Itried4498

I doubt this will make a dent into minimizing food waste. Most guests choose room service over the buffet – which is a colossal source of food waste – and the MDR, in which its increasingly common for parties to order multiple appetizers, entrees & desserts, yielding plenty of discarded leftovers. If Carnival was truly concerned about food waste, they’d reimagine the buffet to the Pig & Anchor concept – all-you-can-eat, but instead of serving yourself, the food is served to you on smaller plates. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s a strong determent to those who pile multiple plates high, and just pick at it. Of course, that adds labor, which is most likely the opposite of what Carnival’s true intentions are 😊. And yes, it’s “easy” to grab food at the buffet, etc., but it’s “easy” to grocery shop and stop at your local Chili’s or pizzeria, yet delivery services are exploding in popularity. Grabbing grub from the buffet, bringing it back to your stateroom, preparing your stateroom to eat, etc. is a huge hassle and takes a lot of time – and by the time you eat, your food is at best lukewarm. I’m on vacation – I’d rather get back from the pool/beach/etc., place an order for room service, take a shower and get dressed for the evening, and have my dinner ready for me – at a more proper temperature and with proper service items.

I agree with that - the industry is struggling to raise prices, so Carnival retorted to cutbacks. But let's not pretend its due to "staff shortages," which is the narrative of the fanboy/girls in this thread.

No, it's not rocket science. The late night buffet options were always prepared in advance, during cooks' downtime, and reheated during the late hours. Dishes are cleaned throughout the overnight - most of it is automated. Even with the deli closing early and the late night buffet discontinued, there's multiple busboys walking around the Lido deck, usually congregating because there's not much to do. This is a pure cost cut. You're trying to justify it by noting the food waste, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a cost cut. There are many times we have skipped dinner and enjoyed a late night snack, and I'm sure others have too.

The MG is better because its duel show rooms enable it to perform two shows at once? Yet it maintains virtually the same entertainment program as the Panorama so presumably if it’s performing two shows at the same time, they will repeat at some point. Which is largely a derivative of its sheer capacity. A Fantasy ship, for example, lacks the capacity to do so. I’m sure the MG is an awesome ship, but it’s 90% the same experience that I enjoyed on the Holiday as a kid on my first Carnival cruise in the mid-90s, or as a small kid on my very first every cruise on the Seaescape in the mid-80s. Roller coasters, laser tag, zip lining, etc. are great perks but mean nothing if you don’t utilize them. Many of us cruise to cruise.

That's incorrect. Soulbound, Celestial Strings and Vintage Pop debuted upon the Horizon's inaugural cruise in 2018. Broadway Beats and Rock Revolution debuted upon the Panorama's inaugural cruise in 2019. Vintage Moon debuted upon the Mardi Gras' inaugural cruise in 2021. So, three of MG's four shows debuted on the Vista Class. It has nothing to do with the age of the ship, but rather Carnival's lack of desire to update the audio/ visual systems within its theaters. For example. the new ice skating show (iSkate, Reach For The Stars) on RCL's 22-year-old Navigator of the Seas blows away any production show on Carnival. Obviously this show would not have been possible had it not been for an extensive renovation of the theater.

I'm jealous of the sweet offers :). Last month, the Upgrade Fairy offered us an upgrade from an obstructed to full ocean for $250 per cabin (5-night cruise). Mind you, I could've booked the full ocean for less than that to begin with. Maybe the offers get sweeter as departure nears, but this cruise is sold out.

The Panorama has the same entertainment program as the Mardi Gras, and the Radiance features two of the four shows. The Panorama was delivered in 2019, the Mardi Gras in 2020, and the Radiance received a total refurbishment in 2020 that included an overhauled theater. The Radiance is a weekend cruise ship, so it's not surprising it'd forgo the more advanced (prop heavy) productions. Given that the production shows rely heavily on the latest graphics/ sound/ lighting, and less on props & set design, I think one can reasonably conclude that the newer variety shows are on the ships with the most modern audio / visual systems. My bet is that the Celebration will retain two existing productions (my guess: Broadway Beats and Celestial Strings) and introduce two new productions. It'll be interesting to see what's presented on the three Costa ships.

That's a poor comparison. Las Vegas residencies such as Lady Gaga spend millions of dollars on custom staging, sets, sound and lighting; it takes a large number of performances to recoup these costs. Meanwhile, Carnival designs its shows around existing equipment. It largely uses imaging and lighting to create it shows -- it could easily cost effectively refresh the line-up more often. Gradually changing with the Panorama/Mardi Gras. Carnival's demo still skews older, so I wouldn't expect them to get go of music aimed at Boomers quite yet...

My sole experience with RCL is the Navigator of the Seas, which is currently homeported in Los Angeles. The ship does the same 3/4-day itinerary as the Carnival Radiance, although there's an occasional 5-day itinerary, and an increasing number of 7-day itineraries. The entertainment on the 3/4-day is the same: an ice skating production show (shown four times total - twice on two days) and a single "Showgirls" production show. We just took a 5-day itinerary, and it added a second showing of the same Showgirls production show. I'm told that the 7-day does not add additional production shows. Meanwhile, the Panorama had four full production shows, plus an abbreviated fifth during Welcome Aboard. The Panorama also had multiple comedians, the Navigator had just one. The grass isn't always greener...

By following their Facebook, Instagram, etc. Most of the performers maintain a professional account (some use their personal as their professional) and would be happy to have you follow them. You'll have to ask around to get their names or a link to their account. It's pretty common for performers to rotate between cruise lines, not just ships within a cruise line. Also, many of the bands onboard are manufactured by the cruise line, and they're unlikely to perform together again once their contract is up.

During all of March and much of April, there were numerous postings on this forum complaining about rowdy spring break crowds on numerous ships. That said… - What some people consider rowdy… may not bother others. We all have different levels of tolerance. - There were tons of dirt cheap cruise fares available this year for spring break travel, that may have attracted some subpar crowds.

I also live in the Los Angeles area, and most of our cruising has been locally. When traveling to PV, it will be cool (and if traveling in the winter, almost cold) your first and last sea days pretty much year round. The trip north is notorious for being windy and rocky, especially in the spring. The good news is that it’ll be very sunny - unless you’re traveling in the summer (cloud coverage along the coast is a thing here, and keeps the temps down), then it’s hit or miss. The other good news is that the Navigator has a covered deck (at least for adults). I mention this only because I’m shocked at the number of non-locals who complain and say ‘never again’ because they expect Florida-like weather. Of course, you can’t predict the weather. When we went for Valentine’s week (different cruise line) there was a heat wave and it was very warm the first sea day (which was Super Bowl Sunday and featured Los Angeles in the game - a day we won’t forget).

Room service is labor intensive. Many, if not most, all-inclusive in Mexico/The Caribbean have either dropped the option or added a surcharge (either a flat or per item). On Carnival, it's become increasingly popular. On our last few cruises, we struggled to get ahold of room service, and then wait up to 2 hours for our food. Definitely another cutback.

Similar comments were echoed in numerous posts that followed yours, but let’s clear something up: there’s a global jobs shortage, not a labor shortage. Domestically, most of the vacant positions are of menial/low-wage variety. There are numerous reasons for this – a huge drop in the birth rate in the early 2000s (yielding fewer high school/college-aged students that would traditionally work these positions), low wages that haven’t kept pace with inflation (a housewife that use to take on a PT job with Target, isn’t going to work when she makes less than what she’s spending on childcare, etc.), a conversion of skilled jobs that once paid living wages converted to low-wages (e.g. school bus drivers), new gig jobs that are low wages, but better paying and enable people to work on their own schedule (Uber driver, OnlyFans models, etc.), etc. We could easily solve the domestic labor shortage if we did one of two things – give profits back to employees in the form of higher wages (as opposed to hiking prices, which just creates inflation) OR welcoming more legal immigrants into the country (something highly opposed). Cruiselines don’t hire domestic employees – they tap into the international market, largely from undeveloped nations. They have high standards (applicants need to be somewhat educated / speak English), but there’s still an incredibly large pool to swim in. The notion (as repeated in this thread) that large numbers of people who worked for cruiselines prior to COVID found higher paying jobs in their home countries is ridiculous. If you’re from Columbia, India, etc., you’d make more working for Carnival than you would most doctors in the big city. These are coveted jobs – let’s not pretend they’re not. The crew shortage was caused by overburdening an already overburdened bureaucracy, as the industry tried to restart at once. But it’s mid-September, and much of the situation has resolved. Reality is, it’s probable that most crew shortages today are caused by Carnival working with bare minimum crews as a cost savings measure.

I don't disagree that there have been staffing issues - and it was largely self induced; Carnival (Corporation, not just its namesake) literally gave away staterooms at the same time it was re-activating its fleet. This caused occupancy to swell, which caused a larger need for help at the same time the industry was trying to staff ships it was activating. This caused an overburden system (government) to become even more overburden. Etc. But it's mid-September, and much of the situation has resolved itself, and yet most of the cutbacks have not returned. And the reality is they won't -- I'll reiterate my example of late night dining. The food at the buffet was not prepared fresh, it was cooked earlier in the day and placed in warming trays. And Carnival's so short staffed it can't find one person each night to resume service? It's a clearly a cost cutting move...

Many, if not most, of the cutbacks are due to cost, not staffing. You won't convince me that Carnival can't find adequate staffing for late night dining options. Trimming deli and pizzeria hours and eliminating the buffet option ultimately save millions of dollars - and generate some income from room service orders. Most people have already had multiple meals and snacks, and are eating out of compulsion, so it's an easy cutback with little backlash.

If you're traveling to the Caribbean, sure. But disruptive hurricanes aren't common on the West Coast. You're far more likely to have a port cancelled for a variety of reasons... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Baja_California_Peninsula_hurricanes

They didn’t. The argument for bailouts was made by the fanboy/girls in this community, but the cruise lines were smart enough to known that foreign-flagged carriers employing mostly foreign nationals wouldn’t get votes in the court of public approval. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/10/fact-check-cruise-ship-companies-didnt-seek-us-covid-19-bailout/5332960002/

We had Christian as our CD on a pair of Panorama cruises earlier this year. He was definitely more energetic than the average CD, and involved himself in pretty much everything. Also earlier this year, on RCL, we had the most energetic CD of all-time – she literally did everything. But on our last cruise with her – several months after our first, and literally days before the completion of her contract – she was farming out a lot of passenger-facing responsibilities (e.g. the activities director lead the sail away). Ultimately, depends on the CD and probably how exhausted they are!

Carnival has long been intentionally vague with inclusions, even explicitly mentioning that (included) meals can be served in the MDR and/or Lido Restaurant. Carnival could announce today that it is “enhancing” its MDE experience to include a complimentary continental breakfast bar and expanded hot breakfast, lunch, and dinner options with a nominal cover charge, and it’d still in adherence with fare inclusions. It did mention a 24-hour pizzeria, but you’d have a weak argument as the legalese on the page mentions that hours are subject to change. And cruise lines’ purchasing power hardly makes them immune from inflation. Prices of food, supplies, labor and especially fuel have risen sharply from the pre-COVID era, but average cruise fares are still trending below their pre-COVID mark (meanwhile, airfare averages are up nearly 40% since 2019). And no, inflation hasn’t stabilized. Fuel costs are on the rise again, and many analysts are expecting oil to sell at record prices by year end.

If Carnival made a change – to the itinerary or inclusions – I’d agree completely with you. But they didn’t – they’re very clear that menu selections are subject to change at any time. It’s standard verbiage. RCL provides the expected menus months in advance (via their app), with the same disclaimer. Our recent 5-night Cabo cruise had the “lobster night” menu for the added night (normally it’s a 3 / 4-night cruise) and we were disappointed when it was replaced shortly before embarkation. Ultimately, we’re in a period of soaring costs, and cruise lines are heavily impacted by swelling fuel, food & labor costs. That they haven’t been able to pass these costs onto passengers, should lead one to be unsurprised that they’ll find other ways to cut costs.

Besides the fact that delaying delivery of new build ships would be expensive, the staff storages IMO are partially intentional. The WSJ wrote an interesting piece awhile ago, that some companies are using the tight labor market as an excuse not to fill empty positions. At my company, my department (and that’s just my department) has been five people below the absolute minimum staffing. As a result, we’ve been working 60-80 hours, 6-7 days per week for the past year. We’re exempt, so we don’t get paid for OT. Those five positions have saved the owner of the company $800kish over the past year. It’s hard to walk away from a company you’ve spent much of your life with and really love but that’s what I’m about to do. The point is… labor shortages are often intentional.

Because Carnival isn’t expanding its fleet. All three ships are active within Carnival Corporation - they’re merely changing banners. Most crew are hired through local agencies that are contracted by Carnival Corp, and can be assigned to any of its banners at first. From reading various crew forums in the past, the USA is the preferred base for most employees. It seems the biggest issue has been not with available help but rather the government processing paperwork. but one ship is headed to Australia, another won’t be in the US for almost a year and the other for two years.

Both ships are relatively new, and Costa furnishings are generally more up scale than Carnival. Financially, it makes little sense to rebrand these ships to Carnival’s (lower) standard status quo. Both ships were ordered in the mid-2000s with intentions to serve the Asian market. It’s not a big secret that the Asian market hasn’t developed as quickly as the industry would like, even pre-Covid. Both ships will eventually be deployed to where ever the demand is. That could even be Europe or Asia in the spring/summer, and USA in the fall/winter.

PV and Cabo are the marquees on an isolated itinerary in which many passengers travel across the country for. Ensenada only became a port to justify the existence of weekend cruises from Los Angeles (in which foreign flagged ships must make a port of cal at a foreign destination). Most of the ship gets off at PV and Cabo; while it’s hot or miss, a lot more people stay onboard at Ensenada. While you can’t control the weather, I wouldn’t be too happy with a free $5 Bingo card if the ship missed Cabo.