comparing Carnival and HAL

[airlink diva]

Good evening everyone!!

I just returned today from my most recent cruise. I was booked on a five day cruise to Mexico on the Fantasy. However, due to the swine flu and the cruiseships not going to Mexico during the time of my cruise, they extended to a seven day!!

Now this was my first time back on Carnival since 2006. I like the fact that Carnival offer great solo rates and this cruise end up costing under $87 a day for an oceanside cabin. That's not a bad rate for a solo.

While sailing, I couldn't help comparing this cruise to my HAL cruises. Some things both lines were equal on,others HAL had the edge or Carnival.

Checking In --First of all, I made a major error prior to getting on the ship. I changed purses at the last minute and left my passport in the first one :eek:!! The bad part was I did not realize this until I was checking out of the hotel and heading to the port. I used my passport to complete the paperwork online,but only had my licence. I was in a panic mode and went to check in and hope for the best.

When I arrived to park,my car start smoking (I drove to port). I was so worried about my passport that I didn't notice the smoke. One of the porters came over and directed me to a spot near the elevator. I was really a wreak now. Smoking car and no passport. The porter saw that I was in tears and calm me down. He also got a Carnival rep to come to the parking lot and she told me to calm down and will help me. I reget not getting their names because they got me to the desk and I was able to still board the ship (this was mainly due to completing the info with my passport info online. The process took about 30 minutes, but they went beyond to help me start my cruise right.

I never had problems with HAL checking in for my cruises. The staff was always helpful. Now I can't say that a Fort Lauderdale porter or a HAL staff rep would come out to the parking lot, but I hope so.

Cabin- When it come to cabins, HAL gets only a slight edge over Carnival. The only reason why is because of the size and the Elmis products. Both are equal in the bedding,but I will give Carnival the edge for cabin steward.

I had an outside cabin on the Fantasy. For a solo person,the cabin space was nice. But HAL offers more space in their cabins. I sailed the Maasdam in 2007 and 2008 and on both (inside and outside cabins), the cabins had a small sofa to sit on. The Carnival cabin had only one chair and a stool for the vanity area. You mainly had no other choice but to sit on the bed. HAL also offers more storage space and the bathrooms are slightly larger. However, I like the fact that the Fantasy safe was a code safe opposed to the Maasdam using a card. Also like the bath products that HAL place in the bathroom. Carnival had a small goodie bowl of sample size products. You only get this the first day. They also offer shampoo and bath gel in the shower,but it's not really that great. Both lines have great bedding and I love taking afternoon naps!!

The main thing I like about Carnival is the room stewards do full service twice a day. Last year on HAL, my steward imformed me that a full clean service would only happen in the morning and not at night. I noticed that there were a few times when even at noon or 1 p.m.,my room still wasn't clean. Also, if I took a shower in the late afternoon and return from dinner, the bathroom wasn't clean. This wasn't the case on the Fantasy. My cabin was clean everyday before noon and again when I return from dinner.

Fellow Cruisers--Don't flame me for this,but the Carnival cruisers were alot of fun!! On this sailing over half the boat were repeat cruisers. You also had a greater diversity of cruisers. People were eager to chat and ask how the cruise was going. I met some great people on both lines,but overall, this sailing had a wonderfull bunch.

Ship--I have to give the edge to HAL on this one. I did enjoy the adults only area in the back of the ship on Fantasy and the dining tables on the lido deck outside. But HAL ships are so classy!! Beside the artwork, I missed the promendae deck to walk each day.

Park West--I have to give the edge to Carnival on this one. Park West only had a small area that you really had to look for. People did buy art from them on board (A woman getting off the ship when I was had two paintings),but it was'nt all in the way blocking you.

Cruise Director---Carnival still have a Cruise director and several assistants. There were four assistants on board and alot of things offered (yes they had the hairy chest contest). There were games, dance lessons (swing,latin,etc),trivia,ship family feud,etc. They also had deck parties and it was fun seeing young,old,healthly doing conga lines under the stars!! There were very few things that required a payment.

Shows and Lounge acts--I'm not a big show person and normally don't bother. But I went to almost ever show on board. The dancers were ok,but what I like was they have preformers that come on board at one port and go to another ship at the next. We had several good acts and the lounge was packed. I also like the various artists preforming around the ship. From island music, to rock and roll, classic, they had it all.

Dining room--On this Carnival beats HAL. The Fantasy still have traditional dining!! While there's talk about offering anytime dining, it was nice not worrying if I would get late seating or not. The wait staff seem to have fewer tables and dinner wasn't rushed. The Maitr'D was outstanding. He greeted everyone at the door and each night, he went to every table and asked how was your dining. This was the first cruise that every night the Maitr'D stopped by.

Overall, I still prefer HAL. But Carnival will always be a close second because they offer a great value.

Happy sailing!!

[GeriatricNurse]

Good evening everyone!!

I just returned today from my most recent cruise. I was booked on a five day cruise to Mexico on the Fantasy. However, due to the swine flu and the cruiseships not going to Mexico during the time of my cruise, they extended to a seven day!!

Now this was my first time back on Carnival since 2006. I like the fact that Carnival offer great solo rates and this cruise end up costing under $87 a day for an oceanside cabin. That's not a bad rate for a solo.

While sailing, I couldn't help comparing this cruise to my HAL cruises. Some things both lines were equal on,others HAL had the edge or Carnival.

Checking In --First of all, I made a major error prior to getting on the ship. I changed purses at the last minute and left my passport in the first one :eek:!! The bad part was I did not realize this until I was checking out of the hotel and heading to the port. I used my passport to complete the paperwork online,but only had my licence. I was in a panic mode and went to check in and hope for the best.

When I arrived to park,my car start smoking (I drove to port). I was so worried about my passport that I didn't notice the smoke. One of the porters came over and directed me to a spot near the elevator. I was really a wreak now. Smoking car and no passport. The porter saw that I was in tears and calm me down. He also got a Carnival rep to come to the parking lot and she told me to calm down and will help me. I reget not getting their names because they got me to the desk and I was able to still board the ship (this was mainly due to completing the info with my passport info online. The process took about 30 minutes, but they went beyond to help me start my cruise right.

I never had problems with HAL checking in for my cruises. The staff was always helpful. Now I can't say that a Fort Lauderdale porter or a HAL staff rep would come out to the parking lot, but I hope so.

Cabin- When it come to cabins, HAL gets only a slight edge over Carnival. The only reason why is because of the size and the Elmis products. Both are equal in the bedding,but I will give Carnival the edge for cabin steward.

I had an outside cabin on the Fantasy. For a solo person,the cabin space was nice. But HAL offers more space in their cabins. I sailed the Maasdam in 2007 and 2008 and on both (inside and outside cabins), the cabins had a small sofa to sit on. The Carnival cabin had only one chair and a stool for the vanity area. You mainly had no other choice but to sit on the bed. HAL also offers more storage space and the bathrooms are slightly larger. However, I like the fact that the Fantasy safe was a code safe opposed to the Maasdam using a card. Also like the bath products that HAL place in the bathroom. Carnival had a small goodie bowl of sample size products. You only get this the first day. They also offer shampoo and bath gel in the shower,but it's not really that great. Both lines have great bedding and I love taking afternoon naps!!

The main thing I like about Carnival is the room stewards do full service twice a day. Last year on HAL, my steward imformed me that a full clean service would only happen in the morning and not at night. I noticed that there were a few times when even at noon or 1 p.m.,my room still wasn't clean. Also, if I took a shower in the late afternoon and return from dinner, the bathroom wasn't clean. This wasn't the case on the Fantasy. My cabin was clean everyday before noon and again when I return from dinner.

Fellow Cruisers--Don't flame me for this,but the Carnival cruisers were alot of fun!! On this sailing over half the boat were repeat cruisers. You also had a greater diversity of cruisers. People were eager to chat and ask how the cruise was going. I met some great people on both lines,but overall, this sailing had a wonderfull bunch.

Ship--I have to give the edge to HAL on this one. I did enjoy the adults only area in the back of the ship on Fantasy and the dining tables on the lido deck outside. But HAL ships are so classy!! Beside the artwork, I missed the promendae deck to walk each day.

Park West--I have to give the edge to Carnival on this one. Park West only had a small area that you really had to look for. People did buy art from them on board (A woman getting off the ship when I was had two paintings),but it was'nt all in the way blocking you.

Cruise Director---Carnival still have a Cruise director and several assistants. There were four assistants on board and alot of things offered (yes they had the hairy chest contest). There were games, dance lessons (swing,latin,etc),trivia,ship family feud,etc. They also had deck parties and it was fun seeing young,old,healthly doing conga lines under the stars!! There were very few things that required a payment.

Shows and Lounge acts--I'm not a big show person and normally don't bother. But I went to almost ever show on board. The dancers were ok,but what I like was they have preformers that come on board at one port and go to another ship at the next. We had several good acts and the lounge was packed. I also like the various artists preforming around the ship. From island music, to rock and roll, classic, they had it all.

Dining room--On this Carnival beats HAL. The Fantasy still have traditional dining!! While there's talk about offering anytime dining, it was nice not worrying if I would get late seating or not. The wait staff seem to have fewer tables and dinner wasn't rushed. The Maitr'D was outstanding. He greeted everyone at the door and each night, he went to every table and asked how was your dining. This was the first cruise that every night the Maitr'D stopped by.

Overall, I still prefer HAL. But Carnival will always be a close second because they offer a great value.

Happy sailing!!

 

 

 

You SHOULD have had a full clean service, TWICE a day, morning and evening! The service in the evening should have been done while you were at dinner! Your bathroom is SUPPOSED to be cleaned AND restocked with clean towels, (to replaced the used linens on the floor that you had used during the afternoon!) I would have approached the Front Desk on this matter and asked to speak with the Chief Housekeeper to have him explain why these duties had not been done by your cabin steward!

In six HAL cruises, most recently March/April 2009, DW & I have had full clean service done twice a day!

[jhannah]

Thank you, Tamara, for your comparisons and insights. I'm so glad you were able to work around the passport thing. You really lucked out having an itinerary that allowed your other ID. Whew!

[Lunur]

Thank you so much for the comparisons. I love Carnival and have cruised them for most of my 20+ cruises. I am taking my first HAL cruise on the Zaandam to Alaska in August, so I am very interested in the ship and the line.

 

What, no Cruise Director? Really! I did not know this. So, how do they run activites and such?

 

Thanks again. Your thread was quite interesting and I'm glad you made it on the ship despite your car and passport issues.

[DFD1]

Thanks for your good review. We've found Carnival good value and have enjoyed sailing with them from time to time, especially out of Tampa or New Orleans because of the convenience of those ports.

 

We avoid Carnival during times when lots of college kids and youngsters are likely to be on board because the ships turn into party barges; at least in our opinion.

 

I think they improved the Fantasy, sailing out of New Orleans, during her recent dry dock with the adults only area.

 

I still think the difference between HAL and Carnival is like daylight and dark. They are miles apart, IMO.

[gentlemancruiser]

We've always had our cabins cleaned everyday, and turndown service everynight. I've never been on a cruise that didn't offer this service. When turndown service is done they wipe down the bathroom and replenish the towels,replenish the ice, remove the garbage. You should have contacted the pursers office about this.

I've also never encountered a HAL ship that didn't have a cruise director, and we've been on 6 HAL cruises. I'm interested to know who made the daily announcements?

 

HAL and Carnival cater to 2 completely different clientele, so I"m not surprised that you would find a difference. For one, HAL prices are traditionally much higher then Carnival and they are marketed as 'The Fun Ships' where HAL is marketed itself as 5 Star Cruising on Beautiful & Elegant ships. It's kind of like comparing apples to oranges.

[iancal]

We took our first Carnival Cruise in March. Mexican Riviera-on the Spririt. DW was very aprehensive. We also considered the Oosterdam....it was 7 days vs. 8 and actually a little less money for a balcony cabin. We have been on most lines. The Spirit cruise started in the middle of the week so we did not expect too many spring breakers. It also met our travel plans as we drove to port. This turned out to be the case. We were very pleasantly surprised with Carnival and enjoyed it very much. We found that their buffet was not as good as HAL. Dining room was fine, HAL had a slight edge over food but the service was the same. All other aspects were as the OP said-very comparable. Cannot comment on the shows as we normally give them a pass but overall-dollar for dollar we found the Carnvial ship to be good value. Now, we told that this one one of the more conservative ships in their fleet-cannot comment on that. We were told at the end of the cruise that there were 300 plus children on the ship. From our perspective, they must have been hiding them because we never really noticed many.

[airlink diva]

We did have a cruise director on the HAL ships,but no longer do they have assistant cruise directors. They have a party planner and the dj assist on some items. But it cut down in what's offered on board.

I only state this because the number of things to do on my 10 day cruise on the Maasdam in 2007 and my 14 day on the same ship in 2008 was big.

You had more things to do in 2007. In fact I was going from thing to thing on the sea days. There were things to do in 2008,but greatly reduced.

Also, some stated how you can compare them. Yes in some areas there are things that all HAL surpass Carnival in. But there are also areas that HAL suppose to be a notch above in that Carnival did a better job. How many times do we see posting about the open dining issue? You still have traditional times on the Carnival ship. The wait staff was on par to HAL. The dining room food was just a good. I also like the various things to do. I did trivia, went to tea, dance class,bean toss,etc. I also had alot of relaxing moments in the adult only area. I always would prefer HAL (I'm booked on another 14 day on the Maasdam in 2010!!),but Carnival offered a great value

[scopewest]

I've sailed both. Carnival certainly has the edge on activities, but my main interest is the library, and HAL wins hands down for that. I wouldn't hesitate to sail Carnival again. It comes down to what you want from your cruise and what that line/ship has to offer.

[red lobster]

I agree with everyone on the fact that they both offer good food, good ships, good service and great beds and cabins. I like HAL to relax and Carnival for activity. I think the ports and price are the most important thing when I am looking for a cruise. Thank you for your comparison it's alway's nice to see if anythings changed. Good for you that you were able to still board after you left your passport at home, that had to be a very nerve racking moment.

[seniorladycruiser]

Thanks so much for your great review and the comparisons between the 2 cruise lines. I have sailed HAL and Celebrity before but not Carnival. Feeling the need to take a cruise this summer, I booked Carnival's Legend for the end of June doing a 7 day western Caribbean cruise. It was a great rate and I couldn't resist. Wasn't really sure what to expect but your post has helped greatly.

 

Glad to hear you had a good time!

[happy cruzer]

I also tried Carnival for the first time after cruising many different lines.

 

What I found helpful was to

 

1) read lots of reviews on the ships that I was considering, this was narrowed down by the port since I was driving.

 

3) after that, I made a list of the things that I find important and posted to the Carnival board. For example, finding a quiet spot to eat lunch on days the dr was not open (since I know the reviews said it was a madhouse at the buffet), I got a pointer to one area inside and couple of areas outside to eat that were very pleasant. Asked about ballroom style dancing, the smaller ship I went on did not have such a venue, but at least I knew that going in so I had my expectations set properly. It did turn how to have excellent dancing at the Captains parties and repeat cruisers parties (which we were bad and crashed) so nice surprise there.

 

OK this post is too long. Just wanted to say Carnival is a good cruise for those who adjust their expectations. And it difinitely can be a very lively change, they are the FUN ships.

[letscruise18]

I'm glad Carnival was there to assist you with the passport issue and you had a wonderful cruise. I've cruised on Carnival several times and have enjoyed each of them. Our last cruise was last November on the Freedom to Costa Rica & Panama and it was a wonderful curise with the exception of cruising over Thanksgiving with too many kids and smokers. We won't cruise over a holiday again.

 

Our cabin stewart was excelllent wth cleaning twice a day, our dining waiter was the best we have ever had. Not only did her cater to our every need, each evening he would make recommendations for a certain meal.

 

I do enjoy having activities to choose from as we're not ones to turn in at 10. We're sailing on the Oosterdam in September and this will be our first time on HAL. What can we expect? Good shows, comedians, yes or no on the activites, and anything else you may be able to tell me.

 

Happy cruising to all,

Carol

[geologygeek]

We're just back from our first cruise on Carnival so this thread is interesting. The OP is spot on there are some things that HAL do better than Carnival and vice versa. For us the interior of the Carnival Victory was vile (thank goodness for that balcony), too many mismatching colours and bright light and the passengers appeared to be pretty rude and abrupt. Even the cabin felt tacky after those on HAL (enough said about the dodgy faux leather sofa on Carnival - plenty of jokes about that one). Food was pretty much the same - average at best (we did miss the Pinnacle Grill though), but the buffet on the Victory was a complete bun flight. Service was better on Carnival - our waiters were very friendly and good to chat with and our cabin steward was very efficient (this might be an AWYD issue). On the Veendam back in November the cabin didn't get serviced until 3pm most days (just in time for our post-lunch nap). On balance though we don't really have any brand loyalty and book cruises principally on the basis of itinerary. It'll be interesting if we can say the same after our next cruise, which is on Oceania to SA.

[Mr. Oregon]

I suppose this will be construed as a bit of snobbery, but we have been frightened away from Carnival by the appearance of the passengers in port. Every time we have been on a HAL cruise and ported with a Princess ship they have appeared raucous and a tad redneck looking.

 

Although not quite through middle age my DH and I tend to be a little more conserved, and I've always been afraid we would not fit in well on a Carnival ship. After reading some of the comments I am wondering if my judgment is incorrect?

[Halfmoonfan]

I did five HAL cruises in four years and then sailed on the Miracle in January. I agree that I did not see a lot of day light between to two. In fact I was shocked that I came to view Carnival as “more traditional” than HAL. I say that based largely on the dining experance. They still have only two dinner seatings, not four, with no Any Time Dinning at all. One big plus is they had the Chocolate Melting cake in the dinner menu every night in the main dinning room, which one could only get on HAL in the Pinnacle. I also liked Carnival’s Supper Club compared to HAL’s Pinnacle. But HAL’s crew wins hands down. But I do not think one can have a “bad” cruise

[DFD1]

Mr. Oregon, I agree that the passenger make-up on Carnival is completely different and generally less refined than on HAL. I know this is a generalizaton, but I believe it is true.

 

However, that being said, after more than 40 years of cruising, we still enjoy cruising both HAL and Carnival.

 

For me, each has it's strong points and each has some weak ones, but, shopped carefully, both are good value, in my opinion.

[CECRN]

My husband and I cruised the Carnival Liberty in April with our adult children and grandchildren. We cruised over Easter and everything was fine. I found the buffet better on Hal, but enjoyed Carnival's Supper Club much more than the Pinnacle Grill. We have cruised Carnival before many times, and enjoy both lines. Each have their own strengths.

 

I hate the knee-jerk reaction that I see on these boards classifying Carnival cruisers as "rednecks" and other derogatory names. It's really unnecessary.

[letscruise18]

All cruise lines have there pros and cons and I find it also unnecessary to make negative comments about the people based on what they "appear" to look like. They often will surprise you. Remember, you can't judge a book by it cover.

[iancal]

I am not a redneck, nor am I a Carnival fan or a HAL fan-in fact only been on one cruise on each line. Never had a bad cruise on them, or on the other lines. But I can tell you that on Carnival, we sat a table with 6 delightful Southern ladies. We take people as we find them, not based on generalities. I can tell you that our cabin steward on Carnival was absolutely first rate, and provided MUCH better and much more efficient service than we got on Hal. Probably one of the best we have ever had. On our HAL trip, I had to get the ice for the ice bucket-the steward was never anywhere to be found. Calling room service, on the Westerdam the phone just rang and rang, and rang. On Carnival, the ice bucket was refreshed twice a day. Our wait staff was equally good. My DW expected something else from Carnival...what we got was a great cruise with excellent service and great tablemates. But we are more interested in the people we meet and what they have to say rather than their station in life or social standing.

[jacketwatch]

Thank you for this objective review. I think many still see CCL as the "animal house" cruise line when truly where they are now is far from their beginnings. We've sailed CCL once and will do so again in oct. for a NE/Canada cruise. It should be fun I hope. As for cabin stewards we've had good luck with most of them though the one time we took CCL the dude was a bit lax. :)

[suse]

I've been on them both and never had a bad cruise. In fact, we've been on NCL and Royal Caribbean, as well. It's true, Carnival has alot of fun-loving people and I think HAL is for the more sedate crowd. I tend to like the quiet since I read alot, so I find HAL more to my taste these days. I miss the regee music though, I admit. Love the bands on Carnival.

[madelinerose]

I suppose this will be construed as a bit of snobbery, but we have been frightened away from Carnival by the appearance of the passengers in port. Every time we have been on a HAL cruise and ported with a Princess ship they have appeared raucous and a tad redneck looking.

 

 

Hmmm...and you're sailing on the Golden Princess at the end of the month? :confused:

[suse]

redneck looking?:eek:

[penetangjudy]

Tamara.....thank you so much for posting this :)

 

We have been trying to decide what to do and don't think we can wait until Oct before HAL comes back to the south for another cruise so this is going to help a lot. I appreciate hearing the good and the bad, which is your honest opinion :)