What is happening to Carnival?

[tedjazz]

My family are frequent cruisers, traveling on Royal Caribbean, Princess, Cunard, Celebrity and Carnival. Carnival cruise line has been one of our favorites, in fact we are Platinum Members and travel on Carnival at least once/year.

 

Recently we have noticed some disturbing trends in regards to Carnival. On the Inspiration we thought that the ship was seriously overcrowded.

Have cruised four Fantasy Class ships and never seemed overcrowded like the Destiny and above classes.

 

On the Legend the service was deficient and many of the children appeared to be out of control with numerous acts of vandalism.

If the children are out of control find their parents and slap them. It is not a cruiselines place to be babysitters. If you saw vandalism did you report it to security and tell them what children did it ?

 

Of most concern however, is the reports of individuals falling overboard, possibly due to excess drinking. Most recently we read about the unfortunate murder of a women by her husband.

If you have cruised this much you know that the railings are to "high" to "fall" overboard. The only way someone goes overboard is stupidity, jumping or being thrown overboard.

People get murdered in their homes every day. Do you think your local police department is at fault for this ?

 

Our question, is whether Carnival is doing enough to provide a safe environment for all the passengers? We have the impression that sneaking excessive alcohol aboard is becoming an art, and that Carnival will often continue to serve individuals alcohol, even when it appears that they are drunk.

Yes I feel they are.

Now we find the point to this.

How many drinks do "you" feel someone should be allowed a day ?

One, two, five, ten ? Maybe they (Carnival) should put a limit on everyones cards as to how much they can spend on drinking per day.

I have cruised on many lines and have taken smuggled booze on every one of them with never a problem. So this is just not something that happens on Carnival.

I have seen people I know have their cards shut down until the next day if the bartender or security feels they have had to much. Even saw someone I cruised with have more than a little in port and security shut down their card when reboarding until the next day.

I really though want to know what you consider the amount someone should be allowed to drink is ?

 

I know that individuals will argue that incidents always occur, but why does Carnival seem to be the cruise line that attracts the greatest number?

More ships than anyone else and more passangers every week. It is pure numbers. Also they have a lower average age group.

 

I would like to stress that we will continue to cruise Carnival, we love the boats and the crews that service them, but we do feel that Carnival should be aware of the problems and what it may be doing to their image.

Glad to hear that you will continue to cruise Carnival and I think that their image is fine.

 

It's just the state of the world we live in isn't it?

[jessemon]

It's just the state of the world we live in isn't it?

I think you just simply summed it up.....

[MrPete]

Carnival has 50% of the market. Therefore, their share of ALL activity will be 50%.

 

The murder was the luck of the draw. If that couple had sailed on the Staten Island ferry, they would be the one in the news.

[halos]

Certainly we've seen changes over the years, but generally most of those changes have been more due to changes in society as a whole

 

I agree.

[pe4all]

In getting ready for our Fantasy cruise (7/25) DH and I were just commenting on how much security we saw on our Miracle cruise - maybe it was because the ship was "smaller" than the others we had been on - but it seemed everywhere we looked we saw security! However, people are people - unpredictable by human nature. Never know how someone will react to something, or what might set someone off. (just reading any thread on this board is a perfect example of this) I don't know if Carnival, or any other cruise line,(or law enforcement agency for that matter,) can control human reactions- they can try to predict and prevent- that is all.

[bbiggar]

many of the children appeared to be out of control with numerous acts of vandalism.

 

Carnival will often continue to serve individuals alcohol, even when it appears that they are drunk.

 

 

It is the parents responsibilty for the actions of their children, not the cruise lines.

 

I agree that they should stop serving alcohol to those obviously over intoxicated. I found my own method to stop them from serving it to my hubby once when we came back from a place in Mexico. I told our favorite barwaiter if he served my husband any alcohol I would take off all his tips from the whole week. He graciously just waved and smiled as he walked past our little table that we were enjoying many glasses of water at.

[cpacheco212121]

Hi all, I saw this thread and just had to comment. People will be jack*** no matter where u go vacation or not. I have only been on 1 of carnival cruises and loved it. There were kids every where did they bother me NO!

I am the type of person that could careless what u do unless u invade my personal space then i will not be happy! There was people drinking like crazy but were they staggering drunk um, NO!

Infact it was the most relaxing thing i have ever done. So dont blame carnival for the crazies in this world:cool:

[jbroons]

Carnival (for the most part) is very inexpensive so it attracts more people from all walks of life and makes it a SUPER popular cruise line. With all those people on board they can only do so much to make sure their passengers stay in line. And because it's a cheap cruise line, and this doesn't apply to all Carnival cruisers, there are a lot of lower class people who don't know how to control themselves. My mom vowed to not take a Carnival cruise after what happened a few years ago while docked in Costa Maya. One man on a Carnival ship got so drunk that he fell off he gangway and had to be rushed to the hospital!

 

I might give Carnival a try in the future, but I dunno.... I'm not the 'partying' type. I'd prefer a quiet transatlantic crossing. ;) But have fun on your cruise, you'll be just fine!

 

 

You know, I'm from New York. People from NY think that people from Michigan are lower class people. It's simply true...you are....and with misplaced arrogance as well. Too funny!!

[Jill_GA]

We have been on 4 Carnival cruises, all 5 days on Fantasy class ships. Only on one of them did we see a super drunk guy (we dubbed him 80s guy, due to his Miami vice clothes and frosted hair) and he was not disruptive, just funny to watch. I will say, though, that they do serve minors. I saw plenty of 18-20 yr olds drinking. My son is 17 and when he went to order a soda, he was asked if he wanted alcohol in it.

We saw more drunken foolishness when we went to an All-Inclusive in Jamaica. There they would have allowed by then 16 yr. old drink if I wanted. I declined. There the drinks were free and they had a bar (for free) in your rooms. Still, even there, the behavior wasn't disruptive. I guess all the pot they smoked calmed them down. LOL

Overall, its the nature of the beast of cruising. People want to have fun and relax and many equate that with being drunk. I find it funny to see all the people who overdo it the first night and suffer the next morning. We have enjoyed all our cruises and met many nice people.

[davebflat]

I can't take any more of the 'party' boat comments

...and we are lower class???

Do you see more murders at Wal-Mart than at Nordstroms?

 

Please take your elitist attitudes to another cruise line. We have ALL

sailed on multiple cruise lines and we CHOSE Carnival. If it makes you

feel superior to me that's fine. I'll take my family on Carnival and we

enjoy their product.

[Nunu]

many of the children appeared to be out of control with numerous acts of vandalism.

 

They need to stop showing "The Warriors" on the big screen.

[LHP]

Because Carnival is less expensive, it does draw more families in the summertime when school is out.

 

The larger the number of families, the more of a chance of unruly kids.

 

While we clearly love Carnival (see signature) ... we no longer sail in the summer or during holidays when school is out. Sadly, the clientele is simply a reflection of our society today and it isn't pretty sometimes. But we also would not cruise on any "family oriented" cruise line during this time...

 

Oddly enough, John Heald just reported a 17 year old showing up to Club O2 DRUNK. Now since the Sail and Sign cards are coded (and I doubt the vast majority of bartenders are willing to lose their job over a 15% tip to sell alcohol to a minor) John tracked down how this happened. The bottom line, her parents bought her the alcohol. They admitted it. And the parents were very upset that their precious drunk 17 year old was not allowed to stay in Club O2.

 

We know the Sail and Sign card coding works...because hubby and youngest son have the same name (except with the Jr). When we would get the Sail and Sign cards...both just had the first and last name....so hubby would go to the bar and if he had Jr's card...they would refuse to sell him alcohol...even though he was clearly not a 13 year old.

[UpstateCruizer]

You would notice if it was a problem. Like if you were trying to play blackjack and during every hand, the game screeched to a halt as they tried to rouse the girl who was nearly passed out at the end of the table so that she could decide whether to hit or stay. And yet, the waiters continued to bring her coconut head drinks... This was the same girl, incidentally, who threw up all over the vanity in the public restroom (or so said my sister, who reported back on this incident after she returned to the DINING ROOM after excusing herself to wash her hands).

 

Thankfully, I only had this problem once and I know that it can happen on any line just as easily as on Carnival, but if it happened all the time, it would sour me on cruising. Like it or not, our fellow guests play a big role in our enjoyment of a cruise, whether we are the types who pay much attention to what other people are doing or not...

 

Your situation is one I've never experienced as I don't play cards in the casino. However if that had happened it would be extremely hard to ignore and as you said would have influenced my response. Perhaps a better response would have been for me to say "I have yet to be in a situation where another cruiser and alcohol have affected my cruise experience" :)

[Dr. Jack Daniels]

If the children are out of control find their parents and slap them.

 

Yep - resorting to physically assaulting someone is always the best to get your point across.:rolleyes:

[pnjkeith]

Its the cruise prices!! Lower they go the more problems they will have.

[MrPete]

Choose the less common itineraries, which cost a little more, and you will see a marked difference.

 

I got caught on a lowball priced Carnival cruise once, and OMG!!!! :eek:

[marshhawk]

I have a saying, the more you lower your standards, the lower the standard go. It was based on the education system, but it works in society too. I know that I am new to this Board, and I thoroughly enjoy reading what everyone has written, but I see an awful lot written about how easy it is for "you" to break the rules, fight with the establishment, and buck the system. "sneaking booze" "disregarding dresscode" If you had kids, would this be the way you would want them to be? Growing up with little regard to others, sneaking around? It's just a question. This sight is about cruising, not boozing. Lets get it back to the topic of fun.

[happy cruzer]

My family are frequent cruisers, traveling on Royal Caribbean, Princess, Cunard, Celebrity and Carnival. Carnival cruise line has been one of our favorites, in fact we are Platinum Members and travel on Carnival at least once/year.

 

Recently we have noticed some disturbing trends in regards to Carnival. On the Inspiration we thought that the ship was seriously overcrowded.

Have cruised four Fantasy Class ships and never seemed overcrowded like the Destiny and above classes.

 

On the Legend the service was deficient and many of the children appeared to be out of control with numerous acts of vandalism.

If the children are out of control find their parents and slap them. It is not a cruiselines place to be babysitters. If you saw vandalism did you report it to security and tell them what children did it ?

 

Of most concern however, is the reports of individuals falling overboard, possibly due to excess drinking. Most recently we read about the unfortunate murder of a women by her husband.

If you have cruised this much you know that the railings are to "high" to "fall" overboard. The only way someone goes overboard is stupidity, jumping or being thrown overboard.

People get murdered in their homes every day. Do you think your local police department is at fault for this ?

 

Our question, is whether Carnival is doing enough to provide a safe environment for all the passengers? We have the impression that sneaking excessive alcohol aboard is becoming an art, and that Carnival will often continue to serve individuals alcohol, even when it appears that they are drunk.

Yes I feel they are.

Now we find the point to this.

How many drinks do "you" feel someone should be allowed a day ?

One, two, five, ten ? Maybe they (Carnival) should put a limit on everyones cards as to how much they can spend on drinking per day.

I have cruised on many lines and have taken smuggled booze on every one of them with never a problem. So this is just not something that happens on Carnival.

I have seen people I know have their cards shut down until the next day if the bartender or security feels they have had to much. Even saw someone I cruised with have more than a little in port and security shut down their card when reboarding until the next day. This was not just on Carnival either.

I really though want to know what you consider the amount someone should be allowed to drink is ?

 

I know that individuals will argue that incidents always occur, but why does Carnival seem to be the cruise line that attracts the greatest number?

More ships than anyone else and more passangers every week. It is pure numbers. Also they have a lower average age group.

 

I would like to stress that we will continue to cruise Carnival, we love the boats and the crews that service them, but we do feel that Carnival should be aware of the problems and what it may be doing to their image.

Glad to hear that you will continue to cruise Carnival and I think that their image is fine.

 

thanks for taking the time to discuss the facts. Too many of us get emotional over observations, sensationalized news stores, and hearsay.

[LemurCat]

Its the cruise prices!! Lower they go the more problems they will have.

 

I disagree. It's the vacation mentality. I live in a coastal town in NJ, and between the various bars and porch parties, when people are on vacation they tend to put their inhibitions aside. And when they start drinking, they throw them out entirely. They do things they wouldn't normally do, or do things they would normally do to extreme excess. It has little to do with class, money, social status, etc. The biggest drinkers I've ever hung out with weren't college kids, but rather the traders, lawyers, hedge fund managers, and politicians I've encountered since leaving college. The professionals drink harder, longer, and more expensively than anyone I've ever known. When people go on vacation, they're going to drink. Some will take it further than it needs to go. It has little to do with what cruise line, how expensive the cruise is, or where the cruise is going or leaving from. You'll see this happening at AI resorts, beach towns, Disney World, ski lodges, etc.

[jawas]

My family are frequent cruisers, traveling on Royal Caribbean, Princess, Cunard, Celebrity and Carnival. Carnival cruise line has been one of our favorites, in fact we are Platinum Members and travel on Carnival at least once/year.

 

Recently we have noticed some disturbing trends in regards to Carnival. On the Inspiration we thought that the ship was seriously overcrowded. On the Legend the service was deficient and many of the children appeared to be out of control with numerous acts of vandalism.

 

When you say the service was deficient, can you give an example? My last cruise with Carnival was a little over a year ago, and I was satisfied with the service.

 

Rotten kids/teens - Not Carnival's problem - parents need to watch their children and discipline them. Spoiled, out of control children are everywhere, not just cruise ships.

 

Of most concern however, is the reports of individuals falling overboard, possibly due to excess drinking. Most recently we read about the unfortunate murder of a women by her husband.

 

Our question, is whether Carnival is doing enough to provide a safe environment for all the passengers? We have the impression that sneaking excessive alcohol aboard is becoming an art, and that Carnival will often continue to serve individuals alcohol, even when it appears that they are drunk.

 

You can't deny that Carnival makes a lot of money by selling alcoholic drinks. A LOT. Same as anywhere else, it's up the the person drinking to know when enough is enough. We're all responsible for our own actions. On a cruise ship, you're not driving after you leave the bar, so I don't really know if the cruise line is obligated to cut people off (others may know this.)

 

I know that individuals will argue that incidents always occur, but why does Carnival seem to be the cruise line that attracts the greatest number?

 

I would like to stress that we will continue to cruise Carnival, we love the boats and the crews that service them, but we do feel that Carnival should be aware of the problems and what it may be doing to their image.

 

I think Carnival's image might stem more from the passengers (no offense to anyone on here - I've only cruised Carnival!) than from their actual service and actions. I've seen fellow passenges do some pretty disgusting, selfish things with no regard for other passengers.

[beerman2]

Sorry can't agree with pricing, whats wrong with Carnival. Ourselves and ONLY ourselves MUST BE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR ACTIONS. Time to stop the finger pointing !

[jerseyjjs]

I disagree. It's the vacation mentality. I live in a coastal town in NJ, and between the various bars and porch parties, when people are on vacation they tend to put their inhibitions aside. And when they start drinking, they throw them out entirely. They do things they wouldn't normally do, or do things they would normally do to extreme excess. It has little to do with class, money, social status, etc. The biggest drinkers I've ever hung out with weren't college kids, but rather the traders, lawyers, hedge fund managers, and politicians I've encountered since leaving college. The professionals drink harder, longer, and more expensively than anyone I've ever known. When people go on vacation, they're going to drink. Some will take it further than it needs to go. It has little to do with what cruise line, how expensive the cruise is, or where the cruise is going or leaving from. You'll see this happening at AI resorts, beach towns, Disney World, ski lodges, etc.

 

 

 

Hmmmm, rich people getting drunk. That wouldn't be LBI, would it?:)

[LemurCat]

Hmmmm, rich people getting drunk. That wouldn't be LBI, would it?:)

 

I did have LBI in mind, but it extends to the entire Monmouth and Ocean County area. I live in Neptune, so I'm routinely exposed to the genteel drunkery of Ocean Grove as well as the more "bourgeious" activities at the Headliner, Bar A, D'Jai's, Jenk's, the Surf Club, the Osprey ....

[jerseyjjs]

I did have LBI in mind, but it extends to the entire Monmouth and Ocean County area. I live in Neptune, so I'm routinely exposed to the genteel drunkery of Ocean Grove as well as the more "bourgeious" activities at the Headliner, Bar A, D'Jai's, Jenk's, the Surf Club, the Osprey ....

 

 

 

Yep, been to 'em all. Still like Jenk's Tiki bar though.

[Drew B]

I really though want to know what you consider the amount someone should be allowed to drink is ?

 

Simple formula. You take the amount of drinks it takes to make them act like a jack@$$ and subtract one.