Cruise on all Carnival Ships

[maryann2]

22 hours ago, OCruisers said:

overalls39  ....  Since you and your wife like Carnival, it would be fun for you to sail on all of the Carnival ships.

Some Carnival ships really are lots better than others.  

Enjoy!  

 

20 hours ago, overalls39 said:

I appreciate all the input. We are just looking for ways to enjoy life while having a goal in mind. Any other suggestions are welcome. 

 

16 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

There is at least one cruiser that has sailed every Carnival ship.  Her username is LHP, but I haven't seen her post much lately on CC.  She used to travel with a special needs child, now an adult.  Might be more active on the Book of Faces now.  If you pick them all up, you could pick up a former Carnival ship by sailing a two night cruise on Grand Celebration fro West Palm Beach.  I sailed her twice when she was Carnival Celebration.  EM

 

I sailed with her on the carnival Spirit to Hawaii. You are right have not seen her posting recently.

5 hours ago, evandbob said:

I applaud the OP's drive.  Carnival has something like 25 ships in operation, with 3 more on the way.  That's a lot of cruising to do!

 

I've sailed all 5 of the Conquest class ships many many times, as well as the 3 Dream and 2 Vista class ships.  I dislike most of Carnival's older ships and stopped sailing them 12 years ago.  Instead, I've branched out to other lines and have sailed NCL, Celebrity, Disney, Princess, RCCL and MSC along my way. 

 

It's fun to keep trying new ships and new lines!

 

As others have said sail the older ships first before they are retired.

I used to do TAs on  all the new ships but they are getting too expensive for solos now. 

Now I sail MSC, Cunard ,Costa, Celebrity, Royal etc but Carnival is always my line of choice.

[awestover89]

Don't let people discourage you or tell you what a "better" goal would be. Goals are subjective and what would be better for others might hold absolutely no desire for you (for example, I see a lot of people talk about going on all cruise lines. That holds no appeal to me. I know what I like in a cruise and there are some lines out there that just don't offer what I want)

 

My husband and I are well on our way to doing your goal, but with Royal Caribbean and I have no regrets. We are up to 11 of the current 25. Definitely keep in mind that older ships might be retired and you'll lose your chance; it's up to you how important getting those in will be.

[KmomChicago]

I think this is a great, fun goal and I am just going to assume you're still all in. I would love to do this but it would never be feasible given our resources and schedule.

 

Go on Carnival Victory first. Her final sailing is listed as next March 6, 2020 before she is renamed after a significant rebuild to Carnival Radiance.  You may want to compare the before and after.

 

Then I would concentrate on all 8 Fantasy class ships.  They are the oldest and the ones that seem most likely to be retired sometime in the next few years so you may want to catch them while you can.  There is nothing proving this will happen, but they are simply getting old and past what is typically considered an average lifespan for this industry. 

 

Within the Fantasy Class, I would do the Inspiration and Imagination together from Long Beach, CA on the same vacation. You could do a 3 night, Thursday-Sunday on Imagination, stay one night on the retired Queen Mary which is permanently docked as a hotel ship (not affiliated with Carnival), then 4 nights Monday-Friday on Inspiration. 

 

Getting to all the embarkation ports might be your biggest challenge as Carnival serves so many locations.  Also watch for when a ship goes off to Australia for a while and will not be available locally.

 

I would also strongly suggest you visit the Carnival site, view sailings and filter by Specialty Cruises, i.e. Journeys voyages which are longer in duration (offered during off seasons for longer itineraries, generally fewer children aboard and exceptionally affordable pricing to lesser-visited destinations or repositioning to a different home port). This would be a way to stick with Carnival but also try out ports that are more unique. 

 

As others have mentioned it might be just as fun to try other cruise lines, but that's really up to you.  Many people have cruised Carnival dozens of times and have no interest in switching, or have tried other lines and decided they preferred to come back.  I have no complaints about Carnival though I have also sailed on other lines.  However I would say, cruising like anything else might lose its novelty factor after a while and be less fun and start to feel sort of "been there - done that."

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

We only book cruises out of South East Florida so we cannot do every carnival ship. We have however cruised on 20 out of 29. As of today 47 cruises on Carnival. The other 9 are not currently where we cruise out of. 4 more Carnival cruises are booked into 2021. Plus other cruise line ships.

[Warm Breezes]

When we cruise I try to get at least one new thing on that sailing.  That new thing could be the ship, a port, or an embarkation port.  This gives me many more options and variety than limiting it to one cruise line.  But if that is what you like then go for it.

[Joebucks]

Here comes a bunch of people to tell you what you "should do." Some people just can't accept that others can enjoy Carnival and want to stick to it. "How can this be? Finer dining exists! Who wouldn't want a tablecloth? Carnival passengers are bad people!"

 

Although I would say you are unlikely to see enough people that have sailed every ship on a line for a few reasons. For one, it's a big moving target, especially on the bigger lines. Carnival is rapidly adding ships, and I think the days of the Fantasy class are going to come to an end sooner than later. They do not appear to be investing into them with big remodels. Also, some people find they have different preferences in ship classes. Personally, I have enjoyed all of my cruises, but Fantasy class isn't going to be my first choice. While some people prefer the Fantasy class the most. 

 

It's great to see your enthusiasm with cruising. Do what suits you!

[SantaFeFan]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

Here comes a bunch of people to tell you what you "should do." Some people just can't accept that others can enjoy Carnival and want to stick to it. "How can this be? Finer dining exists! Who wouldn't want a tablecloth? Carnival passengers are bad people!"

 

Well, the OP asked for people's thoughts on the idea. So people's opinions is exactly what they asked for. Duh!

Edited May 29, 2019 by SantaFeFan

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Yes other cruise lines do have better MDR and buffet food, but not on every ship. The best steak we ever had on any of our cruises was at the Carnival steakhouse. Last one on Royal was terrible. Diamond with 47 cruises so far. We also like other cruise lines. All a bit different and very nice. 

[rkacruiser]

14 minutes ago, twodaywonder said:

The best steak we ever had on any of our cruises was at the Carnival steakhouse.

 

I have yet to be disappointed by patronizing a steakhouse on a Carnival ship.  Consistent quality in all areas:  cuisine, food preparation, service, and ambiance.  

 

 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

14 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I have yet to be disappointed by patronizing a steakhouse on a Carnival ship.  Consistent quality in all areas:  cuisine, food preparation, service, and ambiance.  

 

 

Needless to say. Agree. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Just now, twodaywonder said:

Needless to say. Agree. 

By the way. I think they are the lowest price compared to all the other ships.

[MCC retired]

I would not have chosen the largest cruise line in the world to attempt this .

Since you did , better do more than 3 cruises per year and do the 9 Fantasy Class ships soon before they are retired .

[Essiesmom]

1 hour ago, MCC retired said:

I would not have chosen the largest cruise line in the world to attempt this .

Since you did , better do more than 3 cruises per year and do the 9 Fantasy Class ships soon before they are retired .

 

There are only 8 Fantasy class ships.  And I would start with the oldest, Fantasy, and then next Inspiration and Imagination.  They have not had balconies added or other upgrades so it stands to reason that if any have to go, they would be the first.  EM

[OCruisers]

11 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

It's great to see your enthusiasm with cruising. Do what suits you!

 

So agree!!!!  Do what suits you!  

[Essiesmom]

You could also look at sailing former Carnival Ships.  The easiest would be sailing on Grand Celebration (former Carnival Celebration) on a two day cruise to Freeport from West Palm beach.  Second would be the CMV Magellan, former Carnival Holiday.  CMV is Cruise & Maritime, sailing from the UK.  Last and least recommended would be the Ocean Dream, the Peace Boat, sailing from Japan.  she is the former Tropicale, first newbuild for Carnival.  

 

As far as bucket lists go, I have a high school friend who became a map librarian, and married a geographer.  He taught college geography.  They started out with the goal to visit every US state.  She wouldn't fly, and he didn't like boats (but they did so the Alaska Marine Highway system...).  .  They moved on to visiting every county in every state.  They also did all of the provinces of Canada.  They haven't done Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the other US possessions.  Doubt they have done any of Mexico other than a border crossing from  New Mexico, Texas, etc.  ,  

[declansdad]

On 5/26/2019 at 7:46 PM, SantaFeFan said:

 

A much better goal is to take one cruise on every cruise line, not every ship of a one cruise line. 

 

 

 

That may be a better goal for you, doesn't mean it is for the OP.

 

OP I see nothing wrong with your goal, if you can swing it go for it.

[Warm Breezes]

On 5/27/2019 at 12:28 PM, wheezedr said:

Set a goal of visiting and doing something, not just an airport stop, in all 50 states and knocked off 4 more last month.  Now trying to come up with the logic of a trip to N. Dakota. The only one left.   Not likely a cruise. 

 

LOL.  My DS has lived in Minot, ND for the last 3 years.  My only reason for going there.  Our visit with him last year included a side trip to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Medora, North Dakota.  As a tourist, I would suggest that as a place to visit if you are looking for one in ND.

[Bonnie J.]

We started cruising in 1984, have been on ships of 5 lines that no longer exist and have a  lot more than 100 cruises!

We LOVE Carnival are Diamond (more than 300 days) and have almost 600 days on them. We have been recognized as having the most days a few times. In 1987 we had 8 Carnivals cruises. But 4 days after our February cruise, my husband had a serious stroke, paralyzing his left side.  He keeps wanting to book now but we can't until he can stand on his good better side so he can get from his electric wheelchair to bed and back. But we are waiting till then for newer ships. Cousin just got back from Magic and loved it, their 8th Carnival.

Princess is our next favorite. Enjoy their good ballroom dance bands and everything about the ship especially breakfasts and lunches buffets!

 Then Royal Caribbean because I love their flow rider which I can now start on my knees.

Costa is OK but muster is long in 5 languages,  breakfast or lunch you are asked which language for your menu!

Norwegian (NCL) is not a favorite because they do not have assigned seating. You just get online to be seated in the dining room. Once we had to wait 40 minutes for a table, twice we asked to share a table and were given a table for two.

Only been on Celebrity once but it was so formal. Just about all men wore a tux on formal night. 

[SuiteTraveler]

The poster known as Mitsugirly has done this on NCL and is currently working on RCCL and Carnival.  She writes great travelogue posts here - you might do a search and read up as she has helped so many of us with great suggestions for ports, hotels, transportation, tours and information and photos about each of the ships she has been on.

 

Edited May 30, 2019 by SuiteTraveler

[getting older slowly]

A thought is first goal  sail on every class of ship   at the moment they have 7 classes   and 27 ships

 

Fantasy  x 10  71000 gt ...   Destiny  x 2  101000 gt ... Spirit x 4     88000gt

Conquest x 5 11000gt .....  Splendor x 1   113000 gt .......Dream x 3 128000 gt........ Vista x 2  133500 gt..

Interesting idea..... enjoy your cruising..... another idea sail in every class of cabin on one ship

 

Cheers Don

 

[MicCanberra]

On ‎5‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 2:18 AM, overalls39 said:

Hello,

Me and my wife would like to cruise on all of Carnival ships as a goal starting next year. Has anyone else done this with a cruise line? We have cruised on two ships thus far. We thought we would do two or three per year. I am 59 and my wife is 62. We enjoy the ship more than excursions. I appreciate your thoughts.

I think you should do whatever suits you, and the good news is that by the time you have cruised them all you can then go back to your favourites. Personally we prefer to cruise for itinerary but that is us. I wish you both luck.

[MicCanberra]

On ‎5‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 12:13 AM, fyree39 said:

Carnival is remodeling their older ships and renaming them.  Some lists may be old.  I'd look at Carnival's website for a list of current ships.

 

It's good to have bucket lists.  I toyed with the idea of cruising a company's entire fleet.  Now I'm more interested in watching baseball across the country. Coors Field, here we come!

I agree,  lists are great, whether it be places to go or cruises or ships to cruise, or whatever. And the best bit about these lists is that when you start ticking things off your list you are also adding more as your horizons expand.

[Essiesmom]

9 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

A thought is first goal  sail on every class of ship   at the moment they have 7 classes   and 27 ships

 

Fantasy  x 10  71000 gt ...   Destiny  x 2  101000 gt ... Spirit x 4     88000gt

Conquest x 5 11000gt .....  Splendor x 1   113000 gt .......Dream x 3 128000 gt........ Vista x 2  133500 gt..

Interesting idea..... enjoy your cruising..... another idea sail in every class of cabin on one ship

 

Cheers Don

 

 

Your numbers are a little off.  There are only 8 Fantasy class; Destiny/Sunshine was a one off; Triumph/Sunrise and Victory/Radiance were the next class.  

[getting older slowly]

9 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

 

Your numbers are a little off.  There are only 8 Fantasy class; Destiny/Sunshine was a one off; Triumph/Sunrise and Victory/Radiance were the next class.  

Sorry Essiesmom  I looked up... Wikipedia... should have checked it....

 

Cheers Don

[overalls39]

I appreciate the responses. Thanks