Did Carnival Change their Mattresses ?

[EBONI325]

i am probably one of the rare people that cruises to sleep and get away. I don't care about the port, the ship, the shows, the chair hogs, the fake eggs on the buffet. I have three kids and i count down the time until i can have uninterrupted sleep and no phone calls, no computer beckoning me. I've done 11 carnival cruises and have always loved their comfy beds to crawl into and sleep away. I sleep, eat breakfast, morning nap, lunch, afternoon nap, dinner, enjoy the evening and then sleep again. I love it.

 

To say the mattresses haven't changed is just a wrong statement. Our last cruise i was miserable. When we walked into the room, i did what i always do and flopped on the bed and hit it like a lovebug on a windshield. Splat. Hard as a rock. I was so upset and disappointed. The whole cruise my back hurt, got a kink in my neck. The steward gave me more pillows but it sure wasn't the relaxing vacation i had hoped for.

 

No, i didn't complain. I had always chalked it up to being that one room on that one particular ship, but there are too many people here complaining of the same thing on different ships. We have one more cruise booked in september and i'll see how it goes. If it's a rock again, i'll move on to a new cruise line. I have always loved carnival and have been a cheerleader at times, but this is the one topic that will push me to another line in hopes of finding a comfy bed.

 

So while for you it's "just a mattress," to me it's a good night's sleep.

i agree with all you've said 100%

[halos]

Different strokes for different folks, perhaps.

 

absolutely...the question is not the mattresses at this point, but why would a business be run in a manner which dictates they only listen to feedback they want to hear???

[EBONI325]

i have cruised 4 times on carnival on three different ships. Each time i had a bed that was more comfortable than the one i have at home with the $1000 mattress.

 

 

that's exactly how i felt until my last cruise just this month. Awoke each morning for 8 days in pain. Who wants to awake every morning in pain?

[VASOXFANN]

absolutely...the question is not the mattresses at this point, but why would a business be run in a manner which dictates they only listen to feedback they want to hear???

 

I'm not saying they should. Just answered your first question :)

 

Too bad sleep number mattresses are so expensive. They'd be great on cruise ships...with so many different people with differing tastes :cool:

[ShakyBeef]

Maybe the problem is that Carnival HASN'T changed their mattresses...it could be that the lifespan of what was new has now expired, but Carnival has not yet swapped them out, or maybe isn't swapping them out fast enough? It would explain the variety of responses folks have to them.

 

It could also be that the Manufacturer changed their process, so Carnival thinks they are ordering the same bed, but they're not.

 

I haven't had a bad mattress yet, but that doesn't discount other folks' experience. I do think that if you encounter a problem, you NEED to state it to guest services. Even if nothing changes, you should be on record that there is an issue.

 

My point is that folks stating their discomfort HERE is useless. Flood guest services with complaints and you might get somewhere. But complaining in a forum where anyone could complain even if they've never been on a ship in their life tends to get all complaints, including legit ones, dismissed.

 

I work as a system admin supporting our proprietary software. Occasionally I'll stroll through the office and overhear one of our users with a serious complaint about one of the systems. I'll come over to them and discover they've had some kind of major error problem for weeks. "Why didn't you tell me?" "I couldnt' be bothered/Figured out how to work around it/Didn't think you could fix it."

 

I definately can't fix what I don't know about, and you telling your Husband/Friend/Babysitter that our systems suck is not a way to log an official complaint.

 

Flood guest services while you are onboard. Anything else is spitting in the wind.

 

Meanjean, you have a good point about logging complaints while onboard to make sure they are on record and known to be from "legit" passengers. I get that, really.

 

But I'm not going to make a trip down to Guest Services, stand in line, and log a complaint everytime I notice a cutback. I'm not going to put that kind of effort into being bothered and complaining while on my vacation. Like I mentioned earlier in this thread, if I went to GS to complain everytime I noticed a downgrade in the quality of the Carnival product, I'd be spending a large percentage of my cruise there.

 

Carnival has chosen to make these cutbacks, they know what they are doing. And while I'm on my cruise, I choose to enjoy it and have a good time. But I do notice them and my decision of whether or not to book future Carnival cruises is thus affected.

 

It comes down to: it's not my job to make sure Carnival presents me with a quality product; that is Carnival's job.

 

Also, about the hard mattresses possibly being worn-out once-comfortable mattresses - not a chance. The difference is far too dramatic for that. And these new beds don't have the feel of an old bed, just a hard bed. I'm sure that at least part of it is the removal of the down (or down alternative) mattress topper that was once part of the Carnival Comfort Bedding.

[sr30sb]

Meanjean, you have a good point about logging complaints while onboard to make sure they are on record and known to be from "legit" passengers. I get that, really.

 

But I'm not going to make a trip down to Guest Services, stand in line, and log a complaint everytime I notice a cutback. I'm not going to put that kind of effort into being bothered and complaining while on my vacation. Like I mentioned earlier in this thread, if I went to GS to complain everytime I noticed a downgrade in the quality of the Carnival product, I'd be spending a large percentage of my cruise there.

 

Carnival has chosen to make these cutbacks, they know what they are doing. And while I'm on my cruise, I choose to enjoy it and have a good time. But I do notice them and my decision of whether or not to book future Carnival cruises is thus affected.

 

It comes down to: it's not my job to make sure Carnival presents me with a quality product; that is Carnival's job.

 

Also, about the hard mattresses possibly being worn-out once-comfortable mattresses - not a chance. The difference is far too dramatic for that. And these new beds don't have the feel of an old bed, just a hard bed. I'm sure that at least part of it is the removal of the down (or down alternative) mattress topper that was once part of the Carnival Comfort Bedding.

 

 

shakybeef is 100% correct....on my last cruise on the Pride I noticed my mattress was not as comfortable as I was used to. I mentioned this to my cabin steward (no need for guest services)and my mattress was replaced with a brand new one within an hour.

 

Some mattresses wear out faster than others and need to be replaced sooner. Carnival has no way of checking on every mattress on the ship, it's just not realistic to think they can.

 

So on your next cruise if you don't feel your mattress is in the condition it should be simply ask for a new one instead of complaining to those that can't help you.

[Warm Breezes]

Princess may be a lovely cruise line, but this decor is as tacky as anything I've seen on Carnival. Orange colored walls and a spectacularly ugly ceiling ornament / fixture. The lighting fixture looks like a lit up basketball.

 

Whew....I thought I was the only one seeing that. I thought it was ugly.

[Warm Breezes]

I've come to the conclusion that if you book a room and are a Cruise Critic member, they assign you to a room with a rock hard mattress.

 

If you book a room and are a Facebook member, you get a room with a comfort mattress.

 

There's no other possibility for the different answers on the different boards.

 

What happens if you are both :eek:?

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Perhaps its possible that they are not lying and are in fact using the same exact mattresses, BUT cheaping out on the mattress pads or toppers?

[ShakyBeef]

Perhaps its possible that they are not lying and are in fact using the same exact mattresses, BUT cheaping out on the mattress pads or toppers?

 

Quite possible. In fact, likely. But it all amounts to the same thing - the "Carnival Comfort Bed" no longer is.:cool:

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Quite possible. In fact, likely. But it all amounts to the same thing - the "Carnival Comfort Bed" no longer is.:cool:

 

Maybe they will offer it as an upsell now? lol $49per stateroom gets you the comfort mattress top.

[tree.critter]

I think I've got it figured out. We're all just getting older ourselves and as our bodies age they need to be pampered a bit more than they did in the past. The beds are the same but our bodies aren't.

I do find this interesting, I do remember years ago thinking how comfortable the beds were. Hadn't really noticed them being any more uncomfortable but I sleep like a baby with the ship's motion.

[ShakyBeef]

Maybe they will offer it as an upsell now? lol $49per stateroom gets you the comfort mattress top.

 

FTTS: Faster To The Sleep?

[CanWeGoYet?]

Well...we aren't making this up! I seriously notice a difference.

 

To those of us who have experienced it, the difference in the mattresses is like night and day. Of course we aren't making it up. You know it, I know it. Many, many others know it too. But I'm learning it's futile to try to defend ourselves against those that call us liars for telling the truth.:(

 

I know it's the truth, preaching to the choir here. And I hope it isn't my post that is being alluded to as calling the reports of a hard mattress lies. I've posted that the beds I slept on my past 3 cruises have been horrible.

 

I made a post to this effect last night but perhaps it was pulled because it referred to John Heald's site that cannot be mentioned on CC page. Just saying even with the way people on his page defend all things carnival - there are many many posts affirming the problems with the mattresses of late. It isn't just cruise critic.

[ShakyBeef]

I know it's the truth, preaching to the choir here. And I hope it isn't my post that is being alluded to as calling the reports of a hard mattress lies. I've posted that the beds I slept on my past 3 cruises have been horrible.

 

I made a post to this effect last night but perhaps it was pulled because it referred to John Heald's site that cannot be mentioned on CC page. Just saying even with the way people on his page defend all things carnival - there are many many posts affirming the problems with the mattresses of late. It isn't just cruise critic.

 

No, no, no. I was not alluding to your post at all. Sorry if I caused any confusion there.:o Just responding to and agreeing with Mrmonk. I realize you were also agreeing.:)

[Cruizinman]

What happens if you are both :eek:?

You get one that looks like a roller coaster .

[2snorkel/cruisers]

On our ten cruises have never slept better. Haven't had a problem at all with the beds, just the old body, lol. I still sleep better on the ship than I do at home.:)

[halos]

On our ten cruises have never slept better. Haven't had a problem at all with the beds, just the old body, lol. I still sleep better on the ship than I do at home.:)

 

Nothing like that gentle swaying...no matter what the mattress :p

[wanderingjew]

Maybe they will offer it as an upsell now? lol $49per stateroom gets you the comfort mattress top.

I hope its free for diamonds and Platinums lol

[thunderbaycruiser]

I am truly happy for every Carnival past guest who has (like me for my first 7 cruises) enjoyed a "better than at home" sleep on their Carnival cruise. The amazing sleeps from the gentle motion of the ship combined with the amazing Carnival comfort beds was always a big thing I anticipated after my first cruise! I even said to many friends and family before leaving for this last cruise "I always sleep sooooooo well on the ship". It is by far not the only thing I look forward to, but it contributes a lot to the stress draining out of me and the total relaxation kicking in on a vacation I always plan months and months in advance.

 

That being said, this last cruise was a completely different experience when it came to sleep. I have cruised with the same friends over the years, and never once did a cabin mate resort to sleeping on the couch (not that soft either) just to try and get a decent (not great sleep).

 

I never pay much attention to mattresses at hotels. A mattress is a mattress in a hotel. Sometimes they are amazing at upscale hotels, but I have never ever left a hotel complaining about the mattresses.

 

This cruise on Freedom was the first time in my life I have said "what in heavens name is up with these mattresses"!! The mattresses in our cabin were unlike any mattress I have slept on. And no, they were not just worn out.

 

I went to Guest Services kind of embarrassed to ask a "strange question" as I put it about super hard mattresses never before experienced on Carnival. He quickly wrote down "mattress too hard" and that he would have the cabin steward try to remedy the situation. Replacement mattresses were not offered. The cabin steward did stuff comforters under the fitted sheets which helped a little, but I was still sore and over tired every day.

 

I don't suggest I know that mattresses have been replaced ship wide (let alone fleet wide), a deck at a time, a cabin at a time as needed or even if it is possible some ships are not following company policy and replacing some mattresses on the cheap to make their costs look better on the balance sheet. All I know is that in our cabin the mattresses were so dramatically hard compared to any mattress I have ever used in my life that both of us in the cabin noticed. When I saw this thread I contributed since it appears there are other cabins in the fleet suffering from this problem.

 

If this is mattress replacement on an as needed basis, that means booking a cabin for me on Carnival is now similar to going to the casino. Do I "win" and get one of the great, older, comfort mattresses or another hard horrible mattress and awful sleeping experience.

 

I am unwilling to gamble with thousands of dollars (cruise fare, air fare, hotels before and after, excursions, etc, etc) nor with my vacation experience. If Carnival offered even a $100 upgrade for guaranteed comfortable mattresses (heck, anything but these rock hard mattresses), I would pay it. Problem solved.

 

As there is no such program and no way to guarantee a comfortable bed, we are now researching other lines (including Carnival's own Princess line) which have options that can guarantee an upgraded mattress. Nothing (not all the cutbacks or changes) ever brought us to researching other lines. These horrible mattresses have.

 

The flippant comments in this thread about CC members with too much time on their hands, asking for proof, and other variously useless flame baiting hot air is par for the course here on CC.

 

Those of us that would like to see some sort of solution to this new problem can just ignore these fluff posts.

 

The super hard mattresses were not my imagination. The thousands of people that sail each week are irrelevant. Next to none would even know CC exists. It's horrible to think of all the new cruisers who perhaps encountered one of these terrible mattresses as their first impression of Carnival. Most of us know how wonderful a great sleep on a Carnival ship can be.

 

The Carnival sleep advantage was stripped from my cruise experience which began May 4, 2013. Until something changes, our cruise dollars will go elsewhere.

[EBONI325]

I am truly happy for every Carnival past guest who has (like me for my first 7 cruises) enjoyed a "better than at home" sleep on their Carnival cruise. The amazing sleeps from the gentle motion of the ship combined with the amazing Carnival comfort beds was always a big thing I anticipated after my first cruise! I even said to many friends and family before leaving for this last cruise "I always sleep sooooooo well on the ship". It is by far not the only thing I look forward to, but it contributes a lot to the stress draining out of me and the total relaxation kicking in on a vacation I always plan months and months in advance.

 

That being said, this last cruise was a completely different experience when it came to sleep. I have cruised with the same friends over the years, and never once did a cabin mate resort to sleeping on the couch (not that soft either) just to try and get a decent (not great sleep).

 

I never pay much attention to mattresses at hotels. A mattress is a mattress in a hotel. Sometimes they are amazing at upscale hotels, but I have never ever left a hotel complaining about the mattresses.

 

This cruise on Freedom was the first time in my life I have said "what in heavens name is up with these mattresses"!! The mattresses in our cabin were unlike any mattress I have slept on. And no, they were not just worn out.

 

I went to Guest Services kind of embarrassed to ask a "strange question" as I put it about super hard mattresses never before experienced on Carnival. He quickly wrote down "mattress too hard" and that he would have the cabin steward try to remedy the situation. Replacement mattresses were not offered. The cabin steward did stuff comforters under the fitted sheets which helped a little, but I was still sore and over tired every day.

 

I don't suggest I know that mattresses have been replaced ship wide (let alone fleet wide), a deck at a time, a cabin at a time as needed or even if it is possible some ships are not following company policy and replacing some mattresses on the cheap to make their costs look better on the balance sheet. All I know is that in our cabin the mattresses were so dramatically hard compared to any mattress I have ever used in my life that both of us in the cabin noticed. When I saw this thread I contributed since it appears there are other cabins in the fleet suffering from this problem.

 

If this is mattress replacement on an as needed basis, that means booking a cabin for me on Carnival is now similar to going to the casino. Do I "win" and get one of the great, older, comfort mattresses or another hard horrible mattress and awful sleeping experience.

 

I am unwilling to gamble with thousands of dollars (cruise fare, air fare, hotels before and after, excursions, etc, etc) nor with my vacation experience. If Carnival offered even a $100 upgrade for guaranteed comfortable mattresses (heck, anything but these rock hard mattresses), I would pay it. Problem solved.

 

As there is no such program and no way to guarantee a comfortable bed, we are now researching other lines (including Carnival's own Princess line) which have options that can guarantee an upgraded mattress. Nothing (not all the cutbacks or changes) ever brought us to researching other lines. These horrible mattresses have.

 

The flippant comments in this thread about CC members with too much time on their hands, asking for proof, and other variously useless flame baiting hot air is par for the course here on CC.

 

Those of us that would like to see some sort of solution to this new problem can just ignore these fluff posts.

 

The super hard mattresses were not my imagination. The thousands of people that sail each week are irrelevant. Next to none would even know CC exists. It's horrible to think of all the new cruisers who perhaps encountered one of these terrible mattresses as their first impression of Carnival. Most of us know how wonderful a great sleep on a Carnival ship can be.

 

The Carnival sleep advantage was stripped from my cruise experience which began May 4, 2013. Until something changes, our cruise dollars will go elsewhere.

 

And I say Amen to that!!!!

[k2excursion]

The mattresses on several of the ships are now much much harder than they used to be. It's not the age of a mattress or the age of the people. Soft mattresses are being replaced with very hard ones. It's real. I haven't read this whole thread, and I'm guessing from the little that I've seen that I'm glad I haven't. Some of you have cruised recently and have had the nice, comfy beds. That's great. I have too. But those beds are not on every ship or in every room. As beds are replaced, they are replaced by the new rock hard beds.

 

I noticed this first 2 years ago on the Miracle. I blamed the ship, but would later find out that this is the new trend for Carnival. The cheaper, rock beds are what they're heading towards. I slept horrible on the Miracle. 5 months ago on the Triumph, we had the nice, comfy beds. Then on the Breeze last month, back to the solid rock beds. Breeze is a new ship, so all their beds will be rocks. Triumph still had some of the rooms with the old, comfy beds.

 

On the Breeze, I slept so horrible the first 2 nights. I considered trying to sleep in the serenity area or even just on a deck chair. On the 3rd night, I started sleeping on top of the comforter and switched how I usually sleep, and that helped. I have never had a rough sleep due to mattresses being hard, except on a few of the Carnival ships in these last 2+ years. Hotels of all sorts, my home mattresses that are 20+ years old, new mattresses, friends homes, couches, cars, etc. Never a problem due to it being too hard. Only on these Carnival ships. However, before my Miracle cruise 2 years ago, I was having the best sleeps of my life on Carnival ships. That's because this switch started taking place sometime around 2010-2011. I can't believe that some people feel that we shouldn't care how hard the beds are. If you can't sleep, it makes you grumpy, dreary, and unable to enjoy the cruise as much. Yes, I absolutely want to get a good sleep when on vacation.

 

And, no, I am not a Carnival hater looking for something to gripe about. I'm just trying to be honest & prepare people for what they're really in for. Other than hard beds and lack of entertainment on a few of the ships (playlist), I enjoy Carnival cruises & would recommend them to people who are okay with those potential issues.

[krehberg]

I've not noticed a change at all regarding the mattresses. Will be on Liberty next month and will see.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Cruizinman]

I hope its free for diamonds and Platinums lol

Diamond members only, Platinums are a dime a dozen these days ;)

[maggieworkman]

How are the Splendor beds? Maybe since it hasn't received 2.0 upgrades yet there is a chance for the soft beds???

 

I'm bringing my MIL on this cruise and she has been hesitant about Carnival from the beginning. I hope there aren't hard beds!!! I'm already the black-sheep-DIL. :o

 

Maggie