Will be in Houston over Thanksgiving in Houston and considering cruise out of Galveston while there. Have sailed on Princess, Norwegian (Europe) and Royal Caribbean but never MSC or Carnival. All have times and route we can consider but know nothing about MSC or Carnival (except for the food fights and other passenger misbehaviors that have gotten press coverage). Anyone have experienced MSC or Carnival and give me a brief recommendation or comment?

Both are a step down from the lines you have cruised.

The 4-5 day Carnival cruises can be VERY partyish. The longer ones can too, but the 4-5 days are typically "cheap". Now it may not be a bad over Thanksgiving as you are paying a premium for a holiday week.

I have people who love MSC, but I'll be honest, I struggle with it. While I was on the ship for less than 24 hours, I just wasn't a big fan. The ship is beautiful. I thought the beds were hard. Food was hit or miss. I was not a fan of the alcoholic drinks that I had. I will say, 24 hours wasn't enough to really get a full on idea, and it didn't help I was hot the entire time. We never left the dock so I don't think the AC was working as efficiently.

I have cruised Carnival and thought it was fine. It was a 7 day not long after COVID. I preferred my RCCL cruises.

Would I cruise on both? Yes. If I had my choice to do RCCL, NCL or others, would I choose them first? Yes.

Happy to assist if you aren't working with an agent.

We just got back from a 7 day on MSC Seascape with 14+ cabins in our group. Have been on RC and Princess previously. We have found all of them enjoyable and each has +/-'s. For instance, Seascape was beautiful, food was very good for the most part(they have made changes based on feedback), Butchers Cut was excellent. The two complaints from our clan were not enough public bathrooms compared to other ships, but I will say they were larger and much cleaner than my other experiences.

It was seemed crazy busy the first sea day, but we found several places by day 2 where we could sit our entire group for happy hour(s). You cant beat the price for MSC. At the end of the trip everyone said they would do another MSC cruise and hands down disembarkation was the best we have ever seen.

Feel free to reach out to me via DM if you want any more details...

We already have a Princess and 2 RC cruises set up in the next 6-7 months, but will be looking to book the Seascape again in the near future. Also, they mentioned that Galveston is scheduled to get a second ship and separate/different itinerary in the future.

edit: I will agree the ship was a bit warmer then others when in port on embarkation day...

Ive heard carnival cruises are great places to get Jiu-jitsu practice