~Sell me on Carnival Cruise Lines~

[markstudy]

Actually when I went DCL was a huge mix of ages as it "caters" to families. I brought my mom for mother's day once and it was fabulous..nice little 4 day Bahamian cruise. ;)

 

We've been alternating between trips to Disney and cruises on Carnival.

Carnival reminds me of the Disney Parks... lots of fun, very well done, but a little too silly for some serious folks. :D (My wife's father is from Boston and thinks Disney and Carnival are tacky). We have more fun though so we don't worry about what others think of us.

 

I think its so cool you worked for Walt Disney company. I always wanted to do that, but never got the chance. I'm actually putting together a photo album of my last 4 Disney trips and thinking about taking a Disney cruise just to get some good photos to finish-off our Disney book. :) Here's a link if we have any fans of Disney's 4 parks in Orlando - http://www.panraven.com/visitor/Visi...view&sp=161914

[LHP]

LHP ~

 

Yes when we are planning on going she will be a bit over a year..and I did notice the age on CC was 2+, and I didn't see any information about stuff for kids who are younger. One thing I was curious about which I can't seem to find either is age limit to be in the pool, like if she has on a swim diaper will she be allowed in the pool? Or is there a kiddie area? Can't seem to find that info.

 

And yeah..Disney was insanely expensive..thankfully I was employed by Walt Disney at the time or else I'd never have been able to afford it. I honestly don't know how some people can!

 

And you hit the nail on the head..value for dollar is what I am looking for. Thanks!

 

 

 

I have a very dear friend who is still employed by Disney and even though he does not have children...he sails Disney and Carnival.... he is happy with both...

 

he said they both have their good points....

[rmcg1975]

pcrum ~ thanks for the insights..very helpful indeed!

 

Nats311 ~ I can hear the arguments now..and I would bet the people who have kids want them and those who don;t do not. Funny how your perspectives change once you have children, as I know I would have been one of those blowing about "no swim diapers allowed" before I had my daughter. However, rules are rules and even if I don't agree with them I do follow them when on board as no one wants to be "that" passenger.

 

DBSO Monkey ~ Love the balcony picture..that things is incredibly spacious.

 

markstudy ~ Yep..I worked for Disney from 1996 to 2000..the last 2 years I was in the Resort in Florida. They paid you squat and had the highest expectations I have ever encountered (aside from being a stay at home mom), but in retrospect it really was the most fun I ever had in my working life. My mom and I are on those big old silver walls when you enter EPCOT..it's called Leave a Legacy..we got our picture done and posted there when Disney came out with that. I forgot the tile number though. :( If you love Disney and can swing the price I say GO FOR IT. You will not be disappointed...just make sure you pay attention to the ship's horn when you leave Port Canaveral..I'm getting goosebumps remembering it...and they only do what I am referring to once.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

Official policy is that no swim diapers are allowed. From my short time perusing these boards, you can find some empassioned arguments on that topic.

 

It is my understanding however that it is not uncommon to have people not follow that rule...i guess just be prepared in case you run across someone like NCTribeFan who will probably give you an earful about it.

 

Your so right NCTribeFan would give you a ear full. The 5000+ posts are mostly due to arguing LMAO ....G'ma was like this at one time too but got booted from CC for some reason unknown to me:D

 

Everyone should just move on if they have no good advice to give or if they just have hot air to blow!;) Everyone thanks for helping all of us at one point or another and enjoy many , many more cruise's!

[paminohio]

The Napoleon desserts! (at least they had them on all the cruises I was on...do they still serve a new one each night on the dinner buffet?)

 

I'm going on a weekend RCL cruise with a friend in May and almost booked Carnival JUST to get those desserts! BUT...RCL was cheaper and visited CoCo Cay and Carnival's 30-night is just Nassau so we chose RCL.

 

We ate in the dining room, but always went to the buffet afterwards and ate our Napoleons...and took a few back to our room for our late-night snack!

[SMSACE6]

To the OP, I cant sell you on Carnival, mostly because I havent cruised on the lines that you have, but I can only give you my feelings on Carnival. They are; with respect to NCL, my first cruise, and the one that got me hooked on cruising: My first ship was the Norway, an older ship, but classy and I loved it, but when I took my first Carnival cruise on the Sensation, it was like a brand new experience. Food on NCL was good to very good, but I find Carnivals has always been better. ( granted only one NCL cruise, and that was 10 yrs ago)

 

With respect to my Celebrity cruise; I had a great cruise, loved the ship, food, and service. The buffet on the Zenith was far superior to NCL and Carnival. The dining room dinner to me is superior on Carnival. Many will disagree on that. But for me, I find more variety on Carnival MDR menu. Celebrity was great but I prefer the MDR food on Carnival, and that is just personal.

 

I dont eat much breakfast as a norm, so for me Continental breakfast is adequate, and Carnival provides me with plenty of choice there, including room service breakfast, which on Carnival is only Continental.

 

I was blown away by the entertainment on NCL Norway, but it was my first cruise. Compared to Celebrity, I prefer the entertainment in the main showroom on Carnival. Also for casinos, I find Carnival's ships casinos much "friendlier" Though, I won 500.00 on the Sensation, 650.00 on the Triumph, but next to nothing on the Valor or Liberty. But that is the nature of the "game".

 

The reason mostly that I cruise Carnival, is value for the price. I just havent been able to find a better deal. Also, have met some friends on other Carnival cruises and we like to meet up again, so we have come to feel "at home" on Carnival. JMHO. Whatever you choose, I wish you a very happy cruise.:)

[Dave0311]

Seeing as all but two of my cruises have been on Carnival, it's hard for me to compare. With that said, I can't say I've really had any problems with Carnival. I've been on the Miracle before. She's my favorite ship. The layout is great and for the most part makes sense, unlike some of the other ships I've been on. When I was on her in 2008, the staff was great. The best staff we ever had.

 

In terms of what I like about Carnival: I love the food. Very rarely have I had a bad meal. Sometimes I feel the food in the MDR could be a little hotter, but it's still tasty. They have a lot to do. Between the shows, trivia, contests, mini golf, etc. there's always something to do. Or you can just sit on deck and take in the sun if that's your thing. Basically, there's something for everyone. :)

[family cruisers]

We sailed the pride November 09 and have rebooked for same time 2010. Feel free to read my review and check out the pix in webshots link.

We had a GREAT time on and off the ship.

Nothing to complain about only compliments which we did mail to carnivals miami headquarters...

[rwpneon]

Since Carnival is close to Houston and has a few a couple of itinerary options, it gets my vote. We selected 4-day Carnival cruise the first time we cruised because it was the least expensive introduction to the cruising experience.

 

You will have fun on the Carnival ships plus you normally have a very diverse age range. Friends of ours have cruised Royal as well as Carnival and like both lines equally but they do admit the value proposition of cruising with Carnival.

[maldenmusic]

I've personally only cruised on Carnival and can recommend it without any difficulty. A friend of mine has sailed on Carnival, RC and Norwegian and her entire family will only sail on Carnival now-they say friendlier staff, better food are their main reasons for only traveling on Carnival now.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Looks like you have to pay money to see certain categories though. :(

I paid the fee and it has been helpful for some ships especially the Spirit class ships which Pride & Miracle are Spirit class.

 

I was on the Pride and the Spirit and I love the layout of this ship. We had great service and truly enjoyed our cruises. The Pride decor has a lot of nudity - art. I personally didn't care for the decor much but I don't cruise to look at art. The ship is fun, service is good, food is awesome and lots of entertainment to keep you busy. Cabins are all 185 sq feet excluding suites. Even if you have an inside cabin, the room size is the same. Much larger than most lines inside cabins. No swim diapers in the pools. Some CCL ships have the kiddie pools which I think do allow swimmers but only the ships that have the little kids pools. I think the Spirit class ships had one up near the water slide. Here are a few pictures from the Pride. Click on a picture to take you to my webshots album.

 

Some cruises have a topless show. Book now!

? What the heck is this about? Whatever dude.