Planning a cruise

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iamwiz82

Lifer
Jan 10, 2001
30,772
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Originally posted by: rh71
Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
EDIT: and the 2nd carnival cruise had a topless deck.
LOL, which 25-year old executive came up with that decision ?

Lots of ships do. I know that RCL's Mariner of the Seas had one, as well.
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
126
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: rh71
Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
EDIT: and the 2nd carnival cruise had a topless deck.
LOL, which 25-year old executive came up with that decision ?

Lots of ships do. I know that RCL's Mariner of the Seas had one, as well.
The reason I said that is because it's such a man-thing to do. I could understand if it were full nude... if they're giving nudists some freedom in the first place.
 

sharkeeper

Lifer
Jan 13, 2001
10,886
2
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Well again this can happen on any cruise line depending on the time of the year and the (most importantly) the destination and duration of the cruise.

I have seen a big change from January to April in the age and type of people here. The Europen cruisers are definitely the older crowd but they still have fun. This ship is a ghost ship after 2300 local time though.

Short cruises (<7 days) and popular destinations with price the driving factor obviously attracts those who tend to be vocal, have no concept of "dress code" and consume lots of cheap alcohol spoiling the experience for others. Unfortunately the percentage of these individuals is higher on Carnival than other cruise lines and this I suppose is what gives them "The McDonald's of the Industry" labeling.

Carnival *may* be good for you if you're a first time cruiser. Remember always that "ship happens" and regardless whether you sail on Cunard, Crystal, or EasyCruise (!) something can always happen that leaves a bad experience.

Food is a subjective matter and I will not comment about this.
 

richardycc

Diamond Member
Apr 29, 2001
5,719
1
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Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: Kvaerner Masa
Well, Carnival is ghetto.

Care to back up this comment?

How many cruises have you been on?

Not everything you read on the innernet is true.

:roll:

I am referring to the clientele.


norwegian is ghetto, they always have the lowest price among the big3(carnival, norwegian, RCL), so what kind of clientele do you think they attract? That's one reason I will never crusie with norwegian, because your cruisemates will indirectly aggect your cruising experience.
 

sharkeeper

Lifer
Jan 13, 2001
10,886
2
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norwegian is ghetto, they always have the lowest price among the big3(carnival, norwegian, RCL), so what kind of clientele do you think they attract? That's one reason I will never crusie with norwegian, because your cruisemates will indirectly aggect your cruising experience.

This can and will happen with any line.

You can shop by using the services such as cruisecompete.com and (surprise!) you may find the cheapest cruise on Celebrity, RCL, NCL, Princess or Carnival.

Of course NCL is owned by Star Cruises and we don't consult for them. (yet)
 

mb

Lifer
Jun 27, 2004
10,233
2
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I'm going on a Carnival cruise the first week of August :D Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Belize.


I've previously been on a Princess cruise, and that was a lot of fun. We booked it a little late so I didn't get good picks for off shore excursions, but this time I made sure to with Carnival.
 

Apathetic

Platinum Member
Dec 23, 2002
2,587
6
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I took a short 4 day cruise with Royal Carribean last year (my first cruise) and it was great. Wonderful food, lots of things to do on the ship.

Dave
 

Kelemvor

Lifer
May 23, 2002
16,928
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Our favorite is Royal Caribbean. I've been on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Princess.
 

SagaLore

Elite Member
Dec 18, 2001
24,036
21
81
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
Our favorite is Royal Caribbean. I've been on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Princess.

What is it about Royal Caribbean that you like over the others?
 

Kelemvor

Lifer
May 23, 2002
16,928
8
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I did a Carnival cruise to the Caribbean.... 10? years ago? Was the standard party ship. Nothing really outstanding but was fun. Had to pay extra for some of the cafe type food places
We did a Roycal Caribbean cruise 3-4 years ago to the Caribbean and had a great time. Very friendly staff. Almost everything included in the price and was just a higher class.
We then did a Pricess Cruise to Alaska last year. And it was great but Princess is geared more to the sophisticated and somewhat older crowd so the whole atmosphere was different. More classy and less "fun".

RC and Princess were both really great but we just liked RC better and that's what we'll most likely take whenever we take another cruise...
 

SearchMaster

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2002
7,791
114
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I've done half a dozen RC cruises in the past few years. My opinion: totally ship-dependent. I have no complaints with the clientele (funny story below)...the food has ranged from good to outstanding with no middle ground. Same thing with the service. So it really depends on the ship. My family and my wife's family are big cruisers, they prefer Princess, but remember they are a bit older (40s and up). Another of my sisters really likes Carnival, and I understand its reputation has gotten better since the merger a few years ago. But even the worst of the cruises I have been on would be very impressive for a first-timer, it's just that once you have enough experience to compare, some seem better than others.

Funny story: we went on a RC cruise once, and noticed the first night at dinner that the dining hall was only half full. I asked the waiter and indeed, the ship was only half capacity. General Motors had booked the ship primarily for its Mr. Goodwrench Master Mechanics, so the passengers were pretty much blue collar. We had no problems at all on the cruise, but on formal night one rather overweight gentleman wore a tuxedo T-shirt. It was hard to keep from laughing.
 

SagaLore

Elite Member
Dec 18, 2001
24,036
21
81
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
We then did a Pricess Cruise to Alaska last year. And it was great but Princess is geared more to the sophisticated and somewhat older crowd so the whole atmosphere was different. More classy and less "fun".

Our Princess cruise to Bermuda was like that - most everyone on the ship were 50 or older.

Which port did you depart from for Alaska? How many days did you do it? I'm about to sign up on a 7 day which departs out of Anchorage and arrives at Vancouver - and the flight costs are more than the cruise. I found an alternative Princess Alaskan cruise which starts in Seattle and returns to Seattle, and I can get much cheaper flight to there. It doesn't go into Glacier Bay or Prince William Sound though, instead it gets as far as Skagway - I don't know what I will be missing out on?
 

Kelemvor

Lifer
May 23, 2002
16,928
8
81
Originally posted by: SagaLore
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
We then did a Pricess Cruise to Alaska last year. And it was great but Princess is geared more to the sophisticated and somewhat older crowd so the whole atmosphere was different. More classy and less "fun".

Our Princess cruise to Bermuda was like that - most everyone on the ship were 50 or older.

Which port did you depart from for Alaska? How many days did you do it? I'm about to sign up on a 7 day which departs out of Anchorage and arrives at Vancouver - and the flight costs are more than the cruise. I found an alternative Princess Alaskan cruise which starts in Seattle and returns to Seattle, and I can get much cheaper flight to there. It doesn't go into Glacier Bay or Prince William Sound though, instead it gets as far as Skagway - I don't know what I will be missing out on?

We did the opposite Alaskan Cruise. We left from Vancouver and ended up in Anchorage. We flew from Milwaukee through Minnesota to Vancouver. I think we stpoped in MN on the way back as well. flights were a lot but I don't think they were more than the cruise. We went at the end of July...

My thread with pics is here: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...hreadid=1368847&enterthread=y&arctab=y
Only the very first link works (to ofoto.com) as the bbzzdd pics have been removed.
 

aphex

Moderator<br>All Things Apple
Moderator
Jul 19, 2001
38,572
2
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Originally posted by: SagaLore
Has anyone here been on a Mexican Riviera cruise? Is it worth going?

My parents just did one on Princess about 3 months ago... THey loved it, but commented that they still like Royal Carribean better....
 

sharkeeper

Lifer
Jan 13, 2001
10,886
2
0
Oh and something else that seems to fall through the cracks...

Bring a power strip. There will be one 120VAC outlet in your cabin. A 240VAC outlet is available and you can use an adapter if your stuff can run on 240VAC power (most battery chargers for notebooks can) otherwise you will need a voltage converting adapter. When in doubt, NEVER connect to the wrong voltage. Don't exceed 15 amperes total either...

Also the lamps in your cabin are 240V. Do NOT stick your fingers in the sockets!
 

iamwiz82

Lifer
Jan 10, 2001
30,772
13
81
Originally posted by: Kvaerner Masa
Oh and something else that seems to fall through the cracks...

Bring a power strip. There will be one 120VAC outlet in your cabin. A 240VAC outlet is available and you can use an adapter if your stuff can run on 240VAC power (most battery chargers for notebooks can) otherwise you will need a voltage converting adapter. When in doubt, NEVER connect to the wrong voltage. Don't exceed 15 amperes total either...

Also the lamps in your cabin are 240V. Do NOT stick your fingers in the sockets!

That would depend on the category of the room, wouldn't it?

We had 2 doubles in our cabin, IIRC