Thinking of Sailing with Carnival

[JennHales]

I have been on 3 RCCL cruises. Never tried a different cruise line. Will I regret trying Carnival.

My Husband and I are going for our 10 year anniversary with out kids. We are quiet don't drink gamble. Hum I think I am convincing myself to stay with RCCL.

Jen

[zebra36]

Go ahead abd give them a try. From what I have observed not a great deal of difference, they do have bars and casinos on RCCI ships.

[time4u2go]

I think you'll be happy with Carnival. Give them a try! Not sure how not drinking or gambling would limit you to RCI?

[NYCRUISR]

We have been there..done that. Look at our list of cruises and see if you come to the same conclusion we did.

Sometimes you have to just see for yourself.:D

[Stevie17]

As you can see from my signature line, I've sailed Carnival twice (and NCL and Princess too.) I enjoyed my cruises on Carnival...especially on the Valor. To be perfectly honest, I've enjoyed all of my cruises and haven't noticed enormous differences between any of the lines on which I've sailed. This will be my first cruise on RCL, and I'm sure that I will love it too!

 

I wouldn't hesitate to give Carnival a try...you'll never know whether you'll like or dislike it until you go.

[SharkCruiser24]

For an anniversary cruise I might suggest a Carnival Spirit Class ship (Spirit, Pride, Legend, and Miracle). I have sailed on Carnival Miracle, and I found it not to my taste, a little too quiet after midnight actually. The Conquest class ships I've heard offer a better night life but that's not what you are looking for. You could try Carnival, but truely it's 'to each his own'. However if you decide to stay with RCI, I would recommend a Radiance class ship. Either way, you'll be sailing the high seas:)

[krazy4kruisin]

We just got back from a Carnival cruise. It is just not the same. Nothing was bad, just not quite as nice of quality. A different type of passenagers as well, not saying anything bad, just different. I will probably not go on Carnival again, but never say never. We had to see for ourselves.

[firefly333]

Iv found there are a ton of a kids on RCI compared to carnival, but it probably has been the time of year too.

 

Actually, I prefer Princess which is owned by Carnival, have you considered them? Or is this a price thing?

 

But I just want to get away every couple of months, so I cruise on them all so I have some variety.

[vppro]

Based on your life style and if you really want to try another line I would recommend Celebrity. When we want a lot of fun and excitement, we go on RCCL, when we want to slow things down a bit and chill, we go on Celebrity.

[Jem 12]

Hi, have just recently returned from my first cruise on Carnival Freedom, last week I was on a cruise on RCI Splendour of the Seas, out of these two cruises Freedom was far superior, that said the entertainment on both was disappointing.

 

Our waiter on Freedom/Maitre D on Carnival was fantastic, the waiter on SOS was awful.

 

I would definitely try Carnival again if the price was right, although Celebrity is still my favourite.

[sha88]

I have been on 3 RCCL cruises. Never tried a different cruise line. Will I regret trying Carnival.

My Husband and I are going for our 10 year anniversary with out kids. We are quiet don't drink gamble. Hum I think I am convincing myself to stay with RCCL.

Jen

 

Hi, Jen. I have been on two RCCL cruises and have another one planned in October. I like the line, but I have no hesitation trying out other lines either. In fact, I am booked on a Carnival cruise June 9th. It's just a weekend cruise to nowhere, but I look forward to checking that cruise line out as well.

 

Whatever you decide, I am sure it will be great. Happy Anniversary. We did our first cruise on our 10th!:) Just wish I had started cruising way earlier than I did!

[alcheme]

So much is up to personal taste that it's hard to say. I've not sailed on Carnival, but my sister-in-law, who has sailed with us before on the Explorer, just recently returned for a Carnival cruise. She didn't like it as much as RCL, but she didn't really have much in the way of complaints. One thing she mentioned is that dress seemed to be a lot more casual on average than what she remembered for RC cruises. For some people that would be a plus, but she enjoys the more elegant nights and getting to "play dress up." Not that they didn't have that at all on her Carnival trip, but she said most people ignored the formal nights and remained casual.

 

Anyway, it's probably worth giving it a try. You might end up preferring one line over the other, but I bet you'll still have a great vacation. :)

[JennHales]

Thank you so much for all your advice.

 

My concerns with Carnival is that I have heard it is more of a "party" type cruise ship.

 

-------------I prefer Princess which is owned by Carnival, have you considered them?------------ We are cruising with Princess to Alaska this summer.

 

The #1 criteria for me is fewer days at sea and more days on land. I would rather have my feet in the sand then on a lounge chair on the boat.

 

 

I am amazed at the number of cruises and different itineraries. So hard to narrow it down. Now I just need to convince myself to sail east rather then my favorite west.

Jen

[alcheme]

P.S. - If you do got with the Carnival cruise, she highly recommended the specialty dining restaurant. I can't remember what the name of it was, but she said it was WELL worth the additional charge to try it out.

[Toddcan]

Such a wide open question. What are your expectations? What is your age, etc etc.

 

I've only sailed NCLA and Carnival. My first RCI will be next March. My Carnival was on a short 4 day one to bahamas during MArch 2007, so the recipe was there for tons of noisy kids/college kids, but it didn't matter. Really.. we ran into NO problems.

 

From what I see, and read, RCI is a nicer experience, but look at it this way. If you are starving, and you are given a choice between AppleBees or Pierre's Exclusive French Cuisine.. does it really matter? Neither one is a bad choice, but one might be better than the other.

[FitzLA]

P.S. - If you do got with the Carnival cruise, she highly recommended the specialty dining restaurant. I can't remember what the name of it was, but she said it was WELL worth the additional charge to try it out.

 

Every Carnival ship has a different name for the specialty restaurants.

[kristikae]

I don't think you'll be sorry. The cruiselines are really very similar. With any cruise, the shorter cruises tend to be a little rowdier, more casual attire and younger crowd. If you cruise over a holiday or any kind of school break be prepared for a lot of kids. Each line has it's positives and it's negatives. I just got off the Enchantment and had a great time. For a comparable itinerary I'd go with the cheapest though. They're similar enough to me to not see any reason to pay more for one over the other.

[Sue L]

what Carnival ship are you looking at? In my book that would make all the difference. We did 3 Carnivals, Victory (3years old at the time). Valor (3 months old at the time) and Destiny (ten years old at the time). We did have a nice time on the first two, but I wouldn't go on the Destiny again if they paid me. The service was horrendous, we had no a/c or hot water for most of the cruise. The food was terrible and the dining staff had no clue.

 

We just took our 2 nd RCCL and besides a glitch with two of our excursions the cruise was near perfect. Royal Caribbean justs suits us better and unfortunately ones person experience will be completely different than another many times even on the same cruise.

 

I think the only person who can make this decision for you is you but I would suggest going with one of the newer Carnival ships

[Cruising89143]

If I were to cruise with Carnival again it would have to be a Spirit class ship. The Destiny and Conquest class are some of the worst designed ships afloat IMHO. A cattle call. The Fantasy class ships are used to cruise on the shorter itineraries and have very few balcony cabins. The Spirit class ships are mid size and do not have the crowded feel or odd layout that the Destiny/Conquest class have.

 

I cruised with Carnival for many years until I cruised with RCI on the Navigator. To me there is a difference and I myself would pay more to cruise with RCI. I feel that the service, crew and the ships themselves are much better than what Carnival offers. Those are just a few of the differences that I see as I won't list some of them on a public board. The advice that I can give is to try them for yourself and see how you like it.

[JennHales]

Wow,

Thanks to everyone for being so kind and helpful.

 

My husband loves all things out doors.

 

The Carnival ships I am looking at are

Carnival Triumph

Ports of call

Miami, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos

Carnival Victory

Ports of call

Miami, Florida; San Juan,

 

Holland America

ports of call

Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Half Moon Cay, Bahamas;

 

Carnival Valor ( I have heard that tubbing in Belize is so fun)

ports of call

Miami, Florida; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Roatan, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; Riviera Maya, Mexico; Miami, Florida

 

Carnival Legand

ports of call

Tampa, Florida; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Cozumel, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Riviera Maya, Mexico;

[Cruising89143]

Of all the Carnival ships listed I would take the Legend. I do have photos of the Triumph and Victory in the below link.

 

http://cruisingator.smugmug.com/

 

By the way the only Carnival ships with the Supper Clubs on your list is the Legend and Valor.

[MGilly]

I have read all the posts on this thread and find that there is a lot of sage advice here. It really is not possible to judge what another person will find to be wonderful/terrible. Everyone is so different, with different expectations and desires. But I can tell you what our family has found. We've sailed four times on Carnival and four times on RCCL. Our first three Carnival cruises were four-night cruises on Fantasy class ships. They were okay, and we enjoyed them, but they weren't "mind-blowingly terrific".

 

Our last cruise on Carnival was on the Destiny. That cruise convinced us that we are done with Carnival. A previous poster mentioned the poor service, lack of air conditioning, clueless dining staff, etc. I'd like to add to that the non-working elevators and the customer service that charged about $50 to our Sail and Sign account AFTER we returned from the cruise! (We'd been promised $100 onboard credit, and our last statement on the ship showed a zero balance. Our first credit card bill after we returned had the $49.98 charge, and it took us six months of phone calls, letters, and faxes before Carnival corrected the error.)

 

In contrast, all of our RCCL cruises were seven-nighters. Each one seemed to be better than the last! We currently have two more cruises booked with RCCL, and we are truly looking forward to them. We might consider trying Celebrity or another line sometime in the future, but for us, for now, we really enjoy the great service, well-maintained ships, good food, fun entertainment, and good value that we find with RCCL.

 

Whatever you decide, go with the idea that you are looking only for the good things and not searching for problems, and you will have a fantastic time. Enjoy! Life's too short to seek out troubles!

[Sue L]

We did the Carnival Valor itinerary, loved belize and yes, the cave tubing is fantastic. Loved Roatan also though I still regret not buying the huge woodcarving I saw. $100 for a 2 x 5 mahogany floral carving.

 

the only difference is we went to Cozumel instead of Riveira Maya. But I vote for this one.

[trishalee]

After 12 RCI cruises, we tried the Carnival Legend and were just blown away by the experience. We weren't expecting much, especially because at the time it was their newest, largest ship and we were paying $629 for a balcony cabin, midship. My only criticism was the unbearable decor, but heck, we were on a cruise, and everything else from food to service, was excellent. Wouldnt hesitate for a minute for a bargain like that! We pay double that amount for comparable on RCI.:D

[98Charlie]

Have sailed the Valor 2x and the Legend 1x in the past 6 months. Loved both ships. The Unicorn bar/pool area at the back of the Legend is a great spot to kick back and relax as there is plenty of shade under a canopy with plenty of tables and chairs. Visited the area several times during our 8 day Legend cruise and remember seeing several open lounge chairs around the pool.:)

 

 

DH & I have sailed several different cruise lines over the past few years including RCI 2 x. (Have also cruised X several times, NCL 7 times, Princess 2x). We were hesitant about trying Carnival but realize we should not have worried. We were pleasantly surpirsed.

 

To us the food in the dining room was much better on all 3 of our Carnival cruises than on our 2 RCI cruises. We never felt like we were on a ``party'' ship and the mix of pax included all age groups. Although there were many children on our 2 Valor cruises we hardly noticed them as Camp Carnival seemed to be doing a great job entertaining them most of the time.

 

Good luck making your decision and hope your 10th anniversary is a grand one.

 

Dianne