Carnival cruises in the "right" "order"

[geoff45434]

Good evening,

 

Just some random ideas about a concept of going on some ships of Carnival in the right 'order'. Of course, being fortunate enough to be able to go on one cruise is great in and of itself. If individuals are in a position to travel again it is even better. It goes without saying there is no real "order" to going on them.

 

To my knowledge Carnival currently has four 'classes' of ships. (Future ships, in 2007 and 2008, due to their size and design will likely adjust this). In my mind, I often think of them as : small (by today's standards), medium, bigger and biggest. In general ships seem to be getting larger and larger - for regular readers of this particular message board there was an interesting post and poll a short while ago : "How big is too big?"

 

The names of the ships' classes are :

 

* Holiday (e.g. "small") (about 1,400 passengers at maximum capacity)

* Fantasy (e.g. "medium") (about 2,000 passengers at maximum capacity)

* Spirit (e.g. "bigger") (about 2,100 passengers at maximum capacity), and

* Conquest (e.g. "biggest") (just under 3,000 passengers at maximum capacity)

 

An easy pattern for those who are fortuitous enough to be able to go on more than one cruise, but have never been before, would be to head on the ships from the 'smallest' to the 'biggest'. That way one could slowly acclimate one's self to life on board. It's amazing to think that when the Holiday class of ships debuted, in the very early 1980's, they were considered among the biggest of their day. Kathy Lee Gifford sang "If they could see you now, out on a FunShip cruise" to all of us, heh.

 

Of course going "out of order" or in no order is completely fine too. Since the layouts change from class to class (for example, the Holiday class, which will probably be the next 'class' to retire, are great ships but have no main, multi-deck atrium) it can be fun to go on the different 'types'.

 

One of the best pieces of advice I could give to those who are repeat cruisers (and, hopefully, many shall be ;) ) is : pretend that Carnival has a new ship, ship X. Ship X, like all new ships, has a new crew. They have been training for a while, and also have previous experience, however it is a new ship. It will likely take the crew of ship X a fair number of months to completely get "into the swing" of things. Of course, this would be true with almost anyone in any new situation. If you feel an urge to try out a brand new Carnival ship, wait! Hold off for about, say a year. By then most major kinks will be worked out. Any major concerns (ex. "We have 7 ticket people, and 3,000 passengers checking in") will have hopefully been reduced, taken care of and / or eliminated.

 

If the timing is such that a new ship happens to debut during a limited vacation time, consider trying out one of the already-existing ships, perhaps in a 'class' you have not done before, for that year then head on the (still very) new ship X next year / vacation time / etc. While there are other factors as well (time of year, ports of call etc), one of the methods by which Carnival prices the vacations is by how old the ships are (hence many of the least-expensive cruises largely being on the older Holday class).

 

But anyway, just some "food for thought".

 

take care!

* G

[kujobie]

Interesting post. One of the factors we consider when choosing a cruise is the ship class. As you suggested, each differrent class is really a "new" ship to us. So, we like to sail on a class we haven't been on if posible. They all have differrences, some are very big ones, and it's nice to see new designs and make comparisons to the other ships we have sailed on. So far, we have been on the Jubilee (I think it was in it's own class?, but is not in the fleet any more), the Sensation and Inspiration (Fantasy class), the Glory of the Conquest class, and upcoming are the Miracle in the Spirit Class, and the Triumph (In it's own class with the Victory). The only class we have yet to sail is the Destiny, which is basically the same as the Triumph, and the Holiday class, which I'll probably pass on.

[MrPete]

As mentioned above, you missed one class. The Destiny/Triumph class, which is the second biggest.

 

I've been on all classes except the Conquest, simply because the Destiny class seemed "too" big (read; CROWDED), so I have since settled on the Spirit class. For me, there was no order. Just wnet on the latest new build out there of the class I desired. Then I jumped around when that no longer fit the bill.

[Lakeman953]

As mentioned above, you missed one class. The Destiny/Triumph class, which is the second biggest.

 

I've been on all classes except the Conquest, simply because the Destiny class seemed "too" big (read; CROWDED), so I have since settled on the Spirit class. For me, there was no order. Just wnet on the latest new build out there of the class I desired. Then I jumped around when that no longer fit the bill.

 

Well Pete Triumph,Destiny and Victory are the Third Biggest Class.

http://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/shipscarnival.htm

[MrPete]

That's not true? What makes you say that?

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

That's not true? What makes you say that?

 

No idea Pete.... Hey - what are you doing up at this hour anyway!!!

 

Tom

[MrPete]

LAUNDRY!

 

Someone wet the bed.........AND IT WASN'T ME!!!!!!!!

 

Sun up over there yet?

[Lakeman953]

That's not true? What makes you say that?

 

Conquest Class (Glory,Liberty and Valor) = 952ft.

Spirit Class (Pride,Spirit,Legend and Miracle) = 963 ft

Destiny Class (Triumph,Victory and Destiny) = 893 ft.

[MrPete]

Size is by tonnage, not length. AT LEAST FOR SHIPS! :)

 

The Spirit is LONGER yet SKINNIER.

 

I'm going back to bed.

[Lakeman953]

Size is by tonnage, not length. AT LEAST FOR SHIPS! :)

 

The Spirit is LONGER yet SKINNIER.

 

I'm going back to bed.

 

We are not talking about you.

 

Skinnier means smaller? I don't think so. Longer is better and Taller as well as it shows on the Link I provided above.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

LAUNDRY!

 

Someone wet the bed.........AND IT WASN'T ME!!!!!!!!

 

Sun up over there yet?

 

Yes - it is 1:25 in the afternoon.. (9 1/2 hours ahead of Eastern)

 

Just got back online - they recently ran internet (~64K) to individual quarters... It's hard to complain when it goes down - who would have thought they would even offer such a luxury! Though they do charge for it: Internet and Cable for ~ $50 a month. It provides a much needed "escape"!

 

Tom

[gr81]

We are not talking about you.

 

Skinnier means smaller? I don't think so. Longer is better and Taller as well as it shows on the Link I provided above.

 

Funny.:)

 

Classification is done by tonnage, but I look at max pax which also put Spirit class third behind the Destiny as well. And theres nothing wrong

with having a belly;) !

[MeLuvDaSea]

Just my two cents worth....

 

I do think the Holiday class is a good place to start. Our first cruise was on the Celebration, and we loved it! We had no clue what the larger ships were like, didn't miss having an Atrium, and it seemed huge. I don't think I would sail on one that size again, but it was a nice beginning.

[Ship Addict]

Interesting post. But I determine my next cruise on the home port, not the size of the ship or class. Since opening up ports close to my home (Galveston and New Orleans), I have not flown to go on a single cruise. I will take whatever ship they have within driving distance. So if I have to cruise on the Holiday class for each and every cruise, I will do it with a smile on my face! But fortunately these ports have shown to be very successful, so it looks like maybe I will get to go on a Conquest class for the next cruise!!

[geoff45434]

Good afternoon all,

 

Thanks for many interesting posts. And as well to MrPete for correcting my list : there is one more class!

 

Here is an updated list :

 

* Holiday (e.g. "small") (about 1,400 passengers at maximum capacity)

* Fantasy (e.g. "medium") (about 2,000 passengers at maximum capacity)

* Spirit (e.g. "bigger") (about 2,100 passengers at maximum capacity)

* Triumph (e.g. name forthcoming, heh) (about 2,700 passengers at maximum capacity), and

* Conquest (e.g. "biggest") (just under 3,000 passengers at maximum capacity)

 

I shall have to rearrange my (small, bigger, biggest) list in my head ;)

[I Luv Crusin]

Good afternoon all,

 

Thanks for many interesting posts. And as well to MrPete for correcting my list : there is one more class!

 

Here is an updated list :

 

* Holiday (e.g. "small") (about 1,400 passengers at maximum capacity)

* Fantasy (e.g. "medium") (about 2,000 passengers at maximum capacity)

* Spirit (e.g. "bigger") (about 2,100 passengers at maximum capacity)

* Triumph (e.g. name forthcoming, heh) (about 2,700 passengers at maximum capacity), and

* Conquest (e.g. "biggest") (just under 3,000 passengers at maximum capacity)

 

I shall have to rearrange my (small, bigger, biggest) list in my head ;)

 

Now, list all the ships in each category!:D I keep getting confused. I've only sailed the Fantasy and Conquest class ships and really would like to try one of the others but probably not the Holiday class.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Good afternoon all,

 

Thanks for many interesting posts. And as well to MrPete for correcting my list : there is one more class!

 

Here is an updated list :

 

* Holiday (e.g. "small") (about 1,400 passengers at maximum capacity)

* Fantasy (e.g. "medium") (about 2,000 passengers at maximum capacity)

* Spirit (e.g. "bigger") (about 2,100 passengers at maximum capacity)

* Triumph (e.g. name forthcoming, heh) (about 2,700 passengers at maximum capacity), and

* Conquest (e.g. "biggest") (just under 3,000 passengers at maximum capacity)

 

I shall have to rearrange my (small, bigger, biggest) list in my head ;)

 

I think you may have to further modify your list, as it appears your listed MAXIMUM capacity refers to the sum total of guests in lower berths (MANY websites do this, and most will denote double occupancy). I am somewhat handicapped at this hour of the evening, as the speed of my connection drops to ~ 5K :eek: - so it is difficult to do complete research to produce true FULL ship (including upper berths) capacity.

 

I was able to locate some information on the Spirit and Conquest class vessels, which appear to accommodate 2680 and 3360 passengers respectively.

 

... Just in the interest of accuracy!

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Well here is some information overload....

------------

Holiday: Date Commissioned: 1985 - Country of Registration: Bahamas

Regular Capacity: 1452 - Maximum Capacity: 1860 - Number of Crew: 670

Tonnage: 46052 - Length: 727

 

Celebration: Date Commissioned: 1987 - Country of Registration: Panama

Regular Capacity: 1486 - Maximum Capacity: 1910 - Number of Crew: 670

Tonnage: 47262 - Length: 733

 

Statistics:

Date Commissioned: 1991 (Ecstasy)Date Commissioned: 1998 (Elation)

Date Commissioned: 1990 (Fantasy) - Date Commissioned: 1994 (Fascination)

Date Commissioned: 1995 (Imagination) - Date Commissioned: 1996 (Inspiration)

Date Commissioned: 1998 (Paradise) - Date Commissioned: 1993 (Sensation)

Maximum Capacity: 2634 - Number of Crew: 920 Tonnage: 70367 - Length: 855

 

Statistics:

Date Commissioned: 2001 (Legend) - Date Commissioned: 2004 (Miracle)

Date Commissioned: 2002 (Pride) - Date Commissioned: 2001 (Spirit)

Country of Registration: Panama

Regular Capacity: 2124 Maximum Capacity: 2680 - Number of Crew: 930 Tonnage: 88500 - Length: 963

 

Statistics:

Date Commissioned: 2002 (Conquest) - Date Commissioned: 2002 (Glory)

Date Commissioned: 2005 (Liberty) - Date Commissioned: 2004 (Valor) Country of Registration: Panama

Regular Capacity: 2974 Maximum Capacity: 3710 - Number of Crew: 1150 Tonnage: 110000 - Length: 952

 

Statistics:

Date Commissioned: 1996 (Destiny) - Date Commissioned: 2001 (Triumph)

Date Commissioned: 2000 (Victory) Country of Registration: Panama

Regular Capacity: 2758 Maximum Capacity: 3470 - Number of Crew: 1100 Tonnage: 101509 - Length: 893

 

---------------

Format issues involved with the CUT AND PASTE...:rolleyes:

 

Tom

[mrdood]

Skinnier means smaller? I don't think so. Longer is better and Taller as well as it shows on the Link I provided above.

 

Tonnage, tonnage, tonnage - only way to define size in the shipping game. Displacement in tonnage takes into account length, width, height. Not even passenger count measures it right as some ships are more spacious than others.

 

Why does long, tall and skinner make a ship better????