Need some input please !!

[magicmike33]

First off i m doing a project for school, Temple University in Philadelphia PA and I wanted to know for you cruise goers what was your perception of Carnival before and after your trips ( examples: did you think it was more family oriented, think it was a cheaper cruise line is that good or bad thing, how did they catch you to find interest in Carnival (TV ad, travel agent ect) Any good or bad qualities about your trip.

 

Second im planning on going on a cruise in the Western Carribean I know all of you are bias to Carnival but i m looking for like a singles cruise to go on with a bunch of friends where if we would get alil loud it wouldnt bother the families

( i m a quiet one its my friends who are nuts ) ne idea please reply

 

Thanks everybody

[Bunkie103]

Hi Mike...we stumbled onto Carnival when our cruise on the Norway was cancelled because of an explosion/fire. Some of the other lines were way more $ than we were spending on NCL, hence we "settled" for Carnival Triumph last October. We loved it. Going to Western Caribbean in October with the Saints and Sinners Group aboard the Sensation from New Orleans.

You and your friends can go and be noisy without a problem, just don't go running thru the hall at nights screaming and you should be fine. Whatever you choose have a great time.

[stlrboo]

My 1st Cruise was arranged through a Travel Agency and was part of a Monday Night Steelers/Dolphins football game, and was with Dolphi Cruise Line. This happened, as that is the line the travel agency used. I might add that this was quite a "party cruise". Steelers won, naturally! :)
My 2nd Cruise was with my two step-daughters (early 30's at the time) and one boyfriend, and they wanted to "have a good time". Thus, they chose Carnival, as they advertised the "Fun Ships". And they didn't let us down, tho' I wasn't wild about the hairy chest contests, etc., but we certainly made a 'hit' at the Game Show the first night. Yikes.. they picked three out of our group of four, including me.. :eek: My 1st 'Ship-on-a-stick'! :D
Had a great time and decided to do it again, even tho' I was getting married, and planned the wedding in a port-of-call (through Carnival), and really wanted a more 'laid-back' cruise. I knew I could do that if I wanted, as there are so many things to do..Party if you want, or.. :cool:
It worked wonderfully, and I'd recommend it to anyone.
Carnival advertises a "Fun Ship" and provides everything you need to do that... or whatever you want to do. They have Camp Carnival for the kids, etc., so it can also be a "family' cruise. Make of it what you want!
Singles partying is always a concern, and you may be able to find a theme cruise or 'singles' cruise which would better provide what you are looking for..
I'd guess the Rock & Roll Cruise may be 'party' oriented.. or Jimmy Buffet!
Keep looking, and I'm sure you'll get a lot of different opinions from this board. We are all here to help each other.. ;)
Happy Cruising..! And College..

[CruiseFever]

[I]I wanted to know for you cruise goers what was your perception of Carnival before and after your trips [/I]

Good question-

Before our cruise I had lots of [URL=http://www.lifeiscruising.com/misconceptions]misconceptions [/URL]and booked a short cruise on the Fascination with a balcony cabin so we wouldn't be bored for long and have some place to escape from all the old people.

Man, was that wrong

By about half way through the first day we all agreed it was the best vacation ever and we were hooked. We spent little time on the balcony and the only regret was that we didn't book a longer cruise. We did find old people....having a great time right along with everybody else!

[wenhigh]

My first cruise was a group cruise arranged by a travel agent. I had heard some negative comments about Carnival, but we thoroughly enjoyed it! Carnival, indeed, was the party boat(Fantasy), but very enjoyable and quiet when we needed it.

Carnival has lived down the reputation it had years ago. Only those having one or two bad experiences do not think so. I really believe that your cruise experience is what you make it. Based on what you want, choose your cruise ship and cruise line. I personally like Carnival!

[DFD1]

Carnival contributed to the misconception when it used the "Fun Ships" theme in its early advertising. It did so to break the old perception that only older, well-off people cruised.

The advertising was a huge success. Carnival mass marketed cruised to millions of people who had never considered cruising before Carnival's campaign. The vast middle class in America now had a cruise line it was comfortable with.

In the process, they may have created the idea that their cruises where less than first class and not very refined.

In recent years, they have changed their advertising and sought to replace that idea with a more accurate one, ie that Carnival is first class....but not stuffy. I think they have been successful beyond their wildest dreams.

[DFD1]

One other point.....The very name "Carnival" conotes a party. When Carnival was created and the name assigned it was with the very real understanding that the concept of a "party cruise line" would follow......and it did.

[ArkansasFish]

One main grip I had on Carnival was the music played at the pool.
The band played but played weird songs I never heard. And I listen to all kinds of music (rock, country, rap, etc)

[vermonter16]

My first Carnival Cruise was on a spirit class ship, the Pride for a western caribbean cruise.... At first when I thought of Carnival I thought party and games and more things that might appeal to young people....when I actually sailed on Carnival I thought....party and games... and elegance and class all wrapped up on one ship....there was something that could appeal to everyone.

In February my DH and I sailed on RCCL....we're back on Carnival this October....that ought to tell you something.

vermonter16

CCL Pride 01/03
RCCL AOS 02/04
CCL Miracle 10/04

[kcslim]

My first impression was that Carnival might be too young, and too much partying for me, even though I like to have a fun time. My first cruise was on the Carnival Triumph. I had done some searches on the internet, trying to figure out what would be best for me. The reason, I was celebrating my 50th birthday, I am single (not shy -- but nervous about going alone). After searching for "singles cruises".. I found the age group definitely not mine. I am a young 51, definitely like to dance, and have good play time, as well as good relaxing time. Carnival was definitely all of that and more. I enjoyed every aspect of the cruise and couldn't wait to cruise again. So, I didn't wait.

My next cruise was on Celebrity out of Baltimore. The Celebrity Galaxy was a wonderful ship, with many things to do. It could have been the time of year (October), but the people onboard were definitely older. I work in healthcare, keying on geriatrics, so I love people of all ages. There were too many oxygen tanks and walkers. I did have a good, relaxing time, but definitely not as much fun as I had on Carnival.

I leave November 7th for my second Carnival cruise, on the Victory. You will find some children, some seniors, some young people.. in other words, people of all ages. You can party anywhere onboard, be loud and enjoy yourself, or find a quiet spot to read and look out at the ocean. Go have a wonderful time, and write a review for us!

So, before I took a Carnival cruise, I thought it might be too young. After, I think it is for all ages and all interests. Even though I might try other lines in the future, I believe Carnival will still be my cruise line.
Karen

[hstrybuf]

For years we had never given cruising a thought when it came to a choice for vacation. We thought it was something only the well off could afford. As our children grew older, they didn't want to go on vacation somewhere on land with their parents. In fact, they didn't want to vacation with us at all! We decided on a whim to look into a cruise and chose Carnival, probably because we were familiar with their advertisments.

We were very green in those days, not knowing any more than we read in a brochure or saw on television. We knew we would be on a ship that would take us to places we had never visited and hoped we wouldn't get seasick. ;) Of course, we also expected to have fun and Carnival more than exceeded our expectations.

We were pleasantly surprised at the decor, food, service and the fact that even 12 foot seas in a tropical storm did not make us seasick. We had a great time being pampered for seven days! It was nearly two years before we sailed again for our 25th anniversary, but when we did, we chose Carnival!

As a side note for the OP, Carnival now requires that you have at least one person 25 or older booked in each cabin. Hope you can work out the logistics on that! :)

[NinaCO]

Before trying Carnival I cruised several times with Royal Caribbean and once with Holland America. Upon boarding my first Carnival ship (Paradise), I was disappointed. I thought she was downright ugly. I sailed with the worst fellow passengers ever on that cruise (large group of angry unhappy complainers), and that was a major disappointment. But, the staff was terrific. The food was great, and the cabin was big compared with RCI & HAL. The reason I began cruising with Carnival was that Royal Caribbean upped their single supplement from 50% extra to double the regular fare. Carnival's supplement is 50% extra for their 1A cabins, which makes it much more affordable. Since Paradise I've sailed on two other Carnival ships (Celebration & Sensation) and had fantastic cruises each time. My 4th cruise with Carnival is less than 2 months away, and it's my second group cruise.

As far as your upcoming cruise, Carnival ships are not usually wild party boats. You can have a good time and be a little loud, but your friends while probably annoy folks if they got really loud. However, my POV comes from sailing with Carnival when school is in session (the [color=red][i]only[/i][/color] time I'll sail from a continental U.S. port). From what I've read, it's very different during spring break, summer, and the Christmas season. That's the reason I don't cruise then.

[ArkansasFish]

When we went Carnival there was not parties!!! The disco was empty at night,. Was very disappointed. Also around the pool area at night was empty. Pool was open for swimming then too.

[dbcruzin]

[quote name='hstrybuf']
As a side note for the OP, Carnival now requires that you have at least one person 25 or older booked in each cabin. Hope you can work out the logistics on that! :)[/QUOTE]
This is only true for those under 21 years of age. Two people over the age of 21 can cruise together.:)

[hme455]

We (three females) went with Carnival because it was known as the "party ship". We went to party and have fun. We did BUT it was more of a family and kid atmosphere... Just wish there were more people like us on board!!:rolleyes: We are going again, we can have fun anywhere BUT we are taking more people with us this time.

[kristikae]

I booked Carnival specifically because of their reputation. My first cruise was in my mid twenties and I wanted to go and have a 3 day party. It was during spring break before they had a drinking age out at sea. It was a fun party but not as wild as some of the stories I've heard. Obviously I had a great time...I've been back several times since then.

I took my kids on a 4 day cruise and combined the trip with visits to Disney and USF/IOA. They actually preferred the cruise to the theme parks.