Punchliner Comedy Brunch

[Sargent_Schultz]

You're assuming the cost savings will be passed on rather than distributed to shareholders.

 

Same difference. Many people who actually cruise on Carnival are shareholders. ;)

[Sargent_Schultz]

Makes one wonder how sardines feel.

 

In any case lets see what the reviews look like.

 

Not once have I ever wondered how sardines feel. I suppose some might choose to cruise in a sardine can - I'll stick with spacious Carnival, thank you. No complaints about stateroom size.

[golfadj]

You're assuming the cost savings will be passed on rather than distributed to shareholders.

 

They will do what they need to do to stay competitive and than the rest is profit.

 

Nothing wrong with that just management doing its job.

 

Customers than decide if cruising on a particular ship is worthwhile.

 

Personally I dont want to see cruise ships more crowded than they are today.

 

Dream which we did recently was about as crowded as we have seen and that was ok but more than that will exceed our comfort zone.

[sanmarcosman]

They will do what they need to do to stay competitive and than the rest is profit.

 

Nothing wrong with that just management doing its job.

 

Customers than decide if cruising on a particular ship is worthwhile.

 

Personally I dont want to see cruise ships more crowded than they are today.

 

Dream which we did recently was about as crowded as we have seen and that was ok but more than that will exceed our comfort zone.

 

Huh? I posted that comment in regard to the brunch menu only.

[golfadj]

Huh? I posted that comment in regard to the brunch menu only.

 

oops wrong thread

[cruzmax]

We really enjoyed the Punchliner Brunch on our Liberty cruise in November! Our opinion was that the food quality and selection was much better than our breakfast in the dining room and buffet. We didn't mind that the comedy was brief, and wish this option was available more days! Give it a try.

[crusinpsychRN]

I'd think the comedians think spending 5 minutes every hour for a few hours is a stupid waste of time requiring them to show up when they'd rather be doing something else.

 

They are showmen/women and like the attention, but 5 minutes? It's also a way to advertise the Punchliner club but if the comedian isn't funny in that 5 minutes, people who heard it wouldn't go to the show that night.

[golfadj]

I'd think the comedians think spending 5 minutes every hour for a few hours is a stupid waste of time requiring them to show up when they'd rather be doing something else.

 

They are showmen/women and like the attention, but 5 minutes? It's also a way to advertise the Punchliner club but if the comedian isn't funny in that 5 minutes, people who heard it wouldn't go to the show that night.

 

I agree and suspect the comedy part of the brunch will be going away fairly soon

[durberville]

OK not sure if it is just my head is screwing up or what.

 

But I'm starting to get very confused.

 

Posters keep posting things like; with 2.0 upgrades the MDR no longer serves breakfast and/or lunch or Punchliners brunch replaces breakfast in the MDR on sea days .

 

So in looking at some Fun Times. I'm seeing open seating about 7:30-9:30 in the MDR on port days. Punchliners about 9:00 - 1:30 in the MDR on sea days. So then wouldn't Punchliners just be breakfast/lunch in the MDR with a different name and of course a revised menu from what was offered before 2.0? So the MDR technically still would be serving breakfast on sea days?

 

My thoughts exactly. I plan to go to Punchliners when it opens - 9 am is breakfast time to ME. :)

[robin13]

A group of us did the Punchliners Brunch on the Breeze and thought the food was pretty good. However, we were seated right by the comedian and of course our table was picked on for 5 minutes. Had a good laugh but you can tell that the comedians really don't want to be there.

[HeatherC430]

Just off the Breeze this weekend. We did the Comedy Brunch one of the sea days. We really enjoyed the food & options available. Like the other posters mentioned, we could have done without the "comedy". On the Breeze, it was offered 8:30-1:00 on sea days.

[terri910]

Just off the Breeze this weekend. We did the Comedy Brunch one of the sea days. We really enjoyed the food & options available. Like the other posters mentioned, we could have done without the "comedy". On the Breeze, it was offered 8:30-1:00 on sea days.

How was the service?

 

I've read so many posts about how slow the service was.....

[Rirruto]

Does anyone know if the comedians have a set time in which they perform? On the hour, on the half hour, etc? Not to sound like a downer but I'd prefer to avoid them since I am just not a big fan of stand up comedy in person. I find the whole situation very awkward, especially if the comedian is not good or the crowd is not into it. I can't imagine trying to eat a meal while somebody was trying to tell jokes and nobody was paying attention to them.

[golfadj]

Does anyone know if the comedians have a set time in which they perform? On the hour, on the half hour, etc? Not to sound like a downer but I'd prefer to avoid them since I am just not a big fan of stand up comedy in person. I find the whole situation very awkward, especially if the comedian is not good or the crowd is not into it. I can't imagine trying to eat a meal while somebody was trying to tell jokes and nobody was paying attention to them.

 

On the hour. Or ask to be seated away from where the comedian is and it is just background noise.

[golfadj]

How was the service?

 

I've read so many posts about how slow the service was.....

 

We did it twice on the Dream in October and thought service was fine.

 

It will never be as good as dinnertime as you dont directly tip the server.

[ChefSusan]

We also did the Comedy Brunch on Breeze earlier this month, and were not impressed at all. Our food came out lukewarm to cold, had to wait at least 1/2 to get bread (and to order our food), and the servers did seem to be overworked (too many tables in their section). We brought this to our server's attention, and he replaced it, but it took another 45 minutes until we got our food - and yes, it was hot.

 

Will we do it again? Probably not.

[misstopgun]

My 2 cents, I don't care for the comedy brunch (at least I didn't like the one on the Dream)...as noted, the "comedy" part is a waste...we were there 3 times and heard a comedian start talking about the time we were leaving.

 

And I am not particularly fond of the brunch menu either. I'd prefer to have the regular breakfast and regular lunch menus.

 

If you're actually not going to get comedy--then its basically a way to combine the breakfast and lunch menus into one and reduce costs isn't it? (Am I that jaded?) :rolleyes:

I thought the same thing when I first heard of the new program. It may be a cost cutter but when I saw the menu I thought it would serve our purposes better. Hubby doesn't eat eggs so I have a hard time getting him to breakfast with me. Now he can go and have something else and I can have steak and eggs.

 

I am going with an open mind our next cruise which is the first we have taken on a ship that offered it. If the food isn't good I am sure I will be dissapointed but I am sure I won't starve to death. I rarely see the comedians anyway on a cruise because we don't like having to fight fo a place to sit, so if that bombs at the brunch, we won't have missed much.

[hlb76]

Which ships have this? we sail Ecstasy next week and would be willing to try something new on our 1 :( sea day!

[cruzinlisa]

Some of us would rather have brunch.The hours that its offered is both breakfast and lunch time and the menu has a variety of both breakfast and lunch items.How is this saving the company money?

 

Ditto.

 

I am not much of a three meals a day person, if I do, one of them is more of a light snack. If I eat a big meal at breakfast, I don't want lunch. Or if I have a big lunch, I am not hungry for dinner. On weekends, DH and I often eat once, maybe twice. The brunch works fine for me, then a snack later, then dinner. Or I can go to Lido and have a more traditionally schedule. I am one of those that is pleased with this particular change. I know there are others.

[redneony]

If you're going to go, go for the food and not the comedy. The food choices are very good... the bread basket they give you is really cool, and it's free. We went and we were there for an hour and 20 minutes last week on Breeze... and the comedian never came out. It was a nice sit-down lunch option though, and we'd do it again.

[Ours91]

I'm thinking about trying it ; but sitting away from the comedian lol.

[maggieworkman]

OK not sure if it is just my head is screwing up or what.

 

But I'm starting to get very confused.

 

Posters keep posting things like; with 2.0 upgrades the MDR no longer serves breakfast and/or lunch or Punchliners brunch replaces breakfast in the MDR on sea days .

 

So in looking at some Fun Times. I'm seeing open seating about 7:30-9:30 in the MDR on port days. Punchliners about 9:00 - 1:30 in the MDR on sea days. So then wouldn't Punchliners just be breakfast/lunch in the MDR with a different name and of course a revised menu from what was offered before 2.0? So the MDR technically still would be serving breakfast on sea days?

 

Technically, yes, you can still get breakfast items during breakfast time and lunch items during lunch time. However, it is the same menu so overall the number of items has been reduced.

 

We are thinking of booking the 8 day splendor out of New York and it has 4 sea days. I can see this brunch menu getting old after 4 days. Especially when there are only a couple things you want to eat (personally I do not like eggs, so that cuts out many, many options for me.)

 

Maggie

[che5904]

Technically, yes, you can still get breakfast items during breakfast time and lunch items during lunch time. However, it is the same menu so overall the number of items has been reduced.

 

We are thinking of booking the 8 day splendor out of New York and it has 4 sea days. I can see this brunch menu getting old after 4 days. Especially when there are only a couple things you want to eat (personally I do not like eggs, so that cuts out many, many options for me.)

 

Maggie

 

I can see your point and I'm not an egg eater either. I just wanted to make sure I was understanding correctly. I'm brand new to Carnival and at first it appeared like I was reading many conflicting answers. Then finally it clicked that when people were saying that the MDR no longer served breakfast or Punchliners replaced the MDR breakfasts. That they were actually saying if you had cruised Carnival before they were different.

 

Had me totally baffled.

[golfadj]

We also did the Comedy Brunch on Breeze earlier this month, and were not impressed at all. Our food came out lukewarm to cold, had to wait at least 1/2 to get bread (and to order our food), and the servers did seem to be overworked (too many tables in their section). We brought this to our server's attention, and he replaced it, but it took another 45 minutes until we got our food - and yes, it was hot.

 

Will we do it again? Probably not.

 

We did it on Dream in Oct and service was fine and was nice to see a better collection of breads on the table.

[spikester]

I did this on the Liberty, and I thought it was pretty good. There were some interesting items on the menu.

 

I went right before the comedian was supposed to start, and there were a lot of people going right then. I think if you go at an off peak time, when the comedian isn't scheduled to perform the service would be quicker.

 

Also, if you get one of the coupons for the past guest free drink, you have to get it in the dining room, so that adds to the congestion there.

 

I got the frootloops encrusted french toast, and it was pretty good, if a little sweet.