mattcj89

With the exceptions of the West Coast and Alaska, what mega ships have one single itinerary featuring the same three port stops all 52 weeks of the year? I love to cruise from Galveston, as it’s my homeport and preferred port to cruise from, but I can’t think of any other mega ship that doesn’t have more than one single itinerary to choose from. Unfortunately, on these larger ships the options are very limited as to where they can go in one week without tendering. I love the growth and options we have out of Galveston, but some varying itineraries would be appreciated; possibly 8/6 day rotations - Costa Maya, Jamaica, Cozumel (8 day) and Cozumel, Roatan (6 day).

I understand that, but if I were to guess, I’d say less than 25% of people cruising out of Galveston fly in for their cruise. I recognize and am very appreciative that Galveston has grown exponentially as a cruise port, but is an itinerary carrying around 15k passengers on a weekly basis truly viable long term? Maybe I’m overthinking, but I cruise for the ports in addition to the ship.

I just mentioned the same thing. I’m going to say this with a disclaimer - I live just under 2 hours away from Galveston and I’m thankful for the many options we now have, compared to just 10 years ago when Carnival was the only option for year-round cruising and Royal Caribbean was only a seasonal option; however, does anyone else think that having 3 mega ships offering the same, tired year-round itinerary is a bit much? MSC seems very confident, going all in on Galveston with one of their newest, largest ships. This will be very interesting to see how this over saturated market affects prices in the next couple years and how each line plans on competing with the next.

I’m going to say this with a disclaimer - I live just under 2 hours away from Galveston and I’m thankful for the many options we now have, compared to just 10 years ago when Carnival was the only option for year-round cruising and Royal Caribbean was only a seasonal option; however, does anyone else think that having 3 mega ships offering the same, tired year-round itinerary is a bit much? MSC seems very confident, diving right into Galveston with one of their newest, largest ships. This will be very interesting to see how this over saturated market affects prices in the next couple years and how each line plans on competing with the next.

The Steakhouse used to be excellent value for the money, but the experience has been cheapened dramatically from what is was, even looking back five years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy a night at the Steakhouse and enjoy the food, but instead of booking multiple nights, we’ve begun visiting only once a cruise. On the newer ships, the tables are so close they might as well be shared. As a shareholder, I get packing in as many people as possible, but it’s not the intimate experience it once was. The service, while not bad isn’t on par with what it once was and between the recent menu changes (bring back the wasabi mashed potatoes!), lesser quality cuts of meat and smaller portions, it makes us less likely to book more than one night. If a ship has JiJi’s I’ll choose JiJi’s over the Steakhouse every time when given the option, as that’s one of the most underrated of any meals eaten on a Carnival ship.

We’ve also only done Carnival from Galveston and I can honestly say we’ve never had any issues with rowdiness or bad behavior. Sure, there might be a more boisterous drunk here and there, but if they’re keeping to themselves and not causing issues with anyone, it doesn’t really bother me much. Call me biased if you want, but I truly feel that cruising from Galveston is a slightly better group of passengers. Most are going to be from Texas and it usually seems that most just go with the flow and want to have a good time. As far as the other ports I mentioned, none really stick out for poor passenger behavior except Miami and that’s why I have no intentions of sailing from there in the near future.

I think a lot of it is just the new, unfortunate societal norms, however my two cruises from Miami (first in 2014 and second in 2023) have been the worst regarding passenger behavior. Our closest homeport is Galveston, but we’ve also cruised from New Orleans, Port Canaveral and Long Beach. After the last cruise on Horizon earlier in the year we were also considering canceling our upcoming Carnival cruises, based on passenger behavior and the general unpleasantness of our fellow cruisers, but we decided never again out of Miami.

The disappointment is rooted in the fact that Carnival isn’t willing to transfer the booking as stated to a comprable sailing. They decided to have the ship drydocked and repositioned to Alaska earlier than planned, leaving only two other options for an 8 day sailing leaving on the same day - 4/12/25. Because the rates are slightly higher on the two other options, Carnival is making excuses as to not honor the transfer “to a comprable sailing in similar accommodations”. That’s the verbiage they chose to use, without any further restrictions or details listed. For Carnival not to honor the months of March or April seems disingenuous at best, almost as though they’re wanting the booking to be dropped altogether so they don’t have to eat the difference in the fare or payout the $50 pp OBC. If not transferred in the months of March or April, would they prefer peak summer season? I’m sure they’d have no problems transferring my booking at the same fare to a shorter itinerary at a lower fare in the months of March or April and that’s where my issue lies. Step up and make it right based on what the email is stating is all I’m asking.

Long story short - Carnival cancels April 2025 Spirit cruise due to drydock. Email states the following: If you wish to rebook on another voyage: Your cruise rate will be protected on comparable sailing, in similar accommodations. There’s only 2 or 3 8 day sailings on the same date (4/13/25) and I call to rebook and Carnival states the rebooked cruise can’t be booked in March or April due to higher rates for Spring Break. Call was escalated to a supervisor who confirmed the information given and the cruise wasn’t rebooked. There were no terms outlined in the email and they’re going to pull this? I’m thinking my last Carnival cruise might be in April 2024 after this headache.

I think the biggest factor is homeport. I used to think it mostly had to do with the length of the cruise, but I’ve been on a 3 day cruise out of Port Canaveral where people had more tact than on an 8 day out of Miami. I’ve cruised twice out of Miami (2014 - 6 day and 2023 - 8 day) and both times disembarked thinking “never again”. I’ve cruised from Galveston, New Orleans, Port Canaveral, Miami and Long Beach. I’m thankful Galveston is my closest homeport, because typically it seems to attract more “go with the flow” clientele (Port Canaveral would be a close second in my experience). New Orleans has been very hit or miss with rowdy passengers and that’s coming from a mix of 7 and 5 day cruises. I think a lot can be said with these issues on Venezia out of NY. Carnival seems to have had issues with behavior regardless of the ship placed in that port or the length of the itinerary. Putting it’s nicest ship in NY was probably not the best idea IMO. Place a Spirit class ship there with fewer cabins to help drive the price up to keep the riff raff off and that’s probably the answer to keeping a ship there year round, unfortunately.

I think when most people are asking if they can make this or that time, they have the understanding of under normal circumstances. Of course anything could happen at any time to delay the ship from getting into port; we were about an hour late getting back into Miami on our last cruise on Horizon in April due to a medical evacuation on the the last sea day. Things happen and people get that, but to recommend not to fly back until the day after the cruise returns to the port for the most off chance something happens is ridiculous. Once the cruise returns to port, I’m ready to get off the ship and drive the two hour trip home (if sailing from Galveston) or get on a flight home as quickly as possible to get laundry completed, bags put away and prepared for the upcoming week. I’m willing to take that risk of flying out as soon as I think is reasonably possibly, knowing the risk I’m taking and willing to go with the flow if something delays the process. Priority debarkation does play a large role in my decision to take that risk, but on most every cruise I’ve been off between 7:30a-8a. I’ve never understood the logic of lingering on the ship until the last minute or even staying an extra day in port without any reason other than to make a flight in the off chance the ship’s late to port.

Ever since the restart brunch has taken over an hour, due to long waits for drinks, followed by orders and food. We’ve stopped going because we got tired of devoting the entire morning to a meal.

After looking at the deck plans and features of Venezia, it seems like the ship is going to be more “Carnivalized” than previously advertised. I anticipate Panorama to be redeployed after Firenze joins the fleet, since it doesn’t seem likely the west coast would be able keep all the ships out of Long Beach filled. It‘s going to be interesting to see how these ships are received by the public once they start sailing.

Aren’t there two more Vista class ships being built for the Carnival China division? I’d be willing to bet if those are still under construction, they end up being transferred to Carnival before they get too far with the construction. I think Carnival could take delivery of the two additional Vista class ships and at that point, either send Venezia and Firenze back to Costa with very little conversions depending on European demand, or keep Venezia and Firenze with Carnival long-term and renovate them to bring them in line with Carnival standards at that time. I don’t see this as a long-term solution either way. I believe Carnival is just buying time and filling current demands as they see profitable, with minimal investment involved.