Why the big knock on CCL?

[bjfitz0703]

All the lines are good. They are all a little different. We have been on 4 lines and the food was about the same for all. Carnival often provides the best return for your money. For example, Royal has better ships but they cost more to get on. Disney has bigger cabins and free soda but they cost a lot more. IMO you get what you pay for and what I have paid for, Carival cruises has provided a great return on that investment.

 

One other thing. Someone once told me that on almost every cruise most things go great and a few go off the rails. Focus on the great and plow through the challenges. It really is up to you.

[SMSACE6]

To the OP, most of my cruising experience has been on Carnival. One cruise on NCL and one on Celebrity. While I loved my cruises on both of those lines, I find myself going back to Carnival mostly because of the price and the value for that price, a very good value in my opinion. Believe me if my first Carnival cruise was "Bad", and even if they were offering a rock bottom price I would not continue to go with them. I have enjoyed every one of my Carnival cruises as much as the two on other lines. Bottom line for me is price, since I cruise solo often.

 

I read others opinions and reviews, but until I have experienced a cruise line for myself, I try not to place to much importance in others opinions. I would suggest you try one Carnival cruise, and then decide for yourself if Carnival is for you. JMHO.:)

[travelntreats]

Hi All,

I'm the OP and gonna go with CCL at this time and price i'm really not taking that big a gamble. I'm pretty easy to satisfy, taking it easy, good food and good times is all that i require, the one thing i can't stand is cig/cigar smoke, hopefully it won't be in the cabin and dining room, it's the one recurring complaint i hear that scares me.

If you have a balcony stateroom.... there is a chance your neighbor will be out on theirs smoking some type of tobacco.....as far as in the stateroom... even if a past passenger has smoked in there, I am willing to bet you will not even know it... they do a great job fumigating those staterooms and if you still have a scent of it, let your stateroom attendant know it and they will do everything they can to eliminate the smell and make your cruise more enjoyable... even if it comes down to changing the bedspreads !

 

As for the dining rooms... now worries there... smoking is not permitted in that venue at all. :)

 

Have a GREAT CRUISE...:cool: Goooooooooo Carnival... Shish Boom Bah ! :D

[CalmCruiserNC]

We've experienced several different cruiselines -- and we've enjoyed them all, even with their differences. Carnival IS the best value on the sea, so just don't expect a highly upscale experience on a budget cruise and you'll find Carnival a wonderful time!

[Cindy]

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.

 

Good question...I've been on three cruise lines, and I've found that all have things I think they do exceptionally well, and things I don't care for.

I was very pleasantly surprised on my first Carnival cruise. My husband and I both think the food on Carnival is the best we've had on the three lines we've cruised on...Princess, RCCL, and Carnival. The beds are extremely comfortable, and we like the layout of the Ocean Suite we've gotten on our 2 Carnival cruises.

Because I'm in education, we always have to cruise at "peak" times. Since I have limited vacation time, we find it very convenient to cruise out of our home port of Galveston during Spring Break. Currently, my choices for a 7-day cruise in March are Carnival Conquest or RCCL Voyager of the Seas...both do the same Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel itinerary, but it would have cost us $1,500 more to have a JS on Voyager than we spent for an OS on the Conquest. For our tastes, our overall cruise experience and the things we did during our week on the Conquest were so similar to our experiences on the Voyager and the Grand that I'll continue to vote with my pocketbook for now. I wouldn't hesitate to sail on Princess, RCCL, or CCL again.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Hi All,

I'm the OP and gonna go with CCL at this time and price i'm really not taking that big a gamble. I'm pretty easy to satisfy, taking it easy, good food and good times is all that i require, the one thing i can't stand is cig/cigar smoke, hopefully it won't be in the cabin and dining room, it's the one recurring complaint i hear that scares me.

 

You read complaints about smoke in the dining rooms? I don't know how long its been but it's been many years since smoking has been allowed in the dining room.

 

Bill

[lillian marie]

CCL has a party boat=rowdy image with many people who have never been on a CCL cruise.

[vacruizer]

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.

 

I certainly didn't mean that to be that I assume all RCI cruisers are like that - I just seem to be accosted by an abnormal number of them! :p It really has become kind of comical to my dh and I. I thought he was going to spit his OJ out at breakfast one morning on our last cruise he was trying so hard not to laugh. Had gone to the MDR for breakfast and not two minutes in this lady looks at me and asks how many cruises I'd been on and if they were all on Carnival. Next thing I knew I was getting tirade on how crazy I must be to keep wasting my money on Carnival and how much better RCI was. :p I was just sitting there thinking that I hadn't even had my coffee yet!

 

I'll work on getting those Hawaii pics over to photobucket and post a link somewhere (floataway lounge maybe?) over the weekend. Right now I've only got them uploaded to Facebook and don't want post a public link to my page here.

[bakechef]

Well it's my travel agent that puts some of the ideas in my head, maybe she's trying to upsell. The price is very reasonable and out of my home port, so big savings on airfare, i'll give it a try and report back. I am still just a little cautious, hate to hear from my wife "we are never gonna sail carnival again", as i'm putting this all together.

Funny, I'm looking forward to going on the refurbished Glory and I'm not hearing rave reviews about, nothing bad, it just does not seem a big favorite for most people.

 

The Glory was my first Carnival cruise and the one that got me hooked! She is a nice ship, like her similar sisters, she has an odd layout, but nothing that an intelligent person couldn't figure out by day 2.

 

I would sail on her again in a heartbeat, she is a good ship.

[bakechef]

Hi All,

I'm the OP and gonna go with CCL at this time and price i'm really not taking that big a gamble. I'm pretty easy to satisfy, taking it easy, good food and good times is all that i require, the one thing i can't stand is cig/cigar smoke, hopefully it won't be in the cabin and dining room, it's the one recurring complaint i hear that scares me.

 

There is definitely no smoking of any kind in the dining room. Smoking is allowed in cabins, but they have a great system for removing the smell COMPLETELY from the rooms. When I was debarking from the Splendor, I saw many rooms being treated with portable ozone machines, they had a sign on the door indicating that they were using them, so this I have figured out is the reason that I have never even smelled a hint of smoke in a cabin, I am sensitive to it, and would be very disappointed if my room smelled like smoke. Every cabin that we have had smelled fresh and clean.

[LHP]

Hi All,

I'm the OP and gonna go with CCL at this time and price i'm really not taking that big a gamble. I'm pretty easy to satisfy, taking it easy, good food and good times is all that i require, the one thing i can't stand is cig/cigar smoke, hopefully it won't be in the cabin and dining room, it's the one recurring complaint i hear that scares me.

 

Remember that the Dream, the Splendor (and next year the Magic) offers nonsmoking cabins. All the Spa cabins are nonsmoking in the cabin and on the balcony.

[LHP]

CCL has a party boat=rowdy image with many people who have never been on a CCL cruise.

 

To be perfectly honest, Carnival earned that reputation for good reason 20 years ago. Back then, it was a booze and booty cruise.

 

And 3/4 day cruises can draw more of a party crowd....

 

but years ago, Carnival saw that same "party single cruisers" growing up...having families...and Carnival evolved.

 

Carnival saw that "families" were the future of cruising and adapted accordingly.

 

Some folks just don't want to give Carnival the credit for evolving....

 

Carnival managed to tame the partying and retain the FUN....

[jessemon]

To be perfectly honest, Carnival earned that reputation for good reason 20 years ago. Back then, it was a booze and booty cruise.

 

And 3/4 day cruises can draw more of a party crowd....

 

but years ago, Carnival saw that same "party single cruisers" growing up...having families...and Carnival evolved.

 

Carnival saw that "families" were the future of cruising and adapted accordingly.

 

Some folks just don't want to give Carnival the credit for evolving....

 

Carnival managed to tame the partying and retain the FUN....

The thing that is funny is that most people don't realize the average age on Carnival is 50 +.....Of course I have been know to party just a little bit.....LOL.....:D:D

[nothomeonacruise]

I'm not a smoker and the only place I've ever noticed smoke was in the piano bar. It didn't stop us from going in there and having a fun time, though. :)

[bones774]

You read complaints about smoke in the dining rooms? I don't know how long its been but it's been many years since smoking has been allowed in the dining room.

 

Bill

No one has told me they smelled smoke in the D/R, I just asked considering the possibility of smoke wafting in from somewhere else, or even just a large presence of smokers and their clothes/hair smelling.

I was a little unclear, sorry.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

No one has told me they smelled smoke in the D/R, I just asked considering the possibility of smoke wafting in from somewhere else, or even just a large presence of smokers and their clothes/hair smelling.

I was a little unclear, sorry.

 

OK my mistake. You just heard about smoke being a problem on the ship in general.

 

You will be fine in the cabins and dining rooms.

 

I don't smoke and hate the smell and have never been bothered by smoke. I don't hang in the bars though.

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise.:)

 

Bill

[Cindy]

I certainly didn't mean that to be that I assume all RCI cruisers are like that - I just seem to be accosted by an abnormal number of them! :p It really has become kind of comical to my dh and I. I thought he was going to spit his OJ out at breakfast one morning on our last cruise he was trying so hard not to laugh. Had gone to the MDR for breakfast and not two minutes in this lady looks at me and asks how many cruises I'd been on and if they were all on Carnival. Next thing I knew I was getting tirade on how crazy I must be to keep wasting my money on Carnival and how much better RCI was. :p I was just sitting there thinking that I hadn't even had my coffee yet!

 

 

 

In my experiences on RCCL (5 cruises), the CDs poked fun at Carnival during the shows. I think that contributes to the air of "superiority." I've never really understood why they feel the need to belittle another line instead of just promoting their own good product. It's puzzling, because RCCL is the only line where I've heard the CD specifically mention a competitor as part of their "act."

Even more puzzling is why the passengers who are loyal to RCCL tend to adopt the "we're better than you" mentality. I haven't seen any real difference between the passengers on any of my cruises. Does all this mean I'm a classy lady with impeccable taste when I'm on RCCL and a rude hick with no social graces when I'm on Carnival? How shall I classify myself on our next Princess cruise? Oh, I'm so confused!:rolleyes:;):eek:

[Duncarob]

Carnival is the most popular cruise line in the world. There are many reasons why. Don't let those people who knock Carnival on the other boards sway you.....many have never sailed Carnival. Carnival is my favorite. I would rank the lines I have sailed on as follows: 1.) Carnival, 2.) HAL, 3.) Celebrity, and in distant last place...4.) NCL.