First on Carnival

[MikeandAmy]

Ok my wife have taken about 10 cruises on NCL and love them. But we are taking Carnival for the first time next year, and I am afraid we arent going to like them. Only reason we are taking Carnival is because my wifes family is taking the Sunshine and they want us to go with them. We are in the Grand Suite which seems nice, but we dont seem to get the perks as we do on NCL. Has anyone moved over to Carnival from NCL and how did you like?

[ABQrobin]

Well, with that negative attitude, you probably aren't going to have a good time.

Carnival is about having fun, it isn't about frills and perks.

[Sixtytwo]

I agree, if you go into it with the mindset you won't like it, then you will probably not. Carnival is a good cruise line with a huge following. Yes, there are those who complain about everything and those who never have anything but very positive things to say. If your intention is to relax and have a fun cruise, I believe you will!

 

 

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[tallnthensome]

Ok my wife have taken about 10 cruises on NCL and love them. But we are taking Carnival for the first time next year, and I am afraid we arent going to like them. Only reason we are taking Carnival is because my wifes family is taking the Sunshine and they want us to go with them. We are in the Grand Suite which seems nice, but we dont seem to get the perks as we do on NCL. Has anyone moved over to Carnival from NCL and how did you like?

Which perks are you referring? I'm just curious. BTW, I'm an NCL fan after I sailed the Escape last year ......

[MikeandAmy]

Well, with that negative attitude, you probably aren't going to have a good time.

Carnival is about having fun, it isn't about frills and perks.

 

 

I didnt come in here with a negative attitude I said I was afraid I am not going to like them compared to NCL. I am looking for those who have been on NCL and Carnival to see if there is major difference between the 2. If you dont have any constructive to add, then please dont respond to my post.

[MikeandAmy]

Which perks are you referring? I'm just curious. BTW, I'm an NCL fan after I sailed the Escape last year ......

 

 

We usually stay in a suite with NCL so we are use to the Haven with the private area for guests and specialty restaurants for breakfast and lunch that are just for suite guests. Also I enjoy the fact I dont have to participate in formal nights, and still be able to dine in the mine dining room. I wear a suit and tie all week, the last thing I want do is dress up on cruise. I am glad you enjoyed NCL. Did you notice a big difference between NCL and Carnival, or pretty much the same?

[nhsails]

Sorry for the attitude from people, ran into it myself. Carnival is way behibd NCL, RCCL,Celebrity, MSC, etc in suite perks.sorry

Dee

[MikeandAmy]

I agree, if you go into it with the mindset you won't like it, then you will probably not. Carnival is a good cruise line with a huge following. Yes, there are those who complain about everything and those who never have anything but very positive things to say. If your intention is to relax and have a fun cruise, I believe you will!

 

 

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Thank you Cdavid for not gaining up on me! have you ever taken the Sunshine?

[MikeandAmy]

Sorry for the attitude from people, ran into it myself. Carnival is way behibd NCL, RCCL,Celebrity, MSC, etc in suite perks.sorry

Dee

 

 

Did you enjoy Carnival overall? I am reading more on the suites and they are behind a bit when it comes to perks for suites. But thats ok, I understand that. Its like the airlines they all take time to catch up with one and another.

[BNBR]

It's well known that Carnival doesn't have the suite perks like other lines. That said, you'll enjoy the cruise just fine. As we say a lot, the cruise lines are MUCH more alike than they are different. If you enjoy NCL, you will almost certainly enjoy Carnival. Just enjoy the differences and try not to find yourself comparing everything, though that's hard to do :)

 

I did the same when I went from Royal to Carnival. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the service quality on Carnival and some of the food choices more than Royal, though the ships aren't quite as nice. We loved every bit of our Carnival cruise. Don't stress it.

[Sixtytwo]

Thank you Cdavid for not gaining up on me! have you ever taken the Sunshine?

 

 

We have not cruised on Sunshine. I can bet we will one day, but...

 

The others are correct, Carnival has nothing that I know of to compare to the Haven or the perks it offers. But, we are not suite folks. For sure, NCL's Haven is about as good as you can get on a mass market cruise line!

 

I do hope you enjoy your adventure on the Sunshine!

 

 

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[SadieN]

NCL suite perks are some of the best at sea.

A Carnival cruise is more or less equal across the board for passengers no matter their cabin location.

As far a dinner dress is concerned, DH wear Dockers and a Hawaiian type shirt every night in the MDR, including Cruise Elegant nights.

[jdemps]

I didnt come in here with a negative attitude I said I was afraid I am not going to like them compared to NCL. I am looking for those who have been on NCL and Carnival to see if there is major difference between the 2. If you dont have any constructive to add, then please dont respond to my post.

 

 

The suite perks are definitely better on NCL, however, the prices on every cruise I've ever matched have NCL higher. I guess you pay for the perks or at least in my experience. You get VIP check in and a couple of free bottles of water and that's about it that matters to us.

 

I think Carnival has a wider variety of foods on buffet, dining room and smaller eateries than NCL and everyone gets free room service from a limited menu. 24 hour free pizza that doesn't have to come from room service.

 

One negative for us on Carnival is the "elegant" night for the dining rooms. We are not dress up people on vacation since we have to dress for work every day and not having to change to do dinner on NCL was nice. The food doesn't taste any better and the dining rooms are on par with about a 3 star restaurant or steakhouse - not fine dining by any stretch so we just never get why we have to change. oh well, that's the rules. On a 7 night, you have 2 elegant nights.

 

We think carnival ships are just more fun. The activities are a bit more lively and we can always find a fun group of party people staying up late. It's funny because it's usually the same 25 or so people and we like to close down the bars. I think entertainment depends on what you're into. I would rather see a Carnival comedian than a scripted SNL type comedy show like on NCL.

 

The beverage packages are comparable and the price on NCL is only worth it for us if the beverages are free. Sometimes they run that deal, sometimes they don't on 7 night voyages.

 

Hope that helps - we have chosen carnival for our last 3 trips and had fun on all of them!

[MikeandAmy]

I want to give a thumbs up to all those who gave great insight of Carnival and being to compared it to NCL. Like you said I just need to go in and be open to difference and not compare.

 

Thank you letting me know about not having to dress up, because my DW and I just dont want to do it, 5 plus days a week of doing so its something I dont want to do on vacation. I dont know if my wifes family is trying to give me a hard time but they said you have to go formal or they send you to the buffet lol. It reminded of the soup **** episode from Seinfield no soup for you!

[cb at sea]

It's a VACATION....that's all! Instead of a Hilton, you're staying in a Comfort Suites....that's all!

[Kimberlyr22]

We interchange NCL and Carnival and sail in suites on both. Overall product and entertainment/activity wise (subjective of course) I enjoy Carnival better. NCL wins with in cabin extras (suite bathrooms and perks). However, I've always found that even with the Carnival suite and the added Cheers package I'm paying substantially less than NCL for similar cruises.

 

I have been able to slightly replicate the NCL suite perks by booking spa suites, which gives you access to a semi private "oasis" to escape the crowds. We also spend about $120 in the fun shops to get daily treats delivered (fruit, cheese, cookies, etc) like we get on NCL from the butler. And we do any time dining because I dislike set dining times.

 

Honestly, we find very little difference between the two cruise lines, and a few tweaks to Carnival give us the little added treats that NCL spoils suite guests with.

 

 

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[kgb46]

Thank you Cdavid for not gaining up on me! have you ever taken the Sunshine?

 

 

I was on the Sunshine September 2015 and loved it. A few things to know, it is an older ship known as Destiny and it was refurbished and name changed. They took out some of the venue area and made it into cabins thus cutting down space especially in the lounge where they have the comedy show. Make sure to show up early in order to get a seat if you wish to see either show. The early comedy is PG and the later is adult rated. I have heard people show up about 1 hour prior to get a seat. Next thing is seating for the buffet. After you get your plate go back out to where the elevators are and you will see a sign that is for Havana Bar. Head in there and you will usually find a spot to sit and eat. The Italian restaurant is also located in there and is free for lunch. It is $15 for dinner and requires a reservation and has a different menu. Also in the Havana you can slide in there during the morning hours and enjoy the omelet station. This is great for the first part of the trip but will eventually become a bit more crowded as cruisers catch on during the week. There is a 3 level Serenity area that is adult only. Pool and waterfall and some hot tubs. On level 5 there is a tasting bar that opens around 5 in the evenings and has something different every night. If you do Your Time Dining you will need to go where the tasting bar is to sign in for your table each night and they will either send you on down for dinner (deck 3) or give you a pager. Wait is not long. Next there is a steakhouse on board. It is $35 a person (reservations required) and it is wonderful. Like someone else said, order some items from the fun shops under your cruise manager and have them delivered throughout the cruise. I personally don't because there seems to be food everywhere. Enjoy your trip. I have thought about doing NCL cruises but I just have not been able to justify the cost difference.

[Motegi]

Ok here's my 2 cents... I see many parallels with my experience and your situation.

 

Pam also I are also frequent NCL cruisers and have enjoyed our vacations with them very much over the years.

 

However, two weeks ago we were on a full ship charter cruise on the Carnival Victory.

 

Pam had never been on Carnival before and it had been over two decades since the last CCL cruise for me. This particular cruise was essentially offered to us for free and since we have friends that always rave about Carnival, we were very excited to give the CCL Victory a try.

 

Overall we had fun but it was definitely different from NCL in many ways.

 

Embarkation was handled differently than we were used to with a large waiting room/holding area after check in followed by boarding by assigned group numbers. I would budget some extra time for this especially if you want to catch lunch before the safety drill. One thing that was really impressive was that our luggage beat us to our cabin! On NCL it usually doesn't arrive for us until after dinner.

 

The CCL ship decor was much more vibrant and eclectic than NCL. If one likes eye popping colors then this will suit them just fine.

 

Our cabin was an "obstructed" ocean view facing forward over the bridge. It actually had huge a semiprivate balcony that was only accessible through a doorway hidden on one end of the hall. There really wasn't any obstruction other than the railing height wall along the front edge. We saw almost nobody else out there during our entire cruise. We had tons of closet space and loved having the mirrored medicine cabinets in the bathroom. The TV was pretty bad though.

 

We had high hopes for the CCL iPhone app but found it to not be fully up and running and key features only available for an extra charge. I think the NCL app works better. I must say that we really enjoyed the opportunity to purchase an inexpensive social media only WiFi package and used it throughout.

 

The stand up comedy shows in the comedy club seemed to be the preferred nightly entertainment with very few attending the main theater production shows. The comedians were VERY good but be aware that the majority of the shows were geared toward adults and definitely not family friendly material. They did have a few earlier family friendly shows as well.

 

The buffet lines on CCL for breakfast and lunch were longer than we were accustomed to but the available seating was much easier to find. The buffet selection didn't seem to be as extensive but we always found something to eat.

 

Interestingly, we didn't see any staff with antibacterial hand spray at the buffet entrances like on NCL. They did have the self serve automatic dispensers on the side but I noticed that most passengers just walked right by them. I don't know about your past experience but on NCL they pretty much forcibly spray you down as they exclaim "washy! washy!" before you can even walk in. Come to think of it I don't remember seeing anyone spraying hands or being offered moist washcloths when we reboarded the ship in Nassau either...

 

The main dining room seating times for our cruise were pressigned and not "freestyle" like on NCL. The plus is that you may be dining with many of the same passengers each night. We struck up a conversation with the couple that were sitting at an adjacent table on the first night. By the last night we were all sitting at a big table together. It was quite nice. The dining room staff does a nightly dance performance that we found to be very amusing. The menu selection was similar in variety to NCL but Pam and I prefer the presentation and taste of NCLs offerings. However, I could understand how others would prefer CCL.

 

We had dinner in the main dining room every night and didn't try any upcharge restaurants. We did have dessert and coffee at the cafe which was very reasonably priced and quite delicious.

 

Our cabin steward on CCL was excellent and made sure to learn our names on the first day. Every time we would leave our cabin he would make sure to greet us each by name in the hall and ask if we were enjoying our day and if there was anything he could do. He was truly outstanding and we made sure to tip him very well.

 

Another big difference that I noted was that on CCL Victory there were less game shows, trivia, scavenger hunts scheduled each day than we were used to on NCL. Those that they did have were more relaxed/subdued than the often high energy/hyperactive activities we have seen on NCL. The cruise director was an extremely nice guy and also more low key than the boisterous ones that we have had on NCL. I was told that this CCL experience may not be the norm as it was a full ship charter cruise. Pam and I prefer having an abundance of activities each day on NCL and prefer the high energy atmosphere when we are there. But if one doesn't particularly like the organized group activities and game shows then this may not matter.

 

Something that I missed was that we never saw the Captain while we were on board and didn't have an opportunity to get a photo with the Captain like we have had on our past cruises. On NCL we've had the Captains come through the dining rooms and chat with us at our tables and even sit down next to us in the atriums during the live band performances. They've all been very friendly and engaging. Perhaps we just overlooked it or it was omitted from our chartered ship itinerary but we missed not having the opportunity.

 

Despite the differences, like I said in the beginning we still had a good time on our CCL cruise. I think as long as you are aware of the differences and not expecting a carbon copy of NCL then you'll be just fine.

 

Best wishes on your upcoming cruise.

Edited February 28, 2017 by Motegi

[vp1]

Ok my wife have taken about 10 cruises on NCL and love them. But we are taking Carnival for the first time next year, and I am afraid we arent going to like them. Only reason we are taking Carnival is because my wifes family is taking the Sunshine and they want us to go with them. We are in the Grand Suite which seems nice, but we dont seem to get the perks as we do on NCL. Has anyone moved over to Carnival from NCL and how did you like?

 

 

I think I can give you some insight. I used to be a strict NCL fan (about 15 NCL cruises thus far?). About a year ago we sailed with a family group on CCL (our first CCL cruise in at least 10 years). Thanks to the casino (really, my donations to the casino), we have sailed three more times on Carnival in the last 6 months - including a Grand Suite cruise on the Sunshine that just got back on Saturday (2/25) morning.

 

The suite was very nice - large balcony (lounge chair and two other chairs plus 2 tables - really large space - about 20' long and about 4' wide). It was quite a change from even a standard balcony cabin. Regarding suite "perks" - they really didn't compare to those on NCL. Depending upon the ship and the suite - NCL offers exclusive breakfast and lunch dining rooms, reserved seats at shows, concierge service throughout the cruise, some have butler service, etc - none of those are offered on CCL, even for a grand suite. In the grand suite on Sunshine, if I had not been reading Cruise Critic, I would not have known about ANY suite perks. Apparently we were supposed to get a paper detailing our perks waiting for us in our room - that paper eventually showed up halfway through our cruise after I mentioned to the head of guest services that we never got one. Also, I was assuming that our cabin steward would be particularly good since there is a higher daily service charge for those in a suite. He was probably one of the worst we've ever had after about 30 total cruises. We had a few minor requests upon meeting him the first afternoon (no robes in our cabin??) - he did a poor job of accommodating these requests; robes didn't show up until late on the second afternoon, etc. In general I was hoping for really good cabin service and that was not the case.

 

On the up side - the suite guests do have boarding passes marked "Priority" - be sure that you don't get in the FTTF line - you should be directed to a special check in area in a separate room with a low desk, comfortable chairs and a personal check in. That was a positive perk. Also, we did get a fruit basket upon arriving to our room and a couple of other small treats delivered to our room. We were also invited to the Diamond party (only about 20 guests total along with the senior staff and a complimentary picture with the captain) as well as the Platinum / Diamond party later that week (probably 200+ attendees). Both (1 hour) parties had free drinks and appetizers - the food was really quite good at the Diamond party. We've only had about 50 days sailing with Carnival so these invitations were a surprise. We also received a $200 gift card for the art auction / gallery. We got a really great deal on the suite (thanks again to my casino play) and we had a very enjoyable cruise overall, but there really is little comparison with NCL suite perks - with Carnival you pay for a much nicer room and you get a much nicer room, but there's really not a lot else that comes with it. Hope this helps.

~Bob

[crusinpsychRN]

Sorry for the snarky comments by a few. Have a great cruise.

[Schoifmom]

I haven't been on NCL, so I can't help you with the comparison. I'm sure that you are going to have a great time, no matter what.

 

I can chime in about elegant night attire. As I understand it, NCL has done away with anything resembling formal or elegant night. Carnival comes close. On elegant night, they put the tablecloths on and have "special" items on the menu (use your own judgment regarding "special"). The dress is called cruise elegant, but really anything other than shorts and jeans are fine. DH usually wears dockers-style slacks and either a nice polo or a button-down. No significant "dressing-up" required. I get you with the having to dress for work five days a week and not wanting to do so for vacation. I'm in the same boat (pun intended) :D

[cruzeluver]

Carnival is light years behind the other mass-market lines in terms of suite perks, so if that is important, prepare for some disappointment.

 

Otherwise I think you may well be pleasantly surprised. We have no loyalty to any one line so I have no reason to wave the Carnival pom-poms. We have sailed Sunshine twice in the past year and enjoyed the ship very much. She is unique in the fleet hence many of the extreme views you will find regarding this ship. Those that like their ships more or less interchangeable may be disappointed. We like that Sunshine is different. She is the only Carnival ship whose Serenity (18 and up area with comfortable seating and its own bar and whirlpools) is three decks high (other ships it is only on one deck) and the only with its own pool with a waterfall. Heavenly! The theater is non-traditional in that it converts late night to a nightclub. While seating may be less than theaters on other ships we never saw it more than 2/3 full so no big deal. Jiji's Asian Kitchen which is only a very few ships has excellent Asian-fusion cuisine and is terrific, plus a steal at only $15.00 per person.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I want to give a thumbs up to all those who gave great insight of Carnival and being to compared it to NCL. Like you said I just need to go in and be open to difference and not compare.

 

Thank you letting me know about not having to dress up, because my DW and I just dont want to do it, 5 plus days a week of doing so its something I dont want to do on vacation. I dont know if my wifes family is trying to give me a hard time but they said you have to go formal or they send you to the buffet lol. It reminded of the soup **** episode from Seinfield no soup for you!

 

formal nights on Carnival are now called elegant and with that being said a pair of khakis and a polo is fine for elegant night. The rest of the nights I wear shorts.

 

You will find those that push the envelope on elegant nights and wear shorts.

 

 

Bill

[Jamericannn]

You will notice that things are different between the two cruise lines for sure. I did Escape on NCL and Anthem of the Seas (along with a couple others) on RCCL. This was when I was searching to find the cruiseline that will feel like the atmosphere I want to be a part of. Both cruises were really good. I believe Anthem of the Sea is one of the best ships you will find on any cruise line. However, the atmosphere is just not the same as Carnival's.

 

To answer your question, the biggest difference for me is the atmosphere. Carnival's crowd tend to be more of a party crowd which is exactly what I want on my vacation. All I do is work work work (like Rhianna) and home. Vacation is the only time I get to do things I don't normally do. Being in New York City, I get to see a lot of beautiful buildings and architectural work so I do not go on cruises for that. If it was about the bells and whistles for me I maybe would be choosing RCCL or NCL. Having said that though, Carnival can still offer you the bells and whistles. Never been on the Sunshine so I can't comment on that. Everyone has their opinion of which Carnival ship is the best. For me it is the Breeze. There is just something special about that ship.

[MikeandAmy]

All you have given my DW and I and some great insight! :cool: The 3 deck high serenity sounds great since its for 18 and up and we dont have any kids. Thanks for the advice on the Asian restaurant we will definitely give it a shot, since its 8 night and we wont do the main dining room every night. I believe someone said they have a Steakhouse which is great on NCL they have Cagneys for their steakhouse and its always pretty good. Any other specialty restaurants we shouldn't miss out on?