Sorry, questions about Princess Grand and Carnival Pride

[Mickeyhugger]

Never say never. I swore I wouldn't do another cruise other than DCL. However, some neighbor friends (who've never cruised before) inquired about all of us cruising together next spring break.

Without going into too much detail, I know they wouldn't be able to afford DCL. (Well, actually they would, but the airfare would be too much as there's four of them.) We're sailing out of Galveston. In a nutshell, Princess Grand is 200.00ish more per person than Carnival Pride for a similar Western itinerary and same size room/similar category. (185 sq. feet, compared to DCL's 214! I know. I've already sighed.)

My questions. Which of these two lines have the better programs for kids? (ages 9, 10 and 14.) Since it'll be spring break, I'm hoping there will be enough so they won't feel out of place. The Princess Grand was built in 1998, and I'm not sure of the age of the Pride. Which cruise did you like better any why? (Even if you didn't sail the exact ships, could you compare the two lines.)

I already know it won't be as great as DCL , and I've already prepared myself. One thing that's keeping my spirits up is that our family alone will sail DCL 3 months later (Hopefully, if summer 2005 dates are ever posted. )

Thanks!

 

[kmc33]

I don't know how much help I can be, especially about the kids programs for the age groups of your kids. But, since no one else has commented, so I will tell you what I can.

I have sailed on both the Grand Princess and the Carnival Pride. The Grand Princess was before our DS was born, so I don't have familiarity with the kids program, although I have read good things about Princess’ kids programming. And on the Carnival Pride, we were really impressed with the kids program, but our son was 2-1/2, so I really only had exposure to the small kids program.

The Carnival Pride first set sail in 2002, so it is a little newer than the Grand Princess. Both are ships were designed with more balcony rooms than ships before them. Carnival does the traditional main and late seating dinner options with an informal alternative dinner option available. Princess has Personal Choice Cruising, where you can eat dinner where you want, when you want. I cruised on Princess prior to this, so I am unfamiliar with the details, however, I think one of the dining rooms is designated for traditional times and same waiters each night, if that’s what you prefer.

Now, as I was writing this, I started thinking that I didn’t realize that Carnival Pride was sailing out of Galveston; I thought it was on the west coast. So, I checked on the Carnival website and Carnival has the Elation as listed for spring 2005 out of Galveston. Unless, your dates are different than I am interpreting or you have more recent information, double check the ship. Elation is a different ship design than the Carnival Pride. It is part of the Fantasy class. There are very few verandah cabins and they are expensive (if that matters to you). It was launched in 1998. I have not been on that ship, although I was on the Paradise, which was launched the same year and is a sister ship. It was a nice ship, but doesn’t have some of the newer design features that you would find on the Pride or the Grand Princess.

If money is an issue, I would consider Carnival. I have had good experiences on Carnival (although we haven’t sailed them since sailing DCL). I think Disney does a lot of things more smoothly. But, Carnival does have good kids programming and I have found their food to be good. You can go to Carnival’s website, scroll to the bottom and click on “Contact Us” and ask about their kids program. I did this previously and they emailed me a list of the types of activities for my son’s age group. You may be able to do a similar thing on Princess’ site too.

Another you may want to consider is Royal Caribbean. I believe the Rhapsody of the Seas sails from Galveston and I understand that Royal Caribbean’s kids program is very good, particularly for the ages you mention.

You may want to check out the boards at Cruise Critic. Although DISBoard is my favorite and has the nicest people, Cruise Critic has more postings for lines other than Disney. They categorize it by cruise line, so you could search and/or post to those who sail Princess and/or Carnival (and/or Royal Caribbean). Also, there is a Family Cruising board on Cruise Critic that would be a good place to get a feel for the kids programs.

Good luck!! Remember, a bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work!! I think you will have a great time with whatever you chose. And it will be fun to go with you friends!

 

[prymsu]

We sailed on the Carnival Pride about a year ago, and out of all the different cruises and cruise lines we have done, my son thought that Carnival Pride Kids' Program was the best ever. That was compared to Carnival, RCCL and DCL...

 

[ruttie]

carnival has a great kids program only real differences is
no characters
usually less kids on carnival
dsiney club stays open more than carnival clubs with the exeption of fromal nights you will need to pick then up for lunch dinner and then bring them back..
enjoy

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Thanks to all of you who posted! It was very helpful as far as decisions. (I'm leaning towards Carnival. )

kmc33, thank you for all the details. It IS the Elation which sails out of Galveston. (I'd looked at so many cruise websites, I forgot I looked at the west coast ones as well. )

I didn't even think about RCCL. I'll check them out too!

Again, thanks for all of the useful info!

 

[robby69]

Since we like cruising to be able to visit different ports, we are thinking about trying Celebrity Cruise line next time with our 6 year old. They were the highest rated cruise line in the last edition of Conde Nast Magazine., and seem to have a pretty good
kids program (although not as intensive as DCL) from what we have investigated so far. We like to take our little one with us on the port excursions, and let him go to kid's club only when we want to participate in any adult only activities.
We could go on a 7-day ocean view room, for the price we paid for a 4-day DCL, plus alot of extras on a 2nd cruise with their captain's club.

 

[hydster]

We've taken our kids on Disney,Princess, Celebrity, RCCL, Carnival and Norwegian. Our kids LOVED the kids program on the Carnival Spirit (sister to the Carnival Pride) and thought that overall they had the most to do. They HATED the kids club on Norwegian and Celebrity (mostly because there were hardly any kids on board I think) but they siad Princee and RCCL were "pretty good". We have really enjoyed all the lines as a family but have to say that for kids we think Carnival is better. I know in the past Carnival has been touted as the "party hardy ships" but they are really turning that image around as of late (or trying very hard) and it isnt such a drunk all the time line anymore. In the Carnival program they seemed to have equal parts of structure and free time where with our kids on RCCL, Princess and Disney (I know I know) complained that they didnt have enough things to do that were scheduled. Now I'm not a kid but I can imagine that if they didnt have enough scheduled activities I would get bored as well. The only negative I have about Carnival is the salt water pools. They are cold and that water going in kids eyes isnt the most pleasant experience. I've heard that Princess is now using fresh water in most all of their pools but I'm not sure since it's been a few years since we've done Princess. The really fun thing about the Carnival Pride class ships is the water slide! Adults and kids can go on it and it is really fun! I think our kids spent about 3 hours a day going up and down that slide. It was a great babysitter when they got bored at the kids clubs. Princess for the adults is probably a little nicer than Carnival however. Also beware that the shows on these ships (in the past) have been a little on the risque side meaning pasties and some thong type bottoms. We sometimes had a hard time filling this time up with something for the kids when they didnt want to be in the club. Also there is a casino on board those ships and some of them you do have to walk through the casino with kids in tow to get to either dinner or sometimes the theatre. Not a big deal til our youngest wanted to pull the slot machine handle! LOL

If it were me I'd choose Carnival over Princess but thats just our opinion!

Heidi