How will Carnival Compare- Loved Celebrity and Royal

[chessbriar]

All I can say is, I did a 3 night on a Carnival ship once. Never again. Service and quality of food, care for the ship, and entertainment was not up to what I have come to expect on X and RCCL.

 

But that's just me. I have friends who are die hards for Carnival

[Travel luv]

All I can say is, I did a 3 night on a Carnival ship once. Never again. Service and quality of food, care for the ship, and entertainment was not up to what I have come to expect on X and RCCL.

 

But that's just me. I have friends who are die hards for Carnival

 

Yes, I would rather not be saying this, so I think I have been sold on the idea to stay with my already booked Celebrity 4 day cruise. I guess I was having a quick moment of weakness because I have heard negative reviews before. I also have the mentality at times that vacation is what you make of it. Now, with that being said, I know that there are certain things that are really important to me when I travel. It sounds like I might be really disappointed in a shorter Carnival experience, although a 7 day wouldn't be as bad.

[TeaBag]

Our SIL did a 4 day Carnival cruise years ago. No way, no how can you talk him into another cruise on any line but we will keep trying as our daughter sailed with us on the Zenith when she was a teenager and loved it.

[varoo]

We have enjoyed a couple of longer Carnival cruises, avoiding school holidays so the ship was not crowded and there were relatively few children on board.

 

Ships are always more crowded during school breaks when entire families are jammed into cabins that would otherwise have only two people.

 

The food was fine. We could always find something we liked to eat.

If you get something you don't like, just try something else.

 

We would not book one of the short Carnival cruises though.

Those are the ones that have the party boat reputation and we are not party boat types.

 

[Germancruiser]

As Carnvial is ( at least I suppose so) a very succesfull line- I am sure they do a lot of things just right and to the satisfaction of a whole lot of passengers. It is really a wonderful thing to be able to choose from so many options. For each his own cruise style, line and ship! My last two X crusies had a tendency of becomming to much " party " means loud music all over the ship. Many complaint. Next I try (again) is QM 2 - also Carnival owned. Can´t wait to board though!

[Keith1010]

You will likely find Carnival to be a lot different than Celebrity.

 

Keith

[miched]

You will likely find Carnival to be a lot different than Celebrity.

 

Keith

 

But also similar.

 

 

.🎃

[stratixman]

[quote name=

I booked a short 4 day cruise on Celebrity Constellation for Feb 2014 that included a beverage package, however I am realizing that we could travel with Carnival (Victory) for about $300 cheaper.[/quote]

 

Was the Carnival price inclusive of a beverage package equivalent to Celebrity's? If not then you are for sure comparing apples and oranges and I would opt for Celebrity. If it includes the beverage package for the cheaper price then the comparison becomes more difficult.

 

Carnival and Celebrity do not compete for the same cruiser demographic. The general consensus seems to be that Celebrity offers a more refined, less hectic cruise experience with a more upscale approach to food and service. And I think the demographic comparison widens even more on the shorter cruises. But for $400 lower does Carnival have to match Celebrity quality and should one book Carnival expecting it to? Absolutely not. Plenty of people are/will be quite happy with the Carnival product and depending on your tastes and budgetary considerations Carnival could represent an excellent dollar value. For us, we would still opt for the more expensive Celebrity cruise. Given our tastes and budgetary considerations we think Celebrity represents the best bang for our buck. We have never had a less than 100% satisfactory experience with Celebrity. So we don't look to fix something that isn't broke. The cases where we would not cruise Celebrity would be when preferred destinations or vacation dates don't match up to Celebrity itineraries. Then we would still consider several other lines first before Carnival.

[chicagopaul]

I took my first 7-night Carnival Cruise in September aboard the Liberty to the Eastern Caribbean (San Juan/St. Thomas/Grand Turk) . I had previously sailed on the Carnival Sensation but wasn't expecting much because it was a 3-night to the Bahamas. I have also sailed Princess in the past and the old X-Mercury.

 

Carnival just attracts a different clientele. You get what you pay for. The ship itself was in great shape. Great service. The food? Meh. :cool: Just average. Upon embarkation, we headed to the Lido deck for lunch. The Guy Fieri burgers were great but, alas, when I unfolded the cloth napkin for my utensils, THANK GOODNESS I thought to inspect the fork before I dared to place it in my mouth. On the back, was dried/caked-on spinach and cheese, which about turned my stomach and really put a damper on the cruise. Not a good first impression. We called the dining manager over and showed him (without making a fuss) and he basically shrugged his shoulders and thanked us for pointing it out to him. WOW.

 

Everyone in the dining areas at every meal acted as if they had never seen a meal before. Judging from the girth of some, this was obviously not true. It was rather disgusting.

 

We had assigned seating in the MDR which we liked. The staff was very attentive. We did not appreciate, however, that most guests disregarded the attire rules and came dressed in shorts and flip-flops to dinner. Very disappointed that the rules are not inforced. Also because of the logistics of the ship, the MDR is open on both ends which allows unsupervised "pass through" during dinner. Also not appreciated were teenagers literally running through the dining room in their bare feet to get from one area of the ship to another. Again, a "different" kind of clientele. :mad:

 

Looking forward to sailing the Reflection with more refined guests.

 

LOL! I have to fully agree with you. Carnival was the first line I was ever on. I've cruised both 7 day and 3 and 4 day cruises with them on their older ships. The staff and service was great. The ship was definitely designed like a ship, can't even compare it with celebrity S class ships. The biggest complaint I had with Carnival was not their staff or service, or even their food (though the food I found to be just OK). Instead, it was the clientele and I second what was said above. When going for lunch it seemed like most people had never eaten in public before. This was mainly apparent on the 3 and 4 day cruises. Because Carnival has some of the cheapest cruises it tends to attract the lowest common denominator.

 

Once I started sailing on Celebrity I fell in love with the line and their S class ships. The service, the food, the drinks, and the quality of the clientele are top notch. Once I find something great that works I become stubborn and refuse to switch. The funny thing is I'm the age that Carnival markets to (26 and my partner is 31) but you'll never get us back on a Carnival ship.

 

Lastly, I find the drink package on Celebrity ships very important. My bar tab for a 7nt cruise on Carnival was, .....well much more than the cruise itself!

[miched]

You know you are in trouble is when you see passengers getting out the vehicles and handing the porters shopping bags, card board boxes, garbage bags, milk creates, and etc instead of luggage.

 

We left out of Tampa on a 7 day W Caribbean cruise on Carnival. I think we were the only passengers that weren't involved in a family reunion.,

 

People were yelling at all hours of the day and night from one deck to the other, balcony to balcony.

 

The dining room was like being in HS Gym for a basketball game, each table was trying to out shout the other.

 

The waiter's trays would get hijacked as they carried food to their area. People would see something they wanted and grabbed it.

 

The only thing missing was a food fight.

 

Even with all of that is was a interesting, fun and amusing cruise but once was enough. We stay away from cruises leaving out of Tampa that are very cheap. I think we paid $599 for a balcony and we took it because it was cheap and we felt it was worth extending our time in FL as we were going on other cruises out of Ft Lauderdale or Miami.

 

 

 

.��

[gunghotogo]

The last person I talked with that sailed on CCL said it was terrible. The food was not up to any standard and all most people did was party and drink, and then the morning after. Others I know do a CCL trip every year and love it but, they love to party. For me, you would have to be kidding even for four days. Of course I am a true fan of X!!

[SunAura]

My DH and I have cruised Princess, HAL and our favorite Celebrity. We have avoided Carnival due to it's reputation of being the 'party boats' and catering to a younger demographic.

 

We've now booked a 7-day cruise on Carnival for our family cruise with our four boys (ages 18-30) who do enjoy a party or two! We purposely avoided our favorite for fear that they would get asked to leave at the first port, and at the very least would likely cause us untold embarassement! So we are on Carnival for 7 days, put the boys on a plane back home and hop on Celebrity for an additional 7 days (to rest up :D).

 

I am rather looking forward to the experience, to really see the difference for myself. Who knows? We may add Carnival to the mix!

[Banjo]

My last job assignment before retirement had me stationed on the Mississippi Coast. Countless times we cruised out of New Orleans and Mobile for 4 and 5 day cruises on Carnival. The kids were home at the time and they loved it and the prices were bargain basement. I found the cruises to be fun, decent service and the food to be good but not equal to Celebrity standards.

 

Now retired without kids the wife and I prefer a more upscale, subdued and seems less crowded environment that Celebrity provides.

[pinkrosesdeb]

I would think the value of the beverage package with Celebrity would pretty much make up the difference in price with Carnival, right? I would stick with Celebrity.

[Cruising89143]

My DH and I have cruised Princess, HAL and our favorite Celebrity. We have avoided Carnival due to it's reputation of being the 'party boats' and catering to a younger demographic.

 

We've now booked a 7-day cruise on Carnival for our family cruise with our four boys (ages 18-30) who do enjoy a party or two! We purposely avoided our favorite for fear that they would get asked to leave at the first port, and at the very least would likely cause us untold embarassement! So we are on Carnival for 7 days, put the boys on a plane back home and hop on Celebrity for an additional 7 days (to rest up :D).

 

I am rather looking forward to the experience, to really see the difference for myself. Who knows? We may add Carnival to the mix!

 

I'm far from being a Carnival fan and in fact really don't like anything owned by Carnival Corporation or Carnival in general. With that said Carnival at one time had a reputation as the "party" line but that was back in the 70's,80's and early 90's. They started to work on changing this in the mid 90's and have been pretty successful in doing so. Of course there are some of us that have been around for a long time and remember those days so it will take Carnival some additional time to get rid of that tag. I have been on some cruises with Carnival where the average age was well over 50. It's just like any other cruise line. Time of year and length of cruise will determine the passesngers on board. Also the price of the cruise determines the passenger mix. Those cheap cruises will bring some questionable characters on board. :) It's good that you're trying it. That's the only way that you will know if they're a good fit.

[Timmys_mom]

Carnival at one time had a reputation as the "party" line but that was back in the 70's,80's and early 90's. They started to work on changing this in the mid 90's and have been pretty successful in doing so.

I would concur. The time of the year and itinerary is going to dictate the mix of passengers on the ship. I took my young boys on a 5 day cruise out of Tampa on Carnival in October. The average passenger age was probably 45-50 and it was a quiet and pleasant cruise. We were well treated by our dining staff and room stewards.

 

If you do choose to sail with Carnival, I would suggest that you not get on the ship expecting to be disappointed. Every sailing of every ship on every line is going to be a different experience. Just enjoy yourself.

[Gig103]

My first cruise was on the Carnival Splendor and I had a very nice time. I preferred Carnival's MDR options to Blu,especially the dessert options. I liked the fact that there was live comedy almost every night on Carnival. Carnival generally has slightly larger cabins too.

 

The thing is though, service on Celebrity in my experience is such a huge step up which is why we are returning to X. My wife and I are in our 30s but like "modern luxury".

[attilamom1217]

We were on the Carnival Pride twice and on Celebrity twice (with our third Celebrity booked for Jan).

 

Comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges - they are both fruit, but that is where the similarity ends.

 

Carnival is not necessarily a party ship - at least not on a 7 day cruise. We are not party people. We enjoy the quiet sedate atmosphere of Celebrity. There were constant announcements and Carnival ships are decorated everywhere they can put a decoration of some kind! Definitely not a 'classy looking' ship.

 

However, we found the food in the MDR to range from 'you call that food?' to delicious depending on what we ordered. The biggest problem we found with Carnival in the MDR is that the food was not always served Hot! We stopped sending our food back for heating up and just ate it as it came out - warm.

 

Service on Carnival was great, our room was clean.

 

The comparison is mostly - Hilton (Celebrity) versus Holiday Inn (Carnival).

 

We would cruise on Carnival again for a quick, inexpensive getaway, but will most likely spend the extra money and go with Celebrity, RCI, Princess over Carnival.

 

Enjoy whichever one you choose.

[Tiggertastic]

hey it's only 4 nights - you could give it a try and prove lots of people right or wrong - not that I'm asking you to spend your money to give us an opinion. So the saving won't be $300 as you will have drinks to pay for but it's still a saving.

[mafig]

my last two cruises on Carnival were in December and May. Both were super crowded with kids. Both had noisy hall ways at all hours. And both had fights. First one was some guy trying to get into the woman across the hall's room (at 3 AM), pounding on the door and yelling obscenities, the other was just your run of the mill couple drunken fighting in the hall way. I gave them their chance but we won't go on Carnival again.

 

ps: The food was pretty good, and they did use dots in the Sanctuary and would remove items left on chairs after a certain time.

[terigo]

I've been reading with great interest the comments made in this thread about the clientele on Carnival. We have sailed many times on Carnival ships, and have never encountered any more loud drunks or nighttime revelers than we have on any other cruise line. The food is superior on Celebrity, and the cruisers are more likely to uphold the dress codes, but we have found the passengers to be fine and mixed age groups on both.

When the price is right, I never mind going on Carnival, but I will concede that short cruises are little more party oriented. Found that to be true on the other cruise lines as well.

[CruisingGatorGirl]

I've been reading with great interest the comments made in this thread about the clientele on Carnival. We have sailed many times on Carnival ships, and have never encountered any more loud drunks or nighttime revelers than we have on any other cruise line. The food is superior on Celebrity, and the cruisers are more likely to uphold the dress codes, but we have found the passengers to be fine and mixed age groups on both.

When the price is right, I never mind going on Carnival, but I will concede that short cruises are little more party oriented. Found that to be true on the other cruise lines as well.

 

I would agree this can happen on other lines too! I know first hand :rolleyes:

 

College spring break, RC Majesty of the Seas, 4 day Bahamas PARTY, PARTY, PARTY! 3 major FL colleges all had spring break that week. I felt VERY bad for any family or non-spring breakers! Just imagine the FSU/UF/UCF battles that went on by the pool! It was crazy, one giant party. Oh, and Senor Frogs, that's all I'm gonna say ;) It was almost like dorms, people had their cabin doors open playing music. It was a giant party- no exaggeration!

 

My bachelorette party, this year, Carnival Sensation, 3 nights, Bahamas. July- not as many college kids as spring break. People were still out to party- and there were a lot of family reunions looking for a good time too. We ran into at least a dozen other bachelor/bachelorette parties. And, we were part of the party! We were up until 4am! More tame than the RC college spring break trip, but still a good time party wise.

 

I really am not the party type, I promise! But, hey when in Rome? Or, er when on a 3 night cruise in college?

 

My cruise line of choice is Celebrity, but back in college I had no idea what X was and I am sure my friends would have been left in Nassau :eek: college kids :p Now my fiance and I cruise with X. He will not step foot on a Carnival ship.

[varoo]

You know you are in trouble is when you see passengers getting out the vehicles and handing the porters shopping bags, card board boxes, garbage bags, milk creates, and etc instead of luggage.

 

We left out of Tampa on a 7 day W Caribbean cruise on Carnival. I think we were the only passengers that weren't involved in a family reunion.,

 

People were yelling at all hours of the day and night from one deck to the other, balcony to balcony.

 

The dining room was like being in HS Gym for a basketball game, each table was trying to out shout the other.

 

The waiter's trays would get hijacked as they carried food to their area. People would see something they wanted and grabbed it.

 

The only thing missing was a food fight.............

The Carnival cruises that we took were longer repositioning cruises, and they were nothing at all like what you describe.

 

We regularly cruise on Celebrity, which we prefer, but would not hesitate to go on a longer Carnival cruise again if it goes where we want to go at the right time for the right price.

 

However we would not take a short 7 day round trip Caribbean cruise out of Florida on Carnival.

From what we have learned, those shorter round trip Carnival cruises just seem to attract a different clientele.

 

[jaybird from SC]

No desire to sail Carnival....The experience is quite different.

[travellover39]

If you are going on a cruise for food you better pick another cruise line. My husband and I cruised on Carnival Legend last year and our IT took us to the western caribbean. The ports were great, the cabin nice and the staff gave us good service. The wait staff in the dining room were helpful and pleasant but the food was not that good for dinner. Breakfast and lunch was decent but dinner not so good. We ate one night in the specialty restaurant and that was very good.

 

Our favorite cruiseline is Celebrity for food and service. We choose our cruise for the Itinerary and the rest is important but not as important as the ports for us.

 

Enjoy, go if it fits your budget but don't expect gourmet food. :D