Carnival

[Decpl]

Hi folks,

Wife and friends of ours are looking at a 12 day cruise from San Juan on the Liberty . Have done Celebrity and Princess many times but first on Carnival. We enjoy all activities and shows. Not into a lot of kids running around. Travel agent says won't be a problem on this cruise. Hows rooms, food, and service compare to Princess and Celebrity?

 

Thanks Kand J

[ready2cruzagain]

I have also sailed Carnval, Princess and Celebrity. When it comes to Carnival, never seen a Carnival cruise without a bunch of kids running around but since it is a 12 day cruise, you might get lucky. We are doing a 10 and 11 day b2b on the Glory and hoping there won't be a lot of kids.

 

The cabins are larger on Carnival but I like Princess's lay out better.

 

Food is very subjective but I find Celebrity and Princess to be much above in quality and offerings than Carnival. We were on a Carnival cruise then on Princess the next week and Princess's lobster made Carnival's lobster look like shrimp. Food is should I say "fancier" on Celebrity and Princess. Carnival is leaning more towards the types of food I can get every day at home.

 

To be honest, Celebrity wins hands down on service. Carnival and Princess are about the same in service.

 

These are my opinions, and as I said you will get lots of different answers.

Edited August 17, 2015 by ready2cruzagain

[SkyMaster]

I pretty much agree with "Ready2cruize", and even though there are small differences here and there, don't find enough differences for me to book Princess, or Celebrity very often, considering the normal price difference. ;) Celebrity service is a "cut above" but I've always received excellent service aboard "Carnival" as well. I think the biggest difference for me, aboard "Princess" is the staff in the Lido Buffet area. Princess staff there clears the tables, and delivers drinks and silver, "Johnny on the Spot" so there are less problems finding a table at busy times. As noted, cabins are larger on Carnival, but entertainment is perhaps a bit better on Princess and Celebrity.

 

"SKY"

[evandbob]

Hi folks,

Wife and friends of ours are looking at a 12 day cruise from San Juan on the Liberty . Have done Celebrity and Princess many times but first on Carnival. We enjoy all activities and shows. Not into a lot of kids running around. Travel agent says won't be a problem on this cruise. Hows rooms, food, and service compare to Princess and Celebrity?

 

Thanks Kand J

 

I've cruised Princess twice and Celebrity once, and those cruises were wonderful.

 

Rooms: comfort and size level are about the same across all 3 lines

Service: best on Celebrity, then Princess, then Carnival

Food: best on Celebrity, Princess very good, Carnival good

There will be more children and families on Carnival than Celebrity

 

As far as Price, I found a Celebrity Summit out of San Juan that was less expensive for me as a solo than Carnival was at the time I booked.

Edited August 17, 2015 by evandbob

[simplelife]

You are most likely to have children and teens aboard on shorter cruises and during traditional school breaks (summer and the December holidays). We have been on several shorter cruises (4, 5, and 7 days, in summer months) with Carnival and have not experienced "kids running around" on most areas of the ship. Most children are occupied in Camp Carnival activities in designated areas. On our recent 4 day aboard Victory we saw children in the main pool and Jacuzzis on the lido deck (we don't use these anyway), and in the buffet area (mostly as we passed through, since we rarely eat there). I saw a couple of kids playing board games quietly in the library. Our only "negative" encounter was when an aged-seven-or-so child at the family production show knocked over my drink (how many times have we seen adults do this?) and she and her mother were very apologetic. In no case were any kids "running around" - I'm not saying that it never happens, but I haven't encountered it on most sailings.

[Jay Sam]

I wouldn't think too many kids for a 12 nighter. This must be a repositioning cruise? I took Splendor last Fall from San Juan to Miami and didn't see a lot of children. I would think the time of year you travel would also affect that. I always cruise at off peak times so during the school year.

 

On that cruise I met an unusually large number of folks who were platinum and diamond level with Carnival. Very seasoned travelers who knew all the ins and outs of Carnival and cruising in general. I had a marvelous time and was quite interesting talking with them.

 

I have been on 5 Carnival cruises and 1 Celebrity. Celebrity has a very nice product and the best food of all 5 lines I have sailed. I would rate Carnival as a close number 2 for food in the MDR. The service is quite polished on Celebrity, but Carnival does a great job too.

 

Carnival makes me feel at home, and I have never had a bad cruise yet. Even a 4 nighter on Paradise was fantastic. The service is always friendly and quite helpful.