Rccl/Princess Fan just booked Liberty

[Dawn Berry]

Hello all!

 

My husband and I are frequent cruisers (1-2 every year) and we are avid RCCL/Princess fans. We have taken on Celebrity and didn't care for it (too stuffy). We are in our mid 30's with no kids. We love to have a good time and meet people but we aren't late night partiers. I have taken one Carnival cruise about 7 years ago (before being married) and HATED it. It was on the ectasy (the week before it caught fire). I had already been on 2 RCCL cruises before this ectasy cruise so that is what I compared it to. We were on with the WWF wrestlers on this cruise and TONS of kids. The food was terrible and the ship was more like a motel 6 holding an underage frat party on the water. We have chosen the 11/12-11/20 sailing of the Liberty. We picked this cruise because of its Itenerary and dates (perfect on both). I thought that if I was to give Carnival another chance, I would try her newest ship. I am hoping that these dates will limit the number of children on board (not that I don't like kids, I just didn't like dodging them all day long - and night! - it felt like a school playground 24/7) And I am hoping that the quality of food and service on the Liberty will be more to what I am accustomed to on RCCL and Princess. Please, please, please, someone quelch my fears....

 

Thank You!

Dawn

[caviargal]

Carnival is still Carnival. What would lead you to expect the Liberty to be much different? Granted, she is newer and will be cleaner, etc., but the menus and management are still Carnival. I doubt if the kid issue will be a problem but I think that it is more than the number of kids on Carnival, it is also how the staff manages the problems with them. Carnival in general does not get high ratings on things like enforcing rules on kids in the hot tubs, chair hogs, etc.

 

The Med is such a great destination. I simply would not take a chance, but then my experiences on Fantasy and Inspiration were much as you described.

And certainly not something I would care to repeat.

 

I am sure the diehard Carnival fans will disagree heatedly. I am an avid RCI fan and I also like Celebrity for the food and service, although it is a bit sedate.

[Intrudr]

Carnival is still Carnival. What would lead you to expect the Liberty to be much different? Granted, she is newer and will be cleaner, etc., but the menus and management are still Carnival. I doubt if the kid issue will be a problem but I think that it is more than the number of kids on Carnival, it is also how the staff manages the problems with them. Carnival in general does not get high ratings on things like enforcing rules on kids in the hot tubs, chair hogs, etc.

 

The Med is such a great destination. I simply would not take a chance, but then my experiences on Fantasy and Inspiration were much as you described.

And certainly not something I would care to repeat.

 

I am sure the diehard Carnival fans will disagree heatedly. I am an avid RCI fan and I also like Celebrity for the food and service, although it is a bit sedate.

 

Well, first, it's an 8 day eastern caribbean not a med cruise. second, comparing Liberty to a Fantasy-class ship isn't valid.

 

We just did a 7 day Western Caribbean on the Glory which is also a Conquest class ship. I think you'll love it if the Glory is any comparison. The food was great and so was the service.

 

For comparison, we did a Med cruise on Legend of the Seas in 1999 and absolutely loved it. Both the itinerary and RCCL. We haven't gone back to RCCL because we cruise with children and the youngest isn't quite 3 yet.

 

My point is, I'm not biased. And that I think, unlike Caviargirl, that you will have a good time.

[GottaLuvCruising]

I think you'll enjoy it. The cruise won't be quite the caliber of your Princess experiences, but it's very similar to RCCL. Plus Carnival's newer ships are significantly nicer than the older ones. Carnival has worked very hard to appeal to more upscale clientele.

 

Also the European itinerary will definitely draw a different crowd than Caribbean cruises do. We sailed the Carnival Spirit for 12 days in Hawaii and the atmosphere was much nicer than Carnival in the Caribbean - it was a longer cruise and required air travel - yours has the same parameters.

 

Don't worry so much! It's likely to be an exciting experience with much to offer.

[Dawn Berry]

Thank you for your responses! Wow, so quick!

 

The first post makes me a little nervous, but I am still holding hope from the second post :) BTW, the Liberty cruise we are going on is in the caribbean and it was a good bit cheaper than the other cruises on RCCL and Princess we were looking at (1179pp for a balcony for 8 nights - not bad) since we normally would pay around 2500-3000pp for our cruise. We wanted to find a more cost efficient way to cruise this year because we also are going to buy a house, so we may just get what we pay for huh? I'm not looking for a 5 star experience, just a bit cleaner and less kegger like.

 

Thanks again!

Dawn

[CruiseFever]

I think you'll be fine.

 

It was the "too stuffy" comment about Celebrity that saved you. Had you said something like "I am so used to the refined and elegant blah blah blah at Celebrity" you'd have been in trouble.

 

I can't think of a better way to see that itinerary than Carnival style. I don't think they allow drunken frat parties in Rome so ....

 

oh wait....

 

toga parties!

 

But don't you worry one little bit!

 

;)

[perceptual therapist]

NO worries! Learn to be creative with your own food! Add hot chocolate to coffee, for instance. We sail on all cruise lines and still think Carnival is the best for a fun, friendly atmosphere. Last cruise on Carnival was on a small, older ship and we really weren't looking forward to a high quality cruise in the Western Carribbean. We went with 17 friends though, so decided to be good sports. Well, all our fears were allayed as the food was wonderful and so was our service! We have learned to mix and match at the buffet and use the formal dinner as a time to greet and meet and taste new foods. Being from Texas, we are accustomed to highly seasoned foods, great beef and seafood, so we just adjust our palate and keep a positive attitude! (Winning nearly $2000.00 in the casino helped!)Have a great cruise and don't worry so much about the food! Find interesting people, speak kindly to your stewards, reward their efforts, and don't "sweat the small stuff"! BTW, some of our most lasting friends have been people that we have met on Carnival. Enjoy!

[perceptual therapist]

We will be bringing the Liberty home to the U.S., so I will keep you posted after our Transatlantic trip home from Rome!

[caviargal]

 

so we may just get what we pay for huh? I'm not looking for a 5 star experience, just a bit cleaner and less kegger like.

 

Thanks again!

Dawn

 

I don't consider myself biased just because IMO Carnival will be a disappointment after Celebrity. The Glory that was commented on is a newer ship but the reviews on her are all over the board, and the propulsion problems, excessive wait times to debark and embark, etc., lines in the buffets and overcrowding are frequently commented upon. I will be on her in 5 weeks for business and will write a full report when I return.

 

I do agree that you get what you pay for. My girlfriend and I took our one week Inspiration cruise because it was so cheap (the ship was almost new then) and it was exactly that. I would rather have stayed home.

 

Just my opinion based on 102 cruises with 15 plus cruise lines.

 

CG

[gsb]

be tremendous for cruisers looking to have some fun, not be stuffy, etc.

If you're blue haired and go to bed at 8pm--better switch to Celebrity.;)

[gsb]

The Liberty's Med. itinerary is tremendous and it will be nice to have a fun ship to go with it.(Same for it's Caribbean itinerary)

 

We did the Greek Isles in Jul 01 on the Grandeur--the Ports were very good, but the ship and what it offered was not much.

 

You'll have a great cruise, I'm sure.

[big_duck]

Thank you for your responses! Wow, so quick!

 

The first post makes me a little nervous, but I am still holding hope from the second post :) BTW, the Liberty cruise we are going on is in the caribbean and it was a good bit cheaper than the other cruises on RCCL and Princess we were looking at (1179pp for a balcony for 8 nights - not bad) since we normally would pay around 2500-3000pp for our cruise. We wanted to find a more cost efficient way to cruise this year because we also are going to buy a house, so we may just get what we pay for huh? I'm not looking for a 5 star experience, just a bit cleaner and less kegger like.

 

Thanks again!

Dawn

 

Don't pay attention to fishegg head, she spends her entire days on all the Cruise Critic boards dissing Carnival. But everone needs a hobby.

[caviargal]

Don't pay attention to fishegg head, she spends her entire days on all the Cruise Critic boards dissing Carnival. But everone needs a hobby.

 

Gosh, it's amazing I get any work done at all!!

 

Then again, the opinions of any poster who does not adore CCL and dares to post on this board simply inspire sarcasm and nastiness. It is not a forum to offer an opinion apparently.

 

Makes you want to hop right on a Carnival ship, doesn't it??? To be stuck on a ship with a whole boatload of them; wouldn't that be something to look forward to?

 

Fish egg head

[SanFranBayCruiser]

Dawn:

 

You and I sound very similar. I've had good and bad experiences on most of the major cruise lines, I always try to give them "another chance" if a cruise experience was bad. I balked at booking Carnival but, I'm happy to say they've improved greatly over the years - food has shot way up (not up to Princess but, in my opinion, equal or better than Royal Caribbean), entertainment has improved and the "newer" ships like the Conquest Class and Spirit Class ships have toned way down with the neon over-kill of older Carnival ships. Just avoid Spring Break and the shorter 3, 4, and 5 day cruises and I think you'll have a pretty good time on Carnival. By the way, my husband and I are in our late 30s, and, we're taking the Liberty on the maiden voyage on 7/20 so look for my review when we get back!