Yea I think Howie said it best. There are a few more Golden and Grand fans over at the Princess boards. I stopped by to see If I can help out any.
Actually My wife and I got the best deal through anchors aweigh cruise specialists somewhere in FL. I forgot where exactly right now. But we got E (empress deck) 201 for a mere 400 PP, only because we booked like two weeks before departure.
A helluva way to book, I know, but I went for the ship itself, not for it's itinerary which happened to be the Canada/ Nova Scotia run.
Main differences, the element. Carnival attracts mainly 20 somethings to 70 somethings with a lot of energy, and at least on this Golden trip, 30 somethings to 80 somethings with not quite as much energy.
but head on over to the princess boards, those guys and gals swear by Princess.