Why is Carnival so Inexpensive?

[momofmeg]

Maybe she/he means the hard ice-cream. On the Celebrity Mercury last year they did have a stand by the pool at certain hours. You may have had to pay for this, I dont remember.

 

Yes I know many lines have the "pay extra" ice cream but that stuff is Ben and Jerry's or Hodgens Dauz (how is that spelled?) but every ship I have been on still offered the generic softserve ice cream.

 

Carnival has this dessert/gurmet coffee bar type thing with the pay extra type stuff-so they do that also-just not in the ice cream-although you can get frozen cappacinos or a sundae at the pay extra dessert bar.

 

but really I can't see how Carnival not offering gourmet ice cream poolside for extra money makes them cost less? to me that would make sense for them to offer that to make an extra buck-the lines that do this don't give it to you-you pay extra.

 

I think it is a nice option-offer the pay extra ice cream-just also offer the generic soft serve at no extra cost-that way everyone is happy.

[cruisinbuddy]

7 day Princess cruise, $3800.00, 8 day Carnival cruise a touch less than $3000.00, including insurance. I don't care why they're cheaper just so long as they are. Note prices do not include airfare. Although we got a great deal on direct flights, 2 people direct from Ottawa to Ft. Lauderdale for a touch over $1000.00. I think we did good.

[lovemylab]

Anytime I compared cruises between RCCL and Carnival I didn't notice much of a price difference. We cruised last October and the price difference was approximately $100 per person.

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with Carnival. I know several people who cruised with them and loved it. I just feel that RCCL is more suited for me.

[smoothdancer]

I found the same. We did a short cruise, short notice and I found RCCL and Carnivals pricing very comparable.

[I&MsMom]

Our cruise experience has been entirely with Carnival. We took our first cruise with Carnival for one very simple reason: they were the only cruise line to permit a 2 year old in the camp AND change diapers. On our first cruise DD was 25 months, DS 5, turning 6 during the cruise. I knew where DS went, DD would want to follow. So, we didn't so much choose Carnival as we did sail it by process of elimination.

 

That said, we've always been very satisfied. Now, admittedly, it may be a matter of "know not, want not", but I rather doubt it. We feel no need to look elsewhere, especially since Carnival provides cruises to Europe (Eastern and Western Med. starting in 2007!), Alaska and Hawaii. The only thing which might make us defect is that they don't do a full or partial transit of the Panama Canal. Although they do have a cruise which goes to Colon, Panama, that just doesn't seem the same.

 

As to price, we've found Carnival to be a great value. Whenever I've been looking, the rates for the Carnival cruise is always lower than other lines. Frankly, and especially since we've enjoyed our cruises very much, I'd rather cruise more frequently. We took 4 cruises between 1/05 and 2/06, and we're booked on the Freedom's Eastern Med. itinerary next April. The prices for the early Freedom cruises are amazing. With Carnival dropping it's rates to increase capacity on the Caribbean itineraries, I'm keeping my eyes open for something this August...

 

We like the food, we like the big production shows, the kids absolutely love the camp, we like the cabins, we've met some very, very nice people, and it's always just been an all-around great vacation. We tend to do our own thing, rather than participate in contests or attend art auctions, so I can't speak to those things But, I can say, if you're not interested, they are easy to avoid.

 

All of the extra TLC items, like cool towels, sound great, and I'm sure I'd enjoy them, but I don't think I'd prefer them over the ability to travel a bit more often. Although, if the price were right, I'd consider just about any line.

 

I concur with all of you that it's great there are so many choices, and I expect there may come a time when we are ready to try some of the other options out there.

 

In the meantime, Happy Sailing everyone - whichever line you choose!

[doodlefan]

What cabin category are you comparing ? For our upcoming Aug Princess British Isle, and last years Sept Princess Med, if we paid $1000 per person over Carnival :confused: , that means we could have done Carnival for a couple hundred bucks. :D

 

I donot think that is true. But to also qualify my answer, we were / are in the bottom categories on those cruises. (inside and outside obstructed).

 

It you are talking top of the line suites then maybe I would understand. Maybe X or Princess customers are willing to pay top dollar for those cabins.

 

Hey Chasetf

 

Actually for spring of 2007, I compared, Carnival's new Freedom with Princess' new Emerald and a couple of other ships and Carnival's inside room was OVER $1000 less PER PERSON for a 12 day Med cruise with very similar ports and both with 3 sea days.

 

 

To the OP:

To me it was a no brainer, Carnival Freedom won hands down. I have sailed RCI, Carnival and will sail the new Princess Crown in Dec. and so far between RCI and Carnival, Carnival wins, not by much but I did enjoy my Carnival cruises more, especially the Miracle.

 

I'm one of those people who bases my cruise choice more on itinerary and price then the cruise line. We are pretty easy to please and haven't had a bad time yet:o

 

I just checked and Emerald Princess for April 23rd/07 is $2190 pp for the lowest inside room and I paid $1074 pp for an inside room on Carnival's new Freedom. Both are Med cruises with many of the same ports and both are 12 days. For me, I can pay for the cruise AND the airfare for less than $2190 by going with Carnival, plus it's a brand new ship, it will be the 3rd sailing when I go on it on APril 19th.

 

As another person stated, just check out the many positive reviews for Carnival Liberty, who has been serving Europe last summer and this summer, people were very pleased.

 

Good luck with your decision

 

Doodlefan

[annierie]

One thing you need to remember. You are not in the Caribbean. There are limited options to do things on your own. There are not hundreds of taxi drivers who speak English to take you on tours.

 

There are NO facilities at many of the docks. Our "dock" in Sorrento was a shipping dock. The ship behind us was loading cars for a transatlantic. Walking to the gate entailed dodging forklifts, containers and heavy trucks and cranes.

 

Some ports are 1-3 hours from the city. Citavecchia is a 90 minute train ride from Rome.

 

Excursions are at least $100 per person to do an all day tour.

 

You can't just walk off the ship and do your thing in many places. They also don't take dollars in many of the small ports.

 

Besides, in some of the small Greek islands a ship the size of Carnival's will overwhelm the streets. You lose the atmosphere with thousands of people.

 

Just budget approximately $600-1000 per person for 9 ports on a 12 day cruise, or realize you will be very disappointed to find yourself in a low rent portside village with no one who speaks English.

 

Private drivers and guides can be found on the internet but they aren't cheap either. When we got to Glasgow on HAL a few years back, we paid $250 for four of us to get crammed into a sedan for 6 hours of touring. Guide was great, but we had to pay to get into any museums ourselves.

 

Be careful, and Europe is great, but I believe Carnival is offering great pricing as a loss leader and you will find you need to buy very expensive excursions from them in quite a few ports.

 

Shop wisely,

Annie

[I&MsMom]

Annie: Your points are very well taken.

 

Europe is expensive, especially with the value of the Euro vis a vis the dollar. But, by paying for a 12 day cruise in dollars, you are negating, to some degree, the unfavorable exchange rate.

 

Add to that, by anyone's standards, Carnival's rates for the Freedom are astounding. Yes, it's a new ship and a new itinerary (with the attendant pros and cons), yet it's 12 days in the Eastern Med. at great rates!

 

As to shore excursions, I think that's very much dependent upon the individual cruiser. We're a family of four, with kids who will be 4 and 8 next spring when we'll be on the Freedom. We are not planning any ship-sponsored excursions. We're doing our own thing in part because we feel comfortable doing so, in part because we don't want to impose our kids on fellow cruisers for long shore excursions, and in part because we don't want to have our kids locked into long see-Athens/Istanbul/etc.-in-a-day kind of excursions.

 

Some of the ports will be old friends, some new. I'm doing my homework, and we're choosing carefully what we'd like to do and see in each port. There are so many resources available, including Cruise Critic's Ports of Call boards, that it is easy to come up with concrete ideas for port days that don't have to involve the expenditure of a lot of money. Certainly, if you want a private driver for a day you will spend a significant amount. On the other hand, if you are willing to venture out on your own, having done your research, you can enjoy your days in port spending much less than you would if you were there on a land-based vacation.

 

I think all of the ports will handle the influx of passengers well. The only island on the Freedom's itinerary is Rhodes, which is the largest of the Peloponnese islands. I agree, if you are a veteran of Eastern Med. cruises, you may be looking for something more exotic, but for someone who has not ventured further south than Sicily, I am very much looking forward to this itinerary...

 

It's great that, as cruise consumers, we have so many options. Not every line, ship, itinerary is for everyone. So we all get to find, and enjoy, what works best for us!

 

Happy cruising! In the end, we're all on the ocean, thrilled to be looking at that gorgeous moon!

[annierie]

Defintely planning for Europe is a must. But, I do find people who go to Europe and gripe about non-English speakers who don't take US dollars. Since you are planning to do things after research, you are on the right track. We were on Mykonos with Grand Princess. They overwhelmed Mykonos.

 

The streets are very narrow. There are few excursions. The people speak a little English, are friendly, but not all take dollars. Some do, some don't. We saw a few "ugly American" confrontations due to misunderstandings.

 

Santorini is also difficult to do. We made it in because we had a small ship. The winds make it difficult to navigate the cut in the caldera.

 

The big ships like Carnival don't usually go to these exotic small ports. But, for a taste of Europe, they are affordable. And, for a family even more so.

 

You do get limited port options though. I love the Med. Our favorite ports are Corsica, Capri, Taormina, Malta, every Greek island, and the Amalfi coast so far. Haven't made it up the eastern side of Italy yet nor the Black Sea but we will get there.

 

Enjoy your cruise,

Annie

[madelinerose]

Check out Carnival's Caribbean rates for 2008...they're no longer inexpensive.

[DreemWeaver]

I don't think Tommy'd Mom meant this the way it was read by some. I understand that expression as not deragatory but actually a compliment. People who "won't drown even if it starts to rain" means people who are determined to enjoy life and have no time for snobbishness or wasting time dissecting down to earth comments.

Take it from a "street-smart".

 

Dreemweaver

[DreemWeaver]

"As far as negative experiences with drunks, I have had one on a Carnival ship but 3 other such experiences on Royal caribbean. So my thinking is obnoxious people can be anywhere-and it is just the luck of a draw who your cruisemates are."

 

Amen to that!!!!

[Verystormy]

Hey Chasetf

 

Actually for spring of 2007, I compared, Carnival's new Freedom with Princess' new Emerald and a couple of other ships and Carnival's inside room was OVER $1000 less PER PERSON for a 12 day Med cruise with very similar ports and both with 3 sea days.

 

 

To the OP:

To me it was a no brainer, Carnival Freedom won hands down. I have sailed RCI, Carnival and will sail the new Princess Crown in Dec. and so far between RCI and Carnival, Carnival wins, not by much but I did enjoy my Carnival cruises more, especially the Miracle.

 

I'm one of those people who bases my cruise choice more on itinerary and price then the cruise line. We are pretty easy to please and haven't had a bad time yet:o

 

I just checked and Emerald Princess for April 23rd/07 is $2190 pp for the lowest inside room and I paid $1074 pp for an inside room on Carnival's new Freedom. Both are Med cruises with many of the same ports and both are 12 days. For me, I can pay for the cruise AND the airfare for less than $2190 by going with Carnival, plus it's a brand new ship, it will be the 3rd sailing when I go on it on APril 19th.

 

As another person stated, just check out the many positive reviews for Carnival Liberty, who has been serving Europe last summer and this summer, people were very pleased.

 

Good luck with your decision

 

Doodlefan

 

I find it interesting how Carnival operates a 100% price hike for british customers!! The cheapest price i could get for a carnival med cruise for 12 nights was £1297 per person for a 4A - the cheapest cabin on the ship. This works out at around double what you paid!! It is also 40 pounds MORE expensive than a similar Celebrity cruise and only a couple of hundred pounds less than 13 nights on the QM2 which would include flights to the US

[MrPete]

A group of us are planning a Mediterranean cruise for Sept or Oct, 2007. In reviewing pricing I note Carnival is nearly $1000 per person cheaper than Celebrity or Princess for a comparable 12-13 day cruise. Why? I'm always very skeptical when there is such a price variance.

 

For those that want to pay $1000 to $2000 more for less, to them I say, go ahead. I know what Carnival offers, and am happy with it.

 

More $$ does not eqate to a better experience. And When I ask what you get for that extra 1 to 2G's on the cmpeting lines, I've yet to hear an answer.

 

I will now read on......

[momofmeg]

7 day Princess cruise, $3800.00, 8 day Carnival cruise a touch less than $3000.00, including insurance. I don't care why they're cheaper just so long as they are. Note prices do not include airfare. Although we got a great deal on direct flights, 2 people direct from Ottawa to Ft. Lauderdale for a touch over $1000.00. I think we did good.

 

My Caribbean princess cruise is costing us a little under$1600 for 2, balcony midship, in the fall including Travelguard. Carnival Glory, a conquest class ship was actually more expensive for the same week. It all depends on which week you book.

 

but we did not just pick this because of the price-we also wanted to go to Jamaica-Carnival Glory does not go there.

[redskin80]

We cruised Carnival last year to Europe. I found that it was a very great cruise, not bottom of the barrel, or as some like to use the term BUBBA.

 

Europe is a diffrent kind of cruise. We found the ship to be less rowdy as other cruises we have had on Carnival.

 

So if yuo can save a $1000.00 per person go for it.

 

So yuo save it before you leave it gives you more to spend while over there.

[momofmeg]

For those that want to pay $1000 to $2000 more for less, to them I say, go ahead. I know what Carnival offers, and am happy with it.

 

More $$ does not eqate to a better experience. And When I ask what you get for that extra 1 to 2G's on the cmpeting lines, I've yet to hear an answer.

 

I will now read on......

 

well Princess is not a competing line-just slightly more upscale. but you know I just love cruising and will go on any line. Look at my signature-the only line I did not like at all was HAL and even that cruise was a "7" in my book.

[rt63]

My opinion on the lower pricing on Carnival...

 

First, I would bet that each cruise line operated by Carnival Corp has its own P&L and has to be generating results. I'm thinking that Carnival probably sees more revenue generated onboard compared to other lines, per stateroom, and this makes up some of the difference, the rest being covered by lower operating costs.

 

Second, Princess and other lines in the Carnival family benefit when a first-timer takes a 3 or 4 day cruise on Carnival and starts taking more cruise vacations. Once the first-timers are hooked, they start looking at other options more in line with their lifestyles, researching in more detail, and may then book Princess next, for example. This is a generalization, of course...

 

The lines are positioned to cater to certain market demands, and as long as the demand is there and there's an opportunity to make profits, I think the business models are sound. It's more than the pricing, it is everything on the ship, tailored for that specific cruise market segment. I'm impressed that Carnival does seem to keep its "Fun Ships" filled, and its employees are truly all friendly, everyone was smiling on our cruise last week on Sensation. (Except the security guy trying to deal with 10 splashing kids in the hot tub, but he only scowled for a few seconds...)

[cruisecastle]

Hate to be crass and will get flamed for this, but they are almost the bottom of the barrel for cruiselines. Better food, better accommodations, better service (especially better service), not so many people trying to get away with "stuff" (booze smuggling, dress code, chair hogging, ways to beat the system) on Celebrity and Princess. More upscale, if you will.

 

If you just want a Med cruise, don't care about ambiance and extraordinary service, Carnival would be fine. And especially in the Med, where there are a lot of port days.

 

That post just shows your ignorance! Carnival really steps it up for there Med cruise. We went last summer and it was by far the best of all of our Carnival experiences.

[cruisecastle]

Hate to be crass and will get flamed for this, but they are almost the bottom of the barrel for cruiselines. Better food, better accommodations, better service (especially better service), not so many people trying to get away with "stuff" (booze smuggling, dress code, chair hogging, ways to beat the system) on Celebrity and Princess. More upscale, if you will.

 

If you just want a Med cruise, don't care about ambiance and extraordinary service, Carnival would be fine. And especially in the Med, where there are a lot of port days.

 

INteresting how many Carnival captains have been arrested for being drunk and then fired on the spot. Not any I know of. Better check your Celebrity news today though.

[PADutchman]

Hope CCL keeps the prices low so we can do 3 cruises a year, people who think they are getting more from a different cruise line for $1 or $2000 more a cruise to go to the same places, pay the extra money and enjoy. CCL is the largest cruise Co.

[bethaniesmom]

I usually stay out of this kind of discussion....BUT....I had to agree with Daddychuck:

 

The worst cruise I ever had was wonderful!

 

Beverly

[doodlefan]

I find it interesting how Carnival operates a 100% price hike for british customers!! The cheapest price i could get for a carnival med cruise for 12 nights was £1297 per person for a 4A - the cheapest cabin on the ship. This works out at around double what you paid!! It is also 40 pounds MORE expensive than a similar Celebrity cruise and only a couple of hundred pounds less than 13 nights on the QM2 which would include flights to the US

 

Hi Verystormy

 

I have a question for you. I am clueless about people like yourself booking cruises from other countries. Do you have to book in pounds. Can you not contact an American TA and book through them in US funds?

 

I am Canadian and I know that if I book directly through Princess, they charge me the rate in US funds and then convert it at their preset rate 1.25 to Cnd funds and this makes it VERY expensive, :mad: so I book through a US TA and pay in US funds and the exchange of funds to Canadian is done by my Credit card Company and is much much cheaper than Princess' right now.

 

I really don't think it's fair the way most of the Cruise lines make it so much cheaper for US citizens than for other countries. I just lucked out with this Med cruise as it is very cheap right now and so is our exchange rate. It's the spending money in Euros that is going to hurt. Very expensive going from Canadian to Euros as right now $1000 CND will barely get you $700 Euro. If the whole cruise and flights were in Euro we couldn't afford to go. Being that the flight, cruise and sign and sail are in US it is cheaper. Even some of the shore excursions in US funds,I will have to weigh carefully to see if they actually work out cheaper than doing some of the stuff on my own in Euros.

 

Good luck and I hope you find a deal. We have a Cruise Critic group cruise for April 19th on the Freedom so maybe you could get a cheaper rate that way. Here's the link to the info

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=323331

 

Doodlefan

[Cuizer2]

A group of us are planning a Mediterranean cruise for Sept or Oct, 2007. In reviewing pricing I note Carnival is nearly $1000 per person cheaper than Celebrity or Princess for a comparable 12-13 day cruise. Why? I'm always very skeptical when there is such a price variance.

 

Why is Southwest less expensive than other airlines? If you don't feel comfortable on Carnival because of the price, then book on Celebrity or Princess. Celebrity is a premium line and Princess is owned by Carnival.

 

I have cruised with four different cruise lines, including Carnival. I have had a great time on all the cruises, including Carnival. For $1000 per person I would book Carnival.

 

However, if you want to eat at the buffet and you want someone to carry your food to your table for you, then you better book Celebrity.

[Maryutah]

I haven't been on other cruises, so I can't compare, but I since I have been on a Carnival cruise in the past and had no complaints, I am willing to go again on this longer cruise because I think the approx $500 difference (that is just doing online comparisions of balcony staterooms)from comparable cruises can be used for shore excursions and other expenses.

 

I thought the accomodations, cleanliness, entertainment and service were all wonderful, better than expected when we went the Carnival fleet's Party Boat advertising were almost a turn off. We didn't have that, we had average 30 year olds (lot of children, lot of older folks, but lot more medium age crowd) - and so it was fun, but not chaotic.

 

Good luck on your Med cruise, i'm looking forward to ours next year!