Carnival - for heavy partiers only? Good for kids?

Silly question coming here.....

We are planning a March 2016 cruise and have 3 boys who will be 15, 10, and 6. Our number one priority is finding a ship with lots to do for them since my husband and I will be content on any ship. I've read a lot of posts about families cruising on Carnival. Is it just a myth that Carnival is crazy adult party time? :confused:

Carnival is no longer considered the "Party Boat"....they have become a family cruise line. ANY cruise line will have lots of partiers on 3-4 nighters...but on a 7 nighter...no worries!

Carnival is not always a "Wild & Crazy Party Boat"! ;)

I think it depends on the type of cruise that you go on. Caveat: I've never been on the longer Carnival cruises or on the bigger boats. I've only done the four- of five-day jaunts out of Galveston and it did feel very much like a party boat. I'm talking by the time the boat pulls away from the dock people are passed out drunk! My mother and her friend went on a seven-day out of Florida and she had a wonderful time and didn't seem to have the party-like atmosphere.

You might look at the larger Royal Caribbean ships....they are the very definition of "lots to do"

If you are looking at a 7 day cruise, the Carnival ships should be fine. As posted above, the shorter 3-5 day cruises on any line will be more of a party boat atmosphere, but especially on Carnival.

We REALLY want to do a 7 day but flight prices are just killing us so unfortunately I think we'll end up having to do a shorter cruise. :mad:

hi, i understand wanting a 7 day especially with going such a long distance sometimes the 7 days arent much more than the shorter cruises.

as for your question i think the boys will have fun on the ship the eldest might be the only worry but usually i see that age group making friends and hanging out with the same ages, they play sports, do the waterslides, eat and well eat some more then play more sports and go to teen club at night.

keep in mind how many ports as you will prolly be off the ship on those days atleast part of the day. i also think you might be going during spring break times so they are more expensive and a little more crowded with kids , their age kids too :)

im taking my grandkids in oct and i know they will be having a ball, good luck and have a great cruise :)

Thank you for the tips!

Now we're thinking of going some time besides spring break. Way more affordable so we should be able to swing a 7 day. Just hated to pull the kids out of school, especially the oldest.

The reality is that it depends what voyage you are on. Shorter voyages of 3 or 4 days are more of party ships. But that is true of RCI too.

Seven days will have some partying but depending on when you go a lot of families.

Keith

We've tried Carnival, but have mostly sailed on HAL and Celebrity. We found most everything very comparable across the lines. The big difference we didn't like about Carnival was the time spent at the pool. The music was so loud I couldn't hear my kids talk to me... and the non stop music videos played on the screen over the pool. Otherwise, service, food etc. were all good.

If you plan to fly the airfare will be the same for a shorter or longer cruise. Often you can find a 7 day for not much more than a shorter cruise.

I have been on 3 Carnival cruises and I prefer other lines. I do not care for the loud announcements, bingo at the pool, waiters dancing in the dining room but I know some folks think these things are fun. I prefer Royal Caribbean or also look at NCL or Princess.

Eww, I don't like those things either, Marie.

Normally, our favorite line is Princess but I really liked Carnival's 7 day itinerary to Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman Island and Cozumel so we decided to try Carnival for our second cruise. We were pleasantly surprised that it didn't feel like too much of a party boat (but people looking for parties were able to have a good time too - we ran into the rum tour excursion when they finished up their day at the turtle farm in the Grand Cayman Islands, and those people had lots of fun on their rum excursion!) It was a very nice, pleasant, reasonably priced cruise. Honestly, the other cruisers on Carnival were nicer than some of those on HAL, where most of the cruisers are friendly but some are very hostile to children and would prefer if the line instituted a minimum age to sail that would ban toddlers like the river boat cruises.

We REALLY want to do a 7 day but flight prices are just killing us so unfortunately I think we'll end up having to do a shorter cruise. :mad:

My impression is that NCL is the next cheapest after Carnival and they have a great kids program. Also none of those things you just said you dislike. Not all the amenities and activities of Royal, but again, cheaper.

We start by flying TO Minneapolis so I feel your pain on the airfare.

Have you checked prices for cruises out of Baltimore?

Or new York? Bayonne, NJ

On carnival-- there is more then one pool- you do not have to be visiting that one particular pool when stuff that you do not like is happening.

(and thats any cruiselines.

there are always multiple stuff happening somewhere else during any given time

Bingo by the pool? Is that something new because I never seen that

I have, Serene. Expensive everywhere for spring break.

Have you checked prices for cruises out of Baltimore?

Or new York? Bayonne, NJ

 

On carnival-- there is more then one pool- you do not have to be visiting that one particular pool when stuff that you do not like is happening.

(and thats any cruiselines.

 

there are always multiple stuff happening somewhere else during any given time

 

Bingo by the pool? Is that something new because I never seen that

Yes, bingo at the pool on the Valor.

I was on the October 18-25th sailing of the Carnival Liberty last year (Western Caribbean), and it was tame as could be. Wife and I (26 and 27 years old, respectively) felt like some of the youngest ones on the ship. Very few college kids, or 0-17 year old kids for that matter. Lots of older-middle-aged folks and retirees.

It really depends on when you sail, plus the shorter cruises tend to attract more "partiers".

We took our kids, then 5 and 9, on a 4-nighter on Carnival for their first cruise. They had a blast with plenty to do and haven't stopped wanting to cruise since.

Adults were on there partying of course, but nothing too crazy or out of control. Everyone was very nice to them, which has been the case on every cruise we've taken them on since.

We are youngerish lol (early 30s) and have been cruising on both Carnival and RCCL since 2005. We have been on 4 day cruises on both lines up to 7 day cruises. We are not partiers at all...we enjoy just relaxing, reading, going to the shows, and the ports. We aren't usually up past 11 because we want to be rested for the port days. I can honestly say I have never once seen anyone passed out drunk on any of my cruises. I'm sure if I stayed up until 3 am I could see my fair share, but then who keeps their kids up until 3 am? The nice thing about cruises is there are plenty of places around the ship...generally two pools and the "non main" one is usually tamer and quieter, so we hang out there. We also cruise off season generally so no spring breakers.

I could never understand getting drunk on a cruise, I'm too cheap lol! Anyway, our last cruise was a 6 day on the Carnival Breeze and our first one with our son. We were unfortunate in that it was during that polar vortex a couple of years ago and downright chilly most days, low 60s sometimes and way too cold and breezy to take advantage much of the splash park area. The ropes course was closed most days due to the wind and the movie theater was closed all week. We all still had a blast...we swam when we could, took full advantage of ports, visited the arcade, he even (at 4!) did karaoke!

He is hooked, and I can guarantee he never saw anything inappropriate.

Man, for 3 boys an Oasis class ship would be the bomb [emoji6]. So much to do

I was on the October 18-25th sailing of the Carnival Liberty last year (Western Caribbean), and it was tame as could be. Wife and I (26 and 27 years old, respectively) felt like some of the youngest ones on the ship. Very few college kids, or 0-17 year old kids for that matter. Lots of older-middle-aged folks and retirees.

 

It really depends on when you sail, plus the shorter cruises tend to attract more "partiers".

I've only been on 3 Carnival cruises, but 2 were in the fall and 1 was in May. I found this to be true as well. I think Carnival offers a lot of variety that will please many family members, but which ship you take, when you sail, and the length of the trip do seem to have a significant influence over the ship's atmosphere.

With teens, I'd look into Breeze, Magic, or Vista (if you want to wait until late next year). Breeze sails from Galveston starting next May (I think), so transport to the Houston area may be more reasonable for you.

The Oasis RCI ships would be an awesome choice, but for the price, it's not worth it to me at this time. (Of course, I'm blessed with a DH who will only sail on a balcony that faces the ocean, which makes the price jump from Carnival's new boats to RCI's new boats bigger than perhaps some other room choices.)

Man, for 3 boys an Oasis class ship would be the bomb [emoji6]. So much to do

and so much more money. I just cant justify that cost difference--- wowsers

As the old saying goes , you get what you pay for. [emoji4].

We did the Carnival Sunshine with our four year-old granddaughter this past January and it was very kid-friendly. Fabulous water park, good kids club. Tons of kids onboard. The Lido deck/pool area was loud, loud, loud, but we never saw any behaviour that was particularly outrageous or adult. Lots of families.