Diminishing Quality on Carnival?

[BlerkOne]

And are they all for sale?

 

 

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Everything is for sale for the right price. Doubtful anyone will pay what Carnival wants, and Carnival hasn't dropped the price a dime.

[lorilew]

We actually tried a Royal cruise last time, although the Allure ship was so very beautiful and huge, the service was lacking and employees not friendly like we’ve experienced on Carnival. The food was no better and the steakhouse subpar to carnival steakhouses. Carnival is much more relaxing and we like it that way. To each his own. I hope you find another cruise line that suits your needs. We all like different things.

 

 

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[ugh07]

I sailed Vista last month. 10th I think Carnival cruise but probably last for a while. It feels like they are just doing anything they can to hold the line on price. Im willing to pay more for a better overall experience so my next cruise we are going to try something else, what that is I dont know, lol

[Blackjack22]

I find your post a bit harsh in the fact that you Group everyone who liked attending into a negative light. My husband and I enjoyed a few cocktails, meeting other cruisers, seeing and talking about how many cruises some have been on. That's what's wrong with this site. Everyone is so quick to place blame and judge others whom they no absolutely nothing about.

 

 

I agree, when a beer costs 7-8 bucks and they are giving them for free, of course people are going to load up while they can and take a few to go.

[siestakeys04]

I only experienced the cocktail party once and it was really nice. I do wish they gave the free drink on any cruise not just 5 or more days. The worst food I had was aboard the valor. This hasn’t stopped me from cruising carnival.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I sailed Vista last month. 10th I think Carnival cruise but probably last for a while. It feels like they are just doing anything they can to hold the line on price. Im willing to pay more for a better overall experience so my next cruise we are going to try something else, what that is I dont know, lol

 

We quit last year. If your main reason for sticking with Carnival has been service, relaxation, and superior food, we've really enjoyed Celebrity and Holland America. I know they sound like opposites, but on the qualities just mentioned, they feel much closer to a Carnival+, than let's say Royal Caribbean. We liked RCCL for the most part, but the food was inferior, and there was a snobbish subculture we had to learn to ignore. We're hoping that MSC is a happy medium between quality and fun ship activities.

[riclop]

Yes it has .

[alreadypacked]

We quit last year. If your main reason for sticking with Carnival has been service, relaxation, and superior food, we've really enjoyed Celebrity and Holland America. I know they sound like opposites, but on the qualities just mentioned, they feel much closer to a Carnival+, than let's say Royal Caribbean. We liked RCCL for the most part, but the food was inferior, and there was a snobbish subculture we had to learn to ignore. We're hoping that MSC is a happy medium between quality and fun ship activities.

 

Royal has a lot to offer in terms of activities, shows and entertainment (loved the ice skating show especially), but I agree, their food is severely inferior. It's the one thing that keeps me from booking Royal.

 

We even liked our interior cabin on older ship Liberty of the Seas... But the food :(

 

I don't cruise for the food, but since I'm there for 7 (or more) days, I want it to be good!!

[JMAE]

Royal has a lot to offer in terms of activities, shows and entertainment (loved the ice skating show especially), but I agree, their food is severely inferior. It's the one thing that keeps me from booking Royal.

 

We even liked our interior cabin on older ship Liberty of the Seas... But the food :(

 

I don't cruise for the food, but since I'm there for 7 (or more) days, I want it to be good!!

 

I agree about the food. Royal was our second cruised and we never went back. We don't cruise for the activities, we cruise for R & R, so CCL is great for us.

[jetsfan58]

Cruisers good afternoon. Variety has always been and will continue to be the spice of life. We chose Carnival years ago as our primary Cruise company. It was due to simple economics: Price.

 

We actually tried one RCCL cruise and did not care for that type of Cruise experience. Way too expensive and some of the passengers that we met acted as if they had these "halos" over them. We will continue to sail Carnival anticipating that they will continue to offer an affordable family cruise alternative.

[NavarreCruiser]

I find your post a bit harsh in the fact that you Group everyone who liked attending into a negative light. My husband and I enjoyed a few cocktails, meeting other cruisers, seeing and talking about how many cruises some have been on. That's what's wrong with this site. Everyone is so quick to place blame and judge others whom they no absolutely nothing about.

 

You can take everything Blerk and Jimbo post with a huge grain of salt. I am surprised that they can put down their Carnival cheerleader pom-poms long enough to post. I have over 90 Carnival cruises and I enjoy their product. But anyone who denies that there have been huge reductions in the quality of Carnival cruises in the recent past is living in denial, And I don't mean the river in Egypt.

[Lizzybell1960]

I tend to agree with other poster, the quality has diminished on most of the affordable cruise lines. The nickel and diming on NCL was irritating, imo. I haven't sailed Carnival in many years but have 2 upcoming cruises booked to Mexico on Carnival Splendor.

 

The main reason we chose this cruise is we didn't want to fly and Carnival is the only company sailing out of LA during the summer. I am a bit dubious as the Splendor is older and seems to be in need of refab, but that's not going to happen til 01/20, I think.

 

Some cruisers have said she looks worn, but everyone still has a great time. Mostly great praise for a wonderful crew etc. so we are going with realistic expectations.

 

I will say I am impressed with the way Carnival handled and compensated the passengers on the Bud hurricane cruise, very fair compensation.

 

There are so many cruises from back East/Florida/Texas and so few from Los Angeles/Long Beach. With such a huge population to pull customers from, I am surprised that none of the other cruise lines sail reg out of our local ports?

[NavarreCruiser]

Cruisers good afternoon. Variety has always been and will continue to be the spice of life. We chose Carnival years ago as our primary Cruise company. It was due to simple economics: Price.

 

We actually tried one RCCL cruise and did not care for that type of Cruise experience. Way too expensive and some of the passengers that we met acted as if they had these "halos" over them. We will continue to sail Carnival anticipating that they will continue to offer an affordable family cruise alternative.

 

It is funny, I totally agree with your assessment of RCCL cruisers especially in their attitude toward Carnival. I have done 36 RCCL cruises so qualify as an experienced RCCL cruiser. And I still run into that attitude especially among the Diamond and Diamond plus and Pinnacle C&A members on Royal.

[NavarreCruiser]

I tend to agree with other poster, the quality has diminished on most of the affordable cruise lines. The nickel and diming on NCL was irritating, imo. I haven't sailed Carnival in many years but have 2 upcoming cruises booked to Mexico on Carnival Splendor.

 

The main reason we chose this cruise is we didn't want to fly and Carnival is the only company sailing out of LA during the summer. I am a bit dubious as the Splendor is older and seems to be in need of refab, but that's not going to happen til 01/20, I think.

 

Some cruisers have said she looks worn, but everyone still has a great time. Mostly great praise for a wonderful crew etc. so we are going with realistic expectations.

 

I will say I am impressed with the way Carnival handled and compensated the passengers on the Bud hurricane cruise, very fair compensation.

 

There are so many cruises from back East/Florida/Texas and so few from Los Angeles/Long Beach. With such a huge population to pull customers from, I am surprised that none of the other cruise lines sail reg out of our local ports?

 

 

Unfortunately for you west coasters, there is a real shortage of safe and desirable ports of call to visit. That leads to fewer people wanting to cruise to the same ports again and again.

[jimbo5544]

You can take everything Blerk and Jimbo post with a huge grain of salt. I am surprised that they can put down their Carnival cheerleader pom-poms long enough to post. I have over 90 Carnival cruises and I enjoy their product. But anyone who denies that there have been huge reductions in the quality of Carnival cruises in the recent past is living in denial, And I don't mean the river in Egypt.

 

 

 

My arms get so weary, everyones comments should betaken with a grain of salt.

 

Ip

 

 

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[jimbo5544]

You can take everything Blerk and Jimbo post with a huge grain of salt. I am surprised that they can put down their Carnival cheerleader pom-poms long enough to post. I have over 90 Carnival cruises and I enjoy their product. But anyone who denies that there have been huge reductions in the quality of Carnival cruises in the recent past is living in denial, And I don't mean the river in Egypt.

 

 

 

All cruise lines have had cutbacks, I have never said anything different than that. Huge reductions in quality.....um nope. Always wanted to go to Egypt tho..... not so much for the river denial.

 

 

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[jetsfan58]

It is funny, I totally agree with your assessment of RCCL cruisers especially in their attitude toward Carnival. I have done 36 RCCL cruises so qualify as an experienced RCCL cruiser. And I still run into that attitude especially among the Diamond and Diamond plus and Pinnacle C&A members on Royal.

 

Navarre Bob thanks. I am in no way and expert at Cruising. I just know that at this time in our lives Carnival is much more affordable and meets my family needs. Again it is economics with me.

[Computer Nerd]

I do that sometimes but it’s because I cannot figure out how to include more than one quote in a post. I see others do it so there must be a way, but it’s not obvious. And I guess I just haven’t put in the effort to find a resource to explain it to me. Maybe people think I am padding my account but it would never have occurred to me until I saw accusations like this. I find it odd that anyone cares how many comments they have on their account or would have the time or inclination to try to doctor their “count.”

 

 

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To quote multiple posts at the same time, on the first quoted post, click the "+" button to the right of quote. On the last post you want to quote click the "Quote" button like normal. Both posts will show up in your reply then.

[cruziJenn]

Some people will complain about absolutely anything.

[simplelife]

One could think of the changes less as "cutbacks" and more of offering more options, some as as "user pay" in order to maintain a lower fare overall.. I disagree with the posts that state or imply that Carnival has not added anything. When we first cruised Carnival, there was no steakhouse or other specialty dining (upcharge or not) and no YTD; no comedy club; no dive-in movies; no drink package; no FTTF; no Serenity Deck.

[Joebucks]

One could think of the changes less as "cutbacks" and more of offering more options, some as as "user pay" in order to maintain a lower fare overall.. I disagree with the posts that state or imply that Carnival has not added anything. When we first cruised Carnival, there was no steakhouse or other specialty dining (upcharge or not) and no YTD; no comedy club; no dive-in movies; no drink package; no FTTF; no Serenity Deck.

 

For me, I started cruising last year. I don't notice any "cutbacks," only a ton of awesome amenities never offered on my previous vacations, at a great price. Not only that, but since I started, they ADDED late night snack options.

[Computer Nerd]

One could think of the changes less as "cutbacks" and more of offering more options, some as as "user pay" in order to maintain a lower fare overall.. I disagree with the posts that state or imply that Carnival has not added anything. When we first cruised Carnival, there was no steakhouse or other specialty dining (upcharge or not) and no YTD; no comedy club; no dive-in movies; no drink package; no FTTF; no Serenity Deck.

 

I highly doubt I would have taken even half of my cruises taken if it wasn't for the dive-in movies. I don't like the shows and used to get bored in the evenings. With the movies, I can lay out under the stars and catch a new movie every evening. When we first started cruising we would take about 1 cruise every 2-3 years. Now we take 2-3 cruises every year and I always look for a ship that has a big screen on it.

[Cruisin Trkrs]

I am a shareholder, a consumer, and a Diamond member of Carnival. I do not feel that they have taken a step down for any of those segments. They have developed 2.0 features for their new ships and have been adding them or parts of it on every class of ship in their fleet. And many of the things in 2.0 are NOT additional costs. And they have added some higher end dining options that are additional cost. I will take those changes and enjoy them as opposed to complaining about "cutbacks" like getting rid of cheap chocolates on pillows, not putting razors and lotions in the bathroom because the manufacturers decided to stop giving them free for that purpose, pretending that you can only get your cabin serviced once a day, pretending that there are no robes anymore, and constantly ragging Carnival about things that every other cruise line worth its salt have been doing as well. If you call those things letting the product slip, then you need to just pack up and go somewhere else. You obviously would be much "happier", but you may also realize that your expectations of those other lines will lead you to complaining about them just like you are complaining about Carnival now. Happy hunting.

Yes, Yes, YES! Couldn't agree with you more. The way people come on here, a LOT from *other* Cruiselines, to bash and ONLY bash Carnival is pathetic. Lol, I left a couple years ago due to that junk, and here I am back. We love Cruisin Carnival! Their array of ships provide something for everyone, and our large extended family of many varying interests appreciates that very much!

 

[emoji924]️ Cruisin Trkrs [emoji597]

[cruziJenn]

I highly doubt I would have taken even half of my cruises taken if it wasn't for the dive-in movies. I don't like the shows and used to get bored in the evenings. With the movies, I can lay out under the stars and catch a new movie every evening. When we first started cruising we would take about 1 cruise every 2-3 years. Now we take 2-3 cruises every year and I always look for a ship that has a big screen on it.

 

Same with us, it's never an absolute factor but on our last several Carnival cruises we have really enjoyed at least 1 or 2 Dive In movies every cruise and mostly don't really care for the shows....and so do a lot of other people because we (now) know that to get any good seating at all for a movie we have to grab a spot way ahead of the start time.

 

(add) and it isn't just for the movie itself, it's the atmosphere of watching a good movie under the stars on the top of a cruise ship.

[Joebucks]

I highly doubt I would have taken even half of my cruises taken if it wasn't for the dive-in movies. I don't like the shows and used to get bored in the evenings. With the movies, I can lay out under the stars and catch a new movie every evening. When we first started cruising we would take about 1 cruise every 2-3 years. Now we take 2-3 cruises every year and I always look for a ship that has a big screen on it.

 

I took my first Carnival Cruise without dive-in movies two months ago. While it is still a fantastic vacation, I will purposely only book ships with dive-in movies. It is that good