PattyDaddy Posted July 21, 2023 Report Share Posted July 21, 2023 Good Afternoon Readers, I’m currently having some internal strife about the Carnival Mardi Graw cruise I have booked in October 2024. It is an eastern Caribbean cruise. We booked an excel aft suite for the week. The only other cruise we have been on was RC on Indpendence of the Seas. For the cruise it will be my wife and I along with our one year old. I’d been interested in sailing again with RC as our experience was great last time but the suite prices are almost double. Our budget is around 7k. Should I stick with our booking or switch it over to RC? Along help would be appreciated. Also any tips of cruise with a one year old would be great too! Thanks for reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted July 21, 2023 Report Share Posted July 21, 2023 The most important thing is to check the policy. In most cases regardless of how far out you booked, you can't cancel without incurring fees, suites are especially privy to this. Mardi Gras is carnivals newest ship. Without knowing when you are going and what port you prefer to sail from i can't give you concrete answers. But I can say you would be able to do suites in your price range on Voyager and Freedom class, you experience what those classes entailed on Independence. If your budget is 7k look into some of the older Oasis class ships, like Allure, Harmony and Oasis. I have seen suites with amenities at around $3k pp. So it would be under your budget it that budget was only for cruise fare. ChessE4 and Neesa 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattyDaddy Posted July 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2023 Thanks for the info. We’d be looking to book around the same time ( October 2024). Our preferred ports would be Port Canaveral, Tampa or Ft. Lauderdale. We prefer an eastern Caribbean itinerary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted July 21, 2023 Report Share Posted July 21, 2023 You should have no problem finding an Eastern Caribbean cruise from those ports. On this blog there is a pastor who made a website listing ships and options, you can look over that and decide on the ship and then go to the website and plan accordingly. The use of a TA, MEI, would be beneficial as they would do all the work and present you with the best options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted July 21, 2023 Report Share Posted July 21, 2023 1 hour ago, PattyDaddy said: Thanks for the info. We’d be looking to book around the same time ( October 2024). Our preferred ports would be Port Canaveral, Tampa or Ft. Lauderdale. We prefer an eastern Caribbean itinerary. Freedom of the Seas out of Ft. Lauderdale is probably the best bet for you during that timeframe if you want the Eastern Caribbean. I just priced the Oct 13, 2024 sailing for 2 adults and a kid and it's under $5K for a 1 bedroom grand suite for 7 nights Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day. Wonder is doing the 7 nights out of Port Canaveral and she's the newest ship in the fleet currently, so there's the new ship pricing in effect. Adventure is doing 6 and 8 night sailings out of Port Canaveral so that's another option, though the 8 night is Southern Caribbean and the 6 night Eastern Caribbean is Dominican Republic and Labadee & CocoCay while Freedom is San Juan, St. Thomas and CocoCay. Ampurp85 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetPea Posted July 22, 2023 Report Share Posted July 22, 2023 I have no real advice to offer since I've never sailed Carnival. However, should you keep your Carnival cruise, i have a family member who works in their upgrade department. I call her an upgrade fairy. Carnival hasn't outsourced their upgrades to a bidding program (at least yet) and you may get a call, offering you to upgrade to a bigger suite for a nominal fee, depending on how their suites are selling for your sailing. So keep track of inventory, and make sure they have a valid phone number for you should you keep that reservation. And by all means, answer that call! I had a friend who went from a low inside cabin to a suite for $500 over a holiday week on Carnival. ChessE4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattyDaddy Posted July 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2023 Thanks for the advice! I think we’re going to switch to a 4 day eastern Caribbean cruise on Utopia of the Seas in October. Looking forward to being on a brand new ship and I think the 4 day would work better with a small child. SweetPea and PPPJJ-GCVAB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xaa Posted July 22, 2023 Report Share Posted July 22, 2023 Whatever you do, I know you'll enjoy it. I'm +1 for sticking with what you have. Mardi Gras is a good ship by most accounts and I think you'll have a ton of fun on her. Hope to see you out there one day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveling Mike Posted July 22, 2023 Report Share Posted July 22, 2023 I have done over 30 cruises on 7 different cruise lines. I do not regret any of them. I have decided in the last couple of years to cruise Celebrity and RCL on most of my cruises. I do not think you can go wrong with RCL cruises. If your cruise is non-refundable, I would cruise with Carnival and enjoy yourself. If it is refundable, I would switch to RCL and go on one of the bigger ships. Try the different size of ships to see what kind of cruising you like. I went on the Symphany of the Seas thinking I would not like being on a ship the size of a city with 7,000 people and I ended up loving it. I love small ships for my Trans-Atlantic cruises and large ships for my shorter cruises. The other think I would recommend is look at your budget. Everyone is different and to some $7,000 is nothing and to some $7,000 is a lot of money. Do not be afraid to book a regular balcony of you are in the second group. I would not go with an Inside or Ocean view with a child that takes naps. This allows you to enjoy the balcony while you child is sleeping. One last note: When your kids get older look at the Disney Cruise Line. I used to cruise them a lot before they priced me out of their market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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