Curious Carnival Cruiser Needs Opinions Pls!

[ShanteS]

Hello fellow cruisers! I've only ever cruised with Carnival and after a too long hiatus from cruising I'm sailing on the Valor in August. Anyway, I've been really wanting to try other cruiselines, RCL and NCL in particular. My family and I normally do a week long cruise in August but I'm looking at taking a short 3 day cruise over Easter weekend next April.

 

I'm trying to decide between sailing the Norwegian Sky in an inside or the Carnival Ecstasy in a balcony. Tell me about the Sky please as I'm not familiar with Norwegian ships at all. Is it a fairly new ship? One of the bigger ships? Will I enjoy a 3 day cruise just as much as I'd enjoy a 7 day cruise? I have no idea how 3 day cruises are because I've only ever done 7 days. Also, if I bring my daughter who will be 2 at that time, are there activities onboard for her? Is there a "camp carnival" program?

 

Any and all tips and opinions are greatly appreciated! TIA for any help.

[jdvmd]

Hello fellow cruisers! I've only ever cruised with Carnival and after a too long hiatus from cruising I'm sailing on the Valor in August. Anyway, I've been really wanting to try other cruiselines, RCL and NCL in particular. My family and I normally do a week long cruise in August but I'm looking at taking a short 3 day cruise over Easter weekend next April.

 

I'm trying to decide between sailing the Norwegian Sky in an inside or the Carnival Ecstasy in a balcony. Tell me about the Sky please as I'm not familiar with Norwegian ships at all. Is it a fairly new ship? One of the bigger ships? Will I enjoy a 3 day cruise just as much as I'd enjoy a 7 day cruise? I have no idea how 3 day cruises are because I've only ever done 7 days. Also, if I bring my daughter who will be 2 at that time, are there activities onboard for her? Is there a "camp carnival" program?

 

Any and all tips and opinions are greatly appreciated! TIA for any help.

Been on the Sky twice and love the ship for a quick weekend getaway. The Sky is not a new ship, nor is it a super-large one. The crew is very, very friendly.

Here is the link to my review from the last Sky cruise in February 2012.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=98057

[computerworks]

...and details on the ship:

 

http://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/sky/overview

[jonbgd]

THat inside cabin will be really small on NCL compared to a balcony on CCL

I would do the Ectasy if prices were the same

[hartsnvt]

I believe that they changed the age of the kids club to 3 and up so you would not be able to use those services. You will also find a 3 day cruise vastly different from a 7 dayer. It is so short and unless you are just looking to chill, there really is not enough time to do a lot of stuff and before you know it , it is over. Personally if I am going to do a short cruise, I do 4 nighters as it seems like a real vacation, but I prefer 7. As a previous poster said, I would choose the balcony, but Carnival weekend cruise for 3 nights? Not so sure about that. I prefer NCL and my kids enjoyed their inside on the Pearl (while we thoroughly enjoyed our aft balcony across the hall) Many people just love the Sky as she is smaller and more intimate. Just use the search function for Sky and you will get loads of info!

[Warm Breezes]

If I had to choose between an inside on NCL and a balcony on CCL, I would take the balcony. NCL rooms are much smaller than CCL. I haven't been on the Sky or Ecstasy but I have been on 2 NCL and 5 CCL and have a future cruise booked on both. We like both lines for different reasons but basically IMHO the MDR food is similar, Buffet is better on NCL, Deserts are better on CCL, Specialty restaurants are similar in quality but NCL has more options, Blue Lagoon is great but so is the Fish & Chip and Deli on CCL (not sure if Ectasy or Sky have these), the service is similar, entertainment is better on NCL, and inside rooms are very small on NCL compared to CLL. Everything else between the 2 lines are pretty comparible.

[GORDONCHICK]

Just a general FYI - any ship doing shorter cruises (less than 7 nights) is not going to be a newer ship. The one caveat to that would be a small repo.

 

There are activities for 2yos on NCL, but an adult must stay with the child during the play time.

[Hendricks Clan]

Great Stirrup Cay, is worth the trip on the Sky. But you will have a good time on any ship that you chose.

[halos]

I sailed once on the Sky and it was one of the rare times I cruied in an interior cabin.

On NCL, although cabins are small, I don't mind an inside. This is because I spend absolutely NO time IN the cabin when I sail NCL...which is also why I would likely never sail in an NCL suite again. It wasn't worth the added expense despite the extra space...because we really didn't utilize it. There is just way too much fun to be had on an NCL cruise and being in the cabin (to me) is not how I want to spend my time.

This is just my opinion, but having sailed 10x on CCL and 8 times on NCL, I would chose an interior NCL cabin/cruise over a cabin of ANY category on Carnival, any day because I like NCL that much better.

 

ymmv.