Why the big knock on CCL?

[LHP]

I have no problem with cruise lines critiquing each other (especially in a humorous way)....

 

however, I detest cruise lines that openly encourage their staff to degrade customers of another cruise line.

 

Having heard (over the RCCL intercom...so one can only assume it was an employee)...as we shared a dock with them "look at those Walmart shoppers"...

 

How short sighted... we are now cruising 5 times a year .... why would we want to spend our money with a cruise line that ridiculed us???

 

If cruise line companies want to banter back and forth...or poke fun of their ships...that is fine....

 

but attacking a passenger simply for their choice...is wrong...

[firefly333]

Stick around the Carnival forums, they delight in knocking RCL just as bad. Its not limited to just other forums, folks here do it too.

[MrPete]

Stick around the Carnival forums, they delight in knocking RCL just as bad. Its not limited to just other forums, folks here do it too.

 

Usually only in response to a knock at CCL. I mean, who needs to knock #2?

[johnjen]

I've been on Cunard,Princess,Disney and RCL and enjoyed all of them, I'm planning on doing a Carnival cruise on the Glory but as I switch about between forums every other forum has to knock CCL, moreso than they knock any other line. I understand people being prejudiced about their favorite line on that particular forum but if you're not on the CCL forum they make it sound like CCL is a tramp steamer line.

I'd like to hear from people who have tried many lines.

Thanks

 

PS-i'm looking to take the Glory out of NY to Canada, i'm looking at 1)Glory being recently drydocked and 2)Having a bit more sedate crowd on the Canada trip. Hoping those things work in our favor.

 

Our last three cruises were with RCL and on every cruise we heard that Carnival was the low-par cruise line, but ever since that day in 1988 when I boarded a Carnival ship (Holiday) in the Bahamas as a guest Navy visitor, I was blown away with cruising altogether. I can't remember why we ended up with RCL but we enjoyed it, yet the clientele kept slamming CCL there.

 

We're on Glory this coming July out of NYC and are really looking forward to it! The only way to see for yourself is to try them out!

[bean-si]

I also never wanted to sail on Carnival...had a very negative image of it..but my daughter convinced me to room with her for a "girls only" cruise and I LOVED IT. I don't want highly formal. I like the casual atmosphere on Carnival, the wonderful service I've had. I've now done 3 Carnival cruises, and am lusting after an AFT WRAP on Carnival to Canada

[DanJ]

Once you create and stick with a reputation like Carnival did in it's early days, it's hard to shake it later on. We've even seen people in this thread who had misconceptions based on what they'd heard years ago, and were happy to be shown how it actually is now.

[framerman]

This is funny you mention this. Five years ago I planned my second cruise, (my first cruise was planned for me by my husband's company over 20 yrs. before that so I don't count that one.) When I went to my travel agent I told her I wanted to go on a cruise and I would go on any line BUT Carnival. She asked me "why not Carnival"? I told her I have heard horror stories re CCL and I wanted RCCL, Princess, NCL or Celebrity. She set me straight and we cruised on the Carnival Legend. Since then we have crusised on the Victory and presently are booked for next month on the Carnival Pride. We also did three cruises on NCL. We have not had a bad cruise yet and I would recommend Carnival to anyone. Cruisecontrol, I totally agree with you there are some uppity people who think Carnival is beneath them, and I was almost one of them. I am so glad that I took my TA's advice, and sailed with CCL. Since that time I have told this story to many, one of which just took a RCCL cruise, after trying Carnival on my advice and liked Carnival better!! In my opinion I think that most of the people that bash Carnival either have never taken a Carnival cruise or did take one with the attitude that it was beneath them and were bound and determined to dislike it!! Just my opinion!!

Very well put

[PROCRUISE]

I've been on Cunard,Princess,Disney and RCL and enjoyed all of them, I'm planning on doing a Carnival cruise on the Glory but as I switch about between forums every other forum has to knock CCL, moreso than they knock any other line. I understand people being prejudiced about their favorite line on that particular forum but if you're not on the CCL forum they make it sound like CCL is a tramp steamer line.

I'd like to hear from people who have tried many lines.

Thanks

 

PS-i'm looking to take the Glory out of NY to Canada, i'm looking at 1)Glory being recently drydocked and 2)Having a bit more sedate crowd on the Canada trip. Hoping those things work in our favor.

 

Can only compare Carnival with Holland America and Norwegian. Each cruise line and ship has had pluses and minus but we've enjoyed every cruise we've taken primarily because it has allowed us to see many parts of the world.

 

We prefer CCL and HAL but even that is comparing apples to oranges in terms of the environments. HAL is more sedate with a touch of increased culture and refinement on their ships. CCL has an air of excitement and fun(hence, the fun ships). We simply enjoy both and now really only look at itinerary. We're even going to get brave and try Celebrity or Princess next year.

 

There is possibly a need for some who don't cruise on CCL to look down on us who cruise with this line because they equate higher costs, on the other lines, as making them more refined or simply themselves with more money. The truth is. however, CCL is an outstanding cruise line offering the same product as all the other lines and making it accessible to almost everyone.

 

Can you have some unfavorable experiences on CCL. Yes, but it also happens on every other cruise line too. We enjoy being on cruise ships and will continue to enjoy CCL, including The Valor in December.

[MrPete]

Once you create and stick with a reputation like Carnival did in it's early days, it's hard to shake it later on. We've even seen people in this thread who had misconceptions based on what they'd heard years ago, and were happy to be shown how it actually is now.

 

Were you there in the early days?

 

When I sailed them in the 80's, it wasn't there.

[f7prez]

Sailing on CCL for the first time as I type this. Wanted to form my own opinion having sailed only RCCL 3 times previous. Went in with an open mind and we are all enjoying the experience. While I prefer the overall look and layout of the RCCL ships over CCL. I found the service, food and entertainment to be similar. CCL's buffet area is crazy busy with looooong lines. Maybe that was only this particular ship (Victory). Noticed more smokers on CCL. Not sure if it is because they allow smoking in more areas, or if this particular cruise had more smokers. I thought RCCL offered more to do onboard. However, on Victory we are in port every day and haven't done much on board anyway. In fact we just booked CCL's Destiny for November while onboard Victory. The price was great. If CCL was the same price as RCCL, I think I would stick with RCCL. CCL is a good value for the price.

[smileycruiser2007]

I've been on a number of HAL cruises and one Celebrity Cruise. I went on my first Carnival cruise on Carnival Freedom in November 2009. It was different from HAL, but it was a very fun experience. It was kind of crowded, but by reading the CC boards I learned how I could have a great time anyway.

 

The other passengers were nice, and there were lots of ports to enjoy. I agree with those who disliked the Lido buffet area--it was confusing and a real nightmare during lunch hours. But there were other places that offered a very tasty lunch, so it was not a big issue. Cabin was great--it was a 1A, but it really was great-and service also was great. I had such a good time that I'm trying the Glory for Canada 7 day this September.

[DanJ]

Were you there in the early days?

 

When I sailed them in the 80's, it wasn't there.

 

You aren't trying to deny they earned their party-boat frat house at sea reputation from the Mardi Gras, Carnivale and Festivale days, I hope. No, I wasn't there, but that stuff doesn't just get invented out of thin air. Even their first dozen newbuilds didn't exactly inspire people to drop their perceptions of the line. It wasn't until they built the Destiny did people start thinking Carnival was growing up.

 

I'm glad I gave Carnival a second chance, because if I had thought the Tropicale was representative of the way Carnival was, I would be right there amongst the people talking down about them. Thankfully, the Victory completely changed my mind about the line. Enough so that I was confident in taking my wife's parents on the Pride, after they had sailed RCI, X and Princess, and not surprised that they enjoyed it.

[nothomeonacruise]

My mother has sailed on different "luxury" lines and she was pleasantly surprised with her first Carnival cruise. She has gone with us every time since then. She says it's fun. I don't read those other boards, and they are entitled to their opinion. I know that we enjoy Carnival. They do know how to make sure their guests have a nice time.

(Carnival owns most of those other cruiselines...:))

 

Just don't read the other boards. The Carnival boards are always more interesting!

[kenrod]

Before our first Carnival Cruise, we were more accustomed to Princess. We thought sailing with Princess was elegant and my thinking at the time that Carnival was a step down.

 

Then we took our first Carnival cruise on the Triumph. The ship was beautiful, perhaps a little "overly decorated" that a Princess ship. But we found the food, service and the ship itself to be comparable. At that time I didn't even realize that Carnival and Princess were owned by the same company. But I felt very comfortable on the Carnival ship.

 

Our next cruise we took Norwegian, which was also nice. The cruise after that we went back to Carnival, and for some reason I just "felt" more comfortable... kind of like coming home, if you know what I mean. It was the Carnival Freedom, and I just loved that ship.

 

Now in two days I will be on the Carnival Victory, looking forward to being "bitten" by the seahorses that I have heard so much about in the CC forum!

 

To me when I choose a cruise line, it all boils down to itinerary and price. At the present time Carnival is my cruise line of choice.

[mom2tcdx2]

So far I have only sailed Carnival and Princess, found them to be very similar. Oddly enough though I think I have had the best dining room service on Carnival. Activities though I liked more so on Princess. However have had a wonderful time on each of my vacations. I am open to any and all cruise lines if they have a price that I feel I can afford. As you can tell I have two booked with NCL and one Disney in my near future.

 

Tried for Carnival after my Disney cruise for something from Barcelona but they don't have anything in my time frame available, so considering NCL again or RCCL. I have even priced Celebrity and depending on what time of year you are looking at they all have good deals.

[stetucke]

I had a lot of fun on my first cruise that was on Carnival. I thought the service and food were both good to very good. The biggest complaint my friends and I had was that you would order a drink at one bar and like it then at the next bar you would order the same drink and it tasted completely different. My second cruise was on RCCL and again I had a great time. We went with a lot of the same friends from the Carnival cruise. We all thought that the food and service on RCCL was very good to excellent. We also thought that we paid a little more and got a little more. If you get on a cruise ship with observing everything that goes on and are more worried about having every little thing to post your review here your gonna notice more. We go to have a good time. There were little hickups along the way with both, don't let that blow up your whole week.

[MrPete]

You aren't trying to deny they earned their party-boat frat house at sea reputation from the Mardi Gras, Carnivale and Festivale days, I hope. No, I wasn't there, but that stuff doesn't just get invented out of thin air. Even their first dozen newbuilds didn't exactly inspire people to drop their perceptions of the line. It wasn't until they built the Destiny did people start thinking Carnival was growing up.

 

 

I wasn't there, and you are just perpetuating hearsay.

 

I read people say the same stuff about 10 years ago, and when pressed, find they never set foot on a CCL ship 10 years ago. :rolleyes:

 

Again, I found my cruise on CCL in the 80's no different than a cruise in the 00's.

 

And when I read the statement such as yours, I will alway press to ask, just when did you sail on CCL?

[travelntreats]

I wasn't there, and you are just perpetuating hearsay.

 

I read people say the same stuff about 10 years ago, and when pressed, find they never set foot on a CCL ship 10 years ago. :rolleyes:

 

Again, I found my cruise on CCL in the 80's no different than a cruise in the 00's.

 

And when I read the statement such as yours, I will alway press to ask, just when did you sail on CCL?

I sailed with CCL in the 80's and I definately see the changes in passengers... back then you did not see the sr. passengers as predominant as you see in todays cruising environment... at least not on CCL. And also back in those days the 3 - 4 night cruises were the more popular and affordable, thus the more inclined to "party crowd" which is where the stigma of "Party till you puke" started and was a REALITY that I saw compared to say RCI sailings I also had the pleasure of enjoying.

 

I still contend that as long as CCL keeps those prices low, it opens it's doors to an income level crowd that is more inclined to "party" (and sometimes to an excessive amount that is noticeable and talked about) more so than other lines carrying a higher priced cruise. I am very cautious in stating the types of passengers I have been seeing growing as the rates become more affordable, but am sure you can read between the lines ! :D

 

DanJ is making some very VALID POINTS and are far from "heresay" !

[MrPete]

I sailed with CCL in the 80's and I definately see the changes in passengers... back then you did not see the sr. passengers as predominant as you see in todays cruising environment... at least not on CCL. And also back in those days the 3 - 4 night cruises were the more popular and affordable, thus the more inclined to "party crowd" which is where the stigma of "Party till you puke" started and was a REALITY that I saw compared to say RCI sailings I also had the pleasure of enjoying.

 

I still contend that as long as CCL keeps those prices low, it opens it's doors to an income level crowd that is more inclined to "party" (and sometimes to an excessive amount that is noticeable and talked about) more so than other lines carrying a higher priced cruise. I am very cautious in stating the types of passengers I have been seeing growing as the rates become more affordable, but am sure you can read between the lines ! :D

 

DanJ is making some very VALID POINTS and are far from "heresay" !

 

Point is, they're not HIS points.

[travelntreats]

Point is, they're not HIS points.

OK... then use my points which VALIDATE Danj's points !

 

 

Checkmate...:rolleyes:...Slam Dunk... SCORE !

[FireIce0010]

 

I have nothing against RCI and I'm sure they put out a fine product that from what I understand here is not all that different than Carnival. But the attitude of many (not all) RCI cruisers is what has kept me away - there seems to be a "holier than thou" complex amongst quite a few RCI cruisers. I guess they have to try and belittle Carnival to feel better about spending more money (in most cases) on RCI? :p

 

Get the boots out, it's getting deep in here.:rolleyes:

[MrPete]

OK... then use my points which VALIDATE Danj's points !

 

 

 

I do. Now I've read two people saw that had a rowdy cruise...you and G'ma. I can't expect this to represent every cruise.

[FireIce0010]

I have no problem with cruise lines critiquing each other (especially in a humorous way)....

 

however, I detest cruise lines that openly encourage their staff to degrade customers of another cruise line.

 

Having heard (over the RCCL intercom...so one can only assume it was an employee)...as we shared a dock with them "look at those Walmart shoppers"...

 

How short sighted... we are now cruising 5 times a year .... why would we want to spend our money with a cruise line that ridiculed us???

 

If cruise line companies want to banter back and forth...or poke fun of their ships...that is fine....

 

but attacking a passenger simply for their choice...is wrong...

 

 

LMAO. Need more boots. By the way, take a look at the guy that Carnival pays a lot of money to slander other cruise lines on his blog. Of course Carnival cheerleaders such as yourself don't see things like that.:rolleyes:

[JerseyshoreBruce]

With give or take 3000 people on a ship somebody is always going to complain about something....i have a best friend who i won't go out to dinner with anymore cause they always send something back to the kitchen...everytime....so Carnival will always have a few winers with all those people on a ship....I love Carnival never had one bad experience with on the ship....just booking with them once on a large group cruise i had a problem but Carnival is awesome!:)

[MrPete]

I have nothing against RCI and I'm sure they put out a fine product that from what I understand here is not all that different than Carnival. But the attitude of many (not all) RCI cruisers is what has kept me away - there seems to be a "holier than thou" complex amongst quite a few RCI cruisers. I guess they have to try and belittle Carnival to feel better about spending more money (in most cases) on RCI? :p

 

Another perception put out there, yet non existant on the cruises I went on. You can't control an "air" on board. Just another bunch of people sailing on a ship, most of whom ALSO sail on Carnival.

 

BTW, I AM interest in those Hawaii pix you said you had.