Why do you sail Carnival and I don't think it's for the vifp benefits

Carnival has a great staff! I love the ships and their layouts. Having sailed other lines, I always go back to Carnival. Lunch on Lido, MDR and Steakhouse beats the other lines. Royal nickel and dimes you plus its like a mall. Not a fan of their layout at all. I want ocean. Johnny Rockets? I don't eat that at home. Carnival has good pricing, I only book suites and they are affordable on Carnival. HAL used to be good but totally cut out entertainment and their food has gone downhill. Carnival Staff is the best at sea!

 

 

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Carnival has a great staff! I love the ships and their layouts. Having sailed other lines, I always go back to Carnival. Lunch on Lido, MDR and Steakhouse beats the other lines. Royal nickel and dimes you plus its like a mall. Not a fan of their layout at all. I want ocean. Johnny Rockets? I don't eat that at home. Carnival has good pricing, I only book suites and they are affordable on Carnival. HAL used to be good but totally cut out entertainment and their food has gone downhill. Carnival Staff is the best at sea!

 

 

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I agree 100%. I haven't done a suite yet, but I have always thought I have gotten great service. I also love their food.

 

I do see some gripe about Carnival's layouts. On one hand the aft MDR might be a little more difficult to get to on the ships that have 2 dining rooms, but they are better at accomodating more guests for early dining. Another gripe is that Carnival has nothing to compare to RCL's Royal Promenade, but the three banks of elevators on Carnival vs. two on RCL means less walking.

 

I do wish Carnival's future ships would do something a little more to compete with the Solarium on RCL's ships on future builds. Though I liked the Thallaso Pool on Splendor - (also on Dream class), it looks to be scaled back on the Vista Class.

The last 8 day in April for 4 with tax is. 3933.00 for. 4 in an inside.

 

 

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When you add the required gratuities and vacation protection I get over $4800 for four on the inside on that one unless you're one of those sneaky gratuity removers. My point was I just did the 8 day on Vista in April in a Could 9 Spa Inside for four for $1200 less then Horizon for 2019 all things being equal. The Horizon price is outrageous for an inside, no perks, and on the so-called budget line, Carnival.

We like Carnival and Royal. In 2018 we are booked on our first Celebrity cruise and they have given us the same type of benefits we get from Royal - since they are owned by the same parent company.

 

I would like to try Princess - but I would get no benefits (from having gone on Carnival several times).

When you add the required gratuities and vacation protection I get over $4800 for four on the inside on that one unless you're one of those sneaky gratuity removers. My point was I just did the 8 day on Vista in April in a Could 9 Spa Inside for four for $1200 less then Horizon for 2019 all things being equal. The Horizon price is outrageous for an inside, no perks, and on the so-called budget line, Carnival.

 

 

 

No I prepay everything. You were not clear in your comments earlier. Some people pay the gratuities on board and purchase travel insurance that offers better coverage for a much cheaper rate than through the cruise line.

 

 

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This morning JH indicated there are meetings next week regarding the VIFP benefits.

I think it is the best value for my money the New Orleans and Mobile are within an 8 hour drive from my home.

 

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This morning JH indicated there are meetings next week regarding the VIFP benefits.

 

I hope they change VIFP for the better. We've sailed/booked five cruises this past year on other lines because of the cutbacks and lack of loyalty program benefits. My wife and I are Platinum. Royal's program is far better than Carnival and you can use Royal's program on Celebrity.

 

JH has been talking about changes for years but I don't think anything has come of it. When they fill the ships they aren't that motivated about pleasing past guests. There lack of loyalty program benefits shows that. I do hope they come out with something like Royal as that would bring me back occasionally. On my last Royal cruise so many people were loyal to Royal. When asking why all I could think of is Carnival doesn't include that...

It doesn't really fit their business model. They're the low cost fun ships, having hefty loyalty benefits means their cost will rise. Part of going on Carnival (the low cost) will be lost

 

 

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I've sailed with Carnival, Celebrity, Princess, RCL and Norwegian. Bang for the buck, I'll go with Carnival every time. And I've never had a bad experience on a Carnival ship that I couldn't look to one of my other cruises on a different line and match (misbehaving children, drunks being annoying, tender issues, minor cabin concerns). I have found my Carnival cruises to be fun, engaging, and affordable. I do my homework, choose a cabin that suits my needs (quiet, spacious, not under anything noisy), make myself aware of the layout of the ship before I embark so I know where the adult areas are, what the little tips and tricks you can find on this forum are for my ship, do some research about the ports, and go onboard with a positive attitude and a grateful heart - I'm darn lucky to be able to vacation like this! I don't worry much about loyalty programs - I don't really need any recognition or perks (although I never mind if someone wants to buy me a drink!).

 

KC

All of my cruises have been on carnival. at first just because of the price then it became more of getting to platinum status. my next cruise gets me to platinum after that ....who knows?

Also I get great casino deals we have been on 2 "free cruises" with carnival just paid taxes and port fees.

Edited June 28, 2017 by easy1969
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It doesn't really fit their business model. They're the low cost fun ships, having hefty loyalty benefits means their cost will rise. Part of going on Carnival (the low cost) will be lost

 

 

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Hefty loyalty benefits does not have to cost too much. How about a free 8x10 photo or a BOGO specialty dinner for Platinum guests? Something similar to the free drink happy hour like RCI has for their Diamond and above guests would be nice, but since I get Cheers, it would be a moot point.

 

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All of my cruises have been on carnival. at first just because of the price then it became more of getting to platinum status. my next cruise gets me to platinum after that ....who knows?

Also I get great casino deals we have been on 2 "free cruises" with carnival just paid taxes and port fees.

 

The only Platinum status perks that are nice include priority embarkation on tender ports, the roped off line at guest services and the free laundry twice per week.

 

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The only Platinum status perks that are nice include priority embarkation on tender ports, the roped off line at guest services and the free laundry twice per week.

 

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I do also love Priority embarkation, debarkation, and having my cabin ready when I get onboard. All those things cost Carnival zero dollars. Laundry I really don't care about. Maybe an internet plan discount would be nice. There are plenty of things they can/could do for an extremely minimal cost to them.

Why do I Cruise Carnival....Price wise, they are typically significantly better than other lines. Food and Entertainment are better on Carnival than other lines. There is ALWAYS something going on to entertain on a Carnival ship. I cant say the same for other lines. The staff on Carnival has always been top notch. This from the room steward to the bartenders, people at GS, the MD. I literally cannot remember a single Carnival employee that I had a less than good interaction with

We stick with Carnival for the majority of our cruises because we live 1 1/2 hours from Galveston and can cruise on the Breeze cheaply (no air fare, no hotel). Although there are other cruise lines leaving from Galveston they are the same itinerary as the Breeze on older, smaller ships and more expensive.

I cruise Carnival because I feel it gives me the best for my buck and because there are three ports within in driving distance. If I had to fly to get on a ship, I probably wouldn't cruise every summer.

 

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Price wise, they are typically significantly better than other lines. Food and Entertainment are better on Carnival than other lines.

If you're talking bare bones cruise only, I could agree with you, but once you factor in the Cheers program if you like to imbibe, then other lines that offer their drinks package as a perk constitues a better value. And I can't believe you can say that the entertainment is better on Carnival with a straight face. If you think that Playlist Productions is better than what they offer on RCI and the newer builds on NCL, then please pass me what you're smoking. And Howl at the Moon on NCL blows away Carnivals piano bar and you can make reservations as well for their adult comedy shows instead of having to waste a half hour plus waiting in line on Carnival.

You're sounding like the loyal Royals that look at things myopically.

 

 

 

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It doesn't really fit their business model. They're the low cost fun ships, having hefty loyalty benefits means their cost will rise. Part of going on Carnival (the low cost) will be lost

 

 

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I don't know if that is the complete story. Though Carnival is a more affordable line, they are much better leveraged than Royal Caribbean. Carnival's debt vs. EBITA is in the 30s while NCL and RCL are in the 50s. (http://marketrealist.com/2015/01/comparing-royal-caribbeans-leverage-versus-competitors/ )The reason for this lower debt is that Carnival has been alot more conservative with their new build investments - Those 150,000+ ton ships are capital intensive. I feel the significantly lower debt Carnival carries would make them more flexible to investment and would give them significantly lower overall costs to operate.

 

I feel Carnival's corporate culture is the reason their program is more laid back then the competition. It seems as though the goal of Carnival is to provide an equitable experience for all guests. Not have their system fall in to the trap of having the carrot being given to high tier customers become a stick for the lower. An example of how this process has played out with RCL would be the show seating for high tier guests in the theater. Even worse I have heard about high tier elevator privledges on Quantum, where guests are kicked out of elevators so the elite can use the elevator. Having been in the travel industry before I have worked in businesses where there was a much greater disparity between tiers, and I have been on the other side of the desk where I have had to be told I am not important enough to get what I needed. Even worse I have seen some highest tier benefits that are so unreasonable that they create a system wide drain on service to all other levels.

 

Reading an awesome Skift Article published yesterday (https://skift.com/2017/06/27/the-business-of-loyalty-carnival-cruise-line-wants-to-win-over-customers-earlier/), Carnival does say they are looking into their loyalty program. This confirms my thinking, as they do say they are not looking for people just needing high tier perks -" the cruise line wants to cultivate passengers who are enthusiastic about the brand, not just driven by the promise of perks." . They want to help foster a better attitude about the brand. They also want to allow for more perks early in the program.

Carnival is putting their primary marketing effort into snagging as many first time cruisers, "blue cards", as they can. Before they become educated on what not to spend on, they will buy the photos, Carnival sponsored excursions, and souvenir glasses first time on Lido deck.

 

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Carnival is putting their primary marketing effort into snagging as many first time cruisers, "blue cards", as they can. Before they become educated on what not to spend on, they will buy the photos, Carnival sponsored excursions, and souvenir glasses first time on Lido deck.

 

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Whats wrong with those souvenir glasses, the tarvis ones are nice.

Whats wrong with those souvenir glasses, the tarvis ones are nice.

The "Tervis" insulated mugs are nice, but I was talking about the regular cheap plastic drink of the day ones that the servers come around with as people come on to the Lido deck first thing on embarkation day. They are asked if they want a drink and some newbies do not realize that they have to pay for them. Everyone was a newbie on a cruise ship at one point and you generally are excited and you'll over spend on your first cruise. Because of this fact, it's a primary reason why the beards want to go after the first timers.

 

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If you're talking bare bones cruise only, I could agree with you, but once you factor in the Cheers program if you like to imbibe, then other lines that offer their drinks package as a perk constitues a better value. And I can't believe you can say that the entertainment is better on Carnival with a straight face. If you think that Playlist Productions is better than what they offer on RCI and the newer builds on NCL, then please pass me what you're smoking. And Howl at the Moon on NCL blows away Carnivals piano bar and you can make reservations as well for their adult comedy shows instead of having to waste a half hour plus waiting in line on Carnival.

You're sounding like the loyal Royals that look at things myopically.

 

 

 

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We can agree to disagree SNJ....My last NCL cruise was on the Epic about 2 years ago....The evening shows, comedy, piano bar (basically all entertainment) on Carnival was head and shoulders above anything on the Epic. Combine that with the fact that I could just walk into the Carnival venue when I wanted, sit down and enjoy the show as opposed to having to make a reservation and waiting 2-3 days. The Epic had the one of the best buffets on any cruise I have been on. That was the only thing the Epic did better than any Carnival ship I have been on

If you're talking bare bones cruise only, I could agree with you, but once you factor in the Cheers program if you like to imbibe, then other lines that offer their drinks package as a perk constitues a better value. And I can't believe you can say that the entertainment is better on Carnival with a straight face. If you think that Playlist Productions is better than what they offer on RCI and the newer builds on NCL, then please pass me what you're smoking. And Howl at the Moon on NCL blows away Carnivals piano bar and you can make reservations as well for their adult comedy shows instead of having to waste a half hour plus waiting in line on Carnival.

You're sounding like the loyal Royals that look at things myopically.

 

 

 

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While I love sailing Carnival, entertainment is not the reason why. I have to say I was thinking the same thing as you when I read First and Tens post. I haven't been on RCI but NCL, Disney, and Princess had better entertainment then Carnival. Again, not that I don't like Carnival, its just not better than the others.

While I love sailing Carnival, entertainment is not the reason why. I have to say I was thinking the same thing as you when I read First and Tens post. I haven't been on RCI but NCL, Disney, and Princess had better entertainment then Carnival. Again, not that I don't like Carnival, its just not better than the others.

 

I think it really depends on what kind of entertainment you prefer.

 

I rarely do the main shows so having a Broadway show on my cruise doesn't make the entertainment better for me. I like the variety of evening entertainment available on Carnival since I'm not going to the main theatre - on most of the other lines I've sailed on (Royal, Celebrity and Disney) if you're not going to the main show, there's not a whole lot going on in the rest of the ship - they funnel their guests into 1 or 2 main events. I like that there's 4-5 things to choose from each night on Carnival. Plus, I like the daytime activities/entertainment on Carnival more than most other lines - it's pretty constant and varied.