On Aug 30, 12:07 am, Jay wrote:
> On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 23:11:06 -0400, Sue and Kevin Mullen
>
>
>
> wrote:
>
> >Jay wrote:
> >> On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 22:43:06 -0400, Sue and Kevin Mullen
> >> wrote:
>
> >>> Jay wrote:
> >>>> We are planning to cruise the Mexican Riviera in July 2008. We have
> >>>> three options: Carnival, Royal Caribbean, or Disney. We've eliminated
> >>>> Disney because of the price. We are leaning toward RCI, but I wanted
> >>>> to hear from experienced cruisers, as we have never been on a cruise.
> >>>> There will be two families: four adults, four teenage girls, and one
> >>>> young boy.
> >>> Which ships are you considering?
>
> >>> sue
>
> >> Vision of the Seas (RCI) or Carnival Pride.
>
> >Looks like they both leave from LA and go to the same ports, so that
> >can't be a deciding factor.lol
>
> >I haven't been on either ship, so I will leave the rest for someone else.
>
> >sue
>
> Yes, they are almost identical cruises. I get the impression that
> Carnival is more of a "party" ship, which isn't quite what we are
> looking for.
This has recently been discussed in another thread. I've been on two
Carnival cruises, and they've both been pretty sedate - not at all
what I'd call a party atmosphere. Most recently, on the Miracle, I'd
leave the casino late...midnight or later, walk by the disco on the
way to my cabin, and it would be dead - I mean, no one there. The pool
area, where the band plays during the day can be kind of loud, but you
can simply move to one of the other deck areas for a more quiet
environment. Each night, the dining room staff does a song/dance
thing, which is pretty cheesy. Some passengers participate, but a lot
of us just sit, grin & bear it.
Carnival definitely has that party reputation, but I've found at least
equal, if not more of a party atmosphere on Royal Caribbean, and even
Holland America. You never know what you're gonna get, from week to
week.
>However, Carnival is a bit cheaper, so I don't want to
> rule it out completely. Carnival also has self-serve laundromats,
> which may seem like a weird plus, but when you are travelling with
> four teenage girls, the ability to do our own laundry during the
> cruise is surprisingly important. On the other hand, RCI has a rock
> climbing wall.
Everyone's cruise needs are different. Self serve laundry would be a
non-issue for me, because I refuse waste precious vacation time doing
laundry. I tend to over pack - always have enough clean clothes to
last the duration of the trip. To me, it's worth it to pay through the
nose to have someone else wash my clothes...if I need something
washed. Once, I took advantage of HAL's flat rate for washing
everything you could squeeze into their laundry bag - I think it was
$11.
How important is that rock climbing wall? Will it be utilized? How
often do the kids visit the local rock gym? Are they even interested
in it? Is spending an hour or two on the wall over the course of a
week that will be packed with tons of other things to do really that
key to having a good time? Is it a deal breaker? Does your MexRiv
cruise visit Puerto Vallarta? If so, even more thrilling than climbing
a rock wall would be a canopy tour - I highly recommend booking with
this company - http://www.canopytours-vallarta.com/. We had a GREAT
time with them.
> Thank goodness I only have two choices!
And, neither would be a bad choice - your group will have a wonderful
time, whichever way you choose.
Lee
>
> Jay
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