What to expect...newbie to Carnival but not cruising

Thinking of booking...but haven't committed yet. I've sailed on Princess a few times, Royal Caribbean to Platinum, MSC with the status match, and Disney. I want to know what to expect on a Carnival cruise. We would be taking our 3 kids. Two tweens and a 3 year old.

Here is what I need to know for sure...since we don't drink or party much. Are we going to feel extremely out of place on a 7 day? We are mostly there for the relaxation, excursions, kids club, and some bikini watching. ;) :eek: Well, sorry...really I'm getting tired of all those sexiest man competitions. We need the one for the women. Then I'll show up. Anyway, sorry for the detour. We have sailed on some pretty nice ships but rarely do we do the formal nights. Buffet is fine by us. Thoughts???

You'll get many different points of view on that question. But from my perspective, Carnival, Princess, and RC are all about the same. It's really the different ships that vary.

Haven't seen a bikini contest on any of them. :-)

Which Carnival ship are you thinking about?

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We usually cruise just to relax, not to party. Carnival fits the bill for us - goes where we want to go, food is good, service is good, the price is right, and lots of places on board to go to and just chill. We don't worry about finding a lounger by the pool - too loud for us. Go up a couple of decks and there's usually no problem finding a chair to relax and read. Plenty of places inside to sit and play cards or games too. I know a lot of people have negative comments about the decor on Carnival ships, but after the first impression as I walk on board I never really notice the decor much after that.

I think a cruise is what you make it.

Don't expect the service to be as great as Disney as they are rated the best in the fleet. But if you go in with the expectation of a fun ship with a great kids scene, you will have a great time.

It also depends somewhat on the time of year and the ship. I was on the Valor in February and it was relaxed, quiet and the service was impeccable. Went again in June and the crew was rushed, the ship was pretty crowded and it was more of a "Party" atmosphere. Like any cruise line, the amenities depend on the ship. For example, the newer ships have a lot of bells and whistles thus more activities for everyone. The downfall is that they carry a lot more passengers and can be overwhelming. The smaller ships have less activities but I feel that since there are less passengers, the service and relaxation improves. Carnival is a (mostly) less expensive option so you might see more young party-goers and large families. Factors like these can changes the atmosphere from one cruise to the next.

I have not cruised with young kids but have many nieces and nephews (13 at last count) that have cruised NCL, Princess and Carnival many times. I have asked their opinions and Carnival wins hands down for their kids club. Their parents agree when traveling with the kids, Carnival is better but when traveling kid-free they prefer the more stylish Princess.

Thanks crooooze and beachbum (and as I was posting amsred.) We are thinking about the Magic. Kids just can't get the waterslides out of their minds and they are burning up the YouTube servers watching the videos about every few minutes. But I told them that I just can't commit based on waterslides and that's it. Wondering if someone can comment on other things for them to do on this vessel. Thanks!

You'll be fine on Carnival. However don't cruise on an old ship and then come back and complain. Try Vista or Breeze.

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We're a family of 4, wife and I are in our 30's and kids aged 6 & 14. We always do 7-8 day cruises on Carnival and couldn't be happier. The buffet food is good, MDR food is good, you don't have to wear a suit and tie to dinner. Khakis and a polo for guys are fine on elegant night and regular nice shorts & shirt on other nights. We're not partiers. I usually have 3-4 drinks per cruise and my wife MAYBE 1. My youngest always likes to play in the water slides or putt putt, and my oldest is usually off doing his own thing somewhere around the ship. Service has always been great, price has been good. I think your family will have a great cruise. :)

Our family loves Carnival. We don't do a lot of partying, either! Our last cruise was on the Magic, and it's become a favorite!

You'll be fine on Carnival. However don't cruise on an old ship and then come back and complain. Try Vista or Breeze.

 

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I see you've been on a few of the same ships that I've been on, so I'll trust your judgement here. :D

Your tweens will love Magic: waterworks, rope course, Guy's Burgers! My kids haven't been to the clubs since their second cruise. They love to be outside doing all of the activities available. Lots of food choices if you don't want to do the MDR too. I am not a party person and I've only cruised Carnival.

Glad to see there are a bunch of non-party people here. PARTY POOPERS UNITE!!! Haha!!! Well, anyway...we all have fun in our own way and I (like many of you I would think) just keep it a little more low key than others. Variety right? We are here to balance the others out.

Thanks for the feedback and I am 95% sure I'm going to complete the booking in the morning. I don't think there is any way I'm going to get cheaper than $2500 including tax and port charges for 2 balcony rooms for a week. Almost seemed too good to be true, which is why I decided to ask for feedback. Glad I did. Thanks!!!

AS the others mentioned...... with tweens, I would go with Magic, Breeze, Dream, or Vista. Lots and lots to do on those ships, and they are the newest. Also the Glory and Freedom are great for slightly smaller ships.

We have always enjoyed our time on Carnival. We started when our daughter was younger and the kids programs were great.

We do not drink (or party) and always find plenty to do and plenty of places to relax.

Our favourite cruise lines in order are Oceania, Celebrity and then Carnival. But we are getting old :).

That said our next cruise is with Carnival (Splendor) and we leave this Sunday :D

I am not a big party person either. If I have the drink package I might drink a few fruity drinks, but if I am paying out of pocket, not so much. Never felt out of place on Carnival.

At the pool there will be a DJ and maybe some sexy man contests or something like that, but you can always avoid the area. Honestly I felt like the pool scene or Disney was more crazy than Carnival, but probably the 10 million kids.

I have been on Celebrity, Disney, and RCCL. Did not notice that much difference between Carnival and Royal as far as atmosphere or clientele, other than it seemed like pretty much everyone had a drink package on Royal. Celebrity was more of a upper middle aged crowd (50s) it seemed. A lot of drinking there but not that much to do other than drink. And don't even try to compare to Disney, because its in its own class.

As long as you don't have many preconceived notions, you should have fun. As always, there are people in this world with no class, but you can find those on any cruise line or even at the Ritz. One thing I liked about Carnival is that there seems to be a fair amount of things to do if that is what you want to do. Or you can always try to find a quiet spot and just chill.

The Magic was the last Carnival cruise we were on, and our son's 3rd. We had a great time. I have a review in my signature. He was in the Circle C Club onboard, so I'm sure I have some things about that. We're not party people at all either. We don't buy the drink packages, just the Bottomless Bubbles. My son didn't really drink soda, but he could get juice with the card. We cruise to relax and soak up the sun. I will say the Magic was the first and only time I felt a little crammed for lounge chairs. I've said it before, but it was the only time I couldn't find just ONE lounge chair on any of the pool decks.

Our son enjoyed all the activities and the kids. He had a lot of fun!

Carnival is similar to Royal Caribbean. However, we went to Alaska on Holland America and my teenage son said he would never cruise again[emoji23][emoji23] My husband and I are in our 40s but we were the spring chickens on the cruise. You could count the kids on one hand. We enjoyed the itinerary but will stick to Carnival for family fun.

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I think that any cruise line that has an unlimited drink package will have some rowdy cruisers. Try to avoid school vacations, if you can - though with 2 tweens that may be hard. As a (retired) teacher, I always had to cruise at the most expensive, crowded times of the year. We started on Disney, tried Royal once, and now flip between CCL and NCL. Magic will be a good match for your tweens, with the ropes course, water slides, basketball court, mini golf, etc. My kids started cruising on Carnival at ages 10/13, and my now 26 year old still keeps in contact with "kids" she met in the kid's club on the Liberty in 2005!! A cruise is what you make of it. Go with an open mind, and you will have a blast!

Most of our cruises have been on Carnival but we have done 2 on Princess, and that is our line of choice. BUT, because our week long vacations involve our kids, and Princess doesn't have many options for Caribbean in December and March, we have gone with the variety Carnival has to offer.

That said, Carnival is great. The reasons Princess is our line of choice, is 1)Carnival, especially on the shorter cruises, does draw a party crowd and there tend to be more drunks and inappropriate behavior like late night hall parties etc; 2) Princess' dress code is more upscale and appears to be enforced, especially on their formal night; Carnival is WAY more casual and 3)Carnival is more FUN and Princess is a more classic and elegant cruise experience. The food is comparable and the Italian on Princess excellent (chefs are primarily Italian) and the Indian excellent on Carnival (again chefs are primarily Indian).

The ways we ensure a relaxing vacation on Carnival is 1)balcony room where we can retreat for peace and quiet whenever 2) using specialty restaurants for dinner 3) avoiding Lido in the rush of the day and 4) enjoying smaller venues in the evening like Alchemy, piano bar and comedy club. As another had suggested, look at the newer ships - Sunshine, Dream, Breeze, Magic, Vista and Horizon to give you the variety of options and also, don't cruise during peak kid times.