Should I cheat this one time? Need opinions

[Mr.Clean]

I've been on four cruises and have one scheduled for January. All RCCL. We plan cruises far in advance, and are looking at Spring Break '08 already. (Starting Sunday 4/6/08 - 7 night) We are a family of 3, and want to do the Eastern Caribbean with San Juan as a stop, not Nassau. The only 7 night cruise we can find for that itinerary and that week is on Freedom. That's not a problem. But, the cost for 3 in the cheapest balcony room is over $3500. The same cruise itinerary on Carnival Triumph (leaves Saturday 4/5/08) is $2140 (balcony guarantee), and the TA will throw in free cruise insurance. Now, I know RCCL has better service, but is it really worth $1400? :confused: Not sure what to do. Do I dare "cheat"?

 

 

Sovereign of the Seas 6/2002

Voyager of the Seas 4/2003

Mariner of the Seas 5/2004

Radiance of the Seas 4/2006

Sovereign of the Seas 1/29/07

[jillybabes]

Mr. Clean: Check out the Mariner, I see that in 2008 San Juan replaces Nassau on the Eastern itinerary...Later, Jill:cool:

[Guest LetMeGo]

If you don't try it at least once, you can't really know what it would be like. :confused:

You'd be relying on all the negative reviews you hear about "others", and never see what the positiive side of them would be.

 

And then there's also the possibilty of saving that $1400 every year, if you decided there isn't that much difference. ;)

[cruisebabe43]

I was just on my first Carnival cruise this past summer and I was surprised to say the differences were negligible. My husband and I compared everything we could think of. We were comparing the Explorer of the Seas (which we love) to the Carnival Glory. We decided that we loved both ships and the crew on Carnival couldn't do enough for us just like on RCCL. I think if you are able to save that much money you might want to go with the cheaper of the two. Just make sure you are comparing apples to apples as far as the room and the amenities on each ship. Either way you are going to be on a cruise and there is nothing better!

[cynt]

Go for it. It would be like going on a Sears/JcPenny cruise vs. a Dillards or Macys cruise.

 

And use the $1400 to go on some exotic excursions that you probably would pass in a normal situation.

[yarlenna]

That depends on what you want from your cruise. I loved my cruise on the Carnival Triumph. I also loved the pizza (24 hours). Liked Carnival's food much better than RCI's. I also feel that their rooms are more comfortable. I do know that everyone says that RCI has better service, but I think that is the luck of the draw.

[kc320]

$1,400 is a lot of money to pay for loyalty to a cruise line. If it was me I'd book the Carnival cruise in a heartbeat. The only thing to keep in mind with EITHER/ANY line is they can & DO change ports of call all the time. This far out I'd be reluctant to pin my hopes on any particular port.

 

We were on the Glory in 2003 and found it to be comparable to anything we've experienced on RCCL. The crew was very nice, rooms & beds were better, food I'd give the edge to rccl, except the pizza was awesome. The one funny thing we noticed in the dinning room, you only got 1 knife, fork & spoon, instead of the multiple pieces you normally get on a cruise. No big deal, it was just funny, especially since it was my DH who noticed & brought it to my attention.

[Mr.Clean]

Mr. Clean: Check out the Mariner, I see that in 2008 San Juan replaces Nassau on the Eastern itinerary...Later, Jill:cool:

 

Thanks for the idea, but Mariner does the Western Caribben that week (which I'm locked into), and I don't know if I can take any more of Jamacia for a while, but that's a entire different issue.

[lmmn]

I've been on four cruises and have one scheduled for January. All RCCL. We plan cruises far in advance, and are looking at Spring Break '08 already. (Starting Sunday 4/6/08 - 7 night) We are a family of 3, and want to do the Eastern Caribbean with San Juan as a stop, not Nassau. The only 7 night cruise we can find for that itinerary and that week is on Freedom. That's not a problem. But, the cost for 3 in the cheapest balcony room is over $3500. The same cruise itinerary on Carnival Triumph (leaves Saturday 4/5/08) is $2140 (balcony guarantee), and the TA will throw in free cruise insurance. Now, I know RCCL has better service, but is it really worth $1400? :confused: Not sure what to do. Do I dare "cheat"?

 

 

Sovereign of the Seas 6/2002

Voyager of the Seas 4/2003

Mariner of the Seas 5/2004

Radiance of the Seas 4/2006

Sovereign of the Seas 1/29/07

 

I booked Carnival on our last cruise because it was some ridiculous $$$ cheaper. It really adds up if you're taking your family. I went with low expectations, and I was pleasantly surprised. I would book it and see for yourself....if you are a fun person, you will have fun on any ship. You will find younger, more casual people cruising. There is more nightlife and absolutely the best pizza! No matter which line I cruise, there are always some things I like better on the line I'm on, and other things I like better on others. I like it that way, because it makes each trip a little different.

[piercetc4]

we have been on 2 carnival spring break cruises- they were both full of partying spring breakers- have done 1 carnival cruise in sept- much better from the wild and crazy partying spring break ones...... have not done a rccl cruise over spring break so don't know if they have same atmosphere or not over spring break- we cruise in fall now- prefer rccl but for that kind of savings would def. go on carnival again- had a blast on all of our cruises-

[falcon5travels]

I just came of off FOTS and although the food was o.k not great. I do not regret paying TOP DOLLAR and then some. We have 3 girls, 9,13, 17 and they loved it as well. Although, unlike you ports didnt matter so we stayed on board 2 out of the 4 ports which helped us to justify the price. Plenty to do (sometimes too much) and it was a beautiful well layed out ship. I loved the service, friendliness and the cleanliness. I would book it.

[cruisevers]

Not sure what port you want to sail from or if you know this but the Triumph is supposed to be starting to sail out of New Orleans in August 2007. Read on Carnival board.

[yogimax]

Is a balcony a necessity?

[Mr.Clean]

Not sure what port you want to sail from or if you know this but the Triumph is supposed to be starting to sail out of New Orleans in August 2007. Read on Carnival board.

That's interesting. www.iwantacruise.com shows Triumph sailing out of Miami 4/5/08. I'll have to go "trolling" on the Carnival boards.

[Mr.Clean]

Is a balcony a necessity?

Balcony is not a necessity, but highly desirable. We got our first balcony on Radiance in April and loved it. Triumph's balcony price is not only cheaper that Freedom's balcony, its lower than Freedom's cheapest interior rooms, which start at over $1000 a person for that week.

[Happy ks]

I'm not at all brand loyal, we plan on trying out as many lines as we can. We have already been on 7 different lines, 10 cruises. So, go ahead and try them. You can't make the decision if you like them or not based on other peoples experience.

 

We only sailed Carnival once and it was an older ship. It's kind of too bad, because we'll never sail the line again because of it. Before anyone tells me that the newer ships are better, I do realise that. I just was not crazy for the cabin (nor the ship overall), the photos I see from Carnival is still the same decor we had. That the cabin was larger than RCI is not important, or an issue for us.

 

I will add that the cruise experience itself was quite similar between those 2 lines. Many argue one or the other has better food/service/kids program, whatever, but I think that is all subjective. We have found similarities with all cruise lines. Our favorites to date have been Celebrity and Disney. Our most fav is now defunct, the old American Hawaiian Independence, you either loved or hated that ship, there was no in between there :) .

[silentbob007]

That's interesting. www.iwantacruise.com shows Triumph sailing out of Miami 4/5/08. I'll have to go "trolling" on the Carnival boards.

 

Yes, it was announced that the Triumph will be moving to NOLA with the Carnival Freedom taking it's place in Miami.

[nrdsb4]

I personally can't imagine NEVER trying a different cruise line. I've heard others say they don't want to try a different cruise line because they are AFRAID it won't be as good as RCI. I don't understand letting fear of the unknown drive behavior (at least as it relates to cruising), but that's just me. My feeling is if I don't try out different lines, I may miss out on something really special. The worst that can happen is that you come out of it with a stronger appreciation for RCI and your preference for this line would at least be based on something.

[thepeacha]

gotta say I am with falcon5 here... FOS was worth every penny, I have never paid so near to list price as for FOS but felt it was an excellent value!!! I am not a fan of Carnival, just not my style, and Princess has followed along the Carnival trend now, so I personally would not save the $$$ and take a chance... that being said, there is a very good reason why there are so many ships and we are so lucky to get a choice. Ain't cruising great? Either way have a fantastic time...

[Shar27]

I really wanted to take my daughter on a cruise this summer. I have only been on RCI up until now. There was a huge difference in the prices between RCI and Carnival. I wanted a balcony as well.

 

We are sailing in 10 days on the Carnival Valor which is one of the newer, bigger ships in the Carnival line and I am quite looking forward to it. It worked out close to $1000 cheaper then the cheapest RCI sailing I could find in the summer.

 

I'll let you know how it goes.

[wrp96]

I personally can't imagine NEVER trying a different cruise line. I've heard others say they don't want to try a different cruise line because they are AFRAID it won't be as good as RCI. I don't understand letting fear of the unknown drive behavior (at least as it relates to cruising), but that's just me. My feeling is if I don't try out different lines, I may miss out on something really special. The worst that can happen is that you come out of it with a stronger appreciation for RCI and your preference for this line would at least be based on something.

 

For my Southern Caribbean cruise this past March I looked at sailing on the Carnival Destiny, but the reviews just weren't great and I couldn't justify saving $100 for a product that I couldn't guarantee that I would enjoy. I was going to be spending thousands of dollars of my money for a vacation - and I want to be assured that I would enjoy it. As it was, the week I sailed was the week that Destiny had propulsion problems and was very late back into San Juan. My choice was so worth it, and I probably ended up saving more than I would have if I had sailed the Destiny, especially since my cruising partner would have missed work the next day.

 

Does this mean that I wouldn't have a good time on a Carnival cruise? I don't know. I haven't tried them yet. But as long as RCCL continues to make me happy on my vacations and offers me itineraries and ships that I like at prices I can afford, then I will sail RCCL - because I know I enjoy sailing them. Sometimes the unknown is worth trying even if you haven't been unhappy with what you have, but not always. It all depends on the person and the reasons for trying something new.

[kkbryan]

The Triumph has a corkscrew slide, which our kids loved. So depending on how old your child is, this might be a benefit.

[Cruising89143]

For my Southern Caribbean cruise this past March I looked at sailing on the Carnival Destiny, but the reviews just weren't great and I couldn't justify saving $100 for a product that I couldn't guarantee that I would enjoy. I was going to be spending thousands of dollars of my money for a vacation - and I want to be assured that I would enjoy it. As it was, the week I sailed was the week that Destiny had propulsion problems and was very late back into San Juan. My choice was so worth it, and I probably ended up saving more than I would have if I had sailed the Destiny, especially since my cruising partner would have missed work the next day.

 

Does this mean that I wouldn't have a good time on a Carnival cruise? I don't know. I haven't tried them yet. But as long as RCCL continues to make me happy on my vacations and offers me itineraries and ships that I like at prices I can afford, then I will sail RCCL - because I know I enjoy sailing them. Sometimes the unknown is worth trying even if you haven't been unhappy with what you have, but not always. It all depends on the person and the reasons for trying something new.

 

Wrona, trust me when I say that you made a very wise decision. I have cruised on the Destiny and while the ship was ok it cannot touch RCI. The ship is now ten years old and Carnival is not known for their upkeep of their vessels. I have seen it first hand.

 

To the OP, it all comes down to what you feel is a good value. Having been on both lines quite a few times I would take RCI hands down but that is me. Good luck and have a great cruise with either line.:)