1st time cruiser....Royal Caribbean or Carnival?!?

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Zef H

The two lines that offer short cruises to Mexico from Los Angeles are Carnival (on the Paradise) and Royal Caribbean (on the Monarch of the Seas). Both offer a similar experience.

The three night cruises both leave on Friday and go to Ensenada and spend a day at sea. The four night cruises both leave on Monday and go to Ensenada (not on the same day) and Catalina. Royal Caribbean also goes to San Diego while Carnival spends a day at sea.

Carnival leaves from Long Beach ...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/LongBeach.jpg

Royal Caribbean leaves from San Pedro ...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/ZefH/Overview.jpg

The two lines are very similar. Both are family oriented and both cater to the younger active crowd. However, the you should know that the four night cruise passengers are known as the, "newly wed, the over fed and the nearly dead".

Both ships are about the same size. However, the Paradise was built in 1998 and is the last of Carnival's Fantasy class while the Monarch was built in 1991. The standard cabins on the Paradise are about 50% larger than the standard cabins on the Monarch. As a result the Monarch carries more passengers, and thus has less room per passenger.

The Paradise has a water slide while the Monarch has a rock climbing wall.

Basically you will find your cruise experience on one very similar to your cruise experience on the other. I did this cruise as a three night cruise on the Carnival Holiday in 2001. If choosing between Carnival or Royal Caribbean for the three night cruise, flip a coin or take the one with the best price. If choosing a four night cruise I would suggest the Paradise because of the day at sea. Days at sea are very relaxing, and give you a chance to explore the ship, as opposed to exploring San Diego.

kimmer727

Royal Caribbean is the nicer of the two. Carnival is more for the younger crowd though. First time cruiser- I would go with Carnival.
Mexico will be HOT!!!

Gary

Royal Caribbean has less kids (little ones).

Tivogal

rc
i think
enjoy

cruisecritic.com
cruiseclues.com

YANNY

Carnival Cruises are the best. Party and have fun.

RoxRocks

I'm 21& just went on my first cruise to the Mediterranean sea on the Carnival Freedom (their new ship) last month and it was great! It's a great ship for young & old alike, especially for those who love the "party" vibe. I now think cruising is the best way to travel if you want to see more than one area of the world/country with everything included - food, room, & entertainment. Carnival always had live music and a lot of dancing going on. Every night there was always some type of show going on (comedy, musical, etc.), different clubs for different themes/people (karoke, club for teens, club for +18 yrs., salsa, 70's theme etc.) There were bars, casinos, an internet cafe and they had a few swimming pools and there was one with a slide, they have a gym with a sauna and steam room, jogging track, miniature golf, ping-pong, basketball, and volleyball areas, classes for learning how to dance, cook the food they serve, and creating those cute animal towels you get everyday. There are a bunch of different levels for dining - they had everything from burgers and fries to fine dining meals. Dinner was always great. The food was amazingly good, our waiter/waitress were very good in making sure we were always satisfied with our meals - every night at dinner you get a 3 course meal and all the waiters and waitresses would dance/sing for everyone which was always a fun. I'm not sure about Carnivals other ships, but I'm sure they're just as fun and lively as the Freedom.

In general I'd say the Carnival staff and crew are very professional, friendly, and always made sure you felt pampered and were having a great time. It's a fun ship with people from all over the world of all ages so by the time you leave you feel like you've known these people for years.

Sorry for rambling and all those run-on sentences, but it's hard trying to explain how great the ship was and some of the things you could do just on the ship alone.

yawm_pride

i've just been on a mexican riviera cruise on board the carnival pride. it was so nice! wonderful shows and the food was great!
i've just been there the other week, and the weather was really hot. but now i'm looking at the weather forecast and it's changing a bit....but it's still hot! IT depends if you are going right now or another month or two, because now the season is changing...and in winter.....it will be a bit dull, however not too much. Nice ports we visited. Well, if you are only going on a 3-5 day cruise, it won't matter much the weather as i can assure you that you will find a lot of things to do on baord the ship.
Just tell me if you're going on the carnival pride please! :) [to tell u something]
hope i've been of help.

TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only

We did a cruise to the Mexican Rivera in October 2004. Our cruise was on a Norwegian ship out of Long Beach/San Pedro. The weather for our cruise was perfect, except that there was some bad weather near one of our port stops (a hurricane had come across Mexico to the Pacific) and the ship steered away from that weather by changing the order of the port stops. So when we got there the weather was perfect.

I have done about 20 cruises on 4 different cruise line, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Norwegian. The party options and opportunities are about the same on all of these cruise lines. All have a cruise director whose job it is to make sure that you have fun. They all have party activities around the pool during the day on "at sea" days, all have a disco that stays open until the wee hours, all have a variety of lounges and bars, some with jazz or a piano bar, they all have a show for you each evening and some may have a comedian late at night.. All have a sports bar. Most newer and larger ships have multiple pools and hot tubs. But you need to look on line at the ships' features or ask your/a travel agent what the features are. Some ships even have pools and hot tubs that are for adults only.

Carnival does have the reputation as the party boat, but there are parties on the others too. Carnival is the budget cruise line that most first time cruiser go on and the young folks in the 20 to 35 age range. But the other lines also have a mix of people of all ages and the older folks party just as hard, but you just don't hear them across the ship, or see them staggering down the hallways. You may get a better price with Carnival, but you will have a better cruise with the others that I have mentioned.

So my suggestion to get the best cruise and price is to look at all of the cruise lines and, since Royal Caribbean is my favorite I suggest it ahead of the others.

stagner16

Carnival has less extra charges,and I just think its better for clubbin and party, my recommendation is to not buy alchohal on the boat, just smuggle some Johnny Walker on in your speedo at a port, but its a cruise you really cant go wrong.

Brit

I've only ever been on Royal Caribbean and it was fantastic. I'm under 30 and found it to be everything I wanted. Do it! It's great!

tan0301

Depends on what you like. I cruised the first time in my late 20's I am in my early 30's now and I am going on my 3rd cruise next month. I am not much of a drinker/partier so I prefer Royal Caribbean. It's a little nicer. Both offer pretty much the same things as far as your dining and swimming like you mentioned. Excursions are basically the same. Royal is just a step up.

â™¥Saraiâ™¥

If you are under 30, go with carnival.

Hurricane season, good luck!

(get the insurance)

Laura is TTC#1

I am 24 and Ive been on RC two times and am going for a 3rd next week and really enjoyed it..It doestn matter if you like to party or not they have something for everyone! Ive never been on Carnival but I have heard so many horror stories about it

Emeve

Take Royal Caribbean no matter youÂ´ll be in the Pcific but itÂ´s goooood!

CPL. WOODS USMC

screw that JOIN THE NAVY!!!!

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