Roughly what % of capacity has Carnival been running at the last few weeks?

[MPH711]

11 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

This is why Carnival allowing cancellations should inspire folks to feel confident, if not, cancel and rebook as you cruise. No other line is allowing such flexibility. Kudos to Carnival for doing so. 

Royal has been giving you the ability to cancel within 48 hours of your cruise without a penalty. 

[SNJCruisers]

3 hours ago, MPH711 said:

Royal has been giving you the ability to cancel within 48 hours of your cruise without a penalty. 

So has Celebrity.

[MrMarc]

It sounds like Mardi Gras is attracting a higher passenger count than the other ships.

[wikoffclan]

On 1/28/2022 at 6:41 AM, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

I'd like to think that this would give the overworked cabin stewards a slight break. They (along with dining room staff) have been stretched thinner and thinner over the years (more cabins/tables).

 

Tom

 

On Valor Jan.  6 -10 our Cabin Steward told us he has 37(!) cabins. MUCH more than they had in the past. We happily agreed to one cleaning a day and tipped extra as usual. Our only request was ice in the bucket and Arik came through for us every day. Smiles and a cheerful attitude every time we met. Great crew Great service. Would go back again in a heartbeat.... in fact I am on March 3rd!!

 

[wikoffclan]

BTW --- we were told 1600 passengers on Valor  - about 50-60%

[SNJCruisers]

6 hours ago, MrMarc said:

It sounds like Mardi Gras is attracting a higher passenger count than the other ships.

Makes logical sense.  The newest ship in the fleet should command the most interest combined with the casino deals offered will result in the highest passenger count and percentage occupancy.

[Pellaz]

On 1/28/2022 at 7:41 AM, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

I'd like to think that this would give the overworked cabin stewards a slight break. They (along with dining room staff) have been stretched thinner and thinner over the years (more cabins/tables).

 

Tom

 

Well, this can go both ways.  

On our October cruise we saw a lot of room-key envelopes still in the room mailboxes later in the evening on embark day, and the stewards were collecting them.  Those were people who cancelled at the last minute for various reasons (positive tests, weather-related, etc.) and I suspect there might be even more no-shows now with Omicron.  

 

While this might mean fewer occupied cabins to clean, there are also a lot of crew members testing positive and having to be isolated or even transferred to the lines' quarantine ships, so there may be fewer crew-people available to serve the reduced number of passengers.  

 

On 1/28/2022 at 11:21 PM, cruisingguy007 said:

Yup, then Royal, Carnival is the safest bet long term. Even if the industry is upended entirely, and all lines end up in failure, Carnival would come back in some form or fashion.They are the 10K pound gorilla in the space. That said, protecting your position is important to be sure. Frustration fighting for your money back would suck, no matter what. This is why Carnival allowing cancellations should inspire folks to feel confident, if not, cancel and rebook as you cruise. No other line is allowing such flexibility. Kudos to Carnival for doing so. 

 

Other lines ARE allowing a lot of flexibility.  If any line isn't, it's basically a statement to potential customers that says "yes, book a cruise with us and be fully prepared to lose it all over a positive test."  Not a good way to inspire confidence in travel.  

 

Also, MSC Cruises would almost certainly survive and might be a safer bet than even Carnival, since cruising is almost a "side gig" for MSC:  they are one of the world's largest maritime shippers and oceangoing freight is still lucrative...except maybe into LA or Long Beach.  

 

[Corby114]

Was on Holland America’s Nieuw Statendam on January 2nd to the 12th Caribbean sailing to Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos and Half Moon Cay Bahamas. The ships double occupancy is two thousand seven hundred and three thousand three hundred with all berths filled. The ship was scheduled to sail with one thousand six hundred passengers. Due to the CDC recommendation that no one including the fully vaccinated shouldn’t sail which was announced on Thursday December 30th and the cancellations of numerous flights to South Florida we sailed with only six hundred thirty eight passengers. The Nieuw Amsterdam which is smaller than the New Statendam had three private charters canceled in a row during the same time frame. Crew members told me that if passenger counts dipped below the three hundred threshold that sailing would be immediately canceled. I have been watching the Nieuw Amsterdam doing figure eights off the Florida coast for the last few weeks minus passengers.

[farjar]

On 1/25/2022 at 9:58 AM, claimee said:

Anyone have any info on % full for Panorama? I realize it's different for every date, but just curious as I'm scheduled for the 2/5 sailing.

We just got off the Panorama yesterday (Sat. 29)  There were 2289 passengers with a capacity of over 4000.  The ship did not feel crowded EXCEPT for:

The Limelight Lounge.  It's a small venue where the comedians perform.  We went 8 times to see 4 different comedians and nearly every seat was taken at both the early and late shows.

The Horizon dining room (early fixed seating).  It appeared as if all the smaller 2 and 4 person tables were occupied.  It was hard not to bump elbows with the person seated next to you.

The jacuzzis on sea days would have 8-12 people in them.  On port days we could have them all to ourselves before noon.

The Serenity deck on 12 forward was relaxing on port days but you couldn't get one of those wonderful "clam shell" loungers on sea days.

 

Most other venues were fine.  We had a great time but it would have been a totally different experience if the ship had been full.

 

 

[RedbirdFLCruiser]

Just got off the Liberty this morning. Guest Services told me prior to departure that there were "more than 800" on board. Another passenger told me they heard 700. I would actually be surprised if it were that many, but I'm no expert at estimating crowds.

 

The ship felt delightfully empty. There was never a line at the buffet, even for the omelet stations at breakfast or the Mongolian buffet. There were plenty of deck chairs by the pool and the hot tubs were often empty or only occupied by one or two people. DH and I sat in a hot tub for about an hour by ourselves while the ship was in port at Nassau. No problems with social distancing inside or out! 🙂

 

As far as services, I would say the only differences that I noticed was that there was only one main show a night in the theater, and it was at 9:30pm. And that for the comfort food buffet, only one side was open at a time, but like I said, there was never a line. All the staff were wonderful, as always, and yes, we felt outnumbered by the staff, lol!

[pe4all]

We got off Freedom this past Saturday.  Guest Services told me there were 1480 passengers onboard.  Very few lines for anything.  Last sea day was a bit crowded around Lido pool mid-deck, but we spent the time on our balcony so it didn't bother us.  Usually only one side of buffet was open at a time, bars were not too crowded.  I will say - I absolutely loved the casino with no smoking allowed.  Hope they keep that in place for the future.

[famof4togo]

For those who recently got off ship....would you say the smaller capacity diminished the fun?  Meaning was the vibe of the ship not quite the same?  I enjoy the bars and nightlife on ship and am afraid that it'll will be quiet and dead all over the place...was this your experience?  TIA

[RedbirdFLCruiser]

45 minutes ago, famof4togo said:

For those who recently got off ship....would you say the smaller capacity diminished the fun?  Meaning was the vibe of the ship not quite the same?  I enjoy the bars and nightlife on ship and am afraid that it'll will be quiet and dead all over the place...was this your experience?  TIA

We don't generally hang out at the bars, so I can't respond to that one. I was a little sad that the big shows in the theater were so much later in the evening. But since we were on the Elation at Thanksgiving and saw a couple of the shows, it wasn't too disappointing. The Liberty had 3 good comedians on board and we went to several of the comedy shows. Those shows had a decent sized audience, but they weren't crowded.

 

The scene around the pool usually seemed fairly lively, but it definitely wasn't the same vibe as it is when it's packed.

 

Also, we walked by the atrium several times and must have missed the music that was there. I had seen it on the schedule, but perhaps walked by in between performances. There never seemed to be many people hanging out in the atrium, even at the bar.

 

It was definitely quieter than it was in November on the Elation, and lots quieter than it has been on past cruises. We didn't mind, but I can understand that others might.

[csm5986142]

We just got off the Breeze Monday, - If my calculation is correct, we were at 65% capacity (we had about 2400 passengers according to Cookie).

I thought it was nice, not too quiet but not terribly busy.  It was pretty crowded on the decks in front of the big screen when they had the football games on.  We missed our port stop, so the casino was pretty crowded on that extra sea day.

[pe4all]

16 hours ago, famof4togo said:

For those who recently got off ship....would you say the smaller capacity diminished the fun?  Meaning was the vibe of the ship not quite the same?  I enjoy the bars and nightlife on ship and am afraid that it'll will be quiet and dead all over the place...was this your experience?  TIA

Vibe on the ship seemed pretty much the same.  Piano bar had people, comedy shows seemed crowded.  They did 2 playlist performances the nights they had them - 7?30 and 9:30.  Alchemy bar was always crowded.  All bars that had tvs were busy during football games.  Lively crowds for that.  Deck parties were well-attended.  

[Gumbo4Life]

Just got back from sailing on the Vista, departed Feb 5, 2022.  This cruise was about 82%, in contrast the same cruise in November was about 69%.  I'm not sure the crew was quite prepared for the larger crowd (I had heard that cruise the prior week was just over 50%).  When the weather was good and passengers could go outside the ship was not crowded but the first day when it was fairly cold outside it was pretty crowded inside.  Good cruise though, we had a blast, can't wait until the next cruise!!

Edited February 15, 2022 by Gumbo4Life

[crazy4themouse]

21 minutes ago, Gumbo4Life said:

Just got back from sailing on the Vista, departed Feb 5, 2022.  This cruise was about 82%, in contrast the same cruise in November was about 69%.  I'm not sure the crew was quite prepared for the larger crowd (I had heard that cruise the prior week was just over 50%).  When the weather was good and passengers could go outside the ship was not crowded but the first day when it was fairly cold outside it was pretty crowded inside.  Good cruise though, we had a blast, can't wait until the next cruise!!

 

That sounds about right.. We sail on the 26th and someone in our group is on right now -- said they are at 85%.

 

[californiatripman]

On Miracle right now 1400 passengers

[lindya]

51 minutes ago, crazy4themouse said:

 

That sounds about right.. We sail on the 26th and someone in our group is on right now -- said they are at 85%.

 

Ugh!

Edited February 15, 2022 by lindya

[lindya]

We are on Vista the 26th as well..dang..was hoping for a less than full crowd.

[pe4all]

5 hours ago, lindya said:

We are on Vista the 26th as well..dang..was hoping for a less than full crowd.

I am on Horizon on 2/27.  Sooo hoping for a small crowd- but I doubt there will be unless a lot of people test positive before we sail. 

Edited February 15, 2022 by pe4all

[bucfan2]

6 hours ago, lindya said:

Ugh!

I wouldn't be too concerned.  Outside of spring break or a major holiday, 85% is a complete fluke IMO.  

[crazy4themouse]

1 hour ago, bucfan2 said:

I wouldn't be too concerned.  Outside of spring break or a major holiday, 85% is a complete fluke IMO.  

 

Vista has consistently stayed up in numbers, so not really out of the question... Spring Break down here doesn't start until mid-March, and people don't get off for Mardi Gras, Vista is just a very popular ship and Carnival doesn't like to turn away money, lol. They'd be sailing Vista at 100% if they could get away with it.

 

[day-day]

It might be helpful if posters would include the length of the cruise and the port of departure along with the name of the ship.

[sunonfire]

The January 30th cruise had 1050 passengers per ship’s officer.  This was approximately 50% capacity. We had a great cruise. I’m glad we didn’t cancel. We haven’t gotten sick.