Carnival Cruise?

Question

If you have been on a Carnival cruise, did you enjoy it? What did you like about the ship? I'm just wanting to hear what you have to say.

Answer 1

I have been on three Carnival cruises. The first was the Holiday in January 2001. The second was the Pride in May 2004. The third was the Glory in April 2006. I am booked on the Victory for August 2008.

I enjoyed all of the cruises. In fact, of my seven cruises, the May 2004 cruise on the Carnival Pride is my favorite. Cruises are great because they are so relaxing.

You can you do what you want when you want. You are not on anyone's schedule except your own. Food is available almost 24 hours per day, so you don't have to eat at any set meal time. If one day you want to sleep in, you can. If on another day you want to get an early start to the day, you can. You can choose to lay out in the sun or swim in the pool. You you can choose to do many of the indoor activities (spa, games, gambling ...).

If different people want to do different things, they can. Then they will get together at dinner and share the day's activities. Kids can spend the morning in Camp Carnival while the parents do adult things. Then in the afternoon the whole family can do something together.

You unpack and pack once. Instead of sitting on a bus, you free to walk around - in fact you are free to run around. While you sleep your hotel rooms moves with you. When you wake up, you are at a new port hundreds of miles from the last port. Ever see a land based hotel do that?

Cooking and cleaning is taken care of for you. All you have to do is be back on the ship on time and have fun.

Answer 2

I will answer the most important question first. You DO NOT need a passport IF your cruise leaves from California and regardless of where it stop, it ALSO returns to California (OR any part of the US .. any US state) BEFORE December 31, 2007. But, if your cruise returns to the US AFTER December 31, 2007 then you will need a passport. The new passport law requiring ALL who enter the US by car, train, bus, plane or cruise ship to have a passport goes into effect on January 1, 2008. Unless your cruise ends in Ensenada your cruise ship stop there is more than likely a regulatory stop; only to meet a regulatory requirement that all US cruise ships stop in a foreign port. That is usually the case in cruises from the west coast of the US. Carnival and Princess cruise lines are actually owned by the same company; actually Carnival owns Princess. BUT, Carnival is the budget cruise line and the one that most young people ages 21 to about 35 go on, and also the ship that most first time cruiser go on. Its the party cruise line by reputation and actual. People who go say that they have a great time on Carnival ships (for the most part). Princess is a more upscale cruise line and that means the cabins are a little better, the food is a little better and the ship has a more reserved crowd. Now that does not mean that the people, many of whom will be in the 40 to 65 age range, do not have a great time. There will be some young people on the Princess ship but not as many as on Carnival. I have been on three Princess ships and they have great discos and lounges and the people have a great time. You just do not see people staggering down the hall or being loud at the pool areas. If I were making the selection I would go with princess since I absolutely loved all three of their ships that I have been on. We did the cruise to the Mexico Rivera, Cabo, Acapulco, and Puerta Vallarta in October 2004. The weather was great with one exception. The sailing was smooth and the weather was very pleasant but a hurricane came across Mexico and dissipated near one of our planned port stops. Because of that they diverted the ship to a different port. But we never had any bad weather, not even rain and it was sunny and warm enough to sit on the balcony or most anywhere on decks all day long. Since your cruise date is outside the hurricane time frame you should not have to worry about any of that type weather. My bet is that you will have great weather for the whole cruise like we did.

Answer 3

Go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards", then check "Carnival Cruise Lines". Also check out the "Reviews" at the top of the page for your particular ship. Carnival is known for its bright [some would say, gaudy] decor - some ships are more tame than others - and for being a "party" cruise line. That's generally true, but I've been on three Carnival ships and you can either join in or avoid the "party-hearty" people, depending on your preference. However, you can't avoid the neon and bright colors, so if you don't like that, you want a different cruise line.

As they say, "Any day on any cruise is better than a day at work!"

Answer 4

I have been on the Imagination, Inspiration and Valor. All were seven day Caribbean cruises. Eastern and Western. They were all fantastic! I switched for my last cruise to Princess but only because I wanted to try the Southern Caribbean and only Princess had the itinerary that I wanted during the time I wanted. It was 10 days. The only bad cruise is the one I'm not on. LOL. Try cruisecritic.com and go to the Carnival Board to check out other opinions from veteran cruisers who love to share their experience.

Answer 5

hi there... carnival cruise definetly own's up to its name being called "Fun Cruiseships" Im going on another cruise in january of 08... its amazing, so much fun! Even when you go to your formal dinner everynight. you have the same waiters and its like family! the employees are always helpful. Its unbelieveable how you get treated. Entertainment is awesome they have amazing musical's...bingo,comedy night, wow just so much to name! You should definetly give it a try

Answer 6

just came back from a 5day to Cabo San Lucas and Ensanada :) we had a great time...everyone was so friendly and helpful, the food was excellent, plenty of stuff to do for people of all ages (my bf and i are both 26) it was our first cruise and can't wait to go again...i'm not sure why carnival gets such a bad rap, it was very enjoyable :) give it a try...you won't be disappointed!

Answer 7

i have been on 6 carnival cruises going on my 7th in february. loved them all. havent tried any other.i like to unpack once and see different places.

Answer 8

My parents said they went on the Fascination once. Apparently they had an awesome time. I have never been on one before but we leave to go on the same ship next Tuesday!! Woo Hoo!!!

Answer 9

It was pretty fun, lots of people wanting to enjoy themselves. Went to the Carribbean....

Answer 10

this site has very useful cruise info

http://allcruiselines.info