Please Calm Down my OCD!

[CanadaRob]

I have cruise Freedom twice and would book her again in a Heartbeat. And although I haven't cruised the Valor, I have cruised on Carnival a few times and actually visited the ports you mentioned (Aruba, Bonaire and Grand Turks). Grand Turks is amazing and one of my all time favorite islands, but the other two islands I'm not a fan of. Aruba is more of a place to visit if staying in a resort, not a cruise port. It docks in a very industrial area, and although there is lots of shopping nearby, it just isn't a great cruise port IMHO. Bonaire is completely not ready for cruise traffic. We were literally only off the boat about an hour tops. They are known for snorkel and scuba diving, but if you aren't doing that, there isn't much to do in that small little port.

 

As for the overall experience, I think RCCL will give you more of a WOW experience than Carnival will, and the ship is just full of things to do.

 

Grand Turk is consistently rated as a top 5?island by everybody(including trip advisor)

Really like Aruba and Bonaire for waterstuff if snorkelling/watersports not your thing may not be the best stops for you.

Carnival does some things very well(Guys Burgers are one of those things)

Other things Royal does well(Flowrider, Ice rink)

 

No such thing as a bad cruise if you set your OCD aside :)

[hansolosmom]

As other's have said I wouldn't do Celebrity in the inside. I think Summit is nice but I wouldn't choose that for my family. If it was me & dh I would take that one.

 

I think my sons were 10 & 12 when we did Freedom and they loved it. There's a good number of things to do - with the rock wall, ice skating, flow rider etc. One of my son's is more extroverted and participated in a lot of the activities while my introverted son went to the kid's club a few times, but liked hanging out at the "water park". The itinerary is fairly good on that one.

 

I can't comment on Carnival since we've never done them. However I really like that itinerary. If I were picking on ports alone, I would choose this one.

 

I agree with whoever said to do your research and then ignore CC for awhile because it will make you second guess everything!

[Miss America]

Thank you for the many kind and encouraging responses, as well as the words of wisdom! I do feel better! 😊

[KPfromCT]

You chose wisely.

 

The Celebrity Summit would be the ni<script id="gpt-impl-0.21464326535320144" src="http://partner.googleadservices.com/gpt/pubads_impl_90.js"></script>cest in terms of your "champagne" tastes, but an inside cabin would be miserable, especially for 4 people.

 

Don't do Carnival...instead of champagne taste on a beer budget, Carnival is more like...beer taste on a generic soda budget... :eek:

 

Not true.:rolleyes:

First of all, I don't show that you've EVER cruised on Carnival.

You'd be surprised. They are more ALIKE than they are different.

We just cruised on Oasis last week, and while the ship was beautiful and we had a great time, at the end of the week we all agreed that we preferred Carnival on many levels.:D:D

[bobmacliberty]

Thank you. Like I said, the OCD gets out of control sometimes. :o

 

I don't know why people call it OCD. It should be called CDO, in alphabetical order. :D

[Miss America]

I don't know why people call it OCD. It should be called CDO, in alphabetical order. :D

 

Funny!!

[micmacmissy]

Not true.:rolleyes:

First of all, I don't show that you've EVER cruised on Carnival.

You'd be surprised. They are more ALIKE than they are different.

We just cruised on Oasis last week, and while the ship was beautiful and we had a great time, at the end of the week we all agreed that we preferred Carnival on many levels.:D:D

 

Nope, never been on Carnival. But I don't need to get on the ship to look at the "Vegas-style" interiors, and I don't need to get on the ship to read the dailies which are packed with belly-flop contests and that sort of thing. "Work Your Body Art" poolside with Carnival's tattoo artist? Thanks, I'll pass... ;)

 

She said she had "champagne" tastes which I more associate with Celebrity (modern luxury) first, then RCCL. Carnival doesn't pretend to be that- they're all about the "fun ships", etc.

[Onboard is always better]

Too many abbreviations, especially when they have nothing directly to do with cruising..

 

Had to google OCD.

 

I had to google it three strait times to make sure I got it right.:D Wait...let me google it again.

[momof1lilguy]

Why do people advise other not to sail on Carnival.

 

If they never been on Carnival themselves?

 

They have no idea.....

 

Completely agree with you on that. In fact, after cruising different lines, I prefer carnival to royal. I'd sail royal again, only if the itinerary was spectacular.

[MommaMickey]

We recently booked Freedom just because we wanted to take our grand kids. Very family friendly! Remember to pack long pants and socks so your kids can ice skate. You made a great choice. Enjoy and make lot s of memories