Carnival Cruise - Good or not recommended?

We are thinking of going on a cruise (me, DH, 6yo and 2.5yo DSs). Neither of has ever been on a cruise so we don't know what to look for or expect.

We're OOS and happen to live 35 minutes from a port that Carnival leaves from (no other ship leaves from there). I saw some really inexpensive prices (compared to Royal Caribbean and Disney that leave from 3 hours further south) and I'm wondering if there's a reason for that.

Are Carnival cruises any good? Would it be good with 2 small children? Just looking for some opinions. TIA!

Re: Carnival Cruise - Good or not recommended?

We had one of our best cruises on the Carnival Breeze. I would consider the age of the ship and the onboard offerings to see if makes sense for you. You can read reviews on Cruisecritic and usually with a little research see the onboard dailies for each itinerary to see what you think.

Re: Carnival Cruise - Good or not recommended?

I've been on two carnival cruises and had fun each time. Some of the ships might be older which is probably why it costs less.

Re: Carnival Cruise - Good or not recommended?

Disney is going to cost more, just because it's Disney. They have characters on board, and they are known for a higher level of service, so they probably have more employees. They also have more things included with the the purchase price, while other ships charge extra.

I have never been on Carnival, but my in laws hated it. They left out of NY & went to Canada. They are used to cruising mostly in Europe & Princess & Celebrity.
I think it tends to attract a lot of younger people and large groups, b/c it is usually affordable and that may be a turn off to people looked or a quieter trip.

I had friends that went with their whole extended family & enjoyed it, but it was their only cruise.

Message edited 2/18/2016 3:28:23 PM.

Re: Carnival Cruise - Good or not recommended?

Nope, I would pass. Went on one years ago, what a dump.

Re: Carnival Cruise - Good or not recommended?

Carnival Cruise - Good or not recommended?

I've been on four and had a wonderful time each time. I've been on new ships and old ships, they were all great and the service fantastic

Carnival Cruise - Good or not recommended?

I've been on Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Is there s difference - yes. But, I had a great time on both and wouldn't automatically say no to Carnival. Like others have said, it depends on the ship. A newer ship with Carnival would be fine. To me the big differences were the amenities, like the pool, shows, etc. Not really a big deal to me. The food was not as good, but it wasn't terrible by any means. If you're expecting RC, then you will be disappointed, but Carnival has some really nice ships and you can have a great time.

Carnival Cruise - Good or not recommended?

We have been on two Carnival cruises within the past 3 years. One was the Slendor which is an older ship but we loved it. It was a big ship, lots of wonderful staff and everything was spotless. This past November we went on the Pride and it was a smaller ship not that new and we loved that too. It was always clean, friendly staff and a lot to do.

Re: Carnival Cruise - Good or not recommended?

Been on carnival twice. Been on Norwegian three times. Been on Disney once.

We had GREAT cruises both times on Carnival. The first was out of Miami & was fantastic. It was our first cruise.
The second was with a small child (8 months) & out of NYC. We had used other cruise lines by the time of this cruise.

Carnival is roughly equivalent to Norwegian. It's not super $$$. The food at Carnival IMO was better than Norwegian. Entertainment was the same. Ports the same. Rooms vary by ship. Our best room was an old Norwegian ship, second best was carnival. Best child friendly was actually Carnival (not many kids & they went out of their way for ours... Even made baby food!). Best specialty restaurant was carnival by far. As good as fine NYC steakhouses.

The worst cruise I went on was Disney... Except for child entertainment, Disney was the worst... overpriced, ports were worse (excursions cost more than other cruise lines & you had to pay for younger kids vs have them go free), food was bad & service was worst. I will cruise again, but never Disney.

Book & enjoy! I always liked carnival & the crowd is young & fun.

Carnival Cruise - Good or not recommended?

The one and only cruise I went on was Carnival and we loved it! That said we have nothing to compare it to. It was the carnival miracle and left from NYC. One of our best vacations to date.
I thought the food good not amazing but I had no complaints and I'm usually a tough critic.

Carnival Cruise - Good or not recommended?

I think it depends on the ship, I have never cruised anyone other than Disney, but when I was looking at Carnival, the cheaper rates were on ships that looked pretty run down.