Carnaval Cruise

[EddieWalker]

A friend wants me to join her on a cruise for 7 days in the Western Caribbean. It goes from Galveston to Montego Bay then George Town then to Cozumel and then back to Galveston. Cost would be $529 each pluse all the extras.

I've never been on a cruise and don't know if I'd like it or not. I don't need to decide right away, but the sooner, the better.

Has anybody been on this cruise? Any thoughts on cruises in general?

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[dodge man]

A friend wants me to join HER on a cruise. Are you married? If not, your going to have a good time. :laughing:

I took a cruise with Carnival for our honeymoon about 20 years ago. Its great, they really take care of you. Dollar for dollar, its pretty tough to beat a cruise.

 

[ToadHill]

Be prepared to spend a lot of time kicking back. Ed, that may not be easy for you!!

 

[Rfisher7381]

My wife and I have been on quite a few cruises and have had a wonderful time. I especially like that all your meals,lodging, and entertainment are set. Just kick back and enjoy.

 

[Lloyd_E]

Eddie,

Carnival and Holland America are both great lines. The HA line is a little more up-scale.
The carnival cruise(2nd trip) I took with my wife and daughter was good. The ship was a little dated but it did offer day-care for us. I was initially very hesitant to go on a cruise but it was our honey moon(1st trip) and it was aboard HA. We did western Caribbean on HA. For me, I thought it would be like a cramped bus trip... boy was I wrong! I, like you, can get a little board sitting around. But I now prefer to cruise as compared to laying on a beach for 7 days etc. The nice thing is that you are in a new port every day or every second day. There are new discoveries each time. You can involve yourself as much or as little as you like regarding the on-board activities - no real pressure. The food is INCREDIBLE! The service is impeccable and generally you meet a lot of neat people. There are formal nights - suit or tux or casual nights. You can decide. You can also choose to sit at the same table or mix it up a bit. Did I mention the food... Once my routine got established my breakfast consisted of coffee, great bread, melon(lots) and smoked salmon(lots). A great way to start the day!

Go for it... you will love it. That's a great price by the way.

PS: I was impressed with Carnival when the waiter, after the second day, new my preferred drink and the drink was mixed to perfection... martini, double, stirred, dry!

 

[derek01]

Enjoy it while you can GO

 

[OcalaPat]

My wife and I cruise quite a bit, Europe, Alaska, etc. IMO Carnival is midline as far as quality and bang for the buck. Also, there are a lot of children on Carnival. OK if that is what you want.

Of the 25 or more trips that we've taken, Norwegian Cruise Lines, BY FAR is the best. Again, just my opinion. HAVE FUN!!!

 

[Bird]

Lots of our friends and family members, including both of our daughters have been on cruises and everyone tells us they are really great.

I'd be glad to go if they paid me enough, but no way I'd pay them to go.:laughing: But I think I can understand others enjoying it; just not my cup of tea. I'd much rather go fishing in a 16' boat. Got no use for boats if I can't try to catch fish.

 

[Dargo]

My wife and I cruise quite a bit, Europe, Alaska, etc. IMO Carnival is midline as far as quality and bang for the buck. Also, there are a lot of children on Carnival. OK if that is what you want.

Of the 25 or more trips that we've taken, Norwegian Cruise Lines, BY FAR is the best. Again, just my opinion. HAVE FUN!!!

I've been fortunte enough to have taken around 20 cruises or so. It's funny how times have changed. On my first cruise, everything was covered except name brand liquor. The next cruise everything was included except liquor; beer was on tap. Then the next cruise all alcohol was extra and there were long lines to see the shows at night. On my last cruise, which may be my last, not even soft drinks are included. It cost me over $400 just for soft drinks for the family! The quality of food on pretty well all cruise lines has gone down and there seems to be lines to get into every show.

Unfortunately, Carnival was my least favorite of all the cruises. I suppose it would be the way to go if you were 12-14 years old IMHO. I'm also sick of absolutely everything costing extra on a cruise anymore and the expectation of you dropping $200 or more in tips (as a suggested minimum) per person. I'd much rather them just price the dang cruises how they need to be priced rather than giving these low 'teaser' prices and letting you know once you're there that just about everything is going to cost you on the trip. I've never gone on a cruise and not had a suite with my own personal balcony. It seems that most of the newer ships have balconys for most rooms on the exterior anymore unless you're close to water level and just have a port hole.

I'd say it's completely up to you. Not having been on them over the years, you may enjoy them. After seeing the service and quality of the lines drop over the years and everything cost extra now, I'm not nearly as keen on them as I once was. As a matter of fact, rather than take a cruise offered by a company I do business with next month, I'm just taking a week at a nice resort on St. Thomas. I've been to Charlotte Amalie enough to know which store is where now and pretty well know most holes at Mahogany Run. Do you have an option of just flying to a nice island and staying at a quality resort instead?

 

[fuseboxer]

A friend wants me to join her on a cruise for 7 days in the Western Caribbean. It goes from Galveston to Montego Bay then George Town then to Cozumel and then back to Galveston. Cost would be $529 each pluse all the extras.

I've never been on a cruise and don't know if I'd like it or not. I don't need to decide right away, but the sooner, the better.

Has anybody been on this cruise? Any thoughts on cruises in general?

Thanks,
Eddie

The captain can perform marriage at sea, get a set of rings and do it right making it a honeymoon. Life is short take a chance. Make sure the ship is over 100,000 tons. No small ships, you can get sick. The bigger the better then you will not get sick in the gulf. She will say "I do" when you ask.

 

[grsthegreat]

I went to the Caribbean on a curse for 10 days several years ago (more than i care to remember). Loved it but beware of the HOT season down there. I went just before it got really stinking hot down there.

Mine was thru princess cruise lines. carnival is considered a party cruise line. But for that price unless they give you the bottom cabin in the font of the ship....go for it.

The center of the ship is the least tipsy (up down back forth).

The only thing I'm worried about anymore is the amount of people getting sick on those cruises now-a-day. Back when i was doing it i never heard of this problem. Not sure what has changed.

My cruise went from Puerto Rico to Caracas (before ahole took over) then to Grenada, Martinique then St Thomas and St. Croix.

I loved it...but i was single then also.

 

[grsthegreat]

A friend wants me to join her on a cruise for 7 days in the Western Caribbean. It goes from Galveston to Montego Bay then George Town then to Cozumel and then back to Galveston. Cost would be $529 each pluse all the extras.

I've never been on a cruise and don't know if I'd like it or not. I don't need to decide right away, but the sooner, the better.

Has anybody been on this cruise? Any thoughts on cruises in general?

Thanks,
Eddie

Whose gonna take care of the pig.....

 

[Clint S]

If you go and want to drink be prepared to spend some $$$. My wife and I do not drink much so all is good for us. When we did we did it on shore or looked for specials during the cruise. If you drink alot of soda they usually offer a package. On our last cruise it was like $60 and all drinks except alcohol were included

 

[lstinthot]

As others have said, Carnival is more family oriented. We had our family reunion on one about 5 years ago. It was good for us. About 27 people, mostly kids. Plenty to do for both adults and kids. We did the Bahamas cruise out of Canaveral.

What room, where in the ship, does that price get you? We had rooms with good size windows. Would upgrade next time to the balcony. Although we were not in the room much, it was nice to be able to look out while at sea.

We are looking forward to our next one, tried to convince the wife to go on an Alaskan cruise last month but thought the kids would like a Carribiean cruise instead. Then ended up cancelling it due to moving.

My sister was very pesimistic about going, it was like forced her to go. Once she was there she had a great time. It is deffinetly worth it.

 

[tallyho8]

I love cruises and have 3 booked for 2012 including a Carnival cruise similar to yours. Cruises are actually cheaper than they were 10 or 20 years ago though not quite as fancy anymore.

You would cruise on the Magic which is a new ship and consequently has higher rates than older ships but a cruise can be as cheap or as expensive as you make it. If you go anytime that kids are out of school the rates are much higher and there will be more kids on the ship. Example: Magic inside room on September 30, 2012, $509. Same room on July 17, $999. And the good part is that it is much nicer heading south in winter instead of summer. In winter it's warm down there, in summer it's HOT. In summer I book a cruise to Alaska.

You can get the same cruise out of New Orleans on the Carnival Conquest for $329 on December 4, 2011 but rates change quickly.

Of course if you like being fancy and spending money you can get a suite for 2 or 3 thousand. And you can always throw away as much money as you want in the casino. The tips are automatically charged at $10 per day. A 12 oz. beer is $4.95 with a 15% gratuity automatically added to it. No extra charge anytime for coffee, tea, orange juice, milk and some other juices. They have pretty good pizza and free food is available 24 hours a day. I gain 5 pounds every cruise.:licking:

The gym is free or you can just walk around the ship for exercise, it's more than 1/4 mile around. They have good entertainment every night, no charge, and free room service.

It's nice to just be able to get on the ship and relax and do what you want and let them do the driving with no worry about where to stop for a meal or a room or entertainment.

Of course everyone is different. Millions of people love Disney World but some don't. So many people like cruises and want to cruise again that cruise lines have been getting 250,000 more passengers each year for the last 10 years.

PS Sorry, no pigs allowed.

 

[grsthegreat]

PS Sorry, no pigs allowed.

You saying im not allowed on a ship???:laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

Whose gonna take care of the pig.....

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

My inlaws have gone on several cruises. Most were quite enjoyable. However, on one in Alaska, several hundred people on the boat got really, really sick. Down in bed, throwing up for days, sick. Also, the helicopter that took folks from the ship up to a glacier crashed on the glacier (no injuries). They sent up a rescue helicopter and it crashed, too! :confused2:

We went on a one day cruise to the Bahamas. Wife loved it. I threw up. :laughing:

My advice to you... take a chance and go! I'd go again, but I'd take dramamine a couple hours before leaving the dock just in case. :licking:

 

[mjarrels]

Spent many years cruising around the world on aircraft carriers and they paid me... Even gave me two beers for every 60 days at sea... NO stinkin way I would ever pay to ride a ship.

mark

 

[Dargo]

We went on a one day cruise to the Bahamas. Wife loved it. I threw up. :laughing:

My advice to you... take a chance and go! I'd go again, but I'd take dramamine a couple hours before leaving the dock just in case. :licking:

My wife and I went on an ultra expensive (we didn't have to pay) cruise that only took 40 couples on a 5 mast sailing ship. Anyway, we got caught in a tropical depression by surprise and ended up in 30' - 40' seas. People were sick everywhere. My wife and I? We took all the drawers out (kept opening and slamming shut) in our cabin and slept great. On the really large, 1000' or so ships, I can't even tell we aren't on land. Once they extend the stabilizers it takes quite a bit to make them rock any.