Holland, Princess Crusier - New to Carnival

[sunnygidget]

We've only traveled Holland and Princess, and are taking a our first cruise with Carnival on the Triumph out of Galveston.

 

Our DD and family can drive to Galveston so it's easier for them and we are flying in to join them for their first ever cruise. It'll be the second week of Dec.

 

We are guessing the demographics are younger, with more families on Carnival. Is there alot for 3 kids 7-12 to do on board? (There were only 4 children each time on our last 2 cruises with Holland, only 3 for one of our Princess ones). So hoping to see more kids.

 

Will there be long lines in the Lido for food? Are the pools crowded? (On Holland the deck is crowded sometimes but very few seem to use the pool) Can you hear the jumbo movies on deck? (On Princess the MUTTS was loud but not clear, it was hard during the day to watch the movies).

 

Lots of questions, Thanks in advance.

[wrigley80]

We've only traveled Holland and Princess, and are taking a our first cruise with Carnival on the Triumph out of Galveston.

 

Our DD and family can drive to Galveston so it's easier for them and we are flying in to join them for their first ever cruise. It'll be the second week of Dec.

 

We are guessing the demographics are younger, with more families on Carnival. Is there alot for 3 kids 7-12 to do on board? (There were only 4 children each time on our last 2 cruises with Holland, only 3 for one of our Princess ones). So hoping to see more kids.

 

Will there be long lines in the Lido for food? Are the pools crowded? (On Holland the deck is crowded sometimes but very few seem to use the pool) Can you hear the jumbo movies on deck? (On Princess the MUTTS was loud but not clear, it was hard during the day to watch the movies).

 

Lots of questions, Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome to Carnival...........My first cruise was on Royal Caribbean and then the next 8 cruises have been on Carnival. I will never cruise on any other line :). It depends on when you go if you will have many kids on your sailing. Usually there are alot of kids on Carnival but I went on the Carnival Legend in December and there were very few kids (which was extremely nice). You will experience lines at the Lido during the peak times for breakfast and lunch.......but its not that bad.

[Angelica1104]

Welcome to Carnival! The second week in December, there will be less children that say in the summer or over spring break, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There will still be plenty of children on board and the Kids Club on Carnival was great for my son. ( Matter of fact we saw him at breakfast and sometimes he joined us for dinner) Ive been on 12 cruises with Carnival and TBH the children never bothered me. Every once in awhile you see a group of them on a scavenger hunt or headed to one of their activities.

Parent OTOH who allow their children into the Serenity area, or run around on the deck, well that's a different story.

 

Timing is everything on Carnival. For us, we get continental breakfast delivered to our room and tend to eat in the MDR on sea days.

The pool area is busy but if you don't need to be right up against the pool, you're fine. We like the 10th deck overlooking the Serenity area. If I get too warm, I just go for a dip.

 

We tend to eat an early lunch or late breakfast on Lido as we have early dining...I am a diabetic. I'm not much for standing in lines for food, so I just pass on by if the line is too long.

 

Carnival ships will be livelier than Holland for sure and the demo will be younger. There are no MUTS on Carnival. Most ships have a big screen on Lido and they play music during the day....sometimes movies and sporting events.

 

The Comedy Clubs we enjoy Usually they have 2 comics a few nights on the 7 days and they do have a family show and adult shows. I've never seen the family shows packed but the adult shows are SRO so you need to get there early.

 

I am in my mid 50s and love Carnival... I always come back but I think an open mind and a flexible spirit really help you enjoy.

[sassyredhat]

Our line of choice is HAL, but as you can see, we have sailed more CCL. We are in our 60's.

I have enjoyed all my CCL cruises, although the elegance of HAL will not be evident. It is a different experience, but it's good. :)

We have found CCL to have large cabins like HAL, and great beds. PCL definitely has the smallest bathrooms I have ever seen. !

Service and food were always good, ships always clean.

Pools were crowded and noisy. Alot more children, but only once did I see rowdy children running around unsupervised. They were about 9, 10, 11 yr. old boys, and I told them to knock it off.

I did see camp counselors very involved with their groups.

Lido isn't any more crowded that any other line.

You'll be fine. :D

Pat