Compare the 6+ day cruises to the 5- day cruises

[FiremedicMike151]

We reached gold on carnival, all 4-5 day cruises.  By the end we were absolutely sick of carnival, rowdy, loud crowds, nearly identical experience (essentially the same ship layout, same menu, same entertainment choices), and we decided to venture off to the other lines.

 

I'm planning out next year's cruise and looking at all the lines.  I'm willing to consider carnival if it's a more chill experience and the larger boats feel different than the mid to smaller boats..

 

Thanks in advance.. 

 

[ProgRockCruiser]

Well, certainly the larger ships feel different from the smaller ones.  Some prefer one over the other, naturally.

 

The bigger ships will offer more variety - more places to put unique things like Emeril's on Mardi Gras.  The smaller ships feel more intimate yet somehow also less crowded to many people.  Might depend on where you typically hang out.

 

The longer cruises also tend to have a more-relaxed clientele - people aren't as intense trying to get all their vacation "enjoyed" in four days or so, and fewer kids.  And the longer cruises can offer different ports, because they have more time to get somewhere different.

 

I can't say what a 4 or 5 day cruise on a large ship would be like (also depends on your definition of large).  We only book cruises of 6 or more days - preferably 7 or 8 days.  Wish we had time / logistics / etc for a 15 day cruise...

 

The menus are changing across the fleet, so no matter which ship you pick by the time you cruise it will be different from what you might have experienced previously.

[StephPS79]

24 minutes ago, FiremedicMike151 said:

We reached gold on carnival, all 4-5 day cruises.  By the end we were absolutely sick of carnival, rowdy, loud crowds, nearly identical experience (essentially the same ship layout, same menu, same entertainment choices), and we decided to venture off to the other lines.

 

I'm planning out next year's cruise and looking at all the lines.  I'm willing to consider carnival if it's a more chill experience and the larger boats feel different than the mid to smaller boats..

 

Thanks in advance.. 

 

 

No snark at all here, but I'm not real clear on your intent.  Are you asking to confirm you'll have a better experience on a Carnival 6+ day cruise.  I think it's been well experienced that 4-5 day cruises tend to be rowdier (not just Carnival) but it sounds like you don't really enjoy the Carnival experience.  Yes, there are different ship layouts, we don't know what ships you have been on.  Each class of ship is pretty similar in layout, but there are different classes of ship.  There are going to be a lot of overlapping throughout the fleet though.  

 

As mentioned above, the menus are changing, but I wouldn't expect a wildly different experience.  And then it's going to be the same on all ships, so it's not going to vary from ship to ship.  Some of the new ships have a lot more dining options though.  The entertainment choices are going to be pretty much the same, so if you are looking for something different, ship size/length of cruise probably isn't going to change that.

 

I'd say book an Excel class ship, that's probably the only thing that will change the experience by any noticeable amount.

[csm5986142]

3 hours ago, FiremedicMike151 said:

I'm planning out next year's cruise and looking at all the lines.  I'm willing to consider carnival if it's a more chill experience and the larger boats feel different than the mid to smaller boats..

 

 

We have done 25 cruises on Carnival (everything from 3 days to 16) and in our experience the longer cruises are a different crowd.  And of course the time of year (and whether it's during a Holiday) makes a difference too.  In general our longer cruises seemed to be a quieter/older crowd, more interested in the destination than partying on the ship (not that there is anything wrong with that - Carnival is the fun ship).  We saw way fewer teens running around the ship at midnight and things like that.

I agree, the Excel ships are a very different experience and if you are tired of the "same old thing" you will likely really enjoy Mardi Gras/Celebration/Jubilee.  It's my favorite class because there is so much more to do. 

[havanadaydreaming]

i have loved every cruise i have been on, from 4 -11 nt sailings.  big or small ship.  

 

sure there are features and benefits i like on some ships vs others (and ports of call).  but a bad day at sea beats a good day on land.  

 

 

[jsglow]

OP, I just think you're trying to convince yourself that you won't have a good time.  No problem. Other cruise lines fit you better. Enjoy.

[gkbiiii]

I booked 5 nights, back-to-back, for the Mexican Rivera next year, in the new Italian vessel.  Booking the private "Cabana Carnivale" section, I hope it is more a VIP experience. 

[hard_eight]

The 6+ ones are generally longer.

 

Kidding, as others have said longer cruises tend to be less "party crowd"

[FiremedicMike151]

26 minutes ago, jsglow said:

OP, I just think you're trying to convince yourself that you won't have a good time.  No problem. Other cruise lines fit you better. Enjoy.

Nope, I wanted to know if the longer carnival cruises felt different than the shorter ones, as I explicitly stated in my original post.

 

[FiremedicMike151]

Thank you all, I think I may give an 8 day a try.  Our first cruise ever was on Carnival Imagination and it was a magical experience.  8 cruises later we just felt burnt out on Carnival, but their prices are still pretty good so we may give it a go.

 

 

[txcruiser1234]

OP, if you were "absolutely sick" of Carnival before, don't keep doing it. An even longer Carnival cruise will probably have you pulling your hair out. All Carnival cruises, in our experience, have been MUCH more similar than dissimilar in every appreciable sense - in terms of crowds, food, entertainment, cabins, service, low points and highlights. No matter the ship or length of cruise, the fundamental on-board experience has been more or less the same. We obviously enjoy the Carnival brand and overall product consistency, but understand that it is not for everyone.

[nydney1]

I understand what you are saying.

 

I have found that the 6 day is the best fit for me. We did an 8 day last thanksgiving and found it to be a bit long for me. 
 

I found the six day eliminates allot of the die hard party crowd. To me the six day feels like a 7 day with one less see day so I get a day to spend on the front or back side relaxing 

[Drose716]

I’ve done a big mix of lengths from 3-8 days. The 6-nights are the same “vibe” to me as the 7-8nighters. The 3-4s are a totally different vibe & the 5s could go in either direction. 
 

I agree with others that said the ship may be a big factor too- the larger, newer ships on a 6 day are likely to be an “elevated” experience, I did my 13th carnival on the celebration & there was a lot of “new to

me”.

[movtarget]

We did back-to-back 10-day & 4-day late last year on the Carnival Sunshine. My perceived “intensity” of the passengers on the 4-day was much greater than the relaxed atmosphere of the 10-day. On that 10-day, more experienced and older cruisers, less “weekend party til you drop” vibe. Because of that experience, we have only booked 6+ day cruises for the future.

[BobbiSox]

I do short cruises for the casino. I live in NE Florida, so it's a long drive to Bilox, and a long flight to Las Vegas.  I  do the short cruises so I'm not tempted to spend my life savings in the casino. 4-5 days and nights are enough. Sure there are rowdy kids and drunks to deal with, but I just get our the their way. I love being on the open water. I love being able to afford it several times each year. I go on other lines when I want a more elegant cruise. 

[Lee Cruiser]

We've been on over 20 Carnival cruises and the longer ones are typically very good with very few issues.  Our worst experience was on a four day cruise out of N.O.  It was a weekend wrap around (Thursday-Monday) and many just treated it as one big weekend party.  Loud music, screaming, and partying on balconies until the early morning hours.  We said then that we would never take another cruise shorter than five days. 

Edited June 28, 2023 by Lee Cruiser

[serene56]

cruises that leave on a sunday or a monday have a better crowd vs crowds on longer weekend cruises     Our next leaves on a Monday and comes back on Saturday.     The one before leaves on a thursday and comes back on Monday.          Try to avoid the cruises that are  weekend cruises 

[mkcurran]

On 6/27/2023 at 9:26 AM, FiremedicMike151 said:

We reached gold on carnival, all 4-5 day cruises.  By the end we were absolutely sick of carnival, rowdy, loud crowds, nearly identical experience (essentially the same ship layout, same menu, same entertainment choices), and we decided to venture off to the other lines.

 

I'm planning out next year's cruise and looking at all the lines.  I'm willing to consider carnival if it's a more chill experience and the larger boats feel different than the mid to smaller boats..

 

Thanks in advance.. 

 

 

19 hours ago, FiremedicMike151 said:

Nope, I wanted to know if the longer carnival cruises felt different than the shorter ones, as I explicitly stated in my original post.

 

I've done a 4 day cruise and many 7 day cruises. The longer cruises are a whole different vibe. If the 4 day one had been my first experience I would likely have never set foot on a Carnival ship again. 

As it was we had friends on that cruise and kept telling them the longer cruises are much different. 

[sunonfire]

Try the Spirit class out of Tampa. All of our Carnival cruises on the various Spirit class ships sailing from Tampa were all older people. Last year we did the Easter week cruise there were more families but still a lot older passengers. It’s not crowded. It’s not noisy or rowdy. There are 3 pools including the adult only Serenity pool. There’s music by main pool but no craziness. I’m in my sixties and there are people older than me. We love Frankie Portera the cruise director. He’s not annoying. Every time we go it’s hard to believe it’s a Carnival cruise. We have been going 1 to 2 times each year.

[KKB]

On 6/27/2023 at 11:26 AM, FiremedicMike151 said:

We reached gold on carnival, all 4-5 day cruises.  By the end we were absolutely sick of carnival, rowdy, loud crowds, nearly identical experience (essentially the same ship layout, same menu, same entertainment choices), and we decided to venture off to the other lines.

 

I'm planning out next year's cruise and looking at all the lines.  I'm willing to consider carnival if it's a more chill experience and the larger boats feel different than the mid to smaller boats..

 

Thanks in advance.. 

After 30 cruises tried Carnival for 1st time in Jan--14 days to Hawaii. 

Everyone said we would hate it--we LOVED it.

 

Bartenders said Carnival is great--IF you take cruises LONGER than 7 days outside Caribbean & MX Riviera.