After 10 cruises, does that keep you cruising Carnival?

[soozles]

At this point in my life, I'm happy staying with Carnival. I haven't had a bad cruise, and the more upbeat atmosphere fits my style. I'm young and I enjoy the excitement I guess of a Carnival cruise. I have been on other lines (Princess, Celebrity, NCL), and they just didn't have that same "zing" that Carnival does. But when I go to book a cruise, I look at the price mainly, and then look to see if there is anything good leaving from NY (usually not). If there is a good cruise leaving from NY, I'm likely to book that one over anything else because it's so much easier. But if I'm flying to port, I look at which line is cheapest and has a good itinerary. And usually, Carnival beats out cause they're usually the cheapest that I find.

[DarthGrady]

Hey newly crowned VIP's,

 

Anyone feel that after getting to your 10th cruise, that you need to book Carnival so as to not miss out on your Platinum Perks?

 

Do I want to give up: free laundry, expedited embark/disembarkation, etc?

 

Mike

 

The perks don't make me cruise solely with CCL, but I sure do miss the laundry service when I'm on RCI!

 

I'm just glad we recently made Platinum on RCI. That gets us priority debarkation, which is probably my second favorite CCL Platinum perk.

[glrounds]

The perks are nice (especially the laundry and VIP boarding), but I go by bang-for-the-buck. Carnival raising the SOLO pricing to 200% of DO has got me looking at other cruiselines. This was always a big advantage Carnival had. Might have a cruise coming up in December on the MIRACLE, but I'm not paying for it, so will cruise Carnival for the 19th consecutive time. Am looking into other cruises on Princess, which isn't much higher than Carnival and Celebrity. The perks really are NOT all that, IMHO.

[IslandCruz]

I guess I stick with Carnival because it is so familiar to me and I know what to expect for a fun vacation at a value price. I've grown up along with the company since my first cruise on the TS Carnivale. I really don't care all that much about the Platinum perks except the free Slot Tournament entry. Being greeted with a "Welcome Home" when they see the platinum card is a nice thing.:)

[Tapi]

Hey newly crowned VIP's,

 

Anyone feel that after getting to your 10th cruise, that you need to book Carnival so as to not miss out on your Platinum Perks?

 

Do I want to give up: free laundry, expedited embark/disembarkation, etc?

 

Mike

 

The perks are nice, but after cruising on Carnival for ten + times, I'm ready for a change. There's nothing wrong with Carnival, but I want to experience different destinations, ships, and levels of service. In other words, different cruise lines.

 

My next cruises are not on Carnival and I will miss the perks of being Platinum, but some free laundry or being able to cut in line is not enough reason to keep cruising to the same ports on the same ships over and over....

[Buster27]

I reached Platinum several cruises ago.....I continue to choose Carnival because of the ships, ports, and PRICE ! I have cruised other lines....and enjoyed them...but still prefer Carnival....I guess because I enjoy the lively atmosphere. I like the people on Carnival...I like sailing with all kinds of people !

 

Maybe I"ve been lucky....but I've always had great service...great food...clean rooms with good cabin stewards....good customer service ....never had a bad experience.

 

The VIP perks are not that big a deal for me. The best is VIP embarking....the free laundry is ok....but I would never send anything other than tee shirts or undewear....they wash and dry everything in hot water...they completely ruined an outfit of mine...shrunk and faded it...so I learned my lesson. For me...the stationary is worthless...I have enough picture frames and the treats they send to the room I don't even accept anymore...they're awful !!! I couldn't even give them away.

[goofycruiser]

We have been Platinum for 6 cruises. VIP boarding is the best, no lines. The other perks are good too. You don 't have to wait for a tender either.

We are not even tempted to try another line. Carnival keeps changing where they cruise to so there is plenty to choose from. The more you cruise the cheaper they get. The only complaint is the gift. It needs to be changed more frequently. How many silver picture frames do I need?

[manmtnmike]

I reached Platinum several cruises ago.....I continue to choose Carnival because of the ships, ports, and PRICE ! I have cruised other lines....and enjoyed them...but still prefer Carnival....I guess because I enjoy the lively atmosphere. I like the people on Carnival...I like sailing with all kinds of people !

 

I know what you mean...we really enjoyed our Princess cruises, but it was missing something intangable when compared with our Carnival cruise.

We also like the atmosphere and the liveliness of the people.

 

We enjoy the live dance/rock bands,but alas...that may be an endangred species on Carnival.:(

 

Mike

[luckycruzer]

and less that 2 hr. drive!...Milestones +6 comin up Sat.

[LRene]

It gets a plus for familiarity but being Platinum will never make us choose Carnival over another line. We're also shareholders but we can get the shareholder perk on any Carnival line. I also don't use many of the perks and wouldn't DREAM of sending my clothes out to be washed by the crew. Priority boarding, tendering and the Concierge line at the Info desk are the best ones for us. They can keep the rest.

 

Itinerary is most important to us, price second and ship third. We live close to Carnival ports so it just happened out of convenience that we cruise them more but if we were close to ports with another line, we'd likely sail that one a lot.

 

We've tried 4 other lines and HAL is the only one that I'd put above Carnival...and it's still a Carnival company. :D

[LynneL]

While I don't limit myself to Carnival, the perks do give that extra push back to them. In the spring I went on NCL. As I waited on a huge tendering line, which wrapped all the way up 2 decks, it made me appreciate the Carnival priority boarding & tendering perk all that much more.

[Cakraz]

I always was completely satified with my Carnival cruises. So if I would change the cruise line I think I will miss some comforts that I like so much on Carnival ships.

The VIP status and the low fares are an additional argument!

[btorlv]

Next week will be our 12th ccl cruise. We come back for the ships, ports, and price. We did try n.c.l. twice and did not really like them. Is c.c.l. really the Wallmart of of cruise lines? I read that on the C.C. boards lol.

[viaggi_per_mare]

Hey newly crowned VIP's,

 

Anyone feel that after getting to your 10th cruise, that you need to book Carnival so as to not miss out on your Platinum Perks?

 

Do I want to give up: free laundry, expedited embark/disembarkation, etc?

 

Mike

 

Yes, we would love to try Princess or Costa, but we are too spoiled to give up the perks of Carnival so we stay (would love to have them count on Princess and Costa since they are sister lines, but until they do, we are on Carnival exclusively.)

[richfret]

We have done 13 cruises and are booked for our 14th in March. All have been with Carnival. Some times I think of changing to another line but I am so use to Carnival and the ships that I end up there every time. As for VIP, you can't beat getting on and off the ship so quickly. We get to the port early so there is always a long line and you just go right to the head of it. Awesome. I also always use the two - (husband and wife) coupons for the Casino. It's like you are $40.00 ahead at the games. Also use the laundry offer so most of the clothes are clean for the return. The remaining perks are OK but you don't need 6 or 7 pastries just before supper. I wish you could set the time for them to bring those type of goodies. I also agree with some others that you can only use so many of the Carnival mugs and frames. A $5 or $10 coupon for use in the ships store would be much better.

 

One consideration that could change my choice of Carnival are the itineraries. Been there and done that is the norm. I visited St Thomas several times while in the Navy and on Carnival cruises. It's nice but you know what I mean. I would really like to do a 10 day cruise that gets to Northern South American even if it was only for 2 ports.

 

Finally, we live in Florida so Miami and Ft Lauderdale are just a couple of hours away by car. That also limits the cruise lines and itineraries. So most probably, Carnival will see us again for our 15th cruise.

[libtrek]

Been on lots of cruises. Platinum does influence our choice. With luggage restrictions, love the free laundry. We always pick a destination, then find cruise. C is always the best price for a balcony. Did do Holland for Alaska and loved it but had wanted cruise/tour, not available on Carnival. Considering Alaska in 2011, but would probably do Carnival since we don't need tour this time.
Libtrek