino after dinner, but I'm not willing to pay for it.

 

How expensive are the pictures? Bob & I usually buy one with our tablemates, one goofy "around ship character theme" type pic, and maybe one other. The last time we cruised on Princess we bought a formal picture (8" x 10") for our 27th wedding anniversary.

 

--Jean

[Tannersgramp]

Princess is not managed by Carnival.

 

Princess Cruise Lines is owned by Carnivals parent company,Carnival Corp., however is run as a seperate entity.

 

As are Carnival Cruise Line,Holland america, Windstar, Seabourn, P&O, Costa, Costa, Cunard, and others all owned by Carnival Corp.

[luvthis]

Wow! I didn't know Carnival Corp had ownership of so many cruise lines. It's good to know they keep them as separate entities. Each cruise line has a history that they have carried over to Carnival Corp.

 

Thanks for the info Tannersgramp. One bad Carnival cruise back in the 1980's does not equate to the downfall of Princess, I'm sure. We can hardly wait to sail on Princess again.

 

We were in our 30's when we cruised on the Mardi Gras for a 4 night voyage. When they had the "gals dress the guys up in your negligee" contest, we found that to be a bit wild. When one of the guys decided to moon the audience during judging, that WAS a bit wild. When we got up one morning for breakfast and a group of passengers were still up from the night before and drunker than can be...the cruise went downhill in our minds from there. Ha! Party atmosphere puts it mildly...at least on that voyage! Now that we're in our 50's, I don't know if we could handle that much excitement.

Anyway...that Carnival ship is long gone, as are many of the other older vessels we sailed on in the 1980's.

 

Thanks again for the info.

 

--Jean

[Tannersgramp]

Wow! I didn't know Carnival Corp had ownership of so many cruise lines. It's good to know they keep them as separate entities. Each cruise line has a history that they have carried over to Carnival Corp.

 

Thanks for the info Tannersgramp. One bad Carnival cruise back in the 1980's does not equate to the downfall of Princess, I'm sure. We can hardly wait to sail on Princess again.

 

We were in our 30's when we cruised on the Mardi Gras for a 4 night voyage. When they had the "gals dress the guys up in your negligee" contest, we found that to be a bit wild. When one of the guys decided to moon the audience during judging, that WAS a bit wild. When we got up one morning for breakfast and a group of passengers were still up from the night before and drunker than can be...the cruise went downhill in our minds from there. Ha! Party atmosphere puts it mildly...at least on that voyage! Now that we're in our 50's, I don't know if we could handle that much excitement.

Anyway...that Carnival ship is long gone, as are many of the other older vessels we sailed on in the 1980's.

 

Thanks again for the info.

 

--Jean

You wont find any of that ..........unless Happyscot happens to be on your cruise:D