would you recommend carnival cruise?

[mr.jdm]

hello everyone,

 

would like to ask all you carnival experts, here's my story. we normally sail with RCI, Princess and Hal. we are thinking of taking carnival caribbean or mexican rivera for august. since prices are really attractive compared to RCI for the sailings we liked.

 

how much difference is carnival compared to RCI cruise? food quality? entertainment? please enlighten me about carnival cruise. what to miss and what not to miss. also how are balcony stateroom for the carnival ships? are suites worth it ( OS ) or experience with balcony gurantee? aft wraps?

 

the routes we have picked are :

 

carnival liberty august 4 miami, half moon cay, st thomas, san juan, grand turk.

 

carnival valor august 4 miami st thomas, tortola, antigua, nassau

 

carnival splendor august 5 la cabo x2 and puerto vallarta.

 

at the point air isn't really an issue for us as we have $600 worth of airfare credit we have to burn by end of the year.

 

 

any help or suggestions would be really appreciated.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

I cruised Carnival for the first time last year on the Liberty and it was a very good cruise. I was pleasantly surprised at hos good it was for the $ we paid. Food could have been better but it certainly was not bad.

 

My review in the link below.

[cruisenanny]

I would chose just about any itinerary that includes HMC over one that doesn't & the Liberty seems to be a good choice too.

Having sailed both, I would say that CCL is very similar to RCCL, with CCL winning just slightly on food & cabins. RCCL winning for their overall ships & service. Again though, more similar than different.

The OS on CCl is great if the price isn't too high, I wouldn't pay more than $200 more pp over the top balcony price. We loved the extra room and the nicer bath with jetted tub.

[Mulege]

Forget Splendor, only 2 ports in 7 days and one of them, Cabo is for 2 days. Very boring. I love HMC.

[bills blasters]

We have been on the Liberty 4 times and really love that ship. Especially not with the 2.0 upgrades. I would choose the Liberty.

claudia

[yonder]

My wife and I have arranged an wedding for my son and future daughter in law aboard the fascination this July........if this says anything.............:)

[beshears]

Any of those itineraries look good to me. Some of the ships I have been on.

 

I have been on Holland American, RCCL, Princess, NCL and Carnival. They all have their good and bad points.

 

This is "one" good point that I always mention when people ask about Carnival. Their BEDS and room size. They have the BEST beds and bedding that I believe any ship line would have, unless you pay a BIG:rolleyes: price. Also if you check, their rooms are a tad larger than most other cruise ships.

 

I also want to mention that they call Carnival the "party" ship as a "negative" to some people, but we did not find anything like that. We are not young people and we were very happy on our different Carnival ships.

[bplazo]

We sailed on our first Carnival cruise last month after always sailing on RCCL and we were pleasantly suprised that we really enjoyed the cruise. This ship was very nice (we were on the Elation) and we had a great room (was in a grand suite). The perks were not as good as RCCL but I would say the food and servce was about the same. Liked the outdoor grill for lunch and my daughter and I did the chicken tenders and burgers every day and had the warm melting cake every night. The entertainment I thought was better on Carnival.

 

I would definately sail again on Carnival. We have Celiberty booked for our next cruise.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Some have said the food is great ...

[Mumsykat]

We sailed the Liberty last December, to Roatan, Grand Cayman, Belize, and Cozumel, and we really enjoyed the route. Never been to Half Moon Cay, it hasn't fit into our travel plans - YET! But someday.

 

We're going on the Liberty again this December, the San Juan-St. Thomas-Grand Turk-Nassau itinerary and we're really looking forward to it. We have no quibble with the food, and the decor is a bit more subtle than the other two ships we've been on.

 

To sum up - Liberty YES! :D

[mj8506]

hello everyone,

 

would like to ask all you carnival experts, here's my story. we normally sail with RCI, Princess and Hal. we are thinking of taking carnival caribbean or mexican rivera for august. since prices are really attractive compared to RCI for the sailings we liked.

 

how much difference is carnival compared to RCI cruise? food quality? entertainment? please enlighten me about carnival cruise. what to miss and what not to miss. also how are balcony stateroom for the carnival ships? are suites worth it ( OS ) or experience with balcony gurantee? aft wraps?

 

the routes we have picked are :

 

carnival liberty august 4 miami, half moon cay, st thomas, san juan, grand turk.

 

carnival valor august 4 miami st thomas, tortola, antigua, nassau

 

carnival splendor august 5 la cabo x2 and puerto vallarta.

 

at the point air isn't really an issue for us as we have $600 worth of airfare credit we have to burn by end of the year.

 

 

any help or suggestions would be really appreciated.

 

 

mr.jdm,

 

I'm a Platinum member on Carnival and a Diamond on RCI. 34 cruises overall. I have opt'ed to cruise Carnival for the last 3 years over RCI for my own personal reasons, but unbiasly, I will give you my recommendation.

 

Now'days, you'll find the food to be comprable. Before, RCI would be of better quality, but the industry as a whole has pulled back a bit in that department for budgeting (economic) reasons.

 

Entertainment is hit or miss...RCI generally has consistent entertainment from ship to ship...Carnival does not - however, if you get a good cast, then Carnival is MUCH more exciting! Their shows have increasingly become better, so in terms of the quality, it's about the same.

 

Cabin wise, Carnival is generally going to be bigger than RCI by a few sq. ft. if you're on the newer Carnival ships. However, if you saild on the larger RCI ships, you'll be pretty much the same. Balconys are balconys. Although, some say the balcony on a Carnival ship is general smaller than that of an RCI ship. Carnvial does put more in the room in terms of furniture, so that could cause a visual impact on how large the room looks.

 

Suites are suites. The newer Carnival ships will blow you away with the suites. If it's affordable, go for it!

 

Service has vastly improved on Carnival. RCI has drastically gone down, unfortunately. RCI has cut back in the amount of crew on their ships to save money. Carnival coming out with a few new ships and renovating the older ones to "Funship 2.0" has increased marketshare, therefore hurting the other lines fighting for their piece of the pie. RCI now is having "most" of their crew working 12-15 hour shifts. Overworking and underpaying...hence, the decline in quality of service (especially recognizable in the dining room). Before, I'd never think I'd be saying this, but now...Carnival's overall service will impress you more.

 

Carnival is exactly what it's name states..."FUNSHIP". There are a lot of younger individuals, kids, etc...more partying and a bit faster paced than RCI. If you dislike that type of environment, you may have an issue cruising Carnival.

 

Funship 2.0 is a huge hit with Carnival. So is "Oasis" with RCI. However, it's much more expensive to put Oasis on RCI ships, hence why they've slowed that down. Funship 2.0 is going into 15 of their ships by the end of 2014.

 

I would recommend the Liberty (newer than the Valor), if you choose Carnival. My wife and I have spent our last 2 sailings on the Liberty...The first was before the Funship 2.0 uprade, the second was after. OH MY GOSH what an upgrade. There is so much more to do and eat! We had a much better time the 2nd time around due to the improvements.

 

The Carnival Valor is nice, its just an older ship in the Liberty Class. The Splendor is newer, but has had some "mechanical issues". Just FYI.

 

Carnival Platinum vs. RCI Diamond...there really is no comparison. As a Platinum member, I get more from the cruiselines in terms of gifts, discounts, and ridiculous rates than I do as a RCI Diamond member. Can you get a stateroom on deck 7 for $359 per person plus tax for 7 days with $250 onboard CASH on RCI? I can't, but I could with Carnival.

 

So, overall...Carnival set the foundation for the industry, and granted there are other lines that offer more in many areas, you have to look at it from what makes sense for you. I would definitely say GO FOR IT, when it comes to choosing to go on a Carnival sailing or not. I promise you won't be disappointed...

 

Just be mindful though, its more of a party ship. Itll be harder to find lounge chairs by the pool :)!

 

I hope this helps!

 

- M & J

[CWcruisers]

Forget Splendor, only 2 ports in 7 days and one of them, Cabo is for 2 days. Very boring. I love HMC.

 

I was going to mention to skip Splendor because it is the hottest time of the year on the Mexican Riviera.

 

What's boring to some may not be to all. A lot of folks like the two days in the same port, one day to do adventure and one day to relax.

[GrandmaHofmann]

We were on the Radiance of the Seas last November. The food in the buffet was fine, but we found the food in the MDR to be inedible. We tried it for two nights and said, "No more!" and we ate dinner at the buffet every other night. Now we have NEVER done that on any other ship. We have sailed on 23 ships, 3x on NCL and the rest on Disney, RCCL, Celebrity, and Princess. We have always eaten in the MDR every night, but the food was just so bad!

[Banditswife]

I just want to add: Valor or Liberty would be my choice. Have sailed the Valor & really enjoyed her atmosphere. Liberty is same class as Valor but newer w/ more upgrades. We did sail RCI once, but find Carnival more to our liking due to activities on board. We are an oldish couple, but young in spirit- so we love the party ships. Food was comparable, entertainment a bit better, cabin size a lot better.

[mr.jdm]

thank you everyone for your quick reply's

 

it seems like liberty is getting everyone vote's. we are leaning towards liberty as well just cuz of to the guys burger joint. looks way more appealing than johnny rockets for sure.

 

any specific balcony's to avoid? we would like to get the aft warp balcony but seems like deck 6 is only showing. or since we are celebrating my birthday on this weeks cruise. would it be worth it to upgrade to a suite? i know you only get priority boarding as the perk. but just the fact the balcony comes with a lounger is a plus for us. easier way for us to avoid crowds or if we want to just relax.

[Georgiagolfer]

e too love the Liberty, having sailed her twice. Having sailed both lines, we prefer CCL for several reasons. Unless in a suite, rooms are larger on CCL. Decor on Liberty is toned down , so not quite the neon look. Night life, CCL has more night activity than RCI. We have found that the clientele seem more friendly and layed back on CCL, just wanting to have a good vacation. Never had an issue with rowdyness on any ship.

[mr.jdm]

e too love the Liberty, having sailed her twice. Having sailed both lines, we prefer CCL for several reasons. Unless in a suite, rooms are larger on CCL. Decor on Liberty is toned down , so not quite the neon look. Night life, CCL has more night activity than RCI. We have found that the clientele seem more friendly and layed back on CCL, just wanting to have a good vacation. Never had an issue with rowdyness on any ship.

 

 

 

ah yes. from youtube video's i have seen online. the rowdyness kinda worries us about carnival. i know if we hop on a hal ship or princess less chance to come across.

 

 

and yes halfmoon cay, we were there last november for the first time and it sure does beat princess cay, labadee and cococay.

[hannibal54]

If you have never been to Half Moon Cay or Grand Turk, take that cruise. I did it solo last year on Carnival and this year I booked the same cruise so my GF can see it. As far as food or any other type of rating between the lines, I am not good at that because I am not picky. To me the food, entertainment and what not are the same, to make me happy is not running out of Miller Lites.

[Georgiagolfer]

ah yes. from youtube video's i have seen online. the rowdyness kinda worries us about carnival. i know if we hop on a hal ship or princess less chance to come across.

 

DW and I both are mid 60's and still love CCL for the atmosphere. Don't want to go to bed at 10pm unless I'm ready. They are called the Fun Ships for a reason, people come to have fun and to participate, not sit back and be entertained.

[keystonemama]

I have not sailed RCL, but its on my list too, and Celebrity. That being said, I still feel Carnival holds my heart, I like their attitude, fun, party, not too restrictive, and my pocketbook likes it,:p I try everyday to convince my Fed Ex guy to cruise Carnival, he's a diehard RCL guy,:rolleyes:, my feelings are, when the Breeze makes its debut, it's going to draw a wide variety of cruisers.

We, as a couple, have fun whatever we do, there are always complainers, petty pit peaves people who are not going to like CCL, but personally, I don't think you can beat the value.

Your attitude contributes to your surroundings, unfortunately, at this age, if your around me and not having fun, then I don't want to be around you. Life is too short for BS.:)

I can say this, and I'm not tryng to be mean, but I have ventured over to some RCL boards just cruising and have come across some ugly and degrading comments toward CCL cruisers. Why? Why is that necessary? I hardly ever see any bashing on CCL boards towards other fleets. That right there tells me where I want to be. I luv the CCL cruisers.

Happy Sailing,

[bplazo]

ah yes. from youtube video's i have seen online. the rowdyness kinda worries us about carnival. i know if we hop on a hal ship or princess less chance to come across.

 

 

and yes halfmoon cay, we were there last november for the first time and it sure does beat princess cay, labadee and cococay.

 

We did not see any rowdyness on the cruise we were on and in fact my daughter commented that she thought it was a "party ship".

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Didnt see any rowdiness on my Liberty cruise.

 

I think you will see it more on the 3 days Spring Break cruises than you will a 7 day.

 

My cruise was much more tame then I anticipated.

[Texarribean Chick]

I'd recommend CCL in a HEARTBEAT! Although as a repeat customer I've seen things change in the past 15 years - I still think they offer a superb vacation value for singles, couples, and families alike!

 

I truly enjoy the itineraries they offer, the entertainment, the range of activities, the size of the cabins, and mostly the service!

[erby2283]

I have previously sailed on NCL, Princess and RC and took my first Carnival cruise last Nov and loved it. We did have 5 ports so I didn't have a whole lot of "ship" time. Just booked the Valor for Nov - so that should tell you my answer!

 

The food is very good - stay away from the chocolate melting cake :D

[bplazo]

I have previously sailed on NCL, Princess and RC and took my first Carnival cruise last Nov and loved it. We did have 5 ports so I didn't have a whole lot of "ship" time. Just booked the Valor for Nov - so that should tell you my answer!

 

The food is very good - stay away from the chocolate melting cake :D

 

I had the cake every night of the cruise.