Cruising Rules

This comment caught me off guard. Is it really that big of a deal to talk to other people? I know if I were doing something to interfere with the vacation of others, I'd much much much prefer that they just tell me so I can correct whatever I was doing rather than have some authority figure wave their finger at me.

 

 

 

You're looking at it with different lenses than they will. You're experienced. You've done this before. And as a result you have higher standards than newbies. They haven't, and so everything for them will be fresh and new and awesome. I'm sure they'll enjoy it.

 

 

 

Yes, somewhat, and yes.

With all due respect, I do not think you should confront individuals who are behaving in a way that interferes with your enjoyment of your vacation. I think in today's world and the agreessive nature of many individuals, but not all, it is a recipie for things to get out of hand in a hurry. Why not ask the ship's staff to step in. Keep in mind that it is the job of Carnival staff to ensure the experience had by all is a positive one. You may disagree but I think this is the most logical way to deal with issues like these that may or may not come up.

I find it frustrating that an option that was available every night (sushi bar) was replaced with a venue that, in my experience, is only open certain evenings.

 

 

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This is just another example of Carnival finding ways to devalue their product. Food costs on any ship (or restraunt) is an important element to control. Unfortunately Carnival has done this at the expense of their customers. While we can find other examples of cost cutting that directly impact their passengers, this change was extremely transparent. As Carnival continues to compete price wise in the marketplace, they will continue to devalue their product in their effort to achieve profitability. They have no choice as they must appease shareholders.

We're 32 and 27, and have been on 4 cruises with Royal Caribbean on 4 different ships; allure, freedom (east and west Caribbean), mariner and rhapsody in Asia and Australia.

 

We haven't cruised with another company.

 

We're looking at a Southern Caribbean cruise next June with RCI on adventure ots from San Juan but the price has gone up from around €1400 to €2000 in the past couple of weeks, so we had a look at other companies and found a similar itinerary with Carnival on their Valor ship priced around €1400.

 

Is there much of a difference between the 2 companies, does carnival have drinks packages, anytime dining, etc, etc....

 

 

Looking for advise from anyone that has experienced both lines or even better, been on both ships, adventure and valor.

We are long time Carnival cruisers. 27 Carnival cruises overall. Your getting feedback from a Carnival board. I would suggest these responses that say there is not much difference between Carnival and RCL should be taken with a grain of salt. There is a huge difference. Those who say there is not are kidding themselves. We have been on the Valor twice along with a myriad of other ships and cruise lines including RCL. (44 cruises overall).

As I am sure you know, you usually get what you pay for. Carnival basically will provide you with a clean ship, with ok food and poor entertainment. All this on ships that are just ok. May I suggest you take a look at Princess who have much nicer vessels, more food choices and little touches that Carnival have eliminated as they price themselves into the market. All this for more competitive prices then RCL. Good luck!

After many, many west coast cruises on Carnival we jumped over to Princess for a few cruises.

 

Basic cabins--

IS and OV cabins are smaller on Princess. They have a coffee table that is just always in the way. The IS quads have the bunks on the wall. On Carnival that's not a big issue. On Princess you need to be a contortionist when the lower is a king.

When we travel in a triple well do no smaller than a mini suite on Princess

No wall hooks on Princess.

Open closet arrangement.

 

Showers on Carnival are larger and have handheld shower heads. On Princess you really do need to soap up the curtain and turn.

Bathroom Vanity setup is better on Carnival, except on the Fantasy class

Both have the same dispenser setup in the shower.

 

Good suite amenities on Princess, almost nonexistent on Carnival.

 

Princess Dining--

Buffet on Princess is set up in stations.

No Hot Chocolate machines

Soft Serve Ice cream is served only til 6 or 8 pm

Pizza is comparable to Carnival's new pizza

Hamburgers are replaced by BBQ at night.

Some ships have an International Cafe open 24/7

 

MDR-

Can make reservations for ATD

Each MDR has a specialty that's not on the menu, ask

WCMC isn't offered every night

 

Ship life-

No tear off on the Patters, have to take the whole thing with you

Non linear timeline for dining. It divides by location.

 

Shows are decent. No sing along piano bar. Don't even remember karaoke being offered.

A mellow cruise experience.

 

We've enjoyed our Princess cruises but miss the vibrancy (and the hot chocolate machines) on Carnival.

 

 

 

The Past Guest program on Princess is better in some ways. Perks start to really accumulate on your sixth cruise. Extra Credit is given for solo and booking suites.

Its interesting to note that you could not find one thing that Princess does better than Carnival.

What about nicer ships on Princess?

What about not having to get your own beverage in the buffet?

What about the complimentary food at the coffer bar?

What about the two different pizza locations with one a complimentary table served version?

What about only five cruises to reach Platinum which among other things includes at minimum, 150 minutes of free internet?

What about the Princess version of the Piano bar that includes far better talent then Carnival?

What about live stage shows with a live orchestra?

What about the elegant dining rooms that still have tablecloths and a far more comprehensive menu than the "American Table"?

What about always having at least one pool that is heated on Princess?

I could go on but I detect you are addicted to Carnival and nothing else will meet your expectations. Bottom line in my mind, is that the "vibrancy" of Carnival is a thing of the past.

After several cruises with Carnival, my wife wants to try another line. A co-worker of hers has been on a few Princess cruises and she likes them. So, anyone have comments, thoughts, recommendations on Princess?

 

Thanks in advance

After 27 cruises on Carnival we tried Princess. We now have a new favorite cruise line!! Much nicer ships, food that is equal or in many cases better, still has the elegant dining room service and far far better entertainment!!!

Using a good travel website you can often get Princess cruises for prices at or even in some cases better then Carnival. Five Princess cruises so far with another one scheduled in November. Go for it and "experience the difference".

Sorry you are having so many issues. I know you & know you are the calm, carefree cruiser who doesn't let the little things bother you. I don't blame you a bit. The good old days of cruising the Fun Ships are long gone. :( It's sad watching the decline over the last few years.

Hope we can get together soon for a land cruise.

Well said, "the good old days of the fun ships are gone". It's sad to see Carnival management "kill the golden goose". It's a very misguided marketing approach!

To your post, ditto ditto and more ditto!!! :-)

I agree with everything you just said. Just like my namesake, I am addicted to cruising and I'll pretty much sail with any company. There was a time when Carnival was my favorite, but the loss of live entertainment was a big hit for me. That, and the ever increasing crowds and beligerent behavior have put Carnival close to the bottom of my list of favorites in the past few years. Like you, I have come to love Princess, but even moreso, I love Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. All these lines have made cutbacks, but none have affected my overall cruise enjoyment like Carnival's cutbacks.

I agree we also have two cruises with Celebrity and they do provide the "wow" factor! I did not mention them because I knew someone would emphasize the price difference. Princess has provided us great cruises with similar pricing to Carnival (in a few cases even cheaper) and they always make us feel special.

We were on the Liberty 2 weeks ago and it was a nice cruise but I do feel that Carnival ha gone downhill in some sense. The MDR isn't open for lunch anymore - except for on the sea day we had. We didn't experience any difficulties with finding cups, but the ice cream machine was frequently out of cones/cups. To me that's not a surprise, but just happened to be something I noticed.

 

MDR dinner (to me) is lackluster now compared to what it used to be a few years ago.

 

Like you, we had ZERO complaints on our Princess cruise! There's definitely a big difference!

We were once strong Carnival supporters with 27 cruises to date. Over the last 2-3 years we have noted a myriad of changes (I'll refer to them as "cutbacks") In our eyes Carnival's long time strong point of being a value oriented carrier has been diminished. We feel they have evolved to only being a price driven option and have put themselves into a corner. The more they try to maintain a price advantage, the more they must find ways to reduce overhead. We have become very excited about the Princess product. What a difference!! Much nicer ships, good quality food and staffing levels that truly make a difference in the overall experience. All this for prices that in reality are not much more then CCL's. Now with seven Princess cruises, we don't see ourselves going back to Carnival.

Yes!

I think that the generation thing is at play also.

These younger new cruisers do not know what they are missing from the past.

They are Carnivals target for sure...among everyone else too.

Inexperienced cruisers for cheap rates = repeat cruiser.

 

A new 25 year old cruiser has a way different experience than say a 50 year old who has seen their cruise experience evolve over time and been cruising for 15-25 years.

The Red Frog, Blue Iguana, ESPN Bar, Alchemy Bar....all appealing to everyone, but seen very favorably with younger blood.

We are middle aged (gulp) and only been cruising for 5 years and we have even seen ALOT of changes.

Very good point. I agree. Those who are newer to Carnival and cruising don't realize how different things were even 2-3 years ago. Some of US middle aged folk, miss "what was" and find it hard to appreciate "what is". That is because some of us find "what is", no longer meets our expectations. In our case we have pretty much moved on. Not all mass market cruise lines have lost their customer focused model like CCL has.

Stu, there is a difference in whether you think something is an improvement and whether or not it is innovative. I do have to say I thought of your comments on playlist as soon as I read the article. I think they have begun to put better entertainment in the nightclubs (Breeze and Sunshine and expect to see more of the same expanded to other ships soon.

Innovation? Think not. Cost cutting modifications to their service product? Right on target. So called innovation has equalled poor stock performance. The reality here is that within the cruise industry Carnival has always been the pricing leader. In years past those attractive prices were accompanied by a perception of value. Still today Carnival remains the pricing leader but the value quotient is ebbing away. Carnival will always attract price conscious buyers but they are digging themselves a hole. As they continue to garner business with attractive pricing they must continue to reduce their costs in order to maintain that marketing model. Stockholders demand profits! The longer that goes on, the value quotient will eventually become undetectable.

I guess that would be your opinion!

What is it? It's another Carnival cost reduction measure. It used to be sushi every night. Now it's sporadically open to offer items that are often unidentifiable and certainly lower food cost based items. I know how many of you will find this post, "distasteful", but it is what it is.

Most people like the new menus. Tablecloths are running about 50-50. The trend is to do away with the For The Table items which you could always order individually, anyway. Freedom was supposed to have the new menus by now but was postponed. Still supposed to be before the end of the year. Pride is also supposed to switch in September +/-. At least one cold soup has made it back onto one of the menus. They are continually evolving.

"Most people like the new menus"? You know this "fact" how?

Gee, I've had only 5 cruises with a 6th coming up... and I've had a bartender ignore me for 15 minutes because I was holding a soda card, and grumble while he filled my drink order. I've also seen the breakfast buffet start being broken down before 9:30am, leaving only 1 section plus an omelet station open. Carnival crew people are human and have bad days. It's impossible for every single staff member to be UP and perfectly chirpy 24/7.

Stuff happens dude. Just because it didn't happen to you doesn't make it untrue, or a 'plant'.

 

I thought the OP's review was pretty fair. He mentioned what he liked, what was good and what was bad. He didn't slam Carnival.

You know the bartender ignored you because you had a soda card? Really? Did he tell you that or did you just imagine that from the way he looked at you? The buffet serves full breakfast until 11:30a every day on every ship. When people make statements that are not true or have vivid imaginations you have to question the validity of these reviews. Sorry if you don't agree.

This was my families second cruise and the first time we asked another couple to join us. Our first cruise was a couple years ago for 7 days to Mexico on another major cruise line. (I'll leave nameless because I want to be fair). After this cruise on the Carnival Miracle I am not likely to ever cruise with Carnival Cruise lines again. In an effort to be fair though, I will share the good as well as the bad.

THE GOOD:

(1)The ship was clean! Although the last cruise I went on was equally clean, It bears mentioning that this ship was clean, there were plenty of hand sanitizer stations all over and crew members could be seen cleaning often.

(2) Our room steward for room 1-171 (6A) which left from Seattle to Alaska on 5-27-2014, (Which should tell you who I am if anyone from Carnival wants to contact me), Louie, was incredibly friendly, professional and took the time to get to know our names, preferences, and ask how out excursions had gone.

(3) The food in Nick and Noras was delicious! except for a funky tasting apple pie that left my wife and two friends with the impression they had used old or fermenting apples... The steak and sides were delicious, the meat was cooked perfectly to our requests.

(4) Getting on and off the boat was relatively quick and painless.

(5) The comedians were hilarious... good job

 

OK, THE BAD:.......

(1) Beginning as soon as we boarded, there was a general sense that the crew were disinterested in their jobs and painfully going through the motions. The only exceptions to this we noted were John the cruise director and "Uncle Brucie" from the Mad Hatters Lounge. Katie who emceed several events was dull, and seemed completely unprepared and uninterested in being there.

(2) ***The NOISE*** Beginning the second night there was a very loud audible banging coming from outside the ship. It sounded as though someone was hitting the hull with a hammer and it was loud enough to prevent sleeping. first at around 11 p.m. I notified a crew-person in the hallway who briefly stuck his head in, remarked that he didn't hear anything and then walked away. Around 3 a.m. I called guest services who sent an engineer to our room. The noise had momentarily subsided and he left. I called again at 4 a.m. because the noise had returned and we did not sleep at all that night. this time when the engineer came, I asked him to wait until the noise returned and a minute later it started up again. He seemed surprised and said he would go investigate. He returned 10 minutes later and said he couldn't find anything. I spoke with our travel companions who were two rooms down and they said they could hear it as well but would wait to see what was done about our situation. The next morning I went to Guest Services to get the issue resolved. I made several video and audio recordings of the event which I still have and have confirmed the sounds can clearly be heard in the video. They offered to have me move 6 rooms down the hallway. I told the Guest Services crew member that if I was going to go to the trouble of repacking and moving I would like to be moved to a different floor and upgraded to a balcony since this was not my fault and I was being inconvenienced. the guest services said they would not upgrade my room because I had not paid for a balcony and if I did not accept the offer of the room down the hall, they would NOT OFFER ANY FURTHER HELP. I left feeling like they did not care about me and did not want me to return if there was a further problem. The noise returned on the final evening of the cruise as we went from Victoria to Seattle, but based on previous encounters I didn't believe they would do anything. VERY disappointing.

(3) The FOOD was bland. I mean completely flavorless. Every dessert seemed to have been made with not a teaspoon of sugar. Even the jello was completely flavorless. The chicken which seemed to be served every day was drippy and typically covered in soggy broccoli. One huge complaint about the food was the timing. On my previous cruises the meal times have been ample since they understand that people on a cruise may sleep in if they partied late the night before or were busy as a cruise show or event. Not so here. twice I arrived in the buffet area to discover that breakfast was being shut down at 9:30 a.m. and what was left was being slopped into one small area and was cold. The omelet bar was acceptable but had a very limited variety and if something ran out (bacon, onion etc), the cook just told people they had to choose something else. The asian food was honestly pathetic. Primarily noodle dishes except for one day which offered a chicken and peanut dish. Also, the white rice was dry and not remotely an asian style rice. The fried rice should have been called microwaved rice... sad and flavorless. The one good item at breakfast is the chocolate muffins.... I basically lived on them for 7 days. I did not enjoy any of the food, and my standards are quite low. The hamburgers which were available between meals were lukewarm and the buns which sat out in the open next to the grill were dried out by the time you received them. The pizzas which were available 24/7, were often undercooked at the center and had enough grease to power diesel truck from Seattle back to my home in Central California. The food seriously was an absolute disappointment. The "bubbles package" which I purchased at nearly $50 for one person for the week but every time I went to a bartender (the only place to get sodas is the bars), the bartender seemed put out that they had to stoop to serving me a soda instead of paying for an expensive drink.

(4) The ACTIVITIES: One huge annoyance my travel companions and I noticed is this... They have childcare which will watch your kids until 3 a.m. but two of three available Jacuzzis closed at 10 p.m. EVERY NIGHT! Why would I want you to watch my kids if I cant even go relax at the 21 and over Serenity deck after 10 p.m. The one Jacuzzi that was open the water was not very hot and the water coming from the jets seemed even colder...

(5) The scheduled EVENTS: Our whole group (all 4 of us LOL) was put off that on one day we went to the country line dancing class in the location and time indicated on the daily itinerary.... We waited 30 minutes and no one ever showed up, and we never heard any announcement that it had been canceled. Others nearby had waited for it also and were likewise disappointed. I cannot think of any excuse for this. Also, Katie and Benjamin who emceed several trivia shows and game shows seemed unprepared, unenthusiastic, and bored. They made no attempt to build enthusiasm or interest in the activities. Their attitudes made the shows painfully awkward and boring to sit through. We attempted to participate in a ship-wide scavenger hunt and after running our little group all over the ship for nearly an hour, we arrived back and Benjamin who was lazily sitting on the Lido Deck stage simply said we were 5 minutes to late because someone else had beaten us. Sad thing is, we made our own photo scavenger hunt later that day and had much more fun. Sad...

(6) DISHONESTY??? We had been told about 1 month prior to our ship sailing that there was an issue with the ship that caused it to not be able to cruise at maximum speed and so they needed to cut out Ketchikan from the itinerary. They offered a full refund then or 25% off a future cruise (LOL in retrospect). We took them at their word with a mind to enjoy the other ports even though we had to cancel one of the main excursions we had planned. Much to our dismay, our traveling companions brought up the speed issue to the massage specialists on the second day of the cruise in small talk and were told there was nothing wrong with the ships engines but that Carnival had cut out Ketchikan because it was more financially beneficial for the Carnival Miracle to dock at Victoria rather than Ketchikan. Whether this was true or not, I do not know but the seed of mistrust had been sown.

CONCLUSION: As mentioned before, this was not my first cruise though it was my first cruise with Carnival. At this point, it will likely be my last. The overall onboard experience was lackluster and dissatisfying. I wont even get into the idea of forcing me to pay mandatory daily gratuity for subpar service, then charging additional mandatory gratuities on every additional purchase whether drink or goods and constant suggestions that I further offer cash gratuities to staff members. All four people in my group are under 35 years old, enjoy cruising I felt horrible that our two traveling companions had such a miserable onboard experience for their first cruise. I know from past personal experience that its not that hard to deliver but Carnival failed big time. Based on this experience I cannot recommend this cruise line to anyone.

 

Josh

While I have been very disappointed in the evolvement of Carnival over the last couple of years, I think your review is a "plant". Breakfast never closes in the buffet at 9:30a, I have never had a bartender in 26 cruises on Carnival make me feel bad that I was using a soda card, I have never seen or experienced a event host who was not enthusiastic (in fact too much so sometimes). I could go on but I get the feeling this review of yours is some kind of vendetta or hoax. I am not a Carnival cheerleader, actually just the opposite!! But your review was a bit over the top and less than believeable.

Excellent comments. HAL has always been noted for their service and attention to detail and that is their selling point. In the past, while Carnival was known as a budget line you could always count on their their service, how friendly the staff was, the pride that the staff took in their ships, and the quality of food.

 

However, I feel that Carnival no longer has these "qualities" especially in regards to food quality and service.

 

We have seen numerous examples where a business in an attempt to hold down on price compromises everything else. Usually these business models do not survive. Will Carnival be such an example.

You are right on the money (pardon the pun). Any business who leads with price must eventually find ways to maintain profits. Those ways as we see in the evolution of the Carnival product usually have a direct impact on the customer's experience. Yes there are many in this thread that have defended Carnival's path and that is fine. Many are driven by price as we all look for ways to maintain a happy lifestyle in a tough economy. My point is this. Carnival Cruise Line must provide their shareholders with an acceptable level of profit. As a line that features price first as their marketplace "bait", there will come a time where this path will have a level of diminishing returns. As their competitors, offer lower rates in soft seasons, more dedicated CCL customers will be tempted to "jump ship" and try other options. Once they do, they will find that the more spartan confines and features of Carnival ships are no longer the "value" they once were.

I am leaving out of Charleston in Oct. I love the idea of writing a thank you card at the beginning of the cruise to help ensure great service and an extra-friendly experience, and I plan to do that. However, I thought of maybe adding a "goodie", as well. Maybe even something specific to Charleston. My problem is I don't know what. It has to be just a couple of dollars, but something they will like or use. Any specific ideas? And will I have more than one steward?

Be a good human being. That's all you should ever have to be. No extras should be needed.

We are looking at the conquest and we found a flight in that lands at 1:30. Is that enough time to get bags, deplane, get on the ship and all, or should I get an earlier flight? Thanks.

 

 

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Having extensive experience in the airline industry I would recommend you take an earlier flight! What if that flight takes a mechanical or weather delay. You essentially have no back up. Take the earliest flight you can that day (weather delays are less apt to happen early) or better yet fly in the day before. Good luck and have fun!

Loyalty doesnt mean much to Carnival. They found a way to get $ 50 from a bunch of passengers while watering down loyalty program and they will keep doing it.

Amen brother! Just look at their pricing and continuous ads!! They are begging people to book! Yes everyone has had some cutbacks but Carnival has taken this to the absolute extreme!! Its called "devaluation" without regard to anyones loyalty. With 26 Carnival cruises I used they were my first choice for a long time. In the last two years, I have had seven cruises, only one on Carnival. They have ruined the experience.

I've seen a number of folks lament over the Sushi Bar going away.

 

I know it wasn't the best Sushi in the world, but we all really enjoyed hitting this up before an early dinner. I'm sure cost was to blame, but I consistently see people wishing they would bring the Sushi back. It's so popular at the moment, I'm not sure why it was done away with. It was a great value add, in my opinion.

 

Any chance this we may see this come back?

Why did it go away? Because like many other Carnival take aways, it cost too much of course!! The continuing saga of Carnival "devaluing" their product.

.

 

Sorry, not intended to be overly cryptic.

 

Translation:

Carnival Cruise Line and its repeat passenger base can both be perceived as 'kicking each other to the curb' at times.

 

.

Gotcha now! ..... Thanks.

Stu I guess in the UK BRILLIANT means terrible especially with the Vastly Inferior Fake Program LOL

Having been a Platinum with Carnival for about 6-7 years I agree with both your sentiments. I just returned from a Princess cruise with two other couples who are Platinum with Princess. Among several things they receive is the fact they have a private lounge each afternoon from 5 to 7 with not only exclusive drink specials and and free appetizers but also each individual had 3 free drink coupons. Not sure we will ever see that on Carnival. Pretty sure we won't. Oh well one more Princess cruise and we'll be platinum.

Of course I have never cruised to become a Carnival

Platinum member but as enticement along the way I was promised certain benefits for my loyalty. Slowly but surely those benefits have diminished and at the same pace I have been giving my business to Princess, Holland and Celebrity. Too bad Carnival makes commitments they don't keep. They have lost a fair amount of business from me.

The loyalty program of this cruise lines does, however, work both ways.

 

Some may say that Carnival has somewhat dramatically 'watered down' its loyalty program to the current/former long-term passengers.

 

Others may say that some of those long-term passengers have 'watered down' their loyalty program to Carnival.

 

.

Huh? You lost me!

The beds are now so hard! I just refer to them as rocks. My first experience with these rocks was also on the Miracle 3 years ago. I actually blamed that ship for it, thinking it was unique to that ship. But in my following cruises, I have found that they have been in the process of switching over to rocks fleetwide. It might not be complete yet, but the comfy beds will be few & far between. And once comfy bed doesn't mean the whole ship has comfy beds, as they don't switch out all of them at once.

 

The previous poster is correct that the mattresses do wear out quickly. But the problem is that Carnival is not replacing them with their classic soft comfy mattresses anymore. They're replacing them with rocks. The sofa beds are even worse, by the way. My first sofa bed was as comfy as any bed can be. Not anymore. They are now even harder than rocks. I now sleep on top of the comforter to add some padding. Otherwise, I would sleep horribly. I didn't figure out that trick on the Miracle, and I was desperate to get off the ship so that I could get some good sleep. I also hope that Carnival will change their minds about going the cheap route with bedding and the entertainment.

Does anyone remember when Carnival used to provide a flyer in your cabin trying to sell you the mattress sets they use? They had some name for them like "Cloud" something or other. Not any more! Having cruised with Carnival 26 times, over 14 years, I can assure you these are not the same mattresses. Like many other items they became victims of cost reduction. I read something about 3-4 years ago which contained a statement from Carnival they were still buying mattresses from the same supplier they had been buying from for years and that there was no change in the quality of the bedding. I envisioned a bit of "nose growth" with that one!!!

Some people become highly emotional whenever something negative is brought up. People are attempting to vet the OP's onboard actions, paint previous communications with Carnival in a certain light, or outright dismiss the OP's legitimate concerns all in defense of the company.

 

I maintain that if a company offering does not live up to expectations, and especially if you have tried to have those issues rectified at time of service and they were not, that writing to the company can only be positive. Again, no one has to be negative, nasty, demanding, or rude to the company, but factually asserting what you encountered, how you felt, and what your expectation was will assist other cruisers in the future assuming HQ has good communication with onboard staff.

 

My advice to the peanut gallery is to not take it as a personal attack on your preferred brand, but to put yourself in their shoes and ask would you have enjoyed a similar experience, what would your expectation be, and how could it be reasonably rectified or improved upon in the future. I think it is great that another cruiser wants to address these issues for the betterment of all. I read absolutely no sense of entitlement to "something" or to come out ahead of their current position.

I could not have said it better myself! It is beyond me that the "Pom Pom" carrying crowd not only defends critical service issues regarding Carnival but that they do it in a malicious way. It's a shame that human nature does not dictate to many human beings that they should compliment a company when they meet our expectations. Is that not what we paid for? That's what they promised. In my mind compliments are for going above and beyond and

exceeding our expectations.

In this case the OP had perfect reason to share their disappointments with Carnival both aboard the ship and afterwards. Constructive criticism that is the roadmap for improvement.

I don't consider myself "special" or above anyone else. I enjoy cruising with all ages of people and actually enjoy cruising with the new cruisers because sometimes I can help them with questions they have regarding their cruise. if you feel you are a "commoner" and I am above you, that is your problem, not mine, because in no way do I feel that way. Remember that I too was once a first time cruiser. And never ever felt envious to those who were lucky enough to have cruised many times. And never, ever said ugly things to the. As far as encouraging new cruisers, word of mouth from cruisers like myself, have brought onboard many many many new cruisers. In the last 3 cruise, i have brought 6 new cruiser along. Word of mouth.

It does not seem you can convince those who have not yet reached Platinum or Diamond that our angst has absolutely nothing to do with them. Our criticism is only directed at Carnival management for the lack of respect they have had for our loyalty. I think that I can speak for most that we do not think of them as "commoners" or beneath us in anyway. In fact as far as I am concerned I do not blame them in anyway for taking advantage of these offers. What I do have an issue with is for those who have not yet reached Platinum/Diamond criticizing all Platinum and Diamond cruisers and accusing us of holding ourselves above them and any other other descriptive phrases they have used. Bottom line is they really do need to look at this from another point of view and not be quite so defensive. This defensiveness is really a misplaced position.