What keeps you sailing with Carnival ?

[Warm Breezes]

To me I think the one thing I like about Carnival is that it has a lot of free restaurants, where if you look at NCL or Royal is a lot of there restaurants have a charge.

 

 

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I don't know about Royal, but the NCL ships I have sailed have had just as many if not more free restaurants as CCL....they just have more fee restaurants too. IMHO choice is good.

[crazyboutdisney]

More bang for my buck!! We have only cruised twice and LOVE it!! We live on a tight budget and I would rather be able to cruise more than to spend money on a more expensive line and go less.

And I would agree that I enjoy feeling like I am on a cruise ship...not a floating city. We dont need all the fancy activities to have a great vacation.

[skoi13]

I've sailed CCL twice (a short Sensation cruise with oldest dd and a family cruise last fall on the Dream). Most of my cruising experience besides these two is two short RCI cruises with my husband (Monarch right before she was retired to Europe) and the rest on Disney. We've done multiple seven days, a Med cruise (just me and oldest kids) a TA (just me and oldest dd for her grad trip-- we home school so we're flexible that way) and back to back on the Dream when she came into the fleet, a Fantasy cruise and repo from LA to Miami through the Panama Canal.

 

We sailed the Dream last fall (over Halloween) with some trepidation-- but the price with the military discount (husband was a reservist who deployed to Afghanistan for a year and got shot at, etc) sold us. We had a great time. Had worries about Camp Carnival with our special needs son. No problem-- Disney would let him vegetate in front of video games-- Camp Carnival engaged him in activities he'd never think to do on his own. He had a blast. Did ATD-- liked our staff well enough the first night and kept requesting them-- did a great job.

 

We're not big into shows, etc, just want to go to sea, enjoy the ocean, good food, warm water, etc. I don't know if we'd like less than a Dream class ship-- the Sensation was okay for a nice cruise but missed the promenade deck and place to sit out and look at the ocean.

 

Agree with the others-- Carnival delivers what I want when I book them-- low cost, good service, nice ship. What I found lacking between DCL and CCL-- (having to pay after hours for kid club), no one in the bathroom handing me paper towels, etc. Ehh-- it's not worth the 2-4 grand difference. I wish we'd have tried Carnival years ago. We'd have a lot more money in our savings account.

[Shipbound]

Since I go solo most of the time the price is a big factor. I'm going April 5 on the Liberty the cruise fare is 1041.00 taxes and gratuities on deck 7.

 

Gary

[DisneyNutMary]

We keep cruising Carnival because you can't beat the prices. For a family of four with one in college and another one headed there, price is ALWAYS a factor. Also, having cruised DCL, NCL and Carnival, for the ages my kids are, Carnival provides the best entertainment options for all. My 15 y.o. son hated NCL, he was so bored. There was just nothing for him- the crowd in the teen club was not his style, and his 19 and 20 year old brother and cousin were going to shows that were over 18 only. On Carnival, they have always found things to do all together regardless of the age gap.

 

 

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[gay head]

We stay on carnival because it is really fun.The tasting bar every night, the food and wine pairing event inthe steakhouse, and I love the serenity deck with the bar The seaside barbrque and the staff is great.I also enjoyed the menu every night in th MDR. and look forward to a different menu every night.The library is great..If you want to shop they have a good choice in the stores.They have clinique cosmetics.The spa is great and they have good machines to work out on.

[Sheila3]

Best prices, on board credit and being able to book from The Netherlands for the same price as you guys in the USA...

 

Fyi prices for Princess and HAL are much more expensive when booking in Europe and no OBC...

 

 

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[donsuej]

Last 20 or so have been with Carnival and while we have alway had a great time entertainment has gotten pitiful.

 

Doing our first princess next month and looking at going back to RCCL after that.

 

We may be done with Carnival until they recognize and improve their entertainment.

 

I agree with you. Have done 20 on Carnival, 4 on RCCL (Oasis was the best cruise ever) and 6 on NCL (with Breakaway and Epic booked). I think my cruise mid Feb. was my last Carnival one. The entertainment, like you said, is awful. I would rather pay a little more and get something worth watching at night.

[LuckyZ]

My DW and I have sailed 3 times on Princess in the 90's but have gone Carnival 8 times since 2001.

We were going to take another Princess cruise this year to change it up a little but my wife received a letter for a free cabin from Carnival to be taken by June (only pay the taxes and port fees).

 

I think it was a random selection. It was too good to pass up. We booked an 8 day out of Port Canaveral in June.

 

If it wasn't for a free cruise, I'm not sure we would have been doing Carnival again this year.

[42CruiseCrazy]

As I write this we're going on the Valor in November, and it will be my 3rdcruise with Carnival, we've had a blast the other times, foods good, service is good. Than you look at Royal and ships like the Oasis, FOS and Quantem. I wish Carnival had intenerays like Pacific Coastal, Europe. I don't think we sail Carnival for the loyalty program, we don't have the WOW factor like Royal, can't compare it to Princess or Celebrity. I'm just wondering what all of you cruise Carnival for? Sometimes you feel like your missing something on other cruise lines, let me know what you think? I just wonder if anyone from Carnival reads these.

 

 

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The winners in each category are:

Price ---- Carnival

Food ---- Celebrity

Entertainment ---- Celebrity

Fellow Passengers --- Carnival ("Fun Ship" people)i

Ship Décor ---- Celebrity and Princess

 

Celebrity is the overall winner with food and entertainment that is head and shoulders over the other two but Carnival is by far the best value for the money and continues to get most of my cruise business because of that one factor. :D

[TheCalicoCat]

When we've sailed on Royal, we've never zip lined, ice skated, surfed or rock climbed. Yet, we've considered Royal to be completely worth the price.

 

From 2004 until 2011, we had the mentality of "why pay more when Carnival delivers everything that we need?". That was until we returned to Royal, that time on the Allure. It was like taking a bite of the forbidden fruit. Our eyes opened up, our jaws dropped, and we said: "WHAT have we been missing??!!!"

 

I've been on GOS & Allure & did not have this revelation - & I ice skated. Diffrn't Strokes... (My only Carnival experience has been the Pride FWIW & I have been on HAL - my first choice for the laundry package alone!)

Edited March 6, 2014 by TheCalicoCat

[42CruiseCrazy]

Bottom line. I have been on several cruises on 4 different cruise lines. I have never been on a cruise that I have not loved it. So if Carnival gives me the cruise experience I love for $200-300 less where am I going to book? No brainer!

 

 

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[bar1068]

The big blue ocean!! Combined with the bright yellow sun!!!

[SailAway1959]

OP asked why do people keep coming back to Carnival? For me and my family and friends, it's not just a matter of pricing... we stay with Carnival because we enjoy the ships, the crew, the food, the other passengers. We don't cruise for the destination, we cruise to be pampered and to enjoy the trip and Carnival delivers in spades.

 

As for entertainment, we don't go to the shows... the piano bar though, that's where we find our entertainment. And in the clubs. And the deck party. And just walking around trying EVERYTHING there is to try.

 

We are in our 50s and our next trip will be our 8th with many more to come.

 

V.

[Cardancer4]

My family (the kids) always picks a cruise as their vacation. Carnival continues to meet and exceed our expectations as far as value, ships, staff and teen clubs. My kids have a great time on the ship and so do I. The ships are clean, the food is good, the entertainment is varied and the ports we visit are fun. The staff has always exceeded our expectations and our cabin stewards have been exceptional! As a personal preference I don't like the new mega-sized ships on the other lines, too many people, and noise for me. Carnival's Legend is the perfect sized ship, easy to get around, no lines ever and there are always chairs somewhere available! Bigger is not always better......

[pungo3]

I continue cruising Carnival because 1) I'm platinum and get priority boarding, 2) Carnival is less expensive, and 3) I use the free laundry. I must admit, I'd change cruise lines if another just offered me priority boarding. :(

[scooterpopsnana]

We love Carnival, but we recently got an offer from NCL that included OBC, free unlimited drinks and a free meal in their specialty restaurant. How could we turn that down?

[42CruiseCrazy]

I still like Carnival but will be trying NCL on my next cruise. Last cruise on the Splendor I heard that some cruisers who smoke were planning to switch to NCL because of Carnival's new smoking policy. Then NCL announced the same policy. I always get an inside cabin. Why pay more? Only problem I see now is that when I do want fresh sea air there will be more smokers on the public decks now that the cruise lines are banning it from the balconies. (Something that never bothered me, of course, being in an inside cabin). I think they should give the smokers back their balconies on one side of the ship and ban smoking in all public areas (including the casino and outdoors) Those of us who don't wish to breathe in their poison can choose inside cabins or balconies on the other side of the ship. What do other people think?

 

 

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Edited September 8, 2014 by 42CruiseCrazy

[Seago2]

The kids clubs and a desire to reach Platinum. Almost there and almost out of the kids clubs. We shall see.

[fergusonvt]

We took our first CCL cruise last year and had a great time. It was the Valor repositioning to San Juan and we liked the ship a lot. It was very comparable to the 2 NCL cruises we had already done and cheaper even with an aft wrap. We booked another for 2016 after taking our first RCI cruise this year and with another NCL booked for next year. I liked it better than the RCI cruise but DH liked the RCI ship better because there was more things to do like the climbing wall and the flow rider. I can see up taking an Oasis or Allure cruise in the future but see us using all 3 cruise lines. It opens up so much more possibilities for ports and ships and it doesn't matter to us what level we are.

[Herbaltees]

I cruise with carnival for the following equation:

 

(Fun)*(kids camp)*(# meals not cooked by me)

cost

[Aviendah]

Because I can go to breakfast with bedhead. Not that I do. But I could. :D

[KatieBug28]

We're booked for our 4th cruise next year (all have been on Carnival). Here's why:

 

1. Price - Cruises aren't my favorite type of vacation, so it's not something I'm willing to "go big" on. I'd save that for another trip. They have a great price, but we still manage to have fun.

 

2. Itinerary - Our favorite place to cruise is the Mexican Riviera. Disney, RCCL, etc. don't go to these ports.

 

3. Little kids - My kids are small right now. They aren't ready for zip lines, flow rider, etc. My oldest loved Camp Carnival, and my youngest will just be 2 when we sail next, so she can do camp, too. When they get older, we'll think about jumping to RCCL or Disney, because they'll have more activities that my kids will enjoy. But right now, they are perfectly happy if they have a pool and activities in camp.

[Seany527]

We love Carnival, but we recently got an offer from NCL that included OBC, free unlimited drinks and a free meal in their specialty restaurant. How could we turn that down?

 

 

Oh man. That's awesome. How did you score that deal? I feel guilty "cheating" on carnival but would love to try another cruise line.

 

 

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[Disconnections]

The ship on a stick.