NavarreCruiser

I am Diamond on Carnival 94 cruises 669 days and Diamond plus on Royal 37 cruises 344 points.  I have cruised on about 40 different ships.  Two or 3 years ago I would have said they are very similar and you will be fine on either.  But Carnival's cutbacks are more obvious and are negatively affecting the cruise experience to a great degree.  After averaging 7+ Carnival cruises per year since my first in 2005 I currently have none booked with Carnival. 

9 hours ago, NoName said:

I agree....these old boats don't represent what I think of when I think of Carnival.

Those 8 ships represent more than 25% of Carnival's fleet, If sold Carnival would be a lot smaller.

As you approach the bow of the ship the outside gradually narrows toward the front.  The deck plan shows the hallway taking 90 degree turns toward the ships center every few cabins.  This actually happens, so the cabins right in front of the hallway angle are significantly larger than the ones next door.  The deck plan is an accurate depiction of reality.

5 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

firefly333 I remember following your postings leading up to this Vista cruise and the situation with cruising with your friend. 

I am sorry so many have twisted your words around.  I for one understand what you went thru completely.

We too used to cruise 4 times a year and now only once in a while, it just isn't the same as it used to be.  I think for us it is a combination of things, changes within Carnival, we've changed now that we are older, we don't enjoy the crowds and rudeness anymore.  The overall sense of entitlement that many people have in today's society is a big turnoff for me.  

We just did our 1st 14 day cruise on Breeze and several times I had to leave notes for our cabin steward for things that in the past I never would have had to even think of pointing out to him.  However, with the notes he did take care of all the items a) light bulb out in the bathroom, maintenance came and replaced b) change the sheets on the bed (you'd think housekeeping would see that is needed for whatever reason) c)clean the shelf on the balcony (we had a cove balcony and daily the shelf would get covered with black stuff from maintenance working on the lifeboats overhead).  One afternoon while in our cabin with the sun shining in I noticed how bad the dust was on the tv and the front of all the cabinets.  I took it upon myself to take care of that.  We did find items left behind from previous cruisers behind the TV on the shelf - you'd think housekeeping would check there when doing a turnover.

We sailed Magic January 2018 and that was the first cruise ever in over 20+ Carnival cruises that I did not tip our cabin steward extra, he was horrible.  I did not report him because I opted to let it go knowing he needs his job and we all have off weeks, but I understand your point, an attitude is never acceptable.  Ours didn't have an attitude he just didn't do a good job.

 

There have definitely been cutbacks everywhere as well as cruisers behavior is out of control IMO.  While waiting in the buffet line one evening I had a woman cut in line in front of several of us and she never even said excuse me, then the same woman opted to fill up her gallon drink cup at the water dispenser while she had a long line behind her.......I could go on and on but I won't.

 

Stick to your guns you paid for your cruise, try and ignore all the Debbie downers on your posts, some people just don't get us adults who were raised with values!

I can really identify with your position.  Since May of 2005 (my first Carnival cruise), I have averaged over 7 Carnival cruises per year.  I am taking my 94th cruise with them this coming Saturday.  I have no more scheduled.at this time.

13 hours ago, Nic6318 said:

 

Hi

 

You have made this suggestion before. "This is not what they do on Carnival". What I tried to inform you is that you don't ever have to wait in line for a show on the Carnival ships. The only time you would have to wait is if you were wanting to go to one of the comedy shows and the previous show was still going on. 

 

Before the shows, the theatre is open...you just go sit down...first come first served. The same for the comedy club. The venue is not closed before the show. You can enter and sit down any time before the show, again first come first served. You can also show up just before the show, or during the show. You just walk in and sit down, any time, no reservations needed. As I said before, it is probably better to have a reservation system on a ship like the Oasis just because there are so many people on the ship.

I can tell you from my extensive Carnival experience (for which I am totally mocked) that Carnival often does not have the theater open until shortly before the show and significant lines often form.  And Royal will frequently bring on "Fly-on" entertainers, something that Carnival also used to do a lot, but now pretty much does only on journey cruises.

20 hours ago, kinggartk said:

With all due respect....you didn't object to the way it was presented...you said I wasn't experienced enough to render an opinion.  Would it have made you happier if I said "Carnival Wins, IMO"? If so, I will happily go back and add those 3 little letters.

 

Just to reiterate...this was not intended to be a "Bash RCL" thread.  I enjoyed my cruise with RCL and will happily do it again.

 

I think the main problem here is that you disagree with my opinion....not the way I presented it.  And since I'm not an expert like you...it is audacious that I actually come here and express my opinion.

As I stated above, you are totally right in expressing your opinion, and whether I agree with it or disagree is of no matter.  As you stated I have more cruise experience on both lines than you do, however, that is also not relevant.  I have read and cruised with hundreds of cruisers who make blanket statements about cruise lines and ships with little or sometimes no basis for those opinions.  Many RCCL cruisers are guilty of this in reference to their opinion of Carnival.  So back off a little and relax.

14 minutes ago, bakersdozen12 said:

 

Seriously?  You think that a person has to have a certain number of cruises under their belt before they are allowed (by you) to give an opinion or review?  The OP is stating his or her opinion of both cruise lines based on their experiences, and their opinion is 100% valid.  You don't have to agree with it one way or the other.  That's the great thing about being allowed to form your own opinions.  But to sit there and say that 5 Carnival cruises and 1 Royal Caribbean cruise isn't enough to make a comparison is ridiculous.  The OP was simply stating a summary of his/her experience on this Royal cruise verses their previous Carnival cruises.  No where did they proclaim to be an expert on either.

I guess the phrase "Carnival wins" seems to indicate an experienced fleet-wide analysis which is obviously not the case.  The Op has every right to his/her opinion I just objected to the way it was presented.

In my opinion, you don't have enough cruise experience to make a fair judgment on the 2 lines.  6 cruises total just gets your toe in the pool so to speak.  You did accurately relate your history but 1 RCCL cruise is not enough to declare one cruise line winning over the other.

To hype an itinerary that other cruise lines do on a regular basis (and often less expensively) does seem a little excessive.  It sort of seems that Carnival believes their customer only cruise Carnival and are easily excited.

13 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

I got that you were on the ship, but was not making the reference as to what it had to do with the Breeze.  Breeze is considerably slower then Carnival’s newer technologies they have deployed as well.  That said, Op, it is slow....

1

I have been on a number of RCCL ships with "Voom" which is usually pretty good, but not always.  I have not been on a Carnival ship with the upgraded speed.  I would love to hear from a cruiser who has experienced both to see how they compare.

5 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Not sure what the Allure has to do with the Breeze internet....

I was just comparing.  I cruised the Carnival Breeze in September and less than 1 month later was on the Allure of the Seas in October of this year.  That was pretty much obvious in my post.

58 minutes ago, guapotims said:

If the Fantasy moves again this trip like it did last trip, I will never again book on it again. I am going on the Fantasy for the convienience. I live near Mobile, Al. Friends just came off and were all sick for days. The reason I'm on this post is I'm trying to see if the Fantasy even has stabilizers. Praying for calm seas. We leave out tomorrow, 11/11/18.

Just out of curiosity what prompted you to reactivate a 12-year-old thread? 

3 hours ago, bakersdozen12 said:

Same as anyone else checking in for Your Time Dining (YTD). Your status gets you priority only when choosing your dining time (early, late or YTD). It doesn’t get you priority when checking in for dinner when you are on your cruise. 

That is officially true, however, there are many times on ships that the Maitre de will instruct the seating hostess to treat Diamond members differently and seat them right away.  Unfortunately, you never know beforehand if this will be the case on any one cruise.

On 11/5/2018 at 5:30 PM, coevan said:

it's probably been said a million times on CC, on a closed end cruise a birth certificate and picture ID are sufficient. A passport card is a little more than a picture ID. I personally would never leave U.S. soil without a passport. $100 for 10 years is a bargain, the gold standard of ID. 

 

Actual cost:

The fee is $35 and is paid at the acceptance agent facility, usually the post office or county clerk. New Passport (for adults age 16 and older): For a new adult passport book: $110 application fee and a $35 execution fee. The new total fee is $145.Jul 5, 2018

I am with the cruisers who think this announcement will be about new itineraries and a return of a ship or possibly ships to the European market.  John is very excited about the changes and it makes perfect sense that he would be happy with European cruises since he and his family live in London and this would allow him to be on some of those cruises and get home more often.  Even though the changes to the VIFP program have been promised for years I will be surprised if they finally pull the trigger. 

On 10/30/2018 at 3:13 PM, Poppy42 said:

We are gold and approaching diamond.  We always take a balcony cabin usually on the higher decks.  Why does Carnival award days solely on the number of days sailed?  Why should a person in an inside cabin get credit for as many days as a person in a balcony or stateroom?  If we took an inside cabin we could have sailed on more cruises - we are retired and live within 2 to 3 hours of all Florida ports so we have the time.  

As others have observed you cannot be gold and be anywhere near Diamond, and there is nowhere in Florida that is 3 hours from Jacksonville and 3 hours from Miami.

17 hours ago, Ludyboodie said:

 

Lord HELP US!!!!  I hope I never encounter YOU on a cruise. SUCH anger and negativity. No one said a word about washing grounds down the toilet or sinks. Geeezzzeeee!   😞  I truly believe the rule is to prevent people from bringing electrical appliances....coffee makers, irons....heating pads....things that can be left unattended and catch fire. Don't think anyone would care if a non-electrical coffee or tea device was brought onboard, but maybe it would be best to ask the CRUISE LINE rather than trust others who really don't know. BUT...I will say, with all the folks who have attested to bringing a coffee press and have NEVER had it confiscated, I'd say the cruise lines are OK with it, but then again, I'm not the 'safety patrol'.

Just curious, what prompted you to search for a thread that is more than 6 years old?

I am currently on the RCCL Allure of the Seas and the Voom internet is very good.  I was on the Breeze last month and only bought a few days of the basic package but it was painfully slow.

To those that appreciated this info. you are welcome.  I agree that spending a few hours watching a game, you enjoy, in your cabin does not affect the other 7 days on the cruise.  On Sunday I went to the stateroom in the earllier evening to watch the Saints at Minnesota (the Saints are my local broadcast team in Northwest Florida) and was happy to be able to do that.  I am looking out at Saint Martin this morning with no plans to watch sports until the weekend.

17 hours ago, laumicmah said:

Do you think that's just Allure or all RCCL ships? We just got off CCL Horizon and DH was very frustrated with the extremely limited football and baseball games being shown (not a single sport channel on cabin TV and the lounges, including the Sport's Bar, only played 1 stinky channel with football and no MLB playoffs at all). We cruise RCCL's Grandeur on January 3 and it has DH worried. Hoping they have better channels.

I spoke with the Diamond Concierge last evening and she told me that all Royal Caribbean ships fleetwide should have the same TV selections.  So you should get a decent sports selection on the Grandeur in January.

1 hour ago, laumicmah said:

Do you think that's just Allure or all RCCL ships? We just got off CCL Horizon and DH was very frustrated with the extremely limited football and baseball games being shown (not a single sport channel on cabin TV and the lounges, including the Sport's Bar, only played 1 stinky channel with football and no MLB playoffs at all). We cruise RCCL's Grandeur on January 3 and it has DH worried. Hoping they have better channels.

I have not sailed on the Grandeur for a number of years, so I don't know.  However, over the next few days, I will ask my concierge if she knows or who else might know.  I will post again if I find out.

23 hours ago, cruzincat50 said:

I am holding out for transparent aluminum.

You have got to talk to Scotty.

I am currently sailing again on a Royal Caribbean mega-ship, the Allure of the Seas.  It is a very nice ship if you like large vessels.  I also sail Carnival often and like many other sports fans, I am disappointed with the current TV sports broadcasts available in their staterooms.  Essentially there are none.  Yesterday in my stateroom I could have watched 4 different NFL games and game 5 of the world series.  They were on 2 different ESPN international broadcasts but some were just the major network feeds.  I wish Carnival could do this also.

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

 

You can find people saying this for any company at any given time. Heck, go to the other cruise line's boards here, it's everywhere. Also, not all of those people are even being truthful with their claims. Many times something irks them, or they just want a different experience. Then eventually, as the grass not always being greener on the other side, they go back. The cool thing to do these days is to let everyone know you're onto "bigger and better things."

I am sure there are many people who are chronic complainers and rarely satisfied.  But the Carnival cutbacks are real and do affect many people's cruise choices.  Here is the effect it has had on my cruise choices.  Carnival cruises I have taken:  2012-10, 2013-12, 2014-14, 2015-11, 2016-7, 2017-5, 2018-3, 2019 and beyond-none currently booked.  

Not true! They will refund you any cash you put on your S&S. Edit for clarification: Cruise Cash, purchased from Carnival, is not the same as putting cash on your account. Cash (money) is refundable. Cruise cash (purchased from Carnival) is not.

 

They will not refund money from gift cards in cash. They'll refund it via gift cards.

That is why it makes very little sense to buy cruise cash for your own use. Cruise cash makes sense as a gift for someone else's cruise. But for your own use take the cash, put it in an envelope that you will not spend and apply it at guest services to your sign and sail account. It is then fully refundable if you hit it big at the casino or don't end up spending it. And you don't have to play the casino cash out game to get your own money back.