Best carnival ship??

[suzan99]

We are thinking of going on a cruise the week after Christmas to the carribean. Have only cruised once on Disney last May. I liked it but the pools were really small and it is so expensive.

 

We would prefer RCL but they are expensive that week. Carnival is more resonably priced. Which ships are the niciest/newest? I've seen pictures of some Carnival ships and some are so gaudy Vegas looking - are they all like that? Will there be a lot of partying drunk people? We will be cruising with our 5 year old.

 

Are any other lines kid friendly and have responsible prices the week after Christmas? Thanks :)

 

Susan

[IBoz]

Susan,

 

My family cruises with Carnival a lot. I would select any of their ships that have a "Family" cabin available (class 6E). The Conquest class ships have this class, I know. The benefit of the 6E cabins is that they have a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall window that can be curtained off from the rest of the cabin. This way the kids can nap, and you can have a little seating area. On Conquest, the 6Es are located forward, on the Spa deck, and close to Camp Carnival.

 

Very convenient!

 

Ilean

[I&MsMom]

Hi! We've only cruised Carnival, so I don't have broad experience in the subject. That said, we've loved every one of our cruises. I'm sure the family cabins are terrific, although we've never had one. We've got 2 kids, who were 2 and 6 on the 1st cruise in 2005, and will be 5 and 9 on the next one. We've had everything from two insides, to an oceanview, to a balcony. For the Caribbean in the winter, a balcony is nice, especially if you're coming from someplace cold. It's also handy to send the kids directly out there after shore excursions so sand doesn't get all over the cabin. For our European cruises, which are very port intensive (and completely exhausting!), we have chosen oceanviews.

 

I've not witnessed the "partying drunk people" Carnival seems to have a reputation for on any of our cruises. That said, I'm not out and about at 1 am, either. We pick our kids up at the Camp by 10 pm at the latest, and they go to sleep, so I spend the time after 10 pm in our cabin. If we have a balcony, after they go to sleep, I can sit out there - same goes if one of them wakes early. In an oceanview, I can sit in the window, draw the curtain, and read with a flashlight without disturbing them. (DH is often in the casino:p)

 

As for the decor, I'm the last person to love loud and gaudy, but somehow it's not all that bothersome on board. I think it looks a lot more overwhelming in photos than it does in person.

 

As for which ship, that's tough. Some of the older ships (Inspiration, Imagination) are getting major overhauls, and will have water-park like areas which look cool, especially for kids. To my knowledge all of the ships have slides, although I believe they are more elaborate on the newer ships. I would think any of the Conquest class ships would make for a good choice. The Freedom is the newest ship for the moment, with the Liberty the second oldest. Splendor will come out this summer, and I believe there may be a couple of Caribbean cruises available before she heads round the Horn to home port out of California. The Liberty, Freedom and Splendor have the poolside big screen tvs. I actually didn't think I would like this feature, but in the end it was a big hit with our entire family.

 

I'm not sure if that was helpful or not. If you have any other questions, I'm happy to have a go at them. In the end, whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did/do!:)

[741323]

We cruised on the Valor 2 years ago and since then have cruised HAL and Princess (our son is now 11). Yes the crowd was a little rowdier on the Carnival cruise but that was because we were unlucky enough to be cruising with a HUGE group of singles. We are cruising with Carnival again in a few weeks on the Glory.

My main advice would be to check any sailings (on any line) that you plan to take on the internet and to ensure that there are no large groups on board. Before I get flamed I am not suggesting every large group is rowdy - but a large group of singles are more likely to want to party than a quilting convention....

 

We found that the crew on Carnival were much more kid friendly than Princess (which tolerated the children at best) or HAL (who tried hard but the rest of the demographic were quite old so the ship was almost TOO quiet). We think Celebrity might suit us best but the prices are high and if we want to cruise twice a year one cruise has to be Carnival because of the price.

 

The only other downside is that Carnival use salt water in their swimming pools. But they do have the slide!

 

I hope this might help a bit.