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Carnival made me appreciate Celebrity


Gracie115
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Here are a few of them :

 

Guy's Burger ( best burger at sea)

BlueIguanaCantina (amazing Mexican food)

Red Frog pub ( fun for beer lovers)

Alchemy Bar ( great atmosphere and drinks)

Newer ship decor much improved on previous older ship.

Spacious cabin

Water work (Kids and adults like me love it)

Great comedy club

Adult only pool Serenity very confortable and quiet

 

Thanks

Sea ya

Eric

 

I agree. I think Guy's is the best burger I've had at sea. I also think Carnival pizza is awesome. The Indian restaurant Tandoor was delicious too. Those are mostly daytime options but my wife and I both thought the MDR food was good. The staff has always been one of our favorite things about Carnival.

 

We are looking forward to sailing Celebrity again this May but we would never have a problem going back to Carnival.

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  • 3 months later...

Just did Carnival over Christmas break- it was the only ship that fit our time frame and departure port...it basically was not a pleasant trip but you make the best of it a vacation is still a vacation. Yes the room steward on our cruise was awful to the point I actually reduced his gratuity which I had never done in the past. And the Buffett made me scared as their were unsafe food practices apparent, and I did get sick one day out of 5 which I am pretty sure was food based. That being said The Mdr was good the salads were plentiful and there were fresh vegetables and fruit. I am also not a loyalist but have been on RCCL a lot in the past and NCL a lot currently. I was on one Celebrity back in 2003 and am going to try it again on the Summit in August. We will see how it stacks up against the others.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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Thanks for the comments. I am looking at Carnival Magic from Miami and it suits our time frame (and the price too) but am a bit hesitant about the food and atmosphere. We enjoy Royal caribbean but like to relax and have quiet time too. I dont know it that is possible on Carnival?

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We started cruising by taking the weekend trips with Carnival. We live close to the port and it worked with our schedule.

 

We graduated to longer cruises and picked Celebrity - haven't looked back :) With that said, 2 years ago we took a last minute Carnival cruise aboard the Breeze. We had a great time. The Breeze is one of their newer designed ships, not the old neon style.

 

We were upgraded to their Spa cabin and enjoyed the spa much more than on Celebrity. They have a great T-pool in the spa which is lacking on Celebrity. Food was very good. Their offerings during the day are much better than Celebrity with the options of Guy's Burgers and Blue iguana (breakfast burrito's too). Of course they have the buffet too. MDR was very good, no complaints. Even got a booth for two every night.

 

Their comedy club is great as they have a lot of shows and a pretty lively piano bar too. Since we don't ever go to the pool I can't tell you what that is like but overall it is a bit louder but not bad.

 

I'd take another Carnival cruise in a heartbeat, but it would have to be the right ship. I'm over the shorter trips as the ships are as different as the clientele. Carnival has a bad name mainly due to the shorter "booze cruises".

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Sorry that your cruise on Carnival Liberty was not the best experience. I've cruised RCL, NCL, Princess and HAL, but most of my cruises have been on Carnival in the off season when kids are in school and I've really enjoyed their smaller older ships. I've never had the phone calls in the middle of the night and in all my Carnival cruises have only witnessed a drunken mob in the atrium once (Inspiration March 2006) - sounds like I have been lucky in that respect. I did try the Glory and did not like it and said never again - the layout in the lido buffet was horrible so I avoided it as much as possible. There also weren't as many places on the pool decks to avoid the noise, etc. However the specialty steakhouse was fantastic.

 

I'm odd though and try to avoid the lido pool on all my cruises and seek quiet and solitude instead which is why I'm really looking forward to my first cruises on Celebrity - less activities, fewer announcements, what some would call boring - sign me up! lol

 

Actually the worst drunken behavior I've seen on any of my cruises was my April Caribbean Princess cruise, so I think that time of year definitely makes a difference - it was a frat party the whole week. Next to the Glory, that was also my least favorite ship - too many people crammed into the outside areas.

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I actually like Carnival but I would never go on a 3-4 days cruise with them. If a steward gave you the choice of only morning or evening service he was going against the rules. There is extensive discussion of this on the Carnival boards. Our last Carnival the steward had a card that you could mark morning, evening or both. We selected booth and he complied with out complaint.

 

Also the center pool on Carnival is always very noisy, always has been. The aft pool is much quieter. There are also many quiet places on the ship if you look. Most of the ships have an adult only Serenity area that is very nice. As far as food, I can't compare to Celebrity because my first Celebrity cruise isn't for a couple more weeks. Guys burgers is good (not the best at sea for me), blue iguana is also very good. Best burgers by the way were on Oceania.

 

As far as annoying passengers the worst for me has been on HAL, there was a group of ladies (70 ish) that were very drunk and very loud every night. Believe me if your loud on HAL you really stand out.

 

That said looking forward to my cruise on the Equinox next month :D.

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Taking a short cruise is not indicative of any cruiseline. They are all party boats, including Celebrity 5 nighters. We have taken enough short and long cruises to realize if we just want a getaway, the ship is going to be rowdier than our normal 2 weekers.

Personally, We are elite on Celebrity and Platinum on Carnival...and enjoy both. Anyone who puts the food down on Carnival has either never sailed on a Carnival ship, or has sailed quite a while ago. The food is every bit at good as Celebrity...

Carnival has more fun activities. We are in our 60s, but not dead yet. We *like* silly poolside games.

Celebrity has more refined atmosphere and has more benefits for their upper tier loyalty passengers, but I just can't get on the "yuck Carnival" bandwagon

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Our first four cruises were on Carnival (last one on the Liberty) and we enjoyed them all very much. We have cruised once so far on Celebrity (the drink package promo before BBB was a fulltime thing brought us over) and loved it and aren't looking back, but I would cruise Carnival again depending on itinerary/ship/time of year if others I knew were going. One thing about Carnival from reading the boards here is any cruises under 6-7 days will bring a much rowdier crowd. All our cruises were in the Caribbean in January and they were not all that loud. Yes, the main pool area was loud (at the time there was also adults only pool at the aft but I guess that has changed very recently), but but otherwise noise level was appropriate. Piano bar got louder as the night got later, but I miss the Piano bar type venue on Celebrity. Some of the food we liked a little better on Carnival, but overall service in MDR on Celebrity (having a sommelier) is a little better, even though I did kind of miss the dancing waitstaff a little - it isn't as cheesy or trashy as some make it out to be. Rooms/balconies on Carnival are ample sized but Celebrity rooms, especially the bathrooms are a little nicer (but next cruise we are going back to shower curtains on an M-class ship). Cleanliness was good to above average on all ships both Carnival and X so far.

 

Given same itinerary assuming there is not a GIGANTIC difference in price, we would definitely pick Celebrity over Carnival, but there are good and bad to both. The change to cleaning only AM or PM and not both is another change within the past five years. All the lines are cutting back on different things, it is a matter of what is important to you. The other major plus for Celebrity for us is much more restricted areas where people can smoke. I was on one Carnival cruise where someone near my cabin seemed to be constantly smoking on their balcony (which was allowed, although they have been making some changes there too) so I really appreciated knowing I would not face that same issue on Celebrity.

 

I'm open to trying other lines, but the even more advanced age on HAL is a bit of a turn off for me and the super giant mega ships on Royal with the inside facing balconies and 5,000 activities which attracts more kids is not something I need or want. I am sure both lines are great depending on what you want to do, but right now I am definitely happy with Celebrity. I considered Princess for our upcoming Alaska trip just because they are so highly rated for that area (as well as HAL, but as noted above I'd go Princess first), but we convinced 10 others to take this trip with us so I wanted to be sure they would enjoy the ship. I know M class is a bit different than S class, but I wanted the full Inner Passage through Vancouver experience and not the more open water with the roundtrip out of Seattle.

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My first cruise was a honeymoon on Carnival in 2000. We loved being at sea and hooked us both on cruising. Was a fun atmosphere, food and service seemed phenomenal, and got to see a lot of cool places in a week. Since then I've been on 3 other Carnival cruises, 6 Royal Caribbean, and 1 Norwegian. I'll be sailing on Equinox next month for my first Celebrity experience and excited to try it out. The one constant has been great service on every single ship-- a few hits and misses on occasion but nothing to get hung up on. There also have always been-- and will always be-- some loudmouths, some oddballs, and some jerks. My personality is the kind that doesn't get bothered by them and instead turn to them as a source for humor with my friends and family.

 

Bottom line for me is I would never rule out any mainstream cruise line simply because of a reputation. Try it for yourself. If you provide a good value and good itinerary, I'll give you my business. The main reason we did the Norwegian cruise last year and the Equinox next week is because we got a great value with all the perks thrown in. As someone who loves to relax with some beverages on vacation, getting a drink package included in the price offers tremendous value. With Carnival and RCL steadfastly refusing to offer fares with drink packages included, I'm guessing my future business in the short term will go to Norwegian and Celebrity.

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My first cruise was a honeymoon on Carnival in 2000. We loved being at sea and hooked us both on cruising. Was a fun atmosphere, food and service seemed phenomenal, and got to see a lot of cool places in a week. Since then I've been on 3 other Carnival cruises, 6 Royal Caribbean, and 1 Norwegian. I'll be sailing on Equinox next month for my first Celebrity experience and excited to try it out. The one constant has been great service on every single ship-- a few hits and misses on occasion but nothing to get hung up on. There also have always been-- and will always be-- some loudmouths, some oddballs, and some jerks. My personality is the kind that doesn't get bothered by them and instead turn to them as a source for humor with my friends and family.

 

Bottom line for me is I would never rule out any mainstream cruise line simply because of a reputation. Try it for yourself. If you provide a good value and good itinerary, I'll give you my business. The main reason we did the Norwegian cruise last year and the Equinox next week is because we got a great value with all the perks thrown in. As someone who loves to relax with some beverages on vacation, getting a drink package included in the price offers tremendous value. With Carnival and RCL steadfastly refusing to offer fares with drink packages included, I'm guessing my future business in the short term will go to Norwegian and Celebrity.

 

What a great post! I love your attitude. You are right, there will always be some jerks. Just take them in stride.

 

Our first cruise was also on Carnival. There were some oddballs on board and a few misses, but overall our experience was fantastic and we instantly became hooked on cruising! We have taken more cruises on Carnival, and then tried the luxury Paul Gauguin line. Loved every trip.

 

I remember a few years ago we were on a vaporetto (water bus) in Venice. The people sitting in front of us had noticed our Carnival ship in port. They were badmouthing Carnival nonstop, and called it "the Wal-Mart of the Seas." Well, maybe she is Wal-mart. I don't know. But it was a beautiful, sparkling clean and new ship, and we had a marvelous time. And I darn sure would bet that we paid far less than they did for their cruise!

 

BTW, the Celebrity Silhouette was in port that day. I don't know if the people who were dissing us were on the Silhouette or not, but we didn't mind at all, as we were having the time of our lives on our Carnival cruise.

 

Whatever ship you are on, thank your lucky stars that you are able to cruise at all!

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We cruise Carnival, Royal & are trying our first Celebrity in 2018. You can opt in to get your cabin straightened out twice a day. I haven't noticed the noise - I will have to pay more attention next trip!

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Have cruised a number of times with CCL although I now prefer X and Princess, or even HAL.

That being said, any short 4-5 day cruise, especially on CCL or NCL is going to be loud and full of very young individuals due to lower cost.

In defense of CCL, prior to their many cut backs, also noted on most lines now to some extent, we cruised twice in Europe with CCL on 12 day voyages and they were outstanding.

I must be one of the few who really has nothing really bad to say about any of the cruise lines I've cruise with including: X, NCL, HAL, Princess, CCL. Am looking forward to trips soon with Windstar and Viking Ocean but yes, one pays more for the experience too.

Wishing everyone great future cruises regardless of the cruise line you decide upon.

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I'm not sure why anyone would expect Carnival and Celebrity to be all that similar. Most Carnival cruises are half the price of a Celebrity cruise. I've done 4 Carnival cruises, and for the price I paid they were not too bad a value. Sure they were loud, yup plenty of young drunks, but the food was decent and the entertainment was more to my liking on Carnival. It's a much higher energy vibe with more nightlife options which suits me fine. I really like the piano bar and the comedy club. But the pools areas are usually pretty nasty with 100 drunks standing in them. It's amazing too, no one in the pool ever has to get out go to the bathroom! :eek:Overall I still prefer X but I'm sure I will do more Carnival cruises in the future. Oh and it's not just Carnival, I've been on a few RCI cruises that were just as bad as far as young drunks go.

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