Question about drinking on Carnival

[Quilting_Cruiser]

After 37 years of cruising on numerous cruiselines, we took our first Carnival cruise in January on Liberty. What struck my husband and I was the emphasis on drinking the was stressed by the cruise staff (All night pub crawls announced each night by the cuise director) and in the daily schedule given out. Yes, other cruiselines do have a drink of the day, but bottomless jugs of Magaritas and other deals that encourage over-indulging was daily fare on Carnival.

 

Does Carnival attract heavy drinkers? You bet. Just look at the number of threads on this forum that involve alcohol, whether it be smuggling, the drink program, bar bills, or other alcohol related threads, as compared to other forums for other cruiselines. The proof is provided by the customers themselves that are Cruise Critic members.

 

Wow, on nine Carnival cruises, I've never seen any pub crawls or bottomless jugs of anything. Were these on just the one cruise or have you encountered it more often?

 

And, again, saw far more people obviously drunk on Princess than on Carnival. On formal evening, a woman fell into my husband's lap as she attempted to stagger past him. But, since it was formal night, she did look lovely doing it. ;)

[RRLLAL]

After 37 years of cruising on numerous cruiselines, we took our first Carnival cruise in January on Liberty. What struck my husband and I was the emphasis on drinking the was stressed by the cruise staff (All night pub crawls announced each night by the cuise director) and in the daily schedule given out. Yes, other cruiselines do have a drink of the day, but bottomless jugs of Magaritas and other deals that encourage over-indulging was daily fare on Carnival.

 

Does Carnival attract heavy drinkers? You bet. Just look at the number of threads on this forum that involve alcohol, whether it be smuggling, the drink program, bar bills, or other alcohol related threads, as compared to other forums for other cruiselines. The proof is provided by the customers themselves that are Cruise Critic members.

 

Guess i'm going on the wring cruises. Been on 12 carnival cruises and never once heard the CD push a pub crawl nor in the fun times.

 

Sent using my Commodore 64

[kybluecruiser]

After 37 years of cruising on numerous cruiselines, we took our first Carnival cruise in January on Liberty. What struck my husband and I was the emphasis on drinking the was stressed by the cruise staff (All night pub crawls announced each night by the cuise director) and in the daily schedule given out. Yes, other cruiselines do have a drink of the day, but bottomless jugs of Magaritas and other deals that encourage over-indulging was daily fare on Carnival.

 

Does Carnival attract heavy drinkers? You bet. Just look at the number of threads on this forum that involve alcohol, whether it be smuggling, the drink program, bar bills, or other alcohol related threads, as compared to other forums for other cruiselines. The proof is provided by the customers themselves that are Cruise Critic members.

 

Do you have a copy of your fun times? I've never heard this before.

[RRLLAL]

I go expecting a rowdy and fun crowd. It livens up the cruise for us! However, when the drunks are chanting "Show us your #$% (rhymes with chits)!" in the MDR loud enough for the ENTIRE room to hear, and chanting it over and over and over again, this affects my cruise experience. And when the drunks are at the pool and one shows up with only band aids across her nipples, and yes, she pulled off her top, this also affects my cruise experience.

 

There's drinking for the party and the fun, then there's drinking to be stupid. I prefer to avoid the stupid.

 

If people were chanting that in the MDR, they would be escorted out.

 

Sent using my Commodore 64

[imnocleaver]

...All night pub crawls announced each night by the cuise director) and in the daily schedule given out.

 

For any doubters, a pub crawl took place on at least one of our past sailings, maybe two. Has been a while (I think three years), but they definitely DO happen.

 

 

I don't know whether or not it was in the Fun Times, but it was announced repeatedly prior to and during the crawl. The CD and his minions went from one bar to the next, picking up people as they went along. Although I don't think it went on all night, it didn't start until well after late dining was over.

[kybluecruiser]

For any doubters, a pub crawl took place on at least one of our past sailings, maybe two. Has been a while (I think three years), but they definitely DO happen.

 

 

I don't know whether or not it was in the Fun Times, but it was announced repeatedly prior to and during the crawl. The CD and his minions went from one bar to the next, picking up people as they went along. Although I don't think it went on all night, it didn't start until well after late dining was over.

 

What cruise director?

[imnocleaver]

What cruise director?

 

Gah...can't remember, sorry. It's a banner day if I remember whether or not I brushed my teeth in the morning.

 

For those that keep track of such things, or with better memories, I know one happened on a 5 night on the Ecstacy out of Galveston in what I think was 2010.

[vacruisin]

I have never heard of any all night pub crawls on any of my 4 Carnival cruises. It's very simple; if u want to go on an alcohol-free vacation, don't go cruising. On my 1 Royal cruise there was just as much drinking as on all my Carnival cruises. No matter how hard some folks try they just cannot "shame" others into thinking how they think. Just give it up and go polish your "halos".

[elleusion]

We have never seen or heard anyone in such a state of being in a totally innapropriate drunken way on any of our cruises. Don't get me wrong, We have seen some rowdy "Woohoo'ers" and what not but nothing that would stop me from cruising CCL. Interestingly enough when we took our 18 yo son(I'm sure to get slack on this from some)for his graduation cruise we choose RCL since they allow in international waters 18 yo to drink wine and beer. He was(still is) very responsible and we felt this acceptable. No, I am not one of those parents that allow her children to underage drink while in the presence of home simply because it is illegal. I would find him nightly in the casino with some new buddies playing poker and simply having a few beers. I even had the bartender bring him one once and point me out and say it was from me. The girls surrounding the table thought I was creeping on him LOL Until he said ohhh that's my Mom.

There was a Spring Break cruise back in the early 90's(Mardi Gras) that some guys threw chairs and what nots overboard. I didn't witness it but it was scuttlebutt on the ship. Plenty to do on any cruise that doesn't involve drinking. As many have said and I agree I find the smoking more disturbing...

L:D

[bobsfamily]

.I don't know whether or not it was in the Fun Times, but it was announced repeatedly prior to and during the crawl. The CD and his minions went from one bar to the next, picking up people as they went along. Although I don't think it went on all night, it didn't start until well after late dining was over.

 

My Goodness, drinking going on after 10pm... YeaGads! When did this start?

 

I guess I have been on the wrong cruises, never heard the CD... Oh wait I NEVER listen to those announcements unless there are like 7 blasts beforehand, so I guess I would have never heard it. I wonder if the people worried or concerned about a "pub" crawl even see it or the people involved or are just vexed that some people might be having a good time without them?

[Liverpoollovely]

Please no flames, this is an honest question I would like people to answer.:o Our friends just got back from their first Carnival cruise, and they were very surprised at how much drinking was going on on the cruise. I know people have labeled Carnival lines as the "party" cruiseline, but I was wondering if that is true or not. We are planning on going on a Carnival cruise after the new year, but we are not drinkers, so wanted to know (from people who have been on Carnival AS WELL as other cruiselines) if there really is more drunkeness on Carnival that other lines.

 

 

I would not say there was more drunken behaviour on the Carnival fleet ... I have only been on Royal Caribbean and Carnival so I cannot compare for all cruise lines but I have seen equal amount of drunk behaviour ... I would not say one fleet more over another has a higher amount of drinkers on them ... even when we sailed on spring break there was only a few people who were totally hammered.

 

I would not let this put you off your sailing, I am not a big drinker I may have a little drink one night and I have never had any issues with any drunk passengers while on my cruise.

 

you book and enjoy your post New year cruise :)

[ready2cruzagain]

I have been on Carnival, Princess, NCL and Celebrity and IMHO there is absolutely no difference in the amount of drinking on any of the cruise lines that I have ever seen.

[Hanzo]

I am about to head out on a two day cruise to nowhere in a couple weeks. By all accounts due to the length of the trip this should be a "booze cruise". This is our first cruise so I don't know for sure but I'd assume there are plenty of places on the ship to go that aren't near where drunk people congregate, no?

[figdu]

I am about to head out on a two day cruise to nowhere in a couple weeks. By all accounts due to the length of the trip this should be a "booze cruise". This is our first cruise so I don't know for sure but I'd assume there are plenty of places on the ship to go that aren't near where drunk people congregate, no?

 

DW and I tend to stay in the serenity area as it is one of the quieter areas of the ship. We do drink out in the sun but don't want the frat party atmosphere of the lido area.

[davy jones]

Please no flames, this is an honest question I would like people to answer.:o Our friends just got back from their first Carnival cruise, and they were very surprised at how much drinking was going on on the cruise. I know people have labeled Carnival lines as the "party" cruiseline, but I was wondering if that is true or not. We are planning on going on a Carnival cruise after the new year, but we are not drinkers, so wanted to know (from people who have been on Carnival AS WELL as other cruiselines) if there really is more drunkeness on Carnival that other lines.

 

I see some overindulged folks on every cruise (multiple lines), but I see very few problems. I don't know what happens after midnight though, since we are usually back in the cabin by then. However, we don't take the short "booze cruises" or sail at spring break.

 

All of the mainstream lines will push alcohol to some degree through wine packages, martini tastings, etc. Carnival also pushes their Thirsty Frog beer.

 

That said, I haven't sailed on a ship with the prepaid alcohol package to date. I do wonder if that will increase the number of overindulged. I guess I'll find out on our upcoming cruises.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

We just got off the carnival splendor sailing out of ny. My 8th carnival cruise and 24th overall sailing. I am a long time reader of cc but this is my 1st ever writing. Your question compels a brutally honest response.

Carnival has a new money making policy. An all inclusive alcohol drinking deal just like the soda policy but with a few interesting twists. Passengers can get upto 15 drinks a day for $42.95 per day. You must purchase this package for each day of the sailing and all adults in the cabin must purchase it if one person in the cabin signs up.

This new policy was clearly visible our 8 day splendor cruise which sailed on may 1st. Many of the passengers taking advantage of all you can drink were blitzed on a regular basis. No one bothered us. However, they were often loud particularly by the pools and hot tubs. It also made the evenings quite obnoxious. I would not want to bring small kids on carnival.

 

My family has been carnival fans for many years. However, this new policy has caused us to rethink cruising on carnival. We will look elsewhere as long as this foolish policy exists. This can only lead to future problems for passengers and carnival.

 

Just a heads up. Other cruise lines have drink packages and they are actually unlimited. They don't stop at 15. So if the 15 day limit drink packages available are a deterrent for you, you should seriously rethink booking a line that lets you drink as much as you want without limit.

 

I personally think the 15 day thing is idiotic. Why cant folks get an unlimited package like on some other lines? Are Carnival cruisers less apt to handle their booze?

 

I drink more than usual on a cruise. My bar tab on a 7 day cruise is about $60

[NCTribeFan]

There seemed to be quite a few heavy drinkers on Fantasy last week. I don't personally care how much someone else drinks. I had a glass or two too many one day myself.

 

It does bother me when the buckets-o-beer folks pack 10-12 into a hot tub on Serenity Deck and bellow across the two feet of water at each other. Not very serene.

 

But honestly? A few 20-somethings who have been drinking doesn't bother me like the middle-age couples who are plastered by sailaway. Not sure why. It just seems that you should out-grow the "need" to get staggering drunk to have fun.

 

Hey, I like to drink! But I also like to actually remember my cruise!

 

It's the loss of inhibitions that bothers me - the extremely loud laughing and talking and, worse, the angry drunk woman. I saw her every day and she appeared to be totally inebriated at all times; she was probably in her late 30s or early 40s; heard her tell someone at dinner one night (where she could barely order her food) that her friends were all passed out in the cabin. The last night, she was in the casino and was talking to someone next to her and was practically sceaming, and every other word was the F-bomb.

 

Like others, I'm certainly no prude or tea-totaller. But loud, obnoxious, oblivious-to-everyone-around-them drunks DO affect MY vacation. But there are plenty of loud, obnoxious, oblivious-to-everyone-around-them sober people, too, unfortunately.

 

As for other lines, I've only been on 1 RCI and 1 HAL cruise. Plenty of drinking on both. In fact, those old folks on HAL really put it away during the daily Happy Hour! :p

[Rottweiler Puppy]

If people were chanting that in the MDR, they would be escorted out.

 

Sent using my Commodore 64

 

They should be.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

This is very true.

 

I believe it.

 

I did a 4 day on the Imagination and there was definitely more drinking than on my 7 day Liberty.

 

We also did the "Behind the Fun" tour on the Imagination and they were saying how the 3 day goes through more beer and booze then the 4 day cruise does. I asked him if there was a noticeable difference in the 4 day crowd and 3 day crowd and his eyes got big and just said "Oh yea, you can say that" lol

[HarpHarp]

You better watch out because I see you are sailing on the Breakaway. Norwegian Cruise lines serves alcohol too. In fact it was on my NCL cruise that I saw the worst drinking. So beware. This time they may upchuck on you and Angie may have a twin that is lost too.

 

I've already been on several cruises on both lines. As I said, the one Carnival cruise where I saw this drunken behavior was a Caribbean cruise. If people pounding on your door at 3 am in a drunken stupor is acceptable, and you expect people to upchuck on you when you get into the elevator at your place of employment, I'd hate to live in your neighborhood or have your job. If somone pounds on my door screaming a 3 am or I get woken up by fighting on the lawn across the street, I call the police. Vomiting in a public space on a cruise ship, no matter what the cause, should get you confined to your cabin-noro virus & all,

 

Public intoxication is against the law in many jurisdictions. I live very near a college town. 75 students were arrested last weekend, many for public intoxication-graduation of course. These are not the "let's have a glass of champagne" to celebrate drinkers. These are the staggering into the street, passed out on the frat house lawn, fighting with their boyfriend/girlfriend in the parking lot of a store, totally blitzed drunks.

 

I have no objections to drinking and enjoy a drink or 2 myself. We all have the right to enjoy our vacations in the way we want to, as long as we are not interfering with someone else. If I have to do laundry on my cruise because someone threw up on me, or can't enjoy an excursion I payed for because I only got 4 hours sleep the night before, then I have a right to be concerned about behavior on the ship. Carnival, in my experience is not as proactive in curbing rowdy, drunken behavior as some other lines, though it can happen on any ship.

Just realize that if your drinking results in socially unacceptable behavior, there should be consequences that would severely impinge on your enjoyment of your cruise.

[Hanzo]

HarpHarp, have you honestly been thrown up on? I've been drunk and around drunk people many times and never had something like that happen...are you just exaggerating?

[MiamiSpartan]

I honestly don't notice anyone else's drinking...

The only time was on a weekend Carnival trip....there were 600 South Beach partiers on board (straight "kids" in their 20s....) The parties got WAY out of hand...! (Picture Girls Gone Wild) to the point where they had to shut the pools down...

Our group was told by the Carnival people that this group would be banned from any future Carnival ships, so they took the matter seriously...I applaud Carnival to their quick response to this....

[HarpHarp]

HarpHarp, have you honestly been thrown up on? I've been drunk and around drunk people many times and never had something like that happen...are you just exaggerating?

 

As I said in my post,on my first Carnival cruise the door to the elevator opened onto a man throwing up in the elevator on my just as I was about to step on. I did take the next elevator, but it was a close call:D

 

Yes in my job doing alcohol metabolism reseach, I have been thrown up on, but since we caused it I couldn't complain. The person was allergic to alcohol & we did'nt know it My DH had his shoes decorated playing bagpipes outside a bar on St. Patrick's day. Not sure if it was the alcohol or the bagpipes:rolleyes:

[fireofficer5]

If people were chanting that in the MDR, they would be escorted out.

 

Sent using my Commodore 64

If the Freedom, 09-12, might of been my friends and myself.

Don't really remember, too much to drink.

Polished halos, too funny.......

[kybluecruiser]

I've already been on several cruises on both lines. As I said, the one Carnival cruise where I saw this drunken behavior was a Caribbean cruise. If people pounding on your door at 3 am in a drunken stupor is acceptable, and you expect people to upchuck on you when you get into the elevator at your place of employment, I'd hate to live in your neighborhood or have your job. If somone pounds on my door screaming a 3 am or I get woken up by fighting on the lawn across the street, I call the police. Vomiting in a public space on a cruise ship, no matter what the cause, should get you confined to your cabin-noro virus & all,

 

Public intoxication is against the law in many jurisdictions. I live very near a college town. 75 students were arrested last weekend, many for public intoxication-graduation of course. These are not the "let's have a glass of champagne" to celebrate drinkers. These are the staggering into the street, passed out on the frat house lawn, fighting with their boyfriend/girlfriend in the parking lot of a store, totally blitzed drunks.

 

I have no objections to drinking and enjoy a drink or 2 myself. We all have the right to enjoy our vacations in the way we want to, as long as we are not interfering with someone else. If I have to do laundry on my cruise because someone threw up on me, or can't enjoy an excursion I payed for because I only got 4 hours sleep the night before, then I have a right to be concerned about behavior on the ship. Carnival, in my experience is not as proactive in curbing rowdy, drunken behavior as some other lines, though it can happen on any ship.

Just realize that if your drinking results in socially unacceptable behavior, there should be consequences that would severely impinge on your enjoyment of your cruise.

I don't drink maybe once every 5 years. My point is just dont be naive and think that this cant happen on another line because it does. So for people to try and suggest that this is a carnival only issue are wrong.