Well, it's happened again...Carnival pricing (for me) cannot be beat

I literally spent from 8:30 am to 2 pm yesterday turning every major line upside down and inside out, and when it came down to it, Carnival, with a Cloud 9 spa balcony cabin, was far and away a better cost than anyone. We continue to try to sail with the others, as we like a variety. But we also have a budget, and while not tiny (it is after all a balcony, in the Cloud 9 spa area of the ship - so we won't very likely see price drops) we continue to come back to Carnival (no complaints, we are Carnival stock holders, so we get that perk too!). We don't drink, so "free" drink packages don't attract us.

Have I missed something?

Yes, a balcony is mandatory. A nice spa is very important. An up-to-date ship is important.

Yes they may be cheaper when comparing to other lines, but compare the innovation with other lines as well? Carnival is lacking in this department. I do think Carnival's prices are getting higher, mostly for the newer ships but their pinching on offerings they provide and taking away things here and there like the 2 night lobster they used to have.

I love Carnival and have only sailed Carnival. I do want to do other lines but it has been other things that prevent that outside of cost. Port offerings and timing mainly. Such as wanted 8 day cruises instead of 7 to certain ports.

I literally spent from 8:30 am to 2 pm yesterday turning every major line upside down and inside out, and when it came down to it, Carnival, with a Cloud 9 spa balcony cabin, was far and away a better cost than anyone.

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

Yes they may be cheaper when comparing to other lines, but compare the innovation with other lines as well?

I'm not certain I understand your term "innovation" - to me the Cloud 9 spa is an example of Carnival's "innovation" -- a relaxation area, for adults only, with only a handful of passes available (no crowding) along with their spa cabins - different, more zen-like decor - their Punchliner comedy club is pretty innovative too.

Or are you talking about things like rock climbing, ice skating, etc.? Those types of things Carnival definitely hasn't caught up to, however for us 60 year olds, they hold little appeal for us.

I'm not certain I understand your term "innovation" - to me the Cloud 9 spa is an example of Carnival's "innovation" -- a relaxation area, for adults only, with only a handful of passes available (no crowding) along with their spa cabins - different, more zen-like decor - their Punchliner comedy club is pretty innovative too.

 

Or are you talking about things like rock climbing, ice skating, etc.? Those types of things Carnival definitely hasn't caught up to, however for us 60 year olds, they hold little appeal for us.

In my opinion a spa is not innovative. I do the spa rooms as well, only those. But I believe other lines have something similar to if not identical to the T pools and the heater lounges. All lines offer some sort of spa and spa like amenities.

I am talking about the iFly, more specialty dining, walking the plank, surf simulator, better "broadway" shows and that ball Royal has that lifts high above the ship. But yes like the rock wall etc.

I'm not sure I consider rock climbing and ice skating to be beyond what Carnival offers, from a technical innovation standpoint. Just perusing the offerings aboard the Magic, which we're cruising on in November, I see there's a ropes course and a sky cycle and a pretty wicked set of water slides that I think qualify as innovation akin to rock climbing and ice skating. And perhaps most importantly, to the extent that they use Innovative offerings by Carnival are less challenging then those that are offered by Royal Caribbean that may be a deliberate decision. The rock wall and the FlowRider require very substantial physical capabilities. A substantial portion of the passengers cannot even begin to think about getting anything out of those offerings. By comparison the ropes course and the sky cycle and the water slides on the Carnival Magic do not require quite such a substantial amount of physical capability.

I think the main thing that Royal Caribbean, for example, has pursued that Carnival has not achieved is super large ships. I think Royal Caribbean has one or two classes of ship that are substantially larger than the largest Carnival ship. Yeah, there's technical Innovation involved in that but there's also a qualitative decision whether or not to pursue that Innovation because it is truly a different kind of cruising experience from what I've read, and perhaps it goes over some line into a kind of cruising that Carnival doesn't think is necessarily going to serve them well over the long term. We were originally going to cruise on Freedom of the Seas this fall and I think that really would have been a very different experience than the Carnival Magic just because of the difference in the size of the two ships. While I don't think bigger ships are worse, I also don't think they're necessarily better.

And from a business standpoint there is a danger that a bigger ship poses that a more moderately-sized ship does not. The airlines learned this decades ago. There's a sweet spot where for most airline flights you're really better off with aircraft that hold between 150 and 250 passengers. Perhaps the same kind of logic prompts Carnival to be a little gun-shy with regard to the super large ships because they don't want to get stuck with ships that have capacity that they can't split in half like they could if they had two moderately sized ships instead of one super large ship.

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

In my opinion a spa is not innovative. I do the spa rooms as well, only those. But I believe other lines have something similar to if not identical to the T pools and the heater lounges. All lines offer some sort of spa and spa like amenities.

 

 

 

I am talking about the iFly, more specialty dining, walking the plank, surf simulator, better "broadway" shows and that ball Royal has that lifts high above the ship. But yes like the rock wall etc.

So you will pay more to sail Royal for things you may or may not use.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I literally spent from 8:30 am to 2 pm yesterday turning every major line upside down and inside out, and when it came down to it, Carnival, with a Cloud 9 spa balcony cabin, was far and away a better cost than anyone. We continue to try to sail with the others, as we like a variety. But we also have a budget, and while not tiny (it is after all a balcony, in the Cloud 9 spa area of the ship - so we won't very likely see price drops) we continue to come back to Carnival (no complaints, we are Carnival stock holders, so we get that perk too!). We don't drink, so "free" drink packages don't attract us.

 

Have I missed something?

 

Yes, a balcony is mandatory. A nice spa is very important. An up-to-date ship is important.

I agree, if you don't drink, 99% of the time carnival seems to be a lower price. However, if you do drink, most of the time they are not the lowest any longer, as long as you book other lines when they run sales that include drinks and a lot of time tips as well. Its funny, for years carnival always had the reputation of the party cruise line with everyone boozing it up, but over the last few years, it much better to book another cruise line if you like to drink.

So you will pay more to sail Royal for things you may or may not use.

I'll tell you how close it was for us with regard to the decision between Carnival Magic and Freedom of the Seas. The specific week was important. Earlier or later wouldn't have fit in our plans for various reasons. Freedom of the Seas at that time of year bounces back and forth between six day and eight day itineraries. That particular week it offers an eight day itinerary which doesn't fit with our schedule. If Freedom of the Seas offered a seven Day itinerary it probably would have been slightly more expensive than the Carnival Magic seven day itinerary. But with the larger ship came a bit more activities evident in the daily schedules that I could see online that my spouse and I found attractive. It was just a little bit of a difference but it was also a little bit of a difference in price. Call it proportional.

Folks here on Cruise Critic are very good at giving you a really good clear view of what these different Cruise Lines offer. Based on the insights folks offer and all the other information that is available to us, I really don't see as big of a difference between Carnival and Royal Caribbean as there is very clearly a difference between Carnival and Royal Caribbean on the one hand and Celebrity, Princess and Holland America on the other hand.

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

I literally spent from 8:30 am to 2 pm yesterday turning every major line upside down and inside out, and when it came down to it, Carnival, with a Cloud 9 spa balcony cabin, was far and away a better cost than anyone. We continue to try to sail with the others, as we like a variety. But we also have a budget, and while not tiny (it is after all a balcony, in the Cloud 9 spa area of the ship - so we won't very likely see price drops) we continue to come back to Carnival (no complaints, we are Carnival stock holders, so we get that perk too!). We don't drink, so "free" drink packages don't attract us.

 

Have I missed something?

 

Yes, a balcony is mandatory. A nice spa is very important. An up-to-date ship is important.

I don't think you missed a thing. Which ship? I know the Dream class has spa balconies but am not sure about any of the others.

The last thing I want is more specialty restaurants. That's hardly upgrading but rather upselling and more reason to downgrade the MDR. Or even to take out free venues such as Fish and Chips and replace it with a for-charge venue.

Happy for you. Enjoy!

I am talking about the iFly, more specialty dining, walking the plank, surf simulator, better "broadway" shows and that ball Royal has that lifts high above the ship. But yes like the rock wall etc.

Definitely Carnival isn't on this level; not even really close. But the price difference is staggering. Norwegian Bliss 7 nights, spa balcony (trying to compare apples to apples) same itinerary, $3,299 all in; Carnival Splendor spa balcony $2,044 all in - how can I justify the $1,000 difference? I can't. Even a couple hundred dollar difference I'd have looked twice. But not for a grand. :(

aboard the Magic, which we're cruising on in November, I see there's a ropes course and a sky cycle

We were just on board Magic earlier this month...no sky cycle. There is a ropes course however.

We were just on board Magic earlier this month...no sky cycle. There is a ropes course however.

I have to agree with the OP. We are doing Alaska on the Legend in a few weeks and Carnival was at least $1K cheaper than everyone else for the same type of cabin. We went on Princess last time to AK, but I just couldn't justify the price difference. Being Platinum helps also.

Yes they may be cheaper when comparing to other lines, but compare the innovation with other lines as well?

Just based on my last two cruises.......

-- Innovation like having kiosks available for passengers to accomplish some billing and folio tasks and avoid the lines at Guest Services? Conquest = 2 or 3 kiosks, Independence of the Seas = 0

-- Innovation like putting cash down at the pier during embark for a cash-basis account? Carnival in October YES, Royal last February NO. (Required another lengthy wait in line at Guest Services on the Indy)

-- Innovation like having a lot of no-surcharge specialty restaurants that are generally well-regarded? Carnival YES, Royal....not so much.

-- Innovation like having water-slides on their ships? Carnival, YES, for years... Royal, now adding slides to some older ships and to their new-builds and playing catch-up.

-- Innovation like having FLIR sensors on ships to detect persons falling overboard? Carnival YES (on Conquest, at least), Royal....not on IotS as far as I could see.

-- Innovation like having more elevators within a shorter walking distance? Carnival YES, Royal NO. (Conquest has three elevator banks; the Indy only has two....and it's a much bigger ship :o )

Sure, everything's subjective when it comes to cruising, but I've been startled at some of the things that Royal lacks that I've taken for granted on Carnival. I'll continue to take my annual "regular" cruise on Carnival, and my annual music-charter cruise on Royal, while wishing the charter was held on a Carnival ship instead. (At least we get to go to Grand Turk next year...not common to see a big Royal ship at THAT pier!)

Definitely Carnival isn't on this level; not even really close. But the price difference is staggering. Norwegian Bliss 7 nights, spa balcony (trying to compare apples to apples) same itinerary, $3,299 all in; Carnival Splendor spa balcony $2,044 all in - how can I justify the $1,000 difference? I can't. Even a couple hundred dollar difference I'd have looked twice. But not for a grand. :(

Splendor is 10 years old. NCL Bliss will be brand new when it first sails in the summer of 2018. That's not apples to apples, it's apples to a tangerine or something else.

A more logical comparision should be between the Carnival Horizon and the NCL Bliss. We have a spa cabin on a NY Horizon sailing for more than the Bliss fare you are quoting.

Carnival seems to have larger cabins than some lines.

But for those who are cruising for the ports, you may need another line to go where you want plus sometimes Carnival stays a shorter time in some ports.

Splendor is 10 years old. NCL Bliss will be brand new when it first sails in the summer of 2018. That's not apples to apples, it's apples to a tangerine or something else.

Agreed. I was looking at itinerary, sail dates and spa balcony cabins as the apples.

We had a Spa Cloud 9 balcony room on the Dream. Loved it!!!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Splendor is 10 years old. NCL Bliss will be brand new when it first sails in the summer of 2018. That's not apples to apples, it's apples to a tangerine or something else.

 

A more logical comparision should be between the Carnival Horizon and the NCL Bliss. We have a spa cabin on a NY Horizon sailing for more than the Bliss fare you are quoting.

You don't even need to add the free NCL perks Carnival Horizon spa cabin costs more than the fare quoted by the OP

Throw in those perks like a drink or specialty dining or free gratuities and NCL Bliss is way less - maybe a thousand less - than Carnival

I priced 3 new ships for march, 2019. The Horizon, Bliss, and the Symphony of the Seas. Carnival was the highest even though I got $200.00 OBC at the time on Royal, and the Ultimate beverage package and Dinner Package on the Bliss.Carnival, as usual gave nothing except a cabin. These were just for a balcony cabin. Nothing special on either. Carnival was about $600.00 more.

We just went through the same for several cabins. New builds Carnival vs MSC vs Royal vs Celebrity. Spa class cabins. Ended up MSC with drinks & OBC & specialty restaurants less than others. It's just digging around. Called MSC gave them ballpark of what we were looking for, they asked if I could give them an hour or so, called back in 40 minutes with fabulous offer. Will let you know

I literally spent from 8:30 am to 2 pm yesterday turning every major line upside down and inside out, and when it came down to it, Carnival, with a Cloud 9 spa balcony cabin, was far and away a better cost than anyone. We continue to try to sail with the others, as we like a variety. But we also have a budget, and while not tiny (it is after all a balcony, in the Cloud 9 spa area of the ship - so we won't very likely see price drops) we continue to come back to Carnival (no complaints, we are Carnival stock holders, so we get that perk too!). We don't drink, so "free" drink packages don't attract us.

 

Have I missed something?

 

Yes, a balcony is mandatory. A nice spa is very important. An up-to-date ship is important.

Try MSC.

Last night I did a price comparison to see if a NCL cruise with a "free" drink package would be better than CCL with Cheers. It was Pearl vs. Dream. Dream was significantly cheaper but when I added in Cheers, it was about the same price...and I could get a better room location on the Dream.