Where are the Carnival experts?? Help me plan my next cruise!!

[MaiTaiMary]

My husband and I have officially decided to take another cruise!! woohoo!!! :D We’ve always wanted to do the Western Caribbean. Now we need some help narrowing things down.

 

We’ve been on two cruises. Both Mexican Riviera. On the Elation and the Spirit. We’ll be traveling just the two of us.

 

Here are the cruises we’ve started to narrow it down to:

 

The Liberty out of Miami.

The Glory out of Miami.

The Dream out of Orlando/Port Canavaral.

The Legend out of Tampa.

 

 

 

~All of the itineraries are the same (Cozumel, Belize, Grand Cayman, Roatan) except for the Dream. This itinerary goes to Costa Maya instead of Grand Cayman.

 

~We won’t be traveling with our kids, so kids/Camp Carnival programs don’t matter to us this time.

 

~On sea days, we’re “sitting around the pool” kinda people.

 

 

Sooooo now we need some help! Do any of these cruises stand out as being “better” than the other? Unfortunately, I haven’t been up on the latest with Carnival and I’m not familiar with the differences in the ships. The Legend cruise is about $150 (per cabin) lower than the others. Not really a big enough difference to make a factor, but certainly doesn’t hurt. ;) The other cruises are all prices within $10.

 

 

 

Help us out! :) Which one would you recommend for us and why? Thanks!!!!!! :D

[MagnoliaFly]

I've done the Legend W. Caribbean cruise twice (you can see my photos and review from my latest cruise in my signature).

 

I love the Legend. It's a nice ship with a good layout. The staff was helpful and nice. The food was great. I enjoyed all the ports.

 

I think it's cheaper than other ships because it's a bit older but I didn't mind.

 

I don't have anything to compare it to yet - we're going on the Dream next February so I'm anxious to see the difference.

[Jana60]

My husband and I have officially decided to take another cruise!! woohoo!!! :D We’ve always wanted to do the Western Caribbean. Now we need some help narrowing things down.

 

 

We’ve been on two cruises. Both Mexican Riviera. On the Elation and the Spirit. We’ll be traveling just the two of us.

 

 

Here are the cruises we’ve started to narrow it down to:

 

The Liberty out of Miami.

The Glory out of Miami.

The Dream out of Orlando/Port Canavaral.

The Legend out of Tampa.

 

 

 

~All of the itineraries are the same (Cozumel, Belize, Grand Cayman, Roatan) except for the Dream. This itinerary goes to Costa Maya instead of Grand Cayman.

 

~We won’t be traveling with our kids, so kids/Camp Carnival programs don’t matter to us this time.

 

~On sea days, we’re “sitting around the pool” kinda people.

 

 

Sooooo now we need some help! Do any of these cruises stand out as being “better” than the other? Unfortunately, I haven’t been up on the latest with Carnival and I’m not familiar with the differences in the ships. The Legend cruise is about $150 (per cabin) lower than the others. Not really a big enough difference to make a factor, but certainly doesn’t hurt. ;) The other cruises are all prices within $10.

 

 

 

Help us out! :) Which one would you recommend for us and why? Thanks!!!!!! :D

 

I've been on the Glory before and had a great time. :) I liked the ship enough that I have booked a Back 2 Back cruise on her in December. :D Glory is undergoing the 2.0 upgrades in November and I have not been on any ships with those changes in place yet and I don't know if any of the other ships you listed have already undergone those changes.

[golfadj]

Flip a coin all good

[Tapi]

I've sailed on the Dream and Liberty and I give a slight edge to the Liberty (better design, more tastefully decorated ship, less crowded than the Dream).

 

Legend tends to be favored by people interested in a more laid back, less crowded ship. the Spirit class (which is what the Legend is part of) has the best passenger to space ratio in the entire Carnival fleet. You won't find all the "bells and whistles" found on the newer Carnival ships (it's smaller and slightly older), but since you mentioned that you're more of a "sitting around the pool" kind of people, the Legend may be perfectly fine for your needs.

 

With that said, I think that any of the 4 ships will provide a very similar cruise experience. For me, the deciding factor would be based on:

 

• Day of Departure (Saturday vs. Sunday)
  
• Do I want to visit Grand Cayman or Costa Maya?
  
• Is airfare/hotel cheaper flying into Orlando, Miami or Tampa?
  

[MYRN1]

We've only been on one recently...THe Dream. Loved every minute of it!! We couldn't dock in Isla Roatan so we had an extra sea day, but made the most of it. It was actually the port and excursion we were really looking forward to...oh well, such is life.

 

We started our vacation at WDW staying at Old Key West for 3 nights in a studio, and although I l<3ve disney, the customer service and cleanliness on Carnival blew me away. So much so DH and knew we were cruising for our next family winter vacation.

 

I also wanted to comment on your user name. DH and I were signing mortgage paperwork years ago, and about 3/4's of the way done, I noticed our initials were MY and TY. I made a joke, and said look our initials together spell mai tai. Of course we had a celebratory drink after. :) Silly story. We still have them once in a while. Yummy!!

[marshhawk]

We cruised the Legend in Jan 2010, and are cruising on her again in 23? days can that be??? Well, we love the layout, love being able to walk the length of the ship without having to go up or down on level. We enjoyed the food, not loved it, but enjoyed it. (For some reason the Fantasy class ships have better food IMHO ) . We love the ports, Grand Cayman is Beautiful! Clean! High dollar! But you are only there a day so you don't have to spend a ton of your high dollars.:) Roaton, Belize are poorer countries, but beautiful, truly give you the Central American history and look. Cozumel is fun! In all the ports, the waters are gorgeous. The Legend is a more laid back older crowd over all, which is great! I'm older and enjoy being with people my own age. I enjoy being with youger people-they make me feel younger, but when you go to a sing along, no one is asking you if you mean Beatles or beetles.:rolleyes: The layout of the ship, the size, the crowd-what crowd? After the initial lunch on the lido there never was a crowd. Made a wonderful best friend on that ship! Cant speak for the others, but if you don't want to be blasted out with a giant screen playing music and movies all day, I'd go with the Legend.

[alabamaprincess]

 

Legend tends to be favored by people interested in a more laid back, less crowded ship. the Spirit class (which is what the Legend is part of) has the best passenger to space ratio in the entire Carnival fleet. You won't find all the "bells and whistles" found on the newer Carnival ships (it's smaller and slightly older), but since you mentioned that you're more of a "sitting around the pool" kind of people, the Legend may be perfectly fine for your needs.

 

 

 

If it were my cruise, I would pick the Legend because of the reasons Tapi listed. I hope someday we will get the opportunity to cruise this itinerary on the Legend. I also love the Tampa cruise terminal.

[Georgiagolfer]

DW and I have not sailed Legend, but have sailed Glory (3 times), Liberty (2 times), and dream (1 time). Out of these 3, we like the Liberty best, mainly for staff and decor. Really did not care for the layout/design of the Dream, felt crowded in a lot of the public areas.

[MaiTaiMary]

Cant speak for the others, but if you don't want to be blasted out with a giant screen playing music and movies all day, I'd go with the Legend.

 

OMG, which ship has this?? :eek:

[marshhawk]

OMG, which ship has this?? :eek:

 

All of them except the Legend. I see you were on the Spirit, same ship. They are sister ships.

[RWolver672]

We’ve been on two cruises. Both Mexican Riviera. On the Elation and the Spirit.

 

Seeing how you have been on two smaller Carnival ships, I would suggest you not go on the Dream. Size wise, the other three are the next step up from the Spirit. There is a huge difference between the Elation and the Dream passenger capacity wise.

[zirka]

Depending on what you like to do in port, Grand Cayman--great snorkeling, Stingray City. For us Costa Maya was a Mayan ruin day at Chacchoben (loved it)...I would also look at flight prices and see which is cheaper if it really doesn't matter otherwise.

 

Whatever you decide, you can't go wrong, you will be on a cruise:D

[Tapi]

Cant speak for the others, but if you don't want to be blasted out with a giant screen playing music and movies all day, I'd go with the Legend

 

I have to say that the "giant screen" is one of the things I HATE about the bigger ships. Who came up with that idea, and is there anybody who truly loves these screens???? I mean, they are good for night movies with popcorn, but not to watch CNN and crappy videos all day long while trying to relax by the pool!

 

I normally avoid the area during the entire cruise.

 

I go away on vacation to get away from it all, not to watch it on a stadium sized jumbo screen at full blast volume....!

[MaiTaiMary]

OK, I think I've ruled out The Dream. I really want to see Grand Cayman and I don't want a huge, crowded ship.

 

 

You won't find all the "bells and whistles" found on the newer Carnival ships (it's smaller and slightly older), but since you mentioned that you're more of a "sitting around the pool" kind of people, the Legend may be perfectly fine for your needs.

What kind of "bells & whistles" do the Liberty and Glory have?

 

 

 

I also wanted to comment on your user name. DH and I were signing mortgage paperwork years ago, and about 3/4's of the way done, I noticed our initials were MY and TY. I made a joke, and said look our initials together spell mai tai. Of course we had a celebratory drink after. :) Silly story. We still have them once in a while. Yummy!!

:D

 

 

The Legend is a more laid back older crowd over all, which is great! I'm older and enjoy being with people my own age. I enjoy being with youger people-they make me feel younger, but when you go to a sing along, no one is asking you if you mean Beatles or beetles.:rolleyes:

 

Interesting! I never realized different Carnival ships had different age groups. DH and I are in our mid 40's. Not old "fuddy duddys", but we don't really hang around young "karaoke" crowds. ;)

[MaiTaiMary]

I have to say that the "giant screen" is one of the things I HATE about the bigger ships. Who came up with that idea, and is there anybody who truly loves these screens???? I mean, they are good for night movies with popcorn, but not to watch CNN and crappy videos all day long while trying to relax by the pool!

 

I normally avoid the area during the entire cruise.

 

I go away on vacation to get away from it all, not to watch it on a stadium sized jumbo screen at full blast volume....!

 

 

I've never been on a "big screen ship". OMG, sounds like my worst nightmare! LOL :eek: Seriously, very unappealing to me. On sea days, I love to just find a chair and read my book with a fru-fru drink. I do NOT like blaring music. (OK, so maybe I AM an old "fuddy duddy". LOL :D )

 

 

So both the Glory and the Liberty have this? I'm assuming there are areas to relax in around the ship that you can get away from the big TV, if we do chose one of these ships?

 

 

 

Speaking of peace & quiet.....

Do the Legend, Glory, or Liberty have the "Serenity area"? What exactly is this? An adult only area? Is it quiet? :o

[Tapi]

I've never been on a "big screen ship". OMG, sounds like my worst nightmare! LOL :eek: Seriously, very unappealing to me. On sea days, I love to just find a chair and read my book with a fru-fru drink. I do NOT like blaring music.

 

In all fairness, even though the Dream, Liberty and Glory have the big screen, they also have another pool in the back of the ship (the quiet, fudddy-duddy pool ;)).

 

So if you're not into loud music, videos, and pool games while trying to enjoy your book and fru-fru drink, definitely head for the aft pool. That's where we normally spend our lido deck time...:)

[mysh442olds]

try something new

Out of Puerto Rico it was our first and wont be last time there our favorite to date

[Willbcruisin]

Just my two cents. We have sailed Liberty, Dream and Glory. Dream was my least favorite of all compared to Liberty or Glory. Dream I feel is not laid out well, to crowded for me and service lacking compared to other ships.(I have sailed the larger RCL ships and found the lay out much better) We actually sailed her (Dream) a second time for a friends wedding (only reason I went back on her) hoping we would find it better for us as our first sailing was a New years sailing. Sorry to say Dream is just not the class of ship for me.

 

Liberty kept calling us back and we have sailed her 3X. Glory we just sailed in July and loved her so much we board her again next month.

 

The aft pools and serenity areas are really nice on Liberty and Glory. Never enjoyed on Dream as we could never ever get a chair on either of our sailings.

 

Miracle is my fav CCL ship to date but really love Liberty & Glory as well. That is without the 2.0 upgrades. Can't wait to sail with them!

 

I say you can't go wrong with Liberty or Glory! Happy sailing!

[mmarche]

I have sailed on all the ships you are considering and I loved the liberty so much I sailed it twice!! With the new 2.0 upgrades it is amazing!! Try Guys Burgers adn checkout the Blue Iguana Cantina for breakfast!!

 

The liberty is a decent size and not as crowded as the dream, fairly easy to navigate as well.

 

Dont forget to try the streakhouse!!

[winddawn]

My husband and I have officially decided to take another cruise!! woohoo!!! :D We’ve always wanted to do the Western Caribbean. Now we need some help narrowing things down.

 

We’ve been on two cruises. Both Mexican Riviera. On the Elation and the Spirit. We’ll be traveling just the two of us.

 

Here are the cruises we’ve started to narrow it down to:

 

The Liberty out of Miami.

The Glory out of Miami.

The Dream out of Orlando/Port Canavaral.

The Legend out of Tampa.

 

 

 

~All of the itineraries are the same (Cozumel, Belize, Grand Cayman, Roatan) except for the Dream. This itinerary goes to Costa Maya instead of Grand Cayman.

 

~We won’t be traveling with our kids, so kids/Camp Carnival programs don’t matter to us this time.

 

~On sea days, we’re “sitting around the pool” kinda people.

 

 

Sooooo now we need some help! Do any of these cruises stand out as being “better” than the other? Unfortunately, I haven’t been up on the latest with Carnival and I’m not familiar with the differences in the ships. The Legend cruise is about $150 (per cabin) lower than the others. Not really a big enough difference to make a factor, but certainly doesn’t hurt. ;) The other cruises are all prices within $10.

 

 

 

Help us out! :) Which one would you recommend for us and why? Thanks!!!!!! :D

I see you are from California, so I'm assuming that you will be flying to port. While Tampa's airport tends to be slower to get through, it is much nicer than Miami's airport. One plus for the Legend trip. Like many others have posted, the Spirit class of ships are the best, and Legend is a Spirit class of ship. If you can afford it, the Spirit class ships have the best aft wrap balcony cabins in the Carnival fleet. Trust me, you would not be disappointed in booking an aft wrap balcony cabin on the Legend.

 

Since getting to Port Canaveral from Orlando airport takes about an hour, I would consider that a minus for the Dream.

 

Whatever you choose, I hope you have a fabulous cruise vacation. I would definitely vote for the Legend out of Tampa though.

[MaiTaiMary]

So the Legend ship is pretty much the same as the Spirit?

 

I'm pretty familiar with the Tampa airport. Been there many times. I believe the cruise ship terminal is fairly close to the airport, yes? We'd have to get a hotel for the night before since we wouldn't arrive until the early evening. I've been to Miami once and I remember the airport being a nightmare (mighta just been that day, I dunno.)

 

 

We had an Aft balcony cabin on the Spirit. LOVED it! :D I'll have to look into the wrap balcony!

[MaiTaiMary]

I have sailed on all the ships you are considering and I loved the liberty so much I sailed it twice!! With the new 2.0 upgrades it is amazing!! Try Guys Burgers adn checkout the Blue Iguana Cantina for breakfast!!

 

 

What are the "2.0 upgrades"?

 

 

What are "Guys Burgers" and "Blue Iguana Cantina"?

[misstopgun]

Lot's of good choices. Here is my 2 cents worth.

 

We have saild the Dream Twice, the Liberty and Glory once, and the Legend 3 times with a 4th booked for October.

 

I agree with most of the posters that the Dream seemed much more crowded and impersonal. We only sailed the second time because it was the only Carnival ship that stopped in Costa Maya, our favorite day at the beach stop. They shortened the stop there to 6 hours from 8 to 2 now so we don't consider the stop as part of our decision anymore. Just too early in the morning to get your beach drinking started.

 

Our Glory cruise was somewhere around 2005 so nothing really sticks out that made it unforgetable but I am sure we enjoyed it.

 

Our Liberty cruise was last fall after the 2.0 upgrades. We really enjoyed the additional eating venues. Guy's Burgers were fantastic as was the burrito bar. We didn't find the crew to be as friendly as what we were accustomed to though, and if you smoke, it will be very inconvienient.

 

Last but not least is the Legend. This is our favorite. There are no special bells or whistles or new upgrades at this point, but it has always seemed to be the friendliest of all of the ships to us. The crew just seem to be happier and enjoying their jobs more than on other ships. We fly from AZ and we do prefer the Tampa airport as well.

 

I am sure you will enjoy whichever you choose especially if you are without the kids for some bonding time. If Kids were a factor there would be more to consider such as the larger Water Works such as the Dream has.

 

Have a great cruise whichever you choose!

[MaiTaiMary]

I have sailed on all the ships you are considering and I loved the liberty so much I sailed it twice!! With the new 2.0 upgrades it is amazing!! Try Guys Burgers adn checkout the Blue Iguana Cantina for breakfast!!

 

 

What are the new 2.0 upgrades? Does the Legend have them?

 

 

Do the Legend, Glory, or Liberty have the "Serenity area"?