Carnival Cruise vs Royal Carribean

[Lady pumpkin]

Thinking of taking the 4night cruise from Port Canaveral to Bahamas in Feb 06. Any advice on which cruise line is best for our age group of 2 sixteen, 2 eighteen, 2 nineteen, & two over 40ies!
Thanks

We have done a Royal Carribean and it was truly superb, we had 2 adults and 3 children at the time aged 1, 9 and 2 boys aged 13/14, the kids clubs were amazing and they all say its the best holiday they ever had!!!![clap][clap][clap]

The kids clubs went right up to late teens I think from memory, they even had things like mid night pizza parties[msnwink]

[ellie]

Carnival are called the 'Fun' ships and are very much geared to young people, so with so many teenagers in your party you would probably enjoy it enormously.

We have been on several Royal Caribbean cruises and they are great, catering for the whole family. but in a more restrained way.

Either way, a cruise is a wonderful experience.

[Lady pumpkin]

Thanks [msnsmile] We have now had the family argument oops I mean discussion and have decided on the Carnival.

Any one got any advice as to whether its best to book when we are there (Feb - quiet season?) or in advance and is it best to book direct with Carnival?

Thanks

[mizzy]

Lady Pumpkin

you need to talk to "Fletch"

she is the cruise guru

i would send her a dm if i were you

Mizzy

[dawn]

Hi Lady Pumpkin,
We went on a Carnival Cruise in August, and had a great time, with something of everyone for all ages.
If you decide to book when you are there, bear in mind that President's Day is February 20th, and a lot of American's vacation this week as it is a national holiday.

[Ana]

My mum has asked me to research cruises for her. Even though she's not quite a teenager anymore, I think she would enjoy one with lots of activities. Carnival seems to be the obvious choice from what has been said here

[Lady pumpkin]

Thanks for all info but:
Re Carnival Cruiseline
Just been in touch with US agent credit card at the ready BUT would not book us because of the ages!
Apparently minors have to accompanied by an over 25 in each stateroom.
Our party = 2x over 40
2x19, 2x18, 2x16,
but are sons & daughters & 2 of thier partners, not all mine! Thats what comes of two divorced people with kids getting together!!!
So either 4 people in each of two cabins (that would test my sanity also I don't think we would fit the 16yr olds are over 6ft tall) or don't go - seems unfair doesn't it that a family cannot travel on the same ship in separate cabins [msncry]
All kids are adult in behaviour - we are really disappointed that they will not take us.

[ellie]

Not all cruise lines are as restrictive as this. We have heard of this before with Carnival. But we have had 2 cabins, with our children in one and us in the other, and at the time they were both under 16. In fact, on our first Caribbean cruise we had booked one cabin and, on arrival, Royal Caribbean had upgraded us to two cabins.

When booking 2 cabins they normally put one adult with one child on the booking form, but once you are on board nobody cares who sleeps where. It has not been a problem with Princess, P & O, Norwegian Cruise Lines etc.

Not quite sure how you could do this with only 2 adults, though.

As you can see, we are cruise fanatics!

As for the best time to go, well there are huge bargains to be had just after New Year, so January is a great time to go. It is also still quite hot in the Caribbean. We went at the end of February, on Caribbean Princess, and had superb weather. There are also good prices in November and the first week of December. Christmas, New Year and Easter are expensive, but even so, if you book less than 90 days before departure there are often bargains to be had. At this point, people have to pay in full, so they get cancellations which they need to fill.

We use American sites to book, as it is so much cheaper. About one third the cost of booking it in the UK. I usually put together the whole package, flights, hotel, transfers etc.

DM me if you want any more info.

[Ray&Sarah]

Ellie sounds as though you are the person to talk to about cruising. My parents are planning to go on a cruise next year, haven't decided where yet but they want a good deal, off season, as its only the two of them.[msnsmile2]