Diminishing Quality on Carnival?

[cruziJenn]

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

 

If they would just make the popcorn last a little longer :rolleyes:;)

[IntrepidFromDC]

I have only cruised Carnival and only started cruising in 2013. I have noticed two things in particular - the disappearing tablecloths and less and less variety of live music at various venues all day long. I really miss the reggae bands playing in the nightclubs during the day. The food on Carnival has always been somewhere between eh and ok. I'd love to know where they source their chicken from. I stick with Carnival because of the value, the "fun" and the customer service. I've seen no decline in those areas and I don't mind paying more for better quality food because the steakhouse and other pay venues are worth $25 - $35 supplement. I'm looking forward to trying the seafood shack on the Horizon next month!

[Lady Patriot]

I've heard mostly bad things about Carnival and I'm sure 99.9999% of their cruises go off without a hitch, but if I gave you 100 pieces of candy and I told you that 4 of them were poisoned, would you eat them?

We were going to give the Carnival Dream a chance, just something different, but then I heard about the flood on one of the decks (I guess they said a water pipe burst). Yes, stuff happens, but that wouldn't sit right with me. Now we'll just do the Norwegian Breakaway, even though we want to see something different than the Western Caribbean, but this is my mil's first cruise and I'm not too sure she cares. She is 75 and a flooded deck wouldn't sit well with her at all.

I'm told that cruising in general is going downhill since cruise ships became cheap floating resorts. We sailed the NCL Dawn in 2017 and whereas we used to get drink glasses for the drink of the day (still have ours from the NCL Sun in 2007), everything was served in plastic cups with the NCL logo on it. Yes, it's a little thing, but it's often the little things that make the best memories.

Even though we'd like to try some other cruises, we sail out of NOLA when possible because it's an 11-hour drive from where we live and we don't have to mess with the airlines. I really hope other ships start sailing out of there. It looked like RCCL used to. Only thing I hated about NOLA is that we sailed at 4 pm and were in US waters until just before midnight, which meant no duty free purchases and had to pay the taxes on our drinks, even though we had the unlimited bar package until we got out into international waters.

Edited July 2, 2018 by Lady Patriot

[Aquahound]

I've heard mostly bad things about Carnival and I'm sure 99.9999% of their cruises go off without a hitch, but if I gave you 100 pieces of candy and I told you that 4 of them were poisoned, would you eat them?

 

That would be 96% going off without a hitch. :D;)

[FSHLOT]

I've heard mostly bad things about Carnival and I'm sure 99.9999% of their cruises go off without a hitch, but if I gave you 100 pieces of candy and I told you that 4 of them were poisoned, would you eat them?

We were going to give the Carnival Dream a chance, just something different, but then I heard about the flood on one of the decks (I guess they said a water pipe burst). Yes, stuff happens, but that wouldn't sit right with me. Now we'll just do the Norwegian Breakaway, even though we want to see something different than the Western Caribbean, but this is my mil's first cruise and I'm not too sure she cares. She is 75 and a flooded deck wouldn't sit well with her at all.

I'm told that cruising in general is going downhill since cruise ships became cheap floating resorts. We sailed the NCL Dawn in 2017 and whereas we used to get drink glasses for the drink of the day (still have ours from the NCL Sun in 2007), everything was served in plastic cups with the NCL logo on it. Yes, it's a little thing, but it's often the little things that make the best memories.

Even though we'd like to try some other cruises, we sail out of NOLA when possible because it's an 11-hour drive from where we live and we don't have to mess with the airlines. I really hope other ships start sailing out of there. It looked like RCCL used to. Only thing I hated about NOLA is that we sailed at 4 pm and were in US waters until just before midnight, which meant no duty free purchases and had to pay the taxes on our drinks, even though we had the unlimited bar package until we got out into international waters.

 

Sorry, but this sounds a little tacky. You were going to do the Dream, but a water pipe burst and now you wont go. Have you ever done a history report on certain ships that you may go on? Chances are you might find something that don't "Sit right" with you.

 

I'm far from a CCL cheerleader, I only follow the boards for which I have cruises booked. But to not go because of a burst pipe seems a little tacky. To each his own.

[E@syPe@zy]

I've heard mostly bad things about Carnival and I'm sure 99.9999% of their cruises go off without a hitch, but if I gave you 100 pieces of candy and I told you that 4 of them were poisoned, would you eat them?

We were going to give the Carnival Dream a chance, just something different, but then I heard about the flood on one of the decks (I guess they said a water pipe burst). Yes, stuff happens, but that wouldn't sit right with me. Now we'll just do the Norwegian Breakaway, even though we want to see something different than the Western Caribbean, but this is my mil's first cruise and I'm not too sure she cares. She is 75 and a flooded deck wouldn't sit well with her at all.

I'm told that cruising in general is going downhill since cruise ships became cheap floating resorts. We sailed the NCL Dawn in 2017 and whereas we used to get drink glasses for the drink of the day (still have ours from the NCL Sun in 2007), everything was served in plastic cups with the NCL logo on it. Yes, it's a little thing, but it's often the little things that make the best memories.

Even though we'd like to try some other cruises, we sail out of NOLA when possible because it's an 11-hour drive from where we live and we don't have to mess with the airlines. I really hope other ships start sailing out of there. It looked like RCCL used to. Only thing I hated about NOLA is that we sailed at 4 pm and were in US waters until just before midnight, which meant no duty free purchases and had to pay the taxes on our drinks, even though we had the unlimited bar package until we got out into international waters.

Maybe you didn't follow the horrific situation that the Panama Canal cruisers endured on the Norwegian Sun a couple of months ago. I would take the situation on the Dream and the the way Carnival handled it over the Norwegian Sun any day of any week.

I began cruising on NCL and after 3 cruises with them, decided to try Carnival. I have not sailed with NCL since then and my next cruise on Carnival I will be platinum. I had great cruises on NCL, but when Del Rio took over I try to talk myself into Norwegian, but just can't. And after the way they treated the folks on the Sun, I've written that cruise line off for good.

[jimbo5544]

That would be 96% going off without a hitch. :D;)

 

 

 

It must be new math

 

 

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[BTromboneFrack]

Never have had a problem on Carnival. We have have enjoyed every cruise. Staff is very friendly and ALWAYS smiles and says hello. There have been cutbacks, but there are also features that were not around 25 years ago. Better, bigger rooms, more restaurant choices, more ports, mare activities, more stable ships, wi-fi, pre-ordering of excursions, better organization at embarkation, and the list goes on and on...... We keep going back because of the price and the attitude that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

[declansdad]

I've heard mostly bad things about Carnival and I'm sure 99.9999% of their cruises go off without a hitch, but if I gave you 100 pieces of candy and I told you that 4 of them were poisoned, would you eat them?

We were going to give the Carnival Dream a chance, just something different, but then I heard about the flood on one of the decks (I guess they said a water pipe burst). Yes, stuff happens, but that wouldn't sit right with me. Now we'll just do the Norwegian Breakaway, even though we want to see something different than the Western Caribbean, but this is my mil's first cruise and I'm not too sure she cares. She is 75 and a flooded deck wouldn't sit well with her at all.

I'm told that cruising in general is going downhill since cruise ships became cheap floating resorts. We sailed the NCL Dawn in 2017 and whereas we used to get drink glasses for the drink of the day (still have ours from the NCL Sun in 2007), everything was served in plastic cups with the NCL logo on it. Yes, it's a little thing, but it's often the little things that make the best memories.

Even though we'd like to try some other cruises, we sail out of NOLA when possible because it's an 11-hour drive from where we live and we don't have to mess with the airlines. I really hope other ships start sailing out of there. It looked like RCCL used to. Only thing I hated about NOLA is that we sailed at 4 pm and were in US waters until just before midnight, which meant no duty free purchases and had to pay the taxes on our drinks, even though we had the unlimited bar package until we got out into international waters.

 

 

It's too bad you are not willing to make up your own mind about a cruise line instead of relying on what others say. If you have heard mostly bad things I would love to know who you are listening to.

[Joebucks]

I've heard mostly bad things about Carnival and I'm sure 99.9999% of their cruises go off without a hitch, but if I gave you 100 pieces of candy and I told you that 4 of them were poisoned, would you eat them?

We were going to give the Carnival Dream a chance, just something different, but then I heard about the flood on one of the decks (I guess they said a water pipe burst). Yes, stuff happens, but that wouldn't sit right with me. Now we'll just do the Norwegian Breakaway, even though we want to see something different than the Western Caribbean, but this is my mil's first cruise and I'm not too sure she cares. She is 75 and a flooded deck wouldn't sit well with her at all.

I'm told that cruising in general is going downhill since cruise ships became cheap floating resorts. We sailed the NCL Dawn in 2017 and whereas we used to get drink glasses for the drink of the day (still have ours from the NCL Sun in 2007), everything was served in plastic cups with the NCL logo on it. Yes, it's a little thing, but it's often the little things that make the best memories.

Even though we'd like to try some other cruises, we sail out of NOLA when possible because it's an 11-hour drive from where we live and we don't have to mess with the airlines. I really hope other ships start sailing out of there. It looked like RCCL used to. Only thing I hated about NOLA is that we sailed at 4 pm and were in US waters until just before midnight, which meant no duty free purchases and had to pay the taxes on our drinks, even though we had the unlimited bar package until we got out into international waters.

 

So then you assume the other bowls of candy out there aren't poisoned? Don't take this the wrong way, but you appear very easy to find ways to complain. I assume something "always goes wrong" on your vacations?

[waterwatcher]

First let me say that my wife and I are experienced cruisers and have cruised on Carnival, Celebrity, Norwegian, and Royal thus far. This post is not meant to bash on Carnival in any way... just looking for opinions. Does anyone else notice that it seems like Carnival is really going down hill quality wise? Food problems (quantity, variety, and temperatures), customer service issues, common area ship and stateroom cleanliness complaints, poor entertainment, etc. Is it just me or does it seem like Carnival is having problems? Our last Carnival cruise was very disappointing and we both agreed that our Carnival days were over until changes were made. Many small things like return guest perks, mints on the pillows, and complimentary toiletries in the stateroom bathrooms, to much larger issues like food, cleanliness problems, and a general feeling of a lack of concern for customer satisfaction. It also seems to me like the fleet is showing signs of age and they do not seem to be keeping pace with other lines in regard to introducing newer ships with more current features. I do understand that they try to be the "value" line and must keep costs low, but it just seems like their has been a real effort to take away the few last remaining reasons that we would choose to sail with them in the future.

 

 

Just my opinion but in todays economy shortcuts are taken in every industry/business. Less sales people on the floor at any time. Price increases at restaurants and hotels. Price of movies and concessions is outrageous. I think the value is good for the price of a cruise and what you receive in return.

[simplelife]

Never have had a problem on Carnival. We have have enjoyed every cruise. Staff is very friendly and ALWAYS smiles and says hello. There have been cutbacks, but there are also features that were not around 25 years ago. Better, bigger rooms, more restaurant choices, more ports, mare activities, more stable ships, wi-fi, pre-ordering of excursions, better organization at embarkation, and the list goes on and on...... We keep going back because of the price and the attitude that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Agreed.

[Sgàile]

Sorry, but this sounds a little tacky. You were going to do the Dream, but a water pipe burst and now you wont go. Have you ever done a history report on certain ships that you may go on? Chances are you might find something that don't "Sit right" with you.

 

I'm far from a CCL cheerleader, I only follow the boards for which I have cruises booked. But to not go because of a burst pipe seems a little tacky. To each his own.

True! But I still went on the Ecstasy and will go again in /checks calendar—48 days.

[pacruise804]

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.

 

I'm only able to multi-quote two posts at a time. Not sure if it is a settings feature, but I usually don't need more than two :)

 

Just my opinion but in todays economy shortcuts are taken in every industry/business. Less sales people on the floor at any time. Price increases at restaurants and hotels. Price of movies and concessions is outrageous. I think the value is good for the price of a cruise and what you receive in return.

 

I agree - it is service industry wide, not just Carnival cruise line.

[cathyoo]

We are Carnival cruisers and we don't see the decline. Yes the mints and bathrobes are gone but that is far from a deal breaker. We find the entertainment and meals to be in the main excellent and we are going again the end of April.

Mints were a nice touch but won't complain, never used the bathrobes but I have seen a decline in the food and the entertainment. Food doesn't bother me so much because we are Applebee, TGIF, and Maggiano's type folks so we can always find something. But the horrible entertainment and cut back in activities does have us considering other options.

 

We have been on 1 RCI and 1 Norwegian Cruise and about 8 Carnival cruises Last one was on the Pride in 2016 and we found the lack of activities and very poor entertainment disappointing (we had a great time anyway since we were with family) Going on the Pride this Oct and hoping against hope that at the least the entertainment has improved.

[Retired_to_Cruise]

We are Carnival cruisers and we don't see the decline. Yes the mints and bathrobes are gone but that is far from a deal breaker. We find the entertainment and meals to be in the main excellent and we are going again the end of April.

 

Mints are gone, NO LOSS. But the robes are included on the service card you are asked to fill out. If you want them, they will bring them. Better than having the right number in every cabin and only 20% of the people use them. They will all need to be laundered whether they were used of not (WASTE of time and resources).

[bobandsherry]

Sure, Carnival has eliminated some features, but if any of those were enough to cause you to stop sailing Carnival, well I guess that's a shame...

 

However it's pretty obvious there is a silent majority... Those who vote with their wallet and continue to sale Carnival. We are one of those. Mints aren't deal breaker, we didn't even realize table clothes were missing, and we can still get a robe if we want, but really don't. Room can still get serviced twice a day, and we do. 20 cruises already sailed and 4 more already booked. We find Carnival to be a pretty good value and enjoy our cruises.

 

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[DukeASUGirl]

Maybe I'm just low-maintenance, but I honestly don't understand why it's such a horror to have your room serviced once per day? Heck, the last land-based resort we went to (a nice one in Sedona over 4th of July just a few days ago), you had to specially request daily service. Many hotels and nice resorts are going to this model to save water/lower the carbon footprint of daily cleaning/washing sheets/towels/etc.

 

Why do you need your room cleaned twice per day? I don't get it

[KmomChicago]

Maybe I'm just low-maintenance, but I honestly don't understand why it's such a horror to have your room serviced once per day? Heck, the last land-based resort we went to (a nice one in Sedona over 4th of July just a few days ago), you had to specially request daily service. Many hotels and nice resorts are going to this model to save water/lower the carbon footprint of daily cleaning/washing sheets/towels/etc.

 

Why do you need your room cleaned twice per day? I don't get it

 

Agree!!

[pacruise804]

Maybe I'm just low-maintenance, but I honestly don't understand why it's such a horror to have your room serviced once per day? Heck, the last land-based resort we went to (a nice one in Sedona over 4th of July just a few days ago), you had to specially request daily service. Many hotels and nice resorts are going to this model to save water/lower the carbon footprint of daily cleaning/washing sheets/towels/etc.

 

Why do you need your room cleaned twice per day? I don't get it

 

I doubt we need ours cleaned twice per day either, but it is a nice option. We shower in the morning after our workout, and then again before dinner if we had an active day. At land hotels we usually are not doing activities that require multiple showers per day. In a ship cabin the towels don't dry very well, and I prefer a dry towel if possible;)

 

The trash receptacles are small too. Families with littles still in diapers likely need service twice to keep the room fresh:o

[Joebucks]

Maybe I'm just low-maintenance, but I honestly don't understand why it's such a horror to have your room serviced once per day? Heck, the last land-based resort we went to (a nice one in Sedona over 4th of July just a few days ago), you had to specially request daily service. Many hotels and nice resorts are going to this model to save water/lower the carbon footprint of daily cleaning/washing sheets/towels/etc.

 

Why do you need your room cleaned twice per day? I don't get it

 

Ridiculous, isn't it? "Well they did it before!" Seems to be the standard of why we need waste

[elcuchio24]

Ridiculous, isn't it? "Well they did it before!" Seems to be the standard of why we need waste

 

People want everything they had on a cruise in '98 PLUS all the new stuff since then and also make sure its a lower price than it was in '98

[E@syPe@zy]

Maybe I'm just low-maintenance, but I honestly don't understand why it's such a horror to have your room serviced once per day? Heck, the last land-based resort we went to (a nice one in Sedona over 4th of July just a few days ago), you had to specially request daily service. Many hotels and nice resorts are going to this model to save water/lower the carbon footprint of daily cleaning/washing sheets/towels/etc.

 

Why do you need your room cleaned twice per day? I don't get it

 

I have never stayed at a hotel or resort that didn't service my room daily. I would have a problem with that. I don't go on vacation to make my own bed and dry off with damp towels.

I'm sorry, but if you think your hotel is doing away with these services to lower the carbon footprint, you're extremely naive. They do it to lower their operating costs, plain and simple.

I am very considerate of anyone cleaning my room and keep everything organized and tidy. I do not do anything to create more work for my room steward. But I'm not going to do their job for them either. And they will receive a tip over and above the prepaid gratuities. They will also be treated with respect and kindness.

[mouche]

I agree with the OP on some issues, 10+ Carnival cruises for me as I love love the Carnival brand and can't seem to make myself book another line. They are slipping a little, the last ship I was on was the Liberty and I did a detail Halloween Review w/pics (not sure how to post a link) but you can check it out on the Liberty ship thread.

 

Although we still had a great cruise, they ship needed a lot of attention, form their customer service down to the food and cleanliness of the ship. In the last few years it seems like the quality of the food has gone downhill, not that I starve or anything as you can always find something, but it is noticeable.

 

I do understand that cutting out certain things like mints, lobster on shorter cruises and a few others are understandable as it may help to keep the cost of the cruise low and that is the main reason I love Carnival. But that should not mean the quality of what they still offer should go down.

Edited July 9, 2018 by mouche

[mouche]

I have only cruised Carnival and only started cruising in 2013. I have noticed two things in particular - the disappearing tablecloths and less and less variety of live music at various venues all day long. I really miss the reggae bands playing in the nightclubs during the day. The food on Carnival has always been somewhere between eh and ok. I'd love to know where they source their chicken from. I stick with Carnival because of the value, the "fun" and the customer service. I've seen no decline in those areas and I don't mind paying more for better quality food because the steakhouse and other pay venues are worth $25 - $35 supplement. I'm looking forward to trying the seafood shack on the Horizon next month!

 

 

The Fish and Chips from the seafood shack were awesome on the Liberty.