Carnival cutbacks?? Not really

[Javacruiser]

Just back from the Carnival Miracle Aruba itinerary and wanted to throw my 2 cents out there for all the talk about the cutbacks and problems that are being discussed.

 

First of all, this was probably the best cruise I have been on. I have cruised Carnival each of the past 4 years and what I have seen has simply been minor changes from year to year but not necessarily wholesale cutbacks in any area.

 

FOOD: We ate dinner in the MDR every night, lunch at the buffet each day and breakfast was split between the two. Our MDR staff was nothing short of outstanding...... Our group of 10 was treated like royalty and each of them seemed to really enjoy their job. Maya, our main server, was as good as anyone I have ever had. My only dissapointments with the food would be

1) the lobster does seem to have shrunk..... It was 3 medium bites for me 2) My New York Strip was nothing special & quite small

3) We weren't allowed to order a regular dessert on the final evening as it was Valentines day and they had a special dessert for everyone

 

Yes, these 3 items may be cutbacks to some but the good FAR outweighed the bad and my overall food experience was better than I expected. A few good points

1) The Deli was outstanding and my favorite spot for lunch

2) The bacon police in the morning were NOT present, which for me, could be a negative 'cause I ate too much of it

3) Never had an issue with cold food that should have been warm or vice versa.

 

Overall, I was very pleased with every aspect of the food operation

 

ROOM STEWARD: Best we have ever had. I am horrible with names but remember that his name started with "A" & had 4 letters....... He is very good with names as he introduced himself on the first day and ALWAYS greeted us by name when he saw us in the halls. We saw him at least a couple of times every day and he made it very clear to us that he wanted to help make our vacation enjoyable

 

ENTERTAINMENT: I would prefer seeing a full band by the pool and wasn't crazy about the piano guy but I am not going to nitpick. Carnival adjusted seating times & some scheduled events because the passengers were of higher than normal numbers for the more "mature" crowd. It didn't seem overly lively most of the time but I am sure that had something to do with the passenger demographics. The high points of the entertainment were:

1) Carnival QUEST was hilarious..... Won't say too much so those that aren't familiar will be surprised

2) Karaoke with the live band was a nice change.... The karaoke host was better than most and they did regular Karaoke as well. Had a hard time filling out the Legends show so she had to convince me to do Elton John the night before the show.... I won't hold that against her though

3) Did not attend most main shows but the buzz around the ship seemed very positive for the shows and the comedians.

 

Overall, very satisfied and there was certainly nothing that would turn me away from booking my next cruise with Carnival. There may be some cutbacks here and there but it's a tough time and I'd rather see that than a reinstatement of the fuel surcharges.

 

Bill

[nobody000]

Thank you very much for this. Its a nice change to read.

 

How did you enjoy the ports? Anything to suggest or stay away from?

[Javacruiser]

Also want to mention that there have been many that seem annoyed by Malcolm Burn and his trademark "Woo Hoo's"....... We thought he did a very good job and his staff was also very enjoyable. Never felt he went overboard with his "woo hoos" and felt he was present for activities as much as a CD should be...... No complaints here

[LHP]

I agree that while I have seen "changes" over the years... I don't like the term "cut back" because it denotes someone is being deprived...and for the most part that is just not the case.

 

The only true cuts I can think of is that passengers who are not Platinum do not get a Funship Pin. But that is only because so many passengers were throwing them away. And no midnight buffet which was a total waste...and they added the Chocolate Buffet and vegetable carvings to the regular Lido buffet.

 

So while both of those were true cuts, there were valid reasons other than just cutting back...

 

Btw, even though I am a lady...I, too, have been Elton John. He never looked so good!!! LOL

[kgm0612]

Carnival's Miracle, along with Malcolm, has been the best cruise we've taken so far!

 

Thanks for your honest opinions!

 

Karen

[Javacruiser]

Thank you very much for this. Its a nice change to read.

 

How did you enjoy the ports? Anything to suggest or stay away from?

 

Grand Turk - We did beach time by the pier near Margaritaville..... Walked up the beach as far as Jack's Shack. Nice relaxing day.

 

La Romana - Stayed on the ship and from what I was told by others in our group, this port is still a work in progress. Transportation problems and nothing for those that just want to walk off the ship & explore. Those that hit the beaches on a planned "Dreams" excursion were very happy.

 

Curacao - First time there so we took an island tour. Got off the ship and walked up by the floating bridge. The "Salsa Express" open air tour bus gave us a good rate ($25 incl drinks I believe) for a 3-4 hour tour including some beach time. The driver (forget his name but he looked like a football lineman) was very entertaining and informative. very nice port.

 

Aruba - Here we took an island tour again by just walking off the ship & finding a local company waiting for customers. Similar to the Curacao excursion and we were dropped off at Palm Beach Hyatt..... Great spot for activities & outdoor food & drink. We told him how long we wanted to stay & he came came after 2 hours. Another very nice island & great day.

[golfadj]

We cruised the week before Java. Had a great time as well.

 

Carnival has made changes but not cutbacks IMHO.

 

DW liked Malcolm but I did not care for his sense of humor. He seemed to have delegated more to his social hosts than most CD's and never saw him outside of introducing the performers in the main lounge.

 

One of his social hosts a young fellow named Dan was outstanding and expect to see him as a CD a few years down the road.

[Javacruiser]

We cruised the week before Java. Had a great time as well.

 

Carnival has made changes but not cutbacks IMHO.

 

DW liked Malcolm but I did not care for his sense of humor. He seemed to have delegated more to his social hosts than most CD's and never saw him outside of introducing the performers in the main lounge.

 

One of his social hosts a young fellow named Dan was outstanding and expect to see him as a CD a few years down the road.

 

Sorry we missed you, Stu..... Dan was very good as was the rest of Malcolms staff. Hope you enjoyed your 8 days as much as we did. Say "Hi" to Sheila!

 

Bill

[happy cruzin]

We cruised the week before Java. Had a great time as well.

 

Carnival has made changes but not cutbacks IMHO.

 

DW liked Malcolm but I did not care for his sense of humor. He seemed to have delegated more to his social hosts than most CD's and never saw him outside of introducing the performers in the main lounge.

 

One of his social hosts a young fellow named Dan was outstanding and expect to see him as a CD a few years down the road.

 

Agreed!!

Somethings have changed. But....just because it is different - does not mean that it is a "cutback".

[nobody000]

Grand Turk - We did beach time by the pier near Margaritaville..... Walked up the beach as far as Jack's Shack. Nice relaxing day.

 

La Romana - Stayed on the ship and from what I was told by others in our group, this port is still a work in progress. Transportation problems and nothing for those that just want to walk off the ship & explore. Those that hit the beaches on a planned "Dreams" excursion were very happy.

 

Curacao - First time there so we took an island tour. Got off the ship and walked up by the floating bridge. The "Salsa Express" open air tour bus gave us a good rate ($25 incl drinks I believe) for a 3-4 hour tour including some beach time. The driver (forget his name but he looked like a football lineman) was very entertaining and informative. very nice port.

 

Aruba - Here we took an island tour again by just walking off the ship & finding a local company waiting for customers. Similar to the Curacao excursion and we were dropped off at Palm Beach Hyatt..... Great spot for activities & outdoor food & drink. We told him how long we wanted to stay & he came came after 2 hours. Another very nice island & great day.

 

 

Great info thank you!!

[golfadj]

Sorry we missed you, Stu..... Dan was very good as was the rest of Malcolms staff. Hope you enjoyed your 8 days as much as we did. Say "Hi" to Sheila!

 

Bill

 

 

Bill

 

Hope we can sail together again. Want to do the Aruba run but dates did not work for us either this year or next.

 

Still wearing your T Shirts on our Carnival cruises.

 

Stu

[lovecruzing]

The high points of the entertainment were:

1) Carnival QUEST was hilarious..... Won't say too much so those that aren't familiar will be surprised

 

Bill

 

Thanks for your review Bill, we will be doing this cruise in November but visiting Catalina Island and not La Romana.

 

I wonder if the Carnival QUEST is that same as RCCL Quest. If it is, I will be very happy.

 

Bevie

[John&John]

1) the lobster does seem to have shrunk..... It was 3 medium bites for me 2) My New York Strip was nothing special & quite small

3) We weren't allowed to order a regular dessert on the final evening as it was Valentines day and they had a special dessert for everyone

Bill

 

I hear that a lot of portions have been reduced and you can always order a second. (This may appear to be a cutback but in actuality it is just preventing costly waste)

 

We cruised over Halloween and they had a special dessert that night as well. I don't consider that a cutback.

 

Although, I did miss on on trying the Bitter & Blanc on that cruise, however the special Halloween dessert was very good.

 

 

[Javacruiser]

I hear that a lot of portions have been reduced and you can always order a second. (This may appear to be a cutback but in actuality it is just preventing costly waste)

 

We cruised over Halloween and they had a special dessert that night as well. I don't consider that a cutback.

 

Although, I did miss on on trying the Bitter & Blanc on that cruise, however the special Halloween dessert was very good.

 

On nights we were hungry we ordered an extra entree to share, especially if we just couldn't decide. I'm glad we did on lobster night as my wife and I each ordered lobster & shared a prime rib to make a surf & turf. The Prime rib was very good and a decent portion.

 

The valentines dessert was also good, however it was the last night and several in our group had planned all along to do WCMC that night & we were also told it was the one night that they would have the "Grand Mariner Soufle"....... Minor issue though & we weren't going to make a stink about that. I don't recall ever sailing on a special holiday so I don't know if that is typical or not.

[luv cruising 007]

Just back from the Carnival Miracle Aruba itinerary and wanted to throw my 2 cents out there for all the talk about the cutbacks and problems that are being discussed.

 

First of all, this was probably the best cruise I have been on. I have cruised Carnival each of the past 4 years and what I have seen has simply been minor changes from year to year but not necessarily wholesale cutbacks in any area.

 

FOOD: We ate dinner in the MDR every night, lunch at the buffet each day and breakfast was split between the two. Our MDR staff was nothing short of outstanding...... Our group of 10 was treated like royalty and each of them seemed to really enjoy their job. Maya, our main server, was as good as anyone I have ever had. My only dissapointments with the food would be

1) the lobster does seem to have shrunk..... It was 3 medium bites for me 2) My New York Strip was nothing special & quite small

3) We weren't allowed to order a regular dessert on the final evening as it was Valentines day and they had a special dessert for everyone

 

Yes, these 3 items may be cutbacks to some but the good FAR outweighed the bad and my overall food experience was better than I expected. A few good points

1) The Deli was outstanding and my favorite spot for lunch

2) The bacon police in the morning were NOT present, which for me, could be a negative 'cause I ate too much of it

3) Never had an issue with cold food that should have been warm or vice versa.

 

Overall, I was very pleased with every aspect of the food operation

 

ROOM STEWARD: Best we have ever had. I am horrible with names but remember that his name started with "A" & had 4 letters....... He is very good with names as he introduced himself on the first day and ALWAYS greeted us by name when he saw us in the halls. We saw him at least a couple of times every day and he made it very clear to us that he wanted to help make our vacation enjoyable

 

ENTERTAINMENT: I would prefer seeing a full band by the pool and wasn't crazy about the piano guy but I am not going to nitpick. Carnival adjusted seating times & some scheduled events because the passengers were of higher than normal numbers for the more "mature" crowd. It didn't seem overly lively most of the time but I am sure that had something to do with the passenger demographics. The high points of the entertainment were:

1) Carnival QUEST was hilarious..... Won't say too much so those that aren't familiar will be surprised

2) Karaoke with the live band was a nice change.... The karaoke host was better than most and they did regular Karaoke as well. Had a hard time filling out the Legends show so she had to convince me to do Elton John the night before the show.... I won't hold that against her though

3) Did not attend most main shows but the buzz around the ship seemed very positive for the shows and the comedians.

 

Overall, very satisfied and there was certainly nothing that would turn me away from booking my next cruise with Carnival. There may be some cutbacks here and there but it's a tough time and I'd rather see that than a reinstatement of the fuel surcharges.

 

Bill

 

THANX SO MUCH FOR YOUR MESSAGE! im so sick of all those negative people posting carnival cutback on this & they cut back on that! WRONG they make changes with the times! I remember the time carnival ships did not have a deli, mongolian wok, indian tandori, or fish & chips,dedicated comedy club or those comfy beds ETC so cutbacks hmm??? the food & service was awesome Im just off the spirit last month & im on another carnival cruise next week!

[Javacruiser]

Thanks for your review Bill, we will be doing this cruise in November but visiting Catalina Island and not La Romana.

 

I wonder if the Carnival QUEST is that same as RCCL Quest. If it is, I will be very happy.

 

Bevie

 

I've heard lots of good things about Catalina Island......

 

I'll just say QUEST involved teams finding various items that went from very simple to "you gotta be kidding me". About half way through it was obvious why they don't allow kids in there. In the end the "mens fashion show" had everyone rolling........ Does that sound like what you had on RCCL?

[mcwebber]

My only dissapointments with the food would be

1) the lobster does seem to have shrunk..... It was 3 medium bites for me 2) My New York Strip was nothing special & quite small

3) We weren't allowed to order a regular dessert on the final evening as it was Valentines day and they had a special dessert for everyone

 

Yes, these 3 items may be cutbacks to some but the good FAR outweighed the bad and my overall food experience was better than I expected.

 

Actually, they're cutbacks to everyone. Whether the cutbacks bother you or not is a matter of personal opinion, but the fact of cutbacks doesn't change because you don't mind them.

[Joie]

We are on one of the March sailings and will also probably stay on the ship in LaRomana. Just doesn't seem like there is anything interesting to do there....and everyone says the town is dangerous to just walk around.....much more so than Jamaica. That's too bad, it seems like a very pretty island.

This is where Carnival should find another port till things get better.

[Javacruiser]

THANX SO MUCH FOR YOUR MESSAGE! im so sick of all those negative people posting carnival cutback on this & they cut back on that! WRONG they make changes with the times! I remember the time carnival ships did not have a deli, mongolian wok, indian tandori, or fish & chips,dedicated comedy club or those comfy beds ETC so cutbacks hmm??? the food & service was awesome Im just off the spirit last month & im on another carnival cruise next week!

 

Actually, they're cutbacks to everyone. Whether the cutbacks bother you or not is a matter of personal opinion, but the fact of cutbacks doesn't change because you don't mind them.

 

Every line has had to change with the times in the past few years. Some people will roll with the changes & some will get PO'd. Neither of your quotes are wrong.... It's just a matter of how you choose to let it affect you and your cruise. I'm in business for myself and I have been forced to do everything in my power to balance profits with keeping the customer happy. Carnival and every other cruise line out there has had to do the same thing on a much larger scale. I go on a ship knowing that there may be some changes that many will view as a "cutback"..... and maybe they are. I know for a fact, however, that Carnival (or any other line) does not want to upset it's customers and with every "cutback" they'll try to add something that is more cost effective. Sometimes it works & sometimes it doesn't. Bottom line is that for someone who doesn't require 5 star meals & service, cruising is still about as good as it gets for a great value vacation as long as you have an open mind and a positive attitude.

[okwriter]

Add me to the list of others who find it refreshing to read something positive about the changes!

There seem to be so many whiners here...I wouldn't want to cruise with them. LOL!

[Haoie]

Nicely done report.

 

Kudos on the "bacon police", haha.

[mcwebber]

I know for a fact, however, that Carnival (or any other line) does not want to upset it's customers and with every "cutback" they'll try to add something that is more cost effective.

Actually, you may think they replace everything they cut back with something else, but you don't really know that for a fact. Otherwise it would be simple to find out what they replaced the live entertainment in the steakhouse with. Or, what they added to make up for the smaller lobster. Or, on the shorter cruises, what they added to make up for removing the escargot. Or, what did they add to make up for the more divided attention of waiters taking care of more tables and cabin stewards taking care of more cabins.

 

In all likelihood, they didn't replace many of those things with anything as they are trying to get revenue back to 2007 levels when their operating expenses were lower and their gross, net and EPS revenue was higher. In all likelihood they have cut back in an effort to keep the fare lower and you can't lower fares or keep fares low when faced with higher costs without cutbacks. They apparently believe, and I'm sure their bookings show, that there is a fare level above which their customers will not pay.

[Sparky2]

Also want to mention that there have been many that seem annoyed by Malcolm Burn and his trademark "Woo Hoo's"....... We thought he did a very good job and his staff was also very enjoyable. Never felt he went overboard with his "woo hoos" and felt he was present for activities as much as a CD should be...... No complaints here

 

I completely agree with you.

[Sparky2]

Thanks for your review Bill, we will be doing this cruise in November but visiting Catalina Island and not La Romana.

 

I wonder if the Carnival QUEST is that same as RCCL Quest. If it is, I will be very happy.

 

Bevie

 

I was on the 1/22/11 sailing and we visited Catalina Island. Very enjoyable (& free) day with a BBQ put on by Carnival. Just relaxed in lounge chairs & enjoyed the music put on by a couple of Carnival onboard groups. The only problem is that the vendors were extremely pushy. If you went in their booth, you were lucky to get out. After going into 2 of the booths I decided it wasn't worth it. I may have even bought something if they'd backed off.

[h_blond2]

I'm glad to see that you focused on the positive! :D Most people seem to focus on the negative!