Carnival Long Lines for Everything

[JP350]

27 minutes ago, MississippiMom said:

We were on a 5-night Mariner of the Seas sailing.  I never heard the statistics, but I would guess we were at 100%.  There were definitely people EVERYWHERE.  The lines were long at every counter at Cafe Promenade, the Windjammer buffet and at guest services.  Nothing was a one hour wait, unless you were waiting on a slide in the waterpark area of CocoCay.  (Two ships docked, though, so the island was PACKED.)

 

It was our first experience with private cruise line islands.  We enjoyed both Labadee and CocoCay, but we missed seeing an actual port destination.

 

Oh . . . And we were one of those families who had to deal with a flight cancellation.  Flight canceled on a Friday, about an hour before scheduled departure.  Since they couldn't get us to our destination until Monday afternoon and our cruise was departing on that Monday, we chose to rent a car at the airport and drive.  Super annoying!!!

I’ve been on mariner once, and it was a 3 night cruise in summer 2019 and it was packed. The ship definitely feels crowded, but it was still a good cruise. The lines around the ship were mIn but the voyager class ships aren’t the greatest with crowd displacement. Also sorry about your canceled flight that’s my nightmare.

[JP350]

49 minutes ago, Top_of_the_Cube said:

Simply put (and just my opinion), cruising is not back - for everyone.

 

My wife and I can live with long lines and decreased service and staffing in order to get back on a ship.  As long as we feel the ship is safe, a certain level of qualify food is available, our rooms are clean and comfortable, and the price is right (very subjective), we want to cruise.  If you expect and require more from your experience, I can definitely see why your vacation might be a bust.

 

This in no way is to say my view is right and your expectations are wrong.  Ones not right and the other is wrong, they are just different.

 

There will come a time that wife and I will look to Carnival to up their game as conditions in the world and industry improve.  We will evaluate then (also, very subjective) if we will continue to accept the product Carnival is providing.

 

Read the discussions and consider the reviews and experiences to determine if cruising is for you right now.  As for me and my house, we are glad to be back on the ships.

Thanks this is the best way this has been said from anybody I’ve seen, and it right on the money. 

[BlerkOne]

49 minutes ago, Top_of_the_Cube said:

Simply put (and just my opinion), cruising is not back - for everyone.

 

 

I agree. And as I have said numerous times - there will be a new normal at the end of the day. When the pandemic ends, and we aren't there yet.

[JP350]

58 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

I AM in the US and we avoid flying. However, for us, cruising is essential. 😁

 

When forced to fly to a cruise, I now plan on arriving at least 2 days before a cruise. After a cruise? Who cares?

Sorry by your comment I thought you were in Canada. I agree about after a cruise I hope my flight gets canceled so I can spend the extra days in Miami.

[JP350]

58 minutes ago, 1kaper said:

I actually wished that our flight would get cancelled on the way back.  We booked to leave the day of our cruise and wasn't ready to go home.  We were late leaving and had a short connection in Toronto which is notorious for taking forever to get through customs.  I thought for sure we'd get to spend the night in TO.  Was going to take my kid to the CN Tower.  Turned out to be the easiest connection I ever had through there, including pre-covid. 
We sadly made it home as scheduled. 

Same when we fly out of MIA I always pray my flight is Canceled then we’ll get a free extra night in Miami.

[JP350]

44 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

So, the useful point I have taken away from this thread is that my family and I better fly with only carry ons  only to London Heathrow. Or, at least, not put much in our checked luggage. If we weren't going to be un the UK for three weeks, I would be flying with carry on only. 

The airline industry is a mess right now. I would pack a carry on with all of you essentials plus some clothes and other toiletries. The chance of them loosing your bag is low, but they are canceling and delaying more flights than ever right now, and that creates baggage problems. 

[JP350]

32 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

It seems like the only flights I have that are overbooked are outbound. They never ask for volunteers when we are returning.

Yeah ik it’s always you get 500 dollars and a free night when we have to be there for the cruise, but then we were coming back nothing.

[JP350]

40 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

FWIW, my flight from LHR to IAH has been canceled twice already and I am a month out from it... 

 

My sister-in-law recently spent 5 days in DFW airport with 3 kids aged 8 and under.  They would give her a hotel for the night but then she had to repack, check out and go back to the airport each day to "wait to see" if she would get a flight out. She was by herself with the three kids. The youngest is still a toddler and a complete handful.  She was flying from San Antonio to DFW to Colombia.  I would have rented a car and driven back to San Antonio after 2-3 days of that nonsense. 

Jeez I’ve never had a travel meltdown that bad.  The longest I’ve been in an airport for is 2 days, but that was rough. Idk how Id feel after that one.

[thunderingherd11]

On 6/14/2022 at 11:55 AM, JP350 said:

I just got off a 4 night cruise on the carnival sunrise. (Which was my first carnival cruise) There were lines for everything related to food all hours of the day. The only exception to this rule was the mdr where service was slow but manageable. Other than that howeverI waited in an hour line for guys burgers 3 days and a 45 min line for the deli 1 day. Pizza had an hour and a half line the whole time as well. Is this normal on carnival to wait for food like this because that could effect if I cruise them again. The cruise was a 90% capacity which idk if that was a factor. I’ve been on 16 Royal Caribbean cruises one on symphony where we had 6400 passengers on bord and I still had to wait no more than 5 min for any food. Other than that the crew was excellent.

One aspect of cruising I don't like that there is a lot of hurry up and wait.  But those lines sound ridiculous.  I would never wait that long for guys or the pizza.  I do wait for the pizza, maybe 20 minutes most of the time.

[tinkr2]

They're so short staffed but Ive never experienced waits of that long. Pizza at night is always slow. The delihnd guys gets backed up at the main lunch hour. Go earlier or later.

[Batman5924]

I just got off a 4 night cruise on the Freedom.  There were 3,265 guests on the ship. Over 100% capacity. I never waited more than 10 minutes for any food or drink.  For anytime dining, you have to check-in and then they text you when your table is ready. No need to wait.  BTW-we recently became platinum after 20 years.  The biggest perk by far is getting on the ship.  Huge lines and you get to go right by everyone to the platinum/diamond line.  It took 15 cruises but what a perk.  Also you get to be first on the tenders getting off the ship.

[pe4all]

Just off Magic this morning.  The lines at Guest Services were horrendous - I feel sorry for anyone who had to wait on them.  Mongolian wok lines were also very, very long, as were the deli line at lunch and dinner time.  Pizza was on and off - but increased their hours and workers during the week.  Sushi also did the same.  Some days not open till 4, then others at 12 toward end of cruise.  Not really any problem with anytime dining (we eat early - 5:30 - never more than 5 minute wait) and bar service was also quick.  

[markkw07]

3 hours ago, pe4all said:

Just off Magic this morning.  The lines at Guest Services were horrendous - I feel sorry for anyone who had to wait on them.  Mongolian wok lines were also very, very long, as were the deli line at lunch and dinner time.  Pizza was on and off - but increased their hours and workers during the week.  Sushi also did the same.  Some days not open till 4, then others at 12 toward end of cruise.  Not really any problem with anytime dining (we eat early - 5:30 - never more than 5 minute wait) and bar service was also quick.  

I guess at this point and time, we can look at this is a "glass half full or half empty" scenario. At least the restaurants were open and serving, although lines can't be adjusted based on ebb and flow and popular times when people eat. Staffing during the "peak" times is something that can be adjusted if the necessary staff is available. But def can see the issues here. I was on another cruise line a few months ago, where certain restaurants were closed all together and did not open at all. So, things can always be worse! I think we just have to understand the time we are in and just accept these issues are going to be ongoing for a while, at least until staffing is back at 100%, because they sure are

going to bring the ship capacity back up to 100%!

[JP350]

2 hours ago, markkw07 said:

I guess at this point and time, we can look at this is a "glass half full or half empty" scenario. At least the restaurants were open and serving, although lines can't be adjusted based on ebb and flow and popular times when people eat. Staffing during the "peak" times is something that can be adjusted if the necessary staff is available. But def can see the issues here. I was on another cruise line a few months ago, where certain restaurants were closed all together and did not open at all. So, things can always be worse! I think we just have to understand the time we are in and just accept these issues are going to be ongoing for a while, at least until staffing is back at 100%, because they sure are

going to bring the ship capacity back up to 100%!

I know about that. The ships exotically during the summer are found to be sailing at over 100% capacity without the required crew. As much as we like to chat here on cc were just going to have to accept it bc execs aren’t changing their minds.

[lostsoulcruiser]

Onboard Service Updates: Securing working visas for the crew is currently a challenge for the entire cruise industry. It’s unfortunately impacting our staffing levels, particularly for Carnival’s culinary and beverage teams. We’ve made some temporary adjustments to our onboard offerings for sailings through July 31st, mostly around hours of operation and special events. This will help us provide guests with the best possible service. When you’re sailing, check the Carnival HUB App to see exactly what’s available.

 

I was just looking at the Carnival website, after rescheduling my October cruise to next April, and saw the above note at the top of Carnival's webpage.  Seems an acknowledgement/admission of the long line problem on certain ships at certain times.  Not surprising.

[Badfinger]

2 hours ago, lostsoulcruiser said:

Onboard Service Updates: Securing working visas for the crew is currently a challenge for the entire cruise industry. It’s unfortunately impacting our staffing levels, particularly for Carnival’s culinary and beverage teams. We’ve made some temporary adjustments to our onboard offerings for sailings through July 31st, mostly around hours of operation and special events. This will help us provide guests with the best possible service. When you’re sailing, check the Carnival HUB App to see exactly what’s available.

 

I was just looking at the Carnival website, after rescheduling my October cruise to next April, and saw the above note at the top of Carnival's webpage.  Seems an acknowledgement/admission of the long line problem on certain ships at certain times.  Not surprising.

 

"Best Possible Service" ...what a joke!  We sailed in October at 50% capacity and the service was fantastic.  Sailed last month...worst cruise ever.  Same ship, same itinerary.

[Badfinger]

23 hours ago, markkw07 said:

I guess at this point and time, we can look at this is a "glass half full or half empty" scenario. At least the restaurants were open and serving, although lines can't be adjusted based on ebb and flow and popular times when people eat. Staffing during the "peak" times is something that can be adjusted if the necessary staff is available. But def can see the issues here. I was on another cruise line a few months ago, where certain restaurants were closed all together and did not open at all. So, things can always be worse! I think we just have to understand the time we are in and just accept these issues are going to be ongoing for a while, at least until staffing is back at 100%, because they sure are

going to bring the ship capacity back up to 100%!

 

"just accept"?  No.  No cruise for us until this mess gets straightened out..and if it never does...then no more cruises for us.  Plenty of other choices for our vacation dollars.

 

[pc_load_letter]

7 minutes ago, Badfinger said:

 

"just accept"?  No.  No cruise for us until this mess gets straightened out..and if it never does...then no more cruises for us.  Plenty of other choices for our vacation dollars.

 

 

And that's entirely your prerogative.

 

For my wife and I, we want to get away and do little to nothing on a cruise\vacation. Being in SoCal, we could go to Palm Springs, SF or a resort in Mex but none of those options will get us a drink package, included meals, entertainment, plus whatever else we may partake in (massage, gym), and be 100 miles away in Long Beach.

 

We like brain dead vacations and waiting to be seated for dinner or waiting for pizza is not a big deal for us. We're on Radiance on Monday so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

 

When we were on Miracle in March, the ship had about 700-900 people depending on who you asked. It was a good cruise. Staff were excellent.

 

I am happy to be cruising and I hope you can take a cruise soon yourself.

[Batman5924]

35 minutes ago, Badfinger said:

 

"Best Possible Service" ...what a joke!  We sailed in October at 50% capacity and the service was fantastic.  Sailed last month...worst cruise ever.  Same ship, same itinerary.

Just got off Freedom.  I know you mean the same as what I’m saying but going to post it anyway.  I never saw “service” as bad.  I did see situations where there should be 4 bartenders here not 2.  There should be more lines open at customer service, etc.  the ones that are there work their butts off 14 hours a day.  

[markkw07]

10 minutes ago, Badfinger said:

 

"just accept"?  No.  No cruise for us until this mess gets straightened out..and if it never does...then no more cruises for us.  Plenty of other choices for our vacation dollars.

 

Your choice, your $$$, you can do whatever you want. Cruising is a unique experience, so if you and fam are good without, then so be it!

 

Have you been to an airport lately? Let's not even talk about ALL the issues the airlines are experiencing at the moment, very closely related to staffing issues and pilot shortages and LONG lines just to check in and get though security!

 

Enjoy whatever it is you find where you don't have to experience any staffing issues or waiting in long longs! 😁