DerekLF

7 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

We can also enjoy ourselves at any price point BUT I don’t expect to pay the same price for McDs as I would for a fancy restaurant. And that’s what I’m seeing. For our last cruise on Radiance, the WJ food was not even as good as McDs and we paid a lot for that cruise, don’t ask me how much, because it was way too much. The MDR was good….the WJ was terrible, But the soft serve chocolate ice cream was delicious. 🤤 

I think that is an interesting part to this equation.  Someone who paid $5000 a couple in a suite with a concierge is eating the exact same food as someone who booked an interior for $900 a couple. 

The person in the interior thinks “I couldn’t have stayed in a motel 6 and ate at McDonald’s for a week this cheap” and the person in the suite thinks “this isn’t the 5 star experience I paid for”. 

I always try to get an early time not to be on the ship first, but because because I’m a worry-wort and it gives me more wiggle room if there is traffic, a flat tire or something on the way to the port. 

Even if I’m just sitting in the terminal waiting to board, the stress is over and vacation starts. 

We were on Elation in January 2022 and there were no half price signs at the red frog bar by the pool. I think maybe the half price only happens on ships with the full red frog pub. 
Sunshine way back in 2020 had it not only on the first day but also on atleast one of the port days. 

13 minutes ago, LatinaInTexas said:

I haven't been on a small ship but all the cruise directors I have had including Christian have been active, all over the place, so much energy and fun. On RC and MSC I basically only saw the cruise director announcing the production shows each night.

The vibe the cruise directors on Carnival provide was what made me love cruising with Carnival.

Thanks, that gives me hope that Freedom will have an entertaining CD. So far I’ve had 3 that sound like your RC/MSC experience and just Christian that was more involved. But again, those 3 were on smaller, older ships. 

Hi all,

Does Carnival have different roles for cruise directors on big ships vs small ships or are the extra activities some cruise directors do just their personality. 
 

I’ve been on 4 carnival cruises and just booked a 5th. On the smaller ships (Elation, Paradise) the cruise director was rarely seen, and only made announcements for sales opportunities or safety announcements.  I couldn’t even tell you their names except for Pauly. 
 

My one time on a bigger ship (Sunshine) CD Christian De La Rosa was everywhere, hosting atrium dance parties (dancing on the bar himself) after the evening shows, extra pool events/dances and even had things like glow sticks or party favors being tossed out during those events to get everyone involved.

It added a lot of extra entertainment that was missing from the smaller ships.

Do you notice the bigger ships having more things like that or is it just Christian’s personality to do that kind of extras?

Booked on the Freedom for mid January and there isn’t a CD assigned yet, but hoping for someone more like Christian. 
I was tempted to book Liberty instead of Freedom since that is where he is heading, but wanted a longer itinerary.