We have cruised on both Crown Princess and Carnival Miracle, and also tried another HAL ship. They represent 3 different styles of cruising.
HAL tends to attract more mature demographic, has a more sedated vibe, but with a refined style of service. We truly enhoyed their formal afternoon tea service. However we also felt like we were looking for things to do at night and there wasn't much to chose from. You will find mostly white and asians there.
Carnival tends to attract more young, college students, or mixed generation families. There are more things to do, more activities in the evening, but the qaulity of food and service is slightly below the other two. The passengers will have balanced mix of white, black, and hispanic, with fewer asians compare to the other two.
We feel Princess is somewhere in the middle, combine the best of HAL and Carnival. It has a decent number of options in terms of daily activities, but still provide an elegent experience that most people associate with cruising. Similar to HAL, the passengers will be mostly white and asians.
We actually have booked Dec 19 cruise on Crown princess, so if you choose that one, we may see you on the ship.
