What is the Best Itinerary on Carnival?

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

 

This month.

Great!!  Looking forward to your review.  DH and I will be on Horizon to the ABCs this January!

[Moonarino]

On 3/28/2024 at 3:54 PM, Saint Greg said:

 

 

The newer ships can't go everywhere. ... 8-day cruise I would say the ABC that Horizon and I think Magic do. For Journeys I would say Hawaii which I think Miracle and Radiance do.

 

I vote ABC, Southern Caribbean, which we did several years ago on Breeze. Still my favorite Carnival ship, unless age has caught up.

 

[vwgolf2]

On 3/28/2024 at 8:07 PM, cacruisin said:

I always assumed they utilized the smaller ships in Europe and Alaska etc due to size of the docking bays and maneuverability of the waterways in the specific areas.  Just like how they all drive tiny cars in Europe because the streets won't allow for huge SUV's (in addition to petrol reasons).  But that's based on nothing beyond my own logic lol

Hey - I live in the UK and can assure you that SUVs are everywhere nowadays!

 

Back to the matter in hand. My favourite Carnival cruise (indeed my favourite ever cruise) was to Alaska from Seattle in 2019. I'm on the Horizon in a couple of weeks visiting the A and C of the ABC islands, along with two stops in the Dom Rep. If this thread is anything to go by, that should be a cracker!

[Honolulu Blue]

19 minutes ago, vwgolf2 said:

My favourite Carnival cruise (indeed my favourite ever cruise) was to Alaska from Seattle in 2019. I'm on the Horizon in a couple of weeks visiting the A and C of the ABC islands, along with two stops in the Dom Rep. If this thread is anything to go by, that should be a cracker!

That cruise on the Horizon is a good one, I agree. Just don't expect things to be the same as your Alaska cruise.

[vwgolf2]

3 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

That cruise on the Horizon is a good one, I agree. Just don't expect things to be the same as your Alaska cruise.

Well I'm hoping it will be a bit warmer!

 

I'm guessing you are referring to the clientele and entertainment on board. This will be a fourth Carnival cruise and third in the Caribbean. We prefer Carnival to RCC for our American cruises as they seem a little more relaxed. Not sure if you've been on many British cruise ships but Carnival is to Marella just as RCC is to P&O, I think.   

[bar1068]

23 hours ago, noshoobie said:

Sorry to get off topic from the OP, but can you give me your insight on the Celebration itself? We are considering either Horizon or Celebration in September to ABC. @Saint Greg is travelling on the Horizon to ABC this month. I would love to hear the different point of views of the ships. Thanks. 

We loved the Celebration...we've also done the other 2 Excel class ships, Mardi Gras and Jubilee. We are fans of bigger ships. Have done a few of RCI's Oasis class ships and enjoyed those as well.

 

We are not even close to being cruise ship foodies, we just don't concern ourselves with food or dining options that greatly. Having said that, we did enjoy the more varied , included options Celebration and the other Excel class ships offered. We will always/only do YTD, and having Chibang, Guys P&A and Cucina as dinner time dining options in addition to the MDR and Lido for no charge, or at least no charge for the first time you go is a big plus. We're not fans of the MDR.

 

The layout of the Excel ships takes a little getting used to, but does seem to spread the pax out among the various entertainment and bar options. We had no issues when wanting to hang out on deck getting a lounger, then again, we stay away from the Lido pool madness. I guess one thing we're not real crazy about is the location of the Alchemy bar. We enjoy what the Alchemy bar was about when first introduced some years back, and although the concept remained intact on Excel ships, its now situated in a spot where it feels more like a party bar, and in a location that is pretty noisy. But there are other bars we enjoyed that were a little less rambunctious for our tastes.

 

I'm not big on reading and especially doing reviews, so sorry for not alot of detail other than to say we enjoyed the Celebration and the cruise to the ABC's. Our last 6 cruises were on Excel and Oasis class ships. We have a cruise booked next month on Venezia which is basically laid out similar to the Vista class ships. Going to be interesting to see how going to a "smaller ship" feels!!

 

Incidentally, we've done an 8 day ABC cruise on Horizon also, one of first cruises we did after things opened back up after the COVID shutdown and did enjoy that very much as well

 

[Honolulu Blue]

9 minutes ago, vwgolf2 said:

Well I'm hoping it will be a bit warmer!

 

I'm guessing you are referring to the clientele and entertainment on board. This will be a fourth Carnival cruise and third in the Caribbean. We prefer Carnival to RCC for our American cruises as they seem a little more relaxed. Not sure if you've been on many British cruise ships but Carnival is to Marella just as RCC is to P&O, I think.   

I'm hoping it's warmer for you too. Temperatures in that part of the world are consistent from day to day, month to month, and year to year.

 

I've never been on an Alaska cruise, but I've heard that it's an older crowd, and the some of the entertainment caters to it. 

 

I've never done any cruises on a British line, so your comparison is helpful for me. Thank you for it.

[abby1257]

On 3/28/2024 at 4:04 PM, Saint Greg said:

 

I haven't done either. But I am doing the Horizon ABC soon and I have seen the Hawaii prices.

What is the ABC

 

[Old Fart Cruisers]

6 minutes ago, abby1257 said:

What is the ABC

 

Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao

 

ABC Islands, are the westernmost isles of the Leeward Antilles

Edited April 4 by Old Fart Cruisers

[finoky]

On 3/28/2024 at 3:54 PM, Saint Greg said:

 

 

The newer ships can't go everywhere. If I had to guess what the "best" itinerary was...based on the pricing and comments I've seen/heard over the years on an 8-day cruise I would say the ABC that Horizon and I think Magic do. For Journeys I would say Hawaii which I think Miracle and Radiance do.

We have the 8 day ABC in a Havana aft facing balcony on the Horizon booked for April 2026.

[missholly24]

On 3/28/2024 at 3:14 PM, bdeluca03 said:

On yesterday's Carnival 2024 Q1 Earnings Call CEO Josh Weinstein stated in regards to the impact of new ships on pricing to Lizzie Dove of Goldman Sachs:

 

"Welcome to the first -- I think your first call or the first call since you've been covering us. So the new ships get a premium. There is no doubt that the new ships get a premium. The way we manage brand by brand, how much of that premium to get. It also depends on where we're putting that ship because we're not going to necessarily want to put the best ship on the best itinerary because that's not the good thing for the overall brand."

So if the Jubilee, Mardi Gras, etc. are the newest ships & not getting the best itinerary per Josh Weinstein - what is the best overall itinerary that Carnival Cruise offers?

Haha a thing we have known forever. Its why the cursed Sunrise always has the best (or at least most popular) itinerary! 😝I always try and find the sweet spot though where they meet. Usually, the Carnival Magic is involved and the Eastern Caribbean. 

[stobe1]

The best itinerary is which ever one I happen to be on at the time.

 

Nassau, Grand Turk, or the obligatory call at Cozumel... 

 

I am at the point where I cruise just to cruise.