Booze Cruise!

[Stillfloatin']

I agree that it's not the cruiseline, it's the time of year and length of cruise. I did a 9-day Southern Caribbean on NCL Pearl this past March, followed immediately by a 5-day Western Caribbean. Talk about a difference! The 9-day was a typical passenger mix, the 5-day was about 85% college students. In fact, we were told there were close to 2000 students from the various Florida colleges onboard that cruise. And it was rowdy! Lots of drunk and loud passengers. They pretty much took over the pool area and the Bliss nightclub.

 

If that had been my first cruise on NCL, I would have thought it wasn't the right cruiseline for me. I've sailed NCL and Carnival and I love them both for different reasons, but I know that neither of them are booze cruises except for certain times of the year. And I suspect all the other mass-market lines are as well.

[luv2cruise777l]

Just got off the Paradise May 21st and it was a little crazy that weekend too. Lots of bachelor and bachelorette parties going on. I was on the same ship in Nov and not the same crowd. So PLEASE don't base all cruises on just this one. This one is well known as the "Party Cruise". I did see alot of first timers (blue cards) and I hope that they don't put off cruising because of this sailing.

[Kurbanfan]

I have been on this same cruise on the Paradise, Ecstacy,Holiday and the Royal Caribbean Monarch of the seas. All at different times of the year. I would say this is definitely a party cruise. This cruise has only one port and it is Ensenada. There is not much to do there except party at the bars. 3 Day cruises also don't have as much activities as the longer cruises. So I would suggest if you don't like being around this type of environment I would not choose this cruise. Oh you might get lucky and get a off weekend but for the most part it's pretty hoppin.

We had a blast on all of these cruises. Can't say alot about a couple of the ships.....but there was never a dull moment LOL!

[winewanderer]

I too have done that itinerary at least a couple of times and would agree it doesn't matter which cruiseline, it's generally a party cruise.

 

I was going to surprise DH with that 3 day while wer're waiting for our Freedom Transatlantic in October but then I had to remind myself what it could potentially be like and thought better of it.

 

I never recommend that cruise to first timers.

[Drew B]

What time of year did you take your last cruise?? Maybe that's the difference?

 

The last time was in mid-October.

 

This cruise has only one port and it is Ensenada. There is not much to do there except party at the bars.

 

We did the horseback riding excursion through Carnival. It was excellent and reasonably priced and I'd highly recommend it.

 

So PLEASE don't base all cruises on just this one.

 

This was my 4th cruise, so I've seen some variety. In any case, I still had a great time. While I don't prefer the messy drunks, they don't and didn't prevent me from having a good time. I'd do the same cruise again this coming weekend if I could...

[Familyforever]

when someone takes his first cruise on a 3 day cruise then takes a 7 day cruise=-- thats what i meant that they are different as night and day.

 

3 day cruises are hurry up and relax--the 7 day cruises are stretched out where you dont have to sqeeze everything in.

I found a 7 day royal Voyager of the seas was as comparable to my 7 day carnival cruise with service, entertainment and food.

 

 

Thanks for the clarification. Now I can relax and keep looking forward to my up-coming cruise. And like I always say, fun is what you make of it.

[southbayer]

I've sailed this cruise several times as you can see... I've never had seen this before.... Any one cruise could be bad, but i've sailed paradise several times and I think I can be the authority on this, most of paradise's cruises are fine.

I just returned from the 3-day Paradise sailing to Ensenada, and I finally understand the reputation Carnival has for being overrun by rowdy drunks. I've sailed Carnival twice before (once on a 7-day cruise and once on this exact same 3-day itinerary), and never experienced this. This time, there were some of the most embarassingly drunk people I've ever seen.

 

There was a girl at a blackjack table whose eyes were shutting. Ten minutes later, I heard from another woman that she had passed out in the bathroom and medical help had to be summoned. My sister left the dining room to go wash her hands, and she came across a woman vomiting into the sink. Needless to say, when she returned to the table, her appetite for her cream of mushroom soup was severely decreased!

 

While these were the two worst incidents, there were a lot of loud, inconsiderate, drunk passengers. Do you guys think this because it was a holiday weekend?

 

Otherwise it was a fantastic cruise, and 'Karl with a K' is the least annoying cruise director I've ever seen!

[lagbunch8]

I couldn't have said it better myself pretty lady :)

 

Having a few drinks and getting "buzzed" and a little silly is a whole lot different than getting totally wrecked and turning into a A-hole.

 

I hate fall down drunks that think they can take on the world when they have a few , and even worse are the weepy drunks *LOL* :)

 

 

And the "here is my life story" drunks. :cool:

 

My 4 day Fantasy cruise was a booze cruise but, that was what I expected. It was fun. I wouldn't take my kids on a short cruise though. Are the short RCCL cruises just the same? I guess it is DCL for the short ones for the kids.

[wannabeahappycruiser]

What made the difference is the people that were on the ship for that particular sailing. Only way to know for sure would have been to conduct a survey as they were leaving the ship asking if the people were outragously drunk because it was a long weekend, or because they were having fun on the ship. How would we know what was going on in their minds?

 

But I've done THIS VERY SAME THREE-DAY CRUISE before and never had a problem. I've been defending Carnival for years, saying that while people may like to drink and have fun, it's not out of hand and it's not obnoxious. This trip, it was. I don't know what was different aside from the fact that it was a holiday weekend. Do you think that made the difference?

[kalamari]

Being a drunk is one thing, being a drunk in denial is something else.

 

Must be the moonshine!

 

Being "drunk" and being "a drunk" are two completely different things. At least where I come from. Haha. :)