Maybe I will chime in some stuff, this of course is all heresay from CVN sailors I have worked with, bothe nukes and airdales.
On a Carrier:
1. Officers are everywhere and there are special areas with blue tiles and adornment where enlisted men are not allowed to be without official permission.
2. There are upwards of 5,000 people so all the problems of any city exist on a Carrier: Crime, Prostitution, Drugs, overcrowding, etc, etc.
3. You are a dime a dozen.
4. You are smart and are surrounded by lots of people with higher ranks that are compartitively retarded.
On a Submarine:
1. Officers and Enlisted pretty much cohabitate and work alongside each other. There are "off limit" areas like the CO/XO staterooms and some times the wardroom, but other than that its a big family style environment.
2. There maybe 130 people max on a Trident or Fast Attack depending on the mission and if visitors are aboard. You will know all your shipmates' first and last names by the end of the first deployment and by the time you leave you will probably know their wives and families too, not just the nukes, but possibly the entire crew, especially on a fast attack.
3. You are a commodity and that means you will be worked hard, but can reach leadership positions faster if you want to.
4. You are smart and surrounded by people of a higher rank who are comparitively retarded, but at least there are less of them.
5. I hear the food on a carrier is mediocre at best for the E-6 and below mess. On a carrier, the Officers and the Chiefs eat out of seperate messes with their own food and cooks, but on a sub, everyone eats out of the same mess and the food is routinely excellent.
6. You may have internet and phones on a carrier, but on a sub you have each other and that my friend forms bonds and families. Fast Attacks and Tridents are developing e-mail, and its okay, and getting better as new encryption technologies filter its way to the boats. I am not denying the closeness of Eng Dept on a carrier, but there is something about "those with dolphins".