WHY (in your opinion) does Carnival seem to have a low rank among many 'cruise snobs'

[srlafleur]

Some people really just need to feel superior to someone. They would never shop at...,do that...,sail on...!

But any mainstream cruise line's short Caribbean itineraries or school vacation cruises (particularly spring break/senior trip) are going to feel a whole lot different from the longer itineraries to more far-flung places when the kids are in school. That's just a fact of cruising. Carnival is more geared to a party atmosphere, in general, than, say, HAL. But, that having been said, the "hardest" I've ever partied was on a HAL cruise, so YMMV.

[jarett]

I'm gonna blame it on Kathy Lee Gifford. She scarred Carnival's reputation for life!!! I've been on about 10 Carnival cruises since 1991 and they've all been pretty good. The food has always been consistent in my experience.

 

 

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[Sitzmark]

I'm gonna blame it on Kathy Lee Gifford. She scarred Carnival's reputation for life!!! I've been on about 10 Carnival cruises since 1991 and they've all been pretty good. The food has always been consistent in my experience.

 

 

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I find this amusing, I saw some others mention a Kathy Lee Gifford connection but I had no idea that there was any connection between her and the cruise line.

[cruisin froggy]

Each cruise line has its own strength and weaknesses - in varying degrees in the eyes of individual cruiser. A low rank given by one, may be higher by another. I don't really rely on ranking when booking.

 

 

I agree with easyboy. We have only cruised on Princess, mainly because we hate to go through all the airport fuss to go on a cruise and we can drive to take a Princess cruise. And we book suites because I injured my leg and its very difficult getting in and out of a tub. Princess has separate showers in their suites. We are going on our first Carnival cruise to Alaska because it leaves from Lon Beach and usually in order to go on an Alaska cruise we had to fly (and go through airports). We booked a suite thinking there would be a separate shower just like on Princess but I understand it is a tub shower combo. I'm obviously gong to have to adapt but as far as it being Carnival, we're just happy to be on a cruise and we're anticipating it to be just as pleasurable as all our other cruises.

[Keys2Heaven]

I find this amusing, I saw some others mention a Kathy Lee Gifford connection but I had no idea that there was any connection between her and the cruise line.

 

The first time I ever heard about Carnival, it was when KLG sung its praises.

 

Throwback Video!

 

[Sitzmark]

The first time I ever heard about Carnival, it was when KLG sung its praises.

 

Throwback Video!

 

 

 

I can honestly say I have never seen this video before. Was that captain Stubing?

[sparks1093]

I can honestly say I have never seen this video before. Was that captain Stubing?

 

 

It was a look alike, maybe a subtle dig at Princess?

[asalligo]

Carnival is the Walmart of the seas. Cheap food, bad shows and crass low class clients.

 

6 Days until I am on the Dream, Whoohoo, cannot wait!!!!!!!!

[skywalkr2]

I just got off Carnival Vista yesterday. It was my first Carnival Cruise and will not be my last. I've been on 7 cruises total (Royal and NCL) are the other lines I've tried and Carnival completely blew both lines out of the water. This is including my two trips on Oasis of the Seas. So yeah, pretty much, Carnival gets a bad rep for nothing because I found it to exceed my expectations. The service was a bit lacking, but the food was world's better and the vibe was amazing. For anyone hesitant about booking Carnival, take it from me and just pull the trigger. You won't regret it.

 

 

I agree... the "vibe" is what I like about Carnival. However if a person is only into cruising to dressing up and living the high life? They would look down on Carnival because this ship fleet isn't designed for that lifestyle. This is why Carnival owns different brands.

[skywalkr2]

t-rex's, less-educated cruisers, food come to mind.

 

 

So....

 

1) T-Rex's - one groups issue on one cruise in the history of Carnival... okay.

2) Less educated - So people like to have fun means they are not educated? Sounds like someone who doesn't have a clue what they are talking about. Should I turn in my masters degree if I like Carnival?

3) Food - the food is very good. This is subjective, but there are very few people that complain about the food. Especially in relation to RCCL.

[Computer Nerd]

I never said I know the education level on any cruise line (btw, you need to capitalize that "a", bub).

 

I don't know the education level, but you seem to have missed both the question and the answer.

 

OP was asking anyone, including NON-cruise-snobs (that includes me who has ONLY cruised Carnival and has no inclination to ever cruise on Princess or NCL), why they think "cruise snobs" rank Carnival low. Get it? He's asking for opinions.

 

He asked for opinions and that's what I gave him, based on conversations with people who don't like Carnival as much as I do.

 

That said, the lack of capitalization at the start of a sentence might say something, don't you think?

 

Now derobe, t-rex!

 

:D

 

 

You are correct. You have no idea of the education level of Carnival cruisers yet that doesn't stop you from making an idiotic remark pretending that you do. Go figure. bub. :rolleyes:

 

I fully "got it" and answered his question a loooong, time ago. Now I'm just addressing the stupid remarks. ;p

 

As for the lack of capitalization at the beginning of a sentence I am fully aware of the rules of English. Obviously you are unaware that sometimes people make a mistake when typing and didn't notice it when posting. Oh, the inhumanity of it all. :eek:

[MargieWY]

2) Less educated - So people like to have fun means they are not educated? Sounds like someone who doesn't have a clue what they are talking about. Should I turn in my masters degree if I like Carnival?

 

Lets be honest for a minute here. I'm not college educated and neither is my husband. Our income limits us to more afordable vacations (IF we can even take a vacation. It's been almost 3 years since the last time we went on one :loudcry:). I'd love to go on a luxurious vacation, but we made some choices in life and this is our reality. I'm sure that there are a lot of people with college degrees that make a heck more money than we do, but based on the people that we met, I'm sure that people like me are more common than people like you on a Carnival cruise. Why act insulted and need to clarify that you are college educated or make more money when you get lumped with us lowly "uneducated" people? Get over it. Unlike us that have little choice but to take a cheap vacation (if any), you are making the choice to take a cheap vacation with "us". Sorry if you're being stereotyped. :rolleyes:

[crzndeb]

Ok, don't all the haters jump on me at once, but I admit I was once a cruise snob. Sailed on the Carnivale in 1985 after 3 Sitmar cruises. I felt like I went from an elegant ocean liner to a glitzy ferry. There were other things that happened, but enough for me to say I would never sail Carnival again.

 

Along comes 2003, and the Spirit had an exotic Caribbean itinerary that called to me. Fast forward to today and I have 16 cruises and 175 days on Carnival, since that 2003 cruise. I am reformed.

 

I have sailed on most mass market lines, except Celebrity, though it's on my to do list. I'm venturing away from Carnival only because of itineraries. I'm retired and like longer cruiser, so I just prefer to go to places I haven't been, before my cruising days are over.

 

As others have said, there is a cruise line for everyone. Some may have a bad experience one time, but that doesn't make the whole cruise line bad. S$&@ happens. I'm definitely older and wiser now, so I sure wouldn't diss a cruise line because of one bad experience. I learned that lesson long ago.

[Motegi]

My comments are in red :D

 

 

Summersigh,

 

Thanks for your comments! We figured that some of the differences we noticed may have been due to the fact that we were on a full ship charter. However the company that chartered the ship didn't really have that many things on the schedule either. We attended most of them and still had gaps where we just wandered around or went back to the cabin.

 

And like I said the feature stage performances had less attendance than I've seen even at nightly karaoke on NCL. It was quite sad and unfortunate since it seems to have affected the enthusiasm of the dancers and singers.

 

We've been on the Miami to Bahamas itinerary many times before on NCL and know what it is like even in inclement conditions which this cruise certainly was not. Like I said even other seasoned cruisers commented on the rocking that first night. Maybe we just needed to be a little more inebriated to balance it out! LOL!

 

For this cruise we were not offered anytime dining. It was just early or late. We chose late seating since we thought we would be so busy with activities in the afternoons. So much for that!

 

One thing I forgot to mention was that the embarkation process was a complete abomination. Perhaps the slowest we have ever encountered and well exceeds our previous worst of boarding the NCL Star out of Tampa. All of our other cruises from Miami have been very quick to board. To recap, we dropped off our bags and parked at the onsite terminal garage. Then we lined up outside the terminal between the ropes. Once we got inside we saw that there were 4 or 5 X-ray machines that were staffed but nobody was being let through. They said that the upstairs was backed up. About thirty minutes went by before we started moving at all. Then we went upstairs and were put into another line to check in. After checking in we were then crammed into the standing room only waiting area with everyone else as we waited for our group numbers to be called over the PA system. Each step took longer than the previous. In fact it took so long that by the time we finally boarded our bags were at the room before us!

 

We barely had time to make it to lunch before the muster drill.

[Motegi]

My comments are in red :D

 

 

Summersigh,

 

Thanks for your comments! We figured that some of the differences we noticed may have been due to the fact that we were on a full ship charter. However the company that chartered the ship didn't really have that many things on the schedule either. We attended most of them and still had gaps where we just wandered around or went back to the cabin.

 

And like I said the feature stage performances had less attendance than I've seen even at nightly karaoke on NCL. It was quite sad and unfortunate since it seems to have affected the enthusiasm of the dancers and singers.

 

We've been on the Miami to Bahamas itinerary many times before on NCL and know what it is like even in inclement conditions which this cruise certainly was not. Like I said even other seasoned cruisers commented on the rocking that first night. Maybe we just needed to be a little more inebriated to balance it out! LOL!

 

For this cruise we were not offered anytime dining. It was just early or late. We chose late seating since we thought we would be so busy with activities in the afternoons. So much for that!

 

One thing I forgot to mention was that the embarkation process was a complete abomination. Perhaps the slowest we have ever encountered and well exceeds our previous worst of boarding the NCL Star out of Tampa. All of our other cruises from Miami have been very quick to board. To recap, we dropped off our bags and parked at the onsite terminal garage. Then we lined up outside the terminal between the ropes. Once we got inside we saw that there were 4 or 5 X-ray machines that were staffed but nobody was being let through. They said that the upstairs was backed up. About thirty minutes went by before anyone else was allowed through. Then we went upstairs and were put into another big line to check in. After checking in we were then crammed into the standing room only waiting area with everyone else as we waited for our group numbers to be called over the PA system. Hundreds and hundreds of people were filling up the seats, standing in the aisles, and sitting on the ground. Each step took longer than the previous. In fact it took so long that by the time we finally boarded our bags were at the room before us!

 

We barely had time to make it to lunch before the muster drill.

[hotsauce126]

So....

2) Less educated - So people like to have fun means they are not educated? Sounds like someone who doesn't have a clue what they are talking about. Should I turn in my masters degree if I like Carnival?.

 

 

:loudcry: and I can say the people in my master's program party a lot harder some of the people I know who barely graduated high school

[Sitzmark]

In addition to the comments I made earlier I'd refer the OP to this thread as a reason. If the cheerleaders and fanboys here are at all representative of the kinds of people that inhabit a Carnival ship, it isn't promising. All anyone has to do is relate an anecdotal story here and shortly they'll be attacked as making "stupid comments". They will be told that they shouldn't have opinions. Some even resort to name calling. It is really hard to sound classy while throwing personal insults at strangers.

[CanWeGoYet?]

 

And like I said the feature stage performances had less attendance than I've seen even at nightly karaoke on NCL. It was quite sad and unfortunate since it seems to have affected the enthusiasm of the dancers and singers.

 

There are some great dancers on cruise lines, but I wonder how much they rely on the enthusiasm of the audience to fuel their delivery. Dancers taking cruise ship gigs know that their audience are likely there because it's something to do, and the show is free. Much of the audience will be made up of folks who have no interest in dance, the arts, & may have never bought tickets to a dance performance in their lives. Maybe not even the nutcracker.

The first performance show I saw was on carnival, a long time ago - and I was flabbergasted by the disinterest of the audience - who smoked, (back in the day) talked to each other, drank & treated the performance like background music & a distraction to their night out. Later in the cruise I ran into one of the dancers & commented on the behavior of the passengers watching the show - she just shrugged her shoulders & said this is how it is - they dance & do their best & if no one notices it's still their job to put on a good show.

[Sitzmark]

There are some great dancers on cruise lines, but I wonder how much they rely on the enthusiasm of the audience to fuel their delivery. Dancers taking cruise ship gigs know that their audience are likely there because it's something to do, and the show is free. Much of the audience will be made up of folks who have no interest in dance, the arts, & may have never bought tickets to a dance performance in their lives. Maybe not even the nutcracker.

The first performance show I saw was on carnival, a long time ago - and I was flabbergasted by the disinterest of the audience - who smoked, (back in the day) talked to each other, drank & treated the performance like background music & a distraction to their night out. Later in the cruise I ran into one of the dancers & commented on the behavior of the passengers watching the show - she just shrugged her shoulders & said this is how it is - they dance & do their best & if no one notices it's still their job to put on a good show.

 

 

Funny you mention this. We saw Cats on our Oasis cruise and for us it was a highlight of an otherwise mediocre vacation. We also enjoyed the stage productions on our Disney cruise.

[ryano]

In addition to the comments I made earlier I'd refer the OP to this thread as a reason. If the cheerleaders and fanboys here are at all representative of the kinds of people that inhabit a Carnival ship, it isn't promising. All anyone has to do is relate an anecdotal story here and shortly they'll be attacked as making "stupid comments". They will be told that they shouldn't have opinions. Some even resort to name calling. It is really hard to sound classy while throwing personal insults at strangers.

 

 

Right, because that doesn't happen on the other forums here. :rolleyes: ONLY Carnival has "cheerleaders" and "fanboys". LOL

 

It's ok, your cruise in which you seem to be terribly regretting before it has even started will be over shortly and you will have no reason whatsoever to hang here with us lowlife Wal Mart crowd anymore. Won't be long.

 

Seriously though, if we are so bad, why are you here? Your negativity is a straight up buzzkill. You admttingly hate cruising. I guess I don't understand why a person who has such disdain for cruising would hangl around so much on a forum about it.

[auscgguysgirl]

A college degree of any kind does not make one smarter by any stretch ... just look at some of the attorneys I've worked for. Sighs

[Sitzmark]

Right, because that doesn't happen on the other forums here. :rolleyes: ONLY Carnival has "cheerleaders" and "fanboys". LOL

 

 

I never said they don't, but the OP didn't ask about other cruise lines.

 

As to why I hang out in a forum related to my next vacation I don't owe anyone an explanation, and I won't offer one. Of all the people I've ever chatted with I honestly wouldn't have expected you to care. You've always seemed more open minded than most.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Funny you mention this. We saw Cats on our Oasis cruise and for us it was a highlight of an otherwise mediocre vacation. We also enjoyed the stage productions on our Disney cruise.

Shows how everybody has different tastes. On an otherwise awesome cruise on the Oasis cats was a yawner.

 

Left at intermission.

 

Bill

 

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[CanWeGoYet?]

Funny you mention this. We saw Cats on our Oasis cruise and for us it was a highlight of an otherwise mediocre vacation. We also enjoyed the stage productions on our Disney cruise.

 

 

I love the shows too. But I can't imagine the dance crew being so concerned with audience reaction that it would affect their ability to perform. Certainly not on a cruise. That's what I was commenting on.

[Motegi]

I love the shows too. But I can't imagine the dance crew being so concerned with audience reaction that it would affect their ability to perform. Certainly not on a cruise. That's what I was commenting on.

 

 

I wasn't referring to the audience reaction... but rather the total lack of an audience.

 

I'm sure that performers would rather be in front of a packed house with an enthusiastic audience rather than the leftovers from a bingo game...

 

But who knows, perhaps my reasoning is incorrect, and the performers were just not very energetic and the sparsely attended theater had nothing to do with it... This would be worse in my opinion.

 

I was just trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.