Why Carnival?

[Rock_Dr]

I am just curious why people cruise with Carnival. I have sailed with three different lines but tend to use Carnival most simply because of convenience. They have so many ships and out of so many ports it is easy to find something.

 

There are pros and cons for every line but availability seems to be the deciding factor. When I had more of a choice in Alaska I went with someone different.

[Schoifmom]

I am just curious why people cruise with Carnival. I have sailed with three different lines but tend to use Carnival most simply because of convenience. They have so many ships and out of so many ports it is easy to find something.

 

There are pros and cons for every line but availability seems to be the deciding factor. When I had more of a choice in Alaska I went with someone different.

 

For me it's all about value. DH and I really don't need all of the "bells and whistles" of the other lines (ice skating, Broadway shows, etc.), so why pay for them? Having said that, I'm looking at Alaska and British Isles for our next cruises and there may be better value to be had at Alaska and Carnival doesn't cruise Europe at all.

[emtabulous]

Price 😉

I am cheap. I can afford more cruise with carnival. No, it isn't the fanciest around but it meets our needs.

[Sixtytwo]

Maybe the best answer is another question...Why NOT Carnival? ;)

[Mutumbojimbo]

I initially chose Carnival because of the price, we didn't want to commit a lot of money for our first cruise. Since then, we have tried a short cruise on NCL, which was fine, but since we have kids at home (or with us on the ship), we prefer the shorter itineraries, and Carnival offers a lot more options in the 4 and 5 day market.

 

Also, I can bring my soda on board! ;)

[Cuizer2]

I am just curious why people cruise with Carnival. I have sailed with three different lines but tend to use Carnival most simply because of convenience. They have so many ships and out of so many ports it is easy to find something.

 

There are pros and cons for every line but availability seems to be the deciding factor. When I had more of a choice in Alaska I went with someone different.

 

You ask why Carnival, then you answer your own question. The simple answer is, eleven times in the past, Carnival offered what I wanted, so I cruised with Carnival.

[Sugaree5335]

Convenience is a big reason for me. There are four ports within a 6-7 hour drive of me. That's pretty much my limit before I start considering flying rather than driving. That not only drives costs up, but I live an hour and a half from the nearest major airport. RCI only has one. NCL only has one. Princess doesn't have any. Disney doesn't have any either.

 

Though, I suppose I should say thank you for this post. I did a quick Google search and found that there are a couple of Carnival's ports that I had never considered because of distance that are actually a lot closer than I'd assumed.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Sugaree5335

[Cuizer2]

Convenience is a big reason for me. There are four ports within a 6-7 hour drive of me. That's pretty much my limit before I start considering flying rather than driving. That not only drives costs up, but I live an hour and a half from the nearest major airport. RCI only has one. NCL only has one. Princess doesn't have any. Disney doesn't have any either.

 

Though, I suppose I should say thank you for this post. I did a quick Google search and found that there are a couple of Carnival's ports that I had never considered because of distance that are actually a lot closer than I'd assumed.

 

Disney is expensive even if you don't fly.

[jocko4279]

good product, good price, nice loyalty perks. Plus my wife won't go on another line without the priority embarkation...you know what they say happy wife....

[asalligo]

Price and Convenience. The kids are out of school for one week in the spring and I want to be able to drive to the port, so that limits my days to about 3 actual departure days and two ports if I want to take a 7 day cruise. This means only RC and Carnival have actual choices. RC prices the same cruise at around $1000 more for the week for my two cabins. Simply not worth it to me to pay an extra thousand.

 

I also care not for most of the bells and whistles on the larger boats.

[fsuchick97]

When it's just my husband and I we are looking for R & R together time, so Carnival is great! We can get a balcony cabin for what an outside cabin would cost on RCL. We aren't the party crowd, but do enjoy having a drink or two on deck and hitting the casino every once in a while. We've been happy with two previous cruises with Carnival so I see no need to spend the extra money. Will probably take our kids on a cruise with Disney in the next year or two because we have a young child and I feel like the kids programs/staff may be vetted a bit better with Disney.

[vwrestler171]

Carnival has been great for me and my family. Why pay more when what we do now works just fine? Now we may do a different line when we do Alaska, but we are already planning on being on Vista 2 in the Med.

[JLee1973]

I like the atmosphere and more laid back feel.

[cruzeluver]

Right now we are focused more on Carnival due to my husband's work. Currently he can only get a week or so off at a time so we are limited to 7 day itineraries (although we just did a ten day, was like pulling teeth to get him the time off) and as close to home as possible to avoid needing additional travel days. This limits us to Charleston and Port Canaveral. Once he can start taking more time off we will probably go back more to Celebrity and Royal. I think Carnival has improved quite a bit overall, but we will be sticking to their newer ships as the older ones (particularly Fantasy class) are tired and ugly in my opinion.

[Cruisegirl6]

For us its NOT about price of the cruise, because you do get what you pay but we always come back to Carnival for various reasons:

 

1- Carnival continues to have the live band nightly which we enjoy listening to

2- The bartenders and staff are the most friendly out of the other cruise lines

3- Alchemy Bar is amazing

4- The Steakhouse is our most favorite specialty restaurant out of all other cruise lines

5- Carnival's casino treats us very nicely (offers, treats, drinks, etc.)

[joeyancho]

It's cheap, in every way

[CARNIVALCRUISE3]

I always choose Carnival because I always find the best prices with them. I have a lot of variety of chips and lines to choose from living 30 minutes away from the Port of Miami, and 45 minutes from Ft. Lauderdale, but Carnival beats them in prices very time.

[Pyrate13]

Maybe the best answer is another question...Why NOT Carnival? ;)

 

Exactly what I was thinking. :p

 

We do it because we have enjoyed every Carnival cruise we have been on. :)

[Warm Breezes]

I choose Carnival when they are offering what I want for our vacation at the price I am willing to pay for it. I don't always choose Carnival. When that happens, there are usually other factors that I want for that vacation that Carnival can't get me that another cruise line can for a price I am willing to pay for it. There are differences in the cruise lines and we do have some that we like more than others and some we have not tried yet because they have not had what we were looking for at a price we were willing to pay for. Those differences may play deciding factor if we narrow down our search and it is a close call between 2 ships from different lines....but other than that we don't normally start our search only looking at one cruise line (unless we have FCC that needs to be used....like we did for NCL Escape or we are sailing specifically for that ship like we did with Disney when our kids were at an age to get the most out of it).

[Staceelvls]

I like to cruise multiple times in a year. Carnival makes that possible.

[SadieN]

Thread is about why pax have Brand Loyalty. Carnival had Port Loyalty.

When the economy tanked all the other cruise lines pulled out. Only Carnival stayed year round on the West Coast. We've sailed other lines but, push comes to shove, we'll sail Carnival.

 

 

 

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[idil]

I am just curious why people cruise with Carnival. I have sailed with three different lines but tend to use Carnival most simply because of convenience. They have so many ships and out of so many ports it is easy to find something.

 

There are pros and cons for every line but availability seems to be the deciding factor. When I had more of a choice in Alaska I went with someone different.

 

We just got back from our very first cruise on Carnival (Southern Caribbean)... and I think in my review I answered the question why Carnival :)

 

I posted it as a forum thread, as for some reason they have not published my review as yet :mad: (I thought it wouldn't take more than 48 hours... but, hey what do I know!)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2375004

[ABQrobin]

We wondered the same thing and just couldn't decide.... until we asked several friends who chose Carnival on their cruises. This couple is much like us, 50s and very outdoor active. They have done several lines, always go back to Carnival.

They said they chose Carnival because of the atmosphere.... less stuffy, more live music that was current and not old big band stuff, more relaxed dress code, and more geared for active people who want to do excursions at ports.

 

We looked at websites for all the major lines, and saw exactly what they were saying.... so we went Carnival. Haven't been sorry at all, in fact we are going on our 5th cruise in 2 years next month for my birthday.

[RecoveryDude]

I have sailed RCCL, Holland, Costa, and of course Carnival. I love Carnival and have sailed them the most - Next year I'll finally be Platinum!

 

There is no question that the RCCL ships are big and awesome (at least the newest ones) and I def want to try one of those out. I would like to watch an aqua show from the back of the boat with the ocean as the backdrop ... how cool is that?

 

But typically, RCCL or any other cruise line just can't compare with ports and itineraries that CCL has! CCL pretty much OWNS the Caribbean. Every time I want to go somewhere, they have a ship that's going to work - they also have a nice mix of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 day cruises (if you haven't done an 8 day yet ... you must book one immediately! Trust me, that "extra" day makes a HUGE difference. I now feel slighted if I have to take a 7 day!) - Also they have cruises leaving on different days of the week.

 

I love the comedy on Carnival - I just wish the clubs on most ships were bigger, or wish they used the main theater for comedy instead of smaller clubs, but we work with what we got.

 

For the price and the value of the bigger cabins, and reasonable prices for balconies, plus all the port availability and variety of destinations and ships, you really cant beat carnival. Oh and I love the fun atmosphere.

 

and seriously, I wish people would STOP saying that "only drunks and cheapskates go on Carnival." ...just not true. I am in Recovery from Alcohol so trust me I'm very sensitive to drunk people and will notice them easily, and although there are always going to be a few, 95% of the ship is not falling-down drunk.

 

Cheers!

 

Jeff aka Recovery Dude

[Sparky2]

For me it's all about value. DH and I really don't need all of the "bells and whistles" of the other lines (ice skating, Broadway shows, etc.), so why pay for them? Having said that, I'm looking at Alaska and British Isles for our next cruises and there may be better value to be had at Alaska and Carnival doesn't cruise Europe at all.

 

 

That's how we feel about it, too. We've not sailed on anything above Conquest class ships. I want to sail on a newer one, but we wait till the prices go down a little, and then Carnival moves the ship to a port we don't want to sail from. We prefer Port Everglades, Miami, or Tampa cuz we're familiar with them, including hotels to stay at, etc. Maybe some day we'll get to sail Vista.

 

We are retired and on fixed income so do have to watch our expenses. We only do B2B (14 days) and do not want to put our "cruise money" on a fancier ship but for only 7 days.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Sparky2