would you recommend carnival cruise?

[Tapi]

To this day, our BEST Carnival cruise has been aboard the Liberty to the Eastern Caribbean, so that would be my choice. :)

 

About how Carnival compares to others: It's a nice experience, specially considering what you pay to sail on them. Go with realistic expectations. It's a more budget oriented experience than other cruise lines, but you still get quite a bit of bang for your buck. Just don't expect to pay less than what you paid on the other cruise lines and received he same exact experience you had in the past.

[Tapi]

Didnt see any rowdiness on my Liberty cruise.

 

My cruise was much more tame then I anticipated.

 

Neither did we. In fact, I was surprised at how tame and quiet fellow cruisers seemed to be in general aboard our Liberty cruise. Lots of people reading books or playing cards in quiet corners, others enjoying the string quartet in the atrium lobby, No rowdiness or undesirable behavior. In general, a truly enjoyable experience!

[abisha]

I just cruised Carnival twice in past year..and truly loved it. I don't know what people mean about rowdiness...never even saw that and I do not think that exists. The "party" atmosphere is really about having fun...for all ages...and Carnival knows how to offer that. Crew are wonderful. Food is good. I loved that at night the ship really comes alive. On RCL I felt it was asleep too early. I didn't know where everyone went after 10 PM? Did they jump ship? LOL. It was too quiet for me..nice ship but just quieter. Carnival is always very festive.

 

I am looking at booking Liberty for my next cruise. DH wants to go to Mohogany Bay and we like the 2.0 features.

[mr.jdm]

well it seems like liberty is the winner. liberty was the first on top of our list since its refurbd to 2.0

 

 

now our main problem is to try and snag that corner aft balcony, if not a balcony with at least a lounge chair. we do spend quite a bit of time hanging out in our balcony.

 

for the folks that has not been to HMC. you guys are missing out. the beach, water, sand is just that crazy! :D:

[cruiserguy11]

I've been trying to figure out what "GVA" in your location means. :D

[mr.jdm]

lol... greater vancouver area. in short vancouver. it was a cruise critic thing when i signed up. haha

[Thoth]

Some say "no" to the Spendor, but I loved that cruise when I took it. We went to Mazatlan as well as PV and Cabo. Two days in Cabo sounds great to me !

The ship was so much fun.

[cvpends]

Some say "no" to the Spendor, but I loved that cruise when I took it. We went to Mazatlan as well as PV and Cabo. Two days in Cabo sounds great to me !

The ship was so much fun.

 

I totally agree -- I wouldn't discount the idea of the Splendor. She is an absolutely beautiful ship (with a SPA:D) and actually PV and Cabo are both nice places o go. Plus, she leaves from L.A. which also has lots of interesting things to do before or after the cruise.

[Thoth]

I totally agree -- I wouldn't discount the idea of the Splendor. She is an absolutely beautiful ship (with a SPA:D) and actually PV and Cabo are both nice places o go. Plus, she leaves from L.A. which also has lots of interesting things to do before or after the cruise.

one of my favorite cruise memories is all ages dancing to the ship's band playing Beach Boys music, during the Lido deck party. That sort of gave the cruise a California feel.

[mr.jdm]

just got off the phone with TA.

 

here's our cabin category choices:

 

8M $140 difference to move up to 9B

9B $70 to move up to OS

 

is it worth to book 9B category or even splurge to OS?

[Texarribean Chick]

The OS are very nice. A lot more room. I personally really like the separate vanity area away from the steam in the bathroom. Definitely a larger balcony! I personally think it's worth it!

 

And BTW - I adore the Liberty! The changing glass chandeliers are beautiful!

[CWcruisers]

I had cabin 8442 on the Liberty which is a 9 B and I would take that one again in a heartbeat. Cabin was extra large, next to the aft wrap, so the balcony was extra long with a lounger.

[glrounds]

Some say "no" to the Spendor, but I loved that cruise when I took it. We went to Mazatlan as well as PV and Cabo. Two days in Cabo sounds great to me !

The ship was so much fun.

 

I totally agree -- I wouldn't discount the idea of the Splendor. She is an absolutely beautiful ship (with a SPA:D) and actually PV and Cabo are both nice places o go. Plus, she leaves from L.A. which also has lots of interesting things to do before or after the cruise.

 

Completed my 3rd cruise on the SPLENDOR a couple of weeks ago. Great ship with a great crew. I've always recommended Carnival to my friends, agreed with those that made the "Walmart" reference (I shop at Walmart all the time:D), and have always enjoyed Carnival cruising.

 

I'll concede, Carnival's food quality and entertainment quality have probably gone down a tad over the years, but she's still a great value to me. There are no miracles . . . cruising in a recession is bound to create cutbacks as pricing of cabins is also cutback. (a week on the TROPICALE 25 years ago - $699, a week on the SPLENDOR 2 weeks ago - $505 ! ! )

 

[BenjiRodney]

I have only been on Carnival, 6 times and no issues. Love them, going with a group next month on RCI, so I will be able to compare once I have done that.

[cruisenanny]

just got off the phone with TA.

 

here's our cabin category choices:

 

8M $140 difference to move up to 9B

9B $70 to move up to OS

 

is it worth to book 9B category or even splurge to OS?

 

If you are willing to spend the extra 140 pp for the 9b, then I would just spend the additional 70 pp and go for the OS!! They are very nice and you certainly would enjoy it I'm sure. Priority boarding, lovely lighting throughout the cabin, lots of floor space, a huge couch & upgraded desk area, tons of drawers & closets, a great vanity area and a large bathroom with jetted tub! You know you want it!!:D

[Thoth]

Completed my 3rd cruise on the SPLENDOR a couple of weeks ago. Great ship with a great crew. I've always recommended Carnival to my friends, agreed with those that made the "Walmart" reference (I shop at Walmart all the time:D), and have always enjoyed Carnival cruising.

 

I'll concede, Carnival's food quality and entertainment quality have probably gone down a tad over the years, but she's still a great value to me. There are no miracles . . . cruising in a recession is bound to create cutbacks as pricing of cabins is also cutback. (a week on the TROPICALE 25 years ago - $699, a week on the SPLENDOR 2 weeks ago - $505 ! ! )

 

 

Food : It seems that they came up with a new concept, 1/2 the menu is exotic foo foo stuff, the other half being traditional typical American things like fried Chicken. I don't have any issues, having very low goumet taste.

Entertainment: The production shows still rock the house, but there seemed to be more filler entertainment like one man comedy acts. Yes, I like some of the comedy shows. Some are funny, but many seemed to get the gig by working "cheap".

[beachbum53]

[/img]

 

We were recently on the Liberty. Smoking is allowed on deck 10, Starboard side. I took this photo on the last day of our cruise. When I saw this, I wasn't quite sure what to think. It struck me as rather odd. My guess is that a non-smoking passenger wanted to use one of the lounge chairs on deck 10 (in the smoking area), and took it upon him/herself to put the sign there in an attempt to have a smoke-free area for sunbathing. I don't know if the sign is still there, or if a crew member saw it and put it back wherever it came from.

[beachbum53]

[/img]

 

We were recently on the Liberty. Smoking is allowed on deck 10, Starboard side. I took this photo on the last day of our cruise. When I saw this, I wasn't quite sure what to think. It struck me as rather odd. My guess is that a non-smoking passenger wanted to use one of the lounge chairs on deck 10 (in the smoking area), and took it upon him/herself to put the sign there in an attempt to have a smoke-free area for sunbathing. I don't know if the sign is still there, or if a crew member saw it and put it back wherever it came from.

 

 

Oops! Not sure how I did it, but this got posted to the wrong thread. Sorry about that.:o

[SR4FUN]

lol... greater vancouver area. in short vancouver. it was a cruise critic thing when i signed up. haha

 

We are also from GVA (Surrey) although I have never seen that abbreviation before.

I have been on 4 Carnival cruises and 1 Norwegian. I love Carnival and have been on the Glory, Splendor, Spirit and the Valor just last month. Just booked the Splendor for November with a great group I met on the Spirit last November. I have never had a bad experience. I wish I had discovered cruising sooner and that we lived closer to a port that offered more options. We did Alaska in 2008 on the Norwegian Sun and although it was very good we still much prefer Carnival. All the restaurants on Norwegian except for the MDR, sports bar and the buffet you have to pay a cover charge. it also only has 4 small hot tub and 2 pools right outside in the middle. Not much good on an Alaska cruise. Carnival has a pool and 2 large hot tubs under a retractable cover on a couple we were on.

The entertainment on Carnival has always been great. From the fabulous stage shows to the comedians.

I can't wait to set sail again. :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[glrounds]

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.

 

Would agree completely, however, I'm probably biased as I hate flying to the port. Have done the MR many many times and certainly miss the Mazatlan call which made this itinerary a 3 port run back in the day, but still enjoyed this itinerary and ship 3 times on the SPLENDOR.

 

Sorry, I can't offer anything in the way of a comparison to RCCL, but found the SPLENDOR just terrific.