So many bad reviews

[jsbellisle]

I feel like most of the recent Carnival reviews I have read have been so negative. Is Carnival's service, food, and entertainment gotten that bad, or are these people that don't know how to have fun? :eek:

[groo]

Just head over and read any other board for the other lines and you'll see the same stories.

 

Those who feel like they didn't get good value always say more than those who walk away happy.

 

I've learned to read between the lines.

[Butterbean1000]

You can't please all the people all the time.

 

Enjoy your cruise:cool:

[DTC]

We just sailed on the Freedom a few weeks back. It was our 6th cruise and best one yet. Vacation is what you make it, we make ours great!!!

 

Just booked 7th!! And will soon be booking 8th.

 

Happy sailing!

[dclark]

Service, food and entertainment have all suffered cutbacks, this is a fact. Some will argue that they still like the food, entertainment is not important to them, everything is subjective,etc. Cutbacks have been done.

The bigger question is- do they matter to you? Some people will say yes, some will say no, some will switch to different cruise lines or land vacations, some will stick with CCL.

I started sailing with CCL back in '98 and saw them do a quick decline over the last three years. I did my last CCL cruise last summer and won't be returning to them anytime soon. I think I have done 15 CCL cruises, 5 Princess and 3 RCL.

Did a princess cruise two months ago, will cruise them again in July. You might love CCL, you might hate CCL.

Bottom line is what you want/like.

[maldenmusic]

I have no problems with the quality of my CCL cruises!

[cccer]

Honestly people are more likely to go out of their way and post a negative review than they would a positive review. Actually, I have only done one review one tripadviser and it was all negative. I have gone on many cruises and tours and this was the one I wrote about.

[eos63]

I have been on multiple cruises and not once have I had any problems. I do not get up every day expecting everything to go perfectly, nor do I believe that I am entitled to always have things "my" way. Learning to let go and roll with it will make your vacation go smoothly, planning every second and being disappointed when things don't go just how you had them planned will make you crazy... Just my 2 cents...

[firefly333]

I feel like most of the recent Carnival reviews I have read have been so negative. Is Carnival's service, food, and entertainment gotten that bad, or are these people that don't know how to have fun? :eek:

 

So if YOU dont like what they say in their review, for whatever reason, the people giving the review must not know how to have fun.

 

Seems to me you are knocking others, putting them down to me.

 

Everyone is entiteled to their own review or opinion to me and should not be put down. I see the flamers every time someone says something negative. Oh woe is me, you cant say that.

 

I still enjoy my Carnival cruises, but I find I am a little more bored by them than on other cruiselines. Nothing wrong with Carnival, and obviously my signature now looks like a Carnival advertisement .. but I also enjoy other lines. Carnival had what I wanted at the right price, so I booked it.

[kelly11]

The food is still good, maybe its different now, but still good, I dont have to cook it, or clean it, which makes it even better.

There are people who if one small thing goes wrong, it ruins the entire trip, and the review will reflect it. When I was in high school I worked in a hotel taking reservations, and I heard it there, if someone has a wonderful time they might tell 5 people, if someone has even a slightly bad time, theyll tell 500 and make that slight bad time into a catastrophe:D

I love my cruises, love the time away from work, spent with my family, making memories with the kids, if they take something off the menu, or the service takes a little longer, it doesnt ruin my time. I guess its going to be what you make of it.

[BSQ]

:D Feel free to read my reviews linked in my signature. All are fairly fun with minimal complaints. But that's my take on life as well. Not too many complaints. :D

 

Some people like to complain. Maybe they think that's what it is to be a "Critic"

[Alzaman]

I would like to address this issue. The changes being made in the cruise industry are for being more cost efficient. That means reducing cost which mean differnt and sometimes slightly less service. Carnival offers a great value IMO but it is not the finest cruise experience. But I choose to sail Carnival for the most part because it allows me more chances to cruise, and that is a good thing. I enjoy the more casual feel of carnival and its fits my kick back style. If one is looking for fine dining, superior service and more luxury there are other great options out there. I can say I have never had a bad cruise although I havent always been pleased with everything. This last cruise I took on the magic I was very unhappy with the VERY crowded showroom. There was no way all passangers who wanted to see the shows could see them, even with 2 showings. I let my feelings on this matter know in my review, CC post and in my crusie evaluation email (yes I got one). I said that it was not acceptable to me that everyone who paid for the cruise could not get what they paid for. I let it be know that I would not crusie on another large ship because of this. That is my choice. I was very happy to see that the breeze is going to 3 shows so I must not be the only person who expressed this opinion. That shows we that Carnival does listen when enough people speak. WTG Carnival. BTW my next cruise is on the Victory.

[larkz]

So if YOU dont like what they say in their review, for whatever reason, the people giving the review must not know how to have fun.

 

Well, of course. Anyone with a frontal lobe who reads reviews here or anywhere else would naturally do three things: 1) consider the review itself, 2) compare it to other reviews of the same thing, and 3) try to discern whether the tone and quality of the review had any merit. Many reviews are worthless.

 

And yes, it's obvious that some people are so spoiled or perpetually miserable that they don't seem to have a clue about how to make themselves happy -- and then blame everyone else for ruining their vacation. And many of these reviews betray the broken mental states of their authors. I've shared a few jawdroppers with friends who don't even have an interest in cruising just because they were so stunningly bizarre.

[candigirl]

I just returned (Monday) from a wonderful weekend cruise on the Carnival Inspiration. I haven't had the time to write a review...might not ever get to it, but I can assure you I choose to have fabulous time. Because of that......it didn't take much effort to do just that. If you look real hard, you can always find something to complain about. In fact some former resident of my cabin must have disregarded all the rules and smoked in the cabin and I Hate cigarette smoke. That's not Carnival's fault, people can be everybit as disrespectful of rules at sea as they are at home. We did go to guest services and they apologized and promptly sent someone to "refresh" the cabin. Not only did they leave us a note apologizing, they also called to make sure everything was ok. I call that great customer service, but I am sure you can see how easily someone could put a nasty negative spin on the situation. Go, have fun and CHOOSE to have a great time and remember, don't sweat the small stuff.

[teddybarehead]

To be honest, the only thing i didn't really enjoy about my last cruise in December, was that the comedian wasn't that funny. Pretty minor thing, the rest of my cruise was a blast.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Service, food and entertainment have all suffered cutbacks, this is a fact. Some will argue that they still like the food, entertainment is not important to them, everything is subjective,etc. Cutbacks have been done.

The bigger question is- do they matter to you? Some people will say yes, some will say no, some will switch to different cruise lines or land vacations, some will stick with CCL.

I started sailing with CCL back in '98 and saw them do a quick decline over the last three years. I did my last CCL cruise last summer and won't be returning to them anytime soon. I think I have done 15 CCL cruises, 5 Princess and 3 RCL.

Did a princess cruise two months ago, will cruise them again in July. You might love CCL, you might hate CCL.

Bottom line is what you want/like.

 

I'm with you, almost.

 

I'll still book CCL but it won't be my go to cruise line anymore.

 

I have been Platinum for awhile and have been cruising with them since 1998. I have also seen the steady decline over the past 2-3 years.

 

I just cruised on Princess in the beginning of February and their food has also slipped a notch or 2 since I last cruised them.

 

I explore every cruiseline now where before I would usually just check CCL and bok because i was getting a good value for my money.

 

I don't feel that way anymore. I am booked on NCL for this July. We'll see how that goes.:)

 

I think the ones who say it's great now didn't cruise with CCL back when it was better.

 

Bill

[Emperor Norton]

I feel like most of the recent Carnival reviews I have read have been so negative. Is Carnival's service, food, and entertainment gotten that bad, or are these people that don't know how to have fun? :eek:

 

It seems that for the most part every line is having some kind of issue with repeat passengers expectations not being met and this seems to be the same whether it's a low end or ultra-luxe line. A lot of the more favorable reviews that I've read lately have been from new passengers or those with only more recent experiences with the lines.

 

Again, this doesn't happen for every line every time, but does seem to be a very common trend.

[Chigirlcruzin]

Service, food and entertainment have all suffered cutbacks, this is a fact. Some will argue that they still like the food, entertainment is not important to them, everything is subjective,etc. Cutbacks have been done.

The bigger question is- do they matter to you? Some people will say yes, some will say no, some will switch to different cruise lines or land vacations, some will stick with CCL.

I started sailing with CCL back in '98 and saw them do a quick decline over the last three years. I did my last CCL cruise last summer and won't be returning to them anytime soon. I think I have done 15 CCL cruises, 5 Princess and 3 RCL.

Did a princess cruise two months ago, will cruise them again in July. You might love CCL, you might hate CCL.

Bottom line is what you want/like.

 

I sailed Norwegian Epic in April of last year and again on New Year's Eve. There were definitely cutbacks between April and NYE. That's only 8 months. None really mattered to me, but there were evident cutbacks nonetheless.

 

Costs are up. Oil, food, most everything from China due to the increase in minimum wage, raw materials, and fuel to ship the products.Cruise lines have two choices to keep their profit margins in line year over year - increase prices or cut back. Sometimes it's a combination of the two. The cruise lines are a business, and they are doing what they need to do to maintain their profits. It is up to us to determine if the value is still there.

[sparks1093]

So if YOU dont like what they say in their review, for whatever reason, the people giving the review must not know how to have fun.

 

Seems to me you are knocking others, putting them down to me.

 

Everyone is entiteled to their own review or opinion to me and should not be put down. I see the flamers every time someone says something negative. Oh woe is me, you cant say that.

 

I still enjoy my Carnival cruises, but I find I am a little more bored by them than on other cruiselines. Nothing wrong with Carnival, and obviously my signature now looks like a Carnival advertisement .. but I also enjoy other lines. Carnival had what I wanted at the right price, so I booked it.

 

fire, the OP asked "or are these people that don't know how to have fun?", he/she did not express an opinion and there is a big difference.

 

OP, the way to read a review is to ask yourself "if this had been me would this have been an issue". If you answer no then you don't have to worry about it. If you answer yes then you can decide ahead of time what to do if the same thing happens to you. Usually when I read a really negative review the writer is going on and on about things that I really do not care about and wouldn't have an issue with. Finally, your cruise is what you make it. For me any vacation is at least 70% or more who I am travelling with and the memories we are making together. The rest is just a backdrop to that.

[tikimon]

I think with the economy being in a slump the past few years has something to do with alot of these bad or slightly negative reviews.

 

With cutbacks across the board in the cruise industry and revenues taking a plunge for the cruiselines I belive alot of people have moved around looking to save a few bucks themselves and have gotten out of their safety zone so to speak and away from what they are use to sailing with what they may feel was a higher end cruiseline and with their move to sail with other lines they are not finding that same level of a cruise experence that they feel they have gotten in the past with the other line therefore resulting a a bad review.

[RuthlessBoss]

It seems that for the most part every line is having some kind of issue with repeat passengers expectations not being met and this seems to be the same whether it's a low end or ultra-luxe line. A lot of the more favorable reviews that I've read lately have been from new passengers or those with only more recent experiences with the lines.

 

Again, this doesn't happen for every line every time, but does seem to be a very common trend.

In a way, I agree. I will compare it to Disney World as a repeat guest there. First time goers are awed, and should be. But, as a long time attendee, I see many cutbacks. The newbie is not aware of them. I still have a good time though.

[fmp4369]

I laugh when I see people get called out as being miserable if they post criticism of their trip.

 

I took the Glory last year and posted a review. Mostly good, with my primary critique being the food and how it was never hot. As I posted in my review, it is probably the result of trying to feed 3,000 people; get them fed and moved along for the next customer. It did not ruin my trip as I now know what level of expectation to go on board with.

 

It's just too bad that if you're not a cheerleader and don't declare how everything was the

best ever, you're cast as a hard to please curmudgeon.

[halos]

I feel like most of the recent Carnival reviews I have read have been so negative. Is Carnival's service, food, and entertainment gotten that bad, or are these people that don't know how to have fun? :eek:

 

Don't worry. Just go and judge for yourself.

 

I laugh when I see people get called out as being miserable if they post criticism of their trip.

 

 

 

I took the Glory last year and posted a review. Mostly good, with my primary critique being the food and how it was never hot. As I posted in my review, it is probably the result of trying to feed 3,000 people; get them fed and moved along for the next customer. It did not ruin my trip as I now know what level of expectation to go on board with.

 

 

 

It's just too bad that if you're not a cheerleader and don't declare how everything was the

 

best ever, you're cast as a hard to please curmudgeon.

 

 

 

Yeah, unfortunately that is exactly how it goes here. You have to learn to ignore the folks that think you aren't allowed to have an opinion that differs from theirs.

 

This happens on all the boards but it is definitely the absolute worst here with Royal a close second.

 

 

 

With cutbacks across the board in the cruise industry and revenues taking a plunge for the cruiselines I belive alot of people have moved around looking to save a few bucks themselves and have gotten out of their safety zone so to speak and away from what they are use to sailing with what they may feel was a higher end cruiseline and with their move to sail with other lines they are not finding that same level of a cruise experence that they feel they have gotten in the past with the other line therefore resulting a a bad review.

 

 

 

Although that may be true in some cases, there are a very good percentage of long time CCL cruisers who have noted a change for the negative and it has nothing to do with having previously sailed more premium lines and expecting a premium product from Carnival.

 

 

 

However (To the OP) Carnival does not offer a bad cruise. Those of us that may be speaking of cutbacks ansd decline are just comparing to a time when CCL was outstanding....For what you pay for a CCL cruise now (for the most part) you just can't expect 'outstanding'.

When you read all the posts here, you will see that a huge amount of people will come right out and say they choose CCL because it's more affordable. If you look at it that way, you will not be disappointed.

[Yvonne]

I guess you didn't read my review then. ;)

 

We were on the 1/28 8-night sailing of the Carnival Freedom. And we have the Conquest booked for next January. We still enjoy Carnival cruises. To me, they give a great cruise for a great price. Yes, I've noticed some cut backs, but it sounds like other cruise lines are doing the same things, it's not just Carnival. If I want more of an upscale cruise, with lots of amenities, I would have to pay more and for now I'm not willing to do that.

[camper49]

The food is still good, maybe its different now, but still good, I dont have to cook it, or clean it, which makes it even better.

There are people who if one small thing goes wrong, it ruins the entire trip, and the review will reflect it. When I was in high school I worked in a hotel taking reservations, and I heard it there, if someone has a wonderful time they might tell 5 people, if someone has even a slightly bad time, theyll tell 500 and make that slight bad time into a catastrophe:D

I love my cruises, love the time away from work, spent with my family, making memories with the kids, if they take something off the menu, or the service takes a little longer, it doesnt ruin my time. I guess its going to be what you make of it.

I love my cruises too!! We just did our 18th Carnival cruise,our first in 2001. Things have changed and not always for the best but we take the bad with the good and always have a wonerful time !!!!!!