Carnival -vs - ?

[dan40]

I'm so excited to have found this message board & know it is the place to ask... I am the one in charge of making plans for a cruise for several couples for Thanksgiving 2011. No one else has ever cruised before, other than my husband & I... and that's been several years ago. Our first cruise was on Carnival and the second on Royal Caribbean. They were vastly different experiences.

 

My question is... is Carnival still just a big party ship for 20 somethings? That was our experience, again, many years ago. We're all in our 50's but very young at heart & want to have fun but nothing as crazy as our previous cruise.

 

All input is much appreciated - thanks!

 

 

I've sailed Carnival since the 70's, soon after they started. There were some party sailings then, no question! But as far back as 1985, I sailed the Celebration. On that cruise there were 420 single people and the rest of the 1750 were all married couples. The singles partied as hard as possible [i was one of them then, and my adult son was too] But we were just too outnumbered by all the married people to make it a party ship. The aft of the Lido deck was the nightly party area, but that was it!

[firefly333]

Gosh, I didn't expect to be flamed! Sorry if I sounded negative but it was not a great experience. We all drink our fair share too & encountering a "drunk" was not the issue - it was the bad behavior of what felt like the majority of the passengers on board. I realize it was probably a small percentage but they made it feel like a majority. Finding someone throwing up in the public bathrooms was the norm as were people banging non our doors at 2 am on their way back to their rooms. It was in the month of Feb.1998 so I don't think it was Spring Break but maybe it was for some. Sorry that I got someone's blood pressure rising over my question. Thanks to those who provided helpful insight - much appreciated!

Also, keep in mind I've only sailed once on Carnival which is why I wrote looking for advise.

 

Ah ok 1998, so not that recently ... thats what I was trying to find out. I do think Carnival has worked to up their image since then. That was my reason for asking when that booze cruise was.

 

I think you will find it improved. I wasnt flaming, merely asking a question so I could give a semi intelligent opinion.

[flashdog_1]

My question is... is Carnival still just a big party ship for 20 somethings? That was our experience, again, many years ago. We're all in our 50's but very young at heart & want to have fun but nothing as crazy as our previous cruise.

 

All input is much appreciated - thanks!

 

So Ladybug57, are you looking for something different, maybe branching out to another cruise line? You know that with your past cruise with Carnival you will get discounts on Princess, Costa, Holland America etc.

 

Before we can offer any suggestions other than to answer your first question about has Carnival changed, please tell us what you would be looking for specifically.

 

There's going to be a lot of drinking on any cruise line. To avoid seeing the drunks, I just turn in early!

 

I will say that in my experiences on Celebrity, Holland America and even Norwegian, I never saw the drunks. Also, Norwegian has a more "fun" atmosphere than X and HAL, but I certainly enjoyed both of those.

 

Now that you are in your 50s you might fit in with the demographics on any cruise line, if I am understanding your concerns that perhaps Carnival is for the young crowd.

 

One of my friends who just turned 65, and for all the years I've known (25) her complained about the drinking on Carnival, but her husband wanted the discount so they stayed with Carnival, cruising every year. I guess they figured out a couple of years ago that they'd get the discount on HAL and have sailed with them several times. This year they are doing a B2B on RCI, so we'll see what they have to say about that. But then you've been on RCI.

 

Norwegian with its Freestyle concept meaning you can eat at any time, choose half a dozen specialty restaurants, too, is appealing. There's a free restaurant open 22 hours a day, as well. My husband, for instance, will NOT get dressed up for formal night, so he loves NCL because it is formal optional which they call "dress up or not." And truly, no one looks down their nose at you if you choose to wear capris and not a gown! This also helps if you are having to fly to your destination, cutting down on baggage charges.

 

My only experience with Carnival was being docked across from one of their ships in Cozumel. We were awakened by their constant announcements. The aforementioned lines do not bombard you like that if that is an issue.

 

Do you have a specific itinerary in mind? Just compare what is out there for the dates & itinerary you are interested in so you can make some good decisions. Read the respective boards of those lines to get a feel for them, too. Good luck.

[SimplyAddicted]

I've been on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean and I can't say there was a huge difference in either. I enjoyed both very much. I do seem to remember more 'partying' on the Carnival, but I don't remember it as crazy or excessive. (Although, I am 27 now and in my early 20's during my last Carnival cruise so maybe that is why! LOL) I am in an entirely different mindset now!

[SeafordCruiser]

I've been on 16 cruises now...4 on Carnival and I would never ever go on Carnival again....First the ship (The Freedom) was very smokey..The ship was freezing...The layout was very strange..you couldnt walk through on decks 3 or 4 cause one of the dining rooms was smack in the middle. The aft dining room on deck 3 where we were seated was horrible. The engine was rumbling underneath us and where we were seated you couldn't see anything but walls..Going to the internet room involved going thru the cigar bar..The shows were crowded and a few times we could not find seats. They were as good as I remembered them. The pools weren't big enough for all the guests and you couldn't walk on the pool deck without hitting obstacles of chairs and loungers. We had a balcony on Deck 9 and for some reason there was excessive banging of door all night and early morning...I dont know what it was. Partygoers just turning in???

.Royal Caribbean is so much better in so many different ways and yes there is a huge difference. I went on this cruise cause of the itinerary and it was a huge mistake... Sorry...JMHO.............

[sprockie]

You might want to try HAL. We just tried Carnival last month because we took our young kids. We found the service, quality of food, amenities to be equivalent to HAL, however, we found it to be very loud and crowded - especially at the Lido pool. We really wanted to try Carnival, and were glad we did. We wouldn't close the door on another Carnival cruise, but we found HAL to be a better "fit" for us. It's much quieter, lots to do throughout the day and the nightlife wasn't too "lively". We are in our late 40's, but never felt like we were too young for HAL.

[dan40]

I've been on 16 cruises now...4 on Carnival and I would never ever go on Carnival again....First the ship (The Freedom) was very smokey..The ship was freezing...The layout was very strange..you couldnt walk through on decks 3 or 4 cause one of the dining rooms was smack in the middle. The aft dining room on deck 3 where we were seated was horrible. The engine was rumbling underneath us and where we were seated you couldn't see anything but walls..Going to the internet room involved going thru the cigar bar..The shows were crowded and a few times we could not find seats. They were as good as I remembered them. The pools weren't big enough for all the guests and you couldn't walk on the pool deck without hitting obstacles of chairs and loungers. We had a balcony on Deck 9 and for some reason there was excessive banging of door all night and early morning...I dont know what it was. Partygoers just turning in???

.Royal Caribbean is so much better in so many different ways and yes there is a huge difference. I went on this cruise cause of the itinerary and it was a huge mistake... Sorry...JMHO.............

 

 

Odd complaints, just about every cruise ship ever built has a deck or two that is interrupted. And its is the same deck every day of the cruise!:rolleyes:

You would be hard pressed to find anyone more demanding or judgemental than I, yet in 50 cruises there is no ship or line that I would not sail again.

Some wouldn't be my first choice but any that has the itinerary I want when I want it will get the business.

 

And I'm Diamond on RCL and Platinum on Carnival. The biggest difference between the 2 lines is that Carnival's MDR food is noticeably better. Otherwise there is VERY little difference.