I WON a Carnival Cruise! Which ship do I choose?

[tamtot]

Hello!

 I have the best boss ever, and as highest salesperson last quarter, I was awarded

a gift card for a Carnival Cruise! I've only sailed Carnival once, and it was not a great experience

(we had fun, because: CRUISING:-) but the Sensation was a hot mess).

  Anyway, we're looking to travel at the end of October/beginning of November. for 7-8 nights,

probably in Caribbean (somewhere warm~!)

  I would love to know what ship you would recommend, what's your fav?

  We will be two couples in our mid 50s, no kids. We usually eat at Specialty restaurants

so that's important to us. We're pretty laid back, and mostly will want to relax and chill.

  Anyway, would love input, as I know next to nothing about Carnival. But I'm ready to learn!

  Thanks so much,

Tammy

[Saint Greg]

If specialty restaurants is important I would recommend a Vista class ship. Horizon and Vista are in the Caribbean. Horizon would probably be easier for you to get to from Georgia. It's doing 6 and 8 day cruises out of Miami. I'd look at 8 day cruises on Horizon.

[Sagittarius traveler]

Yep Horizon has good restaurants. 

[tamtot]

Thank you. I was leaning towards Horizon, but it seems to get such mixed reviews.

But I sort of think how bad can it be? Built in 2018, must be pretty great.

 

[Lee Cruiser]

We are in our early 50's and we love the Dream Class ships (specifically for us: Breeze and Magic).  Out of our 15 cruises, these are our favorites.  We have cruised on these twice and will be on the Breeze again in September.  We haven't yet been able to schedule a Vista Class yet, but we plan on doing the Vista soon.

[dbrucern]

Just got off the Horizon doing the Southern islands and had a great time

[mdin]

Loved Horizon. I would look into that one.

[May1cruiser]

breeze or magic have a touch of the older design. Vista and Horizon more modern design, which bothers some. These four larger ships have most of the bells and whistles and give plenty of dinning options. There are some differences, but should be a great option on any of these.

 

The easiest port would be port Canaveral if you are driving. That would limit to breeze or magic, depending on which of the two are sailing during the time you are planning.

 

congrats!

 

 

 

 

[coevan]

1 hour ago, tamtot said:

Thank you. I was leaning towards Horizon, but it seems to get such mixed reviews.

But I sort of think how bad can it be? Built in 2018, must be pretty great.

 

 

 

every ship will get mixed reviews, we loved the Magic

[ozzie0075]

The Breeze is doing 8 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale as well.  

[Jerseygirl1416]

I’d do Horizon in a Havana cabana. That’s next on my Carnival list.

[Eli_6]

Depending on budget, I would do Mardis Gras loft 19 suite or a Vista Class Havana balcony room.

[Tapi]

Since you live in Georgia, sailing from Port Canaveral makes sense. Carnival’s newest and largest ship, the Mardi Gras will be sailing from Port Canaveral beginning in November 2020. I think that would be an excellent choice. The ship will have that “new carpet” smell. 😂 

 

A definite improvement over the Sensation for sure. 

[mlshum]

We loved Horizon!

[hurricane0226]

Love the Breeze, will be doing a third cruise in Aug on her.

[tamtot]

25 minutes ago, mlshum said:

We loved Horizon!

Ah, I'm glad to hear this, as that's the one we're leaning towards.

What type of cabin did you have? Pros/cons?

Thank you!

[tamtot]

You guys are great, thank you so much!

[mexicobob]

You will not like Carnival. Terrible food, service, entertainment, everything. 

I will be glad to take your tickets so they will not go to waste and suffer the horrible experience in your behalf.

 

 

[Benwar]

Magic

[Cherries Jubilee]

I think a lot of the bad Horizon reviews (not all of them) came from experienced Carnival cruisers who already had a strong since of what they liked in a ship’s layout and design. As someone who had never sailed Carnival before I really liked Horizon. You mentioned you only sailed Sensation which was likely already a bit outdated so you probably won’t notice much of Horizon’s deficits either. The only one I noticed was the imperfect seating in the lounges for the shows but I barely go to the shows so it didn’t really affect me.

 

Congratulations and good luck! 

[wms99]

When we search for and book a cruise, our #1 priority is one of the 3 Dream class ships. 

 

[Joebucks]

Ask 5 different people and you may get 5 different answers on any ship out there.

[TNcruising02]

10 hours ago, Cherries Jubilee said:

I think a lot of the bad Horizon reviews (not all of them) came from experienced Carnival cruisers who already had a strong since of what they liked in a ship’s layout and design. As someone who had never sailed Carnival before I really liked Horizon. You mentioned you only sailed Sensation which was likely already a bit outdated so you probably won’t notice much of Horizon’s deficits either. The only one I noticed was the imperfect seating in the lounges for the shows but I barely go to the shows so it didn’t really affect me.

 

Congratulations and good luck! 

I agree with this.I have cruised on many different Carnival ships and compared each of them. Had I never cruised on Carnival, I would have really liked everything about the Vista class ships. But when I compare that class to the Dream class, I prefer the Dream class. 

 

I think that new cruisers will really like the Vista class because the ships are newer and have more to offer. Having sailed twice on this class, I can't get over the bad theater set up and the comedy club setup. This will not bother new cruisers.

[Countrygurl]

I have cruised Spirit, Conquest, Glory, Vista and Magic.  My favorite was the Magic.  (I'm in my 50s)

Planning a cruise this fall on Breeze (sister ship to Magic).  I cannot wait.

[Countrygurl]

42 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

I agree with this.I have cruised on many different Carnival ships and compared each of them. Had I never cruised on Carnival, I would have really liked everything about the Vista class ships. But when I compare that class to the Dream class, I prefer the Dream class. 

 

I think that new cruisers will really like the Vista class because the ships are newer and have more to offer. Having sailed twice on this class, I can't get over the bad theater set up and the comedy club setup. This will not bother new cruisers.

I agree.  I did not like the theater set up on Vista.  I too prefer Dream class ships.