Question on carnival cruise

[gracie1]

I have sailed on Royal Caribbean and were looking to do another cruise either late this year or early next year, and carnival is less expensive (of course). I am looking for some feedback on carnival (do they really party all night? Is it all age groups or all young college kids?)

 

[gracie1]

And to be more specific it would be the Carnival Pride going out of Baltimore Maryland.

 

[ashleyasiegel]

I haven't sailed on the Carnival Pride but I have taken 3 Carnival Cruises and haven't really experience the "party" atmosphere that they may had a long time ago. I took my daughter on the Carnival Sensation when she was 17 months and had no problems with partying. In my experience the ships seemed to be filled with all different age group not just in particular college kids. There are kids clubs, adult clubs, quiet adult areas, something for everyone in my opinion. I have never seen any open partying on the open decks besides like sail away parties etc that the Carnival entertainment staffs holds and they only last a short time anyways. I say give Carnival a try espcially if the price is right!

Happy Cruising!
Ashley

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We traveled on the Glory with 3 children ages 5 months through 7 years. My children had a wonderful time. We did go on a Disney cruise a few weeks later.

Carnival isn't a cruise line that we would necessarily go on again. But our trip was just fine.

After traveling on Disney though--I really don't like the hostage nature of the disembarkation process on other cruise lines.

Both of my children will say they enjoyed the kids club on Disney better--but truth be told....my 7yo could not get enough of Camp Carnival. We even left her on board for on of the stops.

The only other thing that I did not necessarily care for was that the children's programming shut down at 10pm and then it was paid sitting after that. So if we wanted to do a late night, we felt like a pumpkin. I think we might have paid for one night for a "movie night" that they had. But for my reading child, they would post these events in the Carnival capers, and then of course at her age, she doesn't know about small print. So she want to do those things and they cost extra.

But overall, I wouldn't have an issue sailing on them again. My husband is not fond of them though. For the money--he rather be pampered more. He was in love with DCL.

And no, they were not a party ship when we were on it. But if you travel at peak times, the atmosphere may be a bit like that. It tends to be more of an issue on the shorter cruises which cost quite a bit less so that the partying crowd (college students) can afford to get on it.

 

[nexttripdisney]

Hey! Our family just did that very cruise last February!! How wonderful it was to drive to Baltimore (4 hours) and hop right on. Debark a week later, hop in our car and drive right home. Yay!

Anyway, back to the point. It was our first cruise in over 20 years. Although I'm going to make some critical comments here, we would do it again--if only for the darn convenience.

Pros: Baltimore; cheap; kids clubs are great for the under 10 crowd (my 5 yo LOVED IT!, older kids will need to find their own fun for the most part (my older boys are 16 months apart so they had the good fortune of being able to hang out together) I bet in the summer there are more kids and therefore, more activities; very good food.

Cons: Besides nightly shows (which I would rate as "fair") the only activity is pretty much bingo (my dh played quite a bit!) or the casino--I can't imaging you can "win big" on a cruise ship so that's a money pit; the ports of call--Port Canaveral has nothing to do unless you rent a car to go to KSC (we did) or go on an excursion. It was very cold and windy when we went. Nassau was good; Freeport seemed very industrial--we didn't leave the ship.

The decor is "interesting." I jokingly asked my kids to stand in front of the huge painting of a naked woman (hey, it's art) so I could take a picture to show their classmates. They thought that was hilarious--not.

One couple on the ship told up they had been on over 50 cruises and they found this the worst. I think they thought other cruise lines gave them much better, personal service. I thought the service was fine.

Again--we would do it again and the kids agree.

Ages on board: In February--Most people were over 50. More room at the pool and bar for me!

 

[sherry7]

And to be more specific it would be the Carnival Pride going out of Baltimore Maryland.

Just as a FYI, Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas sails out of Baltimore as well. We took a cruise over Christmas week on the Enchantment and really enjoyed it. Got a heck of a good deal too.

 

[gracie1]

Thanks for your reviews everyone! It would be just my mom and I, and we have only cruised once, on Royal caribbean. We really want to do the Bermuda cruise, but the Royal Caribbean you don't dock till like 11am and leave at 2pm the next day. On Carnival you dock at 1pm and then your there for the full next day leaveing at 3pm on the third day. So it's $100 more per person to do carnival but your there longer.

 

[brekin67]

Check out cruisecritic.com

 

[gracie1]

Check out cruisecritic.com

Already signed up to be a member on there
I was just trying to get others opinions.

 

[Candleshoe]

I love Carnival and my DD loves it too. She's been at age 7 and age 9. DH & I have been without her, too

She STILL talks about Camp Carnival.

 

[LovableGluttons]

I have sailed on Royal Caribbean and were looking to do another cruise either late this year or early next year, and carnival is less expensive (of course). I am looking for some feedback on carnival (do they really party all night? Is it all age groups or all young college kids?)

My first two cruises were Disney cruises. I booked a Carnival cruise for November 2010 at the last minute, expecting to hate it. The price was a steal, so I caved.


I loved it! No flamboyant crazy extreme partying. I'm more into relaxing, getting away from stress and drama on my vacations. My Carnival Inspiration cruise gave me all of that! Gazing at the ocean from the Serenity Deck on a padded lounge chair with a fruity drink next to me and Calypso music playing overhead. Fantastic!

The room was terrific, the food good (not great, but not bad), the staff was amazing. The ship was also very clean! The decor wasn't as amazing as Disney, but it was very Las Vegas older casino like decor.

I had such a good time, my daughter and I are doing a 7 night cruise for Spring Break. Carnival rocks! DCL rocks!

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

I have been on 7 Carnival cruises and 1 Disney cruise. I love Carnival. My 3 year old daughter loves them too. She went last year when she was 2 and has been asking to go again ever since. We were going to go on NCL this year but then I found out I was pregnant so we couldn't go because I would be too far along according to cruise regulations. Carnival is for families, singles, older people, etc. There is always a mixed group of people aboard. The crew on every ship has always been very accomodating and friendly. Of all the cruise lines, they are the best value. As I'd rather pay less for the cruise to be able to spend more on excursions, souvenirs and miscellaneous. I hope our next vacation will be a Carnival cruise.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We did a weekend Mex Riviera cruise out of San Dieogo early Dec. 2009 - we had a fantastic time *and we do not drink alcohol* I had cruised twice on Royal Caribbean prior to that cruise. I'd cruise Carnival again *if you have kids ~ DD *6 at the time* loved her kids club.

 

[thebeesknees]

We've done 2 Carnival cruises and enjoyed them both very much. My kids LOVED the kid's club, but my DH was a little annoyed that it wasn't open all the time. You could check them in in the morning, then had to pick them up for a couple of hours for lunch, then drop them off again, and pick up before dinner, drop off after dinner, they close at 10. He thought the way it was advertised that we could drop them off in the morning and have the whole day to ourselves. I thought it was fine - we were supposed to be on a family vacation, after all, so we should spend some time all together! The shows were OK, not great, and if you don't gamble or drink (we don't), there's not a whole lot of stuff to do, but we kept busy with the pool, hot tub, afternoon tea, etc. The price was great, and overall, we really enjoyed it. I didn't notice a real "party" atmosphere late at night, but we weren't staying under the clubs or anything, either.

 

[LovableGluttons]

Oohhh! I forgot something!


I love sushi. The sushi I had on the Carnival Inspiration the day we left Cozumel was the very best I've ever had.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Thanks for your reviews everyone! It would be just my mom and I, and we have only cruised once, on Royal caribbean. We really want to do the Bermuda cruise, but the Royal Caribbean you don't dock till like 11am and leave at 2pm the next day. On Carnival you dock at 1pm and then your there for the full next day leaveing at 3pm on the third day. So it's $100 more per person to do carnival but your there longer.

I would just make sure that you pick a Cabin on the quiet part of the ship. Away from major traffic areas where there might be "party people" heading to the "party areas" of the ship.

We were midship on the Glory, not too far from a bank of elevators. We were not on a deck adjacent to decks with major "party areas"--

so it was always fairly quiet.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

Hey! Our family just did that very cruise last February!! How wonderful it was to drive to Baltimore (4 hours) and hop right on. Debark a week later, hop in our car and drive right home. Yay!

Anyway, back to the point. It was our first cruise in over 20 years. Although I'm going to make some critical comments here, we would do it again--if only for the darn convenience.

Pros: Baltimore; cheap; kids clubs are great for the under 10 crowd (my 5 yo LOVED IT!, older kids will need to find their own fun for the most part (my older boys are 16 months apart so they had the good fortune of being able to hang out together) I bet in the summer there are more kids and therefore, more activities; very good food.

Cons: Besides nightly shows (which I would rate as "fair") the only activity is pretty much bingo (my dh played quite a bit!) or the casino--I can't imaging you can "win big" on a cruise ship so that's a money pit; the ports of call--Port Canaveral has nothing to do unless you rent a car to go to KSC (we did) or go on an excursion. It was very cold and windy when we went. Nassau was good; Freeport seemed very industrial--we didn't leave the ship.

The decor is "interesting." I jokingly asked my kids to stand in front of the huge painting of a naked woman (hey, it's art) so I could take a picture to show their classmates. They thought that was hilarious--not.

One couple on the ship told up they had been on over 50 cruises and they found this the worst. I think they thought other cruise lines gave them much better, personal service. I thought the service was fine.Again--we would do it again and the kids agree.

Ages on board: In February--Most people were over 50. More room at the pool and bar for me!

My first two cruises were Disney cruises. I booked a Carnival cruise for November 2010 at the last minute, expecting to hate it. The price was a steal, so I caved.


I loved it! No flamboyant crazy extreme partying. I'm more into relaxing, getting away from stress and drama on my vacations. My Carnival Inspiration cruise gave me all of that! Gazing at the ocean from the Serenity Deck on a padded lounge chair with a fruity drink next to me and Calypso music playing overhead. Fantastic!The room was terrific, the food good (not great, but not bad), the staff was amazing. The ship was also very clean! The decor wasn't as amazing as Disney, but it was very Las Vegas older casino like decor.

I had such a good time, my daughter and I are doing a 7 night cruise for Spring Break. Carnival rocks! DCL rocks!

Bolding mine: My husband and I went just got back from a Carnival Cruise two weeks ago. Though it seemed that some people had a good time we will never sail Carnival again. Like a PP there was not a lot to do besides Bingo and casinos. Unless you wanted to smoke or drink. We occasionally have a drink but it seemed like between the gambling the next main event was drinking. We toured the ship before we set sail and I thought that we would go into some of the clubs but they smelled so strongly of smoke empty I couldn't imagine beinging in there when it was full of people. I understand people enjoy smoking I am not taking issue with that it is just that for me I can't stand to be around even the odor of it. There weren't even nightly shows on our cruise only two and like the pp said the entertainment was fair. Nothing spectacular or memorable by any means. We went to a "game show" finally an event that was moderately interesting to us and they cancelled it.

Our Steward was the high point of the sailing he was woonderful but as far as service went otherwise it was mediocre at best. We found at dinner unless we wanted to order a bar drink, we would never get a refill on our soda. My husband ordered coffee and asked for cream as it was not on our table and he never got it. Water refills were prompt however. We bought the soda refill sticker and found that they put so much ice in the cups that we were barely getting a half can of soda in each large cup. I finally started asking for little ice. I bought the refill sticker for the soda not the ice.

To the pp at least you had ar on your ship our art gallery was completely empty!

We sailed on the Inspiration as well I found the decor garish. It was too bright and casino like for me. It just wasn't for us. The adults only section was always full and most people were smoking and bad luck for me even outside being near smoke bothers me.

I am open to cruising again but never again on Carnival. It simply wasn't for us and that is not counting the drunk trying to get into our room at 2 AM one night. It certainly wan't the fun ship for us. I mentioned to my husband that maybe we should try a Disney Cruise- I thouroughly regret not having booked Disney in the first place. Unfortunately our Carnival experience has ruined any chance of cruising any time soon for him

I know some people really enjoy Carnival but it was really a poor fit for us. It might sound like we are sticks in the mud but we really aren't we just found the activites to be lacking and not of good enough quality when there were activities. Like I said not a good fit unless you want to sit by the pool, gamble or play Bingo. That just isn't us.

 

[laurafergie]

We went on a Carnival Cruise last August. It was the Elation out of Mobile, AL. It was our first and only so far.

I liked it, the kids LOVED the kid's club and DH thought it was great. Most people were from AL, MS and TN, so it was mostly southern folks and I felt right at home. I was surprised that it very rarely felt "crowded" with all those people. There seemed to be all ages aboard, and I did not feel like the partying was out of hand. In fact, I think I was up later than most folks.

I think there was plenty to do for what you paid. I wasn't expecting Vegas quality shows and Disney World quality activities. They were more the audience participation kind and I thought it was cute. You could be as busy or not as you wanted.

I was disappointed in the food quality. I was expecting "banquet" type food, but there seemed to be a food temperature problem. All food was tepid, not HOT or COLD. yuk. Maybe it was just this ship.

Customs, getting off the ship, was a nightmare - if anything, that would put me off cruising again out of that port, more than Carnival itself.

I felt that Carnival was a great value for the money paid.

 

[gracie1]

Thank you all for the reviews. I am still looking into both of them, the only thing that had me leaning toward Carnival is that you were at port longer. However, we don't gamble or anything, and I know RC has awesome shows. I will keep reviewing and checking out cruise critic.
Thanks for all the advice!

 

[gracie1]

We went on a Carnival Cruise last August. It was the Elation out of Mobile, AL. It was our first and only so far.

I liked it, the kids LOVED the kid's club and DH thought it was great. Most people were from AL, MS and TN, so it was mostly southern folks and I felt right at home. I was surprised that it very rarely felt "crowded" with all those people. There seemed to be all ages aboard, and I did not feel like the partying was out of hand. In fact, I think I was up later than most folks.

I think there was plenty to do for what you paid. I wasn't expecting Vegas quality shows and Disney World quality activities. They were more the audience participation kind and I thought it was cute. You could be as busy or not as you wanted.

I was disappointed in the food quality. I was expecting "banquet" type food, but there seemed to be a food temperature problem. All food was tepid, not HOT or COLD. yuk. Maybe it was just this ship.

Customs, getting off the ship, was a nightmare - if anything, that would put me off cruising again out of that port, more than Carnival itself.

I felt that Carnival was a great value for the money paid.

That seems to be what I hear the most complaint about....the food quality. I loved, loved, loved the food on Royal Caribbean. It was definately top notch (and I like to eat!)