Carnival vs. Holland America

I used to cruise all the time on Carnival. The very short cruises, 3,4 or 5 days that they offer are basically non stop partying. Longer cruises, 7 days + are less so but still draw a younger crowd.. If you wish to party and stay up late, then Carnival is for you. If you are looking for a more relaxing experience, then HAL is best. HAL ships have fewer amenities like rock climbing walls or water slides than the Carnival ships have. The two cruise lines although both under the Carnival umbrella are very different. Evening dress codes are more relaxed on both cruises but more so on Carnival. I think that the quality of food and service is higher on HAL but I always enjoyed the food on Carnival, too. Please write a review and tell us how your cruise went..

Haven't been on HAL for a while.

Holland is announcing starting January 2017 they are now including the balonies in their no smoking policy.

The secret to that is to not get hung up on the loyalty programs. Find a line (or 2) that you like before you go after the super elite platinum diamond plus level.

I would like to try them all eventually & see which one I like the best. Right now, I think RCI & Carnival might be my best bet. Or Princess.

Each cruise line is good for some things and not great in all things. I'm happy on most lines other then NCL. Carnival is budget friendly, great staff, good service and good food over all. Carnival is more high energy, more fun and less formal then other lines. HAL was find but it was an old persons ship...... maybe in another 20 years I'll like HAL more. For fun you can not beat Carnival.

I can enjoy myself on Carnival, RCI, Celebrity, HAL and Princes. Each line is different and you just need to find the one that fits this stage in your life.

The biggest mistake I made was switching from Carnival to Princess for one cruise. I really am not much of a fan of Carnival any more.

I have cruised both lines , the food is better on HAL and they have a Happy Hour , Carnival has 24 hour Pizza

I agree that most people that book with Carnival are budget conscious people. I am a firm believer in that if you want a good steak, you pay a higher premium, if you want an average steak, you pay a lower.

Having said that, some people are fine with a Striploin instead of a filet mignon. It is all about perspective.

Not to mention that if they went on one line first, they will always be critical because, this one I didn't have to pay for this, or they don't have that. A lot of people see the negative and not the positive.

People who have cruised with Carnival, then try another line, like NCL or RCCL, will almost always find fault, and go back to Carnival. They become overly critical of food and the extra costs. Once you open yourself up to trying several lines, you might go back to Carnival, but then again, you might not. I've said before, the number one reason people give for sticking with Carnival, is their low price. The number two reason ; the higher costs of other lines.