Is a non-disney cruise full of drunks and party animals?

[aprilgail2]

I went on one carnival cruise and it was enough for me. It was like a giant frat party. It was a 7 night cruise and it was way full of drunks! The worst of which were in the room next to us. The walls are thin and one morning one of them had a fecal accident in the bed and all we heard was "oh man you &&*& the bed!" oh yea, what fun that cruise was......
On our last Disney Western cruise a whole bunch of us were standing on the deck watching the drunks come out of the bar across the street (I think it was Carlos and Charlies or something like that) and they literally were carrying and dragging people back to the ship that were so drunk they couldn't walk...

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Never encountered a drunk on Disney, NCL, HAL, RCCL or Paquet.
But I have never been on a cruise less than 7 days long.

Those 3 day Carnival Cruises out of Southern California have a bad rep, a co-worker went on one and never even used his cabin.......went on a 3 day drinking binge.

You obviously haven't sailed with or read about the last 3 Thanksgiving Western sailings..... LOL

 

[WMILLER86]

You obviously haven't sailed with or read about the last 3 Thanksgiving Western sailings..... LOL

Now, Lampy, you know that the 2006 Turkey Day Cruise was pretty tame. But that was only because YOU were not aboard!

However, the OP wanted advice, so here is mine. DO NOT SAIL THE 2007 THANKSGIVING MAGIC. You will not like those folks. They will be having fun and there will be drinking involved. However, you will NOT see drunks falling down, being carried out of Carlos and Charlies, being obnoxious, etc. Well, maybe a little...

Watch out Lampy, I have pictures, and I am not afraid to use them....

 

[tvguy]

\ If you have a Carnival "Fun Ship" cruise half booked by the BYU Alumni Association it will be a very different cruise than one completely booked by University of Wisconsin Seniors on Spring Break..

I don't know, I chaparoned a High School baseball team to a tournament in Las Vegas. BYU was playing UNLV...and we ran into BYU players after the game.........I think that despite what you might assume......those boys can drink.

 

[DeloreanGirl]

My vote would be for Royal Caribbean's Radiance class, or Princess as well. Princess was really classy. RCCL was nice too. Anything but Carnival - as far as I've heard - yikes!!

 

[mickey minder]

Carnival -Boat was full of loud, obnoxious party animals. DH and I would NEVER cruise Carnival again


I agree completely.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Now, Lampy, you know that the 2006 Turkey Day Cruise was pretty tame. But that was only because YOU were not aboard!

However, the OP wanted advice, so here is mine. DO NOT SAIL THE 2007 THANKSGIVING MAGIC. You will not like those folks. They will be having fun and there will be drinking involved. However, you will NOT see drunks falling down, being carried out of Carlos and Charlies, being obnoxious, etc. Well, maybe a little...

Watch out Lampy, I have pictures, and I am not afraid to use them....

My goodness gracious, they serve alcohol on DCL?
Perhaps we should reconsider...
LOL!

 

[vital]

I've been on Costa, Carnivalx2 and Celebrity. Let me preface this by saying the first 3 cruises were paid for by my grandparents as family reunion cruises. I had a wonderful time on each cruise I've been on. As you'll see, I've done the "cruise sample" as I like to call it.

Costa (7 night Eastern) was kinda like an old folks cruise. I was 18 and it was 1989! Oh my, to see that in writing is scary! Anyway, I had a blast b/c it was my first cruise. The food was awesome and not one complaint from me!

Carnival #1 (7 night Southern Caribbean)was fun! I was 23 and newly married. We had a blast! Only thing was the food wasn't that good. Kinda like eating at Shoney's. We did drink, but not falling down and we were young!

Celebrity was my first cruise with my son. He was 3 at the time. I can't complain about Celebrity. They would bring chilled towels to you as you lounged on the deck! Food was great. Don't know much about the night life as I was divorced and had to take care of my son at night!

Carnival #2 (5 night Mexico out of New Orleans) was fantastic! It was the summer of 2005 and we had to dodge hurricane Dennis and TS Cindy. We parked at Cozumel and spent the night docked there due to the weather. We were docked at the same peir where Fat Tuesday's was and *GASP* I didn't see anyone falling down or being carried back to the ship! My son was 5 and we went alone. I had to drag him out of the kids club in the afternoon to come get dressed for dinner. He had a blast! The food was a little better than Carnival #1. You would think that since the cruise originated in New Orleans and was less than 7 days it would be full of what everyone says they have "heard" about. It was mostly families like myself who like to have a nice vacation and not put it on credit cards or get a loan for. You also have to keep in mind some people's perception of "partying" vary greatly than others. I for one don't think ppl who are laughing loudly and happen to have a drink in their hand as out of control. Now, the one's that are puking over the side rail *which I've never seen* are a different story.

Now I make enough money to take a Disney Cruise and spend 2 nights prior in WDW. I've been reading these type of posts for a while and try not to let it bother me. I just hope I don't offend anyone when they see me talking to my son, who will be 8, with a drink in my hand. I go on vacation to relax and have a good time. I don't let what others do ruin my vacation. I usually feel sorry for them b/c they will spend at least one day of their vacation recovering from what they did the night before!

With all that being said, I'm glad I've done each and every cruise listed above. I love experiencing new things and places! I'll be sure to write a trip report when I return to let y'all know my Disney adventures!

 

[pppiglet]

We've only been on one cruise....a 4 night Disney Cruise during the Christmas Holidays last year.

Looking into going again (without the kids )....we LOVED the Disney Cruise....especially the family atmosphere on board the ship...even during the sail-away and pirate deck parties. We're not party people...don't smoke....don't gamble....don't get drunk.....

I've got the impression that a non-Disney cruise is full of loud, obnoxious drunks stumbling down the hallways at all times of the day....am I off base here?

Would we enjoy a non-disney cruise.....they're cheaper, but at what cost?

some of you more experienced cruisers help me out....
Thanks!

I always thought the same thing. Then I went on a Carnival 7 day cruise and that cured THAT thought. It was great. I'm sure the 3/4 day Carnival cruises and older ships are more a "party" crowd. You just have to research the ships well before you choose. Cruisecritic and Cruisemates are good sites to use for this.

 

[travellady]

We've cruised a number of times, including RCCL, Disney, Princess, Holland America, Celebrity, and Carnival.

Our top 3 choices are RCCL, Princess, and Holland America. We also loved Disney, but my preteen son didn't, so until we have grandchildren to take on a Disney cruise, we'll probably sail the others.

We think of RCCL as the cruiseline for the really active crowd. Lot's to do, sporting activities my family loves, and socializing night and day. Princess is close though not as many of the sporting type activities. But, the demographic is pretty much the same - families, young adults, as well as parents and grandparents. And, we like Princess because of Anytime Dining - eat when and where you want without the pressure of same table, sametime, etc. My husband and I enjoy Holland America when we want a relaxing quiet time. Fewer kids on the HAL ships, at least when we've sailed, but great food, great people, great service. And age does skew a tad bit older, but no less enjoyable.

Carnival is our least favorite. And not because of drunks, or wild parties. In fact, we felt somewhat bored. Entertainment quality wasn't up to par with what we've experienced on Disney, RCCL, Princess, or HAL. We found ourselves wandering around each day, looking for something to do. Normally, we find ourselves trying to make a tough choice between all there is to do.

In less than 2 weeks, we're heading back to Florida to board a ship and quell our cruise addiction, this time on RCCL's Explorer of the Seas.

Our overall opinion is you can't go wrong with most of the top cruiselines.

 

[blacksmithcrm]

The absolute best for adult entertainment in my experience was Cunard's QM2 (sorry DCL). Exceptionally refined with no louts, drunkards or "party animals" suffered or tolerated on any of the 14 decks!

But for the family (and for more fun), I'll take my chances on DCL!
Not as classy, but much more laid back.