Just off Glory and did not see all the cutbacks that folks have been upset about

[zookeepr26]

Oops, hit wrong button, was not finished typing!

Anyway, the big Show one evening was the love and marriage game show. That is usually an "extra" show, not a headliner show. I have to say that that was really very funny, and a good time, but not what we are used to on the main stage for the big evening show.

 

OK, the other disappointment we had was in the bar service. While we loved the drinks, and I do believe that they are stronger beverages than we are used to on RCCL, the service was poor. At dinner each evening, if you want an after-dinner cordial, you must wait until the lone server makes his way all through the upper dining level. We only had him make it to our table 2 nights out of the 5, and on one of those nights, we were like the last people in the dining room.... everyone else had already left.

Similarly, up by the adult pool, the single server never came by our chairs for almost an hour, and even then we had to call out to him to come over to us.

 

One more thing, which has nothing to do with cutbacks... the casual dining evenings were disappointing in that folks wore shorts, tee shirts, jeans etc. There was a wide range in how people were dressed, but I have always liked going to dinner in the evening in something more smart casual... capris, skirt, nice slacks, etc. It was strange to see so many people dressed like they were going to the corner pizza shop at home.

 

Again, we did not let these things spoil a wonderful trip on a beautiful ship. The cruise director is hilarious... don't miss his morning talk show on sea days. The food was excellent, and if the servers were not as outgoing and interactive as we remember from other ships, that did not spoil our very nice meals.

[readytotravel44]

What? No filet?

 

We enjoy cruising too, and the food does make a difference to us. I rarely grill filet at home. It is a treat on a cruise. We will notice the cutbacks. And...there better be filet one night!

[5 in OK]

LizzieTrowbridge:

 

Thank you for the information - could you give me some information about the weather? We are on the July 16th 5-day and have been watching temperatures to try to guess what to pack (and not overpack! so hard to do!!) and see that it has been slightly warmer than normal. We are leaning toward taking jackets and sweaters - but it looks like we could get away with shorts as well on our port days?

[zookeepr26]

Weather was great except for our day in Halifax... torrential rain!

Both sea days were nice enough to spend by the pools. The adult pool and lounge areas are beautiful, but chairs are hard to come by... just be patient. If it is cool outside, the forward adult pool has a retractable cover... keeps it nice and warm. On shore it was similar weather to New England... pleasant. (except for the rainy day!)

[zookeepr26]

And sorry, no filet on Glory... the best they could do was prime rib!!

[dclark]

Really? None of the above are earth shattering. Shrimp cocktails...is that only a ship event? Buy a bag at Walmart. Do I need a filet? Price it at your local eat out place. I just saw fancy cuts of meat from $8 to $12 a pound in the grocery store:eek: Why wait till on ship to want a fancy meat cut? Yes, meals are included in the cruise fare, but not those expensive cuts, the ones you don't eat at home. Macaroni and cheese, a favorite.

I will agree to wanting some live calypso music to set the tone of the cruise.

You might want to step away from your double wide at the trailer park. If I am on a ship, I am not going to buy a bag of shrimp at Walmart to bring on board, nor do I consider mac & cheese fine eating. I never even mentioned the cutback of filet mignon on the ship, but I am sure you'd be happy with spam sandwiches on a ferry ship, after all, it is a cruise, right?

[twindaddy]

You might want to step away from your double wide at the trailer park. If I am on a ship, I am not going to buy a bag of shrimp at Walmart to bring on board, nor do I consider mac & cheese fine eating. I never even mentioned the cutback of filet mignon on the ship, but I am sure you'd be happy with spam sandwiches on a ferry ship, after all, it is a cruise, right?

 

And some question why cruise critic has a bad reputation.

 

To the OP, did they :eek:GASP:eek: call you by your first name?

[Willbcruisin]

Wow sometimes I just can't believe how people reply:(

 

We are sailing Glory Saturday the 7th! Looking forward to it! Will miss Caribbean and palm trees but we will be at sea on a class of ship we love and a line we love. I'm so excited I can hardly wait! Every cruise for me is like the very first:D

 

Thank you for posting! Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[JasonV1]

What is the Dec 2013 deadline about?

 

I tried to search but couldn't find out what you meant. I know they switched the points system (number of cruises to days cruised) to earn Gold/Platinum/etc and I wasn't sure if it was about that (especially since the switch already appears to have taken place).

 

Update: I think I see what you mean now. While they have switched the program already you can still achieve Platinum by sailing 10 times through Dec 2013. Am I correct on that? Has anyone got confirmation of that aside from what was written/interpreted on John Heald's blog?

 

Thanks,

 

Jason

 

We cruise in 3 wks on July 21st. This will be our 8th Carnival cruise. Trying to get 10 total cruises before Dec 2013 deadline

[Quilting_Cruiser]

You might want to step away from your double wide at the trailer park. If I am on a ship, I am not going to buy a bag of shrimp at Walmart to bring on board, nor do I consider mac & cheese fine eating. I never even mentioned the cutback of filet mignon on the ship, but I am sure you'd be happy with spam sandwiches on a ferry ship, after all, it is a cruise, right?

 

 

So uncalled for. Is it nice hiding behind an anonymous screen name so you can be as rude as you'd like? :rolleyes:

[Quilting_Cruiser]

What is the Dec 2013 deadline about?

 

 

Update: I think I see what you mean now. While they have switched the program already you can still achieve Platinum by sailing 10 times through Dec 2013. Am I correct on that?

 

 

 

You are correct. If you complete 10 cruises by Dec 31, 2013, you'l be platinum despite the number of sailing days.

[lidodeckbound]

You are correct. If you complete 10 cruises by Dec 31, 2013, you'l be platinum despite the number of sailing days.

Correct, that is what we are doing too. We have 8 now and are thinking of bookin Glory in August. (We have one booked on RCL in October already.) And then one over spring break or summer next year. (I am a teacher.) So we can reach platinum...I think it will work! LOL.

[jeansaussie1]

I was on June 23rd Glory and shocked to see the 2 man band above the pool. They were definately not there on my April Dream cruise. Maybe Carnival has noticed our comments.

 

We had a good cruise. Everything was clean and service was good.

 

The only "cutback" if you can call it that was in the buffet. On 2 separate occasions a drink station was out of both plastic and coffee cups. Not a big deal for me. But heard a first time Carnival cruiser complain about it. He said they never ran out of cups or had long buffet lines on RCI.

[Warm Breezes]

LizzieTrowbridge:

 

Thank you for the information - could you give me some information about the weather? We are on the July 16th 5-day and have been watching temperatures to try to guess what to pack (and not overpack! so hard to do!!) and see that it has been slightly warmer than normal. We are leaning toward taking jackets and sweaters - but it looks like we could get away with shorts as well on our port days?

 

We did this cruise last year at this time. Halifax was chilly was we needed our jackets. Saint John was beautiful and we wore shorts. Our first sea day was gorgeous and warm. Our last sea day was foggy and chilly....I'd pack a little of everything.

[popsec]

I do admit that I enjoy the island feel live calypso band, but I am not spending much money on alcohol. Maybe the cruisers who enjoy the DJs spend more money at the bar.

 

 

We were on the Pride in May and I was dismayed by the continuous hip-hop music played by the DJ on the Lido deck. I really miss the Caribbean music on the Lido :(

[Shipbound]

I've not seen cut-backs either, I've seen quite a few changes, most for the better, but I have a hard time with the term "cut-back".

 

I heard that all the so called cut backs may take place after the ship(s) go through the 2.0 up grade but I have not been on a ship that has the 2.0 up grade so I really do not know if this true.

 

Gary

[larkz]

I heard they really cut back on the ocean, the sky, the sunshine, and now Carnival is sailing to a Roatan that isn't is as good as the Roatan that other cruiselines are sailing to -- it's inferior. Same for St. Kitts, Barbados, Cozumel, Cayman, and the other islands: they're all substandard compared to the St. Kitts, Barbados, Cozumel, Cayman and other islands that the other much better cruiselines sail to...!

[LizzieTrowbridge]

LizzieTrowbridge:

 

Thank you for the information - could you give me some information about the weather? We are on the July 16th 5-day and have been watching temperatures to try to guess what to pack (and not overpack! so hard to do!!) and see that it has been slightly warmer than normal. We are leaning toward taking jackets and sweaters - but it looks like we could get away with shorts as well on our port days?

 

We packed jeans but never wore them. Even in Halifax in the torrential rain, shorts, sandals, and a raincoat were comfortable. Aside from the rain, the temperatures were perfect for walking around and sight seeing. On the last sea day it was very windy, which made it feel quite cool on deck. Lots of folks were out on deck with sweatshirts and blankets (provided by the towel hut). I sat out there without sun screen and read a book for several hours and got sun burned! Live and learn.

 

We really enjoyed the Maritime museum in Halifax. I had just read the book, Curse of the Narrows about the Halifax explosion and there was a great exhibit in the museum about it, which I found very interesting.

 

In terms of entertainment and the comments about the cutbacks, I agree there was not as much in the theater in terms of big shows, but we really enjoyed the Punchliner comedy club, which is relatively new.

 

My one disappointment about entertainment was that Bar Blue allows smoking (and promotes cigars) so we had a hard time enjoying that venue, which was often where our band of chice was playing.

 

We had a great cruise, but I am a glass half full kind of person. The cruise was so affordable for us, we got a great deal and could never have done the same thing on a land vacation for what this cost us.

[nautica34]

Just to clarify, is there a show every night in the big theater? The shows are one of my favorite things about cruising. In past cruises, the ship entertainers would perform a couple of nights then maybe a comedian or musical guest.

[Miller_KC]

You really did see cutbacks, if anyone tells you different, they are liar or fool.

The question is, which round of cutbacks?

Got a a duo of musicians performing with a sound track? A year or two ago, you had a full band. They were replaced with duo, soon to replaced by a guy putting on mp3's of rap, which is the current upcoming cutback.

How was the fun farewell cocktail party? Get a lot of drinks? Enjoy the band? Oh that's right, it wasn't on your cruise, it was eliminated! Did you enjoy that cutback too?

Got a shrimp cocktail one night? Good for you! Keep in mind that they used to be available every night of the cruise, that's a cutback too! Did you know that CCL used to have a show or guest entertainer in the showroom almost every night (the exception would be last night). Did you have that? If not- cutback! They are now going for the juvenile cruiser participation crap that appeals to those who are proud to have made it past middle school.

If you had cruised in the past with Carnival, you'd seen how different they have become, they have cut a lot of stuff. Filet mignon -gone, hello mac & cheese!

As they say, "Ignorance is bliss"- CCL is banking on that.

 

 

I agree that things have changed, but cruising still feels special especially for the price. Newer things have also been added. The Seaside Theater, the Splash Parks, and Serenity areas have definitely added to our experiences. The in-cabin TV is not great but its way better than a few years ago. The flat screens also make the rooms feel less crowded.

 

I prefer the old multi-course menus but the wait staff still knows the correct order to serve in if you go ahead and order just like you did before. You also have the Didja options that were not there before.

 

I haven't tried any of the new 2.0 conversions yet but so far I have not been greatly impacted by many of the changes. Each ship is different and each cruise has been different. When I feel that one is better than the other it rarely has anything to do with what was available and what wasn't.

 

I am sorry that your enjoyment of cruising has been decreased by the changes. If I sound like a cheerleader then so be it, but the cruises I've taken have always felt like a really good value to me.