Cut backs i noticed on breeze.

[Buckeyefrank100]

On 9/14/2022 at 4:02 PM, mz-s said:

Frankly I don't understand how it's seen as unsanitary to fill your own cup at the water station. Do people think possible germs migrate upstream and infect the dispenser?

Agreed, especially considering that most people with large tumblers have a lid they use.  They take the lid off, refill their cup and place the lid back on.  

 

[mz-s]

7 minutes ago, seaman11 said:

Short Staff.....

 

Considering a large portion of these employee’s pay is the gratuities that Carnival bills to its guests - it is very possible the food costs Carnival more than the crew. So it makes sense to cut back more on the food.

[seaman11]

11 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Considering a large portion of these employee’s pay is the gratuities that Carnival bills to its guests - it is very possible the food costs Carnival more than the crew. So it makes sense to cut back more on the food.

Yep, i keep hearing short staff excuse. Not what im seeing at all.  Cutting back on food and open sections saves them money.  Iv even skipped breakfast on none brunch days.   Thats what they want. 

Edited September 19, 2022 by seaman11

[DallasGuy75219]

29 minutes ago, Super27 said:

I'm about as brand loyal as it gets, but Carnival is really starting to make me look elsewhere as I've done with my other travel choices - I'm a former Disney annual pass holder that has no interest in stepping on their property again, and a Hilton Diamond member who now exclusively stays in Marriotts. Might be time for a change with cruises too...

Carnival Diamond here. Their constant cuts and cheapening of the cruise experience, going back way before COVID, have pushed me to Diamond Plus with Royal and Platinum with Princess (Elite after the cruise I literally just booked).

 

Now I only sail Carnival to try a new ship, travel with one specific group, or combine with a family visit to Louisiana because only Carnival has ships in New Orleans year round.

[sparks1093]

14 hours ago, seaman11 said:

Bored staff.....

They have plenty of waitstaff, evidently. Shortage appears to be in kitchen staff if they have to close buffet stations to deal with it. 

[sparks1093]

14 hours ago, seaman11 said:

Yep, i keep hearing short staff excuse. Not what im seeing at all.  Cutting back on food and open sections saves them money.  Iv even skipped breakfast on none brunch days.   Thats what they want. 

From all that I've read they spend very little on food, less than $10 per day per person. As with any business employees are one of the biggest expenses. 

[sparks1093]

14 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Considering a large portion of these employee’s pay is the gratuities that Carnival bills to its guests - it is very possible the food costs Carnival more than the crew. So it makes sense to cut back more on the food.

The gratuities are paid primarily to the waitstaff and the stewards. From all that I've read the kitchen staff (where the shortage appears to be) are salaried employees. As I just mentioned Carnival (just like any other cruise line) pays very little for the food itself.

[jimbo5544]

14 hours ago, seaman11 said:

Yep, i keep hearing short staff excuse. Not what im seeing at all.  Cutting back on food and open sections saves them money.  Iv even skipped breakfast on none brunch days.   Thats what they want. 

So you think that the first place you would see short staff would be be customer facing places?  How many is normal?  How many behinds the scenes are normal numbers?  Is it worse now than 3 months ago?  I guess your pic answers all those questions.

[jimbo5544]

Does our loyalty level add or detract to our posts in terms of content?   Just asking for a friend….BTW Diamond here….46 Carnival cruises, do not feel there has been constant cutbacks (altho I do not feel I have to mention it in every post, either if I am unhappy or pleased with the product…..maybe I should…) 

[jimbo5544]

23 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

The gratuities are paid primarily to the waitstaff and the stewards. From all that I've read the kitchen staff (where the shortage appears to be) are salaried employees. As I just mentioned Carnival (just like any other cruise line) pays very little for the food itself.

Not trying to stir the pot, I have never seen any data on what they pay for the food.

[Joebucks]

15 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Carnival Diamond here. Their constant cuts and cheapening of the cruise experience, going back way before COVID, have pushed me to Diamond Plus with Royal and Platinum with Princess (Elite after the cruise I literally just booked).

 

Now I only sail Carnival to try a new ship, travel with one specific group, or combine with a family visit to Louisiana because only Carnival has ships in New Orleans year round.

 

I'd keep my distance from the declining food quality on Royal thread if I were you

[sparks1093]

45 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Not trying to stir the pot, I have never seen any data on what they pay for the food.

Ask Google 🙂. This isn't the particular article that I read but it's similar Cruise Food – How Much do Cruise Ships Spend Per Cruise and Per Person? – Emma Cruises.

[Theosprey247]

No, not really.  On my last RCI cruise the food was awful.

[Buckeyefrank100]

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

The gratuities are paid primarily to the waitstaff and the stewards. From all that I've read the kitchen staff (where the shortage appears to be) are salaried employees. As I just mentioned Carnival (just like any other cruise line) pays very little for the food itself.

If by "very little for the food itself" you mean over a billion dollars a year on average, then you are correct.

[sparks1093]

3 minutes ago, Buckeyefrank100 said:

If by "very little for the food itself" you mean over a billion dollars a year on average, then you are correct.

$10 per person per day times the number of passengers served in the course of the year will add up, yes indeed.

[Buckeyefrank100]

Just now, sparks1093 said:

$10 per person per day times the number of passengers served in the course of the year will add up, yes indeed.

That ends up being between 7% and 8% of passenger ticket cost and is substantial enough of an amount to be listed separately on their external financial statements.  Yes, they get substantial discounts on food from their vendors but to say they pay very little is just wrong.

[sparks1093]

3 minutes ago, Buckeyefrank100 said:

That ends up being between 7% and 8% of passenger ticket cost and is substantial enough of an amount to be listed separately on their external financial statements.  Yes, they get substantial discounts on food from their vendors but to say they pay very little is just wrong.

In the context in which it was offered I don't think that it was (a discussion between what Carnival pays in wages versus what they pay in food).

[seaman11]

23 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Carnival Diamond here. Their constant cuts and cheapening of the cruise experience, going back way before COVID, have pushed me to Diamond Plus with Royal and Platinum with Princess (Elite after the cruise I literally just booked).

 

Now I only sail Carnival to try a new ship, travel with one specific group, or combine with a family visit to Louisiana because only Carnival has ships in New Orleans year round.

Good idea, ill go on the new celebration in dec and that will be all ill book with Car till they reverse the cuts. 

[jimbo5544]

59 minutes ago, seaman11 said:

Good idea, ill go on the new celebration in dec and that will be all ill book with Car till they reverse the cuts. 

You two will def show them.😅

[Buckeyefrank100]

On 9/20/2022 at 6:43 AM, jimbo5544 said:

Not trying to stir the pot, I have never seen any data on what they pay for the food.

They pay approximately $1B / year in food costs historically.  2020 and 2021 are exceptions but 2022 should be close to that number with 2023 exceeding it significantly due to inflation.  Payroll figures are roughly double food costs.

[mz-s]

Not to belabor the point but my point was they pay more for the food on Lido than they do the workers on Lido.

 

I was not saying they pay more for food vs. labor in general company wide.

[d12j28]

On 9/20/2022 at 6:42 AM, jimbo5544 said:

Does our loyalty level add or detract to our posts in terms of content?   Just asking for a friend….BTW Diamond here….46 Carnival cruises, do not feel there has been constant cutbacks (altho I do not feel I have to mention it in every post, either if I am unhappy or pleased with the product…..maybe I should…) 

Actually, it kind of does. I would think most people would give more credit to someone who has been on 50 cruises than someone who has been on 1. 

 

I do get what your saying though. Some people just like to throw their status in all the time like they are super special. All you got to do is read the posts and you can figure them out real quick. But what do I know, I'm just a lowly platinum. 😁

[Buckeyefrank100]

18 minutes ago, mz-s said:

Not to belabor the point but my point was they pay more for the food on Lido than they do the workers on Lido.

 

I was not saying they pay more for food vs. labor in general company wide.

There is literally no way to determine that unless you are privy to their internal chart of accounts.   Also what constitutes a lido worker vs say a dining room staff..  They all do double duty... and what about the cooks.... what about the staff that clean the tables in the lido... 

[KmomChicago]

22 hours ago, d12j28 said:

Actually, it kind of does. I would think most people would give more credit to someone who has been on 50 cruises than someone who has been on 1. 

 

I do get what your saying though. Some people just like to throw their status in all the time like they are super special. All you got to do is read the posts and you can figure them out real quick. But what do I know, I'm just a lowly platinum. 😁

 

Maybe indeed. . . or, perhaps someone who has been on 50 cruises is actually getting sick of the whole experience without realizing it as the novelty has long worn off, or perhaps they like everything about life 20 years ago better than life today, or at least they think they do.

 

A completely fresh perspective from a first time cruiser with no bias tells us something entirely different. So, I went on my first cruise and thought it was total crap, or I went on my first cruise and I had the greatest experience of my life, tells us something equally valuable and potentially more so.  

 

I have in my social circle two separate brand new cruisers who went on medium-level Carnival cruises (Radiance and Sunrise) in the past six months, and knowing nothing else of cruising, were immediately hooked.  THEY are now telling US how great cruises are.  Even where we are actually getting just slightly ho-hum, because we've done probably more of it in the last year than was strictly necessary, not because the cutbacks have irked us beyond repair. 

[d12j28]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

 

Maybe indeed. . . or, perhaps someone who has been on 50 cruises is actually getting sick of the whole experience without realizing it as the novelty has long worn off, or perhaps they like everything about life 20 years ago better than life today, or at least they think they do.

 

A completely fresh perspective from a first time cruiser with no bias tells us something entirely different. So, I went on my first cruise and thought it was total crap, or I went on my first cruise and I had the greatest experience of my life, tells us something equally valuable and potentially more so.  

 

I have in my social circle two separate brand new cruisers who went on medium-level Carnival cruises (Radiance and Sunrise) in the past six months, and knowing nothing else of cruising, were immediately hooked.  THEY are now telling US how great cruises are.  Even where we are actually getting just slightly ho-hum, because we've done probably more of it in the last year than was strictly necessary, not because the cutbacks have irked us beyond repair. 

 I said that more towards if I was a new cruiser and asked if I could do this or that and I got differing answers from somebody with 50 cruises vs someone with 1 or 2. I'd lean towards what the person with 50 said. I understand where @jimbo5544 is coming from though. There's a few here that should just start booking the old folks cruises and be happy.

 

New cruisers can definitely give new perspectives. Looking back at all our cruises we have changed the way we do things on cruises (more of an age thing....lol). 1st cruise was years back on the Sensation. Lido pool all day drinking and enjoying all the activities. Had an absolute blast. Didn't have a clue about different sizes or classes of Carnival ships back then. As we have aged (and kids got old enough) we started looking at ships with adult only aft pools to get away from the chaos of the lido some.