Please don’t hate on my questions as they are based on reviews I’ve read regarding Carnival

[jsglow]

1 minute ago, vacruizer said:

I’m so glad to hear this.  I should clarify that the crew tried really hard and just couldn’t keep up. We waited 2 hours one night in the MDR and food was rock hard and cold. Couldn’t even flag our waiter down and manager just shrugged and said they were short staffed. 
 

The hallway incident was unfortunately more than just a random drunk and involved lots of screaming at security..who threatened to call the local authorities the next morning but couldn’t seem to remove the guy. There was discussion of a possible attempt to harm another passenger as well. It went on for over an hour. 

I understand completely. Was it this summer?  Again, I've indicated somewhere here on CC that I think Carnival really stepped in it when they maxxed out ships over the peak summer season w/o having sufficient staff. What you're describing isn't acceptable.

[BlerkOne]

8 minutes ago, vacruizer said:

I can sail on the Apex in December for around. $650pp or just over  $1,000pp with drink package, gratuity, and wifi included. Infinity sailings this fall are running as low as $395pp. And no single supplement right now if my husband can’t go and I decide to sail solo.    Carnival might be slightly cheaper on base rate for a 7 day, but add in drinks & tips and it’s pretty comparable or cheaper right now. I was surprised, too. 
 

Celebrity is certainly heavily discounting some of their cruises. That isn't normal, but then, these aren't normal times. Infinity in particular is one ship where I have read about staffing issues and long waits. But at least the casinos are non-smoking. 🙂

[Wally Alligator]

We were on Pride last December for a Panama Canal partial and definitely say there were some supply issues with certain beverage unavailable (ginger ale and diet cola amongst others).  Service was fine although on the sailing crew was short staffed but occupancy was also held down so really no service impact.  Just got off an Alaska cruise on Carnival Miracle last week. 100% occupancy however I believe it was also 100% crew.  We had a great time.  Miracle and Pride are both around 20 years old and do show their age in places.  That said, their layouts are nice and they get sent on some very nice itineraries.  Next year we are doing Pride's Barcelona to Dover itinerary.  Would I pay double to be on a "nicer" or newer ship in Europe?  Nope - Europe cruises are for the places you visit not the ship you are on.  Caribbean cruises however are more floating resort after the 3rd or 4th time at each port.   Here the ship is more important. 

[DEL67]

It all depends on what you are looking for.  If you want a big, new ship with all the new features, tee Pride is not for you.  If you want gourmet food and speciality restaurants , again the Pride is not for you.   

 

This year, the Pride offered interesting itineraries, at good rates. I was pleased with the service I received.  I did not enjoy the food, but still thought I got great value.   I hope by next year, they will improve the food at least back to where was last fall and they need to fix the tender situation which was a major issue for an itinerary with 5 tender ports.

[BlerkOne]

12 minutes ago, DEL67 said:

  I hope by next year, they will improve the food at least back to where was last fall and they need to fix the tender situation which was a major issue for an itinerary with 5 tender ports.

What is the tender situation? Some ports don't have large tenders available to offload passengers and cruise ships are stuck having to use their own tenders. AFAIK, they use all they have. Not all lifeboats can be used as tenders.

 

Some ports this year are being worked on (I believe Edinburgh is one) so instead of docking, ships tender. The choice is tender or skip the port.

 

If you book ship excursions, you should have priority tendering.

[mz-s]

27 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

If you book ship excursions, you should have priority tendering.

 

If everybody has priority then nobody has priority.

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

If everybody has priority then nobody has priority.

Sounds good in theory. But they have to try to keep ship excursions on schedule. Private excursions, even for the entitled, can wait.

 

[EllieinNJ]

22 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Which cruises and where to are those to specifically that are cheaper than Carnival right now because I also have cruises booked on all three lines? I'm curious where you found Celebrity cheaper than Carnival because that's hard to believe. 

I have a side to side with the Panorama and Radiance in April 2024.  I wanted to add the Hawaii cruise right before them so wouldn't have to spend any more airfare to LA.  The OV is over $2000pp and the balconies are $2500pp.  I think that's outrageous for Carnival when you can get OVs on Princess for $1100 and balconies for $2000.

[ProgRockCruiser]

1 hour ago, EllieinNJ said:

I have a side to side with the Panorama and Radiance in April 2024.  I wanted to add the Hawaii cruise right before them so wouldn't have to spend any more airfare to LA.  The OV is over $2000pp and the balconies are $2500pp.  I think that's outrageous for Carnival when you can get OVs on Princess for $1100 and balconies for $2000.

Well, those types of cabins may well have sold for those kinds of prices, or even less, when first put on sale.

 

There are three regular balcony rooms left on that sailing, AFAICT.  One aft, two forward. So yeah, they are going to allow the price to float upwards as supply diminishes.  And only one aft extended balcony remaining.

 

How many balconies are available on the comparable cruises from Princess?  If a lot more, that would be a big explanation factor.

[CruizinSusan70]

If you want 12 days in Northern Europe next summer you have two choices if price is at the top of your list.  The Pride or the Jewel OTS.  The Pride has 4 sailings on 6/18, 7/9, 7/30 & 8/20.  The Jewel has 7 sailings on 6/5, 6/17, 6/29, 7/11, 7/23, 8/4, & 8/16.  The Pride goes out of Dover and the Jewel goes out of Amsterdam.  Both ships are about the same size and age.

The ports though are totally different, with the Pride visiting 7 in Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, while the Jewel visits 8 in Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England.

[thunderingherd11]

On 7/30/2022 at 1:23 PM, mz-s said:

A couple threads of the Pride at least this season make me think NCL would be worth the extra...

 

This year Carnival seems to have cut to the bone to try to be profitable, well they're still not profitable and people are having horrible experiences in Europe on Pride. Standing for hours in a hot shed waiting for embarkation, no hot water to take a shower, hours-long waits for a tender boat at tender ports, rusty holes in the deck by the pool, crew grabbing children, more and more.

 

Maybe next year will be better.

clearly you havent been or the NCL boards much.  Similar complaints on all lines.

[mz-s]

12 minutes ago, thunderingherd11 said:

clearly you havent been or the NCL boards much.  Similar complaints on all lines.

 

I am active in the CCL board but peruse the others. This is the first time I've heard multiple cruisers corroborate crew shouting, being rude, and even grabbing children. Please feel free to link me to an NCL thread with a similar complaint.