Which cruise line for Europe? Carnival or ?????

[victory2020]

Went to Europe on the Pride & loved it. Another good line in Europe is NCL.

[Joe817]

2 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

I understand, but if you're off the ship everyday in Europe on an excursion, you don't get much time to spend on your balcony. It's different than the Caribbean or Alaska.

Point taken. We do when we have sea days. Of course, like you, we've never taken a T.A. cruise. But love the balcony experience. 

[BlerkOne]

1 minute ago, Joe817 said:

Point taken. We do when we have sea days. Of course, like you, we've never taken a T.A. cruise. But love the balcony experience. 

Sailing into and out of ports, sunsets or rises, there are many reasons. No pants required. And especially with covid, some private space to view from.

 

But yes, on sea days, just to watch the water go by and possibly see some marine life.

[jimbo5544]

7 hours ago, ober134 said:

My experience is that the party atmosphere notion  is exaggerated. We are retired 60-somethings and enjoy Carnival. Yes, people are having a good time;   but there are many quiet places if that's what you want. Perhaps we've lucked out but have rarely if ever encountered a drunk obnoxious passenger

Bingo

[luv2trvlnow]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

I understand, but if you're off the ship everyday in Europe on an excursion, you don't get much time to spend on your balcony. It's different than the Caribbean or Alaska.

We aren't in an expensive balcony.  We are in the lowest level one.  Like others have said it is nice to be able to have a little privacy and the price difference was not that much to move up from a ocean view.  Most of our cruises have been in inside cabins.  But that was before Covid.  Covid has made us rethink things a little. 

[TheSeagoer]

3 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Never said it was the destination all of the time for everyone.  I said it was the destination if you've cruised the Caribbean over 35 times.  If you're going somewhere for the first time such as Europe, Alaska, Hawaii or the South Pacific then the ports obviously are more important but the ship choice should still be in the running when you choose which to cruise.  Some put cost at the top of their list and Carnival and MSC are the price leaders on both sides of the pond.

 

[CruizinSusan70]

3 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

 

But yes, on sea days, just to watch the water go by and possibly see some marine life.

But as you're already aware, many 7 day cruises in Europe have zero or only one sea day at the most.

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, TheSeagoer said:

 

What's the point about regurgitating two of my previous posts without a rebuttal of some sort?

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, luv2trvlnow said:

We aren't in an expensive balcony.  We are in the lowest level one.  Like others have said it is nice to be able to have a little privacy and the price difference was not that much to move up from a ocean view.  Most of our cruises have been in inside cabins.  But that was before Covid.  Covid has made us rethink things a little. 

It's certainly your dime.  Enjoy your cruise.

[BlerkOne]

5 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

But as you're already aware, many 7 day cruises in Europe have zero or only one sea day at the most.

I wouldn't consider a 7 day cruise in Europe and never looked at one. Even 9 day cruises might only have one sea day. 

 

I had a port hole cabin on my first Carnival Med cruise - 9 day, I think, and survived. But had friends with a balcony and it was grand. 

 

The Med may not have the blue water of the Caribbean, but sailing into or out of Venice, is breathtaking, and could easily be worth the price of admission. 

[CruizinSusan70]

13 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

 

The Med may not have the blue water of the Caribbean, but sailing into or out of Venice, is breathtaking, and could easily be worth the price of admission. 

Isn't Venice where the natives are all upset regarding cruise ships docking and ships may be banned by the local authorities?  And NCL recently hired tenders in order to evade the situation?

[BlerkOne]

13 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Isn't Venice where the natives are all upset regarding cruise ships docking and ships may be banned by the local authorities?  And NCL recently hired tenders in order to evade the situation?

At least I have had the pleasure a few times for memories that will last a lifetime. Key West keeps trying to ban cruise ships, also. Neither has suceeded - yet 

 

I don't consider water shuttles much of a solution. Perhaps a new cruise port will be built on the mainland.

 

There are other port cities with spectacular entrances. Venice was just one example 

[cruizergal70]

17 hours ago, luv2trvlnow said:

Yes I looked at that cruise from Princess.  The cost for the 2 of us would be $9200 for a balcony.  The cost for the Pride is $4600.  So twice the cost.  We can use that $4600 for private excursions by locals who will know their port very well.  Also we are mostly interested in Greece, Italy, and Kusadasi for Ephesus.  We preferred these ports.  

 

I did read on the thread about the Pride being a disappointment, that you stated when you take your first trip across the pond it will not be on Carnival.  So currently you have no European experience to base your opinion on.  I don't either. But I will read everyone's thoughts and then make my decision.

I've done a European cruise with Carnival.  If you are interested mainly in the ports,  you'll be fine. If you want a fancy on board experience,  other lines are more fancy.

 

I only cruise for the ports. I really enjoyed my cruise.

[trvlgirlmq]

Please do NOT listen to CruizinSusan70.  I have been on 10 Carnival cruises with 1 in Europe.  I have also done about 7 land trips to Europe in 6 countries.  I am not as well-traveled as some but I think I can give good advice.  We are also booked on Pride next May for the 12 day Barcelona to Dover.

 

I cruise Carnival for the value I get for my money.  I have been on the smallest ships and some big ones too.  My cruise family is 3 generations including my mother and my kids.  We all enjoy our cruises.  We do not "party".  

 

The Pride would not be my first choice only because we have found we like the bigger ships with more "stuff" for my now college age kids (ropes course, waterslides, etc). They also enjoy trivia and sun worshipping on the pool deck so no one will be bored.  This trip is about the ports and experiences on land.  The ship is our transportation and bed.

 

I have looked at all the other mainstream cruise lines.  I have compared dollar for dollar and you can't beat Carnival.  If I were to book a similar sailing for my family next year on another line it would literally cost me thousands more. That is my excursion, hotel, food, travel money.  

 

My family is looking at a special sailing in 2024 that Carnival does not offer.  I will suck up the money because it is for a special birthday trip and something we will never do again. We will be back to Carnival after I am sure.

 

I say book the Pride.  If you don't like it you will know and never have to cruise that ship, Carnival, whatever again.

[CGinMTL]

Carnival is great off season with longer cruises. You can't beat the value.

I have done 11 day med with my 19 year old.  It is so port intensive,  we had to push ourselves to go to a 7pm comedy show.  And then, we would be in bed by 9 PM and up at 6AM next day to do it all over again.  

If you are there to really visit the ports. No issue with any ship.

As someone else said, it is a restaurant,  a bed and a shower. 

Off topic,  look at Rick steve app and book. A lot of free walking tours. 

[CGinMTL]

For all Italian ports, look at Rome in limo.

[jimbo5544]

4 hours ago, trvlgirlmq said:

Please do NOT listen to CruizinSusan70.  I have been on 10 Carnival cruises with 1 in Europe.  I have also done about 7 land trips to Europe in 6 countries.  I am not as well-traveled as some but I think I can give good advice.  We are also booked on Pride next May for the 12 day Barcelona to Dover.

 

I cruise Carnival for the value I get for my money.  I have been on the smallest ships and some big ones too.  My cruise family is 3 generations including my mother and my kids.  We all enjoy our cruises.  We do not "party".  

 

The Pride would not be my first choice only because we have found we like the bigger ships with more "stuff" for my now college age kids (ropes course, waterslides, etc). They also enjoy trivia and sun worshipping on the pool deck so no one will be bored.  This trip is about the ports and experiences on land.  The ship is our transportation and bed.

 

I have looked at all the other mainstream cruise lines.  I have compared dollar for dollar and you can't beat Carnival.  If I were to book a similar sailing for my family next year on another line it would literally cost me thousands more. That is my excursion, hotel, food, travel money.  

 

My family is looking at a special sailing in 2024 that Carnival does not offer.  I will suck up the money because it is for a special birthday trip and something we will never do again. We will be back to Carnival after I am sure.

 

I say book the Pride.  If you don't like it you will know and never have to cruise that ship, Carnival, whatever again.

Well said, in fact, I think we  did one together….

[jsglow]

On 7/30/2022 at 10:30 AM, njkate said:

I'm happy to read this as I'm looking for a Northern Europe cruise next summer and my usual cruise line NCL the pricing is outrageous, found a good deal on Carnival but hesitant from all the "party atmosphere" I've read regarding Carnival, but assuming a cruise in Europe would be a different dynamic then a 5 day Carribbean cruise

When we did our Pride 14 day Journey in October '21 I teased my PVP that she had mistakenly booked us on HAL.  This ain't no 3 day trip to Nassau.

[CruizinSusan70]

8 hours ago, trvlgirlmq said:

Please do NOT listen to CruizinSusan70.

The Pride would not be my first choice only because we have found we like the bigger ships with more "stuff" for my now college age kids (ropes course, waterslides, etc).

I say book the Pride.  If you don't like it you will know and never have to cruise that ship, Carnival, whatever again.

So, the Pride would not be your first choice, which correlates to exactly what I said.  You wish to book a larger ship with more amenities, but you choose the Pride because Carnival is a value line in Europe since they have ZERO marketing presence and they are the cheapest option on many sailings.

 

The OP has already made up their mind and they just came here to get validation.  I personally couldn't care one way or another which cruise line they choose, I'm just giving my opinion that I think it's better to choose a line that is an expert in the area you're visiting or that at least has a few more bells and whistles than what is on a 20+ year old ship in the Pride.  Many think of it as a floating Motel 6 to get them from port A to port B and if that is how you think, more power to you.  I just think differently.  Enjoy your cruise next May on the Pride.

[TheSeagoer]

18 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

So, the Pride would not be your first choice, which correlates to exactly what I said.  You wish to book a larger ship with more amenities, but you choose the Pride because Carnival is a value line in Europe since they have ZERO marketing presence and they are the cheapest option on many sailings.

 

The OP has already made up their mind and they just came here to get validation.  I personally couldn't care one way or another which cruise line they choose, I'm just giving my opinion that I think it's better to choose a line that is an expert in the area you're visiting or that at least has a few more bells and whistles than what is on a 20+ year old ship in the Pride.  Many think of it as a floating Motel 6 to get them from port A to port B and if that is how you think, more power to you.  I just think differently.  Enjoy your cruise next May on the Pride.

 

[TheSeagoer]

The line literally does nothing once in port. It docks and you get off. At sea, it's the same as you get anywhere else

[BlerkOne]

On 7/29/2022 at 4:38 PM, luv2trvlnow said:

We have booked the Pride for a B2B next year starting on September 29, 2023 (9 days) followed by the October 8, 2023 cruise for 10 days.  When reading the comments on another thread about the Pride being a disappointment, some people say that other cruise lines do Europe better.  

 

My question is how do they do it better?  These are our ports and times.  Are they bad ports?  Bad times in port?  What other factors would make the other cruise lines better.  This is our first European Cruise.

 

 

“Worrying is like paying a debt you don’t owe.”

— Mark Twain

[luv2trvlnow]

I am the OP.  The only reason I asked this was because CruizinSusan70 said other lines do Europe better than Carnival.  So far I don't see why she says that.  Most of the talk is about the ship.  I guess that is how they do it better.  If price was not a consideration than sure the other lines would be my first choice.  But I just can't see paying $4600 more for Princess (21 day cruise) or $5300+ for a back to back on Celebrity Beyond and the Celebrity would be in an inside cabin.  The bells and whistles are nice but not thousands of $$$$ nice.   I would still need to pay for excursions on those lines.  They are not included. 

 

I was just trying to find out if another line would provide something more than a fancier, newer ship.  If so, I would be willing to switch.  We almost always choose a cruise fare that is refundable.

 

She told me to enjoy my cruise.  It is my dime.  Actually it is $1000's of dollars.  

[BlerkOne]

19 minutes ago, luv2trvlnow said:

I am the OP.  The only reason I asked this was because CruizinSusan70 said other lines do Europe better than Carnival.  So far I don't see why she says that. 

 

I did see where she posted she has never been on a cruise in Europe.

[kwokpot]

27 minutes ago, luv2trvlnow said:

I am the OP.  The only reason I asked this was because CruizinSusan70 said other lines do Europe better than Carnival.  So far I don't see why she says that.  Most of the talk is about the ship.  I guess that is how they do it better.  If price was not a consideration than sure the other lines would be my first choice.  But I just can't see paying $4600 more for Princess (21 day cruise) or $5300+ for a back to back on Celebrity Beyond and the Celebrity would be in an inside cabin.  The bells and whistles are nice but not thousands of $$$$ nice.   I would still need to pay for excursions on those lines.  They are not included. 

 

I was just trying to find out if another line would provide something more than a fancier, newer ship.  If so, I would be willing to switch.  We almost always choose a cruise fare that is refundable.

 

She told me to enjoy my cruise.  It is my dime.  Actually it is $1000's of dollars.  

Have you checked with what Royal offers and how the price compares?