Back to RCL for good!!!!!

[PhoenixCruiser]

I also wonder about the nickel-and-diming comment. I have cruised Carnival, and I am about to cruise RCI for the first time, so I will be able to compare soon.

 

Thinking about it, the only "extras" I paid for on Carnival were specialty coffee/esperesso/etc. (I could order it in the dining room for free, but if I wanted it outside the dining room you had to pay, or you could get the "blah" coffee from the buffet), alcohol (obviously you pay for this on all lines), Bingo, casino (again, pay for this on all lines)... where else do they nickel and dime you?

 

Some of the extras you have to pay for include the specialty restaurants, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Johnny Rockets, golf simulator, real orange juice, photos, soda, bottle water, specialty coffee -- nobody forces you to purchase these items :D

 

###

[clearwaters]

and they're not going to 'nickle & dime' on services they don't even offer.

 

They also offer espresso & cappa at no charge in the dining room, morning to night.

 

 

 

"What I mean by nickel and dime is, for example, when we booked our RCL cruise (our first cruise was on the Pride in 2006) we just KNEW the rock climbing wall, ice skating and minature golf were available for a fee.:eek: Turns out they are free on RCL.

 

Everything extra like that had a cost on Carnival... that's what I meant by nickel and dime. :)

 

**********************************************************************

 

Key phrase. "Like that." I never said Carnival did have those amenities. What I did say was EVERYTHING extra (that I knew of) on the Pride carried a fee. No biggie. :rolleyes:

[dirtgirl]

I did try the Pride too, and although I had a good time, at times I was bored. There just wasn't enough to do that interests me. I didn't really like the decor, either, but that won't make or break a cruise for me. The staff was not as friendly, and that IS important to me.;)

[clearwaters]

Some of the extras you have to pay for include the specialty restaurants, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Johnny Rockets, golf simulator, real orange juice, photos, soda, bottle water, specialty coffee -- nobody forces you to purchase these items :D

 

###

 

PaddleAddict has a good point, IMHO. The Pride didn't offer a whole lot of diversions. I don't even think there was a movie run on our cruise. The items you and PaddleAddict mention are heavily food-oriented. I was thinking more of activities...but there weren't any that could compare with the free activities on RCL...I never thought of it this way. The Pride was lacking on activities...

[dirtgirl]

PaddleAddict has a good point, IMHO. The Pride didn't offer a whole lot of diversions. I don't even think there was a movie run on our cruise. The items you and PaddleAddict mention are heavily food-oriented. I was thinking more of activities...but there weren't any that could compare with the free activities on RCL...I never thought of it this way. The Pride was lacking on activities...

 

 

You got it! That is why I was bored. I am an active person.

[clearwaters]

I also wonder about the nickel-and-diming comment. I have cruised Carnival, and I am about to cruise RCI for the first time, so I will be able to compare soon.

 

Thinking about it, the only "extras" I paid for on Carnival were specialty coffee/esperesso/etc. (I could order it in the dining room for free, but if I wanted it outside the dining room you had to pay, or you could get the "blah" coffee from the buffet), alcohol (obviously you pay for this on all lines), Bingo, casino (again, pay for this on all lines)... where else do they nickel and dime you?

You are right. The Pride didn't OFFER anything special...The offerings on the Pride were so sparse I guess we're really talking about pennies and wooden nickels!

[clearwaters]

You got it! That is why I was bored. I am an active person.

 

Yep. That's it.

[Jtd724]

Welcome back to where the flavor is ;)

[crisndeefromde]

I'll just mention the TOP one. Although there were several. (I got my thread removed when I told this on the Carnival Boards!)

 

We went on this cruise with another couple for my fiance's birthday. I ordered a cake to be delivered at the dinner table the night of his birthday. (The cake was ordered before hand through the Bon Voyage dept.)

 

When I brought it to the waiter's attention, he went to the asst. maitr'd and told her we were expecting a cake. She CAME OVER TO OUR TABLE OF 4 and said "your waiter said something about a cake".....this is supposed to be a surprise!!!!!

 

They were showing no record of my ordering a cake. Anyway, insult was added to injury the way the whole thing was handled.

 

When I got home (last Sunday), I called the Carnival office, explained what happened, and canceled my charges through my bank. Carnival did graciously offer to give me an "onboard credit on a future cruise". Won't do me any good, because I will not cruise Carnival again. This is not the first time I have encountered rudeness on that cruiseline. Maybe this sounds petty to some of you, but this whole cruise was planned for his birthday. He had never cruised Carnival, and really does not want to again after he saw how they treated me about his cake.

 

Cheaper or not, they won't get my business anymore.

 

Oh I understand....I love my coconut cookies on the Explorer. When we were asked by family to go with them on the Freedom (carnival) last month as they were doing the grand ole opry event, I was shocked to see that you had to pay for a small cookie at a dollar even and also a dollar for a donut. charges for coffee at the coffee place near the casino and not a latte either. Oh and to the carnival bingo lovers.....we always hear the carnival faithfuls complaining about the price of bingo on the explorer. Hmmmn I would much rather pay my 35 with bingo dog and play 6 games than 20 for one game.

 

This is our opinion.

[matj2000]

I'll just mention the TOP one. Although there were several. (I got my thread removed when I told this on the Carnival Boards!)

 

We went on this cruise with another couple for my fiance's birthday. I ordered a cake to be delivered at the dinner table the night of his birthday. (The cake was ordered before hand through the Bon Voyage dept.)

 

When I brought it to the waiter's attention, he went to the asst. maitr'd and told her we were expecting a cake. She CAME OVER TO OUR TABLE OF 4 and said "your waiter said something about a cake".....this is supposed to be a surprise!!!!!

 

They were showing no record of my ordering a cake. Anyway, insult was added to injury the way the whole thing was handled.

 

When I got home (last Sunday), I called the Carnival office, explained what happened, and canceled my charges through my bank. Carnival did graciously offer to give me an "onboard credit on a future cruise". Won't do me any good, because I will not cruise Carnival again. This is not the first time I have encountered rudeness on that cruiseline. Maybe this sounds petty to some of you, but this whole cruise was planned for his birthday. He had never cruised Carnival, and really does not want to again after he saw how they treated me about his cake.

 

Cheaper or not, they won't get my business anymore.

 

 

 

One stupid cake ruined your 7 day cruise........... I would hate to see if the waiter accidently spilled milk on you. You probably would have jumped overboard..

 

s

[TEXASMUNK]

#1

This thread takes the cake!

 

#2

Seems like a bunch of Carnivor cadets followed the OP over to be sure to get their point accross. (I used small words so the Carnivor folks would understand)

[matj2000]

"What I mean by nickel and dime is, for example, when we booked our RCL cruise (our first cruise was on the Pride in 2006) we just KNEW the rock climbing wall, ice skating and minature golf were available for a fee.:eek: Turns out they are free on RCL.

 

Everything extra like that had a cost on Carnival... that's what I meant by nickel and dime. :)

 

**********************************************************************

 

Key phrase. "Like that." I never said Carnival did have those amenities. What I did say was EVERYTHING extra (that I knew of) on the Pride carried a fee. No biggie. :rolleyes:

 

 

Still trying to figure this one out. Can anyone else understand it?

[Jtd724]

Still trying to figure this one out. Can anyone else understand it?

 

 

Yep, we do.

[cruzingagain]

#1

This thread takes the cake!

 

#2

Seems like a bunch of Carnivor cadets followed the OP over to be sure to get their point accross. (I used small words so the Carnivor folks would understand)

 

 

You are so right! it seems all the people from Carnival followed me over. They specifically told me on the Carnival Boards to "get off and go to the RCCL boards". And when I did, they followed to berate me. Oh well, I am entitled to my opinion and I have a right to spend my cruise money where I see fit.

 

Also, for the previous poster. I SPECIFICALLY said, it was not just about the cake, it was how I was treated, AND, IT DID NOT RUIN MY CRUISE> only ruined my opinion of Carnival.....the icing on the cake so to speak!!!

[MrPete]

You are so right! it seems all the people from Carnival followed me over. They specifically told me on the Carnival Boards to "get off and go to the RCCL boards".

 

For those of us that didn't see it on the Carnival boards, I'd still like to hear about the cruise portion that was bad, and not the visit to Carvel.

[cruzingagain]

The cruise was not bad. I love the itinerary, (Except for Mazatlan). The Pride is a very pretty ship. Obviously, I have had better dining room service on my other 18 cruises. Better purser service as well.

We were in a suite, but the balcony, even though bigger, I enjoy better on RCCL. There are only 2 regular chairs and a small table. Not a table large enough to sit at and eat breakfast. Which I enjoy doing. Also, the balcony is covered, so it was a little chilly trying to sit out there.

Room service choices are very limited on Carnival. You can get many more choices on RCCL.

I was hooked on Carnival for many years....until I ventured out! My lates experience was giving them another try. I'm done.

[PrettyLA]

I really don't get all of this bickering. Everyone has a preference for a cruiseline. In the end, Carnival and RCCL aren't different enough to suffice all of this bickering!

[silentbob007]

[quote name='TEXASMUNK']
Seems like a bunch of Carnivor cadets followed the OP over to be sure to get their point accross. (I used small words so the Carnivor folks would understand)[/quote]

You know, belittling blanket statements put you in the same class as the people you mock. On one hand, I'm not sure anyone cruising mass-market lines has room to be elitist. On the other hand, I'm not sure anyone cruising should be anything but thankful about how fortunate they are to be able to cruise.

[clearwaters]

[quote name='silentbob007']You know, belittling blanket statements put you in the same class as the people you mock. On one hand, I'm not sure anyone cruising mass-market lines has room to be elitist. On the other hand, I'm not sure anyone cruising should be anything but thankful about how fortunate they are to be able to cruise.[/quote]

Not only am I thankful to be able to cruise, but I am thankful to live in this great country, the USA, where we are free to squabble like siblings on boards like this! :) I prefer to think of it more as tossing around different points of view than arguing...:) Just MHO.

[FanofFlorida]

We usually land travel, have cruised RCCL once (loved it) and have not cruised Carnival. I did consider Carnival for the pricing. When deciding to book a cruise again, it was apparent in reviews that people generally preferred RCCL. So, we decided to go with them again, and earn more cruise credits.

After reading this thread, it seems that people take these subjective opinions and comments personally. Should I take it with a grain of salt?

Regarding the author's experience with Carnival: I would be furious if I was questioned by staff DURING dinner about a stupid cake!! She wasnt talking about a spendy bottle of rare wine. The 'right' thing to do would be deliver the cake, and talk over the logistics later, like at check out- I completely agree with cruizinagain.... Yes, people/businesses make mistakes. So, the order was lost- what could they do? DELIVER the cake and work it out later- what could they possibly have to lose? Obviously- a future customer. And to insinuate that she was lying? For that one incident alone, I can completely understand your decision to avoid future cruises with them.

Regarding RCCL: What disturbs me the most is a comment that there seemed to be a 'ranking' - that those on higher decks receive preference onboard. Now, I should be happy, being in a JS on deck 10, but what I cant stand on land tours is touring with snobs. I did not experience this when we were in an inside stateroom on deck 2 last cruise. Should I expect something different on Freedom? Given our suite (sweet) location, will I be camped next to a#@holes?

[Ocean Boy]

There are some posts on this thread about RCI and Carnival nickle and diming. Well, on the big "All things Explorer of the Seas" thread someone reported that in the sports bar on the Promenade they now offer bags of popcorn..... for a dollar. Charging for popcorn really seams a bit over the top to me and will only add to this image of cruise lines nickle and diming.

[Karshrimp]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]They charge $1 for a bag of popcorn on the Carnival Liberty too. We were watching a movie one night on the big screen on the Lido deck. They have a popcorn machine set up at the bar there.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[clearwaters]

[quote name='Karshrimp'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][B][COLOR=red]They charge $1 for a bag of popcorn[/COLOR][/B] on the Carnival Liberty too. We were watching a movie one night on the big screen on the Lido deck. They have a popcorn machine set up at the bar there.[/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

OUCH!! :eek:

[clearwaters]

[quote name='Ocean Boy']There are some posts on this thread about RCI and Carnival nickle and diming. Well, on the big "All things Explorer of the Seas" thread someone reported that in the sports bar on the [B][COLOR=red]Promenade they now offer bags of popcorn[/COLOR][/B]..... [B][SIZE=3][COLOR=red]for a dollar[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]. Charging for popcorn really seams a bit over the top to me and will only add to this image of cruise lines nickle and diming.[/quote]

:eek: What the???

[smoothy]

[quote name='clearwaters']OUCH!! :eek:[/quote]

Well, to play Devil's Advocate, I think the charge is there simply to stop people from taking massive buckets of popcorn and not eating it or using it for popcorn fights, just like the food charge in JR to keep those pesky teenagers from hogging the tables (j/k!) . If they really wanted to make money on the popcorn, they'd have charged $4-5.