Carnival Fans - Would you ever spend more for a different cruise line?

[MagnoliaFly]

I was discussing this with one of my friends that is doing a Disney cruise next year. The cruises with Disney and other more expensive lines look nice but when I weigh the cost I just don't know if it is worth paying an amount that would equal 3 Carnival Cruises for one Disney cruise.

 

Let me add that I do not have children so I don't know if that would make any difference in my decision.

 

What do you guys think? Has anyone tried a more expensive line and come back to Carnival or left Carnival for a more expensive line?

 

Inquiring minds want to know!

[Mel1322]

The only other cruise I have been on is NCL. Not a more expensive line. But, my opinion is I wouldn't pay the extra. The disney line looks cool, but I can't convince myself that it is worth the extra money.

 

I would rather be able to go 3 years in a row on a cruise than have to wait every 3 years because I went with a more expensive line.

 

Just my two cents.

[big_duck]

Yes I would, but never Disney prices.

[MrPete]

I tried both Disney and RCCL about 5 times.

 

I recommend everyone do Disney once, just for the experience, even if it means sailing in September at cheaper rates. We did the land/sea combination so it was a little of everything.

 

We did go back a second time to sail with a bigger group, and it was just a repeat of the first time. Still nice, but wouldn't have missed it.

 

One of the highlights of a Disney cruise is a stop at their private Island, Castaway Cay.

[Toddcan]

I'm a huge fan of Carnival. I also am a huge fan of Royal Caribbean. Would I pay more for a RCI cruise? Yes! The H2O zone, the Solarium, the Rock Climbing Wall, the Flowrider, and the Ice Rink on the Liberty of the Seas/Freedom of the Seas are fantastic.. worth the money imo. I still will cruise Carnival, but I expect to pay less (and do)

 

Disney? No, I cannot see myself paying that much for a cruise.

[jebuell]

I would never sail on Carnival with a child so if I ever have kids and we want to cruise with them it will be on another line like Disney. My sister and nephew went on Disney and they had a fantastic time!

 

Life's too short to stick to the same thing for every trip. I love Negril more than anywhere else in the world but I have enjoyed my trips to Cabo and Puerto Vallarta as well (but didn't like Cancun, though I'm glad I got to experience it to know I don't like it). I would have missed out on a lot of experience if I just kept going back to Negril again and again and again. I thought Carnival was OK but can't wait to try out NCL, RCI, and even Disney someday.

[UpstateCruizer]

I would pay more to cruise another line if they offered something enticing that Carnival doesn't. Currently there isn't anything I feel I'm missing on Carnival. I do foresee a cruise on Princess in the future as we want to do a Hawaii cruise that they offer.

 

I would really have to be wowed to spend additional money if it's the same itinerary.

 

As far as Disney goes it's one of those things that I've done twice as a land vacation and I can take it or leave it. I would not pay more money to sail on one of their ships.

[gtalum]

Currently I'm extremely happy with Carnival's product and see no reason to pay more to try someone else. I'm willing to believe that could change some day. :)

 

I did sail NCL once, but that was free using points.

[Carnival Platinum Cruiser]

I'm a huge fan of Carnival. I also am a huge fan of Royal Caribbean. Would I pay more for a RCI cruise? Yes! The H2O zone, the Solarium, the Rock Climbing Wall, the Flowrider, and the Ice Rink on the Liberty of the Seas/Freedom of the Seas are fantastic.. worth the money imo. I still will cruise Carnival, but I expect to pay less (and do)

 

Disney? No, I cannot see myself paying that much for a cruise.

 

Totally agree RCL has more to offer and sometimes at CCL prices.

[MagnoliaFly]

Totally agree RCL has more to offer and sometimes at CCL prices.

The only thing keeping me from trying RCL is all the extra fees on the ship for different dining rooms and such. We thought about trying Norwegian at some point since they've got that new ship the Epic but it is so much more expensive and the reviews were not that great.

 

I'm torn. I'm sure one day I'll try a different line when I can justify the cost. Kind of line staying at the Bellagio in Vegas the first time and now we stay in a cheapie hotel room when we go.

[honeycruiser1]

Nope, i am a creature of habit when I find something I like no need to change untill it breaks.

[dan40]

I voted "other." We decide when, where and for how long we will cruise and THEN look at ALL the lines that meet our criteria. If Carnival has a sailing that is in the mix, they are a strong consideration. If they're not in the mix, no other thought is given to them. We choose from the lines that have the sailing we want. We just finished a Panama Canal sailing, Carnival had no comparable sailing so they weren't considered.

[westview1]

We have been on Celebrity, Princess, NCL and RCCL. We like Carnival but we try not to hold to any one line, it's more about the itinerary and value for the $ for us. There are differences with each line. We didn't care that much for the anytime dining of NCL and the one Celebrity cruise we took was off peak and we found ourselves to be some of the youngest onboard, but that was most likely due to the time of year (2nd week of January). It all boils down to your personal preference. You may want to cruise on over to the message boards for the other lines and get a better idea about the differences from line to line.

[jagsfan]

I sail different lines like I dine at different restaurants. I love Princess, but also sail on

Carnival for price and convenience, and RCCL for itinerary sometimes. I haven't been

on the "new" NCL, but used to sail them, too. Been on QE2 and QM2, but can't afford

Cunard any more, enjoyed them in a different way from the others.

Carnival offers probably the best value for the money, of all the cruise lines, day

in and day out.

[Pollensalta]

I'm a huge fan of Carnival. I also am a huge fan of Royal Caribbean. Would I pay more for a RCI cruise? Yes! The H2O zone, the Solarium, the Rock Climbing Wall, the Flowrider, and the Ice Rink on the Liberty of the Seas/Freedom of the Seas are fantastic.. worth the money imo. I still will cruise Carnival, but I expect to pay less (and do)

 

Disney? No, I cannot see myself paying that much for a cruise.

 

You said exactly what I wanted to say about RC vs Carnival. Thanks, now I don't have to do all the work. :D

 

They are both GREAT cruise lines though.

[AWCHIEF]

After 11 Carnival cruises I booked my first cruise with NCL out of New Orleans. 7 day, Ocean view cabin, cheaper price than Carnival for an equal cruise and cabin cat, $100 OBC and a bottle of cheap wine. Going to new ports as compared to Carnival sailing out of the same homeport. I am a solo cruiser and am fed up with Carnivals treatment of solo passengers. Carnival is no longer the best bang for the buck for its solo passengers. The cruise was sale priced, I got the sale price plus and an additional 15% off for Military discount. Carnival would never give price discounts for two promotions at the same time. Nor would they have given me the full OBC.

[elcuchio24]

Sometimes worth it sometimes not, we cruise for price and itinerary and let that dictate what the cruise is worth.

[MrPete]

You said exactly what I wanted to say about RC vs Carnival. Thanks, now I don't have to do all the work. :D

 

They are both GREAT cruise lines though.

 

Agree about them being two great lines, but I spent my first RCCL cruise expecting more because I was paying more.

 

Never happened.

 

They just charge more.

[iowagirl411]

I like a suite on Celebrity for romance & relaxation.

 

For everything else - Carnival.

[TinyG]

We have always sailed Carnival as the main cruise line. This next April we are going on our first Disney cruise.

 

Our DD is a big Disney, so this is her HS Graduation present. She said she would even sleep in a trash can just to be able to go. That's what it means to her. We like we can bring our own adult beverages! We don't see another Disney cruise in our future, but you never know! At least I don't have to buy soda cards for the kids.

 

We have sailed once the Celebrity Infinity, we broke down two or three times. Loosing power. Dead in the water. We had a late flight out of Vancouver, so no worries for us. Others had problems with the flights, it was a mess for many. They did send our luggage to the airport for free, it was going to cost us. So that worked for us again. We like the decor of the ship, and the food was good. We always did compare it to Carnival. If they had something that was too good to pass up, we would consider Celebrity again.

 

Now that we have #11 & 12 booked for me, and hubby's 10th & 11th, I don't see us traveling to other lines, other than the up coming mouse cruise.

[Cruisin thru life]

I would never sail on Carnival with a child so if I ever have kids and we want to cruise with them it will be on another line like Disney. My sister and nephew went on Disney and they had a fantastic time!

 

Life's too short to stick to the same thing for every trip. I love Negril more than anywhere else in the world but I have enjoyed my trips to Cabo and Puerto Vallarta as well (but didn't like Cancun, though I'm glad I got to experience it to know I don't like it). I would have missed out on a lot of experience if I just kept going back to Negril again and again and again. I thought Carnival was OK but can't wait to try out NCL, RCI, and even Disney someday.

 

I'm not judging your decision, just curious as to why you would never sail Carnival with a child?

[azpilot]

Just did for a Disney Cruise..

[MrPete]

I'm not judging your decision, just curious as to why you would never sail Carnival with a child?

 

Agreed.

 

Took my then 4 year old on Disney, followed by CArnival at 5.

 

When it was time for her third cruise, I asked her which one she liked better.

 

She said, "BOTH!"

[jebuell]

I'm not judging your decision, just curious as to why you would never sail Carnival with a child?

 

Carnival (and most major cruiselines in general) doesn't do thorough background checks on their employees, alarmingly enough this includes the stewards and even some of the camp counselors. I personally am not comfortable taking the risk with my child that they could literally be put in the hands of a criminal. Unfortunately, this has affected my family personally when my then-15 year old sister was attacked and raped (penetrated and beaten) by a crew member she met while hanging out in the teen center who drugged her and carried her to the crew quarters- passing several other crew members along the way who said nothing. She got pregnant from this incident, miscarried at 4 months, went through a deep depression, and lost her innocence on this cruise.

 

When this incident was reported to Carnival they just expected that it would be reported to the proper authorities- it was not. Carnival later claimed no report had ever been filed with them (it had been). When asked just days later to turn over the employee Carnival claims he had been fired and let off the ship and they didn't know where he had gone. Literally, they let a brutal rapist walk free. But they did offer a discount and some OBC for a future cruise to my sister! :mad: I've learned that this was not, by far, an isolated incident. Cruise ships are notorious for sweeping crimes "under the rug". My sister is a member of a support group that consists of thousands of members who have been victims of crimes on cruise ships- a good number of them are children who were attacked, raped, or molested.

 

It's not so much the attack that has bothered me. This can happen anywhere- at a resort, cruise, even at home. What bothers me was the way it was handled by Carnival- they literally interfered with any chance of justice my sister had. She now walks around every day knowing this guy is out there somewhere and she could run into him again and it scares the hell out of her.

 

For this reason I will not take my child on a non-child centered cruise (or anywhere I think they may be bored spending the whole time with Mom and Dad). I won't leave them alone- in the cabin or at the camp- and I can see a kid getting bored when following Mom and Dad around shopping and playing "Battle of the Sexes" all day. My sister took my nephew on a Disney cruise (the first she went on after the Carnival attack, 12 years later), and she said there was plenty that she and her son could do together and neither were bored- and she never once had to leave him alone.

 

I know it's unfortunate that this incident happened and that I am allowing it to affect how I vacation, and I don't judge anyone who leaves their kid alone at the kids camps (though, I do think it's irresponsible to allow kids to be able to check themselves out of camp), it's just not something I would ever do until cruiselines started doing background checks themselves, keep a database of employees that commit crimes and share these with other cruiselines, and start reporting crimes to police onshore so that proper punishments can be handed out. Firing an employee is not justice, especially when they can just get a job on another cruiseline and no one would be the wiser.

 

Sorry this ended up being a novel and I don't mean to preach- rather share why my point of view on this matter is so, so strong.

[24butterfly]

I would sail anither line (and we did) if the itin was where Carnival wasn't going, as it didn't have the itin. last summer: Aruba, Curacao, Dominica was where I wanted to go...SO we sailed RCCL. I miss Carnival. RC was more of a country club set, I have nothing against RCCL--and would definitely sail them if we did the Mexico jaunt again. We did the Splendor when it was new a few years ago, HATED the ship. Food was awful. Way too crowded. We have a Tahiti trip planned w/Princess--wish Carnival was going--and also a Med with X in the summer....X is going where we want to go. So, I guess it's based on the itin for us. But I would NOT sail NCL....Did I mention that I miss Carnival?