Just back from the Glory-Carnival just isn't for us anymore

[hues of blue]

We just got back yesterday from a cruise on the Glory and I think this will be our last on Carnival. The ship even though it was just in dry dock last year is still showing plenty of wear and tear. Although a good cruise there just continues to be way too many cut backs that seem to be more and more every time we try another cruise with them. The biggest thing we noticed this time was the room stewards and the insane amount of rooms each one has to clean. We started by asking for both morning and night service like there had always been in the past but by day 3 we told our room steward to just come in the morning as she could never seem to finish in the morning before 1 pm and was still doing the night stuff when we returned from our 6 pm dining time at 8.

Also very disappointing are the stage shows. The new playlist ones are just not good, we miss the big production shows and are something we have always looked forward to on our cruises. Besides being ear splitting loud they just aren't very entertaining and when person after person leaves mid way through it would seem that we aren't the only ones that feel that way.

The dining room food was fairly good but still not a great fan of the American Menu. Dress code in the dining room is non existent, shorts and t-shirts on formal night were a common thing. Not sure why they even bother with it. Guys burgers and The Blue Iguana never disappointed us, always fresh and hot.

The staff were fine ,especially our dining staff but many on other parts of the ship seemed to avoid any eye contact and rarely said hello even when we tried to greet them.

We have done many cruises with Carnival over the years but after trying some other lines recently and the vast differences between them, I think it's time for us to say good bye to the Fun Ships.

 

Sail On

 

Sherri

[Lottacruises]

I have alwsays said when it's not fun any more we will stop cruising. Sounds like it's no fun for you anymore with carnival.

[sanmarcosman]

You had a good run.

Bon Voyages Always

[Nic6318]

Hi

 

I feel your pain. I see what you are seeing, but unless you are willing to try some of the more upscale cruise lines, the difference won't be significant.

 

You have been on many cruises and have tried some other cruise lines. I have been on those other cruise lines that you have tried and more and think that if you stick with the mainstream cruise lines, eventually you will feel that they are more similar than different. They each have their own irritants.

 

I have always selected my cruises based on itinerary, schedule/timing, and price. I just won't pay more to avoid Carnival, and over the years for me, I have found it to be very good value. So, happy cruising, but if you are anything like me, you might come back once in a while.

[Towel Critter]

I'm sorry you had a disappointing cruise. Wishing you best of luck with whichever cruise line you decide go with. Happy cruising!

[jimbo5544]

Sounds like Carnival is not for you. Others who just came back from sailing Glory raves about it. Happy cruising.

 

 

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[siestakeys04]

I guess Carnival time is up for you but glad you still will keep cruising!!!

[evandbob]

To the OP: Want to try something different? Book MSC Seaside for about 2/3 of a Carnival fare. MSC will match whatever status level you with have on another cruiseline or hotel. Many of their low fares are now AI, so why not experiment?

 

I don't see a reason to stick with just one cruiseline. I don't buy only one make of cars, stay at only one type of hotel, or shop at just one brand name store. Variety is the spice of life.

 

I was probably on the Glory the week prior to the OP. The Taste Bar was closed all week, one playlist show was stopped for "technical reasons" and when it resumed a half hour later, maybe without the taped soundtrack, the singers were horribly off key.

 

I'm Diamond, and I'm looking forward to a spa balcony on the Horizon in a few weeks, but I also have MSC and NCL booked for later this year. I really don't need to post rationales why I don't sail exclusively on carnival, but if it made the OP feel better, I'm all for them doing it.

[woodman]

:):) I completely understand your feeling. We have done 47 cruises on Carnival and have lived through all the cutbacks. Yes they have almost nickle and dime a lot of the fun right out of the fun ships. That being said after sailing on the Oasis last year I feel for the money Carnival stills offers the best value for the buck. We tried the class ships with the tiny rooms and bad service and have always come back to Carnival. I do wish they would improve the entertainment. It just seems to get worse with time. Where ever you cruise happy cruising.:p

[Micahs Grandad]

Shop around all cruise lines have their good and bad.

 

We have decided we want to mostly cruise internationally and have found Princess works best for us

[Dets_Girl]

We felt the same why when we returned from the Breeze in January this year. For us the main problem were kids - with no supervision. I won't even tell you what I saw at the buffet one night - I reported it and little was done other than asking them to leave. 3 nights later, we went up for ice cream and they were back - again unsupervised.

 

Our balcony was filthy - the glass and the decking. I didn't want to go out there barefoot. In the middle of the night the latch on the divider broke in the wind. We reported it - they came to repair it - but left the broken pieces of the lock laying on the deck.

 

It does seem in their haste to save money - that they are cutting back a bit too much.

[hues of blue]

To the OP: Want to try something different? Book MSC Seaside for about 2/3 of a Carnival fare. MSC will match whatever status level you with have on another cruiseline or hotel. Many of their low fares are now AI, so why not experiment?

 

I don't see a reason to stick with just one cruiseline. I don't buy only one make of cars, stay at only one type of hotel, or shop at just one brand name store. Variety is the spice of life.

 

I was probably on the Glory the week prior to the OP. The Taste Bar was closed all week, one playlist show was stopped for "technical reasons" and when it resumed a half hour later, maybe without the taped soundtrack, the singers were horribly off key.

 

I'm Diamond, and I'm looking forward to a spa balcony on the Horizon in a few weeks, but I also have MSC and NCL booked for later this year. I really don't need to post rationales why I don't sail exclusively on carnival, but if it made the OP feel better, I'm all for them doing it.

 

Great advice,thank you. A co worker was just telling me about MSC and they look like they have some great itineraries.

 

Sherri

[OCruisers]

Time for you to give another cruise line a try! :)

[riffatsea]

Funny but we don't mind any of the "cut backs" you all have mentioned.

We do find some of the music loud but that's just because our ears are old now.

When we were young we all loved loud rock n roll!! It is meant to be loud.

BUT with that said , we are also trying new and more expensive lines.

Really we booked them because of their itineraries but I am excited to be in various different atmospheres.

BTW we are still doing our yearly Mexican Riviera "honeymoon" because we still enjoy Carnival even though we are not youngsters!!!

[skiingj]

A group of us were on the Glory in February and all felt the same as you, certainly nothing to 'rave' about. Lots of cutbacks and a diminished product for sure. Thanks for the review.

 

Funny how a person protects Carnival. If anyone expresses opinions that are not glowing they get a cheerleader response. When a person profits from Carnival I guess that is to be expected. They should be required to have a signature that says so. Something like "I'm a TA and make a profit from Carnival so take my words lightly as I will say anything to make Carnival look perfectly brilliant".

[riclop]

Don't blame you at all.

[wakeupscreaming]

If you go on NCL, you'll pay almost double the price for the cruise, have a smaller bathroom and a shower you can't even turn around in, and the food will be mediocre and tasteless.

 

The best entertainment i've ever experienced was on a smaller cruise line called Cuba Cruise. I'm Canadian, so we can travel to Cuba with no worries or hassles. It circumnavigated the entire island of Cuba in 7 days, stopping at ports every single day. The singers and dancers were Cubans, and they all sang live. It was incredible. I was moved by their performances.

 

I've also noticed since we were last on Carnival, they got rid of the homemade lemonade -- now it's just Nestle crud from dispensing machines. I also noticed less food options on the menu in the dining room. The food in general seemed like it took a small notch down in quality from what I can remember from our previous Carnival cruise.

 

I'm not sure why they are skimping or cutting corners? They still have the same cheap foreign laborers as before.

Good luck!

Edited May 7, 2018 by wakeupscreaming

[firefly333]

I did Freedom out of Galveston last and there were not other choices out of Galveston to Belize where I wanted to pick up sleep meds.

 

Only other choice is RCL and it doesnt go to Belize, or didnt.

 

I hit a very cold week, so the ship was the least of my worries, but the ship didnt bother me.

 

Went to my assiged dining table once, hit or miss, often I really like my table mates, it's that 10% when I dont I hit last time, so i went to the buffet, no biggie and guess i never made a show.

 

Except for the weather, the cruise was fine with me.

 

Beggars cant be choosers since there are very few choices out of Galveston right now. Ill take Carnival again for sure myself.

 

If you are out of Florida, idk a harder choice ... im pushing diamond on both RCL and Carnival, and though I liked NCL I think I also want to get to diamond ... especially on RCL.

 

Enjoyed the new BBQ food choice.

 

I guess if you are living in Florida then its different, but I also want to finish up to diamond on both lines ... makes it harder. I just need a couple cruises on both to get there.

[riffatsea]

Not a cheerleader. Not an employee. Not a TA.

Just different strokes for different folks. Things that are important to some are not important to others. That's what makes life interesting. We are not all the same.

[watermelonqueen99]

I'm not sure how old you are, but I have a theory that Carnival is gearing themselves towards "younger" cruisers these days. My husband and I fall on that blurred border between GenX and the Millennial generation at just turning 40 this year. (I've seen us referred to as the 'Oregon Trail' generation.) Our 40 looks nothing like our parent's 40. We could not care less about chocolates on our pillows, the live shows, the menus in the MDR as we don't dine there, tablecloths,etc. We want good, strong drinks in the bars, current live music throughout the ship, and an all around party atmosphere. I do not mean for this to be snarky in the least, but maybe look for a line that caters more to an older crowd? Even if you're not "older", maybe that's more to your liking? Just my 2 cents. :)

[momto3girls]

I'm not sure how old you are, but I have a theory that Carnival is gearing themselves towards "younger" cruisers these days. My husband and I fall on that blurred border between GenX and the Millennial generation at just turning 40 this year. (I've seen us referred to as the 'Oregon Trail' generation.) Our 40 looks nothing like our parent's 40. We could not care less about chocolates on our pillows, the live shows, the menus in the MDR as we don't dine there, tablecloths,etc. We want good, strong drinks in the bars, current live music throughout the ship, and an all around party atmosphere. I do not mean for this to be snarky in the least, but maybe look for a line that caters more to an older crowd? Even if you're not "older", maybe that's more to your liking? Just my 2 cents. :)

 

 

Oregon Trail generation!! I love that!! I am also turning 40 this year...yikes!

[asalligo]

I am trying Royal Caribbean for the first time this January for many of the same reasons. Unfortunately I keep getting told it is about the same at this price level.

[evandbob]

Oregon Trail generation!! I love that!! I am also turning 40 this year...yikes!

 

 

And since my kids turn 43 this June, never mind the Oregon Trail, that must put me back in Dan'l Boone territory.

[buffy24]

I have sailed with both Carnival and Royal Caribbean, but as you can see, my cruises are spaced quite a bit apart. My first one was with my travel school class, my second was a girls' trip with my 3 best friends. The last two were with my husband. We are sailing the Breeze in August and taking our 16 year old son for the first time. We prefer to sail out of Galveston, because we can drive there in 15 hours, so our options are limited to Carnival and RCCL. Our first cruise was on Carnival and we had fun, but wanted to try something different last time and I had very positive memories of the Viking Serenade and how pretty I thought it was, so we went with RCCL. I thought it would be as upscale as I remember. In reality, it really wasn't that different then the Carnival ship we sailed on. We had fun on both trips, so for our latest booking, we went with itinerary and price. On our last trip, there were a couple of great shows and couple that weren't so hot. I also use to love going to get spa treatments, but it seems like the pressure to buy their products has gotten so high that it isn't worth it for me anymore. That is simply my opinion though. We will likely try other cruise lines in the future, not necessarily because we are dissatisfied, but just to try something different.

[briehon]

I have traveled on Disney (all ships), RCCL (on Monarch, Majesty, Freedom and Oasis) and once in Carnival (Valor...headed back in 2 weeks). I have had literally great, good and bad on ALL of those ships with regards to food and entertainment. I have never once had bad service overall...yeah there has been one bad bartender or dining server, etc but overall on the ship, never. I do think on these moderately priced lines (Royal, carnival, ncl) there is a lot of influence by the managers on the ship....great chefs, better food. Great hotel managers, better room stewards, etc. I don’t think it is a fleet wide thing. Yes, the menu is the same but I have seen that same menu on 2 ships be seasoned better and served more attractively. And dollar for dollar, a cruise is a VERY affordable vacation considering what you get, on any of these moderately priced lines.

 

 

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