Celebrity cruisers thinking of....Carnival?!

[Cruise a holic]

Or booking a Days Inn verus a Hilton.

 

I agree too that their food is better than RCI, or at least it was 10 years ago. However, I really do not pick by who has the best food as I have to watch what I eat. Besides, I feel Celebrity's main diningroom food is as good and probably better than Carnival. Carnival is all about value for your dollar with a little over the top glitz. As I said, I would cruise Carnival for a specific itinerary as long as I had at least a balcony room so I would have a place to chill when it got too much for me.

 

If you haven't sailed on the New Rci ships you havent experienced the food. The choice of restaurants and quality of food now is good to excellent

Edited April 19, 2014 by Cruise a holic

[micmacmissy]

Well, between the loud music, the smoking policy, and the crowding, I'm pretty convinced Carnival is NOT a good fit for us.

 

I think we'll hit up Oasis/Allure for our next cruise with the kids...we're just too used to a certain level of class, ambiance, and service with Celebrity. Not willing to risk a rare week of vacation on Carnival...

 

I'm also very curious to see what Gambee's take on it is...he's sailing them soon, I believe!

[momofmeg]

If you haven't sailed on the New Rci ships you havent experienced the food. The choice of restaurants and quality of food now is good to excellent

 

Oh food is almost always very good in pay extra venues. I meant main dining room food. Personally I do not like the monster ships so even if they had the best food there was, it would not matter to me. As I already said, I have to watch what I eat anyway, so it is better it doesn't taste too good and temp me to much.

 

I do feel RCI is doing a good thing in making more venues to replace the main dining room on the new QOS. That is bound to make the food some better as mass produced banquet food cannot complete with a 4 star restaurant. They may end up with the best mainstream line food.

 

Nevertheless, I like the radiance class ships of RCI the best. Probably becasue they are the closet to Celebrity.

 

Besides, I haven't been on Carnival in over 10 years either. For all I know their food is crap now.

[momofmeg]

Well, between the loud music, the smoking policy, and the crowding, I'm pretty convinced Carnival is NOT a good fit for us.

 

I think we'll hit up Oasis/Allure for our next cruise with the kids...we're just too used to a certain level of class, ambiance, and service with Celebrity. Not willing to risk a rare week of vacation on Carnival...

 

I'm also very curious to see what Gambee's take on it is...he's sailing them soon, I believe!

 

Unless the price was a super value you shouldn't I feel. Some people like a Vegas atmosphere. I don't. if that is not your cup of tea, then you shouldn't even if you got a super deal.

[beachseeker]

We enjoyed both of our Carnival cruises. We found the food to be very good, service was good, and neither cruise was in any a "party cruise". The Magic, I believe, is similar to the Breeze and we thought it was well laid out. We had no problem finding a lounger by the pool area, unlike our experience on the Solstice. Loved the pub on the Magic. It was where we usually ended our day.

[beachseeker]

As I have never sailed on Carnival I would not try it because of one reason: loud music. Each time we met a Carnival ship at any port they were playing loud music on deck. Loud enough to hear it quite far away. And not only for sail-away.

I like sea days or staying on the ship/returning early to relax on deck. Can't imagine that with such loud music.

 

Lots of ppl here are complaining about the level of music at Celebrity ships. Carnival seems to be MUCH worse.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Only been on Carnival twice but loud music was not an issue on either cruise.

[miniflea]

Regarding the smoking policy differences between CCL and Celebrity: My wife and daughter and I have done Thanksgiving cruises on Carnival the last 3 years and none of us like to be around smoke (I'll go so far as to say we all hate it), and outside of the casino, don't remember it being an issue on any of the 3 boats (Freedom, Legend, Breeze). The loud music wasn't even really that big on an issue for us. The only area where it's loud is on Lido out by the main pool, but in other areas of the ship, even outdoor areas forward or aft of there, it was hardly noticeable (if at all)

 

While we haven't cruised Celebrity yet (set for June :) ), we've been on RCI (3x), NCL (1x), and CCL (4x). The first CCL cruise was back in 2004, and it fit all the stereotypes people still associate with them being a party ship. When we booked the first Thanksgiving cruise in 2011, I really thought long and hard about choosing them for that very reason, but we gave it a shot due to price and itinerary (best itinerary we've ever done). Honestly, the past 3 have shown us that CCL's done a lot to get rid of that reputation. I will say that the food is fine, but I wouldn't call it spectacular. Of the 3 lines we've sailed, RCI always had the best MDR food, with Carnival being second, and NCL being dead last (the dozen or so of us on that trip all felt the same).

 

As far as the OP looking at the Breeze, that was our most recent, this past Thanksgiving. Biggest boat we'd been on to date on any line, and while it had a few issues, overall we liked it. My parents were with us, and my mom tends to be overly sensitive to both noise and smoke (to put it mildly), but they both had a great time and no complaints in either area. The only problems we had:

 

1. The lines for Blue Iguana, Guy's Burger Bar, and the BBQ stand were pretty bad if you went at prime eating times.

 

2. The pizza stand. Always a wait, even for a single slice. We skipped the MDR in Curacao due to the times we were in port there, so we ended up running up to get pizza around 11pm that night after we got back on. Yea, pretty sure I waited at least 30min for two slices. This was actually a problem on the Legend and Freedom, too. They definitely need more people on the pizza stand.

 

2. The shows have gone downhill, even over the past 3 years. I'm guessing it's a result of cutbacks, but most of the shows on the Breeze just weren't worth staying for. The only one we sat all the way through was the hypnotist, because some of my daughter's friends went up on stage for it.

 

3. The comedy club needs to be bigger on the Breeze. On the Freedom and Legend there really wasn't much of an issue getting to the adult comedy shows within 5min of start and finding a seat somewhere, but on the Breeze they filled up within 5min of the doors opening.

 

Overall, I'd agree with those who've said that Carnival's done a lot to get rid of their 'party boat' image and clean things up. Personally, we'd cruise them again for an itinerary we wanted.

Edited April 19, 2014 by miniflea

[Stateroom_Sailor]

Or booking a Days Inn verus a Hilton.

 

I agree too that their food is better than RCI, or at least it was 10 years ago. However, I really do not pick by who has the best food as I have to watch what I eat. Besides, I feel Celebrity's main diningroom food is as good and probably better than Carnival. Carnival is all about value for your dollar with a little over the top glitz. As I said, I would cruise Carnival for a specific itinerary as long as I had at least a balcony room so I would have a place to chill when it got too much for me.

 

Food is a factor for us, which is why Norwegian is off our list. I've heard that Princess has really gone downhill in this department too. RCL food is good and that's fine, it can't be best at everything or the trip would cost more. I don't go on a cruise to eat Applebees quality in the MDR every night, but other than that I don't let food be a deciding factor either.

 

We chose Carnival for 2015 because of the price and to see Progreso Mexico. It was either that or Crystal Cruise line! I think RCL and Celebrity are going to be our favorites, but I don't mind mixing things up too, especially when it's a unique itinerary ;)

[fleckle]

We enjoyed both of our Carnival cruises. We found the food to be very good, service was good, and neither cruise was in any a "party cruise". The Magic, I believe, is similar to the Breeze and we thought it was well laid out.....

The same for us, although our cruises were on the Carnival Spirit, about the same size as Celebrity's M-class ships.

 

Although we would usually choose Celebrity over Carnival, we find Carnival to be fine when they provide an itinerary we want at the time we want to go that Celebrity doesn't offer.

 

We avoid holiday party cruises and stick to the longer cruises, at times when schools are in session.

 

It seems that most of the people we have met who made insulting remarks about Carnival had never even been on a Carnival cruise and were only trying to make themselves feel so superior to those who cruise on Carnival.

 

Interestingly, a few years ago some of the cruise directors on Celebrity cruises used to make tacky, snide remarks about Carnival as part of their routine, but I have not heard them do that recently.

 

 

We view cruising on different cruise lines like going to a Mexican restaurant or a Chinese restaurant or a seafood restaurant or a hotdog stand and enjoying each for what it offers, not expecting them all to be alike.

Edited April 19, 2014 by fleckle

[momofmeg]

Food is a factor for us, which is why Norwegian is off our list. I've heard that Princess has really gone downhill in this department too. RCL food is good and that's fine, it can't be best at everything or the trip would cost more. I don't go on a cruise to eat Applebees quality in the MDR every night, but other than that I don't let food be a deciding factor either.

 

We chose Carnival for 2015 because of the price and to see Progreso Mexico. It was either that or Crystal Cruise line! I think RCL and Celebrity are going to be our favorites, but I don't mind mixing things up too, especially when it's a unique itinerary ;)

 

I liked NCL Pearl very well , but the other 2 NCL ships were horrid-not set up for freestyle, they had taken from the buffet area to make specialty restaurants which ruined that for lunch and breakfast.

 

But even the Pearl did not have an adult's only pool away from children. They did have a T pool for an extra cost. If I go on NCL again I will definitely buy a pass for that. I need my "chill space." I love that about Celebrity and was disappointed on my last Connie short cruise that children had taken over the adult's area and nothing was done about it. It was supposed to be from 3 to 5 pm( which I did not mind-that is only fair since it is a Tpool) but they were there all the time.

 

Needless to say when we go on NCL, we do eat in the specialties more, and we are just as apt to eat dinner at the buffet on the nights we do not go to a specifically. They do have good specialty restaurants though. So does Celebrity, the difference with Celebrity is you go to the specialty more for ambiance,as the food is quite good in the main dining room.

 

That said, we may actually do NCL next year. It is a repositioning cruise from Copenhagen to Dover. We like it because of the ports in Norway and then it also does several port sin Scotland. that is normally 2 different cruises. That particular cruise is not cheap, I am guessing becasue of the ports, but it ticks off more on hubby's "bucket list". If all things were equal we would pick Celebrity for sure. Celebrity is offering a similar cruise this May but we can't go this year.

[momofmeg]

Just wanted to add, although I like a T pool, I am happy with a pool area that is adult's only. Maybe if the Connie's was not a Tpool, children would not have taken it over.

[HeatherC430]

I'd just like to add...I've been on 10 cruises with Carnival and the Breeze was my favorite of all their ships! We loved all the 2.0 upgrades and features of the ship that aren't present on all the older ships. We also loved the more subdued decor of the ship. We didn't experience any of the crowding that others speak of, however we cruise in January when there was very few kids/families on the ship (which we did on purpose). I'm sure if your cruise is over the holidays or the summer months there would be crowding due to the volume of people on the ship. While I did prefer my last Celebrity cruise to my past Carnival cruises, I wouldn't hesitate to cruise Carnival again if they offered the right itinerary or on one of the new ship when it's released.

[xanax]

Well, between the loud music, the smoking policy, and the crowding, I'm pretty convinced Carnival is NOT a good fit for us.

 

I think we'll hit up Oasis/Allure for our next cruise with the kids...we're just too used to a certain level of class, ambiance, and service with Celebrity. Not willing to risk a rare week of vacation on Carnival...

 

I'm also very curious to see what Gambee's take on it is...he's sailing them soon, I believe!

 

Don't understand why seasoned cruisers still think Carnival is the same since the 80's.

I have NEVER had a loud music, smoking or crazy partiers issues. The Dream has my absolutely fav cove balcony. Nothing like it....so close to the water. Also, I've been on ships with 500 kids...noticed about 20 maybe. Camp Carnival is awesome.

[terigo]

Don't understand why seasoned cruisers still think Carnival is the same since the 80's.

I have NEVER had a loud music, smoking or crazy partiers issues. The Dream has my absolutely fav cove balcony. Nothing like it....so close to the water. Also, I've been on ships with 500 kids...noticed about 20 maybe. Camp Carnival is awesome.

 

Same exact experience on the Dream last year. We are in our 60s and loved it. We went in August and if there were a ton of kids, we didn't see them...never had a problem getting food at the buffet or finding a lounge by the pool.

I still say that most of the people who make disparaging comments about Carnival have never sailed with them.

[momofmeg]

Same exact experience on the Dream last year. We are in our 60s and loved it. We went in August and if there were a ton of kids, we didn't see them...never had a problem getting food at the buffet or finding a lounge by the pool.

I still say that most of the people who make disparaging comments about Carnival have never sailed with them.

 

They are not my favorite, Celebrity is a better fit, but that does not mean I will never cruise with Carnival again. As I said, for the right itinerary or with certain friends I would. I will just never again take a less than 7 day cruise with Carnival.

 

As far as rowdy partiers and rowdy kids, I have experienced that on any short cruise that fell over the weekend. Even the Constellation had a bit of a kid problem, when we cruised her in January 2013. It was the end of "winter break," and especially the T pool had a problem with kids hanging there. The sign said they were allowed 3 -5 pm but they were there at all times. It was not as bad as I have experienced on other lines' short weekend cruises, but still enough that I did not like it.

 

However, Celebrity is still more subdued than Carnival and yes decor effects my emotions. Celebrity's decor soothes the soul.