Need opinions from people who have cruised both Carnival and other cruise lines.

We are Platinum on Carnival and have enjoyed all our 14 plus cruises on Carnival. Our cruise last week did not have good service and the food was not as good as past cruises. We can afford 2 balcony rooms for our family of six on Carnival but are interested in a change. Has anyone found rates on any other cruise line to be close to the Carnival rates? Also, how do the ships compare to the ones on Carnival. We are not looking for anything fancy, just pretty and nice. I personally don't like having to dress up a lot on vacation and I know Carnival is more casual than most cruise lines. We will stay with Carnival if all the other lines will cost a lot more.

I'd take a hard look at MSC.

We are Platinum on Carnival and have enjoyed all our 14 plus cruises on Carnival. Our cruise last week did not have good service and the food was not as good as past cruises. We can afford 2 balcony rooms for our family of six on Carnival but are interested in a change. Has anyone found rates on any other cruise line to be close to the Carnival rates? Also, how do the ships compare to the ones on Carnival. We are not looking for anything fancy, just pretty and nice. I personally don't like having to dress up a lot on vacation and I know Carnival is more casual than most cruise lines. We will stay with Carnival if all the other lines will cost a lot more.

I find that NCL rates are always better than CCL, especially with the perks they offer.

Thank you! I will check out MSC and NCL. We were docked next to the MSC Divina at a couple of ports and it looked nice. First time I remember seeing MSC at the same port as us. I saw that booking through American Airlines had some good perks on NCL. Seems like one was paid gratuities. Our family ends up adding over $600 to our cruise cost after they add the gratuities on board. I had read in the past that some cruise lines have smaller balcony rooms than Carnival. We do enjoy our connecting balconies on Carnival. I can't remember which one, but seems like one cruise line only opened the connecting balconies when in port. We enjoy ours on sea days with Carnival. I will definitely check out those two cruise lines.:)

NCL has stolen me from Carnival with their added perks... Also, much nicer ships, with more dining choices.

NCL has stolen me from Carnival with their added perks... Also, much nicer ships, with more dining choices.

Is the main dining room free like Carnival and is the service better? Also, do most people dress casual? We miss the live theater bands. I know there are a few Carnival ships that still have them unless they have all changed to the play list shows. We love the live entertainment.

NCL has stolen me from Carnival with their added perks... Also, much nicer ships, with more dining choices.

 

Is the main dining room free like Carnival and is the service better? Also, do most people dress casual? We miss the live theater bands. I know there are a few Carnival ships that still have them unless they have all changed to the play list shows. We love the live entertainment.

 

 

 

If you can find rates on NCL you like I think you’ll love them. Super casual. No formal nights. They have 2 MDRs on most ships; 1 casual and a little dressier. Plus many ships have a jasmine garden and an o sheehans. All are complimentary full service restaurants. I find ncl’s entertainment significantly better than carnivals.

 

The only thing to keep in mind is that while many rates include ‘perks’ they aren’t ‘free’. NCL offers the drink package on most sailings with you paying just the cost of gratuities. Same with the dining package. Typically an inside gets 1 perk; ocean views can offer 1 or 2; and balconies offer 2.

 

 

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I suggest looking at Royal Caribbean as well. You can get good prices on their ships some of the time.

 

 

 

If you can find rates on NCL you like I think you’ll love them. Super casual. No formal nights. They have 2 MDRs on most ships; 1 casual and a little dressier. Plus many ships have a jasmine garden and an o sheehans. All are complimentary full service restaurants. I find ncl’s entertainment significantly better than carnivals.

 

The only thing to keep in mind is that while many rates include ‘perks’ they aren’t ‘free’. NCL offers the drink package on most sailings with you paying just the cost of gratuities. Same with the dining package. Typically an inside gets 1 perk; ocean views can offer 1 or 2; and balconies offer 2.

 

 

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Thanks for the info. It sounds like we would like NCL. We do have one more cruise booked with Carnival going to the Mexican Riviera next January. We booked 2 spa balcony rooms. I did a mock booking with NCL the same week going there and chose 3rd and 4th passengers cruise free as a perk. We will have 3 passengers in each room. The NCL cruise came up $500 more per room than we are paying. I am not sure where we want to go on our cruise after that but will hopefully find something different that I like with NCL with good rates. Thanks again!

I suggest looking at Royal Caribbean as well. You can get good prices on their ships some of the time.

Thanks! I will take a look.

It might be a little difficult putting MSC into the comparisons to North America mainstream lines. They are European in their structure and plan, and though they are pricing it right trying to enter the American market, they are still essentially "European" in style and service. No, I haven't used them yet, but yes, I like a European ship (typically Costa). I suggest spending time on the MSC boards and reading the reviews on CC and see if it will mesh. Indeed, even post on the MSC boards asking for comparisons.

I also think you will be happy with NCL....especially their newer ships.

We have sailed 10x on Carnival, 4x on NCL, 2x on Disney, and 1x on Princess. We have 2 future cruises booked. One on NCL Getaway and the other on CCL Glory. I think Carnival will always get us back on board with their pricing. They are DH's favorite cruise line. Having said that, both of our favorite cruise to date is NCL Escape last year. We loved it so much we purchased 2 FCC while on the ship and used them the first week after we debarked booking the NCL Getaway for our 30th anniversary this year.

We do spend more on NCL but in exchange we get UBP and the SDP. We don't spend more than what it would have cost to add these items to our CCL cruises. Since we don't drink as much without the UBP and we don't go to the specialty restaurants very much without the SDP, we do end up spending less on CCL overall, but that is our choice. While CCL is DH's favorite cruise line, NCL is mine (so far). But we both like different things about both lines. On NCL there is no need to bring any dressier clothes. There is no elegant night. There is always at least one MDR and most of the specialty restaurants every night where shorts are allowed. NCL also has better buffets than Carnival both in selection and taste (IMHO). I find the MDR's to be similar. NCL MDR's are all like anytime dining on Carnival. Come when you please and sit with whom you want to. NCL also has O'Sheehans which has great pub style food in a sit down restaurant open 24 hours. I prefer the entertainment on NCL, DH is more partial to CCL. On the larger ships Howl at the Moon is awesome.

Have fun spreading your wings on different lines. We have more to try but like I said, CCL keeps luring us back with some great deals and NCL just wowed us on our last Escape cruise. Kind of hard to break out and try other lines when that happens :D.

We have sailed 10x on Carnival, 4x on NCL, 2x on Disney, and 1x on Princess. We have 2 future cruises booked. One on NCL Getaway and the other on CCL Glory. I think Carnival will always get us back on board with their pricing. They are DH's favorite cruise line. Having said that, both of our favorite cruise to date is NCL Escape last year. We loved it so much we purchased 2 FCC while on the ship and used them the first week after we debarked booking the NCL Getaway for our 30th anniversary this year.

 

We do spend more on NCL but in exchange we get UBP and the SDP. We don't spend more than what it would have cost to add these items to our CCL cruises. Since we don't drink as much without the UBP and we don't go to the specialty restaurants very much without the SDP, we do end up spending less on CCL overall, but that is our choice. While CCL is DH's favorite cruise line, NCL is mine (so far). But we both like different things about both lines. On NCL there is no need to bring any dressier clothes. There is no elegant night. There is always at least one MDR and most of the specialty restaurants every night where shorts are allowed. NCL also has better buffets than Carnival both in selection and taste (IMHO). I find the MDR's to be similar. NCL MDR's are all like anytime dining on Carnival. Come when you please and sit with whom you want to. NCL also has O'Sheehans which has great pub style food in a sit down restaurant open 24 hours. I prefer the entertainment on NCL, DH is more partial to CCL. On the larger ships Howl at the Moon is awesome.

 

Have fun spreading your wings on different lines. We have more to try but like I said, CCL keeps luring us back with some great deals and NCL just wowed us on our last Escape cruise. Kind of hard to break out and try other lines when that happens :D.

Are the rooms larger on NCL or CCL? We get balcony rooms and would like them to be at least the size of CCL. Do you book directly with NCL? Sometimes I see good deals with NCL booking through American Airlines. I book with our Carnival PVP. She is great! One cruise line only allows connecting balconies to be open when in port. I can't remember which cruise line. We like having them open all the time on CCL. Thanks for everyone's info!

I haven't cruised with MSC, but I've heard they do status matching. So your platinum level on Carnival would get you a higher status on MSC even being a first-time customer. I don't think the tier-matching is always exactly straight across, but would definitely be worth looking into before booking if you start to look seriously at MSC at all.

I don't have much else to add, except that I've cruised both Carnival and NCL and overall have been happy with both.

Are the rooms larger on NCL or CCL? We get balcony rooms and would like them to be at least the size of CCL. Do you book directly with NCL? Sometimes I see good deals with NCL booking through American Airlines. I book with our Carnival PVP. She is great! One cruise line only allows connecting balconies to be open when in port. I can't remember which cruise line. We like having them open all the time on CCL. Thanks for everyone's info!

The balcony rooms are slightly smaller but we have found if you book early on the newer ships you can get larger angled balconies for the same price as regular balconies. On our upcoming Getaway cruise we splurged for an extra large Aft balcony for our 30th anniversary.

For our NCL cruises I book through a TA that specializes in cruises and gives me extra OBC that I can’t get booking directly with NCL. Sorry but we give names on CC. Shop around for the best rate.

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The balcony rooms are slightly smaller but we have found if you book early on the newer ships you can get larger angled balconies for the same price as regular balconies. On our upcoming Getaway cruise we splurged for an extra large Aft balcony for our 30th anniversary.

 

For our NCL cruises I book through a TA that specializes in cruises and gives me extra OBC that I can’t get booking directly with NCL. Sorry but we give names on CC. Shop around for the best rate.

 

 

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I usually book at least a year in advance. We are looking for different itinerary if possible. If not, we need a new cruise line. Will definitely look for best rates. From the Info I have gotten, looks like it will be CCL or NCL. Thanks!!!

Please don’t try MSC. I was on Seaside for my first cruise last week and although it was ok for some, we had a horrible time.(broken toilet, no one cared, three days later they decided to ‘fix’ it by moving us in the middle of the night... to the same room type, with new issues to deal with in that room... meanwhile I had complained to travel agent and someone from the ship had the nerve to tell my travel agent that they had ‘upgraded’ us and we were now having a great time) ... We met a couple who was Platinum on carnival and felt that carnival service was hands down better. To all those who are commenting about the service being ‘European’ ... frankly, that is just offensive. We are originally from Russia (and you can’t get more brusque than Eastern European!) so I can confidently tell you that the service we had was NOT ‘European,’ it was just BAD.

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As long as you are flexible with dates I would consider RC or Celebrity. We just got back from a 4 night Cruise to Cozumel from Miami on Celebrity Equinox . $299 per person balcony room (partially obstructed lifeboat below foot level) with $175 Cabin Credit. This was considered a slow travel week Jan 6-10th but was a great affordable cruise with the Celebrity touch.

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I haven't cruised with MSC, but I've heard they do status matching. So your platinum level on Carnival would get you a higher status on MSC even being a first-time customer. I don't think the tier-matching is always exactly straight across, but would definitely be worth looking into before booking if you start to look seriously at MSC at all.

 

I don't have much else to add, except that I've cruised both Carnival and NCL and overall have been happy with both.

Thanks for the info about status matching. I will check on that!

As long as you are flexible with dates I would consider RC or Celebrity. We just got back from a 4 night Cruise to Cozumel from Miami on Celebrity Equinox . $299 per person balcony room (partially obstructed lifeboat below foot level) with $175 Cabin Credit. This was considered a slow travel week Jan 6-10th but was a great affordable cruise with the Celebrity touch.

 

 

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We like cruising in January. Thanks for the info!

Please don’t try MSC. I was on Seaside for my first cruise last week and although it was ok for some, we had a horrible time.(broken toilet, no one cared, three days later they decided to ‘fix’ it by moving us in the middle of the night... to the same room type, with new issues to deal with in that room... meanwhile I had complained to travel agent and someone from the ship had the nerve to tell my travel agent that they had ‘upgraded’ us and we were now having a great time) ... We met a couple who was Platinum on carnival and felt that carnival service was hands down better. To all those who are commenting about the service being ‘European’ ... frankly, that is just offensive. We are originally from Russia (and you can’t get more brusque than Eastern European!) so I can confidently tell you that the service we had was NOT ‘European,’ it was just BAD.

 

 

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Sorry you had a bad experience on your first cruise. We have never had a bad cruise but we were a little disappointed in the food and service on our Carnival cruise last week.

To the OP

If you are considering other cruise lines besides Carnival, look at reviews on Cruise Critic written by Gambee.. He has sailed on several cruise line ships including NCL and MSC.

He includes many photos of the different ships,both interior and outside decks, that he has cruised on in his well written reviews.

If you cannot find the posts on CC, you can get them from this link-

CruisewithGambee.com

NCL work out as a good deal when you get the all inclusive and they are just as fun as Carnival. We also love Royal like we love Carnival but they tend to be pricier.

We ended up pretty much abandoning Carnival due to limited destinations even though we like everything they offer. Got sick and tired of waiting for their Asian move and even the Aussie voyages are a little limited. We want a cruise out of New Orleans some day so maybe we will sail with them again.

My advice is a little different from the tone of this thread. Coming from Carnival, I'm not sure NCL is the best choice, especially considering the reasons you cited for wanting to try something different. In my experience, NCL has the worst food and service in the industry and while I did enjoy my cruise on Escape, it had some major drawbacks....not the least of which were severe crowding and pathetic pool space.

Looking at your cruise history, I recommend Royal Caribbean's newer ships. I see you sailed Grandeur, but I think you should try Oasis Class. Frankly, I think they're the most amazing ships at sea and neither Carnival nor NCL have anything that compares. The entertainment is the best I've seen and despite there being 6000 passengers on board, they are surprisingly uncrowded.