Condition of Ships

[QueenBee]

My family and I are considering a Carnival for next summer. We've never been on a cruise before, but Carnival seems the most economical. Still, I've read on other forums that some of the ships aren't in the best shape. In fact, I've read that some of them are not clean and do not offer good service. On the other hand, I've also read posts praising Carnival cruises. With three kids in tow, we need to be economical in our decision. However, I don't want to sacrifice quality either. If you have taken a Carnival Cruise, what are your opinions on these issues?

[blackcat]

Well, QueenBee, if you are leery of Carnival, select another cruise line. Many of the Carnival ships have a four-star rating. Look for a five-star rating on the ship you are taking. Check out when the ship was built and when the last time it was refurbished or redecorated. This is information is easily available online.

Once you decide where you want to go, shop the online sites for cruise prices. I've done lots of price comparisons and I've found lots of cruises on other cruise lines at the same or better prices than Carnival.

blackcat

[flowerchild]

The ships in every cruise line vary in age. Maybe that's why people are always seeking to cruise on the newest ships. You always know the name of the ship that a cruise is for - not like flying where you get on whatever airplane the airline sends.

Look up the ship online before you sail to find out when it was built or the last time it was refurbished or redecorated. We've sailed twice on the same cruise line, loved the first ship and felt the second ship was getting in need of some upgrades. All the seating was worn in our opinion.

flowerchild

[QueenBee]

Thanks so much for your help. Can anyone give a review of the ship that they've sailed on? Info such as, condition of rooms, available service, time of year, cleanliness of the cabins and the ship itself, food, etc.. would be great! Also, what about noise? If Carnival is a party ship, how noisy is it at night?

[TaniaT]

Hi QueenBee!

We sailed on the Paradise when we took our cruise, and it was absolutely beautiful!! It's one of their non-smoking ships (I think they have 2), and was relatively new, but everything was always sparkling clean, and in great shape. Could partly be because it's not covered with a film of cigarette smoke! :)

Our room was great, and our steward was very attentive. We had no problem getting extras (shampoo, a razor etc.) and our cabin was always kept clean. They even tidied up for us, which was very cool for those of us novice travellers. It was neat to come back and find my shoes all lined up and my clothes folded! (if they were left out - they don't go rummaging through suitcases or anything).

We loved room service. It was available 24 hours and was complimentary!! My husband took full advantage of that - that's for sure! The dining room food was great too, although we did eat a number of our meals at the on-deck grill. We couldn't handle too much "fancy" food, like the you find in the dining room. The legendary midnight buffets were, in our opinion, over-rated. Except for one. They had a Mexican fiesta night which was absolutely delectable. Yum.

As for the noise level at night, I didn't find it to be bad at all. Once in awhile, you'd hear someone go running by in the corridor, but I never had trouble sleeping because of people yelling. They do all that up on deck. :-)

Oh, and we cruised in late May.

Hope that helps!

TaniaT

[eldragon]

We traveled on the Holiday 3 years ago, and it's an older ship. I cannot complain as it was fine. The service and food was excellent.

[palefrost]

Ive sold carnival cruises for a while and never once did anyone returning complain about a dirty ship. If your really concerned then make sure the ship you are planning on going on is new within the last few years since it was built. The fleet is usually current so you shouldn't have a problem finding a ship and itinerary to meet your needs.

[Stephanie2377]

I went on a Carnival Cruise several years ago. The ship we were on was an older one in the fleet, but I have no complaints about the condition of the ship. The service was impeccable, the food was fantastic.. it was great! We went to several ports, so didn't actually spend *that* much time only on the ship. For the price, we had no complaints.

When choosing your ship, know how much time you'll have open water. You'll want more things to do if you will have lots of time between ports.