Carnival cruise ships to avoid.

[FiredogCruiser]

I think it depends entirely on what your expectations are for the cruise. In our case expectations vary widely. If we are looking at wanting to visit a specific destination, naturally you are limited by what ships go there, but in general we would look for a smaller ship. Not being especially beach people, the larger ships and private islands are not a draw, I think though, as ships continue to get bigger you will see more and more ports wanting to limit the number of ships, or ban them entirely if they can, which will make private island visits more of a necessity for cruise lines.

 

The idea of the ship being the destination itself has less meaning to me these days. I enjoy sea days where you can sit and look  out at the ocean, enjoy a book or conversation, and have a drink or coffee, without being limited to your room. These mega ships seem to have less and less space for connecting with the sea. I find the lack of promenade decks with loungers is an example. And the lack of comfortable seating.

 

I would say my favorite ships are the Spirit class overall, especially for journeys cruises. We have been on the Pride more than any other ship in the fleet. Probably next up would be the Dream class. We have been on the Dream several times when it was in NOLA.

 

Least favorite are the mega ships. We did MG and Celebration, but saw no need for a Jubilee cruise just to experience the ship, and were not impressed with it itineraries

 

Different strokes for different folks..

[Moz]

3 hours ago, teknoge3k said:

I didn't click the clickbait link, but for me personally, I avoid the Conquest, because it mainly only does short Bahamas cruises, and the clientele on the Conquest is different from any other ship. Definitely not my cup of tea.

Agree completely loved the actual ship ambiance and decor but the loud and vulgar clientele were unacceptable and turned our whole family off on Carnival which is sad as we had always cruised that line,  Can't get them back on a Carnival ship.

[ledges1]

I have mentioned the bad language in the past on this site. There have been those on this site that have defended the bad language. It is undefensible.

[skiorcruise]

I have enjoyed every ship I have been on, from the Fantasy class to one of Royal's mega ships.  I prefer the smaller ships, mostly because the crowds on the big ships tend towards loud and pushy. ( I hate those people who rush to get on the elevator as soon as the doors open, not allowing me to get off.)  Give me a Spirit Class ship any day.  In fact, I just booked one this morning.

[deckrbert]

34 minutes ago, skiorcruise said:

I have enjoyed every ship I have been on, from the Fantasy class to one of Royal's mega ships.  I prefer the smaller ships, mostly because the crowds on the big ships tend towards loud and pushy. ( I hate those people who rush to get on the elevator as soon as the doors open, not allowing me to get off.)  Give me a Spirit Class ship any day.  In fact, I just booked one this morning.

I can totally second your point about the crowds being pushy. But, a lot of them are also SUPER slow walkers. I have a hard time with this. I can totally see how you have problems with both of these. Picking a smaller cruise is very smart, because who in the heck wants to be complaining on vacation?

[Elaine5715]

7 hours ago, Moz said:

Agree completely loved the actual ship ambiance and decor but the loud and vulgar clientele were unacceptable and turned our whole family off on Carnival which is sad as we had always cruised that line,  Can't get them back on a Carnival ship.

They do know that every cruise has different people?

[mz-s]

17 hours ago, StephPS79 said:

 

 

Possibly these two things are correlated...

 

 

yes I think that was my point. 

[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, ledges1 said:

I have mentioned the bad language in the past on this site. There have been those on this site that have defended the bad language. It is undefensible.

On the other hand it is beyond one's control so why worry about it? I just tune it out (I suppose it helps that I was in the Navy and heard it every day for 16 years).

[sparks1093]

21 hours ago, ontheweb said:

We once had a wonderful cruise on the Fascination out of San Juan. Our TA tried to warn us off because the old ship lacked "bells and whistles". But as I said, we had a wonderful time with fine ports, great other passengers, and lots and lots of dancing which especially made DW happy.

We also did Fascination our of SJ and it was the oldest ship in the fleet at that time (IIRC). Had a great time in spite of the garish Farcus decor. The 5 ports of call no doubt helped with that.

 

As for attitude for us the ship is simply the backdrop for us spending time with each other and any family and friends that are along for the ride. So we'll have a good time no matter what the ship is like.

[Diamond-56-Plus]

6 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

On the other hand it is beyond one's control so why worry about it? I just tune it out (I suppose it helps that I was in the Navy and heard it every day for 16 years).

You Navy people wake up early, damn where the pot of coffee at.😉

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

We also did Fascination our of SJ and it was the oldest ship in the fleet at that time (IIRC). Had a great time in spite of the garish Farcus decor. The 5 ports of call no doubt helped with that.

 

As for attitude for us the ship is simply the backdrop for us spending time with each other and any family and friends that are along for the ride. So we'll have a good time no matter what the ship is like.

The ports were fine, though not as exciting as European ports. But the onboard experience was what stood out. It was if not the most fun cruise we ever had definitely very close.

[ledges1]

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

On the other hand it is beyond one's control so why worry about it? I just tune it out (I suppose it helps that I was in the Navy and heard it every day for 16 years).

I understand your thoughts on this subject. Some will never change their ways and are offended if they are challenged. However, some will. I will not give up and I will continue to mention when it is a discussion point.

[StephPS79]

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Had a great time in spite of the garish Farcus decor.

 

Farcus had some wild ideas, man.  I love a Farcus ship, lots of good discussion pieces!

[jeblack1]

A lot of factors go into how good the cruise was / is.  

 - Are you the people you went with fun?

 - Does it meet the expectation for what you paid?  I can have a great time on a free cruise on the oldest ship they have, but if it is over $5k on the newest ship, I will expect a lot more (better food/entertainment/room in spa, etc.

 - ports

 - other passengers

 - ease of access from airports to ports

 

But to the original question, we prefer longer cruises 7+ days, which **usually** is on the newer ships with the bells and whistles.   This usually excludes some of the older and smaller ships.

 

[coondog99]

On 10/14/2024 at 8:01 AM, ontheweb said:

We once had a wonderful cruise on the Fascination out of San Juan. Our TA tried to warn us off because the old ship lacked "bells and whistles". But as I said, we had a wonderful time with fine ports, great other passengers, and lots and lots of dancing which especially made DW happy.

The Fascination was our first cruise in 1999 out of SJ as well. It was a beautiful ship and had a great itinerary. We were hooked from then on. 

[cxr133]

huh the breeze is one of my fav ships    1. breeze 2. Horizon 3. magic 

[clairebearinaus]

I didn't love the Splendor - passenger behaviour probably did cloud my judgement on that one but the food was pretty bad, the spa area we'd paid extra for was run down, and the decor is notoriously awful and dated.

 

I am only destination cruising now though, so the ship is less important.  I'm on Miracle next year and know not everyone likes that one.  We're on right after dry dock so maybe it'll improve, but we're there for the ports so it doesn't really matter either way.

[Diamond-56-Plus]

3 hours ago, clairebearinaus said:

I didn't love the Splendor - passenger behaviour probably did cloud my judgement on that one but the food was pretty bad, the spa area we'd paid extra for was run down, and the decor is notoriously awful and dated.

 

I am only destination cruising now though, so the ship is less important.  I'm on Miracle next year and know not everyone likes that one.  We're on right after dry dock so maybe it'll improve, but we're there for the ports so it doesn't really matter either way.

I hear Frankie received some new duds, say hello for me.

[Illbcruzn4life]

I avoid all the ones without a Havana area.

[staceyglow]

On 10/16/2024 at 7:14 AM, clairebearinaus said:

I didn't love the Splendor - passenger behaviour probably did cloud my judgement on that one but the food was pretty bad, the spa area we'd paid extra for was run down, and the decor is notoriously awful and dated.

 

I am only destination cruising now though, so the ship is less important.  I'm on Miracle next year and know not everyone likes that one.  We're on right after dry dock so maybe it'll improve, but we're there for the ports so it doesn't really matter either way.

Just got off the Splendor a week or two ago and loved it. The Australian experience on Carnival is different from the American one - different menu, different beet choices, different passengers. 

 

It looks beautiful after its dry dock, but unfortunately, Frankie is gone.

[mfs2k]

Carnival does a good job at refurbishment and transferring older ships (+25-30) years to other lines.  

Personally instead of the specific ship, I find the # of nights, itinerary, departure port, season, and who we're traveling with to be more relevant variables to guage whether we will have a good time or not.

Who we are traveling with and who we meet on the ship are actually the most important factors to judge how great our experience was, as I think back on all our cruises. 

 

One last point. What I enjoyed on my first Carnival cruise when I was 28 years old is different from what I enjoyed on my most recent Carnival cruise last month at the age of 65. 

[thunderingherd11]

I have been on 8 ships.  I would not avoid any of them.  Each class of ship is unique and I like exploring all the uniqueness.  As we keep booking larger ships, I tend to enjoy the smaller ones better.  But I would avoid none.

[Diamond-56-Plus]

On 10/17/2024 at 1:18 AM, staceyglow said:

 Frankie is gone.

What, they made Frankie Walk the plank😐 

[deckrbert]

@Diamond-56-Plus…thats hilarious

🤣

[PaulieG13]

On 10/15/2024 at 4:28 AM, sparks1093 said:

As for attitude for us the ship is simply the backdrop for us spending time with each other and any family and friends that are along for the ride. So we'll have a good time no matter what the ship is like.

This right here is our mantra also!