Main or Riviera?

We have only stayed in balcony cabins, so I am not too familiar with outside cabins or decks 1 and 2. We are planning a cruise with the WHOLE family (12-13 people) and we are thinking of booking outside cabins for various reasons. (connecting cabins, price etc)

Is Main or Riviera more or less desirable? If you have a preference, what is it and why? What are the pros and cons? Does it even matter?

I would love to do a balcony, but I have a 6ft 2 teenage son who likes to clown around a lot, and although I am not saying it would not be safe... a mama worries about clowning around on a balcony while she might be in the casino for a few hours. so.....

We always book the OV on riviera. Which is more desirable? well, it depends on the ship. The ships we have been on, the main is the second level, where as on the legend, our next cruise, the main is above the lobby.

IMO, Riviera is a little bit cheaper, and if you dont mind a flight or two of stairs, or waiting on elevator, nothing at all wrong with this floor. Theres no one below you, so it seems like a quiet floor to me.

We love Riviera deck.

I would love to do a balcony, but I have a 6ft 2 teenage son who likes to clown around a lot, and although I am not saying it would not be safe... a mama worries about clowning around on a balcony while she might be in the casino for a few hours. so.....

 

We always book the OV on riviera. Which is more desirable? well, it depends on the ship. The ships we have been on, the main is the second level, where as on the legend, our next cruise, the main is above the lobby.

 

IMO, Riviera is a little bit cheaper, and if you dont mind a flight or two of stairs, or waiting on elevator, nothing at all wrong with this floor. Theres no one below you, so it seems like a quiet floor to me.

 

We love Riviera deck.

Sorry I should have said, we are looking at the Glory.

That is another reason we are looking at an outside. There will be 4 kids - one who LOVES TO CLIMB ON EVERYTHING, so a balcony room with no adult supervision (because there are no connecting balconies on this ship) is not a good idea! We want a connecting cabin for my step daughter and her family. Adults in one room, kids in the other connecting room. (they have 4 kids so they cannot get one room for all 6 of them.)

I have done both floors and if given the choice it would be Main. Rivera is just too far away from everything. It's Upper or Empress deck for us now. Just don't enjoy being so low when staying on the Rivera deck.

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Is Main or Riviera more or less desirable? If you have a preference, what is it and why? What are the pros and cons? Does it even matter?

...Really no difference between Riviera and Main. We usually stay in an Ocean view cabin on either deck. We've stayed in Balcony cabins before and they are really no big deal. Love the peaceful surroundings of the Riviera Deck, but for a few dollars more, we usually go Main Deck. Keep in mind that the Atrium (glass) elevators only go down as far as the Main deck.

...Whatever deck you choose, have a great cruise!

Riviera Deck would be our choice, In fact it always is. And we have taken a few cruises. On most of the ships including the Glory, the floors are Riviera, Main, then Lobby. Mid ship on Riviera say from cabin 1260's to 1390's are the best for sailing. less movement. The aft (back) part of Riviera there is noticeable engine noise. We always book between 1295-1321. Some times there has been some noise from below as the deck below is a crew deck (they refer to as I-95) but over all Riviera is quiet deck and remember wherever you go on the ship you need to use the elevators or stairs if you wish. Above the Main deck is usually Lobby which has Guest Services , Atrium Bar, both Dining Rooms (with galley in between) and noise can be a factor especially when above your head. This is just our opinion. We are in 1305 on our next sailing on the Carnival Dream. :):)

We have been on both Riviera and Main. We prefer Riviera because it is very quiet and it is closest to where you disembark for the ports...one flight of stairs and you are off of the ship. The downside is that the central glass elevators do not reach down to Riviera deck (they end on Main), so you may have to wait for a little longer for an elevator:)

I also prefer the Riviera Deck because I climb the stairs as my primary source of exercise and that one extra deck means I can enjoy more ice cream, desserts and carbs without the guilt and with little to no weight gain over the length of the cruise. ;)

I have had an OV, midship on Riviera deck on the Liberty. We had no problem with the room, it was very quiet, and we felt no motion there, though seas were calm mostly. Also, it was great when getting off or on the ship in port, we were only one deck down, or one up on return to the ship.

I have also had a porthole room on Main deck, Freedom. Again no complaints, very little noise from the hall, but because it was forward, did hear noise during docking times, also heard the waves hitting the bow, and did hear some overhead noise from the theater up till about 11pm or so. None of these things were a bother to me however. A little more motion here, and probably only because it was a porthole forward room.

I would not hesitate to book a room on either of these decks again.

I haven't really noticed much of a difference between Main and Riviera. One more flight of stairs up and down from R Deck but other than that, not much to tell them apart.

I have a porthole cabin booked on the Breeze and prefer the Riviera deck only because I like having cabins above and below mine. I have had cabins where the theatre, club and even sports deck overhead and had a small issue with noise. I never knew how popular ping pong is and how loud and late people insist on playing! LOL (Never again.)

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I've been on both decks, and not much difference. They are both close to disembarkation for ports -- an advantage for somebody like me who often does very active excursions and comes back to the ship completely worn out. I avoid the elevators to pay for the extra calories that go along with cruising, and it's a long hike up to the Lido!

The main thing to worry about with Main deck would be the galley (aka kitchen). You do not want a room below the galley, as the crew are working hard (and loud) all night long in there. The galley runs from the midship elevators to the aft elevators. If you can get all your rooms below the midship dining room, that would be absolutely perfect. That's my favorite spot of all on this style of ship, no matter what the room is. The dining rooms are carpeted and totally empty all night long. Including glass elevators, you'll have 10 elevators at the forward elevators. And if you can climb 2-3 flights of stairs, you'll never need elevators when they are in high demand.

My most recent cruise was on deck 1, after almost all deck 2 rooms this decade. I do prefer deck 2, as long as I'm not under the galley. I don't mind being under the theater, as I'm usually not going to bed until after 11:30 anyway.

We have only stayed in balcony cabins, so I am not too familiar with outside cabins or decks 1 and 2. We are planning a cruise with the WHOLE family (12-13 people) and we are thinking of booking outside cabins for various reasons. (connecting cabins, price etc)

 

Is Main or Riviera more or less desirable? If you have a preference, what is it and why? What are the pros and cons? Does it even matter?

We were just on the Liberty and in a Rivera deck cabin. We had no problem with the deck or elevators but I would suggest getting a mid ship cabin. We were towards the aft (2444) and the vibrations were horrible at times.

We were just on the Liberty and in a Rivera deck cabin. We had no problem with the deck or elevators but I would suggest getting a mid ship cabin. We were towards the aft (2444) and the vibrations were horrible at times.

LeisaH3067 - we are booked on the Liberty this Aug. We booked 2462 which is an aft cabin with 2 OV windows, kind of an L shaped cabin. We've never stayed this far aft. I know you commented on the noises. Was this constant or more pronouned when in/out of ports? Had you ever stayed this far aft before?

I just looked at the deck plans of the Glory. I would pick Riviera deck. There is no way I would book on Main deck as the next deck is Lobby with a lot of traffic (walking, kitchen, dining rooms, lounge). That could be very, very noisy. Not so good for night time sleeping and afternoon naps.

LeisaH3067 - we are booked on the Liberty this Aug. We booked 2462 which is an aft cabin with 2 OV windows, kind of an L shaped cabin. We've never stayed this far aft. I know you commented on the noises. Was this constant or more pronouned when in/out of ports? Had you ever stayed this far aft before?

I have to make a correction, we were on the Main deck..not the Rivera. The noise and vibration was mostly when pulling into and out of ports. There was one day we were tendering in Belize that it went on ALL afternoon. We always stay in a midship cabin but booking late, plus needing two cabins right next to each other with the kids, this was all that was available. We had no problem with the low deck location, just the cabin.

I just looked at the deck plans of the Glory. I would pick Riviera deck. There is no way I would book on Main deck as the next deck is Lobby with a lot of traffic (walking, kitchen, dining rooms, lounge). That could be very, very noisy. Not so good for night time sleeping and afternoon naps.

I would agree with you in regards to the kitchen (aka galley), but not so much with the other things. If you go to bed early, you won't want to be below the theater. Being below the lobby usually is not a problem at night. And being below the dining room is complete and total PERFECTION!!! Everyone should desire to be below the dining room. It is totally empty all night long. No cooking is being done in the dining room. Even when the dining is going on, you can't really hear anything from it, as it's carpeted. You would have to listen very carefully, and even then, you may not hear anything. Having the dining room above you is so much better than having a stateroom above you. The person upstairs could be noisy, stomping around. But the dining room is empty. I've been below the dining room 3 times, and those have been perfectly silent from above.

So again, I would say that for most people, avoid the galley/kitchen, but all else is probably fine. If you go to bed early, avoid being below the theater & perhaps the lobby. But below the dining room is absolutely perfect.

It's Upper or Empress deck for us now.

I've only ever stayed on the riviera deck in oceanview rooms...I don't mind it. We never had trouble getting an elevator or taking the stairs to get to where we needed to go. I have heard that cabins on higher decks are subject to more noise. Our cabins on riviera decks were always very quiet and never had trouble with noise above or below the cabins.

I believe the lowest midships deck gives the smoothest ride!:D The only time I go higher is if I book a balcony.