Heading to Carnival

[DarthGrady]

Iv done Ecstasy, Triumph and Conquest each 4 times I think in the last 3 years. I like to go I admit and its less than 5 hours so I go cruise on Carnival because its close. The last two cruises were Elation which is a newer sister to Ecstasy. You are going to love this picture. This is the same size OV you had, except on Elation and Triumph there is this stupid built in box in the corner. The only way I could stand in front of my window was to climb over the end of the bed. Im too old that I want to be climbing over the bed to get to the window. Poor design. This is what 185 s.f. OV looks like on Elation last month.

 

 

Carnival also has 3 nice sizes closets, more closet space than RCL so that also is probably why the cabins appears smaller.

 

Thankfully they remove that silly life vest box and the TV box when they refurbish the rooms during EOF. Nixing the floor box and adding the flat screen go a long way to opening up the room.

[plowboy920]

seems strange they don't have any southern carribean cruises? have you tried other departure ports? or are you locked in to a single departure port? we went out of San Juan on Serenade and the flight and cruise was wonderful!!!

[yogimax]

Not in the least I found the Allure, Deck 4, where we had dinner was the worst smokey smell we have had on a cruise. This was right outside of the Casino and that place reeked of smoke......:mad: Not a nice thing to smell before and or after dinner......:rolleyes: So take that comment with a grain of salt,

 

I think it is a fair statement to say that, in general, there is more smoking on Carnival than on RCCL. Thank goodness Carnival finally elimated smoking in cabins. We were on Inspiration and the hallways outside the cabins often reeked of smoke. Let's hope their new regulations will solve this problem.

[kaykels]

Have seen this on Royal ships many times. Last Oasis trip there were many staff in Blaze having a good time. Not sure how this makes any cruise line less classy.

 

Because they were loud and drunk. The piano player in the sing-a-long bar was slurring his words and just banging the keys by the end of the night. I'm no prude, believe me. I can party. But the staff was over the top.

 

I don't mind seeing staff members with a drink in hand. But when the cruise director and performer is obviously drunk with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths schmoozing like he's at a party, IDK, just didn't sit right.

[boingy300]

seems strange they don't have any southern carribean cruises? have you tried other departure ports? or are you locked in to a single departure port? we went out of San Juan on Serenade and the flight and cruise was wonderful!!!

 

No So. Caribbean cruises for summer 2012 on Celebrity, RCCL, HAL, Disney, NCL or Princess. What departure port would you look at? (I even looked for a longer cruise out of a US port). Apparently lots of travel agents aren't aware of this gap either. If one wanted to argue hurricane season then it would make most sense to cancel the Eastern or Western route. So. Caribbean islands (aside from SJU, maybe St. Thomas) are rarely effected by hurricanes. It has me scratching my head. Airfare to Europe is pricey and watching Greece right now makes the Med. unattractive. I have to say having cruised since 1991....I am confused. But I figure all I can do is talk with my dollars and get a new experience. I am just trying to prepare for the differences.

Karen

[boingy300]

We fell in love with the Freedom Of the Seas. What I wouldn't give for that to go Southern and force more onto the new mega ships.....but they didn't ask me, did they?lol

Karen

[BillOh]

Boingy,

 

Please follow up and let us know how it went if you do go this route. I'm kind of in the same boat, pun intended. For awhile, the chance to move up in C&A status kept us considering RCL exclusively. But that doesn't seem like that big of a deal once you get past the special check in line. The coupon books have gone from ok, to about worthless with us. I wonder Carnival would ever consider, for one cruise ,offering RC members the equivalent status. With them out of the west coast and now out of the southern, I might have to consider elsewhere in the future.

 

Oddly, I was supposed to have done one Carnival cruise. My brother in law wanted a family cruise and since he was the equivalent of Diamond on Carnival, I'm sure he would have won the argument because he is all about the status. But he died suddenly about the time the trip was in its planning stages.

[boingy300]

Hey fellow Buckeye! We won't sail until next June but I sure will. Sorry to hear about your brother in law. The Diamond lounge was very nice on Freedom. It was the 1st perk that felt....well, perky. On a side note, I also was surprised how nice the Cabanas were on Holland, but unless I went with a group ....it was very sedate. My DH was in seminar all day and 2 of our ports were canceled so I do want to give Holland another chance at some point. Not a kid friendly cruise at all.

I'll let you know how it goes. Maybe the cruise lines will get the message when they can only fill half their ships overseas, and maybe I am the one who is wrong. Time will tell.

Karen

[RaiderFaninNM]

I think it is a fair statement to say that, in general, there is more smoking on Carnival than on RCCL. Thank goodness Carnival finally elimated smoking in cabins. We were on Inspiration and the hallways outside the cabins often reeked of smoke. Let's hope their new regulations will solve this problem.

 

Not a fair statement at all as I did not find it that way at all, actually we found more smoke on the Allure, and with the new policy lets hope it will be even less.

[yogimax]

Not a fair statement at all as I did not find it that way at all, actually we found more smoke on the Allure, and with the new policy it will be even less, IMHO.

 

I seriously doubt that you smelled smoke in the hallways outside the cabins on Allure. On the other hand, we have experienced the smell of cigarette smoke in the hallways of just about every Carnival Cruise we have ever taken.

[bobmal99]

The Carnival Ecstacy is only 70,000 tons which is 40,000 tons

less then the newer Carnival ships like the Glory, Miracle, Valor,

& Liberty. Ecstacy does not have many balconies at all.

 

Two great web site to viwe just to find out sq. ft. of the various

cabins are wwwdotcruisedotcom and www.cruiseweb.com

 

For some reason this page will not accept the link

for cruisedotcom.

 

So please just type it in. This site will also tell you how many

cabins are left on each ship, sq. ft. of every cabin,

and where they are on the ship, forward, aft, midship, port or starboard..

 

I was in a Jr. Suite on Carnival Glory this past Feb. sq. ft. was 275.

Plenty of room there was a vanity and double sink.

I posted pictures of them earlier in this thread. Loved Carnival,

however I am trying RCCL for the first time this year because

they have bigger ships, and offer more unusual activities.

 

I would go back to Carnival again!!

But then as of now I have never been on a RCCL Ship!!

 

SO THAT MAY CHANGE!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've been on one Carnival cruise and that was this past October. We went because it was cheap and we wanted to see our long lost friends. We went expecting the worse but determined to have a good time and not be picky. I agree with all of the above statements. Many people have posted saying "cabins are bigger." Ours was tiny! We were on the Ecstacy out of Galveston and this cruise was a last minute booking. We started out in oceanview R241. Then we got an email asking if we wanted to upgrade to U141 for $30 pp. We did. I knew we'd miss a balcony but I never dreamed that we'd be as cramped as we were. Our cabin had 2 straight backed chairs and barely enough room to walk around the bed. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time in the room. The pool area is small and crowded. If there were available tables, they were piled with dirty dishes and food as there didn't seem to be enough crew members to keep up with the tidiness like RCI does. The food was good and we really enjoyed the penny slot machines in the casino. The decor of the ship looked like the decorator was on crack ... what were they thinking! Having said that, we had a good time and really had no major complaints. I doubt we'll do another Carnival. If we do, however, I'll certainly pay more attention and ask for the square footage of the stateroom.

[bobmal99]

Here are a few more pictures of a Jr. Suite on Carnival Glory.

Cabin #7272!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[firefly333]

I wonder Carnival would ever consider, for one cruise ,offering RC members the equivalent status. With them out of the west coast and now out of the southern, I might have to consider elsewhere in the future.

 

Since RCL and CCL are different companies, I think sadly the answer to this will be no. However, many surverys, people are asking for some sort of xtra transfer between carnival, princess or hal, as these are all Carnival companies. Carnival owns 10 cruiselines. You can cruise on Carnival and get a past guest rate on Princess now, but thats about all.

[RaiderFaninNM]

I seriously doubt that you smelled smoke in the hallways outside the cabins on Allure. On the other hand, we have experienced the smell of cigarette smoke in the hallways of just about every Carnival Cruise we have ever taken.

 

I did indeed and into the dining room from deck 4 outside of the casino, it was there and so was I, why the anger, smoke is smoke no matter where one cruises, it's there no matter what cruise line???? enuff said :rolleyes:

[Cruzface]

I seriously doubt that you smelled smoke in the hallways outside the cabins on Allure. On the other hand, we have experienced the smell of cigarette smoke in the hallways of just about every Carnival Cruise we have ever taken.

 

Why is it so hard to believe? Were you there?

[05mak05]

Iv done Ecstasy, Triumph and Conquest each 4 times I think in the last 3 years. I like to go I admit and its less than 5 hours so I go cruise on Carnival because its close. The last two cruises were Elation which is a newer sister to Ecstasy. You are going to love this picture. This is the same size OV you had, except on Elation and Triumph there is this stupid built in box in the corner. The only way I could stand in front of my window was to climb over the end of the bed. Im too old that I want to be climbing over the bed to get to the window. Poor design. This is what 185 s.f. OV looks like on Elation last month.

 

 

Carnival also has 3 nice sizes closets, more closet space than RCL so that also is probably why the cabins appears smaller.

I ABSOLUTELY do love that picture! Standing facing the bed, there was one straight backed chair crammed into the corner to the right. is that the sitting area that the website refers to? Haha. Here's the link to the Rhapsody oceanview cabin that we were in. There is no comparison: http://royalcaribbeancruises.com/Image_Library/Ships/Rhapsody/Larger_Oceanview.jpg The RCI site shows 154 sf. We had plenty of drawers, closet space, etc. As I've mentioned before, I took this cruise with 5 of my high school friends. There were several times when we all congregated in one room and didn't feel at all crowded. We would not have fit in the Carnival oceanview. Thanks for posting this picture!

[boingy300]

Thanks for the links and pics Bobmal. We booked Victory today (a balcony and an inside) I am eager to see more. They tried to put us over a 5th floor jazz club but after being over a lounge on my last RCCL cruise I said "No!" So we moved up to deck 7. I can't wait. Thanks for the info everyone!

Karen

[sherilyn70]

Thanks for the links and pics Bobmal. We booked Victory today (a balcony and an inside) I am eager to see more. They tried to put us over a 5th floor jazz club but after being over a lounge on my last RCCL cruise I said "No!" So we moved up to deck 7. I can't wait. Thanks for the info everyone!

Karen

 

Deck 7 is quite and where all of the suites are. That's where we were on the ship (room 7259).

[boingy300]

Deck 7 is quite and where all of the suites are. That's where we were on the ship (room 7259).

 

Very good to know. They have us pretty far forward, but I love the movement of the ship.

Karen

[JLvacation]

We have Cruised on both Cruise Lines .

 

As you already know , A cruise is what you make of it ! ! !

Personally I think the food is better on Carnival , yet the service is lacking

a little .

We to are usually a RCCL Cruiser ... but a Cruise is a Cruise

here is another sight if you want to check it out (http://www.beyondships.com) has all kinds of info on all the ships and may give you a better idea of the ship !

[dallen10]

I sailed on Conquest last month and my biggest complaint was the smoking. So I was excited to read Firefly333 post that Carnival was changing their smoking policy as we plan to sail on Magic next summer. I loved the piano bar but couldn't tolerate the smoke, so excited to hear that will no longer be an issue.

 

The food was fine, the service not as good, but nothing so bad it would make one want to complain. I have noticed that sailing Carnival out of Galveston is more expensive than sailing Carnival out of any other port. We Texans pay more for the convenience of not flying. That is disappointing.

[05mak05]

We are cruising on the Mariner 4 weeks in Jan - Feb to escape the cedar season in the Texas Hill Country. The prices are HIGH! And, they keep going up instead of down due to big groups booking some of our dates. I think when Disney, Princess and the Carnival Magic his Galveston that we'll see some price drops. Sometimes what you wish for ends up not being a good thing as the prices got so low that the Rhapsody pulled out along with Princess, etc.

[dallen10]

We are cruising on the Mariner 4 weeks in Jan - Feb to escape the cedar season in the Texas Hill Country. The prices are HIGH! And, they keep going up instead of down due to big groups booking some of our dates. I think when Disney, Princess and the Carnival Magic his Galveston that we'll see some price drops. Sometimes what you wish for ends up not being a good thing as the prices got so low that the Rhapsody pulled out along with Princess, etc.

 

 

We booked the 11/11/11 Mariner maybe a year ago...Within just a few months, all the suites were booked by a large group. So no chance of a price reduction.

 

I don't see Carnival ever pulling out of Galveston. Doubtful also that Royal will ever stay longer than the 6 months a year they are there now.

[ka4ren]

I have been a fairly loyal Royal cruiser, but the summer 2012 schedule has ZERO ships in the Southern Caribbean. As a matter of fact the only ship sailing Southern Caribbean in June 2012 is Carnival. We have some teens and a few other family members going. It's only 1 day at sea. Rather than this turn into a Carnival bashing event, since it is what it is- I am seeking advice from RCCL folks who have sailed both and can give me a heads up about the differences. I know the decor is an issue. But I am hoping to be on the islands mostly (Only 1 day at sea)> Are there any people out there who have sailed both who can give HELPFUL advice? I considered Freedom Eastern but it's about $400 pp more and has 3 days at sea going to places we've already been. I'm not interested in a mega ship as i still think the islands are enough. I can't handle another loop around Cuba (Western)! Plus I still like San Juan. I think elderly couples doing the salsa is very romantic. Any transition advice appreciated- thanks!

(Also why did everyone leave Southern Caribbean? Greece and the Mid-east not looking too appealing for me.) There is limited variety......(sad face)

Karen

We did a carnival and my I enjoyed it the room was deck 2 midship clean and had a window three me and 2 grandkids robs in the room graat for the deck at night while watchind atars and movies cabin stwart cant say enough good about him even out the kids tooys to be at night thsy just loved him diningroom food was good MELTING CAKE THE BEST we were a large table learn the hard wa make sure the waiter knows wnat you want and how you want in and the go the head waiter if it dosent go the way you want it and have a great time