Looking at cruise specials, wanting advice on Princess or Carnival ships, as we are doing the Mexican Riviera trip. How was food, rooms etc? Any hidden tips? Thanks!

I found Princess and Holland to be fancier than Royal Caribbean...they cater to an older crowd that dresses for dinner etc. RC is more laid back, a little younger crowd. I've never sailed Carnival but I heard they are even more laid back with a younger crowd with kids.

Princess was amazing. Did the Cozumel, roatan and Belize trip. Far exceeded my expectations! Food and service were outstanding!

Thanks so much for the reply!

If you'd like more details, don't hesitate to get in touch!

Avoid carnival. Its full of drunks (not the happy kind) and gets very rowdy at night. The food is sup-par as is the service. The ships are usually battered and sometimes smell odd in places *maybe from the drunk nights* Princess is beautiful but is definitely on thr opposite spectrum. It is very calm, caters to an older crowd and has less activities both on and off the ship (offered by the cruise line). If you want more details or advice on cruises feel free to message
something in the middle would be Celebrity (mid generation crowd ) or Royal Caribbean or NCL (younger crowd but not the drinking get rowdy kind. Depending on the time of the year LOTS of kids and young families)

I've heard the same about carnival.

I've been on Carnival lots - their food is great! Yes, it is a younger crowd, but we don't spend time in the main deck with them. We go to the adult areas on deck which are much quieter. We have also sailed Royal Caribbean. Food is better on Carnival, cabins have better storage on Royal Caribbean. Staff is a bit friendlier in Royal Caribbean. Princess is indeed lots of older people. We sat at the dock one day across from their ship, and there was a LOT of grey hair and knee high white socks on people. I would say go with the cruise ship that offers the itinerary that you like best!

Avoid carnival at all costs. It's like a redneck rodeo. Hahah.

I've never had an issue with Carnival, and I don't believe I'm a drunk or a redneck. My kids enjoyed their kids club. I've taken other cruise lines, but Carnival is who we sailed with to Mexico.

Same here. I did a 7 night Caribbean cruise on Carnival for US $307 a couple of years ago. Get a porthole stateroom, it's the same price as an inside cabin. I'm not a super picky traveller I just want to go. Pack earplugs.

Tannis we found a similar deal to the Bahamas, it was great! $800 total for 2 people including airfare. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I did Norwegian to the Bahamas. Loved it and would go back on any of those cruise lines.

Oh wow, that included airfare??? That's a super deal.

Brandee when was this Bahamas trip? The thing that's holding us back is that we have to go in February with our family. Deals like that I'd go whenever!

Diana It was a November trip a few years ago. We've come across those deals a few times when we don't have a schedule we need to follow

Check out vacationstogo.com and cruisecritic.com. I've heard that the seas can be rough on Mexico's west coast, not that the Carribean doesn't get its fair share, but you might want to research this a bit more. I've been on Carniva
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Thanks Rhonda! We are going in Feb 2017, so water should be calm. I appreciate your input!

Are you travelling with kids?

No all adults, my husband and his family. Everyone but my husband and I have already been on various cruises.

You'll have a great time. I sleep really well on ships, usually excellent beds and nice linens, quieter then hotels and I love the motion. There are lots of options on a cruise. You can choose to be busy or not, with a crowd or not etc. We like to look for quiet spaces sometimes. On a Holland America ship we found that hardly anyone used the deck chairs on one particular level, on a ship of thousands of people and we had the whole thing to ourselves! Also, we like to have late seating for dinner to get the most out of our day. What we found was about 5 pm everyone goes to their cabins. This is when we enjoy watching sunset from the almost empty hot tubs! No hidden tips... Excursions can add up but you can pick and choose, book things that you Really don't want to miss and pay the cruise rates. You will get off of the ship first and they will wait if the tour is delayed. The rest of the time you can be independent on shore, I'm sure that your group could share costs hiring a cab etc.

Debbie
Shelly

oops... Carnival, Holland America and Norweign. The type of crowd doesn't just depend on the Cruise company. Departure point, length of cruise, cost of the cruise and time if year will impact who is on the ship and the type of atmosphere you have. If you book an inexpensive cruise that is departing from an easy 'drive to' port, then lower your expectations and you'll probably still have a good trip.

Specials always come in flu season when no one wants to be trapped in floating incubator!

I've sailed on both. Princess is one of our favourite cruise lines, second only to Celebrity. The food is wonderful. Our one and only Carnival cruise was fine but slightly less quality in terms of food and decor. It has a reputation as a party ship, but the cruise I was on wasn't too rowdy, and I'm an old, boring person, lol. ? One thing to consider is time of year, and if it's a school vacation time like Christmas or spring break, which means more kids and maybe also more partying. If it's a 7 day cruise you tend to get a younger crowd. Longer cruises have more retired people. I agree with Rhonda that cruise critic is good to check, and you can see the cabin and deck configuration before booking a cabin too. Don't book below a club or dance floor. Try for a cabin that had other cabins above and below. If you are worried about being seasick, midship is best, not too far forward or back, and not on the highest decks. I've never been on a bad cruise, so whatever you choose will be wonderful. We've cruised every line.

Thanks so much Cathy!

We've cruised with almost every line and find Carnival to be the worst, followed by Princess as second worst. Carnival nickels and dimes you to death and Princess lines up the entertainment so no matter which time your dinner seating is, you miss the beginning or end of most shows - it's like they don't communicate with the different departments on board. Carnival is cutting back even more than when we went - I heard from a friend who sailed with them last spring, that rather than having your room steward clean your room in the morning and then again for turndown service in the evening, you now have to choose which you want but both is not an option. The restaurants you pay for have good food but the one that's included is sub par buffet quality food. I wouldn't sail with either of those too. Royal Caribbean, celebrity or holland America are the 3 best in my opinion. We also loved Disney (but you aren't bringing kids) and Viking is amazing over the top service, quality and so much included! Disney and Viking are both higher priced but are wonderful!

Ive done the expensive holland america twoce before, we used carnival last xmas i was very impressed, they r the cheapest and the room was good, food was amazing so was the service everywhere we went tons to do onboard i wldnt hesitate to use them again grt value

We have done 6 Princess cruises - great food, service and entertainment.