Felow Cruisers, join me in this message.

[ccletzgo]

I always compare the price of a Carnival cruise with the price of a land-based vacation. Carnival will always win. If I want MORE, I'll expect to pay more accordingly. I'm satisfied with the product that's currently offered.

 

Doesnt win when it comes to an all inclusive resort with an ocean front view. :rolleyes: When comparing Carnivals star value To a Caribbean all inclusive resort with the same star value, the resort always comes in less. Just depends on, do you want to cruise? ........or be land based?

[kmc500]

Since Carnival owns most lines, sometimes that's not always possible.

 

Plenty of competition out there, which is what makes all products improve. CCL Corp. is the largest, but by no means the only line out there.

 

Other very large cruise lines include RCL, NCL, Disney, Oceania, Regent, Celebrity and many others. Lots of great products to choose from.

 

Kevin C

[WinnipegCruiser]

In regards to the declining quality on Carnival Cruise lines and ever increasing prices.....join me in this message.

 

Gerry Cahill, you say you want to lead, you want Carnival to lead the world in cruise vacations. Well dammit, lead! There are 36 million repeat cruisers waiting to hear your voice!

 

Fine, you are the President and CEO of Carnival Corp. Now how about a constructive plan from you on what you will do to "lead".

 

I think the Carnival 2.0 enhancements count as leading. I like the new loyalty program, and see that as a big change that took leadership to do.

 

What do you want to see?

[kmc500]

Say what?!??! Ummm... don't include us in that, so decrease your figure by two cruisers. We haven't noticed any sort of declining quality, OR increased prices. The prices have been amazing, & we always book balconies. :D

 

Ditto, leave us out of your calculations too. I sailed Ecstasy in 1992 and loved it, and although the dining room fare is certainly different from then, I am sure I will enjoy the food in the MDR on our next cruise on the Valor in 22 days.

 

If I did not expect to enjoy it, I would go elsewhere, plenty of other choices abound.

 

Kevin C

[Scott34787]

Fine, you are the President and CEO of Carnival Corp. Now how about a constructive plan from you on what you will do to "lead".

 

Don't you know the new normal is

to complain, get everyone riled

up and then do nothing helpful???? :)

[Beachgirl19]

Not always possible. And you have to admit, if you cruised prior to 2008, you know that carnival has slipped markedly on their game.

 

Very true. My first CC was on the Glory in 2005 -it was absolutely fabulous! Second CC on the Dream in 2010. The decline in quality was unbelievable, like night and day. Quite the difference in the quality of the food, the cleanliness of the ship (and it was a NEW ship!) as well as the attitude of the crew & other pax. :mad:

 

We've considered Carnival since, but just can't bring ourselves to pull the trigger on another Carnival Cruise. We've sailed 2x with Royal, and have 2 more with Royal booked. Just seems to be a better fit for us.

[kmc500]

Carnival used to be elegant and stylish? I had no idea. lol

That wasn't exactly their reputation...and when I started cruising, people told me how bad Carnival's food used to be but that they had improved it markedly. Again, I can't speak for prior to 2005 or after 2010, but the quality of my meals has always been at least satisfactory.

 

If I were used to eating at Morton's on a regular basis, then I'd be disappointed. But a nice meal out to me is more like Outback Steakhouse or similar.

 

You are correct. I first sailed in 1992, and at least since then, I don't ever remember Carnival and elegance being mentioned in the same breath, never mind stylish. It has always been the party ship or Fun Ships.

 

Certainly, more passengers on "Elegant Night" or whatever it was called then were better dressed, but that says more about the decline in dress overall than about Carnival. I think the OP may be missing something that was never actually there. I certainly didn't see it in the 90's the multiple times I cruised Carnival.

 

Kevin C

[my_crib_too]

Why not jump ship to RCI or NCL?

 

On the NCL section of CC, there is always an active thread about NCL nickle and diming. Some people are just more sensitive to this. We've taken plenty of NCL cruises and never noticed it.

 

We just booked our first Carnival cruise for December. I bet that I don't notice any nickle and diming on Carnival either. :eek: We will see.

[Synthetic]

The only discernible real pricing difference that has impacted me in the past few years was the Carnival decision to do away with the single supplement rates. I actually stopped cruising with Carnival for a while (even as a stockholder) because of this. I actually missed the more energetic cruise style that Carnival has so I swallowed my pride and opened my wallet (for those unfamiliar with Single Supplement, formerly when a solo cruiser booked, they paid the regular passenger fee and about 1/3 of the second passenger for the cruise. Now I pay for 2 people regardless of cruising alone.)

 

So I should be the one whining about increased prices but I am not. Carnival's brand fits my desires when cruising alone on a party cruise. Period. Hell, I jumped back onto the brand even though it costs me almost 80% more per person than non-solo cruisers.

[Chigirlcruzin]

Since Carnival owns most lines, sometimes that's not always possible.

 

Gerry Cahill has zero responsibility for Cunard, Princess, HAL, etc. Carnival Cruise Lines does not own these other lines; Carnival Corporation does, and Carnival Corp is run by Micky Arison. Carnival Cruise Lines is just one of the brands under the corporate umbrella that just happens to share the same first name as the parent corporation.

[nlktx49]

Very true. My first CC was on the Glory in 2005 -it was absolutely fabulous! Second CC on the Dream in 2010. The decline in quality was unbelievable, like night and day. Quite the difference in the quality of the food, the cleanliness of the ship (and it was a NEW ship!) as well as the attitude of the crew & other pax. :mad:

 

We've considered Carnival since, but just can't bring ourselves to pull the trigger on another Carnival Cruise. We've sailed 2x with Royal, and have 2 more with Royal booked. Just seems to be a better fit for us.

 

So why are you on the Carnival board?

[Synthetic]

Gerry Cahill has zero responsibility for Cunard, Princess, HAL, etc. Carnival Cruise Lines does not own these other lines; Carnival Corporation does, and Carnival Corp is run by Micky Arison. Carnival Cruise Lines is just one of the brands under the corporate umbrella that just happens to share the same first name as the parent corporation.

 

So very true. In fact, the fact that I have been on so many Carnival Brand cruises has no impact on the other brands owned by Carnival (and I cruise some of the other brands as well). The only benefit I get on the CCL held cruise lines (AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Ibero Cruises, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn Cruise Line) are my CCL stockholder perks. None of these cruise lines (to my knowledge) offer reciprocal frequent cruiser perks.

 

It is surprising to me how many people do not know that Carnival Corporation & plc owns all those cruise lines.

[cruzeluver]

OP- Curious why you state that it is not possible for you to go to another cruise line. Surely with all the options out there you could find one that may be a good fit for you. I know some folks have five, ten twenty or more cruises all on one line but I cannot imagine doing that. Variety is the spice of life!

[emelvee]

You are correct. I first sailed in 1992, and at least since then, I don't ever remember Carnival and elegance being mentioned in the same breath, never mind stylish. It has always been the party ship or Fun Ships.

 

Certainly, more passengers on "Elegant Night" or whatever it was called then were better dressed, but that says more about the decline in dress overall than about Carnival. I think the OP may be missing something that was never actually there. I certainly didn't see it in the 90's the multiple times I cruised Carnival.

 

Kevin C

I still don't get how riled up some people get about the much more casual dress on cruise ships these days...growing up, we always dressed nicely when dining out (not jacket and tie for guys, but a nice shirt and slacks - jeans were for play at home), and certainly dressed nicely for church, and a dress shirt and tie was the "uniform" for most "white collar" jobs. I'm currently in a fairly nice shirt and jeans at work at a "white collar" job. I could wear the same clothes to church, though I typically still dress nicer for that. And I wouldn't look at all out of place in all but the nicest restaurants.

[Beachgirl19]

So why are you on the Carnival board?

 

uhm, Really? LOL. wow. Maybe because this is a free country???! :D

 

And I'm adding my opinion in support of the OP's observation. It's not like I've never been on Carnival and just flaming. As I stated, we LOVED the Glory back in 2005, but were sorely disappointed on the Dream in 2010. This thread is about declining quality in the Carnival product.

 

I honestly wish I felt better about booking another Carnival Cruise - I'd love to feel confident enough to book again, since Carnival seems to have one of the better southern Carribean itineraries over many other lines leaving directly from FLL/Miami ports.

[LaShea]

Really? no increase in prices? Perhaps you don't buy anything on board, you don't drink or go on excursions. And perhaps you've magically skirted all the increased nickle and diming.

 

Being that you live in San Fransico and it is very expensive to live in Cali...I have a question for you. How much does a drink cost in a restaraunt in Cali when you go have cocktails? I live in Corpus Christi, TX...a very small place compared to where you live and I easily spend $8 or more for a Pina Colada at the restaraunts here. I went to Vegas last year and a Pina Colada for dinner was $13.00...for just one. I paid $7.25 on my cruise on the Magic last year for a Miami Vice. I just don't get where people say that the alcohol is so expensive on the cruise. Beer might be a little more then most places here but, the foo foo drinks are on par or cheaper than what I pay in a fairly small town.;)

[emelvee]

OP- Curious why you state that it is not possible for you to go to another cruise line. Surely with all the options out there you could find one that may be a good fit for you. I know some folks have five, ten twenty or more cruises all on one line but I cannot imagine doing that. Variety is the spice of life!

I definitely think it's good to try other lines, to compare and contrast. We have found that Carnival best fits our style and interests. It's not perfect, but Carnival provides the best value for us. If I had listened to others I know (IRL) that look down on Carnival, we might not have ever tried it.

[garysol1]

In regards to the declining quality on Carnival Cruise lines and ever increasing prices.....join me in this message.

 

 

I would but I am way to busy packing for our Carnival Cruise...

[emelvee]

Doesnt win when it comes to an all inclusive resort with an ocean front view. :rolleyes: When comparing Carnivals star value To a Caribbean all inclusive resort with the same star value, the resort always comes in less. Just depends on, do you want to cruise? ........or be land based?

That's what I compare Carnival to...but airfare for 3 can easily run $1,500 to $2,000 to the Caribbean. Add a room at $200+/night, and you're at $3k+. I can usually cruise for a week with a balcony for less than that, as long as I can drive to the port. With the hassle of air travel these days, I prefer to drive if it's within a day's drive.

 

That being said, I've seen some good deals at all-inclusives and we'll probably try it at some point. I agree there's a lot of personal preference involved - seeing multiple islands for ~8 few hours vs one location for several days, etc.

[iluvdoxies]

we have switched to NCL, much better service, crew, food etc

 

And they have a meet and greet with snacks and non aloc bev wirh ship's crew and capt

[Synthetic]

This is not the first "Carnival sucks and is overpriced and they need to be the leader" rant on a cruise message forum and it will not be the last. I presented my argument and it sticks because it is factual (although my preferences are subjective)...

[MrShake]

CCl used to be a lot more elegant, styleish and had much better food.

What folks want now is a cheap fare, generic beer and all the troughs in the buffet full.

 

Not to be argumentative, but I'm not sure I agree. Cheap fares sure.. but Carnival is changing to meet the needs of their guests, and those changes include:

 

Their OWN craft beer (decidedly un generic)

Gourmet Burgers

Indian Tandori

Mongolian Wok

Pasta Bar

etc, etc, etc (decidedly un buffet trough)

 

I'll reiterate what others have said.. you can't beat the value of a CCL cruise, and the 2 we've been on have BOTH been fantastic!

[DiamondBill102]

Really? no increase in prices? Perhaps you don't buy anything on board, you don't drink or go on excursions. And perhaps you've magically skirted all the increased nickle and diming.

 

 

Ummm while those things on board have gone up...so did your salary...I'm sure you get at least a cost of living increase....

[EastTex]

In regards to the declining quality on Carnival Cruise lines and ever increasing prices.....join me in this message.

 

 

It seems this "call to arms" is destined to be a failure based on the last 3 pages I read.

[Synthetic]

It seems this "call to arms" is destined to be a failure based on the last 3 pages I read.

 

Not unlike some of the bad reviews in the Member Reviews section, the OP's personal experience often does not reflect the standard or the general population's perception of the post.