should i be afraid of Carnival cruises?

[MrPete]

And we sailed her they had youth security..............

 

I guess they had to after that famous brownie RIOT. :eek:

[RaMar]

My wife and I (44,50) have cruised on Celebrity, HAL, RCL, Princess, and one Norwegian. Our fav is Princess. We like entertainment and food. Ports are less important. We want to go on a Carnival because it is sailing from a nearby port that does not require any travel on air, rail, etc.

 

I have always been warned away from Carnival because (supposedly) the ships were loud, partying to all hours of the night, and lot of kids (as opposed to Celebrity).

 

I have read that there are long lines at the buffet. I have seen passengers coming off the ship at ports, and they seemed younger with kids.

 

I am annoyed by noisy kids (that run around) at times, but find that on many ships the kids are well behaved. We try to avoid summer times and vacations.

 

Any comments as to what Carnival ships are really like? :eek:

 

Thanks!

 

You can find noisy kids on every cruise line. I have been on Princess, HAL, NCL, Celebrity and RCCI and I have always found noisy kids. All I can tell you is that last year I tried Carnival for the first time and I loved the cruise. Can't wait to go on another! However, I would avoid the shorter 3-4 days cruises on any line because that is always a magnet for the wild party crowds.

[singbluesilver1]

i guess i need to book a 3 or 4 day one then lol

[viajerita]

My wife and I (44,50) have cruised on Celebrity, HAL, RCL, Princess, and one Norwegian. Our fav is Princess. We like entertainment and food. Ports are less important. We want to go on a Carnival because it is sailing from a nearby port that does not require any travel on air, rail, etc.

 

I have always been warned away from Carnival because (supposedly) the ships were loud, partying to all hours of the night, and lot of kids (as opposed to Celebrity).

 

I have read that there are long lines at the buffet. I have seen passengers coming off the ship at ports, and they seemed younger with kids.

 

I am annoyed by noisy kids (that run around) at times, but find that on many ships the kids are well behaved. We try to avoid summer times and vacations.

 

Any comments as to what Carnival ships are really like? :eek:

 

Thanks!

 

 

We were on the Legend (7 day) last month and were later told there were over 400 kids aboard. I only saw 3 or 4 the whole time, so guess they do a pretty good job of entertaining and caring for the kids! As for loud partying - I am sure there probably was some - but we never heard it. Long lines? Not for us - we usually ate in the dining room - but on the 4-5 occasions we ate at the buffet, the lines were short or non-existent. I suppose it also depends on the luck of the draw as far as where your room is located, as well as when you go (sprink break not recommended of course). We have cruised with Carnival 3 times and always enjoyed it.

[BigDoug]

My wife and I (44,50) have cruised on Celebrity, HAL, RCL, Princess, and one Norwegian. Our fav is Princess. We like entertainment and food. Ports are less important. We want to go on a Carnival because it is sailing from a nearby port that does not require any travel on air, rail, etc.

 

I have always been warned away from Carnival because (supposedly) the ships were loud, partying to all hours of the night, and lot of kids (as opposed to Celebrity).

 

I have read that there are long lines at the buffet. I have seen passengers coming off the ship at ports, and they seemed younger with kids.

 

I am annoyed by noisy kids (that run around) at times, but find that on many ships the kids are well behaved. We try to avoid summer times and vacations.

 

Any comments as to what Carnival ships are really like? :eek:

 

Thanks!

Based on your location, I am assuming that you are looking at the Carnival Pride sailing from Baltimore. The Pride is one of the "Spirit" class ships. These are considered by many here on CC as possibly the best of the Carnival fleet. My wife and I definitely prefer the Spirit class of ships. The ships are well laid out and you do not get the feeling of being crowded or closed in. The supper club is a great experience. As for the demographics, that will depend on when you sail. Only once on our cruises have we thought that there where too many kids onboard. That was on a spring break cruise that ended on Easter Sunday. It still did not really affect our whole cruise experience.

 

As some others have stated, try Carnival with an open mind and you just might have a good time. I say this as a Carnival Platinum cruiser and a stockholder. Come, relax and enjoy the experience that is a Carnival cruise.:D

[cruzzza]

Has the OP even checked back in? 3 pages of banter and no sign of them. I hate when we get a good discussion going and the person who answers the question disappears!!!

[tulman]

My wife and I (44,50) have cruised on Celebrity, HAL, RCL, Princess, and one Norwegian. Our fav is Princess. We like entertainment and food. Ports are less important. We want to go on a Carnival because it is sailing from a nearby port that does not require any travel on air, rail, etc.

 

I have always been warned away from Carnival because (supposedly) the ships were loud, partying to all hours of the night, and lot of kids (as opposed to Celebrity).

 

I have read that there are long lines at the buffet. I have seen passengers coming off the ship at ports, and they seemed younger with kids.

 

I am annoyed by noisy kids (that run around) at times, but find that on many ships the kids are well behaved. We try to avoid summer times and vacations.

 

Any comments as to what Carnival ships are really like? :eek:

 

Thanks!

 

Other posters may have already said this, but let me put in my two cents worth.

DW and I are 45-52, and are D.I.N.K.S.:) so we feel like we can relate to your question.

We've been on two CCL cruises and loved them both. The kids did not bother us at all, and as many OP have said, the food is great, shows good . . . . . . . .etc.

So, go for it. It is what you make of it. If you ahve the attitude that you're going to nit-pick then you will not have a good time.

BTW- the worst day cruising, is better than the best day at work:D

[tulman]

Has the OP even checked back in? 3 pages of banter and no sign of them. I hate when we get a good discussion going and the person who answers the question disappears!!!

 

DOH!:eek:

[Upandadam]

The only thing I'd rate better on Princess is the buffet, the crab legs in the dining room, and the padded lounge chairs.

 

Our one Princess cruise consisted of as much or more partying than we've experienced on Carnival. Have done two Carnival cruises on spring break, and the kids were never a bother. (We're late 40's).

 

Carnival, in our experience, has far more comfortable beds, waaaaay better shows, and is a more enjoyable experience over all. But, we like the vegasy type of thing.

[Drew B]

As far as kids go, I did a back to back on Carnival last November. Week one had over 850 kids and week two had less than 200 kids, but I didn't notice a difference. The kids were mostly in Camp Carnival both weeks, and were entirely out of sight, out of mind.

 

I had late seating, though. Perhaps at early seating, there would be more kid concerns...

[Exp920]

I was also a little skeptical at first...I went to the Caribbean on the Legend for my Mom's 50th B-day. I'm in my 20's (but not much of a hardcore partier) there was a good mix of people on board (I only saw about 15 kids saw usually during meal times). They had activities for everyone (usually poolside for the "wilder" crowd, if you can call it that and more low key activities in the lounges and other parts of the ship). Of course you can always chose to do nothing.

The staff was excellent, the food was great, the ship was clean and spacious so you didn't feel crowded.

[halos]

My wife and I (44,50) have cruised on Celebrity, HAL, RCL, Princess, and one Norwegian. Our fav is Princess. We like entertainment and food. Ports are less important. We want to go on a Carnival because it is sailing from a nearby port that does not require any travel on air, rail, etc.

 

I have always been warned away from Carnival because (supposedly) the ships were loud, partying to all hours of the night, and lot of kids (as opposed to Celebrity).

 

I have read that there are long lines at the buffet. I have seen passengers coming off the ship at ports, and they seemed younger with kids.

 

I am annoyed by noisy kids (that run around) at times, but find that on many ships the kids are well behaved. We try to avoid summer times and vacations.

 

Any comments as to what Carnival ships are really like? :eek:

 

Thanks!

 

MD and I are in the same age range as you and your wife are. My thoughts are that if you avoid summer and vacation times, you will enjoy CCL very much. There have been many posts from people who were 'afraid' and came back pleasantly surprised.

Give it a try. You'll never know until you actually try it yourself :)

[cruiserbryce]

we had very much the same impression. I think a lot of it has to do with the sailing you choose. Longer sailings when school is in will be less likely to have issues. We recently sailed on a 4day/3day B2B on the Elation and even noticed a difference between the 3 day cruise over the weekend and the 4 day during the week...there were a heck of a lot more younger party type pax on the weekend than the one during the week. The ship was nice and the crew does a pretty good job of keeping pax in check...plenty of security presence.

[glrounds]

Read as many of these threads as you can. As others have posted . . . research, research, research.

I've never noticed the kids on Carnival (have fathered 4 boys myself so maybe I'm innured to the activities of children :D)

So much of cruising is subjective, its hard to advise actually. All but 2 of my cruises have been Carnival, so I'm quite satisfied. I really like Carnival, however, I'm no cheerleader. I cruise SOLO and Carnival still gives the best solo rates, so I have no reason to try others, although Princess is tempting.

IMHO, most of the things you may "fear" are generated by people that have NEVER cruised Carnival. But that figures they are the cheerleaders of some other cruiseline. :rolleyes:

Good thread title. Got my attention. Ignore those who find fault with that. :)

[doittoit]

I've cruised 4 times now with CCL, and you should be afraid. Just got off the Splendor (NOT). Big ugly ship. Money isn't everything. There where some good parts but mostly crap, from the food, service, TV, Decor, too many people. Unruly kids taking over everything. Than getting off the ship, what a ZOO. took 4 hours. We finally just had to get in line with all the other animals that where tired of waiting. Than you had to contend with parking another ZOO, with the butthole parking attentends. I'll never go from Long Beach again. and had to pay $108 for the week. Note, part of the problem was the gang plank was broke, it took them an hour and half to manually move it to the ship. than they never called any #'s to get off just started to let people off that where in line. We where # 1 with VIP, but that didn't matter.

Also took the Valor out of Miami, a couple of years ago, another ugly, mislaidout ship. We call that the cruise from hell.

Just remember you get what you pay for.

[glrounds]

I've cruised 4 times now with CCL, and you should be afraid. Just got off the Splendor (NOT). Big ugly ship. Money isn't everything. There where some good parts but mostly crap, from the food, service, TV, Decor, too many people. Unruly kids taking over everything. Than getting off the ship, what a ZOO. took 4 hours. We finally just had to get in line with all the other animals that where tired of waiting. Than you had to contend with parking another ZOO, with the butthole parking attentends. I'll never go from Long Beach again. and had to pay $108 for the week. Note, part of the problem was the gang plank was broke, it took them an hour and half to manually move it to the ship. than they never called any #'s to get off just started to let people off that where in line. We where # 1 with VIP, but that didn't matter.

Also took the Valor out of Miami, a couple of years ago, another ugly, mislaidout ship. We call that the cruise from hell.

Just remember you get what you pay for.

 

The OP won't find a Carnival "Cheerleader" here ! ! :D

Actually, these are the posts the OP should pay attention to, someone who has actually cruised Carnival and evaluates, the ship. This cruise is on Carnival's newest ship doing a swine-flue-changed itinerary. Although, most of the gripe, it seems, is about the debarking process in Long Beach (one of my favorite ports, incidentally:rolleyes:).Too bad for doittoit and Carnival it wasn't a more pleasant cruise.

[addicted to cruising]

Im a big believer of trying anything once and being open minded when I do so. So Im a big Carnival fan, I always find my way back to them. I started cruising with them in my late 20's and Im now in my mid 40's taking my teenage kids. what I think they do well is FUN...ships are bit flashy, lots of lido deck fun. Plently to do for all ages and the ships seem to have all ages. Certainly pending where you cruise, length and time of yr that passenger population will change. Ive done RC on a small ship and didnt care for it...but I know it was a 3day cruise on the smaller older ship and that is not the real RC exsperience. Went with Princess last spring doing Mexican Rivera..ship was somewhat smaller than I usually cruise on but there were some great things about what Princess has to offer. I do think the overall food quality was better but the crowd was older and frankly the ship atmosphere wasnt real fun. I did fine as I can adapt to whatever the highseas toss my way, Im a flexible cruiser. Would I do RC and Princess again..sure, I would just choose differently. Will you have a great time on Carnival, sure if you stay open minded to the fact it may be different than what you have cruised in the past...certainly worth trying

[Priscilla38]

The cruise is what you make of it. All cruises will have all the elements that can be either negative or positive. Cruising is all about meeting people, bumping into friends - it is a small world afterall, and lines are bound to be there.

[blondieJen]

I've cruised 4 times now with CCL, and you should be afraid. Just got off the Splendor (NOT). Big ugly ship. Money isn't everything. There where some good parts but mostly crap, from the food, service, TV, Decor, too many people. Unruly kids taking over everything. Than getting off the ship, what a ZOO. took 4 hours. We finally just had to get in line with all the other animals that where tired of waiting. Than you had to contend with parking another ZOO, with the butthole parking attentends. I'll never go from Long Beach again. and had to pay $108 for the week. Note, part of the problem was the gang plank was broke, it took them an hour and half to manually move it to the ship. than they never called any #'s to get off just started to let people off that where in line. We where # 1 with VIP, but that didn't matter.

Also took the Valor out of Miami, a couple of years ago, another ugly, mislaidout ship. We call that the cruise from hell.

Just remember you get what you pay for.

 

 

This just makes me laugh. Nuf said.

 

To the OP, with the prices Carnival is offering, you can't hurt to try! Chances are, you'll love it too, if you put on a good attitude when you board that ship! Good luck!

[dan40]

I've cruised 4 times now with CCL, and you should be afraid. Just got off the Splendor (NOT). Big ugly ship. Money isn't everything. There where some good parts but mostly crap, from the food, service, TV, Decor, too many people. Unruly kids taking over everything. Than getting off the ship, what a ZOO. took 4 hours. We finally just had to get in line with all the other animals that where tired of waiting. Than you had to contend with parking another ZOO, with the butthole parking attentends. I'll never go from Long Beach again. and had to pay $108 for the week. Note, part of the problem was the gang plank was broke, it took them an hour and half to manually move it to the ship. than they never called any #'s to get off just started to let people off that where in line. We where # 1 with VIP, but that didn't matter.

Also took the Valor out of Miami, a couple of years ago, another ugly, mislaidout ship. We call that the cruise from hell.

Just remember you get what you pay for.

 

Your attitude is fine for you, not fine for me. My attitude is fine for me not fine for you.

 

Your list of cruises:

Carnival Imagination 8-2003 :o

Royal Caribbean Monarch of the Seas 4-2005 Good

Carnival Valor 4-2006 :mad:

Royal Caribbean Monarch of the Seas 7-2006 :cool:

Carnival Paradise 4-23-07 :(

Monarch of the Seas 8-18-08 bad

Carnival Splendor 5-24-2009 Last chance for Carnival

CCL got a "C" on Splendor trip, Might try CCL again in the far distance.

 

 

Rating of my cruises: 50 cruises, Worst was good, best was absolutely terrific. 48 others fell between those two. Have sailed all but one of the same ships you have sailed, plus many, many others. Ships and lines.

Attitudes and latitudes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[cruiselove28]

you should check out "Anti-Carnival cruise snob becomes fan" post. Might help a lot.

[Aplmac]

DOH!:eek:

First thing you do is click on the name and View Public Profile.

 

1 post? Two? ..something's up! :cool:

 

 

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