Carnival cutbacks - what are they?

[Daonlyone2000]

That St. Lucia sea excursion would have been our first choice, but after my daughter said she would never ride on one of "those things" (Segway), well, dad can't resist a challenge!

 

Magen's bay in St. Thomas is reportedly one of the "World's most beautiful beaches" and all you need to do is hop a cab or shuttle. They run all day long. I'd recommend that.

 

Yes that's the plan for st. Thomas (besides shopping). We found this beach in st Martin that we will visit. It's called Le Galion beach. They say the waters are really calm and its not crowded. Really looking forward to that!

[Bobbyjean]

There are NO shows in the theater after dinner on Carnival?? Surely this is a standard part of any cruise?

 

What are we supposed to do all evening?

[larkz]

There are NO shows in the theater after dinner on Carnival?? Surely this is a standard part of any cruise?

 

What are we supposed to do all evening?

 

There have been shows on every cruise I've ever taken. You'll find lots of complaints about how many, whether they have enough singers and dancers, whether they use too much technology in place of live musicians, and so on.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

There are NO shows in the theater after dinner on Carnival?? Surely this is a standard part of any cruise?

 

What are we supposed to do all evening?

Yes there are about 3 production shows per a 7 night cruise. The other nights there are shows too if you count your fellow pax doing karaoke or the Hasbro game as shows.

 

What else is there to do? Well I'm sure they would like you to go to the casino or a bar and part with some of your money.:)

 

Bill

[toddlangford]

Lol bobby the thing is this is a open forum everyone will have different opinions. Some hate carnival cause they had one bad trip so they will write anything they can to get others not to go on it. Others love it and will not write one bad thing. It's all personal opinion. To me carnival is the best deal price wise and still offers loads to do. Royal Caribbean on the other hand is way to overpriced with slightly better entertainment and better ships. That's my opinion And I'm sure people disagree with it like I said its all personal preference

[firefly333]

There are NO shows in the theater after dinner on Carnival?? Surely this is a standard part of any cruise?

 

What are we supposed to do all evening?

 

The shows used to be almost a hour with a live orchestra and besides the welcome show, they would have two singing and dancing shows.

 

The new 2.0 shows, have no live orchestra. The singers and dancers interact with graphics and some moveable scenery. We had three shows on conquest that lasted 20 or 25 minutes they rotated... each show was shown twice during the cruise. (including one the first night).

[Bobbyjean]

Oh good I was starting to get a little worried there!

 

Todd - My favorite ship was the Triumph .. much preferred Carnival over the overcrowded RC experience! I don't care if the toilets all flooded and Carnival is cheap compared to other cruise lines, the Triumph is my favourite ship (so far). :D

[dclark]

To keep prices under control some things need to change. T

 

The cutbacks are not done to "keep prices undercontrol", they are done to make increase profit. CCL actually has little control over prices, they are set based on what the market will bear. If costs exceed the value of the cabin, they can't simply jack up the price- the cabin won't sell! So, they make cutbacks.

RCL has gone the other way, increasing the value of the cruises. RCL is not more $ because they have to charge more to cover the extras, again, it is market driven. They charge more because they can.

Cutbacks are cutbacks. The cheerleaders can twist the language by calling them "changes", but we know that is not true.

Changing tastes? Really? The most popular event on CCL was the captains cocktail party, second only to the lifeboat drill. Was this cancelled because most CCL cruisers are non drinkers? It was to save a buck. Reallocation of resources? The dancers and musicians who no longer are CCL employees... have they been replaced with extra servers in the MDR? Of course not, the positions were not "reallocated", just eliminated.

[cruzn buckeye]

How long have these cutbacks been going on?

since before the apocalypse ...in fact, Carnival's cutbacks largely caused the apocalypse

 

Some of the "cutbacks" are not so much reductions as changes in style, delivery and service as Carnival seeks to adjust and compete with other cruise lines and other, newer offerings and different customer profiles.

 

Some are genuine reductions: but if you've not cruised on that ship before or on Carnival before, you will not miss what you didn't know used to be there.

 

Just for fun, look at the boards for some other cruise lines: they don't call this place Cruise Critic for nothing!

 

My point is the "cutbacks" are industry wide in many cases and manifest themselves in different ways on different cruise lines. Compare the value on a cruise still to the comparable changes and charges on air flights for example: baggage fees, no food service , increased prices, etc.

 

Does that mean all the changes are good? No. Personally I liked the steel band and live shows but I can also understand why they may be lost as Carnival updates and attempts to compete with mega-ships, ice rinks etc. on other cruise lines.

But as they update to compete, the other lines are actually passing them by. Norwegian cruise used to get made fun of my many on Carnival, not just passengers, but show people too. i have not been on NCL yet... but it is not longer the butt of the jokes that we are hearing. Don't get me wrong, I will always be a Carnival fan and cruiser... they gave me my addiction. However, I do feel that they should value past guests as well as past guests value them. The changes they are making to compete, are cutbacks. The food in the dining room, not bad. Just not great like it used to be. It used to feel special, instead of just like being at home going to a restaurant. I mean really, why should the waiters dress up to serve people in flip flops and shorts and beaters and hats.

It used to be a nice experience, now... well... its just dinner... When they danced around with the baked Alaska on their heads.. that was good time..

Doing away with the little things are cutbacks as well. Rum Swizzle Parties on embarkation day, fun hurricane glasses for that sail-away drink, or two, or three , even something as simple as the mints on your pillow going from Andes mints to some bland piece of chocolate. Yep, even the little things which make the cruise FUN, matter. My sailaway drink in a plain plastic cup, just doesn't seem the same.. I still have two. i think I will bring the with me, and let some new cruisers wonder "hey, where did you get that glass that says "the best day ever" !

[cruzn buckeye]

The cutbacks are not done to "keep prices undercontrol", they are done to make increase profit. CCL actually has little control over prices, they are set based on what the market will bear. If costs exceed the value of the cabin, they can't simply jack up the price- the cabin won't sell! So, they make cutbacks.

RCL has gone the other way, increasing the value of the cruises. RCL is not more $ because they have to charge more to cover the extras, again, it is market driven. They charge more because they can.

Cutbacks are cutbacks. The cheerleaders can twist the language by calling them "changes", but we know that is not true.

Changing tastes? Really? The most popular event on CCL was the captains cocktail party, second only to the lifeboat drill. Was this cancelled because most CCL cruisers are non drinkers? It was to save a buck. Reallocation of resources? The dancers and musicians who no longer are CCL employees... have they been replaced with extra servers in the MDR? Of course not, the positions were not "reallocated", just eliminated.

"Eliminated = Cutback"

[firefly333]

But as they update to compete, the other lines are actually passing them by. Norwegian cruise used to get made fun of my many on Carnival, not just passengers, but show people too. i have not been on NCL yet...

 

I kept hearing rave reviews of Epic, and had had the chance to book it for the same price as conquest and choose conquest.

 

Keep hearing how great the cruise was.. so I finally caved and now booked my first NCL cruise. I too used to think NCL was below CCL .. no longer. I am still a pretty true blue Carnival fan, but I am trying epic in particular because people say its as good as allure.

[cruzn buckeye]

The shows used to be almost a hour with a live orchestra and besides the welcome show, they would have two singing and dancing shows.

 

The new 2.0 shows, have no live orchestra. The singers and dancers interact with graphics and some moveable scenery. We had three shows on conquest that lasted 20 or 25 minutes they rotated... each show was shown twice during the cruise. (including one the first night).

Kind of like the comedy show.. I say do away with Punchliners and bring it back to the main theatre. There is room for everyone and nobody has to stand in line, whether it be to see the second comedian or their first.

I also say do away with the Punchliners Brunch. Don't care for that either. We waited 20 minutes after being seated on the Liberty, just to get our water and our meals ordered. We were there at least 40 minutes before getting our breakfast/lunch. no thanks, we will not do that again.

[cruzn buckeye]

I kept hearing rave reviews of Epic, and had had the chance to book it for the same price as conquest and choose conquest.

 

Keep hearing how great the cruise was.. so I finally caved and now booked my first NCL cruise. I too used to think NCL was below CCL .. no longer. I am still a pretty true blue Carnival fan, but I am trying epic in particular because people say its as good as allure.

I have been watching Epic prices and the lowest i saw was 697 for a studio. Never saw it in the 400's.

I also think their pool areas and royals pool area even on their older ships are much better. Carnival took up space by adding bars, when they should have expanded the pools and put those bars somewhere else on the ship. Like say, where the Punchliner club is

[Seago2]

Bill/Oceanlover: where did you get your ticker of cruise lines with cruise numbers below your post? Must have! Love it! :)

[toddlangford]

I agree bobby i have always had a great time on carnival and will keep booking with them

[CaribeDiver]

In understand that "redirecting funds" is a cost of doing business but, I don't understand some of the places the cruise lines are redirecting funds away from. IE food, entertainment, drinks, etc. It seems most lines are trying to just build these mega resort ships that are supposed to be enough to keep everyone entertained. I for one don't particularly like the huge resort ships as there are too many people and not enough places to enjoy a quiet moment, other than your cabin. I think a good idea would be to eliminate the fun times, cruise compass etc and just have interactive screens around the ship that you can see what's available along with having it available on your stateroom tv. How much money in printing could that save?

[larkz]

The cutbacks are not done to "keep prices undercontrol", they are done to make increase profit.

 

Uh. Once again, fundamental misunderstanding of capitalism and business.

 

There are price points in all financial transactions. Carnival meets the price points of the market niche where they have been established for the last 4 decades. Meeting their price points -- keeping prices under control -- gives them the largest base of potential cruising customers. Price control within a business is not exclusive of increasing profits.

 

This is, for example, the Costco model. They squeeze their vendors' pricing down to the exact point where they can sell the most units.

[happy cruzer]

Main dining room menu no longer has steak (like real steak, New York Stip steak), shrimp cocktails ( and yes they used to have pretty nice shrimp then got smaller), duck, lamb chops, nicer seafood......

 

The buffet food has gone to more fried and fast food stuff, which I agree does match the changing demographics.

 

Not as much live entertainment. Every live group is much smaller if it exists. The lady singing to CDs in the atrium was the worst entertainment I have seen on a cruise ship.

 

NCL still has New York Stip steak or Rib Eye in their MDR everynight. Just to point out that CCL did lose a little ground to the competition.

 

DH likes to eat beef (meatloaf and ribs don't count for him) about half the nights and he doesn't want to go on CCL any longer. Some things matter to some folks and some don't to others.....

 

PS I do think until the recent bad press. It was more about profits. You can catch all the major lines running specials and get close to CCL prices.

[buckirj1]

This is the first I've read about cabin temperature being regulated. 70 degrees plus is totally unacceptable in a small cabin. I don't pay all that money to go on vacation to be hot! I hope that isn't really true.

 

I never used to think entertainment cutbacks were a big deal until I started cruising NCL and experienced their great entertainment. It truly does enhance my cruise experience. YMMV.

[larkz]

This is the first I've read about cabin temperature being regulated. 70 degrees plus is totally unacceptable in a small cabin. I don't pay all that money to go on vacation to be hot! I hope that isn't really true.

 

I never used to think entertainment cutbacks were a big deal until I started cruising NCL and experienced their great entertainment. It truly does enhance my cruise experience. YMMV.

 

I'm a northerner, oddly enough, who hates cold indoor temperatures. It has not been my experience that Carnival held back on AC. Every cruise, I've closed the room AC vents. Two cruises ago I wore sweaters to the MDR every night even though the outdoor temperatures were in the upper 80s.

[dclark]

Uh. Once again, fundamental misunderstanding of capitalism and business.

 

There are price points in all financial transactions. Carnival meets the price points of the market niche where they have been established for the last 4 decades. Meeting their price points -- keeping prices under control -- gives them the largest base of potential cruising customers. Price control within a business is not exclusive of increasing profits.

 

This is, for example, the Costco model. They squeeze their vendors' pricing down to the exact point where they can sell the most units.

 

CCL can make demands on vendors for low prices, like Walmart does, but they can't raise prices, they are where they are because of market demand. When you say "keeping prices under control", that sound slike you are talking about how CCL sets cabin rates. CCL has little control over this, they don't set the price, the market does and it is up to CCL to respond. Materials that CCL purchases, like food, booze etc, are not prices, they are costs. People who think that they are low because CCL wants them low know nothing about business. Even wallstreet knows this, that's why the big fall last week- low cabin prices = lower profits.

[larkz]

CCL can make demands on vendors for low prices, like Walmart does, but they can't raise prices, they are where they are because of market demand. When you say "keeping prices under control", that sound slike you are talking about how CCL sets cabin rates. CCL has little control over this, they don't set the price, the market does and it is up to CCL to respond. Materials that CCL purchases, like food, booze etc, are not prices, they are costs. People who think that they are low because CCL wants them low know nothing about business. Even wallstreet knows this, that's why the big fall last week- low cabin prices = lower profits.

 

Nor can Procter and Gamble raise prices, not more than a fraction or their sales will go down. No business that I know of has the freedom to jump brackets and start jacking up prices.

 

And actually, nor can RCL or NCL raise prices by much unless -- as I suspect will happen soon -- the whole cruise industry starts pushing prices up as a group due to inflationary pressures. This is how the airlines boosted their prices over the last five years. One tries something and the others hop on board or reject it. Suddenly we have charges for baggage and seat selection, and even carry-ons. Plus higher base prices for flights. Even then, each business is pretty much locked within its niche.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Bill/Oceanlover: where did you get your ticker of cruise lines with cruise numbers below your post? Must have! Love it! :)

 

 

Oh I made it myself.:)

 

Bill

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I'm a northerner, oddly enough, who hates cold indoor temperatures. It has not been my experience that Carnival held back on AC. Every cruise, I've closed the room AC vents. Two cruises ago I wore sweaters to the MDR every night even though the outdoor temperatures were in the upper 80s.

 

I don't think carnival has cut back on the temps but there seem to be certain cabins that for one reason or another don't get adequate cooling.

 

Their rule that 76 or under is adequate is a little ridiculous rather than finding the problem and fixing it.

 

Bill

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Nor can Procter and Gamble raise prices, not more than a fraction or their sales will go down. No business that I know of has the freedom to jump brackets and start jacking up prices.

 

And actually, nor can RCL or NCL raise prices by much unless -- as I suspect will happen soon -- the whole cruise industry starts pushing prices up as a group due to inflationary pressures. This is how the airlines boosted their prices over the last five years. One tries something and the others hop on board or reject it. Suddenly we have charges for baggage and seat selection, and even carry-ons. Plus higher base prices for flights. Even then, each business is pretty much locked within its niche.

 

The only reason that the airlines were able to raise their prices was to ground a lot of their planes and have less flights.

 

Some people have to fly and there are enough of those types of people plus the leisure travelers to keep the flights full.

 

Nobody needs to cruise so if prices get too high on cruises people will just opt to do something else for vacation.

 

Bill