vacruisin

Sorry you had such a horrible experience; sounds like a lousy way to spend Christmas vacation with the family and you should definitely escalate your experience up the Carnival chain.

However, if you've previously sailed Carnival and enjoyed those cruises I would hope you'd chalk this up as an aberration and not just kick Carnival to the curb.  You said you'd enjoyed a May cruise; was it on Carnival?  Have you experienced such bad behavior on previous Carnival cruises?

Holiday cruises sometimes tend to bring rowdier crowds; and I've heard of some of the same kind of issues/behavior on other cruise lines.  Sometimes it is just a bad group on your particular sailing.  

Yeah, those soda dispensers on the Mardi Gras were not very good when we went in July.  The soda was constantly flat and/or watered down.  Wifey loves her Pepsi and got tired of the horrible dispenser soda so after awhile we only got her sodas from the bars.

We just had Kyndall Fire on the Mardi Gras in July and we loved her!  She was hilarious!

5 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

Speaking of this topic, I was watching "Below Deck Down Under" while I was folding clothes and there was a group of friends who started fighting on that show while on their vacation on a mega yacht...literally within about an hour of being on the boat.  The fight started because one lady told the other lady she had food in  her teeth.  I looked into it once, and it about 30k-40k plus tip to charter one of those yachts and the tip runs another 10k-20k depending on the length of the charter. Then you have to consider the cost of flying to Australia. (The people were American.) So one group of about 8 friends/family had enough money to spend 50k+ on a vacation and were fighting on a mega yacht.  The Lead Stew said, "You are on a yacht in one of the most beautiful places in the world.  Why are you wasting your time fighting?"    

 

Also, guess it isn't just confined to the people who take inexpensive cruises...

Thanks for that.  Yep, contrary to "popular belief" rowdy, unruly behavior transcends social economic status.  Some people need to get out of their social media bubbles/echo chambers more.

11 minutes ago, TheMichael said:

Everybody is angry, everybody thinks other people are the problem. TV and social media aid and abet this.

 

Covid made it worse in that people had extra time on their hands to soak in their TV and social media.

 

Add in people taking cheap vacations (like short cruises) who have never taken vacations much before ("revenge travel") - the very people who have done nothing but soak in their own worlds (we're talking even pre-Covid), and the typical annoyances of travel - especially a cruise, where there's a lot of lining up and rules and behavioral expectation - become a recipe for problems.

 

The crazy thing is that - and I know I'm a distinct minority thinking this - the world is still a pretty awesome place. Fewer wars, better education, less crime, more and more effective medicine, and the ability to go almost anywhere and do almost anything.

Very well stated!  Agree with ever last word of this!

7 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Usually bars will only allow you to order a bottle of water and an alcoholic drink at the same time. If you want a soda and an alcoholic drink you have to wait 5 minutes between orders.

That is not accurate.  I've ordered an alcoholic drink along with a soda many times with Cheers.

On 8/8/2023 at 9:33 PM, jennas_mum said:

We cruised last month on The Legend and periodically a text would come thru from an iphone. Most of the time though we were not able to text. We did not get any wifi packages. Not sure why sometimes it came thru and the other times it didn't. We just made sure we were on airplane mode. 

Same thing happened on my January cruise on the Celebration.  We didn't have the WiFi plan and our phones were on airplane mode but out of the blue text messages started coming in from a Cowboys fans text group I'm in while I was sitting in the back of the ship watching the Cowboys/Bucs playoff game.  I'd never received a text while on a cruise so wifey glared at me because she thought I'd taken my phone off airplane mode! lol 

Turns out it was just a random spot out at sea where text came through even while on airplane mode.  I was actually able to text back during that brief time (about 30 minutes).

12 hours ago, matymil said:

That's a pretty broad statement. Its not just a Carnival thing. Theres tons of factors that effect cruise experiences, at least in my experience. I made the mistakes of going out of NYC on the inaugural cruise of the Vista and again during the summer on the Magic, two worst cruises ive ever been on. But i also went out of NYC in Sept on a Canada cruise and had a blast. Also went on the Vista again out of Miami and had a great time. Home port, time of year, length of cruise, price are all factors more than brand imo.

I think you missed my point.  I was saying that for the most part Carnival cruises tend to be drama-free but sometimes people go with the "narrative" that bad behavior is specific to Carnival cruises.  I agree with you there are other factors that contribute to it.  I suggested if anyone has a problem with Carnival they could explore other lines.  Carnival is my preferred line.

I guess I've just been extremely lucky.  16 Carnival cruises (106 days sailed total) and I've never witnessed a fight (other than one time some people exchanged words and threw ice on each other in the main auditorium) and I've only smelled weed once and that was one time on one day while sitting on my balcony.  The rest of my Carnival cruises have been nothing but fun and pretty drama-free and we usually cruise smack dab in the middle of summer; Including our most recent cruise last month on the Mardi Gras during the July 4th week.  We stayed up late one night and hung with the young crowd in the packed club until late and everyone just had a good time dancing and drinking.  I was actually at the bar trying to get a drink and a young man politely asked if he could just squeeze past to get to the iced water jug I was standing in front of.  I know fights and rowdiness happen but not nearly as often as some people try to make it seem.  Narratives are powerful and as we've seen lately in this world people latch on to narratives and to them it becomes reality; even sometimes when they themselves have not experienced something.  We have become a world of followers.

Choice is a beautiful thing.  If Carnival ain't your cup of tea then there are plenty of other lines for people to sail on.  Happy Sailing all!

5 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

agreed, not saying the poster is wrong but done 10 cruises since they made the change and every single one of them was over in less than 10 minutes, most under 3.

Same here.  On the Celebration they asked us if we'd seen the life jacket presentation before and when we said yes they just scanned our boarding passes and we ran off to the bar! lol

On the Mardi Gras last month we did have to watch the demonstration but it took all of about 3 minutes!  And then we ran off to the bar! lol

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

You are allowed to buy one drink before muster is complete. Then no more until it's done. That is what we've been told. Do they actually have a way of telling? I don't know, but I suspect most people take them at their word.

They do have a way of knowing.  On our first cruise since the rule change we didn't know at the time about the new rule so we got a drink when we first boarded.  When we tried to get a 2nd drink they told us we had to do muster before we could order another drink.

Now we just go straight to muster as soon as we board.  

Just got off of the Mardi Gras on July 8th and the best Old Fashions I got were from Aneka at the Fortune Teller.  They were deeeellliiiccciiooouuusss!  

Got a couple of good ones from the Casino bar as well.  

We've done both (Magic 3X and Celebration 1X) and love them both.  I'll echo what many others have said and it just boils down to what you're looking for on that particular cruise.  We've been on both the Celebration and Mardi Gras and they definitely have more bells and whistles, hence more people, than the Magic.  However, I much more enjoy the layout of the Dream class ships.  More condensed and less crowded works just fine for me; and I love the T-pool!  

To me you can't go wrong no matter which you choose.

Happy Sailing all!! 

As many people have pointed out, it's just the way some people are.  There are people who pay more for a product because to them paying more equals better quality.  Companies feast off of people's arrogance, ego, and ignorance; it is capitalism at its finest.  It is the American Way! lol  

Now, as a proud American I don't have a problem with it...just pointing it out.  I've seen people pay waaaay too much (IMO) for a certain champagne or pair of jeans just because it is expensive.  It inflates their egos that they can afford that product (even if they really CAN'T afford it).  People like that tend to have low self-esteem so if it makes them feel better, to each his/her own.

I've only been on 2 cruise lines...16 Carnival cruises and only 1 Royal Caribbean cruise.  There is a reason why I've only cruised Royal one time.  Compared to my Carnival cruises it was considerably more boring!  So, if people wanna pay more for that product, so be it.  I know what I prefer.  And no bragging here, but if I wanted to book Celebrity, Royal, MSC, Princess, Disney, Virgin, or any other cruise line I could afford to do it with no problem.  I just like what I like and that is Carnival.

Happy sailing all!!

13 hours ago, momof3cruisers said:

When were you tested on a cruise? I ask, because when my son got it in Feb while we were on a cruise, when I called medical, they told me twice that it would be $125. Almost like they were discouraging me from having him tested. I did anyway (he was positive) and the rest of the things you mentioned were free at that point, but we were billed the $125 for the test. We were on Paradise. 

It may vary from ship to ship.  Last July I felt sick so they tested me, DW, and our 2 boys...all free of charge.  I tested postive so they quarantined me on deck 1 for the last 2 days of the cruise.

OP we had the same thing happen on our recent cruise on the Mardi Gras a couple of weeks ago.  DW and I usually do an anniversary cruise in January (just the two of us) and then a huge family cruise in the summer.  

The last 2 years we've come home from our January cruises just fine but the we've caught COVID on both of the last 2 summer cruises!  We just finished our quarantine yesterday from the most recent one.  

COVID is out here to stay so sometimes it's gonna getcha!  We are vaccinated and twice boosted so we aren't too worried about getting it.  Last summer it hit us both harder that this summer; which it was just like an irritating cold.  Either way, it won't stop us from cruising or anything else we wanna do.  

Happy Cruising all!

We have 2 teenage boys who are very different when it comes to spending on a cruise. The oldest one (just turned 18) has always been very good about using his money without blowing his daily budget; the youngest one (15) not so much.  

On their first cruise (a 5-day on the Sensation), we decided we'd give them $100 apiece for the entire cruise (so $20/day).  Well, our youngest goes off and spends like $75 in the arcade BEFORE SAILAWAY! lol 

We added more money for him and he ran through that quickly so we started going to guest services every morning to add a specific limit to their cards each day. 

On their next cruise we just did the daily limit at Guest Services from the jump.  The oldest never got close to his daily limit but the youngest would either max out his daily limit or come very close to it every day.  

That was my very long-winded way of saying that you can adjust how much they spend per day at Guest Services! lol

20 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Havana on Vista Class

Thanks.  We have a cruise booked on the Horizon in January 2024 so I'm looking forward to that one also.  From Excel to Vista class; I'm living the high life! lol

As for this thread in general, there have been a lot of good discussion; which is what makes Cruise Critic so valuable.  Then again also, per usual, there are some posters that make me wonder why they ever cruise on Carnival (this NOT directed at you at all). 

Some people seem to have nothing good (or very little good) to say about Carnival yet they love to come to the Carnival board to boast about how other lines are so much better than Carnival. 

They jump at the chance to list all they deem that's wrong with carnival whenever someone asks about a comparison with another Cruise lines.  And their list is usually quite long.  If all of those other cruise lines are FAR SUPIEROR to Carnival, why even bother to cruise on Carnival (just wondering out loud)?  You would think they'd just book an executive suite on their SUPERIOR line of choice.  I'm sure Carnival won't miss them.  Yet they continue to cruise Carnival so I guess they must just love throwing their money away.

Okay, wondering out loud is over.  Happy Sailing all! 

51 minutes ago, lazydayz said:

Interesting.  What did you like better about the Celebration?  I actually prefer the Mardi Gras, mostly because of the expanded Emerill's, and Bar Della Rosa, Fortune Teller and Brass Magnolia bars.  I felt Carnival kind of cheaped out on the bars on the Celebration that replace these three.  

 

However, I totally agree that the Excel class has raised the bar and anyone who thinks it is the same old entertainment is way off base (not aimed at you, btw), and either hasn't sailed the Excel class or if they have, must have sat in their cabin for the entire cruise. 

We really enjoyed the Latitudes, Golden Jubilee, and Bar 820 on the Celebration so if the bars on the Mardi Gras are even better, I'm even more excited about our cruise on the Mardi Gras in 6 weeks.

And yes, the Excel Class ships (well, at least the Celebration...I haven't been on the Mardi Gras yet) definitely is a big step up from any of the other Carnival ships I've been on.  Now, full disclosure, I have never been on a Vista class ship but I've been on every other class but Vista.

There is no right or wrong answer...it's just a matter of preference.  As has been stated, some people like the smaller ships so they automatically rule out the newer, larger ships.  While others want to try the newer ships.  

I will say that just because a ship is bigger that does not mean it feels more crowded; that is the only mis-conception I've seen stated.

We sailed on the Magic and Legend last year and so far we've been on the Celebration this year (will be on Mardi Gras in about 7 weeks) and I can honestly say that the Celebration did not seem any more crowded that the Magic and Legend.  Plus, the new dining options and bars on the Celebration blew the Magic and Legend out the water (no pun intended).  We are super excited to sail on the Mardi Gras in a few weeks after sailing the Celebration.  

It is all about preference.  When it comes to most things I'm a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kind of guy; I usually like to stick with what I know and enjoy rather than branch out.  The exception to that rule for me is when it comes to cruising; I say bring on the mega ships with all the bells and whistles! 

At the end of the day it's all about what you enjoy; there is no wrong answer.  Happy Sailing all!

Yep.  Did a B2B on the Magic last January and we just left our stuff in the room between legs.

34 minutes ago, wemjam said:

Just curious how many of these 15 cruises were 3 or 4 or even 5 dayer's? and how many were more recent?   Also, my post about my personal experience was not embellishment in any way (not saying you were singling me out, but I did post first hand honest accounts of things that I have encountered over the last year).  It was first hand experience, all were shorter cruises.

 

That was the point I think several of us were making.  The behavior has gotten "worse" in recent years.  I have 50 cruises over 20 years (the bulk of which are in the last  7 years or so).

 

I can't recount one bad experience on a longer cruise to speak of (like 7 days or more), it seems you see this type of bad behavior being more prevalent on short/inexpensive cruises.  Again, demographic

 

Okay, I hear you; that's a fair question.  My shortest cruise was 4 days and it was on the Victory in 2017.  I've also had a 5-day on the Sensation.  The rest have been 6-8 days in length.  So, I apologize for doubting the accuracy of you and others experiences.

It's just that sometimes it seems like some posters feel like they have to make Carnival look like some low budget, ghetto cruise line just to make themselves feel better about paying more for other lines.  Makes me wonder why they even bother to "lower" themselves by cruising on Carnival at all.

I definitely could afford to pay higher prices for other lines and I think my standards are pretty high so I'm often baffled when some people (not you in particular) try to imply that Carnival caters to the lowest of the low.  I just have not experienced that in 15 cruises on Carnival.  Again, I don't typically do the shorter cruises so that may be why I've not experienced any of these situations that are often cited as common occurrences on Carnival.

Happy Sailing!

Lots of people seem to just have the misfortune of picking just the wrong Carnival cruise.  I guess I've just been extremely fortunate in my FIFTEEN Carnival cruises that the worst thing I've experienced were kids running in the halls late night on ONE of those cruises.

I don't know if people like embellishing how bad their Carnival experiences have been or if they just have the worst luck in picking Carnival cruises because their posted experiences are soooo much different than my experiences on FIFTEEN Carnival cruises.  Hmmmmm....just wondering out loud.

OP, my advice is to book the cruise and make your own assessment.  Neither me nor anyone else can tell you how you'll enjoy the Valor out of New Orleans.

After the trip, please come back to this thread and let us know how it went.

Happy Sailing!

On 4/29/2023 at 11:35 AM, 1025cruise said:

I never said I wouldn't cruise out of Galveston. I think you quoted the wrong person. I also generally don't buy drinks packages, however if it's included will happily use it.

Yes, I think he was talking to me because I said I would not sail out of Galveston because of the rule.  I don't need to make him understand why I think the way I do. 

Everybody don't think the same way; too many people have an issue when people don't think like them.  To each his/her own.  

Yeah, I'd love to cruise on the Jubilee but I will just have to wait until it finally leaves Galveston.  Not going to deal with all that drama.