Carnival first time cruiser impressions

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

17 hours ago, zentraveler said:

Hard to imagine what a cruise twice as long on this one would be like. I may have jumped overboard by then 🤣.

The longer the cruise the better your experience with the guests. A short cruise 3-5 days usually bring out the party people.

[Homosassa]

Zentraveler, I see that it is being recommended that you try a longer cruise for a better experience.

 

Just a warning as someone who tried a seven day cruise on a newer Carnival ship , the experience is the same as to the blaring noise level throughout the ship,  the tacky decor and the food quality.

 

Did you get to see the fine example of caring for the well being of Carnival entertainers where they dress a female dancer up in a Las Vegas showgirl get up and have her pose for photographs with the slobbering male guests? At least they had two security guards hovering nearby to intervene if necessary.

 

 

[Crismess669]

1 hour ago, Homosassa said:

Did you get to see the fine example of caring for the well being of Carnival entertainers where they dress a female dancer up in a Las Vegas showgirl get up and have her pose for photographs with the slobbering male guests? At least they had two security guards hovering nearby to intervene if necessary.

 

 

Are you serious? How many boats are doing this?

[ShakyBeef]

1 minute ago, Crismess669 said:

Are you serious? How many boats are doing this?

 

I don't know how many, if any ships are still doing it, but I have seen this on several Carnival cruises over the years.  Usually two ladies, scantily clad in the showgirl costumes (sometimes of the thong variety, with butt cheeks exposed), outside the doors of the MDR, while guests are entering for dinner.  I always found it off-putting.  Degrading to the ladies involved.  And I didn't appreciate Carnival exposing my two young daughters to that display, on our way into a "nice" dinner on a "family friendly" cruise.

[zentraveler]

1 hour ago, kdr69 said:

On EVERY cruise line meals are pre-plated even on a luxury ship with only 100 passengers meals are not prepared to order (maybe on a 50 person yacht sailing or the Windstar Cruise you mentioned). They are all mass cooked and prepared ahead of meal times loaded onto large carts and steamed to heat up when required.  This is the way with all commercial dining kitchens.  Not sure what you mean by variation other than wanting something thats not on the menu but i find that they will try to accomodate your request if you ask but if its mixing and matching selections they will just bring you both selections out and you can eat what you want off each plate on your own. Good that you at least tried the brand and didn't just take others words for yourself.   Thank you for sharing your insights.

All I meant was that when I ordered huevos ranchero and it was described as having chicken (?) I asked if I could have beans instead (which is how I have always had them served). Nope. Chicken or nothing. I figured out quickly that the dishes on the menu are as is, but they will bring anything else on the menu. I am not a fussy eater at all, but new for me on cruises. 

 

Todays breakfast was actually rather funny (in a sad kind of way). I ordered a Breakfast Bowl described as: kale, spinach, wheat berries, sesame seeds, feta, raspberries and two eggs on top. What I got was a small sad collection of salad greens, 1/2 tsp of feta, 2 raspberries and 2 eggs. None of the main parts of the breakfast dish. I thought I might have gotten the wrong bowl and the poor waiter only could only say that they sometimes run out of things. We left San Francisco, one of the food capitals of the country (with plenty of kale, wheat berries etc.),  less  than two days ago. [Last night's dinner was pretty sad also.]

 

But I have to give the menu writers a gold star for hyperbole. The avocado toast had "fresh local greens". We just landed in Ensenada - local from here? San Francisco? Whatever warehouse where they pack the ships? Ridiculous term for a floating vehicle.The yogurt is "hand churned". House made - sure but very unlikely true. Home made, a misnomer, but OK but also unlikely. But churned? I have made yogurt at home; it is not churned. That is butter. 

 

So I am enjoying my cabin and the ocean immensely, see how hard the staff is working and how sweet they and am adapting to being on a floating K-Mart (only with much worse decor). It was an experiment and not sorry I checked it out.  With any luck the Port of San Francisco will start broadening out the ships that come and go from there. Would love to know how/why Princess and Carnival have such a lock on that. 

 

[Addendum - the wi-fi works wonderfully. I got the premium package and have had only a few short lived glitches.]

[notplatinum]

6 minutes ago, zentraveler said:

All I meant was that when I ordered huevos ranchero and it was described as having chicken (?) I asked if I could have beans instead (which is how I have always had them served). Nope. Chicken or nothing. I figured out quickly that the dishes on the menu are as is, but they will bring anything else on the menu. I am not a fussy eater at all, but new for me on cruises. 

 

Todays breakfast was actually rather funny (in a sad kind of way). I ordered a Breakfast Bowl described as: kale, spinach, wheat berries, sesame seeds, feta, raspberries and two eggs on top. What I got was a small sad collection of salad greens, 1/2 tsp of feta, 2 raspberries and 2 eggs. None of the main parts of the breakfast dish. I thought I might have gotten the wrong bowl and the poor waiter only could only say that they sometimes run out of things. We left San Francisco, one of the food capitals of the country (with plenty of kale, wheat berries etc.),  less  than two days ago. [Last night's dinner was pretty sad also.]

 

But I have to give the menu writers a gold star for hyperbole. The avocado toast had "fresh local greens". We just landed in Ensenada - local from here? San Francisco? Whatever warehouse where they pack the ships? Ridiculous term for a floating vehicle.The yogurt is "hand churned". House made - sure but very unlikely true. Home made, a misnomer, but OK but also unlikely. But churned? I have made yogurt at home; it is not churned. That is butter. 

 

So I am enjoying my cabin and the ocean immensely, see how hard the staff is working and how sweet they and am adapting to being on a floating K-Mart (only with much worse decor). It was an experiment and not sorry I checked it out.  With any luck the Port of San Francisco will start broadening out the ships that come and go from there. Would love to know how/why Princess and Carnival have such a lock on that. 

 

[Addendum - the wi-fi works wonderfully. I got the premium package and have had only a few short lived glitches.]

Carnival is less expensive for a reason. Will see in two weeks on the Spirit.

[zentraveler]

3 minutes ago, notplatinum said:

Carnival is less expensive for a reason. Will see in two weeks on the Spirit.

Absolutely right and have tried to temper any comments with the cost of the cruise line. But I do think an accurately described menu (without the clearly untrue descriptions) and delivering most of what was ordered in the dish, or just saying they are out of it that day, are low bars. 

[zentraveler]

3 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Did you get to see the fine example of caring for the well being of Carnival entertainers where they dress a female dancer up in a Las Vegas showgirl get up and have her pose for photographs with the slobbering male guests? At least they had two security guards hovering nearby to intervene if necessary.

 

 

Thank the lord NO.  Although now that you mention it I saw something like this but not that bad - photos but no slobbering men. And thanks for the head's up on the longer cruises. I made a comment in an earlier post that being a fun party boat is their brand. I would not expect that to change even with nicer decor. But good to know!

[zentraveler]

1 hour ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

I don't know how many, if any ships are still doing it, but I have seen this on several Carnival cruises over the years.  Usually two ladies, scantily clad in the showgirl costumes (sometimes of the thong variety, with butt cheeks exposed), outside the doors of the MDR, while guests are entering for dinner.  I always found it off-putting.  Degrading to the ladies involved.  And I didn't appreciate Carnival exposing my two young daughters to that display, on our way into a "nice" dinner on a "family friendly" cruise.

Holy cow; thongs!?!  They must have toned it down or they don't sail from the country's most politically correct population with that level of sexism 😊.

[ShakyBeef]

1 minute ago, zentraveler said:

Holy cow; thongs!?!  They must have toned it down or they don't sail from the country's most politically correct population with that level of sexism 😊.

 

That may be, and I hope they have stopped it entirely, fleetwide.  The last time I saw this was at least seven years ago.  Let's hope Carnival is more woke these days.

[wikoffclan]

1 hour ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

I don't know how many, if any ships are still doing it, but I have seen this on several Carnival cruises over the years.  Usually two ladies, scantily clad in the showgirl costumes (sometimes of the thong variety, with butt cheeks exposed), outside the doors of the MDR, while guests are entering for dinner.  I always found it off-putting.  Degrading to the ladies involved.  And I didn't appreciate Carnival exposing my two young daughters to that display, on our way into a "nice" dinner on a "family friendly" cruise.

This is such a bunch of horse hockey. Been on 19 Carnival cruises and on every class (starting with Holiday) except Vista class. There has NEVER been this type of "entertainment" in front of the MDR or in any other venue. Just someone trying to stir up s**t... IMHO

[ShakyBeef]

8 minutes ago, wikoffclan said:

This is such a bunch of horse hockey. Been on 19 Carnival cruises and on every class (starting with Holiday) except Vista class. There has NEVER been this type of "entertainment" in front of the MDR or in any other venue. Just someone trying to stir up s**t... IMHO

Although I have been on slightly fewer Carnival cruises than you, and only started in 2005, I am no liar.  And I did indeed witness this on more than one Carnival cruise.  But I understand your type: if you didn't see it then it NEVER existed.🙄  Unfortunately, I have no proof, since I chose not to participate in that particular type of Carnival photo op.  Thanks for calling me a liar, though (and with such language).  Very classy of you, IMHO.

Edited September 3, 2022 by ShakyBeef
typo

[notplatinum]

6 minutes ago, wikoffclan said:

This is such a bunch of horse hockey. Been on 19 Carnival cruises and on every class (starting with Holiday) except Vista class. There has NEVER been this type of "entertainment" in front of the MDR or in any other venue. Just someone trying to stir up s**t... IMHO

We sailed the holiday

[nybumpkin]

9 minutes ago, wikoffclan said:

This is such a bunch of horse hockey. Been on 19 Carnival cruises and on every class (starting with Holiday) except Vista class. There has NEVER been this type of "entertainment" in front of the MDR or in any other venue. Just someone trying to stir up s**t... IMHO

I haven't seen it in years, but early in our cruise career (18 years ago) these photo ops were pretty common when leaving the MDR. I will say I never saw "slobbering men," though.

 

If you see the photo ops today (like the towel animal) going around the ship, you will see that they are accompanied by both a photographer and an escort. It's just in case someone tries to get out of hand.

[wikoffclan]

6 minutes ago, notplatinum said:

We sailed the holiday

Probably one of our favorite cruises! Had an OV on Riviera deck and heard the lines rolling out at each port. Coincidentally, that 5 day out of Mobile cost the same as our 5 day out of NOLA this coming weekend in an Ocean Suite... go figure 😄

[iwingy]

I appreciate OP’s balanced review. My opinion is somewhat similar. On my second Carnival cruise in two months right now, sailing to Ensenada. We mostly prefer calm and classy style of HAL and Princess, but the crowd there is super homogenous. I loved the diversity of the Carnival crowd sailing from Long Beach. What I am not a fan of are incredibly loud public spaces on Carnival. I am not seeing a difference between 7 day Panorama and 3 day Radiance so far in terms of level of noise and “fun”. I also think their ships are in need of more pool and deck space, it’s very crowded. What I love is the cabin layout and size - the best among 6 lines and 15+ ships I’ve been to. And the crew is truly lovely and caring. The biggest pro is we can drive to port, so we might be sailing with Carnival at some point again if they mix up their west coast itineraries.

[icft]

3 hours ago, Homosassa said:

                                *                                 *                                   *

Did you get to see the fine example of caring for the well being of Carnival entertainers where they dress a female dancer up in a Las Vegas showgirl get up and have her pose for photographs with the slobbering male guests? At least they had two security guards hovering nearby to intervene if necessary.

 

 

I was NOT slobbering! And her butt cheeks WERE covered (with pantyhose - I checked to make sure).

[MJSailors]

@zentraveler

I think that you were very wise to choose a suite while trying a Carnival cruise . As you posted, it was a sanctuary that you could enjoy .

As someone  who has cruised on Princess,HAL,Wndstar and Seabourne, it is  not surprising that you found the cruise experience on a Carnival ship to be  a very different experience. 

Cruise lines appeal to various demographics of passengers. A cruise company markets their cruise products to a certain type of customer. People who are drawn to Carnival for the reasonable price point, Vegas style decor and entertainment and brash vibe on the Carnival ships would,most likely,not be drawn to HAL which offers a sedate,relaxed atmosphere on their ships. And vice versa.

Fortunately, there are all types of cruise lines to choose from for vacationers. I think a person needs to consider their personal style and comfort level when choosing a vacation. 

I can understand why you chose to try a Carnival cruise in that the pier is close to your home. At least you gave it a try and realize it is not for you. 

My DH and I have sailed on Princess many times and Celebrity NCL and Cunard a few times. After reading about Carnival cruises here on CC,and looking at their web site ,we are certain a Carnival cruise is not for us. There is a Carnival cruise to Bermuda from NYC which would be within driving distance for us and we enjoy visiting Bermuda.However, we think we would not be comfortable on the ship.For us,we would gladly spend a greater amount in cruise fare for one of those “fancier” cruise lines. To my way of thinking,”you get what you pay for”.

Bon voyage on the Windstar Cruise !

MJ🙋🏻

[zentraveler]

20 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

@zentraveler

I think that you were very wise to choose a suite while trying a Carnival cruise . As you posted, it was a sanctuary that you could enjoy .

As someone  who has cruised on Princess,HAL,Wndstar and Seabourne, it is  not surprising that you found the cruise experience on a Carnival ship to be  a very different experience. 

Cruise lines appeal to various demographics of passengers. A cruise company markets their cruise products to a certain type of customer. People who are drawn to Carnival for the reasonable price point, Vegas style decor and entertainment and brash vibe on the Carnival ships would,most likely,not be drawn to HAL which offers a sedate,relaxed atmosphere on their ships. And vice versa.

Fortunately, there are all types of cruise lines to choose from for vacationers. I think a person needs to consider their personal style and comfort level when choosing a vacation. 

I can understand why you chose to try a Carnival cruise in that the pier is close to your home. At least you gave it a try and realize it is not for you. 

My DH and I have sailed on Princess many times and Celebrity NCL and Cunard a few times. After reading about Carnival cruises here on CC,and looking at their web site ,we are certain a Carnival cruise is not for us. There is a Carnival cruise to Bermuda from NYC which would be within driving distance for us and we enjoy visiting Bermuda.However, we think we would not be comfortable on the ship.For us,we would gladly spend a greater amount in cruise fare for one of those “fancier” cruise lines. To my way of thinking,”you get what you pay for”.

Bon voyage on the Windstar Cruise !

MJ🙋🏻

Thanks MJSailor. I forgot I was on Cunard once too! This was really worth checking out for me for the reasons you mentioned. Additionally, my DH He’s camping with some friends so this is a solo trip, which gets expensive for cruising. But the timing worked. My .02 cents if reading this and others suggests it is not a good fit it for you - it won’t be. Lots of other options although the drive from home part is a loss. There is always Princess for us; Alaska in July was lovely and we liked the ship. 

[Susan in Maine]

I have sailed on Carnival, Princess, Royal, NCL and Disney. Before April I was a huge Royal fan. However, my last cruise in April on RCCL's Anthem of the Seas was pretty disappointing. I had sailed on the same ship a couple of years before and loved it, but this wasn't all that great.

 

We were on the Magic last November (post re-start) and had a great trip. We are on her again this month.

 

For the price point, Carnival is definitely worth it. But you will NEVER see me on a 3-day booze cruise!

 

How much fun you have on a cruise is dependent on SO many different things, especially your expectations.

[Homosassa]

1 hour ago, wikoffclan said:

This is such a bunch of horse hockey. Been on 19 Carnival cruises and on every class (starting with Holiday) except Vista class. There has NEVER been this type of "entertainment" in front of the MDR or in any other venue. Just someone trying to stir up s**t... IMHO

I guess you don't eat in the MDR.

 

It definitely was going on on that Carnival cruise I was on.

[notplatinum]

51 minutes ago, Susan in Maine said:

I have sailed on Carnival, Princess, Royal, NCL and Disney. Before April I was a huge Royal fan. However, my last cruise in April on RCCL's Anthem of the Seas was pretty disappointing. I had sailed on the same ship a couple of years before and loved it, but this wasn't all that great.

 

We were on the Magic last November (post re-start) and had a great trip. We are on her again this month.

 

For the price point, Carnival is definitely worth it. But you will NEVER see me on a 3-day booze cruise!

 

How much fun you have on a cruise is dependent on SO many different things, especially your expectations.

So one cruise caused you to change?  

[Homosassa]

1 hour ago, wikoffclan said:

This is such a bunch of horse hockey. Been on 19 Carnival cruises and on every class (starting with Holiday) except Vista class. There has NEVER been this type of "entertainment" in front of the MDR or in any other venue. Just someone trying to stir up s**t... IMHO

LOL - and here is Cruise Critic thread from 2008 where the showgirl that "NEVER" existed is mentioned in a post:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/715539-picture-nights/

 

See post #4.

 

[notplatinum]

6 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

LOL - and here is Cruise Critic thread from 2008 where the showgirl that "NEVER" existed is mentioned in a post:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/715539-picture-nights/

 

See post #4.

 

Great work detective

[DrSea]

3 hours ago, zentraveler said:

All I meant was that when I ordered huevos ranchero and it was described as having chicken (?) I asked if I could have beans instead (which is how I have always had them served). Nope. Chicken or nothing. I figured out quickly that the dishes on the menu are as is, but they will bring anything else on the menu. I am not a fussy eater at all, but new for me on cruises. 

 

Todays breakfast was actually rather funny (in a sad kind of way). I ordered a Breakfast Bowl described as: kale, spinach, wheat berries, sesame seeds, feta, raspberries and two eggs on top. What I got was a small sad collection of salad greens, 1/2 tsp of feta, 2 raspberries and 2 eggs. None of the main parts of the breakfast dish. I thought I might have gotten the wrong bowl and the poor waiter only could only say that they sometimes run out of things. We left San Francisco, one of the food capitals of the country (with plenty of kale, wheat berries etc.),  less  than two days ago. [Last night's dinner was pretty sad also.]

 

But I have to give the menu writers a gold star for hyperbole. The avocado toast had "fresh local greens". We just landed in Ensenada - local from here? San Francisco? Whatever warehouse where they pack the ships? Ridiculous term for a floating vehicle.The yogurt is "hand churned". House made - sure but very unlikely true. Home made, a misnomer, but OK but also unlikely. But churned? I have made yogurt at home; it is not churned. That is butter. 

 

So I am enjoying my cabin and the ocean immensely, see how hard the staff is working and how sweet they and am adapting to being on a floating K-Mart (only with much worse decor). It was an experiment and not sorry I checked it out.  With any luck the Port of San Francisco will start broadening out the ships that come and go from there. Would love to know how/why Princess and Carnival have such a lock on that. 

 

[Addendum - the wi-fi works wonderfully. I got the premium package and have had only a few short lived glitches.]

CCL runs out of a lot of food and they don't restock on every port.

 

There were many instances where we just left a port, and they were missing basic things like guac, hot sauce, etc.