HELP A NEWBIE : Many questions? for seasoned Carnival cruisers

[motherchic]

We want to take our two girls on their first cruise in June of 09.

A 7 day cruise, leaving from Florida or LA. The 7 days seems to limit us for ships. It seems what I can read is that those ships are a tad older.

1.) What ships would have allot of activities for an 18 and 16 year old girl?

We were considering RCCL but the cost is almost double.

We have cruised allot but always on Celebrity and RCCL.

Would you give me your honest opinion .... we will have an alcoholic drink or two a day on the ship.

2) will we feel out of place

3) Carnival is known as a party ship-- are their more loud or drunk cruisers on this ship then other lines

4) do you feel the children will have fun and still be safe?

I sound like such a NERD ! Sorry. I actually love to laugh, dance and party but we just dont enjoy being around many rowdy,imbibed people.

Thank you for your honest answers.

Nadine

[Sandgnat]

We want to take our two girls on their first cruise in June of 09.

A 7 day cruise, leaving from Florida or LA. The 7 days seems to limit us for ships. It seems what I can read is that those ships are a tad older.

1.) What ships would have allot of activities for an 18 and 16 year old girl?

We were considering RCCL but the cost is almost double.

We have cruised allot but always on Celebrity and RCCL.

Would you give me your honest opinion .... we will have an alcoholic drink or two a day on the ship.

2) will we feel out of place

3) Carnival is known as a party ship-- are their more loud or drunk cruisers on this ship then other lines

4) do you feel the children will have fun and still be safe?

I sound like such a NERD ! Sorry. I actually love to laugh, dance and party but we just dont enjoy being around many rowdy,imbibed people.

Thank you for your honest answers.

Nadine

My son loved Carnival at those ages. The 18 year old can gamble, go to the night clubs but can not drink on the ship. In the ports she is of age though. The 16 year old will have Club O2 which many teens really enjoy.

 

Carnival is a Fun Ship, not a party ship. Yes some do drink too much but I have never been bothered by them. I am sure you have seen a few on the other lines too. Carnival and RCCL are like coke and pepsi, both soda but some like one better then the other. I have not cruised RCCL but have many family and friends that have and all of them say that the food is better on Carnival and the rooms are larger. People like to put Carnival down but many of them have never sailed Carnival. Give it a try, try not to look for the bad. They are a little different but the same social economic people sail both lines. I am not against ever sailing RCCL but have always had a great time on Carnival and have gotten great prices for my cruises.

 

Have a great cruise.

[firefly333]

So far the only really obnoxious drunks Iv been around on a cruise were on RCL, but I did hear one on my Carnival Ecstasy cruise going past my door. You could run into a drunk on any cruise, you cant let that color your cruise.

 

Someone else posted they went on a Carnival cruise and were dissapointed that the partiers were all in bed by midnight and it was so dead, cruises vary.

 

You say Florida or LA (as in California??), usually California seems to run higher because more competition out of Florida.

 

Both RCL and Carnival will have lots to do and Iv seen lots of children well behaved and walking around the ship by themselves, so yours should be safe, but nothing is 100% safe these days.

 

IMO more teens prefer the newer RCL ships like Freedom which has the surfing machine area, the other 7 days ships, even RCL Voyager class wouldnt have that, just the rock wall. Voyager class had tons of outdoor sports, we dont know what your children would enjoy.

[mamasue]

I've only ever seen one drunk man on a Carnival cruise... and he was very quickly escorted to his cabin by the staff to ' sleep it off '.

Carnival is a fun ship.... there are a lot of fun things to do... for all ages!

You'll get great food, excellent entertainment, and visit the same ports as the other cruise ships.

DH and I are seniors.... we're too old to do the drunken party thing..... we love Carnival!!

Go for it..... you'll love it!!!

[Stacey779]

I agree with the other posters. A lot of people bash Carnival, but have never even tried it. I have a friend who does this, yet she's only ever tried Royal Caribbean. My DH and I have been on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess, and Carnival. We've never had a bad cruise and would cruise any of those lines again, but our preference is Carnival. We've never found Carnival to be too much of a party ship, although I think that could be because we've only done 7-day sailings (shorter sailings tend to be more for party cruisers). I wouldn't worry too much if you're considering a 7+ day sailing. Like you, we were a little hesitant about trying Carnival for the first time. I just couldn't understand how they could offer a quality experience like the ones we'd had on other lines for such a reasonable price, but I'm so glad we tried them. We were pleasantly surprised and I just can't justify paying twice the price for the other lines when we get a great experience on Carnival.

[thoneycu]

If your girls are anything like mine, they will LOVE it. We have cruised twice but this year decided on a land vacation- a week in the Florida Keys in a condo on the water..... they never said it but I knew they were wishing we had been on a cruise! They are spoiled to it now and that's the only vacation they want to take.:eek: They have made long lasting friendships from both cruises.

[TortieGal]

Will Glory still be in Port Canaveral? I don't think she's an older ship....

 

I've been on 2 cruises so far...both of them shorter ones which tend to have the reputation of being booze cruises....and I have not seen the rowdiness that I always seem to hear about from other (non-Carnival :rolleyes:) cruisers. Carnival offers a great value and in the end, a vacation is what you make of it. I probably wouldn't be able to have 4 cruises currently booked on another line so I am happy!

[wonderfullife]

I find it somewhat funny when people talk about not liking to be around the rowdy people on Carnival. Believe me, I am not going to say everything is always great with Carnival, but it is so similar to RCI that to suggest one is so far different is funny to me. While I generally prefer the RCI voyages I have been on, I have also had great times on Carnival. I have seen drunk people on both lines but the ones that have been the most obnoxious and drunk that I have come across have been on RCI. That Carnival party ship reputation should be based on fun--both drinking and "innocent". Being a party ship does not equal drunk but instead suggests happy and relaxed. People let their hair down and allow themselves to enjoy life and not continue with the pretenses that are often required in our daily lives due to work or sociatal requirements (or the feeling of such).

 

For what its worth, what I have liked better about RCI is being able to watch people on the rock wall, the service which seemed to be a tad better, and the design of the ships. I loved the glass and wood that was the feeling on RCI. The glitz of the Carnival ships is not as relaxing to me. The Jewel of the Seas was my favorite so far. What I like best about Carnival is the price. The activities, for the most part, the food, and the majority of the service is almost exactly alike.

 

So, will you feel out of place? I don't think so. Will the teens have fun? That I can't say. I have not taken my son on a Carnival ship since he was 13. He had fun at that age. He liked the rock wall on RCI when he was 16 or 17. He will be on the Triumph in February at age 19 so we will see how that goes!

 

I say, you can't beat the price of Carnival and for the differences you will see, I think you should give it a whirl. Have fun however you decide.

 

Aleece

 

We want to take our two girls on their first cruise in June of 09.

A 7 day cruise, leaving from Florida or LA. The 7 days seems to limit us for ships. It seems what I can read is that those ships are a tad older.

1.) What ships would have allot of activities for an 18 and 16 year old girl?

We were considering RCCL but the cost is almost double.

We have cruised allot but always on Celebrity and RCCL.

Would you give me your honest opinion .... we will have an alcoholic drink or two a day on the ship.

2) will we feel out of place

3) Carnival is known as a party ship-- are their more loud or drunk cruisers on this ship then other lines

4) do you feel the children will have fun and still be safe?

I sound like such a NERD ! Sorry. I actually love to laugh, dance and party but we just dont enjoy being around many rowdy,imbibed people.

Thank you for your honest answers.

Nadine

[KLLund]

I think Carnival used to have that party ship reputation because at one time they were very much cheaper than the others. Times have changed and from what I have read .. those days are long gone.

 

We have never been on Carnival .. and quite honestly were put off by that reputation.. but we will be on our first Carnival cruise in 2 months and I am completely looking forward to it.

[CWcruisers]

The last time I was on an RCI ship, the CD was joking around with one of his assistants and told him if he didn't shape up he would find himself working for Carnival next week.

 

My point is that RCI and their Cheerleaders love to bash Carnival and I don't understand why, other than to justifly their high prices. I have been on 34 cruises on all the major lines and some that no longer exist. Each line has it's own unique personality.

 

That being said, 18 is an in-between age, not a kid and not an adult. I think I would choose based more on itinerary than ship. We always did the adventure ports when our sons got to be that age and they really didn't care about the ship activities. Most nights they just went back to their cabin and played Game Boys and ordered room service.