Debunking Carnival Myths

[bobsfamily]

I forgot to mention that my 14 yr old is fixing to be 15 thusly the reason for looking forward to going to Club O2.:D

Dave

My bad... she will have a great time. MAKE sure she goes the first day on board even if she misses dinner... It really does make a BIG difference. The teens seem to click and some one who comes in later or the next day may have trouble joining in... Teens - how did I ever live thru those years... lol

[Aplmac]

We ran into it a bit in March 2008 on a 3 day cruise on Sensation to Nassau.

Had a GREAT time but don't remember much... lol It was Spring Break and a very short cruise.

I'm not sure some of the young ones ever slept until the last night.

Had a good many service men/women just back from the war zone

and I bought a few drinks... bar tab was a bit BIG!!!

 

Have taken 2 cruises since, on Carnival, and did not see anything like it...

Ppl always say it's the shorter cruises and/or Spring Break

where the madness breaks out.

And then it gets stereotyped onto the Carnival brand, generally. :cool:

 

Thankfully most of us have been lucky to escape such cruises.

.

[bobsfamily]

Perfect Storm conditions, I say!

Ppl always say it's the shorter cruises and/or Spring Break

where the madness breaks out.

And then it gets stereotyped onto the Carnival brand, generally. :cool:

 

Thankfully most of us have been lucky to escape such cruises.

.

Yes it was the right conditions!!! I did have a great time... WOW, but would not want every cruise like that. Trying to "hang" with soldiers that are 20 something is not a very smart move for a 50 something... OH my head hurts just thinking about it.

[arpie05]

My family's comment - ALL there is to do is eat - I think there is so much more to do - plus if you do a port intense cruise you are on the ship less. Yes, there is food available because people eat at different times and you can have seconds (like at home) but with all the games and fun activities a cruise does not have to be about gaining 10 pounds.

[cathyoo]

SojoDave.. thanks for sharing your impressions. Glad you enjoyed your vacation. Its a wonderful way to make family memories.

[Aplmac]

CABIN STEWARD MYTH: His name is Stuart.

 

CABIN STEWARD TRUTH: You got the spelling wrong. It's Stewart...duuhh

 

this one aimed at the truly clue-less...

-those who call their allotted space a 'room' :rolleyes:

 

.

[MrPete]

We had a great cruise and I wouldn't hesitate to cruise with Carnival again. What other Carnival Myths need to be debunked?

 

You didn't see the drunks, orgies, wife beaters on formal nights, and sewage smells?

 

You always read that on the RCCL boards from people that have never and would never set foot on a Carnival ship.

[BlueJacketsFan1]

There are way to many people here who just aren't happy unless they are complaining about something. When I heard reviews I throw out about half of the bad and read all the good. That way you get a more real experience.

[elliebelle]

Sojodave -- Thank you... for you post.. I am so glad you kept an open mind and saw for yourself what a great product Carnival provides.. Glad you had a great cruise...

[michelle1836]

I agree with bluesjacket. some people just arent happy unless they are complaining. Just had my first cruise on carnival and had an amazing time. never saw any people who drank too much. food was good and cabin was roomy enough (we only had 2 but could easliy have fit in 4) Also, I never had to wait more than 5 minutes in line at the buffett (but I didnt do the made to order stuff) and never had trouble finding a table

[caribbean dreams]

My family's comment - ALL there is to do is eat - I think there is so much more to do - plus if you do a port intense cruise you are on the ship less. Yes, there is food available because people eat at different times and you can have seconds (like at home) but with all the games and fun activities a cruise does not have to be about gaining 10 pounds.

 

I agree, i think some people just cruise to eat, at any given moment, i can walk in to the buffet and see the same people eating.

 

I find i am to busy to eat, i usually loose about 5lbs while cruising.

Food is the last thing on my mind, on or off the ship in port.

Although it is a tradition to seek out and try the local food while in port.

(that was DH's idea)

[dan40]

I dont get this one. We debarked with the foreigners, and they in turn held up the line if you were unlucky to have them in your line. This was in Galveston. Your port seems to debark them first?

 

 

ALL pax must be cleared before disembarkation starts. Hold ups going THROUGH Customs can happen with foreigners or citizens.

[DarthGrady]

I have found its more fun to cruise with the Wal=Marts then the upper crust status me first.

 

I think Billy Joel put it best:

 

"I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints. The sinners are much more fun".......you know the rest.

[mamacat18]

I have found its more fun to cruise with the Wal=Marts then the upper crust status me first.

 

Amen!! I want to relax and have fun with like-minded folks.

[Disneycruisers]

I agree, i think some people just cruise to eat, at any given moment, i can walk in to the buffet and see the same people eating.

 

I find i am to busy to eat, i usually loose about 5lbs while cruising.

Food is the last thing on my mind, on or off the ship in port.

Although it is a tradition to seek out and try the local food while in port.

(that was DH's idea)

 

Interesting. I'm too busy having a good time to notice if I see the same people eating.:rolleyes:

[jayesouthworth]

Myths are only opinions and experiences that you may or may not have like the next person.

[pnjkeith]

Thank you for your insights, of course you know the people who propagate such myths will continue to do so. Many without actually taking a Carnival cruise. Happy cruising! :)

 

Your right on there. Many many CC posters , some who have posts in the 1000"s have never been on a cruise, yet they know more than others..:confused:

[ringram]

Frankly Soho Dave...you bring me some relief. I am in the middle of planning my family's 1st cruise. 2x DD age 13 and 17 (almost 18)...I too am OVER studying/researching on CC.com trying to decide if CCL is better for the 10 Yr olds vs where do the 17's fit in? I cannot get a gut feeling as to if my kids have a better time on CL or RC or PCL. I am pouring through reviews and it seems that CCL deck activities (trivia, games, dodgeball etc..) are hit and miss from ship to ship or is it from cruise to cruise depending on the staff? Can't really tell. But I was relieved to find you say that your 14 yo DD had a great time on Carnival. Thankyou for sharing your experience and giving me some relief. But...I'm still planning and trying to find our ship! Thanks. Peggy

 

Peggy, good luck with the 17 year old. Last year we took our 17yr DD and at 17 they think they're too old to be with the young teenagers, and they're too young to get in the club for the 18-20 year olds are. Luckily we took one of her friends and she had a great time, but they struggled at times meeting up with people their age.

[Terre]

We have never had a complaint with Carnival's food...in fact, the food was better on our last Liberty cruise than on our Celebrity cruise in April.

 

Any ship can be a party barge depending on the time of year you book. We've even seen some party animals on Celebrity...yes, the geezer ship had some spring break wild and crazy girls:eek:!

[sojodave]

I think the biggest Carnival myth is that the ship would be full of drunks. I saw people drinking, but I never saw anyone fall-down drunk. The worse incident was when a guy tried to check his 11 year old into circle C. Security was called and they escorted him away. I think there is a wide variety of ages from little kids to senior citizens. Everyone we talked to was great and having fun on their vacation.

[Jay B]

On our first Carnival cruise many years ago, they had beer chugging contests and wet t-shirt contests. We then went on Princess where they had wine tasting and ice carving demonstrations. I sure hope Carnival hasn't changed that much since our first time.

 

j

[flutepilot]

I agree with bluesjacket. some people just arent happy unless they are complaining.

 

I agree with that. I wrote an extensive review of Millennium a couple of years ago. I gave it five stars in spite of some blocked sewer line problems. It is not their fault that some @$_)*%!)*%@!_ puts things into the ship toilet that they would never put into their home toilet. I have seen big complaints about such things, however, with two star reviews because of it. Get over it and enjoy the cruise.

 

Dan

[Kurbanfan]

On our first Carnival cruise many years ago, they had beer chugging contests and wet t-shirt contests. We then went on Princess where they had wine tasting and ice carving demonstrations. I sure hope Carnival hasn't changed that much since our first time.

 

j

 

You will still find that on the 3 day Paradise out of Long Beach:D Although it is not ship sponsored.........

[jawas]

Just went on my first cruise on the Carnival Elation. I did way too much research on Cruisecritic and other cruise sites. I read a lot of opinions and I was surprised how many negative Carnival myths I have read in forums.

 

FOOD MYTH: The food was excellent in Tiffanys and in the dining room. The waiter staff was excellent. I usually ordered two starters and I ordered two main course, but there was no way I could eat two main courses. The chocolate melting cake is "walk on broken glass" awesome.

 

ROOM MYTH: I had read a lot of nightmare stories about having four people in a stateroom and I read even more stories about the Riviera Deck. We actually had enough room for the four of us and the Riviera deck was very convenient because our room was just a few doors down from the main elevator.

 

TEEN CLUB MYTH: My 14 year old daughter was pretty hesitant about gong to Club 02. The first night, she said she was going to try it for 5 minutes. She left at 10:30 and didn't get back to our room until 1:00. She met friends and hung out with a group every night. The club had fun activities, but the best thing about the club was getting to meet people her age.

 

DEBARKATION MYTH: I must admit, our debarkation was rough. We didn't get off the ship until 10:45 and we didn't get to our car until 11:30. No one got to leave the ship until 8:40 because they could not get all the foreign passengers cleared through customs. They need to make sure that any foreign passengers check into customs so the rest of the boat can debark.

 

We had a great cruise and I wouldn't hesitate to cruise with Carnival again. What other Carnival Myths need to be debunked?

 

I've been somewhat resentful that, several times in discussions, I've been made to feel like cruising with Carnival is some kind of crime against traveling! One person in particular (who has NEVER actually taken the opportunity to cruise on Carnival) has practically belittled me for choosing Carnival.

 

I've never understood this - I've been on 3 cruises with Carnival (preparing for the fourth!!), and I've never had any issues or complaints about the cruise line or the experience.

 

FOOD MYTH: I guess if you eat gourmet, specially-prepared meals on a regular basis, you might find fault with food served on Carnival ships. But, being a normal person, without access to a private chef, I've been quite satisfied with the selection, both in the Lido restaurants, where we usually eat breakfast and lunch, and in the dining rooms, where we absolutely love to have dinner every night. What a lovely experience!

 

ROOM MYTH: I don't know if I've heard the room myths; I've actually always heard Carnival's staterooms are on the larger side. I've always been more than happy with the staterooms (interior) I've had. Of course, I don't choose cruises or other vacations based on the room where I sleep and shower, and generally spend as little time as possible - since I'm on VACATION :D

 

I'm not a teen and I have no teens, so I can't speak to the Teen Club myth.

 

DEBARKATION MYTH: I will have to agree that debarkation is not as fun as the rest of the cruise. I'm generally quite disgruntled at having to get OFF the ship and go BACK to the real world, so that may have some influence on how I perceive debarkation. My worst experience with debarkation was in San Juan, when the US Customs computers evidently crashed, and I was still onboard within two hours of my flight home! Not Carnival's fault, although the personnel did become less and less interested in our dilemma the longer the fiasco wore on. All in all, though, I've never had complaints about dealings with Carnival staff.

 

As long as I have great vacations on Carnival, and they cruise where I'd like to visit, I will be a passenger - after all, how hard can it be to enjoy a cruise on the open ocean, to exotic places, with all the yummy food you can imagine :confused:

[shadoo]

I don't want to live in a neighborhood of snobs and people who are entitled and we approach cruising in the same way.

Carnival is full of a diverse group of people with wide range of interests.

There are Aholes everywhere you go, including Carnival, but for the most part we have met really nice people who just want to relax and get some fun in the sun.

We look forward to every Carnival Cruise and will not change cruise lines until we cannot find an itinerary that suits us. :D