OK Guys, Carnival Inspiration or RC Enchantment of the Seas?

[CLATHEN]

I posted this ? on the general questions board and the responses I got were ALL pro Royal Caribbean.

 

I've only cruised once b4 and it was a "Girls Only" trip on Carnival Sensation. Had a great time but this time I'll be cruising with my Fiance and I'm torn btween Carnival Inspiration and RC Enchantment of the Seas.

 

I'm 38, he's 44. We love to party, have fun, eat good food and relax and I just want to have another great cruising experience.

 

I'm leaning toward Carnival because of course theres comfort in familiarity. Also, I've read that the OV cabins on RC are approx 30 sq ft smaller than Carnival and I'm not too sure of the after hours dining options.

 

Any convincing and reassuring;) you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

[mr jailerman]

I posted this ? on the general questions board and the responses I got were ALL pro Royal Caribbean.

 

I've only cruised once b4 and it was a "Girls Only" trip on Carnival Sensation. Had a great time but this time I'll be cruising with my Fiance and I'm torn btween Carnival Inspiration and RC Enchantment of the Seas.

 

I'm 38, he's 44. We love to party, have fun, eat good food and relax and I just want to have another great cruising experience.

 

I'm leaning toward Carnival because of course theres comfort in familiarity. Also, I've read that the OV cabins on RC are approx 30 sq ft smaller than Carnival and I'm not too sure of the after hours dining options.

 

Any convincing and reassuring;) you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

I just got off of the Inspiration 3 weeks ago and it has been redone VERY NICE !! I will say that I did the 4 night weekend cruise and was a bit disappointed in the nightlife. Now I'm 36 so we are all in the same age group here right .:) At midnight it was either the Casino or the Disco with a BUNCH of 18-22 year olds that you could tell didn't handle their booze very well dancing to "Rap" music and this was not a spring break time of year.. I am booked this August with my son (8) on the Enchantment and I am going on almost the same cruise as I was on with the Inspiration. Royal Caribbean can cost a bit more but does seem to be a little older crowd. (OUR AGE:eek: , And that is not a bad thing) This will be my first with Royal Caribbean as well but what sold me is the excellent kids program they have. The Enchantment's Cabins ARE smaller then Carnival's. However if you are up to spending a few hundred extra Enchantment HAS 212 BALCONY CABINS on board which if you have never had one, You will never want to go without again and they are the SAME size as the Carnival OV plus it has a 36 sq ft Balcony!(Very Nice for quite time;) ) Inspiration has only 54 Balcony cabins and they are ALL SUITES..YES..I had one of them last month and it was nice, But I had to pay more as to the limited # of them. Good luck on your choice.. I think you will pick a great ship reguardless of which you chose.. I have hopes that the night life on Enchantment will be better as my son keeps reminding me that everynight of our Enchantment cruise, The kids club has a late night kids party that includes :movies, pizza, ice cream & games till 1:00am !!:eek: He will probably have a better night life then me !But that's ok !! As long as we both have fun !! Good Luck !!:)

[GaryWT]

I was on the Enchantment before they added to it and had a great cruise, we were on the Eletion last year and going on the Imagination this year, sister ships to the Insperation, we loved this cruise as well. We did not find a huge young crowd on Carnival and we found that Carnival does not push there drinks as much as RC does. A lot fewer drunks were seen on Carnival. Night life is what you make I guess, on our first cruise we were in our early 30's and spent most night is the disco til 1-2 AM. We did not have kids with us. Since then we have had the kids with us and have spent very little time in the Disco, party because they could not get in to find us if they needed to.

 

Either choice will be great. Final note, my wife likes the food on Carnival a lot more than on RC.

[LHP]

I am sure that either will give you a great cruise.

 

We have only sailed on Carnival, but from what I have read...I would base my decision on ports and price.

[CLATHEN]

Thanks for all the replies! I'm sure I'll have fun on either as well. The prices are actually identical and the only difference is the departure port which for me, from NY is the same airfare.

 

Thanks again!

[hubofhockey]

I was on the Enchantment of the Seas after it was stretched out. It's a beautiful ship and I loved the layout. If the price is the same and itinerary and # of days are also the same, I would choose it.

[PINEVIEW01]

I too was on the Inspiration last month and love the redo. They have a area with two hot, hot tubs that is 21 plus and is truly for adults only. I was also on the Radience last moth and for me the Inspiration was the winner.

[Glama]

I've sailed both ships, twice on Inspiration (and going again this May!), and three times on Enchantment. This is a tough call, the nightlife on Enchantment last May rocked, but this past November the disco was pretty much dead every night. I love the indoor promenade deck on Inspiration, much easier to navigate between the disco/casino/kareoke, etc..., on Enchantment it's quite a hike between all those places, and we tend to go from place to place.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with either cruise, do one this year, and one next year. :)

[Sandgnat]

Have not ever done RCCl but I love the Inspiration. Just look at my cruise hx.

[CLATHEN]

I've sailed both ships, twice on Inspiration (and going again this May!), and three times on Enchantment. This is a tough call, the nightlife on Enchantment last May rocked, but this past November the disco was pretty much dead every night. I love the indoor promenade deck on Inspiration, much easier to navigate between the disco/casino/kareoke, etc..., on Enchantment it's quite a hike between all those places, and we tend to go from place to place.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with either cruise, do one this year, and one next year. :)

 

Thank you guys again, so much for all the input:o . I have caught the cruise bug and I'm pretty sure I'll be doing at least 1 a year so I think I'm gonna take your advice and try the Inspiration this year and RC next.