Do all Carnival Ships have that same sort of party/laid back atmosphere?

[blondie59]

Is the same thing true of Carnival's cruises to Alaska? I've sailed on Carnival 7 times, but never with my husband. Trying to talk him into an Alaska cruise for our 40th, but looking at the more "sedate" lines for that.

[jimbo5544]

Is the same thing true of Carnival's cruises to Alaska? I've sailed on Carnival 7 times, but never with my husband. Trying to talk him into an Alaska cruise for our 40th, but looking at the more "sedate" lines for that.

 

 

 

Some things yes, and some things no. There will be no steel drum band playing out on Lido but it is still Carnival and fun is part of Carnival.

 

 

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[jimbo5544]

Yes Carnival is the fun ship!

No, don't wait! I like to book 6 months to 18 months in advance. For me a big piece of the fun is planning and researching.

As far as a travel agent, I've also only booked online and found all the answers to my questions out here on Cruise Critic!

 

 

 

....your right, I never have seen a wrong answer here......

 

 

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[Doggielover68]

I’m so glad you mentioned that because I have literally just been looking at a conquest cruise out of Miami so might avoid this ship if the deck parties ain’t as good!!

 

The pictures of the lido deck do appear smaller like you mention. Reviews of the conquest seem great though.

 

Ahh decisions!

 

 

 

There were deck parties on Conquest when I sailed. I didn't notice a size difference between Conquest, Liberty, and Glory but with a year in between sailings I don't know for sure.

 

 

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[beshears]

This is just "MY" input on your party question. I do feel Carnival is a party ship in different ways, but.........just because it is, that doesn't mean a person has to participate in the partying part. There is plenty to do on the ship without participating, or a person can participate, it is YOUR choice!!!

[Drose716]

I've been on 10 Carnival cruises. There's always a deck party & always fun to be found in my experience.

 

The general vibe varies based on length, time of year, & the luck of the draw of who is sailing with you. My quietest cruise ever was a 4 night in January. As quiet as it was, I have videos of my kids dancing their hearts out at the deck party. I've been on longer sailings where we've seen the casino & club packed until all hours & sailings where it gets quiet before midnight. I've always found people & fun & things to do.

 

As far as booking, if you're booking ES, dont wait. Get your cabin choice now & you can always price match if the opportunity arises. Our last cruise was on Magic. I booked an interior at first & prices changed & I later switched to a deluxe ocean view for about $100ish mors for all 4 of us. I'm booked on the Horizon in May. I've been watching prices for months & there has been no change at all. They dont always go down.

[HarryKane]

Thanks for your input guys. Conquest seems to have the best deal for me at the moment but i'll keep checking!

[RWolver672]

The only Carnival ship I've been on that didn't have the awesome deck parties like the Magic was the Conquest. The layout makes it seem so small, you can't do much outside on lido.

 

I’m so glad you mentioned that because I have literally just been looking at a conquest cruise out of Miami so might avoid this ship if the deck parties ain’t as good!!

The pictures of the lido deck do appear smaller like you mention. Reviews of the conquest seem great though.

Ahh decisions!

We've sailed on most of the Conquest class ships and like the layout of the Lido deck better than the Dream Class. On the Conquest Class, it feels more open as it's tiered. The Dream and Vista class feels more closed in and crowded because all of the lounge chairs are on the deck instead of in the tiers.

[HarryKane]

We've sailed on most of the Conquest class ships and like the layout of the Lido deck better than the Dream Class. On the Conquest Class, it feels more open as it's tiered. The Dream and Vista class feels more closed in and crowded because all of the lounge chairs are on the deck instead of in the tiers.

 

Thanks for that. I'm slightly worried the conquest will feel smaller in general than the magic - is that the case or not?

[dmdiver]

I've enjoyed the deck parties on all classes of ships. Conquest class ships' aft pool is adult only, whereas Dream class ships (which is what Magic is) have no adult pool - if that matters to you. My neighbor actually prefers Conquest class - feels it is easier to find her way around.

[teknoge3k]

We've sailed on most of the Conquest class ships and like the layout of the Lido deck better than the Dream Class. On the Conquest Class, it feels more open as it's tiered. The Dream and Vista class feels more closed in and crowded because all of the lounge chairs are on the deck instead of in the tiers.

 

 

Weird, I asked Mat (the CD) why certain things took place in the atrium rather than outside on lido and he specifically told me, because the lido deck was too small to do most things. Even our sail away party took place inside. (No, it wasn't raining)

[teknoge3k]

Thanks for that. I'm slightly worried the conquest will feel smaller in general than the magic - is that the case or not?

 

The Conquest IS smaller than the Magic. The Conquest is 110k GT compared to the 130k GT that the Magic is. (The Magic is also 9 years newer)

[pacruise804]

All good info - thanks guys!

 

Another question. Say for example I book an inside cruise right now for $500 per person but when I look a couple of months afterwards I can get a ocean view or balcony cabin for $600, could I simply call carnival and pay the additional $100 and change my reservation to a better type of room?

 

I know they have a 48-hour 'best price guarantee' but if I found a balcony cabin to be only a few dollars more a couple of months after booking I would want to upgrade to one and pay the extra!

 

It looks like you are located in England. I've read that there are different booking rules there, and you might not be eligible for price matching/upgrades the same as those of us on this side of the pond (I think most of us posting are from the US). Double check fine print and make sure you understand your contract before booking.

 

We did get price drops on our current booking, but our previous Carnival cruise only had price increases after booking.

 

If you don't qualify for price drops, just try to find something you are ok with the price when you book and try not to look at prices after that:)

[HarryKane]

It looks like you are located in England. I've read that there are different booking rules there, and you might not be eligible for price matching/upgrades the same as those of us on this side of the pond (I think most of us posting are from the US). Double check fine print and make sure you understand your contract before booking.

 

We did get price drops on our current booking, but our previous Carnival cruise only had price increases after booking.

 

If you don't qualify for price drops, just try to find something you are ok with the price when you book and try not to look at prices after that:)

 

 

It appears I can only put in a price match from 48-hours after booking.

 

Do you guys not have this rule then?

 

It don't mention anything abut upgrading though so hopefully I will be able to do this if needed.

 

So far i'm looking at carnival vista, conquest or royal Caribbean adventure of the seas as I may be able to get a good deal on that and it visits places ive not been to before BUT the lure of carnival might be too strong to choose a different cruise line!

[Beffy1167]

All of my Carnival cruises have had a laid-back sense to them. I'd avoid taking an 8 y/o on a shorter, weekend cruise, as the ones I've experienced have been full of hard-core party people.

 

 

 

Because of that, I stick to 7 day itineraries (or longer), but I take my son (now 13) along all cruises.

[CheckersMidwest]

I am going to say, no, they aren't all the same. We've sailed from Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Galveston, Tampa, & Seattle. The Alaska cruise was the calmest - not a lot of deck activity. The Miami cruise was more of a party crowd with lots of hip hop and tech music. Galveston (on the Magic) was our favorite. The people onboard were the friendliest of all our cruises and the activities seemed to be more varied. Music was also more varied....country, rock, caribbean, etc.

[IntrepidFromDC]

I've been on 14 cruises in my life, all since 2013, all on Carnival, and I remain happily amazed at how fun the "fun" ships are. I've been to England a few times, and I'm thinking that your interpretation of "laid back" is mine of "fun", only because I think Americans are generally more laid back than western Europeans.

[IntrepidFromDC]

I've been on 14 cruises in my life, all since 2013, all on Carnival, and I remain happily amazed at how fun the "fun" ships are. I've been to England a few times, and I'm thinking that your interpretation of "laid back" is mine of "fun", only because I think Americans are generally more laid back than north-western Europeans.

[IntrepidFromDC]

I have no idea why that posted twice. I'm sure I hit POST QUICK REPLY ONE TIME.

[Joebucks]

To me, the atmosphere is exactly what I want in a vacation. Laid-back and fun! Sure there can be a bit of variance from where it ports, time of year, how long it it is, but it's pretty darn close every time.

 

To me, I liked the Conquest Lido deck much better than Fantasy class lido. Sure there was a little less room for dancing, but I love the stadium-style seating way more. Not to mention the dive-in movies is one of my favorite things.

[JerseyGirlJen]

I have been on the Freedom twice out of Ft. Lauderdale in April and early December, and the Dream out of NOLA this past April. I’m booked on the Magic out of Ft. Lauderdale next May.

 

All cruises were between 6-8 nights, but I found the NOLA crowd more low-key than the 2 cruises out of Florida. I noticed it with the deck parties....The Florida cruises had a lot more people attend and and were a little more lively overall. NOLA folks were great, and maybe it was just the sailing I was on, but it was still a fabulous time [emoji16].

 

 

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[TravelLots]

I totally agree with JerseyGirl and Checkers. I love Carnival and have been on a lot of cruises. But leaving out of Galveston/Houston had the friendliest, most fun people. And I was surprised at how quiet New Orleans was on the ship. Both lovely though.

[RWolver672]

Thanks for that. I'm slightly worried the conquest will feel smaller in general than the magic - is that the case or not?

The Conquest is a bit smaller but there are a lot less people on it compared to the Magic. The layout are pretty much the same but the Magic has more cabins.

 

Weird, I asked Mat (the CD) why certain things took place in the atrium rather than outside on lido and he specifically told me, because the lido deck was too small to do most things. Even our sail away party took place inside. (No, it wasn't raining)

That's funny because the atrium is a lot smaller than the lido deck. I've seen a lot more people dancing on the Lido deck during the sail away party that wouldn't fit in the atrium.

[HarryKane]

I've been on 14 cruises in my life, all since 2013, all on Carnival, and I remain happily amazed at how fun the "fun" ships are. I've been to England a few times, and I'm thinking that your interpretation of "laid back" is mine of "fun", only because I think Americans are generally more laid back than north-western Europeans.

 

You are correct buddy, when I say 'laid back' I'm really meaning FUN! Part of the reason why I just booked another carnival cruise yesterday is because the crowd was great last time around on the magic. Living in the UK and going on vacation in europe (ive done that twice this year already, one time in gran canaria and the other one in salou near barcelona) is that I personally enjoy being on a ship full of Americans from all over the country as it actually feels like im on vacation and not full of brits if that makes sense - in a ice way I mean, brits are great but you guys in the USA really know how to party on vacation!

[AmBear]

Good morning/Afternoon folks,

 

I’m looking to book a 7 or 8 day cruise next year for my wife and 8-year old daughter and just wanted to know if all Carnival cruises have the same type of ‘party atmosphere’ as the carnival magic does? We last cruised on carnival magic back in November 2016 out of port Canaveral and we loved it, it was amazing. We really enjoyed the deck parties and the music/dancing that was constantly going on around the deck, it was great. The food and activities we found were great. My question is are all carnival cruise ships like that? My only other experience cruising was the crown princess about 10 years ago but I preferred the laid back atmosphere of the carnival magic.

 

It might sound strange to you guys but we really enjoyed being some ofthe only English guests onboard (there wasn’t many of us which we loved) as wereally enjoy meeting people from all over America.

 

Ive been looking at flying to Houston and trying the new carnivalvista – that ship looks great!

 

Another question is should we book now or hold off a couple of weeksbefore the cruise and hope to get a good deal?

 

 

Thanks guys!

 

My un-scientific opinion is,

#1, it matters when you cruise, #2, it matters which port you leave from, #3, it matters who the cruise director is!:D

If you chose the Vista, make sure you pick a cruise when Matt Mitcham is working!