Carnival Opens Aft Pools on Several Cruise Ships to Families

I really dislike this move by Carnival. Even Disney recognizes the need to have a pool just for adults. Clearly this was a revenue driven decision and the cruise line is willing to assume the risk that folks who disagree will still cruise, regardless. Only a boycott where large numbers of folks take their business to other cruise lines will have any effect...and that won't happen. Look at smoking...many, many people detest that they can no longer smoke on their balconies, but they keep spending their money on Carnival, so the cruise line can ignore their ire.

My initial reaction was to not like it. But it really helps those who like adult only.

By specifying certain ships as "family friendly", it make the other ships less likely to have kids. I just know that if I'm sailing without my kids I will make sure the cruise I book will have an 'adult only' pool. And the adult only pool will take precedence over cruiseline loyalty.

I just hope they don't change the serenity area on the Pride. I love it!

LOL, I just cruised on Pride last week. It was phenomenal and the serenity deck was our favorite place. Those clam shells are cozy. Loved everything about it. I see why it has such a big fan base.

It is an awesome ship if you can overlook some of the art.

I'm also not happy with this change by Carnival. I just feel like any of us that cruise as couples our cruise with adult children don't really matter to Carnival anymore. We have cruised with Carnival for years and only went on another cruise line once, but that was not by choice. That was a Christmas gift of a family cruise from DH's parents, a cruise that his whole family went on. We stuck with Carnival because it was fun and provided a great cruise. I am aware that most of the ships have serenity. Problem is, not many of the ships' serenity areas have pools to cool off in. And try getting a seat in serenity if you want to sleep in a little on sea day morning.

I don't mind that Carnival wants to be more "family friendly" but I think they are starting to go overboard with it though. We're not asking for Carnival to take something away from children and their families, we're only wanting to keep something we already had. We love(d) the Conquest Class ships in that they had the aft adult only pools and that is where we'd spend our sea days. Casino's aren't "kid friendly" but it's illegal for those under 18 to gamble, so Carnival may keep those. But what's next? It seems to be that when John Heald posts angry letters from people or asks multiple questions on a certain subject then there is a good possibility that there will be a change taking place. Anyone else notice the letters from angry parents about the self-serve ice cream and not wanting their children to have 24 hour access? How about the letters/questions about the "Men's Hairy Chest contest" and other "adult" activities? And the comedians...letters/questions about the "adult only Rated R" shows. Are these things that are going to be taken away too? How long is it going to be before Carnival allows babies/toddlers in diapers and swim diapers into the pools? After all, it IS their vacation too and they shouldn't be denied access to the pools just because they aren't potty trained.

I think it's time for Carnival to update the look of the "whale tail" funnel with a new, family friendly look, so here's an idea:

I'm also not happy with this change by Carnival. I just feel like any of us that cruise as couples our cruise with adult children don't really matter to Carnival anymore. We have cruised with Carnival for years and only went on another cruise line once, but that was not by choice. That was a Christmas gift of a family cruise from DH's parents, a cruise that his whole family went on. We stuck with Carnival because it was fun and provided a great cruise. I am aware that most of the ships have serenity. Problem is, not many of the ships' serenity areas have pools to cool off in. And try getting a seat in serenity if you want to sleep in a little on sea day morning.

 

I don't mind that Carnival wants to be more "family friendly" but I think they are starting to go overboard with it though. We're not asking for Carnival to take something away from children and their families, we're only wanting to keep something we already had. We love(d) the Conquest Class ships in that they had the aft adult only pools and that is where we'd spend our sea days. Casino's aren't "kid friendly" but it's illegal for those under 18 to gamble, so Carnival may keep those. But what's next? It seems to be that when John Heald posts angry letters from people or asks multiple questions on a certain subject then there is a good possibility that there will be a change taking place. Anyone else notice the letters from angry parents about the self-serve ice cream and not wanting their children to have 24 hour access? How about the letters/questions about the "Men's Hairy Chest contest" and other "adult" activities? And the comedians...letters/questions about the "adult only Rated R" shows. Are these things that are going to be taken away too? How long is it going to be before Carnival allows babies/toddlers in diapers and swim diapers into the pools? After all, it IS their vacation too and they shouldn't be denied access to the pools just because they aren't potty trained.

 

I think it's time for Carnival to update the look of the "whale tail" funnel with a new, family friendly look, so here's an idea:

That's awesome! LOL. I used to love reading and answering John H's questions/surveys... now I'm genuinely concerned every time I see one! They just keep taking more and more away. Our first experience on a cruise was with Carnival in 2013 and it was wonderful... Our 2nd experience was on the Liberty and while the cruise/itinerary was great, you could tell that there were less staff and they were not happy workers. Our last experience was on the Splendor and we absolutely LOVED the aft adult pool! On our previous cruises, there were always kids jumping in, bumping around in the pools and splashing every where... (so much for those drinks!) On the Splendor we really enjoyed the relative peace and quiet and no rowdiness of the aft pool...we could even get into the hot tub from time to time and not have to worry about snorkeling or splashing kids.

I've pretty much ignored or had no problem with most of the crappy changes they've made in the past, but for some reason this one took me over the edge and I'm pissed. I currently have 5 more cruises booked over the next couple years and I was so excited about them. Now I'm grumpy and almost wishing I hadn't booked them yet. I know it's silly, but this was just the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. I know there are those who would say it's just my attitude and I have the power to be happy or not... that's true...and for all the other changes, I've dealt with it that way... but now it's just getting to be too much.

I know it's Carnival's company and they can do whatever they want...and if I don't like it, I can take my business elsewhere... and sadly, after these next 5, I'm actually looking into other lines. Yes, they may have screwy problems just like Carnival, but at least I'll be going into it knowing that and not having already enjoyed the things they are taking away all the time.

Pretty soon there won't be a serenity deck...And if you look at the Sunshine's Serenity, that is just screaming to be taken over by kids.... And the serenity on most ships doesn't have a pool so it is NOT a valid replacement for the aft pool...

Maybe they could be even more realistic and change their funnel to one that represents the clientele that they appear to be craving:

Beating the Horse again

agreed, but we booked Splendor for the adult only AFT pool....( love kids, have 3, and one Granddaughter), but I would like to read quietly and relax without the splashing and such. I read something about Carnival having certain ships that are more catered to families, is this true? maybe we as consumers who would like a more adult experience could just avoid the ships that cater to the famlies. ? Is this true anyway??

agreed, but we booked Splendor for the adult only AFT pool....( love kids, have 3, and one Granddaughter), but I would like to read quietly and relax without the splashing and such. I read something about Carnival having certain ships that are more catered to families, is this true? maybe we as consumers who would like a more adult experience could just avoid the ships that cater to the famlies. ? Is this true anyway??

I don't really know if it's true that certain ships are more geared to families or not. My hubby and I have been on 6 cruises with Carnival. The first cruise was 1992 on Festivale, which is long gone. We have been on Miracle, Glory, Valor, and Liberty twice. Our cruises were spaced apart at the beginning, but we did cruise 3 years in a row from 2013 - 2015, which is RARE. But I will say that with each cruise we've been on over the years, more things are added for kids. I think, at first, that was to accommodate people vacationing with their kids so the kids would have activities and not be bored out of their minds. But it seems to be taken to a whole new level now by adding attractions (water works, ropes courses, splash pools, for example) that will really appeal to kids and draw families from the over priced Disney over to Carnival.

As for specific ships, I'm probably not much help there. I'm not sure about Miracle since it's been over 10 years, but her sister ship, Pride, has a pool in the serenity area. I believe Sunshine also has a pool in serenity and don't know if those are the only two or for how long it will remain that way on those ships. Glory, Valor, and Liberty are all Conquest class and had the adult only aft pools that are now "family friendly". All of those but Conquest has serenity but there is no pool and good luck trying to use it on a sea day...in all of our experiences, way too crowded. I have seen reports that Conquest will be getting a serenity when she's upgraded. I've seen reports that there will be a pool in her serenity, but I can't confirm. I do believe that all the Conquest Class (Conquest, Glory, Valor, Liberty, and Freedom) will be getting water works when they get their upgrades, which is a huge draw for families sailing with kids. Glory already had hers. We've never been on a ship larger than the Conquest class but do know that they have more "bells and whistles", including the water works for the kids. Can't really give an opinion on the Fantasy class since we've never been on one of them.

I think, over all, Carnival seems to be making changes that appeal more to families vs. couples. Now I don't know about the shorter, 3 - 5 day cruises that Carnival offers that many claim to be "booze cruises" and whether families sailing with kids will avoid those. We've only been on 7 day cruises, so I've never experienced one of the shorter cruises to know what all goes on.

How many of these Adult only pool threads we gonna have..... Geez !!!!

I'm not a very experienced cruiser, so I'm not sure my experience matters too much, and it wasn't even Carnival, but I can say that on our cruise last year on RC, there was an adult pool and I can only remember one time where there was one adult in it. The rest of the time it was empty. There were two family pools and a splash pads for the kids, which were packed. With this upcoming cruise, I only see one pool, and if there are a lot of kids, I can only imagine how crowded that one pool will be. It would be nice to have another area to go to.