Carnival Cutbacks?

[1stime cruiser]

I keep hearing about all of these cutbacks for Carnival but honestly I did by notice anything major outside of their not being a DJ. Can everyone list the cutbacks they have seen? I am inclined to think they are not as big as people say

[cuyahoga11]

I have been sailing Carnival since 1997 and the only cutback that bothers me is getting rid of the live music.(But I have been lucky enough on the last 5 cruises to pick ships that still had a band.)

[firefly333]

The one I notice the most is the lack of shows every night in the theater. I like shows to go to at night.

 

I dont mean love and marriage show either... they used to have real shows in the theater every night, like a magic show and singing and dancing shows.

 

I am inclined to think they are not as big as people say

 

I dont accept your opinion of what is important to me. You are already poo poo'ing them so we know you dont care. Its just your opinion. Dont judge if its important to someone else.

 

I dont care about live music for instance on Lido as much as others.. the cut backs that bother one person dont have to be important to you. Let them judge for themselves. I get tired of people judging the cutbacks arent important to them.. so they just arent important period.

 

Im sure there will be many others like you who want to judge for other people.

[Georgiagolfer]

I tend to agree somewhat with Firefly. What is important to one person may not be to another. Adding more people to serve in dining rooms, more rooms to room stewards, fewer shows with entertainers (not passengers in game shows), fewer live music venues, etc. Do I need to add more?:(

[firefly333]

I tend to agree somewhat with Firefly. What is important to one person may not be to another. Adding more people to serve in dining rooms, more rooms to room stewards, fewer shows with entertainers (not passengers in game shows), fewer live music venues, etc. Do I need to add more?:(

 

Change in loyalty perks for platinum. I miss the free slot tournament the most I think. Though now without having a guaranteed dining time, ran into a problem once so far where I couldnt be moved to early by the maitre d. Used to be a guarantee I would get the time I requested .. the rest dont matter to me like not having unlimited laundry.

 

Cheaper cut of steak for the nightly steak, now its skirt steak. since I have at most ordered steak once, I could care less. Im not a beef eater.

 

I do miss the ribs they used to have the first night when you did a 7 night cruise.

 

Seems to be a lot more trivia during the day and less ... ? Used to do crafts, and give out free stuff, now its one guy giving a Mensa quiz.

 

As above, nothing that affects me that much .. but Id be lying if I said I didnt notice now how often the tables in the buffet remain dirty and a guy stands there with his arms crossed doing nothing.

 

I will still cruise Carnival .. as long as it goes out of Galveston full time.

[Cruizinman]

Change in loyalty perks for platinum. I miss the free slot tournament the most I think. Though now without having a guaranteed dining time, ran into a problem once so far where I couldnt be moved to early by the maitre d. Used to be a guarantee I would get the time I requested .. the rest dont matter to me like not having unlimited laundry.

 

Cheaper cut of steak for the nightly steak, now its skirt steak. since I have at most ordered steak once, I could care less. Im not a beef eater.

 

I do miss the ribs they used to have the first night when you did a 7 night cruise.

 

Seems to be a lot more trivia during the day and less ... ? Used to do crafts, and give out free stuff, now its one guy giving a Mensa quiz.

 

As above, nothing that affects me that much .. but Id be lying if I said I didnt notice now how often the tables in the buffet remain dirty and a guy stands there with his arms crossed doing nothing.

 

I will still cruise Carnival .. as long as it goes out of Galveston full time.

 

Amen, I can't count the times I had to bus my own table so we could have a clean place to eat.

[MsViola]

This may sound trivial, but I really miss the pictures of the ship I got in the dining room on the last night of the cruise. We got our waiters to sign them on our first two cruises.

 

Once home, I had them laminated and we use them as placemates. We were also given a souvenir copy of the Christmas Day menu that I had laminated too. Everytime we look at them, they bring back happy memories.

[Georgiagolfer]

Change in loyalty perks for platinum. I miss the free slot tournament the most I think. Though now without having a guaranteed dining time, ran into a problem once so far where I couldnt be moved to early by the maitre d. Used to be a guarantee I would get the time I requested .. the rest dont matter to me like not having unlimited laundry.

 

Cheaper cut of steak for the nightly steak, now its skirt steak. since I have at most ordered steak once, I could care less. Im not a beef eater.

I do miss the ribs they used to have the first night when you did a 7 night cruise.

 

Seems to be a lot more trivia during the day and less ... ? Used to do crafts, and give out free stuff, now its one guy giving a Mensa quiz.

 

As above, nothing that affects me that much .. but Id be lying if I said I didnt notice now how often the tables in the buffet remain dirty and a guy stands there with his arms crossed doing nothing.

 

I will still cruise Carnival .. as long as it goes out of Galveston full time.

 

I didn't even address the Platinum "cuts." DW and I haven't played in the Slot or Black Jack tournament since CCL went from free to BOGO. Cuts in laundry amounts have not affected us. Do agree on the "guaranteed" dining times vs. priority.

 

DW ate spare ribs on elegant night instead of lobster.

[Georgiagolfer]

This may sound trivial, but I really miss the pictures of the ship I got in the dining room on the last night of the cruise. We got our waiters to sign them on our first two cruises.

 

Once home, I had them laminated and we use them as placemates. We were also given a souvenir copy of the Christmas Day menu that I had laminated too. Everytime we look at them, they bring back happy memories.

 

Seems it has been so long, that I had forgotten about the pictures. I don't even remember the last time we received these.

[Sparky2]

I tend to agree somewhat with Firefly. What is important to one person may not be to another. Adding more people to serve in dining rooms, more rooms to room stewards, fewer shows with entertainers (not passengers in game shows), fewer live music venues, etc. Do I need to add more?:(

 

Yes, we noticed cutbacks on our 2013 B2B more than in 2012. However, nothing bothered us enough to not book Carnival. After the first week was over, we booked next year's B2B. We still had 3 good shows on Freedom in January + the 10 pc. orchestra, however. I know that will have changed for our cruises in 2014. We'll see how we feel after that.

[ShakyBeef]

OK, here goes. These are cutbacks I've noticed since 2009, so I'm not comparing cruising today to 'ye olde glory days'. I'm sure I'll not remember all of them but I'll do my best. Disclaimer: of course, not all of these cutbacks will be noticed by or matter to every cruiser. Some of them don't matter to me, either. I'm just listing all that I have noticed and can remember...

 

 

MDR / FOOD

• No more wine stewards in MDR - switched to your head waiter taking your wine order
  
• now, most recently, no one asks you about wine at all. If you want it, you have to try to catch an over-worked and sometimes hard-to-find bar server that's wandering the MDR
  
• switching from 1 head waiter and 1 assistant waiter per table, with fewer tables to the 3-waiter system where they have more tables and they are spread too thin. The service has suffered dramatically
  
• Removing higher-end foods such as the roast duck from the menu and replacing them with cheap 'comfort foods' like meatloaf.
  
• Lower quality food ingredients being used in MDR dishes
  
• Less of the pricey ingredients (for example, about half the seafood now on the Penne Mariscos compared to how it was served just a couple years ago)
  
• Ice milk now served on the side of the WCMC instead of real ice cream
  
• no more free cappuccino or espresso in MDR, now you've gotta pay (over $3) for it
  
• no longer a full place setting of appropriate silverware for the dishes served
  
• cheaper and smaller variety of teabags
  
• iceberg lettuce and red cabbage now passed off for the "mixed field green salad" that used to actually be mixed field greens.
  
• itty-bitty little shrimp replaced the decent-sized shrimp in the shrimp cocktail
  
• Terrible 'steak' replacing the decent steaks that used to be served.
  
• 'au jus' for the Prime Rib is now seemingly jarred gravy (which tastes horrible, BTW)
  
• main ingredients in sushi now cream cheese and avocado instead of the better, pricier fish and other ingredients.
  
• No more cheddar cheese (at the Deli, but I'm guessing elsewhere, too). Only crappy, fake American 'cheese'.
  

IN THE CABINS

• the once-wonderfully comfy mattresses have been changed out for super-hard, pain-inducing mattresses
  
• although seemingly not consistent, more and more often now, no more pen and notepad in the cabin
  
• cheap white "SOAP" replaced the better, green Bien Venue soap
  
• room service menu no longer in the nice binder, but just a single sheet of easy-to-miss paper mixed in with advertisements with your FunTimes
  

ENTERTAINMENT

• no more live music on Lido deck, and less live music elsewhere, too. Replaced with much cheaper DJs.
  
• far less production-type shows, replaced by much cheaper "Playlist" shows and more shows which use (for free) the customers such as talent shows and gameshows.
  
• Fewer organized activities onboard. And sometimes, they expect staff whose job it is not to do double duty hosting these games (example - Piano Bar player expected to play the music for and run the game of Name That Tune, when the Entertainment Host did not show up. It was not possible. So the game did not happen. This could be a fluke, but it seems to be a trend.)
  

 

LOYALTY PROGRAM

 

• (I really can't remember all they did here, as I'm not Platinum and wasn't affected by these cutbacks. Someone else please fill in this area.:o
  
• Platinum no longer free entry into slot-pull - now a BOGO offer
  

 

OTHER

• no more FCCs. I used to buy one every cruise. With an FCC in hand, we were a lot more likely to make our next cruise a Carnival cruise because we had made that deposit (in the form of FCC 'purchase') and had OBC waiting for us. Now, no such incentive. Big mistake, Carnival.
  
• Overall cut in crew-to-passenger ratio. This is most noticeable in the MDR, but is clear in many other areas as well.
  
• No more hurricane-style souvenir "Best Day Ever" DOD cup that gets you a discounted refill price. Now, the Lido drinks are served in smaller, plain cups.
  

 

That's all that's coming to mind right now. I know there are others that I'm just not thinking of. Please, everyone, feel free to cut and paste my list and add to it if you like.:)

[MsViola]

 

Seems it has been so long, that I had forgotten about the pictures. I don't even remember the last time we received these.

 

The last one I have is from the Conquest (10/04). Ironically, I will be on the "2.0 version" of the Conquest in September.

[ShakyBeef]

 

Seems it has been so long, that I had forgotten about the pictures. I don't even remember the last time we received these.

 

We got them on our first cruise in Nov 2005, but not our second CCL cruise in Nov 2009. So they went away sometime in those years. Along with the little crumb scraper that the assistant waiter would use on the table between courses.

[MsViola]

We got them on our first cruise in Nov 2005, but not our second CCL cruise in Nov 2009. So they went away sometime in those years. Along with the little crumb scraper that the assistant waiter would use on the table between courses.

 

Oh the crumb scraper! I was so impressed with that on my first cruise. :) That was one of the top 10 things I would tell people about. Those were the good ole days. Lol.

[firefly333]

I had forgotten about the duck. I loved the duck and would order it over lobster which I love. It used to be the same night.

 

There used to be books in the cabin, hard covers, that you could take home with you if you wanted.

 

Its not just not cleaning the tables in the buffet, they act put out if I ask them to wipe down the table. I have my tablet with me and dont want to put it down where the glasses left a lot of water on the table. If they would give me the cloth, Id wipe down the tables myself .. so I often just go get a used napkin and do it myself.

 

Id rather have the duck than the new fried chicken that is now offered nightly ... and I like fried chicken.. but I LOVED the duck.

 

Thanks for the better list.. I had also forgotten about the free espresso and capachino now having a charge.

[PROCRUISE]

We got them on our first cruise in Nov 2005, but not our second CCL cruise in Nov 2009. So they went away sometime in those years. Along with the little crumb scraper that the assistant waiter would use on the table between courses.

 

Wow, think you covered it all ShakyBeef! Our main complaints, perhaps not important to anyone else: the pathetic production shows, the cheaper foods being served in the MDR, and the primary day time "entertainment" now being trivia and more trivia. :(

[krazy4kruisin]

I'll keep coming back!

[shof515]

MDR / FOOD

• Ice milk now served on the side of the WCMC instead of real ice cream
  

 

how is the ice milk taste? is it similar to the ice cream?

[golfadj]

No more farewell party.

 

Less professional entertainment.

[Spaniel Lover]

The cutback that bothered me the most on my recent cruise on the Carnival Breeze was that they've done away with the late night Mexican buffet. That was one of my favorite meals on a cruise! But it's gone now.

 

The other thing that stood out like a sore thumb was that now they only have a total of 7 singers/dancers on the productions shows in the main theater. They used to have a lot larger cast. As the week progresses and you go to different production shows, it starts to seem really odd that it's the same 7 people you saw in the other shows earlier in the week... just in different costumes, singing different songs. It's kind of like if every MTV video featured the same musical group. After a while, it's just weird that it's the same people.

 

Also, not that long ago when you went to a production show in the main theater... the music came from a live band on stage, or down in a pit in front of the stage. Now all the music is recorded in advance so that it can be synced to the lights and all the effects... and also to save on labor costs. Paying a band one time to record something in the studio is way cheaper than paying a band every week on every ship in your fleet.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

No more farewell party.

 

Less professional entertainment.

 

Stu,

 

Did you find a non CCL ship that fits into your schedule yet? :)

 

Bill

[ShakyBeef]

how is the ice milk taste? is it similar to the ice cream?

 

No, not like ice cream at all.:( It was very noticably different just upon sight - true, bright white instead of off-white. The taste and consistancy is cheap - icey instead of creamy, whipped up with more air and totally lacking in flavour. Just cheap crap.:(

[Sh1035]

I have been on 3 CCL and 1 RCL cruise in the last 6 months and have come to the conclusion the MDR food is just edible. I love all the new 2.0 items offered at lunch and I would rather eat those for dinner if they were open.

 

Celebrity wins for food hands down but I don't cruise for food and not ready to be tucked in at 9 pm.

 

That being said I often tell folks you get a 40 food voucher and a 20 entertainment voucher daily....if you expect anything more find another line. In Vegas the show or the dinner would be about what you get for 20 bucks.actually with the courses and a coupon dinner would be a lot more.

 

Also we spent a week at sandals for 5k and can't say the food was an better.

[morganboys]

how is the ice milk taste? is it similar to the ice cream?

 

 

not sure the complaint about ice milk since the machines on the ship serve it. also the dairy queen has been serving ice milk for years. most soft serve machines are ice milk.

[private92656]

If you have started cruising in the last few years, then you may see less significant change introduced. However for someone like me, who first cruised with CCL in 1990's, there has been MAJOR cutbacks in pretty much every corner. However we still cruise with CCL for one cutback that we really enjoy: price!:)