What has changed?

[bjfitz0703]

I sailed RCCL and Carnival in the mid to late 90s.  Found them to be similar. Then again like 10 years later from like 2007-2010.  In that time I felt like the experience changed a little.  Example - my buddy wore nice shorts to the dining room on a normal night in the 90s and he was asked to go change.  In the 2007-2010 time frame I saw dress shorts even on elegant night. Also, I also saw folks in like beach clothes in the MDR on some other nights.  Don't really care yet found that odd people would be in a dining room in an A tee. We last sailed on Carnival in 2010 so want to see what else has shifted in this second 9/10 year gap.  For example, I here that the MDR now only has tablecloths on the two elegant nights....so what else has shifted? Thanks

[Theosprey247]

Bigger ships and more people.  People still come to the MDR in shorts, flip flops, and t-shirts.  Oh and Funship Freddy is MIA.

[a,j,&fam]

On last couple cruise didn't  need to fill out immigration form

[crusinpsychRN]

No mints. I found several mints in a drawer the other day, good memories.

[Organized Chaos]

Yes, there are some who bend the rules of the MDR dress code, but a vast majority of passengers follow the rules. Those who show up in T-shirts, hats, or flip flops don't always make it in. It kind of depends on the MDR staff. Some are turned away, but it's not as strictly enforced on regular nights as it is on elegant nights. On regular nights, I wear khaki shorts to every dinner in the MDR, along with a nice shirt. For sea day brunch in the MDR, it's just daytime attire.

 

Slight correction on aj & fam's comment. We no longer have to fill out the customs form (not immigration form).

 

No tablecloths (except elegant night), no chocolates or mints on your pillow, no more ink pen in the cabins. It's now a short "golf" pencil. The wifi service has been upgraded and is much improved, from what I hear. Not sure if it's been done on every ship yet. Their main theater musical entertainment is now shows called Playlist Productions. They'll put on a few different shows throughout the cruise with differing genres of music. Opinions of the quality of these shows varies greatly. Many who cruised long ago say they're not as good as their musical shows of the past. I'm guessing there's some other new entertainment on board since you cruised last. You can go to Carnival's website and look up what kinds of things each individual ship has, like food and entertainment.

[PhillyFan33579]

I think one of the best changes Carnival has implemented is the embarkation process. As long as you show up during your appointment window, you will likely experience short lines during the check-in process and often literally never stop moving from the time you enter the terminal until you board the ship.  

[suzycruiser2]

Off the top of my head, these things have changed in the past 10 years:

Sail and sign cards are now at your cabin.

Mostly once a day cabin service instead of twice.

No longer automatically have ice in your cabin.

No longer have all of the beautiful fruit carvings.

No more midnight buffet.

Past guest program completely changed.

[Shaded Lady]

There are a lot more eating options on most Carnival cruiseships in the past 10 years- some are free, some charge a small to moderate fee... Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana, Pasta Bar, Guy's Pig & Anchor lunch all free, Steakhouse, Cucina del Capitano, JiJi's Asian restaurant, Guy's Pig & Anchor for dinner (on Horizon and later ships) all charge.

 

Room service is no longer free after 10 PM...

 

Cheers drink package is new in last 10 years- $52/day per person (all adults over 21 in cabin must purchase) with a limit of 15 drinks a day...

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by Shaded Lady

[momof3cruisers]

Not that it's crucial, but we got pens on our 3 cruises so far this year. Sailed on Glory, Victory, and Imagination. 

 

Carnival now now has an app called Hub. It's really handy and free. It's for use onboard and has pretty much all the info you need. Food venue open times, dining room menus, maps, activity schedule and you can also check your account. 

[Steve551]

On 3/31/2019 at 8:32 AM, bjfitz0703 said:

I sailed RCCL and Carnival in the mid to late 90s.  Found them to be similar. Then again like 10 years later from like 2007-2010.  In that time I felt like the experience changed a little.  Example - my buddy wore nice shorts to the dining room on a normal night in the 90s and he was asked to go change.  In the 2007-2010 time frame I saw dress shorts even on elegant night. Also, I also saw folks in like beach clothes in the MDR on some other nights.  Don't really care yet found that odd people would be in a dining room in an A tee. We last sailed on Carnival in 2010 so want to see what else has shifted in this second 9/10 year gap.  For example, I here that the MDR now only has tablecloths on the two elegant nights....so what else has shifted? Thanks

Been cruising with CCL & RCL since 2000.  IMHO the biggest changes for CCL is the quality of the food & entertainment. We still request and receive twice per day cabin service. Our room steward makes sure that we have ice. The rest of the stuff doesn't really matter to me. My wife misses the evening mints.

 

RCL's food is about the same as CCL's but they have not cutback on services as much. The entertainment is better on RCL, that's my opinion.  We were recently on an Oassis Class RCL ship and honestly Carnival has nothing that compares to them. You almost need to book a 2-week cruise just to enjoy everything on-board.

[crusinpsychRN]

I need the ice. Asked for twice a day but didn't need it so he'd just put the Fun Times in the mailbox at night.