Holland or Carnival?

[DnA151826]

We are wanting to take a cruise around the Baltics. The Holland cruise Eurodam sounds great (leaves May 31st) but the Carnival legend is significantly cheaper (leaves June 21st). I've cruised Royal C. and Carnival (many times on Carnival) all in the Caribbean. So between the Eurodam and legend which is better? Thanks!!

[Seago2]

Only you can make the financial decision- but I would rather cruise HAL- Carnival would be a deal breaker for me at this point.

[3rdGenCunarder]

The Baltic is a fascinating area to visit. Have you taken a close look at the itineraries to see if there's something about one of them that stands out?

 

I suspect you'll hear "go with HAL" on this board and "go with Carnival" if you've asked the question there.

 

I'd chose HAL over Carnival because I like their quieter atmosphere. But if you're used to the livelier nature of a Carnival Caribbean cruise, you might not like the low-key sea days and evenings on HAL.

[Roz]

On a Baltic cruise, it's all about the ports, and less about the ship. I'm guessing Legend is quite a bit less. It's all a matter of budget and preference. I've cruised HAL quite a bit, but have also done 4 cruises on Carnival and am getting ready to book a 5th.

 

Roz

[DnA151826]

There isn't too much of a difference between itineraries. Carnival is 12 day (with additional ports of 2 sea days, Belgium and no sweden) Holland is a 10 day. We wouldn't mind low key (we are bringing our 1 year old). I'm defiantly leaning towards Holland (since we've never cruised it before, nice change of pace).

[sassyredhat]

Doesn't the 3rd CCL disabled ship give you any sort of anxiety?

HAL is my line of choice, but as you can see below, we've sailed CCL too.

I agree with the others. If it's a port intensive cruise, maybe the ship itself isn't so important.

For me, the ship is important. I'm a bit wary of CCL right now.

Pat

[DnA151826]

My husband is concerned that Holland is very formal, is that true? I assume its nicer than Carnival but how formal is it (ie dinner and what not)?

[grammie2maddie]

We are wanting to take a cruise around the Baltics. The Holland cruise Eurodam sounds great (leaves May 31st) but the Carnival legend is significantly cheaper (leaves June 21st). I've cruised Royal C. and Carnival (many times on Carnival) all in the Caribbean. So between the Eurodam and legend which is better? Thanks!!

 

 

I'm sorry, my very first thought was....you're kidding, right?

[Roz]

There will be 2-3 formal nights. The rest will be smart casual. If you don't want to dress for the dining room, there are other eating venues. You don't need to wear high heels or a tiara at the pool or in the casino.

 

Roz

[Gsel]

My Dad was "famous" for saying "you get what you pay for". In this case I think he might be right!

[Himself]

I would highly recommend the EURODAM. DAM ships are better than noisy fun ships.

[Roz]

Longer, more expensive Carnival cruises aren't anything like 3-4 day Caribbean cruises.

 

Roz

[nana51]

If you are younger and I assume you are with a one year old, Carnival might suit you better. Since it is your first cruise you will love it. Later, when you have cruised a bit more, or want to go sans enfantI think HAL would be your best bet. There will be more children on Carnival and you may feel more comfortable. I would take my grand kids with me on HAL now, but they are 9 and 12.

[496and706]

On my last cruise (HAL) there was a couple with a very young child. (Young enough to need a bottle and a stroller.) They didn't seem to mind and I'm certain their child got a lot of attention.

 

HAL isn't that formal. Cunard seems to be a more formal looking ship to me. We got another Cunard flyer today.

[KirkNC]

To me, the two lines are very different and they usually attract different types of passengers. That may be equalized a little given the itineraries but only you can answer which line better serves what you want from a cruise. For me it would be easy.

[DnA151826]

Thank you for the positive feed back (from most of you). I think we are going Holland. I've done many cruises and we think it would be nice to try something new. We are not party people so Holland will probably be better for us. Royal C was nice but we are looking forward to something different. Thanks again everyone!! :)

[Typhoon1]

Thank you for the positive feed back (from most of you). I think we are going Holland. I've done many cruises and we think it would be nice to try something new. We are not party people so Holland will probably be better for us. Royal C was nice but we are looking forward to something different. Thanks again everyone!! :)

 

You will enjoy the Eurodam. It's one of the finest in the HAL fleet.

[HamOp]

I would highly recommend the EURODAM. DAM ships are better than noisy fun ships.

 

That is of course, a subjective opinion. (With which I agree)

 

Some people may well like the atmosphere of the "Fun Ships". One size does not fit all.

[Riversedge]

You will have a great time on either ship. We cruised The Carnival Legend last month and actually enjoyed it more than HAL ( we are booked on HAL for our next cruise). People didn't dress up for dinner as much on Carnival which was a little disappointing to us because we actually like to dress up. We thought the entertainment was much better as was the dining room service. We have been on 3 Carnival cruises and have yet to experience the "fun ship" party atmosphere that most people seem to associate when they hear the name 'Carnival'. On our cruise the average age was about 50 and we didn't hear any loud partying. Have fun. It sounds like a great itinerary.

[VallyD]

This is just MY opinion... for the record.

 

Having ONE cruise with Carnival in 2007 almost put me off cruising all together.

 

Sailing on the Eurodam 3/30, and totally confidant in this decision (Honeymoon).

 

I'd take a cruise on ANY other line than carnival and I said this prior to the recent 'technical' difficulties....:cool:

[epixx]

We have sailed twice on HAL in Alaska and are returning on HAL to Europe this summer. We also sailed the Carnival Splendor Baltics cruise in 2008 with our kids. The itinerary was identical to the current Legend cruise. I wouldn't think twice and would book the Legend in a minute over HAL. The Carnival ship had lots of families and kids but was definitely not a party atmosphere. It was much different from Carnival in the Caribbean. The entertainment was far superior to HAL's, which was basically nonexistant for us. Actually, the Carnival Baltics cruise was our favorite of all the cruises we have taken. I wish Carnival had an itinerary similar to the one we're taking on HAL this summer.

[Roz]

I did a 12-day Hawaiian cruise on the Carnival Spirit for far less money than I would have spent on HAL, and basically got the same cruise. Due to the length and cost of the cruise, it attracted mostly passengers in the 40-60 age range. Totally different passenger mix and cruise experience than on the Elation that was docked next to us in San Diego. It was a 4 or 5 day Mexican cruise, with a lot of 20 somethings (nothing wrong with that, I was 25 once myself).

 

Roz

[brazilgirl]

I haven't sailed HAL yet ( will in July) , but have sailed Celebrity , RCI and Carnival.

 

Our Baltics cruise was on Celebrity and we loved it.

 

We sailed Carnival once ( the Dream) due to agreat group deal. I was apprehensive , as I am not a very " fun " person , lol.

 

Carnival had several good things. The staterooms were very nice , the food was quite good and there were many activities.

 

The bad: the decor really put me off ( and the Dream is apparently more subdued). The service was just okay. The passengers were more rowdy.

 

I would choose the Eurodam ( the ship I will be sailing in July) , but if money were a big issue , I would go on Carnival again.

 

Have you looked at Celebrity? I have gotten good deals...

[sansterre]

I am not sure if all Carnival libraries are like the one we found on the Carnival. It was a small room in a hard-to-find alcove on an upper level. Being a lover of the "library" room/lounge on HAL, I was pleased until I realized that the books and bookshelves were actually painted on the wall! There were no books as I recall, only a few newspapers and computers.....very disappointing. However, I realize, this may not make a difference to some cruisers.

[Roz]

Sansterre (without land; I get it!),

 

HAL and Carnival don't even begin to compare, as you've correctly observed. HAL definitely gets the bonus points in this area.

 

Roz