Jump to content

Those of you that repeatedly choose Carnival


biksgirl

Recommended Posts

but have gone on other cruiselines, what is it about Carnival that keeps bringing you back? I'm going on my first Carnival cruise next year (I've only ever been on Royal Caribbean before this) and I'm noticing so many of you who keep coming back to Carnival. Is it the food, service, prices....just curious!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As my husband and I drove home from our last cruise on the Ruby Princess, we talked about the differences between the ships.

 

The decor was very different of course... and the price. It was MUCH more expensive for us to go on Princess vs Carnival. We could have gone on the same itinerary for $800 LESS than what we paid and had the same amount of fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Funny you should ask. I took a two year break from Carnival during which I did 3 RCI cruises. Just off the Inspiration on Monday and I have to say, Carnival continues to do things right. We had chocolates on our pillows every night; the steward made towel animals every night; the Captain's Party still has plenty of free drinks; the cabins are bigger. There really is a lot to like about Carnival.:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had done a Carnival cruise back in 1985 on the Carnivale, and swore I would never do Carnival again....I did several RCI cruises, but in 2003 loved the itinerary of the 8 day Exotic Caribbean on the Spirit. I am going on my 5th Carnival cruise in a row (Splendor in Oct)), because I have been very pleased with the overall product. I won't hesitate to go back to RCI if the price or itinerary is what I'm looking for. I love the Voyager and Radiance class on RCI.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

RCL no longer is full time out of Galveston, and I like to cruise a lot... can't say as I "keep coming back to Carnival" on purpose. I did them in the 1980s and the Big Red Boat, then when I moved here, that was our first cruise, shorty to see if my sister got motion sick ... then we went on to other cruiselines, who all left Galveston.

 

I still like RCL and Princess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As Firefly333 stated, RCCL is only part-time out of Galveston. DH refuses to fly & this port is 4 hours away. First cruise was on RCCL, next was on Carnival. Next 2 planned are on Carnival based on the fact that when we booked, RCCL was $600 higher for the exact same cruise in January. We can do a lot with $600.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

but have gone on other cruiselines, what is it about Carnival that keeps bringing you back? I'm going on my first Carnival cruise next year (I've only ever been on Royal Caribbean before this) and I'm noticing so many of you who keep coming back to Carnival. Is it the food, service, prices....just curious!

 

 

Price is a big one for us, plus I want to be platinum:) We are halfway there!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wasn't that impressed with RCI. I thought the entertainment and service were lacking. If they had an itinerary that Carnival didn't sail, I would book them.

 

NCL was actually our best cruise yet but I can't keep myself out of the specialty dining.

 

On Carnival, I like the prices, rooms, and entertainment. The food- not so much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally, I come back to CCL because they've always treated me very well. As the saying goes: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it..."

While I'm not opposed to trying other lines, for now I'm happy with Carnival. That they seem (in MY experience) to have the best pricing is an added bonus!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love Carnival and have done a dozen (or maybe 13?) cruises with them. I've also sailed Royal Caribbean, Princess, Norwegian, Disney and Celebrity - and enjoyed all of them. Each has things we really like and very little (if anything) we don't. But for fun I'll post what we like better about Carnival over each of the others:

 

Princess: Carnival's balconies are covered and private.

 

Royal Caribbean: Carnival guests are friendlier and we just have more "fun" on Carnival.

 

Disney: Carnival is more adult-oriented with more for us to do.

 

Norwegian: Carnival's food and entertainment are better.

 

Celebrity: Carnival's atmosphere and guests are less stuffy.

 

One woman's experiences only...your opinion may be vastly different...and that's OK!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like to take a break from all cruise lines, including my favorite, Princess, so I switch around frequently. But I continue to cruise on Carnival because I like the cabins, food, entertainment, and price; and I have a lot of fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wasn't that impressed with RCI. I thought the entertainment and service were lacking. If they had an itinerary that Carnival didn't sail, I would book them.

 

 

I agree with this. I was on RCCL in July and overheard many people saying that they thought CCL was more fun, especially at night.

 

Guess that's why they are called THE FUN SHIPS!:p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

NCL was actually our best cruise yet but I can't keep myself out of the specialty dining.

 

On Carnival, I like the prices, rooms, and entertainment. The food- not so much.

 

Curious - tell me about NCL dining would love to hear about the specialty rest.

 

sorry OP - don't mean to hijack but I am looking at an NCL southern exotic and keep hearing bad things about the food.

 

do a food compare if you must ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The least I could do after being so selfish is tell you why I keep coming back -

 

all of the reasons stated above - plus I like the "feel" of the people - it is a friendly atmosphere - every time - very very few people who are not in a happy mood - and those few can be avoided.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Price is a big reason. We can get the same itinerary as RC or Princess for less. The cabins are bigger on CCL and there seems like there is always something to do. We sailed the Grand Princess and the Splendour of the Seas. Both are beautiful ships and I liked the layout of the ships and the decor better than Carnival but the nightlife just was not there. On the GP I went to the Skywalker Lounge several times and it was absolutely dead. On the SOTS we loved the adult only pool, but our bathroom was so small that the only way ginger d could shave her legs was to stand in the shower and put her foot on the commode. Don't get me wrong, even the cruise from hell is better than staying home,;) but so far Carnival has given us more bang for the buck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Curious - tell me about NCL dining would love to hear about the specialty rest.

 

sorry OP - don't mean to hijack but I am looking at an NCL southern exotic and keep hearing bad things about the food.

 

do a food compare if you must ;)

 

I am a meat and potato kinda person. CCL just tries to be too fancy with their food for my tastes. They put to many sauces and spices on their menus. I would like to have regular mashed potatoes not garlic, stuff like that. I eat lunch in port because I find their lunch selection terrible and I don't really like buffets. This obviously doesn't keep me from sailing though.

 

We did the exotic itinerary from NOLA on the Spirit with NCL. I find NCL's food better because it seems fresher. I don't know if it's because everyone doesn't all come at the same time. You can also get 24 hour hot foods at the Blue Lagoon (not just pizza). They have burgers, chicken wings, fish and chips, etc. You can also get mashed potatoes everyday if you desire.

 

They have multiple selections for specialty dining. Cagney's is their steakhouse and was very good on our sailing. We also ate at Teppanyaki (hibachi grill). It was very good as well. We won a visit to the french restaurant but I didn't like it. My husband thought it was okay. We didn't try the Italian or Shogun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Bang for the buck that you get with Carnival is what I like. When I shop for cruises, I compare prices with all the lines. Carnival always costs less compared to Princess, RCL and NCL for the same amount of days. I would rather have the cash then a rock wall that we dont use anyway:eek:

Plus Carnival leaves out of NYC:) a Train ride away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have never had less than a great time with CCL. I guess that's why we keep coming back. Each time we are cruise planning I always look at the other lines and I am sure they do a great job also. The other lines are always priced higher for like itineraries. We would pay the same rate for an inside starteroom for about the same money we pay for a nice,larger balcony on the Carnival ships.

 

Seems like cruisers are a dedicated bunch for the most part. We've cruised enough with Carnival that we have become very comfortable with the ships,boarding etc.

 

The best thing is just being at sea!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anytime.

 

Are you considering the same cruise to Costa Maya, Guatemala, Cozumel, and Belize?

 

No I leave Sept 5th for Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize on the Glory

 

I am looking at NCL for the Samana; Tortola; Antigua; St. Lucia; St. Kitts itinerary.

 

have not been to any of these except Tortoa and I LOVED tortola so ...

 

sounds good!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

price, cabin sizes, casinos and now that im platinum it's hard to look elsewhere...have been on almost all of them and only one i dislike is celebrity and if the price is ever right i would try them again....going on the liberty 10/31:cool:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't say we went the first time, the second was because someone else booked it for us, but I can say why we are going a 3rd time. we did ncl last time and it sucked. didn't like waiting in line for dinner, not as much fun stuff going on, went to sleep hungry one night because room service never answered (I wasn't eating the imo crappy buffet food), the shows weren't as good, it just wasn't as much fun. this time, we said we were ONLY going on carnival.

 

I LOVE the food. and the dessert, wasn't that impressed with NCL. I did enjoy the Italian night, but that's the only thing that sticks out.

 

whereas on carnival...ooo lobster biquse (sp?)...yummm...

 

towel animals

mints

felt more spoiled

same dinning

more fun

yummy deserts

the chocolate doesn't bounce (don't ask).

 

the only plus on ncl was we could bring water/coke BUT we didn't even know that till we got to port so none of us had any.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...

If you are already a Cruise Critic member, please log in with your existing account information or your email address and password.