Families First time Cruising .. Confused which Cruise to pick. Please Help

[Xris]

Hello,

Our family has never cruised, 2 adults, 2 kids, 12 and 8!

We are 40 minutes from Galveston Texas which Carnival is sailing Triumph or Royal Caribbean is sailing Navigator of the Seas, both great prices, one is 5 nights the other is 7.. We also have option to drive to New Orleans and cruise out of Carnival Elation. OR we have considered going to Port Carnival for a 4 night cruise Royal Caribbean Enchantment is running a awesome deal, but ship looks older and our kids want slides. Please help! We do not want to spend over 3K. for the cruise alone! I know alcohol is not included or coke. My worry is the the ship being too old, and the kids not having enough to do... any advice. ??? I hear a lot of horror stories about Carnival but their prices are so great right now.. thanks so much

[taglovestocruise]

Hello,

Our family has never cruised, 2 adults, 2 kids, 12 and 8!

We are 40 minutes from Galveston Texas which Carnival is sailing Triumph or Royal Caribbean is sailing Navigator of the Seas, both great prices, one is 5 nights the other is 7.. We also have option to drive to New Orleans and cruise out of Carnival Elation. OR we have considered going to Port Carnival for a 4 night cruise Royal Caribbean Enchantment is running a awesome deal, but ship looks older and our kids want slides. Please help! We do not want to spend over 3K. for the cruise alone! I know alcohol is not included or coke. My worry is the the ship being too old, and the kids not having enough to do... any advice. ??? I hear a lot of horror stories about Carnival but their prices are so great right now.. thanks so much

 

My vote would be for Navigator. Kids and adults would have plenty to do. Enchantment and Elation are much smaller ships and would feel crowded in peak travel times. Go to Youtube and look at videos of all 4 ships and pick the one that feels right. happy cruising

[A2Mich]

Have you read any of the reviews for the ships you're considering?

 

The Elation is also an older ship, built in the 90's as part of Carnival's Fantasy class ships. I've cruised on Carnival several times and never had a bad cruise, though that was several years ago, and have read that things have changed over the years. The Navigator OTS will have the Flowrider, ice skating rink, rock climbing wall, H2O zone, etc that the kids may really enjoy. From my understanding, Carnival's cabins tend to be a bit larger on average, which may be important to you if you're all in one cabin together. Keep in mind too, that cruise ship cabins are smaller than most hotel rooms, so a comfy family of four in a hotel room will be a REALLY cozy family in a cruise ship cabin.

 

I haven't sailed on Royal Caribbean yet, our first RCI cruise is booked for April 2015, so I can't really give you a line to line or ship to ship comparison. I do know that Carnival's ships, if full, tend to feel crowded to me. Also, the Carnival Triumph has had it's fair share of "misfortunes" over the years. That MAY be due to lack of maintenance, as I have been told by my TA that Carnival had severely cut back on its maintenance and upgrading over the years. However true that is, I'm not certain. I've heard that RCI's newer ships seem to have a wow factor that is not present on the Carnival ships. I was never a fan of Carnival's Fantasy class ships, as they have a strange layout, and the decor was, well, overwhelming. The service was always good, and the food was okay to really good at times. The Fantasy was a little ragged when I was on her (1998) but has been refurbished since. The Imagination was running 3/4 day cruises and was in fair shape, and some spots very run down at the time (she has also been refurbished). The Carnival Legend was much nicer and more elegant than the Fantasy class, but had a very dark decor, so not as bright, but still a bit strange. It also had the unusual layout of having to go up a deck because of the galley location, and some hallways seemed to simply end unexpectedly.

 

We've booked Freedom of the Seas for next year, and from what I have seen, as far as photos and YouTube videos, that this class of ship does have a certain WOW factor to it, and somewhat elegant, whereas the Carnival 90's era ships bordered on, or were, downright tacky at times.

 

As to the changes and cutbacks on both cruise lines, I cannot attest to them personally, so I can't be much help to you on that.

 

The most important thing is to go in with a good attitude and to have REASONABLE expectations. Don't go in expecting five star dining and concierge service (unless you book a suite). Your cabin won't be the Hilton, unless you book a suite, of course. The swimming pools are generally very small, food is generally decent banquet-quality (though this is subjective). Typical cabins will be smaller than a typical hotel room - not super fancy, but clean and comfortable, with the basics.

 

Another thing to consider too, if you haven't already researched this, is soda cards for the kids, if they drink 3 or more 12 oz cans of soda per day. A can of soda/pop costs anywhere from $2.50 up to about $3.00. The cost of the soda cards is usually about $6 or so per day per child, so the 2.5-3 can is about the break even point. Alcohol (if you do indeed drink) can be quite pricy as well. Spa treatments will cost more than at home. Both cruise lines offer alternative/extra cost dining options, though I think RCI offers more than Carnival does, but I've always been satisfied with the main dining room, and there is always the buffet option for all meals. Carnival still offers complimentary 24/7 room service, and RCI charges a few dollars late night. I don't generally order room service very often, so can't give any further info there.

 

Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. I will answer what I can, and I'm sure others will join in as well.

[Algebralovr]

I would go with Navigator.

 

I absolutely would NOT do Carnival Elation. Mine at 14 and 16 were bored out of their skulls on Elation and told me at that time they never wanted to take a cruise vacation again.

 

Read a bunch of reviews and see what they say before you book.

[cb at sea]

There are no big slides on RCI ships....if there are any, they are for toddlers....Just so you know.

 

Having never cruised, ANY ship will be an awesome experience! Really! A cruise is a moving resort (albeit, with smaller rooms than hotels!), with decent food (certainly not 4-5 star, by any means), and with lots of activities and places to be and things to do.

 

Since this is your 1st cruise, and you have a budget...stick to it, and pick the most economical way to have a family vacation.

[Lerin]

I would pick whichever cruise is 7 nights long.

Not only is it more time to vacation, but you're less likely to run into party types that you find on 4 day cruises.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I'd do the Navigator, especially if it is for 7 nights. We have sailed on her with 7 kids, ages 5-11 and they had a blast. There aren't any slides, unless they have been added at refurb, but there is a lot to do. Our kids loved the BB court, climbing wall, ice skating, etc. They'd gladly go on her again.

 

Also, RCI is running a 3-6 passenger sail free (except for taxes and fees) right now. It doesn't apply to every sailing or cabin, but were able to get two family OV's on the Liberty yesterday that did apply.

 

Usually we use travel agents, but they couldn't find cabins we needed under the sail free promo. I finally called RCI and within minutes they managed to find cabins under this promo--and over Thanksgiving yet--at a great price.