Will I be disappointed with Carnival?

[Big_G]

I don't know about the person who responded below but I'm reading these posts at the Carnival Cruise Line site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not from where I'm standing!

 

This thread originated on the Royal boards and must have been moved here by the moderators. I think the OP posted on Royal to get a wider variety of opinions and the majority were pretty fair in their assessments considering where it originated.

Edited January 19, 2016 by Big_G

[jarand]

In November we sailed the Holland Zaandam. In December the Coral Princess. In January the Carnival Glory. Most of our previous cruises have been Princess and Holland. We enjoy each cruise on its own merits, but of course it's impossible not to draw some comparisons.

 

We've been on the Carnival Breeze before and really enjoyed it. But the Glory is very "night club-ish", not perfectly clean, and a little tired. It felt badly understaffed and while the crew wasn't rude, they didn't seem too happy. As far as *good* food--Carnival dining wasn't even close to Princess or Holland, either in quality or service. The MDR bordered on unpleasant, although the formal nights were much better. The burgers and fries are good, and the pizza is popular. Upstairs at lunch is a fish and chips place that's decent. The buffet is "meh" at best. We aren't coffee snobs by any means, but the lido coffee was so horrible that we ended up buying coffee at Creams in the morning.

 

Shore Excursions couldn't seem to get their act together. Twice we had excursions cancelled, with NO notice, at the meeting point. That was very irritating since we didn't have an opportunity to replan our day.

 

The best part was the evening entertainment. The Glory had a fabulous theater and the playlist production shows were probably the best we've seen. There's plenty of comedy and music for an enjoyable evening for almost everyone. The ship is crowded, but energy level of the ship is much higher than Princess. There were 22 bars, and they were all hoppin' all the time. But it really wasn't a big drunk-fest; people were just having a good time.

 

It's just a different experience, much less elegant and more laid back. Drinks were more expensive than the other ships, and we spent more on specialty food than we ever have before which somewhat offset any savings. We had a good time, and if the right deal fell in my lap I'd go on Carnival again, but with lower expectations.

[Mooguy]

In November we sailed the Holland Zaandam. In December the Coral Princess. In January the Carnival Glory. Most of our previous cruises have been Princess and Holland. We enjoy each cruise on its own merits, but of course it's impossible not to draw some comparisons.

 

We've been on the Carnival Breeze before and really enjoyed it. But the Glory is very "night club-ish", not perfectly clean, and a little tired. It felt badly understaffed and while the crew wasn't rude, they didn't seem too happy. As far as *good* food--Carnival dining wasn't even close to Princess or Holland, either in quality or service. The MDR bordered on unpleasant, although the formal nights were much better. The burgers and fries are good, and the pizza is popular. Upstairs at lunch is a fish and chips place that's decent. The buffet is "meh" at best. We aren't coffee snobs by any means, but the lido coffee was so horrible that we ended up buying coffee at Creams in the morning.

 

Shore Excursions couldn't seem to get their act together. Twice we had excursions cancelled, with NO notice, at the meeting point. That was very irritating since we didn't have an opportunity to replan our day.

 

The best part was the evening entertainment. The Glory had a fabulous theater and the playlist production shows were probably the best we've seen. There's plenty of comedy and music for an enjoyable evening for almost everyone. The ship is crowded, but energy level of the ship is much higher than Princess. There were 22 bars, and they were all hoppin' all the time. But it really wasn't a big drunk-fest; people were just having a good time.

 

It's just a different experience, much less elegant and more laid back. Drinks were more expensive than the other ships, and we spent more on specialty food than we ever have before which somewhat offset any savings. We had a good time, and if the right deal fell in my lap I'd go on Carnival again, but with lower expectations.

 

 

The Glory was my last cruise on Carnival for about 5 years until the Breeze. We did a 5 night sailing from NYC on Glory and it was one of our most disappointing cruises out of a few dozen on a variety of Carnival ships. We didn't even buy the future cruise deposit like we normally do thinking that was our last cruise with Carnival. I'm glad we decided to give Carnival another chance sailing the Breeze as it was one of our best Carnival cruises.

[ksaunders]

Well, I don't think there is such a thing as a "bad" cruise. Try it out and see what you think. I've been on several Carnival cruises and loved them all.

[tkportersat]

It does the trick for me, but everyone is different. It is only natural that you will compare it to what you are used to, it is best to go in with an open mind and realize they will do things a little different than other cruise lines.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

IMO Princess a cut above but more like RCCL than not.

[dabear99211]

Hi All,

 

We have been on 11 cruises. 8 with Princess and 3 with Royal. This year we are looking for a cheaper vacation and was looking at Carnival. We just like to people watch and drink beer and eat good food, I am fine if we have to get that in the specialty restaurants. The price seems right. Is it really that much of a "downgrade"???

 

thanks for your input.

 

Matt

 

I have been on 51 Carnival cruises and have never been disappointed. That being said I think many of those who say that they are not satisfied with Carnival probably have many things in their lives that they are not satisfied with, is everything perfect? for me I am happy with Carnival as I was with my cruise on NCL on Royal and on Holland America, maybe I'm just happy with life unlike many of the complainers.

[Harrier1961]

It's a fun cruise line but I'm done with them as well as my friends. Service ok, food ok, targets families on budgets and it has lost its appeal as we mow trVel without children. Depends what you are looking for.

 

Um, ALL families (Other than the Gates family and Buffet family) are on "a budget".

Of some kind.

Sheeesh.

 

Andy

[grandmarnnurse]

Hi All,

 

We have been on 11 cruises. 8 with Princess and 3 with Royal. This year we are looking for a cheaper vacation and was looking at Carnival. We just like to people watch and drink beer and eat good food, I am fine if we have to get that in the specialty restaurants. The price seems right. Is it really that much of a "downgrade"???

 

thanks for your input.

 

Matt

 

I have cruised on 7 Carnival cruises before cruising the last 2 years with RCCL. We found the WOW factor on our RCCL cruises to be higher, but so isn't the price tag. We actually found the food on Carnival to be better! We have no qualms about cruising Carnival again, as we always had an excellent vacation with them. I am booked next for a NCL cruise, a line I've never cruised before, and I'm very excited about another new experience! As long as I'm cruising--on ANY ship--I am happy! My daughter cruised last year on the Liberty and loved it, and is sailing on the Sunshine next month, so Carnival must be doing something right for my Disney convert daughter!

[loxley]

Yes you will be disappointed. You do not get cheaper but equal, but you knew that or those 11 cruises would have been on carnival because not that Long ago, they were really cheap but are creeping back up ad people forget the mishaps.

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[dacsmom]

It all depends on the ship. If you are comparing to RCI Oasis or Allure then no, Carnival will not match that. I think the lines are more alike than different. I go back and forth I have the last few years on RCI and recently had a not so great time on The Adventure. I have never had a bad cruise, but that was my least favorite so I am going back to Carnival for a bit. I am anxious to see the new Vista and the Sunshine is coming to Charleston so I may give that ship a try too. There are times when one cruise line is a better value than another. I would definitely book the Carnival cruise.

[Stokeset]

I have given your question a great deal of thought, and perhaps it’s semantics, but its seems the way that you have worded your question has all but set the stage for what will occur (disappointment).

 

Perhaps the better question might be: Will I receive good value for the money I spend with Carnival? I can unequivocally state yes. For if your have selected a cruise that meets your travel requirements: right time, right length, right ports, and right price, then what remains are your own (personal) expectations, which you stated were: “like to people watch and drink beer and eat good food ….” I think you will find that Carnival will surpass your expectations.

 

Best of luck with your choice, and hope you give Carnival a try,

Liz

[CJHAN]

Hi All,

 

We have been on 11 cruises. 8 with Princess and 3 with Royal. This year we are looking for a cheaper vacation and was looking at Carnival. We just like to people watch and drink beer and eat good food, I am fine if we have to get that in the specialty restaurants. The price seems right. Is it really that much of a "downgrade"???

 

thanks for your input.

 

Matt

 

I would say its the perfect line for what you like. Its simple fun at a lower price. People wating and drinking beer is pretty much how i spend my time on ship why pay more to do it?

[stevec999]

I always enjoy comments like "It is cheaper and those you cruise with will reflect that".

 

We sail Carnival because we enjoy it. I happen to like the décor, I find it energizing. I always told my wife when we stop enjoying Carnival we will try another line. Ends up we are tired of the Itineraries so we started looking around. We will be on HAL next month and Carnival again in May. Next winter we are looking at Oceana.

 

As far as the people you will find a very diverse group. Age and income, people who tell you the people will be low class because Carnival is less expensive are clueless. We can "afford" any of the cruise lines as can the friends we cruise with. We might even try RCI sometime in the future.

 

Try Carnival, that is the only way you will know for sure. Go with a good attitude and you will have fun even if you decide it's not the line for you.

[grandmarnnurse]

I always enjoy comments like "It is cheaper and those you cruise with will reflect that".

 

We sail Carnival because we enjoy it. I happen to like the décor, I find it energizing. I always told my wife when we stop enjoying Carnival we will try another line. Ends up we are tired of the Itineraries so we started looking around. We will be on HAL next month and Carnival again in May. Next winter we are looking at Oceana.

 

As far as the people you will find a very diverse group. Age and income, people who tell you the people will be low class because Carnival is less expensive are clueless. We can "afford" any of the cruise lines as can the friends we cruise with. We might even try RCI sometime in the future.

 

Try Carnival, that is the only way you will know for sure. Go with a good attitude and you will have fun even if you decide it's not the line for you.

 

I agree with you 100%! We love Carnival, but certainly can afford the other lines. We love the food and the fun atmosphere! We cruise any line we see a great itinerary or deal offered. We just love to cruise, eat, drink, and have fun! Period.

[Moonarino]

What a load of crap!

 

I thoroughly agree. Seven cruises on CCL and I've never seen anything close to what that poster wrote. (It's not at all worth repeating.)

 

This was posted to the Royal Caribbean forums when I originally replied. Looks like it was recently moved.

 

This thread originated on the Royal boards and must have been moved here by the moderators. ...

 

Yep. The day I found this thread and posted, I was browsing nothing but Royal. I didn't even notice the change of locale till I read your comments.

 

If you assume you'll be disappointed, you will be. We prefer RC ships, but Carnival atmosphere. We aren't huge drinkers, it just seems more relaxed and fun. The reason we've decided to stick mostly to Carnival is the itineraries. They're always changing and we like the variety. We'd love to sail Allure again, but we aren't fans of the itineraries.

 

Agree, forgot to mention that in my earlier post (page3?). When I've sailed RCCL, (so far) it's been for the ship experience. Whenever I've focused on going somewhere new, I've ended up on CCL every time, because of the variety of itineraries.

 

- - - - - -

 

Regarding "typical" passenger age, kids, etc: A lot of people assume (or report) that one can expect more kids on CCL ships than on RCCL. But... not that I don't like kids (I do), I just don't want to be tripping over (or being run into by) little people everywhere I turn for a whole week... my worst experience in that regard was on RC Allure. (But I would also sail her again, because one such bad experience does not a bad ship make.)

 

But I've not noticed any real difference at all in passenger make-up from one cruise line to another. On my last cruise (Conquest) it seemed like there were a few more partiers (or rude ones) than average, but the age range seemed to be the same as always: From 7 to 70. (ish.)

 

Food, as I and others have already said, just to stress my take: The best thing to me about RC ships is twice as many eateries. But no better as a whole, and I remember the Oasis and Allure MDRs were really not all that memorable. Just that Royal offers far more choices, especially for snacks.

[sg4crzn]

I think it totally depends on the ship. Just like any cruise line Carnival does better with its newer ships. We did a cruise on the Carnival Breeze last April with a group of high school seniors and a couple moms. We are loyal Royal cruisers, but we had a blast and were very happy with the service and food on the Breeze. The boys led a dance party on the deck the last sea day, and us moms had fun watching and filming it. I hate to say it, but Royal has a hard time being as playful as Carnival is during the day. But night activities are ruled by Royal with their variety and much better shows. I would definitely not do a carnival cruise on the smaller or older ships.

 

 

I agree.