Help Carnival/Royal Carribean Cruisers

[of the seas]

We only sail Royal Caribbean and always had a great time. I would never go on another cruiseline. I have never encountered any bad food, rude employees or dirty ships-and I've been on one of their oldest ships. Any ships in the Oasis, Freedom or Voyager classes are totally the best ships out there.

 

[louey]

We only sail Royal Caribbean and always had a great time. I would never go on another cruiseline. I have never encountered any bad food, rude employees or dirty ships-and I've been on one of their oldest ships. Any ships in the Oasis, Freedom or Voyager classes are totally the best ships out there.

Thats good to know have you been on the Oasis of the Seas, that ship looks AMAZING!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

We've only been on one cruise, and we were very happy with it. We were on RCCL, Radiance of the Seas. While Oasis interests me, I'm not sure I would want to go on it. And I might have old info now, but when I was looking into it, there were no deals on Oasis b/c it was so new and they knew people would just pay and not need a bargain.

With guarantees...there is no guarantee that you will be bumped up. You ARE guaranteed to get the class of cabin you booked. Don't book a guarantee for a class you'd be unhappy with. We did a guarantee for our cruise, which was our honeymoon, and we got exactly what we booked. No bumping up in category whatsoever.

With RCCL I would just book directly; the only way to get a true discount is if a TA books you in a "block" of rooms they have, and that lowers your ability to change things around. Some TAs will offer to pay tips, or onboard credit, but you want to make sure that the TA will *also* change things around for no fee, just like RCCL would do.

 

[Starbrite]

Wonder if it would be better to cruise out of South Carolina? My problem is I hate to fly and will drive to Florida if I have to, think we can do the Western leaving from SC?

Not on Carnival. You would have to get to Florida to do Western Caribbean. What draws you to Western?

I have not been on the Freedom, but it sounds like a good pick.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

No recommendations here, but I usually sail Carnival and love it. I've never been on RCCL, so don't feel qualified to answer that question.

If you have at least 5 cabins to fill, I suggest that once you decide on your ship, you call the group dept at the cruise line for special pricing and group perks.

After you get the price, etc from the cruise line, submit your info to www.cruisecompete.com and get pricing from several different TAs. Even if you don't have 5 cabins, you should still submit your info to Cruise Compete. I've used them for both group bookings and a cruise just for my husband and me.

I've organized three groups and have yet to use the cruise line to book. We also have always gotten some nice perks (a cocktail party, photo coupons, chocolate dipped strawberries in our rooms, bottles of wine and always at least $100 in on-board credit to use).

Good luck with you planning!

We are going on our first cruise July 30 on the Carnival Fantasy. Charleston has their own ship now, as opposed to previous years, when they only sailed twice a year from Charleston. I booked directly with Carnival. I'm excited but nervous. We are going to spend a day at The Atlantis, which is somewhere I have ALWAYS wanted to go. I will miss Disney, but it is time for us to try something different.

 

[onelilspark]

The Carnival Pride sails year round out of Baltimore. I think it goes to the Bahamas.

 

[minnie56]

I prefer RCCL MUCH more than Carnival!!!! As for a girls cruise...Oasis is awesome!! Myself and 3 other ladies sailed her last Nov and had an amazing time. As has been said here though..she IS the destination! Like cruising in a SHopping Mall! Fantastic Ship!!

 

[louey]

Not on Carnival. You would have to get to Florida to do Western Caribbean. What draws you to Western?

I have not been on the Freedom, but it sounds like a good pick.

I guess because the one and only cruise I have been on was Eastern Carribean, at this point I doesn't matter to me or the other girls. I think we want to leave out of SC, NY or Baltmore, only one person is coming from Florida and she doesn't mind meeting half way. If we have to do a Eastern Carribean then thats what we will do, all the islands are pretty anyway
I want to say thanks to everyone that has responded to my thread

 

[louey]

Me again, I am still researching cruise lines for our trip. I visited the Norwegian Cruise Line website with Freestyle cruising, it looks really nice. watched the video and now I am more confused than ever . Has anyone cruised on Norwegian??? Would love any feedback.
Thanks Again

 

[abdmom]

I haven't cruised NCL, but have cruised RCCL and Carnival. The last comparison I read on NCL (a few minutes ago) said that the drinks are expensive and the other additional costs pretty much negate any savings on the fare. I much prefer RCCL. Oasis of the Seas would be an amazing cruise. Check out cruisecritic There is a ton of information and reviews there.

 

[LoraJ]

I have never sailed on NCL before, but I *might* next year. I think Carnival and RCCL both now have anytime dining as well (Freedom definitely has it). The Oasis has a few restaurants that you can go to for a fee. The Freedom has a steakhouse for an additional fee. In my experience, those extra fee restaurants are worth every single penny.

 

[minnie56]

NCL is mediocre at best...food average, service ok.
If it's your 1st cruise and you have nothing else to compare to...you might enjoy.