Honest description of a Carnival cruise

[momofmeg]

I don't much care for Vegas, even the newer hotels. I think it's because I'm a former smoker (21 years now) and cannot stand the smell. I'm not crazy for garish decor. There are a few nice things in Vegas, some of the shows we've seen have been great. We're just not into crowds like we've experienced in Vegas, the strip is wall to wall people. Although we've heard not this year :cool:.

 

The one Carnival ship we were on was neon lights, bright colors (a whole lot of orange and green), it was more like Downtown seedy Vegas than the Strip. The Atrium area was like being in the middle of an Austin Powers movie set, all plastic and cheesy "sculpture". Every elevator landing had the same pictures and they weren't particularly nice. Other ships we've sailed in the past have beautiful atriums, interesting art, understated elegance and the neon is only seen to the disco bars.

 

I will say that our one experience probably isn't accurate of the whole line and many people love Carnival. Although I don't care to judge the whole line on one experience, we probably will not cruise with them again unless we are a part of a group that is sailing Carnival and we want to be a part of that group.

 

Carnival has changed their smoking policies-on their ships that have enough lounges and entertainment-it does make that issue better. I just want the non smoking lounges to have good entertainment.

 

The older ships ARE horrible in decor-the newer ships are toned down-but still somewhat over the top.

 

For example, Carnival Miracle, the last Carnival ship we cruised (and not a new ship anymore, but it was when we cruised her) had fuchsia colored grapes with gold leaves in the dining room. Now if those grapes had been a silvery- champagne color, they would have been attractive-but the fuchsia was a bit too much.

 

That ship was also decorated in Greek style-it has a lot of copies of masterpieces of nude or semi nude paintings of women. I did not mind that so much-except one was of a girl of around 12 years old-barely in puberty. Masterpiece or not-I found that bad taste.

 

However, as I said- I have been to the caribbean so much- as it is the most convenient for me-I hate flying-but I want to do different ports. Carnival Miracle is now offering an itinerary of 8 days that I would consider.

 

Anyway, I may prefer some lines over others, but at this point, after so many cruises, the ports are more important to me than ship.

[hubofhockey]

Happy Ks - I think when people describe the Farcus "Vegas" design, they mean the neon seedy part of the strip and not the more elegant hotels.

 

Carnival is the most popular cruiseline and that is for good reason. The line brought cruising to the masses and they became very profitable for doing that. They are family friendly in that they have very good kids clubs and very good pricing. They have established that very large niche in the market. If a picture is worth a thousand words, the photo I found below on the internet is of the crowded pool area on the Carnival Liberty. This is not for everybody. I enjoyed my Carnival cruises. But I have since decided that being part of something like this is not something I prefer on my vacations. My last sea day on my last Carnival cruise was spent for the most part on my balcony. I couldn't get a lounge chair and just did not want to be part of this type of scene.

 

[Cuizer2]

Can anyone tell me about your experience on a Carnival cruise. We see some good deals on them in comparison to other lines, but I always heard that they were the "bottom of the barrel" in the cruise pecking order and never considered taking one.

 

To be honest, kids are cool, but we have visions of hordes of screaming kids all over and a ship with a decor like day care. (flame suit is on)

 

I offer you the reviews I wrote for my last three Carnival cruises ...

 

Carnival Glory - April 2006 ...

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=18296

 

Carnival Paradise - July 2009 ...

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=45109

 

Carnival Victory - August 2009 ...

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=45811

[Bonnie J.]

We are going on the Glory Saturday. We call the main pools and hot tub the 'Pea Pools'! because of all the kids in them!! So, we only go in the ones in the stern (back). These are adults only and I have seen babies/kids removed from the pool & hot tubs back there. There is also a roof that closes every night at 6PM and is closed if its raining.

You will find somebody, on every ship. who hates that ship! Go and make up your own mind!

CRUISE LINES WE'VE BEEN ON :

Dolphin

Commodore

Regency

Premier

Cape Canaveral Cruises

Carnival

Royal Caribean

Celebrity

NCL

Princess

Costa

[sail7seas]

 

Princess does offer simliar ports on a 10 day itinerary. If I can get a good price on Princess (and I go by price per day-NOT per cruise) I will go up to $30 a day more-for Princess (or Celebrity or HAL)-but when it gets to be more than that-it is not worth it to me-just to have a nicer line with the better itinerary. I fit is that much more per day,then I will consider the Carnival 8 day or the NCL 9 day southern caribbean ports cruises.

 

What is the difference price per day/price per cruise?

 

Don't you always divide the number of days into the total price to get your price per cruise? That will always be a constant.

 

If the cruise is ten days and costs $1,000, it is $100 per day.

 

If the cruise is seven days and costs, $700, it is $100 per day.

 

The comparison is exact.

[blindrid]

Carnival has Anytime Dining on several (most?) of their ships now. It is supposed to go fleetwide soon.

 

Thanks, I always get confused when I have to keep track of which one does what. When they go fleetwide, I'll certainly put them on my list. Thank you.

[Snowbuddy]

What is the difference price per day/price per cruise?

 

Don't you always divide the number of days into the total price to get your price per cruise? That will always be a constant.

 

If the cruise is ten days and costs $1,000, it is $100 per day.

 

If the cruise is seven days and costs, $700, it is $100 per day.

 

The comparison is exact.

 

the example you used makes them even...I think momofmeg is saying that if she were comparing a $1200 10-day ($120/day) or an $680 8-day ($85/day), that would be her basis for making a decision (not saying those are realistic numbers or not, just trying to make a point). She said (I think, if I remember correctly) that a greater-than-$30/day difference is her determining factor, so she would be willing to do either a $1200 10-day or a $720 8-day, but if the 8-day were only $680, she would choose that one, since it is more than $30/day cheaper, regardless of the price difference for the TOTAL cruise. does any of that make sense? it did in my head, but it doesn't always translate into type that way, lol!

[blindrid]

Carnival has changed their smoking policies-on their ships that have enough lounges and entertainment-it does make that issue better. I just want the non smoking lounges to have good entertainment.

 

The older ships ARE horrible in decor-the newer ships are toned down-but still somewhat over the top.

 

For example, Carnival Miracle, the last Carnival ship we cruised (and not a new ship anymore, but it was when we cruised her) had fuchsia colored grapes with gold leaves in the dining room. Now if those grapes had been a silvery- champagne color, they would have been attractive-but the fuchsia was a bit too much.

 

That ship was also decorated in Greek style-it has a lot of copies of masterpieces of nude or semi nude paintings of women. I did not mind that so much-except one was of a girl of around 12 years old-barely in puberty. Masterpiece or not-I found that bad taste.

 

However, as I said- I have been to the caribbean so much- as it is the most convenient for me-I hate flying-but I want to do different ports. Carnival Miracle is now offering an itinerary of 8 days that I would consider.

 

Anyway, I may prefer some lines over others, but at this point, after so many cruises, the ports are more important to me than ship.

 

Cruise lines can't win.

 

We, the guest, now want to be interior designers, pick the colors and be an art critic (what's fuchsia anway?) ;) .

 

I think that the ship makes the experience and typically research the ship first, while the ports are an important second, not that much time is actually spent in port so it is second on my list. In reality, my gotta list includes sun, warm and cold beer.

[momofmeg]

Cruise lines can't win.

 

We, the guest, now want to be interior designers, pick the colors and be an art critic (what's fuchsia anway?) ;) .

 

I think that the ship makes the experience and typically research the ship first, while the ports are an important second, not that much time is actually spent in port so it is second on my list. In reality, my gotta list includes sun, warm and cold beer.

 

 

Fuchsia is a bright pink with purple undertones. My reply also was to KS whose main complaint was the decor of Carnival-I said-oh well- (read my previous post that she quoted) that did not matter much to me-I was just giving her specifics because it matters to her.

 

As far as being an art critic, nope-not me- but I did find it poor taste to have paintings of a semi nude 12 year old plastered in several areas of the ship. Something tells me now-that would be illegal today-to use as a nude model a girl not of legal age. And yes, that did bother me much more than fuchsia grapes or loud orange colors (KS's complaint on decor) on the older ships.

 

But I also said, I would cruise that ship again-for an 8 day itinerary-so why are YOU complaining about my post?

[Cruzaholic41]

Can anyone tell me about your experience on a Carnival cruise. We see some good deals on them in comparison to other lines, but I always heard that they were the "bottom of the barrel" in the cruise pecking order and never considered taking one.

 

To be honest, kids are cool, but we have visions of hordes of screaming kids all over and a ship with a decor like day care. (flame suit is on)

 

I will give you my honest opinion of Carnival. Bear in mind that honesty gets people flamed by cheerleaders, but oh well.

 

I have only been on one Carnival cruise that fit the complete Carnival stereotype of being loaded with hard-core party people. That was several years ago on the Ecstasy. I was very turned off by the entire organization and I have yet to be among that rowdy of a group again. However, I know from experieince that one ship and one cruise does not always accuratly represent the entire cruise line.

 

I have since cruised other Carnival ships. The cruises have been great. My biggest problem is the design of their ships. Yes, they are number one in gaudiness, but by design, I mean more than that. For example, the Carnival Spirit felt very closed in and closterphobic. I like the wide open pool decks on most ships. On Spirit, there were very few chairs that were not shaded.

 

There is a sameness to all their ships. It is the same basic layout on all their ships. I could not imagine cruising over and over again with Carnival because, to me, it would get boring. I like the vast differences in ship classes, that lines like HAL, Celebrity, and RCI offer.

 

Getting off the ship comparisons, I find service, food, and entertainment to be "cruise standard," meaning, in general, no better and no worse than comparable cruise lines.

 

Bottom line....if the price and itinerary are right, book that Carnival cruise.

[julieanne]

I will give you my honest opinion of Carnival. Bear in mind that honesty gets people flamed by cheerleaders, but oh well.

 

I have only been on one Carnival cruise that fit the complete Carnival stereotype of being loaded with hard-core party people. That was several years ago on the Ecstasy. I was very turned off by the entire organization and I have yet to be among that rowdy of a group again. However, I know from experieince that one ship and one cruise does not always accuratly represent the entire cruise line.

 

I have since cruised other Carnival ships. The cruises have been great. My biggest problem is the design of their ships. Yes, they are number one in gaudiness, but by design, I mean more than that. For example, the Carnival Spirit felt very closed in and closterphobic. I like the wide open pool decks on most ships. On Spirit, there were very few chairs that were not shaded.

 

There is a sameness to all their ships. It is the same basic layout on all their ships. I could not imagine cruising over and over again with Carnival because, to me, it would get boring. I like the vast differences in ship classes, that lines like HAL, Celebrity, and RCI offer.

 

Getting off the ship comparisons, I find service, food, and entertainment to be "cruise standard," meaning, in general, no better and no worse than comparable cruise lines.

 

Bottom line....if the price and itinerary are right, book that Carnival cruise.[/quote

Couldn't agree with you more. I could care less about the decor, cabin size, etc.......They have some of the roomiest cabins afloat. Food was better than my last RCCL cruise and ten notches above NCL (which, in my book, wins the worst service/food award for a cruise line but, I still booked another with them so no flaming). If the price/itinerary are what I want, that's where I am going, period........

[momofmeg]

the example you used makes them even...I think momofmeg is saying that if she were comparing a $1200 10-day ($120/day) or an $680 8-day ($85/day), that would be her basis for making a decision (not saying those are realistic numbers or not, just trying to make a point). She said (I think, if I remember correctly) that a greater-than-$30/day difference is her determining factor, so she would be willing to do either a $1200 10-day or a $720 8-day, but if the 8-day were only $680, she would choose that one, since it is more than $30/day cheaper, regardless of the price difference for the TOTAL cruise. does any of that make sense? it did in my head, but it doesn't always translate into type that way, lol!

 

You got it! I also mean similar categories of staterooms. I saw recently, for example, cruises on HAL Eurodam, NCL Pearl, and I think Crown Princess- 7 day-the itineraries were simliar-perhaps one port different. Now this was the same week-lowest category balcony HAL was $895-Princess was $850 and NCL was $750 per person. For that little of a difference, I would pick HAL. However, Celerity Solstice was $1100-and although I love Celebrity-I found that too much a difference over the Pearl, and I like HAL just as well.

Now, the Carnival ship was $695, (I forget which one it was) so I would still pick HAL as the HAL was within that $30 difference.

 

 

Now to the person who posted the Carnival pic of the lido-that looked like my Mariner of the seas cruise I took 4 years ago. (3700 PAX) And my cruise on the Pearl (2800 PAX) was only slightly better than that.

 

One thing about Princess Grand class ships, they have plenty of pools/lido area. That is one good thing about that class. I don't really like ships that hold 3000 plus PAX, but at least they have the pool areas for their PAX.

[sjcruiser]

I've done a 5 day on the Imagination and a 7 day on the Glory. On both cruises everyone was well behaved and Carnival DID NOT live up to it's party ship reputation. There was not alot of kids onboard on either cruise, and the kids that were on board were in their own world with the onboard activities. The rooms, service and food were great. I think Carnival gets a bad rep for being a bad line from problems of previous years, and cruise snobs! It's a great line for everyone.

[tea4ular]

One thing I say often about Carnival Cruise Lines is it isn't stuffy. I find there's a more 'spirited' group of sailors, and I think it's more laid back because of that. I have never had poor service on a Carnival Cruise (cannot say the same for 2 other lines), I have found the ships to be fun when I needed them to be fun, found quiet when I needed quiet, and for the price, I have yet to find another vacation that offers the same value: seeing different places in a week, only having to unpack and pack once (well twice, if you consider the initial packing), a room with 'maid' service (some with an ocean view or ocean view balcony!), all my meals (including room service), a wide variety of entertainment at all hours, 'babysitting' services that truly entertained my daughter when she was at that age where 'I' bored her to tears (Camp Carnival), pools, gyms, saunas, steam rooms, an opportunity to dress up once or twice & the rest of time be 'me', and maybe have a chat or two with other passengers if I'm in the mood.

 

What did I leave out? Nothing.

 

As far as I'm concerned, it can't be beat. Unless I have an abundance of money. Which I don't.

[tinamaria_1999]

I'd like to add one more thing that hasnt been mentioned. The bedding upgrades on Carnival are absolutely fabulous! My husband and I are terrified of trying another cruise line because of this factor alone...LOL.

 

Nothing better than a dreamy comfy soft delicious bed to lay your head down at night and dream of tomorrow's events.

 

(and the size of the cabins are bigger than any other cruise line we have investigated...another important factor for us).

 

Cruising again in 10 days.....YIPPEE!!!! :D

[RICKnVICK]

We just got off the Ecstasy in mid-august. We were told there were 900 guests under the age of 19! We saw no problems, people just had a great time. There seemed to be something for everyone and the younger passengers seemed to really enjoy the supervised activities in Camp Carnival. There were people partying on the pool deck, but you could go up to the top or towards the back of the ship and get great sun and peace and quiet. I agree with the other poster ( I don't remember which one) that said they feel that Carnival continues to get a bad rap because of the past. This was our 3rd cruise with Carnival and we have always had a great time. In fact, we enjoyed it so much, we are going back in January! Just get out there and have a great cruise!

 

Vicki

[Happy ks]

Getting off the ship comparisons, I find service, food, and entertainment to be "cruise standard," meaning, in general, no better and no worse than comparable cruise lines.

 

 

I love that "cruise standard". While I wasn't crazy for our one and only Carnival cruise, I have to say that overall, most mass market lines are all "cruise standard".

 

I read on the boards all the time people comparing food, service, entertainment and to be honest with you, it is fairly comparable across the board. Even QM2, which is held in such high esteem by many, fit into the "cruise standard" for us. We have cruised on RCI, NCL, Celebrity, Cunard, Disney, Carnival and one other defunct line and found service to be similar on all.

 

We have found the food to be better/worse on some cruises...even when on the same ship/itinerary. The service to be better/worse on that same itinerary. It all depends on the particular person, some servers, cooks, cabin attendants are just better than others. While we love great service onboard, we don't have to be entertained by them, other people think the service is bad if they meet up with quiet and efficient service.

 

For all of us, our expectations can be quite different and none of us are wrong.

[momofmeg]

I'd like to add one more thing that hasnt been mentioned. The bedding upgrades on Carnival are absolutely fabulous! My husband and I are terrified of trying another cruise line because of this factor alone...LOL.

 

Nothing better than a dreamy comfy soft delicious bed to lay your head down at night and dream of tomorrow's events.

 

(and the size of the cabins are bigger than any other cruise line we have investigated...another important factor for us).

 

Cruising again in 10 days.....YIPPEE!!!! :D

 

We had the upgraded bedding on HAL Westerdam and NCL Pearl both last year-it seems to me all the newer ships and the ships that have been remoldeled-all have the great bedding-no matter the line.

[jpg1747]

I cruise solo and have to deal with the dreaded single supplement. Carnival is the ony line that has the 1A cabins which drastically reduces the amount of this supplement. For every cruise I plan, I price compare and Carnival always ends up substantially cheaper. The only time I will go elsewhere is if it's an itinerary that Carnival doesn't do. It took me a long time to try Carnival and now I'm most definitely glad I did.

[patterson3]

I've been on one Carnival cruise and based on that 1 cruise here's my $0.02:

 

Positives: the food to be excellent, the service was very good, albiet less formal (so that can be good or bad depending on what you're looking for), the cabin was large and the entertainment was very good. (and of course the price didn't break the bank)

 

Negatives: I wasn't a fan of the loud decor (but again, based on what you're looking for that could be a positive or negative), wasn't a fan of the frequent announcements onboard, and the atmosphere was very "boisterous" (than again, we cruised during spring break, so that's our own fault), and during formal night we saw several people completely ignore the dress code and wear shorts and t-shirts.

 

For me, I had a great time and would definitely take another cruise with Carnival, but having said that my choice would be to pay more and sail Celebrity, Princess or HAL. But if you go in with the right attitude, and are not expecting the QM2 when you step aboard there's no reason you shouldn't have a wonderful time!

[Greselda]

My DH and I are big fans of Carnival and mostly cruise with them, but we have also cruised on RCCL; Celebrity; and Princess and have also like them very much too;)

 

For us the ship is the destination, so for us Carnival has that edge with their larger cabins, and great food. We have never been bothered that much with their announcements during the day, and actually have to open our cabin door to hear them if we are in the cabin. We have met many wonderful fellow cruisers on Carnival, as well as on our other cruise line adventures, so no complaints there.

 

As to Carnival having a "reputation" as the party ships, well that could be a good thing, right?? A couple of other things.....on RCCL...lovely ship, but the food was just ok, and on Celebrity...pretty decor and good food, but they rolled up the "sidewalks" about 9pm.......we love to dance:p

 

No matter what line we are on at the time, we love to cruise and we are very aware of how lucky we are to be able to cruise when and where we want to......so, it is all good for us:D

 

Our upcoming cruise this November will be on Sapphire Princess and we are very excited to be back on Princess, and then we will be back on Carnival on the Conquest in Oct, 2010...so there ya go!!!!

[orianagal]

No line is as good or as bad as its loyalists and/or critics would have you believe. We sailed once with Celebrity, then two on Carnival, and we did HAL in June. HAL was nowhere near as "premium" as the loyalists profess it to be, just as Carnival is not anything close to "bottom of the barrel".

 

We've met some fabulous people on our Carnival cruises, from all walks of life. The entertainment is top notch. The food is quite good. I've found the service to be excellent, from the dining staff on down to the plumber who fixed our clogged shower drain! I think the ships are beautiful, although some of the decor does cause some head scratching. The staterooms are the roomiest we've seen. Truthfully, I can't think of anything that I thought was below par on either of our Carnival cruises, and I can't wait to cruise with them again in December, on the Splendor! :D

 

 

Well....Im a loyalist HAL ......look it depends on what you are after

the big tacky glitzy Carnival doesnt suit me

 

The refined Club like atmosphere of HAL suits me

RCCL are a right across the board excellent choice

 

I agree the Carnival ships are very nice but I came across some really poor traits on my Carnival cruise which put me off for life.

 

Poor dining room service Staff ..bossy entertainment staff who loved themselves

...ridiculous crew spies placed in the dining room...(see another of my posts)

too many passengers out and about swearing and drunk all over the place and the main focus being the Casino right smack bang in the middle of the glitz.

 

I can say the hardest workers on my cruise were the Pizza guys

and the Pizzas were good.

I can also say the cabins were very roomy and the stewards excellent

 

HOWEVER...If you want to be treated like you are on a real cruiseship for the experience of a cruising interest go HAL Celebrity RCCL PRINCESS really great companies.

 

Good Luck;)

[testarc]

Just sailed once, huge disappointment: the food, the service, the entertainment.... But that's just me. Some enjoy it, even or especially hairy back contest.

[orianagal]

I cruise solo and have to deal with the dreaded single supplement. Carnival is the ony line that has the 1A cabins which drastically reduces the amount of this supplement. For every cruise I plan, I price compare and Carnival always ends up substantially cheaper. The only time I will go elsewhere is if it's an itinerary that Carnival doesn't do. It took me a long time to try Carnival and now I'm most definitely glad I did.

 

 

yes I agree wih you the 1A grade looks quite economical and I would consider (despite my harsher comments!) taking a cruise for a good price

How did you find that cabin....was it acceptable? Roomy?

I wld consider the 5 day out of Charleston or Mobile to Mexico...looks like I will be out at the Pizza deck again though !!:D

 

It is a real shame that they stopped share cabins on most lines

it did help solo travellers when the price was reduced...I think HAL still does shares.

 

cheers happy sailings

[orianagal]

I love that "cruise standard". While I wasn't crazy for our one and only Carnival cruise, I have to say that overall, most mass market lines are all "cruise standard".

 

I read on the boards all the time people comparing food, service, entertainment and to be honest with you, it is fairly comparable across the board. Even QM2, which is held in such high esteem by many, fit into the "cruise standard" for us. We have cruised on RCI, NCL, Celebrity, Cunard, Disney, Carnival and one other defunct line and found service to be similar on all.

 

We have found the food to be better/worse on some cruises...even when on the same ship/itinerary. The service to be better/worse on that same itinerary. It all depends on the particular person, some servers, cooks, cabin attendants are just better than others. While we love great service onboard, we don't have to be entertained by them, other people think the service is bad if they meet up with quiet and efficient service.

 

For all of us, our expectations can be quite different and none of us are wrong.

 

Yes,...thats because the Carnival Corp took hold of most of those liners under their wing and the standards all either dropped or became 'familiar' esp CUNARD who used to be way above anyones standards and when the Carnival Corp took it say QE2 turned it into cr--. The food service for example was shocking, a waiter as I recall, even spilled gravy all down my friends dress in the dining room.

Anyway, whats one to do but keep on cruising.....:confused: