Tell me about Carnival

[Cruises are the best]

We actually prefer the food on Carnival to that on Royal.

 

We found that too on the freedom of the seas last week ! Out experience witth food on Carnival was better ! But i would have to say that the shows were better on RCL . All in all , after doing RCL , i would cruise with them again but i would also go on CCL again , it will probebly my next cruise !

[Cruises are the best]

I should also ask about attire. At least my wife wants me to ask about that. How dressy? Formal nights - how formal? Again any info is appreciated.

 

I think they are pretty much the same , on FOS last week , there were a lot of people wearing hats and short ....

[mousey]

My personal experience having sailed various cruise lines is this.

 

NCL - liked the any time dining but CCL has Any time dining now too.

 

I fine, that for me, NCL food is more "fancy" than CCL MDR food. I like the comfort food and all the many food options you have in the CCL MDR.

 

The buffets to me were pretty much the same.

 

What we love about CCL is the 24hr. pizza, deli, and ice cream.

 

Your fellow passengers are about the same on NCL as they are on CCL.

 

I don't have a problem with the decor on any ship I've been on. But I do have a favorite. I loved the decor of the Carnival Triumph, especially the bar that's make of clam shells. Loved it! The decor of the Triumph was very "artsy."

 

I've also sailed on Costa, RCCL, and one Princess cruise years ago to Europe. That was probably the most up-scale cruise we've been on. It was very expensive, but it was fabulous, it was our first trip to Europe ever! What fun! Hope to cruise there again sometime in the future.

 

Everyone said Costa was horrible, that we would hate everything about it from the people, food, to the decor. The fact is we weren't deterred by other's opinions and our Costa cruise is another one of our favorites. We liked the food, the people, the service, and the decor.

 

I sailed on RCCL for my high school's 40th reunion. It was a fun cruise but I don't really remember many details about it as it was many years ago.

 

The bottom line is that I've never been on a bad cruise. I've had some, bad food, seen some rude people, had some bad service, I didn't like the decor of NCL's Pride of America, but again that was another one of my favorite cruises. It was a Hawaiian cruise and it was a blast. But more than that I've had great service, met lovely people and made many friends, had great food, good entertainment, and just basically love cruising.

 

I'm a big believer in doing research, taking reviews with a grain of salt, and traveling with an open mind. I've never, ever had a disappointing cruise.

 

It basically doesn't matter what cruise line you sail, it only matters what your attitude is when you board your ship.:D

[travelnap]

We have sailed Royal and NCL several times. Contemplating a Carnival cruise this May. Price is really good. Is it too good? Why the big difference? How does Carnival compare to these other two lines? Please don't just give me - ya Carnival is great. give me the true facts, pros and cons. Food, service, entertainment, extra costs, shore excursions> what will be the same, what will be different? I look forward to all of your comments. Thanks

Lukes, I have sailed on all three and each one is a little different than the others. Most of it is personal preferences but all three are probably more similar than different. As far as dining I prefer the buffet on NCL over RCI and CCL. I prefer the MDR on CCL over RCI and NCL. I enjoy the evening shows on NCL better than on RCI and NCL, but both RCI and CCL have more activities during the day for you to enjoy. I like the specialty restaurants on NCL because it gives you more places to dine. RCI and CCL are more limited on those options unless you are on one of their larger ships. Demographics are similar over all three lines. As far as excursions I did not see much of a difference between lines on pricing and what they had available. I always found excursions I wanted to take on all three lines. Rooms are smaller on NCL and RCI, but they are set up well so its not that noticeable to me. I would not hesitate to sail on any of them as I have enjoyed them all. I do prefer the freestyle of NCL, but most of the lines are moving more in that direction with the open dining or dine as you wish. If the price is good, I would give them a try, and if you don't like them as well, then you can go back to RCI or NCL. I have also sailed with Princess and HAL and although they are the more formal cruise experience I have enjoyed them as well. As long as I am on vacation, its a good trip. Happy Sailing.

[carsaw]

We were on a few Royal Caribbean cruises, Princess and Celebrity before we tried a Carnival cruise. I was very unsure of how we would enjoy it based on comments about Carnival. We tried the Freedom for the price and were very surprised how much we enjoyed it. The food, shows and service were very good. We went on the same Freedom cruise a yr later and currently have 3 Carnival cruises booked on the Magic, Breeze and Legend.

 

We were on the Allure of the Seas last yr and it was amazing. The shows, dining choices (dining room and specialty restaurants) and bars etc... were wonderful. We still enjoy Royal Caribbean and Celebrity and plan on booking cruises on both in the future.

 

You will not have the specialty restaurants on Carnival that the other cruise lines have but overall we were very satisfied with our experience. We enjoy all of them for different reasons and glad we tried Carnival.

[mousey]

Lukes, I have sailed on all three and each one is a little different than the others. Most of it is personal preferences but all three are probably more similar than different. As far as dining I prefer the buffet on NCL over RCI and CCL. I prefer the MDR on CCL over RCI and NCL. I enjoy the evening shows on NCL better than on RCI and NCL, but both RCI and CCL have more activities during the day for you to enjoy. I like the specialty restaurants on NCL because it gives you more places to dine. RCI and CCL are more limited on those options unless you are on one of their larger ships. Demographics are similar over all three lines. As far as excursions I did not see much of a difference between lines on pricing and what they had available. I always found excursions I wanted to take on all three lines. Rooms are smaller on NCL and RCI, but they are set up well so its not that noticeable to me. I would not hesitate to sail on any of them as I have enjoyed them all. I do prefer the freestyle of NCL, but most of the lines are moving more in that direction with the open dining or dine as you wish. If the price is good, I would give them a try, and if you don't like them as well, then you can go back to RCI or NCL. I have also sailed with Princess and HAL and although they are the more formal cruise experience I have enjoyed them as well. As long as I am on vacation, its a good trip. Happy Sailing.

 

 

 

Like!:D