How do you decide on your ship?

[MaiTaiMary]

If all things are equal (itinerary, price, ease of getting to the port), how do you decide which ship to sail on?

 

 

I'm looking into a Western Caribbean cruise and I don't know how I'm suppose to pick a ship when everything else seems pretty much equal. :confused:

 

 

I guess what I'm asking is more of a personal opinion. :) What do YOU like best about your favorite ship(s)?

 

 

Also, is there anywhere on the Carnival site where I can compare ships? I'm really not cruise saavy enough to know what the difference is between the "classes". :o

[valancy1]

If all things are equal (itinerary, price, ease of getting to the port), how do you decide which ship to sail on?

 

 

I'm looking into a Western Caribbean cruise and I don't know how I'm suppose to pick a ship when everything else seems pretty much equal. :confused:

 

 

I guess what I'm asking is more of a personal opinion. :) What do YOU like best about your favorite ship(s)?

 

 

Also, is there anywhere on the Carnival site where I can compare ships? I'm really not cruise saavy enough to know what the difference is between the "classes". :o

 

If you go to the Carnival website, click on Fun Ships and then Fun Ship Fleet. The different classes of vessels are listed there. You can get information about them as well by clicking on the different ships under the different class category.

 

As far as ships go, which ones are the ones you are looking at? We all have our favorites and could probably give you some more information if it is narrowed down a bit.

 

Do you want the luxury of being on a 7-day? Or is your timeframe/budget only allowing something less? Something more?

 

Liberty has been my favorite so far--but I've been on 2 ships. We took a 1-week cruise on Liberty and we were in a balcony so it is a completely different experience being on the Verandah deck v. the Riviera deck in an ocean view on a shorter cruise. That probably has a lot to factor in for me.

 

 

Let us know... hopefully this helps a bit!

[tikimon]

You can go to Carnivals website and pull up all the deck plans for each ship.

 

When trying to decide on a cruise to book I always;

1- Look at ports that I want to go to.

2- Then compare prices for all ships doing that same itinerary.

3- Departure Ports ( to see if it's one that I will be able to drive to ).

4- Choose the date that suits me best.

5- Book it and sit and wait till time to leave.

[bcs819]

we pick based on price, itinerary, wrap balcony availability and then ship. We have been on old ships and new ships and they are all good. We don't do the small ships since there are so few balconies, and we won't sail without out. We have been to almost every Caribbean port at this point, so we avoid ships that go to Grand cayman (boring), St Thomas (hassle!) and nassau/Freeport. Ships going to Cozumel and Half moon Cay get extra attention from us. We're not shoppers, so we tend to favor the Western itineraries, but LOVED St. Maarten.

[MaiTaiMary]

It would really be helpful if Carnival had more of a "side by side" comparison, rather than just clicking on each ship.

 

 

We're very much in the planning stage now, but I'm looking at

 

 

Valor (from Miami)

Legend (from Tampa)

Dream (from Port Canaveral)

 

 

All I know is that the Dream is the newest ship and the Legend is a "Spirit class" (which is what I'll be on in March).

[MaiTaiMary]

You can go to Carnivals website and pull up all the deck plans for each ship.

 

When trying to decide on a cruise to book I always;

1- Look at ports that I want to go to.

2- Then compare prices for all ships doing that same itinerary.

3- Departure Ports ( to see if it's one that I will be able to drive to ).

4- Choose the date that suits me best.

5- Book it and sit and wait till time to leave.

 

we pick based on price, itinerary, wrap balcony availability and then ship. We have been on old ships and new ships and they are all good. We don't do the small ships since there are so few balconies, and we won't sail without out. We have been to almost every Caribbean port at this point, so we avoid ships that go to Grand cayman (boring), St Thomas (hassle!) and nassau/Freeport. Ships going to Cozumel and Half moon Cay get extra attention from us. We're not shoppers, so we tend to favor the Western itineraries, but LOVED St. Maarten.

 

Thanks, but I'm asking about the actual SHIP. :) If all was equal (itinerary, dates, ease of ports, price), how do you decide between the ships?

[Megan_Strick]

Well for me it is port. I live an hour from Jacksonville, 3 hours to Port Canaveral, and about 2 1/2 from Charleston so I have 3 to choose from. I could go to Miami which we did on our first cruise but it is about a 7 hour drive and DH refuses to drive that far.

[MaiTaiMary]

:confused: Does anybody understand what I'm asking??

[valancy1]

It would really be helpful if Carnival had more of a "side by side" comparison, rather than just clicking on each ship.

 

 

We're very much in the planning stage now, but I'm looking at

 

 

Valor (from Miami)

Legend (from Tampa)

Dream (from Port Canaveral)

 

 

All I know is that the Dream is the newest ship and the Legend is a "Spirit class" (which is what I'll be on in March).

 

This is my own personal opinion, but if I had a chance to cruise on a practically brand new ship, that would be my choice just because it was new.

[family cruisers]

We personally enjoy the feel of a smaller to mid size ship. We like the more personal feel we get with that.

 

Others like the biggest and newest with all the bells and whisltes.

 

It's really a matter of personal choice and who's traveling w/ you.

Is it a romantic vacation, a family vacation w/ young kids..

It's what YOU"RE looking for.

Do your research and go.

If price is a factor go with the one that suits your budget.

 

ENJOY whichever you choose and don't go with alot of expecations and you'll have a wonderful time.

Let them exceed your wildest expecations..

[stampinrobin]

All things equal, go to the Reviews section on the top right hand corner of this web page and look at the reviews for each ship.

 

You can also search this board for reviews on each ship.

 

You can also go to the Port board and see what people are saying about the excursions for the different ports to make sure there is something you are going to want to do at each port.

 

To me that is how you find out if you are going to like your ship and itin. Research, research, research!

 

Hope that helps!

[shipty2]

If the price and itinerary were equal (we always have to fly so no difference there) I would go with the newest ship.

[MaiTaiMary]

This is my own personal opinion, but if I had a chance to cruise on a practically brand new ship, that would be my choice just because it was new.

 

We personally enjoy the feel of a smaller to mid size ship. We like the more personal feel we get with that.

 

 

This is the kind of info I was looking for! Thanks! :D

 

 

 

Again....I wasn't asking about the intinerary. I'm talking about the SHIP. If all things were equal (price, itinerary, ease of departing port, etc).

[DanusLight]

:confused: Does anybody understand what I'm asking??

 

Understand completely. It's not often that everything is equal. So that's really a difficult question to answer. I would have to look at airfare to the three different ports you've listed.

 

There's too many variables in each individual's planning.

 

But to answer your question, IF everything was equal, I think I would go with newest ship!

[nycruise]

We like newer and bigger!

 

So all things being equal, we would take the newest and largest ship!:D

 

We always stay away from the ships that are more than 10 years old.

[Guest TropicOne]

I guess what I'm asking is more of a personal opinion. :) What do YOU like best about your favorite ship(s)?

 

Also, is there anywhere on the Carnival site where I can compare ships? I'm really not cruise saavy enough to know what the difference is between the "classes". :o

 

 

Only one I have been on so far is the Sensation (3x). Thing I like best is the size and how it is laid out. Not too small that you feel crowded or so big it takes "forever" to get around. Easy to get around to everything. It has places to get away for quiet time. Also Port Canaveral is only a 1 hour drive.

 

Another good place to find info on the ships is the Unofficial Carnival Wiki site.

[DqALEX]

For me

1 sail date

2 ports

3 ship

4 Price

[L_K]

Personnally, with a 7 yo son, ships with the Waterparks and mini-golf are high on the list.

 

Then i check the date and the itinerary, we want Half Moon Cay.

 

Price, we always take inside but on higher decks, (veranda, lido, panorama).

[family cruisers]

You're welcome... Hope it helped..

 

This is the kind of info I was looking for! Thanks! :D

 

 

 

Again....I wasn't asking about the intinerary. I'm talking about the SHIP. If all things were equal (price, itinerary, ease of departing port, etc).

[LHP]

One thing I always caution against is anyone booking a ship for a particular port.

 

The ports are not guaranteed. There are a number of things that can cause a port to be missed or substituted....mechanical issues, weather, medical emergency just to name a few....

 

so NEVER book a cruise based solely on a port.

 

Next year...our cruises will solely be booked on ships we have not sailed on yet. Since hubby started in 1982 on the Mardi Gras....we have 4 Carnival ships that we have not sailed on.

 

We will completing the list next year!! woo hoo

[Martini Mom]

1. Where do I want to leave from

2. Where do I want to go

3. Price

4. Reviews and info gathered here

 

I think that's the order :D

[lady_cruiser]

It easy for me. I don't fly so I either leave out of New Orleans or Galveston. I am almost dead center from both ports. And now that Carnival will have a Panama Canal route out of Alabama I'll probably start sailing from there too.

[cherylcorwin]

in Long beach, the choice is made for you-- do you want a short cruise? it's the Paradise. If you want a 7-day, it's the Splendor. If you want to go anywhere else, you need to go to Los Angeles harbor.

[bcs819]

If all things were equal, we go with the newest ship. Of your list, though, they are NOT equal. Miami is a pain in the a$$ - the airport is a mob scene. From your list, I would go with the Dream. New ship, and Port Canaveral is a GREAT home port - our favorite in FL.

[RMcoolX]

The most important factors I consider are:

 

1. Cost to get there (I have only cruised once from my nearest port Galveston)

 

2. Price for the cheapest balcony (or outside cabin if no reasonable balconies available)

 

3. New Destinations

 

4. A ship class that I have not sailed before