Went on the 3/4 day Carnival to Cozumel a few years ago - we got lucky and took the trip before the Canadians decided to make cruise ships the new Thunderdome.

No real complaints. It was our first (and so far only) cruise, so we didn't know what to expect. Just me and the wife, no kids. I would recommend going with friends because there is only so much you can do on a cruise ship and having some friends would have made the trip better IMO.

The food wasn't bad. It wasn't Michelin star quality, but it definitely wasn't bad. I didn't hit the buffet much, so maybe that's where many get their dislike of the food. This boat, whichever it was, had a damn good pizza joint, burger joint and a Freebird's wannabe that punched well above it's weight category. Wasn't quite Freebirds of the late 90's, but definitely better than the current Freebirds. Drinks were meh, but pretty much on par with what I expected.

I will add this too - there was a lot of skin on that boat. Like a lot of square feet of skin on that boat. I wasn't in world class shape, but I looked like a Greek God compared to probably 98% of the clientele on that boat. I felt pretty damn good about myself.

We didn't go in any of the pools, I'll let you make your guesses as to why. Spent a lot of time on the upper deck people watching though, because there were a few things you just couldn't look away from (much like a train wreck).

Excursions were fun, but not sure if I'd do any of them again if we were to ever go on another, which isn't likely anyway. Comedy shows were a lot of fun, wife played bingo, casino sucked. Overall I was glad it was only a short trip because not sure what I'd have done with myself if it had been one of those 7 or 10 or 14 day cruises.

Buddy of mine went on one of the Alaskan cruises, and I would definitely go on that one with friends based on what he talked about and the pictures from their excursions. Their boat had an entire dedicated adults only section so you could go and not have kids running around, and the clientele wasn't nearly as Canadian as what we saw on the Carnival boat.

schmellba99 said:

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Went on the 3/4 day Carnival to Cozumel a few years ago

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You can take a cruise to Cozumel in just 18 hours!?!?

=)

It depends when and where you're going. We've done a bunch of cruises on different cruise lines, including Carnival. As others have said, if you're going to Europe or Asia (travel cost prohibitive places), that clears out the riff-raff. Most cruise lines have been or are currently updating their ships. We spend most of our time off the ship, so not too concerned about ship amenities. If you're looking at the Caribbean, I'd look for longer duration cruises - most of the trouble makers can't afford to be away that long. I'd also stay away from the lesser-known lines - that's rolling the dice!

Gunny456 said:

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I asked my wife if she wanted to go on a cruise for our 50th anniversary. She said yes. On our boat at Lake of the Ozarks.
I said: " Sounds good to me."

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Sounds like you hit the jackpot in the wife lottery!

We take Carnival and spring for the suites. Once you do that you get spoiled. Carnival Jubilee is a new ship they built specifically for Galveston. Mostly 7 day cruises I think. Get an Excel aft suite. Huge balcony with lounge chairs and a picnic table, even a jacuzzi. Suite people have access to Loft 19, a private deck very few people use in our experience. It's like you're on another boat almost, far from the crowds.

Don't you say that about my beloved wal-mart!

It's the spirit airlines of the golden corral sea.

If "Poop Cruise" is still on Netflix, watch it. You will certainly not want to go on a cruise after that.

El Chupacabra said:

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Going on one next week…carnival out of Long Beach. I'll report back. First time…we shall see…wife wants to try it out so off we'll go.

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We had a good time. Will do it a bit different next time, but there will be a next time.

No fights, no ghetto parties, no sicknesses. Kinda sad about the fights part.

Carnival "metro bus of the seas"

I got invited to several vacations by friends who own 2Br 2Ba apartment on The World. https://aboardtheworld.com/


I don't think I can take a normal cruise again.

Hey, I just looked - they have a 2Br 2Ba for sale. They're "Accepting offers above USD$10,200,000." I can't remember the cost, but that's not even the bad part - you have to pay annual fees for fuel/food/etc...


I had a work colleague fly me on his King Air from West Atlanta to St. Louis one day. Ruined air travel for me too.

I went on a Carnival cruise with a bunch of kids from high schools around Atlanta after H.S. That was fun. We didn't care about the riff raff on the cruise because we were the riff raff. Met a hottie from Sao Paolo, Brazil and we hit it off.

I wouldn't go on a Carnival cruise now if you paid me.

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/drunk-couple-cruise-ship-arrested-b3035109.html

Did Royal Caribbean with no complaints over Thanksgiving. Lots of people on a HUGE ship, but you wouldn't know it.

https://cruiseaddicts.com/carnival-valor-mississippi-river-turn/

boulderaggie said:

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It depends when and where you're going. We've done a bunch of cruises on different cruise lines, including Carnival. As others have said, if you're going to Europe or Asia (travel cost prohibitive places), that clears out the riff-raff. Most cruise lines have been or are currently updating their ships. We spend most of our time off the ship, so not too concerned about ship amenities. If you're looking at the Caribbean, I'd look for longer duration cruises - most of the trouble makers can't afford to be away that long. I'd also stay away from the lesser-known lines - that's rolling the dice!

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It clears out the US riff-raff, but not the European ones.

My mother is older and not in great shape so she likes cruises. A few years back she wanted to go on a Baltic one and I went with her.

I didn't know most of the world hate's the Spanish. Some let their kids run around screaming and yelling with zero discipline. I remember being on elevators when other nationalities were complaining about the Spanish.

I didn't know that was a thing.

Re: kids. The best time to take a cruise is when they're in school. It can be difficult with places having different school year calendars but you can use it to minimize your exposure.

I love cruises. They put all the people I Don't want to ge around me, together, on a boat, in the middle of the ocean.

Whatever elitist came up with the idea so LOL poorz think that they are on a yacht while profiting and gyaranteeing they won't bother anyone is a ****ing GENIUS.