back from 1st cruise, last cruise!

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

For my own reason I won't be sailing Carnival again, but I absolutely agree with those above who say the complaints the OP had could happen on any ship, even five star ships.

 

As for losing two pounds...woo, Daddy! I'd be tickled to death to lose two pounds on a cruise.

 

And the bad pizza...yeah, Carnival's twenty-four hour pizza has a bad, no, REALLY BAD crust, (and the pizza guy was a grouch) but my Hubby and I were so happy to eat a slice at midnight and feel naughty and rebellious blowing our rigid diets.

 

No cruise is perfect. Maybe that one dolphin was cuter and more fun and more playful than ten dolphins. You just never know about life. Sometimes it's the perceived disappointments that, in retrospect, are the highlights of your trip because you can laugh about them later and learn from them or for some inexplicable reason the memory is a fond one in retrospect.

 

A final caveat: A cruise ship is a unique kind of social interaction. Because of the large number of people in a small space who must abide by special rules, restrictions and expectations, those who are used to getting whatever they want, when they want it, exactly the way they want it will surely face frustration just as the OP did. Cruising may not be an ideal environemnt for such people.

[ogopogo]

We've cruised Carnival once (Destiny) and have just recently booked number two (Liberty) and I wouldn't go any other way. Carnival was wonderful the first time we cruised with it and I'm possitive the second time will be just as wonderful. Maybe you guys just aren't meant to cruise...you should try an all inclusive next time.

[poison7fl]

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!

 

I was on the Victory in September '05, and had a wonderful time too, so did the rest of our party of 10.

 

OP sounds like a habitual complainer and nothing, or no cruise could make him happy.

[mctrekkie]

It survived because controversy is the norm over here. So take every post with a grain of salt.

[metrowon]

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.

People are on the QUEEN MARY 2, owned buy Carnival, and putting up with worse stuff! Sorry, try DCL next time. Metrowon

[metrowon]

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!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPSSSSSSSSS! Metrowon

[jbsvette]

My wife and I were on the Carnival Elation for 4 days from Galveston to Playa Del Carmen..... It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! We will cruise Carnival again for sure... Was everything Perfect.. ??? No... But all in all it was a Great experience and the staff was unbelievably friendly.. I read somewhere that a cruise is only as enjoyable as you make it.. and that is true... Bur I will say, for the $$$$ this cruise was worth it.. If you are looking to be treated like a king for 7 days, this is not for you... Plan on paying 2-3 times as much.. If you are looking to have a relaxing good time, good food on a beautiful ship at an affordable cost.. look into the Elation ...

[musicmansmom]

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.

 

this exact post ( wording and descriptions ) has been posted on other sites with a different name :mad: . it happens occasionally that someone will make a post like this one just to start a '' flaming ''. then they set back and giggle as we loyal carnival cruisers reply to it.

 

ignore this reveiw. the victory is nothing like he describes it. i cant wait to board her in sept :)

 

music

[gmc1]

I have been on Celebrity and Carnival and had equally great times on both. The Carnival was a younger crowd with more families/children, but I never saw any "drunks" or disruptive actions by anyone. The Celebrity crowd was a little more "mature" and subdued, and a little more of an "upscale" feel to it.

I am booked on a Carnival Valor cruise this June and may try Princess this winter.

[Ralphinsc]

Seems like this person was terribly mis-informed on the tendering process. When the Port talk said excursions, they obviously meant Carnival excursions purchased through the ship. None of the major lines are going to go out of their way to accomodate a privately-booked excursion at an inconvenience to their internally-booked excursion passengers. This is a simple and commonly known fact of life in the cruise world. Perhaps you should of done a little more research here. My suggestion to you in the future would be to stay on the land-based vacations. I'm sure you'll have plenty of problems there too with your impossible expectations. But at least then I wouldn't have to hear you whine about them like the poor people of the cruise you so recently departed from. Good day.

[Happy ks]

Well, Janet19, I've cruised both Carnival and NCL in the past and have another NCL cruise booked, but have no plans to sail with Carnival again. I never say never, but I doubt I could get my husband to ever go on Carnival again.

 

The NCL ship was, hands down, far nicer than the C ship, although it is not fair to compare, the C ship was older, the NCL ship fairly new when I cruised it.

 

But, I don't believe in trashing any cruise line, Carnival obviously puts out what many people think is a good product, or they would no longer be in business.

 

So, before making blanket statements such as yours, you need to investigate not just the line, but the ship as well.

 

We did find Carnival food to be better than what we ate on NCL, but NCL was great in their specialty restaurants. Carnivals cabins were larger, but not nearly as well appointed as the NCL ship.

 

We just aren't not the glitz and neon of Carnival, we probably wouldn't like the larger RCI vessels either, although we love their smaller ships. We usually like a more upscale environment, but we've hardly had a cruise we didn't like at all. Although there were some things I did like about C, I was more than ready to get off the ship and never return.

 

There are so many lines and different ships among those lines, you just cannot judge a whole line with one ship. Or, one cruise opinion.

[mrsfuzzmo]

I think, as most of us past cruisers will attest, that new cruisers MUST know that going on a cruise, the most important rule of cruising is ......You have to go with the flow. It is understood by veteran cruisers, and should be explained to first timers, that:

1. You may possibly miss a port. It just happens, usually due to weather, sometimes due to mechanical problems or political unrest. You deal with it and have a great time with one of the million of things to do onboard, or enjoy the impromptu "new" port you are sent to.

2. The food is made in mass quantities and not everything will be to your liking. You are more than welcome to send it back and try something else. There are so many options aboard that it is almost impossible to not find ANYTHING to eat.

3. For a first timer...Excursions should always be booked through the cruise line. Once you've cruised once or twice, feel free to go off and book something on your own, but know that the cruise line is NOT responsible to the tours, nor are they responsible for getting you to your tours on time, or waiting for you if you are late. Also know that the cruise lines do much business with these tour companies, and if they get complaints, they drop them. The only drawback is that they may be more crowded or slower paced than a private company.

4. You get more Bees with Honey than with Vinegar. Don't go screaming to a staff member. Talk to them and state your problem in a civilized and adult manor and generally your will have great service. These staffers work many many long hours and an irate customer will not help matters.

5. Cruises carry from 500 to 3500 passengers from all points of the globe and not everyone will have the same customs, dress, and attitudes as you.

 

Key to enjoying your cruise....ANY CRUISE, any line, anytime of year, any itinerary, any price.....GO WITH THE FLOW! Know nothing will be perfect, and you know you'll have a great time.

 

I've been on 13 cruises so far, NCL, Princess, Carnival, RCI, Disney, Windjammer, and probably a few more I can't think of right now. They all had their great points and very few bad. Some ships were cleaner than others, some had better staff, some had better food, some had better entertainment, some better itineraries. The one thing I can say is we had a FABULOUS time on each and every cruise and cannot wait for our next one!

 

Relax, let the minor problems go by the wayside, enjoy the great things and go with the flow!!

 

Mrsfuzzmo

[Wantin2cruz]

I posted a message on first time cruisers and nobody has responded. So...I thought I would try this thread. I can't believe how many of you are lifers at this looking at your "cruise history". I want to take my first to Eastern Carribbean in October (special 40th b'dy for Friend) What do you all think of cruizn in October in E. Carib.......

 

P.S. Everyone is entitled to own opinion but, initial message did strike as super winey!

[benjidog]

I've only cruised once, so I'm no expert. But I will just remind you that October is hurricane season. Just be prepared to go with the flow if a storm changes your plans. Everyone isn't willing to be flexible, so they ruin their own vacations. And remember that you hear about the cruises that hurricanes disrupt, but you don't hear about the many that go smoothly during hurricane season.

[Wantin2cruz]

Thanks! I know Oct is still in season but, it seems most fall in July/Aug/Sep and I noticed alot of people having gone on October cruises. If we move to November will it make a difference? I guess there are no guarantees. If we make rez's for Oct and it get's cancelled due to weather what (realistically) happens?

[lvtotrvl1]

In posts prior to this posters cruise, he specifically questioned whether to book tours through CCL or independent. His replies were to book through the cruiseline...He did not listen. He also mentioned that his significant other was very nervous about things ie...phone service at sea...and he needed to calm her.....

Bottom line...he repeated over and over he is a new cruiser....not sure if he was really listening to the answers he was receiving. Don't think they would be happy on any cruise line...