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Carnival Cruise Line... HELP!!!?

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I'm looking into taking a cruise and the one I always hear about is Carnival. I was looking on their website to see what the ship ("holiday") looked like. (dining, pools, rooms, etc.) I noticed the room they give you an example of only has twin beds or bunk beds and in the description area it mentioned something about pushing the twin beds together to make a king.. are all of their rooms like this?? Do they really not have just a normal full/queen size bed in their rooms?? Also they looked very small. The example of the suite they had looked like an average size room, the others looked very small and enclosed. I've never been on a cruise ship before so any details would help! Also, its the Western Carribbean. Anyone ever been on it?? Any advise?

Travel Tips

My 1st and ONLY cruise experience was 2 yrs ago on the Facination, Carnival Cruise line. The experience was NOT so good but the ship was gorgeous. The ppl on the ship were NOT. Before booking your cruise make sure you ask if there is a majority group booked for that particular cruise. Dont go if there is. Ours was an Indian Family Reunion. Out of 2650 ppl only 60 guest were NOT involved in that reunion. So the ship did NOT have much for us 60 ppl to do like they normally do. Our room was extremely small but I loved it. I am chlostaphobic & when I saw the room I freaked...then I calmed down and told myself "your only sleeping & showering there". It ended up being the BEST sleep I've ever gotten! I was on a 3 night 4 day cruise. For your first experience I'd recommend no less than 3 nights. I went to the Bahama's. Loved it. FYI, it's FREEZING inside the ship, but HOT on the decks. So pack some warm clothes for nights inside the ship. Good luck!

Others
depends on how much you want to spend on a room. most rooms on all cruise ships are small about10x10 and the baths are tiny. yes, the beds go together to make a a large full or a queen. couzemel sucks since a hurricane hit them last year. grand caymen is your best bet. e-mail me at letshavefun_p@yahoo.com. I've been on about 7 cruises on 3 different cruise lines. If you like to party go Carnival. If you like a laid back cruise , go Royal Carribean, Celebrity or Norwegian...
world traveler
The Holiday is a really small ship. It's one of their first, if I'm not mistaken, so it's older and doesn't have much of the amenities that the newer ships have.

The beds on most Carnival ships are doubles/twins -- if you want a queen-size, they just shove two beds together.
Unless you get a suite on one of the newer ships, that's pretty much what you've got.

All the rooms are undersized. Space is at a premium on a cruise ship, but they do make it seem like you have more room than the brochure lists. Still, a standard room on a cruise ship isn't all that big.

However, having said all that, I do have to say my standard cruise-line remark: If you're spending a lot of time in your room on a cruise ship, you're either doing something spectacularly wrong, or something spectacularly right (I'm talking honeymoon, etc -- not family outing). There's more than enough to do on the ship that the only time you should be in your room is for changing clothes, sleeping, and extra-curricular activities.

I've been on 7 cruises so far, and 5 of them were Western Caribbean. All the Western Caribbean cruises go thru Cozumel -- it's fun, and there's everything to do from partying to beach excursions. I'd recommend Passion Island if you're on a romantic getaway, or the Chakkanab (spelling?) excursion or the beach excursion for a family.

Costa Maya/Calica/Progresso is a good place to visit the ruins, but when we went thru there the port had JUST opened, so none of the dockside activities were up and running.

Personally, I'd recommend a bigger ship (you'll feel less of the boat's movement), and a more varied itinerary, but I'm jaded. Grand Cayman seriously rocks (that's where "Stingray City" is -- a must do), Jamaica is ok if you can beat back the panhandlers and the pimps/prostitutes/drug dealers.
Carnival Celebration, Ectasy, Elation, Conquest, Jubilee....RCCL Monarch of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas.
Yes I went to the Western Carribean with Carnival Cruiselines last May. The name of the ship was different though. I was on the Valor. My best advice is to call them. The number is 1-888-Carnival. The customer service agent is very very friendly and very helpful. I gave them specific information and they did as I asked. I had a small room with 2 beds. An inside cabin. It was quite dark but for me it was good as I have a problem sleeping. The room was small but considering how little time we spent in there it was fine. One thing is to eat in the restaurant instead of the buffet. The restaurant has gourmet food and its outstanding and you can have double portions or try everything on prix fixe menu. The found was to die for. I would say pick a later dining hr. I chose 6:30pm so after we got back to the ship from our day on the island we could relax and shower before going to dinner. They will help you book different tours when you get to your days destination. They tend to be a bit pricey but this was my first "big" vacation so we splurged a bit. We went to the the Grand Cayman, then Roartan, Honduras, Belize City, Belize and finally to Costa Maya, Mexico. We had a good time but it's alot to see in the hrs you are in port. I loved Grand Cayman the best I think. Dinner is a bit dressy but not bad. The only night you have to be really dressed up is the Captains Ball. Then everyone looks like they are meeting the Queen of England. Bring comfy shoes cos girl you are going to walk your feet off! I hope this helps. If you wish to contact me leave me a message on here with a way to reach you and I'll get back to you with any assistance I can give you.
I went on the Carnival Celebration for Christmas and it was nice. It's the sister of the Holiday. It was an older ship, but had been renovated in 2003. We had a great time! You'll love cruising. If you're younger (18-35) then you'll want to spend lots of time in the disco, poolside, and at the casino. You can literately eat your way through the ship! Food is served 24 hrs a day!

Don't worry about your room! All the rooms look small online, but when you get there, they seem much bigger! I would suggest booking at least an Oceanview, because you get a window. It can get claustrophobic in those Inside Staterooms!
HAVE FUN!!!