back from 1st cruise, last cruise!

[tjsharktank]

I just returned from my cruise aboard the Carnival Victory (2/26 –3/5). I can confidently say that I will NEVER sail with Carnival again!!! It’s hard to decide where to begin my horror story…

 

FOOD: The food was HORRIBLE. Everyone says you gain 10 lbs on a cruise but I lost 2 lbs and my SO lost 5 lbs. We were actually HUNGRY when we went to sleep the first four nights! We ate in the main dining room the first 2 nights. The main entrees usually included one beef product. SO and I ordered the prime rib (although it wasn’t called “prime rib” both nights because everything else on the menu sounded unappealing. The cuts of meat used on the ship were cheap, in my opinion. My parents were also on the cruise and my dad sent his prime rib back because it had so much fat on it. I cut the fat off of mine on both nights and there was hardly anything left. The salads were very small and the desserts were completely TASTELESS! I’ve had better cake out of a betty crocker box. We decided to try the “alternative” dining option on the 3rd day and we were shocked to see the EXACT same food on the “alternative” buffet that was being served in the dining room that night!!! It was no alternative at all!!! Carnival advertises multiple dining options but THAT IS A LIE! The other “restaurants” Carnival talks about are actually walk up windows that do not run all the time. If fact, there are some times when all there is to eat is PIZZA! I go on a cruise and I’m stuck eating pizza? It wasn’t even great pizza! The “BBQ” never made steak or chicken sandwhichs like it advertised, it only made hamburgers and hotdogs! The Chinese wok was rarely open. I had excellent ham ONE night but other than that, I starved!!!!! We asked others if they liked the food and it was 50/50. I don’t know, maybe I expected too much by thinking I wouldn’t have to eat pizza all week!

 

CRUISE DIRECTOR: My hatred for this man is very high. SO and I either attended the “travel talk” briefings or watched them on tv so that we knew what was going on. During Dana’s (the cruise director) travel talk about grand cayman, he instructed everyone with an excursion before 10am to meet in the Caribbean lounge. He “PROMISED” that we would be on the first tender boats off the ship so that we were on time. SO, myself and my father arrived at 7:20. The shipped docked at 7:30. Our excursion was at 8:30 but we were suppose to check in at 8:00. I did NOT book the excursion through Carnival. We waited and waited until 7:50 when (the most annoying) social host came in and said everyone could proceed to the gangway!!!! Of course, that meant we were behind everyone who had been lining up on the stairs for the last 40 minutes!!! I went up to the social host and showed him my receipt for the excursion and asked if I shouldn’t be put on one of the first boats off. He said just go down stairs. Well, guess what? We were on the 3rd boat off and we were 20 mins late for the tour and the entire tour was cut short by 20 mins for me and everyone else on it. And I was MORTIFIED when I arrived at Captain Marvins for the tour because I was so late and everyone knew I was holding it up. I complained to the pursers desk when I got back on the ship and found that the pursers desk doesn’t give a **** about anything. They took my complaint and said they would forward it to the cruise director. 2 days went by and I kept calling and asking what was going on. Finally, they said the cruise director had responded and said that I must not have been in the Caribbean lounge at the right time and that if I had booked the excursion through carnival, that I was have been assured a full tour because the carnival tour operators wait for all guests!!! I couldn’t believe it!!! First of all, I WAS in the lounge at the right time, in fact we were early and one of the first people there. Second, he completely ignored the fact that he promised during his travel talk to get us off the boat first and then we were shoved behind everyone else. Third, he basically said oh well because I didn’t book the excursion through carnival so he didn’t give a ****!

 

EXCURSIONS: My parents took the grand cayman island tour and it didn’t make all the stops listed. I went to the shore excursion desk to complain and was told that was just how the tour was!!! When I went back to my room the tv was on to the cruise directors travel talk about grand cayman and as luck would have it, he described that exact tour stop-by-stop. So I marched back to the shore excursion desk and complained again. Then they wanted to know the bus number my parents were on. I told them they didn’t know that and that I wouldn’t have looked at the bus number either. Then I was told without the bus number there was nothing they could do! Basically I threw a fit and finally got him to say he’d look into it further. Two days later I noticed a 10% discount for the tour on my sail and sign card but they never called me or sent me a letter. I also told them that the dolphin swim in Costa Maya only had 1 dolphin for their group when the other groups had 3 dolphins and the same amount of people and they said “that’s just how it is”. They didn’t care one bit if people were unhappy. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE.

 

LIDO DECK: 1/4 of the chairs on the decks were “saved” by beach towels which is against carnival’s policy. People were walking around and around looking for chairs. I finally had to carry one all the way around the boat! People would put towels on chairs and never come back. I thought that Carnival should have made an announcement that they were going to collect the towel in 15 minutes. I suggested this to the purser and was told that carnivals policy was to post the “no saving” policy and that’s all! It was a sold out cruise and people were having to sit on the floor. Another incident were carnival didn’t give a ****.

 

CROWD: It’s a party ship, plain and simple. I asked on various boards beforehand if it was, but the bottomline is, people go on carnival to drink themselves silly. We had wine spilled on us, etc. I’ve never seen so many middle-age drunks in all of my life.

 

It was the worse experience of my life. I will never go on a carnival ship again. I’m sure I’m forgetting some things because I am so flustered right now. BUYER BEWARE – carnival does not care one bit about you once you buy your ticket.

[bububr]

My partner and I settled on Celebrity after trying a few lines including Carnival. Actually we recommend Carnival for a first cruise and to base the other lines on them..Its only UP from there.

 

Try Celebrity if you want a nice, tradtional, somewhat quiet cruise. The majority of the folks dress up and adhere to the dress codes for formal, and informal nights....there is a LOT fewer children/brats and non-responsive parents on X, and the food is really good to wonderful.

 

Just IMHO:D

 

Dave:eek:

[jazz1180]

I'm so sorry you had such a terrible time on your cruise. I'm new to cruising as well (I just booked my 2nd) and after getting a lot of advice from people, both in person and on the boards, I firmly decided NOT to cruise with Carnival. I chose NCL for my 1st and it was a great 1st cruise. It's sad to hear that apparently, all the bad hype about Carnival is true. Please don't let that experience sour you on cruising as a whole though. Try another line and see how you feel about it after that. I find cruising to be a wonderful vacation if done well.

[JudyOh]

Chair saving is NOT unique to Carnival, it is EVERYWHERE!!!!!:eek: Just got off RCI Jewel of the Seas, never an empty chair, just towels and books sunbathing. They did nothing to stop it either other than signs postered around the deck, but people just don't care.

[walkswife]

I'm so sorry you had such a terrible time on your cruise. I'm new to cruising as well (I just booked my 2nd) and after getting a lot of advice from people, both in person and on the boards, I firmly decided NOT to cruise with Carnival. I chose NCL for my 1st and it was a great 1st cruise. It's sad to hear that apparently, all the bad hype about Carnival is true. Please don't let that experience sour you on cruising as a whole though. Try another line and see how you feel about it after that. I find cruising to be a wonderful vacation if done well.

 

I booked Carnival for my first cruise and had a wonderful time.....have it booked for my second cruise also and wouldn't have it any other way:D

[gjules]

I'm sorry, too, that you had such an awful time. However, I wouldn't judge all Carnival cruises by the one you were on. I have been on 2 Carnival cruises and haven't cruised yet with any other line. I had a fantastic cruise both times! That's not to say that Carnival is for everyone...you may have a better experience on another line.

Carnival recommends that you book excursions through them. They do not guarantee the ship in port on time or passengers off the ship on time for excursions booked through independent companies. It says right in the fine print that port times are approximate and ports can even change without prior notice.

I'm sure all ships chefs are different...I'm sorry you must have gotten a bad one. I do know the portions are rather small, but when you can have as many as you want, I'd rather try lots of different small portions instead of one big one. If you didn't like your prime rib all you had to do was send it back and order something else.

I sure wouldn't say that "the bottomline is, people go on carnival to drink themselves silly." Like I said, all cruises are different, butI didn't even see drunk people on our cruise. I saw people having fun, but never saw people falling down drunk and making messes on everyone. I didn't go on my cruises to 'drink myself silly.'I am truly sorry you had such an awful time, but my point is, PLEASE don't stereotype! :(

[LHP]

I'm so sorry you had such a terrible time on your cruise. I'm new to cruising as well (I just booked my 2nd) and after getting a lot of advice from people, both in person and on the boards, I firmly decided NOT to cruise with Carnival. I chose NCL for my 1st and it was a great 1st cruise. It's sad to hear that apparently, all the bad hype about Carnival is true. Please don't let that experience sour you on cruising as a whole though. Try another line and see how you feel about it after that. I find cruising to be a wonderful vacation if done well.

 

If all you depend on for your opinion of a cruise line is hype, then I guess we will never be sailed NCL. The only cruise line I have heard worse things about than Carnival is NCL.

 

Every cruise line has their ups and downs and not every cruise line is for every person. But it has nothing to do with personal opinion. It has to do with things like, do you want freestyle dining or formal? Do you want to listen to a band or karaoke? Neither is good or bad, they are just different.

 

There is a post about the H*ll Cruise on RCCL, and the "disaster cruise " on Celebrity or the how someone was "horrified" on a Radisson cruise.

 

As a seasoned cruiser, since 1982, I don't judge an entire cruise line on "someone else's opinion". Not even a lot of people's opinion. The only thing you can deduce from the OP is that they had a bad cruise on this one ship on this one particular week. period. It does not make a statement about Carnival as a whole, just like you would not find it responsible to have NCL judged by one bad cruise.

 

Now if someone wants some constructive advice on how to pick a cruise -

 

1. What kind of experience are you looking for? Party or subdued or somewhere in-between.

2. Select your ports. But be aware that these can change at the last minute due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.

3. Select the ships that meet the first 2 criteria.

 

Once you have narrowed it down to not more than 3 ships - (and this is very important)

 

hit all the reviews and read the VERY WORST ONES you can find.

As you read the WORST reviews, ask yourself 3 questions:

 

1. Are the complaints valid? You don't have to be a seasoned cruiser to know the difference between and fair and balanced review ... and some jerk with a starfish up their fanny.

2. Are these complaints applicable to you? (ie if you are a smoker, you will not care that someone complained about all the smoke in the bar)

3. If the complaints are valid and they do apply to you, can you still go and have a great (not just a good) time?

 

If you do this, you will lessen the chances of selecting the wrong ship for you.

Now someone has given you some responsible advice on cruising.

[BobBeaSea]

It is too bad parts of your cruise didn't go well for you. I was surprised about your comments on food, while I haven't sailed Carnival, all the reading on these boards indicate the food is fine. Perhaps you should post this on the Carnival board...maybe the Carnival cruisers can help you through these issues. This board is really for first timers...BEFORE their first cruise. Give cruising another try...you may find it's worth it. :)

[celbercrz333]

tjs,

We've done both Celebrity and Carnival. Our Carnival Fascination cruise was a 3 day float around the ocean. Not their fault because hurricane Jeanne was in Nassau in Sept. 2004. Ok, we wanted to meet a fellow Marylander on the ship and when we repeatedly knocked on the door, no answer. We found out by e-mail later that they had bedbugs. They went to the ship's doctor who gave them cortizone cream. They had a bad experience. We went to the casual dining room for lunch and dinner because we figured for a 3 nighter we didn't want to bring formal clothes or even long pants. We were given one slice of dessert and couldn't take it ourselves for lunch. At dinner, we could take all the leftovers we wanted. It looked like it came out of a box of Sara Lee. With Celebrity Zenith, our first cruise, we were always given good food. If we went to a buffet, we could take all the desserts we wanted. Even in the formal dining room, my husband couldn't decide on one dessert so he asked for 2. We aren't normally like this at all, just let out the belts on a vacation. Celebrity's regular food was very good. Their desserts were outstanding--all french pastries. You could bet your room steward kept your room clean and miraculously did it all when you weren't looking. Carnival had that mandatory tipping percentage added to the bill at the end of your cruise. With Celebrity at the end they gave you envelopes and you decided what your service was like. Needless to say, we tipped for a job well done.

[BobBeaSea]

It is too bad parts of your cruise didn't go well for you. I was surprised about your comments on food, while I haven't sailed Carnival, all the reading on these boards indicate the food is fine. Perhaps you should post this on the Carnival board...maybe the Carnival cruisers can help you through these issues. This board is really for first timers...BEFORE their first cruise. Give cruising another try...you may find it's worth it. :)

 

Sorry, I didn't know you had already posted on Carnival. You should get some positive help from experienced Carnival cruisers. :)

[jazz1180]

If all you depend on for your opinion of a cruise line is hype, then I guess we will never be sailed NCL. The only cruise line I have heard worse things about than Carnival is NCL.

 

Every cruise line has their ups and downs and not every cruise line is for every person. But it has nothing to do with personal opinion. It has to do with things like, do you want freestyle dining or formal? Do you want to listen to a band or karaoke? Neither is good or bad, they are just different.

 

There is a post about the H*ll Cruise on RCCL, and the "disaster cruise " on Celebrity or the how someone was "horrified" on a Radisson cruise.

 

As a seasoned cruiser, since 1982, I don't judge an entire cruise line on "someone else's opinion". Not even a lot of people's opinion. The only thing you can deduce from the OP is that they had a bad cruise on this one ship on this one particular week. period. It does not make a statement about Carnival as a whole, just like you would not find it responsible to have NCL judged by one bad cruise.

 

Now if someone wants some constructive advice on how to pick a cruise -

 

1. What kind of experience are you looking for? Party or subdued or somewhere in-between.

2. Select your ports. But be aware that these can change at the last minute due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.

3. Select the ships that meet the first 2 criteria.

 

Once you have narrowed it down to not more than 3 ships - (and this is very important)

 

hit all the reviews and read the VERY WORST ONES you can find.

As you read the WORST reviews, ask yourself 3 questions:

 

1. Are the complaints valid? You don't have to be a seasoned cruiser to know the difference between and fair and balanced review ... and some jerk with a starfish up their fanny.

2. Are these complaints applicable to you? (ie if you are a smoker, you will not care that someone complained about all the smoke in the bar)

3. If the complaints are valid and they do apply to you, can you still go and have a great (not just a good) time?

 

If you do this, you will lessen the chances of selecting the wrong ship for you.

Now someone has given you some responsible advice on cruising.

 

I;m sorry... did i offend you or something. I was merely voicing my opinion. I don't just go off of other peoples opinions when choosing a cruise, but if I have never sailed on an ANY ship before, how else am I supposed to get my information than from people who have? While I was choosing my first cruise I weighed the pros and cons of each line and decided against Carnival. many people I know personally and trust advised me not sail with them. I don't feel that I gave irresponsible advice to the poster nor do I appreciate you implying that I did. I gathered my information and made a decision accordingly.

[gangwayqueen]

Take this review with a grain of salt.The OP has posted on the Carnival boards as well.Ther are four pages of responses.There is also a new thread called "Tales of two cruises" that has comparisons from another cruiser on the same cruise that had a GREAT time even though they ran into a couple snags.It's all in the attitude you take with you.

[I_Live_2_Cruise]

I went on the Carnival Victory last summer and had a great time. Great teen program, good food, great service, fabulous pizza, and over all a lot of fun! I'm sorry that you didn't get to experience the ship the way I did!

[Nliedel]

I noticed you posted this on the Carnival Board too. I am sorry you had a bad time but posting it on multiple boards is not going to get a favorable response.

 

The rest of my response got eaten! Rats.

 

I am not sure what you expected. I find it hard to believe the food was inedible. It is not 4* but you read the boards before hand and know it is not always fabulous, despite the glowing reports in the brochures.

 

It sounds like a classic mix up on the port debarkation.

[LHP]

I;m sorry... did i offend you or something. I was merely voicing my opinion. I don't just go off of other peoples opinions when choosing a cruise, but if I have never sailed on an ANY ship before, how else am I supposed to get my information than from people who have? While I was choosing my first cruise I weighed the pros and cons of each line and decided against Carnival. many people I know personally and trust advised me not sail with them. I don't feel that I gave irresponsible advice to the poster nor do I appreciate you implying that I did. I gathered my information and made a decision accordingly.

 

Nope, you did not offend. You were simply speaking like a newbie and I thought I would share some words of cruising wisdom, so that folks get what they need to make an informed decision. Don't worry little one, you too will learn as you mature in the cruising world not to wear your heart on your shelve. But to eliminate an entire cruise line for the rest of your life based on someone's opinion (and to encourage others to do the same) is indeed irresponsible. Especially if their opinions are not based from actual experience, but (sigh) rumors.

 

Glad you were happy with your one cruise. It would indeed be a boring world if "one size fits all". As I have said earlier, I plan to hit them all!

[Ralphinsc]

My only comaplaint would be to run into someone like this on a ship. Spilled drink? Not enough food? Wasn't first in line? Damned dolphins? wah, wah, wah!!! This smacks of some spoiled brat. With people like this, it's surprising that there aren't higher numbers of those "lost" at sea. Those poor purser desk workers. They are probably still talking about the guy/lady who vehemenently complained about improper dolphin enumeration. I for one am glad that he/she may not grace a ship's fine teak decks again. The dolphin is probably relieved too.

[mctrekkie]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

[Happy ks]

I've had some of your experiences, fortunately not all on the same cruise, not all on the same cruise line.

 

I feel bad for you that things did not work out the way you wanted. I think you should try a different cruise line and cruise somewhere else. The more I read about the Caribbean, the less inclined I am to cruise there. I've been on 9 cruises so far, only more than twice on one line (RCI). Try cruising Hawaii, Alaska, the Meditteranean, the Baltics. There are so many other interesting places to cruise.

 

I know my first cruise was to the Bahamas, we stopped in Nassau, I was very disappointed in the excursion we went on, I thought Nassau was similar to a border town close to where I live (Tijuana on the border of California). The excursion was a "glass bottom boat", well, it should have said "highly scratched plexiglass that you cannot see through" plus, the only fish we saw looked like barracuda, or trout, or something that was gray, no color at all.

 

My husband, fortunately, had been on a couple of cruises before we were together, so he told me what to expect with the food. For some reason, many people think it is going to be gourmet every night, it is more akin to wedding banquet. Sometimes it's better than others, but overall uninspiring. I have to wholeheartedly agree with you regarding the desserts and we only eat at the buffet if we have no other choice. But, bottom line, if I don't have to shop for it, cook it, serve it, clean up the mess, I'll find something to my liking!

 

Fortunately, we found so much we did enjoy about cruising, the main thing being on the ocean. We have figured out what we want from a cruise and what is to be avoided. I can pretty much read about excursions now and know if I would like to experience it or not. We pretty much know that, although somewhat different in onboard experience, that almost all cruiseline operate the same.

 

You may be happier on a different line, you may just be the type of person that just doesn't like cruising. That's OK, it's not for everyone.

[Lightsluvr]

Folks like the OP google in "cruise complaint" (or something similar) and guess where they wind up...right here!

 

This is a duplicate post to one found on the Carnival board...can't imagine how it has survived...

 

LL

[Rena921]

Chair saving is NOT unique to Carnival, it is EVERYWHERE!!!!!:eek: Just got off RCI Jewel of the Seas, never an empty chair, just towels and books sunbathing. They did nothing to stop it either other than signs postered around the deck, but people just don't care.

 

 

NO the hype about Carnival is not true....We loved out Carnival cruise, booked another to Alaska. The OP seems to be a immature troublemaker that has posted to several threads. Read more about Carnival and you will see that people like the OP are just neurotic.

[Happy ks]

Or, perhaps someones expectations are just different from reality.

 

This site is open to all, the complainers as well as the cruise addicts (me). I don't think that criticizing the OP will help anyone. I'm sure they came to vent, but also stated they wanted to try a different cruise line.

 

I'm very sorry to add, I've only cruised once with Carnival and I have no plans to cruise with them in the future. There are too many other cruise lines with nicer ships, I like a nicer ambience and service than Carnival provides. Before anyone gets their britches in a wad about that, I think Carnival is doing a great job, many people like their product and it's a good thing that we have choices.

 

My husband and I have plans to cruise as many lines as we can before our time is over.

[barbeehd]

I also have chosen never to cruise Carnival again, although my trip wasn't nearly as bad as your experience. It's your right to say whatever you want to.

[Seago2]

I think Carnival is excellent if you are traveling with kids. If you are just a couple of adults, you are 99% less likely to be waiting in line for a ride at Disney, eating at Chuckie Cheese, or doing all of the other things that we do with kids. Kids love Carnival. Happy kids make for a better cruise for the parents. If you have no kids with you then maybe you SHOULD sail NCL or one of the other lines.

 

I had a very bad tender experience on the Elation last summer. Total chaos. The worst part was this guy with a NY accent absolutely freaking out on the poor Romanian girl handing out the tickets. He increased the tension in the room a hundredfold. I can't understand how you can be on vacation for five days and still be wound that tight- as though you are hailing a cab to get to a job interview during a transit strike.

 

I think that the mass market lines are pretty much all the same. The major variables are the length of the cruise and the port of departure. A 7 day cruise is going to have far fewer partiers than a 5 day. And if you don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of Texans and Arkansans don't cruise out of Galveston. I saw BIBLES and towels saving chairs.

 

Okay, pray for me- I'm sailing out of NEW YORK in two weeks! :eek:

[Bramcruiser]

I think Carnival is excellent if you are traveling with kids. ..... If you have no kids with you then maybe you SHOULD sail NCL or one of the other lines.

........I think that the mass market lines are pretty much all the same. The major variables are the length of the cruise and the port of departure.

Okay, pray for me- I'm sailing out of NEW YORK in two weeks! :eek:

 

Its all a matter of perspectives and expectations. I have travelled with Carnival before and, although I think there are finer, more-upscale lines out there, I wouldn't hesitate to go with them again if there was a price and iteniary that suited my purposes. Heck, I almost booked them this year until I found another cruise I really, really wanted to do that came up at a price that was one in a million. Its like going to the Holiday Inn and being upset that its not the Hilton.

 

To me a legitimate horror story would involve bad food, rude service, a murder or sinking of the ship. Everything else is likely subjective and you'll hear different reactions all on the same cruise. I have no problem with people complaining and venting their frustrations but I would prefer that complaints are not so overly dramatic either. Same goes for some of the reactions to the complaints.

 

I don't have kids and the two adults being on Carnival was never a problem for me. Still if you want to avoid a bunch of rugrats running around in what some perceive as the great vacation ruiner then avoid cruising during peak seasons and/or popular family destinations and family friendly lines.

 

Yeah, basically I agree with the mass market line comment. The differences lie within the decor and services but the problems and successes are pretty much the same from Carnival to Cunard. Someone's complaining about not getting the dining room seating they requested on the QM2 over on the Cunard site. Well, hey, that happens everywhere.

 

New York? Kewl! Being a northerner (okay, I admit it - a Canadian) I feel a lot more comfortable sailing out of a northern port. Yet we know the majority of sailings are out of the south. I love NYC too!:) Yet, I am aware of those who despise the place. So its nice to have variety in that regards.

 

I learned a long time ago you can never satisfy 100% of the people all the time!

[Nliedel]

I think Carnival is excellent if you are traveling with kids. If you are just a couple of adults, you are 99% less likely to be waiting in line for a ride at Disney, eating at Chuckie Cheese, or doing all of the other things that we do with kids. Kids love Carnival. Happy kids make for a better cruise for the parents. If you have no kids with you then maybe you SHOULD sail NCL or one of the other lines.

 

!

 

Except that kids also love RCI and NCL too as do parents. Carnival is no more attractive to kids then any other mainstream line.