?'s about our 1st cruise

[IResQU]

I have a few questions regaurding our first cruise. We are booked on the Victory in jan/07 in a Balcony Room. What things are a must do/avoid in ports. (don't wanna waste my $$$)

And after reading so many neg. reviews about Carnival/RCC should we cancel and rebook with RCC? Those who have cruised both, HELP!!!

We will be traveling with Myself, Dh a 3 & 6 yr. old my sister in law and a friend. We like to eat yummy food, Will this be a disappoint ment? Is it like applebees, or a nice restaurant?

Thanks

[Sue L]

It might help if you list the ports as many posters will ignore the question rather the go and look up what ports you are stopping at.

 

I have been on 1 Scandanavia, 5 Princess, 3 Carnival, where two were great (Valor and Victory) and one was terrible (Destiny) and just went on my first RCCL and LOVED IT. I felt everything from the service to the food, to the activities were a much better fit for us and booked two more. I am not married to anyone particular line I go with who is running the best itinerary and what fits my wallet at that point in time

 

 

Remember this is a Carnival board so more of your answers will lean towards Carnival, if you post the same question on the RCCL board you will get answers more towards them.

[DqALEX]

I have a few questions regaurding our first cruise. We are booked on the Victory in jan/07 in a Balcony Room. What things are a must do/avoid in ports. (don't wanna waste my $$$)

And after reading so many neg. reviews about Carnival/RCC should we cancel and rebook with RCC? Those who have cruised both, HELP!!!

We will be traveling with Myself, Dh a 3 & 6 yr. old my sister in law and a friend. We like to eat yummy food, Will this be a disappoint ment? Is it like applebees, or a nice restaurant?

Thanks

For the first cruise I would try Carnival. See if you like to cruise. My friend went on a cruise and he told me he would never go on another. Cruising is not for everyone. I have not been on RCCL, because of the price. If it were just me and my wife I would try RCCL. I haven't taken my kids on RCCL with the way the ships look and all the things to do with the kids I don;t think I could get them back on carnival.

[Cruzman]

I've sailed RCCI 6 times and Carnival 9 times and I find little difference overall between the two lines. Carnival does some things better, RCCI does some better. I usually end up on Carnival because Royal Caribbean is usually much higher in their pricing. As far as food is concerned, I've never been disappointed on either, but I'd give a slight edge to Carnival as to taste, quality and presentation. It's not 5 star cuisine, but it is very good.

[Sue L]

I've sailed RCCI 6 times and Carnival 9 times and I find little difference overall between the two lines. Carnival does some things better, RCCI does some better. I usually end up on Carnival because Royal Caribbean is usually much higher in their pricing. As far as food is concerned, I've never been disappointed on either, but I'd give a slight edge to Carnival as to taste, quality and presentation. It's not 5 star cuisine, but it is very good.

 

 

Sorry but I do need to disagree on this , I was on the RCCL a couple of weeks ago and the food was fabulous,A+ our last Carnival C-. this holds true for service, decor and entertainment. And RCCL wasn't that much more $50pp for the week similiar cabins and you get so much more IMO.

[Mysticks1]

If you are undecided as to which line/ship to choose then you should find the ship for both lines which would suit your time/ports, etc. Go to the member review sections here on CC and read all of the recent reviews for each ship and you will get a feel for what each offers as to amenities and entertainment as well as individual opinions of the ships. You can also visit cruisedeckplans.com and see the deck plans for each ship and compare them.

As someone else said, most of the posters on Carnival and RCC will tell you that their chosen line is best so you will probably not get anywhere in asking for opinions on each board. One thing that I really like about Carnival is that the cabins are larger than the other lines so you should look at the square foot total for each cabin when comparing if more room is important to you. Good luck in your search and beware......cruising is addictive.:D

[IResQU]

Thanks so much for the advice, We are going to Costa Maya, Ocho ios and Grand Caymen. We are very excited, and the countdown begins! Thanks Again!:D

[DqALEX]

Thanks so much for the advice, We are going to Costa Maya, Ocho ios and Grand Caymen. We are very excited, and the countdown begins! Thanks Again!:D

Be sure to let us know how you make out. Have a great time

[CruzVinnieCruz]

Sorry but I do need to disagree on this , I was on the RCCL a couple of weeks ago and the food was fabulous,A+ our last Carnival C-. this holds true for service, decor and entertainment. And RCCL wasn't that much more $50pp for the week similiar cabins and you get so much more IMO.

 

This might be true for the particular ship you were on but somethings vary from ship to ship. We have been on RCCL, Celebrity, and Princess but limited to a few ships to rate an entire line on one ship would be hard to do. We cruised with Celebrity just because they were supposed to have the best cuisine in the industry (according to reviews) and were disappointed. In my opinion Carnival edged them out overall but again this was just one particular Celebrity ship. I agree with Cruzman that Carnival does somethings better than RCCL and vice versa but overall they are very compariable.

[habby]

I have a few questions regaurding our first cruise. We are booked on the Victory in jan/07 in a Balcony Room. What things are a must do/avoid in ports. (don't wanna waste my $$$)

And after reading so many neg. reviews about Carnival/RCC should we cancel and rebook with RCC? Those who have cruised both, HELP!!!

We will be traveling with Myself, Dh a 3 & 6 yr. old my sister in law and a friend. We like to eat yummy food, Will this be a disappoint ment? Is it like applebees, or a nice restaurant?

Thanks

 

Have only cruised Carnival. Sorry I can't offer info about RCC.

 

Personally I would compare the dining room somewhere between Applebee's and a nice restaurant. There will be passengers who dress to the nines every night, and there will be some who have dinner in jeans and a t-shirt. Food tastes vary. We've found the food on Carnival to be better than good, but not necessarily great all the time.

 

Please be sure to let us know what you decide. I would be particularly interested in a review if you do choose the Victory cruise as we have never been on that ship or visited the Western Caribbean, and we'll be sailing on her in April.

[skiorcruise]

While in Grand Cayman...

 

Do Stingray City. It's a must. Wate is about 3 ft deep.

Turtle farm was good, interesting, and one way to support the preservation of this endangered species.

Skip Hell, if you can. It's very near the Turtle farm, and inculded on most of those excursions.

 

There is a jewlery store near the Hard Rock Cafe that sells silver Stingray necklaces for $19.95 each. Both my wife and my mother think that is the best souviner from this cruise they have.

 

Food onboard is upscale, but they cook for a lot of people at once. Like any large gathering where everyone eats at one time, quality can be spotty. Try different things, you won't be disappointed. Don't stress over the dress code in the dining room. Long pants (no shorts) and a polo shirt is fine most nights for men. Formal nights you should dress up a little more. Kids are kids - no one will complain no matter what you have on them. Well, no swimsuits or tank tops.

[jbags58]

Coming up on our 7th cruise...5 on carnival and 1 on RCCL...We LOVE Carnival and have NEVER been disappointed. The occasional meal that you dont like but then would just try something else...

 

We are doing the Western Itinerary in April on the Triumph. Similar to yours...ocho rios, Cozumel, Grand Caymans...cant wait to swim with the Sting Rays!

 

It is all about personal preference. Hubby and I ONLY book suites and probably prefer prices w/Carnival but then we are happy with them too and NO we aren't BIG TIME PARTIERS as some say Carnival people are! HA!

 

HAVE FUN!!

[doodlelover]

You said: "Thanks so much for the advice, We are going to Costa Maya, Ocho ios and Grand Caymen. We are very excited, and the countdown begins!"

 

We did not like Ocho Rios. Lots of beggars close to the port and there were a lot of guards around. Did not do any tours- just did the walk to the nearby mall / shoppng area- I really did not give the port a chance. Some people that went on tours really liked it.

 

Never been to Costa Maya.

 

Grand Cayman is the best place I've ever been. Go to Red Sail Sports and have them take you to Stingray City. You can book this on your own cheaper than with CCL. Wear tennis shoes for the trip into Cayman- you will be going via a tender and sometimes the waves are a little choppy. We've flown to Cayman before- it's worth every dollar.

[melodienj]

Hello :)

I was on the Victory last year and we went western-

Ocho Rios, Cozumel and Grand Caymans.

We had the best time.

My review is below and pictures of the ship, stingrays, duns river falls etc..

Enjoy your cruise :)

[cowen]

We've cruised twice, once on RCCL and once on Carnival. Loved the Victory. In fact, we're booking for 2007 this month. Both cruise lines were nice, but overall, we rated Carnival ahead of RCCL. RCCL advantages more choices for lunch, more choices at dinner on the kids menu, separate buffet stations so no long lines. Carnival advantages friendlier, more efficient staff, cleaner ship, more attention to little details, larger cabins.

Everyone will have their own opinion. Remember, your vacation will depend on the attitude you board with. Enjoy!!

[Super89]

I have only been on Carnival and had great experiences both times. We went to Costa Maya and Grand Cayman on the Miracle and loved them both. Did the Rays reef and rumpoint beach excursion with Nativeways watersports in Grand Cayman. It was great and I would recommend it for sure. In Costa Maya we went to the fishing village of Mahuhaul and beached it for the day. My son had a great time snorkeling right off the beach and my hubby and daughter rented a jetski for a reasonable price. They also have massages on the beach and great margaritas!!;) Have a wonderful time no matter what ship you choose!