Carnival 4-day Cruise Advice Please!

[rxpert26]

My husband and I are looking to take a 4 days cruise without our 18 month old son. It appears that Carnival has more 4 day cruises than anyother line. We have heard some iffy things about Carnival and my own experience with Carnival (3 day Bahama cruise in Spring of 1997) wasn't too spectacular as well. Regardless, that was many, many years ago and things change.

 

We took 2 NCL cruises (Alaska and Caribbean) in 2002 and loved every moment, which is why we would like to cruise again. Has anyone taken a 4 day Western Caribbean cruise with Carnival? If so, which ship?

 

We are in our early thirty's but we aren't into the party scene (although we've never met a bartender or a bar that we didn't like). We would like something relaxing and really don't want to hear some cruise cheer leader constantly screaming into a microphone about upcoming pool events.

 

Is Carnival the right cruise for us? What kind of room did you stay in? We are interested in a suite with a balcony. What was the food/room service like?

 

Please help!

[waterbound]

We prefer 7 day cruises, but to date have done 4, 5 and 7 days... Last year was the only 4 day cruise and it was with Carnival.. It was on Holiday.. we only had a few days and not alot of money and just wanted to get away for a few days... The 4 days was nice, but as you can imagine, its mostly sea days.. we made a one day stop in Cozumel and just kept it low key and went to the beach.. all of our cruises have been with carnival..

 

Unfortunately even the 4 day cruises has the normal events by the pool just like any other cruise.. we mainly sat up on the 10th deck and ignored all of that..

 

We booked an inside guarantee.. again we were trying to take the cheapest route we could.. but when we checked in at embarkation were pleasantly surprised to be upgraded to an oceanview...

 

The food was the same as it is on every ship that I can remember.. There was one formal night..Room service was great as always..

 

I just booked a 5 day cruise for September on Sensation and cant wait.. we have done a 5 day one other time... and like it just like any other cruise..

 

The only way I can think of it being nicer is if it was a longer cruise :D

[rasta]

I have done the Imagination 4 and 5 day cruises several times. I also prefer the 7 day experience but school breaks do not always allow that. I found Carnival to be perfectly fine but can only compare to Royal Carribean as I have not sailed any others. As I recall my 4 and 5 day crusies were all to the Western Carribean and included stops in Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen.

[kdickers]

What kind of room did you stay in? We are interested in a suite with a balcony. What was the food/room service like?

 

Since I'm a newbie I can't help much here but . . . as other posters have said, Carnival utilizes their older ships for the 4-5 day cruises. That being said . . . we're booked on our first cruise (4 day out of Jacksonville on the Celebration in June) and we've found that this ship anyway only has 10 cabins with balconies. These are listed as Penthouse suites (category 12) and are VERY HARD to come by. But these are 374 sq ft with an 87 sq ft balcony!!

 

Sorry but I can't speak for any others:(

[osufhorn]

I was on the Fascination for 4 days to Key West and Cozumel a year ago and had a great time. We booked an inside garuntee and got an outside room. The food in the dining room was great, the buffet was not bad, but not spectacular. All the "negative" things you hear on the boards about Carnival are simply differences between cruise lines. Everything was in general more laid back, there were may announcements about bingo, art auctions, pool stuff, etc., but I didn't find it overly obnoxious. The people aboard the ship were a good mix of families, retirees, couples and not a boatload of wild drunks like people stereotype Carnival as having. You will be hard pressed to find a better bargain than the Fascination during an off season.

[Solomom]

I went on the Fascination Western Caribbean May 2004 with my just 2 year old son. I had an Oceanview Stateroom but I had some problems because there was no Frig and I had to keep the milk on ice for the cruise (What a Pain) The next cruise (January 2005) I had a Frig. What a life saver. The Suite should be better because it has a tub and Frig. The Balcony is great for both your child and you because he can have some quiet play time out there and You can relax out there while watching your child sleep through the window. We did not participate in Camp Carnival because I did not feel comfortable leaving my child in a totally strange place with total strangers. The promenade deck was great for running my son. The Pools were great. I held my son in the pool as it was too deep for him. We did not do formal dining and ate all meals in the Lido Buffet. With all the choices there was always something he would eat. The food was always fast and plentiful which is important when you are running after a small child. The Buffet has both high chairs and booster seats. The waiters there were great. They entertained my son while I was at the buffet and helped me carry my food. In the casual dining area we can make a real mess and no one cares. 1%, 2% and Homo Milk are available. I either picked it up at the Buffet. Just ask a waiter and he will get it for you or Order it from room service and have them deliver. Also you can take extra food from the buffet or order from room service if your child gets fussy at one of the meals and you can not finish eating. Then when your child is sleeping or at least calm then you can finsh eating. Many times I had the rest of my dinner on the balcony (January 2005 Cruise) at 10:00pm once he was sleeping. That snack in peace and quiet out on the balcony at night never tasted so good. Before you leave figure out how many diapers your child uses per day and bring enough and then some for the cruise since they are very expensive or not the brand your child is used too. You will be spending more time in your cabin then if you were alone. You probably will not be seeing many shows but traveling with your child allows you to see areas of the cruise ship you would never have seen or noticed before. I know were all the electrical outlets are on the Promenade Deck since my son likes them. Also the staff talk you to more esp. about there own children at home and will go above the call of duty to help you. Don't get your heart set on activities on shore or the ship since plans change depending on the day your child is having. I planned to walk about at the port close to the ship and that was it. Take it slow. Be Flexible. Have a Sense of Humour. Take a deep breath and Jump you will not be sorry.

I love traveling alone with my son and would not do it any other way.

[travel girl23]

We did a 4-day cruise on the Jubilee when she was out of Galveston several years ago and it was a wonderful cruise. The only thing we didn't like was that it was too short. We definitely prefer the 7 day cruises. We had two sea days and one day at Cozumel but the cruise, itself, was great despite being over fall break and there were over 700 kids on the ship. They were all well behaved and there were no problems. We had super dinner companions and the food was excellent. I would do it again if we only had a few days to cruise but we do prefer the longer cruises. We have found on Carnival, there is something for everyone. If you don't like the party life, there are plenty of other things to do. I say, go for it!

[seadreamer1]

We just returned from the 4 day Fascination cruise and it wasn't a cruise for young kids to be on. Our kids are 6 and 9 yrs and we couldn't seem to find a place on ship where there wasn't excessive profanity and inappropriate behaviour. We weren't even safe in our stateroom due to the all night parties in the hallway. I think 7 day cruises are better for a more relaxing atmosphere. You may also want to consider a different cruise line that may attract slightly older passengers.