Only for those of you who dislike Carnival...

I sailed them once many years ago, and it wasn't for me.

Came back and have been loyal ever since.

Love my RCI

Been sailing with them since my mom took me back when I was an elementary school kid.

Now I'm grown up with kids of my own...

We are within driving distance to New Orleans and sailed the Serenade out of there last year. It was my first time ever driving to a ship instead of flying.

With 2 little elementary school age girls, in our family of four we saved a fortune in airfare, and it was so much easier to pack and get the girls to the ship.

RCI is no longer in New Orleans, so we're planning our cruise for 2016 and planning to fly to Florida as we have every year since I met my wife.

Airfare for the four of us is running about $1700, plus a Junior Suite is running around $61-6200 on the 3 ships we're considering.

We can do a Grand Suite on Carnival Dream, and drive to the port for $3300, total.

I love my Royal Caribbean cruise line but at a 4800 difference, I'm starting to feel stupid.

Sure, many people sail both and say they're ok, but I HATED the smoke filled, vegas-esque, party ship.

My TA and many friends tell me it's not bad, try another ship.

At this savings I'm really tempted to listen

Would you be? What should a this RCCL Lover do?

You do what you can afford. Period. Carnival is not THAT bad. They are more strict on their smoking rules. Designated areas only. Party ship? Only if you are doing a 3 or 4 day. The others are just fine.

Live within your means. Honestly......Carnival can be a lot of fun and I think your kids will have a great time. They have a wonderful children's program.

I have not sailed Carnival in 30 years, love RCCL, but had a friend who just sailed them since it was so much cheaper than RCCL and they preferred RCCL but really enjoyed the Carnival cruise, I would consider them again for the right price and suite. I am open to any line other than NCL

Champagne,

It's not that we can't afford RCI, I wouldn't go on any trip we can't afford.

I'm just questioning whether its a wise choice.

Am I so loyal that I'm blinded by what should be a no brainer?

Champagne,

 

It's not that we can't afford RCI, I wouldn't go on any trip we can't afford.

 

I'm just questioning whether its a wise choice.

 

Am I so loyal that I'm blinded by what should be a no brainer?

I am one of those people that is not loyal to any ONE cruise line. Yes...I love Royal, but I like other lines also. I like to mix it up. They are all different and all the same....if that makes any sense. My bucket list includes Holland and Cunard when we retire. I always wonder why people only stick to one cruise line. Makes no sense to me at all....but hey, different strokes for different folks. I want it all. We have never had a problem with Carnival. Not one. Never had a problem with NCL, RCCL or Celebrity. Love them all....and will continue to try different lines. If you have the option of saving that much money, I would definitely go for it. But hey....that's just me:D

I'm looking at Carnivals Christmas sailing out of NO currently. So far the cruises on Royal that week are crazy so we might give them a try. Also looking at the Breakaway and Getaway over Christmas.

I'm looking at Carnivals Christmas sailing out of NO currently. So far the cruises on Royal that week are crazy so we might give them a try. Also looking at the Breakaway and Getaway over Christmas.

Just my 2 cents. We went on the Breakaway and loved it. What a great staff. Amazing ship..wonderful staff...on and on....

Carnival's smoking policy has changed over the years like Royals. The spot everyone most complains about now? The casino. Sound familiar? lol!

I did a 4 nighter in April, and it did feel different in my opinion than previous 5, 7, and 8 nighters. A different crowd for sure. I would probably do one again under the same circumstances (it was to join a large group of friends from all over) but I wouldn't ever book one like that again as my family vacation or romantic get away.

Other than that, my experiences on Carnival have not been substantially different than my experiences on Royal. From service to food quality to party atmosphere. We usually find the party no matter what ship we're on ;-)

Just my 2 cents. We went on the Breakaway and loved it. What a great staff. Amazing ship..wonderful staff...on and on....

Thanks. Figured that if I'm going to try a new line then it's going to be on one of their newer ships since we are travelling with our teens. Just can't see spending $6000 - $8000 on Royal to sail the week of Christmas.

It's what you can afford. I've done a couple on Carnival and there not that bad. My only caution is if you go when school is out there will be a ton of kids, they are known as family friendly. Go with the expectation of having a good time and you will.

Go over to the Carnival board. A CC fave, Gambee, is in the midst of a Carnival review right now, and on one of their oldest ships without the 2.0 upgrades. I have no opinion on Carnival vs Royal as I've never sailed Carnival. But I have been curious. Gambee isn't loyal to any one line. And his review includes pics from their kids area as well so that may be of use to you. FWIW, I would definitely not hesitate to go for a similar product for half the cost. I'm strongly considering CCL for my next cruise.

I'm not a Carnival fan...acutally Princess is my choice, but have sailed several RCCL ships over the past 2 years - Oasis, Liberty (back2back) and now Oasis again in September.

Sailed on the dream last November - with family... it was fine. Fun, loved the "red solo cup" dining room! We enjoyed it. I think it is all what you make of it! They are the "FUN" ships!

Carnival is not smoked filled by far but if you want to spend your money and feel good about what you like instead of what you are abravise of spend it. Why not test it out and save some.... You might just like it a little ;)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Forums mobile app

I cut my cruising teeth on Carnival. I loved every cruise. I prefer Celebrity these days only because the loyalty program and now the suite program is so much nicer than Carnival's. But I loved the food on Carnival and we always had a great time. You will too!

...I am on the Canadian prairies so cruising is *always* an expensive option - it's not a budget holiday for us. I would prefer RC if the difference is less than $1K - with a difference of $4800 - I'd be on Carnival in a heartbeat.

I don't love Carnival - but I could work with it if I had to.

OP, I'm kind of confused by your first post. You said, about Carnival:

"I sailed them once many years ago, and it wasn't for me. Came back and have been loyal ever since."

So I'm confused...if you came back to Carnival and have been loyal ever since, then you like them? :confused:

And I'm not sure why you would go with the subject line "Only for those of you who dislike Carnival..." and expect to get anything but anti-Carnival posts. :confused:

We were on the serenade with you and agree it is sooooo easy and so much more affordable to go out of NO. Easier to get more of the stuff you want on the vacation - suites, specialty dining etc when you're saving $$&. Love RCCL but they are pricing us out and with the complete focus on suites (but no suite perks for JS), getting even harder to justify.

We have done most of our cruises on Royal, but will occasionally book a cruise on one of Carnival's newer ships. We have an Ocean Suite on Victory booked for next year. Dream is a good ship, and I would have no qualms whatsoever booking on that one. I just wish their balconies were larger :)

I'm not a big Carnival fan either but for a $4800 difference I could become one:):)

OP, I'm kind of confused by your first post. You said, about Carnival:

 

 

 

"I sailed them once many years ago, and it wasn't for me. Came back and have been loyal ever since."

 

 

 

So I'm confused...if you came back to Carnival and have been loyal ever since, then you like them? :confused:

 

 

 

And I'm not sure why you would go with the subject line "Only for those of you who dislike Carnival..." and expect to get anything but anti-Carnival posts. :confused:

He didn't explain it well but the username is a dead give away.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

OP, I'm kind of confused by your first post. You said, about Carnival:

 

"I sailed them once many years ago, and it wasn't for me. Came back and have been loyal ever since."

 

So I'm confused...if you came back to Carnival and have been loyal ever since, then you like them? :confused:

 

And I'm not sure why you would go with the subject line "Only for those of you who dislike Carnival..." and expect to get anything but anti-Carnival posts. :confused:

Sorry if I wasn't clear....

Figured my signature below and user name are dead giveaways.

I HAVE BEEN LOYAL TO ROYAL CARIBBEAN.

I have sailed almost exclusively on RCI, except for one 7-day sailing on the Carnival Triumph back when she was relatively new. I did not enjoy it.

So after it I went back to RCI....

minus one 7-day on Celeb Reflection back in 2013

Help you understand?

Took RCI when my parents took me on my first cruise years ago. Loved them and sailed them nearly exclusively ever since.

Minus those 2 cruises.

I still LOVE RCI... a LOT.

and I ready to book Oasis/Allure for 2016

but I would save nearly 5K, and get a bigger room if I try the Carnival Dream.

So, I'm considering that.

I wanted to hear from other's who are LOYAL TO ROYAL 99% of the time like me....

I wondered if that thought it's worth a shot, or think I'm making a mistake.

We have never sailed on Carnival. Our cruise lines of choice are first RCI and second Celebrity. However, to save $4800 we would definitely cruise with Carnival. It would also avoid the hassle of flying. There is nothing like driving to the embarkation port.

We were on the serenade with you and agree it is sooooo easy and so much more affordable to go out of NO. Easier to get more of the stuff you want on the vacation - suites, specialty dining etc when you're saving $$&. Love RCCL but they are pricing us out and with the complete focus on suites (but no suite perks for JS), getting even harder to justify.

Hi Tammi!

Shoot me an email, i'd love to catch up!

I like everything about Carnival except what they currently consider to be entertainment in the evening. I dislike the Playlist Productions and watching people play Hasbro games is not my idea of what a night of entertainment should be. The last Carnival ship we were on had a deck party,(just dancing and drinking), 3 nights out of 7, so we couldn't even go see a movie on the outdoor screen.

Perhaps you and your group are good at entertaining yourselves and perhaps you will love the entertainment. You really won't know until you try Carnival again if you will enjoy the cruise. With that much of a price difference, if I were you I would probably go for it.

I was on the Carnival Breeze and there were things I liked and a few things I prefer on other lines. I didn't enjoy the entertainment on Carnival as much as the other lines. I didn't find there was much for kids/families to do outside of the pool/sports court and kids club.

I loved the the food choices on the Lido that are on the 2.0 Carnival ships. In my view, the best breakfast and lunch choices.

My daughter loved the water slides and rope course.

Based only one cruise per line, I prefer Royal Caribbean over Norwegian and Carnival. But at the price difference you are talking about, I would go Carnival.

I am not certain, but I think Carnival does not have the same type of suite perks as other lines. If you like suites, you may want to check into that.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk