Is the "I sail Carnival because it's cheap" meme your deciding factor?

We chose our last Carnival cruise because it was a good price for a suite and the itinerary. Not loyal to any although prefer HAL. Would certainly choose Carnival over Princess and RCL. Whichever you go on they are all pretty much the same. Don't care if one line has longer buffet hours or better pizza etc. As I am not a big eater.

we tend to take more land based holidays now.

Does Carnival pull you in because of its price points? And are the number of cruises more enjoyable than a cruise where you can "frill up" your vacation?

While the cruise fares with CC are cheaper, that was not our deciding factor when we chose CC for our first cruise. I was really wanting to cruise with RCI. However, having a port within driving distance is what sealed the deal for us.

Price is always a consideration. As a solo, Carnival used to offer 150% fares. The last few years however, the solo rate is 200%, which led me to consider other lines.

Twice I was able to sail Celebrity Summit out of San Juan for less than Carnival. Some NCL ships offer studio fares that beat Carnival and other NCL ships offer special solo rates that can be less than a studio.

Had I not branched out and tried other lines, I would have missed some great female singers on Celebrity, fantastic dining in Celebrity MDR that makes Carnival's MDR seem like a cafeteria, Cirque and Blue Man Group on NCL, Disney Dreams sailaway baby lamb chops, jumbo shrimp and Alaskan crab legs.

I don't drink alcohol, but I have a hard time figuring out why cruisers would pay a thousand dollars for Cheers when they can get free drink packages on other lines.

Although I prefer RCI ships, Carnival Gets me to Cruise with them so much because of 3 things, in order:

1.Better prices than RCI

2.Like the $49 deposit sales they've had in the last year,

3.Ports such as Jacksonville and Port Canaveral are a

reasonable drive from here in Savannah Georgia.

I've gotten incredibly good deals on many lines, but I've always had the most fun on Carnival, which keeps me coming back.

I have gravitated back to Carnival because of price. I always had to have a balcony in the past and thought there was no way I would enjoy anything less. I was wrong. I know - shocker!

 

While Celebrity remains my favorite (the only other line I have been on besides Carnival), I am now in the mentality that I would rather go more often and in a lesser room than splurge once a year. It was different when the boys were little as that was our yearly family vacation. Now with them grown and bored of cruising, I find I enjoy sailing solo or with my mom or girlfriends. DH is pretty much over the whole cruise thing now too. So I am just as happy to stay in a cheap inside or OV. I will never sail in a balcony on Carnival as long as they have the regular doors. I am one that enjoys relaxing and hearing the neighbors letting their balcony door slam rattling the wall directly behind my head infuriates me. So it's insides and OVs for me now. Celebrity when I go back will prob be a balcony as I do enjoy them and they have sliding glass doors.

 

So for me it's the opposite. I've been to just about all the ports and sometimes don't even get off the ship. I go for the ship, the people, and to relax for the week. I don't have to answer the phone, let the dog out, cook, clean, or drive anywhere. I can take a nap if I want. I cruise for the open ocean and to recharge. Get me away from real life as much as possible, please.

You and I should meet. I am moving to VA in a few months and I love cruising more than my husband. He comes with us as a family, but he just doesn't love it as much as I do.

Two words: Celiac Disease.

My wife has it and while we would consider other lines, the gluten free dining reviews aren't encouraging enough to stray from CCL.

While her food options are limited and there have been a couple of oopsies on CCL, we don't want to risk the devil we know for the devil we don't...

So far we have cruised Carnival and Royal about 20 times each, Holland three times and Celebrity once. Carnival got us back this time with its 10 night Journeys cruise. Price was great but the opportunity to check out three new ports was a bigger draw. We love Royal's ships but find the convenience of Carnival makes it a good choice for us, especially when taking the whole family.

Holland is a little too staid for me, though DH loves it. Celebrity had a lot of positives but no nightlife was a deal killer for me.

Researching cruise options is part of the fun for me. With two kids and we may allow them to bring a friend in the future, cost is a big factor. RC seems 20-30% more but I really like the better quality RC offers. For the bang for the buck you can't beat CCL.

I also think CCL has decent food but predictable as someone else mentioned and their service is great. Lots of stuff for kids. As others mentioned I like the relaxed atmosphere on CCL as even on formal night, the dress for men ranges from tuxes to guys in nice jeans and a button down but most fall somewhere in between (slacks/khakis, dress shirt some with sport coat).

The life and the fun on a Carnival cruise what makes us pick them.

If we're looking for an uptempo cruise, they (and NCL) are the ones we pick first.

If we're looking for a tranquil cruise, we'll look to other lines (Princess and HAL).

We typically sail in balconies or windows, the prices aren't that much different among the mass market lines unless there's a promo or a great deal from a TA. The dollars saved/spent per day aren't the deciding factor.

We pick our cruises by destination and the experience we're hoping for while taking the cruise.

We cruise for many reasons and those reasons can vary cruise to cruise. When we have picked Carnival, price was never the deciding factor. Vacation time is too precious for us to just go with the cheapest option.

We sail Carnival mainly when "the younger generation" goes with us because they truly like the activities that are geared to them. Otherwise we tend to choose other Cruiselines when our group is "adult".

 

Personally I would rather limit my number of cruises, even on Carnival, and choose more expensive options: balcony rooms, money for the steak house, money for food and drink extras, more exotic shore excursions, longer cruises, interesting departure ports where we can extend our vacation.

 

Does Carnival pull you in because of its price points? And are the number of cruises more enjoyable than a cruise where you can "frill up" your vacation?

We cruise it because it floats in salt water.

For the most part carnival is the cheapest around. If you were to pick any 10 random dates and compare them to similar rooms on say celebrity or Royal, I guarantee you 8/10 times carnival would be cheaper.

We've done carnival because we have a child, it's cheaper and before we didn't mind the atmosphere.

I think carnival for me is starting to tire me out though.

Food is ok and some of the people on the ship are trashy.

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I like Carnival because of the itineraries. I'd love to sail Allure of the Seas again, but we don't like western and I'm not sailing the eastern itinerary again because I borderline refuse to waste my time in Nassau. That's what we love about Carnival- the itineraries are different and if you want to sail a specific ship, chances are there's an itinerary you'll like. We've sailed Breeze twice, totally different itineraries.

We prefer RC ships, but Carnival crew/atmosphere. Price is comparable, I think you just have to do your research. I don't personally think they're way cheaper all the time.

We generally always do land vacations (generally in Hawaii) but we occasionally will cruise to break things up. Every time we decide to cruise we scour all of the available cruises looking at their ports, amenities and cost. Each and every time, Carnival has easily beat out all of the competitors. I keep trying to select a different cruise line and I can never seem to justify the higher costs with what I'm getting in return.

The price has nothing to do with it for us. We occasionally cruise on Carnival because the Port of Charleston is extremely convenient for us. :)

I prefer not having to fly to Florida (even though that gives the most options) so for me it always goes:

Port > Schedule > Ship > Ports > Price

:)

For the most part carnival is the cheapest around. If you were to pick any 10 random dates and compare them to similar rooms on say celebrity or Royal, I guarantee you 8/10 times carnival would be cheaper.

 

We've done carnival because we have a child, it's cheaper and before we didn't mind the atmosphere.

 

I think carnival for me is starting to tire me out though.

 

Food is ok and some of the people on the ship are trashy.

 

 

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please define trashy

The price is huge for us. Plus, Carnival is the only cruise line that sends me casino offers - so they take an already reasonable experience and make it downright cheap or even free for me. It's hard to say no.

Having sailed a few other cruise lines, I prefer their product. But not enough to pay the sometimes huge price difference.

I know someone else said people on Carnival can be "trashy" - while I think that's a harsh word, I would say that the demographic tends to be a little more....party oriented? It's pretty easy to escape though, if that's not your style.

Maybe shop around a bit. We took a cruise on Celebrity this past Oct and it was way cheaper than upcoming Carnival Breeze cruise. We scored free drinks, gratuities and $300.00 on board credit. I allude Carnival to Southwest Airlines, great company but NOT always cheaper! Until we did Celebrity we were die hard carnival people, now we have kids so makes a difference.

I know that many of these "sales" are bogus, and with some you actually end up paying more than without them, but we got a killer deal for June 2016 using RC's BOGO sale along with a past guest discount. For our family of 4, our cruise fare is $808 for a 5 night Western Caribbean cruise from Miami! In comparison, Carnival Sensation is sailing on the same exact day, also out of Miami on a 5 night itinerary for $1,667. So this is one time when a sale truly lived up to its hype, at least for us. 🤗

We too got a great deal on RCCL with the BOGO + our Diamond discount. We were originally booked into an OS on the Carnival Breeze, but got a better deal on a Grand Suite on RCCL Liberty of the Seas on the exact same date. With all the RCCL suite perks it makes RCCL look even better.

I'd say the word "value" is more accurate. I've always had excellent service, great itineraries and good prices.

I haven't read all of the thread. Not sure of the point. But our next cruise vacation, like all in the past, will run us about 5K if not more by the time you add in all of the costs. I haven't cruised any other line yet - but gladly would and look forward to doing it one day. I have seen cheaper prices elsewhere but haven't gone away from Carnival yet. Carnival is not always the cheapest.

Cruising in general is affordable to us. Not cheap. We plan, then save, then go, and enjoy. Then come back and do it all over again. For a "cheap" vacation, we do weekend trips.

Combination of prices and itenerary.....but we also have family that works on Carnival!

Cruising in general is affordable to us. Not cheap. We plan, then save, then go, and enjoy. Then come back and do it all over again. For a "cheap" vacation, we do weekend trips.

well said