minivintage

Maybe it depends which cruise you go on first?

My first cruise was on Carnival in 2012...then I did a NCL and a HAL within a year (all were with different groups of people; they all chose the boats and I went along!).

I had a GREAT time on my Carnival cruise. The best. I loved my balcony room, the food, the Chef's table, the dance party, the casino....all of it!

Then I took NCL and all I could do was compare NCL to Carnival. NCL has the great suite experience which I LOVED but the main dining room and the Chef's table and the fun did NOT live up to the standard that Carnival had set.

And boy was HAL an older group (and I'm in my early 50s, LOL). The best part of HAL was their observation//library area. Also I thought they had the best buffet, but I still overall loved the Carnival food. Oh, and the best non-alcoholic drink menu (I'm not much of a drinker).

Carnival stage entertainment was not as good IMHO as either of the other ships, but I do like the comics a ton and I'm not big into the main shows anyway.

Will be on Carnival for my next cruise and I can't wait!

To the person who asked about the Olympics on the Jumbotron--I was on the Splendor during the Summer Olympics in 2012. I watched the Opening Ceremonies on the Lido on the Jumbotron with other fans--one of my BEST memories of the trip! At one point, the staff switched to a scheduled movie--there was a loud collective SCREAM from everyone in the Lido and they went right back to the Opening Ceremonies.

Other than the opening ceremony, you pretty much had to go to the sports bar or your room to watch anything else; I don't recall any Olympic events on the Jumbotron, at least when I was around.

I love the scrapbooking sets--always get one of the ship I'm on, and then with my photos, a few from the pro photographers, and some saved invitations//postcards etc I have an easily done scrapbook from my trip! If any of you scrapbook, you know how expensive all that stuff is; I actually think it is a very good deal!

Sometimes a piece of clothing--I got a great little shoulder cover (with sleeves) for my tropical sleeveless dresses once! They had it in black and white (hmm...that might have been on a NCL cruise...). On Splendor last time I got a cheap sun hat and cheap evening purse in the $10 sales since I had forgot both of those things when packing.

And a spa treatment or two. Not a big drinker, so I have some budget for that--I love the Splendor spa (my next cruise is on) as long as I tell the gal doing the treatment that I already have lots of Elemis products and don't need more! LOL.