Welcome to Carnival Cruise Lines

[ceeceeDee]

10 hours ago, dazadelaide said:

We did a PNG cruise in 2019 on P&O and it was one of the best cruises we have ever done.

We enjoy P&O as they are not pretentious in any way.

You get what you pay for a no frills cheap holiday.

Daz

That about sums it up, Daz. In our case a cheap getaway from our local port.

[ceeceeDee]

On 8/9/2024 at 8:37 PM, tim_london0 said:

Sorry to reopen this

 

but don't people target destinations rather than ships?

 

I'm personally looking for a cruise around PNG, and so far the choice seems to be P&O or P&O (or a ridiculously expensive option with Silver Cloud).

 

If people really have this downer on specify shipping lines, where is it that I can upgrade to a better cruise option and still visit my desired destination? (that's rhetorical BTW)

Sometimes people target ships. We toddled off to Miami to try Symphony of the Seas in 2019 (at the time the biggest cruise ship in the world) simply because it was the only opportunity to try a mega ship (and we got a good deal). Not the only reason, the Caribbean was also an attraction but we wanted to experience the mega ship phenomenon.

[iandeborah]

So, as P&O becomes Carnival early 2025, do we wait to start Roll Calls when the ship name shows up under Cruise Critic Carnival roll calls. We're booked on a later 2025 cruise and it will be Carnival Pacific Adventure but of course the ship name is still currently under P&O.

[bennybear]

Do Canadians ever book P and O.  Hard to find info from Canada for our son and friends. 

[Gwendy]

Generally only Australians looking for cheap cruises leaving from close to home.  Think Carnival cruise line and then go down a few rungs.

[ceeceeDee]

7 hours ago, Gwendy said:

Generally only Australians looking for cheap cruises leaving from close to home.  Think Carnival cruise line and then go down a few rungs.

Well, it is a budget cruise line and the ships are older (20+ years) but providing you are not expecting RCI style bells and whistles, they are great for an affordable holiday and we've always had a good time on P&O by keeping our expectations realistic and taking a good time with us.

[Gwendy]

1 hour ago, ceeceeDee said:

Well, it is a budget cruise line and the ships are older (20+ years) but providing you are not expecting RCI style bells and whistles, they are great for an affordable holiday and we've always had a good time on P&O by keeping our expectations realistic and taking a good time with us.

Don’t get me wrong I cruise frequently on Encounter.  Close to home and  generally good prices.  I stay clear of the Encounter hotel or “drunk bar”, after about 8 pm. lol   Last few cruises I have found the food quality has fallen.  Even Angelo’s which has always been my favourite.

[ceeceeDee]

10 hours ago, Gwendy said:

Don’t get me wrong I cruise frequently on Encounter.  Close to home and  generally good prices.  I stay clear of the Encounter hotel or “drunk bar”, after about 8 pm. lol   Last few cruises I have found the food quality has fallen.  Even Angelo’s which has always been my favourite.

Yep, the only time we set foot in the Encounter pub was mustering there prior to disembarkation! It is somewhat 'lively' of a night. Unfortunately we had to pass it to get to our favourite bar, The Blue Room and the late night karaoke belting out from the pub was positively cringe worthy most of the time.😮 Think lovesick cats, long time lonesome dogs and mix with wailing coyotes all electronically amplified and you'll have some idea. To be fair I did hear a couple of half decent vocalists but the vast majority just made me want to pass by as quickly as possible to the serenity of the The Blue Room.😂

Sorry to hear that the food quality has fallen on Encounter. It was quite good when we sailed on her June last year. Hopefully, they might pick up their game before our next cruise later this year.

[Gwendy]

2 hours ago, ceeceeDee said:

Yep, the only time we set foot in the Encounter pub was mustering there prior to disembarkation! It is somewhat 'lively' of a night. Unfortunately we had to pass it to get to our favourite bar, The Blue Room and the late night karaoke belting out from the pub was positively cringe worthy most of the time.😮 Think lovesick cats, long time lonesome dogs and mix with wailing coyotes all electronically amplified and you'll have some idea. To be fair I did hear a couple of half decent vocalists but the vast majority just made me want to pass by as quickly as possible to the serenity of the The Blue Room.😂

Sorry to hear that the food quality has fallen on Encounter. It was quite good when we sailed on her June last year. Hopefully, they might pick up their game before our next cruise later this year.

Last cruise was August, going again in October.  Not sure there’s much interest in maintaining standards with the change to Carnival next year.  Daughter is going just after changeover so will be interested to see if there is a difference.

[ceeceeDee]

20 hours ago, Gwendy said:

Last cruise was August, going again in October.  Not sure there’s much interest in maintaining standards with the change to Carnival next year.  Daughter is going just after changeover so will be interested to see if there is a difference.

Actually, that was my first thought too (re standards). Admin has also slipped a bit in my opinion. There have been a few (admittedly very minor) stuff ups/discrepancies with our booking (we booked direct with P&O) which have been attended to promptly. It is just as well I keep an eye on things and go through every bit of paperwork when it arrives. I might be accused of nitpicking, but for instance we booked a certain category and the booking paperwork reflected that but the paperwork also said we upgraded from a lower sub category which was definitely not the case. Didn't affect our cabin but I prefer accuracy. I also had it in the back of my mind that the universe might be kind and grant us an upgrade (faint hope but I'm an optimist) and I know they will only upgrade you once so we would be out of the running if our paperwork showed an upgrade.

[dazadelaide]

Never got round to cruising on Encounter but have done many Explorer and 2 on Adventure and few on Eden before covid.

We find that the "pubs" are where the music we most like to listen to play there so we go there but rarely stay to the end due to the increasing rowdiness as the night goes on due to excessive alcohol consumption.

We then usually head to the blue room for a more relaxing time.

Next and last P&O cruise on Explorer is in Dec our last cruise from our hometown Adelaide sadly.

So far not had any problems re dropping standards but worried about what awaits us on boarding.

Daz