Carnival Cruisers What Would Make you leave Carnival?

[tea4ular]

Price - if their prices rose and matched $ for $ another line (RCI or Celebrity) I would try the others more frequently. I had wonderful experiences with them (not so with NCL) - but not hundreds of $ more wonderful -

[BallFour4]

When they become routine...and frankly that is probably just a couple cruises away.

 

I could just say ditto to your post and walk away... but I'm opinionated, have cruised on Carnival 26 of 31 cruises and have more to add.

 

What follows is my opinion, not wrong, not right and maybe different from the rest of you.

 

Carnival does not really care about past guests, cruisers over 50, offering a large variety of dining selections, maintaining the dining room ambiance or families of young kids that want to enjoy lido deck afternoons listening to Caribbean music.

 

My wife and I stepped off the Magic on Valentines day and for the first time since 2001 we don't have another cruise booked. They won't miss me, and most of you on Cruise Critic wouldn't either. :)

 

The American Table menus have less to offer than a cafeteria. Lobster is gone for cruises shorter than 6 nights, the dress code has vanished and people are allowed to wander in for fixed time dining 45 min late. A short staffed wait team can barely keep up. As a result dining times range from and hour to 90 minutes.

 

The Lido Deck: What a mess. With the large screen debut came the bigger speakers and sub-woofers. Carnival DJ's are required to turn the music up to a constant of over 100 decibels and generate a party atmosphere like a club scene. Would you really want your 16 year old daughter to be in the pool with buckets of beer floating around and drinks everywhere? It's been a grind fest for every cruise sea day for 3 years or more and 10 cruises.

 

The "Caribbean" is gone from cruising on the open decks. I miss Bob Marley tunes from steel drums. It's back in a limited version, but even then they play cover band music.

 

Everything that involves customer interaction has built in "let's not get a bad review" overtone. Look at the towels saving chairs by 8:30am on sea days. The entire row around the pool on the Magic was full of towels on all three sea days a couple of weeks ago. Same for the Triumph in January.

 

Carnival knows their market is those with 0-3 cruises, drinkers, gamblers and those with no long history to compare are where the profit is. For now it's working, but I'm convinced it's cyclical.

 

If we could transfer our status to Princess we'd be gone tomorrow. They cruise about 15 min from my driveway.

 

.

Edited February 24, 2016 by BallFour4

[Indytraveler83]

 

If we could transfer our status to Princess we'd be gone tomorrow. They cruise about 15 min from my driveway.

 

.

 

Sorry, but this is what I'm talking about. You know you'd be happier on Princess, you know the Carnival product doesn't fit you. Yet you keep spending thousands on Carnival and complaining about the product, all over loyalty status.

 

Jump to Princess and be happy. If you'd done it years ago wen you started to realize you wanted something else, then you'd already have a high loyalty status with Princess.

 

I drove a Nissan until I found a Ford that I liked better. Nissan tried to give me a special deal as a previous owner, but I liked the Ford better so I bought it. I didn't buy the Nissan and then complain it wasn't the Ford.

 

I will treat Carnival the same.

[TaDaaa!]

Having sailed twice with Royal in the past two years, we have not seen the lack of staff issues. I'm not saying that there aren't issues, they just aren't as important to us. And honestly I find the clientele on Royal a few grades above carnival. Yes, there are still some who I would not care to associate with, but I find them fewer in numbers. No line is going to be perfect, and I realize that.

 

You should be looking in the mirror as you type this. :rolleyes:

 

Came off the Independence of the Seas two months ago and saw the exact same type of people that I've seen on every Carnival ship.

Edited February 24, 2016 by TaDaaa!

[T2C]

Hey,

I have seen so many people complaining over the last year about the Changes made by Carnival over the past couple years. I have also seen people say those things do not mater to them, and some people outright cheerleading for Carnival.....So as you all know Carnival keeps a eye out on these boards...so lets help Carnival(who has always been good to me and I like) learn before a change is to be made...

 

What would be the last straw Carnival would have to do to make you move to another cruise Line or go AI or more land based vacations?????

 

I will start with me.......Entertainment:mad: (except for Comedy Club and Newlywed game) and with RC coming with Ships with Riplines, flow riders... Ice/water shows...etc. However I am currently am trying to book Hawaii 2017 on Carnival so RC hasn't got me yet.......Lets Hear from You?????:D

 

Only thing for me is if they raised their prices to match how much more RCCL charges

[tigresslea]

Glad you are happy, I lost vacations with my parents now. :(

 

I think your frustration is misplaced. Of course most nonsmokers are pleased that the balconies are now smoke free. I know I enjoyed mine much more when I didn't constantly have to vacate the balcony do to smoke on my last cruise. That said, you can't really blame the cruise line either. They are changing with the times while most public places are becoming smoke free and other lines will follow suit in the near future. It's not like it used to be. There is no more hiding behind ignorance. We all know how bad smoking is, for the smoker and everyone around them. If your parents can't change with the times, that's on them. If you are missing out on cruises with them because of it, that's between you and them.

[BallFour4]

Sorry, but this is what I'm talking about. You know you'd be happier on Princess, you know the Carnival product doesn't fit you. Yet you keep spending thousands on Carnival and complaining about the product, all over loyalty status.

 

Jump to Princess and be happy. If you'd done it years ago wen you started to realize you wanted something else, then you'd already have a high loyalty status with Princess.

 

I drove a Nissan until I found a Ford that I liked better. Nissan tried to give me a special deal as a previous owner, but I liked the Ford better so I bought it. I didn't buy the Nissan and then complain it wasn't the Ford.

 

I will treat Carnival the same.

 

Pull out the big arrows on my will ya? You've hit a nerve, but I'll attempt to defend.

 

I live 45 min from the terminal in Galveston. For much of our cruising history I had a daughter in school and later college, a wife that was a teacher and that hampered our vacation times. We both know cruises are more expensive when school is out.

 

I also augment my fathers nursing home costs to the tune of $2000 a month, so I need to cruise cheap.

 

Carnival has ran a small fleet of ships through Galveston, and we currently have three. Princess has not been here for the duration, so I'm a funnel cruiser since the Mardi Gras in 1976.

 

The Carnival product has changed, and not for the better. I could walk on a ship with a rolling suitcase of cargo shorts and Tommy Bahamas and be happy. The selective enforcement I described might be industry wide, who knows?

 

I also drove a collection of Fords for company cars until we switched to car allowances. I just sold my daughter a Jetta TDI that was flawless for 3 years and 140k. So far the Honda/Acura product has exceeded my expectations with a 2016 RDX.

 

Let's board a Princess ship, order a cold Coors Light and debate some more. :)

 

.

Edited February 24, 2016 by BallFour4

[Tapi]

If we could transfer our status to Princess we'd be gone tomorrow. They cruise about 15 min from my driveway

 

 

Carnival Platinum cruiser here who sailed on Princess for the first time last year!

 

Trust me, you don't need status transfer. We were treated better on Princess as first time cruisers than as Platinum cruisers on Carnival. Several things that you would consider a perk on Carnival are offered standard on Princess. For example, the embarkation process along with immediate cabin availability upon boarding is offered to all guests on Princess, not just those purchasing FTTF or with a higher past guest status.

 

Also, let me ask you, when was the last time Carnival provided cabin decorations and anniversary cake during dinner complimentarily? On Princess we received both. We also received an invitation to a special event with complimentary drinks, once again, as first time cruisers. Add Princess' more polished and prompt service and you will be asking yourself why you kept sailing on Carnival for the sake of past guest perks or price.

 

Which brings me to the next topic. A big reason why we chose to sail on Princess was because we found a much better fare than on a comparable itinerary on Carnival sailing on the same day and from the same port. And I'm not talking about a few dollars. I'm talking about almost 50% cheaper than Carnival! I am aware that Carnival will more often have the better prices, but not always so keep checking. Don't be surprised if you find pricing similar to the one I found! It's becoming a more common occurrence, not only with Princess but with many other cruise lines. Pretty much every cruise we've taken during the last five years has been on a different cruise line because they've all been cheaper than similar Carnival cruises.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Tapi

[joeyancho]

I agree with Tapi. We were carnival cruisers for the longest time, achieving platinum status. The only perk worth a Damn is the ability to board upon arrival. The rest is nothing. The first time we cruised Princess we were pleasantly surprised. It was so much better in every area. The food was so much better. The entertainment was terrific. The staff treated us terrifically. The ship's decor was elegant. The clientele was much less woohoo. We kick ourselves for not trying Princess earlier.

[tea4ular]

 

Which brings me to the next topic. A big reason why we chose to sail on Princess was because we found a much better fare than on a comparable itinerary on Carnival sailing on the same day and from the same port. And I'm not talking about a few dollars. I'm talking about almost 50% cheaper than Carnival! I am aware that Carnival will more often have the better prices, but not always so keep checking. Don't be surprised if you find pricing similar to the one I found! It's becoming a more common occurrence, not only with Princess but with many other cruise lines. Pretty much every cruise we've taken during the last five years has been on a different cruise line because they've all been cheaper than similar Carnival cruises.

 

I've been looking for years and still haven't found that. Please share. Ship/date/cabin type/itinerary. Not doubting just curious.

[SadieN]

Carnival Platinum cruiser here who sailed on Princess for the first time last year!

 

Trust me, you don't need status transfer. We were treated better on Princess as first time cruisers than as Platinum cruisers on Carnival. Several things that you would consider a perk on Carnival are offered standard on Princess. For example, the embarkation process along with immediate cabin availability upon boarding is offered to all guests on Princess, not just those purchasing FTTF or with a higher past guest status.

 

Also, let me ask you, when was the last time Carnival provided cabin decorations and anniversary cake during dinner complimentarily? On Princess we received both. We also received an invitation to a special event with complimentary drinks, once again, as first time cruisers. Add Princess' more polished and prompt service and you will be asking yourself why you kept sailing on Carnival for the sake of past guest perks or price.

 

Which brings me to the next topic. A big reason why we chose to sail on Princess was because we found a much better fare than on a comparable itinerary on Carnival sailing on the same day and from the same port. And I'm not talking about a few dollars. I'm talking about almost 50% cheaper than Carnival! I am aware that Carnival will more often have the better prices, but not always so keep checking. Don't be surprised if you find pricing similar to the one I found! It's becoming a more common occurrence, not only with Princess but with many other cruise lines. Pretty much every cruise we've taken during the last five years has been on a different cruise line because they've all been cheaper than similar Carnival cruises.

 

 

We've cruises both Princess and Carnival out of Los Angeles.

 

Princess's cabins are open at boarding because they don't allow boarding until the cabins are ready. In San Pedro boarding doesn't usually start until 1pm.

 

Sailed Princess because they've been offering some itins that Carnival doesn't do or has done only once. California Coastals and 9&10 day Mexican Riviera. We loved our one-off 13day Journeys cruise on the Miracle, wish Carnival would repeat that.

You're right that Carnival isn't always cheaper. Mom just chose to do HI again on Carnival even though it was more expensive than Princess. (Same amount of days, Princess goes to one less port.)

Would love to sail HAL again but the timing of their San Diego cruises don't work for us.

[SadieN]

I've been looking for years and still haven't found that. Please share. Ship/date/cabin type/itinerary. Not doubting just curious.

 

 

Alaska is usually cheaper on other lines. Mom's HI cruise next November was way cheaper on Princess than Carnival when she booked. French door cabin on Carnival v Obstructed OV on Princess.

[Tapi]

Princess's cabins are open at boarding because they don't allow boarding until the cabins are ready. In San Pedro boarding doesn't usually start until 1pm.

 

 

I'd read that as well, so we arrived at the port around 11:30am after checking out from our hotel. After a lightning fast check-in, we thought we'd be sitting around for at least an hour before we'd be allowed to board, but we were a bit surprised when a few minutes after sitting down (maybe 5-10 minutes) we were called to board. We were literally passing the atrium on our way to our stateroom before noon! Don't know if this was an exception or the norm, but it was definitely a great first impression and it set the tone for things to come! This was in Los Angeles/San Pedro.

[Trumpster]

Only thing for me is if they raised their prices to match how much more RCCL charges

 

No that's NCL ;)

[Tapi]

I've been looking for years and still haven't found that. Please share. Ship/date/cabin type/itinerary. Not doubting just curious.

 

 

This was aboard the Golden Princess, September 2014, out of Los Angeles. We booked the most inexpensive oceanview stateroom which was a BZ category. These are classified as obstructed oceanview, and many of them are because of the lifeboats, but I had done a bit of research and I booked one of the staterooms that had almost zero obstruction. We booked this cruise a few weeks before sailing so I was surprised that this stateroom was still available. I have a link to my photo review on this cruise in my signature below if you want to see photos of that cabin as well as of the entire cruise.

 

As mentioned before, I was blown away at how cheap this cruise was. Literally, I'd placed an online search for cruises departing on those dates and for the specified length of time, and I sorted from lowest to highest price (no specific cruise line, region, or port of departure). That's how I came across this cruise. I am an east coast guy (Georgia) so a cruise on Princess out of Los Angeles was completely out of the radar. But it was a wonderful experience and definitely worth flying across the country!

 

I can't tell you if the pricing for this cruise was an exception or the norm since I normally don't look at trends on west coast cruises, but over here on the east coast, I've frequently seen Caribbean cruises out of Port Everglades very attractively priced, specially some of their shorter itineraries. I've also noticed that when they offer last minute sales, they tend to be very good offers. I've also priced out some Canada/New England itineraries from New York but I haven't found much success with those.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Tapi

[fsa1155]

For me, I can't seem to beat the price of Caribbean Cruise Line. I have sailed RCI in the past and I will say I was worried when I took my first Carnival cruise because I thought it would be a very low budget party cruise with a bunch of drunks because that is how I had always heard it described. I was very surprised. I actually like Carnival just as well as RCI and the price is so much better.

 

If other cruise lines would lower their prices to match Carnival, I might try them. However, I believe Carnival has my business for now. :)

[antique sailor]

AHOY SHIPMATES

 

I WOULD LEAVE CARNIVAL IF; They discontinued JAX as a homeport

 

They closed the casino

 

Started charging for meals in MDR

 

Raised prices of OV cabins to over $125. day all the time(they

are getting close)

 

 

I cruise on HAL for longer cruises but like Carnival for short convenient days away from home and the friendliness of the Staff and Crew.

[tkportersat]

Brilliant post! These people that keep doing the same thing over and over and don't do anything about it drive me nuts :( If you don't like something than change it.

PS - I too had a Nissan (2013 Pathfinder-brand new) Piece of crap, in the shop all the time and hated the dealership. Got a Honda CRV and life is good, problems and stress fixed!

 

It's your life folks, if you hate everything Carnival is doing than for crying out loud go somewhere else! Please

 

Sorry, but this is what I'm talking about. You know you'd be happier on Princess, you know the Carnival product doesn't fit you. Yet you keep spending thousands on Carnival and complaining about the product, all over loyalty status.

 

Jump to Princess and be happy. If you'd done it years ago wen you started to realize you wanted something else, then you'd already have a high loyalty status with Princess.

 

I drove a Nissan until I found a Ford that I liked better. Nissan tried to give me a special deal as a previous owner, but I liked the Ford better so I bought it. I didn't buy the Nissan and then complain it wasn't the Ford.

 

I will treat Carnival the same.

[hbrote]

I think your frustration is misplaced. Of course most nonsmokers are pleased that the balconies are now smoke free. I know I enjoyed mine much more when I didn't constantly have to vacate the balcony do to smoke on my last cruise. That said, you can't really blame the cruise line either. They are changing with the times while most public places are becoming smoke free and other lines will follow suit in the near future. It's not like it used to be. There is no more hiding behind ignorance. We all know how bad smoking is, for the smoker and everyone around them. If your parents can't change with the times, that's on them. If you are missing out on cruises with them because of it, that's between you and them.

 

Stopped smoking on balcony's.... really. They tell you you cannot smoke but they do. We could not use our suite balcony on our last trip in November. The guests in the cabin next to us smoked like a chimney. They may say it isn't done but they continue to allow this behavior. We have another cruise of the Valor in April and if this happens again I will really have a hard time booking them again. Celebrity smoking policy is adhered to by their guests and the Casino is smoke free (wonderful). We have not been on Princess as of yet but are booked this fall in Europe. We paid about $200 less per person than a suite on Carnival. I believe you book the cheapest inside cabin you will not find any other cruise line as inexpensive as Carnival but in almost any other class you will find comparable fares. Do the research and you will find them. Also Carnival fares ARE INCREASING. (example 8 day Southern Ocean Suite in 2014 $1034 PP, 7 day Eastern Ocean Suite in 2016 $1449 PP)

[richstowe]

All cruise lines go through changes, its normal. I doubt anything will force me to stop cruising with Carnival.

I ALWAYS shop all the lines to compare offers/ports for the dates were looking for.

I'm not loyal to any cruise line.

Frankly I couldn't bother to read further as this spells out my feelings .

I believe (yes this is a sacrilege) that other cruise lines have cut back or jerked up items to a greater extent .

[tkportersat]

Possibly so but my parents saw the bigger picture which is people got what they wanted and now they will want more which is they won't be happy until smoking is off the ship entirely, so they decided to make their own decision before that happens.

 

I think your frustration is misplaced. Of course most nonsmokers are pleased that the balconies are now smoke free. I know I enjoyed mine much more when I didn't constantly have to vacate the balcony do to smoke on my last cruise. That said, you can't really blame the cruise line either. They are changing with the times while most public places are becoming smoke free and other lines will follow suit in the near future. It's not like it used to be. There is no more hiding behind ignorance. We all know how bad smoking is, for the smoker and everyone around them. If your parents can't change with the times, that's on them. If you are missing out on cruises with them because of it, that's between you and them.

Edited February 24, 2016 by tkportersat

[richstowe]

Possibly so but my parents saw the bigger picture which is people got what they wanted and now they will want more which is they won't be happy until smoking is off the ship entirely, so they decided to make their own decision before that happens.

And what was their decision , to give up cruising ?

(I wouldn't give up something I liked before something happened but to each his own.)

[Cruzaholic41]

What would be the last straw Carnival would have to do to make you move to another cruise Line or go AI or more land based vacations?????

 

The cutbacks in food and entertainment were big with me, but what finally made me start to prefer almost every other line over Carnival was the fact they refuse to build anything different. Everything is just the same old tired Destiny/Conquest design. I got bored with Carnival sameness.

 

I love land vacations/AIs, but I do not like going to the same place over and over again. Same goes with cruising. Cruising Carnival ships is like going to the same place over and over again.

[tkportersat]

I agree, but that is exactly what happened. Their favorite thing to do on cruises was to get up in the morning, watch the sunrise and enjoy their coffee and smoke on their balcony. If someone else was out there they would not smoke. They figured it was only a matter of time before people got them kicked off the ship entirely, and were tired of being made to feel bad. I have seen folks cough dramatically and my mom doesn't even have the cigarette lit. People were very rude. I wish they didn't smoke but at 65 they are set in their ways and like it and don't want to stop.

 

And what was their decision , to give up cruising ?

(I wouldn't give up something I liked before something happened but to each his own.)

[jh2360]

"Socioeconomic status"....YIKES! I'd hate to be the type of person that is worried about the socioeconomic status of fellow cruisers. If you are concerned with status level, then good riddance. That's not the type of person I'd like to meet on the ship anyways.

 

Goes with being concerned about the lack of tablecloths I'd imagine.