We love X, but are considering Carnival

[Bruin Steve]

Call me a "snob" if you want.

I am just being honest. Carnival is a lesser product and its target clientele are those looking for the cheapest cruise. But, if you think it somehow proves your point to attack me, it doesn't.

 

One question: Why are all of you Carnival afficianados coming here to the Celebrity board but NOT responding on the parallel thread on the Carnival board?

 

Here's a sampling of comments from that thread...These are all people who love Carnival--as one would expect on the Carnival board (I did not go over there to argue with them)...but note a recurring theme--PRICE. This, I reiterate, is Carnival's target market--people looking for a bargain, getting a lot of cruise for the lowest price...I don't even see how that is an arguable point--Carnival Corp. themselves admit to it...(I left in the "young chicks" comment just because I thought it was funny...I did edit out the part about Carnival making a "360 degree turnaround"...I understand how people can get confused on that one :) )

 

...There are always many young chicks... The price thing is self evident...As long as it's not a 4-5 day cruise you will be A-OK.

 

...since "boycotting" Carnival for about 15 years, we're back to them and finding them a great "bang for the buck".

 

...I think Carnival packs more bang for your buck...

 

Give CCL a try, you will save money!!

. I just got back and we loved it. It was my first!!

[Bridge Maven]

Some of the posts I have read on this thread remind me of a book I read years ago called "The Millionaire Next Door", which was written at a time when that was a lot more money than it is today.

 

The authors of the book were hired to do a study on the spending habits of wealthy people for marketing purposes and initially decided to do their research in communities that had the reputation of being very wealthy because of their expensive homes and lifestyles. To their surprise they found that most of the people who were living in these communities could barely afford to pay their bills while only a very small fraction of very wealthy people live very glamorous lifestyles. Most of them lived in middle class communities and were not extravagant spenders. They were also more likely to spend their money on things that the average person would never notice such as their grandchild's college education instead of a luxury car or expensive vacation.

[halos]

Call me a "snob" if you want.

I am just being honest. Carnival is a lesser product and its target clientele are those looking for the cheapest cruise. But, if you think it somehow proves your point to attack me, it doesn't.

 

 

Carnival being a lesser product is your opinion which you have every right to. But let's be clear, it's a lesser product to YOU, not to everyone. LOL, if you feel under attack, I can't help it. You're supposed 'honesty' is putting yourself above others soleley based on the cruise they enjoy. I'm calling it as I see it.

 

I don't think CCL is for everyone. If you don't enjoy that line, that is perfectly fine, but degrading those who enjoy it seems more than snobbish. It is juvenile.

 

As for why I am posting on 'your board' :rolleyes::rolleyes:, the reason is simple. The thread title caught my eye on the home page. Nothing sinister involved.

[CRUZBUDS]

We love Celebrity and Carnival. I agree with those that say they are more alike than opposites.

We think that Carnival food is very comparable to Celebrity, especially the main dining room diners. They do lose me on the singing waiters – very annoying

If you ask of the 20+ cruises we’ve taken who the worst waiter was, it was hands down Osmond on the Horizon in pre-RCCL days. We’ll admit we’ve had more excellent waiters on Celebrity then Carnival, but we’ve taken more Celebrity cruises.

We’ve run into wonderful people on both lines and we’ve avoided trashy people on both. We’ve never noticed a difference in the cliental on either line. (except the 3 day Elation)

You can’t compare a 3 day Carnival on an older ship to a 7 day or longer cruise on a Spirit class ship.

It amazes me how some people post opinions when they sometimes have little or no experience to base it on.

Since Celebrity has abandoned the west coast we’ll be taking more Carnival cruises.

[woodofpine]

Thank you all for making this such a lively thread, and helping me remember some of the reasons why Carnival may not be the best idea. Hairy chest and hairy leg contests are really not my thing. The constant announcements and overcrowding another.

 

Now, for those who have champagne tastes on a beer budget, as anyone who has put 2 children through expensive private colleges without financial aid, one of whom wants to go to law school knows, you get somewhat tapped out at this point. And then of course it is the fact that my husband doesn't want a standard balcony cabin, not to mention that I am sure my sons don't want to be on a cruise filled with their grandparents.

 

My mother-in-law's favorite line was always, "That's why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream." There is something for everyone.

 

I hear 'ya... My personal experience with Carnival was a very short off season uber-discount Bahamian cruise on C. Fantasy (not my first cruise) after which I was an exuberant Carnival basher... I was right up there sniping 'em with Steve.

 

Then 5 years later I relented and took a cruise on C. Miracle (with HAL, X, Princess cruises in between even Regal Empress!) and that Miracle cruise was truly a fine cruise (crew, ship, pax, everything) but I went braced with Low Expectations. On the other hand, I went on my first X cruise believing the hype with high high expectations and experienced a let down big time. So much of it is on me. What's my attitude? (Flexible, open minded or rigid) What are my expectations?

 

Go with low expectations and a willingness to go Vegas neon and you'll probably have a lot of fun.

 

P.S. CruzBuds hits valid points from real experience...

[CruisingChick]

Then 5 years later I relented and took a cruise on C. Miracle (with HAL, X, Princess cruises in between even Regal Empress!) ..

 

We sailed on the Regal Empress and actually enjoyed it very much. We thought the food was great and overall it was okay. The only problem was it was a 5 day cruise - we said never again -too short!

 

Robinsilver we are in the midst of sending our son to a very EXPENSIVE private university, so I hear you. The only way we are still cruising is to get good deals on off-season cruises, accrue on-board credits and luckily Celebrity has been sending us Future Cruise Credits that we've used on our last 3 cruises.

 

As never having sailed Carnival I can't help you there. Our neighbors have sailed them before and they seem to have a good time. They are 52 and 61, if that's any help to you.

 

Good luck with whatever decision you make on your upcoming cruise.

[woodofpine]

I enjoyed RE too! The cabins were a bit beat up (but hey! few ships can claim 50 years of plumbing and other maintenance) but the MDR food and service was excellent. At a little under 20KGT, the ship had space limitations, but the frumpy overstuffed sofas on the enclosed a/c section of the promenade was... funky. A lot of pretty old wood and brass on that ship. She went to the breakers a few months ago on account of SOLAS.

 

Leaving Nassau on RE, the depression organized that quickly formed into Hurricane Ophilia... You could sort of see it coming, but maybe just in hindsight. We were back in Lauderdale well before anything significant developed (it brushed JAX then came ashore in the Carolinas).

 

Back on topic, itineraries being equal, if I were selecting between X and Carnival my preference would be X - this would hold true for more traditional minded folks. But Carnival can deliver a very good experience too in its Vegas 'pizzazz' style. Big C has the Best bedding around though! (They dumped a LOT of $$ into that a couple years ago and it shows.)

[JennAngel9]

While the cruise director on our Carnival cruise made more announcements than the one midday announcement that is made on a Celebrity ship, they weren't non stop as some of the posts imply....The other difference was that during sail away the cruise director pointed out various landmarks between the time we left the Port of New York and went under the Verazzano Bridge. While some people might find that annoying, other passengers loved the fact that the cruise director played tour guide since there is so much to see within the first hour of leaving that port.

 

I just want to be clear that I was not referring to most of the kinds of announcements referred to by Bridge Maven. In addition to disembarkation, tender, and landmark suggestions, Carnival made multiple announcements throughout the day about things like a) art auctions, wine tastings, bingo, drink specials or contests at the pool (I may be confusing some of these with our RCCL cruise) ... I think you get the idea. Was it a "nonstop" stream of chatter from the cruise director? No. But I do think we got what was basically a sales pitch for some activity a few times a day, that frequently interefered with our post-port afternoon nap.

 

I realize I am putting myself in grave danger of being skinned alive on this thread like Steve, but I feel there are a number of those types of things that make the Carnival feel a bit more chintzy and less refined than Celebrity (although I will say that Celebrity does occasionally get on my nerves pushing drinks and wine tastings early on in the cruise). I totally get that for some people "fun" means noise, constant frenzy, bright colors, and a very laid back environment (check out NCL!) but for others of us it means a quiet spot with a good book and polished service.

 

DH and I generally keep to ourselves, so I have no great knowledge of other cruisers "real" non-cruising level of sophistication/income/education, but I DO think people act differently and there are different social expectations on the average Celebrity Cruise than Carnival cruises (even discounting sailings of 5 days or less).

[brnsnbrws]

Bruin Steve, I happen to agree with you. That being said, I think the biggest difference is how their children behave, and the number of piercings and tatoos the children have.

 

I am getting ready to take my 2nd Carnival Cruise and would like to clarify something about my children.

I have 8 children, 9 grandchildren and the only "piercings" on my children & grandchildren are the girl's ears. As for tatoos, none have them.

[Bridge Maven]

The only type of behavior that I consider to be "low class", based on my experience at sea, is when a passenger has had so much to drink that they become loud and obnoxious. However, I have only experienced this problem on Celebrity. During our Baltic Cruise to Russia on Celebrity's Constellation we had a table mate who was very wealthy, elegantly dressed dress for dinner, and came to the dining room drunk every night. Not only was she loud and obnoxious, but her level of intoxication made her so rude to the wait staff that it was embarrassing. That is the only time I have ever seen anyone like that in the main dining room of a cruise ship. I've also observed similar levels of intoxication during Karoke on a number of our Celebrity Cruises. I felt very sorry for the talented karoke singers who had to put up with people who wouldn't have thought twice of participating if they were sober.

[JennAngel9]

As an aside, I had always assumed it was expected that whenever you go to karoke there are going to be drunk people who can't sing-- I didn't even know it was offered on Celebrity cruises. Anyway, DH and I always steer clear of the karoke type events because he doesn't like to hear drunk people warble and I always worry that after my 3rd drink, I might become one of them!

[Bridge Maven]

As an aside, I had always assumed it was expected that whenever you go to karaoke there are going to be drunk people who can't sing-- I didn't even know it was offered on Celebrity cruises. Anyway, DH and I always steer clear of the karoke type events because he doesn't like to hear drunk people warble and I always worry that after my 3rd drink, I might become one of them!

 

You may be right because I have never been to a place that had karaoke on land and on other cruise lines there are too many interesting things to do in the evening to spend my time watching people sing in a karaoke venue.

[JennAngel9]

DH and I usually spend our evenings on Celebrity in the lounge with the live band, dancing happily with people who are on average, about 3x my age... though I suppose as I get older they are getting closer to 2x my age. :) It's not that "exciting" but then neither are we. ;)

[DocJohnB]

The only type of behavior that I consider to be "low class", based on my experience at sea, is when a passenger has had so much to drink that they become loud and obnoxious.

We disagree with this BM. Public intoxication has nothing to do with "class" (whatever the he** class is). It is rudeness, low morals (perhaps), and stupid, IMO. (And I was guilty of this in my youngster days).

 

Where I disagree even more with your post, however, BM, is your isolating the drunks to Celebrity cruises. Look, I know you have developed an estrangement with the =X= product, however, you dilute your opinions by making such blanket statements as:

is when a passenger has had so much to drink that they become loud and obnoxious. However, I have only experienced this problem on Celebrity.

 

I daresay each and every one of us on this board has run into a drunk/obnoxious passenger on every cruise we have been on. I certainly have on each and every ship and cruise line I have ever sailed.

[Bridge Maven]

We disagree with this BM. Public intoxication has nothing to do with "class" (whatever the he** class is). It is rudeness, low morals (perhaps), and stupid, IMO. (And I was guilty of this in my youngster days).

 

Where I disagree even more with your post, however, BM, is your isolating the drunks to Celebrity cruises. Look, I know you have developed an estrangement with the =X= product, however, you dilute your opinions by making such blanket statements as:

 

 

I daresay each and every one of us on this board has run into a drunk/obnoxious passenger on every cruise we have been on. I certainly have on each and every ship and cruise line I have ever sailed.

 

Just to clarify, I said that I only experienced a table mate who was that drunk on one of many Celebrity cruises, so I was not implying it was a typical problem. The other place I encountered it was at karaoke, but as another poster said that type of activity attracts people who have had too much too drink.

 

Since I can't be everywhere on a ship at any one time, I obviously only know what I have personally encountered.

 

My point was that even on an expensive Celebrity Baltic Cruise, during prime season for this itinerary, a well dressed wealthy woman can behave in a manner than I consider to be "low class".

 

For the record, I don't think that Celebrity is a bad cruise line. I just feel that it isn't that different from other mass market cruise lines and that includes its passenger base, providing you are comparing comparable ships, similar itineraries, and prime season vs off season. Needless to say a short Carnival Cruise to the Caribbean on an old ship during Hurricane Season is going to be very different from a two week European Celebrity Cruise on a new ship during the summer.

[Bruin Steve]

As an aside, I had always assumed it was expected that whenever you go to karoke there are going to be drunk people who can't sing-- I didn't even know it was offered on Celebrity cruises. Anyway, DH and I always steer clear of the karoke type events because he doesn't like to hear drunk people warble and I always worry that after my 3rd drink, I might become one of them!

 

Aaaahhhh, Karaoke...

Now, I don't go to Karaoke places on land...but, on a cruise ship, I always go...On every cruise line they usually hold these things at 10 pm or later...after dinner, after the show...when entertainment choices are usually down to Dancing, Piano Bar and...Karaoke...Since I'm not a dancer, I'm usually looking at the Piano Bar or Karaoke...and most ships don't do Karaoke every night...

 

I have also been known to get up and sing...just because it is fun...and, heck, I am a social animal and love "Audience participation"

 

Yes, they have it on Celebrity...and they even have it on Oceania, though, like everything else on the ship, it is sparsely attended since it is way past most of the passengers' bed times...

 

Anyway, on my just completed Nautica cruise, I sang karaoke four times...The amazing thing was that I got compliments from those in attandance...People came up to me after and said things like "You really sing well" or "You were one of the best"...I find this incredible...When I was in the Choir in high school, they called me the "Lead Ear"...My wife shuts me up from singing at home...though I often can get somewhere near the tune...

 

BTW, I have noticed how drunk SOME of the singers can be...and it's usually the younger ones--the college aged kids--that are the drunks...kids that age seem to love karaoke...and drinking...and of course there are many more of those on some cruise lines than on others...On Oceania, it seems all of the karaoke singers were sober...Some could have used a couple of drinks first...

[DocJohnB]

Threads of this type always end up being interesting reading. As do the compare cruise lines threads.

 

All of the lines have their supporters and their detractors. Even with cruise lines each ship has the same. It is all about likes and dislikes and it is all about opinions.

 

Personally I think that (as others have said in this thread), that cruiselines are more alike than different. But, thank goodness, they are different, or at least have differences. Even ships within the same fleets are different, including ships of the same class.

 

I believe that most of the folks who ask for a comparison of cruise lines so ask with legitimacy. But, in all seriousness, it doesn't matter one whit what I opine, or what BruinSteve or BridgeMaven, Woodofpine, Halos or any of the countless contributors have to say. It only matters what the "asker" thinks AFTER the cruise.

 

Personally I have never been able to understand how one can ask the "compare" question, then wade through all the opinions and b.s. posted and let it affect their decisions in even the least.

 

To those people who ask (as the OP sort of did) should we try ZZZZZZ line, I would ALWAYS, ALWAYS would say ABSOLUTELY. Absolutely try it . . . how else will you ever form an honest opinion of the product. You will discover that you either love what is being offered, or will not like it. But you will NEVER, EVER know with any degree of certainty whether you do or do not like it if you haven't tried it.

 

Besides, as we have read over and over and over and over again on these boards . . . . . . . there is really no such thing as a bad cruise. (They are all just a little different, perhaps).

[Bridge Maven]

Threads of this type always end up being interesting reading. As do the compare cruise lines threads.

 

All of the lines have their supporters and their detractors. Even with cruise lines each ship has the same. It is all about likes and dislikes and it is all about opinions.

 

Personally I think that (as others have said in this thread), that cruiselines are more alike than different. But, thank goodness, they are different, or at least have differences. Even ships within the same fleets are different, including ships of the same class.

 

I believe that most of the folks who ask for a comparison of cruise lines so ask with legitimacy. But, in all seriousness, it doesn't matter one whit what I opine, or what BruinSteve or BridgeMaven, Woodofpine, Halos or any of the countless contributors have to say. It only matters what the "asker" thinks AFTER the cruise.

 

Personally I have never been able to understand how one can ask the "compare" question, then wade through all the opinions and b.s. posted and let it affect their decisions in even the least.

 

To those people who ask (as the OP sort of did) should we try ZZZZZZ line, I would ALWAYS, ALWAYS would say ABSOLUTELY. Absolutely try it . . . how else will you ever form an honest opinion of the product. You will discover that you either love what is being offered, or will not like it. But you will NEVER, EVER know with any degree of certainty whether you do or do not like it if you haven't tried it.

 

Besides, as we have read over and over and over and over again on these boards . . . . . . . there is really no such thing as a bad cruise. (They are all just a little different, perhaps).

 

I agree with you and that is why I think people should try as many cruise lines as possible and then decide which one is best for them.

 

BTW - I think this is true for just about everything. I've seen some Broadway plays with rave reviews that I thought were just OK and have loved quite a number of shows that got panned by reviewers.

[halos]

Threads of this type always end up being interesting reading. As do the compare cruise lines threads.

 

All of the lines have their supporters and their detractors. Even with cruise lines each ship has the same. It is all about likes and dislikes and it is all about opinions.

 

Personally I think that (as others have said in this thread), that cruiselines are more alike than different. But, thank goodness, they are different, or at least have differences. Even ships within the same fleets are different, including ships of the same class.

 

I believe that most of the folks who ask for a comparison of cruise lines so ask with legitimacy. But, in all seriousness, it doesn't matter one whit what I opine, or what BruinSteve or BridgeMaven, Woodofpine, Halos or any of the countless contributors have to say. It only matters what the "asker" thinks AFTER the cruise.

 

Personally I have never been able to understand how one can ask the "compare" question, then wade through all the opinions and b.s. posted and let it affect their decisions in even the least.

 

To those people who ask (as the OP sort of did) should we try ZZZZZZ line, I would ALWAYS, ALWAYS would say ABSOLUTELY. Absolutely try it . . . how else will you ever form an honest opinion of the product. You will discover that you either love what is being offered, or will not like it. But you will NEVER, EVER know with any degree of certainty whether you do or do not like it if you haven't tried it.

 

Besides, as we have read over and over and over and over again on these boards . . . . . . . there is really no such thing as a bad cruise. (They are all just a little different, perhaps).

 

 

I wish we could make this a sticky :)

Bravo for a well stated, common sense post :):):)

[woodofpine]

Threads of this type always end up being interesting reading. As do the compare cruise lines threads...

 

Besides, as we have read over and over and over and over again on these boards . . . . . . . there is really no such thing as a bad cruise. (They are all just a little different, perhaps).

 

Ah - I dunno Doc... HAL Prinsendam's April 5, 1980 Alaska cruise or October 4, 2007 on Sea Diamond at Santorini... THOSE may have been bad cruises...;)

[Casino Player]

We have been on 7 or so X cruises, and have also recently been on HAL, and love both. We are planning an impromptu (read cheap) cruise with our 2 sons, 24 & 21 for the beginning of October. I am thinking that they will find no one on X or HAL, but will have much better luck finding friends on Carnival. As a family, we tried a very old Carnival ship in 1995, have been on about a dozen other cruises with them, and a bunch just the 2 of us. My 24 year old was on RCCL twice for spring break.

Considering that, how will their category 11 suite compare to a sky suite? Are there suite perks? How different is the food? Entertainment on X and HAL has not been very good lately, so it can't be worse, can it? What about the Casino? Is there a specialty restaurant? Anyone wear tuxes on formal nights? Any info or recommendations you could give me would be great. Thanks.

 

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO Robinsilver: I like both cruise lines. Carnival has larger staterooms, food slightly better, 24-hour resturant in addition to room service. Celebrity doesn't have a 24-hour resturant or selve serve soft ice cream or yogurt. Celebrity has an edge on service and no announcements disturbing your rest periods. Carnival has fun for all ages. Celebrity is a little more toned down. As I said, "I like both cruise lines," and I would not hesitate to sail on either one.

[Windy56]

There are vacation consumers who are so in need of affirmation that they must classify 'their' line's passengers as superior to another lines due to table crumming, etc. Even though if one were to evaluate the businesses involved Carnival is infinitely superior to X. After all, Carnival managed its business so well that it (the holding company it funded) acquired all sorts of cruise lines from Cunard to Costa whereas X got so threadbare it ended up bought by RCI some 15 or so years ago. Now the above isn't the sum and substance of all things cruising but if everything is gilt and coin status why not hold to the argument for business sake.

 

Truth be told, the large ship mass market lines including X and Carnival are all more similar than dissimilar. True with passengers. Some of the rudest pax and worst service I've seen in on X. Oh sure, cruiseline styles are a little different. But will the Carnival bashers ever admit that their judgmental attitude is all fashion... style.

 

The point is... for Bruin & Co. there are Crystal-Silverseas-RSS cruisers that look down on cruisers of ANY of the RCI/Carnival/Star lines; we're all low class wannabes.

 

Then there are those that hold that if you actually vacation on a public ship rather than your own or a good friend's staffed giga-yatch, you're **** (but those public ships of Crystal and Silverseas are a good place for the help to vacation; lawyers, CPAs, and brokers must blow off plebian stress somewhere).

 

Ah yes - it never ends. And at the end of the day, the crew resupply the same toilet paper in the loos on all these ships.:D:D

 

Funny, well written and so much truth in it! Thanks for the great post!

[Bridge Maven]

Even though I think the cruise lines are more alike than they are different there is one major difference between them.

 

Celebrity has five courses at dinner - appetizer, soup, salad, entree, and dessert, while Carnival, like most other mass market cruise lines, lumps appetizers, soups, and salads together in a category called starters. Even though you can order multiple "starters" if you want to, it is not the same from a service perspective as having five separate courses. One is not intrinsically better than the other, it is just a matter of personal preference. Some passengers prefer Celebrity's leisurely approach because it is more formal, while others, especially people who don't like to eat all five courses, feel as if they are devoting too much of their evening to dinner. This can also be an issue for people who are cruising with young children that are not use to sitting at a table with nothing to do while waiting between five courses.

[Windy56]

I've cruised RCCL, Princess and Celebrity,twice, and decided to try CCL last month. I don't know why I didn't try Carnival (Pride out of Baltimore) earlier. Well actually, I do know why.

 

Rowdy Ship Myth. I saw one woman drunk, several times and in several venues during the entire week. That was it. I did observe people of all ages engaging in crazy off the wall antics, most of which were organized by the cruise director and his team. I also noticed people of all ages curled up with a good book on lounges or tucked in quiet areas of the ship. I will add one more observation. I have never been approached by so many people offering to take a picture of my husband and I, when they saw one of us taking the other's picture. This rarely happened on other lines.

 

Over-the top Decor Myth. That one is not a myth. It's true. Very loud colours and very garrish ornamentation abounds pretty much everywhere on the ship. On the other hand, the cabin was incredibly spacious and the design excellent for comfort and storage. My husband, who is a big man, had room to twirl, (if he felt like twirling), in the shower without having the curtain stick to him!

 

Bad Entertainment. Another myth. While I missed the opportunity to engage in social dancing on the Pride, they just don't offer a venue for it, I loved the theatre entertainment - four shows with comedians and a ventriloquist act that was hysterical. Again, a theatre that looked like it had been coated in sparkles and sequins, but incredibly comfortable seating and fantastic sight lines.

 

Bad Food. The biggest myth and biggest surprise for me. Dinner in the main dining room, each night, was one of the highlights of the cruise for my husband and I. The service was attentive and fun at the same time. However, the biggest drawing card was the variety, quality and presentation of the food. It was absolutely delicious.

 

Life is full of surprises and CCL was a huge surprise, in terms of what I expected and what I got. While I regret not having tried Carnival earlier in my life, I intend to correct this error by including it in my choices when making future vacation decisions.

[JennAngel9]

Thanks Windy for a great (and non-inflammatory) update. DH and I thought that Carnival's decor was over the top flamboyant... until we sailed NCL-- now it seems almost tame in comparison. Still something to be aware of if you have an aversion to an explosion of bright colors.

 

I think "crazy off the wall antics" sums up the environment that CCL is going for pretty well. However, if CCL starts offering more exotic itineraries on the dates DH and I can travel-- we might just be two of those people quietly curled up with a book somewhere again in the future.