Help a NCL girl find her Carnival ship :)

[cruizinisthebest]

UGH!

 

As we have been discussing this...the Glory has dropped prices over the last few hours. :eek: Down another $50 from what is was earlier AND it still remains the cheapest ship (well behind the Magic of course). :o

 

decisions....decisions. Glory has an awesome CD so I've heard. We were actually booked on the Glory for this Summer then switched to the Sunshine so we can get to Aruba. Glory and Conquest are essentially the same except for the Serenity factor. :)

[mitsugirly]

Glory and Conquest are essentially the same except for the Serenity factor. :)

 

...and one extra port and day. :D

 

I know that it says on Carnivals site that Dr Suess is coming soon to the Glory. I wonder HOW SOON??? :confused:

 

It also sucks that I could actually get a balcony room on the Magic for CHEAPER than any of these ships with an interior. :(

 

I think I'm going to give myself a heart attack before I'm ever able to decide.

 

I really want to pick the Vallor for the ports.

I really want to pick the Magic for the price and all the bells & whistles.

I wouldn't mind the Glory or the Conquest for the ports or ships with the 2.0.

 

Someone put me out of my misery.

[mommiemudd]

We are beach people too and my husband is a diver. So, we usually choose the ports first and then the ship. We always have the same week in October so we choose what fits into that time frame. We started cruising with NCL but made the switch to Carnival because I didn't want to repeat places. Although, the place that I don't mind repeating are: St Thomas, St Maarten, Curacao and Grand Turk. So, I would probably pick the Conquest or the Valor. We just did the Sunshine and loved the 2.o upgrades. Love Grand Turk and would love to visit St. Kitts. Really didn't like San Juan. Toured the forts and rainforest the first time, beach the second time. No snorkeling and the beach just doesn't compare to other beaches. On the other hand Bonaire is like the place to dive so I bet snorkeling would be fantastic. We just did Aruba and we weren't impressed. I think we just chose the wrong beach. Which I researched extensively but you never know. Next time I would head over to the Aruba watersports location. Sorry, I can't help much with the ships. Although I will say going from NCL to Carnival was not a big deal for us. You can just search my user name and find several reviews, I always include port reviews...one day I'll link them to my signature.

[mommiemudd]

and BTW I think we have the same taste in beaches. My favorites are Mullet Bay, Sapphire Beach and Rum Point. PARADISE!!

[mitsugirly]

We are beach people too and my husband is a diver. So, we usually choose the ports first and then the ship. We always have the same week in October so we choose what fits into that time frame. We started cruising with NCL but made the switch to Carnival because I didn't want to repeat places. Although, the place that I don't mind repeating are: St Thomas, St Maarten, Curacao and Grand Turk. So, I would probably pick the Conquest or the Valor. We just did the Sunshine and loved the 2.o upgrades. Love Grand Turk and would love to visit St. Kitts. Really didn't like San Juan. Toured the forts and rainforest the first time, beach the second time. No snorkeling and the beach just doesn't compare to other beaches. On the other hand Bonaire is like the place to dive so I bet snorkeling would be fantastic. We just did Aruba and we weren't impressed. I think we just chose the wrong beach. Which I researched extensively but you never know. Next time I would head over to the Aruba watersports location. Sorry, I can't help much with the ships. Although I will say going from NCL to Carnival was not a big deal for us. You can just search my user name and find several reviews, I always include port reviews...one day I'll link them to my signature.

 

Thanks so much for your input. I really appreciate it and I will definitely look into your reviews. Do they have pictures with the port reviews? I love me some good pictures. :D

 

I'm afraid I will feel the same about San Juan and kinda see it as just an extra port that I must go to in order to be on the ship (kinda like Nassau or even Jamaica for that matter to me).

 

What beach did you pick in Aruba? I want to make sure I don't head to the wrong beach if I pick this cruise.

 

I don't have a problem at all going from NCL to Carnival. I'll still cruise NCL (I have some future cruise certificates to use up and I still like NCL, just not the ports at the moment). But love Carnival as well and really don't see "much" difference in them...like most people will lead you to believe.

[mitsugirly]

and BTW I think we have the same taste in beaches. My favorites are Mullet Bay, Sapphire Beach and Rum Point. PARADISE!!

 

 

Kinda :D I loved Mullet Bay, definitely Sapphire Beach (and can't forget Coki for the snorkeling=A.M.A.Z.I.N.G), and now Blue Kay. If I could pick a beach I would want it to be exactly like Sapphire or Blue Kay with a perfect combo of snorkeling and sandy beach area (just like the both of them) along with plenty of palm trees for shade or plenty of areas for sunning...with powdery soft sand. Yep, those are my dream paradise places!!!

 

So...since you know what I'm looking for...suggest me a beach like this! :D

[Jenner9]

What about Breeze 8 day to the Southern Caribbean ( I did not read entire thread so I apologize if it has already been suggested). I have never sailed on Carnival but will be trying Breeze next Jan to Grand Turk, Dominican, Aruba and Curacao.

[mitsugirly]

What about Breeze 8 day to the Southern Caribbean ( I did not read entire thread so I apologize if it has already been suggested). I have never sailed on Carnival but will be trying Breeze next Jan to Grand Turk, Dominican, Aruba and Curacao.

 

 

Would LOVE to do the Breeze and especially to those destinations, however it's not offered for the week we need. The Breeze only has a 6 day cruise and it's more than the 7 or 8 day cruises. :(

[tvlworm]

...and one extra port and day. :D

 

I know that it says on Carnivals site that Dr Suess is coming soon to the Glory. I wonder HOW SOON??? :confused:

 

It also sucks that I could actually get a balcony room on the Magic for CHEAPER than any of these ships with an interior. :(

 

I think I'm going to give myself a heart attack before I'm ever able to decide.

 

I really want to pick the Vallor for the ports.

I really want to pick the Magic for the price and all the bells & whistles.

I wouldn't mind the Glory or the Conquest for the ports or ships with the 2.0.

 

Someone put me out of my misery.

 

Love the itinerary options! We are sailing on the magic in 4 weeks and similar to you picked on price both air and cruise cost and bells and whistles. Also NCL fans our last cruise was on the Epic 2 years ago and my kids loved it so they kind of have high expectations for slides etc.

 

For other st maarten options we did the 3 island snorkeling tour through Captain Alan's and it was the best excursion ever! Great staff, great snorkeling! Just an option since you were looking for something else to do.

 

Puerto Rico has great beaches, not sure if there are excursions to either Vieques or Flamenco beach? Or Luquello beach is about 30m from San Juan and is very popular, more golden sand the other 2 are white sand. The rainforest is gorgeous and fun, tons of waterfalls but lots of walking.

 

Good luck in making your choice!

 

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[mitsugirly]

Love the itinerary options! We are sailing on the magic in 4 weeks and similar to you picked on price both air and cruise cost and bells and whistles. Also NCL fans our last cruise was on the Epic 2 years ago and my kids loved it so they kind of have high expectations for slides etc.

 

For other st maarten options we did the 3 island snorkeling tour through Captain Alan's and it was the best excursion ever! Great staff, great snorkeling! Just an option since you were looking for something else to do.

 

Puerto Rico has great beaches, not sure if there are excursions to either Vieques or Flamenco beach? Or Luquello beach is about 30m from San Juan and is very popular, more golden sand the other 2 are white sand. The rainforest is gorgeous and fun, tons of waterfalls but lots of walking.

 

Good luck in making your choice!

 

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I sailed on NCL back in the 80's and RCL in the 90's and then took a break (and took a divorce after 18 years :D). When I got remarried, years later the hubby and I decided to take "his" first cruise in 2010. It was on the Epic. It set the standards high.

 

However, we sailed the Spirit, Pearl and Star after that and although we missed the big slides and everything the Epic had to offer, we still had a great time.

 

Then we went on the Dream and we were right back to loving the big ships with everything on it.

 

Then back down to the smaller ships again with the Jewel.

 

Then we did the Getaway...knowing that this was going to be just like doing the Epic all over and was really looking forward to it. Well, it just didn't turn out to be that big "great cruise". Many things happened that cruise and it just wasn't what I thought it would be. I found myself actually "missing" the smaller ships with the smaller crowds and being able to just head to the theater to watch a show on my own time if I wanted to. On the Epic and the Getaway, you had to plan and book everything. :eek: Not really "freestyle" if you ask me. We were unable to see most of the shows because of this. They were all booked up!!!

 

Back to the smaller ships we went and did the Sun (One of our best cruises to date behind the Epic...but the weather and the places we went to played a factor in that) and then the Sky right after that.

 

So I find myself wondering if I'm actually a "small ship" lover fooling myself into thinking bigger is better? :p I love doing everything on the bigger ships, but sometimes I find myself needing a vacation after one of those vacations because it's just all go-go-go.

 

Either way, I guess I'm saying I'll be happy with ANY cruise. But if there's extra things...that's just well...extra. :)

 

 

 

St Maarten, we really don't like "taking" snorkel excursions. I like snorkeling right from the beach if there's a place. Although if it's something that's added on to another thing (like the stingrays or sharks) and you just happen to go to a reef too, then that's fine. But normally you won't catch me booking just a snorkeling day from a boat.

 

If we pick one with PR involved, I will definitely check out Vieques or Flamenco beach or Luquello and see what they have to offer. (Anything other than going and seeing an old fort building :cool:) The rain forest was a high priority and we don't mind the walking, but there's just not enough time in port for it since it's too far away.

[ferfoodle]

If I had to choose between the 4 you listed, it would be the Valor. No, it doesn't have the 2.0 upgrades (IMO - Guys Burgers are over-rated), but it is going to Bonaire. We are doing the Pride Repo in March. It was originally going to Curacao but that port was switched out to Bonaire. I. Am. Stoked.

 

Why? Because all the research I had done for future cruises - I knew that was the one port I wanted to go to above all other Caribbean islands - but not too many cruises actually go there. The diving/snorkeling there is supposed to be some of the best in the world. There are several companies that do "drift snorkeling" like Woodwind who gets great reviews here on CC and Tripadvisor. link: http://www.woodwindbonaire.com/ There is also DIY options like taking the ferry to Little Klein for great snorkeling. The Bonaire board doesn't get much action, but it has plenty of info for snorkelers.

 

Whichever you decide, try to avoid insides on the Upper deck (deck 6) on the Conquest, Glory or Valor as these get a lot of complaints - deck 5 has the theaters, clubs, casino, etc. which all run late into the night.

[JinxyB]

One other thing I forgot to add is don't let the Suess at Sea program sway you in either way. I did the brunch on the breeze with my 4 y/o and it really wasn't a big deal and not worth the money IMO. Same food you get at brunch just with sprinkles or food coloring added. They had one event of a parade and reading cat in the hat - cute but I would not choose a cruise over it.

 

I would still choose Magic, especially since the airfare is cheaper. Airfare and hotels are ridiculously overpriced in Fort Lauderdale over spring break it seems!! I don't know if you have considered other cruise lines, but Oasis/Allure or even a Freedom-class ship are nice with tons of things for kids. Freedom out of port canaveral has competitive prices and is sometimes lower than carnival. Good luck - I enjoy your reviews and look forward to the next one!

[Cruisegirl6]

I agree with you OP, for 5 of us adults the Breakaway was my most disliked cruise, way too many negatives too many and I been on 53 cruises so you can see I really not going back to NCL after the Breakway, in fact, I have taken other NCL cruises, didn't care for it then I give it a few years more keep saying to myself maybe it has gotten better but to find it didn't...we won't sail NCL again.

[babsee101]

This may have been mentioned (Sorry I did not read all the posts) but have you considered the Southern Caribbean itinerary out of San Juan on the Liberty? Unlike the Valor (which is currently cruising this itinerary), the Liberty has the 2.0 upgrades and what an itinerary! San Juan, St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St, Kitts, St, Maarten, San Juan

 

I know you have been to a couple of these ports but apparently they all have really nice beaches, snorkeling, etc.

Edited January 31, 2015 by babsee101

[babsee101]

Oh and I meant to mention that the Magic is a great ship!

[StaceySteveDMB]

You should take the Breeze itinerary that goes to Aruba, Curaçao, DR, and GT. I know you said it was expensive but it will be totally worth it. All places you want to get to snd the ship you have been wanting to do it in.

 

 

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[mitsugirly]

If I had to choose between the 4 you listed, it would be the Valor. No, it doesn't have the 2.0 upgrades (IMO - Guys Burgers are over-rated), but it is going to Bonaire. We are doing the Pride Repo in March. It was originally going to Curacao but that port was switched out to Bonaire. I. Am. Stoked.

 

Why? Because all the research I had done for future cruises - I knew that was the one port I wanted to go to above all other Caribbean islands - but not too many cruises actually go there. The diving/snorkeling there is supposed to be some of the best in the world. There are several companies that do "drift snorkeling" like Woodwind who gets great reviews here on CC and Tripadvisor. link: http://www.woodwindbonaire.com/ There is also DIY options like taking the ferry to Little Klein for great snorkeling. The Bonaire board doesn't get much action, but it has plenty of info for snorkelers.

 

Whichever you decide, try to avoid insides on the Upper deck (deck 6) on the Conquest, Glory or Valor as these get a lot of complaints - deck 5 has the theaters, clubs, casino, etc. which all run late into the night.

 

Thanks for the advice. I am going to have to do some research on this Bonaire that everyone seems to love.

 

Thanks for the advice on what floors to "not" pick. I'll look out for that. Are there ever any problems with too much noise on the lowest floor? Like with the engine or anything?

 

One other thing I forgot to add is don't let the Suess at Sea program sway you in either way. I did the brunch on the breeze with my 4 y/o and it really wasn't a big deal and not worth the money IMO. Same food you get at brunch just with sprinkles or food coloring added. They had one event of a parade and reading cat in the hat - cute but I would not choose a cruise over it.

 

I would still choose Magic, especially since the airfare is cheaper. Airfare and hotels are ridiculously overpriced in Fort Lauderdale over spring break it seems!! I don't know if you have considered other cruise lines, but Oasis/Allure or even a Freedom-class ship are nice with tons of things for kids. Freedom out of port canaveral has competitive prices and is sometimes lower than carnival. Good luck - I enjoy your reviews and look forward to the next one!

 

Yea, I wouldn't let the Seuss at Sea sway me, just thought it would be an added extra that would be nice. We have sailed on a lot of NCL's ships and they have Nickelodeon and I know the ships that have had the characters (not all of them do) have been a blast for my little one and some of her favorite times. So I just thought Seuss would be neat too.

 

The only other cruise line I have considered is RC and have been wanting to go on the Oasis/Allure since they came out. However, any time I ever research them, either the interiors say sold out for the dates that I need or they want to put a contract on my 4th born child. :eek: Their prices are just ridiculous! And that's on ANY of their ships I have looked at not just Oasis/Allure. They usually want a higher price for a 4 or 5 day cruise than what I can go on NCL or Carnival for a 7-8 day cruise. :( It will probably be "forever" before I get to cruise with them because I would rather cruise a few times a year for the money instead of just 1 cruise for the year paying the prices on RC.

[mitsugirly]

I agree with you OP, for 5 of us adults the Breakaway was my most disliked cruise, way too many negatives too many and I been on 53 cruises so you can see I really not going back to NCL after the Breakway, in fact, I have taken other NCL cruises, didn't care for it then I give it a few years more keep saying to myself maybe it has gotten better but to find it didn't...we won't sail NCL again.

 

I wouldn't say it was our most disliked cruise. It was just "off" for some reason. I think a lot had to do with the timing. I had just graduated and moved the week before and so much going on during that month. Then my oldest daughter and her family went and they caused us to miss our flights. I broke my toe on that cruise. It was just a bundle of "negative" things that cruise. We absolutely loved the ship with everything it had to offer. BUT, since it's a Miami based ship...everything they did or played (music) was Latino. While I don't have anything against listening to Latino music...for the entire cruise, it was a little much. I love to dance and so do my girls and we were looking forward to the dance parties and deck parties with your normal "line dancing" to the normal songs...biker shuffle, cupid shuffle, the wobble...you know, dances they do on all the other ships. They did NONE of those. I think that was a turn off as well. That was my turn off...not the ship. I would sail the Breakaway in a heartbeat...it's not Miami based so hopefully not a "Latino" ship. :)

 

This may have been mentioned (Sorry I did not read all the posts) but have you considered the Southern Caribbean itinerary out of San Juan on the Liberty? Unlike the Valor (which is currently cruising this itinerary), the Liberty has the 2.0 upgrades and what an itinerary! San Juan, St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St, Kitts, St, Maarten, San Juan

 

I know you have been to a couple of these ports but apparently they all have really nice beaches, snorkeling, etc.

 

Yes, we did consider it and it was mentioned. :) The air flight to get there is just too darn expensive, plus the fact that I'm not really feeling going to San Juan in the first place, flying there and staying really doesn't thrill me either. :(

[rmandmm]

I will have to find a new place in St Maarten to go to. I haven't done much research on it. Any suggestions?

 

Tell me about the Marriott and what you liked about it? Was there any snorkeling there? What was the beach like? How much was a day pass?

 

I have to say Glory was leading the pack before I started this thread just because of all the extra "goodies" on the ship (over the Valor) and the price is the cheapest. But now...I'm so undecided. :(

 

We went to and loved Mullett Bay and in June we are going to do a snorkeling boat day trip (which I know you don't like) with Captain Alan. We wanted to see more of the beautiful island from the water and he seems to have a good program.

 

The Marriott was very nice for my family. There are two really big pools, one of which has some play-able water features and is pretty shallow. The other is deeper and has a nice water slide going into it--I did it several times and it was pretty nice! The beach was beautiful and the facility provide chairs and towels. The ocean was too rough for us to get in and I really don't think you can snorkel from the beach there. But, if you find yourself on an itinerary that includes San Juan, it's a nice place to play for a few hours. It's $65 per adult and includes a $10 food/beverage credit per adult. Child passes (over 3 years old) are $30 with a $5 credit included per child. We ate and had a couple drinks and I will say the food/drinks were pretty expensive but very very good. Hope that helps!

[mitsugirly]

Oh and I meant to mention that the Magic is a great ship!

 

 

I have no doubt that it is and it's one that I have always wanted to sail. :)

[mitsugirly]

These boards are messing up and it's taking me a good 5+ minutes to quote people and now it's not letting me do it at all (even after logging out and back in).

 

 

So...I'm just going to answer this way:

 

 

StaceySteveDMB-the Breeze and the itinerary you mentioned is not one of the options for the week we can go or I would.

The ONLY options we have are the 4 listed in the beginning. :D

 

 

 

rwandmw-thanks for the info on the ports. Yea, I try not to do the snorkeling by boat excursions. I'm not sure why...maybe because of my daughter (although she has never had a problem doing those in the past), for some reason it just freaks me out being in the open water like that (doesn't freak her out though lol).

 

We "try" not to book a place based on a pool. To us, we can go swimming in a pool any time here at home and really like to go to places for the beach. However, we have done a lot of AI's like this when there's just not anything in port to do. If we pick a place with San Juan, we may just have to make it a "cheap day" (no problem with that) and just walk around the city for awhile and head back to the ship.

Edited January 31, 2015 by mitsugirly

[Cruisegirl6]

mitsugirly, hi, no it was MY most dislike ship! Im am sorry you had all those mishaps and broken your toe too! For me a few of the negatives were the pool areas were too small for the amount of people and the pool was too small everybody looked like they were in a can of sardines and the ship constantly had "crowds" we did feel as if she held too many people and you couldn't use my blowdryer the electric kept going out so had to use theres and could not stand up (I am only 5'7") to blow dry my hair as the cord was under that desk had to sit on that stool and lean over, the hallways were the narrowest I ever seen on any ship every time somebody in a wheelchair or a heavy person went by we had to maneuver somewhere for them to get by and I am thin, the crew we found to be so unfriendly out of all the past 15 cruises and some gave us the wrong drink it was as if they didn't understand much english, the buffets for lunch were lacking, the salad bar was the smallest I ever had on a cruise and I have to be gluten free so there pretty much was nothing for me to eat there, veggies had sauces all gluten and there was no meat carving other than the first day boarding, no ham for breakfast, we had specialty restaurant reservations 6 evenings and still had to wait at average 35 plus minutes to get our table, the ship rocked the worst out of any cruise we had and we had no bad weather, everything was disappointing on that ship. ugh don't even know why I reminding myself lol.

Her sister ship is the Getaway out of Miami.

[beamqueen]

I don't have a ton to add but I will say that we enjoyed conquest so much we would consider booking the same ship again! No it does not have the bells and whistles of the dream class but there is still so much to do! I loved the fact that it never felt crowded either ( other than the lido on embarkation ) I don't have kids so can't comment on activities for them... But I barely saw kids all week so they must have been

Busy ;). Conquest and glory are great mid size ships... Perfect size... Big enough to have a lot of the upgrades but not so big that you feel cramped/crowded!

 

 

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[Taylor95]

Mistugirly: I'm anxious to hear if you made a decision! I'm pulling for the Glory because I would love to read your review before we sail her in October ;-)

 

 

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[mommiemudd]

In Aruba don't got to Relextions at Nikki beach. The kids did love the pool and super friendly staff. It's was raining off and off the day we were there and we only had about 4 hours in the beach. Our hubbies were going to dive and we were going to go to Palm beach/eagle beach area. Aruba watersports is the company we were going to use. We will go that route next time. No pics for my reviews. Too lazy!!

 

 

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