Are you considering other cruise lines

[firefly333]

Variety is the spice of life :) I only have 4 cruises with Carnival, but am looking forward to experiencing a new ship, food, entertainment etc. Nothing wrong with that.

 

I so agree. I hear people saying they only cruise on Carnival and since its not broken, thats the only line they will consider.

 

Its like saying I eat pork chops for dinner every night. I like them, so why try any other meat. .. because you might find you also like steak. But you say pork chops are cheaper, so I dont want to know if I like steak.

 

I was born curious.

[okgirl]

We will be going on our 31st Carnival cruise in October and it will also be our Diamond cruise. I don't really see us venturing out to another cruise line unless someone else is paying for it.

 

We cruise for the onboard experience and rarely get off the ship in ports with very few exceptions. I find the menu options offer a good variety of choices. I've rarely been served something I didn't like (once Seafood Neuburg) and since I feel comfortable with the experience that Carnival gives me I don't feel a need to change.

[Warm Breezes]

Are you dissatisfied enough with past experiences, cutbacks, etc to consider switching to another cruise line? We are.

 

I don't sail other lines because I am dissatisfied with Carnival. I sail other lines because I am not loyal to Carnival or any line. I choose the ship that best fits my wants for a vacation I am planning. Most of the time, that has been Carnival and we have not had any bad experiences nor have the changes not affected the enjoyment of our cruise. Sometimes it is another line that meets are wants. Again no bad experiences there either. We have enjoyed every one of our cruises. I never understood the line loyalty mentality. Why limit your options like that?

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We're sailing our 10th on Carnival shortly, 14 overall.

 

Do I like the cutbacks? No. Will I change cruise lines because of it? No

 

I love the Carnival experience and always will. They offer what we want in a cruise and we will stay with them.

 

If we run out of Itineraries with CCL then sure, we may look elsewhere.

 

We've been on 3 other cruise lines and have always returned to Carnival.

 

The worse was RCL.

 

I see that you say RCI was the worse and it was last year but you can't even remember the name of the ship?

 

Bill

[Tapi]

We are going on Holland America next. Not because of dissatisfaction with Carnival, but simply because we want a more polished and elegant experience, plus they had the itinerary that we really wanted.

 

Carnival is still more than suitable for a budget minded, cheap cruise close to home. But looking somewhere else doesn't mean I'm unhappy with them. It just means they are not what I'm looking for on our next cruises.

[dclark]

W If you consider that you are paying less today than 20 years ago counting inflation, the lines are doing the best they can. .

 

Have you ever really looked at the claim "Cruises are cheaper now thatn they were X number of years ago?"

I have. First, you can't compare a cruise of today to a cruise of say, 15 years ago as CCL is not the same product as it once was. Back 15 years ago, CCL had captains party, repeater party for everyone and rum swizzle party- these ALL have a value. So do things like nightly entertainment, better food and better service.

I compared our last CCL cruise to our first one.

First was a 7 day, second was an 8 day, both done end of June.The seven day with OV was $2600, the 8 inside cabin was $3400, right off the bat, the 8 day is more money.

Now, let's look at inflation-according to a calculator, that cruise back in '98 would now cost $3587. You could say that is more than the 8 day cruise but then you could also say that 7 day had a window, so it really is a wash. However, would you be willing to pay an extra $187 for:

1:nightly entertainment, including two professional acts?

2) Three cocktail parties?

3) An assigned server who waits in the mdr for you at breakfast and lunch to give excellent service

4) high quality food that includes filet mignon, NY steak on the anytime menu,french made President buttter, fresh squeezed O.J. among other things?

5) Nightly buffets, including the gala buffet

6) lower alcohol prices

7) water color print given at last night of cruise

Really, these things made it a cruise. People that say it doesn't matter, they just care about itinerary are only confirming what I have been saying; that CCL is becoming less of a cruise line and more of a ferry service.

[hott_michelle2001]

I have always been a huge carnival fan but I have had some many issues planning this current booking that I am now ready to try some other cruise lines. The customer service has just not been up to par, plus we were suppose to sail triumph and it got cancelled so that sucked, but now on top of it having to change our plans and deal with tons of incorrect informaiton, accounting mistakes that arei n carnivals favor and the cutbacks on board i think were done.

[bia]

We are trying new lines. Our last cruise was awful and some of the cut backs were the final straw.

 

we were loyal carnival. I even lost a cruise because I did not have insurance. but with all the cut backs we are rethinking what we are looking for. the last straw was the casino perks.

bia

[FlaParrotHead]

Are you dissatisfied enough with past experiences, cutbacks, etc to consider switching to another cruise line? We are.

 

@Camarowesley. While we have sailed Carnival for over 20 years and did sail NCL and RCL a couple of times, we will "relook" at the alternatives for a number of reasons. First, it's always good to look at the competition, we have grown so used to CCL that we haven't done that in awhile. While I do think that Carnival has added some great new foodie and fun things with the new ships and the 2.0 additions, there are things we do not necessarily like. The changes to the platinum program last year, the selling of benefits (FTTF), and the cut back in live music hit us wrong, although it sounds like they are rethinking the music complaints. We also are not happy about CCL moving the Legend out of Tampa to Australia next year without announcing a replacement for 7/8 day sailings at the same time. It does seem like CCL values the first time cruiser more than those who have sailed with them over-and-over for many years. Now, don't get me wrong, that is OK, and they need to look at the business and the customers that they want to attract. Our next sailings are booked on The Breeze and we know that we'll have a blast and be with officers, crew, and a staff that almost always go above and beyond all expectations. But after these sailings, we will look at other cruise lines, what they offer, and try to get a little better educated in the alternatives; something we should have been doing but were not.

[cruzinlisa]

Are you dissatisfied enough with past experiences, cutbacks, etc to consider switching to another cruise line? We are.

 

I am considering other lines, but only partly because of the cutbacks. Mainly, I am interested to try something new. I like Carnival. But I want to try something else to determine whether Carnival provides me with the best value. I hear that Carnival has cut back and that other lines may offer a more refined experience. I am not sure I want that yet, because i have not tired it After I try another line I may say that Carnival has too many cutbacks and I prefer getting more. Or I may decide that I don't care about those things and like the lower price of Carnival. Variety is the spice of life.

[tigereye]

If another line comes to Mobile, I'll be booking with them.

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

We've not had a bad time and we're not upset with anything they've done. We are just bored with Carnival and found a great deal on an 11 days cruise on NCL so we are giving it a try! 11 days in a suite with full suite perks including butler/concierge cheaper than a 7 day in a GS on a new Carnival ship was too good to pass up! :D

[jimbo5544]

I see that you say RCI was the worse and it was last year but you can't even remember the name of the ship?

 

Bill

Where does it say that they can't remember the name of the ship?

[SUSIEK]

We love Carnival. But, we sail on other lines also. We LOVE cruising!!! I would really feel that I am missing out if I limited myself to just one line.

 

I honestly never thought of staying with only one line. Sounds pretty boring to me!!

[Warm Breezes]

Have you ever really looked at the claim "Cruises are cheaper now thatn they were X number of years ago?"

I have. First, you can't compare a cruise of today to a cruise of say, 15 years ago as CCL is not the same product as it once was. Back 15 years ago, CCL had captains party, repeater party for everyone and rum swizzle party- these ALL have a value. So do things like nightly entertainment, better food and better service.

I compared our last CCL cruise to our first one.

First was a 7 day, second was an 8 day, both done end of June.The seven day with OV was $2600, the 8 inside cabin was $3400, right off the bat, the 8 day is more money.

Now, let's look at inflation-according to a calculator, that cruise back in '98 would now cost $3587. You could say that is more than the 8 day cruise but then you could also say that 7 day had a window, so it really is a wash. However, would you be willing to pay an extra $187 for:

1:nightly entertainment, including two professional acts?No....really don't need to have every night occupied with a show. There are other things to do.

2) Three cocktail parties? No....don't drink enough to care

3) An assigned server who waits in the mdr for you at breakfast and lunch to give excellent service No....never go to the MDR for breakfast or lunch

4) high quality food that includes filet mignon, NY steak on the anytime menu,french made President buttter, fresh squeezed O.J. among other things? No....I do not like steak, could care less about the butter, and break out in a rash from vitamin C

5) Nightly buffets, including the gala buffet No...I'm a morning person. I was never able to make the gala buffet when they had it, already in bed sleeping.

6) lower alcohol prices No...again don't drink enough to care

7) water color print given at last night of cruise No...Really don't need another picture on my walls.

Really, these things made it a cruise. People that say it doesn't matter, they just care about itinerary are only confirming what I have been saying; that CCL is becoming less of a cruise line and more of a ferry service.

Those things may have made it a cruise for you but they are not things that make it a cruise for me. None of those items are things I would be willing to pay extra for. Value is subjective. You failed to mention the things that Carnival added. They have value too. Maybe not to you, but to some one else they do. This is why choice is good. If Carnival isn't the value for you it once was, then you should find a ship that offers you what you want now. Quit wasting your time grumbling about what used to be, move on to a line that makes you happy and leave Carnival to those who value it for what it is today. I can guarantee there are MANY others out there who find what Carnival offers now a value to them, even if it is no longer a value to you. Ferry service?? Really?? Not...

[irishnyc]

I'm not loyal to any cruise line. In fact the only reason our next cruise is on Carnival is because they could accommodate 2 year olds in their kids club, and someone in our group has a two year old. All other lines are 3+ for the kids program, and all the other kids in our group are 3+.

 

In the future when we cruise we will cruise for the ports, followed by price. I'm done with cruises to the Bahamas after my next one. We know that we are cruising the Baltics in 2018 or 2019 as DH's retirement celebration, but we couldn't/wouldn't cruise enough before then to reach any kind of meaningful/worthwhile loyalty status with any line, so why bother being loyal to anyone?

[ShakyBeef]

Are you dissatisfied enough with past experiences, cutbacks, etc to consider switching to another cruise line? We are.

 

 

Yep, we sure are. And we did. Booked in a Grand Suite on RCI Grandeur of the Seas for January 2014.

 

We got so tired of all the cutbacks coming so frequently on the tail of others that the downgrade in quality of the Carnival product is noticeable from one cruise to the next, just a few months apart. Then they took away the FCCs. And we finally left.

 

I'm not saying we'll never be back to Carnival - in fact I'm sure we will be back, as soon as we rack up enough FunPoiints on our Carnival MC for our next free cruise with them.;) And I'm paying for my parents to take a Carnival cruise this December. But they aren't going to be getting the vacation money from us that they used to.

 

I'm so excited about our upcoming RCI cruise and kinda wished we had switched sooner. BTW, Royal actually gives real perks for booking a suite, unlike Carnival.:D

[evandbob]

After 15+ CCL cruises, I decided to branch out, first to Disney Dream with the g-kids, then Mediterranean with Princess, just completed NCL Epic, and have booked the Celebrity Summit.

 

So far, the non CCL cruises have been much, much better than any of my CCL cruises. The entertainment, the food variety, and the cabin designs (even if a bit smaller than CCL) have all been worth the small additional cost. I miss VIP status on the other lines, but that is not enough to limit me to CCL.

[Cinders411]

To be honest I would have said, "No" this time last year but, no longer. I fully intended to remain loyal to Carnival and looked forward to getting in 10 cruises and becoming platinum. Alias, the new loyalty program knocked me out of even being eligible to continue to attend the Past Guest Party! That alone wouldn't have made me change either. The new program combined with the issues the line has had, have me considering it now. After our two cruises this fall we may try another line. I would like to have something to compare Carnival to.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Yes, Thinking of sailing the NCL Breakaway.

[jimbo5544]

I'm not loyal to any cruise line. In fact the only reason our next cruise is on Carnival is because they could accommodate 2 year olds in their kids club, and someone in our group has a two year old. All other lines are 3+ for the kids program, and all the other kids in our group are 3+.

 

In the future when we cruise we will cruise for the ports, followed by price. I'm done with cruises to the Bahamas after my next one. We know that we are cruising the Baltics in 2018 or 2019 as DH's retirement celebration, but we couldn't/wouldn't cruise enough before then to reach any kind of meaningful/worthwhile loyalty status with any line, so why bother being loyal to anyone?

Wow, anyone who can plan out to 2019 is number 1 in my book.

[wanderingjew]

I have taken 34 CCL cruises out of 99 i am just off the NCL Epic TA my next is on NCL Gem in Sep I paid Less for a solo outside there than for a solo inside on the Glory same date better itin on NCL Bar Harbor & Newport vs Portland

 

The only Reason I'm doing CCL is I'm paying $84.25 a day for a solo Lido balcony using my Diamond ONE TIME Upgrade i also have 200 OBC

 

I have also priced other NCL VS CCL cruises and 60% of the time NCL was Less

 

I also found the MDR food in NCL better

[WetToes]

Are you dissatisfied enough with past experiences, cutbacks, etc to consider switching to another cruise line? We are.

 

 

We've always cruised other lines, and will continue to do so.

[JP4GA]

We are not loyal, and are still newbies with only 3 cruises completed and two booked.

 

We like to cruise from ports close to home, so FL or SC. We also like to go places we have not been before. We also do not want to break the bank when cruising. So departure port, iterniary, and cost all are considerations for us.

 

Our upcoming cruise is on Carnival. We booked last minute for Labor Day weekend and wanted either a 2 room cabin, or connecting balconies. Carnival was the only line that could get us the connecting balconies for an end of May curise. So we chose to go with them, instead of changing our desired room options.

 

For Summer 2014 we booke the Dream. I am a little nervous because it is such a big ship. We booked them becasue we wanted a 7 day to ports new to us from a nearby port. NO ONE else had posted thier July bookings. This is a trip for my son's graduation and several other family members will be joining us, so we needed to book in order to find something that would work for everyone.

 

I am looking for something between May 2013 and July 2014. Maybe we will try a new line.

[monkeyluis]

I'll try anything. I like seeing the different ships. Doesn't matter to me.