Would we like Carnival?

[VPIcruiser]

Hi. I need help deciding if we should try Carnival or not. The price is right for a cruise out of Tampa (somewhat easy to use frequent flyer miles) or even Baltimore (driving distance).

We are used to Celebrity,, Princess, and RCCL. Our kids are 4 and 2 (both potty trained). We cruised last year to Alaska and loved being on the Celebrity Infinity and three years ago we cruised to Bermuda on Celebrity (our oldest was one at the time). Both cruises, we enjoyed having first seating with the kids and took lots of quiet toys to entertain them. We also LOVED having the in-cabin babysitting form 8 to 11. I don't think Carnival offers that but both kids could go to the toddler program (ages 2 to 5) right?

So, for those of you who have cruised on Celebrity and Carnival, will we like Carnival? We are not partiers.

Do they have good kid activities for a 2 and 4 y.o? We won't be putting them in the kids program a lot but we might enjoy a little adult time.

 

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[travlingrlclt]

We also are used to Princess, Celebrity etc. I went on a Carnival last summer and tried it again this summer with our 3 year old. All I can say is I won't do it again. It's not my cup of tea. The environment is much different. Service in the dining rooms is totally different, food not as good. I felt like cattle on Carnival and it's just got too much of a party environment. But like you said the price is right , that's why we did it but it's not worth it again.

[erinlaw]

We just booked our third cruise on Carnival and our daughter will be turning 4 during the cruise. She loves Camp Carnival and I have been pleased with the counselors. This past January we cruised on HAL, which was a big mistake. I was told that their kids progam was modeled after Camp Carnival and it was not! The room was painted black, they had one bucket of toys for toddlers, and the head counselor introduced herself by saying, "hi. I have to tell you now that I am usually wait staff, but we all have to rotate through here." My daughter stayed for about an hour and cried the next two times we tried to put her in, so we didn't bother anymore. In contrast, we have had to beg her to spend time with us on the Carnival ships:)

[crusinmama06]

Ok, you asked so I am going to be honest.

 

I think you will see a big difference in Celebrity verses Carnival. If you are talking about service, design of ship, food - the nod is going to go to Celebrity.

 

If you are talking about the kids programs - generally, Carnival has a good program. However, we didn't have a great experience on Carnival last month (our 3rd CCL cruise)

 

I looked at it like this. We did Carnival and I knew there were differences in the ships, service, decor - BUT, if the kids were happy, then I was happy. After the third time on Carnival, when the kids didn't have a good experience...I sort of swore off Carnival.

 

You can always try it. See if YOU like it. :)

[skip323]

Hi!

 

I cannot offer much reflection as we just did our first cruise, ever, a few weeks ago. We did, however, do Carnival and were very satisfied. I had always said that I would not do Carnival based on a reputation they had from a decade or so ago. They did have plenty of people there, I think, to party but we didn't notice it because we weren't in the "party" places. We did family stuff and were seated at dinner with families. We never ran into folks who were drunk or passed out etc. We felt the service was excellent (but again do not have another cruise to compare to ... just lots of land and air travel). We thought the food was wonderful (that coming after a number of days at Disney where I feel the food is, at best, average).

 

The kids clubs, I would say, were probably our least favorite. They were nice and our kids didn't use them much but what they had listed as activities in the capers often did not happen. My girls specifically chose activities that they wanted to attend and then were disappointed when they did not happen. That being said, my girls still had a nice time in the camp. The counselors were not exactly "bubbling with enthusiasm" but they were nice.

 

Different strokes for different folks....I would give it a try if I were you and then make your decision from there!

[cb at sea]

Having cruised before, you know that you can do as much or as little "partying" as you like. Just because it's Carnival, doesn't mean that it's a frat house!!!

I think you'll find Carnival to be very similar to RCI, as far as food and activities go. I'm sure it will be a fine vacation!

[Lady_Jag]

Well, the only cruise ship my 3-year-old has sailed was the Carnival Glory in May (link to my review in my siggy). She had an AMAZING time, and I was super impressed with the Camp Carnival program!

 

You are correct, in-room babysitting is not available, although group babysitting (10:00pm - 3:00am) is at a rate of $6/hour for the first child + $4 hour for the second child. Hubby and I never took advantage of this service, though, as we're not the partying type either. Plus my mom sailed with us and was happy to watch our daughter while we took in the adult comedy show and enjoyed a late night out.

 

Sorry, I don't know how Camp Carnival compares to the children's programs on other lines, but I would encourage you to give it a try at least once. I was VERY impressed, and as I mentioned, my daughter loved every minute! She STILL talks about Camp Carnival and the cruise ship ("whale tail") in general, and is very excited to be sailing on the Dream next year.

[harryfat1]

Hi. I need help deciding if we should try Carnival or not. The price is right for a cruise out of Tampa (somewhat easy to use frequent flyer miles) or even Baltimore (driving distance).

 

We are used to Celebrity,, Princess, and RCCL. Our kids are 4 and 2 (both potty trained). We cruised last year to Alaska and loved being on the Celebrity Infinity and three years ago we cruised to Bermuda on Celebrity (our oldest was one at the time). Both cruises, we enjoyed having first seating with the kids and took lots of quiet toys to entertain them. We also LOVED having the in-cabin babysitting form 8 to 11. I don't think Carnival offers that but both kids could go to the toddler program (ages 2 to 5) right?

 

So, for those of you who have cruised on Celebrity and Carnival, will we like Carnival? We are not partiers.

 

Do they have good kid activities for a 2 and 4 y.o? We won't be putting them in the kids program a lot but we might enjoy a little adult time.

 

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

Hi,

 

I know conceptually what you are trying to ask, but on the face value of “Would we like Carnival” question, it’s impossible for anyone to answer what you and your family will like or dislike. There are other post link where you can see the sample program of what the Camp Carnival offers. What are your kids’ favorite activities and least favorite activities? Many time what work for one kid will not work for another kid.

 

I have two boys (currently age of 6 and 8) that have had 3 cruises (2 Carnival/1 HAL) under their belt and next cruise is on your Celebrity Infinity in August. I hope/assume they will like Celebrity’s kids camp as much, if not more, than the other camps they have previously attended, but there’s no way to know ahead of time if they will like the camp or not.

 

They enjoy the face painting at the 2-5 age group as well as the story telling and arts and crafts time as well as interacting with the mascot Fun ship Freddy. But if my younger one was to interact with the mascot at age of 2.5 back during his first cruise, he would have screamed and cried so loud that the entire ship would have heard him. So what amounts to fun for one kid is different for another as well as maturity of the kid makes a big difference.

 

On sea days, the boys typically go to camp two or three times per day. Once after breakfast for couple hours, then maybe spend the afternoon with us, we then take them to the buffet for dinner as their version of a leisurely meal is 20 minutes. After that we drop them off at camp when we have the late dinner. Then right before dessert, one of us would go and pick them up from camp so the entire family can have dessert together. You can certainly schedule your day to whatever works for you and your family.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is the season when you will be cruising. On the past December Carnival cruise on the Spirit, we had over 500 kids out of 2,400 passengers on the ship. So if you want your kids to have a more individualized attention at the camp, avoid the holiday seasons.

 

So the easy/lazy answer to your question would be “Yes, you should like Carnival”, but that answer is based on many assumptions and guesses on my part of which I have no basis for them. The better answer would be “That depends on what’s important to you”.

 

If as you said, the issue is a value proposition where the price is right for a carnival cruise, then I would say give it a try. Just knowing that it’s not the same level of service/food as the other lines, but it’s certainly very good bang for the buck for a family vacation. From my signature below, you can see my ultra long Carnival review if you are really really bored. Or you can ask any specific question relating to Carnival and I will try to answer them.

[jerseygirl79]

"hi. I have to tell you now that I am usually wait staff, but we all have to rotate through here." :)

 

 

This is so ridiculous it's laughable.

[Analicia419]

We are going on a cruise in the next couple months. I am not thinking of taking my son who was going to stay with my mother. He is 18 months. Would he be the same price as me on the cruise.

[Paumavista]

Do as much research as you can. Find out what's important to you. With as many as six of our kids traveling with us at a time...we love carnival...but the kids ONLY enjoy a kids club (any cruise ship) when it isn't very crowded....so we try to plan our trips when school is IN session.

 

And....I like a newer larger kids club....so I look for the size and location on a ship and try to even reseach some pictures...big windows keep it light and bright (and fun). I like a club that offers extended hours, dinner time options daily, and free full day care when in port. The boys like plenty of swimming pool space and computers; my littlest ones were the easiest to please....balloons and face painting made everyday a party!

 

Other than location, size, amenities, hours & possibly a guess at the crowds .....you can't begin to know what type of counselor you're going to luck out with.....so don't worry about it (and try not to let your opinions rub off on the kids - look at the bright side - it's a vacation!).

 

Regarding the food and activities on Carnival....my husband and I aren't joiners....we like a quiet place to read with a great view; we've managed to find a special location on most of the cruises we've taken. As for the food....we've actually liked Carnival the best of Princess, RC and Carnival; to each his own.......

 

Have a great trip.....you're on vacation....don't look for what's not right....enjoy what's great about every day!!

[harryfat1]

We are going on a cruise in the next couple months. I am not thinking of taking my son who was going to stay with my mother. He is 18 months. Would he be the same price as me on the cruise.

 

I am not sure I understand your question/situation.

 

If you are not thinking of taking your son on the cruise, why do you care what the pricing is? Or are you saying you are now thinking of taking your son?

 

In answering the second part of your question, typically the age of the child is irrelevant for the first and second passenger. Sometimes they have discounts for third/fourth passengers on some promotional sailings and some have kids sail free/highly reduced fares. From your post, not clear to me if you intend your son to be the second or third passenger?

[Analicia419]

What I was saying is we have already booked (my husband and myself) and are now considering the possiblility of adding a 3rd passenger, that would be my son who is only 18 months. That is why I would care what the price is.

[crzgrl66]

Hi. I need help deciding if we should try Carnival or not. The price is right for a cruise out of Tampa (somewhat easy to use frequent flyer miles) or even Baltimore (driving distance).

We are used to Celebrity,, Princess, and RCCL. Our kids are 4 and 2 (both potty trained). We cruised last year to Alaska and loved being on the Celebrity Infinity and three years ago we cruised to Bermuda on Celebrity (our oldest was one at the time). Both cruises, we enjoyed having first seating with the kids and took lots of quiet toys to entertain them. We also LOVED having the in-cabin babysitting form 8 to 11. I don't think Carnival offers that but both kids could go to the toddler program (ages 2 to 5) right?

So, for those of you who have cruised on Celebrity and Carnival, will we like Carnival? We are not partiers.

Do they have good kid activities for a 2 and 4 y.o? We won't be putting them in the kids program a lot but we might enjoy a little adult time.

 

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

Celebrity & Carnival are very different animals. I can't compare the kids clubs because we did not have children when we sailed on Celebrity. Celebrity is elegant, food is outstanding, service is excellent, Carnival on the other had is fun, food is mediocre at best, service is good.

 

We traveled on Carnival with another family that had never cruised before. They thought it was outstanding, we didn't. We were comparing to Celebrity & Disney. We would never choose to go on Carnival again. Our friends have another Carnival cruise booked for the fall.

 

You will have to decide what concessions you are willing to make. You didn't mention whether it was a 7 day or shorter, I would stay away from cruises that are less than 7 days on Carnival because the short cruises seem to be total party cruises. Good luck!