Going back to carnival!!

I am a 41 year old teacher of 4th graders and my husband works for the NYPD. We have 2 boys, ages 10 and 9, and we love cruising!!

I'll begin by saying that the Allure is a beautiful ship with a lot to offer. The size of the ship keeps traffic flowing and I never really felt too crowded onboard. There were many food options and tons of activities, if one is so inclined to participate. I have only sailed Carnival in the past, and was excited to try the Allure considering I had heard that it was going to "Blow Carnival out of the water!"

Ship design: There were fewer areas on the Allure where I could look out and see the ocean. While the center promenade is amazing, it takes away from exterior windows that would allow you to look outside. Even the pool area has very high windows, which really limits the breezes from flowing across. The adult pool area, the Solarium, is almost completely enclosed in glass, again taking away from the feeling of being at sea. Navigating the ship was quite easy and Royal definitely gets points here over Carnival, as I find it more difficult to get around a Carnival ship.

Spa: Carnival's spa is larger and nicer in my opinion. Although, Royal's gym had more equipment and was larger.

Food: This is a close one. Royal's buffet in the Windjammer is better laid out and offers a better selection and quality of food. However, I felt the food in the Main Dining room was better with Carnival. (Although, I do not eat red meat...and my husband felt Royal's steaks were better) Desserts...definitely go to Carnival! Specialty restaurants...Carnival's steakhouse on the Dream and the Splendor, were better than Royal's Chop's Grille. Chops was $35 pp and I thought the menu was very limited. Giovanni's Table, also on the Allure, was delicious and well worth the $25 surcharge. Pizza on both was good, however on the Allure its an actual Pizzeria whereas on Carnival its just a small stand by the pool. However Carnival's pizza is 24 hrs and Royal's is not. Frozen Yogurt...again 24 hrs on Carnival...only until 6pm on Royal. Even the included hot dogs on the Boardwalk...only available during certain hours. Finally room service...Carnival wins hands down!! Not only is Carnival's included in your fare, but it has a MUCH better selection. Royal charges $4.95 after midnight and there was NO BLT's or Grilled Cheese!!!!

Entertainment: The Ocean Aria show was fantastic and the entire Aqua Theater is quite spectacular. I did not see Chicago, so I cannot comment on that, but I will say some of Carnival's shows are a bit cheesy. Comedy on both was very good, although Carnival was funnier. The Comedy Lounge on the Allure is VERY small, and therefore if you don't reserve ahead of time you might not get in. Also, Royal did not offer as much family friendly comedy as Carnival. Attended the "Prohibition Party" on Allure. At $35 pp it was a complete waste of money and time.

Drinks: I have purchased the all inclusive drink package on both lines. Carnival is a bit cheaper, but they limit the number of drinks per day. Royal had no limit and included everything from Pellegrino to specialty coffee and everything in between. However, the drinks on Carnival are better...much greater selection and much more consistent across the board. I couldn't find 2 bartenders who made a Bloody Mary the same, and only 1 who knew how to make it correctly!

Problems: We sailed on Sunday August 11, 2014. When we took showers that night, I realized I could not get my shower hot and my children's shower was scalding. I spoke to guest services on Monday morning and they told me that the problem was fixed Monday night. The problem was NEVER fixed!! I complained again to no avail. So myself and my two boys showered in their room and only hubby was O.K. with a barely lukewarm shower in ours. One of the main reasons I opted for two staterooms was for 2 showers, so I was not happy!!

My coffee of the week was a skim milk latte or skim milk cappuccino. I would order from Café Promenade, one of two venues on the ship where I could order these. On Tuesday morning I was informed that they had no skim milk??? Really??? On the entire ship?? So I went to Starbucks, which wasn't part of my drink package, and miraculously, they had skim milk! So I bought a coffee and went to guest services. They refunded the cost and told me that they would get skim milk to Café Promenade. All was good until Tuesday morning when I was informed again that they ran out of skim milk. Back to guest services to complain again. After that, they did have skim milk at Café Promenade.

Smoothies are included in the Ultimate Drink package...apparently NOT the ones from Vitality Café. I was charged $15 for 2 banana smoothies and no one seemed to know where I could get any other smoothie.

Staff friendliness: Carnival wins hands down! I will say that my stateroom attendant on the Allure, as well as 2 waiters and 2 bartenders were wonderful, but other than that I was not impressed. The employees didn't seem very happy and some were downright rude! For example, when our friends had an issue with spa appointments, guest services "apologized" by giving them 2 "special" stickers to put on their Sea Pass cards (and 2 for my husband and I). These stickers were given to us to allow us entry into the comedy show that night that was booked. The girl at the door to the Comedy Club was downright rude and disrespectful, saying she knew nothing about the stickers and was not letting us in. After 10 minutes of arguing, her boss came down and seated us immediately. Every time we saw her after that she had a "look" on her face.

Attractions: BINGO is crazy expensive...$30 pp is the cheapest to play. The Ice Rink is only open 2 or 3 times a day for a half hour. The Flow Rider and Rock Wall also had hours...which equaled long waits to try these activities.

Kid Camp - Adventure Ocean: My boys, ages 10 and 9, did NOT like the Royal Caribbean camp. My younger son felt that some of the camp staff were mean and yelled at the kids. Carnival had more gaming devices and better games. They took them out and played games with them. Apparently, Carnival also had more than one area they hung out in. I obviously didn't attend the camps, but I do know that last year on the Splendor my kids practically LIVED in Camp Carnival...I had to beg them to come hang out with us! On this Allure sailing, they barely spent any time in camp. They rarely wanted to go...even when I showed them all the "cool" stuff in the kid's compass.

Finally: On the last day my 10 year old son and his friend stole prizes from the arcade and within an hour came to their senses and returned the items knowing what they did was wrong. (This all happened while my husband and I were out to dinner with friends of ours) My son's friend returned the item to guest services and my son handed the item to a worker and asked them to return it for him. Well the worker apparently decided to steal it himself because the item NEVER was returned to guest services. My husband was called to security with my son, in which they accused him of keeping the item and threatened him with reporting to the police and searching our luggage. When my husband returned to our stateroom and informed me of the "conversation" with security, I flipped out! I went back downstairs and demanded to speak with the head of security. I argued with security that they had NO idea how to handle a 10 year old kid. My son was screaming and crying that he was sorry..I am a teacher and you don't threaten children to the point of making them hysterical. My son informed them that he did in fact open the container to see the watch, but put it back and gave the entire container to the worker. Because the container had been opened, they said the item would no longer be usable and therefore I would have to pay for it. I informed him that I would BUY the watch but there was no way in HE_ _ that I would pay for something that THEIR employee was in possession of. They tried telling me that they were unable to locate said employee. Needless to say I went freakin bananas!!! I told them that I would walk the ship all night if I had to until I found the guy. They argued that that wasn't necessary and that they were looking. 4 hours had passed by then...how could they NOT know which maintenance man was working on deck 11, near our room at said time?? I told security I was giving them 1 hour to find the guy or they would end up arresting me. 20 minutes later we received a phone call that the guy had been found and he indeed had the watch. Now I know some of you are reading this thinking that I am wrong...that my son committed a crime and should be punished. I agree that he made a terrible choice and he was spoken to at length about stealing. He knew it was wrong and that is why is conscience told him to return it. The staff's way of dealing with the situation was COMPLETELY inappropriate in my opinion, and for that reason I will NEVER sail Royal Caribbean again. I wouldn't give them another dime if my life depended on it. I know there are fierce Royal cheerleaders out there who will disagree, but imagine it being your child for a minute. Like I said to security...this wasn't an international crime of treason...yet they treated my son as if he was an international criminal. They should have spoken to my husband IN PRIVATE and looked for the maintenance man immediately. I do not know what the outcome was with the maintenance man, as all I was told was that they would "deal with it internally." Finally...Yes, I've thought about how Carnival would have handled it...I can't assume anything, but based on all my interactions with Carnival staff and Royal Caribbean staff, I feel that Carnival would have been much more delicate and kind. YEP...there is a reason Carnival is THE FUN SHIP...and it has nothing to do with a rowdy, drunk, obnoxious crowd and EVERYTHING to do with wanting to make your vacation FUN!!!

You're right, Royal should teach their staff how to deal with children who steal... if only something could prevent those kids from stealing. Head on back to Carnival, maybe you'll see how they handle kids stealing some day...

Speaking from a Cops perspective..

I of course speak to the childs parents when their child has been involved in some sort of theft (or any crime for that matter). But, it's also important to talk to the child directly and make sure they understand the importance of what they did. Theoretically, they could press charges against him (which ultimately is pressed against you), for stealing the watch, doesn't matter if he gave it back to a staff worker. And most of those watches are easily valued at more than $299, which in most states makes it a felony. Will this ever happen though? Very unlikely.

And the reason why it's important to speak directly to the child is because usually parents like to downplay what the kid has done, which is not what we want. This easily leads to taking small things from stores all the time. And generally the children start to cry because they are actually scared that they might get arrested (when in all actuality that would almost never happen to a kid like yours (age wise)).

But, I'm not here to agree/disagree with anything since I wasn't there. Just putting my two cents in with regard to speaking to your son instead of only you.

I totally agree. My husband is a lieutenant and he read my son the riot act! I hope no one thinks I am downplaying what he did...the watch in fact values at $160...small by no means. I'm just upset with the way they treated him...but I'm in no way defending him.

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I totally agree. My husband is a lieutenant and he read my son the riot act! I hope no one thinks I am downplaying what he did...the watch in fact values at $160...small by no means. I'm just upset with the way they treated him...but I'm in no way defending him.

 

 

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Lt's definitely know how to get their messages across to people haha. The downplaying was in general, from your posts I can only imagine that you're not the type of parent to overlook these things.

I'm sorry how it was handled, most definitely could've been better, but I doubt they get much training.

*And he's an NYPD LT, a real cop, he knows what hes doing. I work here down in South Florida

I'm not sure why but I feel this outcome was predestined....

I can't imagine comparing Carnival with Royal Caribbean, I mean I just feel Carnival are a real step down. Even in the ranks of Carnival Corporation everyone I know believes Carnival to be a step way down from Princess which I would say is more comparable to Royal Caribbean.

Maybe you were just looking for a Carnival cruise in the wrong place.....:confused:

. I wouldn't give them another dime if my life depended on it. !!!

Breaking news

OK little grasshopper...take a deep breath and relax visualizing your next cruise. I agree security could have done a better job and also know kids will steal because their brains haven't developed enough. Sounds like your son will think quite a bit before he pulls that trick again (if ever).

Perhaps the maintenance worker didn't speak English and didn't understand why your son was giving him a watch. He probably thought it was a gift. Either way your son stole something and should be accountable. Meaning whether he had possession or not. If he threw it in a trash can and the can was emptied, would you blame the worker who was doing his job??

Have fun on your next carnival cruise.

Not sure of the ultimate reason for this original posting, except to "bad mouth" a cruise ship company that isn't Carnival... Just my opinion, letting a 10 year old have free reign on a ship (one that you yourself considered less friendly) is asking for trouble or potentially setting him up with situations he is incapable of handling at 10. Hopefully he has learned to be a little wary of "new" friends wherever he may meet them.

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I hope u r not serious about thinking it was a gift??? If he didn't speak English than he shouldn't be working on a cruise ship which sails from AMERICA!! And you know that throwing it in the garbage can is not even remotely the same as the worker knowingly keeping it..I wasn't looking for sympathy...but I wasn't looking for obnoxious comments either!

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Not sure of the ultimate reason for this original posting, except to "bad mouth" a cruise ship company that isn't Carnival... Just my opinion, letting a 10 year old have free reign on a ship (one that you yourself considered less friendly) is asking for trouble or potentially setting him up with situations he is incapable of handling at 10. Hopefully he has learned to be a little wary of "new" friends wherever he may meet them.

 

 

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Spot on. Nine and ten year olds running around a ship unsupervised is asking for trouble. Place the blame where it belongs and that's with the parents in place of trying to pass the buck. Simple as that.

Not looking to bad mouth anyone...I had a great time on the cruise minus the last nights incident. It was just an honest review...some points to Royal, some to Carnival.

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If Royal didn't want kids to have "free reign", than they wouldn't allow self sign out for children 9 and up. There were hundreds of "unsupervised" kids on the cruise at all hours and MANY others...TEENAGERS...involved in the arcade incident!

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If Royal didn't want kids to have "free reign", than they wouldn't allow self sign out for children 9 and up. There were hundreds of "unsupervised" kids on the cruise at all hours and MANY others...TEENAGERS...involved in the arcade incident!

 

 

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Doesn't make any difference and you're totally missing the point. It's obvious that some kids need adult supervision. Now I understand why we had this situation. As far as you going back to Carnival, I'm sure that RCI will agree with that decision. I see that you posted this on the Carnival board also.

I hope u r not serious about thinking it was a gift??? If he didn't speak English than he shouldn't be working on a cruise ship which sails from AMERICA!! And you know that throwing it in the garbage can is not even remotely the same as the worker knowingly keeping it..I wasn't looking for sympathy...but I wasn't looking for obnoxious comments either!

 

 

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You're kidding, right?? Ahhh nevermind. This isn't worth a response. Like I said have fun on your next carnival cruise. Hopefully they are all American.

If Royal didn't want kids to have "free reign", than they wouldn't allow self sign out for children 9 and up. There were hundreds of "unsupervised" kids on the cruise at all hours and MANY others...TEENAGERS...involved in the arcade incident!

 

 

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The guests on cruise ships are a microcosm of society. They may include some who are pedophiles. I live near Port Canaveral and very often after a cruise is over the Brevard County Sheriff's department immediately goes aboard and arrests a guest who has an outstanding warrant from some US jurisdiction. This is always done after the cruise for some reason.

You can see where I am going with this. There is no way younger children should be allowed to roam freely about a cruise ship knowing these facts.

Your husband can call the SO and ask about what I have stated here. It happens quite frequently. I am retired Federal LE for what it's worth.

I only cruised royal once on freedom of the seas. We have sailed many times on carnival. We love carnival breeze and dream. We paid so much more for royal cruise and yet we were not very happy. We are going to try oasis next summer. We r hoping for a great experience. I am not loving the fact that you can't enjoy the ocean much.

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Hypothetically speaking

If someone, any age, stole an item from your cabin

How would you want RC to deal with it?

How would you want Carnival to deal with it?

Interested to hear your view on this.

Shame this crime had to ruin your cruise

:cool:

Just my penny's worth, but had your son waited to speak to you and gone with you or your husband to guest services in the first place, a lot of the ensuing issues would have been avoided. It would be interesting to know if DS had informed you what happened BEFORE being summoned to guest services. If my DD had done something of issue as a parent I would have ensured I would have contacted GS to ensure the situation had been resolved proactively before being summoned.

You are basically saying that you would only not book RC again because of your sons actions

Interesting to read your thoughts, having done a cruise on Allure in April. My kids are older and really liked the teen club. Much more than the Carnival ones they had experienced. We agree with you on food re dining room/lido buffets, but not on the steak. None of ours on Allure were very good. On Carnival out of FL we have had excellent steaks and terrible ones out of CA.

We didn't love the feel of Allure either. We wanted to feel more like we were on a ship. The entertainment was far better on Allure, but we were quite disappointed at no family comedy times.

We had very subpar service on Royal, but I'm pretty sure that was luck of the draw as family members had a different waiter and steward and had much better service than we did.

I'm sorry you had to go through all of that with your son.

This thread fascinates me.

I have nothing to add to the entire son-stealing-stuff-while-unsupervised scenario.

But I WILL add that I have no idea where you got the idea that smoothies are included in your drink package.

Smoothies are NOT "non-alcoholic" or "mocktail" drinks, btw, if that is what you were thinking.

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/royal/en_US/pdf/beverage_packages.pdf

Wow. Your son stole. You blame the cruise line.

First I am no lover of the two gargantuan of the seas and would never book a cruise on either one. I can understand the OP's rage in how the security treated a 10 y/o child. The parent should have been involved from the start. Young children do make mistakes which is why they are not considered adults. Evidently the only thing RCI security can understand is a very angry mother. Chalk one up for you.

I agree with the lack of feeling that you are on a ship at sea on not only the gargantuan twins but also the voyager class and above. That is one of my main complaints about RCI. I love to look out and see the ocean with its waves and breeze. My other complaint about RCI is that they have very restricted hours on the availability of food except for the 24x7 cafe on the Royal Promenade with very limited choices. At my age climbing walls, inliine skating, flow riders and ice skating is something I did or would have done in my past younger life. So it is lost on me.

We took our then 4 y/o GD with us (her parents as well) on the Mariner and she loved the children's area so much so it was hard keeping her with us. So they do have good child care on at least one ship.

As for the WJ versus Market Place (buffet) on the Magic, the Magic MP is very well laid out different that the ships that came before her. Her sister ship Breeze is similar so I would recommend you give it a try. The new Princess ships Royal and Regal have their HC (buffet) laid out similar to the Magic. Both cruise lines are owned by Carnival PLC.

Thanks for the comparison.

I hope u r not serious about thinking it was a gift??? If he didn't speak English than he shouldn't be working on a cruise ship which sails from AMERICA!! And you know that throwing it in the garbage can is not even remotely the same as the worker knowingly keeping it..

My MIL has lived in the US for over 42 years.

She still doesn't get "if" and hypotheticals, nor does she understand complicated English. But she could bluff her way into any job if she felt like it, just like she even fooled me into thinking she understood me the other weekend, when she didn't. Thankfully she told someone and they told me, because I'm going to be her main caregiver and I need to be reminded to slow myself down, and that she WILL try to snow me even though I know she does it to others.

The point is that even people who speak English don't necessarily speak it perfectly, or can understand weird or complicated situations.

Sounds like your son got caught up in a big, bad scene. Yikes. With my son, who is 10, I would WANT him to be spoken to by those in authority so strongly that he cries. I would want him scared and ashamed that he had taken part in something that bad. I would also want him to return items in the correct way, not giving them a random people. Big huge life lesson for the kiddo right now!