Why do you like Carnival over other cruise lines

[dorinel]

Cost

 

 

Year round choice from Florida

 

 

Camp Ocean/Carnival is very good and parent friendly in its hours of operation.

 

Food in MDR is good

 

Just like it.

 

Although after the Breeze it will be hard to go to just any Carnival ship! :p

 

Along with Price and Ports. Can't be beat to introduce friends/and family new to cruising. I have always had fun and great memories on every cruise and have met lots wonderful fellow Carnival cruisers.

 

I like being Platinum too for the couple of extra perks.

 

I also like having an iron/ironing board on board and washer/dryer available when needed. Other cruise lines do not have this.

[jakesnana]

While I am Platinum on Carnival, it is not necessarily my first choice for a cruise any longer because of the changes they've made. So many people mentioned price, but I don't see it, unless that is the ONLY factor.

 

My primary factor is usually what's available on a specific date and itinerary. We're going to Bermuda in October and CCL couldn't touch the price I got with NCL, so we went with NCL.

 

I'm taking my grandson on a spring break cruise next year and CCL couldn't come close to the price I was able to get on RCCL (when they were having their tax free sale) on the Navigator (nice ship), so RCCL won out.

 

It has been awhile since I have planned a cruise on CCL (did the Sunshine in March 2015, but that was REALLY last minute) because either the dates/itinerary or price didn't work for me. I AM planning a cruise for the Magic in January 2017 (pricing was great), but we'll see what changes come down the pike between now and then.

[EdmundXXIII]

In no particular order:

 

They are the only line that sails out of Norfolk, which is my preferred homeport.

 

I like the design of their ships.

 

Great food with lots of choices, especially on the newer ships.

 

Price.

 

Amazing service.

 

I've sailed other lines that were more expensive, but felt that Carnival stacked up against them very well.

[Publius1787]

1. Price

2. Crew

3. Much more down to earth fellow passengers

[Budget Queen]

I have been on all the other cruiselines, so coming from a different perspective. I greatly enjoy sailing on Carnival, and don't have to have anything more than basic food and "transportation". Believe me- ALL the lines have cut back and none are 5 star. :)

 

Each line has it pluses. But the major reason I choose a cruise for is itinerary. Then price. I especially like Carnival's Western Caribbean which is paradise for a snorkeler. :) But you see me on other lines in Alaska, and my RCI European trips I make every year, along with NCL being the winner in Hawaii, and HAL excellent for South America, NCL for Bermuda. these cruises I do every year.

 

Something for everyone. I'm never looking for a "perfect" cruise, which I sometimes see -with the petty complaints posted. Yes, I realize a lot of people cruise infrequently so their expectations are higher.

[cheewiee]

Like to ask all you regular carnival people why you prefer carnival to over the other cruise lines ,if you have cruised with others before?

 

 

Value.... Carnival offers an incredible value that I haven't found on other lines...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jc4me]

Good prices and the ability to cruise from a port reasonably close to home.

[CutestLittleEvil]

1. Accessibility & itinerary

2. Service (the staff is amazing)

3. 'like minded' fun loving carnival people

3. Food

4. Price

 

 

 

 

That being Carnival vs Princess is usually a bit of a tie for me. Princess has great itineraries, but I cannot always take advantage of them depending on the departure dates. (their longer itinerary this year seemed to depart mid week vs departing on the weekend.. too many vacation days sacrificed without encapsulating the weekends ). The service on both is excellent.

 

I think I like the other carnival passengers that choose to sail (repeat sailings) on carnival. I find the other passengers in general are more fun, laid back, inviting, open-minded and energetic than I've met on other cruise lines. It's an energy thing.

 

I'm not thrilled with RCCL, we had horrible service with them on their last sailing. I feel like since I haven't sailed with them since their inception, they seemed to care less about whether I returned. Overall, I'm rather ambivalent about the line, but my boyfriend actively dislikes royal and will not sail them again (or sail celebrity).

 

I select my sailings based on time of year (never summer with all the children roaming about) and I sail during the off season so price tends to be lower across all lines and less of a factor.

 

I find it very interesting that no one has mentioned Disney as their favorite yet.

[pghsteelerfan]

This is going to sound repetitive, but here goes: We like a balcony, so definitely price. If we didn't enjoy sailing on Carnival, we'd probably stick to land vacations vs. another cruise line. We sailed on Royal Caribbean years ago and enjoyed it, but it was only our second cruise. Our first was on Carnival and our most recent four have been on Carnival. There is just something about Carnival that we love. Besides price, I've always liked the friendly staff and I like that generally our fellow Carnival passengers have been down to earth and approachable. I'm not comfortable in a serious, quiet, mellow, stuffy environment. We have always enjoyed the food and feel we are getting quality, in addition to so many choices. There seems to be something for everyone and the entertainment staff do a great job of having activities set up for passengers to do but with no obligation to participate. We also cruise mainly for itinerary, and Carnival offers some very nice ones in addition to some that are port heavy while also offering light port itineraries. We tend to go for port heavy, but that's just our preference. I've noticed a few other cruise lines might have interesting itineraries, there are a lot that offer only three ports on a 7 night cruise.

 

One thing I will mention that really stood out was in 2010 in Miami while waiting in line to check-in then board Carnival Glory, the lines were rather long and it was crowded. We hadn't been in line very long before some fun, lively, beachy music came on and the Carnival staff blew up several beach balls and tossed them into the crowd. We (the crowd waiting in line) took it from there by batting them around like they do at Jimmy Buffett concerts. That set the mood by getting people smiling and interacting and that wait didn't seem long at all because we were having fun. Yes, even though we are waiting in line (ugh), we felt like we were on the ship already and vacation has started. Nice touch Carnival! :)

Edited August 27, 2015 by pghsteelerfan

[Kreader]

Hi I have been cruising on Carnival lately because as a solo cruiser they had had the past fares for me. Food is really good,and I like all the live music. And as I turned platinum,the free laundry is a great perk. Kendra

[michaelandjoanne]

For me it is the children's program. My son loves camp carnival, especially the late night parties (he is 7). We practically need to drag him out he is having so much fun. It also allows my wife and I to enjoy lots of time going to shows, the casino and relaxing.

[kelkel2]

We have only sailed on Princess other than Carnival and although we liked Princess, we really felt like we had more fun on Carnival. Princess is a line we would consider sailing again if the price and itinerary was right, but Carnival has lately been winning that. I always price several cruise lines when I go to book. Including NCL, as I have been wanting to try them for quite some time now.

But, that being said, Princess' balcony rooms are much smaller than Carnival's and are missing the couches all together, we missed that. I don't like laying in bed just to watch tv during the day.

Also, the entertainment on Carnival is just a tad better or more geared towards what we are looking for. Maybe it's just our age. I'm 28, husband is 32, but I personally like the dj or at least the mix of music carnival plays. When we were on Princess they had a string quartet. Not really my thing... I mean it sounded nice, but it's not what I wanted to sit and listen to in the atrium while drinking a drink before dinner...

[Jay Sam]

Consistent great customer service.

 

Makes me feel at home.

 

Large cabins.

 

Great food.

 

Nicely priced.

[arby70]

I like the value we get from Carnival. The crew, food and ships are fine for us. The entertainment is definitely not the best out there, but that's okay. We like Celebrity and RCI cruise ship décor, entertainment and food better, but the price is higher most every time we check. I am happy with Carnival. We are happy enough to have 3 more Carnival cruises booked.

[dmdiver]

CCL is reasonably priced.

Soft serve is 24/7 - we found that RCCL wouldn't even keep the machines full during the timeframe they were supposed to be available. I also like being able to get a slice of pizza 24/7.

Crew seems more laid back (more so out of Galveston).

Guy's Burgers

Alchemy Bar

Warm chocolate melting cake

Lobster night

Cabin size - especially the shower, even though the curtains make me crazy sometimes.

Ropes course

Water slides

Serenity

 

That all being said, there are things that RCCL does better, just not enough to make them my favorite.

[loma linda ca a & j]

some of you have already said many of the things i was going

to state but as you can see from our cruise history we have only

cruised carnival and princess - have never experienced a bad cruise !!;)

 

we usually take longer cruises and appreciate using the laundromats in both lines -

our next princess we'll be elite w/ free laundry which my jim will use more than i

as i hang my undies in shower and usually do my silky blouses in sink but for jeans

slacks will use the elite bag

 

jim orders the warm melting chocolate cake every night ! we like traditional dining

w/ 8 at table - usually very luscious food & nice people - staff is wonderful both

in dining room & cabin crew -

we always tip them the last day plus the daily gratuities cuz we

know how hard they all work

 

really enjoy the comedians at carnival late shows

 

like the bingo more on princess as the prize $ increase each day

 

usually can get a balcony on carnival for about same price as we

pay for our inside cabins on princess - we do not mind inside cabins

which allows us to travel more, take excursions, and do our own

land trips pre and post cruises

 

we are 70+ which fits in well on most princess cruises but we

actually feel younger on carnival with the younger crowds & music -

like being at a party all day and night !!:D

 

fortunately, for us jim & i both enjoy traveling, meeting people, &

laughing a lot !!!:)

Edited August 28, 2015 by loma linda ca a & j

[DDFla]

So far, the most value for my dollar I've found.

[landover1]

I love to cruise, and Carnival can accommodate the price and entertainment to go along with it.

[samoan_bulldozer]

I don't care about price. I care about value. The value that I get on Carnival is multiple times better than on other lines.

 

The only thing on Carnival that does not have value are the suite perks. There are better balcony cabins for 20-50% less price that are better if you know how to look dependent on class of ship.

[crazyboutdisney]

We have only cruised carnival so I can't really compare it but definitely the "bang for our buck" keeps us coming back. We have been open to try another line but whenever we are looking to book carnival has the best price. Would love to try disney but can't justify the cost when I could do two carnival for the cost of one disney.

We are very easy going....we just want to cruise and see new places! We have had no complaints w carnival and always feel that we are getting a great deal.

[Tapi]

Cheap

Convenient

[Gardeneroflove]

Like to ask all you regular carnival people why you prefer carnival to over the other cruise lines ,if you have cruised with others before?

 

I'm not sure we do. I prefer Disney, well did, they allowed alcohol, but recently changed their policy. But still Disney service and everything is WAY better.

 

However, we're cruising carnival this time because 1) they leave from port of new orleans, which is an easy drive for us, and 2) they are affordable. We weren't impressed with RCL-ice creams isn't 24/7 nor is pizza and the pizza is horrible. There were a few good points with RCL, but

 

We'll try NCL next, mainly because we can fit five in a suite. Carnival is anti family. Their suites don't hold five OR worse, are lower ocean view. Uh, no. 3 kids in one room, with no escape for me? Nope, nope, nope. Maybe once quiet time/naptimes are over.

[Jana60]

I love to sing so I like having lots of karaoke, big cabin, robes in the room, friendly staff, lobster night, and great value. I just wish they would bring back the show band and the full production shows instead of playlist productions.

[Jana60]

I'm not sure we do. I prefer Disney, well did, they allowed alcohol, but recently changed their policy. But still Disney service and everything is WAY better.

 

However, we're cruising carnival this time because 1) they leave from port of new orleans, which is an easy drive for us, and 2) they are affordable. We weren't impressed with RCL-ice creams isn't 24/7 nor is pizza and the pizza is horrible. There were a few good points with RCL, but

 

We'll try NCL next, mainly because we can fit five in a suite. Carnival is anti family. Their suites don't hold five OR worse, are lower ocean view. Uh, no. 3 kids in one room, with no escape for me? Nope, nope, nope. Maybe once quiet time/naptimes are over.

 

Where you aware that Carnival has balcony suites that connect so you can open door between the two rooms and also connect the two balconies making me one huge balcony. And the two rooms priced together are probably still cheaper than one NCL suite. I know NCL has those family suites that have an extra bath but it still wouldn't equal the size of two balcony cabins!

[Bases5]

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