Cruise Line Advice

[Bee01]

I've been on a few cruises with NCL only and am now considering a Carnival cruise as I'm finding NCL very expensive this year. Can anyone please give me some advice in this? I'm thinking of one of the Caribbean cruises on offer.

 

Many thanks

 

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[coevan]

pretty broad request, any specifics

[HawkIVette]

It would help if you were more specific on the advice you want.

How to Book?

What cruise to take?

What ship you would like?

How to get to the port?

Cost of Carnival cruises?

 

Post your question and then we can answer it for you.

[Bee01]

It would help if you were more specific on the advice you want.

How to Book?

What cruise to take?

What ship you would like?

How to get to the port?

Cost of Carnival cruises?

 

Post your question and then we can answer it for you.

Sorry I'm new to this.

 

Is Carnival as good as NCL -food wise?

 

Is there a better ship to travel with - we don't have kids

 

Is the Cheers package worth booking or should I pay as I go?

 

Is there another cruise line I should check out with similar prices to Carnival?

 

Many thanks

 

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[HawkIVette]

Sorry I'm new to this.

 

Is Carnival as good as NCL -food wise?

I have only cruised Carnival, so someone else will answer this one.

Is there a better ship to travel with - we don't have kids

There are several classes of Carnival ships, with several ships in each class. Check out this page for some info on ships. https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/cruiseline.php?line=Carnival

Is the Cheers package worth booking or should I pay as I go?

You must buy the package for each day of the cruise. Prices vary, but cost around $59 a day. A buy as you go drink will run you a little over $10, so if you drink more than 5 drinks a day, it would be better with the package. It will also include water, coffee and other specialty drinks.

Is there another cruise line I should check out with similar prices to Carnival?

Carnival seems to be the cheapest, but with sales and specials, other lines can be good deals too.

 

Many thanks

 

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My opinion above, but others will answer too. Ask away and more will respond.

[Bee01]

My opinion above, but others will answer too. Ask away and more will respond.

This is great help. Many thanks for taking the time to supply me with this. It's gives me a little more to go on

 

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[momof4girls]

Sorry I'm new to this.

 

Is Carnival as good as NCL -food wise?

Having only sailed Carnival, I honestly don’t know. From all the reviews I’ve read, the one thing Carnival seems to have a leg up on is more free venues. Food is very subjective though!

 

Is there a better ship to travel with - we don't have kids

Are you someone who enjoys going to all the shows and comedy acts? Do you like the water slides or not one to really use them? If you like water slides and all the shows, IMO, the Dream class ships would be best, especially the Breeze or Magic.

Is the Cheers package worth booking or should I pay as I go?

For me personally, if I’m going to be off the ship a lot (doing all the ports), I find I come out ahead just paying for drinks. If I’m going to be spending more time on the ship, the Cheers package is better, especially since it includes water and coffee drinks. Just remember that both you and your significant other will have to buy the package, even if he or she isn’t a big drinker.

Is there another cruise line I should check out with similar prices to Carnival?

The only other cruise line that comes to mind is Royal Caribbean. I haven’t tried it yet only because Carnival hasn’t given me a reason to go elsewhere.

Many thanks

 

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[cruisinqt]

We’ve sailed NCL, Princess, and Royal as well as Carnival. I would say Carnival and Royal are the most alike. Carnival has a younger vibe with younger families just like Royal. I have yet to see the “drunken party ship” stuff on Carnival that I hear lots of other cruise line loyalists say about Carnival. I think most of them have never sailed Carnival and just assume that since it’s a younger crowd that there’s lots of drunks and partying. Just like many cruisers call HAL and Celebrity “floating senior centers” because the average age is way up there. But I’m glad I gave Carnival a try because I really like them. Here are my thoughts.

 

Food-MDR is just as good as any other cruise line, in fact better than some. The buffet is not as good other cruise lines. But the other free restaurants on the Lido make up for it. Like the 24 hour pizzeria, the sandwich place, Guy Fieri burgers (best burgers ever:hearteyes:), cooked to order Asian place, etc. Plus there’s free soft serve ice cream 24-7.

 

Ships- So far, I prefer the Dream class (Dream, Magic, Breeze), especially the Breeze. Size wise they are 130,000 ton. And they have an amazing Cloud 9 spa along with the 4 -D Thrill theater, a great sports deck with mini golf and other games, a nice big water park, and a really good steak house. This was Carnivals biggest newest line of ships until the Vista class (Vista, Horizon, Panorama) came along recently. They’re slightly larger at 133,500 tons. I’ll be trying this class out this September so I can’t say much about it yet.

 

I like that Carnival has lots going on late at night. That’s one of my complaints about other lines. When we went on Princess it was dead by 10pm, even the clubs were empty. I like that on Carnival there’s lots to do late at night. I looove the late night adult comedy at 11 pm. And singing along at the piano bar is always fun too.

[Pellaz]

Sorry I'm new to this.

 

Is Carnival as good as NCL -food wise?

You'll likely find more free/included food venues on Carnival than NCL. The MDR on Carnival should be comparable, maybe slightly better. If food is a concern, check out the ship's eateries before booking...if you see things like Guy Fieri's Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, etc., this means that the ship's eateries were expanded and upgraded. Carnival gets generally good marks for these places and they are free/included.

Is there a better ship to travel with - we don't have kids

Again, check out the offerings. Some ships have more outdoor activities than others and you might or might not want to partake.

As for adult fare, all ships have comedy shows at night (later shows are "adult" shows)and Carnival has a good reputation with them, rotating comedians in and out even during a cruise so you get more variety. Their piano bars also get generally high marks. Carnival ships are pretty active at night, and while the stage shows can't compare with the Broadway shows on NCL's and Royal's bigger ships, they're still pretty good IMO.

Is the Cheers package worth booking or should I pay as I go?

If you drink more than 5 cocktails or 6-7 beers a day, then it's probably worth getting. Cheers also includes complimentary soda, bottled water, sparkling water, specialty coffees, milkshakes (at the café or Shake Spot)...almost anything that comes in liquid form and isn't designed to be shared. :)

Is there another cruise line I should check out with similar prices to Carnival?

You can look into Royal Caribbean (the third of "the Big Three") and also MSC.

People either seem to love or hate MSC with not much in-between, but they are aggressively pushing into the US/Caribbean market and are offering some very low fares. Heck, they can afford it, since they're one of the largest maritime freight shippers on the planet.

 

When you narrow things down to a few Carnival ships and itineraries, post 'em and we'll be glad to help you compare.