Towel Critter

No way to know this far out what November holds. That said, we've cruised probably about eight to ten times between September and December with mostly good luck. We've missed ports maybe three or four times which was a bummer, but for us it's a risk worth taking. The cruise itself isn't going to be canceled unless a storm badly damages the embarkation port a day or two before sailing, or is in the immediate area the day of sailing. THAT said, Carnival hurricane season prices aren't as good as they used to be, so I'm not sure it's worth the small risk of missing scheduled ports any longer. I guess it's up to the individual to weigh cost against risk. The other perk of sailing during that time of year is less kids aboard (if that matters to you).

Me, I'd rather go on three good cruises than one great one. Of course, if money wasn't a concern I'd prefer three great ones. :-)

I've read through this entire thread and the consensus seems to be the food isn't as good as it used to be but is by and large still edible. I can't say I disagree with this. I've only been served something once on a Carnival ship I couldn't eat (and was probably wise not to). It was a lobster tail that tasted faintly of ammonia. I assume it was either bad or going bad. Other than that, everything I've tasted has been slightly below average to very good.

I'm guessing a mixture of public space to passenger ratio and a large number of New Yorkers on board. Just a wild guess. ;-) I hope with the new sardine can ships this doesn't become the norm. Nah, I don't think it will, except on cruises from certain ports maybe.

Obviously you have beach options at each port mentioned. But if you aren't a big beach person:

 

St. Thomas: take a taxi to Mountain Top. Gorgeous views from the very nice souvenir shop with bar. The taxi driver will also stop along the way for photo ops. The excursion to St. John is nice if you have time.

 

San Juan: one of my favorite places, feels and looks very authentic, as opposed to cruise line built and operated ports like at Grand Turk. Old Town San Juan is a great place to just explore on foot, lots of history, lots of shops - souvenir and other - the two forts with spectacular ocean views. There is a free trolly there, once you tire of walking. It circles Old San Juan and eventually takes you back near the ship. There is usually a nice couple at the town square with tame parrots. Photos with the birds on your shoulders for five bucks. Plenty of food and drink options.

 

Tortola: Quaint little town there to explore on foot, but be careful on the narrow sidewalks.

 

St. Maarten: By all means check out both sides of the island, the Dutch side and the French side. Take the water taxi from near the ship to town. It's a nice little ride and cheap. Be advised that some of the beaches on the French side (Orient Bay Beach for certain) are clothing optional.

 

Great itinerary, you'll enjoy it.

The few times I have booked with other cruise lines I have read their forums, leading up to the cruise to educate myself about them. Other than those few times, no, I do not keep up with other forums. No reason to do so and frankly, it would be sort of boring.

Same here. The old search format is back. It isn't my favorite cruise search engine, but at least it is easier to use than that other monstrosity and doesn't hide better rates you are eligible for. I've been watching a particular cruise and it jumped up by $200 per person on the carnival site when they launched the new search format, while it stayed the same on other travel sites. ??? It is now back to the real rate. I can only guess it wasn't possible with the new format to get to VIFP rates. Man, whomever made the decision to change to new search format should be reprimanded by his/her higher ups. I'd already made up my mind I would never book directly through Carnival again, but would use another site which I will not name (I will give initials though...VTG).

Nope. Never been to one. We cruise to spend time with each other. To each his (or her) own though.

 

I do like that they seem to be listening to guests and are trying to make changes.

I agree. I fill out every survey they send.

I got the survey. I slammed Playlist Productions as too amateurish and asked the bands be brought back.

Ditto. Same here. I did praise a couple of the newer shows that have SOME live music in them. I figure some live music is better than 100% canned. Like others, I got this survey months after having sailed, so some of the questions were hard to answer. I couldn't remember anything about one of the shows. Perhaps it got cancelled because of rough seas... just can't remember.

Towel Critter, in your case I might be ready to get off too. However, our B2B was 15 days, with a western, then a southern. We went to several new ports and with the Ports of Call menu items, even that was really a difference. We often found items on the menu the first week that we couldn't get to, so a second chance was great. We did some shows both weeks, saw different comedians and never felt like it was a rerun. I put all the praise on hubby who found these two cruises and since we got back realize how unique they were.

My B2B was on MSC, not Carnival, so there were no Ports of Call menu items. It was the dessert offerings I got so tired of. They were limited to begin with. I must have seen the same type cake, decorated a little differently each time, 10 out of 14 dinners. lol. The itinerary was different both weeks though, which helped. In all fairness, I got the flu on day three of the second week. That might have influenced things a bit. :) I'm sure I would have enjoyed that second week more on Carnival, flu or no flu. Still, I'd prefer a single ten to thirteen night cruise to a fourteen night B2B. I say that, but I've never done a Journey's cruise, so I'm just guessing. Glad you had a good one though!

Is 14 days too long?

It was just a tiny bit too long for me. About 11 or 12 days would have been ideal... about the length of a "Journey's cruise." That said, I did enjoy the one B2B we've done. We got the same menus and food, in the same order, the second week and that was a bit of a downer, but not a deal breaker. You also get the same shows, etc... Its a bit like watching a rerun. I definitely wouldn't do it unless the itinerary is different, which for us was. Me, I'd really prefer a single 11-13 day cruise to a B2B, but hey, you're still on a big white ship on the ocean, visiting semi-exotic locales, so why not?

I've been following this because I can't reconcile the comments/complaints with my own experience. For those of you who are having issues, what browser are you using? I use Edge and my experience has not changed in a year. I can't find the issues that are being complained about - the search tool still works the same with or without the filters for me.

I think the complaints are as much about the format as they are about bugs. This is certainly the case with me. I don't experience a lot of glitches, just an unwieldy, unfriendly format/process. I can go to another travel site (especially VTG) and get ten times the search results in 1/10 the time it takes on Carnival. Some of the complaints ARE about glitches, but many are about format, or both. Glad you're not having any issues! :) I do believe you are in the minority though.

The reality is in between the two extremes you seem to be claiming are the only options. The mass market offers products and services at market driven prices by way of both suppliers and customers living up to the obligations of the agreement between them, offer and acceptance, each side entering into the agreement if and only if it is to their advantage to do so.

 

In our society, the customer tells business whether it is right or wrong not with words but with dollars. It's not great; I sure wish it was different; but it is the reality.

 

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Thank you for your response. You've not changed my mind about anything, but I am glad to hear your contrasting and very 21st century thoughts on the subject. :)

Nonsense. Consumers rarely care enough about what's best for the companies they do business with to even feign objective analysis in that regard.

 

 

 

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Companies, if they wish to prosper long term, should cater to customers, not the other way around. I've heard, "the customer is always right" all my life -and it makes perfect business sense. Not once have I ever heard, "the customer is usually wrong," nor does it make even the smallest amount of business sense. If a majority of customers say a product, or service (or in this case, a company's search platform) is lacking, then it is, regardless of what board members, third parties, and consultants think. Right now Carnival is flourishing and they feel empowered by high demand, as well they should. But they should not forget how they got to this point, nor would they be wise to ignore customer feedback. High demand in the business world is a fragile, often short lived thing, especially when companies start forgetting to "dance with the ones who brung'em." You may now have the last word. :D

Yep it is new/different/reinvented/reimagined, etc, etc, etc... Those things don't inevitably mean improvement though (anybody remember "New Coke?"). User friendly products and services are always preferable... at least from the customer's point of view. Perhaps there IS a reason Carnival chooses to go with such an unwieldy search format and perhaps they do benefit from it some cases - though I'm dubious about that - but I have to think that of the folks who are put off by it and resort to searching on a different site, where competing cruise lines are present, a few might end up finding a better cruise/deal with a different line, which negates any monetary benefit Carnival might theoretically get from the practice. In fact, that has happened with me. A business that offers a good product at a fair price, offers good customer service, and is always mindful of the needs and opinions of their customers, and makes it as easy and simple as possible for customers to BUY their product will always win out in the end.

I've been fighting with the CCL site all day. The number of guests is in a weird place, easy to overlook. Tells me no cabins in my search criteria for a cruise in April of 2018. Other on line sites have plenty of cabins I searched for. Having to search through dates is also a pain. Just put the dates up!

I could not agree more on the hidden dates. That is the single biggest irritant for me and a prime reason I search for cruises elsewhere.:mad:

Just looked and it's still phone calls only. There IS a form you can fill out to have them call you about the cruise you are looking at. Now that I think about it, the lack of on line booking is likely why I don't book through them anymore. I'm not really a "phone person." You can't beat their search engine though. Fill in a few fields and boom! You get a page filled with every cruise that matches your criteria. Couldn't be simpler or faster.

Is the VTG site all phone calls or can you book on line?

I can't answer that definitively, since it's been a few years since I booked through them. I believe I called the couple of times I booked through them, but on line may be an option now for all I know. I just go there for the search engine these days. The couple of times I did book with them I got good customer service though and zero issues. Sorry I can't answer your question.

The solution is simple. Go to a certain site with the initials VTG, which has a wonderful search engine that allows you to fill in search criteria at the start of your search, find a cruise or two you like (which couldn't be easier with this search engine), then go to Carnival to compare prices (which are usually the same) and book. Browsing cruises at the Carnival site is a pain in the a**. Not trying to push the other travel site, just their search engine. I think Carnival has over-thought the whole process. Everybody wants to reinvent the wheel these days. And you know what? Simpler is almost always better.

Favorite:

 

San Juan (love Old San Juan, such a feeling of history there), Tortola (quaint little town) ,St. Thomas/St. John (love the view from Mountain Top in Charlotte Amalie and Cruz Bay on St. John is nice.), St. Kitts (lovely mountainous island), Half Moon Cay (everything about it)

 

Least Favorite (by far):

 

Grand Turk (touristy area too crowded and not much there unless you're the sip alcohol, lounge by the pool, and watch your skin turn red type, which I'm not. The rest of the island isn't much to look at except for a decent beach or two. It's pretty trashy and littered inland). This island seems to be popular for some reason and that's fine with me. I just don't understand its popularity.

A review, or opinion, is too small a sample size to be taken seriously. I've never booked, or not booked, a cruise based on anything read here. Let's face it, a ship and her crew perform differently from one cruise to another. The passengers, which can affect a cruise for better or worse, are also different cruise to cruise. A large collection of reviews and the averaging of the scores from them might hold some value, but a single review... no. I think most realize this.

Sounds like Carnival meets your needs and that's great. We enjoy the extras that come with the newer larger ships, especially enjoy the shows and having a private balcony for quiet time.

 

 

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We have something in common. We too always book a balcony cabin. Yes, we each have our own needs and desires and preferences. I would not enjoy a mega ship. I've looked at the layouts of Oasis and others, looked at lots of pics, and read many reviews. It isn't for me. But I'm glad it is an option for folks who desire that. For my tastes, Conquest class ships are optimal. I would like to see another Conquest class ship or even Dream class ship at PC.

With Norwegian Epic and RCCL Oasis now at PC, why would anyone be cruising on Carnival unless you're looking to cruise on the cheap?

 

 

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Because I AM looking to cruise "on the cheap" Don't need all the bells and whistles, just a clean, nice ship, decent food, the ocean, and the same ports-of-call for less money. Cruising for me is enjoying time at sea and at interesting ports of call with my bride. I don't need rock climbing walls and ice skating rinks to do that, so in my case, why pay extra for it? Some like all the glitter and hype and that's fine for them. Me, I don't need it.

Would love to see more Carnival options in PC, as it is cheaper to fly to than Miami for me... probably for most folks (just guessing). I don't have a favorite port, just whichever port is easier/cheaper to get to at the time of booking, while still offering good itineraries and ships.