New To Carnival - A Few Questions

[frisbeewife]

After all the great advice and comments I thought it would be only fair for me to come back and let y'all know what I decided to do. The short answer is - I'm planning to go with a Grand Suite on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment Of The Seas.

 

Here's why:

 

1. I decided I agree with the other posters who said it's not really safe to put 2 teenagers in a balcony room by themselves, even if it is right next door. They're great kids but they ARE kids and I'd really hate to have to tell my son I lost one. So we all need to be in the same room.

 

2. The boys really do enjoy the balcony and I'm too old to be tripping over (and sharing an itsy bitsy bathroom with) 3 kids, even for just 4 nights, so a Grand Suite it is.

 

3. From what I've read, Carnival doesn't have much in the way of suite amenities, with the possible exception of priority boarding. The suite experience on Royal, on the other hand, does have some nice perks. My middle grandson - the future CEO :D - really seems to appreciate the "finer" things in life and absolutely loves the extras. Being able to get movies and video games from the concierge on Royal is really a big deal for me, since that will help keep the kids in the room for a while when I need a break. :)

 

4. With my status discount on Royal, the price is not much more than on Carnival. Since this is supposed to be a special treat for the boys, and to keep them from feeling too left out while their parents go on an Alaskan cruise to celebrate their anniversary, I'd like to go ahead and give them the nicer experience of a suite on Royal.

 

5. I've decided the 3 hours drive to Miami won't be that big of a deal and it would be nice to sail out of a new port. I love Port Canaveral but I think we'd all be excited to see something different.

 

Having said all that, I'll still keep an eye on the prices on Carnival. If the price gets low enough in comparison to Royal, I still might switch.

 

I very much appreciate the useful advice. I'm sure there's a Carnival cruise in my future somewhere!

 

By the way - can you tell I'm an engineer? Everything has to be analyzed and (mostly) planned...... :)

Edited April 20, 2015 by frisbeewife
Added comment.

[Tapi]

We loved our sailing on the Enchantment last summer. It was an absolutely wonderful little vacation. We had connecting staterooms and it was the best cruise related decision we've ever made.

 

You said that you are planning for June 2016. When is the Rhapsody taking over the Enchantment out of Port Canaveral?

Edited April 20, 2015 by Tapi

[frisbeewife]

We loved our sailing on the Enchantment last summer. It was an absolutely wonderful little vacation. We had connecting staterooms and it was the best cruise related decision we've ever made.

 

You said that you are planning for June 2016. When is the Rhapsody taking over the Enchantment out of Port Canaveral?

 

From what I understand Rhapsody won't arrive at PC until Fall 2016. For some reason Royal has no 3-4 night Bahamas cruises scheduled for summer 2016 out of PC. Doesn't make sense to me, but they didn't ask my opinion. ;)

 

Royal's 2016 ship-shuffling has been discussed in great detail over on the RCL board so I won't go into it here. But if they do decide to add the Bahamas cruises back to the PC schedule I would probably change my cruise. While I might not MIND a drive to Miami, it would be silly to do it when I could go from PC.

[Out to sea!]

From what I understand Rhapsody won't arrive at PC until Fall 2016. For some reason Royal has no 3-4 night Bahamas cruises scheduled for summer 2016 out of PC. Doesn't make sense to me, but they didn't ask my opinion. ;)

 

Royal's 2016 ship-shuffling has been discussed in great detail over on the RCL board so I won't go into it here. But if they do decide to add the Bahamas cruises back to the PC schedule I would probably change my cruise. While I might not MIND a drive to Miami, it would be silly to do it when I could go from PC.

 

I will say, since you've never sailed out of Miami, it is quite spectacular, especially when comparing to sailing out of PC.

[Gallivanting Souls]

(BIG SNIP)

 

Since this is supposed to be a special treat for the boys, and to keep them from feeling too left out while their parents go on an Alaskan cruise to celebrate their anniversary, I'd like to go ahead and give them the nicer experience of a suite on Royal.

 

By the way - can you tell I'm an engineer? Everything has to be analyzed and (mostly) planned...... :)

 

I wish my kids had a grandparent like you! I can't even get the kids to spend the night at the grandparent's house here in town. The other grandparent lives over 3,000 miles away, so I can't give the same excuse for her.

I hope that some day I will be the great grandparent like you! I have no grand kids yet, and lets keep it that way for a few more years.

Ps, my oldest son is going to school to be a civil engineer. I think he gets the planning gene from me. Enjoy your time with the grand kids. It should make no difference what cruise line you go on. Adventure is adventure. Time is time!