Any Carnival cruisers also done Celebrity? Or for that matter, all other lines?

[ib4cruzn]

My husband and I are getting set for our 9th Carnival cruise. (Almost platinum, I know!)

 

We have never had an issue with the Carnival product, but were discussing the other night that our kids are closer to grown, and once they are, we intend to cruise more frequently. I'm becoming more and more interested in farther ports and such. We've only ever done the Caribbean to date because I do so love to go to warm places in winter.

 

For those of you who have cruised other lines, considering we are quite happy with the Carnival product, what lines would you recommend? I'm not looking for stuffy.

 

Jen

 

I highly recommend Celebrity. I've also had decent luck with NCL and Crystal (spendy).

 

I haven't been on NCL for about five years though.

[bjfitz0703]

My wife and I (low 40s) recently did a Celebrity cruise (Equinox) without the kids as we usually do Carnival or RCCL. Celebrity was great. The ship was awesome. The grass area on the top of the ship was super. The best spot on the ship was the Martini bar. I understood from other Celebrity cruisers on the ship that the Martini bars are sort of Celebrity's thing and it was truly great and sort of the hear of the ship. The food was about the same or slightly better. There were no "shows" at dinner. It was a little more elegant but not stuffy. Crowd was older but not dawn of the dead. We really liked it.

 

They also had a good kids program but if I was to go with the kids, I would pick Carnival or RCCL.

[Amicruzer]

Duncarob I'm with you. I have been on Celebrity, HAL, RCCL, NCL and Carnival in a little over 30 cruises, I am returning to Carnival this March. Its a great product with great value. Yes, I am platinum, LOL.

[browneyes7]

Thank you, all of you!

 

Very useful, positive information.

 

We are definitely planning to do platinum with Carnival, we just want to hit some itineraries that Carnival doesn't offer, and to sample other lines.

 

I've debated a TransAtlantic Repo, but I'm a bit nervous about the lengthy sea time. I actually adore sea days, and would probably do a cruise to nowhere, but I'm concerned about being SO far out in the ocean. I'd assume more movement, etc.

 

Again, THANK you. :) You guys rock.

 

I've done four transatlantics. You can spend 5 to 7 straight days on the sea, but I've never had a problem. There are so many things to do on the ships. I also love to read and spend a lot of time working out. Sea days are great for these activities. You should try it. We LOVE going to Europe on cruise ships!!:)

[Cruiser61]

We've enjoyed several of the popular lines and have the following comments:

 

Ruby Princess, their newest, was very good except the MDR entrees. Fish was consistently overdone. Specialty restaurants were top notch. If you sail the Ruby, check out Ryan and Carla in the Crooners Lounge. Cruise gratuities (less beverage) and corkage fees less than Celebrity

 

Celebrity Solstice was not as elegant as the Ruby but the food was consistently better. The upper deck dining buffet uses a multiple food station approach which does away with long lines. Service and amenities a small cut above the rest. We liked this ship though it does not seem to be as popular as the Equinox.

 

Our all-time favorite is the Constellation. I think we ate most breakfast and lunch meals in the Aqua Cafe. Just a superb experience.

 

Holland America is a cut below Celebrity in our estimation (maybe it's because Celebrity greets you with a glass of champagne when you board).

 

We're doing the Dream because it is Carnival's newest and we've been away from them for awhile. Helps to stay current.

 

Anyway, wine's our thing so I hope the X-ray demon doesn't discover the bottles bubble-wrapped in our luggage. I do see that Carnival will allow one bottle of wine or champagne per person to be carried on.

 

One last thing. We discovered a jeweler in St. Thomas who has been in business since 1974. During our visit there earlier this month, several other passengers came in to buy items and they had been buying there for YEARS. Stateside appraisals had confirmed the value of their purchase. For what it's worth, visit Victor Sani or his nephew Mark and make up your own mind. 5126 Drakes Passage.

 

Looking forward to getting out of COLD Venice, Florida for a week.

 

Bob and Sandy

[CruisingAmazona]

My wife and I (low 40s) recently did a Celebrity cruise (Equinox) .....The ship was awesome.

 

The Equinox, in my opinion, was beyond "awesome!" It was amazing, all-around - it was my first X sailing and I am positive it won't be my last.

[CanWeGoYet?]

I have sailed a European cruise line....MSC and it had, by far, the best entertainment team on any line I have sailed, I am booked on a 16 night NewEngland/Canada trip later this year in October on another one of their ships.

 

This is good to see, I have read so many negatives on this line - that I had pretty much ruled them out when looking at Europe cruises. Were there good activities on the ship, or by entertainment do you mean shows, etc? How was the food, service, cabin size? I'd love to hear your take on this.

[sprockie]

We just returned from our first Carnival cruise with our two young children. We have sailed with HAL 5 times prior to children. We were overall pleased with Carnival. The value was excellent. The kids loved the kids club. However, if it was just my husband and I, we would chose HAL again or would love to try Celebrity. I found Carnival a bit too loud for us. The lack of deck chairs and the volume on the lido deck by the pool were what I noticed the most. True, HAL has an older crowd - this may account for the abundance of deck chairs any time of day and the peaceful atmosphere on decks- yes, there were bands and music, but not too loud. There was not a frenzy to get off the ships either - less passengers, smaller ships. I loved the casual atmosphere of Carnival and their food was definitely excellent. The service on Carnival was also excellent. There seemed to be more to do throughout the day on Hal and into the early evening which we liked. We're not late night people, but rather prefer to be up at 6. Different strokes for different folks. I guess all lines have their differences, good and bad.

[CruisingAmazona]

This is good to see, I have read so many negatives on this line - that I had pretty much ruled them out when looking at Europe cruises. Were there good activities on the ship, or by entertainment do you mean shows, etc? How was the food, service, cabin size? I'd love to hear your take on this.

By "entertainment" I mean a team designated throughout the entire cruise to entertain you, i.e., at the pool, at the disco, at the clubs, everywhere. They would make everyone join in on the fun, games, dancing, everything. All of them were Italian young men and women, but lots of fun. The food was very very good, but truly italian, not something you are going to get at Olive Garden or other such Italian/American restaurants. The crew and staff are mainly italian (but for the cabin crew which is the usual variety of countries). I hear lots of complaints about language barriers, and I'm not sure I can comment on that, as although I do not speak Italian per se, I am 100% fluent on both English and Spanish and if spoken slowly, I can understand a lot of their Italian.

[halos]

My husband and I are getting set for our 9th Carnival cruise. (Almost platinum, I know!)

 

We have never had an issue with the Carnival product, but were discussing the other night that our kids are closer to grown, and once they are, we intend to cruise more frequently. I'm becoming more and more interested in farther ports and such. We've only ever done the Caribbean to date because I do so love to go to warm places in winter.

 

For those of you who have cruised other lines, considering we are quite happy with the Carnival product, what lines would you recommend? I'm not looking for stuffy.

 

Jen

 

Venture out and try them all. You don't know what you'll like until you try it yourself. Each line has something special to offer. :)

[sharkaymon]

As you can see from my sig we've been on 8 cruises and the 9th is a "girls only" scheduled for May 9th! We've enjoyed all the cruises, have never had a bad one. The celebrity cruise was slightly "upper crusty". Each one had great times.

 

The Princess cruises highlight was the Balcony Dinners. Beautiful meals served in cabin, with flowers, waitstaff, fabulous food and exceptional attention. I wish Carnival would do that.

 

The Royal caribbean cruise was wonderful because of family and aft extended balcony cabins (which are available on most other ships).

 

I am considering Regent Seven Seas now. I've been able to compare prices on similar cruises and found that the RSS was only about $800 more, with larger cabins and better excursions.

 

So. . . I've never had a bad cruise and have enjoyed them all.

[MizzCard]

Celebrity was our first cruise. Of course we were in awe, but this cruise will always be special to us. As you can see from my siggy, I've sailed other cruise lines, but have stuck with Carnival. I'd like to try Princess and/or HAL once we've reached Platinum.