bluekrush

2 hours ago, hard_eight said:

I don't mind paying extra for better food. The regular dining options are suitable for us, especially on the newer class of ships. Except for after 11pm or whatever..its room service or bust. I do hate being limited on the number of drinks I can consume and making the now small amount of purchasable liquor completely unaffordable. Ran my first rum runners last cruise, will again.

They limit your alcoholic drinks?

the food quality in the MDRused to be very good though back in the day. No need to pay extra. 

13 hours ago, staceyglow said:

This.  I don't know why people don't talk about this more. 

 

I bet that the same people who gripe about the cutbacks and the upcharges would lose their minds if Carnival said, "We're bringing back everything you miss about the good old days - but we are going to raise our prices 250%.  Also, no more specialty restaurants, no more water parks, and no more balconies".

 

My first cruise was around 2005. It was about 350 each. My husband likes the dark inner rooms but balconies and windows were available. There was lido and MDR, pizza open all the time, a sandwich place, sushi in the afternoons next to a coffee place. Everything was free except the coffee place I mentioned. There was also tea service every days with tea sandwiches and treats. All free. You could order as much of anything that you wanted too. There were two premium restaurants but I never bothered because the food was really good. We only paid for alcohol and gambling and a couple lattes the whole cruise. It’s was pretty much all inclusive. My last cruise was around 2015?  Everything was still free. But the food quality was worse in the MDR particularly the high end dishes like the steaks and seafood. Room service was also free on both cruises. Mostly sandwiches, chips and desserts. Nothing hot. 
 

I expect a prices fo go up on tickets obviously. I also always wondered when they were going to end the multiple meals. Two things I can see but some people would order five dishes. Lol. Too much. But I still expected cruises to be an all inclusive experience. I hate being nickel and dimed. I just want to pay and not have to think about the bill during the cruise lol. 
 

On 2/16/2023 at 2:56 PM, mz-s said:

Just since COVID:

The dinner buffet is full of dried out rice and potatoes, and they cut the chicken thighs into three pieces.

They give you half a baked potato and 3 salad-size shrimp in your shrimp cocktail in the dining room.

The breakfast buffet is absolutely disgusting.

Sea day brunch menu dramatically cut, hours cut.

24/7 pizza is no more. If you order pepperoni pizza you might get 3 pepperonis on your entire serving. Thats if your legs don't give out from standing in the 45 minute line.

No more late night snacks buffet. Instead, the pizza place that already has a tremendous line sits out a tray of Stouffer's lasagna on some nights maybe.

Ocean plaza buffet/drinks gone.

Deli menu cut, hours cut.

No more included room service, except coffee and dry danishes/cereal/milk during breakfast hours. You have to call that morning and order it. No more leaving a hanger out.

No more twice-daily cabin service. Before COVID it was unofficially gone, you could ask for it if you knew you could and they'd do it - but now it's not an option anymore.

They now serve Ore Ida fries at Guy's instead of fresh cut.

The ongoing severe bacon crisis.

No more port of call themed nights in the dining room.

 

I'm sure I'm forgetting things.

 

Now does one "need" any of these things? No. But then again, nobody "needs" to go on a cruise. We aren't talking about a pharmacy or oxygen here, we're talking about a cruise.

 

And before someone pipes up to champion it - yes, I know they brought back ketchup soup during sea day brunch.

 

I don't particularly care if you say none of these things matter to you or not - I didn't take advantage of all of these things either - but they're still cutbacks in the experience. "Special touches" gone, if you will.

 

Carnival can still be a good value and I still like their product for what it is - but people should know what they're getting. It's no longer the special vacation it once was in my opinion.

This is so depressing. There’s no room service? Or you now have to pay for it? It sounds like the food quality has taken a dive. Is this the trend on all the boats now?  Maybe I need to take a few years off and do all inclusive hotels until they get everything back like before. I’m guessing this is the result of being short staffed like most industries since covid. 

I was thinking of taking a cruise again soon but as I’m reading on the carnival site I see all these restaurants for additional charges. Things like the sushi express that used to be free. Please don’t tell me cruises have started to nickel and dime people. Is it as bad as it sounds?  I remember always one of two specialty restaurants charged extra but  they were higher quality food. 
 

can you still order as many dishes as you want in the diningroom or get steak off menu?  Are they charging for activities too now?  

you might get a reduced rate for a 3rd passenger but there is no kids pricing for the cruise price. they pay the same as a 30 year or 3rd passenger

Wow really? Even a baby? It's just surprising because you are not getting extra cabin space. I can see for food and other services but it should be a little reduced based on the fact that your cabin doesn't change.

Is that pretty much the same for all cruise lines?

I've been on a few cruises with my husband but before we had our daughter. She is 1 year old and we were talking about the possibility of taking a cruise next year but have no idea how it works with a child. Do they charge extra to have a child in your cabin? If so, is it a reduced rate? Do they have high chairs in the diningroom and can I bring my stroller on the boat? I'm assuming I can but I want to make sure. Anything else I should know that will be different with a child?

Around the 3rd or 4th day there will be a Laundry Special: 1 bag of laundry washed and folded for $15. They only charge you for the bag of dirty laundry, not for how many bags it comes to the room in when clean. If you roll your dirty laundry individually tight, you can get quite a bit in that 1 paper bag. In my case, my laundry went away in one, very full paper bag; it returned clean and folded in 3 bags. The charge was still $15.

It's 15$ during the special? How much is it normally and is the special listed in the fun times or somewhere else? I went on one carnival cruise and didnt even know they did laundry.

Another one I just kearned on our last cruise...

 

The cooking demonstration in the steakhouse is free and includes delicious samples. Show up early to avoid disappointment :) On our cruise we even got a free sample of the steakhouse Tiramisu. YUM!

Is that an event listed in the fun times?

The showers are the first thing you walk into when going to the gym. No one would ever know that your going in just for the showers. They can be considered an amenity, like the steam room, sauna, etc.

 

If it makes you feel better. Walk on the treadmill for 5 mins. Then go shower.

Oh I see. Like gym showers. Ok

Yes

That's so strange. I can't imagine walking into a spa and just start using their shower.

[*]Search CC for shore excursion discount codes if you want book them in advance...I have saved 10-20%, still not as cheap as booking it independently yourself but you will always be refunding if ports change/get cancelled and you are guaranteed the ship will not will not leave without you

[*]Take advantage of the Future Cruise Certificates..an easy way to double you money!

where exactly are the discount codes? And what are future cruise certificates?

Regarding those of you mentioning the idea of bringing alcohol from the ports...

So when you come back from a port, the ship personnel go through your bags? Like customs?

That is fine, but why the same thing so often. The food theme should represent the area that you are in. In Mexico? Serve Mexican, In Jamica? Serve Jamacan etc... Even so... Yuck with so much Indian food.

I love that idea. They should throw in some themed food. I went to Mexico on carnival and ate always in the mdr. It might have been nice to see a little Mexican food. I'm doing new England in sept and think it. Would be fun if they did lobster and chowders in a new England style.

So tea time in carnival is done in the lounges? Are they non-smoking areas. I will be cruising the holiday and it's hard to relax with lots of smoke around.