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Carnival only fans! Interesting!


SportsMomof4
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As you can see from my signature I only sail Carnival (except for one Disney cruise compliments of my Mom because she won lotto!)

 

I only sail Carnival primarily due to the price. For my family of 6 it's the most affordable. With that said, EVERY single Carnival cruise we've been on has been fantastic. No complaints ever!

 

Everyone tells us we need to try NCL & RC because they are so much better. We'd like to see how they compare, but after researching we always say it's just too much & have decided to wait until my 20 year old & 2 17 year olds don't want to cruise anymore & we can afford the other cruise lines.

 

So what I am getting at is this....this past New Year's, my family of 6 went on the Sunshine (my 20 year old brought his girlfriend & best friend). We all had a great time.

 

This past weekend his best friend got off RC Adventure of the Seas & his girlfriend got off the Norwegian Breakaway & BOTH of them both told me today that the cruise on the Sunshine was SO MUCH BETTER!

 

I was happy to hear this but also quite surprised. Maybe it's because Carnival gets such a bad rap. And I know everyone has such a difference of opnion. But anyway, I don't want to start a debate, I just wanted to share that with all the Carnival lovers like myself.

 

I basically feel at this point I'm not missing out on anything only sailing Carnival!!

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I basically feel at this point I'm not missing out on anything only sailing Carnival!!

 

We totally agree, it has been awhile since our RC cruise but we felt the same way after it. I know many things have changed over the years but at this point we cruise for a break from our work.

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Same here, we cruise Carnival primarily because of the lower prices, but also because of the positive experiences we've had with Carnival, the friendly staff, and the balcony staterooms, which we enjoy very much, because of the size and layout of said rooms, and also because of the décor. I happened to enjoy Carnival's shade of pumpkin. :-) We too have tried other lines, and while we enjoyed RC and NCL, we enjoy Carnival more, and since it happens to be cheaper too, why change? If it ain't broke...

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Been on 4 Disney cruises and loved every one. Been on 5 Carnival cruises and loved every one. Carnival is a lot less expensive than Disney right now and since our experience with Carnival isn't broke, no need to try and fix it. Maybe I'll try a different line when I can cruise 5 or 6 times a year after I retire!!! Ha!

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my brother and sister are always after us to try the other cruise lines also, but as stated "if it aint broke dont fix it "

 

We have never had a bad experience on any of our Carnival cruises, we like the ships, ports and food, but expecially the price (when you factor in exchange rate :eek: its a no brainer lol)

 

We cruise to get away from the cold Canadian Winter, and to relax and enjoy each other's company. Next up #17 for me and #16 for hubby :p

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Carnival was our favorite when we were saving $$ to plow back into the casino or pay our bar tab. It is a great bargain and good entry level cruise line. But on the longer cruises (and as we get into our 40s) we like NCL more. We like going back to Carnival when we want a quick "salt air" fix. To each his own.

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We just sailed Norwegian Pearl in June to Alaska. It was my third and last sailing on Norwegian unless they make some significant changes. I'll list a few. They now charge for room service, Carnival doesn't. The food in the buffet was very low quality. Mostly cold cuts and hamburgers, even for the night meals. We tried the MDR twice and it was worse. Carnival always has a wide variety and it is all good. There is no Lobster or seafood served on Norwegian except in the specialty restaurants for a fee. Carnival still serves lobster in their MDR, which is included in your booking price. Norwegian is running a promotion which let's the third and fourth passenger sail free, which means their ships are sailing at maximum capacity. Maximum capacity means crowds everywhere. For the reasons I've listed, and of course the price, I'll be sailing Carnival and happy to be there. I've never had a bad experience with Carnival.

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You can't beat the value of a Carnival cruise. When we get the itch to cruise, we check Carnival first. But we decided to try something different and did a Christmas cruise on RC's Adventure of the Seas. Gotta say we were impressed. Entertainment was great. Smoke-free dance clubs=AWSOME! The "Brass...bigwigs" were continuously seen... The play a mean game of pool volleyball.. We like Carnival's food over RCCL and NCL. We like having laundry facilities.. We are Carnival fans but RC's got a few things going for it.. Price isn't one of them.. 72 Days Till We Board The Carnival Dream.

Edited by cassidyb
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I didn't know what I was missing until I started cruising other lines. How else can someone make an intelligent decision if one doesn't explore the possibilities?

 

Carnival usually has the best pricing, but not always. Celebrity sometimes is better. When NCL has their free drinks and much better entertainment than Carnival, how can that opportunity be passed up? And Disney is my favorite for family and grandkids, the best deck party I've ever attended was on the Disney Dream with music, dancing and fireworks.

 

Sometimes it's best to leave the Chevy in the driveway and take the beamer out for a spin.

Edited by evandbob
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I've enjoyed every cruise I've been on. My favorite is Carnival, although Royal Caribbean has some things that I like better. The ideal line for me would be a blend of the two!

 

 

The ideal line for me would also be a blend. I wish I could blend into one line:

 

 

  • The nightlife of Carnival
  • The food of Princess and Celebrity
  • The entertainment of Royal (especially the ice skating show)

Edited by alreadypacked
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All I can say is that our experience with Carnival has been excellent!

 

We love the atmosphere, the food, the staff, and especially the price. So far, every time we've cruised Carnival has had the best rate.

 

That said, we are planning on taking a Disney cruise in a few years once our daughter is old enough to appreciate it. We will probably enjoy it as well, since my wife and I don't hang out in the casinos or bars that much, but I hate the thought of paying as much for a 3 or 4 day Disney cruise as I would for a 6 or 7 day Carnival cruise!:(

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As you can tell, I have gone on several cruise lines. Truthfully, I prefer either Celebrity or Carnival. Yes, I realize they are two entirely different products. Yes they are both my favorites. I have appropriate expectations that are different for each line.

 

I tried Princess once and didn't care for it. I have gone on a few cruises on RCCL and feel they really try to nickel and dime you. Hence I always come back to either Carnival or Celebrity dependent on cost, itinerary, and the experience of what I am looking for. Carnival is a good product, especially for the price.

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I've tried to book with NCL and RCCL, but the price keeps bringing me back. And especially NCL's bad habit of nickel and diming, keeps me away from them. I am a seriously carefully budget cruiser, and I don't want any nasty surprises on my bill....but at the same time I want the good experiences for me and my children without having to say "No" all the time

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As you can tell by my signature CCL is our favorite. We tried NCL to Alaska. Honestly, it was the worst cruise of all. Part of the reason was not NCL's fault. Being on an Alaskan cruise, nobody is laying outside on sea days and ship became very crowded, almost claustrophobic. We were in our late 50's and seemed young. The buffets were pathetic, MDR just OK, and we ate 5 out of seven meals in the specialty ($) restaurants which were very good, especially the Italian.

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We just sailed Norwegian Pearl in June to Alaska. It was my third and last sailing on Norwegian unless they make some significant changes. I'll list a few. They now charge for room service, Carnival doesn't. The food in the buffet was very low quality. Mostly cold cuts and hamburgers, even for the night meals. We tried the MDR twice and it was worse. Carnival always has a wide variety and it is all good. There is no Lobster or seafood served on Norwegian except in the specialty restaurants for a fee. Carnival still serves lobster in their MDR, which is included in your booking price. Norwegian is running a promotion which let's the third and fourth passenger sail free, which means their ships are sailing at maximum capacity. Maximum capacity means crowds everywhere. For the reasons I've listed, and of course the price, I'll be sailing Carnival and happy to be there. I've never had a bad experience with Carnival.

 

 

So agree! We were on the Pearl a year ago to Alaska. Repeating an NCL Alaska Cruise after 13 years. Worst experience ever. Large group was sailing on the cruise and they had a great number of locations completely full of meetings and every night had one of the two MDR's closed for them alone only we never knew which one so we would arrange to meet for dinner and be turned away and sent to the other dining room that had a line out the door waiting for tables. We were routinely told it was an hour wait and with three kids (ages 10, 5, and 2) - we just ate at the very mediocre buffet that had the same food every night for 7 nights. All my experiences on Carnival have been much better and as for the food there is no comparison - Carnival all the way.

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All I can say is that our experience with Carnival has been excellent!

 

We love the atmosphere, the food, the staff, and especially the price. So far, every time we've cruised Carnival has had the best rate.

 

That said, we are planning on taking a Disney cruise in a few years once our daughter is old enough to appreciate it. We will probably enjoy it as well, since my wife and I don't hang out in the casinos or bars that much, but I hate the thought of paying as much for a 3 or 4 day Disney cruise as I would for a 6 or 7 day Carnival cruise!:(

 

Exactly the same thought here :confused:

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One thing I forgot to add & it was about NCL. My son's gf said primarily the biggest complaint was the food. Carnival's food is much better & they barely have desserts. They especially didn't have the chocolate melting cake :p

 

Also the $7.95 room service fee just stinks!!

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Carnival definitely works hard at providing a good vacation. I also enjoy Princess Cruise Line. I like then energy onboard Carnival the most. I will sail NCL next year so I will have an idea about them. Sailed the Allure on RCL and didn't care for it very much. So far Carnival is the best!

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We are cruising both Carnival and Princess cruise line and are Platinum on each one. Have totally enjoyed what each offers and have no plans to look elsewhere from these two cruise lines. Princess does have more itineraries in case someone wants to do a cruise in a different part of the world.

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Thanks for starting this thread. Have enjoyed reading all the posts.

 

Carnival is my favorite for sure. Always have a great time. The staff is marvelous and the food is awesome too.

 

Second favorite is RC. The MDR food is not quite as good as Carnival. The ship was a bit more up to date on Adventure of the Seas. I guess the presentation was a touch more polished on RC, but Carnival does such a great job too, that they are my favorite.

 

HAL cruise to Alaska was great. Friendly service and nice food offerings too.

 

Celebrity had the best MDR/buffet food of all of them all. I don't feel quite as at home on Celebrity though. Solstice was a beautiful ship. The service and presentation were quite polished, the best; but I still prefer Carnival.

 

NCL has a nice laid back vibe, like Carnival, and often times good pricing too.

Wasn't too impressed by Epic, but thought the Sky was great. Go figure.

 

I plan on taking Carnival again and again, but I hope to check out different ships on other lines too, and different itineraries. My goal is to take a different ship or to include at least 1 new port each cruise. So far I have been able to achieve that. Happy sailing to all. Thanks again for all your posts. Great stuff.

 

On my short list: Sunshine/Breeze/Vista. Oasis/Quantum classes. Getaway. Regal or Royal Princess.

 

 

Emerald Seas - Sep 1977

 

CCL Legend - Apr 2010

Cel' Solstice - Nov 2010

NCL Epic - Apr 2011

Oosterdam, Alaska - May 2011

CCL Miracle - Dec 2011

NCL Star CTN - Mar 2012

CCL Freedom - Apr 2013

RC Adventure OTS - Dec 2013

CCL Splendor, repos - Nov 2014

CCL Paradise - Dec 2014

NCL Sky - Apr 2015

Edited by Jay Sam
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