Not a family cruise!

[maggieworkman]

While I was assured that Carnival cruises are family friendly, our experience was NOT family friendly at all. Of the 2,4000 passengers onboard, I would estimate that 2,000 were college kids who had too much to drink. I understand that the cruiseline caters to all age groups and this was Spring Break time, but as a family, we were more than ready to get off the ship. My kids--teenagers from middle school to juniors in high school--could not enjoy themselves due to all the raucuous groups who were not monitored in any way. They couldn't get in the pool or hot tubs because they were always full of drunks. Once, the older kids tried to get in the hot tub, but a drunk man passed out in the water and had to be pulled from the water and received medical attention. My younger daughter tried to get in the pool, but drunks were playing chicken in the water so it wasn't safe. My older daughter walked into one of the restrooms in a public area to find a drunk man standing inside. The staff came quickly when we called to complain that we couldn't sleep due to all the screaming in the hallway, but our cabin steward told us, "There are too many of them. We are trying, but there are just too many." The cruiseline didn't seem to have enough resources to handle the rowdy crowds, and there weren't many family friendly activities onboard. The shows were good, but the costumes were definitely PG with the female dancers wearing thong type costumes. Also, the food in the formal dining room was better quality, but the food in the casual rooms with the buffets was like something from Golden Corral. We loved the ports. Nassau and Freeport were beautiful, but I will never take another Carnival Cruise. This cruise was good only if you wanted to stay drunk and eat lots of cheap food. It is NOT a family cruise.

 

Going on a short cruise during Spring Break is not a good idea! Give a 7 day cruise during summer a chance and you will see lots of families.

 

Maggie

[TheShayQueen]

Another family aboard said they had cruised a great deal, but they had never seen it that bad.

 

THIS^^^^^ should be enough for you to not give up on Carnival all together. Just don't get on THAT ship anymore if it bothered you that much. There are tons of ships to choose from. Please don't let a bunch of idiots ruin your entire view of Carnival. It IS very family oriented and plenty of things to do for all ages.

[sharecruises]

Regarding the "thongs">> this is stated ahead of time so why would you take your kids to the show if you did not want them to see it??

 

I don't know how all these college kids were on board since Carnival does not allow people under 21 to book unless they are with someone over 25 or they are a married couple

 

so all these were married college kids or ??

 

Carnival Cruise Line has one of the most stringent age policies . Any Carnival guest under the age of 21 must be accompanied by someone 25 years of age or older in the same cabin.

[mondello]

Regarding the "thongs">> this is stated ahead of time so why would you take your kids to the show if you did not want them to see it??

 

I don't know how all these college kids were on board since Carnival does not allow people under 21 to book unless they are with someone over 25 or they are a married couple

 

so all these were married college kids or ??

 

Carnival Cruise Line has one of the most stringent age policies . Any Carnival guest under the age of 21 must be accompanied by someone 25 years of age or older in the same cabin.

Didn't you see Bluto Blutarski in "Animal House"? Seven years of college down the drain.

[CanWeGoYet?]

To the OP, the fact it was rowdy & not family friendly may have been to do with it being a short cruise, just as much / if not more than the fact it was over spring break. I took a 3 day bahamas cruise during december, with school in session and it was grim. Relieved to say it was unlike any other cruise I've been on.

 

The cruise I took on the Liberty during spring break was just fine. Yes there was drinking but I never witnessed the problematic behavior I saw during the 3 day cruise. It's fine to be done with Carnival but if you take a short cruise over spring break on another line it may be the same deal.

[La professora]

"Hi, I agree. I also had a horrible experience on the Imagination last week. Drunks were everywhere and nobody had any control over them. I am also a teacher, and this is when we travel. I have nothing against having a good time, but there needs to be some control. We did not enter the pool or hot tub once. We were not able to get a lounge chair on the day at sea and we never had a chance to use the Serenity deck. Thank God it was only a 4 nighter! That is all we could take. Do the young women today have any shame? At least cover your rear ends when you go to eat your lunch! "

 

I agree completely. We couldn't play putt putt. My kids couldn't get in the pool, and when they tried to get in a hot tub, someone passed out in front of them. Also, I agree about covering up at lunch. I grew up at the lake. I have nothing against bikinis, but the cruise states that you are suppose to have on a shirt and no cut offs in the casual dining area. Girls in thong bikinis were everywhere with no coverups on. Nevermind my kids on board, I didn't want to eat and look at some girl's naked butt. Eeewwww! The situation could have been much better if there had been more security and if the cruiseline had been more proactive in some of the situations. Once they saw how rowdy the ship was, they should have organized more activities for the kids. We had planned to have more adult time, but we really couldn't leave our kids alone. Even the older two just ate ice cream and watched tv in the room most of the time. Once we were in port, we had a great time, but we did not enjoy the time on ship. Just a question for experienced cruisers: Is it common for them to put barf bags out everywhere? We weren't sure if they always do that or if it was due to all the drunks. ha ha!

[mousey]

First, it was the Carnival Fascination. Second, my children are in school also, and I teach so Spring Break is when we travel. That time period does not b to college kids. Teenagers are on Spring Break also. Third, I said it is not a family cruise. If you want to spend your time drunk and passing out, that is your business, but they should not advertise it as a FAMILY friendly cruise if they expect teenagers and drunks to use the same facilities. That is my point. If you want that kind of cruise, that is great for YOU, but if they advertise it as a family cruise, it is NOT.

 

We have vacationed at Daytona Beach before during Spring Break, but I have never encountered an atmosphere this bad. The kids couldn't use any facilities without encountering drunks. We couldn't get food at the buffets without having people bump into us or curse loudly.

 

And for the person who says, you "might" believe me, I don't care if you believe me or not, I posted this for other families who are considering Carnival. I wish someone had warned us.

 

 

Sorry you did'nt enjoy your cruise.

 

I can't take your review seriously because I doubt that 2,000 out of 2,400 people were drunk. With 2 exceptions I have been cruising with my son at spring break since he was 9 and he is 16 now and I've never ever had anything close to your experience. Me thinks you are overexaggerating! You keep saying there was nothing for your kids to do yet you don't mention them spending time in the kid's clubs.

 

I find it funny that you come onto the board to complain but you obviously didn't come onto the board to research your cruise or you would have seen lots of posts warning about the abundance of spring breakers and that 4 night cruises are infamous for being wilder party cruises. It's not Carnival's fault you didn't have a good time, it's your lack of research that did you in.

 

Having said all that, I'm still sorry that you and your family didn't enjoy your cruise.

[La professora]

Sorry you did'nt enjoy your cruise.

 

I can't take your review seriously because I doubt that 2,000 out of 2,400 people were drunk. With 2 exceptions I have been cruising with my son at spring break since he was 9 and he is 16 now and I've never ever had anything close to your experience. Me thinks you are overexaggerating!

 

I find it funny that you come onto the board to complain but you obviously didn't come onto the board to research your cruise or you would have seen lots of posts warning about the abundance of spring breakers. It's not Carnival's fault you didn't have a good time, it's your lack of research that did you in.

 

Having said all that, I'm still sorry that you and your family didn't enjoy your cruise.

 

 

I DID do research, but I read reviews. None of the reviews that were posted when we booked (months BEFORE Spring Break) addressed this. That is why I posted. People talk about the food or the embarkation, but those really didn't affect my overall experience. Being overtaken by drunks did. When we talked to guest services, the person who helped us was very nice and indicated that HE couldn't wait because he had only one more day before the cruise was over. The drinking was out of hand. I am not exaggerating. A drunk man was in the restroom, a drunk passed out in the hot tub and needed medics, drunks were playing chicken in the pool. We couldn't hear the movie in our room for kids screaming in the halls. It was too much. The security guy was nice, but he even told me "there are too many of them for us."

[taragl]

Re: Kids clubs

In my experience on Carnival, the first day of the kids club is light on activities, then it picks up. The older kids (Circle C and Club O2) are allowed to sign themselves in and out of the club, which is typically not a problem on an ordinary sailing. My 12-year-old would mix scheduled activities with unstructured friend time throughout the day. On a cruise without spring breakers, it would be fine.

 

Seems like you hit a bad combination of timing, cruise duration, and destination. We're on our fourth Carnival cruise with a teenager and a toddler and we found every sailing very family friendly. It really helps that we go in October or May, when school is in session. If spring break is when your family is able to get away, maybe stick to vacations that don't attract the college crowd. (Cruising the Erie Canal in a houseboat was a great quiet, family vacation!)

[Knights on the Beach]

Regarding the "thongs">> this is stated ahead of time so why would you take your kids to the show if you did not want them to see it??

 

I don't know how all these college kids were on board since Carnival does not allow people under 21 to book unless they are with someone over 25 or they are a married couple

 

so all these were married college kids or ??

 

Carnival Cruise Line has one of the most stringent age policies . Any Carnival guest under the age of 21 must be accompanied by someone 25 years of age or older in the same cabin.

Many college students are 21 or older.

[Disneycruisers]

"

IAlso, I agree about covering up at lunch. I grew up at the lake. I have nothing against bikinis, but the cruise states that you are suppose to have on a shirt and no cut offs in the casual dining area. Girls in thong bikinis were everywhere with no coverups on. Nevermind my kids on board, I didn't want to eat and look at some girl's naked butt. Eeewwww! We had planned to have more adult time, but we really couldn't leave our kids alone.

 

I wish more parents would think the way you do. And, BTW, welcome to the Carnival boards.:)

[Rayefan]

You know after all of my cruises it was Spring Break 2011 on NCL that was the worst for me when it comes to pre-teens taking over hot tubs and pools! And NO one stopped them from jumping out of the hot tubs, climbing over the side and across the bottom of the waterslide and up the stairs to ride down the water slide pushing little ones out of their way. My 4 year old gs was one of those pushed out of the way and brought down the stairs bleeding! Where were the parents? Sitting in the sun or wherever they were letting them behave the way there were. Shame on them. And it wasn't just the pool areas. One night I got up, walked to a table of 6 pre-teens and asked them to calm down and let the rest of us enjoy our meal. Where were their parents? Not in the dining area that is for sure. those kids ordered full meals and then the sweets. They left A LOT of food behind and walked out with their treats. One guest, a women in her 70's and alone was in tears because of the acts of those kids. Now, I am used to kids as I have been working a public school for nearly 19 years. These kids were rude and out of control. Too bad their parents could not see them that night.

 

So, it is not just those college students that can ruin a day or two on a a cruise.

 

Will that stop me from cruising during Spring Break? Nope, 27 days and counting and our grandson is joining us again .....

[conchead]

While I was assured that Carnival cruises are family friendly, our experience was NOT family friendly at all. Of the 2,4000 passengers onboard, I would estimate that 2,000 were college kids who had too much to drink. I understand that the cruiseline caters to all age groups and this was Spring Break time, but as a family, we were more than ready to get off the ship. My kids--teenagers from middle school to juniors in high school--could not enjoy themselves due to all the raucuous groups who were not monitored in any way. They couldn't get in the pool or hot tubs because they were always full of drunks. Once, the older kids tried to get in the hot tub, but a drunk man passed out in the water and had to be pulled from the water and received medical attention. My younger daughter tried to get in the pool, but drunks were playing chicken in the water so it wasn't safe. My older daughter walked into one of the restrooms in a public area to find a drunk man standing inside. The staff came quickly when we called to complain that we couldn't sleep due to all the screaming in the hallway, but our cabin steward told us, "There are too many of them. We are trying, but there are just too many." The cruiseline didn't seem to have enough resources to handle the rowdy crowds, and there weren't many family friendly activities onboard. The shows were good, but the costumes were definitely PG with the female dancers wearing thong type costumes. Also, the food in the formal dining room was better quality, but the food in the casual rooms with the buffets was like something from Golden Corral. We loved the ports. Nassau and Freeport were beautiful, but I will never take another Carnival Cruise. This cruise was good only if you wanted to stay drunk and eat lots of cheap food. It is NOT a family cruise.

 

 

Too bad you found Cruise Critic after the cruise to complain and not beforehand to have learned what to expect from certain cruises at particular times of the year.

[LittleMiss]

While I was assured that Carnival cruises are family friendly, our experience was NOT family friendly at all. Of the 2,4000 passengers onboard, I would estimate that 2,000 were college kids who had too much to drink. I understand that the cruiseline caters to all age groups and this was Spring Break time, but as a family, we were more than ready to get off the ship. My kids--teenagers from middle school to juniors in high school--could not enjoy themselves due to all the raucuous groups who were not monitored in any way. They couldn't get in the pool or hot tubs because they were always full of drunks. Once, the older kids tried to get in the hot tub, but a drunk man passed out in the water and had to be pulled from the water and received medical attention. My younger daughter tried to get in the pool, but drunks were playing chicken in the water so it wasn't safe. My older daughter walked into one of the restrooms in a public area to find a drunk man standing inside. The staff came quickly when we called to complain that we couldn't sleep due to all the screaming in the hallway, but our cabin steward told us, "There are too many of them. We are trying, but there are just too many." The cruiseline didn't seem to have enough resources to handle the rowdy crowds, and there weren't many family friendly activities onboard. The shows were good, but the costumes were definitely PG with the female dancers wearing thong type costumes. Also, the food in the formal dining room was better quality, but the food in the casual rooms with the buffets was like something from Golden Corral. We loved the ports. Nassau and Freeport were beautiful, but I will never take another Carnival Cruise. This cruise was good only if you wanted to stay drunk and eat lots of cheap food. It is NOT a family cruise.

 

Don't let going during spring break discourage you. Yes I went on Legend last year and my Fiancé and I were bored out of our wits that is because the ship was primarily families and older People and such. Now DF and I aren't really young like spring breakers but we are not geriatric either we are in our 30's and 40's we would have much rather been on a ship comparable to our age and party style. That cruise was a miss for us but I definitely would not say never doing Carnival again because there are all old people and kids?? That's just a little one sided. IMO

[La professora]

I did find it before, but I didn't find anything about not cruising during this time. I found posts about the food being mediocre or about the cleanliness of the ship or the shape of the ship for the age, but nothing said to beware of the drunks. That is why I posted.

 

I find it ironic that half the people are saying I shouldn't come on here to "complain" while the others are saying I should have known before hand because it seems to be common knowledge that this is the atmosphere if you cruise on a 5 day cruise to the Bahamas during Spring Break. How will families know to expect this if no one "complains"? I did do research. I read reviews about this ship, but none said to expect this. So, I am complaining. I hope it helps other families who are like we were. We thought, "Hey, this sounds like a good deal so we will try it." If we had known what we were in for, we wouldn't have thought it was a good deal.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

but the food in the casual rooms with the buffets was like something from Golden Corral. We loved the ports. Nassau and Freeport were beautiful, but I will never take another Carnival Cruise. This cruise was good only if you wanted to stay drunk and eat lots of cheap food. It is NOT a family cruise.

 

I thought Golden Corral buffet was better. lol

 

That said.... It was the time you cruised and Carnival will be heavier with drunk Spring Break kids than say, Celebrity.

I did my first Carnival cruise last year just after Spring break and it was VERY kids and Family friendly. No drunken shenanigans at all.

 

I would invite you to try again but a different time and a different ship. It truly is the opposite of what you experienced, so thats something to consider. I am not a Carnival shareholder so I am not saying that out of personal reasons. If you have the opportunity to cruise again, its an option anyway. Check my review in my link. It was directly AFTER Spring Break.

 

Personally, if I HAD to cruise during Spring Break, I would do Celebrity if it were a short one (my parents do that and have no problems) as they are not much more expensive during that time. (Of course thats no guarantee of anything because its Spring Break after all)

 

If you cruise again, I truly hope its better then this one was. 7 day if you can. It really helps.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

I just love people who post one post and it is a complaint-What ship? When did you go? In order for us to beleive you, you need to have some information to support your accusations.

 

What was he supposed to do? Wait a year and have 500 posts first? sheesh. Some of you are flat out paranoid about your brand.

[LittleMiss]

First, it was the Carnival Fascination. Second, my children are in school also, and I teach so Spring Break is when we travel. That time period does not b to college kids. Teenagers are on Spring Break also. Third, I said it is not a family cruise. If you want to spend your time drunk and passing out, that is your business, but they should not advertise it as a FAMILY friendly cruise if they expect teenagers and drunks to use the same facilities. That is my point. If you want that kind of cruise, that is great for YOU, but if they advertise it as a family cruise, it is NOT.

 

We have vacationed at Daytona Beach before during Spring Break, but I have never encountered an atmosphere this bad. The kids couldn't use any facilities without encountering drunks. We couldn't get food at the buffets without having people bump into us or curse loudly.

 

And for the person who says, you "might" believe me, I don't care if you believe me or not, I posted this for other families who are considering Carnival. I wish someone had warned us.

 

To be fair, Carnival does not request wether you are a drunk or not when booking. Also Carnival advertises as all of their cruises are family friendly. There is no way anyone who works for Carnival could have told you this in advance what was going to happen. But guess what, of you went on any of the others during this time you probably would have ran into the same thing on any ship with the exception of "Regent cruise lines which is about 3-10,000 dollars per person 20-30 day cruises to places like Dubai. Very slim chance you'll catch spring breakers there....

[lillian marie]

We are leaving soon for a week cruise with 3 kids. We find the shorter cruises during spring break season are full of college kids but the longer cruises are not. I hope the op trys a longer lenght cruise during this season. I am guessing it was only a 4 or 5 day cruise because of the ports of call that she stated in her post. I hope her next cruise is much more to her liking.

[La professora]

RE: Regarding the "thongs">> this is stated ahead of time so why would you take your kids to the show if you did not want them to see it??

 

 

You did not read my earlier posts. The issue was the cruise is not family friendly. They can have all the thong costumes they want. My complaint is where were the family friendly activities? I think ONE comedian show that said family friendly is not enough for a five day cruise. If they were passing the Vegas style show off as family friendly, they should have made the costumes more appropriate.

 

I also agree with the person who questioned how they all got on board. I do know that there were other kids onboard who did not reach the age requirement so I don't know how they managed it. I do know that our 17 year old was approached asking if he wanted to purchase a specialty drink by one of the servers. He said no so I don't know if they would have asked for his ID if he had tried to buy or not. Maybe his sail and sign card would not have allowed him to sign for it, but I am not sure. I do know that I saw some pictures from college kids my children know, and they had smuggled alcohol onboard in large shampoo bottles so I am not sure how much those kids had consumed by the end of the day. Isn't there suppose to be some cut off limit on the number of drinks a bartender can serve a person in a certain amount of time?

[smokey haze]

I just got off from the PRIDE today. It was a 7 day cruise. I never even thought about it being spring break for the college kids but I had a blast. The kids were having a great time (I'm talking about the college kids), I enjoyed watching them having fun & being able to unleash a bit.

 

My husband is early 40's & I am late 40's. The other couple who went with us is the same age but they are professionals where my hubby & I are blue collar workers. I am diabetic so my one day of drinking did not end so great. I blacked out & my husband had to carry me back to my room, opps, oh well, life goes on.

 

I don't think we had too many problems on the cruise. I couldn't believe the nice class of college kids that were on the ship.

 

This was my first of many cruises. I will return but I will be planning my trips around smalled kids as I am not a small kid kind of person. I's rather watch a college kid have the time of their life over a small kid crying any day.

 

I'm sorry your trip wasn't as nice as mine was but if this was your first cruis as it was mine, I now know what I want from a cruise.

[La professora]

What was he supposed to do? Wait a year and have 500 posts first? sheesh. Some of you are flat out paranoid about your brand.

 

Thank you! That was my point. I was posting so other people would know what I did not. We thought it sounded like a good deal, but it wasn't a good deal for us. I hope other families who consider taking a 5 day cruise during the spring months will consider my post before booking. I read what people said about the food being bad, and I really didn't enjoy the buffet food at all, but for the price, I wouldn't complain. I do feel that our complaint about the drunks was warranted. They should have provided more security, and they should have provided more for the kids to do that was away from the party crowd. I am not against having a good time if that is one's choice, but mixing kids and partiers isn't fun for either side.

[LittleMiss]

"Hi, I agree. I also had a horrible experience on the Imagination last week. Drunks were everywhere and nobody had any control over them. I am also a teacher, and this is when we travel. I have nothing against having a good time, but there needs to be some control. We did not enter the pool or hot tub once. We were not able to get a lounge chair on the day at sea and we never had a chance to use the Serenity deck. Thank God it was only a 4 nighter! That is all we could take. Do the young women today have any shame? At least cover your rear ends when you go to eat your lunch! "

 

I agree completely. We couldn't play putt putt. My kids couldn't get in the pool, and when they tried to get in a hot tub, someone passed out in front of them. Also, I agree about covering up at lunch. I grew up at the lake. I have nothing against bikinis, but the cruise states that you are suppose to have on a shirt and no cut offs in the casual dining area. Girls in thong bikinis were everywhere with no coverups on. Nevermind my kids on board, I didn't want to eat and look at some girl's naked butt. Eeewwww! The situation could have been much better if there had been more security and if the cruiseline had been more proactive in some of the situations. Once they saw how rowdy the ship was, they should have organized more activities for the kids. We had planned to have more adult time, but we really couldn't leave our kids alone. Even the older two just ate ice cream and watched tv in the room most of the time. Once we were in port, we had a great time, but we did not enjoy the time on ship. Just a question for experienced cruisers: Is it common for them to put barf bags out everywhere? We weren't sure if they always do that or if it was due to all the drunks. ha ha!

 

Was it fascination or imagination?

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Thank you! That was my point. I was posting so other people would know what I did not. We thought it sounded like a good deal, but it wasn't a good deal for us. I hope other families who consider taking a 5 day cruise during the spring months will consider my post before booking. I read what people said about the food being bad, and I really didn't enjoy the buffet food at all, but for the price, I wouldn't complain. I do feel that our complaint about the drunks was warranted. They should have provided more security, and they should have provided more for the kids to do that was away from the party crowd. I am not against having a good time if that is one's choice, but mixing kids and partiers isn't fun for either side.

 

Understandable. If at all possible, give a7 day a shot. Different experience. Ir try the 4 day Celebrity. My folks always do that one and have no problems with drunk Spring Breakers. I don't know why because its only %45 more pp on average at that time.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Was it fascination or imagination?

 

He said it was Fascination.

 

He is quoting a person who sailed the Imagination who had the same experience as the OP did.