Carnival Opinions

[Patgo]

Hi

 

Not a fan of Carnival have sailed on the Destiny when the ship was new.

 

 

Having said that I think they have some interesting cruise routes. I am considering giving them another try but would like some input as to what ship to choose.

 

We like Royal Carib, Century. Any and all info would be greatly appreciated.

 

We are in our mid fifties and like to party but we are not 20.

 

Thanks in advance.

[dms_cruisers04]

A little more info would help us help you decide.

 

Which routes are you considering? Which routes have you done on other lines? Any specific ports you're looking to see (since several CCL ships stop at the same ports)? What type of things do you like to do on board ie. all day sun lounging or specialty restaurant dining? :D

[Patgo]

Thanks for the reply. We like the pool, the beach, the casino and specialty dining. We are open to where we go. Have been to most islands so we don't really care where we go. More interested in the ship and the food etc. I guess we are interested in their newer ships.

[pacerzfan]

Conquest and Glory IMO are great ships to sail on. I am 48 and have had a blast on both ships.

[tribbs1]

I just returned from the conquest on 6/19 and I have to say I was very impressed. I was not impressed w/our RCL cruise on the Soveirgn(?) of the Seas 2 yrs ago and was reluctant to cruise again. The Conquest is beautiful and very well run. The food was excellent. We did not do the gourmet restaurant though. There are a lot of food options on the conquest and everything we tried was delicious. The entertainment was very good for the most part (especially the late nite comedians). There were 800 children under the age of 18 during our week at sea, but I'd have to say the average of the other cruise passengers was 45. You would fit right in.

[crazidude1400]

try the legend out of new york...i heard that was a new ship and it goes to some great ports...it was also made in 2002

[Ronath]

The Conquest is definitely a great ship. It is our favorite Carnival ship to date. Always plenty to do. RCI's Explorer of the Seas is another beautiful ship. Those are two of our favorite ships, although we've never really been unhappy with any we've sailed.

[Patgo]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I think we might give Carnival another try. Our last cruise was on Navigator of The Seas our first balcony. I must say this has been my favorite up to this point we have cruised about 22 times and I always keep a open mind on vacation. I have been hearing some pretty good things about Carnival and have been impressed by some of things I have read on this board. In the past they were too glitzy. I found the Destiny to be big but pretty chopped up. We choose that ship when it was new because we thought it would be good for our then 13 year old son. However there wasn't much for the age group.

 

Seeing this next trip is now just Mom and Dad we are open to all ideas.

 

Thanks again.

Pat

[Ronath]

Patgo, we're considering the Navigator for next year. We like the itinerary as well as that class of ship too.

[molme]

Pat

 

When can you travel? We have done the Legend out of FFL on both the exotic Western and Southern in Jan and really enjoyed it. Very few children and the average age group is 50-60. We enjoyed the specialty dining one our first sailing and the food was excellant. The shows were also to our liking.

The Legend is not a glitzy ship. Try it you'll like it.

 

 

Forgot to mention that this is an 8 day sailing.:)

[JrMafia90]

I love Carnival but let me just say if I was in my mid-50's I wouldn't go on a cruise with just me and my wife. With all those kids running around. I would go on Century, Celebrity, or even Holland America. But if you can tollerate all those kids running around and all that noise then go for it.

[Maryandi]

We had a bad experience on Carnival in '92 and from then on went to HAL and 2x Princess.

 

In March '05, took Carnival Glory and were very impressed, even the specialty rest. was better (way better) than HAL. BUT the time of the year is the big deal breaker with Carnival - we are in your age group, too, and do not (repeat, do not) cruise when school is out. We only would go in the fall & winter and early spring.

 

Some people don't mind summers, etc. but we do so we go when we are more comfortable.

 

Have fun - oh yes, we are going on the Legend, Nov. 9th, so it's Carnival again.

[DaisyL]

We just sailed on the Legend in May out of NY and not many kids on that cruise. We are 48 & 53, with my son and his GF, 22 & 25, and we all enjoyed it.

 

I think if you stay away from the summer months and school vacation times you have a better chance of cruising with other adults. Having cruised out of NY during school vacation times on NCL and Celebrity also, I would say they are all the same types of passengers (and we liked those cruises, too)

 

This was the second time on this 8-day cruise (previous July 2003). You stop in San Juan, PR; St. Thomas; and Tortola and if you like days at sea there's 2 full days at each end. We found the cruise to be very relaxing and many passengers were our age group too. We would definitely go on the Legend again.

 

On either cruise, we never saw the 'party animal' types I have read about. Although I've read complaints about the decor, we liked it and probably describe it as 'eclectic'..

[K.T.B.]

The time of year does make a huge difference.... While my first cruise was during Spring Break, it wasn't overloaded with kids. It was, however, loaded with college aged kids. And while you might think it was party central, it wasn't surprisingly enough. That's not to say there wasn't a few who overindulged..... As is the case no matter where you vacation.

 

When I sailed on Conquest, it was the first week of December. You'd think there would be little or no kids on board. Wrong. There was a group of about 100 kids that were home schooled. However, because they were home schooled, the parents of said kids had it set up for them to be "in school" while on board. The only time I saw them was during lunch and dinner.

[Ephilip]

Patgo..

I cruised on Carnival 25 yrs ago and thought they were fine. Since then I have cruised a few more times on NCL and RCCL. They were all fine however my wife had a low opinion of Carnival from people's poor perception of what is a good cruise. We just got off the 6-14 to 6-22 Legend cruise out of NYC and it was fabulous. The staff was the friendliest we've met and that ship really has its act together. If you don't mind kids running around a little during their Camp Carnival thing it's fine but you're going to get that type of thing anywhere you go now. By the way we are 54 and 49 years of age and cruised with our children 22, 19, and 17 and their 75 yr old grandmother. I would go on this cruise again in a heartbeat. Good luck with your vacation!

[Patgo]

Ephillip

 

Glad to hear your cruise was great. We will have to think about the Legend.

 

I have been hearing great things here on this board. I have to convince my husband. I told him I was hearing a lot of good things re Carnival and he was surprised. I guess you just have to keep a open mind. We are pretty east to please and vacation is all about what you make it.

 

Thanks for your input.

[plantocruise]

Patgo, We have cruised on both Carnival and RCCL. We recently went on the Caribbean Princess. I have to say that my two most enjoyable cruises were on the Glory and the Pride. We are set to go on the Miracle in September. The Miracle layout is identicle to the Pride and the Legend and our favorite ship configuration. The service and food on the Glory and the Pride were as good as you will find on that level of cruise line. We had exceptional service on Enchantment but the food was better on Carnival. Go and enjoy whatever you do.

[palmtre2]

Patgo - why not try the brand new Liberty???? We love the beaches too, but thought something different might be in order this time - so we're doing the western to Panama and Costa Rica and we'll still get some beach time in at Cozumel.

I'm really pround of your restaint - all those years and you just recently tried a balcony!!!! The good thing about Carnival is that your balcony will cost the same as an ocean view anywhere else.

Whatever you decide - ENJOY!!!

[halos]

There have been so many positive reviews on the Miracle...that might be the ship you should try.

[nimbex1970]

if your traveling with kids, the conquest... durring kid peak travel dates... on easter break 1/3 of the ship was kids, mine LOVED it.

 

I would sail the conquest on low kid booking times if your traveling without.

 

we almost re-booked the conquest for thanksgiving, the price was the only reason we chose the triumph.

[Patgo]

Sounds like the Liberty, Miracle or Conquest so many decisions.

thanks to everyone for their input it is very much appreciated.

 

 

 

Pat

[The Cruisers]

You should try one of the Conquest or Spirit Class ships that have been mentioned earlier, Conquest, Legend, Miracle and Liberty. They will have the amenities that you are looking for (balcony, upscale restaurant, etc.). We are going on the Liberty in November and are looking forward to it.

 

I do agree with some of the other posters in that you may want to cruise in the Fall, Winter or early Spring to avoid a lot of kids. We are only in our 30's and we always cruise in the fall to avoid a lot of kids.

 

Go ahead and give Carnival another try. I bet you won't regret it.

[crsinmo]

We have only sailed once so far, one the Conquest. We liked it so much we are booked again on it for 2006!

[SanFranBayCruiser]

Strange how taste varies, I sailed the Destiny when it was new too and while I did think the neon was over the top and that Carnival needs a good decorator - over all I did enjoy the ship, but, then again I did a 5 night Canada cruise and a 7 night Southern Caribbean cruise on the Destiny and, I love both those routes.

 

That being said, why not try one of the newer ships or even wait for the Liberty when it comes back from Europe. Look for my review, I sail on the Liberty on 7/20.

 

Guess I wasn't any help, huh?

[Chat Noir]

The ship is just a vessel to get where I want. We went with Carnival for our first cruise earlier this month. Sevice was great- cruise director was ok- decor, didn't really care one way or another- food, decent- shows, ok,- naturalist, awesome. Didn't go for these reasons, anyway. Mechanical failure, missed & late ports. Skipped the highlight of cruise completely. Carnival didn't set any high-standard precedents with the way this was handled while we were onboard. Two weeks later and they are holding to the decision made onboard, but are documenting calls to guest relations concerning this itinerary. I will withhold complete judgement for a bit longer, but I'm losing faith.