Talk me into Carnival, guys...

[RecoveryDude]

I love Carnival. I've also sailed a few other lines. I think for what I'm looking for, Carnival gives the best value (IF I book EARLY).

 

Keep in mind, with cruising ... it's not "just" about the ports, it's about the SHIP, too - because you spend more time on the ship than in port.

 

Carnival has some smaller ships that don't have the "latest" additions (called Carnival 2.0) such as Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina, Red Frog, Alchemy, etc.

 

My advice to you is RESEARCH all the available carnival ships and pick the one that has what you want.... similar to choosing a hotel for a land vacation.

 

I am in my 40's and been cruising for 20 years. Today I typically cruise with my much younger friends (in their 20's) or my Parents in their 70's. I have just as much fun with either group. I'm in Recovery and sober from drugs and alcohol ... so If there were a frat party vibe I would notice and be turned off, and I don't see that. Are people drinking? sure. But they are not funneling beer, slamming shots, and playing beer pong. Do some people get drunk? Sure, but to be honest, this is rare for me to see.

 

My parents have cruised on both Princess and Celebrity ... they say it's def geared towards an older crowd, and they got a little bored.

 

Honestly ... you just need to try it. My prediction: You will get hooked on what I think is the BEST value in vacations..... cruising.

 

there are lots of articles with tips for first time cruisers, be sure to read those too.

 

Have fun!!!!!!!!!!! :)

[WorkerBee74]

See below..... We're going!!! Booked today. :D:D:D

 

Minus the trollage (LOL) you've all given me some great advice. It really wasn't a question of whether it was going to be a choice between Princess and Carnival as I could only do Carnival with the dates I needed, it was more if we should even bother if we can't get Princess. In the end those who said we won't know if we don't try are right. We are in an 8D cabin on the starboard side, got FTTF, and now will mull over some excursions.

[SMSACE6]

Great! Go and enjoy!:)

[elliair]

Hello lovely folks...

 

I'm a first time cruiser, married, no children, 41 yrs old. Husband is 38.

 

I had my heart set on a 7-day Princess Cruise to Baja, and it fell through now because it was in conjunction with a convention I was going to - just found out the dates and it's later than I expected. It is at the end of May so Princess is gone to Alaska at that point, but I'm now eying up the itinerary for May 13-20 on Carnival.

 

Am I too old/young for Carnival? What's the 40-something dynamic on a 7 day cruise to Baja? Is it a wild 24-7 frat party or loaded with screaming children? That's my non-educated stereotypical view of Carnival.

 

We do like to drink so we would be OK tying one on, but we don't stay up until all hours like we used to, but we do expect *some* peace and quiet away from screaming children and 20-something party-animals. We've never been to Mexico but we do a lot of travelling around the US, Canada and England so we're definitely seasoned as far as regular travel goes.

 

We would be interested in excursions and things like that as well, what say you, seasoned cruisers? Will we hate this or will it be a great first time?? Is my view of Carnival skewed and do I need to smarten up and do it? :cool:

 

Well, I've experienced both cruise lines - Carnival and Princess. Depends on what you like - no one can decide for you. Depends on if you want class or you will settle for less class. Carnival is less class. There are children on board Carnival. Lots of them running amuck. Playing on the elevators, parents are no where in sight and the parents like it that way.

 

The excursions are the same no matter what cruise line you are on. We don't cruise to go on excursions. However if we see one we like we'll go.

 

If you like to drink, Princess has a Happy Hour (2 times a day). One at 3:00 pm and one at 10:00 pm. You buy one drink and get the same drink for $1. Carnival does not offer a happy hour. Carnival does have drink specials but I see nothing special about them.

 

There's no longer smoking allowed on either cruise lines so IMHO that's a plus for both cruise lines.

 

If you go to you tube and type in "Brawls on Carnival cruise ships," you'll see plenty of them listed. Enjoy the laugh. These are the types of people who cruise on Carnival. On Princess you'll find a different class of people. Most are over the age of 40, very few if any children on board, more relaxing type of atmosphere.

 

Food is subjective. What tastes good to me, you may not like. However, I believe Princess has the better tasting food. Lobster is served on elegant night and you can order as many as you want. Princess has a restaurant called "The Crab Shack." All the snow crab you can eat, peel and eat shrimp, deep fried shrimp, hush puppies, clam chowder, corn on the cob all for $20. Carnival does not have any venue like this.

 

Princess has an International Cafe. It serves fresh brewed coffee in the morning along with pastries. The pastries are free, the coffee you pay for. It's suppose to be premium coffee (buy a coffee card). At lunch if you don't want to go to Lido, you can get sandwiches and salads at the IC cafe. They also have gelato there. Carnival does not have this kind of venue. The IC on most of Princess ships is located in the Atruim. People get snacks and sit and listen to a musician playing.

 

If you do a search here "Princess vs Carnival" there's several threads that come up. You can skim through them and see what others are saying. We like Princess and have 2 cruises not too far away.:p

 

Whatever cruise line you choose, have fun.

[Podna's]

Well, I've experienced both cruise lines - Carnival and Princess. Depends on what you like - no one can decide for you. Depends on if you want class or you will settle for less class. Carnival is less class. There are children on board Carnival. Lots of them running amuck. Playing on the elevators, parents are no where in sight and the parents like it that way.

 

The excursions are the same no matter what cruise line you are on. We don't cruise to go on excursions. However if we see one we like we'll go.

 

If you like to drink, Princess has a Happy Hour (2 times a day). One at 3:00 pm and one at 10:00 pm. You buy one drink and get the same drink for $1. Carnival does not offer a happy hour. Carnival does have drink specials but I see nothing special about them.

 

There's no longer smoking allowed on either cruise lines so IMHO that's a plus for both cruise lines.

 

If you go to you tube and type in "Brawls on Carnival cruise ships," you'll see plenty of them listed. Enjoy the laugh. These are the types of people who cruise on Carnival. On Princess you'll find a different class of people. Most are over the age of 40, very few if any children on board, more relaxing type of atmosphere.

 

Food is subjective. What tastes good to me, you may not like. However, I believe Princess has the better tasting food. Lobster is served on elegant night and you can order as many as you want. Princess has a restaurant called "The Crab Shack." All the snow crab you can eat, peel and eat shrimp, deep fried shrimp, hush puppies, clam chowder, corn on the cob all for $20. Carnival does not have any venue like this.

 

Princess has an International Cafe. It serves fresh brewed coffee in the morning along with pastries. The pastries are free, the coffee you pay for. It's suppose to be premium coffee (buy a coffee card). At lunch if you don't want to go to Lido, you can get sandwiches and salads at the IC cafe. They also have gelato there. Carnival does not have this kind of venue. The IC on most of Princess ships is located in the Atruim. People get snacks and sit and listen to a musician playing.

 

If you do a search here "Princess vs Carnival" there's several threads that come up. You can skim through them and see what others are saying. We like Princess and have 2 cruises not too far away.

 

 

So with me being "less class", if I want to continue to have a fun vacation I stick with Carnival or if I want something that represents the mood of a funeral I change to Princess. Thanks, that helps.

 

 

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[SMSACE6]

So with me being "less class"' date=' if I want to continue to have a fun vacation I stick with Carnival or if I want something that represents the mood of a funeral I change to Princess. Thanks, that helps.

 

 

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LOL. Another thing to bear in mind as per her one time remark to me, was that her Princess cruise was full of humorless Canadians! Well this is one Canadian you wont find on Princess anytime soon. And I have this person on ignore, but only see this post because it comes up in quotes. But thanks Podna's for the good chuckle of the evening:)

[elliair]

So with me being "less class"' date=' if I want to continue to have a fun vacation I stick with Carnival or if I want something that represents the mood of a funeral I change to Princess. Thanks, that helps.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Sure glad to be of assistance, any time. :D

[elliair]

LOL. Another thing to bear in mind as per her one time remark to me, was that her Princess cruise was full of humorless Canadians! Well this is one Canadian you wont find on Princess anytime soon. And I have this person on ignore, but only see this post because it comes up in quotes. But thanks Podna's for the good chuckle of the evening:)

 

Continue to put me on ignore. I have to go to Quebec in October, I hope there's a difference in Canadians from one Provence to the other. I'm sure there will be plenty of you all onboard. Met some nice people from Vancouver and we stay in touch. :)

[Seago2]

(As we all go to YouTube to watch cruise ship brawls)

[WorkerBee74]

LOL. Another thing to bear in mind as per her one time remark to me, was that her Princess cruise was full of humorless Canadians! Well this is one Canadian you wont find on Princess anytime soon. And I have this person on ignore, but only see this post because it comes up in quotes. But thanks Podna's for the good chuckle of the evening:)

 

That's pretty funny because.... guess where I'm from? 😂 I promise that we are really quite fun though... :D:p;)

[Jenhem31]

I'm 40 and my boyfriend is 60. We love Carnival. While we prefer Royal ships, we like Carnival atmosphere and itineraries.

There are party people on every cruise line. I find Carnival passengers much friendlier and willing to speak with strangers. We aren't loyal to Carnival, but have sailed with Carnival the most and have 3 cruises booked currently.

Sail and see how you like it! You've got nothing to lose.

 

 

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[tonyweir]

We were in the same boat, so to speak, just over a year ago. We had sailed on Royal Caribbean and Princess but not Carnival.

 

The Carnival conquest was the perfect match for our dates and intinerary choice. We were a bit worried about sailing Carmival. A good friend who has sailed over 10 times with Carnival said we would be fine.

 

We had a great time! There were some Wal-Mart people wandering around. There were shorts in the dining room for dinner, but we didn't let what others did ruin our vacation.

 

The ship was great, the crew was great, the food was great and the entertainment was decent.

 

Would we sail Carnival again? Yes!

[WorkerBee74]

There were some Wal-Mart people wandering around. There were shorts in the dining room for dinner, but we didn't let what others did ruin our vacation.

 

Hahah - I'm sure they'll be at the Puerto Vallarta Wal-Mart, first in line... :D:p

[CJHAN]

Go for it. Wife and I are mid 30s we like to party and to chill carnival offers up both almost any time we want. 5 Carnival cruises down an likely many more to go.

[Havingfun2010]

My wife and I are upper middle class. Not rich by any stretch but very comfortable. We like both Celebrity and Carnival and choose cruises based on ports. I also have RCCL in my sights because they go to a port I want to hit.

 

Our only requirements for a cruise are a good view of the ocean and a relaxing but fun atmosphere. Carnival fits the bill. I don't need a butler to serve me, I don't need a rock wall to climb, I no longer surf so I don't need a Flowrider and I enjoy the full range of ages of my fellow cruisers (that leaves out the upper echelon of lines).

 

If you need people to fawn all over you then or if you require anything mentioned above, by all means, continue to over-pay for your cruises. It's unfortunate the one thing you didn't learn growing up is you don't pay for things you don't need or want. Really, it's a simple concept.

 

My next cruise is $75.00 more than one I priced for Carnival and less than NCL. For the $75.00 I get (I'm over 50) rock climbing (which is not much of a challenge), flow rider, which is plain fun, and I get to try to regain my title of dodge ball champion. I also get a variety of shows, that are not passenger participation, including stage shows with live music, acrobatic shows, promenade parades, ice skating shows. We get nightly entertainment and a variety of dance places and pubs, such as Latin themed bar, English pub with pub music, dance club, karaoke club, and more. (all live music except for the dance club).

 

If sitting around is fine, than the $75.00 will be extra, but it's worth it, for the extra's and quality of extra's. Carnival is bare bones and that is what is expected.

[crusinpsychRN]

My next cruise is $75.00 more than one I priced for Carnival and less than NCL. For the $75.00 I get (I'm over 50) rock climbing (which is not much of a challenge), flow rider, which is plain fun, and I get to try to regain my title of dodge ball champion. I also get a variety of shows, that are not passenger participation, including stage shows with live music, acrobatic shows, promenade parades, ice skating shows. We get nightly entertainment and a variety of dance places and pubs, such as Latin themed bar, English pub with pub music, dance club, karaoke club, and more. (all live music except for the dance club).

 

If sitting around is fine, than the $75.00 will be extra, but it's worth it, for the extra's and quality of extra's. Carnival is bare bones and that is what is expected.

 

Unsure why you spend any time on this board. It's evident from your posts you hate Carnival. We're impressed. Sigh.

[jimbo5544]

My next cruise is $75.00 more than one I priced for Carnival and less than NCL. For the $75.00 I get (I'm over 50) rock climbing (which is not much of a challenge), flow rider, which is plain fun, and I get to try to regain my title of dodge ball champion. I also get a variety of shows, that are not passenger participation, including stage shows with live music, acrobatic shows, promenade parades, ice skating shows. We get nightly entertainment and a variety of dance places and pubs, such as Latin themed bar, English pub with pub music, dance club, karaoke club, and more. (all live music except for the dance club).

 

If sitting around is fine, than the $75.00 will be extra, but it's worth it, for the extra's and quality of extra's. Carnival is bare bones and that is what is expected.

ahhh, I so thought this time you were going to book on a fun ship (hear my fingers snapping in utter dismay).:( Acrobatic shows and promenade parades...now there is a reason to book a cruise. I might book the same cruise to get a chance to play you in dodge ball tho..... For the record, the highlight from your post are on Carnival ships....go figure....and one last thing, still waiting......

[WorkerBee74]

You will have a great time. We are older than you (buy a considerable amount) and have sailed on Carnival many times (as well as other cruise lines). We prefer Carnival because you really do get more bang for the buck.

 

I have a pretty comprehensive document I've put together called "Tips For New Cruisers". It will answer many of the questions you might have. If you'd like a copy, send me an e-mail and I'll reply with a pdf file.

 

I actually came across your doc in another thread and it's wonderful, thanks so much for taking the time to put that together for us newbies. :)