We love X, but are considering Carnival

[JennAngel9]

I just want to point out the distinction between "classy" and "class"-- plenty of "high-class" people with NO class (is this the thread where somebody reported being receiving condescending behavior when they revealed they didn't drive a "luxury" car?-- that's a perfect example of what I'm talking about)-- any member of royalty who has appeared on a reality tv show would also be a good example.

[hellosailer]

I just want to point out the distinction between "classy" and "class"-- plenty of "high-class" people with NO class (is this the thread where somebody reported being receiving condescending behavior when they revealed they didn't drive a "luxury" car?-- that's a perfect example of what I'm talking about)-- any member of royalty who has appeared on a reality tv show would also be a good example.

 

 

I can only hope you are not referring to any member of our British Royal Family!!!??:D:D

[tdk1938]

I can only hope you are not referring to any member of our British Royal Family!!!??:D:D

 

Or people from Hollywood.:p

[hellosailer]

Or people from Hollywood.:p

 

Is that anywhere near Hollyweird????????:D:D;)

[Bridge Maven]

Although silly is probably not the word I'd use, you make a valid point. BUT, some people claim to base their decision on just such comments. IMO, this is no different than basing a decision not to cruise on a certain line/ship based on the reading of reviews. Yet people do claim just that, over and over on these boards.

 

For me, that is just hard to fathom.

 

Doc John, let me tell you why I would never judge the passengers on a cruise line by cruise critic posters.

 

Our first two Celebrity Cruises were on Infinity and Millennium when they were new ships. Then we decided to try Century when she was eight years old. Prior to that cruise, I found a roll call for it on cruise critic that shocked me because its participants were discussing how they planned to smuggle liquor aboard the ship. My first reaction was that Celebrity's older ships attracted a different demographic because I had never met anyone like that on Infinity or Millennium. In light of the nature of that roll call, I decided not to participate in it or attend its cruise critic party. However, the passengers we met on that cruise were wonderful and not remotely like the posters who participated in its cruise critic roll call. Then after we returned home from that cruise on Century, the participants of its roll call discussed how glad they were too find each other on cruise critic, shared additional stories about how they smuggled liquor aboard the ship, and mocked other passengers on that cruise for being boring.

[woodofpine]

Generally speaking, I find it just a bit bizarre that people will steadfastly use such trivialities as choice of cruiseline, clothing, etc. as a judgmental determinant in evaluating others.

 

Sure most people do it to a degree... but doesn't it reflect a failure of narrow mindedness? And shouldn't we laugh at ourselves for it?

 

Ultimately, the cruiseline-clothing-class litmus test contains so much inbuilt hypocrisy. How often is the result...?

If they're not like ME, they're 'less than'; plus, I often denounce 'them' because THEIR conduct demonstrates an attitude that 'It's all about me.'; thus, 'I'm more worldly than 'them', because they're not like 'ME'!' :eek::D:eek:

[Bridge Maven]

Generally speaking, I find it just a bit bizarre that people will steadfastly use such trivialities as choice of cruiseline, clothing, etc. as a judgmental determinant in evaluating others.

 

Sure most people do it to a degree... but doesn't it reflect a failure of narrow mindedness? And shouldn't we laugh at ourselves for it?

 

Ultimately, the cruiseline-clothing-class litmus test contains so much inbuilt hypocrisy. How often is the result...?

If they're not like ME, they're 'less than'; plus, I often denounce 'them' because THEIR conduct demonstrates an attitude that 'It's all about me.'; thus, 'I'm more worldly than 'them', because they're not like 'ME'!' :eek::D:eek:

 

I agree with you completely. What I find especially hypocritical is when the same posters who discussed how to smuggle liquor aboard a Celebrity ship criticize other passengers for the way they dress.

[rob84]

Friends don't let friends cruise Carnival... :) :) :)

 

I have cruised once on Carnival. ..

 

 

There are so many variables as to what makes a good cruise that I would hestitate to say yes or no based upon the ship.

 

What are you trying to get out of the cruise. Ports make a big difference to me. Food and Entertainment -it is about the same on every ship. (Specialty dining excepted).

The other passengers onboard. Here the ship can make a difference. We have relatives that just like Cunard - a little stuffy and I haven't tried. We went on the Crystal Symphony got a veranda - for a Medit cruise - my best ever. But my wife thought the Regal Princess (to Alaska ) was her favorite ship.(I would say there was a big difference.)

We traveled to Bermuda many times - we got hooked on the mopeds and driving anywhere on the Island. But the people on the ship -Well lets just give one example - we saw a nice well dressed Southern lady at the photo displays by herself and she looked very uncomfortable alongside the NY/NJ young crowd in her midst

I recommended a cruise for a first timer . She picked the boat.RCL.She went to the Caribean. She loved it. The casino,the dancing, the music. She asked for a recommendation. I said try HAL and the Medit. Well that turned out to be a bomb. She went with the wrong person and said the rest of the people were so old.(She was in her 50's).

My son went on the Carnival for a Caribean cruise. Didn't like either.

I always avoided the Carnival. We have relatives that won't go on Carnival.

 

SURPRISE -We took a 4 day Carnival to St John New Brunswick and back last year,my last cruise.. We had 5 couples and all had a great time. The ship was lively.The rooms are spacious, and the food was the same old stuff.(No specialty dining on board).

Bottom line is - have a good itinerary and go with some people you enjoy. Or if alone find a boat with the right passenger mix. (The boat we are next sailing on has a gay cruise starting in Harwich and ending in Bayonne two cruises before we get on.) Imagine if I booked that one. I couldn't tell on the website. Check out some YouTube gay cruise videos.

 

I avoid the Caribbean. Someone said to us on a proposed cruise there - Just a bunch of huts to see on that one.

.

[Susie51]

I was on Carnival Victory in late Sept. last year. The deck plans of the ship made getting form the aft dining room to the theater for the shows were awkward. Usually we walked up the up the two flights of stairs, because the wait there is a long wait for the elevator . Fortunately, my formal shoes are comfortable to walk in.

 

Secondly, the food in the buffet is not as good as =X=. Also, the lobby is quite small and very conjested on embarkation and disembarkation. Finally, the promenade deck only has one door leading out to it from the ship on the port side as well as starboard.

 

The fantastic low price and itinerary was the reason we chose Carnival. For the right price, I would do it again.

[WhansaMi]

...and as written by a dedicated Carnival cruiser...

 

As someone who has cruised multiple times on both lines myself, I can assure you there is a vast difference between the two lines...Carnival fans can choose to believe it or not...

 

BTW, I have never been on a 3- or 4-night Carnival cruise, the ones with the strong reputations for having a "party crowd"...I have only sailed them on 7 and 8 night cruises...

 

Food is, quite obviously, a matter of personal taste...I always give credit to Carnival for vastly improved food over the years...but still nowhere in the class of Celebrity...Service was absolutely attrocious...I guess one COULD make the case that perhaps I just had a bad waiter...and assistant waiter, but one still musty consider overall dining room management and the crew-per-passenger ratios...And, of course, "service" as it were, in the buffet was horrendous as well...We are accustomed to Celebrity, Oceania and Royal Caribbean where someone greets you at your table in the buffet (or even helps you find a table and carries your tray) and serves you drinks...Hey, on Carnival, I would have even tken their clearing off the table from the previous guests...

 

I was actually fairly "easy" on Carnival in my earlier posts on this thread...

We actually saw people in NASCAR T-shirts in the MDR on FORMAL NIGHT!! I've never posted that because I figured no one would believe it, it was so stereotyped...

 

Yes, we did run into other professionals onboard the Carnival Liberty...most of them were in agreement they'd never cruise on Carnival again...

 

Yes, not all Carnival cruisers come from the set of the Jerry Springer Show...but there are clearly enough of them...Yeah, the rest of the ship is filled out by people from "all walks of life"...Some of them quite interesting walks of life...

 

Sorry to be so blunt, but the truth is the truth...

 

I have two master's degrees, and am ABD for my doctorate. I've taken four Carnival cruises.

 

Honestly, I find people are people. Some are great company, and some... not so much. We had a doctor at our table on one Carnival cruise, nice guy. We had a married couple who had been postal carriers at our table on our HAL cruise. Also nice people.

 

However, two of our tablemates on our last Carnival cruise (a wacky chiropractor, and a whiny teacher) I could do without.

 

I suppose I am offended, not with the idea that Carnival may, on the average, have different clientele, but with the idea that *because* they have a different client base, it makes the line less palatable.

 

I guess I've grown beyond the point where I judge people based on their incomes.

[WhansaMi]

Actually, having cruised multiple times on each of Carnival,

But, heaven forbid I state my opinion on these boards...Any time I, or anyone else, gives an honest, negative opinion of Carnival, people come out of the woodwork to attack...

 

Maybe, rather than try to explain their shortcomings, I should just write something cryptic like "I wouldn't cruise Carnival if I were you. I cannot tell you exactly why, just believe me."

But, I think people want the truth. They want the whole story. Of course, people will still cruise with Carnival no matter what I write. And they will still find Carnival plenty fine for them. And that is okay. I would never go onto the Carnival board and tell people not to cruise with Carnival. But, when we have a Celebrity cruiser asking if they should try Carnival, I've got to be honest with them...I do not think they would enjoy the cruise.

 

 

You know, I tire of people saying they "are attacked just for stating my opinion". I need to say, no you aren't. People don't get upset because someone engages in the act of stating an opinion. They tend to get upset when they find that opinion to be elitist, or insulting, or condescending.

 

You aren't getting the response you are getting for stating your opinion; you are getting the response you are getting because some people find that opinion offensive.

[WhansaMi]

I just want to be clear that I was not referring to most of the kinds of announcements referred to by Bridge Maven. In addition to disembarkation, tender, and landmark suggestions, Carnival made multiple announcements throughout the day about things like a) art auctions, wine tastings, bingo, drink specials or contests at the pool (I may be confusing some of these with our RCCL cruise) ... I think you get the idea. Was it a "nonstop" stream of chatter from the cruise director? No. But I do think we got what was basically a sales pitch for some activity a few times a day).

 

On our Pride cruise in June, there was never a day with more than 2 announcements regarding activities on the ship. And, we *never* heard any of those announcements in our state room.

[JennAngel9]

WhansaMi-- are you saying that you've never heard more than 2 announcements in a day ion your many CCL cruises or that you believe they have been decreasing them lately? As should be visible in my signature, I have not cruised on CCL since 2007, so I am defintely not an up-to-date source.

 

Also, I have excellent (frustratingly good) hearing, and often I can barely make out the announcements in the stateroom (perhaps they are only designed to be in public areas for the most part)-- but it is loud enough to disrupt a nap and often also wakes my husband (who can, at the very least, sleep through his own snoring).

[Bridge Maven]

Robin, what did you decide to do?

[WhansaMi]

WhansaMi-- are you saying that you've never heard more than 2 announcements in a day ion your many CCL cruises or that you believe they have been decreasing them lately? As should be visible in my signature, I have not cruised on CCL since 2007, so I am defintely not an up-to-date source.

 

Also, I have excellent (frustratingly good) hearing, and often I can barely make out the announcements in the stateroom (perhaps they are only designed to be in public areas for the most part)-- but it is loud enough to disrupt a nap and often also wakes my husband (who can, at the very least, sleep through his own snoring).

 

Honestly, I don't know the answer to that. :-) Because I read on these boards about the "constant announcements", when I heard an announcement on about day 3, I mentioned to my husband that I hadn't heard many. He said he thought he'd only heard two each day. After that, we counted.

 

I just asked DH if he thought there had been more on our previous Carnival cruises, and he said yes, that they seemed to have decreased them. Maybe they've taken the feedback from people.

 

I couldn't hear the announcements in our cabin. Once, DH opened the door while one was on, and I asked him to keep the door open so I could hear what they were saying.

 

Wow, that must be hard for you in hotels and such, to have such excellent hearing! I know I hear more ambient noise in our hotel rooms in Copenhagen and Amsterdam (good boutique hotels) than I heard on our cruise.

 

BTW, I had another thought on this thread, but I didn't want to make *another* consecutive post, so I will tack it on here. :-) Someone early on in this thread talked about how the common thread in all the "pro-Carnival" posts was money. I would disagree with that statement.... I think another common thread was the idea of a laid-back, "fun" atmosphere, but yes, the price is one reason that we choose Carnival some of the time. Last year we took a 12-day Scandinavian vacation on HAL's Rotterdam. We did it the way we wanted to -- private tours in several ports, several days pre- and post-cruise days -- and yes, the cost was significant. Next year we are going on the Prinsendam.

 

Between these two vacations we took a 7-day on the Pride, and will possibly go away during spring break (perhaps a cruise, and given some of the rates I've been seeing, was considering Celebrity, although, I'm not sure of that now that I've read some of the posts on the board). While we are financially comfortable, we can't (or won't) take the kind of cruise we are taking *next* year *every* year. Since we really want to be able to go abroad every couple of years, we intersperse more expensive vacations among less expensive vacations. Neither is "bad", just different.

 

As I said to the OP on the HAL board, it is the difference between a dinner at a nice restaurant, and a picnic... neither bad, neither "lower class", they are just different (shoot, some members of royalty like to picnic too!).

 

The OP said in her first sentence that cost was a factor in her decision. Personally, I would hope that she gives Carnival a try. I think she might be pleasantly surprised.

[pooky777]

Hi There !!!!!

it would be a big mistake

you never go back on Carnival once tried X, HAL or Princess

big crowd, very loud and kids running around with ice cream and pizza

I loved it because it was my 1st cruise (you always love the 1st one)

but than i discovered Princess and than Holland America... loved these 2 ...

have fun wherever You will decide to go

Chris M.

[CanWeGoYet?]

Hi There !!!!!

it would be a big mistake

you never go back on Carnival once tried X, HAL or Princess

big crowd, very loud and kids running around with ice cream and pizza

I loved it because it was my 1st cruise (you always love the 1st one)

but than i discovered Princess and than Holland America... loved these 2 ...

have fun wherever You will decide to go

Chris M.

 

Not necessarily. I love both cruise lines, each has their strengths. And between Celebrity and Carnival, I saw more in common than differences.

[cruie4ever]

We have done 45 cruises & we are Elite Celebrity members . Our preference is Celebrity followed by HAL .Yes we have done 8 Carnival cruises & we will be taking another Jan 23 ,2011 to Mexico for a 8 night cruise from San diego ,our home port .The ship is Carnival Spirit .We have taken this cruise before & found both the service & food of good quality ;although not up to the standards we have recieved on Celebrity. Carnivals entertainment is fine ;but ,again not as sofisticated as Celebrity's or HAL's .

 

We know we will have more people on the ship vs a Celebrity or HAL cruise & it definitely shows up in the Lido for lunch & the showroom

 

Reason we take Carnival is that the balcony price for each of us comes out to $70 per day & that is complete & we get a OBC & free insurance through our TA .So we bear with the heavier population .It's just nice to cruise at this price & no air fare .

 

We will be on the Millennium May 14th Vancouver to Seward & a 4 night repo on HAL's Rotterdam ,May 10th ,a 4 night cruise from SD To Vancouver.

 

Now we do wish that Celebrity would consider redeploying ships to the west coast for Hawaii .They & RCCL abandoned this market to HAL & Princess within the last several years

 

Our cruise options are less than the East coast . So we make do ,if we want to enjoy more cruises.

[Solstice23]

We are dedicated Celebrity cruisers, but had an opportunity in January to go on Carnival with a group of friends. It was nothing short of a disaster. We thought we would get a good suite, and got a category 12. Lots of space, but sure not very pretty. Sofa was plastic, two chairs some type of thin fabric. Balcony was as wide as the suite, but not deep enough to put a lounge chair on. Entertainment and activities I would rate as fair. Casino payouts are really not good at all, of course roulette and blackjack are about the same, but just forget about the slots. Also, staff were not very friendly, not helpful at all, and when the time came that you needed one, they were hard to find. As far as food goes, in the main dining room it was nothing short of terrible when compared to Celebrity. In fact, there were two dinners we could not eat at all. Specialty restaurant was fantastic. I would certainly say better than Celebrity. We had amazing meals there. One last thing I should point out to you, the deck plans on Carnival are, in our opinion, terrible. If you are on the 3rd deck rear main dining room, you have to go to the rear elevators from deck 5 to get to it. Seems someone decided to put the cooking area in the middle of the dining area, forcing people to use elevators (or stairs).

 

Needless to say, this was and is our one and only Carnival cruise, and we have already booked a cruise on the Celebrity Equinox.

 

Recently we had some friends head out on 1 7 night Carnival Cruise, we usually cruise with them but we declined the offer, as we wanted to save the time for the Oasis. We are glad we did because as soon as they returned the booked the Solstice with us for this March, they were so unhappy with the decision.

 

another couple we always cruise with went on the 5 night Carnival Canada New England cruise the same week we sailed on the Caribbean Princess 7 night this past August, when we met in St Johns and Halifax they were so upset, they wanted off the Carnival ship and like us were looking for the nearest Celebrity or even RCCL ship to jump on in Halifax LOL but even if it was allowed (not) HAHA no Celebrity ship was in port!

 

Both couples choose Carnival as an option to check it out after both of them had sailed over 9 times on other lines, mostly RCCL and Celebrity. The were both 30-34 in age and thought it could be FUN! but no the case.

[gkbiiii]

The Carnival Victory was the ugliest ship I have been on. Celebrity ships are so refined, like a fine Hyatt hotel; while Carnival is a Knights Inn/Howard Johnson. The passengers were shall we say "different". They were by far the least active bunch, (many truly obese) I have uncounted in travel It was the first cruise where few seemed to leave the cruise on port days. Really odd, when the Southern Caribbean has so many great islands. Carnival may have many good lines, but the core brand is not one of them. I posed thoughts on my recent experience in the RCCL forum under Carnival v RCCL. Even for free it's not worth it!! Try Princess, Holland, Disney, or even Royal. All are a much better experience than this! I was not kidding about Disney, if you like Celebrity you would like the Magic!

[Solstice23]

No, they just puzzle me...

 

Assuming this is the same poster who posted earlier under the screen name ccruiser2, you are now posting under a completely different screen name...one you registered in July 2007 and only posted twice on.

 

Certainly, with your vast experience in cruising, something other than this thread should have prompted you to post...This sort of thread has been repeated thousands of times on these forums over the past two years. Why now? I am just curious...

 

Now we have not sailed Carnival in a long time, but have had friends sail them only to come home not happy. I will say when we dock in port along side a Carnival ship I notice a very different level of Passenger behavior and Demographics. I am not keeping it just to the age of the passengers either!

 

 

In 2006 when we sailed out of Nassau on the Infinity the 2 carnival ships next to us were throwing metal Beer cans off the ship towards ours and yelling. Not to mention when we had walked into the Starbucks on the waterfront a huge group had come in off the carnival ship yelling, and pushing in line knocking over some cups on display. Now I am not saying this represents all Carnivals passengers but it was just not a great and we not even being on that ship had to endure this.

 

When we docked in St Thomas on the Jewel of the seas in March 2008, a Carnival ship was in port again along with Princess and NCL. When walking in town we ran into a family yelling, falling over drunk right in front of the TH store and they had kids with them, they had Carnival towels etc. I know this behavior can happen on any cruise or even in our own towns but it just seems to be we have seen this more then once and from the Carnival guests. Again I know its not all Carnival passengers, as I have had Family sail on Carnival ships, and they have met some decent acting people. But they all have said the general passenger on Carnival is much different in many aspects from what they have seen on other lines.

 

Marketing from both lines like I have said before is different. When booking a hotel in NCY everyone looks at a hotel that suits them and price at the same time.Compare The W the Plaza, Four Seasons, Marriot, Holiday Inn, Westin ?? sometimes I have seen similar prices when booking for work at some of these properties, yet I choose to book the one that suits my tastes. Carnival and Celebrity based on Ship Design, Decor, Service, Marketing are not even similar and thats not a bad thing its just fact.

 

Another point to show Carnivals customers base is much different is demonstrated on the where Carnival Sails in the World. They have so many ships yet hardly in Alaska, Panama Canal, Hawaii, Hardly in Europe, or Asia this is because the Market they target cant always full those ships for them in those places.

 

Do I think Carnival offers a good Product? YES for some people, not a bad thing or good thing its just not for us.

[Solstice23]

There are vacation consumers who are so in need of affirmation that they must classify 'their' line's passengers as superior to another lines due to table crumming, etc. Even though if one were to evaluate the businesses involved Carnival is infinitely superior to X. After all, Carnival managed its business so well that it (the holding company it funded) acquired all sorts of cruise lines from Cunard to Costa whereas X got so threadbare it ended up bought by RCI some 15 or so years ago. Now the above isn't the sum and substance of all things cruising but if everything is gilt and coin status why not hold to the argument for business sake.

 

Truth be told, the large ship mass market lines including X and Carnival are all more similar than dissimilar. True with passengers. Some of the rudest pax and worst service I've seen in on X. Oh sure, cruiseline styles are a little different. But will the Carnival bashers ever admit that their judgmental attitude is all fashion... style.

 

The point is... for Bruin & Co. there are Crystal-Silverseas-RSS cruisers that look down on cruisers of ANY of the RCI/Carnival/Star lines; we're all low class wannabes.

 

Then there are those that hold that if you actually vacation on a public ship rather than your own or a good friend's staffed giga-yatch, you're **** (but those public ships of Crystal and Silverseas are a good place for the help to vacation; lawyers, CPAs, and brokers must blow off plebian stress somewhere).

 

Ah yes - it never ends. And at the end of the day, the crew resupply the same toilet paper in the loos on all these ships.:D:D

 

Sorry but I disagree 100% Carnival and Celebrity run the same type of Business that is correct but it is marketed and created for 2 different customers! Its like saying the Gap and Banana Republic offer the same level of product and service ? or Macy's and Bloomies do. I realize all sorts of people end up on different ships on any given week but no different then who can walk through a Burberry and drop 500.00 for the 1 purse they saved for versus the regular who drops 20,000 in one day. Its all money in the bank to the Company but they market the lifestyle towards the person dropping the 20,000 and thats the bottom line!

 

If your point is correct then Holiday in would be the same as the Westin! I do not think so. Carnival does have a Las Vegas style when it comes to design but not everyone has this taste or would feel comfortable in these surroundings. Even when we head to Las Vegas we always choose a boutique hotel and this does not make us Snobs! we just have different tastes.

 

And anyone can have money but taste and styles can be different so please calling any cruiser on any line CHEAP or Wal-Mart is not fare, Just look at DOG the Bounty hunter I am sure he is Loaded but the way he spends his money and creates his Life style is very different then others! still a human being thats free to do as they wish

[Bridge Maven]

Woodofpine, I agree with you completely but if sailing on Celebrity makes someone with a just a high school education feel superior to a world renowned surgeon who likes Carnival that is their prerogative.

[mek]

I like Carnival, I like X, I like HAL, I like Princess, I like RCCL, I like NCL.....I like cruising.

[Solstice23]

Woodofpine, I agree with you completely but if sailing on Celebrity makes someone with a just a high school education feel superior to a world renowned surgeon who likes Carnival that is their prerogative.

 

Its not about careers its about taste! everyone likes different things its not a bad thing either way.Thats the way I see it