As a general rule....

[a1moty]

who are the Carnival cruisers?

We cruised with Carnival 10 years ago on a short 4 day trip.

It seemed that we were the only ones not drinking and/or totally wasted most of the time. I was wondering if Carnival is primarily a party ship/line or did we just have bad timing? :confused:

[Wert Q Gumby]

Tina and I cruised for the first time last summer for our honeymoon and both are not drinkers. We had a great time and did find things to do both on the ship and off that didnt center around drinking or "partying". We got the feeling the cruise was more geared to the "Family" with the added "parties" for those adults wanting to. I guess yo get what you put into it and take from it.

[luvz2run2000]

I think it depends on the length of the cruise, the destination and the time of year. You will definitely get a different crowd on a 3 or 4 night cruise during spring break than you will on a 12 night med cruise in May.

I'm not sure what a "typical" Carnival cruiser is. We are mid 40s, professional, and generally not prone to be drunk in public......although there was that Senor Frog's visit in Mazatlan. :)

[jleq]

Carnival has been "evolving" for the past 10-20 years. While, in some cases, the "party ship" can still exist....you'll find all types on CCL ships today. Singles/newlyweds/families/retirees

[ladycaveat]

I've only been on one Carnival cruise (next one will be in January 2007) . . . and from what I saw on my Carnival cruise last April . . . it seems to be more of a family cruise than that of the party cruise ship it was years ago. I'm in my late 50's and definately not a party person (though I did occassionally partake of the foo foo drink of the day) . . . and found it to be no different than any of the other cruises I've taken.

[glrounds]

All the previous posters have hit the mark.

Ten years ago things were different. Much different. Carnival has since invoked the "none-one-under-21" rule. Must have someone 25 or older in the cabin (this rule is stretched somewhat with familes where the teen children are in a cabin that's across the hall from Mom and Dad).

3 & 4 day cruises appeal to a younger party-hardy crowd (especially the 3-day weekenders). Still plenty of places on a Carnival ship to find peace and quiet.

Time of the year is a factor also. If you cruise when school is operating, less chance of school-age children being on the ship. This is especially true at Spring break time and Holidays, so people sometimes avoid cruising during these times. I avoid these times to get better pricing only as I've fathered 4 boys, so nothing could happen on a cruise ship that would shock me ! ! :D

[gfsmith]

We don't drink and have just enjoyed our cruise around the few drunk people we encounter.......lol

[Wennfred]

who are the Carnival cruisers?

We cruised with Carnival 10 years ago on a short 4 day trip.

It seemed that we were the only ones not drinking and/or totally wasted most of the time. I was wondering if Carnival is primarily a party ship/line or did we just have bad timing? :confused:

 

Its not like it used to be, I went March 19th and it was the beginning of Spring Break, there we no problems, everyone behaved and even the kids were great.

[Catrin]

I always say something like this.. when explaining the crowd to others...

 

"Carnival is an Every Person's Ship. Regular people just like you and me who work hard 50 weeks a year, and want to have fun and relax for thier hard earned vacations. "

 

We have cruised in May and October, and most recently Novemeber. We found the atmosphere to be more family orientated than anything. There were some partiers on the Triumph - and less so on the Legend.

 

Because all of our cruises have been 7 or 8 day, we have not witnessed the party all day and night cruises like the three day adventures described throughout the years on Cruise Critic.

Catrin

[Lewdog]

We also are in our 40s and professionals (though I am a creative and a little more of a partier than most 40 somethings) we do drink, I even get a good buzz but we aren't partiers.

[caribbean dreams]

We are also in our 40's and have been on Carnival ships that seemed to have more partying than others but nothing bad enough that it spoiled our vacation, i see it is mostly families, sometimes the teens can get a bit out of control but i have never seen and really bad adult drunks.

I Like Carnival because most people seem to be more relaxed.

[southbayer]

Well i'm in my mid 30's :D , and I would think the drunks you are mentioning, would probably most likely be the ones on the short 3-4 day sailings outa Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale in summertime:cool:

[salty dingo]

I think this is all good advice. For fewest drunks, avoid the typical times that young adults would cruise: spring break and graduation, and choose a longer cruise over a shorter one.

 

Our recent Valor cruise was March 5, so pretty early for Spring break, but there were a few rowdy on board. They did not bother us at all, but others who had cabins on the lower decks near them did not get too much sleep.

 

So, perhaps a cabin on a higher deck would also be a way to avoid the typically budget-conscious party animals.

[flyaway]

We are a married couple in our late 20s/early 30s, and we've just booked our first Carnival cruise (Freedom Greek Isles) after having sailed on Celebrity and Disney!

 

To be completely honest, I'm not sure if we would choose Carnival for the Caribbean, because we are not big partiers and we also don't really like being around a lot of kids. At least Disney has the adult pool and adult restaurant.

 

However, the Liberty got such great reviews for its Med cruises last year that I feel confident the Freedom will be great too. And you can't beat the prices!

[Ehpride]

I was on the Inspiration (5-day) back in January and didn't notice anybody partying that much. People were having fun and drinking but I don't think somebody who chose not to drink would be out of place, even at the deck party. I'm 21 and like to have a few drinks but never got drunk on the trip (wanted to remember it!), even though the Yellow Bird tried to convince me otherwise!

 

Honestly, even if you have college-age students on board, I wouldn't say that all of them would be drinking out of control, just like with any age group onboard.

[a1moty]

Wow! Thanks for the quick responses!

First, I should have mentioned that we were on a cruise out of Southern CA to Ensenada and back. It left on Christmas Eve. We booked at the last minute so our cabin was on a lower deck.

One of our main complaints was that several of our dinner companions were completely drunk all of the time. If we saw them around the ship, in Ensenada, and of course, at dinner, they were loud and obnoxious. (Even more so to us, since they 'knew' us.)

We have no problem with other folks drinking, it is just if that drinking effects us in a neg. way; ie: puke in the hallways, etc.

We have only been on 7+ day cruises since (on other lines) so that is probably why I thought it was just Carnival and not the other factors that created the party ship.

We are looking for our next cruise and as it has been mentioned, there is a substanial price difference. We also found the crew and service to be

excellent on Carnival.

Thanks so much for all of your imput and information!:)

[albean99]

We've been on 3 spring break cruises - 2 Carnival and 1 RCI - and none of them had an extreme amount of drinking. There were some drunk college students singing at the karaoke nights but even that wasn't bad because there were more good singing than not. We've never encountered heavy drinkers at dinner, only some at late night clubs. Considering that all 3 cruises were sold out, it really was pretty good. I don't think you'll find it's a problem, A1moty.

[DiaDeGuadalupe]

Wow! Thanks for the quick responses!

First, I should have mentioned that we were on a cruise out of Southern CA to Ensenada and back. It left on Christmas Eve. We booked at the last minute so our cabin was on a lower deck.

One of our main complaints was that several of our dinner companions were completely drunk all of the time. If we saw them around the ship, in Ensenada, and of course, at dinner, they were loud and obnoxious. (Even more so to us, since they 'knew' us.)

 

One explanation for the behavior on this itinerary is that it's basically one that Californians will do. I grew up in San Diego and well, with Tijuana/Baja just a stone's throw away, we all knew where to party ;) Ensenada's not much different, just a little bit farther south.

 

What better way to let you hair down? You don't have to drive, you've got a bed to sleep in, you've got food... All ya need to do is make sure you don't miss the boat! lol

 

I've only sailed on Carnival once, and that was a 7 nighter. We had such a great time that we're gong on another on in less than a month. There wasn't a lot of partying going on from what we saw. I did smell puke in the hallway once, but that was it. By the time I walked back through the hallway later that day, the smell was gone. :D

 

We aren't big drinkers (anymore - but boy, back in the day..... LOL!). This time we'll be taking our kids, too. I've read a lot of nice things about the kids' and teens' programs and I'm sure that my kids (4 and 15) will have a great time.

[F5Loar]

Less than a 7 day cruise on Carnvial expect more first time bubba cruisers.

Lots of "lost souls" wandering the ship in search of a good time and have no clue where they are going or what they should expect.

[househusband]

Well I have seen the best of both worlds. MIW and I did the Liberty's first transatlantic cruise last year and that was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Not many kids. but a few years back we ended up on a cruise with about 200 Jimmy Bufett parot heads. That took a lot to get used to for 12 days. So like the others have said you have to pick and choose your battles

 

steve

[flyingb]

who are the Carnival cruisers?

We cruised with Carnival 10 years ago on a short 4 day trip.

It seemed that we were the only ones not drinking and/or totally wasted most of the time. I was wondering if Carnival is primarily a party ship/line or did we just have bad timing? :confused:

 

a1moty,

First thought is bad timing. DH & I are both 70! :eek:. There, I said it out loud! We are retired 'middle class' Christian folks who enjoy seeing the world while using as little of our retirement income as possible. :rolleyes: We love Carnival, we don't drink or gamble and 'still' manage to have a great time. As you can see in sig, we have tried other cruiselines, but prefer Carnival. One can always find a quiet spot for reading or just people watching ;). So don't worry, most of the ships are large enough to stay away from loud, rude people.

Go ahead and have a great time.

Luv's Cruisin'

[moonvine]

I have seen few drunks on my Carnival cruises, but I do go to bed early.:)

[wisefamily4]

Last year My Wife and I took a short 3 day (no kids) cruise 10 days before our annual 8 day family cruise. We had a good time, but decided the atmosphere on the short cruises was not for us. No problem with college kids, but tons of 40-something drunks. The dining room was a joke. Jeans would have been an upgrade for most.

We still had a good time - Lots of people to laugh at.:D