Cruising Rules

Agree with both.

 

We have always seen the cover band but they have been puttingthem outside the casino which is a really dumb place for them.

 

Cannot hear well over the noise and too many people walking back and forth.

 

Put comedy club where it belongs the main showroom and give the back lounge to cover band or at least on Conquest class put them accross from piano bar.

 

They inconvenience their passengers by putting late night comedy club in back lounge where people cannot see it unless they get there real early.

 

Another excellent idea!!!

Someone just posted a review today and they took pictures with the table with no table clothes on it, it is happening.

 

I was referring to the fact that Carnival is spending more money to deliver this new dining service. That statement was part of a Carnival press release.

Why do people assume cost cutting when the press coverage specifically says

 

 

 

That's right, Carnival is spending more money on food... therefore CUTBACKS!!!!!! :rolleyes:

 

Unfortunately this quote is taken from a Carnival Press Release. Either written by Carnival themselves or their PR company.

OK Carnival..

 

all your cost cutting and all the complaints and problems...here are 2 very easy fixes...

 

1) Bring back the cover band. The Filipino cover bands were fabulous.

 

Yeah we get that you don't want a huge real show (Like I saw on MSC Divina last month - dancers, singers, European Cirque acts, and much more)....you have cut back to 8 singer/dancers ....but please...get rid of one of the DJ's and bring back the cover band. It can't cost that much and it would greatly enhance the cruises and bring back the "fun" in fun ship

 

2) Move the late night adult comedy shows to the main showroom....don't make this such a high anxiety time for us...don't make us leave and line up and wait in line....

 

Yeah we get that you want to sell drinks....so put lots of servers with pushcarts in the show room...set up rolling bars at the entry doors...whatever whatever....but stop the insanity OK?

 

 

 

I am looking forward to my Conquest cruise on Sunday - love the 2.0, hear Conquest is beautiful...but...yeah I am worried about the entertainment and the comedy club lines. I think these 2 simple suggestions would greatly enhance the experience for so many passengers.

 

Oh yeah Carnival - you can send me a check for this marketing expertise :)

 

Bravo - two excellent ideas.

The real question is. How is the food??:confused:

 

Ditto!!!!! If you have world class food you don't need to worry about décor. If you have Carnival food well that's a different story. You need to enhance the atmosphere not take it away.

Well for all of you that said NO, that is a Michelin Star restaurant in NYC. Peter Luger's world renowned Steakhouse. Very fine dining and people from all over the world come to eat there. The food is divine.

\

So I guess most of you have never dined at award winning places.

 

Firstly you can't be serious comparing Peter Luger's to the Carnival main dining room. Lets see do I want a Peter Luger's steak or a flat iron steak? Give me a minute to think about that one! Peter Luger's gets a Michelin Star for FOOD!! The only stars that Carnival will see are those they sail under on a clear evening. Peter Luger's gets away with this because they serve incredible food. Carnival must do all they can to offset the quality of the food.

They have been cruising from SF for years till some locals started complaining to the former mayors

They do HI, AK ,Pacific and MR cruises year round

I think if it is profitable more cruiselines will come

 

Why Doesn't Princess sail from NOLA

To Expensive for the locals that prefer CCL and NCL

 

My wife and I have twice done the Princess cruise out of San Francisco to Alaska. It's a great 10 day itinerary!

Princess is one of the cruise lines that fall under the Carnival Corp umbrella. :p

 

Princess has been essentially offering free cruises from the left coast from ships killing time before cruising elsewhere. If business doesn't pick up I think any new comers to the left coast won't last long and the left coast may well lose more of what they have.

 

Perhaps even go the way of Mobile.

 

As hard as it might be for you to believe, I know that Princess is part of the Carnival Corporation. Run by a different management team I think they make their own decisions. That being said I did not know you had joined the board of directors of Princess. Thanks for giving us the inside scoop on their long range planning. We would all be lost without your guidance. I am glad there is someone on these boards who truly has the back room information we are all yearning for. Thanks!

Hey its Alan.

Some people that cruise on multiple lines don't look at Carnival thru rose colored glasses.

 

Thank you! There is no one or no thing that is perfect. There are those on here who think that Carnival does no wrong. As I have stated I am a long time supporter of Carnival and after 26 cruises on their ships I have formed some opinions. I have also had 10 cruises on other lines. I will continue to point out the positive and critical observations that I make about Carnival because I have the frame of reference to do so. I continue to maintain that Carnival's "mojo" has taken a hit because they have with obvious cutbacks, "devalued" their product appreciably. They don't do everything poorly but overall the cutbacks have created a product that is becoming less and less competitive with other lines. This combined with quite a few older and neon laden vessels makes their market effort a continuous up hill effort. As a west coaster I like Carnival for its convenience to my home. With that said, Princess is basing two ships out here and now Celebrity for the first time in years is offering 12 seasonal sailings out of Los Angeles. These carriers must see an opening in the market for them to take these steps. I think it's time for Carnival to "max their mojo" or face a market that perceives them as second rate.

Of course I use the MDR and rarely use room service. Many people don't use it at all.

 

I really don't see the need for cheerleaders of other cruise lines to come to the Carnival board attempting to berate Carnival. I also don't understand the obsession they have, but it does make a good point for not cruising on those lines. I don't care for that mentality.

 

Perhaps they should change the name of this board to "Carnival Cheerleaders". In that way you will only read things that agree with your very narrow perspective. Think how good that will feel. The rest of us will post our comments on the Carnival Board and thus be able to offer "opinions" based on our experiences without being called names such as snobs, complainers or trashers. I for one think after 26 Carnival cruises that Carnival does somethings well but also after 8 or 9 years I see the "value quotient" diminishing. Like others I should be able to post my opinions (both good and critical) about Carnival without ridicule and name calling. This is what public discourse is all about.

Your argument makes my point. For the times when I want a bit better service, including better room service, it's good to know there are other cruise lines. Why settle for an inferior product if I have the means and the will to get it?

 

Agree, you provided a good frame of reference for your point. There are some who would have you believe that the ability of a line to take you to the next level service wise is worthless. I for one enjoy those little extras. After all I am on vacation. If I had to fetch my own food to get it hot, my kitchen at home is just steps away. Carnival sometimes does it right and sometimes leaves something to be desired.

[quote name='hihosilvers']Carnival is trying to keep themselves at the entry-level price point for cruising. There will always be an automatic customer base for the cheapest option - and they are intent on staying there. The are making constant (I won't say cost cutting) adjustments to stay there. Simple business. If NCL and RCCL wish to improve their product, and raise prices accordingly, they can fight with each other. Carnival will still be alone at the bottom, which is not a bad thing. My family is about to sail on our 5th Carnival cruise, and if they can keep the value/$ about the same, we'll keep on going.[/QUOTE]

Your points are well taken. The only thing I might offer is that I find with a little "shopping" I can find prices for other lines that are comparable to Carnival pricing. I think the issue for Carnival is as they make these "adjustments" as you refer to them, they are creating a service gap (between themselves and their competitors) that will not match their "lower prices". These continuous adjustments are eliminating the value perception that often was associated with the Carnival product. If an individual can book on Holland, Royal or even Celebrity (at times) for a 5%-10% premium, over time, as the Carnival value quotient continues to erode, Carnival will continue to lose support. Yes all carriers have had cutbacks but in my mind it seems that Carnival is taking this to a more extreme level.

Funny how people make up their minds with such little information. I am neither for or against the changes. I don't have enough information yet. Maybe after I try it I will form my opinion. But it does sound worth trying.

 

While you have taken a wait and see attitude (which of course is logical) I feel I have been conditioned by continuous disappointments over the years. MY experience over the last few years is improvements at Carnival are synonymous with cost reductions. I hope your wait and see attitude is one that finds that at CCL for the first time in many years, improvements do mean something better. If I am wrong then maybe Carnival finally got the message. If I am unfortunately correct, then I can vote with my wallet. Thanks for your input.

You might be right. There are people confused, its probably all of us not you.;) Oh, wait another way to see it is the30 or 40 Carnival trashers that can always find a way to find something negative, are the ones confused....let me see.

 

From one of the 30 or 40 trashers to a clear member of the defenders, I assure you that this new dining program will be a downgrade. After 26 cruises on Carnival over the last 8 or 9 years Carnival has been consistent about one thing. They are good at taking things away and telling you how they have made it better. I am afraid the new MDR dining program will be no exception. Other then rooms available upon boarding, there is a growing list of takeaways. But hey, of course I would say that, I am a "trasher". Let's agree to disagree.

Looking at the menu, there is no need for table clothes, I mean, Denny's doesn't have them, why should the CCL mdr have them? You'll be getting mangos, carrot sticks and potato chips to dip in the sweet and sour sauce, plus you'll still be able to get the wondeful flat iron steak- wow!

 

Don't waste your breath. You are surrounded by Carnival "defenders" who in reality will defend any move or "brilliant" improvement Carnival makes. Carnival has found a way (brilliantly I might add) to convince the masses again that they have come up with an incredible improvement to the main dining room experience. This from the same organization that gave us improvements like a spokesperson who never quite shares the most accurate information and the company that brought you FTTF. Oh yes and the line that does not understand the importance to its guests of quality entertainment or worse yet, live music. Funny how no other line has felt it wise to offer their own spokesperson or appreciably downgraded their entertainment product or developed a program that enables anyone to reap many of the loyalty benefits that Carnival's best supporters get. Oh that's right they have to pay $50 a cabin for this. Bottom line is that Carnival has done this as a cost cutting move and the proof will be in the pudding (pardon the pun)

This is a line that must charge less then its competitors to survive. So it is no secret they must continuously reduce costs and this new dining experience will be no exception.

I think I should have dropped a semi-colon in there somewhere to add inflection. Just meant that the postings early this afternoon were of the feast menu, but clearly just a portion of the overall changes, meaning other days menus and what is changing in the MDR physically speaking. Sometimes inflection gets lost on the internet and a point comes across differently than intended.

 

No reflection on you. If you thought I was critical of you I apologize. My only point was that if I was releasing this menu I would release the entire "Feast" menu. (which I am betting they did) Less items offered less cost.

that is why we always go on expedia to comparison shop before booking direct.

 

Good advice for all!

In the last few days we decided to do a December cruise and checked out all the options.

 

carnival was not the cheapest.

 

I agree! There is a mis-conception that Carnival is always the cheapest option. With a little shopping you can find specific sailings with others, including Celebrity at comparable or even cheaper price points. This is not wishful thinking, it's reality.

I took it to mean sides to be served off a platter by waitstaff. Veggies and starches. Maybe they reduce the amount plated so that people can order multiple mains without wasting the sides. I remember years and years ago waitstaff serving side dishes off of trays at request.

 

The sample menu looks good. Clearly only a portion of one night menu but it sounds appealing to me.

 

Are you sure it's "clearly only a portion of the Feast menu? If I was a betting man, I would bet that this is it. Yes you might be able to special order a flat iron steak but there will me limited choices. Reduced menu items, reduced cost. Carnival has trained me well. At least they have me understanding their devious minds when it comes to "brilliant" cost cutting ideas. In my mind, Carnival is becoming the Wal-Mart of the seas!

DH and I are thinking of taking the Carnival bus transport from POM to FLL. We've never done the Carnival transport before. We had a bad experience with a shared ride service once and taxis are expensive, so we figured this was the middle ground. My question is, how long can you stay on the ship before your board the bus? I'd rather be waiting on the ship than the bus. Also, what is the earliest flight you should book?

 

We recently took a taxi to and from POM and FLL. Both ways it was about $70 + tip. With the Carnival bus costing $60 (for two) each way I felt the taxi was a bargin. You go when you want to and don't sit on a bus waiting until its full. Hope this helps.

To the OP,

Like stated here, only differences you would notice would probably be cosmetic in nature. Also, very few crew members would still be working on either ship from when this poster sailed on them...2011 and 2012 respectively. Most crew would have been re-assigned to a new vessel by this point if they even are still working for Carnival (High turnover rate). Check out some recent reviews on both ships as far as crew friendliness, service, and maybe even cruise director are concerned.

 

My wife and I have been on both ships recently. We have sailed the Inspiration several times within 2013 and just completed a cruise on the Imagination out of Miami. The major difference we observed that the management of the main dining room was much better on the Inspiration then we found on the Imagination. Consistently slow service and hit and miss food quality on the Imagination. We both felt the MDR staff on the Imagination seemed dis-jointed meaning they did not seem to work as a team. Also everyone we came in contact with, while courteous, did not seem to be enjoying their jobs. There seemed to be a much better mindset on the Inspiration. Hope this helps!

Actually, Tom, I'm a little miffed at my PVP . . . when I booked this November 18 four-day cruise, I asked her if there were any other cruises leaving Long Beach that were SOLO without the penalty, and she responded NO. I later noticed that the MIRACLE was doing this for the Dec. 8th cruise. As it turns out I have a prior commitment for that week, but she should have suggested that also.

 

I'm sure this little bonus is not fleet wide. I think it's just for the problem areas Carnival is having filling their ships. The West Coast is a disaster, IMHO. With the housing crash and recession, I think they are just having big problems filling their ships here.

 

While I think you perceive that Carnival is having trouble filling their ships on the west coast, they in reality all go out full, often at higher prices then similar cruises out of Florida. This is also evidenced by the fact that starting in January the Imagination is being repositioned from Miami and will join the Inspiration in offering similar 3&4 day cruises out of Long Beach on different days. Combine this with seasonal Miracle sailings I think the West coast for Carnival is doing just fine. I assure you the west coast is NOT a disaster for Carnival.

we are flying back home after the cruise from Fort Lauderdale. Is there a shuttle from Miami to FLL? Taxi prices?

 

Just took a taxi last Friday from the ship in Miami to FLL. $72+tip. I gave the driver $80. The Carnival bus does not always leave right away and for an extra $20 ($60 for two) I thought the taxi was a much more flexible option. Hope that helps!

Have not been on a Princess cruise yet but from the roll call seems like a more sophisticated group wanting to see the world and not looking for a quick DOD as soon as they board.

 

Will be interesting to see how we like it.

 

I am sure you will enjoy it. Have a memorable trip!

Ok, well Hubby and I thought we were going to go on CCL Dream for sure then we found out we are able to get a good deal on the Caribbean Princess which would be about the same in cost as the cruise we were planning on the Dream out of NOLA.

 

So, now we are torn! We love Carnival, but would also love to sail Princess as well. We are wanting a nice, romantic, and relaxed cruise for our anniversary. Can anyone please tell me what the differences are between the two? Any advice?

 

thanks!

 

Having just been on both a Princess cruise in July and a Carnival cruise last week I would agree with several of the responses I have seen here.

In terms of food I think Carnival is superior in the buffet but not as good as Princess in the dining room.

The entertainment is FAR superior on Princess with lots of choices as far as live music and talented musicians are concerned. No pre-recorded music and video's for scenery as Carnival has evolved to.

The Princess ships seem to be much more subdued when it comes interior design.

We have 26 cruises on Carnival and 4 cruises on Princess. We are beginning to find Princess a more satisfying experience. With that said we are in our 60's and maybe a more subdued cruise experience is what WE have evolved to. :-)

Hope this helps!