A challenge

[jahber]

A long-time friend of mine takes her family (her, DH, DD9, DD11) on 2 cruises a year. They have sailed DCL, RCI, and Carnival. This last Carnival cruise was a few weeks ago on the Breeze. I specifically asked her about it when she returned and they said they loved it! One thing she mentioned off-hand was that Carnival had changed the decor to be less Vegas-y, if that makes any sense. I trust her opinion--she and I have similar tastes. We don't like casinos, we don't drink much, and we want our vacations to have a certain level of classiness, for lack of a better word. I expect the rooms and public spaces to be well maintained, the staff to be courteous, to feel safe, etc. I don't want to feel like I'm in Daytona Beach for a budget Spring Break in college. Those days were fun, but now I have a family and I'd like to be pampered just a wee bit on vacation Granted, I don't expect it to be Seabourn for that price!

I say go for it! The Breeze is a brand new ship and she sails a longer itinerary--this *should* mean fewer college students in a party frame of mind. YMMV, of course. And now as I post this, my DH is asking if we can book the Breeze for his birthday cruise. As he puts it, mommy gets to pick the "expensive" DCL cruise and daddy gets to pick the "cheaper" Carnival cruise. Whatever makes him happy! Have a great cruise!

[SnipsNSnails]

I've sailed Carnival many times and have had a lot of fun each time. Now I've never sailed DCL before, we're sailing for the 1st time in Feb. and we're quite certain that it will spoil us a bit, but reality is that it's vacation! You get to relax, don't have to cook or clean, it will be warm......it's what you make of it. If you choose to have a good time, then you will! Every vacation has the potential to have moments that aren't what you expected or are even less than pleasant and it will be up to you what you do with it.

For example, one Carnival cruise boarding got delayed for whatever reason, we had been there a little early to begin with so we ended up sitting for a couple hours listening to this loud, obnoxious person with a mic/speaker in the terminal shops try to sell everyone liquor. I think we were sailing from San Jaun. They were repeating the different brands over and over...Bacardi, Captain Morgan, etc. etc., buy x amount get a FREEEEEEEEEE Backpack! Now that could have been a terrible experience for sure, it was super obnoxious and we could have been grumpy about it the whole trip. Instead 8-10 years later it's still a family joke. Every once in awhile, someone will bust out FREEEEEE Backpack! I kind of felt bad for the lady in one of the shops we went to on an island who tried to sell us a watch with a free backpack. It was super hard to keep a straight face until we left the shop where we all burst out laughing. Many backpacks have been exchanged as gag gifts in our family too.

[Luv2Diz]

Originally Posted by disneysunshine85

I think I just read too many reviews today! I am going to walk in with an open mind. Thank you so much.

I'm in the same boat as you, so to speak! We've done two DCL cruises now and loved them. They set the bar pretty high.

But....I am thinking of trying a Princess cruise next since we can easily drive to the port of Seattle. I don't expect it to be the same as Disney by any means. I've heard that the food is actually better along with some of the amenities. An open mind to a different cruise experience is the way to go!

I have co-workers who love Carnival and Princess. There are options out there for everyone!

[disneysunshine85]

Thank you all for you input! I'm sure it will be a good time and Im sure anything is better than being in the cold weather in MA!!!

[super mike b]

Originally Posted by disneysunshine85

......Im sure anything is better than being in the cold weather in MA!!!

Have a great cruise. The rest of us will probably be at work!