Comparing boats?

[Lauraall]

We are getting interested in booking a 7 day mexican r cruise. We went on our first cruise as a family last winter with Princess to the same destination. We loved everything about it (except the short day at cabo we wanted longer). I then have been on two other cruises on the carnival elation for shorter cruises. I had fun and loved the food but the ship and the party crowds which were numerous and out of control was hard to take.

 

Two choices...

Sapphire princess (again which I prefer)

 

or

Carnival Splendor which makes me nervous because how does it compare to the elation, is it nicer? Does it have a promenade deck to walk or run around at night?

 

I have ruled out the mariner because its more money and they don't discount children so its expensive. You can still share your opinion though.

 

Thanks in advance.

[SDPadreFan]

A little more information would be helpful. If you are taking school age kids, will the cruise be during school vacation times (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break). That will impact the type of crowd you will see on Carnival (or RCCL, or even Princess to a certain extent).

 

Because you took Elation (which has shorter cruises), that is why you saw a younger, more party like atmosphere. When you took the Elation, did she have her new "Serenity Area". This is a new feature which has been added to all the older "Fantasy Class" ships. It is adults only and a way to get away from the maddening crowd.

 

Splendor is one of Carnival's newest ships and has a lot of great new features so it is definitely an upgrade from the Elation (but we love the Elation also). I'm not sure about her walking/running areas other than the smaller sports deck track. Perhaps someone else here can help you with that issue.

 

Another ship you could consider is the Carnival Spirit. She does and 8 day winter itinerary that goes to Acapulco, Ixtapa, & Manzanillo. Carnival Spirit is a great ship. We are walkers and Spirit has a full length lido deck that is great for early morning walking/jogging (not sure how it is at night).

 

Either Splendor or Spirit will have a somewhat quieter crowd. They are however "fun" ships and you will always find a more vigorous crowd than on Princess. That is true of the 30 year olds as well as the 80 year olds. Carnival has people that are full of life and don't go to bed at 9pm. Plus, like you said, Carnival has great food. Spirit also has some great pricing right now. We like Spirit because with the 8 days, you get an extra full day at sea. We always get a balcony cabin because of this.

[Lauraall]

Thank you for responding. We have four children 10,7 and twins who are 5. We plan to go in February so not during a break.

 

I have tried the Elation serenity area but the party people were over the age and all filled the hot tubs while drunk and exchanging ideas on how to sneak more alcohol on the boat. I got in the hot tub once and was overwhelmed when a wild group packed in with me and soon could barely breath. It was awful. I didn't hate carnival but I loved princess.

 

My husband seems to feel the Splendor would be a nicer ship than the Princess Sapphire.

[SDPadreFan]

I think the Sapphire and Splendor will be fairly close. Sapphire is actually rated as 5 star and Splendor is 4.5. Don't think that is much of a difference. You've been on Elation and she is rated 4.0.

 

One thing that may be different is cabin sizes. All of Carnivals standard cabins are 185 Sq Ft. That is bigger than any other mass market line for a standard cabin. I'm not sure what size the Sapphire starts with. I know RCCL on her newer ships have inside & oceanview cabins that are only about 165 sq ft. That 20 sq ft really becomes apparent when you use the bathrooms on RCCL ships. The shower is not even fit for a midget. Carnival bathrooms can actually hold 2 people and the shower is much larger. RCCL has great ships and they are very pretty, but for us (53 & 54 year olds), we really prefer Carnival. We find Carnival's food to be better as well. RCCL is not bad per se, but we definitely prefer Carnivals selection and quality over RCCL.

 

We will try Princess and NCL some day. Right now our schedule and vacation time is limited to about 3-4 weeks a year and we like to do other things as well. We own a timeshare in Cabo at Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach and so that takes up one of our vacation weeks every year. We want to take the Carnival Spirit on a 12 day to Hawaii in April next year so that's another 2 weeks of vacation. Never enough time to do it all.

[SDPadreFan]

It I have tried the Elation serenity area but the party people were over the age and all filled the hot tubs while drunk and exchanging ideas on how to sneak more alcohol on the boat. I got in the hot tub once and was overwhelmed when a wild group packed in with me and soon could barely breath.was awful. I didn't hate carnival but I loved princess.

 

Interesting. Wonder if it had to do with the time of year or perhaps a large "group cruise". We've been on the Elation twice. Both times in October, and always had a great time.

 

February is the perfect time for a whale watching excursion in Cabo. Have your kids done that yet.

[Lauraall]

We went on the Elation the week before school started for two days, which I am sure made it pretty bad. I have another cruise on Elation (obviously I don't hate it) 5 days with the two days in Cabo on Sept.26th.

 

I just was slightly disapointed with the Carnival boat compared to princess. There were almost no full size pools for kids etc... If the Splendor is much better, I might do it. My husband wants Splendor and I want to repeat Princess.

 

Hmm...

[SDPadreFan]

I would certainly give the Splendor a try. The Elation was built in 1998 and so it is an older style ship. Elation will be getting the "Evolutions Of Fun" package with new pool areas including newer water slides and a water park area for the kids. All of the "Fantasy Class" ships are getting this upgrade. Several of the Caribbean based ones already have it (Inspiration, etc). One of them even got a new section of Balcony Cabins added. Basically, they took one deck of aft ocean view cabins and welded on the balcony's for those cabins. Not sure if Elation will get that particular treatment.

 

Splendor has the Outdoor Theater (movies at night out by the pool). Does the Sapphire have that? I think some of the Princess ships do, but not sure which ones. Anyway, I would give the Splendor a try. You will at least see Carnival's newest ship that way. Your kids would also get to see Carnival's latest offerings for their kids programs since it's a newer ship (2008).

 

September is the end of the "shoulder season" for Cabo so it might be a little humid. Kinda like Puerto Vallarta. Great time for a snorkle excursion to Santa Maria Cove or Chillano. Have a great time in Cabo. We were there for our week in June. We'll probably do the same thing again next year.

[Lauraall]

I really appreciate your advice. It's so helpful. Has anyone done both to compare?

[Bruin Steve]

Truly a shame that you've ruled out Mariner...

 

I've cruised this route (7 night Mexican Riviera) on the Carnival Jubilee, the Carnival Elation, RCCL Grandeur of the Seas, RCCL Vision of the Seas, Sapphire Princess...and will be doing it on the RCCL Mariner of the Seas (which I was also on back in February) this coming January...

 

In my mind, there is no comparison...

 

I have become increasingly disappointed with Carnival over the years...to the point that after my 2007 Carnival Liberty cruise, I decided I'm not going back...It's not only the "crowd" (and that "party crowd" is certainly not the entire passenger list--it's just that it is enough to be noticeable and irritating), but more the overcrowdedness and poor service...

 

I thought the Sapphire Princess would be better...and in some ways it was--I would choose it over the Carnival ships--but there were a lot of disappointing aspects for us: The Dining set-up was poorly managed...Anytime diners were given buzzers and had up to half-hour waits, service in the main dining room had greatly deteriorated since our last Princess cruise...the showroom was far too small for the size of the ship...the scheduling of nightime events left too many conflicts...

 

All in all, the Mariner is just far superior...an incredibly beautiful ship with great amenities...I would check various dates and see if you can find a price you can live with...Use a good TA and see what they can come up for you...It's a great ship for families with kids--lots of great kid activities from ice skating to rock climbing...Even if it costs a little more money,, it's really worth the money...

 

JMHO...

[JJ2sail]

I agree with Steve. I would recheck the Mariner. They are having some great deals, especially for families. A family of four in an inside cabin for around $1200. The Voyager class ships have so much to offer for kids.

[tnf]

Not sure on what cabin type your looking for but the Splendors oceanview cabins are 220 sq. feet. They are nice rooms.