Cruise Question

[disneygirl725]

HI all. I have a question for all of those who have taken a cruise.

DF and I want to take a cruise for our honeymoon. We wanted to do a DCL but we wanted to leave on Monday which wasn't an option.

So now we are doing a 5 day Carnival Cruise.

Does anyone know how far out you should book? We will be going in May 2008.

Also, my mom said that she heard Carnival isn't a nice cruise line? Has anyone else heard something simliar. We've never been on a cruise before, so I wouldn't really have anything to compare to.

Thanks in advance for all your replies!

 

[Laz]

I am a veteran of 13 Cruises, 2 of which were Carnival. We had a great time on Carnival, and if it is your first cruise, you will as well. Each cruise line is different. Your biggest disappointment will be that you have to leave after 5 days. If you want a great site to get some cruise opinions, try:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/

Have fun!

 

[Barbossa]

For cruises, the earlier you book the better. You'll get better pricing, staterooms, and itinerary. Most cruise lines require a refundable deposit when you book, so the financial risk of changing your mind is relatively low.

I've never cruised Carnival, here's a good Cruise website:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/index.cfm

 

[CPM]

I agree the earlier the better. But, watch your price, if it goes down you can get a credit.
I take a lot of CCL cruises. I think they are great, the problem with the shorter ones is that they use their older ships. I'm not sure which one you are on, but I know they just renovated the Fascination and she does shorter trips.
I also agree, check out cruise critic, lots of great info there! Enjoy!! Once you cruise, you will be hooked!!

 

[pppiglet]

You'll love it! The people that usually don't like it are the ones that go on Disney Cruises and get spoiled and won't go back to Carnival. I've done both and like them both.

 

[kctwinmommy]

Yep, like everyone else said, check out the cruise critic. Asking here will get a lot of answers from people disliking CCL, simply cuz it's not DCL. I've been on CCL, a short 3-day one, which was nice, but the other person was correct, it's an older ship. We also did a 7-day one, on a much newer ship and it was great! Although we had fun on both, I'm just not a fan of a 3-day cruise. But we were going with a group, so that's what the others wanted.

We usualy booked about 9-10 months in advance. We would go in November, so we'd book around Feb-March. I'm not sure about prices, since we got a military discount, so we didn't worry about prices changing, our wouldn't.

Either way - have fun and you'll want to go again and again!!

 

[disneygirl725]

Thanks for all of the replies. That website really helped.

I would love to do a DCL cruise, but it didn't work with our timeframes. Oh well, we'll be back in WDW in 09!!!

 

[Aimeedyan]

If you are a Costco member, check out their price on the cruise. They gave us a fantastic deal on ours (our 1st as well, on RCCL in August!).

I think if you know dates, it's best to book far out. It's cheaper then and you get first choice of cabins =)

 

[luvindisneyworld]

Well I can say that I have been on 3 cruises and going t be 4 really soon and we have never cruised any other Cruise Line but Carnival.
We Love them and have always had a great time.Once you do the 5 day then you will be hooked on cruising and May is a great month to cruise.
Besides Disney cruising is our favorite vavcation.

Have fun.

 

[disneysteve]

Your biggest disappointment will be that you have to leave after 5 days.

Ain't that the truth!

We've done 3 Carnival cruises and I'd leave on another today if I could. We actually want our next cruise to be more than a week so maybe Alaska or Mediterranean or something like that. Once thing we learned is we don't like the really, really big ships. We sailed twice on a 70,000 ton ship which was fine, and then once on a 110,000 tons ship that was just way too big and too many people. We're also looking into more intimate cruises, like the European river cruises that only hold a couple hundred people.

BTW, I agree with using cruisecritic.com. Great resource.

 

[CPM]

Ain't that the truth!

We've done 3 Carnival cruises and I'd leave on another today if I could. We actually want our next cruise to be more than a week so maybe Alaska or Mediterranean or something like that. Once thing we learned is we don't like the really, really big ships. We sailed twice on a 70,000 ton ship which was fine, and then once on a 110,000 tons ship that was just way too big and too many people. We're also looking into more intimate cruises, like the European river cruises that only hold a couple hundred people.

BTW, I agree with using cruisecritic.com. Great resource.

Steve,
We just returned from a trip to Alaska that included the CCL Spirit. It was the best CCL ship we have been on so far. Perfect size!!
If you decide Alaska feel free to PM or email I ahve all the current info. We had a blast!

 

[crz4mm2]

I booked DS and DIL a cruise for their honeymoon a few months prior to their Honeymoon. They had never been on a cruise before and the Carnival fit their timeline... I was very concerned as I had heard such mixed reviews (I have never been on a Carnival cruise myself, but have been on other cruise lines and have had AWESOME service.). I wanted this to be a very special time for them as it was their Honeymoon and their wedding GIFT from me

They LOVED it. When I booked, I asked if I should book some special room or whatever... the booking agent talked me into booking the cheapest room. He assured me that he was putting in that it was their honeymoon AND that it was DS's Birthday (they left on his b-day) and that he was "sure" they would receive an upgrade. So I chose to go with it. They were upgraded to an OCEAN VIEW room they were very happy with everything and enjoyed it SOOOO much. It was a 5 day cruise by the way.

Have a GREAT time. I am sure you will love it.

WE will probably book Carnival for our big family cruise in 2009 just based on DS and DIL's experience with their honeymoon cruise (their prices are fab!).

 

[disneyfanforever]

DH and I went on the Fascination last October. It had just been redone and everything was extremely clean. We had a great time. Now, I do prefer Disney Cruise Line, but I would go on another Carnival cruise in a second. Have a great time.

 

[mommasita]

You will love it.. I agree with everything said here already. CC is an amazing source of info..

I have done 3 DCL, and a Princess. I loved every minute of each. It is what you make it.

 

[disneysteve]

If you decide Alaska feel free to PM or email I ahve all the current info. We had a blast!

Thanks, but unfortunately, we won't be sailing anytime soon. Definitely not in 2008 at least. 2009 could be a possibility, though.

 

[Beth76]

Unless you're set on Carnival, I'm going to recommend RCI's Enchantment of the Seas. She has mostly 5-night cruises and comes back with consistently excellent reviews on Cruise Critic. She's a bit of an older ship, but has recently been stretched and remodeled. Just something to think about.

And you should book ASAP. The cruiseline (at least RCI, don't know about Carnival) will credit your account if the price drops.

 

[JoyG]

Although I haven't sailed on Carnival yet, I've been looking into it for my family's first cruise together.

I've found that the prices are the cheapest at least a year or more ahead of time. At the last minute the prices might go down again, but they were still cheaper a year prior. This is what I've noticed tracking the prices of cruises over two and a half years or so.

DH and I went on a Princess cruise about 6 years ago. We went on the oldest and most dated ship...the one they filmed the original Love Boat on! Everyone said we'd have more fun if we picked one of the newer glitzy ships. You know what? We had a fantastic time and couldn't imagine it being any better. You'll love Carnival especially if you don't have anything to compare it to.

 

[disney4us2002]

We just vacationed on the CCL Miracle out of NYC and it was the absolute bestest vacation! Cruises are relaxing and soooooooo pampering. I just love a cruise. We actually booked about 90 days out and our price was competitive with others we read about however it was a summer sailing and those usually don't come down but sky rocket. May is a good month (cheaper) and less likely to be overrun with kids. My advice is to get bids on cruisecompete.com - We went with the best online price offered and had no issues at all.

PS: After January 1st, all cruisers are required to have a passport. Just thought since it hasn't yet been mentioned....

 

[rigs32]

I'm also going to recommend you reconsider your choice. I have sailed Carnival, for my honeymoon, too, but the less than 7 day cruises tend to be on older ships and attract a higher percentage of the party crowd. When you're choosing a ship use cruisecritic.com to look at the age and features of a ship. I would absolutely have a good vacation on a ship like that, but wouldn't choose it for a *romantic* vacation, but that's me.

Any reason why you're against a full week? It would open up a lot more options.

Timing - we always book ~90 days in advance. Prices go down dramatically if a ship has not sold out, but it does require a BIT of flexibility. This was true even for May, when we got $450 back after the prices get down.

 

[LoraJ]

I've sailed Carnival 7 times and enjoyed it. I sailed RCCL once and didn't see that much of a difference.

I think you'll have a good time. And you definitely won't want to get off of the ship after 5 days.