Haven’t cruises in years,,,

[bluekrush]

I was thinking of taking a cruise again soon but as I’m reading on the carnival site I see all these restaurants for additional charges. Things like the sushi express that used to be free. Please don’t tell me cruises have started to nickel and dime people. Is it as bad as it sounds?  I remember always one of two specialty restaurants charged extra but  they were higher quality food. 
 

can you still order as many dishes as you want in the diningroom or get steak off menu?  Are they charging for activities too now?  

[hurricane0226]

1 hour ago, bluekrush said:

I was thinking of taking a cruise again soon but as I’m reading on the carnival site I see all these restaurants for additional charges. Things like the sushi express that used to be free. Please don’t tell me cruises have started to nickel and dime people. Is it as bad as it sounds?  I remember always one of two specialty restaurants charged extra but  they were higher quality food. 
 

can you still order as many dishes as you want in the diningroom or get steak off menu?  Are they charging for activities too now?  

They are nickel and diming people now. You can order two main dishes in the MDR, but if you

order a third, you will be charged.  

[mz-s]

Yes they still have a steak every night in the MDR, but it's a strip loin - very thin, difficult to accurately cook, and can be very gristly. 

 

The upcharges probably aren't as bad as you are thinking. But they are everywhere. It's still very possible to walk off the ship with a $0 balance on your account though.

[sparks1093]

There are extra charges, for sure, but it's easy enough to avoid. You may order a steakhouse item in the MDR for $20 if you choose, or not. You may order a third entrée for $5ish, or not. Suishi is an extra charge that you can choose to incur (no idea what it costs, not interested in eating bait). There is a seafood corner of the buffet where you can order market price seafood, or not (I have thought about clam chowder in a bread bowl but haven't pulled the trigger on that yet). Some of the newer ships do have more dining venues that incur a charge (such as Emeril's which is included during the day but an upcharge at night, if memory serves correctly). No charge for entertainment, yet. Many cruise lines are finding more ways to separate a cruiser from their dollars, not just Carnival.  

[asalligo]

Yes, I am afraid that if it has been more than five years since you cruised, that you will find it a much more nickel and diming experience. The Quality of the food in the MDR and Buffet has dropped considerably and some items that once were free are an upcharge now. Room service is almost completely a for fee menu now. Depending on the ship, there will be two or maybe three paid restaurants. You can still enjoy cruising, but it is not what it once was. 

 

[asalligo]

Just now, sparks1093 said:

 No charge for entertainment, yet. Many cruise lines are finding more ways to separate a cruiser from their dollars, not just Carnival.  

This still stands true for me. Every other line I have cruised still feels more nickel and dime than Carnival to me. RCCL felt like everything was a fee and MSC even worse. 

[sparks1093]

1 minute ago, asalligo said:

The Quality of the food in the MDR and Buffet has dropped considerably 

 

Entirely subjective. I have noticed no decline in the quality of the food. Changes in what is offered, sure, but the quality is still what we remember it to be.

[Colorado Beach Bum]

18 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Suishi is an extra charge that you can choose to incur (no idea what it costs, not interested in eating bait

Menu has many items besides “bait”.  I’m allergic to fish/seafood and finds many steak and or chicken items that are very good and prices are pretty cheap. 

19 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Emeril's which is included during the day but an upcharge at night, if memory serves correctly

Emerils is never free.  Food is good and like sushi, prices are not expensive. 

[sparks1093]

48 minutes ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

Menu has many items besides “bait”.  I’m allergic to fish/seafood and finds many steak and or chicken items that are very good and prices are pretty cheap. 

Emerils is never free.  Food is good and like sushi, prices are not expensive. 

They have chicken and steak in the suishi place? I have never looked at the menu because DW has a seafood allergy. I thought I had read that Emeril's was free at some point, maybe morning, but in any event if it is a charge we'll probably pass. Too much free food to enjoy elsewhere. (We didn't even try the steakhouse until our 5th cruise.)

[starstruck05]

It's not actually nickel and diming. The extra pay has always been there. I could be wrong be Sushi used to only be free at lunch time, not all day. You can 100% cruise without eating at any upcharge venue. I love the steakhouse and seafood shack so I budget to pay for those things but I'll be perfect fine with the dining room, buffet, deli, guys, pizza and Blue Iguana for free. I've done cruises were my bill at the end is $0 because I didn't do anything extra (pre-paid gratuities). Your experience on the ship is what YOU choose to spend money on as extra. Other cruiselines have WAY less free options than Carnival. The Sushi is less than $10 a roll which is cheaper than at home restaurants.  The steakhouse is $49 a person now which is also way cheaper than I pay to any local steak house. 

[Guest BasicSailor]

14 minutes ago, starstruck05 said:

I could be wrong be Sushi used to only be free at lunch time, not all day

Sushi use to be free period, before some hat figured out there should be a dollar sign attached.

[cacruisin]

I do remember sushi being free but I feel like it was only like a "happy hour" in the evening and there were only like 4 options each night.  I'm a sushi snob so I haven't ever tried the rolls on Carnival but I do agree the prices seem fair.

[CRUZBUDS]

I take exception to the statement that "extra pay has always been there."  You have to be a senior citizen like us, who started cruising in the 80's.  There were no extra charge food options, you could bring as much liquor aboard as you'd like. You could also buy a bottle at the shop for about the same price as a CA grocery store.  The food and service was of a quality, that no extra charge venues were needed.  The other side of the coin was that cruises were dramatically more expensive.

 

Our first Carnival cruise was in 1987, we paid $784 each for an outside cabin on the Tropical.  That is equal to over $2100 dollars today for a seven day cruise.  A balcony wasn't an option back then, I think the Tropical had four very small balcony cabins.

 

The times have certainly changed, much for the better an some, not so much  😉  

 

PS - drinks were cheap in the bars   

[carrieluvsgreg]

The "free" sushi that people are talking about was served on promenade mid afternoon on most of the ships we sailed on and it was available for a short period of time each day... The sushi restaurant on some ships now are totally different.  The do offer several rolls and other small plate options and are pretty inexpensive compared to sushi prices at home. 

 

Most ships have had at least a steakhouse for years available for an extra fee.  There are now Asian, BBQ, Italian, seafood and more available on some ships available for an upcharge.  Pig and anchor is included at lunch on sea days, the pasta bar (in the Italian restaurant) is included on sea days.  Some ships have a small salad bar in the serenity area that is also included on sea days.  Of course the MDR is included (unless you order 3 meals or an option with an upcharge) Lido buffet is included as well as the deli and pizza, Guy's burgers, the blue iguana taco/burrito place also included with fare.  Seaday brunch is included in the MDR as long as you don't go the the Dr. Seusse themed one. 

You won't go hungry... even with just included options.

 

[May1cruiser]

Really believe there is more than enough free food options even on the smallest ships. Most nights, the buffet dinner menu is similar to MDR. You could basically get all the food you want, take it to your room and spend little time with crowds or waiting. We typically do not pay for any meals during the cruise and have been satisfied with options. Yes, portions are smaller, and we perceive quality has declined slightly. 

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, CRUZBUDS said:

 

 

Our first Carnival cruise was in 1987, we paid $784 each for an outside cabin on the Tropical.  That is equal to over $2100 dollars today for a seven day cruise.  A balcony wasn't an option back then, I think the Tropical had four very small balcony cabins.

 

 

This.  I don't know why people don't talk about this more. 

 

I bet that the same people who gripe about the cutbacks and the upcharges would lose their minds if Carnival said, "We're bringing back everything you miss about the good old days - but we are going to raise our prices 250%.  Also, no more specialty restaurants, no more water parks, and no more balconies".

 

[carrieluvsgreg]

1 hour ago, CRUZBUDS said:

I take exception to the statement that "extra pay has always been there."  You have to be a senior citizen like us, who started cruising in the 80's.  There were no extra charge food options, you could bring as much liquor aboard as you'd like. You could also buy a bottle at the shop for about the same price as a CA grocery store.  The food and service was of a quality, that no extra charge venues were needed.  The other side of the coin was that cruises were dramatically more expensive.

 

Our first Carnival cruise was in 1987, we paid $784 each for an outside cabin on the Tropical.  That is equal to over $2100 dollars today for a seven day cruise.  A balcony wasn't an option back then, I think the Tropical had four very small balcony cabins.

 

The times have certainly changed, much for the better an some, not so much  😉  

 

PS - drinks were cheap in the bars   

When you consider you paid $2100 for a 7 day cruise with no balcony and we have a 7 day spa balcony booked on the Panorama that leaves next month with two free Cheers packages for $2400...I think I will take today's cruise over 1987....

[txgranny]

I love the sushi restaurant and Jijis, the Italian and steakhouse, I budget for all. Can't wait for Jubilee where I'll try Rudi seafood, Emeril restaurant and whatever else is new! 

[Colorado Beach Bum]

9 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

They have chicken and steak in the suishi place? I have never looked at the menu because DW has a seafood allergy. I thought I had read that Emeril's was free at some point, maybe morning, but in any event if it is a charge we'll probably pass. Too much free food to enjoy elsewhere. (We didn't even try the steakhouse until our 5th cruise.)

Yes. And the non seafood/fish items are really good.  They do a great job with my allergy.  It’s a go to place for us for dinner now. 

[CruizinSusan70]

14 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

They have chicken and steak in the suishi place? I have never looked at the menu because DW has a seafood allergy. I thought I had read that Emeril's was free at some point, maybe morning, but in any event if it is a charge we'll probably pass. Too much free food to enjoy elsewhere. (We didn't even try the steakhouse until our 5th cruise.)

Emeril's has never been free.  No reason at all to pass on the beignets for five dollars.

[hard_eight]

I don't mind paying extra for better food. The regular dining options are suitable for us, especially on the newer class of ships. Except for after 11pm or whatever..its room service or bust. I do hate being limited on the number of drinks I can consume and making the now small amount of purchasable liquor completely unaffordable. Ran my first rum runners last cruise, will again.

[bluekrush]

13 hours ago, staceyglow said:

This.  I don't know why people don't talk about this more. 

 

I bet that the same people who gripe about the cutbacks and the upcharges would lose their minds if Carnival said, "We're bringing back everything you miss about the good old days - but we are going to raise our prices 250%.  Also, no more specialty restaurants, no more water parks, and no more balconies".

 

My first cruise was around 2005. It was about 350 each. My husband likes the dark inner rooms but balconies and windows were available. There was lido and MDR, pizza open all the time, a sandwich place, sushi in the afternoons next to a coffee place. Everything was free except the coffee place I mentioned. There was also tea service every days with tea sandwiches and treats. All free. You could order as much of anything that you wanted too. There were two premium restaurants but I never bothered because the food was really good. We only paid for alcohol and gambling and a couple lattes the whole cruise. It’s was pretty much all inclusive. My last cruise was around 2015?  Everything was still free. But the food quality was worse in the MDR particularly the high end dishes like the steaks and seafood. Room service was also free on both cruises. Mostly sandwiches, chips and desserts. Nothing hot. 
 

I expect a prices fo go up on tickets obviously. I also always wondered when they were going to end the multiple meals. Two things I can see but some people would order five dishes. Lol. Too much. But I still expected cruises to be an all inclusive experience. I hate being nickel and dimed. I just want to pay and not have to think about the bill during the cruise lol. 
 

 

[bluekrush]

2 hours ago, hard_eight said:

I don't mind paying extra for better food. The regular dining options are suitable for us, especially on the newer class of ships. Except for after 11pm or whatever..its room service or bust. I do hate being limited on the number of drinks I can consume and making the now small amount of purchasable liquor completely unaffordable. Ran my first rum runners last cruise, will again.

They limit your alcoholic drinks?

the food quality in the MDRused to be very good though back in the day. No need to pay extra. 

[CruizinSusan70]

23 minutes ago, bluekrush said:

They limit your alcoholic drinks?

15 per day per person, but there are ways around it for those that need to consume more.

[sparks1093]

11 hours ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

Yes. And the non seafood/fish items are really good.  They do a great job with my allergy.  It’s a go to place for us for dinner now. 

Thanks for the info, never even looked at the menu.