The Party Ship

[Love2Cruise]

We have never cruised on Carnival mainly because we hear it is a very busy "party ship". Also, we notice they are at sea much more than most cruise lines. That means they are not visiting the beautiful tropical islands we love.

Still, we would love to hear your experiences on Carnival. Hey, you never know, someday a Carnival Cruise may come our way!

[CruisinCousin]

My very first cruise was on Carnival. Yes, Carnival appeals to a younger crowd that partied more. Don't book a Carnival cruise during college vacation times.

As a mature adult on a first cruise, I enjoyed Carnival. Food and sevice were great and the cabin staff was fine and attentive. Carnival has added lots of ships since then so I'm sure that the newer ships are even more luxurious. Carnival ships seem to carry a four-star rating but at the price they charge, four-star is fine.

Carnival offers a lot more shorter cruises as a way to keep the price down and very affordable. It takes a certain amount of time to sail to the islands so for these shorter cruises, I guess they're at sea more than other cruises.

But especially if you're looking for an inexpensive getaway go Carnival! Add up the costs for a motel and meals and for less money you get shipboard entertainment, all you care to eat, and islands besides.

CruisinCousin

[cruise411]

Carnival calls themselves The Fun Ships. Not everyone is looking for quiet elegance. When you evaluate cruises, there's something for every taste in vacation experiences. Most of the cruise lines try to appeal to the full range of passengers from young couples and singles, to families, to seniors. But it's no secret that Carnival appeals to a younger crowd.

But look at the prices! A competitive online price for a 3-day Bahamas cruise from Miami on Carnival is only $249 per person double occupancy. Yes, that's an inside cabin but with so much to do onboard, who spends time in their cabin except to shower and sleep? Like the Motel 6 commercials used to say, turn out the light and look at your room!

Carnival gets my vote.

cruise411

[blackcat]

I've been on one Carnival ship but that was years ago before the wonderful big ships of the 1990's. I had a good experience back then.

blackcat

[TaniaT]

We cruised on Carnival for our honeymoon, and part of the reason we did was for the "party ship" reputation. It's funny though; we didn't find it to be so much of a party ship! There were lots of families with small children on our cruise, and we found the activities, during the day at least, were more geared towards families. The night life on board is good, and they had lots of "party boat" excusions in port, but we had hoped for more to do during the days at sea.

Don't get me wrong - we really enjoyed our cruise! We sailed on the Paradise, which is their smoke-free ship. It was wonderful! Food's great, service is great, ports are well chosen and the excusions were plentiful and well-organized. All in all, we had a wonderful time!

I think the only way to really tell is to try out a Carnival cruise and see if it's for you. That's my kind of market research!

TaniaT

[Susie]

Travel Channel selected the top cruise ships is a variety of categories.

The Carnival Cruise Lines ship Carnival Pride was selected as the ship with the Best Activities.

Activities include countless clubs and lounges, and an award-winning children's program.

Carnival Pride routinely sails the Mexican Riviera.

Susie