And HAL regulars sail Carnival lately?

[OlsSalt]

Yikes, looked up photos of the Carnival Pride ship.   Yes, "over the top" would be one way to describe it. Makes the HAL large pipe organ on the Zaandam look like a kiddie toy miniature in a doll house.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

3 hours ago, Bostonjetset said:

Well that sounds nightmarish. Sorry you had to experience those issues. 

 

Another thing, nearly everyone was Platinum or Diamond, so the VIP lines were much longer than the regular lines, and clearly not a hit with everyone.  When we landed in Costa Rica, some were frustrated with the lower tiers getting off the ship last, seen as holding up the tour.  "He's just gold status, why did they let golds on the ship?"  If 100% of the ship had been Diamond cruisers, they would have had to clear the whole ship the same way...

 

From what I can tell, some of the men were given $50 gift certificates for the salon, likely to attract the couple for additional sales.  I have long hair, and decided to have it cut to my shoulder blades.  The stylist lifted my hair up, cut it in seconds, then laughed at me afterwords.  "Oh my goodness, lol, I guess you can have a little man bun!"  I was back to an awkward stage of growing my hair out for the next 3 months.  It took 6 months to grow to where I asked it to be cut.  I talked to another passenger who got a $35 shave, and this same stylist did a quick job with him, where he had to finish the shave back in his cabin.  Carnival didn't care, that's a licensed contractor, the the salon manger didn't want to hear about it.

 

IMO, go into it with low expectations, and be pleasantly surprised.  I wouldn't do anything longer than 10 nights.  Some of the people commenting are Carnival cruisers who dabble with HAL, the notion that everything on Carnival is just as good or better is false.  Some things like games, shows, and their steakhouse might be better, but certainly not across the board.

[NCTribeFan]

Not sure I qualify as a "HAL regular" since I'm just 3* and have only been on 6 HAL cruises (2 coming up this year).

 

I do have almost 40 on Carnival.  I sailed Pride for 32 days B2B2B Rome to Tampa beginning this past October.  The Spirit class (of which Pride is one of 4) is definitely my favorite mostly because of the layout.  The Spirit class ships were not originally intended for Carnival but for one of the other CCL lines.  The layout is most similar to the ships in HAL's Vista class.

 

Yes, the decor is hideous (imho) but many like that over-the-top stuff.  I've always said that Joe Farcus designs look like he came up with the ideas while having bad acid flashbacks! 😞  But decor really isn't a deciding factor for me when cruising.

 

I also just did 14 nights on Spirit (the first in that class).  The food was better than on Pride as was the service, but Pride wasn't bad, by any means.

 

My "problem" with Carnival (and the main reason I'm moving to HAL and other lines) is that there is simply nowhere on the ship to get away from the noise.  There's pop music blasting from speakers in every location at all times.  I typically sail in interior cabins and it's really annoying to have to retreat to that cabin just to get a little peace and quiet.

 

My other issue was that there is no seating on the exterior promenade deck.  Nothing.  That's one of my favorite places to hang out on HAL ships.  I tend to like to spend my sea days out there reading, relaxing, and looking at the sea.

 

There's probably more daytime activities on Carnival although that isn't my thing.  Music can't compare to BB King's imho.  Production shows still have both singing and dancing.  I don't go to comedy shows, so can't comment on that.  At least the piano bar isn't directly across from the casino, which is where I like to spend my evenings and found myself having to leave the casinos on Eurodam/NA/Zuidy when the Billboard players were performing (if you can call that bellowing din a performance).

[Bostonjetset]

1 hour ago, Roz said:

The last cruise I took pre Covid was a Panama canal full transit on the Carnival Miracle.  It was a wonderful,  fun,  lively cruise.  The best Alaskan cruise I took was an 8-day on the Carnival spirit.  Also did a great 12-day Hawaiian cruise on the spirit. 

 

When I wear my Carnival tshirts on HAL I get all kinds of flack.  If you sail Carnival you have to be selective.

Great to hear. Thanks!
 

1 hour ago, OlsSalt said:

Yikes, looked up photos of the Carnival Pride ship.   Yes, "over the top" would be one way to describe it. Makes the HAL large pipe organ on the Zaandam look like a kiddie toy miniature in a doll house.

Yes it’s truly awful. Hopefully the dry dock will calm it down a bit. Their new ships are not nearly as garish lol. 

[OlsSalt]

Western Diamond Lil  bordelo meets Dubai high-rise shopping malls is one way to describe the decor.

[REOVA]

20 hours ago, AncientWanderer said:

I want to add one thing that comes to mind...and might illustrate the difference between a Hal cruise and a Carnival cruise.  I ordered a Manhattan cocktail in the special steakhouse and literally nobody in there knew what it was.  The waitress had feverish discussion with the bartenders and it was like chickens with heads cut off.  I finally ordered something else.  DH and I cracked up, but some might get cranky about that.  (I think they get a lot more calls for tropical drinks.)

You're lucky they didn't try to make one. Probably won't have tasted like clams. 🙄

[REOVA]

2 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

  But My other issue was that there is no seating on the exterior promenade deck.  Nothing.  That's one of my favorite places to hang out on HAL ships.  I tend to like to spend my sea days out there reading, relaxing, and looking at the ses.

Be aware that HAL did away with these are the Pinnacle Class ships. 

 

 

We've only done Carnival if we had to  (family celebration, charity prize, specific port) and cringe every time booking. But we know what we are getting into, what to avoid and still can enjoy the journey. We have a cruise terminal 2 blocks from our door but Carnival is currently the only line with a ship home port there. (Others stop for a day but we are prevented due to PVSA from boarding or disembarking). We are 5 Star with HAL and would prefer over Carnival but think you can enjoy any cruise if itinerary and date are important (and an experience with your mother). 

[Essiesmom]

I did a partial transit on Pride in 2017.  Be aware that unlike other lines that do partial transits, Carnival does not offer any excursions.  In thru Gatun Locks, linger for awhile in the lake, then back out.  No stop in Panama.  I enjoy Carnival, especially since I can drive to the port.  I have sailed a lot of lines, and enjoyed them all.  EM

[Bostonjetset]

3 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

I did a partial transit on Pride in 2017.  Be aware that unlike other lines that do partial transits, Carnival does not offer any excursions.  In thru Gatun Locks, linger for awhile in the lake, then back out.  No stop in Panama.  I enjoy Carnival, especially since I can drive to the port.  I have sailed a lot of lines, and enjoyed them all.  EM

Thanks. That’s good to know. I think I can live with that. I’m not an engineering buff or anything so I think I’ll be happy with just seeing the one set of locks especially as they should be the original ones. There is also a stop in Limon CR where I’ve never been to as well as Grand Cayman where we have been. 

[NCTribeFan]

What?  No seating on the Promenade deck on Rotterdam?  I'll be on her for 26 nights!

 

Well, since we're crossing the Atlantic in early April, chances are it will be too cold to sit out there anyway.  Still! 😒

[jimbob22]

Not sure if I'm a Hal 'regular', but we've done both.  If the Carnival fits your schedule, I'd do it. It shouldn't be that wild, and will likely be fine.  We recently did Mardi Gras, then Rotterdam a month later.  Carnival has made some cutbacks in the MDR.  Appetizers are very small, entrees sometimes very small, sometimes normal.  Expect less tenderloin and more 'strip steaks' relative to Hal.  Carnival does have lobster, but I prefer the all-around superiority of meats and cuts offered on Hal.

 

Hopefully your mom is ok with 'fast food' type things, b/c Carnival's strength in that department is Guy's Burgers (though I'd say that Dive In is pretty much the same) and Blue Iguana--which is actually the best true taqueria type Mexican food at sea.  Try the juevos rancheros breakfast with an arepa or two if you do the Carnival.  The pizza on carnival is really good too.  I just don't think they're as strong with the full 'MDR' experience.  And you'll notice that the buffet is adequate, but nowhere near the variety that Hal offers.  So on Hal, we'll do some dinners in the lido, but never on Carnival b/c the offerings tend to be less and lean more towards 'heavy' foods.  But overall it should be fine. 

 

There are nightly song and dance type shows, as well as trivia. So I wouldn't worry about any of it, book it if it fits your preferred logisitics/schedule/pricing.

 

 

[USN59-79]

I kind of disagree with the idea that a longer Carnival cruise would attract the more rowdy passengers.  In 2009 we took a 49 day cruise on the Splendor from Miami to San Francisco around South America.  It was a very good cruise.  The only off-putting thing was when the waiters would dance on the tables in the MDR after dinner and the loud music in the MDR.  I would be wary of very short cruises on CCL.  As an example, we once took a repositioning cruise on Diamond Princess from Beijing to Vancouver and it was great.  Got to know and enjoy talking to many of our fellow passengers.  When we arrived in Vancouver we were offered a great deal on a 7-day Alaska cruise if we stayed on the ship.  We took them up on it and there was a night an day difference on the ambiance on the ship.  The 7-day passengers wanted to experience everything the ship offered in a week, so there were lines everywhere, people were in a hurry, and you knew if you met someone and had a conversation you would never see them again on the ship.  Since then we never take 7 day cruises on any line.

Ray

[Bostonjetset]

1 hour ago, USN59-79 said:

The only off-putting thing was when the waiters would dance on the tables in the MDR after dinner and the loud music in the MDR.  

Ray

Oh yes the dancing waitstaff. I’ve always cringed at that on past carnival cruises. I’m surprised they still do it after all the other cutbacks I’ve heard about. It won’t ruin my cruise but I certainly can do without it. 

[OhioDogLover]

i sail Carnival periodically.  That repositioning cruise sounds terrific.  I am tempted to be sure. I like other lines better, Princess, HAL, Celebrity, but Carnival is ok.  Sure, the decor can be a bit garish, and IMHO the food isn't as good as on the others, but I always have  a great time.  

ohiodoglover

[Bostonjetset]

Thanks everyone for your input. We booked the Carnival Pride for the partial Panama Canal transit. The price was fair and it’s a good itinerary (I’ll go into it known what to expect in regards to the ship itself). 

Edited February 23, 2023 by Bostonjetset

[albingirl]

If you go when it isn't school vacation week, it's probably good.  The way prices for HAL are going up, it's an alternative, for sure.

[niknot]

Not really a regular on any line yet, I tend to go where I can find a good itinerary and a good price. Last year I was on the Zaandam, Emerald Princess, MSC Seashore and Carnival Pride. All had their positives and negatives.

 

I also watched youtube videos of the Pride and did laugh about the decor. To be honest though, I didn't even notice it after the first day or so.

 

One interesting thing about Carnival, was that they do not match ship time to port time so some of our port arrival and departure times were earlier than many planned for (Spain and Portugal).

 

Room size was fine (similar to Zaandam) and in much better shape. The staff was excellent.

 

You will be fine as long as you adjust your expectations.

 

[Jen1000]

I was on the Carnival Pride last month out of Tampa for 8 nights.  I have been on HAL, Princess, RC, Celebrity and Carnival in the past.  Most recently on Princess I heard multiple people criticizing Carnival and they definitely thought that a Carnival cruise was beneath them.  It was fun to let them know we like Carnival and see how they respond.

 

I think each of the lines does different things well.  Carnival is great with activities and entertainment and I found that to be true on the Pride.  The cruise director and his team were great.  I think HAL overall has better food than Carnival but lacks in activities.  I remember one night in the main show room on HAL was pretty bad and people in my party walked out.  Other entertainment on HAL is superior to Carnival. 

 

The staff was very good on the Pride and no complaints there.  The balcony cabin we had on the Pride was a good size and in good shape.  The cabin was larger than my balcony cabin on a recent Princess cruise.  The cabin TV was really small and the channel choices are a joke, there are a lot of Carnival channels and almost no real channels to watch.  I don't watch a lot of TV on a cruise but I do like to watch some and could not find much worth watching.

 

Good Food on Pride - I found the dining room to be good and was happy with dinner and ate there 7 of my 8 dinners.  I ate breakfast in the dining room twice and it is better than the breakfast buffet.  The pizza at the Pizza Pirate station was great. PP was the only food  available after 11 PM aside from paid room service.  Lunch and dinner "buffet" station was overall very good and there is carved meat at lunch and dinner and at some meals the most delicious mashed potatoes.  Blue Iguana is great.  I loved the meat tacos and also went there for breakfast a few times.  They have arepas at breakfast and they were delicious, especially with beans.

 

Not so good Food on Pride - The dessert station on the Lido was not to my taste and there was almost no dessert I liked or finished.  The Chopstix station was not good.  There is soup at Chopstix that was fine but the rest of the food was not good.  

 

We had a couple of odd incidents on the trip.  We did stop to make contact with people in a small boat to see if they needed assistance.  The people on the boat did not want to get on the ship and in the end the ship provided food, blankets, water and a radio.  Another day we had a "person overboard" incident.  After the ship went back and there was a good amount of looking no one was found.  Everyone on board had to report to their muster stations and check in.  It took a while and there were people called by name that had not checked in but in the end all passengers, crew and contractors were accounted for, so it was a false alarm.  Both incidents were handled very professionally by the crew.

 

 

I hope this helps and have a great trip.

 

Jen

Edited February 24, 2023 by Jen1000

[ChinaShrek]

3 hours ago, Jen1000 said:

I was on the Carnival Pride last month out of Tampa for 8 nights.  I have been on HAL, Princess, RC, Celebrity and Carnival in the past.  Most recently on Princess I heard multiple people criticizing Carnival and they definitely thought that a Carnival cruise was beneath them.  It was fun to let them know we like Carnival and see how they respond.

 

 

 

I hope this helps and have a great trip.

 

Jen

Did you enjoy seeing the canal on the 8 night cruise or do you wish you went on a longer cruise?

[UPNYGuy]

On 2/18/2023 at 12:13 AM, Hlitner said:

Have you ever been on Carnival?  Which ship(s) and when?  Do not get me wrong, we are not Carnival fans, especially being in our 70s.  But when we cruise on lines like HAL and chat with other cruisers, it is common to hear "Carnival bashers."  When this happens, I always ask about their previous experience with Carnival and the response is usually "we would never go on Carnival."  

 

So, DW and I have only been on 3 Carnival cruises (out of far more than 100 cruises) and all 3 were quite good (and fun).  It is not one of our normal cruise lines, but those 3 bookings made good sense and we had no regrets.  In fact, there were quite a few things on Carnival that we thought were far superior to what we have experienced on HAL (we are 5* Mariners).

 

I am not suggesting that most HAL fans would enjoy Carnival.  But for many folks, the right CarnIf ival cruise might be enjoyable.  If you have experienced Carnival (in recent years) and dislike it, that is one thing.  But if you have never been on Carnival and just assume it is awful, you might be surprised.

 

Hank

 

 

agree with this. The spirit ships are similar in size to the HAL vista and signature ships. DW and I quite like them. In fact, we actually stopped sailing on HAL after 2 dreadful sailings (Ryndam and Eurodam) and now sail on MSC, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean. 

[UPNYGuy]

On 2/19/2023 at 9:17 PM, Bostonjetset said:

Oh yes the dancing waitstaff. I’ve always cringed at that on past carnival cruises. I’m surprised they still do it after all the other cutbacks I’ve heard about. It won’t ruin my cruise but I certainly can do without it. 

I actually don’t mind this. HAL used to have a cheesy Baked Alaska parade. It is nice to see a cruise line stick with something somewhat ‘traditional’ in the era of cutbacks. 

[Hlitner]

12 minutes ago, UPNYGuy said:

agree with this. The spirit ships are similar in size to the HAL vista and signature ships. DW and I quite like them. In fact, we actually stopped sailing on HAL after 2 dreadful sailings (Ryndam and Eurodam) and now sail on MSC, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean. 

Our last Carnival cruise was back in 2005 or 2006 on the Carnival Spirit.  We were on our way to Australia, stopped in CA for a few days, and grabbed a week Spirit cruise to the Mexican Riviera.  My one memory of that cruise was that the noise from the props, in part of the restaurant (Empire) was deafening.  I had never heard such a racket on any ship (we have been on more than 60 different cruise ships) and thought it must have been an engineering fiasco or an issue with a bad prop.  I always wondered if this had been repaired, or if it is a cavitation-related problem inherent in the design,

 

Hank

[Bostonjetset]

17 hours ago, albingirl said:

If you go when it isn't school vacation week, it's probably good.  The way prices for HAL are going up, it's an alternative, for sure.

Honestly the price we paid was on par with anything we’ve paid on HAL on a per diem basis. It was a fair price but not dirt cheap as one often thinks Carnival cruises would be. Of course taxes and port fees make up a large piece of the total costs of a PC cruise regardless of the line. 
 

10 hours ago, niknot said:

Not really a regular on any line yet, I tend to go where I can find a good itinerary and a good price. Last year I was on the Zaandam, Emerald Princess, MSC Seashore and Carnival Pride. All had their positives and negatives.

 

I also watched youtube videos of the Pride and did laugh about the decor. To be honest though, I didn't even notice it after the first day or so.

 

One interesting thing about Carnival, was that they do not match ship time to port time so some of our port arrival and departure times were earlier than many planned for (Spain and Portugal).

 

Room size was fine (similar to Zaandam) and in much better shape. The staff was excellent.

 

You will be fine as long as you adjust your expectations.

 

Yea one gets used to the tacky decor after a couple days. It’s just so in your face when you haven’t been on a Carnival ship in years lol. I can also do without the hairy chest contest and sexy leg contests and other poolside shenanigans often found on CCL. At least their adult only Serenity area was free in the past so hopefully that is still the case. 
 

6 hours ago, Jen1000 said:

I was on the Carnival Pride last month out of Tampa for 8 nights.  I have been on HAL, Princess, RC, Celebrity and Carnival in the past.  Most recently on Princess I heard multiple people criticizing Carnival and they definitely thought that a Carnival cruise was beneath them.  It was fun to let them know we like Carnival and see how they respond.

 

I think each of the lines does different things well.  Carnival is great with activities and entertainment and I found that to be true on the Pride.  The cruise director and his team were great.  I think HAL overall has better food than Carnival but lacks in activities.  I remember one night in the main show room on HAL was pretty bad and people in my party walked out.  Other entertainment on HAL is superior to Carnival. 

 

The staff was very good on the Pride and no complaints there.  The balcony cabin we had on the Pride was a good size and in good shape.  The cabin was larger than my balcony cabin on a recent Princess cruise.  The cabin TV was really small and the channel choices are a joke, there are a lot of Carnival channels and almost no real channels to watch.  I don't watch a lot of TV on a cruise but I do like to watch some and could not find much worth watching.

 

Good Food on Pride - I found the dining room to be good and was happy with dinner and ate there 7 of my 8 dinners.  I ate breakfast in the dining room twice and it is better than the breakfast buffet.  The pizza at the Pizza Pirate station was great. PP was the only food  available after 11 PM aside from paid room service.  Lunch and dinner "buffet" station was overall very good and there is carved meat at lunch and dinner and at some meals the most delicious mashed potatoes.  Blue Iguana is great.  I loved the meat tacos and also went there for breakfast a few times.  They have arepas at breakfast and they were delicious, especially with beans.

 

Not so good Food on Pride - The dessert station on the Lido was not to my taste and there was almost no dessert I liked or finished.  The Chopstix station was not good.  There is soup at Chopstix that was fine but the rest of the food was not good.  

 

We had a couple of odd incidents on the trip.  We did stop to make contact with people in a small boat to see if they needed assistance.  The people on the boat did not want to get on the ship and in the end the ship provided food, blankets, water and a radio.  Another day we had a "person overboard" incident.  After the ship went back and there was a good amount of looking no one was found.  Everyone on board had to report to their muster stations and check in.  It took a while and there were people called by name that had not checked in but in the end all passengers, crew and contractors were accounted for, so it was a false alarm.  Both incidents were handled very professionally by the crew.

 

 

I hope this helps and have a great trip.

 

Jen

Wow that’s crazy about the false man overboard situation!!
 

Were you on a PC partial?  Did you enjoy that aspect of the trip?

[Jen1000]

The cruise was not to the PC.  We went to Belize, Cozumel, Roatan, Grand Cayman and Costa Maya out of Tampa.  

 

I don't think there was the hairy chest contest on this cruise but I could have missed it on the schedule.  It is a bit harder for me to stay on top of all activities with the app.  Carnival's app was easier to use for activities vs. the Princess app.  Late in the cruise I found the printed schedules were near the Piazza Cafe with the puzzles of the day.

 

The Serenity area was free.  

 

We never figured out if the overboard was a prank or if someone saw something fall off the ship and thought it was a person.  What I was impressed with was how professionally and calmly it was dealt with.  There was a plan and the staff executed that plan well.  

 

Jen

[Bostonjetset]

20 minutes ago, Jen1000 said:

The cruise was not to the PC.  We went to Belize, Cozumel, Roatan, Grand Cayman and Costa Maya out of Tampa.  

 

I don't think there was the hairy chest contest on this cruise but I could have missed it on the schedule.  It is a bit harder for me to stay on top of all activities with the app.  Carnival's app was easier to use for activities vs. the Princess app.  Late in the cruise I found the printed schedules were near the Piazza Cafe with the puzzles of the day.

 

The Serenity area was free.  

 

We never figured out if the overboard was a prank or if someone saw something fall off the ship and thought it was a person.  What I was impressed with was how professionally and calmly it was dealt with.  There was a plan and the staff executed that plan well.  

 

Jen

Thanks for the reply. I actually took that cruise back in 2013 on the Carnival Legend which is a sister ship to the Pride. I loved Roatan especially.
 

Glad serenity area is still free. Of every lined I’ve sailed, that adults area is most important on Carnival ships.