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Which one should I choose?

tonit964
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tonit964

tonit964

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I'm torn between these two cruises and hoping for some help. The cost difference is minimal so not a factor and these are West Coast Long Beach port cruises. Both ships are new to me, ports are not.

 

Carnival Radiance 4 day 9/2/24 - b2b with a 2 day 9/6/24 going to Ensenada & Catalina. The 2 day does not offer Cheers.😩 I've never done a B2B before, might be kinda fun.

 

Carnival Firenze 7 day 8/31/24 - Mexican Riviera

 

I appreciate any input to help sway me one way or another.

TIA!

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jerseygirlinAZ

jerseygirlinAZ

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Radiance is my least favorite ship out of Long Beach (though we obviously haven't been on Firenze).  It's not that it's bad, it's just not my fav.  I just feel there are less options overall on that ship.

 

I will say that tendering to Catalina took a long time as it seemed everyone was getting off the ship.  The hallways were lined with people.  

 

We sail Firenze in October.  We're looking forward to checking out a new and different kind of Carnival ship.

 

Not sure any of that helps.

 

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staceyglow

staceyglow

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Just now, tonit964 said:

@jerseygirlinAZ @DPTexas

Thank you for your input, I think I’m going to go with the 7 day on Firenze. Kinda wish it had the iconic “ whale tail “ though. 😁

I was on the Venezia a few weeks ago, and I can assure you the lack of a whale tail did not affect my enjoyment of the cruise one bit.

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tonit964

tonit964

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6 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

I was on the Venezia a few weeks ago, and I can assure you the lack of a whale tail did not affect my enjoyment of the cruise one bit.

I know, it sounds silly and it wouldn’t affect my enjoyment of the cruise at all but every time I see that big C on the stack, it’ll just seem wrong. 🤣

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Crusin Karen

Crusin Karen

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I’ll be on Venezia for 3rd time on Monday and yea, it’s kind of 🫣🤔😣 not seeing that whale tail in the distance as you’re driving to port. 

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pinto18

pinto18

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You made the right choice, Ensenada not the most exciting port and Cabo is just ok...we really like Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta 

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jsglow

jsglow

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Easy and correct choice going with Firenze. And that's coming from a guy who likes Radiance and the 4 night Catalina?Ensenada run.

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DPTexas

DPTexas

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1 hour ago, tonit964 said:

@jerseygirlinAZ @DPTexas

Thank you for your input, I think I’m going to go with the 7 day on Firenze. Kinda wish it had the iconic “ whale tail “ though. 😁

If you miss the iconic "whale tail" on the Firenze, then go on a whale excursion in Cabo San Lucas where they go to give birth because the water is warmer.  We went in January during the height of the whale sighting season and were not disappointed. Since you are going in September, you may miss that because I believe it starts in mid-December through April - but check.  Even if it is too early, the beaches and scenery are breathtakingly beautiful.  The excursion also included going to the Arch of Cabo at the land's end where the Pacific Ocean becomes the Gulf of California, where we also saw plenty of sea lions, too. 

 

On this itinerary, a must see excursion in Puerto Vallarta is the dinner show "Rhythms of the Night" which was very entertaining and fabulous.  Book that excursion early because it seems to sell out quickly. We thoroughly enjoyed that itinerary and hope you do, too.

Happy Cruising Everyone!

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tonit964

tonit964

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9 hours ago, DPTexas said:

If you miss the iconic "whale tail" on the Firenze, then go on a whale excursion in Cabo San Lucas where they go to give birth because the water is warmer.  We went in January during the height of the whale sighting season and were not disappointed. Since you are going in September, you may miss that because I believe it starts in mid-December through April - but check.  Even if it is too early, the beaches and scenery are breathtakingly beautiful.  The excursion also included going to the Arch of Cabo at the land's end where the Pacific Ocean becomes the Gulf of California, where we also saw plenty of sea lions, too. 

 

On this itinerary, a must see excursion in Puerto Vallarta is the dinner show "Rhythms of the Night" which was very entertaining and fabulous.  Book that excursion early because it seems to sell out quickly. We thoroughly enjoyed that itinerary and hope you do, too.

Happy Cruising Everyone!

Thank you for all of that information. Not sure what I’m going to do in the ports yet.

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tonit964

tonit964

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27 minutes ago, teknoge3k said:

A 4 day vs a 7 day would be a no brainer for me, regardless of ports. A 4 day cruise you barely have time to take your shoes off. 

It would be a b2b with a 2 day but I agree, a longer cruise is always better, so that extra day is great to have. 🙂

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tonit964

tonit964

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Yeah, not having cheers on the second leg would be a bummer.

I went ahead and booked the Firenze for 8/31/24. It's a milestone birthday cruise and will be my 20th Carnival cruise so I'm excited about it.

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jimbo5544 "Live from...." Rare

jimbo5544

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13 hours ago, tonit964 said:

Yeah, not having cheers on the second leg would be a bummer.

I went ahead and booked the Firenze for 8/31/24. It's a milestone birthday cruise and will be my 20th Carnival cruise so I'm excited about it.

Enjoy your cruise.  Let us all know how it went when you return.

Edited by jimbo5544
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