Tried Royal Caribbean and was disappointed but RC said Carnival cut back too? True?

[NorthTXRanchers]

Just left a Royal Caribbean cruise this morning and boy, were we disappointed. I want your feedback on why that might be. We have cruised three times previously on Carnival and had wonderful service and great food. My kids were used to certain things that were missing and I'm wondering if these things were discontinued on Carnival too or whether RC just doesn't do them. Here are the girls' list of disappointments:

1) food in the Windjammer Cafe was really bad (nor warm, and equivalent to a poor buffet). The Carnival ships' buffet areas were much better and also had desserts and just a better selection of fresh fruits and salads, etc.

2) towel animals for only one night

3) no Andes' mint on the bed at night

4) no chocolate midnight buffet

5) soft serve ice cream machine was only open for 60 minutes a day and the RC folks served up a TINY portion (probably a shot glass) into a TINY kids sized cone. Then they closed it up and no more until the next day.

6) no 24 hour pizza but only frozen type of cheese or pepperoni pizza that was lukewarm at best and available only for limited hours. They loved the "we'll make you whatever kind you want" pizza 24 hours a day on Carnival and the varieties (e.g., margarita pizza, etc.)

7) no slide into the pool

8) the dining room (nice ones) food was really not very good. Didn't even compare to the food on Carnival ... and the servers, while nice, were not at all engaged or spirited. They did get better on the last day (when they were ready to get their tips).

Are these things still there on Carnival cruises or have they disappeared industry wide. We want to book another cruise and right now, no body in our family wants to do a RC cruise "ever again". Did we get a dud ship (Grandeur of the Seas, 4 day cruise) or is that the RC way? ANd if it is, is that also the Carnival way now?

Thanks a ton for your feedback!! I really appreciate it.

[spencercoop]

1. I don't think the buffets on Carnival have declined.

2. Carnival has towel animals every night.

3. Carnival puts mints on the bed every night.

4. The have a chocolate buffet on the last day of the cruise during lunch.

5. Carnival has soft serve ice cream machines that are open 24 hours and they are self serve.

6. Carnival's pizza is 24 hours and they have about 8-10 varieties of pizza. Also if they have the ingredients they will make any pizza you want.

7. All Carnival ships have at least one slide. Some ships have 3-4 slides.

8. I have found the food in Carnival's dining rooms very good.

[gtalum]

Carnival has made some cost-cutting measures in the last few years, but from what I've read on Cruise Critic they don't impact the passengers nearly as much as Royal's cuts have.

 

Carnival seems to have done a better job of becoming more efficient without negatively impacting the passengers' experience.

[firefly333]

RCL hasnt been giving out the mints on the bed for a while now to lower categories ... 25 cents worth of mints sure dont care if I get them or not... or if I have towel animals every night.

 

I didnt have a Carnival ink pen in my cabin last cruise ...ruined my cruise. Purser's desk said they quit giving them out. Im never cruising carnival again.

 

....warm or not warm enough food can be on any cruise ...sounds like you wanted to find things to worry about.

[axd0424]

RCL hasnt been giving out the mints on the bed for a while now to lower categories ... 25 cents worth of mints sure dont care if I get them or not... or if I have towel animals every night.

 

I didnt have a Carnival ink pen in my cabin last cruise ...ruined my cruise. Purser's desk said they quit giving them out. Im never cruising carnival again.

 

....warm or not warm enough food can be on any cruise ...sounds like you wanted to find things to worry about.

wow, god forbid someone has an opinion or compains about something.

[SkyMaster]

Spencercoop has got it 99% right IMO. Only a few Carnival ships still have a slide that terminates into the pool. I think it was a safety thing, but not sure. I certainly agree with your kids on the ice cream thing. I NEVER knew when RCI was going to open their machines, and when they did it wasn't nearly as good as Carnivals 24X7 soft serve ice cream/frozen yogurt. (I personally think RCI would rather have you BUY the ice cream from them, rather than give it away.) The chocolate buffet is in the afternoon rather than at night, but at least they still have it. (I LOVE the chocolate covered strawberrys and pineapple!) :D

 

"SKY"

[spencercoop]

Spencercoop has got it 99% right IMO. Only a few Carnival ships still have a slide that terminates into the pool. I think it was a safety thing, but not sure. I certainly agree with your kids on the ice cream thing. I NEVER knew when RCI was going to open their machines, and when they did it wasn't nearly as good as Carnivals 24X7 soft serve ice cream/frozen yogurt. (I personally think RCI would rather have you BUY the ice cream from them, rather than give it away.) The chocolate buffet is in the afternoon rather than at night, but at least they still have it. (I LOVE the chocolate covered strawberrys and pineapple!) :D

 

"SKY"

 

Only the Elation and Paradise have the slides left that terminate in the pool.

[Traveler353]

1. I don't think the buffets on Carnival have declined.

2. Carnival has towel animals every night.

3. Carnival puts mints on the bed every night.

4. The have a chocolate buffet on the last day of the cruise during lunch.

5. Carnival has soft serve ice cream machines that are open 24 hours and they are self serve.

6. Carnival's pizza is 24 hours and they have about 8-10 varieties of pizza. Also if they have the ingredients they will make any pizza you want.

7. All Carnival ships have at least one slide. Some ships have 3-4 slides.

8. I have found the food in Carnival's dining rooms very good.

 

 

Ditto, 100% agree.

[LemurCat]

Only a few Carnival ships still have a slide that terminates into the pool. I think it was a safety thing, but not sure.

 

Only one I ever saw was the old Celebration. That's not a definative statement on slides throughout the CCL fleet, just an idea of the age of the ship in which a slide would terminate in the pool rather than in a chute.

[truchattycathy]

WB and keep in mind that I have only sailed Carnival.

1) food in the Windjammer Cafe was really bad (nor warm, and equivalent to a poor buffet). The Carnival ships' buffet areas were much better and also had desserts and just a better selection of fresh fruits and salads, etc. I like the buffet on carnival, lots of variety. Never had a problem with anything, other than I didn't like the taste of something, and that was me not Carnival. I like that I can have something completely different every day and every meal.

 

2) towel animals for only one night Hit and miss. Some cruises every night, some every few nites.

3) no Andes' mint on the bed at night Never had a mint in four cruises.

4) no chocolate midnight buffet Nope they are gone, but once during the cruise they will have a specialty chocolate buffet.

5) soft serve ice cream machine was only open for 60 minutes a day and the RC folks served up a TINY portion (probably a shot glass) into a TINY kids sized cone. Then they closed it up and no more until the next day.

I don't think it is open 24/7, but it is open during the day and we served ourselves all we wanted.

 

6) no 24 hour pizza but only frozen type of cheese or pepperoni pizza that was lukewarm at best and available only for limited hours. They loved the "we'll make you whatever kind you want" pizza 24 hours a day on Carnival and the varieties (e.g., margarita pizza, etc.) Still open 24/7 with fresh pizza, calzones and salads.

7) no slide into the pool slide on the lido deck (not really a slide on the pool???)

 

8) the dining room (nice ones) food was really not very good. Didn't even compare to the food on Carnival ... Never had a problem with the food on Carnival other than I ate too much of it!!!

Truthfully, I have looked at RC but for the price and location of ships, I stay with Carnival.

I LOVE CARNIVAL!!!

[spencercoop]

Only one I ever saw was the old Celebration. That's not a definative statement on slides throughout the CCL fleet, just an idea of the age of the ship in which a slide would terminate in the pool rather than in a chute.

 

All the Fantasy class ships used to have the slides that terminated in the pool. But only the Elation and the Paradise still have them because they don't have all the upgrades yet.

[patrice1]

I thought the OP asked legimate questions. The kids on his cruise missed the mints...he never said it ruined his cruised. He's asking if CCL has done this as well.

OP: I have found there to be little or no change in CCL over the past few years.

[spunkanutter]

I was on the Mariner 7n Mexico last year and I agree with most of the comments. The only thing that really got me back was our cabin steward. He realized we loved the towel animals and made us a new one at least once a day, and the last sea day he came to our cabin. He stated he had a 5 minute break, would we like him to make us a few more in his spare time. I thought that was wonderful and he earned a bigger tip for that!

 

The food was not very good though - I am a steak lover and I couldn't eat either the prime rib or the standard steak. Oh well!

[CWcruisers]

I did two weeks on the Navigator OTS in April on a TA. Though the buffet selection on RCCL is much better, I cannot name one thing I ate at the buffet or the MDR that I absolutely went gaga over. The general overall food quality is not very good on RCCL, IMHO, and I am not a foodie. But I know when things just don't taste that great. Plus I love the always available selections on CCL. I especially missed the shrimp cocktail, which I order often as it is lower in calories.

 

And don't even get me started on the wine list. I bought the top package on Navigator, and same thing, no wine that stood out as being great. In fact, I had the Pinot Grigio and DH and I had one word for it, Nasty.

 

But everyone's opinion is different. I felt that RCCL offered a more classy atmosphere and the ships are gorgeous. CCL is usually priced lower and if the itineraries are similar, I am going CCL every time.

[Warm Breezes]

Spencercoop has got it 99% right IMO. Only a few Carnival ships still have a slide that terminates into the pool. I think it was a safety thing, but not sure. I certainly agree with your kids on the ice cream thing. I NEVER knew when RCI was going to open their machines, and when they did it wasn't nearly as good as Carnivals 24X7 soft serve ice cream/frozen yogurt. (I personally think RCI would rather have you BUY the ice cream from them, rather than give it away.) The chocolate buffet is in the afternoon rather than at night, but at least they still have it. (I LOVE the chocolate covered strawberrys and pineapple!) :D

 

"SKY"

I love the chocolate buffet better during the day then at night. I could never stay awake long enough to try it before they did that.

[NorthTXRanchers]

Thanks. We had a GREAT cruise with the girls. You're right on though -- we were simply wanting to know from more experienced folks whether our RC experience was on par for RC and whether their claim that all lines have cut these things out was true. Now that I know that Carnival is the same as it was for us two years ago, I know that we'll book our next cruise on Carnival. Thanks so much for everyone's help. I'm psyched to know that the "little things" that made everyone's days in small ways, are still around to add to our next cruise! :)

[WendyVF]

We have cruised both RC and Carnival over the last few years. Grandeur wasn't my favorite ship but sounds like we had a better experience than you did. I've seen the cut backs on both lines. It seems like the dining room waiters are stretched too thin and don't have the time to chat like they did 10 years ago.

You really should try one of RC's newer ships before you give up on them. We were on the Independence in April and it was fantastic. They had ice cream station opened from 11-9 kids would have liked it longer. The newer ships have a place on the promenade where you can get sandwiches, desserts and pizza 24 hrs. Our kids prefer the flowrider to a waterslide any day! RC definiely beats Carnival on the set up of their buffet restaurants. Food quality is the same to us.

When we first started cruising in the 90's we felt RC was worth the additional money but not anymore. I'm not a cheerleader for any line. We pick our cruises based on ports and price. RC was cheaper for Spring Break this year than Carnival so we went with them!

[bubbadog]

WHAT you need to do is book another cruise on an Explorer class or better,and you will have a much better cruise,the grandeur just doesnt have very much to do,especially the kids,try the explorer or the freedom;):p

[BND]

We were just on RCI Explorer of the Seas this past March and the ice cream machines were open most of the day (daytime,not overnight) and it was self-serve. We were always able to get what we wanted. It did run out and they don't automatically fill it back up after a certain time. In fact, from what I could tell they only fill them once per day and when it's gone, it's gone. Each line has it's positives and negatives and they all pretty much work out to be basically equal.

 

I do have to say Explorer of the Seas was probably the best cruise we've ever been on. Good size ship, not too crowded, plenty to do. It rides the seas extremely well.

[H82seaUgo]

1) food in the Windjammer Cafe was really bad (nor warm, and equivalent to a poor buffet). The Carnival ships' buffet areas were much better and also had desserts and just a better selection of fresh fruits and salads, etc.

2) towel animals for only one night

3) no Andes' mint on the bed at night

4) no chocolate midnight buffet

5) soft serve ice cream machine was only open for 60 minutes a day and the RC folks served up a TINY portion (probably a shot glass) into a TINY kids sized cone. Then they closed it up and no more until the next day.

6) no 24 hour pizza but only frozen type of cheese or pepperoni pizza that was lukewarm at best and available only for limited hours. They loved the "we'll make you whatever kind you want" pizza 24 hours a day on Carnival and the varieties (e.g., margarita pizza, etc.)

7) no slide into the pool

8) the dining room (nice ones) food was really not very good. Didn't even compare to the food on Carnival ... and the servers, while nice, were not at all engaged or spirited. They did get better on the last day (when they were ready to get their tips).

 

You've basically listed our cons that we find on RCCL, but there ARE pro's that RCCL has that make them different. But I've never seen a chocolate midnight buffet, nor know what it is.

 

Those that expect Carnival things happening on a RCCL cruise are just kidding themselves.

 

BTW, RCCL does NOT serve soft serve ice cream. It's soft serve YOGURT.

[serene56]

Just left a Royal Caribbean cruise this morning and boy, were we disappointed. I want your feedback on why that might be. We have cruised three times previously on Carnival and had wonderful service and great food. My kids were used to certain things that were missing and I'm wondering if these things were discontinued on Carnival too or whether RC just doesn't do them. Here are the girls' list of disappointments:

1) food in the Windjammer Cafe was really bad (nor warm, and equivalent to a poor buffet). The Carnival ships' buffet areas were much better and also had desserts and just a better selection of fresh fruits and salads, etc.

2) towel animals for only one night

3) no Andes' mint on the bed at night - canrnival cut this out on our last two cruises

4) no chocolate midnight buffet I think ALL cruiselines did this for a cost cutting measure.

5) soft serve ice cream machine was only open for 60 minutes a day and the RC folks served up a TINY portion (probably a shot glass) into a TINY kids sized cone. Then they closed it up and no more until the next day. (On our Royal Cruise no ice cream either

6) no 24 hour pizza but only frozen type of cheese or pepperoni pizza that was lukewarm at best and available only for limited hours. They loved the "we'll make you whatever kind you want" pizza 24 hours a day on Carnival and the varieties (e.g., margarita pizza, etc.)

7) no slide into the pool Only some carnival ships offer that-- but ROyal has other things like rock climbing walls, ice skating

8) the dining room (nice ones) food was really not very good. Didn't even compare to the food on Carnival ... and the servers, while nice, were not at all engaged or spirited. They did get better on the last day (when they were ready to get their tips). We found the food to be comparable to both lines

Are these things still there on Carnival cruises or have they disappeared industry wide. We want to book another cruise and right now, no body in our family wants to do a RC cruise "ever again". Did we get a dud ship (Grandeur of the Seas, 4 day cruise) or is that the RC way? ANd if it is, is that also the Carnival way now?

Thanks a ton for your feedback!! I really appreciate it.

 

and to be fair-- you really cant compare a 4 day cruise to a longer 7 day cruise.

Price to be a factor-- you will probably find carnival to be cheaper

[BND]

You've basically listed our cons that we find on RCCL, but there ARE pro's that RCCL has that make them different. But I've never seen a chocolate midnight buffet, nor know what it is.

 

Those that expect Carnival things happening on a RCCL cruise are just kidding themselves.

 

BTW, RCCL does NOT serve soft serve ice cram. It's soft serve YOGURT.

 

Carnival used to do different midnight buffets. Our experience has been the chocolate buffet the last few years has been the last sea day in the early afternoon.

[firefly333]

wow, god forbid someone has an opinion or compains about something.

 

So?? its ok to complain about RCL, but if my opinion they both are cutting things, and about the same, my opinion is not valid?

 

I dont remember ever having a chocolate buffet at midnight on Carnival, only a Mexican buffet that is gone now....I do remember it on RCL, but never really ate at either, too late for me. So, the things the OP mentioned just are not factors to me. I have had multiple cabin stewards on Carnival who I never meet, I hear they gave them more cabins to do now as a cost cutting measure. People are complaining on Carnival about the beef cuts being fatty and tough now .. there obviously are cut backs on both lines. We all know it.

 

Both are cutting things, trying to be profitable. Since I go to be on the ocean, I'm not affected by the little things mentioned. Let them do what they have to do to keep prices low and affordable.

[63galaxie]

We've been on RCI's Adventure of the Seas twice. It's our favorite ship (8 cruises). We just got off the Legend 1 week ago, and although some things were great, many others were not (smoking, loud music everywhere, so-so food, tasteless ice cream desserts).

 

I agree you should give RCI another try, but if you really are comfortable with Carnival, stay with them. I think that they are usually less-expensive.

 

I wish we liked Carnival, but it's just not for us. :)

[elcuchio24]

Your complaints sound pretty typical of complaints about RCL as a whole. I don't think the food is very good. I don't really care much about the towel animals or mints, but it is a nice touch. I gots to have me a nice slide!:)

 

If you sail RCl again, you will probably experience similar issues. If these are deal breaking issues, I'd stick to another line. We sail pretty much exclusivly with CCL and NCL for now, with food being the deal breaker for us.