Trip Report: Fascination July 13-18

[ladylyn915]

Thanks for sharing ..your experiences with DCL. I had considered it since I've heard great things about them--and we're huge Disney fans anyway--price was just significantly higher (I know, you get what you pay for.). If I ever do a cruise again, DCL will be at the top of the list of lines to try.

 

I don't believe the whole idea of cruising is for me though. But, I'll not say I'll never go on a cruise again because, you just never know...

 

Yes, I think you have mentioned this a time ( or 12). Please let us know if you ever do take that cruise.... a definite reason to stay away

[deedle7544]

While I'm sympathetic for rick I have a totally different experience of the same cruise and will post my review soon :D

 

Ps... He did state that cruising isn't for everyone and his review was his personal experience. I'm sure there are many different takes from each cruise :)

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

Looking forward to your review!

 

Carnival isn't for Rick, no big deal. He said he still had a nice vacation with family, that's all that matters. Personally, I hate Disney and you culdn't pay me to go there. But others love it.

[GadgetRick]

GasdgetRick: No I get it....You never responded to my question of you asking them to inform your wife/party of your situation...that would have been a good thing for you to do. So, did you ask them??????

 

First, I shouldn't have had to. They should have offered. It's not for the customer to come up with the solutions. But 2nd, yes.

 

Ah, the hell with it, on second thought, you guys are all right and I'm wrong. Carnival is the best cruise line/company in the world. They couldn't have done anything differently and I was in the wrong totally. In fact, I'm on hold right now to book my next cruise with them. They couldn't have done anything differently and I was in the wrong totally.

[cjknox]

Too bad you didn't enjoy your cruise but if you go expecting to have a bad time......you will.

[GadgetRick]

Looking forward to your review!

 

Carnival isn't for Rick, no big deal. He said he still had a nice vacation with family, that's all that matters.

Thank you for getting that out of my review and my comments. Everyone is focusing on the negative trying to convince me why I shouldn't have gotten upset and how it was all my fault for the problems I experienced. I did have a great time with friends and family. I just had some issues with Carnival but it didn't ruin my vacation.

 

At least someone gets it!

[Kel040]

Thanks for posting your review.. in spite of everything, it was nice you could get away with your family and very nice of you to take your wife on the cruise she wanted. :D

 

Just curious, was your Maître de "Joseph, you're SUPERCHARGERED Maître de " ?? That's who we had on the Fascination (and how he always introduced himself in the MDR), 2 of 3 cruises. My husband did not care for him at all... We gave tips at the end of the cruise to our waiter and his assistants, but nothing to Joseph..

[BARBARA J.W.]

 

Just curious, was your Maître de "Joseph, you're SUPERCHARGERED Maître de " ?? That's who we had on the Fascination (and how he always introduced himself in the MDR), 2 of 3 cruises. My husband did not care for him at all... We gave tips at the end of the cruise to our waiter and his assistants, but nothing to Joseph..

 

 

KEL........

Joseph-Supercharged Maitre'd is on the Ecstasy......

The Maitre'ds,I think may have got a Raise......

[deedle7544]

Thank you for getting that out of my review and my comments. Everyone is focusing on the negative trying to convince me why I shouldn't have gotten upset and how it was all my fault for the problems I experienced. I did have a great time with friends and family. I just had some issues with Carnival but it didn't ruin my vacation.

 

At least someone gets it!

 

I actually enjoyed your review, it was informative. I'm taking my kids on the Fascination in September, totally looking forward to it. But I love cruises.

 

One of my best friends does not understand why I hate Disney. I have given up trying to explain it.

[rdler]

I think Rick is entirely correct about Carnival's customer service. Based on my experiences, there is no problem that is so small that it can be solved.

[GadgetRick]

I actually enjoyed your review, it was informative. I'm taking my kids on the Fascination in September, totally looking forward to it. But I love cruises.

 

One of my best friends does not understand why I hate Disney. I have given up trying to explain it.

 

Hope you enjoy yourselves. At least you know a few things about the ship now. :)

 

Some people love Disney (like us) and others hate them (like you). I can understand why people may hate them. It's not for everyone.

 

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention in the review, the melting chocolate cake is pretty darn good. It's available in the MDR. I suggest you give it a shot if you like chocolate. :)

[jbhcw]

Thanks for posting your review.. in spite of everything, it was nice you could get away with your family and very nice of you to take your wife on the cruise she wanted. :D

 

Just curious, was your Maître de "Joseph, you're SUPERCHARGERED Maître de " ?? That's who we had on the Fascination (and how he always introduced himself in the MDR), 2 of 3 cruises. My husband did not care for him at all... We gave tips at the end of the cruise to our waiter and his assistants, but nothing to Joseph..

 

Joseph was actually one of our favorite Maitre D's!! He took great care of us...got us a table for two..and checked on us every night:):):) he was a little over the top..but very personable:D

[Realitoes]

GadgetRick: With over 140 posts, it would seem that you knew some of the "issues" you had could have been resolved before you cruised. It seems that you knew of the elegant night dress, but chose to ignore it. Sorry that they didn't say, we will let your party know you can't come into the dining room, but you could have requested they tell them, which apparently you didn't since you didn't mention it. I know that isn't good customer service to you, but it would at least let your party know of the situation, instead of walking away and having your wife track you down at the cabin. Oh well, now you know, so if it happens on another cruise line you will be prepared.....

 

Reading back on his previous posts, he basically was complaining before he even left on the trip. I love this one, especially considering his issue with his elegant night attire! :)

 

OK...people....

 

Most of us have been on a few cruises....and many with more than 2 people in a cabin.

 

Has anyone ever been told by the representative that the beds "do or don't" go together without asking specifically during the booking process?

 

You ask why you weren't informed. You weren't informed because this is how cruise ships do it. You need room to pass in the night. They don't want someone to trip and break a leg or bang their head. You need room to get off your bed without climbing over your wife. (I can just see the lawsuits if the space isn't maximized and someone trips!)

 

When you book, do they inform you what you need to wear on "elegant night"? Or that you'll need to attend the muster drill? No and no. There are lots of things that they don't inform you about.

 

It's your job, as the consumer, to ask what's important to you.

 

Sorry to sound harsh...but you are making a big deal about nothing.

 

Well, sorry to sound harsh but, how would you expect me to ask about something I had no idea I had to ask??? It is on THEM to educate me. Hard to ask about stuff you have no idea about.

 

This is very different than having them inform me about the attire requirements.

 

Also, I was VERY clear we are a FAMILY, not just buddies. So you're wrong on this one, they should have informed me about this ahead of time. Even the woman I spoke with on the phone earlier today said this (without me saying it first).

[MsMot]

Well, back from the cruise, time for my review...

 

The Good

The ship itself is very well maintained by the staff. You can tell it's a little older but very clean. Didn't see things not working or other things being neglected. They run a tight ship where the actual ship is concerned.

 

The cabin steward was excellent as advertised. Need to bring him home to clean up after my boys at home! Although the monkey hanging from the air conditioner was a little creepy it was still pretty cool.

 

The waitstaff we had at our table in the main dining room was also excellent. They were very attentive to us. The head waiter was also concerned about an issue we had on elegant night--I'll tell you more about this later. But no complaints on the waitstaff in the main dining room.

 

For all of the stink Carnival made, they put both beds down and our beds were together as we wanted. Was it tight? Of course, however, we don't walk around the room in the middle of the night so it wasn't a huge deal. Would have been nice if the people on the phone knew what they were talking about--this is a recurring theme, btw--since they were telling me it just couldn't be done. Thanks to everyone around here who tried to help out with this (potential) situation.

 

Very glad I sprung for the balcony. We enjoyed it a LOT. I knew my wife would love it as she love to wake up in the morning and sit out on the patio every morning at home using her iPad. She did the same on the cruise but on the balcony. I was shocked how little I saw other people on there balcony. It also made the room feel much bigger. Well worth the money.

 

The comics they had were very good. Unfortunately, you got a half an hour a night except when they had 2 shows (adult). I believe that was only one night. Would have been better had they done a full show rather than such a short one.

 

Faster to the Fun was very much worth the extra $50. Saved us a TON of time for many things. Got on the ship quicker, got off the ship quicker, had a shorter line at Guest Services (unfortunately, had to use them more than I'd hoped). But it's very worth it. Thanks for the tip on that everyone!

 

The Bad

I was disappointed in the food (overall). Honestly, the food was average at best. The buffet was below average except for a few things. The food in the main dining room was average for the most part. I was surprised at the lack of steak selections. I had the chateaubriand the one night and it was lukewarm when served. Had the flat iron steak the last night and it was very bland. The breakfast buffet was absolutely tasteless.

 

The rotisserie beef/chicken was actually good but the mashed potatoes down on the buffet were runny--yes, runny. They tasted ok but they had waaaaaaay too much milk in them. For some reason, they were a little better in the main dining room.

 

The breakfast in the main dining room was unexceptional. Not much of a selection for what they're trying to be in there. Was better than the buffet, however. I expected more from the main dining room.

 

The cost is something I was disappointed in. So many people kept telling me how economical a cruise is because hotel/food is included (when they were trying to convince me to do a cruise). Honestly, it's quite expensive cruising. Sure, I could have gotten an inside cabin or something to lower the main cost but, quite frankly, the cost for the balcony wasn't all that much more than the other cabins. I'm talking about them nickel and diming you for EVERYTHING on the ship. From making you pay for soda to making you pay for drinks in the casino (I'm gambling, why aren't drinks free???) and everything in between. Seems like everything you do on the ship is costing you something extra. I would have spent much less had I taken my family somewhere for the same amount of time and stayed in a hotel and just ate out every day. But I was prepared for it to be quite honest. Just want to mention it for any first time cruisers.

 

The kids were disappointed in Camp Carnival. Everyone kept telling me how much my boys--10 and 7--would love CC. I won't say they HATED it but they didn't enjoy it all that much. And my boys are actually quite easy to please. They don't have to play video games to be happy. They regularly just find something to mess around with around the house or back yard and entertain themselves for hours. They still play hide and go seek together (yes, just the two of them) and other things. So they're not high-maintenance kids. So, for them to say they didn't enjoy CC, well, there's something to it.

 

My older son did, however, enjoy the scavenger hunts. Obviously, he liked the freedom of being able to roam the ship a bit. So that was a plus.

 

The pool on the ship is an absolute joke. It was surprisingly small for a ship with 2,000 passengers. It was always overrun with kids who were pushing each other into the pool, jumping in, diving in and other things. No way I was letting my small kid in the pool. I was afraid both of them would get hurt (or worse). No supervision from adults, they just let the kids run wild there.

 

The two hot tubs on Lido were always packed with kids as well. So there was no getting in there.

 

Lido deck itself (by the pool) was always over-crowded as well. I'm not one who wants to sit around the pool and do nothing so it wasn't a huge deal but just want others to know that area is PACKED almost all of the time.

 

The kids enjoyed the water slides although they wanted more--who doesn't? :) But the water slides were the highlight of the ship for my boys.

 

The 24 hour room service is a joke. They talk about it like you can get whatever you want whenever you want. So one night--after being out--I called down for some food. It was about 1am. They told me I could only get a salad (if I remember correctly) and/or a sandwhich. Huh!!?? That's it? Thanks for nothing. Oh, there also was no room service menu that I ever saw. That would have helped immensely.

 

The (lack of) communication about things on the ship was a recurring theme. They'd give you a bit of information about something but not the whole thing. I won't bore you with all of the details but, suffice to say, we spent way too much time wandering around trying to figure out how/where to do things the whole cruise. This could have been avoided with more signage around the ship, more information given in other ways or just more info on the little sheet they give you each day about what's happening on the ship.

 

It's a short cruise so there's not much time to do anything while in port. Not blaming Carnival or the cruise but it is what it is. If you expect to be able to do a lot while in port, you'll be disappointed. The rain in Nassau didn't help. :(

 

The Ugly

There were some things that just absolutely pissed me off--all of them had to do with Carnival's (lack of) customer service skills. It started with the bed situation before the cruise, which, as I mentioned, was a total non-issue to begin with. Had they just explained it could have been done but the room would be tight, I wouldn't have gotten so stressed about the situation or the fact that nobody thought the bring that up at booking.

 

Elegant night was a total fiasco. They wouldn't allow me into the dining room with a nice pair of shorts and a nice shirt. Now, I did know this might be an issue, however, I only knew this because of a thread I read here--not from anyone at Carnival. There were some other people who weren't told about this before the cruise and were turned away as well. Again, communication would have avoided problems although my issue with what happened isn't because they wouldn't let me in....

 

So we were there with friends and their little boy. So we had a party of 7. We all went down for dinner on elegant night (me in my shorts) and I was at the back of our line of people. Everyone is walking in and they stop me and tell me I can't get in because of my shorts. I say, "We have 3 kids right there (walking away) who are all wearing shorts and flip flops." I'm told they don't care about the kids. I discuss this further with the girl there and they bring over the maitre d. This is where it gets bad.

 

He comes over, stands there looking at me and not saying anything. I'm like, ooooooook. He finally tells me the same thing the girl does--I can't get in. I ask him why kids can get in. He says, "they understand about kids." Huh? He says, "You can put a pair of jeans on." Huh? I'll come back to all of this.

 

So, at this point, my party is already seated. They have no idea I was denied entry into the dining room. So I ask him what I'm supposed to do with my party already seated--meaning, they have no idea I'm not there! He looks at me and says, "You can go to the buffet." I almost lost it but just walked away. My wife finally realized I wasn't there yet and came running after me--she didn't find me until I was walking into our cabin.

 

Now, they don't want to let me in, I get it, I'm not even upset about that--although I have no idea why jeans on adults and shorts/flip flops are ok on children if they're trying for the dress up thing but, hey, their ship their rules. What I was most pissed about--and it was a recurring theme--is they just don't seem to want to do ANYTHING to try and help the situation. A simple, "I'm sorry," would have gone a long way. That's customer service 101. ALWAYS apologize to the customer. Sounds stupid but it WORKS. Then, he could have asked me what table my party is at and assure me he'd go over and let them know I couldn't get in. "You can go to the buffet," was rude and did nothing but anger me at that point. That's what I'm angry about, not that I couldn't dine in the dining room that evening.

 

A tip (pun intended) for new cruisers, if you're going to pre-pay for tips, that ONLY pays for your food servers and cabin steward. This was something else which wasn't explained to me when I did it. I even asked them on the phone when I pre-paid whether all of my tips on the ship were covered. They assured me they were. Then, when I was getting 15% gratuity added to drinks, I was a bit puzzled. Pre-paying for tips doesn't cover that. Again, communication wasn't there.

 

There were other things I could mention but I'll cut to leaving the ship when we got back home. We had Faster to the Fun so I knew I was supposed to be able to get off faster than people who didn't have it. But the paper they slipped under the door had no info about people who had it (same thing when were were in port). So I went to Guest Services to find out what the process was for those of us who had FTTF. They told me to go to, "deck 8 Palace Theater." I repeated it back to them to ensure I had it correct. They confirmed I was good. So we got our stuff together and went there.

 

When we got there, the room had about 50 other people who were told the same thing. Nobody knew what was going on. There was NOBODY from Carnival there to inform anyone about what was going on. So I had to go down to Guest Services AGAIN to ask what was going on. I was informed I was in the wrong place. We were supposed to be deck NINE Palace Theater.

 

I sort of went off on the guy since I was told by the people at the desk to go to deck 8 and the elevators are pretty much being used to get people off the ship. So walking around with your luggage up/down stairs was a PITA. I told him there are a bunch of people where I was (my family was still there) who were told the same thing. I had him come with me to tell everyone what we needed to do. So we all had to lug our luggage up the stairs to get to deck 9.

 

That was sort of their parting shot I guess...

 

In Conclusion

I will say I didn't want to go on a cruise before this trip. It was a gift to my wife who had wanted to go on a cruise forever. My thing was vacationing on a cruise just isn't my thing. I confirmed it still is not my thing. I'd rather be able to have fun on my own terms rather than on the cruise line's terms. This has nothing to do with Carnival, for me, I'd just rather go somewhere and do my thing for as long as I want. I don't like being tied to a schedule. And, honestly, there's only so much you can do on a boat--no matter how big it is--so you tend to sit around and wait to eat and eat way more than you normally would. Now, I'm a big dude, and I like food, but I don't like to eat THAT much. I also wouldn't have gambled as much as I did (I was up for the week at least). I just had nothing to do.

 

I'm not into the shows (I hate Motown and the other stuff they did in there--personal preference I know). So that isn't gonna do anything for me either. I realize not everyone is like that. I understand why so many people enjoy cruising. It's just not my thing.

 

As far as Carnival goes, well, let's just say, if I EVER do another cruise, it WILL NOT be on Carnival. I also plan to let them know how dissatisfied I was with the way things were handled (or not handled as it were) from booking through to leaving the ship on the last day. It's inexcusable for things to have been the way they were.

 

Thanks again for everyone who was so helpful here. Honestly, without the help I received here, I would have REALLY hated it. As it is, I didn't enjoy the cruise itself but I did have fun. I was with family and close friends and that's always a good thing.

 

Sorry you did not enjoy your cruise. I will say that you have a couple valid complaints; however, going into the MDR in shorts was totally wrong and you got turned away rightfully. You sneaky bugger, you thought you'd be able to pull a fast one by being the last in your group. You had to have read the dress code on various docs.

 

I can't speak to FTF because we have never tried it. My overall assumption is that you were not going to have a good time no matter what. You went into the MDR knowing that shorts were not appropriate. You basically ruined your family's evening because I have a sneaking suspicion you were sulking and spewing your "I told you cruising wasn't for me" to anyone who would listen the rest of the night.

 

Now in all fairness, I will say that I agree that there seems to be a serious lack of customer service on that ship. We have never had a CS problem and as a matter a fact, our Freedom cruise was by far the best cruise to date. And that was the feeling from all 33 people in our group. Not sure who the cruise director is, but he or she sets the tone on the ship. I encourage you to give cruising a try again, but go into it with an open mind. One last thought, shorter cruises for some reason are different. We did a four Dayer and did notice that there was a different atmosphere from the seven Dayer - just my opinion.

[GadgetRick]

Sorry you did not enjoy your cruise. I will say that you have a couple valid complaints; however, going into the MDR in shorts was totally wrong and you got turned away rightfully. You sneaky bugger, you thought you'd be able to pull a fast one by being the last in your group. You had to have read the dress code on various docs.

 

I can't speak to FTF because we have never tried it. My overall assumption is that you were not going to have a good time no matter what. You went into the MDR knowing that shorts were not appropriate. You basically ruined your family's evening because I have a sneaking suspicion you were sulking and spewing your "I told you cruising wasn't for me" to anyone who would listen the rest of the night.

 

Now in all fairness, I will say that I agree that there seems to be a serious lack of customer service on that ship. We have never had a CS problem and as a matter a fact, our Freedom cruise was by far the best cruise to date. And that was the feeling from all 33 people in our group. Not sure who the cruise director is, but he or she sets the tone on the ship. I encourage you to give cruising a try again, but go into it with an open mind. One last thought, shorter cruises for some reason are different. We did a four Dayer and did notice that there was a different atmosphere from the seven Dayer - just my opinion.

 

Well, you make some assumptions about me and you're dead wrong.

 

First, I was assured by many people ON THIS BOARD that shorts were ok on that specific cruise. But, the point everyone is missing is, I'm not upset they wouldn't let me in because of the shorts. It was the attitude towards me that I got upset about.

 

Also, I wasn't trying to sneak in at all. I was being polite bringing up the rear and ensuring all of the kids were with the group.

 

And, again, you assume I wouldn't have a good time no matter what. You must have missed the many times I've said I had fun but have no love for Carnival. Yes, that tone was set from the start with the lack of info I received from Carnival to start. So, if anyone is to blame for the attitude, it would be Carnival.

 

Who knows if I'll try another cruise. Many people have said many of the issues I complained about with regards to how Carnival handled (or didn't) things are non-issues on other cruise lines. My experience with Carnival has nothing to do with whether I'll cruise or not. The general concept of cruising will be the same regardless of cruise line. That concept is just not how I enjoy vacationing. To each his (or her) own. I don't expect everyone to vacation like me.

 

We'll see what the future holds but, as of right now, I have no plans to go on another cruise. That's ok, we don't all have to like cruising nor do we all have to dislike it. The world would be a very boring place if we all liked the same things...

[canalwen]

Sorry you did not enjoy your cruise. How did you book your cruise? Was it through a Carnival PVP or a travel agent or online. I know when I book, I am always asked about two things, my bed configuration and what I would prefer for dining, early, late or anytime. Well now that I have a specific PVP that I use, he knows what I want, but he always, always asks to make sure. I have had issues with Carnival as well, but overall, I have been pleased more often than not with the Customer Service.

 

Just a note, I too was a big Disney fan when my kids were little. They have all grown and moved on and have families of their own now. I would like to share that I ran into Customer Service issues with Disney also. Not every cast member is always in a good mood and dispenses quick solutions. One of my children misplaced a 5 day park hopper (back in the day when those were the norm). We went to guest services and were basically told there was nothing they could do. However, having spent a lot of time on the DIS boards, I knew that if I had copies of the tickets, they could cancel it and issue a new one. They didn't offer that, I had to ask. :rolleyes:

 

Moral of the story is be prepared because you just may run into that one cast member, crew member who is having a bad day. :)

[marshhawk]

I took a trip with my boss (yes she is my friend too) and it was on the Fascination, the ship was late, it took forever to get on board, the seas were rough, she is not big on swimming or the ocean-she was sea sick the whole time, complained the whole time, and 80% of the time she was in her cabin. Said she would NEVER cruise again, no way any one was going to get her on a ship again. She is sailing with me again in January. Guess she got over it.:)

The problem with customer service on the ship is that no one is strong in speaking English, they are intimidated by us, because they are not strong in our language. Instead of suggesting to eat on the buffet, he could have said, I am sorry sir but shorts are not allowed, please come back in trousers , and we will seat you with your family. Would that have worked? But with limited knowledge of expressing oneself in our language, all that comes out is the negative, not the solution.

I have only had one customer service "on ship" problem, We were supposed to get our Gold pins on our last cruise, we snuck in our cabin early (our bad) and there were no pins, that evening we went to the service desk to ask for our pins. Yes they were supposed to be in our cabin at 1:30 (we snuck in at 12) but we never got them. The way she questioned us it was like we were lying and trying to steal the pins for someone else, since we were supposed to have received them. The service desk person was from Russia, maybe everyone accuses everyone else in Russia? I hear it's not a very friendly place. Maybe that is what happened to you, you got a response from what ever country that person was from.

We got the pins, and wear them proudly. But I am not married to this cruse line either.:) I go with the flow 99 percent of the time on a cruise, I am grateful not to be the one cooking, not the one cleaning the shower. And no offense, I am jealous that you live near the ocean, but I have lived from Maine to Florida, and there are very few places on our east coast where the water is as clean and beautiful as the Bahamas, unless you go further south in the Caribbean.

[deedle7544]

Hope you enjoy yourselves. At least you know a few things about the ship now. :)

 

Some people love Disney (like us) and others hate them (like you). I can understand why people may hate them. It's not for everyone.

 

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention in the review, the melting chocolate cake is pretty darn good. It's available in the MDR. I suggest you give it a shot if you like chocolate. :)

 

this will be my 4th Carnivl cruise, all good. It might actually be the warm melting chocolate cake that does it for me :)

 

My kids like Disney and cruises, go figure!

[Kel040]

KEL........

Joseph-Supercharged Maitre'd is on the Ecstasy......

The Maitre'ds,I think may have got a Raise......

 

 

I guess he changed ships, he was there on Fascination, when I was there..

[GadgetRick]

I booked directly with Carnival.

 

And you're right, you can always find the bad people in any company as well. Unfortunately, it seemed I found them all at Carnival. ;)

[LSEA]

Hi Rick,

 

I remember your thread about the bed configuration. Glad to hear it worked out and you enjoyed the balcony. Totally worth the extra $$ IMO.

 

I've sailed on most of the main cruise lines and your feelings about the food pretty much sum up my feelings about cruise food in general. Of course there a differences between them, but, in my opinion it is all about the same. I enjoy cruising for other reasons. And I must admit, I never go hungry :) (BTW, I like Celebrity food the best.)

 

I think you mentioned that this was to celebrate your DW's b-day and that she had always wanted to cruise. What did she think? Hope she had a good time.

 

If your family wants to cruise again you may want to experiment with some other lines / dates.

 

Thanks for coming back and letting us know how everything turned out.

[GadgetRick]

Hi Rick,

 

I remember your thread about the bed configuration. Glad to hear it worked out and you enjoyed the balcony. Totally worth the extra $$ IMO.

 

I've sailed on most of the main cruise lines and your feelings about the food pretty much sum up my feelings about cruise food in general. Of course there a differences between them, but, in my opinion it is all about the same. I enjoy cruising for other reasons. And I must admit, I never go hungry :) (BTW, I like Celebrity food the best.)

 

I think you mentioned that this was to celebrate your DW's b-day and that she had always wanted to cruise. What did she think? Hope she had a good time.

 

If your family wants to cruise again you may want to experiment with some other lines / dates.

 

Thanks for coming back and letting us know how everything turned out.

 

She feels almost the same as how I felt. She enjoyed cruising a little more than I did but I wouldn't say she loved it. She's not bugging me to book another cruise. ;)

 

If we ever try again, we'll probably try Disney or one of the other better lines. Living in FL makes it a little easier for those of you who have to travel to get to the ship.

[GadgetRick]

You will find that Carnival is not the only cruise line with customer service issues. Here is the link to Gambee's review.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1851007

 

And, exactly, what's your point? So, because other cruise lines may have issues, it's ok for Carnival to be like this?

[kittysnme]

Hi OP, you mentioned that cruising isn't for you. Caulk this up as a lesson learned and as one poster put it cross this off your bucket list. For many of the same reasons cruising isn't for you, it is for me. I like dressing up for elegant night. I like all the silly cruise ship games. I like people watching. I love ordering room service and sitting on the balcony. I love unpacking once and seeing many places. I even like the food but I also know it isn't what it used to be too. Considering the food is made for a few thousand people and not one. It's pretty good.

 

Attitude has a lot to do with the difference but also outlook. Cruising is expensive. Takes quite a while for me to save up to go on a cruise vacation. As such I research the cruise line, ship, ports, excursions, weather, and everything in between. Why? I don't want to waste my money missing out on something fun especially if its included or free. There are lots of web sights which provide reviews and info on cruising. All you have to do is google it and you will find a ton of info. The Carnival web site also has a bunch of info, everything you need to know, but I would rather get info from others with first hand experience. You don't need to research to the extent that I do but being informed only helps you plan for and enjoy your vacation the way you want yo enjoy it without feeling that you are wandering around looking at everyone else's vacation enjoyment.

 

It's up to you to try cruising again or not but I think maybe cruising its for you and that's ok. Find what works for you and enjoy.