New to Carnival-would we be happy?

[cruisegal415]

We are an older couple for Carnival, I think, early 60's. We've only sailed on Royal Carribbean before. We are celebrating our 30th anniversary in August. While we are taking a celebratory cruise on Oceania to the Mediterranean in June, I'd like to actually do something on the date of our anniversary itself in August. I was thinking a cruise would be perfect since we love to cruise.

 

I know all the reasons why most cruise lines don't sail the Caribbean in August (yeah, yeah, hurricanes, not concerned), but I was shocked to see that the only choices from Tampa are a 4 or 5 day Carnival cruise. No other cruise lines go out of Tampa in August. While we live near Fort Lauderdale, I was thinking of going out of Tampa since we'll have a new puppy and that's where it will come from and I can board it with its trainer. I know we can do the Allure or the Oasis from our home port (been there, done both) but if we go from Tampa, it looks like it's just Carnival.

 

I have a vision of Carnival as a party ship, or spring break type ship, I'm guessing in August it will be a lot of multi-generational families and lots of little kids. Those of you who have been on Carnival, specifically the Paradise, do you think we would be happy on there? We wouldn't be going for the ports, just for the ship experience itself. Are we too old? Would we be out of place?

 

I can't believe the lack of choices for Florida ports in the summer!

[Captain Canuck]

does have a rep as a party ship

we have done a few...but since we go to bed early have never really noticed any noise

like on any cruise you participate in what you want to

 

 

did have friends who got unlucky and had next cabin full of a bunch of really noisy women who bothered them the entire cruise..but that can happen on any ship

[eyeamacruiser]

We love Carnival. We have gone on Royal and Princess and prefer Carnival.

You will find drunks and obnoxious people on every cruise line.

We are in our 60s also. Your cruise is what you make of it. We have cruised during hurricane season numerous times. Only had a problem once and that was just rain at one port. Sailed during Spring break and during summer vacation time with massive number of kids.

Don't let little things or negative comments on boards ruin your cruise. Just go and have fun :D

Edited March 26, 2016 by eyeamacruiser

[jordanaire]

We're in our early 60s and getting set to sail on our 20th Carnival cruise. We're not party animals, drinkers or hell raisers. In fact, I can't recall ever seeing drunks or hell raisers. We love Carnival. Go for it!

[jrmende63]

Paradise is one of the older ships. Hubby and I are 50's. We love Carnival and go on it at every opportunity. But having said that, we are doing Royal Caribbean in April. Just for something different. And we even have our 2nd RC ship booked. I would do the 5 day if you are going to book it. The 3 and 4 days do tend to be party ships.

[erinmarie424]

Shorter cruises during the week tend to be a little calmer than the ones that include a weekend, at least in my experience.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mzloolue]

We are in the same age range, early 60s.

 

We are booked for what will be my 17th Carnival cruise.

We have sailed Royal Carribean, but we are willing to try any line we can drive to.

 

DH an I like Carnival a lot.

It is not perfect, but what is?

 

We like to find a couple of chairs in the shade where we can read and watch the water and the sky.

In the evening, dinner, a comedy show and outside to look at the stars.

Sometimes we watch people.

 

We are definitely wild party folk:rolleyes:

 

Oh, if they have the karoke with a live band, look in on it. DH and I are not karoke type folk, but we happened upon this and were hooked. Some singers were good and some were funny, but with a live band and backup singer, most were enjoyable.

[pawags45]

We are in our late 50's and have cruised on Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity 20 cruises overall Most on Carnival. I have not noticed the difference in the passengers from one cruise line to another. We are in our late 50's and found that your cruise is what you make it. Just go and enjoy your selves.

Edited March 26, 2016 by pawags45

[poolreader]

The shorter Carnival Cruises are a somewhat different experience from Princess or Royal Caribbean short cruises. The ships that do the shorter cruises on Carnival have a somewhat early, or downtown Vegas look to them IMO.

 

These shorter Carnival Cruises are still enjoyable, and have a quite area just for adults where my DH (62)and I (59) like to spend time . There are still activities like Trivia but games I have seen are easier or more youth related, but I have not personally seen as many Carnival ones as I have on the other lines.

 

The night time entertainment on Carnival seems to be more for a younger crowd. But I am happy as long as the casino is open.

 

I like Carnival and do take the shorter cruises, in fact we are going the end of April. But while I would pay $249 for Princess I only go on Carnival when the 4 day trips are about $179 or less. For me it has less value, but it is still fun.

[Tapi]

The key to enjoying a Carnival cruise is simple: realistic expectations.

 

The Paradise won't be the Allure or Oasis, and it definitely won't be Oceania. It will be an affordable, convenient, unpretentious way to enjoy the basic pleasures of cruising aboard an older, budget minded ship.

 

Will you enjoy the Carnival short cruise experience? It's really going to boil down to what you personally enjoy and expect about cruising. Trying to predict what your fellow cruisers on Carnival will be like is a bit hard. This cruise line attracts a very diverse group of fellow passengers from all walks of life so, no matter what people tell you in this forum, you won't really know what fellow cruisers on your specific sailing will be like until you get there. If you do decide to take this cruise, go with an open mind and be ready to go with the flow! [emoji3]

Edited March 26, 2016 by Tapi

[LMaxwell]

I'd look at the 3 / 4 day ships cruising from Miami or Port Canaveral both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. I live near Fort Lauderdale too and wouldn't drive 4+ hours to Tampa to get on a Fantasy-class ship.

[skrufy]

We are in our 60s also and have cruised Carnival 10 times with another one booked. Have never sailed any other line. We like Carnival and never have had any major problems with them.. Our 1st cruise was a 3 day to the Bahamas and we learned very quickly that the shorter cruises attract a young crowd. Sailing out of Tampa is very limited. Try Miami or Port Canaveral. You will have better choices.

[Keith1010]

In the end no one can know whether or not you will like this as we know very little about yourselves.

 

I would ask friends who know you and also know Carnival.

 

They might be wrong but at least they will have more valuable input.

 

Keith

[simplelife]

You will see people of all ages. In my experience, it's not that different in that regard from RC. Demographics will vary by sailing. We have found that even on crowded, noisy sailings, there are lots of quiet places to just relax in peace (usually that means jaunt avoiding the pool areas)

[joeyancho]

Judging from your cruise history, you are in for a HUGE letdown.

[lmsdf]

Here's my thoughts...I've only cruised in the summer months. Our cruises have always been full of families. When I was a single girl in my twenties, I missed not having the wild party atmosphere on my August Carnival cruise. For our honeymoon, we went on RCCL, and that was just not our cup of tea. Now a mom of two, I love the family atmosphere of Carnival summer cruising. Yes people drink and have fun but definately not a crazy wild crowd. As for the lido deck, it is busy there but a blast to people watch. If you want peace and quiet, there are lots of places around the ship away from the lido deck. So my opinion is to give it a shot!!!

[nednrom]

Up until our last cruise, we had been exclusively sailing with RC although we had taken 1-2 cruises 10 years ago. We are semi-active 50 year old couple. Here were the differences:

 

1. The older ships don't have as many activities but have quiet places to read.

2. Older ships do not go aft to forward straight across on every deck.

3. Shorter cruises are more of a party cruise (just like RC ) because younger people can afford them more. We actually enjoyed the NY celebration parties on this cruise.

4. We loved the holiday cruise - different itinerary - was on the Conquest. It is one of their Version 2 ships. I don't know if Paradise is. It had more eating ares such as Blue Iguana, Guy Fieri Burgers and an adult pool where the rules about chair hoggers and kids were enforced. There were other types of activities such as trivia.

5. We had been really disappointed with service on RC last two cruises. The service on the Conquest was excellent everywhere, so what the tables in MDR didn't have table cloths except on formal nights.

6. Entertainment doesn't compare to Allure or Oasis but we didn't mind that.

7. They actually remembered my birthday, brought me a small cake and sang to me. On our last RC cruise they didn't remember.

 

Our cruise was a holiday cruise with kids but in the adult area we didn't see any kids. They have calypso band by the pool every sea day. The cruise was a 8 day cruise, our next one is 11 day cruise on Carnival.

Edited March 26, 2016 by nednrom

[sjn911]

The Paradise is the last of the Fantasy class ships built in 1998 I think. It has a 20's 30's Oceanliners theme...which is a stretch with the Farcus idea of that but I like it. It seems to have a steady great service report. It is going to be a far more simple cruise but since you are doing your big one...it would offer an affordable extra and be great if your new puppy place is built in there. 5 days better than 4. Get an Ocean view or splurge if you can for a Cat 12 suite...they have the nicest balconies and bigger bath with jacuzzi...but nothing like the newer ships.

The showers are large on this ship.

The steam room and sauna are free and both in the mens and ladies dressing areas, separate, and no extra fee in the spa is a perk for this IMHO and there is a window to the sea in that room which I love. The adult serenity areas in the back of the ship on these ships especially are great.

 

You can order a special Chef's dining experience for less than on other lines that people rave about in this class..

 

You can also upgrade a few items that are Steakhouse items in the main dining room.

 

You will find a fancier sorter real day cruise where you are. But the Paradise has a spa for massages etc., and simply is an easy look at the water and enjoy cruise. I like her and as I said reports of service are good. You just have to remember this is a budget..a nice budget line on an older and small for now and still 70,000 ton ship. Less people has extra happy staff service perks on Carnival I think and that shines. You can get your special bottle of wine that they will keep night to night for you in dining room!!

 

I really like Tapi's look at it too...for being realistic and if that NOT Oceanic AT ALL....will still be ok for you.

 

Also you are not too old. While a diverse group, I have a hunch there will be people like you, doing this cruise who do fancier ones also, for reasons like you are doing this cruise. They also have the casino and all that. They can amaze all with what they really can do at the Chef's Table if you are "foodies" as they say. You can never predict that rare bad one sided group..but I find salt of the earth folks on Carnival...from many different income levels.

Edited March 26, 2016 by sjn911

[Guineaman]

My wife and I are in your same age cohort as you all, and we sort of thought the same thing. What prompted us to do our cruise is that the ship leaves from our home town. No air, couldn't be any easier.

 

We've done a couple of upscale cruises and enjoyed them very much. But we agreed this time that we'd treat this sort of like an upscale Caribbean resort, e.g., dressy casual in the dining room, not even taking a tie. And this from a guy who owns and likes to wear black tie.

 

The approach we're taking is that we're going to have FUN! We can't party like the younger ones, but we'll have our cocktails and we'll have some different food … and we'll be at sea! We'll take it on our own terms, and if I were a betting man, I'd bet that we'll have a blast and want to do the same cruise again next year.

[Nic6318]

Hi there

 

We are in our early 60's as well and will be going on our 16th. Carnival cruise in 2 months (really looking forward to Alaska). We have enjoyed cruises on Royal, NCL, and Princess as well, but more often we sail with Carnival for price, itinerary and timing.

 

The Paradise is a smaller older ship so you won't have a lot bells and whistles, but if you aren't going to miss the rock climbing walls, the ship will get you there. A cruise is always what you make of it. You are celebrating your anniversary after all. :) Congratulations!!

 

I also would choose the 5 day over the 4day.

[TomCruise48]

Being from Florida, you probably already realize that the problem with sailing out of Tampa is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The newer large ships won't fit under the bridge. The cruise lines have other options in the summer that are more profitable for their smaller ships. The one time that we did sail from Tampa we were quite pleased with their cruise terminal and the embarkation staff.

 

We are in our mid-sixties as well and have sailed Carnival over 30 times. We cruise during the off-peak season when the prices are lower, so we have never encountered a large number of children. The only times we have had a bad experience is when there is a large group booking and that group thinks that they own the ship and monopolizes certain public areas such as the Serenity Deck. That could happen on any cruise line, and is probably more likely to occur during off-peak.

 

We have sailed other lines as well. We were certainly impressed by all of the amenities on the Allure, and how well they managed 6500 guests. The Paradise will be an entirely different experience. It has been our experience that the staff and crew of Carnival are the most friendly. Expect the stateroom steward and dining room staff to address you by your first name. One of the things we most enjoy about cruising is interacting with the crew and learning about their families and homelands.

 

If you are looking for value from your cruise dollar, then Carnival is a good choice.

[phred119s]

I agree with some of the previous posters.

 

We are in our mid to late 30s and all of our cruises until last year had been with RC. We actually still prefer RC, but honestly there were very little differences between the two lines. The biggest thing difference wise to us is the dinners seem a lot more formal on RC than Carnival. We always felt overdressed for dinner (and I'm not talking on formal night). In the end, Carnival was a good enough experience that we are doing it again this year. It was more expensive for our family of 3 to go on Freedom of the Seas in an interior room than a balcony on Carnival Dream during the same week.

[tandemcruzr]

We are in our early 70's and have 27 cruises on Carnival with 8 more booked. We have never experienced drunken or rowdy groups. We have done 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 day cruises and have been on the Paradise twice. They have a very nice Serenity area (adults only) on deck 9 aft with 2 hot tubs.

 

Hope you have a Happy Anniversary cruise however you decide to go. :)

[TC Cruiser]

We are in our fifties and enjoyed the Fantasy because we didn't come in with high expectations for the ship, compared to the finishes expected of Celebrity, HAL, and RCCI ships. We had a very good time, nevertheless, and enjoyed the food and the fact that the entertainers don't all go to bed at 10 pm like on some cruises we've been on. Not really fans to heading to the disco at 10 to hang with the 20-somethings. Point being, I wouldn't hesitate to sail Carnival given it's a good value.

[cruisegal415]

Thanks all! Especially to all those our age who put me at ease. I think I'll go for it!