I cruised with them in 2008. Honestly, I was unimpressed. The ship was older and it was very crowded, in addition there wasnt much to do on the ship other than the casino.
If I were to cruise again, I would choose another line for sure.

I'm a little bias as I worked on Carnival. I would highly recommend them. It really depends on the ship and cruise you take with them as to your experience. Yes, like MrsFillier said, there are some ships that the only thing to really do is the casino. But, most ships are a lot bigger now and have been renovated to give the guest a better cruising experience.

Carnival is very family orientated, so as a honeymoon, I don't think it would be my first choice. Although, if you go on off season, it might be better. I don't recommend going in summer months, unless you like kids. There can easily be 500-800 kids on a ship during the summer months every week, as well as any holiday- Xmas break, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween.

We did a cruise for our honeymoon too, left from Miami. It was AWESOME, our best trip yet! But we were with Royal Caribbean as we wanted a higher-end/better service/better food experience.

We'll be cruising with Carnival in a month. Although we'll be departing from New Orleans. I'll let you know how it goes. It's going to be our first cruise.

I haven't cruised Carnival, but have cruised one of the 'upscale' sister lines... we love cruising, but as travelbug said, Carnival is probably not the best choice for 'romance'.

Also sailing out of Miami that might be more 'romantic'... Crystal, Celebrity, Costa, Oceania... there are more, but those would be my top 4 to consider, personally. Crystal & Oceania are generally smaller ships... so you'd feel more motion and there would be less to do on board (although most cruise lines offer a wide range of programs for passengers... karaoke, kitchen tours, cooking classes, wine tastings, etc. plus pool-side games and the ever-present bingo )... Celebrity is very 'posh'... dress codes are taken more seriously... the clientle tends to be on the older end of the spectrum, but generally very few kids/young families... Costa is a sister line to Carnival, but again, tends to be smaller ships.

All that said... not all those lines will necessarily be cruising out of Miami when you want to go (for example, Crystal "winters" in Miami... so they only sail from there in December & January)... a number of the smaller ships avoid the Caribbean in the June-November hurricane season.

Also consider that a number of the lines that cruise out of Port Everglades offer 'transfers' from Miami International Airport, too, though... which opens up more options, too.

I strongly recommend, if you're thinking of a cruise, that you check out the forums on cruisecritic.com ... there's a wealth of info there on different lines, different ships, ports of call, excursions... it's amazing!

Heh... sadly when it comes to "a family cruise", school seems to mean remarkably little. There were families with children (age 0-12) on our Alaskan cruise in late May, and on our New England/Canada cruise in October, and our Caribbean cruise in September (although admittedly fewer on that one)... a lot of parents don't see any problem with taking their kids out of grade school (or middle school) for a week, it seems. Plus with different school years around the globe and year-round schooling gaining ground in North America (which has breaks at 'strange' times throughout the year)... if the line caters to families, then there's a good chance that's what you're going to find.

But... an adult only area can be nice... just look into how strictly enforced it is, how much more it costs, etc (cruise critic will definitely have that info)... and remember that dinner won't be a kid-free experience.

In regards to dinner... since it's your honeymoon, I'd recommend either booking a set dining time (if the line offers it), or talking to the maitre d' on your first day and making reservations for the week... it'll ensure less waiting time and generally up the chances of you having the same servers for the whole cruise (which just increases the "I feel so pampered" feeling... 'cuz they get paid to be personable, and if they see you every evening, they'll learn your drink orders, whether you want extra bread or no bread, etc. It's pretty awesome )... also consider dining in any of the surcharge specialty restaurants (reservations required... and they tend to book up on the first or second day for the duration of the cruise), and most lines offer a 'balcony dining' package, too, I believe.

Since you're looking at cruising on a ship that just entered service 2 weeks ago, I'd definitely recommend checking out the main site for cruise critic... they're likely to have been flooded with reviews for the ship in the last couple of weeks, and that'll be really informative (newer ships tend to have newer crews and unexpected issues... the reviews will generally give you an indication how they deal with those issues, which I think says a lot about how you'll be treated a few months from now)

ok.. forget that "how you'll be treated in a few months"... I thought you were talking about October this year, but you're talking 2013, aren't you? ('cuz it looks like the Breeze is still in the Med in October this year)

Still... how they handle the inevitable hiccups of the first month or so of service (when they're still learning the foibles of the ship herself) says a lot about the standard of service going forward, I think.

I'll also say this... splurge for a balcony. Last time we did Carib., we got a balcony and we were out there all the time... so pretty to watch sunsets in the warm air with the cooling breeze of the moving ship... fun to watch all the "sail away" moments without being in the insanity of the main decks, too (although it's fun to do at least one sail away up there to get the whole party feel, too )

*laugh* Have I mentioned we love cruising? I'm sure Ms_Roc will chime in if she sees this thread, too... she's another big cruising fan

Great Info FF! We are leaning towards a Celebrity Mediterranean cruise for our honeymoon and we will be first time cruisers. We have decided to splurge on a balcony as well. FH is trying to negotiate the 2.5 weeks off work for the honeymoon so once he gets that approved we will book!

I decided to go with celebrity because it is our honeymoon and I want to feel a bit pampered ;-) Regarding adult only cruising, I went to a princess cruise information session a couple weeks ago and they seemed to say they limit the kids aboard, but I am not sure how true that was or if they were trying to please the audience.

We (finally) splurged on a balcony on our last cruise and would never go back!

Well I'm back from my Carnival cruise. We did the Western Caribbean. I wasn't all that impressed with the entertainment or food. Service was excellent. Definitely get a balcony.

My MIL, who has been on a bazillion cruises, agreed with me about the above. She usually goes on Princess, although she's been on most others too.

I found that reading cruise critic before going helped immensly!

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