Rare Jamman54 Posted April 20, 2018 #51 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Out of our 52 cruises, 47 have been on Carnival, with #48 coming up Sunday, and 9 more booked thru April of 2020. We have tried NCL, Celebrity, and Royal and liked them, but they didn't wow us enough to switch are favorite brand. We love Carnival for their pricing, product, and itineraries. That said, we will be trying those other lines again in the future to see how they are now, but the majority of our cruises will be Carnival. Feels like home! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jimbo5544 Posted April 20, 2018 #52 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Out of our 52 cruises, 47 have been on Carnival, with #48 coming up Sunday, and 9 more booked thru April of 2020. We have tried NCL, Celebrity, and Royal and liked them, but they didn't wow us enough to switch are favorite brand. We love Carnival for their pricing, product, and itineraries. That said, we will be trying those other lines again in the future to see how they are now, but the majority of our cruises will be Carnival. Feels like home! :D Hey Jeff, you guys kicking it in high gear! We love Carnival as well, done 37 with 3 more on the docket (2 in this year). Been in a drought, will be a year between cruises for us. We have sailed on Royal, MSC, and have Azamara coming up in August. Jeff we need to sail again with you guys. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaneDawg Posted April 20, 2018 #53 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Number 10 coming up. Carnival seems to be the best for me. closest ports to me are Tampa, Jville, Canaveral. I like 4-6 nights the best. I still like a bit of a party atmosphere. Carnival does have some great deals if you hunt for them. My next one, we got a 6 night balcony for $1200 and I have a $250 gift card from their credit card points. You just can't beat that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartmarshall Posted April 20, 2018 #54 Share Posted April 20, 2018 I've been on 4 Carnival cruises with my 5th booked for December 2019 (Western out of NOLA). I originally chose Carnival for my first cruise because it won out on the price/itinerary/time versus NCL and RC, which I was also considering. I didn't necessarily plan on being loyal to Carnival but I've had mostly positive experiences and even now when I compare prices, they continue to win out. That said, I almost always book cruises at least one year in advance and make payments. The only one I didn't do that with was my most recent one during President's Day weekend, which was booked 2 months out. Luckily we got a great price and were able to afford it but typically once I consider the cruise fare, flights, hotels, excursions, spending money, etc. -- I'd need at least a year to comfortably afford everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyssajones624 Posted April 20, 2018 Author #55 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Have completed 21 cruise and all were with Carnival. Carnival Cruise 22 has been purchased for 2019 and another Carnival cruise for 2020. What keeps us coming back. Have 162 VIP points and need another 37 to reach Diamond. Pricing is good. Live in Florida and have a good selection of ships in the ports of Miami and Ft Lauderdale. Know what to expect and like what I see. As for pricing and planning, I always buy my cruises a year or two in advance. That way, you lock in your price and don't worry about price increases. Use to buy the cruise while on a cruise but that pricing advantage has gone away. Pay for the cruise with AARP gift cards which ends up as a 10 percent discount. Also pay for my on board ship expenses with AARP gift cards which amounts to another 10 percent. Buying Early Saver is your best bet for pricing but actually the Military rate is the same and is safer in case you would have to cancel. Always bring 2 bottles of alcohol and 12 bottles of soda for price reasons. I buy my shore excursions prior to the cruise and usually with a code discount some one will publish on Cruise Critic. In one respect, I am extravagant. I pay for pier parking instead of off site parking. It is $50 to $75 more but time wise a major difference, more convenient and usually covered parking. As for planning, I have to admit, I go overboard. No .............. not on the ship but at home. I have 2 inch binders filled with data. I cross reference past cruises. I am on Cruise Critic all the time. I also search the internet for data. I talk with others about cruising all the time. Am a confessed Cruise-a-holic. But, that's also part of the fun of cruising. I live in Miami..We need to be friends Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising Sparty Posted April 20, 2018 #56 Share Posted April 20, 2018 10 cruises on Carnival and we have 2 more booked. Price is probably the biggest thing that keeps us loyal. We book Early Saver and have gotten some decent price drops in the past, but not too much over the past couple years. We also enjoy the atmosphere on Carnival ships and haven't seen a reason to switch lines when we are happy with what we are getting from Carnival. We have no problem with the food, and we are big fans of piano bars, comedy clubs and logging lots of pool time during the day. We are excited to try our first Havana cabin experience and sailing from Long Beach on the Panorama in 2020! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warm Breezes Posted April 20, 2018 #57 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Hi everyone! So how many Carnival cruises have you taken? 10 Carnival, 2 Disney, 4 NCL, 1 Princess...Upcoming 1 NCL and 1 CarnivalFor those of you that stick with only Carnival what is that keeps you going back for more and more? I don't only stick with Carnival but they have gotten 58% of our cruise vacations mainly due to value for our vacation dollar. Any tips on how to plan for future cruises so it doesn't hurt the pockets? Do you plan last minute or book when you are on a cruise... Depends on the vacation. We very rarely book last minute but we have booked a couple months out due to some great rates at a time we had available. We usually book 9 months to a over a year out and then watch for price drops and take advantage of them when they happen. I have never booked a cruise while on a cruise but have purchased FCC (when they were available on CCL and almost always when we are on NCL.) We have gotten Casino rates on our last couple Carnival cruises which have helped too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy4Camping Posted April 20, 2018 #58 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Wow! You guys have cruised alot! We are going on our first cruise in 288 days and it's on Carnival purely based on price and friends that are going with us that say it's the most fun. I can't imagine being able to afford to do this all the time so we are going to make the most of this one and only cruise. I agree with previous posters-bring alcohol and pop on board and also use AARP gift cards to pay for the cruise. This is what I'm doing and it will be paid for(including airfare)way before we actually sail! Happy Cruising everyone!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deetrayn Posted April 20, 2018 #59 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Hi everyone! So how many Carnival cruises have you taken? For those of you that stick with only Carnival what is that keeps you going back for more and more? Any tips on how to plan for future cruises so it doesn't hurt the pockets? Do you plan last minute or book when you are on a cruise... 14 Carnival cruises. I have also sailed RCCL and have a cruise booked on MSC, but I mostly cruise with Carnival. The prices are good, and I always plan at least a year or more in advance so I can make payments. Have yet to book a last minute cruise. Dee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandmarnnurse Posted April 20, 2018 #60 Share Posted April 20, 2018 5 on Carnival, 2 on RCCL, 2 on NCL, and 1 on a now defunct line (Regent Sun). I have 2 upcoming cruises booked, though, on Carnival. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxydu Posted April 20, 2018 #61 Share Posted April 20, 2018 We have 13 thus far all on Carnival and leave next week on #14. We enjoy what Carnival has to offer and started there because I didn't want to wear a sports jacket or get dressed up while on vacation. Being Platinum helps and we used to LOVE the extra OBC you got for booking a cruise while on a cruise. That's gone......Might try MSC since they have a loyalty match program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenquixote66 Posted April 21, 2018 #62 Share Posted April 21, 2018 Hi everyone! So how many Carnival cruises have you taken? For those of you that stick with only Carnival what is that keeps you going back for more and more? Any tips on how to plan for future cruises so it doesn't hurt the pockets? Do you plan last minute or book when you are on a cruise... Only one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shipcats6 Posted April 21, 2018 #63 Share Posted April 21, 2018 17 total cruises. 12 Carnival, 2 NCL, 3 Princess. Have 1 Carnival planed over July 4th. Our first Holland America in August (Canada/New England). And Royal Princess in November (A B C Islands). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shipcats6 Posted April 21, 2018 #64 Share Posted April 21, 2018 Ugh! Planned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swissmiss6253 Posted April 21, 2018 #65 Share Posted April 21, 2018 I'm new to cruising and still do other holidays. Only two on Carnival with one booked. Two on Celebrity with one booked. And one booked on Royal Caribbean for our first on that line. I like the laid back style of Carnival and the relative elegance of Celebrity. Both are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnival princess Posted April 21, 2018 #66 Share Posted April 21, 2018 61 total cruises.....45 with Carnival.....3 more this year. Carnival is my preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djptcp Posted April 21, 2018 #67 Share Posted April 21, 2018 32 on Carnival, #33 coming up in less than 2 weeks. 7 on Holland America 5 on NCL 1 on Royal Caribbean We keep returning to Carnival because of price - I now receive free or deeply discounted cruises $50pp with casino cash and OBC) courtesy of the Carnival Players Club. Also, we live only 45 minutes from the Port, so very convenient. I actually prefer Holland America for their elegant ships, exceptional crews and food, but I don't receive the deeply discounted cruises from them anymore. Used to get Neptune Suites for about 25% of the actual prices, but not in the past two years, so we stick with Carnival. NCL's "free" offers such as free drinks, etc. aren't really free because they stick a large "service fee" onto the cost of the cruises. Royal Caribbean is too expensive with too many added costs once aboard. Don't want to go on their gigantic ships either. Couldn't pay us to go on Disney - we don't have kids and they don't have any casinos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea and Me Posted April 21, 2018 #68 Share Posted April 21, 2018 This will be our first Carnival cruise although we have cruised 22 times. Our family of 8 adults and 4 teens will be on the Miracle in July. One couple and 2 granddaughters have never cruised before. This should be a “fun adventure”. Our granddaughter will turn 15 on the day we are in Cozumel(she is very excited). We are looking forward to making new memories on a cruise ship!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare SRQbeachgirl Posted April 21, 2018 #69 Share Posted April 21, 2018 Five (3 Carnival, 2 RCCL) with the 6th one booked for July on Carnival's Magic. Our first was on the Carnival Holiday in 1992 and 20 years separated our first three cruises from our last two. We don't have a preference between the two lines, we book based on itinerary and which dates/ports work best for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towel Critter Posted April 21, 2018 #70 Share Posted April 21, 2018 Depends... do back to back cruises count as a single cruise or as two separate cruises? 10 cruises with CCL if they count as a single cruise, 11 if they count as separate cruises. 4 (or 3) cruises with other lines. 3 cruises with CCL cancelled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMAE Posted April 22, 2018 #71 Share Posted April 22, 2018 We have been on 16 cruises, number 17 this October. All but one has been on Carnival, the one was Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas (RC), which was our second cruise. When we cruised RC we were disappointed with the food and service. For us CCL's food and service was more to our liking. RC's ship was new and beautiful, we like the promenade, but there was a lot of long waits for rock climbing, ice skating, etc. The wait staff was slow and the food was not to our liking. With CCL we love their food and the service has always been great and with a smile for us. Most staff will do what it takes to make it right for you. We like the Sprite class of ships too. The layout has an easy flow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schazzy Posted April 22, 2018 #72 Share Posted April 22, 2018 We have been on 16 cruises, number 17 this October. All but one has been on Carnival, the one was Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas (RC), which was our second cruise. When we cruised RC we were disappointed with the food and service. For us CCL's food and service was more to our liking. RC's ship was new and beautiful, we like the promenade, but there was a lot of long waits for rock climbing, ice skating, etc. The wait staff was slow and the food was not to our liking. With CCL we love their food and the service has always been great and with a smile for us. Most staff will do what it takes to make it right for you. We like the Sprite class of ships too. The layout has an easy flow. I prefer the 7-Up ships myself! :D Sorry, I couldn't resist. I agree on the Spirit Class, I really enjoyed the Pride, so when the Miracle returned to the Caribbean, it was an easy choice for our next cruise! I keep booking Carnival for the service and have enjoyed the food :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMAE Posted April 22, 2018 #73 Share Posted April 22, 2018 I prefer the 7-Up ships myself! :D Sorry, I couldn't resist. I agree on the Spirit Class, I really enjoyed the Pride, so when the Miracle returned to the Caribbean, it was an easy choice for our next cruise! I keep booking Carnival for the service and have enjoyed the food :) We enjoy the Pride too. The big plus with the Pride, only a three hour drive. #7 is up for the Pride in October. [emoji3] Sent from my XT1585 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Geegitz Posted April 22, 2018 #74 Share Posted April 22, 2018 11 on Carnival with our 12th booked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comiso13 Posted April 22, 2018 #75 Share Posted April 22, 2018 I cruised on Carnival 20 years ago, so it doesn't really count as I can't remember much about the cruise. I have cruised twice with another line and considered that line when planning my Hawaii cruise this coming December. But I have heard Carnival is the Fun cruise line and was quite a bit less costly, so I am trying Carnival this time. Cost was a major factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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