swim13

Awesome! Looks like a lot of glass is being inserted and possibly some painting being done! :D

It will be a very sad day when we have to start paying for entertainment on a cruise ship. Included entertainment is one of the biggest fundementals of going on a cruise vs. land based vacations. It would be absolutely ridiculous, at least on RCI.

Hope a construction DVD is being made! :D But that is really awesome!

Looks like the glass to the solarium is being installed and prep for paint on the bow section is underway.

It's amazing how thin the walls and floors are!

To the "Great Gambee",

I am sorry to hear about your grandmother, thinking of you and your family. Perhaps she will now be with you and your mother, in spirit, on all of your future cruises! :)

Fantastic review, as always. I'm afraid I will no longer need to tell you this because it is already a given! The fisheye pictures came out great and I can tell you that lens will be on my christmas list this year! I am glad you enjoyed your cruise.

I do suggest not wasting your time and money on an older Carnival product. I think you will be greatly disappointed. You enjoy the new and big girls! My Victory cruise was the worst one I remember being on although my Dream one was awesome. I don't think they really figured out the perfect ship/experience combo until this class. Even Breeze had way more than the Dream! Just my suggestion, there are too many new and amazing ships to go on; Carnival is building a new ship for 2016!

Also I think the ship in the distance at night is the NCL Epic!

Thanks again for all of your time and effort! :D

I don't like to put anyone down, but realistically, do you think a horticulturalist is going to be the person we would go to for realistic information about ship construction and development?

 

I personally couldn't imagine anything larger than what they've already developed. I'm actually surprised there are enough high paying citizens that are able to routinely fill the bigger ships at the prices they run at.

There are almost 8 billion people on this planet.

Best review ever!!

 

Thank you!

Well thank you!

I have so enjoyed reading your review... Very entertaining and well-written. The bags are packed and we're getting ready to cruise on the Allure in less than 2 weeks. So excited.

Great job.

Thanks a lot! Ahh hope you had a great time!! :D

All depends on what you want out of a trip. If you are a person that is fine with a pool chair and a drink in their hand, either line is going to be good for you. You want extraordinary entertainment and impressive amenities, Royal is your best bet. Want slides and chocolate melting cakes, go on Carnival.

I've been on both lines and while I have enjoyed my trips with Carnival, Royal is my ultimate favorite line. Here are some comparisons I've personally seen.

Demographics

Age: Identical although you see more multigenerational families on Royal.

Snobby people?: Depends where you come from I guess. I've never dealt with any snobby people on Royal or Carnival. Some people just assume wealthier citizens are snobby, not always true.

Ship

Royal has it here, no matter how you slice the pie! I do enjoy the Dream class on Carnival and I think that will be the only class I sail from now on with CCL. I would sail Radiance class and up on Royal.

Food

If you're not a chef or food critic, you will enjoy all of your meals on either line. I do enjoy the 24 hour ice cream on Carnival! I've heard many good things about the steakhouse on Carnival and many good things on the up charge eateries on Royal.

Pools

Seems like the Royal ships I sailed have very minimal salt in them and the Carnival pools are like ocean water. I do like the watersides on Carnival, especially the ones on the Dream!

Staff

Have experienced both good and bad. They are trained similarly and sometimes switch from line to line so you will most likely see some cohesion.

Bottom line?

If you have an open mind, you will enjoy your trip no matter what! Everyone has a different preference so try a few more cruises on both lines or even another one to get a feel on what you like.

You take some beautiful shots.

Thank you!

Excellent review, Mike. I am very glad I decided to follow along. I will be back to read your closing thoughts, and maybe find out when your next cruise will be.

Thanks, glad to see you here! I decided not to do closing thoughts because I didn't see enough interest and quite frankly I lost interest as well! But I believe I will be sailing the MSC Divina March 2015 and possibly Adventure of the Seas in June 2015!!

I love the shots of the water slide. What lens did you use?

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

Thanks! I use the original lens built into the Sony NEX F3

Anyone cruising the Victory June 9th?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

In my mind! ;)

Really enjoyed this, these have to be some of the best pictures I've ever seen in a review! :)

Thanks so much!

Great review!!! We are on her June 5th. Can't wait now! Just beautiful.

Thanks!! Have an awesome time!!

So glad you loved the chocolate melting cake, I knew you would!! :D You are making me so jealous, I just want to jump right in those pictures right now lol!

I think you are worrying too much about the wide angle lens pictures. I really think they are coming out very good and some of my favorite pictures of yours are the wide angle ones. They look very professional and the colors are always very vibrant. :)

Finally caught up! Glad to see your rewarding day in Key West. :)

The review I have been waiting for! So glad you have been enjoying your first Carnival experience so far! It's funny seeing some of your pictures of Miami, they are all still fresh in my head! This is really reminding me of the Dream, I really liked the Dream class.

Can't wait to see more! :)

I was very surprised to hear this news! Very exciting but financially straining for an enthusiast who already has too many of the older girls to explore! :D I hope more ports dredge. Would be a shame to introduce another Oasis class ship to Florida and have it sail the same itineraries.

Loving the review so far! :)

Woohoo, let's get the party started! So excited to follow the Oasis III. Does anyone know if they have a webcam?

Thank you! Now I know where I'll be going for my 2016 holiday....but I'm waiting for those 2015 Quantum itineraries to get next year sorted :D

Haha, take me with you! Lol! :D

At the end of the month they'll move this Anthem build out and start a second one apparently. When Quantum leaves on August 3, they'll bring the two sections together at the front of the hall and continue the build.

Oh okay, that makes sense! Strange but still cool! :p

Ive just been on Mariner in Asia, I've just been to Shanghai and I made a side trip back to Hong Kong just to go to Disneyland.

I was excited to hear that Quantum is going to Shanghai and had already decided to go.....but now I find out they are building a Disneyland in Shanghai , I am SUPER excited!!!! How did I not know this?!!

You didn't?! Well going off-topic a bit, here is a link to a website that is following the construction of the property. Its going to be awesome!

http://www.themeparx.com/shanghai-disneyland/

Thank you, Steff78!! Just looked through the gallery. I wonder how much they can actually do because it seems like a lot has been done and we still have over 80 days until Quantum gives up her space!

Oh wow, that is terrific!! I am sooooo excited for you!! Beautiful ship class and there is just so much to do, or not to do depending on what you like. What is the itinerary?

Congrats!

This sounds like the perfect way to explore Asia! I am thinking take a few days and stay at the new Shanghai Disney currently being built, spend a few days in the heart of the city, and then embark on Qunatum. Doesn't sound like a bad way to vacation in China although you would need to start saving now! That would cost some big bucks, especially the majority of us who would be traveling from the U.S.

Even though I'm mad about the change, I do think this is a very smart move by Royal because it is an emerging market and maybe a brand new ship with all the bells and whistles is what it is going to take to really set a boom over there. Great article on CruiseCritic!

Anybody know what the big sheet/tarp-looking thing covering part of her hull is? You can see it in all the pics Lloyd posted today plus this week's webcam image. Looks like maybe they are painting her hull below the water line?

I was wondering that myself but when I really think about it, I couldn't imagine they would need that for anything other than painting. Hope the painting continues upward soon! :D

Hey I'm a little late to the party but I'm glad I caught this! I love your reviews and was wondering when the next one would come out! I am only on page 28 but so far so good! I am loving the your hotel of choice in FLL. Definitely have to check that one out the next time we travel there for a cruise! :cool:

Will be back tomorrow! :D

Very, very cool! Royal could use some of this footage for a commercial!

Although I have not been on NCL, I have been on the sister ship of Liberty. It is one amazing ship! I don't know if you will be able to go back on another ship and be "WOWed" or amazed after you have been on the Voyager class and up! :D You mine as well try RCI and take advantage of the price, you won't regret it!!