TiredTrucker

They served out a sandwich soggy with sprinkler water? Yuck. Otherwise most of the food looks pretty good.

And those terms are that the gratuities are automatic but not mandatory. That isn't me making a case for or against. Folks can make their own decisions. Edit to add I get the point you are making, that the grats are clearly indicated upfront and the expectation is that you will pay them if you book, which I do think is a fair point.

Not anymore. 😉 Rumor is they are displays now and that they serve sheet cakes in those flavors.

Thanks for your input also. We are excited to sail her in March. I'm confident we'll have a great time, mediocre food notwithstanding. From everything I've been told she is a popular vessel.

In my experience a lot of restaurant food breaks down ok in a good, hot machine because of all the oil and sugar in commercial food prep. It also helped that the detergents 30 years ago where better, in my opinion. Still, it's a miserable job and anyone doing it has my respect.

Agreed. Your money, you choose what to do with it.

OK, no worries. Just curious is all.

Will they bring you two at a time, or do you have to finish one, flag down the server, and then wait for the 2nd? I recall reading here that with entrees they want you to indicate you are finished with the first before ordering the second one, so I'm curious if that also applies to starters and desserts.

Even if it isn't more prevalent on Carnival it is the public perception that it is. When researching choices for our first cruise experience this was the theme we saw over and over. If it weren't for other friends and family encouraging us to try Carnival we wouldn't be, at least not yet. I can take the lack of omelets and bacon in stride but I'm not interested in parting with my hard earned dollars to have to walk on eggshells, or worse have to fear that my teen daughter won't feel safe. I'm well aware that these issues aren't representative of every Carnival cruise and as of yet the line isn't struggling to fill rooms but I don't think it is wise to let their image problem get out of hand. My buddy just got off Panorama's holiday cruise and had zero issues so there's that. 😉

Just an update after talking a bit more with my buddy, he mentioned the food and food presentation were not what they were expecting but that the food was still good, just not great. Wait times at the MDR were bad but the service was "stellar". This was an Xmas cruise and first for them on Panorama but they have been on other full cruises in the years past, mostly Carnival but some Royal. Given prices and quality they are going to try out the other lines before doing another Carnival unless they get a great deal. Can't speak for most shows because they had a toddler that kept them too busy. Hope that helps you out some.

I agree the Mexican Riviera does seem pricey right now. I have family just back from RCCL and they said food was better on Carnival so hopefully you will enjoy the food more on Panorama.

Anything in particular that was wrong with it? I'm going in March and looking forward to trying the P&A BBQ.

Enjoy your cruise!

My buddy just got off Panorama today and told me he felt the food had really gone downhill since he sailed last (pre covid). He wasn't aware of the post-covid cuts before sailing either and felt the overall cruise experience had "gone downhill bad" with the food at the top of his list. His first text to me after disembarking was "Carnival got bad", but that's just a friend's secondhand opinion so take it with a grain of salt. 😉

Could be they at referring to this account: Passenger reporting on Reddit that a group was being removed at Cozumel after a fight onboard. Boat is underway now, delayed 2-3 hrs per the passenger's account.

I don't think that's the frustration most are expressing. Rather, it is how Carnival says increases and cuts are necessary to make ends meet. By all means, raise your prices to whatever you want and your customers will decide to pay them or not. But when Carnival reps like Heald point to a cut as necessary to control costs while ignoring the condition of their revenue, well that chafes some. Don't get me wrong, it isn't like I expect Carnival to come out and say "we are raising prices because we can" either. 😉

That's interesting about Royal because I assumed Carnival was the most lax. Still, I appreciate that they will let us bring anything at all, even if it is cans/cartons only.

Pawn your assets during the lean times and then buy them back later, same thing all big businesses do. I work in the oil industry, they've been raking it in but you wouldn't know it to look at them, they are using their revenues to buy back their assets, or so they say.

I know this is the Carnival board but would you care to share your preferred lines?

Blasphemy! 😆

The cynical answer: because they can. Long answer, and to be a little more fair, I will acknowledge that at least when I was shopping a cruise Carnival was always the cheapest base fare, so I do expect more cost cutting vs [insert more expensive line here]. But what gets me is you can't go a week now without hearing of another Carnival cutback of one sort or another. And while I will also acknowledge that not every cutback matters to every customer it is incredibly frustrating being told that you shouldn't care because none of the cuts really matter anyway. To some people they obviously do matter. I don't think folks are going to jump ship en masse because of bacon or mushrooms or omelets, but they are factors that will be considered when booking future cruises. I imagine Carnival is trying to find the fine line between the cuts and the loss of bookings. And for now, there is no shortage of future bookings. But I drive truck for a living so what do I know about anything. 🤣

Shhh, you aren't allowed to notice. 😉

My wife is mad, mushroom burgers are her jam. 😆

Good heavens. At the end of the day we are talking tips, right? You know, that extra reward for good service. If someone pays their fare as a customer and doesn't feel a tip is warranted than fine, that's for them to decide. This US notion that somehow tips are really mandatory now for basic service and an additional tip on top of the tip is how we reward good service is, in my opinion at least, dumb and should stop. I'm not advocating customers don't tip when warranted, that's not the point I'm attempting to make. Gratuities are still tips. Regardless of any private reasons the cruise industry adopted auto gratuities the way it was sold to customers was to streamline tipping across the board and to remove the need to carry cash onboard, right? Not to offset wages we might feel are inadequate. I don't personally agree that a customer is inherently horrible for not paying an automatic tip for mediocre service. It's their money, their decision.

My wife says it's spending too much money and energy pretending to be homeless. 😉