Carnival or Princess

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KBrenOH
KBrenOH Posts: 704 Member
edited November 2024 in Chit-Chat
Non Fitness related question:

We've cruised before w/ Princess Cruise line and enjoyed it, but we did not have our two children with us. Looking at taking a cruise this winter for Christmas and I've got cabins held w/ Princess again, but someone suggested Carnival because it's a "Party" ship and might be more fun for the kids. They are age 15 and 10. Thoughts? I want them to have fun, but I don't want to be on a boat with a bunch of drunk young college kids and that's what I've heard the Carnival ships are good for.

*Edit to say Thank you for thoughts and opinions! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • KBrenOH
    KBrenOH Posts: 704 Member
    *bump* anyone?
  • TundraTed
    TundraTed Posts: 254 Member
    We have been on 2 Carnival cruises. We have enjoyed both of them. Our daughter was 3 when we went on the last one. She had a great time in Camp Carnival. We were childless for the 1st cruise.

    Carnival does have a "party ship" reputation for their 3 day Bahama type cruises. Both of ours were 7 day cruises and they had a good mix of people. Retirees, families, couples, etc. I did not think it was a "party ship" as the name suggests.

    Our parents were with us for our last cruise. They have been on Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Carnival. They said Princess is more upscale, Royal was nice, but they were not impressed with the food or entertainment, and that Carnival won hands down on food, entertainment, and price, but was not as elegant and "refined".
  • lad323
    lad323 Posts: 82 Member
    We been on 6 cruises, all Carnival. Our last cruise was a family reunion in July. All the Kids ages 3-17 had a blast! The tweens and teens loved their activities and went to every Karaoke event. There are tons of families that cruise on school holiday. If you go in the winter and it's not school break, it's mostly retired people, especially if you are leaving from Florida. I have heard that the 3 day cruises are the “party” cruise. We have only taken 5 day and 7 day cruises and have never had any problems even with a small child in tow.
    Carnival is the parent compay of Princess. The elgant night won't have as many tuxs and evening gowns as Princess but the food, entertainment, and service is great. As you mentioned the price is unbeatable. The first cruise I took my daughter on was in December (she was 3).
  • KBrenOH
    KBrenOH Posts: 704 Member
    I had no idea Carnival owned Princess! So if I'm a previous "sailor" with Princess, I wonder if we'd get any kind of break on the price".

    We'd be traveling one of the first two weeks of December thus taking the kids OUT of school to do so.

    Thanks for both of your opinions -- it does help me narrow my decision.
  • lad323
    lad323 Posts: 82 Member
    No sorry no price break. All the loyalty programs are per line. Take a look at this blog http://johnhealdsblog.com
    He is the Sr. Carnival Cruise director. Sadly his site and MFP are my internet addictions. The recent ones are about a blogger cruise but some of the older ones will show you what to expect. Hope it helps.
  • marie_2454
    marie_2454 Posts: 881 Member
    I've been on 2 Carnival cruises, the first one I was 19 and hated it because there were tons of younger kids, this last one didn't have too many kids on it and I loved it! I think it really depends on what ship you go on and when you go. Overall, I love Canival, and am actually getting ready to book another cruise with them for next year. My cousin went with us the last time (he's 16) and he loved it. They have little groups and activities for different ages of kids and we hardly ever even saw him. Plus, they have a deck for 18+ which is really relaxing if you need some strictly adult time ;)
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    My boyfriend and i just got back from a 7 day Caribbean cruise on the Cardinal Glory. I wouldn't call it a 'party' ship at all. In fact we thought it was a bit too kid and family friendly for us LOL. (our kids are grown and have flown the nest). There were a lot of families and a mix of older people too. I'd say the average age range was 30 to 60. It was definitely not a college spring break atmosphere! We thought the food was excellent and are accommodations were clean and comfy. The entertainment was a bit cheesy Las Vegas-ish but the comedy show was great!
  • KBrenOH
    KBrenOH Posts: 704 Member
    No sorry no price break. All the loyalty programs are per line. Take a look at this blog http://johnhealdsblog.com
    He is the Sr. Carnival Cruise director. Sadly his site and MFP are my internet addictions. The recent ones are about a blogger cruise but some of the older ones will show you what to expect. Hope it helps.

    Thank you! I'll check it out!


    you guys are fantastic, thanks so much for weighing in.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    I've been on carnival and it was great for the kids (6 & 8), I've never been on Princess.
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