Mini-suites on the ship include a full sitting area, an expanded bathroom with a tub and shower combo, and a larger balcony. Standard suites are comfortably spacious and well-appointed, while inside cabins provide a more economical option. Discovery Princess also includes unique Sky Suites, offering exceptional space and amenities.
Hotels
Carnival Cruise Line is for you if you prefer to dress casually and enjoy fried foods and American favorites. Princess Cruises is best for passengers looking for fine dining and upscale menus with better food quality. The Playlist Production theater feature 30-minute musical performances twice a day. And every ship has a Punchliner Comedy Club with evening family-friendly routines and adult-only, late-night laughs.
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Who sails Princess Cruises
Princess plus package includes wifi, gratuities, two casual meals, specialty coffees and their most expensive alcohol for less than just the drink package would be on Carnival. The nickel and diming on Carnival and raising the price of everything is really making NCL and Princess a better value for me. They had entertainment I would only expect on an excel class ship or a journey cruise with carnival like a magician and jugglers. I feel like there's a better rotation in evening entertainment because most of it was fly on acts. Like we had a Jerry Lee Lewis guy one night, and Elvis guy another night, and a combo of the two on the last night. They showcased some really high quality singers in that one and have expensive costumes.
Itineraries/Destinations/Homeports
To be honest, I don't find the lines all that different from each other. The main reason we sail Carnival is because of my kids. They love the kids programs, Water Works, Sky Zone, etc.
Which to Choose?
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Each group has its own age-appropriate activities, with newly revamped experiences designed to "help young Princess explorers learn, play and create fun memories." Princess executives long ago decided not to engage in what they call the "amusement park arms race" taking place between lines operating big, resort-like ships. When it comes to rooms, Princess is sort of the Marriott of the big-ship cruise world. Its rooms are comfortable and functional but a bit bland.
If you like big ships with lots of thrills and amenities, Carnival’s largest cruise ships are some of the biggest and most innovative. Carnival offers lounges for relaxing, a spa, shopping, an art gallery, library, excursions and a 24-hour casino for those 21 and older. Water attractions include pools, slides and an aqua park. Golfers have access to a nine-hole golf course and mini-golf.
Baby Sitting & Child Minding Services
There's no shortage of theater and lounge entertainment on Princess ships. On a typical night, you might find a flashy, fast-paced production show playing in the main theater, a comedian performing in a secondary lounge and live music on offer in several more venues. For dinners in a main dining room, you can make a reservation for any time, provided a table at the time you want is available. To ensure the time you want, it's best to reserve a table far in advance of your sailing, which you can do online once you've paid for the cruise in full. But you also can make reservations on board ships during your cruise or even show up to a dining room without a reservation (in which case, you will be seated on a space-available basis).
Their coffee shop butter pecan latte is my favorite cruise coffee now. Carnival Cruise Line’s staterooms cater to various tastes and preferences, offering interior, ocean view, balcony, suite, Family Harbor, Cloud 9 Spa, Havana, and Terrazza room types. This diversity ensures that Carnival can accommodate different guests, from those seeking a simple and cosy room to those looking for more luxurious and themed accommodations.
Princess Cruise Line Pricing
Carnival has just cut too much from every facet of the cruise experience, and its low prices seem to attract an increasingly uncouth and ill-mannered demographic that I don't care to be around. With that said, I enjoy meeting new people and connecting on a certain level. That's hard to do that when the majority of the passengers are much older than us. Each line offers a different experience, some like one over the other and vice versa. Princess Cruises Regal Princess has more pools than the Dream and fewer hot tubs.
That said, the Grand Class vessels each offer two "Family Suites" that can be created by connecting a Mini-Suite with an adjacent inside stateroom to create a six- to eight-person complex. The table below will help you compare onboard prices to see if you might spend more on a specific ship. Coming in at 952 feet long and 116 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 2.6 football fields, as wide as 2.2 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 13-story building. It's about the same size as the Princess Cruises Crown Princess. I peeked in once and it was just officers hanging out in there.
But it was more of an overall experience on Carnival. With a more thorough galley tour, culinary demonstration, magician. Better…and quest…But everything else goes to Princess. I felt like I was on a carnival journeys cruise with everything that was offered.
On one of Carnival's newest ships, Carnival Panorama, there's no RedFrog Pub, but the Smokehouse Brewhouse has a stage that's home to live music nightly and some of the ship's karaoke sessions. Most of these six ships (all but Carnival Venezia) have an a la carte barbecue-and-beer joint called Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse Brewhouse, too. In addition, every ship has at least one — and usually several — extra-charge eateries. The two venues have flat fees of $49 and $24 per person, respectively. You'll find relatively few suites on Carnival ships. Each of the vessels in Carnival's recent Vista Class series, for instance, offers fewer than 75 suites.
Most Carnival ships have self-serve launderettes on cabin decks with washing machines, dryers, irons and ironing boards. There's a $3.25-per-load charge to use a washer or dryer. Nonalcoholic drinks in glass or plastic bottles are not allowed. Note that you'll be charged a $15 corkage fee if you want to bring the wine or Champagne to an onboard restaurant or bar to drink. Drinks brought on board must be carried in your carry-on luggage. A slightly more expensive "value" plan, at $19.55 per day when bought in advance, adds access to email and most websites.
The currency used on most Princess itineraries is U.S. dollars. The exceptions are select sailings on ships based in Australia, where pricing is listed in Australian dollars. All vessels operate on a "cashless system," with any onboard purchases you make posting automatically to your onboard account. You'll receive a medallion that you can use to make charges. This same card or medallion also is what lets you into your cabin.
I will have to double check as I could be confusing it with a different Princess cruise ship that I looked at when I was considering a sailing to Antarctica at Christmas. I think the biggest problem I had with Princess was a lack of places for kids to go. The basketball court was setup for pickleball 24/7 so the kids were never there. Instead of mini golf they really just had a putting green I never saw anyone use. Carnival Cruise Line is a leader in family entertainment, with programs like “Camp Ocean,” Circle ‘C,” and Club O2 that are tailored to different age groups. Little guests will have an engaging experience thanks to the Dr. Seuss relationship, which adds a whimsical touch with Seuss-a-palooza Story Time and Green Eggs and Ham meals.
