Well, it's happened again...Carnival pricing (for me) cannot be beat

[tallnthensome]

Over 30 cruises have NEVER taken a Carnival excursion. I cruise for the sea and the ports, all the other is just transportation and a place to shower and sleep.

I feel bad for you if that's the case. Not taking an excursion to see some of the best highlights of that Island/country isn't something I'd do. Cruising to see a port without an excursion would be like me taking a flight that had a layover in Seattle and then telling people I've been to Seattle. The ports offer generally nothing but shopping much of the time. To each their own I guess ....... your money.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Sorry to deviate, but what's the crowd like on MSC? I've heard it is quite different of a vibe.[/quote

In the Yacht Club, it was mostly the same people you will find staying in suites on Celebrity. A nice group of pretty well off Americans. Throughout the rest of the ship, it was a mix of Americans (many of Italian descent) and Europeans. Everyone was friendly.

 

There was so much to do onboard during the day. We took Italian Lessons on the sea days which ended with an Aperol Spritz party. There were wine making sessions, an afternoon opera performance etc. There was a full production show every night of the cruise. Definitely the best entertainment at sea! Casino is non-smoking. There are smoking rooms off the casino if one has to smoke. Absolutely, the best kept and best decorated ships at sea.

 

I do have to say, it was the best dressed bunch of people I have seen on a cruise in a very long time. During the day most men had on Bermuda shorts and polo shirts or Dockers and polos and the women were in Capri pants and nice tops, maxi dresses or sun dresses. They definitely enforced the dress code in the dining room.

 

If I lived in Florida, I would sail MSC as often as possible. Best cruise we have had since a standout cruise in 2001 on Royal Olympic before they went belly up.

 

That's is really saying something about the entertainment.

 

I always thought the Oasis class ships were top notch.

 

To hear that you found MSC s entertainment is better than Oasis class has me wanting to book MSC even more now.

 

Bill

[crzndeb]

I feel bad for you if that's the case. Not taking an excursion to see some of the best highlights of that Island/country isn't something I'd do. Cruising to see a port without an excursion would be like me taking a flight that had a layover in Seattle and then telling people I've been to Seattle. The ports offer generally nothing but shopping much of the time. To each their own I guess ....... your money.

 

I'm sure he has taken excursions. Key word here is " Carnival excursion" but, then, again, I could be mistaken.

 

There are plenty of cruisers who could care less about itinerary. Give them food and a casino, and they will cruise to the same ports over and over, and never get off the ship.

[tallnthensome]

I'm sure he has taken excursions. Key word here is " Carnival excursion"

I would hope and believe so but it didn't sound like it in the verbage ... Perhaps he will clarify.

[tea4ular]

Challenge for those who are saying I could do better than Carnival Splendor (financially speaking) -

 

My sail date requirement is the month of September 2018. 2 passengers. Los Angeles or San Diego departure (we don't want to fly this time...extra expense we won't agree to). Balcony cabin. We love Cloud 9 spa, so a ship with comparable (we are booked in a spa balcony). Itinerary is not important (although we would prefer warm climate...but for this challenge I'll open the gates). 7 nights.

 

 

Our fare (fare + taxes/port charges) is at $2,044.50

 

 

Go...

 

 

Ship name, sail date, category, departure port...

[SNJCruisers]

Challenge for those who are saying I could do better than Carnival Splendor (financially speaking) -

 

My sail date requirement is the month of September 2018. 2 passengers. Los Angeles or San Diego departure (we don't want to fly this time...extra expense we won't agree to). Balcony cabin. We love Cloud 9 spa, so a ship with comparable (we are booked in a spa balcony). Itinerary is not important (although we would prefer warm climate...but for this challenge I'll open the gates). 7 nights.

 

 

Our fare (fare + taxes/port charges) is at $2,044.50

 

 

Go...

 

 

Ship name, sail date, category, departure port...

Your challenge is over before it began. There are no other options for a seven day cruise out of LA or SD during the month of September of 2018. If you waited until October, you could sail on the brand new Norwegian Bliss in a balcony cabin with a drinks package and 3 nights in a specialty restaurant including taxes, port charges and all tips for around 3000. So for an extra 800 you'd get two nice perks. Remember you still need to add tips onto your 2044 and if you drink....., plus you would be on a brand new ship that is 10 years younger and 50% bigger. But of course it's all a moot point because of your limited restrictions.

[tea4ular]

Your challenge is over before it began. There are no other options for a seven day cruise out of LA or SD during the month of September of 2018. If you waited until October, you could sail on the brand new Norwegian Bliss in a balcony cabin with a drinks package and 3 nights in a specialty restaurant including taxes, port charges and all tips for around 3000. So for an extra 800 you'd get two nice perks. Remember you still need to add tips onto your 2044 and if you drink....., plus you would be on a brand new ship that is 10 years younger and 50% bigger. But of course it's all a moot point because of your limited restrictions.

 

We "could" switch to October. Well we don't drink, so a drink package is not appealing, and turns that $800 into tips and 3 specialty dinners.

 

$1519 + taxes/port charges + tips per person (not offered on NCL right now...I "chose" internet & dining) - far and away more expensive than CCL.

Edited May 31, 2017 by tea4ular

[bUU]

So it's not only fare but also selection where Carnival excels in that scenario.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

I agree with the OP. I'll take a 10 year old ship any day and pay a quarter of the cost of a new ship. I sail for the relaxation, drinks, sea breeze, ports, good food, music, meeting friendly people and friendly crew. For me anything beyond that is just gimmicks to bring in more revenue. But everyone is different and entitled to their personal vacation needs.

 

I'm getting married on the Vista next week and that was by far the most expensive Carnival ship I've booked. I only booked because it is a special day and we wanted to remember our ceremony as being on the biggest, baddest, newest Carnival ship.

[DebJ14]

I recently booked 2 cruises for 2018. Both are on RCCL out of Galveston. We got a Jr Suite on the Vision of the Seas 5 night in January for $610 each and then because we are Diamond, RCCL knocked $125 off the total cost. Best part is I snagged one of the aft wrap Jr Suites! A JS on the Carnival Valor 5 night cruise (with a small balcony) the same week was $924 per person. And for being Diamond on CCL we get to pay $20.00 more for the past guest rate than the ES rate. Sorry, but life happens, so we don't do non-refundable deposits. We also get double points for sailing in a JS on RCCL. So $1250 for a JS on RCCL or $1982 for a JS on Carnival? Booking RCCL was a no brainer. We are also looking forward to the less crowded Vision. We had great cruises on her sister ship Rhapsody when she was in Galveston. She also has 3 specialty restaurants and we were able to get a package to eat in specialty restaurants for 3 nights for $75.00 per person.

 

I also booked a Grand Suite on the Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas for May 2018. I booked a Grand Suite for $1460 per person. The Carnival Breeze sailing the same day was $2069 for a Grand Suite. The Cabin on RCCL is larger, more luxurious and comes with perks. We will be able to order room service off the dining room menus, have reserved seating by the pool and in the theater and ice show, have a cooked to order breakfast in one of the specialty restaurants every morning, have access to the Suite Lounge with complimentary cocktails and appetizers every evening, as well as priority embarkation and debarkation. There is also the adult pool in the Solarium! For being Diamond on RCCL they knocked $225 off the cruise because we booked a balcony or better. Let's see $4338 on Carnival for a Grand Suite or $2945 on RCCL for a Grand Suite? Booking RCCL was a no brainer.

[cantthinkofanythingfun]

I always find that NCL beats Carnival in price, but I only price cruises out of Baltimore and New York. Those ports are an easy morning of drive for me. If I'm going to go through the flying hassle I look at land based vacations.

 

The Pride is a decent ship, but I was recently pricing a cruise for the end of June and I got a mini-suite with free drinks, specialty dining, and $320 OBC on the NCL Breakaway for less than the price of an interior on the Pride. The Breakaway is also going to Bermuda, which I find more appealing than Carnival's Bahamas itinerary. I just don't get it. I know Carnival has no issues selling out the Pride, but I don't understand why those people don't look to New York options. It can't be much more of a drive if the convenience factor is what's selling out the Pride. It's just my opinion, but I think NCL blows Carnival away in food and entertainment. I do drink and always buy Cheers when I sail with Carnival, so I have to figure that freebie that NCL offers as well. I get a lot of emails from Carnival with "deals", but they are usually for short cruises on those rust buckets that look like 1990's Vegas. Sometimes they will offer me a whole $25 in OBC for longer cruises.

[Warm Breezes]

NCL offers a free dining package. Yes, you have to make reservations in the specialty restaurants but at least you're given something. Carnival gives you nothing and yes, you still have to make reservations for their specialty restaurants as well. The only way CCL is a better value is if you're the type that boards the ship, doesn't consume an ounce of alcohol, takes no excursions, and never tries a specialty restaurant. Sorry, that's no fun to me. NCL offers a free perk associated with all those things. Yeah, I can sail on some old out of date Carnival ship like the Fascination and save $900 or I can sail a new NCL one like the Escape and get a beverage package for my wife and I and save $1500 on wine and drinks ....... that would cost me $900 for Cheers on CCL ....... Um ...... Yeah .......

 

LOL....I guess you would have to call us slightly confused because we have both types of sailings you have described above in the next 5 months. We are sailing on the NCL Escape (7 night Eastern from Miami) in September. Flying to port. Angled Balcony (which I am told will hold a lounger and a chair) with 4 meal SDP and UBP for $2,366 (including all gratuities) plus we use our FCC from our 2013 NCL Jewel cruise for our deposit. We are planning on doing the Sky Lift in St. Thomas with some shopping. An Island Tour from the pier in Tortola. And enjoying the ship in Nassau. I don't see us doing much spending on-board or at the ports except maybe at the casino. We are not normally big drinkers but it was easy to justify $90 pp in gratuities for the UBP package and I can guarantee more drinking than normal on this cruise. We also do not usually go the Specialty Restaurants. On our previous NCL cruises we received a meal at the Italian Restaurant as a prize from the past guest party (not impressed) and we paid for a meal at Moderno for our 25th Anniversary (loved). After looking at the menus we are planning on 2 nights at Cagneys and 2 nights at Moderno. We are basically looking forward to getting spoiled on this cruise.

 

We are sailing Carnival Fantasy (5 night Western from Mobile) in October. Driving to port from MI. Port Hole Room Casino Offer for $619. I paid $319 of this (all but the deposit) plus Prepaid Gratuities of $130 plus $82 for the Sail Away Package (which I always get on Carnival) with $300 in e-cards that I paid $255 for and the rest in Carnival Gift Cards that I purchased at a 10% discount at AARP. I have $269 left on my Gift Cards to put on our On-Board Account. We will be doing some shopping and enjoying the ship in Progresso and taking a taxi to Paradise Beach in Cozumel. We will bring 2 bottles of champagne and 2 - 8 packs of the little cans of pop. With 3 bottles of champagne (one from our Sail Away Package) and a $25 bar credit from our Sail Away Package I am seeing us using most of our remaining gift cards on casino outings as we don't purchase much more than that. We are also sailing on our 29th anniversary so we will see what other surprises Carnival may have in store for us. Since we won't have our own balcony on this cruise with a lounger we will be taking advantage of the Serenity Deck a lot. While I don't expect the same experience on this cruise as we will get on NCL Escape, I do expect to enjoy it just as much. To me while both are vastly different, my expectations a different and the value is there for us on both types of cruises.

[sierra821]

During the same time frame, the Southern Caribbean itinerary is available on the Vista out of Miami and the Magic out of Port Canaveral, both with the upgrades you seek.

 

 

 

Thank you for your reply, we actually looked into the Vista but it was out of our price range. Our dates were not very flexible due to our jobs. I would have preferred the Vista but still lucky to just be going on a cruise!

 

 

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[albean99]

I think it depends what you're comparing and what you like. If you compare an older Carnival to an older RCCL or NCL, it will probably be close. Ditto with the newer ships. From there it's just preference.

 

We've been on all 3 and like NCL and RCCL over Carnival for us although it was great when we had young kids. Of course all 3 have good kids programs. We like freestyle dining and casual dress so have been doing mostly NCL in recent years and the beverage & dining packages don't hurt. One thing that bothers me with Carnival is the non-refundable deposit with promotions. I like booking early so sometimes things change.

 

 

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[Isasprings]

Sorry to deviate, but what's the crowd like on MSC? I've heard it is quite different of a vibe.[/quote

In the Yacht Club, it was mostly the same people you will find staying in suites on Celebrity. A nice group of pretty well off Americans. Throughout the rest of the ship, it was a mix of Americans (many of Italian descent) and Europeans. Everyone was friendly.

 

There was so much to do onboard during the day. We took Italian Lessons on the sea days which ended with an Aperol Spritz party. There were wine making sessions, an afternoon opera performance etc. There was a full production show every night of the cruise. Definitely the best entertainment at sea! Casino is non-smoking. There are smoking rooms off the casino if one has to smoke. Absolutely, the best kept and best decorated ships at sea.

 

I do have to say, it was the best dressed bunch of people I have seen on a cruise in a very long time. During the day most men had on Bermuda shorts and polo shirts or Dockers and polos and the women were in Capri pants and nice tops, maxi dresses or sun dresses. They definitely enforced the dress code in the dining room.

 

If I lived in Florida, I would sail MSC as often as possible. Best cruise we have had since a standout cruise in 2001 on Royal Olympic before they went belly up.

I cruise once in the Divina and yes that ship is a WOW beautiful but I didn't like the food too much pizza and pasta.

[Towel Critter]

Sorry to deviate, but what's the crowd like on MSC? I've heard it is quite different of a vibe.

Rude. At least that was my experience. And it was one cruise, so maybe not statistically sound. :) When I say the crowd was rude, I don't mean boisterous, loud, or drunken, just ill mannered... very, cutting lines, running in front of you onto the elevator, things like that. I know these things happen on Carnival ships too, but not nearly to the same degree. It seemed to be the norm on MSC cruise we did. That was a few years ago. The crowd may be different now. Just giving them the benefit of the doubt.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

I agree I have tried to give another Cruiselines a chance but Carnivals prices always win hands down....the frills the other lines have over Carnival is not my bag anyway so that won't attract me to pay more.

 

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[evandbob]

Try MSC.

 

 

We just booked the brand new MSC Seaside, week cruise, mid ship balcony cabin, with a free spa session, a free meal at a specialty restaurant, and a status match for my Carnival Diamond to their Black Card (highest) level. Also get a 5% fare discount, bringing the total fare with taxes & tips to $1900.

 

We already had a spa balcony booked on the Horizon originally about $3800, now down to $3400 with price drops. When we had a Vista balcony, that cruise was way more than MSC's although Vista was a few days longer.

 

I've booked Celebrity Summit southern solo inside cabin for less than Carnival's Fascination in December and January of past years.

 

Consider that other cruise lines may go to different Caribbean ports than Carnival, and other lines may have sailings from NY/NJ in months that Carnival doesn't. It does pay to shop around.

[sanger727]

My experience has been a mixed bag. Carnival isn't as cheap as they used to be - especially on the new ships. And when you compare apples to apples - same itinerary, same time frame, similar ship, similar room, same 'perks'; it can go either way. We priced out a one way cruise to Hawaii for April 2018. The only lines that do it are carnival, celebrity, and royal (HAL has one but it's really just a trans, it doesn't include any islands).

 

Royal was by far the most expensive and carnival was the last. However, by catching celebrity in a good sale we were able to book at that with drinks included at the same price per night that carnival was offering if you added on cheers. True apples to apples and the price per night was the same. And sorry, at the same price, celebrity beats out carnival in my book.

 

Comparing a port hole room on carnival with a casino rate isn't a fair comparison to a high level balcony on NCL. Especially out of a different port.

 

 

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