What we love about Carnival cruises

[KatieCharlotte]

I am not a Carnival cheerleader. I will complain about changes that I don't like, and I don't feel personal loyalty to any company. But, sometimes the negativity is too much when I know how happy Carnival cruises have made my family. :)

 

My family has challenges, like I'm sure so many of you do. We have children who find new experiences stressful and one child in particular who has unique struggles. I won't be more specific for privacy reasons, but it is enough to say that not every type of vacation works well for us.

 

Carnival cruises have made my kids very happy. It is the only vacation that allows all my children to feel completely relaxed. The food is varied but also predictable. The all-inclusive aspect means that we can all try new things and then fall back on old favorites. It also means endless ice cream and pizza, and endless games of mini-golf and ping pong. We put aside real-life stress, get on board early, and soak in the empty hot tub after a filling lunch. We have long sea days where there's no pressure to do anything and a peaceful sea to look out at. We also have port days, where I can expose my kids to new countries in a very simple way, where they know they are coming back to the same cozy cabin and food. I get a break from doing chores and making children do chores. The joy of a clean room with fresh towels, and washed dishes. (This is why room and MDR service is so important to me.)

 

Carnival makes this happen at an affordable price. We're probably not ideal customers because we spend very little on board, but it sure makes us happy. And Carnival, unlike other cruiselines, offers affordable rooms for five on most of their ships. After a cruise, my kids miss all sleeping in one cozy room.

 

When I criticize Carnival, it's because I don't want to lose any aspect of an experience that I treasure.

[originalgeek]

Well we won't find out until July. My wife and I are booked on Conquest, July 23rd for our 30th anniversary and we're so excited we can hardly stand it. She might be getting tired of me texting her all the tips and tricks I keep reading here on CruiseCritic but I'm at work and what better way to spend a work day than reading up on cruising? (Wait, they don't use real names anywhere here do they? Luckily I have friends in IT. lol)

 

So right now all I can say is I love reading CC about all y'all's cruise experiences and love reading through all the menus for the Conquest (I am terribly worried I won't get to eat everything. Imma try real hard to get to each place at least once). (My wife just rolls her eyes at me when I express this sentiment). I love looking at all the excursions and then coming here and reading if they were worth it or not. We still have plenty of time to decide what things we want to do (the only for sure thing so far is she wants to see the cameo factory in Roatan. She loves cameos)

 

So I don't mean to hijack your thread with newbie newness but I thought it was good place to jump in after reading for several days and introduce myself.

 

Thanks!

OG

 

(My son and DIL have been on several cruises on a few different lines and they talked us into picking Carnival as it's their favorite for the value and fun.)

[Trumpster]

Ditto,

 

The kids love Carnival more than any other cruise line they have been on.

 

And while I imagine that they would love Disney, they have the real

Disney not far away and I can do 2-4 (depending on cabin choice and ship) Carnival Cruises for one Disney Cruise.

 

Not much to add but a big YEP!

[elliair]

Actually, if it weren't for Carnival we wouldn't be avid cruisers to this day. They've made some changes for the good like the smoking policy, and some things they just won't enforce like chair hogs. We're back to cruising on Carnival because of the smoking policy. As far as chair hogs go, their towels get moved if they haven't sat down for 30 minutes. Fair enough.

 

P.S. Carnival has better tasting food than Princess!

Edited April 8, 2016 by elliair

[KatieCharlotte]

Well we won't find out until July. My wife and I are booked on Conquest, July 23rd for our 30th anniversary and we're so excited we can hardly stand it. She might be getting tired of me texting her all the tips and tricks I keep reading here on CruiseCritic but I'm at work and what better way to spend a work day than reading up on cruising? (Wait, they don't use real names anywhere here do they? Luckily I have friends in IT. lol)

 

So right now all I can say is I love reading CC about all y'all's cruise experiences and love reading through all the menus for the Conquest (I am terribly worried I won't get to eat everything. Imma try real hard to get to each place at least once). (My wife just rolls her eyes at me when I express this sentiment). I love looking at all the excursions and then coming here and reading if they were worth it or not. We still have plenty of time to decide what things we want to do (the only for sure thing so far is she wants to see the cameo factory in Roatan. She loves cameos)

 

So I don't mean to hijack your thread with newbie newness but I thought it was good place to jump in after reading for several days and introduce myself.

 

Thanks!

OG

 

(My son and DIL have been on several cruises on a few different lines and they talked us into picking Carnival as it's their favorite for the value and fun.)

 

I'm lucky enough to be able to spend time on cruise critic whenever I need a break from work. In my family, I'm the one who drives everyone crazy with too much information because I love to plan vacations. I always read the menus online and choose what I would order. BTW, we loved Roatan. We took a private tour with Bodden Tours that let us choose what we wanted to see.

[originalgeek]

I'm lucky enough to be able to spend time on cruise critic whenever I need a break from work. In my family, I'm the one who drives everyone crazy with too much information because I love to plan vacations. I always read the menus online and choose what I would order. BTW, we loved Roatan. We took a private tour with Bodden Tours that let us choose what we wanted to see.

 

Yep - I've seen their name here several times and then another friend who isn't here recommended Bodden so we will reserve with them for sure.

 

I think I gained a pound just looking at all the menus. Lost it back drooling. :)

[Drazil65]

Carnival Cruising gives us (DH, DS (13) and me) a quality- family time vacation, no work, no crazy coworkers, no phones, no email, no extended family issues going back and forth on FB (We do not do FB but hear about these things at family gatherings :rolleyes:), no housework, no laundry, someone else doing the driving for 7 or 8 days straight...

 

And sun, fun, eating, a few drinks here and there (but we are not driving so who cares anyway), gym anytime, no car pool pickup or drop off, bingo, comedy shows, waking up docked at exotic islands, beach, sand, casino (a little maybe)...

 

And watching the sun rise on my private balcony with a carafe of coffee brought to ME (instead of me making it for DH & I every morning), someone else making the beds and picking up the towels, someone else cleaning the bathroom, and of course seeing the towel animals each night when we come back to cabin....ahhhh cannot wait for our next cruise....;)

Edited April 8, 2016 by Drazil65

[KatieCharlotte]

Carnival Cruising gives us (DH, DS (13) and me) a quality- family time vacation, no work, no crazy coworkers, no phones, no email, no extended family issues going back and forth on FB (We do not do FB but hear about these things at family gatherings :rolleyes:), no housework, no laundry, someone else doing the driving for 7 or 8 days straight...

 

 

I forgot to mention our "no electronics on a cruise" rule -- and the teenager not even complaining about it! :D

[amyh13]

I totally agree. Just off the Valor today. I agree with all of your points and my family is really easy going with no special issues. The kids love it and even Mom gets a vacation from cooking, cleaning and entertainment planning. Most cruise lines offer a similar experience but no where near the value.

 

We are fortunate to take a nice family vacation every year. The valor is going into dry dock shortly and maybe she could use a little facelift but it in no way affected my vacation. The crew was awesome. We went with a family of new cruisers and I hope we have them hooked.

 

 

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[nissach]

We cruise in high season, Christmas break or Spring break due to my inflexible holidays so we LOVE that Carnival makes it affordable to cruise every year if we choose too. :)

We would love to try other lines, but the price point is usually double that of Carnival! :(

[Jenal2]

I forgot to mention our "no electronics on a cruise" rule -- and the teenager not even complaining about it! :D

 

 

Thats probably my favorite part. And better than my DD not complaining, and maybe more surprising, neither does DW...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Love2Cruz2015]

As you can tell by my cruise history, I love Carnival. I've NEVER had a bad experience. I've enjoyed some cruises more than others but as far as the food, ambiance, service...I have no complaints. Value is also second to none..though that's not the primary reason as I would pay more if I thought I'd get better service elsewhere. I'd say Carnival's service is equal to Disney, but their food and ambiance (fun factor) far exceeds Disney.

 

The area where I think they can improve is their shows...Ever since Playlist took over, I rarely go as it's just not my cup of tea...but their comedy shows and live music by the casino, along with Dive in theaters give me enough options to spend by evenings still having fun.

[ceilidh1]

I am not a Carnival cheerleader. I will complain about changes that I don't like, and I don't feel personal loyalty to any company. But, sometimes the negativity is too much when I know how happy Carnival cruises have made my family. :)

 

My family has challenges, like I'm sure so many of you do. We have children who find new experiences stressful and one child in particular who has unique struggles. I won't be more specific for privacy reasons, but it is enough to say that not every type of vacation works well for us.

 

Carnival cruises have made my kids very happy. It is the only vacation that allows all my children to feel completely relaxed. The food is varied but also predictable. The all-inclusive aspect means that we can all try new things and then fall back on old favorites. It also means endless ice cream and pizza, and endless games of mini-golf and ping pong. We put aside real-life stress, get on board early, and soak in the empty hot tub after a filling lunch. We have long sea days where there's no pressure to do anything and a peaceful sea to look out at. We also have port days, where I can expose my kids to new countries in a very simple way, where they know they are coming back to the same cozy cabin and food. I get a break from doing chores and making children do chores. The joy of a clean room with fresh towels, and washed dishes. (This is why room and MDR service is so important to me.)

 

Carnival makes this happen at an affordable price. We're probably not ideal customers because we spend very little on board, but it sure makes us happy. And Carnival, unlike other cruiselines, offers affordable rooms for five on most of their ships. After a cruise, my kids miss all sleeping in one cozy room.

 

When I criticize Carnival, it's because I don't want to lose any aspect of an experience that I treasure.

 

Thanks for this! I am trying Carnival for the first time next month and have been really worried about the how it will be compared to Princess! I sail with my 2 kids, aged 4 and 9 and they have been cruising Princess since they were 6 months! They both love Princess and I have been worried about trying different lines, but I've noticed some things going downhill each cruise we have taken lately so figured now was a good time to branch out! We have tried Disney (kids HATED the kids club - too chaotic) and RCCI (cruise was fine, but nothing special) so I am hoping that Carnival is a fun choice for a quick getaway! Your positive comments have put my mind at ease!:)

[dcwalker]

Katiecharlotte (a GWTW fan?) you really nailed it. With kids who find new experiences stressful or not, you exactly described what I love about my Carnival cruises. I know I will be treated well and well taken care of and that I will love every minute of it and every detail of how it is done. Maybe I'm a (61 year old) kid who finds new experiences stressful!

[Yvonne]

Great post, thank you for sharing your thoughts.

 

We have cruised with Disney, Carnival and Royal and enjoyed them all. But Disney has just gotten so expensive, we're not willing to pay what they charge. Love Royal but they almost always are more expensive than Carnival so we have to weigh the pros and cons when making our decision.

 

We do enjoy Carnival and feel they offer a great cruise for a great price. When (if?) we no longer feel that way we'll try another line.

 

My favorite things about a Carnival cruise is enjoying room service breakfast every morning on our balcony. Now, with them removing smoked salmon from the room service breakfast menu I will be disappointed with that but if I can't write it in on the card or get it from the buffet I'm sure I'll get over it. :) We enjoy the food, both from the buffet and anytime dining, ice cream whenever we want it (and fries!!), love sea days when we can just find loungers (we don't have to be by the pool so rarely have trouble finding loungers) and relax and read, the adult serenity area, love the Comedy Club and most of the shows/entertainment. Sometimes we even stay on board in port so we can enjoy a less busy ship if it's a port we've been to a few times. Love ending the day relaxing on our balcony looking up at the stars. And not having to clean and cook for a week is a huge bonus! :)

 

And Carnival gave me my first (and only!) "ship on a stick" from playing trivia!! :) :) :)

[Micahs Grandad]

Thanks for this! I am trying Carnival for the first time next month and have been really worried about the how it will be compared to Princess! I sail with my 2 kids, aged 4 and 9 and they have been cruising Princess since they were 6 months! They both love Princess and I have been worried about trying different lines, but I've noticed some things going downhill each cruise we have taken lately so figured now was a good time to branch out! We have tried Disney (kids HATED the kids club - too chaotic) and RCCI (cruise was fine, but nothing special) so I am hoping that Carnival is a fun choice for a quick getaway! Your positive comments have put my mind at ease!:)

 

Princess and Carnival both give you a quality vacation but we do find Princess to be a cut above Carnival especially food on lido deck.

 

Carnival is better though on entertainment except when the ship has playlist and hasbro in the evening. However your kids will probably like Hasbro given their ages.

[sandij]

We have gone on many cruises on other lines and really enjoyed them, but we always come back to Carnival for pricing, food and just fun. The only problem we have is we've been everywhere they go and have to resort to other lines to go to new places, but then I'll feel like a trip to Mexico or Aruba and book another Carnival and eat that ice cream I love so much.