Newbie booked on RCI thinking of switching to Carnival Legend.....

[beachgrl001]

First time crusier:) Had one booked for last year but had to cancel because of my DH's work:(

So, my husband and our 2 8y/o & 18 y/o sons plus my parents have 2 OV rooms booked on RCI FOS for Sept 30th to celebrate my sons 18th bday. a few folks over on the RCI board said it would be best to book FOS at that time of year because if you do end up with bad weather there is plenty to do on the ship. Now Carnival is having a sale and I could get a nice OBC plus upgrade to a balcony room! It would be Carnival Legend Sept 29th....is there plenty for my 8 y/o to do on the ship? My mom was giving me a hard time saying she heard Carnival is the party ship blah blah blah....I have copied some of the positive carnival reviews to show to her and my dad is fine with going on Carnival. How are the dressy nights on Carnival? I was looking forward to getting dressed up. I think from what I have seen of the legend my little guy would be happy with it, he really just wants to play mini golf lol so I am thinking why spend all this xtra $$$ for dreamworks characters(he has seen plenty of characters we have been to wdw every year for the past 10 yrs!) and a flowrider that none of us will use??? So do I switch? in case of bad weather will there be stuff to do on the ship? How are the shows and entertainment?

I am totally not trying to stir the pot or anything:o I just need some advice quickly because the sale ends soon.....

[marshhawk]

You can't just switch from one line to another without penalty. You have to cancel your cruise, take a hit for that, and then order another cruise through Carnival. I love the Legend, but I wouldn't take a penalty to sail on her. Take your vacation, if you are like the rest of us, you will get hooked on cruising and we will see you on the Legend next year.

[chasinraynbowz]

Can you cancel on RCCL without penalty??

 

We have found that cruise lines are more alike than they are different. RCCL may have a few more things to do inside than Carnival, but we have never been bored on Carnival either.

 

Several years ago, DH and cruised with family. My sister wanted to go on a new ship so we chose the Ruby Princess. The cruise cost us $800 more than one we could have taken thru Carnival with the same itinerary. After the cruise was over, we decided that next time we will save the $800 and go on Carnival... lol.

 

Tell your Mom that ALL cruise ships are party ships... on 3 or 4 day cruises. When you cruise a 7 day (or more), you get more families.

 

Good luck!!

[kelzbelz77]

There is no penalty. RCL does not have a program like ES on Carnival. I just cancelled one on the Allure and within a couple days, had my money back.

 

So If I were you, I would go with the Legend. My nieces have only sailed on Carnival, and the Allure we had to cancel was for one of their 16th Birthday's. I cancelled to book the Legend for the British Isle cruise.

 

I asked her if she wanted me to book the Allure again, she said "No Auntie, lets book the Breeze because I am almost platinum".

 

She got that from me!! The party boats are the 3-5 day cruises. You will find that the longer cruises will be just fine. For the 8 y/o, Camp Carnival will be just fine. Mini golf, Arcade, lots of things to do.

 

One day we will try another line, but for now, Carnival works for us. Just a personal preference. I will try RCL when the niece's hit platnium or Carnival does me wrong.

[njmomof2]

OP is not sailing until end of September so is well outside of penalty phase for cancellation on Royal.

 

I can see where it is enticing to upgrade to a balcony and get back money as well. I think if you have not sailed on a Freedom class ship, you can't really say you wouldn't enjoy or use the facilities. You're going to celebrate an 18 yo's birthday. Why would you think he wouldn't like the flowrider? My 14 yo has been using it since he was 9.5 and is a junkie (and we also live in NJ so it's not like he's living on the beach surfing every day). My younger one (now 9.5) loves the rock wall and ice skating.

 

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with the Legend, and overall the lines are more similar than different. Only you can decide what is important to you and your family. The dreamworks characters are not a big part of the cruise...they are there is you want to see them, won't bother you if they are not. The promenade is terrific. I also think Carnival food is very good (sailed Glory in August and loved having Indian every night and don't get me started on WCMC). The staff was lovely as well, and we were sailing into Hurricane Irene when we left port.

 

Maybe go over the different ships with your kids and see what they would like. I always think that if the kids are happy, I'm happy.

 

You'll make an excellent choice either way.

[beachgrl001]

You can't just switch from one line to another without penalty. You have to cancel your cruise, take a hit for that, and then order another cruise through Carnival. I love the Legend, but I wouldn't take a penalty to sail on her. Take your vacation, if you are like the rest of us, you will get hooked on cruising and we will see you on the Legend next year.

 

penalty is not an issue, It dosent cost anything as long as you cancel by a certain date which is like July 17... Last year I had to cancel and there was no penalty...

[beachgrl001]

OP is not sailing until end of September so is well outside of penalty phase for cancellation on Royal.

 

I can see where it is enticing to upgrade to a balcony and get back money as well. I think if you have not sailed on a Freedom class ship, you can't really say you wouldn't enjoy or use the facilities. You're going to celebrate an 18 yo's birthday. Why would you think he wouldn't like the flowrider? My 14 yo has been using it since he was 9.5 and is a junkie (and we also live in NJ so it's not like he's living on the beach surfing every day). My younger one (now 9.5) loves the rock wall and ice skating.

 

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with the Legend, and overall the lines are more similar than different. Only you can decide what is important to you and your family. The dreamworks characters are not a big part of the cruise...they are there is you want to see them, won't bother you if they are not. The promenade is terrific. I also think Carnival food is very good (sailed Glory in August and loved having Indian every night and don't get me started on WCMC). The staff was lovely as well, and we were sailing into Hurricane Irene when we left port.

 

Maybe go over the different ships with your kids and see what they would like. I always think that if the kids are happy, I'm happy.

 

You'll make an excellent choice either way.

 

 

Thanks :D and trust me lol he wont go on the florider :rolleyes: he is not the surfing type (might mess up his hair do:p) lol but the little one would want to give it a shot! I am definitely enticed by the look of FOS...but it would be so nice to save some $$$ the kids said they dont care either way....my little one just said he wants to go on a boat:rolleyes: ugh....I just can't decide!!!!!

[Jana60]

You can't just switch from one line to another without penalty. You have to cancel your cruise, take a hit for that, and then order another cruise through Carnival. I love the Legend, but I wouldn't take a penalty to sail on her. Take your vacation, if you are like the rest of us, you will get hooked on cruising and we will see you on the Legend next year.

 

Their cruise is over 6 months out. They should be able to cancel without penalty. I have not been on the Legend but have been on 8 prior Carnival Cruises. I enjoy CCL and although I have no kids I've heard alot of folks say their kids loved the kids program. They also have a "nightclub" dedicated to the teens...No booze, and cruise line employees make sure everyone behaves. You will find my review of the carnival by clicking on my name and finding my thread "choosing a cruise line" in my past posts.

[klmorg]

The Legend is a fantastic ship, and there is plenty to do for the youngsters. I've found that those who think Carnival is a big, wild, party line have never sailed with Carnival and have no firsthand experience to base their opinions on, typically based on hearsay. I say... go for it, and find out for yourselves!! I bet you won't be disappointed.

[Nanaimobound]

For a balcony and OBC I would switch, but either way you will have a great cruise.

The only thing I would say is entertainment wise RCI Freedom class would get my vote dreamworks characters aside.

[beachgrl001]

I just wanted to add that I'd be saving $400. and getting the obc $150...that $400 could go towards a nice excursion......

[Herfnerd]

First time crusier:) Had one booked for last year but had to cancel because of my DH's work:(

So, my husband and our 2 8y/o & 18 y/o sons plus my parents have 2 OV rooms booked on RCI FOS for Sept 30th to celebrate my sons 18th bday. a few folks over on the RCI board said it would be best to book FOS at that time of year because if you do end up with bad weather there is plenty to do on the ship. Now Carnival is having a sale and I could get a nice OBC plus upgrade to a balcony room! It would be Carnival Legend Sept 29th....is there plenty for my 8 y/o to do on the ship? My mom was giving me a hard time saying she heard Carnival is the party ship blah blah blah....I have copied some of the positive carnival reviews to show to her and my dad is fine with going on Carnival. How are the dressy nights on Carnival? I was looking forward to getting dressed up. I think from what I have seen of the legend my little guy would be happy with it, he really just wants to play mini golf lol so I am thinking why spend all this xtra $$$ for dreamworks characters(he has seen plenty of characters we have been to wdw every year for the past 10 yrs!) and a flowrider that none of us will use??? So do I switch? in case of bad weather will there be stuff to do on the ship? How are the shows and entertainment?

I am totally not trying to stir the pot or anything:o I just need some advice quickly because the sale ends soon.....

 

Do it

 

Tell your mother I heard that RCL is a boring, stiff upper lip kinda cruiseline - or so I have been told :cool:

 

There is plenty to do and you all will have fun. As for the Elegant Night, You can get as dressed up as you like and will be fine - make sure you take advantage of the pictures before dinner!!

[Essiesmom]

Legend has a sliding dome over one pool if weather is bad...EM

[S.S.Oceanlover]

You can't just switch from one line to another without penalty. You have to cancel your cruise, take a hit for that, and then order another cruise through Carnival. I love the Legend, but I wouldn't take a penalty to sail on her. Take your vacation, if you are like the rest of us, you will get hooked on cruising and we will see you on the Legend next year.

 

What is the cancellation penalty for RCI? They charge you a penalty no matter when you book and cancel?

 

The OP is not cruising until September 30th so there should be no penalty unless they changed their rules.

 

Bill

[firefly333]

Freedom will have twice the pools and lots more outdoor activities.

 

The upgrades are within a category, not a upgrade to a balcony from a inside or OV. I was confused when I was new too and dreamed of huge upgrades when I saw "up to 6 category upgrade with this rate".

 

You will be getting a lesser ship .. but better price. If price is a issue, go with Carnival and save the bucks.

 

Do it

 

Tell your mother I heard that RCL is a boring, stiff upper lip kinda cruiseline - or so I have been told

 

There is plenty to do and you all will have fun. As for the Elegant Night, You can get as dressed up as you like and will be fine - make sure you take advantage of the pictures before dinner!!

 

 

Advice like this nonsense is the kind to ignore in my opinion. Someone who has never done both lines :rolleyes: Seriously .. 3rd hand info that RCL is stiff upper whatever .. same people cruise on both.

 

Both cater to families, but Carnival is cheaper and to me you get a cheaper ship, with less outdoor activities for your kids...but still a good cruise at a cheap price.

[Cruzaholic41]

First time crusier:) Had one booked for last year but had to cancel because of my DH's work:(

So, my husband and our 2 8y/o & 18 y/o sons plus my parents have 2 OV rooms booked on RCI FOS for Sept 30th to celebrate my sons 18th bday. a few folks over on the RCI board said it would be best to book FOS at that time of year because if you do end up with bad weather there is plenty to do on the ship. Now Carnival is having a sale and I could get a nice OBC plus upgrade to a balcony room! It would be Carnival Legend Sept 29th....is there plenty for my 8 y/o to do on the ship? My mom was giving me a hard time saying she heard Carnival is the party ship blah blah blah....I have copied some of the positive carnival reviews to show to her and my dad is fine with going on Carnival. How are the dressy nights on Carnival? I was looking forward to getting dressed up. I think from what I have seen of the legend my little guy would be happy with it, he really just wants to play mini golf lol so I am thinking why spend all this xtra $$$ for dreamworks characters(he has seen plenty of characters we have been to wdw every year for the past 10 yrs!) and a flowrider that none of us will use??? So do I switch? in case of bad weather will there be stuff to do on the ship? How are the shows and entertainment?

I am totally not trying to stir the pot or anything:o I just need some advice quickly because the sale ends soon.....

 

Do not switch! The Freedom of the Seas is one of the best ships at sea and the Legend does not compare in any way, shape or form. I have been on both and assure you there is no comparison. If money is that much of an issue, go ahead and switch, but you will be changing to a lesser ship with only a fraction of the activities.

 

As for entertainment, again, Legend cannot compare. FOS has Once Upon a Time, which is fantastic. Also, the ice shows are a must-see and are something other cruise lines can't compete with.

[BeachChik]

First time crusier:) Had one booked for last year but had to cancel because of my DH's work:(

So, my husband and our 2 8y/o & 18 y/o sons plus my parents have 2 OV rooms booked on RCI FOS for Sept 30th to celebrate my sons 18th bday. a few folks over on the RCI board said it would be best to book FOS at that time of year because if you do end up with bad weather there is plenty to do on the ship. Now Carnival is having a sale and I could get a nice OBC plus upgrade to a balcony room! It would be Carnival Legend Sept 29th....is there plenty for my 8 y/o to do on the ship? My mom was giving me a hard time saying she heard Carnival is the party ship blah blah blah....I have copied some of the positive carnival reviews to show to her and my dad is fine with going on Carnival. How are the dressy nights on Carnival? I was looking forward to getting dressed up. I think from what I have seen of the legend my little guy would be happy with it, he really just wants to play mini golf lol so I am thinking why spend all this xtra $$$ for dreamworks characters(he has seen plenty of characters we have been to wdw every year for the past 10 yrs!) and a flowrider that none of us will use??? So do I switch? in case of bad weather will there be stuff to do on the ship? How are the shows and entertainment?

I am totally not trying to stir the pot or anything:o I just need some advice quickly because the sale ends soon.....

 

I have been on both the freedom and legend. The pool area is much nicer on the freedom if that is important. And it has a great waterpark type area for the kids. The ship itself IMO is much prettier. I can't comment on kids programs but the daily activities on both were similar ie bingo, belly flop/hairy chest contest, etc. Shows were good on both but I would give the edge to royal for the ice skating and now you see it show. Both were awesome. Food IMO was similar, the rooms we had were similar in size. Carnival does comedy shows nightly which we loved and royal doesn't. We had a good time on both. I felt it was worth the extra money to sail the freedom. Would I pay extra everytime? Probably not. But once in a while is worth it to us.

[gilboman]

Freedom will have twice the pools and lots more outdoor activities.

 

The upgrades are within a category, not a upgrade to a balcony from a inside or OV. I was confused when I was new too and dreamed of huge upgrades when I saw "up to 6 category upgrade with this rate".

 

You will be getting a lesser ship .. but better price. If price is a issue, go with Carnival and save the bucks.

 

 

Advice like this nonsense is the kind to ignore in my opinion. Someone who has never done both lines :rolleyes: Seriously .. 3rd hand info that RCL is stiff upper whatever .. same people cruise on both.

 

Both cater to families, but Carnival is cheaper and to me you get a cheaper ship, with less outdoor activities for your kids...but still a good cruise at a cheap price.

 

I think the OP priced it out already and would be able to go from OV on Freedom to a Balcony on Legend and still get $400 and OBC.

 

Well of course price is a concern? if it wasn't , nobody would go on CCL or even RCI, I'll be on Disney if I had a family and Cunard or whatever if no kids;)

 

I do agree Freedom will have more pools (because there are more pax) and more outdoor activities. But depends if the kids like the activities, I didn't even use any of the outdoor facilities (not even the pool or hot tub).

 

But the Freedom is a nicer ship, whether it's worth $400 and $150 OBC and a balcony over the Legend? depends on what the OP cares about.

 

Same type of pax will be on both ships, both are mass market cruiselines catered to same type of demographic

[gilboman]

Do not switch! The Freedom of the Seas is one of the best ships at sea and the Legend does not compare in any way, shape or form. I have been on both and assure you there is no comparison. If money is that much of an issue, go ahead and switch, but you will be changing to a lesser ship with only a fraction of the activities.

 

As for entertainment, again, Legend cannot compare. FOS has Once Upon a Time, which is fantastic. Also, the ice shows are a must-see and are something other cruise lines can't compete with.

 

I found the shows and especially the ice shows a complete bore on RCI but CCL's shows wasn't really wow as well with their shows. When I saw the ice rink i laughed, and was thinking how sad is that ? But I'm from canada lol But if the kids are young enough to like the RCI shows, they would like the CCL one's just as much.

[cdamion]

With the kids I would stick with FOS. I think the kids would enjoy it more. There are plenty of things for all ages on board, and some of the public spaces will be amazing. I also think there will be more kids on board that ship than Legend that week.

 

Legend is a nice ship with a nice layout. It is much smaller than FOS and will probably feel a lot less crowded. There will be fewer things to do though.

 

As far as being a party ship, probably not that week. The shorter cruises and spring break cruises are rowdier generally, but a 7 day cruise in late September will have different group of people. In my opinion, the Spirit class ships (which Legend is part of) are Carnival's best ships in terms of passenger flow and smaller crowds.

[firefly333]

I think the OP priced it out already and would be able to go from OV on Freedom to a Balcony on Legend and still get $400 and OBC.

 

Well of course price is a concern? if it wasn't , nobody would go on CCL or even RCI, I'll be on Disney

 

Im sure most people understand what I meant about price being a issue. For some money is tight these days. Some its not as tight, but everyone looks at the bottom line.

 

OP you can see by my signature I do both lines. I alternate depending on what is offered and if the dates work out between the two lines. I am the same person, not lower class if Im on Carnival for a week, and suddenly become stiff upper lipped on RCL.

 

Lots of the same people cruise both lines. Similar demographic.

[Herfnerd]

Freedom will have twice the pools and lots more outdoor activities.

 

The upgrades are within a category, not a upgrade to a balcony from a inside or OV. I was confused when I was new too and dreamed of huge upgrades when I saw "up to 6 category upgrade with this rate".

 

You will be getting a lesser ship .. but better price. If price is a issue, go with Carnival and save the bucks.

 

 

 

Advice like this nonsense is the kind to ignore in my opinion. Someone who has never done both lines :rolleyes: Seriously .. 3rd hand info that RCL is stiff upper whatever .. same people cruise on both.

 

Both cater to families, but Carnival is cheaper and to me you get a cheaper ship, with less outdoor activities for your kids...but still a good cruise at a cheap price.

 

Uhm....I was being sarcastic and facetious, hence the emoticon. Only reason I posted that was in response to the OP's comment about what the mother "heard" regarding CCL.....

[Cruzaholic41]

I found the shows and especially the ice shows a complete bore on RCI...

 

Did you see them on Freedom? The shows are different on every ship.

[klmorg]

Uhm....I was being sarcastic and facetious, hence the emoticon. Only reason I posted that was in response to the OP's comment about what the mother "heard" regarding CCL.....

 

I think most of us got that;)

[Herfnerd]

I know - just making sure that firefly, whom I respect, knew that... :D