Carnival Cruiselines

JoeyandDavid · February 19, 2009

But it is not the stereotypical cruise line that many people have the impression it is.

Thanks John for you post. You are the third person whose opinion I value that has said pretty much the same thing....

55ChevyLady · February 19, 2009

I have been on Carnival Tropical, Fantasy, Sensation (twice), Imagination, Jubilee, Destiny, Triumph and Victory twice each, Legend, Conquest, Valor, Liberty. And we sail on Pride Mar 1. That is out of 46 cruises. We have had some of the best meals at sea and the best shows on Carnival, and we love the supper clubs, especially on the Spirit class (Spirit, Legend, Pride, and Miracle). The large Conquest ships are a bit less neon and Vegas, and have additional dining choices. The minimum cabin size is 185 sq ft inside, and is much larger than the 120-140 sq ft on many RCCL ships. The average age of a Carnival passenger is 47. The frat boys grew up. This is not the cruise line of the Tropical and other older early Carnival ships.
On any cruise line you will get more first timers and party people on short 3-5 day cruises. On a Carnival 6 or 7 day cruise it is a more experienced crowd. The children's programs on Carnival are among the best at sea, and the teen programs have gottent the most attention, as they were ones most cruise lines did not pay enough attention to.

It is still a "fun" experience, and they do sing and dance in the dining room, which some people don't like. Fine. Sail on someone else. It is all about choices. The price point on Carnival is often the best of any, and they offer the most military discounts of any line.

The past passenger program, once you get over 10 cruises is VIP treatment, with special embarkation, a special line at the purser, a ship tour only for VIP's, and more.

That is why I continue to sail on Carnival, along with all the other lines. And I recommend them. However, some folks who say "anything but Carnival", when I ask them when they last sailed on them, reply: Never, I've just heard that, or about 15 years ago.

Another thing is that in the summer the other cruise lines don't have ships in the Caribbean. They are all in Alaska or Europe. Carnival still has year round presence in the Caribbean and Mexican Riviera, when the others don't.

That is why we still sail Carnival. It doesn't mean it is the right line for David. But it is not the stereotypical cruise line that many people have the impression it is.

Joey - John has made some excellent points! sounds like he knows his ships! :cool2:

again with the choices...their cabins are bigger and the "frat boys" did grow up.

stay off the 4-5 day cruises and the smaller ships and you probably won't have such a "party type" feel to it.

I'm pretty sure the Ecstasy is not going to float your boat since it sails out of Galveston...them ther Texans can be a mite roudy...but the Ecstasy did just win the Crystal Eagle Award from Carnival which is its biggie award for being the top ship in the fleet. you can't bet it for personal attention...I think their staff and crew are like Avis...they try harder. :cool2:

lindasuelucas · September 25, 2009

i must agree with james. of course it was my first cruise...the only thing i didn't care for was camp carnival. however, speaking to others and reading what others think of camp carnival i now believe this was exclusive to carnival's Holiday. every thing else (except the weather) was fantastic. especially the free ice cream, iced yogurt, and pizza 24/7. and when you travel with kids this becomes very important. when we did go nto dinner our waiter was (and i hope still is) the best, most outstanding waiter i ever had the pleasure of being serviced by on land and on sea. he was fabulous to all his clients and took my grandson during the dinner dance session and put chase (grandson) on his shoulder's and off they went into the conga line. i'll never forget chase's delighted face as he went dancing round and round the room. yes, i'll be on carnival again. if you really want to party then carnival is your line. i've been known to party and/or be with those who can PARTY and i can say with all honesty that the people on the "fun ships" are a partying crowd. next carnival cruise i won't be taking kids along. that way i can party with the rest of that partying crowd. carnival simply put is the fun ship. my opinion. :thumbup:

DebbieandJerry · September 25, 2009

We stayed away from Carnival for a number of years because of 2 bad experiences in a row: dirty common areas, poor service, don't care attitudes. During that "away time", we sailed on Royal, NCL, Princess and Celebrity. We returned back to Carnival "as a test" November 2007 on our first back to back simply because of the cost and itinerary. We will be giving Carnival another try November 2010 on our second back to back, again because of cost and itinerary.

I looked at similar itineraries on Princess, Royal, Celebrity, Carnival and NCL. After measuring days at sea (which we love), where we are going (Caribbean, which we love) and total length of cruise (getting longer and longer each time we sail), we couldn't pass up the cost for the Carnival balcony.

I know not to expect Celebrity food, Celebrity "class", or Celebrity treatment. But, I'm not paying Celebrity prices.