My wife and I are in our mid thirties and I want to book our first cruise, I need your help in answering a question. I know Carnival has alot of nice ships ,but if someone was to make you choose just one ...Which one would be your favorite ??
You question doesn't provide enough information. However, I'll try to give you some help.
Since airline costs and schedules are significant today, I'd find a Carnival ship nearest my residence if that's possible. That'll save you the cost of air added to your cruise costs.
In my case, living in a suburb of LA, I love the ELATION which cruises the Mexican Riviera. A Fantasy Class ship, she's maintained in pristin condition and is very inexpensive for my money.
Itinerary is also a big factor in your decision. Where would you like to go, how long do you want to cruise. Give us Carnival fans more information and we can help you a lot more.
We live in Utah and the Itinerary really doesn't matter, we've basically never been anywhere and would be willing to try anything. We just wanted to get opinions from people on their favorite ship regardless of the itinerary.
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Now I was on Elation and I did not care for her. I thought she was too dark and dull. My favorite Carnival ship by far has to be Triumph. I like them big and newer. I enjoyed the Mex Riviera but I still like the caribbean the best so far.
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Diane
Golden Princess 12/04
Galaxy 1/04
Elation 2/03
Enchantment of the Seas 4/02
Fantasy 11/01
Triumph 4/01
Sensation 4/97
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Gary is correct. Do a little more soul searching in what you want and we can help.
1) Do you want to go to islands
2) Do you want more sea days or port days.
3) Do you want to party or relax by the pool reading.
4) Do you want adventure or casual shopping sprees.
5) Do you want to try it first on a short cruise to see if you like it, or go for a long cruise right off the bat.
There's lots of cruises out there. Some people wouldn't dare go on a cruise during spring break, for instance, and others seek out these cruises. Decide what you want and it'll be easier for you to choose, and more likely you'll have a great time.
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Sometimes we don't know what we want! I finally got my sister to go on her 1st cruise and she was disappointed. Turns out she hated the color of the ship, she hated being on sea, she thought 7 days was too long but she did not know these things until she did it. Some folks are just not up for cruisin but me...I LOVE IT! You won't know until you just do it. You will not know all the answers to some of the questions until you experience it yourself. Everyone is different, so with that in mind I go by iteniery 1st and then I select the ship. For me I love everything about it so I am flexible for others that may not be the case. Decide where you want to go and pick the ship you are comfortable with in price and do everything that you can. You will be the judge if it's for you or not.
__________________
Diane
Golden Princess 12/04
Galaxy 1/04
Elation 2/03
Enchantment of the Seas 4/02
Fantasy 11/01
Triumph 4/01
Sensation 4/97
John,
Get another couple to go with you and it will be a lot more fun.I hear from couples all the time that say the y got bored after about 5 days ,but if had another couple to chat with it would have been better.
I chose the Conquest because it is the newest and the bigest. She sails out of an interesting city/port (New Orleans) and has a fun intinerary, in my opinion.
Carnival Glory is scheduled for July (she's still being built), but I've heard this is going to be delayed. If you book on the Glory, make sure she's gone on a couple of trips first.
If you don't like crowds, find a big ship ( get the Carnival brochure and compare the ship sizes). I understand, the biger the ship, the more elbow room you have.
When you read all the reviews, take into consideration that not everybody has the same taste. I don't care what color the library is, but you might.
We just returned from a week aboard the Carnival Pride on the eastern itinerary. Two Michigan couples (mid-40ish) with children (21, 14, 12). Everyone had a blast. The ship is only a year old. Renaissance themed throughout. It was easy to find your way around. Basically, decks 2 & 3 had the theatre, casino, lounges, purser/offices, and shopping. Deck 9 had the pools, buffet/grills and entrances to other ammenities (spa, gym, supper club, sports decks, etc.) We had a balcony room (first time!) on deck 8. No problem getting from the bow to the stern quickly on any deck. Noticed all age groups. Friendly people eager to make new friends on Carnival ships. It's all about attitude anyhow. The only other Carnival ship we were on was the Tropicale in 1986.
> My wife and I are in our mid thirties and I want to book our
> first cruise, I need your help in answering a question. I know
> Carnival has alot of nice ships ,but if someone was to make you
> choose just one ...Which one would be your favorite ??
>
>
> Thank you all in advance
>
> John
We have been on 11 cruises from Celebrity, RCI, Princess and Carnival ships. Our last ship was the new Carnival Pride. Jan summed up my feelings exactly about the Pride. She has everything for everyone. Elegance, Service, Variety, Entertainment, Good size cabins, good ports of call and embarkation, great Spa & Gym. Good Balance for a fair price. She is not glitzy. I tend to prefer new ships that offer a lot of variety but where I don't get lost. The huge Grand Princess certainly had variety, but I constantly got lost! Our next cruise is on the sister of the Pride, the brand new Legend. Where the decor of the Pride is Renaissance, the Legend's theme is "Legends"- Greek, Mythilogical, Celebrities, even the Enchanted forest.
I have done a bit of cruising and I'm a TA.
I found the cruise leaving from New Orleans is amazing the trip out on the Mississippi River is absolutely amazing, I found a lounge chair at the back and enjoyed the trip. We also went into Belize City I am an early riser so out on the deck while approaching Belize travelling past all the Caye's was also very nice.
My Husband and I have always travelled alone, now with our children and we have never had a problem meeting like minded people on a ship or being all alone if we choose. Our last cruise with Carnival was fun, fun, fun. Our kids wondered if we could just live on the ship, haha.
One big decision for you should be the water. If you want to snorkel, scuba or just see amazing Marine stuff the Caribean cannot be beat, the Pacific is a bit murky I find and the Caribbean is un beatable for anything water related and the Islands are small pieces of heaven. Try the Southern Caribbean if you want an experience totally unlike your own life, many different cultural differences to choose from.
This forum is fantastic for information to help you, I often use it to help with my clients here in Canada.
Have a wonderful trip.
My favorite ship, without a doubt, is the beautiful PARADISE! It's a very large ship w/many different areas to explore, but the BEST part is that she is the ONLY 100% NON SMOKING SHIP in any fleet! The simple pleasure of not having to turn a corner and walk into a stogie-puffing person is worth every penny! But even if she weren't non-smoking, she is still a beautiful ship with many areas to enjoy!
kingwryn, First of all, as mentioned before, Check out the boards, you will find plenty of info on all of the ships. For me, personally, PARADISE, it's the only 100% smoke free ship out there. Keep in mind that other ships may be larger, and have more to offer , but Paradise still has it all and if you are a non-smoker, you can BREATHE! Regardless, have fun looking, welcome to the curise boards, and Enjoy the pre, trip and post trip excitement. Sue Sue
I have been on 2 Carnival Cruises... the Sensation and the Triumph. Both wonderful ships, but if I had to pick one, it would be the Triumph... she is just enormous and there are a TON of things to do/places to go on the ship.
Having taken 3 cruises (and now planning our 4th) , I would recommend a couple things -
1. definitely go for 7 days on your first cruise so that you can really get all you can out of it
2. try to go on a ship with balconies - we just had a balcony on the Triumph and it was the one of the best parts of the cruise. It was our first balcony and we don't want to go back to regular. However, we are looking at our next cruise and the itinerary we want has a ship that only has balconies if you get a suite (very pricey) so you may want to consider this when looking at the ships.
3. Do a good mix of days at sea and diverse islands to get the best flavor and ultimate relaxation (unless you really don't enjoy lounging around or doing 'cruise-type activities' & want to see a lot of different sites then you might want only 1 day at sea)
4. If you are going as just the 2 of you, I would recommend the later seating (unless you don't like staying up late). It was the best before we had our daughter and now the early seating is better for us so we can bring her and she is not starving or falling asleep in her food :-)
Hope this helps. Feel free to email me if you want to discuss anything in particular.
Good Luck!
Jodi
I have only been on one Carnival cruise, so maybe you won't appreciate my comments. However, my husband and I have also sailed on Royal Caribbean, which is supposedly a notch above Carnival (not in our books), and we would choose the Destiny over Rhapsody of the Seas (our last cruise) any day. The Destiny is a larger ship, but it has more bars and lounges, more places to go, on it. The deck, to some, appeared cluttered because of the many levels, but we loved it because we had so many choices of where to "park" ourselves. Plus, we loved the glamorous, yet glitzy look of Destiny. Then again, we are Vegas fans. Rhapsody was also lovely, but she was smaller with less action and not as "wow". So if "wow" is what you're looking for, Destiny is it. I can't comment on the newer ships (although Destiny was new only a few years ago), but I'm sure they're every bit as glitzy and exciting as the Destiny. As for the older Carnival ships, I have to admit, I would be a bit wary about sailing them. The glitz is supposedly overdone on those ships, whereas, the destiny class ships are a classier Vegas. Aside from the customer base, that is. We like party people. On RCL, it was getting pretty dead after midnight. Not so on Carnival. And we found the food was better on the Destiny, contrary to what many had said would be true of RCI.
Of the Carnival fleet, I've sailed the Fascination, Sensation and Paradise and we're booked for the Legend on Mar 10, 2003. So far, Paradise won hands down. Although the others were nice ships, good food, entertainment, etc., the smoke-free environment just delighted me!!!! The moment I walked into the Atrium area, I thought I was in heaven! In the casino, I could sit at a blackjack table and not be bothered by someone's second-hand smoke. It was a dream. I played more blackjack and my money lasted longer. On the other cruises, I just played slots.
Looking forward to the Legend, but I thoroughly enjoyed the Paradise. BTW, I noticed that they are offering good prices on her lately!
I have sailed Carnival twice......Disney once and NCL once. My opinion is that if you are insistant that you must sail on Carnival....go with one of the newest ships....otherwise...look to another line.
I would have to pick the Paradise. Great service, a nice size ship, and the smoke free environment is perfect. No matter what ship you choose you will have a great time. Our cabin was on the verandah deck. Veranda is on the top of the ship and there are not a lot of rooms on that deck so it was very quiet and relaxing. Enjoy!
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