Carnival Cruisers: Sunshine vs Breakaway vs Quantum

[MrPete]

Which one excites you?

[shof515]

none of the above, all of them will be out of my price range for the next few years :(

[Warm Breezes]

NCL Breakaway is the one the interests me the most....Unfortunately the prices will keep me from booking for a while. Never-the-less I will be purchasing FCC on our Jewel cruise in October in hopes the prices will drop in the next few years. We actually purchased a FCC on our Epic cruise for the purpose of sailing on the Breakaway. We used that on our Jewel cruise because I couldn't justify paying the prices of the Breakaway yet.

[Shipbound]

I agree with the above posts with exception of the Sunshine which the prices do not look too bad but the other two ships will be above my prices range for a few years.

 

Gary

[Warm Breezes]

I agree with the above posts with exception of the Sunshine which the prices do not look too bad but the other two ships will be above my prices range for a few years.

 

Gary

 

I might even sail on the Sunshine before the Breakaway. Even though the Breakaway interest me the most as a ship, if the Sunshine meets our wants (itinerary, embarkation port, price) for a future cruise, it may get our business first. While we have on occasion picked a cruise for the ship, the majority of our cruises need to meet other criteria first. I can see the Breakaway being one we sail for the ship, but the price has to come down some before I can justify doing that.

[ilionite65]

I believe the question was, which ship interested you, not which ship can you afford!

[Warm Breezes]

I believe the question was, which ship interested you, not which ship can you afford!

 

And what if you are only interested in what you can afford? :rolleyes:

[Shipbound]

I have been on 31 cruises with CCL and when I book a cruise I look what I can afford because I feel if the ship I choose is affordable then I have more money to do other things but to answer your question the Quantum is more interest to me but can I afford it, probably not.

 

Gary

[Bostonjetset]

And what if you are only interested in what you can afford? :rolleyes:

 

That seems like a boring way to get through life ;)

 

Can I afford to travel Queens Grill on QM2's 118 day world voyage? Not yet. But that certainly interests me! haha

[big_duck]

I believe the question was, which ship interested you, not which ship can you afford!

 

Actually the question was which excites you.

 

You may not even be interested in sailing on the ship for various reasons but could still be excited by which direction a particular ship is taking cruise vacations.

[cornfuzed]

Neener, neener, my fave ship is better than yours.

 

 

What is best for me is all that matters to me!

[Aquahound]

I dd some work on the Destiny and didn't like the ship. I'm having a hard time comprehending more passengers, so I have no excitement at all in seeing that new refurb.

 

I like the Breakaway design. What excites me most is the outdoor eating venues. Unfortunately, I'm skeptical over how those will be with the weather elements included.

 

I'm most impressed by Two70 on QOS and the Music Hall. I prefer live music venues, so of the 3, QOS gets my nod.

[firefly333]

I voted for Sunshine since its possible, the others are not. Sunshine leaves from NOLA which I can drive to, and the others from NY or NJ.. which I am not interested in.

 

Its not about the ship, its about departure port for me. Why get excited about a ship I dont want?

 

Sunshine it is.

 

I believe the question was, which ship interested you, not which ship can you afford!

 

Im not interested in a ship that leaves from NY or NJ period... so have little excitement for the two ships other than Sunshine which I admit Im getting more interested in.

 

Im with Warm Breezes on this one.. why would you be excited about a ship that you dont want to do vs one that I do want to do. It doesnt matter why she isnt excited.. it just said which one excites you.

 

I could have picked Epic for the same price as conquest the way my TA does bookings.. and I picked Conquest because I could drive to it. Since then I have changed my mind and decided to try epic... but I picked conquest for the same type of cabin same price as when epic was new.

[Warm Breezes]

That seems like a boring way to get through life ;)

 

Can I afford to travel Queens Grill on QM2's 118 day world voyage? Not yet. But that certainly interests me! haha

 

Really that's not even on my radar of interest.....I don't ever plan on affording it and I'd rather become excited about something I realistically can afford and enjoy in actuality, not in my dreams.

[Bostonjetset]

Really that's not even on my radar of interest.....I don't ever plan on affording it and I'd rather become excited about something I realistically can afford and enjoy in actuality, not in my dreams.

 

I certainly cannot afford over $70,000pp at this point in my life [as in the aforementioned QM2 voyage] but hope that someday I will be able to. Of course that comparison was more to prove a point that it doesn't hurt to dream.

 

Back down to the reality of the 3 ships mentioned by the OP; I don't feel any of them are astronomically out of reach for most people that can afford to take multiple holidays per year to begin with. The Breakaway has inside cabins starting at $749pp on the NY-Bermuda intineraries; I would not consider that outrageously expensive, especially for the maiden season of a ship. Sure it is more than some 7-day trips on older Carnival ships [or even older NCL ships] that can be had starting in the $400-$500 range but it is unlikely anyone on this board is destitute or they would not be traveling at all. Also, depending on where in the country one lives, the Breakaway voyage could well work out out to be cheaper than taking an older ship out of FL and having to spend hundreds flying there. :D

[daijayx2]

The Quantum looks amazing to me. I am sailing the Sunshine in Dec and looking forward to it. But for 2014 I will be looking into sailing the Quantum or the Allure.

 

 

Melissa

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[alpal1993]

It would be silly for me to fly to NY or NJ to take a Caribbean cruise as we live 10 minutes from the port(on a good day)Already booked on the Sunshine for this June.So far the design of the ship is impressive,but to me nothing will beat the ports.Never been to the Med before.Counting the days.

Going on Oasis next year with grandson.Been on a tour and the ship is amazing The Quantum will be as well.

[Warm Breezes]

I certainly cannot afford over $70,000pp at this point in my life [as in the aforementioned QM2 voyage] but hope that someday I will be able to. Of course that comparison was more to prove a point that it doesn't hurt to dream.

 

Back down to the reality of the 3 ships mentioned by the OP; I don't feel any of them are astronomically out of reach for most people that can afford to take multiple holidays per year to begin with. The Breakaway has inside cabins starting at $749pp on the NY-Bermuda intineraries; I would not consider that outrageously expensive, especially for the maiden season of a ship. Sure it is more than some 7-day trips on older Carnival ships [or even older NCL ships] that can be had starting in the $400-$500 range but it is unlikely anyone on this board is destitute or they would not be traveling at all. Also, depending on where in the country one lives, the Breakaway voyage could well work out out to be cheaper than taking an older ship out of FL and having to spend hundreds flying there. :D

 

Nope it doesn't hurt to dream...I guess you missed my post that said Breakaway was the ship that interests me most but my next post said Sunshine was most likely the one I'd sail first. Breakaway is my current just out of reach cruise on my wish list....but I don't anticipate it to always be that way.

 

Unlike your QM2 example which I would fully expect to remain out of reach, I expect Breakaway to be a realistic choice for us in a couple of years. Could we do it now...yes, at the expense of other things I value higher or taking away from savings that I don't intend to do at this time in our lives. So in the meantime I will stick to cruises we can realisticly take and still pay for dance classes, college classes, more than one vacation during the year, etc. If that mean sailing the Sunshine first because it is more affordable and meets other criteria on our vacation wants....then I'm going to get excited about sailing the Sunshine....even though Breakaway will still be on my wishlist.

 

Some people don't look that far out. They get excited about what they can afford now and don't even look at the other options (like I don't even look at QM2). If someone only gets excited about the cruise they can realistic do, whether it be because of budget or travel restrictions or anything else....I see nothing wrong with that.

[yogimax]

Given the amazing character of RCCL's Oasis and Allure, it's got to be the Quantum.

 

Easy choice!

[kgymn]

Well, the Sunshine I have little interest in. It's just a refurb, though, I do like the decor which is important to me. But it doesn't have as much to do as the other ships. The serenity area does look fabulous, though I can guess how crowded it will be. But other than that, it looks like any other 2.0 ship with a couple extra bells and whistles and a lot more people. I'd still sail on it, but it's not on the top of the list for me.

 

The Breakaway and the Quantum both look amazing to me. Their new features are something different than *I* have experienced before, having only sailed on Carnival (and only once so far) but there's some things on both theseships I'd love to see.

 

The Two70 on Quantum looks gorgeous and the seaplex looks interesting. It also looks like they aren't trying to cram extra people on the ship to go along with the new features, it's not their largest ship, and that makes me feel like I'd actually be able to enjoy these features without worrying about the crowds.

 

The Breakaway I really like the Waterfront. When I was young, and dreamed of going on a cruise, this is something I always pictured being on a cruise ship. It looks like a good variety of things to do, and the waterslides look like a lot of fun, though I'm not sure what I think about there being fewer pools than waterslides.

 

Anyways I voted Quantum but it's close to a tie with the Breakaway at this point.

 

~Katy

[mdwcruises]

It's a tie between Breakaway and Quantum to me. Sunshine from what I understand is a refurbished ship. It is really not the same.

[negc]

Taking an older ship and doing some minor renovations and then giving it a new name is hardly exciting. Both Breakaway and Quantum offer new ships and new and innovative experiences. Sunshine (Destiny) will be more affordable for the obvious reason that it is neither truly new nor is it especially innovative and could hardly justify higher tariffs.

[Bostonjetset]

Some people don't look that far out. They get excited about what they can afford now and don't even look at the other options (like I don't even look at QM2). If someone only gets excited about the cruise they can realistic do, whether it be because of budget or travel restrictions or anything else....I see nothing wrong with that.

 

Of course nothing is wrong with that :D

All of us on this board are lucky we can afford to travel at all; most of us several times a year.

[firefly333]

Of course nothing is wrong with that :D

All of us on this board are lucky we can afford to travel at all; most of us several times a year.

 

We all pick for different reasons. There are lots who post on this board who could cruise whatever cruise they wanted. I looked at Queen Mary and dreaded the idea of wearing formals. I hate to dress up. One person's dream is another's nightmare. I have mixed feelings even about Celebrity. On Carnival and RCL I cant wait to strip off my dress and get into something more comfy, but Celebrity people like to stay dressed up. .. but the food is better.

 

Every cruise is a trade off and I enjoy each one about the same, no matter which ship it is. Im past being totally wow'd I think at this point. I have done Oasis twice and liked it, but all that computer stuff also wasnt as comfy for me.. like I had prebooked shows.. but then had to look up on the tv which one I had and where I had to be that night.. the 2nd time was easier.

 

I do plan on Epic and Allure.. but I also want some comfy Carnival cruises I can drive to. I look forward to them too, for different reasons. We dont all have to pick for the same reasons. Im with Warm Breezes on that.

[sjn911]

For me..just excited wise..I think is is the Quantum..I am excited to try Rccl..but i do not give up on anything..and I just about can get excited about any ship...just not the plane ride cost...Sarah