Carnival only fans! Interesting!

[muah3iluvzu06]

We typically sail Carnival, as I find the value excellent. We even got married on the Glory in 2012. We tried NCL (EPIC) for the first time last year for a Mediterranean cruise, only because there were no Carnival ships sailing during the time we wanted to go. The ship itself was really nice, and they had great entertainment, everything else was so-so especially the food. The food was terrible. We will continue to sail Carnival because we think the value is great! We've also been on Celebrity which we enjoyed!

[knight2096]

I'm done with NCL. They nickel and dime you to death, their new CEO thinks he is a Roman Emperor. As far as NCL's new Room service charge, they can shove it! They are even trying to enforce a stricter limit on their kids club. Parents are now reporting kids getting turned away. That is no way to cruise. I will stick with Carnival, RCCL and Disney. I may try NCL again one day when they get rid of their wannabe Caesar and reverse their stupid new policies. I will not hold my breath lol.

[marshhawk]

Nice thread, and very nice to know I don't need to change my cruise line of choice. I like Carnival, I don't cruise to be entertained 24/7 I cruise to see the world (well at least this side of it so far), the food is good, and my bed is usually soft at the end of the day. So off to look on the website for more cruises!:D

[MsTabbyKats]

I sail on Carnival & NCL because of the convenience. I find very little difference....and since NCL seems to be much higher for our currently scheduled cruise....Carnival wins.

 

However, last winter we went on MSC Divina (out of Miami...so I couldn't walk to the port).

 

It was much nicer...and if they ever sail out of NYC...I'll be first on line.

Nicer...entertainment....best ever at sea....equivalent to B'way quality

Food....real Italian...pizza like when I was a kid

Passengers...culture & style of Europeans

Ship Itself....gorgeous... Swaraski Crystal staircases...was like looking at staircases made of diamonds

[Havingfun2010]

As you can see from my signature I only sail Carnival (except for one Disney cruise compliments of my Mom because she won lotto!)

 

I only sail Carnival primarily due to the price. For my family of 6 it's the most affordable. With that said, EVERY single Carnival cruise we've been on has been fantastic. No complaints ever!

 

Everyone tells us we need to try NCL & RC because they are so much better. We'd like to see how they compare, but after researching we always say it's just too much & have decided to wait until my 20 year old & 2 17 year olds don't want to cruise anymore & we can afford the other cruise lines.

 

So what I am getting at is this....this past New Year's, my family of 6 went on the Sunshine (my 20 year old brought his girlfriend & best friend). We all had a great time.

 

This past weekend his best friend got off RC Adventure of the Seas & his girlfriend got off the Norwegian Breakaway & BOTH of them both told me today that the cruise on the Sunshine was SO MUCH BETTER!

 

Not sure exactly how teenagers can come to this conclusion, unless they had a "better time" because they were all hanging out together, vs being separate. RCCL has rock climbing, flow rider, ice skating, full size basketball court, along with all the normal items like mini golf, shuffleboard etc. Carnival does not even come close to the offerings for young, active adults, and older teens. Once my teens went on Liberty of the Seas they never wanted to go back!

 

I was happy to hear this but also quite surprised. Maybe it's because Carnival gets such a bad rap. And I know everyone has such a difference of opnion. But anyway, I don't want to start a debate, I just wanted to share that with all the Carnival lovers like myself.

 

I basically feel at this point I'm not missing out on anything only sailing Carnival!!

 

:eek:

Edited August 4, 2015 by Havingfun2010

[cruzeluver]

If I pledged loyalty to ANY line I would be missing out on the great variety we get my moving around. I don't want the same menus, same type of room, same entertainment, same décor and layout every time. I would hate that! We like Carnival and do sail with them and keep our expectations reasonable. We also love Celebrity and Royal.

Edited August 4, 2015 by cruzeluver
punctuation

[Carnival Cutie]

Celebrity was the first cruise line I ever sailed on in the 90's. They had the best midnight buffet ever. Having said that I will say that Carnival is my favorite now. I like the atmosphere and the itineraries. I do wish they had more ships that sail from the Northeast and go somewhere other than Canada. From Celebrity I went to Norwegian and liked their Freestyle Dining. Then I discovered Carnival. Since then I have sailed Royal Caribbean and Norwegian again. The one thing I liked about Royal Caribbean was the ability to order a hot breakfast through room service, I thought the crew was standoffish and the food mediocre. I went back on the Norwegian Dawn after sailing it on their inaugural season and was greatly disappointed. They had a karaoke show that was utterly offensive and the crew did nothing about it. I will say they had a breakfast sausage my husband is still talking about, he liked it so much. As it stands the prices for Carnival cruises have been better for the times we choose to sail so as others have said, if it ain't broke don't fix it. One of these days I will try Celebrity again to see how much it has changed in 20 years.

[asalligo]

I would like to try the other lines, but every time I check prices, Carnival is just so much cheaper and I cannot justify the price difference. I am usually locked into one or two weeks based on schedule so I cannot shop around too much. Usually I have a date within a day I must sail and that seriously limits choices.

 

My trip on the Valor in March will run me $3300 which is already near my upper limit, the next closest line for 7 days was well into $4000.

[CaribbeanLuver]

We have only cruised Carnival so far and it's not that we're Carnival cheerleaders. I've found some cruises on other lines that were comparable price wise but haven't been able to find as good of itineraries. Also, I LOVE the beds on Carnival and would be so disappointed if another line's weren't as comfortable.:D

[Jimmy Geegitz]

We love Carnival too. My only real complaint is the showroom entertainment is lacking. They need to step it up a bit in the main showroom.

[Bimmie Girl]

As you can see from my signature I only sail Carnival (except for one Disney cruise compliments of my Mom because she won lotto!)

 

I only sail Carnival primarily due to the price. For my family of 6 it's the most affordable. With that said, EVERY single Carnival cruise we've been on has been fantastic. No complaints ever!

 

Everyone tells us we need to try NCL & RC because they are so much better. We'd like to see how they compare, but after researching we always say it's just too much & have decided to wait until my 20 year old & 2 17 year olds don't want to cruise anymore & we can afford the other cruise lines.

 

So what I am getting at is this....this past New Year's, my family of 6 went on the Sunshine (my 20 year old brought his girlfriend & best friend). We all had a great time.

 

This past weekend his best friend got off RC Adventure of the Seas & his girlfriend got off the Norwegian Breakaway & BOTH of them both told me today that the cruise on the Sunshine was SO MUCH BETTER!

 

I was happy to hear this but also quite surprised. Maybe it's because Carnival gets such a bad rap. And I know everyone has such a difference of opnion. But anyway, I don't want to start a debate, I just wanted to share that with all the Carnival lovers like myself.

 

I basically feel at this point I'm not missing out on anything only sailing Carnival!!

 

Sail Carnival for exactly the reason you listed. Get more bang for our buck and never had a bad experience. We even get spa balconies, or the vista corner wraps, suites, all affordable on Carnival, where as the other ships we just can't see paying more for the same or less. We love cruising, just can do more when we book with Carnival.

[asalligo]

Recently a friend of mine sailed RCCL. Their only previous experience had been sailing on the Carnival Pride with me and they returned saying that RCCL was much better than the Pride. I have often wondered what I was missing on the other cruises and inquired on what specifically she loved about it.

 

Now this person is young and did not pay for either cruise, so how much they cost was not a factor to her. Turns out what really made an impression on her was Flow Rider, Rock Climbing, and Ice Skating. These are all things that not only do not interest me, but take up valuable deck space making it harder for me to find a chair or a place to relax. So in the end I felt still secure in choosing the ships I choose on Carnival.

 

Plenty of room and a lower price point is what I am looking for.

[guxu]

Yes, Flow Rider, Rock Climbing, and Ice Skating are nice to have. But how many times can you do it? My daughter did rock climbing once in our last 7-day RCCL cruise. My son did twice. Maybe it was just us, but my kids will not pick a cruise line just because of these things.

[Cruise life]

We love the stability of sailing one line. Our kids grew up vacationing on CCL ships and they are at home on them. I like that the boys are comfortable enough to venture out and explore like they would on the grounds of a regularly visited land-based vacation site. They know where to find the basketball courts, pizza and ice cream and how to find the arcades. We know where to look for them. I'm not sure we would all feel the same comfort level if we switched cruise lines. I am concerned about the limited activities from 18-21, though. With our first, cruising during those years was more about the ports than the ship activities. Hoping the newer ships keep our younger two occupied; we have 8 years until we reach that point where activities for 18-21 seem to fall off.

[jen&samcantwait]

Interesting to see this thread today. We are Carnival Cruisers too. Honestly, never even shopped around, we qualify for Interline only through Carnival & I know that can't be beat.

Just so happens, I received $1,000 in gift cards for Celebrity from my work yesterday so looking to plan something & I'm kind of scared not knowing what to expect, LOL. Looking forward to reading more comparisons.

[Jay Sam]

Interesting to see this thread today. We are Carnival Cruisers too. Honestly, never even shopped around, we qualify for Interline only through Carnival & I know that can't be beat.

Just so happens, I received $1,000 in gift cards for Celebrity from my work yesterday so looking to plan something & I'm kind of scared not knowing what to expect, LOL. Looking forward to reading more comparisons.

 

Celebrity is a class act. The best food at sea, whether at the MDR or the buffet. Stunning ships and quite polished service.

 

Don't feel as at home as I do on Carnival, RC, HAL or NCL.

 

Dress code is strict for MDR. Don't forget your jacket for the guys. They have jackets for the guys if you forget, but they are not plentiful in color range or size. And no dress shorts allowed on non-formal nights, so we had to change, but regular jeans are ok, just not nice knee length shorts, with a nice shirt. Really?

 

They provided me a brown jacket that was 2 sizes too small, while I was wearing black. I still feel I would have looked better wearing my dress slacks, shirt and tie rather than having a small brown jacket to wear with black. Really?

 

That is my only gripe overall I guess. Nice cruise experience. So especially if you have gift cards, then take Celebrity and enjoy. Beautiful ship, great food and polished service.

Edited August 4, 2015 by Jay Sam
adjustment

[cruising maniac]

For those of us that have had the privilege to sail on many different lines, we know that they are more similar than different. Some lines have better food and some have better entertainment. After all of these years of sailing, we have only been on one bad cruise and that was Carnival. They "upgraded" us to under the Lido deck and we did not sleep for 8 long nights. After a 10 year break, we returned and were very, very pleased with the Dream. I choose based on the itinerary first, cruise line 2nd, and price third. I do love Celebrity, and the free drink package was a BIG plus.