Carnival cutbacks?? Not really

[workin4theweekend]

Thanks for posting this. I wholeheartedly agree. Got off the Conquest in October and noted similar things. The food quality was great, and I didn't really care about the portions since as soon as they dropped off my lobster the server said "They are small right now, can I bring you another one?". Still four star service and the most bang for your buck!

[workin4theweekend]

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.

 

 

Wow, this surprises me. Been to Catalina 3 times on Carnival. Never had a BBQ and there were no vendors, just the regular shops there in Avalon and everyone we encountered was real nice. It has been a year tho, so I guess things could have changed. That saddens me because it was one of my favorite ports and I always like the quaint little town and the fact that there was so much you could do on foot if you didn't want to take a tour. Several of the tours were neat too, and the last time we just rented a golf cart and drove all over the Island and over to the museum and such.:)

[cruisetexas]

Thanks for the information, Bill. We leave in 25 hours for this cruise, but Catalina rather than LaRomana.

 

We've cruised with Malcom before, and while a CD doesn't affect my cruise, I was underwhelmed with him the last time.

 

I appreciate your honesty and positive attitude! I'm planning a writing a short review when we return.

Susan

 

P.S. Hi Stu! Hope to cruise with you again sometime!

[Joie]

yes there may be so called cutbacks....but in the overall picture does it spoil your vacation. I think NOT !!! Where else are you going to get the A+ treatment, transportation to many different islands, food ( all day and night), entertainment of many kinds and everything else for this kind of money. A cruise is the least expensive vacation for what you get. Add it up and see how you could do better yourself. We complain sometimes just because we hear others complain....we jump on the ANGER wagon and then realize it wasn't that bad.....but rarey say or maybe I was wrong about that.

As long as I continue to receive the service and enjoy the cruises as I have in the past and the pricing stays near where it is ( which IMHO is reasonable) then I will continue to cruise annually.

[DEBnGAB]

Wow, this surprises me. Been to Catalina 3 times on Carnival. Never had a BBQ and there were no vendors, just the regular shops there in Avalon and everyone we encountered was real nice. It has been a year tho, so I guess things could have changed. That saddens me because it was one of my favorite ports and I always like the quaint little town and the fact that there was so much you could do on foot if you didn't want to take a tour. Several of the tours were neat too, and the last time we just rented a golf cart and drove all over the Island and over to the museum and such.:)

 

 

That was my initial thought! :eek: Until I saw the signature line and saw they just took the Souther Caribbean cruise.. its Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic.

[SMSACE6]

I have no real complaints about changes to Carnival's product, especially with regard to the food in the main dining room. However.....if I was forced to accept a "one and only" dessert offering because it was "Valentines, or Halloween or Easter or whatever", I would refuse to eat it! ( No matter how good it looked ).It would remain there on the table untouched, and as much as I hate to waste food, and my mother would slap me on the head for wasting it it, so it would be!. I hate having something shoved down my throat. JMHO.:)

[lillian marie]

Glad you had a great time.

[lovecruzing]

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?

 

 

Yes, that definately sounds like the same quest they play on RCCL. It should be a blast.

 

Bevie

[golfadj]

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?

 

We didnt stay up late enough on our recent cruise and missed the Quest. Heard great things about it and definitely to plan to do this when we go back on the Miracle in Sept.

[golfadj]

Thanks for the information, Bill. We leave in 25 hours for this cruise, but Catalina rather than LaRomana.

 

We've cruised with Malcom before, and while a CD doesn't affect my cruise, I was underwhelmed with him the last time.

 

I appreciate your honesty and positive attitude! I'm planning a writing a short review when we return.

Susan

 

P.S. Hi Stu! Hope to cruise with you again sometime!

 

Hi we did the Glory last year with my kids as I recall. Is that correct?

[golfadj]

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.

 

Look at the entire package. A great vacation at a very good price.

 

We really enjoy the comedy club but some people complain there is less entertainment in the main lounge.

 

They got rid of minute steaks at the grill but now have mongolian bbq.

 

I can go on and on but they still have a lot to offer.

 

Were there some negatives on our Miracle cruise a few weeks ago? Sure but overall was a great vacation and sure was great to get rid of the winter.

[mcwebber]

yes there may be so called cutbacks....but in the overall picture does it spoil your vacation. I think NOT !!! Where else are you going to get the A+ treatment, transportation to many different islands, food ( all day and night), entertainment of many kinds and everything else for this kind of money.

 

If you're comparing cruises, Carnival is probably the best deal. If you're comparing having unlimited drinks, sports equipment, scuba diving, etc. and don't mind just being on one island, I would say Club Med is probably less expensive if you add the cost of doing those things in the form of excursions each day to a cruise.

[Synthetic]

Thanks for this review - I board her next week for Eastern Caribbean...

[workin4theweekend]

That was my initial thought! :eek: Until I saw the signature line and saw they just took the Souther Caribbean cruise.. its Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic.

 

:confused: Oops. Thanks for pointing that out, guess I should have been paying attention!!... LOL. I love the "other" Catalina!:rolleyes:

[DEBnGAB]

:confused: Oops. Thanks for pointing that out, guess I should have been paying attention!!... LOL. I love the "other" Catalina!:rolleyes:

 

Yep I was right there with you...like BBQ and vendor booths on Catalina? When did that start? I was just there! lol!!

[Synthetic]

Yep I was right there with you...like BBQ and vendor booths on Catalina? When did that start? I was just there! lol!!

 

LOL - that is funny!

[cruisinwithboys]

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

 

Qwest was 10x better on the Carnival Sensation than the FOS. Much crazier and the people participating were much more into it than when we were on FOS.