DH & I want to go ona cruise for our 1 year anniversary. I have been doing my research & the only cruise that has what I want is a Carnival cruise that leaves from Miami, FL. It stops in PR which is important to us because that is where we went on our honeymoon & we want to go back to see a few things we missed during the honeymoon (Bacardi Factory & Forts).
Neither of us have ever been on a cruise, so we have no idea what to expect. Is Carnival a good cruise line? We want to book within the next month.
Thanks in Advance!!!
vika111
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Re: Carnival Cruises.....any reviews?
We've been on Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian.
Norwegian is our favorite. It has freestyle cruising, so no one tells you when to eat and what to eat. There's food 24 hours/day (we like to eat a lot on vacation). I thought the entertainment was a lot better there, too.
The nightlife, however, is better on Carnival.
AeroJenn
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Re: Carnival Cruises.....any reviews?
I've been on Carnival and RC. For our HM, Dh and I did Carnival. We were sooooo dissappointed. I've sailed Carnival 4 other times and always loved it in the past...but lately they've really been down-grading. DH and I both felt we would have rather spent a little more $$ and sailed RC where the entertainment, food, and activities are all better. On the newer Carnival ships, the decor has been horrible, the entertainment cheesy, and the activities are very repetative. Although the itinerary is the most important....I'd try for a different cruise line.
NF622
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Re: Carnival Cruises.....any reviews?
DH and I went on Carnival for our honeymoon and loved it! I had been on two other Carnival cruises before and always enjoyed it. I found RC to be a little to stuffy for my taste. I found the nightlife, entertainment and number of activities better on the Carnival ship.
But I've always had a great time whether on Carnival, RC or Norwegian, so happy cruising!!!
HeatherRose
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Re: Carnival Cruises.....any reviews?
we went on RC for our HM and we flew home sitting next to this mother and daughter that had cruised the same week to the same ports as us excpet on carnival. they had taken RC and carnival before, but said they would never do it again, its not nearly as nice as RC.. I can't judge b/c it was our first cruise, and RC was amazing!!! when we shared stories, it sounded like our ship was a lot better, newer, had so many more activites, and RC ships are a lot larger.. but if the ports are important you might only be limited to a certain few. GL and enjoy!!
Dani731
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Re: Carnival Cruises.....any reviews?
Thanks for the advice ladies! RC is my second choice, but was originally my 1st.
RC has cruises that leave from PR, which is actually what want I really wanted to do, but they leave on the 24th. I have 2 problems with leaving on the 24th:
I did not want to start the cruise on the 24th
the day the cruise end, the flights back to NY from PR crazy expensive because that is labor day weekend.
Carnival leaves on the 23rd which is good because our anniversary is the 24th. & since it leaves from miami the airfare is much cheaper.
i'll do more research, thanks again!!!
diva7531
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Re: Carnival Cruises.....any reviews?
Carnival is a great cruie line, I loved it, but it has been a while. We recently went on a Royal Carribean for our HM and it was awesome, in fact it pulled out of San Juan!
Like I said it's been a while since I was on Carnival, but I remember loving it, so I'll tell you what I liked about Royal Caribean, The Adult Pool!!!! No screaming kids, just adults enjoying a cocktail and hanging out! Us HMers ruled the pool at night and enjoyed every second of it
Oh and one thing I remember about Carnival, was I loved, loved, loved the food! But I liked the food on Royal Carribean too! Enjoy your anniversary vaca!
diva7531
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Re: Carnival Cruises.....any reviews?
Posted by Dani731
Thanks for the advice ladies! RC is my second choice, but was originally my 1st.
RC has cruises that leave from PR, which is actually what want I really wanted to do, but they leave on the 24th. I have 2 problems with leaving on the 24th:
I did not want to start the cruise on the 24th
the day the cruise end, the flights back to NY from PR crazy expensive because that is labor day weekend.
Carnival leaves on the 23rd which is good because our anniversary is the 24th. & since it leaves from miami the airfare is much cheaper.
i'll do more research, thanks again!!!
What about staying in PR for 2 days and doing those things you wante to do, the airfare should drop in the middle of the week
Dani731
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Re: Carnival Cruises.....any reviews?
that actually was the plan but we wanted to do that before the cruise, not after. Also, most of the airlines only have airfare listed up to 9/2 & is still expensive. I willwait a few more weeks & see what happens with the airfare. I had the same problem with the airfare when we where booking our honeymoon, but i paid it because it was our honeymoon. But this time around i was cheap airfare so we can spend more on the cruise part.
We might end up just going the week after.The cruise prices look cheaper for the same exact cruise. if we do it that week we can get a better room & probably get the cheap airfare I want. I am trying to keep the cost under $3k, closer to $2500 if possible without having the cheapest room on the boat. Hopefully this will work out.
Did you guys book through a TA or did you book n your own online? I am looking at online prices.
jax1023
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Re: Carnival Cruises.....any reviews?
We went on a Carnival cruise for our honeymoon. It was very nice.
I personally thought the food was excellent, but I'm hardly a gourmet food critic.
I think they key is to go on one of their larger, newer ships. It seems less crowded that way because they are layed out better with more pools, etc. We had a balcony and spent a lot of time out there because it was shaded and I am a very pasty person.
FM me if you have any questions.
ETA- We're thinking about doing a short 4 day one for our anniversary.
AeroJenn
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Re: Carnival Cruises.....any reviews?
Posted by Dani731
that actually was the plan but we wanted to do that before the cruise, not after. Also, most of the airlines only have airfare listed up to 9/2 & is still expensive. I willwait a few more weeks & see what happens with the airfare. I had the same problem with the airfare when we where booking our honeymoon, but i paid it because it was our honeymoon. But this time around i was cheap airfare so we can spend more on the cruise part.
We might end up just going the week after.The cruise prices look cheaper for the same exact cruise. if we do it that week we can get a better room & probably get the cheap airfare I want. I am trying to keep the cost under $3k, closer to $2500 if possible without having the cheapest room on the boat. Hopefully this will work out.
Did you guys book through a TA or did you book n your own online? I am looking at online prices.
I booked through 1-800-cruises. I think online its cruise.com or something like that. We got a decent price through them and they were great to work with.
