Questions about classes of ships?

[Fawn]

I'm new to checking out Carnival Cruise Lines. Seems like the ships that meet our itinerary/schedule are all either Conquest of Spirit class. There is one on the Dream, but we aren't thrilled with that itinerary.

 

Advice/info on any of these ships? I am sailing with two daughters who will be 19 and 20 at the time of sailing, next March 2010. Thanks!

 

 

*Specifically, the ships are Miracle, Valor, Liberty, Freedom, Victory and Glory.*

[momofzeke]

My personal favorite is Spirit class. I have sailed on 1 Conquest class, the Valor and had a wonderful cruise on that ship also. But, I love the layout and smaller size of the Spirit class ships.

 

Which ships are you looking at? Then, maybe we could help you better.

 

Here is my comparison of Conquest class and Spirit class ships:

 

I have been on 1 Conquest class ship, Valor, and 2 Spirit class ships, Pride and Miracle. Had an excellent cruise on all 3 ships, and loved each ship. Spirit class is my favorite, though.

 

Conquest class is larger, more passengers. It felt more crowded to me than Spirit class ships.

 

Spirit class has only 1 dining room. You can walk from front to back of the ship on any deck, all the way through. On Conquest class, there are 2 dining rooms. In order to get around one of the dining rooms, you have to go up and around on a higher deck......can't walk all the way through because the dining room blocks your way. Not a big deal, but just takes some getting used to.

 

I prefer the layout of the Lido pool areas on Spirit class. It is one flat deck, whereas Conquest class has a tiered deck. The Aft pool area on Spirit class is also just one flat deck, where you can walk right to the railing of the ship and look out at the water. On Conquest class, the pool area has an open roof but there are windows on the sides. To get to the open deck and railing, you have to go up one deck from the pool/bar. Not as much room up there either.

 

Conquest class has the big outdoor movie screen on Lido deck by the main pool. It also has a fish and chips station. Spirit class does not have either of those things. I didn't really like the movie screen that much, I thought it was loud and I'm not much of a movie buff. I don't like fish. But if either of those things are important to you, Spirit class does not have them.

 

Some people feel that the night life is better on a Conquest class ship because all the bars/clubs are on one level, where the Spirit class has them more spread out on 2 different levels. Personally, I didn't really notice any difference but we spend quite a bit of time in the casino and Piano Bar, and don't really do the dance club or karaoke.

[98Charlie]

Have sailed the Valor 2x, Legend and Miracle each 1x (booked on the Legend again for January) and the Triumph 2x. The Triumph class is laid out much like the Conquest class. The ships are just shorter in length, hold fewer pax and don't have a fish & chips restaurant.

 

Have to say I like the layout of the Spirit class ships the best due to the aft adult pool area. It's a great place to just hang out for an afternoon without the noise of the main pool area.

 

Although the Conquest and Triumph class ships have piano bar, karoake and disco areas all in one area on the same deck, that area does get pretty congested at night. Spirit class ships have these entertainment venues spread out between a couple of decks. But it is easy traveling from one entertainment area to another as they are at the same end of the ship.

 

I think the Spirit class ships offer a more intimate evening dining venue since the MDR's are smaller (due to fewer pax on board). On the other hand, I've always felt the buffet areas of the Conquest and Triumph class ships seem less crowded.

 

Dianne

[Trplnckl]

Thanks to the OP for the questions, and to the replies for the answers/opinions. Now I don't have to ask.

[thshhh]

We have sailed on the Glory(Conquest Class) and the Miracle(Spirit class).

My only complaint about the Miracle was that our 9 yr old had to go down a hallway

past staterooms to get to his Camp Carnival location. I wasn't comfortable with this.

 

I also didn't like our balcony on the Miracle as our view was blocked looking forward by

the way the balcony's are placed.

[98Charlie]

Thanks to the OP for the questions, and to the replies for the answers/opinions. Now I don't have to ask.

 

Don't want you to think that we didn't enjoy our 2 cruises on the Valor. Will sail her again when the itinerary and dates meet our schedules. Both times we sailed the ship we had great service from a very friendly crew.

 

Hoping to sail more Conquest class ships in the future as their schedules match ours.

 

Dianne

[Fawn]

So far I have Conquest is bigger, Spirit smaller. Conquest has bars/clubs all on one level, Spirit on 2 levels. Conquest 2 dining rooms, Spirit one. Conquest has tiered level pools - glassed-in, Spirit pools are on one level - fresh air. Spirit is more cozy/intimate. Conquest outside movie screen and fish&chips.

 

Probably a dumb question, but what is a MDR? Are any of these ships "anytime eating"?

[momofzeke]

So far I have Conquest is bigger, Spirit smaller. Conquest has bars/clubs all on one level, Spirit on 2 levels. Conquest 2 dining rooms, Spirit one. Conquest has tiered level pools - glassed-in, Spirit pools are on one level - fresh air. Spirit is more cozy/intimate. Conquest outside movie screen and fish&chips.

 

Probably a dumb question, but what is a MDR? Are any of these ships "anytime eating"?

 

 

MDR is Main Dining Room. :) Anytime dining is available right now on Miracle and Liberty. Glory will have it by mid December 2009. Valor, Freedom and Victory will have it by summer 2010.

 

Oh, and FYI: Glory is the one Conquest class ship that does not have the outside movie screen yet. It is scheduled to get it in drydock, January 2010.

 

I have been on Valor and Miracle.....both GREAT ships! Miracle has been my favorite cruise so far in 3 cruises.

[98Charlie]

So far I have Conquest is bigger, Spirit smaller. Conquest has bars/clubs all on one level, Spirit on 2 levels. Conquest 2 dining rooms, Spirit one. Conquest has tiered level pools - glassed-in, Spirit pools are on one level - fresh air. Spirit is more cozy/intimate. Conquest outside movie screen and fish&chips.

 

Probably a dumb question, but what is a MDR? Are any of these ships "anytime eating"?

 

 

MDR is main dining room.

 

Dianne

[98Charlie]

MDR is Main Dining Room. :) Conquest has Anytime dining right now, and Spirit will have it early next month (June).

 

Will all the Spirit class ships go to an anytime dining option next month?

 

Dianne

[momofzeke]

Will all the Spirit class ships go to an anytime dining option next month?

 

Dianne

 

Legend, Pride and Miracle have it right now. Spirit will have it next month. So, all Spirit class ships will have it by next month. :)

[98Charlie]

Legend, Pride and Miracle have it right now. Spirit will have it next month. So, all Spirit class ships will have it by next month. :)

 

Thanks for the info. We sail the Legend in January.

 

Have to say that one of the things DH & I have enjoyed on our Carnival cruises is the set dining seatings. We've met some great friends and had some great times dining with the same people each night.

 

On the other hand, we cruise NCL alot and enjoy the freestyle dining on that line. Have sailed Princess 2x with set dining and 1x with anytime dining. We found we liked the set dinner seating better on Princess but our anytime dining cruise was a few years ago and I think Princess had a ways to go at that time to work out the kinks in the program at the time we did that.

 

Both dining styles, anytime and set seating, have much to offer to a cruise experience if the program works right.

 

Anxious to see how Carnival handles the anytime option as we've not experienced that so far.

 

Dianne

[Fawn]

MDR is main dining room.

 

Dianne

 

LOL Yup...dumb question!

[98Charlie]

LOL Yup...dumb question!

 

No question is ever dumb here on CC.

 

Dianne

[Fawn]

No question is ever dumb here on CC.

 

Dianne

 

Thanks, Dianne. I honestly don't know how anyone ever researched a vacation before the internet!!!!

 

OK, well after much deliberation and research, I've pretty much decided on Carnival for our cruise next March! Now I'm going thru itineraries and trying to decide which ports look best to us.

 

So...once again asking for advice. What are your favorite ports? The ones that are on our itineraries and that we haven't yet cruise to yet are St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Isla Roatan, Belize, Ocho Rios, Limon, Colon, Puerto Rico and Grand Turk.

 

Our favorite ports in the past were Costa Maya for the natural beauty, Cozumel for the fun. Ports we could easily never go to again were St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Grand Cayman.

 

Thanks. CC has been as helpful as my DCL board...dare I say?? :)

[98Charlie]

Our personal favorite Carnival itinerary has been the 8-day to St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Maarten. St. Lucia and St. Kitts are lush and beautiful.

 

The Sugar Cane Rail tour in St. Kitts is a great tour on a narrow guage railway that gives you a good picture of the island and island life. St. Lucia has some great excursions as well.

 

I know you said you don't like St. Maarten but it's one of our favorites.

 

The Carnival 8-day cruise to Colon and Limon would be one of our favorites as well. We took the ocean to ocean train in Colon (on a different cruiseline) a few years ago. Great way to see the canal via airconditioned train car and the ride gives you a glimpse of both coasts of Panama.

 

We did a train ride at Limon as well. Went through the tropical forests, visited a banana plantation, saw the Dole packing plant along the way as well as some sloths and howler monkeys.

 

When you add the 3rd port of Cozumel -- what's not to like? We also enjoy the benefit of the extra sea days on the 8-day itineraries.:)

 

We love Roatan. Been there several times and will be back there in January. Island is beautiful and still have some areas untouched by today's craze of diamond stores and color changing clothing shops.;)

 

Never taken an excursion in Belize but have been there many times. We generally shop at that port and then head to the Wet Lizard restaurant to sip a few Beliken beers while we watch hundreds of cruisers race for their excursions. Belize and Roatan are both famous for their snorkeling opportunities at beautiful reefs.

 

Puerto Rico is a great port in our opinion. Love to sightsee there and try the local foods. There's alot of interesting sights in and around San Juan.

 

Never been to Grand Turk yet but hope to get there. From what I get from posters on these boards the island is best known for beaches but not much else.:confused:

 

Been to Ocho Rios once on a cruise. Been to Kingston, Jamaica once on a mission trip. Don't plan to visit Jamaica again. 'Nough said about that.

 

Dianne

[Curt Jerome Wild]

The fact that you will have your two daughters ages 19 and 20 resolves it for me completely!

Stick with Conquest Class.

(For their age group, stick with Conquest and Fantasy Class ships).

Spirit Class, while wonderful for people who are older, or not into the fun nightlife, dancing, karaoke, etc. is absolutely "dead" for 20ish ages.

 

Spirit Class leads to the most boring nightlife in the entire Carnival Fleet. Great during the day, dead quiet at night.

If that is not a factor for them, then it doesn't matter at all.

If you think that they actually will want to be out, dancing, hanging with people their age, making friends, etc.

Conquest Class is the only way to go.

 

Spirit Class is really nice and beautiful, if you want a really low key, nice relaxing time.

I hope that advice helps for their perspective.:D

[Fawn]

The fact that you will have your two daughters ages 19 and 20 resolves it for me completely!

Stick with Conquest Class.

(For their age group, stick with Conquest and Fantasy Class ships).

Spirit Class, while wonderful for people who are older, or not into the fun nightlife, dancing, karaoke, etc. is absolutely "dead" for 20ish ages.

 

Spirit Class leads to the most boring nightlife in the entire Carnival Fleet. Great during the day, dead quiet at night.

If that is not a factor for them, then it doesn't matter at all.

If you think that they actually will want to be out, dancing, hanging with people their age, making friends, etc.

Conquest Class is the only way to go.

 

Spirit Class is really nice and beautiful, if you want a really low key, nice relaxing time.

I hope that advice helps for their perspective.:D

 

 

Out dancing all night with people their age??? Instead of with Me???? Bite your tongue!!! My one daughter and I closed down the bar every night on the Magic. Bad news for me is that every morning my other daughter wanted to do breakfast and hit the pool with me. They came home refreshed, I came home exhausted!!!!

[Fun, Fun 44]

We have really enjoyed Roatan, Belize, and Grand Turk. As another person said GT is mostly beach type things. If you go into town there's not really any shopping. But the prison was like 5 bucks and kinda interesting. If I had to be in one that's the one for me! lol It was used til the late 90's when it was closed. "Prisoners" climbed the fence, worked a few hours and made a few bucks, bought booze and climbed back over the prison fence for dinner and to sleep. The people are very interesting to visit with and very nice in town. John Glenn in the Friendship 7 spacecraft splashed down off shore in GT. History there as well if ya ask/look around.

Enjoy where ever you choose!

Kat

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Out dancing all night with people their age??? Instead of with Me???? Bite your tongue!!! My one daughter and I closed down the bar every night on the Magic. Bad news for me is that every morning my other daughter wanted to do breakfast and hit the pool with me. They came home refreshed, I came home exhausted!!!!

Heee...:D

Forget your daughters then...

It sounds like YOU are going to enjoy Conquest (and Fantasy) Class a lot more than Spirit.

Don't get me wrong, Spirit is really nice, but not for nightlife.

 

Stick with Conquest Class and everyone in your family will be happy, both day and night.:D

[glrounds]

The fact that you will have your two daughters ages 19 and 20 resolves it for me completely!

Stick with Conquest Class.

(For their age group, stick with Conquest and Fantasy Class ships).

Spirit Class, while wonderful for people who are older, or not into the fun nightlife, dancing, karaoke, etc. is absolutely "dead" for 20ish ages.

 

Spirit Class leads to the most boring nightlife in the entire Carnival Fleet. Great during the day, dead quiet at night.

If that is not a factor for them, then it doesn't matter at all.

If you think that they actually will want to be out, dancing, hanging with people their age, making friends, etc.

Conquest Class is the only way to go.

 

Huh ? ? ? ? :confused:

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Huh ? ? ? ? :confused:

It's simply the layout of the Spirit Class ships compared to the others.

If you are a true nightlife person, college age or twenties, and you've compared the experience to Conquest or Fantasy Class - it's very apparent.

 

You also can't judge it if you are basing it on a Cruise Critic or group cruise. Those are separate experiences, because then there are big groups/events going no matter what ship you are on - you are your own nightlife.

 

It's a very different story if you are on a regular cruise.

And I'm not the only one who has experienced this, other people agree with me in their reviews and comments.

 

Here is the problem in a nutshell...

On Fantasy Class Ships all of the music clubs, karaoke, bars, nightclubs, live music, etc. are all within one area.

People club hop, and the energy gathers between all the areas throughout the night. They are all in the same focal area, and it just gathers naturally.

 

On a Conquest Class ship, it's the same thing - just in a larger layout.

 

On Spirit Class ships, all of the clubs, music, lounges, are all spread out over the ship. The dance club is in the bowels of the dungeons far away from anything.

It's really difficult to have people gathering steam. It's rarely works out like that on Spirit Class.

People are wandering decks apart from each other, and eventually lose steam and give up.

That's the deal. Plenty of people have this same experience.

 

A lot of times the casino is full. Maybe the piano bar. Not much else.

Not the most fun for a lot of 19 and 20 year olds.

 

It's a design/layout thing.

Like I said before, it's great during the day. They're beautiful ships.

In comparison to the rest of the Carnival Fleet, they have the lamest nightlife.

That's the reason I don't recommend it to anyone who could be a night owl.

 

A disco doesn't work, when people can't find it, or they can't fill the dance floor.

Sadly, Spirit Class is simply not your best bet when choosing a cruise for night owls.;)

[Fawn]

Well, based on ship info, it looks like Legend and Miracle fit our needs and timing. Any differences??

[98Charlie]

Well, based on ship info, it looks like Legend and Miracle fit our needs and timing. Any differences??

 

Only true differences between Legend & Miracle is the decor. Some say they are both a bit gaudy; others say one is less gaudy than the other. Frankly I've never felt that either was gaudy, just a bit loud in places.:D

 

I never judge a book by its cover.;)

 

Dianne

[Fawn]

Only true differences between Legend & Miracle is the decor. Some say they are both a bit gaudy; others say one is less gaudy than the other. Frankly I've never felt that either was gaudy, just a bit loud in places.:D

 

I never judge a book by its cover.;)

 

Dianne

 

 

A bit loud...nicely put! LOL

 

Decor is honestly not something I'm bothered about one way or another. The most beautiful place will turn me off if it's dirty. The gaudiest will be fine if it's clean.