Carnival vs other cruise lines

[Tatka]

We are not loyal to any lines as my signature states, but we do love some lines better than others and will pick a cruise based not only on cost, but on what best line is available from a certain port if difference is not huge.

[ryano]

I am loyal only to my wallet and when we are booking a cruise it's the primary consideration. If another cruise line that we haven't tried is close in price to the lowest one then we would probably give them a try. I was just looking at booking an Alaska cruise the other day and surprisingly for the time frame I was looking at Princess came in lowest (CCL at that time is only offering 14 day itins to Alaska out of Long Beach), Celebrity was second lowest, followed by NCL and RCI, which was most expensive (does anyone really think that RCI is worth $1300 more than Princess?). Should Carnival ever stop meeting our needs then we would likely stop cruising rather than spend substantially more with any other line.

 

Well said and I agree.

[Tapi]

Tapi, what a terrific post.

Agree with you completely.

Are you going to try Celebrity and NCL soon?

I want to see how you view them. :)

 

I almost wanted to try Carnival again just to re-evaluate my feelings toward this line.

 

 

 

Thanks! Next up is Disney in November. I'm not super thrilled about the price tag, but with kids aged 7 and 5, I believe that the time to give Disney a try is now.

 

After that, I would really like to try NCL and Celebrity. I've priced out the Celebrity Edge a few times but can't get myself to put a deposit down yet since it's so far out. I've also been looking at the Norwegian Escape when it moves to NYC. I think that it would also be neat to try a Haven stateroom.

 

And yes, I will most likely write photo reviews on all of them [emoji6].

 

 

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[calbred01]

My DW and I have cruised with Carnival 5 times and have not cruised any other lines.

 

I don't particularly like change--I like to stay with things I'm familiar with. So I'm wondering how other cruise lines compare, especially thinking of (1) dress codes (for dinner as well as just roaming about the ship), (2) entertainment (including which lines don't do karaoke) (3) anything else that might be starkly different on other cruise lines.

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

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Our first two cruises were on RC, had a blast, met some great people, food was good, service was great and we saw Jeff Dunham in the comedy show. The shows were diverse and very entertaining but that was several years ago (I would go on them again if itinerary and price were right).

 

We did a Pacific Coastal on Celebrity and had a good time and enjoyed ourselves BUT, hubby, myself and the friends we cruised with are all in our 50's (from early to mid) and it seemed a bit more demure of a cruise (is that word still even used? Lol, but that is the first word I think of). The food really was very good!

 

We have been on 5 Carnival cruises and are planning our 6th (a 14 day Hawaii). We always have fun, food seems pretty consistent (I like good food and Carnival is good except the steak house is great!), service is always A+ and comedy club is always fun! That being said, the stage shows are pretty repetitive, seems you see the same shows over & over no matter when you go or what ship (that would be my only complaint!).

 

All that being said: I really have never had a bad cruise on any of the cruise lines we have been on and my vacation is what I make of it (I am usually pretty easy going and flexible!) We just prefer Carnival because of price, itinerary and the atmosphere on the ships are just fun (to me and my hubby and friends!). Your experience may be different

[FLSteve11]

Every bar I went in on Magic free poured my drinks. Of course that may have had to do with very generous tipping but even that didnt work on Royal. That was just one small reason of many of why I was disgruntled with Royal though. This past cruise on Freedom of the Seas was just over the top with price hikes on everything, nickle and diming, mediocre service and just an overall feeling of paying more but getting less. All my RC cruises before that were top notch and pretty much perfect.

 

Anthem of the Seas is an awesome ship from what Ive seen and heard. I love the Quantum class

 

Maybe that was something with the Freedom then, with either the Captain or Hotel Director being strict with things. I haven't had them doing measured drinks on my cruises. They pull out the bottle, pour some in, and go to the next thing. I've also not had weak drinks (outside of past guest party drinks, where they generally are on all ships). I have found different ships handle things in different ways, some better then others. Food is a prime example. I've had the same menu item on different ships, and sometimes it's great and sometimes it's not. It depends so much on the chef, more then the cruise line.

[FLSteve11]

Thanks! Next up is Disney in November. I'm not super thrilled about the price tag, but with kids aged 7 and 5, I believe that the time to give Disney a try is now.

 

After that, I would really like to try NCL and Celebrity. I've priced out the Celebrity Edge a few times but can't get myself to put a deposit down yet since it's so far out. I've also been looking at the Norwegian Escape when it moves to NYC. I think that it would also be neat to try a Haven stateroom.

 

And yes, I will most likely write photo reviews on all of them [emoji6].

 

 

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We did the Disney Dream (sister ship to the Fantasy) with my daughter when she was 10, and she loved it! I would say it was also one of my favorite ships. Yes, the price is quite a bit more. But there are a lot of touches and things you get on it. It also has a very large adult only area (more then most ships I've been on). Hopefully they still have crap legs and shrimp in the buffet at lunch yet.

 

If you want a cheaper one for Celebrity then the Edge, go with a Solstice class ship. They're very well laid out. For NCL, go with a mega-ship, especially with kids. I really liked Escape so definitely would recommend trying that one out.

 

I'm with you, and many others, you really experience so much more when you try out different lines. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Eventually you find what it is you like and will have favorites, but I never want to get stuck on one line all the time myself. (I guess I like variety)

[ryano]

Maybe that was something with the Freedom then, with either the Captain or Hotel Director being strict with things. I haven't had them doing measured drinks on my cruises. They pull out the bottle, pour some in, and go to the next thing. I've also not had weak drinks (outside of past guest party drinks, where they generally are on all ships). I have found different ships handle things in different ways, some better then others. Food is a prime example. I've had the same menu item on different ships, and sometimes it's great and sometimes it's not. It depends so much on the chef, more then the cruise line.

 

Could have been. FWIW, it WAS a different Captain AND Hotel Director than our first cruise on her, both of which I was less than impressed with. Captain Tor commanded Freedom the first time we were on her and Michael Rasmussen was the HD. It was just about the perfect cruise. The crew seemed MUCH happier too.

[NightOne]

I wanted to add:

 

Entertainment is the exact same as Food in that is it totally subjective.

 

I seen a post the other day where they mentioned how fantastic it was that a certain cruise line had a full 90 minute broadway type musical and that is what made it superior to the other cruise line's entertainment. Personally, I do not like musicals or song and dance shows. Also, 90 minutes is way too long for me. I prefer 55 minutes max and more prefer 40-45 minutes for a show. I would much rather see magic, comedy, juggling, etc. over any dance numbers or musicals.

 

My point being: what may be good to me is the opposite of what is good to someone else.

 

Full circle: Entertainment is totally subjective

[LindaKE]

As others have said, we have not found a lot of difference in Carnival, Princess, NCL and HAL. There have been better points on some cruises than others and worse. But I think the difference has been the individual itinerary / ship. We were hesitant before our first NCL cruise, but would now probably choose NCL Spirit as our favorite overall over our 15 years of cruising. However, we choose based on itinerary, home port, and price and not on cruise line. OP, don't be afraid to try other lines.

[Tatka]

Thanks! Next up is Disney in November. I'm not super thrilled about the price tag, but with kids aged 7 and 5, I believe that the time to give Disney a try is now.

 

After that, I would really like to try NCL and Celebrity. I've priced out the Celebrity Edge a few times but can't get myself to put a deposit down yet since it's so far out. I've also been looking at the Norwegian Escape when it moves to NYC. I think that it would also be neat to try a Haven stateroom.

 

And yes, I will most likely write photo reviews on all of them [emoji6].

 

 

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Sounds like a great plan! Enjoy.

 

We started cruising with almost 12 yo, so we didn't try Disney, but tried all massmarket except for Costa, P&O, Aida, TUI and some smaller lines.

 

Will try Cunard in three weeks. :)

 

We are not planning on choosing and staying with one line. Perks to us are less important than variety, but we are slowly reaching next levels. ;) Our favourites overall are Princess and Celebrity, but we enjoyed most of other lines too.

Edited June 13, 2017 by Tatka

[CBuick]

So you are freely admitting that Royal intentionally gouges its guests because "hey we know they will pay it!" Got it :)

 

"

 

I agree on the pricing. Aside from a pretty disappointing trip on the Liberty of the Seas a few years back (bad food, hassled and moody crew. I could write a book), Pricing has also kept me from giving RCL another try. It isn't only the cabin prices.

 

Although I am one of those people that said I would never pay for food on a cruise ship, Carnival's prices on surcharge food are downright reasonable. Bonsai and JiJi Asian Kitchen are really well priced compared to Itzumi. ($6 for won ton soup on RCL, $4 for the awesome Wagyu Kakuni on CCL) Even the relatively inexpensive character breakfast is twice as much on RCL. If you want Lobster at Chops its another $21 on top of the $4 extra dollars you paid over Carnival's Steakhouse. I also noticed how RCL sells drink packages on the website they offer the cheaper soda package, when you get on the ship they don't advertise it, and only try to sell you the pricier ones.

 

Yes the Oasis ship classes look incredible and Labadee sounds like alot of fun. I don't feel like paying a premium for a cabin, and then a higher premium if I want anything extra.

[Tatka]

We rarely if ever go to any additional restaurants which require pay, so we value lines food based on MDR and buffet.

 

We had good and weaker cruises on RCCL in terms of food. Same with Carnival.

 

I cannot say that our Carnival's cruises were much cheaper than Royal's.

 

MSC usually cheaper than both.

[nhsails]

Don't consider RCCL premium. A step up from CarnivaL, NCL, Costa, but not even level of Viking, Celebrity, HAL. Don't most consider premium to be more along Azamara, Oceania, etc?

[Tatka]

Celebrity, HAL, Princess are premium massmarket. Azamara, Oceania are premium.

Royal, NCL, MSC, Costa, Carnival are standard massmarket

[stevec999]

The lines we have sailed in order of preference .

 

1. Oceania

2. Celebrity

3. Carnival

4. HAL

 

Oceania is about the food. None of the other lines come even close. It does come at a cost. Expect to spend at least 2x. Quiet, less entertainment than others. Very well traveled guests. Most evenings spent in conversation with other passengers.

 

Celebrity- Food a step above Carnival and HAL. Quieter than Carnival but not as quiet as HAL. Entertainment similar . Probably be our fall back when we don't want to spend the price for O.

 

HAL- food similar to Carnival. Very nice room service menu, you can order a hot breakfast even on Debarkation day. Best salad bar in the buffet. To quiet, crowd a lot older than other lines. Lots of interesting itineraries so I am guessing we will sail them again.

[candigirl41]

I have been on 15 Carnival, 3 RCL, 5 Princess and 1 NCL. The buffet on NCL was the best. I am not a buffet person and I enjoyed it. Main Dining room food was pretty much the same across the board. I like the Piano bar on Carnival, as it is a dedicated spot. I did enjoy the piano players on Princess and NCL. RCL was a total dud. We usually travel in inside rooms and they are small, but I am not in them much. Entertainment in the main lounge on NCL and Princess were good. RCL and Carnival not as much to my liking. However, I haven't been on either of those lines for many years, so that might have changed. I think if you are happy on Carnival stick to it, if you want to branch out try another line and see what you think. Have a great time whatever you choose.

 

Candi