Carnival? Which ship!

[4olivers]

My husband and I will be celebrating our 20 year anniversary in April and are looking to book our second cruise ever! (First was on Princess in Alaska) we will be traveling with our 16 and 13 yr old boys. We definitely want great snorkeling opportunities and are open to western, southern or eastern Caribbean.

Looking for suggestions! Help!

[winddawn]

Why not Carnival Dream out of New Orleans? Living in North Carolina, you likely could fly Southwest Airlines to NOLA. Since Southwest doesn't charge for checking bags, that will save you big money with a family of four. Dream visits Grand Cayman which has fabulous snorkeling at Stingray City. Stingray City is world famous for their snorkeling. Carnival Dream has family friendly staterooms.

 

Hope you have a great anniversary cruise.

 

 

https://www.carnival.com/staterooms.aspx

[mzloolue]

Where do you want to sail from?

 

And do you want inside or a balcony?

 

If I was sailing out of New Orleans in a balcony cabin, then I would want Dream.

However, if I was doing and inside I would want Triumph.

 

Triumph has better places to sit outside.

 

Fantasy out of Mobile has a better serenity area.

 

It depends on what you want.

 

As for snorkeling there is usually at least one port on a cruise that has good snorkeling.

[jasong38501]

I agree with the suggestions for the Dream out of New Orleans. It is usually by far the best value of the Dream class ships which will have plenty of things to keep your kids (and you) entertained!

[watermelonqueen99]

A 20th anniversary is a big deal, and if you wanna go big, sail out of Florida. MUCH better itineraries than the Gulf. (Cruised out of Florida once and the Gulf many times.) Our favorite cruise so far has been the Splendor out of Miami, visiting San Juan, Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and St. Thomas. Although the Splendor hasn't been our favorite ship, that itinerary is absolutely fantastic.

[maryred]

With the kiddos in tow I would opt for a Dream or Vista class ship just because of the added amenities on seadays, Cloud 9 Spa for the adults and larger sports area and teen club. Or look for a port intensive itinerary like the ones from San Juan, PR.

Since it's your 20th, you might want more privacy than the deluxe Oceanview cabins offer. At 13 & 16 the kids can be booked to a cabin upto 3 doors away by going through a Carnival PVP or knowledgeable TA (preferably one w/ CLIA certificate). That way you and your SO could have a balcony and the kids in an interior. Best of all as a parent you can request a key card for their room, but unless you OK it the kids could not get a key to your room.

 

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[BoDidly]

I would get on the biggest tub they had, more amenities ;)

[Hoosierpop]

I would go the Southern itinerary. I would look at timing and price for that itinerary and take whatever ship will get you Southern, at the time and price you want.

 

 

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[supertop]

I am more concerned about where the ship is going, not which ship it is.

[easyboy]

You can also make some choices on http://www.cruisetimetables.com

[SkyPiglet]

If you want excellent snorkeling, I would recommend the Western Caribbean Itinerary that includes Belize, Roatan, and Cozumel, since those are located on the Belize barrier reef, and are phenomenal, especially if you can get an excursion in Belize to one of the small islands. I remember heads of coral that were unlike anything I have seen before. I have snorkeled many places in the Caribbean, and it was the best in this region, IMHO.

 

Like others have said, Carnival Dream is a great ship (2nd favorite) and it sails out of New Orleans, which is a great city. I have taken that exact itinerary on Dream, and loved it. This summer, i am taking that itinerary on Breeze (favorite ship) out of Galveston.

 

Those are just my thoughts, hope you have a great cruise! :)

[4olivers]

Great feedback!! Thank you all!

 

We have decided on western itinerary and we will drive to Florida and go from there.

 

Thoughts on Magic?

[SkyPiglet]

Great feedback!! Thank you all!

 

We have decided on western itinerary and we will drive to Florida and go from there.

 

Thoughts on Magic?

 

I haven't been on Magic yet so I cannot speak specifically about her, but I have been on Dream and Breeze, and all three are sister ships of the same class, and so far they are my favorites. They are a bit larger and offer good additional dining choices. They have more "water park" facilities on board than most ships, which are fun for kids. So I cannot specifically recommend Magic, but depending on the itinerary, she would be near the top of my list :)

[Drazil65]

My vote is for the Magic out of Port Canaveral while she is still there (leaving PC sometime next year). Great ship, the kids will have fun and you can easily drive there from NC sono airline tickets needed. Where we live in NC it is about a 8.5 hr trip to PC and makes for an easy choice for us.

[sonicbuffalo]

Personally, I think you will regret not going Southern or Eastern itineraries. We've always cruised either and mainly because most of the feedback whenever we ask anyone about Western itineraries is that they preferred the Eastern or Southern itineraries.

 

We don't like tendering as you would have to do in Grand Cayman. We have cruised most of the ports in Eastern and Southern itineraries, and the only island I didn't care for is Nassau, the Bahamas. Those people are annoying, all over you like gnats trying to get you to buy their junk.

 

Just give it a little more thought and I think you'll appreciate the Eastern (St. Thomas, St. Martin, etc.), and Southern (Aruba, and Curacao)

 

 

Beautiful islands.

 

I would also chime in and say we have cruised on the Sunshine and Miracle, Dream, and Breeze, and we'd take the new ships as our first choice every time. I mean if you're going to spend a wad of cash on a cruise, go for the newest and largest. You might as well get your money's worth!

 

We also drive to Florida for our cruises! We live in North Carolina too!

Edited July 29, 2017 by sonicbuffalo

[4olivers]

We have done a land based trip to st Thomas and the BVIs as well as Jamaica. We have wanted to do a trip to Belize Cozumel and Roatan and when we saw these are 3 of the 4 ports of call everything just lined up.

[BoDidly]

Personally, I think you will regret not going Southern or Eastern itineraries. We've always cruised either and mainly because most of the feedback whenever we ask anyone about Western itineraries is that they preferred the Eastern or Southern itineraries.

 

We don't like tendering as you would have to do in Grand Cayman. We have cruised most of the ports in Eastern and Southern itineraries, and the only island I didn't care for is Nassau, the Bahamas. Those people are annoying, all over you like gnats trying to get you to buy their junk.

Just give it a little more thought and I think you'll appreciate the Eastern (St. Thomas, St. Martin, etc.), and Southern (Aruba, and Curacao. Beautiful islands.[/quote]

.................

I agree ,these are great ports . The Magic is one of Carnivals best ships . PC is a less stressful with good shopping , bars and restaurants . We enjoy tendering with the exception of getting rained on in Belize :D. When you say ,Those people are annoying, makes me cringe when I think of the locals from Belize and Jamaica .The locals in Nassau are so much more passive .

[bigdintn]

Sailed on the Magic last year, its a great ship with pleanty to do for everyone, your family will love it, sign the kids up for the kids club and go to the meet and greet the first night and get the club schedules for the week!

[evandbob]

Personally, I think you will regret not going Southern or Eastern itineraries. We've always cruised either and mainly because most of the feedback whenever we ask anyone about Western itineraries is that they preferred the Eastern or Southern itineraries.

 

We don't like tendering as you would have to do in Grand Cayman. We have cruised most of the ports in Eastern and Southern itineraries, and the only island I didn't care for is Nassau, the Bahamas. Those people are annoying, all over you like gnats trying to get you to buy their junk.

 

Just give it a little more thought and I think you'll appreciate the Eastern (St. Thomas, St. Martin, etc.), and Southern (Aruba, and Curacao)

 

 

Beautiful islands.

 

I would also chime in and say we have cruised on the Sunshine and Miracle, Dream, and Breeze, and we'd take the new ships as our first choice every time. I mean if you're going to spend a wad of cash on a cruise, go for the newest and largest. You might as well get your money's worth!

 

We also drive to Florida for our cruises! We live in North Carolina too!

 

I have often wondered why cruisers who say their distaste for Nassau and Jamaica comes from "annoying" locals "trying to get you to buy their junk" praise St Maartin??

 

When I walk the Phillipsburg beach promenade in St Maarten or the main drag in Cozumel, , I get approached by just as many vendors trying to sell me just as much junk as well as other stuff like dates, coke, and weed that I do in the Nassau Straw Markets or Jamaica Ocho Rios.

 

Im a New Yorker so I'm used to dealing with diverse populations, and most of the time I can handle vendors no problem on any isle. Just seems to me that locals want to get us cruisers to part with our money no matter what isle I'm on. I really don't understand why one or two islands get criticized for the same behavior that gets praised or ignored on others.

 

I will 2nd your idea that the newer ships are better than the older ones, but I think any family can have fun on any itinerary offered.