What all has changed.

[cruise cutie7519]

Hello everyone, we are a few weeks out from our Halloween cruise on the Liberty. But now we have not cruised since probably 2019 or 2020. So what has changed. Is the lido deck the same? Is carnival still doing those Halloween parties? How about the food? Better worse or same? Does anyone have a updated menu? 

Thanks Katy 

[Guest BasicSailor]

Everything changes with time, with a few exceptions.  Lido is the same. Masters of black magic parties are still around, bring your costume 😲. Food is subjective, perhaps you won't go hungry 😉

[cruise cutie7519]

Thank you guys. This one is a short cruise only 4 days. How many formal nights will we have? I forgot to ask that as well. 

Edited October 7, 2022 by cruise cutie7519

[wikoffclan]

5 minutes ago, cruise cutie7519 said:

Thank you guys. This one is a short cruise only 4 days. How many formal nights will we have? I forgot to ask that as well. 

Maybe one "cruise elegant" night, but no lobster, in the MDR. Dress code not strictly enforced. MDR menu is Much shorter - fewer selections for both appetizers and mains (but you can still order multiples of each). Fries at Guy's burgers changed (frozen?). Bacon in the buffet (possibly) every other day. Banana and chocolate milk shortage. Any perks (for Gold, Platinum, etc.) not delivered - have to track them down. No printed Fun Times unless you ask. Most info is on the Hub app - no wifi package required. Same for menus in the MDR. Photographers don't seem to be as pushy as in the past. Stateroom servicing once per day - you'll be asked if you prefer morning or evening. Stewards are crazy overextended, staff is stretched thin, BUT --- all are the same cheerful, helpful, wonderful crew we've always enjoyed - the best ever! Enjoy!!

[CruisingWalter]

9 hours ago, cruise cutie7519 said:

Thank you guys. This one is a short cruise only 4 days. How many formal nights will we have? I forgot to ask that as well. 

 

The biggest difference right now is how badly understaffed F&B is across the fleet. We sailed Mardi Gras back in March and it was plainly obvious how understaffed they were, and from recent reports it has not gotten any better. Their attitude and smiles were still the same you would expect, eager to assist with every need, but when you see the same person working the same coffee or pizza stand at all hours of day and night, you know they're tired and overworked. There have been multiple videos on YouTube and TikTok direct from crew members describing the current conditions. I thought things were supposed to start getting better after some rule changes in August that was going to open up more countries to allowing the crews to come back, but so far that's not the case. One news report I read on a cruise news site said up to 30% of former crew members pre-pandemic have opted not to return to cruise ships and remain at their land based jobs. This is across the entire cruise industry, not just Carnival. So the struggle to crew these ships is real and now Carnival has Celebration about to launch which will stretch things even further.

 

"Formal Night" has really made a major change since the restart and on our cruise with 5500+ for 7 nights, maybe 10% of the guests made any effort to really dress up. Maybe 50% were business casual and the rest were all 'cruise casual.' On a 4 night cruise you would probably only have one formal night but don't expect all that many people to really go all out. I would stick to business casual so you're comfortable but still feeling like you're on a night out. 

 

As for food, MDR was meh and the buffet was meh for us on Mardi Gras. Specialty restaurants were mostly good, pizza was awesome and Shaq's Big Chicken was awesome. Of course the quality of the food is wholly dependent on the Executive Chef for the Liberty and culinary staff onboard. Hopefully they're working on all cylinders and can provide you with a great vacation.

 

The Muster Drill is now different with you doing it electronically. You'll watch the safety video either via your phone or stateroom TV, then visit your Muster Station to check in. Get that over with as soon as you can because the ship literally cannot leave until everyone has done so. You will hear multiple announcements at the scheduled sail away time for "So and So to please report to your Muster Station so we can get underway." Mardi Gras was an hour late departing due to chasing down the stragglers. 

 

Update the Carnival app on your mobile devices. It's actually one of the best and most useful of all the cruise lines now. For an extra $5/pp for the week you can activate the chat feature which was very helpful for us on a ship the size of Mardi Gras. All the menus, shows and daily schedule will be on the app, you can set reminders and also check in to your restaurant seatings via the app. No more queuing in long lines at the MDR or other restaurants, check in via the app and go enjoy a show or cocktail while you wait for a notification via the app that your table is ready. You'll have 10 minutes to get to the restaurant once you're notified.

 

We've been on three cruises since the restart on NCL, Carnival and Virgin Voyages and so far, all three have been awesome and fun. Welcome back to cruising! 

 

 

Edited October 7, 2022 by WheresWalter

[SASA13]

Great news about the Muster Drill :)

[havanadaydreaming]

Main food difference, Guys has a new burger.  And the fries changed from the beloved fresh cut style. 

[ray98]

I don't think you have enough time to discuss them all.  It is sort of like hotels, so if you equated a Carnival cruise with the Hilton before realize now you are at the Days Inn.

Edited October 9, 2022 by ray98

[AllenF]

4 minutes ago, ray98 said:

I don't think you have enough time to discuss them all.  It is sort of like hotels, so if you equated a Carnival cruise with the Hilton before realize now you are at the Days Inn.

That's  a good observation there LOL. From 2003 thru 2009 cruised Carnival 14 times and then once again in 2016. Tried other cruise lines between 2009 and 2018. Last cruise was on Royal summer 2018 Europe. Will never do Caribbean cruises again on any cruise line to easy to fly down from SC. But once again we will be going on Carnival Pride out of Dover for Norway in 2023. Not cruising for food,entertainment or the ship itself but to see the fjords. As expected after reading on CC that service and amenities have gone down no big surprise to me there. All I need is clean room something to eat nice balcony decent weather and relaxation as I watch the scernary go by  with my wife. If I want 5 star I will vacation at 5 star resort and even those have there issues. Vacation for me is about spending time with my wife  and going to different places cruising has taken me to Australia and New Zealand. Europe, Alaska, Hawaii, and British Isles from us it is about the journey to somewhere different not how many times my room is cleaned or how much bacon is on the buffet 🙂