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Ahh, to book or not to book?

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The back-to-back that we did November 2007 was Carnival Miracle. The same ship, same itinerary for November 2010 is being offered at $100/person a week less than what I paid back then. (This would be 16 days)

Celebrity Equinox has a 10 day for $1498. Celebrity Constellation has a 14 day for $1999.

All three go to places in the Caribbean that we want to go to and have the sea days that we have come to love.

So, do I forgo the obvious pluses of Celebrity for the cost of Carnival??? Just looking for your take on this. Thanks

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Debbie I can only speak for RCI ships but in my experience the chefs stay a long time with their ships. There are usually 2 Executive chefs per ship and they rotate. Most times they don't move unless they are offered a new ship. Sometimes they move because someone with seniority wants that particular route. I can only assume most lines run this way.

Remember food is always subjective!

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I agree about the subjective remark.

My biggest complaint on the Miracle last time was hot food was not hot and cold food was not cold. The meals were okay, nothing fabulous. We were very surprised that both itineraries had repeat menus. When we've done Eastern/Western in the past (same ship), we had different menus. I guess the true meaning of "rotating menu" holds on this particular ship.

I had a feeling that chefs, etc. didn't switch ships like other ship personnel do. But I had to ask.

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The back-to-back that we did November 2007 was Carnival Miracle. The same ship, same itinerary for November 2010 is being offered at $100/person a week less than what I paid back then. (This would be 16 days)

Celebrity Equinox has a 10 day for $1498. Celebrity Constellation has a 14 day for $1999.

All three go to places in the Caribbean that we want to go to and have the sea days that we have come to love.

So, do I forgo the obvious pluses of Celebrity for the cost of Carnival??? Just looking for your take on this. Thanks

Hmmmm. Tough choice. For me I would consider the stimulation of being on a new ship like the Equinox and also of just being on a different line for variety, new looks and so on. I sort of don't want to go on Princess for a while as I'm sort of getting used to their ships, decor and so on. Thats why we decide on Carnival for NE/Canada in the fall vs. Princess. We have been on Carnival only once and its been a while too so hopefully things will be new to us.

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Debbie, you didn't say how much the Carnival B2B was in comparison to the others. 16 days is awesome, but then you have to enjoy the food. We did the Carnival Legend last April and did not like the food at all, except for the sandwich bar on the buffet area... and get this - NEITHER of us are sandwich people. We thought that the food on Princess, Celebrity and RCI was MUCH better overall. But here again, it sure does depend on the Executive Chef on board... and yes, he stays!! Again it is very subjective, I love sushi and Carnival only had a tiny sushi bar in the Casino area, not good at all. I also love pizza (when I am not on WW :biggrin: ) and Princess wins hands down in that area. Otherwise all the lines offer the same in the dining rooms, pretty much - lobster night, shrimp cocktails, Escargot, Beef Wellington, Rack of Lamb, souffles and chilled soups - Princess does have the edge on their pasta dishes as they have the most authentic Italian cooking. In the buffet area we found the biggest differences. We loved the breakfasts on Princess, they even have Eggs Benedict on the buffet, but lunch salad bars I think the biggest winner is RCI - HAL has a wonderful diversity of different countries cooking. For us nothing in particular stood out with Carnivals food, not that anything was bad - it was just average, but there again - you get what you pay for! We did have an outstanding meal at their specialty dining restaurant... but that's par for the course - after all you are paying extra for that.

Cabin wise - Carnival boasts the largest cabins, although this past cruise on RCI our TA book us in a handicap cabin - it was bigger than anything on any ship other than a RCI mini-suite. Princess mini suites (and we've had a few) are much smaller than RCI's. Decisions... decisions... decisions. At the end of the day we would weigh the cost plus the itinerary that we are interested in doing, choose the ship that fits that bill and GO FOR IT!

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I agree with the comment about Carnival's food not always being spectacular! And food is an important consideration.

And, I agree that it never hurts to try something new.

I guess I was getting hung up on the fact that we could be gone for 16 days cheaper than a 10 or 14 day.

One of the options is the Constellation. I'll be looking for lots of pros and cons (on your November sailing) and that will also help me decide.

It is kinda early and not all of the ships have posted November 2010. So I will still continue looking and seeking feedback.

Again, thanks for your input. Got me thinking and re-thinking.

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