I'm going on a cruise...need help w/ cruise line..?

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Zef H

I have cruised with both lines. I have been on the Freedom of the Seas and the Carnival Glory (an older sister of the Carnival Valor). Below are links to reviews I wrote of both cruises ...

Freedom of the Seas - June 2007 ...
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=30442

Carnival Glory - April 2006 ...
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=18296

Both Carnival and Royal Caribbean are similar. The negative comments you see about Carnival apply only to the shorter cruises (three and four nights). Both the Freedom of the Seas and the Carnival Valor do one week cruises.

Having been on both I find they both get it right. In fact, I have two future cruises booked on both lines. I think the food on Carnival is a little better. Certainly the Freedom of the Seas has more options than the Valor, but it is also about 50% bigger, and carries 22% more people. So what does this mean? It means each passenger has more space, but also there are more passengers. So if you have to tender (rather than dock) it can take noticeably longer.

Also, be aware, both lines are quite a bit different than Holland America (which, by the way, is owned by Carnival). Holland America has smaller ships (its largest is less than 90,000 tons) while both of these ships are well over 100,000 tons. Carnival and Royal Caribbean both offer non-stop activities, while Holland America is a lot more relaxed. Also, the average passenger on Holland America is much older than the average passenger on Carnival or Royal Caribbean.

Pick either ship and I am sure you will have a great time.

darkwarriorxii

I enjoy both lines, but my favorite is Carnival. I just feel that overall you get more for your money with Carnival. As you said, you'll have a good time either way, so just go with your gut! If you go in with a positive attitude, you'll be sure to make the best of the situation. If you're in doubt, perhaps you could go back on Holland America since you've already experienced that line personally.

emtp911

cruisecritics.com and cruisemates.com both have great info. I have been on both Carnival (4ships) & Royal Caribbean (2ships) I like Carnival better. To me the food is better, especially the pizza and its 24 hrs on most of Carnival ships. The rooms are bigger. Especially the interior rooms. I think there are more scheduled activities and for a younger group on Carnival.
Im sure you will enjoy either one. Do your homework. Sites have copies of the activities for both and the menus.
Have a good time

pinupdolly

last summer i was on royal caribbean's enchantment of the seas, and the boat was really nice and so was the staff, so i would reccomend royal caribbean

do not book for hurricane season though! because our schedule got switched and we encountered some unsettling waves lol it was a bit nauseating

Michelle G

I am a travel agent and have traveled on most of the cruise lines. Between the two, I definitely am in favor of RCCL - in fact I will not book my clients on Carnival unless they specifically ask for it. And then, I will usually convince them to choose another line.

This is your honeymoon and you deserve the best!

MomSezNo

To get even more opinions, go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards" and/or "Reviews" at the top of the page. You'll get all the information you could possibly want!!

Have fun, whichever you choose.

Emma

We have travelled on Royal/Enchantment of the Seas & it was our best VACATION ever !!!

We travelled on a weekend cruise to Ensenada on Carnival and it was, well - not so hot.

Royal was classy and clean and each of the 3/generations represented by our family, thoroughly enjoyed feeling pampered. You could do as many things as you wanted - or nothing at all. The food was great, the pools were great, the shows were fun, the "classes" (we took social dance) were a blast.

Carnival - granted, a shorter cruise - had a very Vegas feel to it. The food, activities, etc. were fine....just not as "special". The boat wasn't as clean & there was more of a party/singles feel to it.

Hope that helps. We also have taken a Western Carribean cruise on Princess. That was comparable to Royal....my husband and I prefer Royal & my daughter (age 14) prefers Princess....

Happy Trails! :)

Noble Angel

I always use Carnival and they are a wonderful and romantic cruise, they will spoil you with all they have to offer. we try to go every year and with the low prices that Carnival offers they make that easier and we have more to spend on ship and at ports.
We us a Carnival Personal Vacation Planner when we book and he is awesome alway ready to answer all our even silly questions and keep and eye on the booking and will make sure we get the lowest prices and we have gotten upgrades to higher decks too.

Maryhou

we have traveled on Carnival the past three years during spring break and we LOVE it. The rooms are larger I hear than RCI and in my opinion I'd rather spend the money we save thru Carnival on excursions. Yes we fee l there are LOTS of kids on spring break but we have not encountered and totally unruly or anything at all. I think vacation is what we each make of it. Some days it rains but you gotta be okay with that......

Nikki

Well, I recently took a cruise to Alaska from Seattle and decided with the Norwegian Cruise line. I had a BLAST! They are the only line with free-style cruising, which is where you can dine anywhere, anytime. Pretty much do what you want. Not to mention at every corner theres a lounge where you can grab a drink. The restaurants were amazing and the casino was a lot of fun. The ship was beautiful, very elegant. But most importantly, there was a sense of fun and happiness all the time throughout the 2 week trip, and the captain was hilarious!

They have a ton of things that you can do, and packages you can purchase for your land activities. For instance, we had purchased a package to fly a helicopter over the mountains and actually dog sled! But I just loved how if we were worn out from our excursions, we didnt have to rush to get ready and head to eat. We could go when you are ready.

If you are interested, the website and some more information are located at www.NCL.com

Good luck with whatever you choose, and congratulations to you and your Fiance!

:o) Happy Cruising!

Wow

I didn't enjoy Carnival as it was JAM PACKED. I do have lot's of experience in cruising and wouldn't recommend it. Royal Caribbean is great.

Travel and Have Fun

Consider registering with a Honeymoon Destination and have your family and friends help with paying for the cruise as a wedding gift. Then whichever cruise line you decide you bound to have a extra good time because it will be at the expense of your family, friends and love ones. Congrats!

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