Future with Carnival????

[keystonemama]

Let me understand this. Been on 15 CCL cruises. I'm a whiner if I comment about what DW and I perceive as CCL cut backs? I need to purchase the "Bar Package" so I can enjoy myself? DW and I will have at the most 2 glasses of wine, so if we purchase the bar package, how much does that come out to per glass?

 

If I'm considered a "whiner", then so be it. As long as I pay for any service, I reserve the right to comment about what I like/don't like about that service.

 

Listen up Georgia Boy, NO WHERE in my post did I mention you, so back off my aft. :p

You can piss & moan all you want for all I care its a free country, and yes my DH served his country too, got injured & had several in his company killed, still has nothing to do with this post.

Others actually called you whiney. :) I just made a general statement because people are constantly complaining on here about stupid crap. Life is much more important than sweating the small stuff.

Hell, my diet coke bottles have smaller caps now I can hardly hold on to, not to mention every time you pick up a 2 liter bottle it crunches in your hand because its so thin and my Little Debbie oatmeal pies are wayyy smaller than they used to be, but ya know what I still buy it, cause I like it. :D It's the way of the world, get used to it or spend more money elsewhere.

Never said anything about YOU buy the bar package, just joking if more did MAYBE they be a little happier and carefree. It's a JOKE.

I hope you find your Happy Place, truly.

I just get tired of thinking I'm going to read a really good thread with opinions and then realize I start hearing inmature, selfish or people's concern's with "what if's". Well what if I get drunk? So what? It's a free country right? Live for today and just let tomorrow take care of itself.

Happy Sailing,

[Gator Man]

Sgt. Schultz. I rarely take a cruise less than seven days. A lot of the food I liked disappeared. I don't equate meatloaf and flatiron steaks to equal what they relaced. I've always had great cruises with Carnival, never a bad one. My dissatisfaction lies entirely with changes made after Mr. Cahills arrival, I was forewarned of what was fixing to take place, just never believed it.

[bumorgan]

It is a tough economy, but other lines don't appear to be watering down their cruises yet.

 

Believe me they are all cutting back. Just read the other boards. Same complaints.

[Georgiagolfer]

Listen up Georgia Boy, NO WHERE in my post did I mention you, so back off my aft. :p

You can piss & moan all you want for all I care its a free country, and yes my DH served his country too, got injured & had several in his company killed, still has nothing to do with this post.

Others actually called you whiney. :) I just made a general statement because people are constantly complaining on here about stupid crap. Life is much more important than sweating the small stuff.

Hell, my diet coke bottles have smaller caps now I can hardly hold on to, not to mention every time you pick up a 2 liter bottle it crunches in your hand because its so thin and my Little Debbie oatmeal pies are wayyy smaller than they used to be, but ya know what I still buy it, cause I like it. :D It's the way of the world, get used to it or spend more money elsewhere.

Never said anything about YOU buy the bar package, just joking if more did MAYBE they be a little happier and carefree. It's a JOKE.

I hope you find your Happy Place, truly.

I just get tired of thinking I'm going to read a really good thread with opinions and then realize I start hearing inmature, selfish or people's concern's with "what if's". Well what if I get drunk? So what? It's a free country right? Live for today and just let tomorrow take care of itself.

Happy Sailing,

 

Wow, what has you in such an uproar. 1st, I'm not Georgia Boy (actually Georgiagolfer) and 2nd I'm not a Boy. Did I attack you in any way or criticize you? I never posted anything about serving my country (although I did serve and thank my Lord I wasn't wounded in Viet Nam), so have no idea where this came from.:confused:

 

I just repeat what I posted to warmbreezes, I can disagree with you, but never intend to be disagreeable. And as Forrest Gump would say, that's all I have to say about that. I'm sure the Mods will lock this thread before long.

[yogimax]

Believe me they are all cutting back.

 

And that is simply NOT TRUE!

[yogimax]

One of the main reasons we choose Carnival is because of the people and that hasn't changed.

 

Are you saying the people who work on Carnival are better than those who work on other cruise lines or the "quality" of people who sail on Carnival are better than those who sail on other cruise lines?

[Sargent_Schultz]

Are you saying the people who work on Carnival are better than those who work on other cruise lines or the "quality" of people who sail on Carnival are better than those who sail on other cruise lines?

 

What I am saying is one of the main reasons we choose Carnival is because of the people and that hasn't changed.

[keystonemama]

Wow, what has you in such an uproar. 1st, I'm not Georgia Boy (actually Georgiagolfer) and 2nd I'm not a Boy. Did I attack you in any way or criticize you? I never posted anything about serving my country (although I did serve and thank my Lord I wasn't wounded in Viet Nam), so have no idea where this came from.:confused:

 

I just repeat what I posted to warmbreezes, I can disagree with you, but never intend to be disagreeable. And as Forrest Gump would say, that's all I have to say about that. I'm sure the Mods will lock this thread before long.

 

Lol, not in an uproar, never get excited, I just know how to say and write things to get my point across or stand up for myself usually with a sip of tequila at my side. :) In fact, I'm browning meat, making some New Mexico chili and cornbread whilst typing this little piece. ;) I make jokes and laugh at everything.

And yes I have helped quickly kill a few of these annoying threads, you got me. :D

Happy Sailing,

[Sargent_Schultz]

Sgt. Schultz. I rarely take a cruise less than seven days. A lot of the food I liked disappeared. I don't equate meatloaf and flatiron steaks to equal what they relaced. I've always had great cruises with Carnival, never a bad one. My dissatisfaction lies entirely with changes made after Mr. Cahills arrival, I was forewarned of what was fixing to take place, just never believed it.

 

On long cruises you can still find (using our Carnival Med 12 Magic cruise as an example) swordfish, carpaccio, ribeye steak, NY strip steak, and more.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Sgt Schultz. You know the board of directors don't have a lot to do with the everyday operations of Carnival, but Mr. Cahill certaintly does.

 

No, corporate doesn't micromanage the individual cruise lines, but they do determine the budgets for each cruise line and the expected rate of return back to corporate. The pressure to perform comes from above.

[janetz]

Believe me they are all cutting back. Just read the other boards. Same complaints.

 

 

Same complaints.

 

You are wrong on that.

[joeyancho]

Soon Carnival will start charging for toilet paper. Of course the cheerleaders will be okay with that.

[cathyz]

Soon Carnival will start charging for toilet paper. Of course the cheerleaders will be okay with that.

What must-haves do they charge for now? If you pre-paid your tips (or chose to be cheap and not tip) and didn't drink alcohol or make any store purchases, you could go on a cruise with a $0 S&S balance.

[MrPete]

On long cruises you can still find (using our Carnival Med 12 Magic cruise as an example) swordfish, carpaccio, ribeye steak, NY strip steak, and more.

 

How often are those on how many ships?

[Donh44]

I am just wondering were is Carnival going with all of these changes? I have only been on 6 Carnival crusies in the past few years. I now see so many changes and I don't really understand where they are headed. I do understand it is for the money. What image is Carnival going for??? They have the image of theCheap Party ship-Is that the image they want to keep??? You can smoke on the balcony( I am a non smoker) and buy a drink package( I am a non drinker), buy your way on the ship early (F2F package), no need to cruise 10 or more times anymore.Changes with the menu and No more FCC now too. Change in music and shows that are more bar type. I am not sure what the future is going to be on Carnival. Do they just want the young party type????? The ones who only cruise once or twice with Carnival or cruise only on short type crusies??? I have enjoyed all of my cruises with Carnival. Why do you like Carnival??? Cheap fares????? Any other reasons??

How are all of these changes helping Carnival if many people are changing to other cruise lines????

Thanks.

 

I don't think that all of the changes are because of the economy, although that is part of it. But, remember, they are in a big mess with the cruise ship Costa Concordia that is still sitting on its' side in Italian waters. They are getting massive lawsuits as a result of that, since they are the parent company that owns that cruise line as well. I am sure that is also a part of the reason for some of the changes.

[Gator Man]

Donh44. Very astute observance, I think you are partially right, the other is Mr. Cahill has a different cruise philosophy than the founders of Carnival, I believe he sees things thru the eyes of a bean counter rather than worrying about customer loyalty.

[Suzicruiser17]

This is my first post. In reading everyone's comments abt Carnivals future, I find some of the posts negative. We have cruised for the past 8 years and have been on 22 cruises. We too live in FL which makes it so much easier & convenient to cruise several times a year. We have been on 16 Carnival cruises & love it. We have been on the older ships & all the new ones that sail out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale. We find the 2.0 is rather exciting & something new and different. WE like the different food sections they have also. I think they are trying to improve their image with going from being the "party ship" to being a "fun ship"....:) yes they are more reasonable, but I haven't heard many complain as I see more and more families taking advantage of the less expensive prices & Camp Carnival. I think they are updating their ships & we can't wait to sail on the Breeze in Jan. We have the Liberty booked in Nov and Glory in Dec. We have been on both ships many times & love them. I see they have cut back on a few minor things, but doesn't make much difference as far as the cruise itself. We enjoy the casino, the shows, the games they play & just being able to relax with friends and have fun. That's what its all abt. We like the Future Certificates and use them a lot. Sometimes we book on board sometimes not. We like RC but really enjoy the more "lively" action on Carnival. You may think we are young folks - wrong - we are both over 65 & still like the excitement. Anyway, those sailing on Carnival - have a great time and take advantage of all the fun.;)

[satex]

Being a travel agent and a frequent cruiser, I can tell you that Carnival is turning their backs on their most loyal cruisers. First they told all of cruisers that if they became Milestone prior to the new loyalty program, then they would be "grandfather" into the top level of the new program (this was done by their own senior cruise director as well as other top managers at Carnival). Now what they are looking for is the "Rookie" cruisers. The new cruisers that don't know that all of those pictures cost an arm and a leg. They don't know that their bar bills are going to be $2000 for that 7 day cruise and they do buy all the gifts that the gift shop has to offer (at a high price). Yup, Carnival has given up on their most loyal cruisers for that extra dollar!!!

[firefly333]

I see they have cut back on a few minor things, but doesn't make much difference as far as the cruise itself.

 

Sometimes we book on board sometimes not. .;)

 

Well, since they discontinued the FCCs, you will have to book onboard to get the OBC. Not sure from your post if you are saying you know its gone or what.

 

Bottom line is the changes bother some more than others. If they dont bother you .. good. I have noticed those who live in FL who have so many cheap choices are often the ones posting they dont care.

 

Im getting to where I look where the poster is from.. and very often those who say they dont care about the cut backs are in FL where they get the very cheapest prices.

[Hojo's redbeard]

I agree with this. First time cruisers will usually spend the most money. They buy all the expensive drinks, the spa packages, shore excursions, the photos etc. Seasoned cruisers usually spend much less on board and may end up costing Carnival money, so their strategy seems to be 2 fold:

 

1. Cater to first time cruisers who will spend money, while taking away earned privileges to your most loyal customers, which in turn makes them book on a competing yet similar (in terms of demographics) cruise line, such as Royal Caribbean or NCL.

 

2. Carnival's seasoned ex-loyal customer now ends up taking profits away from said competing cruise line, making Carnival even more successful.

 

The other lines that people will start looking at include Holland America, Princess, Cunard, Seabourne, etc. They control 49% of the cruise market. Carnival is basically their entry level offering.

 

People need to focus on the positives here, not the negatives. In 8 days we'll be in a balcony stateroom with 185 sq. ft. for the same price we paid for a 115 sq. ft. interior if 1997, 15 years ago. Of course they are going to have to cut back on some other things to make that happen. We can't do a land based comparable vacation for anywhere near the same money, and being on the cruise removes the hassles that come with a land based vacation.

 

We fit the above mentioned mold. Our onboard charges have gone down with each subsequent cruise...but we still do specialty restaurants, chef's table, and buy a couple pictures on every cruise.

 

We're on cruise critic already, so we know how to research what's going on to find the best match for what we want.