2ndhoney Posted July 1, 2013 #476 Share Posted July 1, 2013 We always sail in either October, early May of early January..... We sailed on the Dream not quite a year after it first launched in Oct. I had been on Carnival in my 20s but thing have changed (or else I have). We snagged a cove balcony really cheap for a West. Carib. cruise. Cabin was great!:D The rest of the ship, not so much. For the amount of passengers that are on it, there isn't enough room. During a sale at the shops one day we had to either go up a floor or down a floor to get to the other side of the ship because all the people at the sale blocked the deck.:mad: We just went on the NCL Epic (early May) which has a similar amount of passengers but you never felt crowded. Much better layout for all those people. We ate in the MDR 2x - both times they had singing waiters, etc. The first time it happened we shrugged it off, but the next night as well! We ate elsewhere after that - I actually like no entertainment while I'm eating (also while the waiters did their thing, no food was served either). The food was average and we never go to the shows. The passengers were a lot more rowdy than we are used to (we are mid 40s) and rudeness was the norm for most people. Even if the cruise was free, we wouldn't get back on a Carnival ship again. We tend to go with NCL, Celebrity and HAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gubby Posted July 1, 2013 #477 Share Posted July 1, 2013 We have sailed on X, HAL, RCL, NCL and Princess. There have been enough cruises on Princess and X that we now have a few perks, and we are close to that on NCL. We have deliberately stayed away from Carnival. Whenever we are asked about our favourite, we always reply that each line does something better than the others and find it difficult to pick just 1. What we do is choose our cruises by price, itinerary, and distance from embarkation port. We are retired and can drive to ports on the east coast. If it is necessary to fly, we then book 1 or 2 weeks either side of the cruise to tour and travel via land. Our favourite cruises are TA's because we love the unstructured sea days. We usually book inside cabins, and occasionally outsides, because we use our cabin to shower, change and sleep. This way we are able to take more cruises and see more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaycat Posted July 2, 2013 #478 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I have been on Carnival cruises with no problems. I'm not a party person but I do enjoy a relax atmosphere (it is a vacation). I have not experience rude staff, bad food or unruly kids. I never felt crowd except for debarking at ports. The deco is not ritzy but acceptable. The shows are good. I felt they offer enough to keep you busy (don't like the hairy chest contest). My spring time balcony cruises have always been $900 plus. I guess I got what I paid for....a great cruise. Each cruise line offers sometime different according to who you are. A person disliking a certain cruiseline is a persons choice of expectation. No matter which cruise line you choose, have a good cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcats Posted July 24, 2013 #479 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Cruised on Carla Costa(86), Celebrity Century (96) and Carnival Ecstacy (2013). All have been great. Celebrity was for older folks but very nice, Costa was my first cruise, old ship but i was 14, so whatever they had was going to be awesome and i loved everything about the Ecstacy( food, size of ship and service). Although I could see what some say about the carnival passengers and the neon deco,there were no out of control morons so it was not a problem for me. My wife and kids(10 and 8) loved the cruise so we are booking again with whomever has the best itinerary and price. A cruise is what you make of it. Not everything was perfect, some problems, but the good far out numbered the bad. If i had to pick the worst, then Costa since it was an old ship, but i dont have a clue about their new ships. Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaCruiser54 Posted July 24, 2013 #480 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Carnival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Smmessineo Posted July 25, 2013 #481 Share Posted July 25, 2013 5 night Carnival cruise out of New York. The combination of a short cruise on a partying cruise line filled with New Yorkers was HORRIBLE! And I'm a New Yorker ! My second worse cruise was a 5 night Cruise on Celebrity. (I have since taken 2 10 night Celebrity cruises that were fantastic.) I think the shorter cruises just have a different feel to them. And is isn't good. Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobCruise Posted July 25, 2013 #482 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Easily the worst for me was the now defunked Dolphin Cruise Line. We took a 3 day cruise 26 years ago on the Dolphin IV for our anniversary. This was our first cruise ever and it cost $340 pp including the flight. At the time it was all we could afford. I knew we were in trouble when we first saw our "stateroom." It had bunk beds that couldn't be converted. :eek: Thank God for Cruise Critic. That kind of info is so readily available now, unlike 26 years ago :) Our first cruise was for our 15th anniversary and we arrived to find twin beds. We didn't know we could ask to have them moved. After the 2nd or 3rd night of sleeping in separate beds, DH had enough of that, and we moved them together ourselves lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aplmac Posted July 25, 2013 #483 Share Posted July 25, 2013 In seven cruises on modern Carnival ships (no, not those old-fashioned Fantasy Class things that should have been retired ages ago) one cruise on Caribbean Princess and two on Ocean Village Two --all Carnival Corp. ships, I might add-- I am yet to be disappointed! I'm wondering just how Bad Lucky y'all really are! :D . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopsailor Posted July 25, 2013 #484 Share Posted July 25, 2013 In seven cruises on modern Carnival ships I am yet to be disappointed! Obviously, some people have lower standards than others. After my one Carnival cruise, I vowed never again to waste another penny sailing with Carnival, and have never set foot on another of their ships. Since then, "I am yet to be disappointed!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hstergo Posted July 25, 2013 #485 Share Posted July 25, 2013 In seven cruises on modern Carnival ships (no, not those old-fashioned Fantasy Class things that should have been retired ages ago) one cruise on Caribbean Princess and two on Ocean Village Two --all Carnival Corp. ships, I might add-- I am yet to be disappointed! I'm wondering just how Bad Lucky y'all really are! :D . Some cruiser expect more then the food and dining atmosphere of Denny's and higher quality entertainment then Carnival provides..... it's not a matter of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted July 25, 2013 #486 Share Posted July 25, 2013 NCL Norwegian Dream from Boston to St. George, Bermuda in 2008. It was probably the best itinerary - 3 days moored in St. George was great, and getting to and from Boston very easy. The ship was shortly to be sold, the service was awful, long waits for seating at dinner unless you ate very early or very late, food was usually cold when you got it. I suspect a lot of staff had been transferred off. The layout of the ship was absurd - it had been stretched, and the only way from our cabin to the rest of the ship was through the MDR. The lido cafeteria was poorly laid out and very small - lunch was reminiscent of a high school cafeteria. The public spaces always seemed crowded - I suspect that some such spaces had been converted to revenue cabins when the ship was retro-fitted. Not a fan of "Free Style" anyway, but that sailing clinched it for us: no more NCL for us - unless there is some extraordinary itinerary not possible with any other line. Finally, it is immaterial, I suppose, but those absurd hull decorations are something I would have to try hard to ignore when boarding the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aplmac Posted July 25, 2013 #487 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Some cruiser expect more then the food and dining atmosphere of Denny's and higher quality entertainment then Carnival provides..... it's not a matter of luck Silversea awaits you. :) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aplmac Posted July 25, 2013 #488 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Obviously, some people have lower standards than others. ===> Yes, that's me...low standards all the way! :)After my one Carnival cruise, ===> on which of their boats/ships? ..what year? ..last Century? I vowed never again to waste another penny sailing with Carnival, and have never set foot on another of their ships. Since then, "I am yet to be disappointed!" ===> So happy for you..really! And since then, you've been paying at least 50% more than you pay CarnivalHeck.. it's only money! :D Btw...I too would never set foot on one of their Fantasy Class boats -and I mean boats. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixiana Posted July 25, 2013 #489 Share Posted July 25, 2013 And since then, you've been paying at least 50% more than you pay CarnivalHeck.. it's only money! :D Btw...I too would never set foot on one of their Fantasy Class boats -and I mean boats. . cheap so called cruises, are only transportation from one spot to another, such as taking a bus instead of a taxi. in my day cruising was a 57 chev, up and down ocean blvd. fll. today our cruising is dollar spent in relation to comfort attained. we expect to be pampered to the limit of the policies and job description of the employees. anything beyond the limit is to be well rewarded. my opinion is that I would rather take 1 cruise per year in comfort than 2 or 3 cheap cruises:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopsailor Posted July 26, 2013 #490 Share Posted July 26, 2013 And since then, you've been paying at least 50% more than you pay CarnivalHeck.. it's only money! :D Btw...I too would never set foot on one of their Fantasy Class boats -and I mean boats. . Not quite 50% more. More like 10 or 15%. Still, like dining out at home, I would rather spend more money getting a quality meal at a fine restaurant than save money at Denny's. If Denny's (or Carnival) is good enough for you, they bravo for you. For me, I prefer to live better than that, and don't mind paying for it either. As I said before, the ONLY cruise I have ever regretted taking was a Carnival cruise. I may have saved a few percentage points on the cost, but I still ended up wasting a bunch of money on an inferior product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnice8 Posted July 26, 2013 #491 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Ncl...only thing good about it were the deck parties. Sent from my SGH-T999 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grand isle joe Posted July 26, 2013 #492 Share Posted July 26, 2013 And since then, you've been paying at least 50% more than you pay Carnival Heck.. it's only money! :D Btw...I too would never set foot on one of their Fantasy Class boats -and I mean boats. . ...sometimes it is value for the money spent.........;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted July 26, 2013 #493 Share Posted July 26, 2013 I did a 2 week OAT trip to Greece that included a week on a small ship to the Greek Islands. The less said about the land portion (bad itinerary and a guide who was so boring that he would have made a wonderful pedantic university professor - I ended up walking out on most of his lectures on what we were seeing) the better but the Greek Island trip was good - how could you not like the Greek Islands. However, our cabin was interesting. It was under a stairwell so it was really tiny (the smallest on the ship although we had booked this tour really early) but this was the best part of the cabin. The bathroom was really really tiny. We all know that cruise ship bathrooms are small. However, this one was so small that when you stood at the sink, you had to put one foot in the shower. There was barely room to wipe ones self at the toilet without hitting your head on something. Thank God we did not have to spend a lot of time in the loo. The only positive thing about the whole episode is that after many complaints about the trip to OAT, they gave us $1000 credit each that we used for a wonderful trip to Mexico's Copper Canyon. DON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted July 26, 2013 #494 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Not quite 50% more. More like 10 or 15%. Still, like dining out at home, I would rather spend more money getting a quality meal at a fine restaurant than save money at Denny's. If Denny's (or Carnival) is good enough for you, they bravo for you. For me, I prefer to live better than that, and don't mind paying for it either. As I said before, the ONLY cruise I have ever regretted taking was a Carnival cruise. I may have saved a few percentage points on the cost, but I still ended up wasting a bunch of money on an inferior product. Your ratios are a bit off. The cheapest Silversea 7 day Catibbean in April 2014 is about $2,600 vs Carnival Valor at $499. Sure, we are talking suite vs. inside, but the fact remains it is a whole lot more than a 10 or 15% price increase. There is no way I will sail inside cabin on a Carnival 7 day April Caribbean cruise - but there is a lot to choose from in between that and a $2,600 per person one week cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopsailor Posted July 26, 2013 #495 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Your ratios are a bit off. The cheapest Silversea 7 day Catibbean in April 2014 is about $2,600 vs Carnival Valor at $499. Sure, we are talking suite vs. inside, but the fact remains it is a whole lot more than a 10 or 15% price increase. There is no way I will sail inside cabin on a Carnival 7 day April Caribbean cruise - but there is a lot to choose from in between that and a $2,600 per person one week cruise. Your ratios are a bit off. The cheapest Silversea 7 day Catibbean in April 2014 is about $2,600 vs Carnival Valor at $499. Sure, we are talking suite vs. inside, but the fact remains it is a whole lot more than a 10 or 15% price increase. There is no way I will sail inside cabin on a Carnival 7 day April Caribbean cruise - but there is a lot to choose from in between that and a $2,600 per person one week cruise. Who ever mentioned Silversea, one of the most expensive cruise lines out there? You are comparing diamonds to cubic zirconias. There are other good, competitively priced cruise lines out there. Take Princess or Celebrity, for instance, two that I am very familiar with. Both often offer cruises for about the same price as Carnival, and sometimes even less. Both offer better value for the money because they are more upscale than Carnival, with better ships, food and service levels. Plus, the passenger demographics aren't overrun with people trying to get the cheapest cruise experience, and act accordingly. On my Carnival cruise six years ago I observed people drinking themselves into a stupor, kids running amok, obnoxious pool contests, and rampant rudeness, all which seemed to be the order of the day. Not my idea of a what a cruise experience should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hstergo Posted July 26, 2013 #496 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Silversea awaits you. :) . I don't have to cruise Silversea to get a better overall better quality cruise then Carnival All I have to do is book RCI and I will have professional dancers and singers entertain me. instead of other cruiser like Carnival relies on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hstergo Posted July 26, 2013 #497 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Who ever mentioned Silversea, one of the most expensive cruise lines out there? You are comparing diamonds to cubic zirconias. There are other good, competitively priced cruise lines out there. Take Princess or Celebrity, for instance, two that I am very familiar with. Both often offer cruises for about the same price as Carnival, and sometimes even less. Both offer better value for the money because they are more upscale than Carnival, with better ships, food and service levels. Plus, the passenger demographics aren't overrun with people trying to get the cheapest cruise experience, and act accordingly. On my Carnival cruise six years ago I observed people drinking themselves into a stupor, kids running amok, obnoxious pool contests, and rampant rudeness, all which seemed to be the order of the day. Not my idea of a what a cruise experience should be. You are angering all the Carnival cheerleaders... be careful I did that once and they had my posts removed. How dare you !!! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lor74 Posted July 27, 2013 #498 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Of all my cruises, the Carnival Freedom last yr was my worst. I did not like the general layout of the ship, and the main pool is not positioned well. For us, the food was not great except for the wok and sandwich shop. The service...specifically in the food venues, was not great. We still had a good vacation, because we do not stress on the negative.....but out of 14 cruises, it is #14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPT Trips Posted July 27, 2013 #499 Share Posted July 27, 2013 I did a 2 week OAT trip to Greece that included a week on a small ship to the Greek Islands. The less said about the land portion (bad itinerary and a guide who was so boring that he would have made a wonderful pedantic university professor - I ended up walking out on most of his lectures on what we were seeing) the better but the Greek Island trip was good - how could you not like the Greek Islands. However, our cabin was interesting. It was under a stairwell so it was really tiny (the smallest on the ship although we had booked this tour really early) but this was the best part of the cabin. The bathroom was really really tiny. We all know that cruise ship bathrooms are small. However, this one was so small that when you stood at the sink, you had to put one foot in the shower. There was barely room to wipe ones self at the toilet without hitting your head on something. Thank God we did not have to spend a lot of time in the loo. The only positive thing about the whole episode is that after many complaints about the trip to OAT, they gave us $1000 credit each that we used for a wonderful trip to Mexico's Copper Canyon. DON How long ago, and what ship? I'm considering an OATS cruise as I had good GCT experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookish Angel Posted July 27, 2013 #500 Share Posted July 27, 2013 The entire shipped smell like wet carpet which would have been somewhat more tolerable had the carpet been clean but it definitely was not. Pool longers were filthy and oily at sailaway and meal trays were left in the hall the entire trip. I have since been on several other RCL ships with good to great experiences. I have been on one Carnival cruise, Triumph of the Seas in 2001. While it was not the best cruise I have ever been on, it was far better than Sovereign of the Seas! I did cater to a younger, louder crowd which I was not crazy about it wasn't awfu, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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