I'm not familiar with anything other than Princess Grand, having just returned form my first cruise on their Western caribbean itinerary.
The food: I'm fairly discerning about food and my GF is not. She thinks the food was about the same as on Carnival but a number of other experienced cruisers I spoke to on this trip say they find the Princess food to be better. Presentation was generally very nice, table service was consistently excellent (some of the best service I've ever had in any restaurant), vegetables were always perfectly cooked and the selection most days was nice. The sirloin steak (always available) was terrible and the lobster tail 9available on nigh tonly) was a bit rubbery but i'd expect that on a cruise ship. the tournedos of beef I had my first night were excellent and the rack of lamb dijonais I had later in the trip was outstanding. Appetizers and soups ranged from acceptable to very good. I found most of the desserts to be acceptable but not all that memorable, the exception being the pumpkin cheescake in the Painted Desert, one of the altrnative restaurants ($8 pp surcharge but it includes a margarita or equivalent drink, it's a lovely and quiet bistro atmosphere and you can reserve a seating time).
Overall i'd describe it as being like decent hotel dining room food - almost always acceptable, sometimes very good and occasionaly excellent. It was betetr than I expected it to be.
There are a few places on the upper deck outdoor area where a few smokers sat at table so they could smoke while they drank or ate their food from the buffet. The only other place I saw smokers in any number was in the casino at the slots (most of the table games are non-smoking tables) and in the Snookers pub up near the bow. Snookers was like a giant ashtray but it's small and remotely located - the only time you'll ever notice it is if you enter the Princess Theater on that deck and pass the entrance.
Can't comment on wine as I dont' drink and my GF is happy with her glass of Mondavi Merlot.
The music/dance revue tyope shows (we saw two) were excelent. The quality of the dance was superb, the voices as strong as the better performers in many Broadway shows and the lighting/staging/sound was top shelf. We saw three comedy shows - one was fantastically funny - national club or TV caliber comedian. Another was amusing but just okay and the third was medocre by our standards. It's a slightly older and less party oriented crowd than Carnival from what I understand. We're late 40's and saw mostly folks ranging from 40's to early 60's on board with another large contingent who appeared to be more like late 70's. Also a moderate number of younger couples and a handful of families and singles. Not a late night party atmopshere and we never heard anything but the rush of water and barely discernable (but pleasant) gentle hum at night in our room.
Some Princess cruises may have livelier crowds than ours did but it's just not a party atmosphere. The Wheelhouse Lounge generally has music good for couples dancing. We did visit the disco one night and it was fun - plenty of folks our age there (and older!) but msot of us cleared out by 12:30 when it began getting very smoky (it opens at 11 PM). There was a fair sized line at Traditional Dining the first night before the dining room opened but I imagine it levels off after that. We arrive 15 minutes after the stated seating time of 8:15 and got out table quickly. We had a rather dour waiter (atypical for Princess) had vibration under the table and weren't too thrilled with the husband of one of the coupels at our table of eight (he was grumpy and seemed to be a damper on general conversation). We decided to request a switch to Personal Choice dining the following day and were very happy with it. We got to eat when we chose to in a choice of two different dining rooms but with the same menu as Traditional Dining. Some prefer develoiping a relationship with the waiter by having the same table every night but we still received excellent service everywhere we ate. Sometimes we asked to share a table and other times ate by ourselves. Peak times (6:15 to 8:30) in the Personal Choice Dining rooms can result in a short (5 to 20 minute) wait for a table but they give you a beeper and you can go to a nearby lounge or the casino while waiting for the table.
My GF thought that Carnival offered a trifle bit more in the way of storage space inthe stateroom but we had enough and full sized suitcases slide under the bed - nice feature.
The ship is tastefully and nicely decorated - subdued and soothing rather than flashy or glitzy. Service was fantastic - I cannot overemphasize how efficient, friendly and professional the service was in every possible area on the ship. They work hard at achieving excellence in this area and it shows.
