Times They Are A Changing

[Cardinala]

I've been pondering over the past few days whether or not to post my review here and explain my concerns. I've decided I should (even though I may --check that-- will get flamed for it).

This was our 6th consecutive year choosing Carnival as our yearly vacation destination. We've (group of 10-20 cabins--depending on the year) been on the Imagination/Liberty/Elation/Destiny/Valor and this past week the Carnival Glory.

We've loved our past cruises, and obviously continued to spend our hard earned money and limited vacation days out on the open seas. But those days are over.

I don't think I will bother with the little details (ie rude service/crowded lines/chair hogs) as these can happen to anyone at anytime and should not affect future holidays plans. Let's get on to the big stuff......

1. PRICES

I had always said to myself that the amount of dollars saved in the price of the cruise compared to an all inclusive resort pays for my drinks and then some. Well...not this time. At $25 for a 4 beer bucket I am going to have to get a second job if I plan on drinking anytime in the future on a Carnival ship. Even the soft drinks are nearly $3 w/tip. These are not reasonable to me.

2. ENTERTAINMENT

I can't say the entertainment was non-existent because they did have the regular shows in the main lounge every night. But for a past Carnival cruiser tired of the same song and dance shows every night, we need more.

OUT:

- Karaoke.

- Live Music (unless you consider the toe tapping elevator music in front of the casino bar as live music).

-Midnight Buffets (I know this also falls under the "food" category which is up next, but it is also something to do when you're bored).

IN:

-Bingo

-Comedy Club....this is where they use the same two comedians all week long using the same material every night. Not much of a club to me. It is being tried on a few ships and eventually will be fleet wide.

-Bingo

-More Bingo

-Poker Tourneys

-Keep Playing Bingo!

I remember the good old days when you'd get your caper in your room for the day’s events, and all the different entertainment would be listed. On my last day at sea I went through the caper and realized every single event was for sale. Either it was the spa, the gold chain sale, golf, bingo, jewelry, supper club, casino events, art auctions, drink specials, shopping sales, photo opts, etc. etc. etc. The cruise director was also constantly on the PA system selling selling selling.

Where do you end up when you have nothing to do? For most of us, it's the casino. For some it's the bingo. For others it's in their room watching TV (although these did not work properly...and neither did the in-room movies). Less free entertainment = more revenue generated?

3. FOOD

Not up to par with past cruises. The supper club is now a big sale on the ship. They have announcements daily, caper highlights, and food carts on what seem to be every corner of the ship. Carnival is really pushing the Steakhouse. This is another expense that I am not willing to pay on a nightly basis for dinner that used to be included in the price of the cruise.

Lunch buffets now open much later, and are closed much earlier than in the past. If you do not want to fight with the line-ups at noon, then go have a cheeseburger later because that's all the choice you have. I'm not much for desserts, but for those who are you'd better get there early because those close immediately after the lunch rush.

4. SERVICE

Ok. If you are crazy enough to pay $25 for 4 beer (like I was several times), what do you do if your drinks do not arrive after 30 minutes? And what do you do if no other drink servers will help you to resolve the issue?

Was I charged? Should I go to my room and check my folio?

Now tell me what you do when this happens 4 times in the same week?

Don't even try to order single drinks, as they will try and talk to into a bucket each time (larger tip). It got to the point that I just stopped ordering drinks, and would go to the bar and get one myself.

The second last night of the cruise, I was in the casino (hey, I had nothing better to do) when my card in the sign & sail was declined. I went down to the purser’s desk to stand in a line wrapping around the elevators at this point. When I got up to the front I was told abruptly my credit card needed to be re-swiped before I could use the sign & sail again. You mean I have to go to my stateroom now and get my card and line up again? Yes. Most of our group was affected by this.

Sure these things happen. It's not the end of the world. No system is perfect. But a "sorry for the inconvenience" wouldn't hurt. Just another example of service I've never experienced on a Carnival ship before. Politeness was always a given. I would've sworn by it before this past cruise to anyone who was considering a Carnival cruise.

Tables in the lunch areas were not clean. I found myself several times bringing my food to my room or lounge chair simply because tables were not cleaned off.

There seem to be alot of training and crew drills taking part last week. Not too sure if that was because the ship was fresh out of dry dock and it was all new staff. This may be a reason for some of the service issues, but c'mon. As a customer, I do not want to be used as a training partner in every aspect.

There were other minor details that were out of our control, such as:

-10 people being seated at an 8 person table (nobody likes having their elbow in your neighbors’ plate)

-Many people on board had a virus. Many people were sick in the public washrooms and saw several in the hallways being sick. Obviously there was a virus on board, but not one single announcement was made(he did mention the bingo a couple of times though). Five folks in our group got hit hard and were out of commission for 3 days. It would have been nice to hear an announcement of some kind reminding people to wash up as we all have to push the same buttons and open the same door handles.

-Most nights room service was not finished your room by the end of dinner, which made for awkward moments when you wanted to change out of dinner clothes (so you could head up to the casino!).

I have always been loyal to Carnival. I am a daily reader of John Heald’s Blog. I am not normally much of a reader in general, but I like his style. After this past week’s experience, I have to wonder though if we are not being sold a product by reading this blog now. I catch myself thinking about all the times I read about the Steak Houses on board, or the competition between different cruise lines (ie bad talk), blogger cruises, service excellence as compared to resort hotels, etc. I personally felt like I had a hand in my pocket for the entire week, and it has opened my eyes to questioning I guess.

In no way am I trying to discourage anyone from enjoying their Carnival cruise. I consider myself quite knowledgeable in the cruising holiday lifestyle. I have read on these boards for a few years now regularly. I myself would use Carnival again if I decided to cruise again as I think the issues are industry wide. Profits up, corners cut to reduce costs. I am wondering if other cruisers are feeling the same way?

For the first time ever, I am happy to be home from a cruise. I think that says a lot. Next year will be our groups’ first winter vacation at an all-inclusive resort.

[bermudagal56]

which ship were you on?

[bermudagal56]

never mind, just re-read and saw it was glory

[LemurCat]

I have to wonder though if we are not being sold a product by reading this blog now.

 

Well, of course you were! That's the man's job!

 

That said, sounds like you caught "a bad clam" as we say in my office when normally good things suddenly go wrong. By all means, go to an AI next year. Change is good. Come back when you're ready to give Carnival another try.

[tnincy]

i think everyone has a bad experience at some point or another on a cruise. i had one on my last and i am not sure when i will book again. i do like the AI's and feel they are just as much bang for your buck.

[Chris64]

Before you start getting flamed by the others, let me say I can see your point. Ever since Jerry Cahill took over the company, the corner cutting and profit increasing has been steadily getting worse.

I am still booking cruises, but if this trend continues, then, like you, I will start to reconsider going back to AI's.

[firefly333]

Iv come home from the last 3 cruises sick, two were B2Bs, so Im sure I caught whatever on the ship.. I agree its a issue that you are with a lot of sick people, just gotta hope and pray they arent around you. Someone next to me was throwing up as we did disembarkation on the Ecstasy :( She was almost too sick to stand and get off.

 

I would book but there are no deals, prices seem up up and away on booking anything right now .. and Carnival is promising to raise rates even higher. I can do Alaska cheaper on multiple cruiselines, and cant make up my mind if I want to jump ship.

 

Im looking at land vacations if I dont find something for the next month or two... I cruised a whole bunch last year, so I may be cruised out and just need a break. Maybe you too need a break?? How about we all meet in Branson?? Its cheap.

[pe4all]

Wow! Sorry to hear of your unhappy experience on Glory. We had just the opposite on Liberty 2/13-2/20. There were plenty of free activities offered in the Funtimes, (games, trivia, etc.) the crew was extremely friendly and efficient, the cd made only necessary announcements, buffet was immediately cleaned (sometimes too fast - they were ready to remove plates before we finished!) Shows were okay, bingo was once - maybe 2x a day, if that. (they played "new" games - such as clear your sign and sail card bingo, bingo on the lido deck/showroom at the same time, etc.) If you were seated at a round dinner table, it fits 10. The squares by the windows fit 8. As for illness - unfortunately that can happen at any time. Announcements were constantly made to use the hand sanitizers located around the ship. Maybe you are right - maybe it was because the ship was recently out of drydock with a new crew. I'll tell you, though - we went to an all-inclusive for Christmas break, and literally kissed the deck of the Liberty when we boarded on the 13th. We were soooo bored at the AI - couldn't wait to cruise again. But try the AI - maybe you just need a change of pace. :)

[Traveler353]

OP: Your perceptions are just that, yours, so no flaming here about any thing that you wrote. However I was just wondering was there anything about the cruise that you actually liked? 100% negative reviews are actually pretty worthless. I can not believe that there was not one single thing about your cruise that you were not unhappy with.

[Cruise, J.D.]

Sorry you had a bad time. I agree with you about the drink prices. I doubt I will order more than a drink or two from now on. I understand about the shows too, but that doesn't bother me much. Service can always be hit or miss.

 

The one comment I don't understand is the lack of live music and karaoke. We went last year on the Glory and there were multiple styles of and venues for live music each night and karaoke was offered as well.

[firefly333]

I personally felt like I had a hand in my pocket for the entire week, and it has opened my eyes to questioning I guess.

In no way am I trying to discourage anyone from enjoying their Carnival cruise. I consider myself quite knowledgeable in the cruising holiday lifestyle. I have read on these boards for a few years now regularly. I myself would use Carnival again if I decided to cruise again as I think the issues are industry wide. Next year will be our groups’ first winter vacation at an all-inclusive resort.

 

OP: Your perceptions are just that, yours, so no flaming here about any thing that you wrote. However I was just wondering was there anything about the cruise that you actually liked? 100% negative reviews are actually pretty worthless. I can not believe that there was not one single thing about your cruise that you were not unhappy with.

 

I dont think his post/thread is meant as a comprehensive review, just some things he wanted to point out. Thats how I took it anyway. I can understand wanting to try something else out next time.

 

He also says if he cruises again, he will come back to Carnival, so he cant hold that negative of a view.

 

Im tired of the same shows and some things a little myself .. even though I still like cruising. If I say something negative, doesnt mean I hated my whole cruise.

[Cardinala]

OP: Your perceptions are just that, yours, so no flaming here about any thing that you wrote. However I was just wondering was there anything about the cruise that you actually liked? 100% negative reviews are actually pretty worthless. I can not believe that there was not one single thing about your cruise that you were not unhappy with.

 

 

-The weather was nice.

 

-New Serenity area is beautiful (did not get a chance to sit in there, but walked through a couple of times).

 

-New flat screen tv's in the bedrooms (once they get their satellite feed fixed up they should come in handy).

 

-Can't go wrong with the twister ice cream cones.

 

-My wife won $200 in the casino. That covered my losses.

 

-Piano man was quite good (lots of smoke in there though, but if you smoke that could be the place for you).

 

-Don't miss the french onion soup in the dining room.

[Sherman793]

I will say this....the only disappointing cruise I have had with Carnival was on the Glory. Have been on Liberty, Valor, Freedom and next is Dream. I will not pick Glory for another trip. While I do not believe our level of discontent was as high as yours I also felt relieved to get off that ship.

 

Not all cruises are perfect and we are clearly ready to go again in a few months. I have high expectations that this time will be better!:D

[k2]

We are on the Glory in April. Were there any midnight buffets? Are they gone? Was there a fee for mini golf?

[spleenstomper]

When reading your post, the first thing I wondered-- before you said it-- was there a virus on board. It sounded like they were short staffed, and I'm guessing it was becaus 1) crew was sick and or 2) crew was sanitizing public areas.

 

It's a bummer anyway.

[ryanpatricksmom]

Sorry that things didn't work out this time. :(

 

We always have some negative experiences on each cruise, but to date, I can't say that I've ever been grateful to be home. When that day comes, like you, I will take a break from cruising and do something different. I doubt that it will be an AI for me though, because usually when I do get irritated on a cruise, it has more to do with some of the clientele than the cruise itself...and being stuck with any group for a week, can be taxing. It always seems like the fellow travelers that are the most annoying, are the ones that you see EVERYWHERE!

 

Anyway, we really haven't noticed much being scaled back, because we don't take advantage of alot of what's offered. We look at a cruise as a way to unhook from our real world, so the whistles and bells don't mean much to me. We stopped eating in the MDR ages ago, and don't miss any of the changes in the food as a result.

 

At the end of the day, it is the cheapest way, by far, to spend a week with my husband. Our balcony cabin in November is $499 pp, with no airfare. It would have to be a pretty bad trip to be considered a bad value. We're sailing in May for $709 pp, and I have slightly higher expectations, but the ports should take care of that. Finally, in September, we're paying quite a bit more (and using skymiles for 1st class airfare), but we're going to Alaska, so we could be on the KonTiki raft and still accomplish what we're looking for in that experience.

[hankandteri]

Not flaming you at all, but I think if I had essentially the same vacation six years in a row, small changes in the quality of service would be magnified for me too, and I'd be ready for a break.

 

Maybe after six cruises on the same line, it might be time to mix it up a little by taking a land-based vacation somewhere.

 

Or maybe it might be time to give another cruise line a try to see if what they have to offer is more to your liking.

[katiel53]

I am really surprised that your trip on Glory was not to your liking. When Glory was in Pt Canaveral, we sailed on the ship many times and loved it.

 

I guess I am a bit confused about a couple of things in your review though. Firstly, did you know there is a deli that is open from 11AM until about 11PM? Did you know there is a Chinese type food area near the buffet? Did you know there is a Fish N Chips that is located on the level above the buffet? What about pizza? These were all open when we were on Glory. Sometimes they were open the same times as the buffet, but sometimes longer.

 

As far as the comedy shows go, yes there are comedians nightly. Did they change from having 4 comedians to only having 2 now? For example, comedian A would do the early shows, including the R rated show or now I think they are called unrated, on Monday, and then the late shows on Tuesday. Comedian B would do the late shows on Monday and early shows on Tuesday. They would then leave the ship and Comedians C&D would come onboard to do their shows on Thursday and Friday. That's how they were done when we were on Glory as well as when we were on Dream in January.

 

I know there is no longer a midnight buffet and there hasn't been one for a few years now. I think there is one night that has a Mexican buffet or something, but the days of the huge midnight buffet special and the regular midnight buffets are long done. There was so much waste involved that it really made sense to do away with them.

 

I do understand how annoying it can be to have someone trying to sell you something all the time. I guess I just tune them out, lol. It does sound as though there was a virus brought onto the ship that spread. I know for a fact that some cruisers who are sick, lie on the form that is filled out when boarding. They have spent their money for a vacation and by darn it they are going to go on vacation and too bad for anyone else. I do think that there should be reminders in the Capers etc. to wash your hands.

 

I do hope you enjoy your AI vacations and they prove to be what you expect. It's good to try different things to know what is best for you. Good luck.

[DebBrown]

As others have said, I think we have all had at least one bad experience on a cruise. I took one a few years back that was horrible but sure enough, two years later and I was aboard once again. I did notice that Carnival tried to sell us on EVERYTHING. The DH and I are booked for the Liberty in September but I have to say, I'm not nearly as excited as I used to be. The only reason I booked it was because we got a GREAT deal on a balcony cabin. I think it may be time to mix things up a bit. We are not beach people so an AI wouldn't work for us but the mountains in the summer time would be a nice change.

[Cardinala]

 

 

As far as the comedy shows go, yes there are comedians nightly. Did they change from having 4 comedians to only having 2 now? For example, comedian A would do the early shows, including the R rated show or now I think they are called unrated, on Monday, and then the late shows on Tuesday. Comedian B would do the late shows on Monday and early shows on Tuesday. They would then leave the ship and Comedians C&D would come onboard to do their shows on Thursday and Friday. That's how they were done when we were on Glory as well as when we were on Dream in January.

 

 

They explained it as being a new "comedy club" routine that will be going fleetwide and they wanted our opinion on it. To me it seems less of a comedy club and more of a cost cutting option for two reasons:

 

A: If you've seen the comedian once, you've had your fill and will get out on the promenade and spend your money.

 

B: Do not have to spend the $$$ to continuously fly comedians on and off the ship. In years past we had a different comedian every night. But then again, we also had music to listen to and karaoke to sing along with every night as well.

[mlzangel78]

Heres my two cents on this,

 

It bothers me when people complain that the SHIP made them sick, I work in a heavy traffic office , clients come in sick all the time, You can get sick anywhere.

 

I thankfully have never had a bad cruise, but even if i did it wouldnt stop me from cruising, ive done all inclusives as well, the price i have paid to stay at an all inclusive was more than the TWO cruises im taking this year, The food was sub par to cruise food, however,, the fact that IM NOT cooking or cleaning for a week, i dont really care, its not like im going to go hungry at either an AI or a cruise line. There are wayyy to many options not to starve.

 

AI's- ive stayed at lower end starfish and breezes and iberostar resorts, and higher end palace, sandals, etc resorts.. ive had better food at the lower end ones and a better time..

 

Entertainment, the same entertainment week after week is provided at AI's just as it is on the cruise ship. theres really no difference there. Last november in mexico we saw the same acts at the AI as we did the year before, i watch movies over and over again, so id rather see the same act, then sit in my room bored.

 

Drinks: the drinks have NEVER been more watered down than at all the AI's ive been too,, thus the reason evern though its all inclusive id rather my ships bartender pour me a drink for 8.95 any day over haveing to order 25 at an AI and still not be buzzed LOL..

 

Weather... 7 days at an AI rained for 5 vs 7 days on a ship maybe only 1 port had rain.. atleast im not stuck in the same place with nothing to do all week.. at an AI if it rains there is NO daytime entertainment, just way over priced spa treatments that you and every other guest in the resort is now trying to book.. at Moon Palace golf and Spa in november i paid 125.00 for a 25 min back and neck massage.. on carnival ive paid that for a Full hour hot stone complete body massage...

 

that all being said,, i truly would rather sit in the rain for 7 days at an all inclusive resort or spend 7 days cruising the caribbean then be sitting at my desk at work... and it sure beats staying home for a week where i still have to walk to dog do laundry and cook and clean..

 

NOthing in life is perfect, things are uncontrollable, and people are infact human and make mistakes, i roll with the punches order another DOD and thank god that im not in my office and im alive and well and healthy enough to go on vacation..

 

I dont care what ship , what cruiseline, what port, what AI , just send me somewhere the palm trees sway and the rum runs deep :)

[ladycaveat]

I've been pondering over the past few days whether or not to post my review here and explain my concerns. I've decided I should (even though I may --check that-- will get flamed for it).

This was our 6th consecutive year choosing Carnival as our yearly vacation destination. We've (group of 10-20 cabins--depending on the year) been on the Imagination/Liberty/Elation/Destiny/Valor and this past week the Carnival Glory.

We've loved our past cruises, and obviously continued to spend our hard earned money and limited vacation days out on the open seas. But those days are over.

I don't think I will bother with the little details (ie rude service/crowded lines/chair hogs) as these can happen to anyone at anytime and should not affect future holidays plans. Let's get on to the big stuff......

1. PRICES

I had always said to myself that the amount of dollars saved in the price of the cruise compared to an all inclusive resort pays for my drinks and then some. Well...not this time. At $25 for a 4 beer bucket I am going to have to get a second job if I plan on drinking anytime in the future on a Carnival ship. Even the soft drinks are nearly $3 w/tip. These are not reasonable to me.

2. ENTERTAINMENT

I can't say the entertainment was non-existent because they did have the regular shows in the main lounge every night. But for a past Carnival cruiser tired of the same song and dance shows every night, we need more.

OUT:

- Karaoke.

- Live Music (unless you consider the toe tapping elevator music in front of the casino bar as live music).

-Midnight Buffets (I know this also falls under the "food" category which is up next, but it is also something to do when you're bored).

IN:

-Bingo

-Comedy Club....this is where they use the same two comedians all week long using the same material every night. Not much of a club to me. It is being tried on a few ships and eventually will be fleet wide.

-Bingo

-More Bingo

-Poker Tourneys

-Keep Playing Bingo!

I remember the good old days when you'd get your caper in your room for the day’s events, and all the different entertainment would be listed. On my last day at sea I went through the caper and realized every single event was for sale. Either it was the spa, the gold chain sale, golf, bingo, jewelry, supper club, casino events, art auctions, drink specials, shopping sales, photo opts, etc. etc. etc. The cruise director was also constantly on the PA system selling selling selling.

Where do you end up when you have nothing to do? For most of us, it's the casino. For some it's the bingo. For others it's in their room watching TV (although these did not work properly...and neither did the in-room movies). Less free entertainment = more revenue generated?

3. FOOD

Not up to par with past cruises. The supper club is now a big sale on the ship. They have announcements daily, caper highlights, and food carts on what seem to be every corner of the ship. Carnival is really pushing the Steakhouse. This is another expense that I am not willing to pay on a nightly basis for dinner that used to be included in the price of the cruise.

Lunch buffets now open much later, and are closed much earlier than in the past. If you do not want to fight with the line-ups at noon, then go have a cheeseburger later because that's all the choice you have. I'm not much for desserts, but for those who are you'd better get there early because those close immediately after the lunch rush.

4. SERVICE

Ok. If you are crazy enough to pay $25 for 4 beer (like I was several times), what do you do if your drinks do not arrive after 30 minutes? And what do you do if no other drink servers will help you to resolve the issue?

Was I charged? Should I go to my room and check my folio?

Now tell me what you do when this happens 4 times in the same week?

Don't even try to order single drinks, as they will try and talk to into a bucket each time (larger tip). It got to the point that I just stopped ordering drinks, and would go to the bar and get one myself.

The second last night of the cruise, I was in the casino (hey, I had nothing better to do) when my card in the sign & sail was declined. I went down to the purser’s desk to stand in a line wrapping around the elevators at this point. When I got up to the front I was told abruptly my credit card needed to be re-swiped before I could use the sign & sail again. You mean I have to go to my stateroom now and get my card and line up again? Yes. Most of our group was affected by this.

Sure these things happen. It's not the end of the world. No system is perfect. But a "sorry for the inconvenience" wouldn't hurt. Just another example of service I've never experienced on a Carnival ship before. Politeness was always a given. I would've sworn by it before this past cruise to anyone who was considering a Carnival cruise.

Tables in the lunch areas were not clean. I found myself several times bringing my food to my room or lounge chair simply because tables were not cleaned off.

There seem to be alot of training and crew drills taking part last week. Not too sure if that was because the ship was fresh out of dry dock and it was all new staff. This may be a reason for some of the service issues, but c'mon. As a customer, I do not want to be used as a training partner in every aspect.

There were other minor details that were out of our control, such as:

-10 people being seated at an 8 person table (nobody likes having their elbow in your neighbors’ plate)

-Many people on board had a virus. Many people were sick in the public washrooms and saw several in the hallways being sick. Obviously there was a virus on board, but not one single announcement was made(he did mention the bingo a couple of times though). Five folks in our group got hit hard and were out of commission for 3 days. It would have been nice to hear an announcement of some kind reminding people to wash up as we all have to push the same buttons and open the same door handles.

-Most nights room service was not finished your room by the end of dinner, which made for awkward moments when you wanted to change out of dinner clothes (so you could head up to the casino!).

I have always been loyal to Carnival. I am a daily reader of John Heald’s Blog. I am not normally much of a reader in general, but I like his style. After this past week’s experience, I have to wonder though if we are not being sold a product by reading this blog now. I catch myself thinking about all the times I read about the Steak Houses on board, or the competition between different cruise lines (ie bad talk), blogger cruises, service excellence as compared to resort hotels, etc. I personally felt like I had a hand in my pocket for the entire week, and it has opened my eyes to questioning I guess.

In no way am I trying to discourage anyone from enjoying their Carnival cruise. I consider myself quite knowledgeable in the cruising holiday lifestyle. I have read on these boards for a few years now regularly. I myself would use Carnival again if I decided to cruise again as I think the issues are industry wide. Profits up, corners cut to reduce costs. I am wondering if other cruisers are feeling the same way?

For the first time ever, I am happy to be home from a cruise. I think that says a lot. Next year will be our groups’ first winter vacation at an all-inclusive resort.

 

Have to agree with you about most of the entertainment and seminars lately being about spending money . . . be it soft drinks, alcohol, bingo, casino, spa treatments, steakhouse, "specials" in their shops, "special coffee and sweets", excursions and where to shop in every Port that gave Carnival (and other cruise lines) a kick back. A lot of these things have been on cruises since my first cruise in 1974 but I don't remember them being "pushed" and advertised in the Capers or via announcements as it seems to be lately. Additionally, there always seemed to be more to do than Trivia and Hairy Chest Contests.

[ladycaveat]

Iv come home from the last 3 cruises sick, two were B2Bs, so Im sure I caught whatever on the ship.. I agree its a issue that you are with a lot of sick people, just gotta hope and pray they arent around you. Someone next to me was throwing up as we did disembarkation on the Ecstasy :( She was almost too sick to stand and get off.

 

I would book but there are no deals, prices seem up up and away on booking anything right now .. and Carnival is promising to raise rates even higher. I can do Alaska cheaper on multiple cruiselines, and cant make up my mind if I want to jump ship.

 

Im looking at land vacations if I dont find something for the next month or two... I cruised a whole bunch last year, so I may be cruised out and just need a break. Maybe you too need a break?? How about we all meet in Branson?? Its cheap.

 

I don't know why but I always come home sick after a cruise. It's become a standing joke in my office . . . "Tammy's going on a cruise next month . . . who's gonna cover her cases for the week or two after she returns?" Needless to say, it hasn't stopped me from cruising (and hopefully never will) but I sometimes think I should wear a mask on my cruises . . . :p

[mlzangel78]

I don't know why but I always come home sick after a cruise. It's become a standing joke in my office . . . "Tammy's going on a cruise next month . . . who's gonna cover her cases for the week or two after she returns?" Needless to say, it hasn't stopped me from cruising (and hopefully never will) but I sometimes think I should wear a mask on my cruises . . . :p

 

Tammy,, im the oposite, im always "breaking" something a week before i cruise.. hasnt stopped me from going on it yet though, broken nose broken ankle broken hand.. just put me on the ship! lol id rather hobble around for a week in the caribbean, than "recouperate" at home on my couch LOL :)

[firefly333]

I don't know why but I always come home sick after a cruise. It's become a standing joke in my office . . . "Tammy's going on a cruise next month . . . who's gonna cover her cases for the week or two after she returns?" Needless to say, it hasn't stopped me from cruising (and hopefully never will) but I sometimes think I should wear a mask on my cruises . . . :p

 

Two were a B2B, and I didnt get sick until the beginning of the 2nd week, so I know I didnt get on the ship sick. (to the poster who said it bugs her when someone claims they got sick on the ship).

 

yep, it happens and hasnt stopped me from cruising obviously.

 

Tammy,, im the oposite, im always "breaking" something a week before i cruise.. hasnt stopped me from going on it yet though, broken nose broken ankle broken hand.. just put me on the ship! lol id rather hobble around for a week in the caribbean, than "recouperate" at home on my couch LOL :)

 

My sister rolled out of bed the morning of boarding the Conquest and broke her shoulder (she rolled all the way onto the floor). I knew they couldnt set a broken shoulder, so we cruised anyway. Doctor said it didnt hurt to wait to see him to all those who thought I was being a mean sister to take her on a cruise with a broken shoulder.