Missing Carnival...Here's why!

[JustCruiseMe]

Some people want serene relaxation cruises (and vacations) and others want more fun and activity. Be it the entertainment on board or the passengers. We liked because we could have both and yes we enjoy the party people too.

 

Oh wait but isn't Carnival the redneck (from all over the US and world?), Walmart, trashy people cruise line with all the cutbacks? I mean WHO in the world would like to sail with them? :rolleyes:

[Mrtwo]

We just got of the Sapphire Princess & once again, didn't leave impressed!

 

There are no TV channels, like ABC, NBC...The TV channels they have, run on a loop. We were watching the same episodes of the Love Boat this last weekend as we saw in Oct.

 

I ordered wine glasses from room service, and one was filthy with lipstick all over it!

 

No room service, not even coffee this morning...since is was disembarkation day:(

 

Miss the piano bar & comedy club:(

 

We have one more booked for Feb. and then it will be back to the Funships for us! We were on a 100% fare that goes toward a 7 day special, so went ahead and booked as soon as the credits appeared this morning. We had to book with an outside TA, since Princess site was 400.00 more per person for the same category. No matching of other sites with Princess.

 

I did my share of gambling in the casino & was told I didn't play enough. I would have qualified had I done the same play on Carnival. I usually always get a gift basket & sometimes cash also.

 

Miss feeling special...At least on Carnival they call me by name;

 

We had to ask for robes for our balcony & couldn't be delivered until the 2nd day. They were so small & thin, they were useless!

 

I am craving warm chocolate melting cake!

 

Carnival gives you a drink for being repeat guests...Princess doesn't.

 

Thanks for letting me vent! I wish our next cruise was going to be on a Funship, but we will be back:)

 

We have never had any issues with princess, we would take Princess over Carnival any day.

 

We just came off two Carnival cruises and neither was without issue.

Yes we did get 1 Free drink with Carnival but we had to go the MDR to get it. Princess offers free drinks or Champaign during their Circle Club member appreciation event on each cruise.

 

We have found the Food is better on Princess, especially the buffet. The entertainment is better on Princess and there are more options. Live bands on deck instead of a DJ playing rap music. Also found the CD's to be more on their game with Princess.

 

Would we sail Carnival again....yes, because we are in driving distance of Galveston and New Orleans. When we travel to Florida or the West Coast Princess is our first choice.

[Acosmo]

It's great to read good and bad stuff. We are excited about our upcoming cruise on the Royal Princess, but I know that a quick way to be disappointed with it will be to go thinking that everything will be better than on Carnival. I'm sure that some things will be better, but some will not.

 

We leave on Royal Princess this weekend. We love the differences between Carnival and Princess. The Yin and Yang of cruising.

[bellbtm]

Thinking of the Breeze in March. Mainly because we like lots of nightlife. Traveling with 3 friends and looking for fun. Deciding between RCL and Carnival. We are all mid 40's. Are we too old to enjoy on Carnival?

[cruisinthemed]

Thinking of the Breeze in March. Mainly because we like lots of nightlife. Traveling with 3 friends and looking for fun. Deciding between RCL and Carnival. We are all mid 40's. Are we too old to enjoy on Carnival?

 

You are not too old to enjoy Carnival...We are in our early 50's:)

[OCruisers]

It's wonderful when people find the cruise line that is the Best Fit for Them. :)

 

For us it's Princess but still have no problem with sailing on Carnival and others from time to time. It's fun to "sleep around". :D

 

Charleston is only two hours from us. We are booked on Fantasy for a 7 nighter on May 31st.

 

LuLu

~~~

[Big_G]

Thinking of the Breeze in March. Mainly because we like lots of nightlife. Traveling with 3 friends and looking for fun. Deciding between RCL and Carnival. We are all mid 40's. Are we too old to enjoy on Carnival?

 

I certainly hope not. :eek::D

[put me on a ship]

Interesting post.

 

We have done over 20 Carnival cruises and feeling bored with entertainment.

 

Doing our first Princess in a few months and wonder how we will like it. The people on the roll call are die hard Princess fans and do talk it up a lot.

 

I'm with you...we are SO bored with Carnival's entertainment, with the exception of the comedy club (when we can get a seat!). We just did an NCL cruise, and the shows were outstanding, for the most part!

 

The problem with Carnival is once you've done 2 or 3 of the ships, they start looking and feeling the same. Same shows, pretty much same layout, same sea day activities, and on and on. And don't get me wrong, we are still sailing with Carnival (gotta have warm chocolate melting cake and Guy's burgers!!), but we also are sailing with other lines.

 

We sailed Princess several years ago, and liked it just fine! Princess isn't quite as laid back as Carnival or NCL, but we had a great cruise!!

[sharecruises]

I'm with you...we are SO bored with Carnival's entertainment, with the exception of the comedy club (when we can get a seat!). We just did an NCL cruise, and the shows were outstanding, for the most part!

 

The problem with Carnival is once you've done 2 or 3 of the ships, they start looking and feeling the same. Same shows, pretty much same layout, same sea day activities, and on and on. And don't get me wrong, we are still sailing with Carnival (gotta have warm chocolate melting cake and Guy's burgers!!), but we also are sailing with other lines.

 

We sailed Princess several years ago, and liked it just fine! Princess isn't quite as laid back as Carnival or NCL, but we had a great cruise!!

 

At least Carnival used to have different shows on different ships...now it apparently will soon be just the same Playlist shows - stripped down, 8 singer /dancers with no real set, just glaring led lights - ugh

 

The entertainment factor is huge for me, I found my MSC cruise to have the best, also loved the entertainment on NCL and Royal...and yeah I have seen some great shows on Carnival such as Big Easy - but wow I don't have any desire to ever see those Playlist flops ever again, especially the Brits - I would stay away

 

Carnival ships, while some say "gaudy" at least used to have quirky character and themes - now the new design looks nice but already hard to tell the pictures of the Breeze from the Magic and so forth.....:sigh: ...there was no mistaking the big arms in Liberty Disco haha...or the Eygptian theme on Imagination...or Rosie the Riveter on Valor LOL

 

OP sounds like that buy a cruise get a cruise or whatever Princess was pushing was/is an awesome deal - that alone was worth it IMHO

[lukeduke07]

I'm with you...we are SO bored with Carnival's entertainment, with the exception of the comedy club (when we can get a seat!). We just did an NCL cruise, and the shows were outstanding, for the most part!

 

The problem with Carnival is once you've done 2 or 3 of the ships, they start looking and feeling the same. Same shows, pretty much same layout, same sea day activities, and on and on. And don't get me wrong, we are still sailing with Carnival (gotta have warm chocolate melting cake and Guy's burgers!!), but we also are sailing with other lines.

 

We sailed Princess several years ago, and liked it just fine! Princess isn't quite as laid back as Carnival or NCL, but we had a great cruise!!

 

I agree with you to a point. Im starting to get into a lull with the same thing with carnival. the only problem is im afraid that I will book another line for double what I would have paid for carnival and constantly be comparing it with my previous carnival cruises that I have had a blast on every one.

[golfadj]

I agree with you to a point. Im starting to get into a lull with the same thing with carnival. the only problem is im afraid that I will book another line for double what I would have paid for carnival and constantly be comparing it with my previous carnival cruises that I have had a blast on every one.

 

Lately pricing can be pretty close for NCL and Carnival and even RCCL on occasion.

 

Expect we will be playing the field quite a bit in next few years

[stevenr597]

Sorry to hear about the problems you accompanied by Princess. We had completed, several months ago a European Cruise on the Royal Princess. Unfortunately Princess is not what it used to be. CCL is making major changes.

 

Carnival Cruises is to be their entry level to utilize low prices to entice individuals to take a cruise. Cruises may move up to Princess which can now be compared to RCCL and for luxury sail on either Holland America or Cunard.

 

In short... Is Princess a step up from Carnival? Definitely yes. Can it be compared to the Princess of 10 year ago? Definitely not.

[Aplmac]

I will say however, that the entertainment in the main showroom was lacking on Princess, especially compared to RCCL.

But, at least the volume in the theater was not deafening like it is on Carnival.

Carnival needs to get ALL their volume levels under control

* PA announcements

* The JumboTron noisemaker thing on Lido

* Show Lounge

 

They equate loud with fun. Many people don't. :cool:

 

 

Carnival could save money and ear drums by lowering things a realistic 20% at least.

.

[twinmom38]

we sailed the Ruby Princess last year and we were not impressed.. actually, we were bored.. had trouble finding anything to do that interested us.. also , we only ate in the MDR once.. they kept coming around trying to sell shot glasses and I thought it was in poor taste.. we finally caved in and purchased them to get the guy off our backs but we were very disappointed in succh a tacky way of making a few bucks.. did enjoy the outdoor theater, but they kept listing the wrong movie on the wrong day. I always try something twice, so if a good itinerary and cabin was available, I would try Princess again... but our experience was, it wasnt anything near the fun we have had on Carnival... IMHO..

[sharecruises]

MSC (Italian) has tightened up their smoking policy - ship is virtually NON smoking - not in cabins, balconies, - only in one cigar bar (enclosed) and on one side of one pool deck - that's it - was great

 

Royal new policy started Jan 1 - no more balcony smoking -

no real indoor smoking = so some of them may come to carnival to puff away

 

I would not waste money on a balcony on Carnival as the smokers will choose Carnival even more now

 

I also predict that Carnival will also tighten up their rules - not totally NON smoking (please no old rehash of original Paradise LOL) but just tighter

the ships with 2.0 have no smoking around the pool due the burgers and burittos - so hopefully they will soon make more areas - and balcony-= non smoking too

[minivintage]

Maybe it depends which cruise you go on first?

 

My first cruise was on Carnival in 2012...then I did a NCL and a HAL within a year (all were with different groups of people; they all chose the boats and I went along!).

 

I had a GREAT time on my Carnival cruise. The best. I loved my balcony room, the food, the Chef's table, the dance party, the casino....all of it!

 

Then I took NCL and all I could do was compare NCL to Carnival. NCL has the great suite experience which I LOVED but the main dining room and the Chef's table and the fun did NOT live up to the standard that Carnival had set.

 

And boy was HAL an older group (and I'm in my early 50s, LOL). The best part of HAL was their observation//library area. Also I thought they had the best buffet, but I still overall loved the Carnival food. Oh, and the best non-alcoholic drink menu (I'm not much of a drinker).

 

Carnival stage entertainment was not as good IMHO as either of the other ships, but I do like the comics a ton and I'm not big into the main shows anyway.

 

Will be on Carnival for my next cruise and I can't wait!

[put me on a ship]

I agree with you to a point. Im starting to get into a lull with the same thing with carnival. the only problem is im afraid that I will book another line for double what I would have paid for carnival and constantly be comparing it with my previous carnival cruises that I have had a blast on every one.

 

Shop around...NCL, MSC, and sometimes RCCL compare to or are cheaper than Carnival! As far as comparing another cruise line to Carnival, we just went with the mindset that we KNEW it would be different, and really enjoyed the new experience. Of course we did some comparison, but for the most part, NCL blew Carnival away....in a lot of little ways. That said, Carnival's MDR food was much better!

[Topo Gigio]

I think you were too much focused on Carnival and couldn't enjoy your Princess cruises. Most of the things you mentioned were minor things, at least for me.

[coops]

We just got of the Sapphire Princess & once again, didn't leave impressed!

 

There are no TV channels, like ABC, NBC...The TV channels they have, run on a loop. We were watching the same episodes of the Love Boat this last weekend as we saw in Oct.

 

I ordered wine glasses from room service, and one was filthy with lipstick all over it!

 

No room service, not even coffee this morning...since is was disembarkation day:(

 

Miss the piano bar & comedy club:(

 

We have one more booked for Feb. and then it will be back to the Funships for us! We were on a 100% fare that goes toward a 7 day special, so went ahead and booked as soon as the credits appeared this morning. We had to book with an outside TA, since Princess site was 400.00 more per person for the same category. No matching of other sites with Princess.

 

I did my share of gambling in the casino & was told I didn't play enough. I would have qualified had I done the same play on Carnival. I usually always get a gift basket & sometimes cash also.

 

Miss feeling special...At least on Carnival they call me by name;

 

We had to ask for robes for our balcony & couldn't be delivered until the 2nd day. They were so small & thin, they were useless!

 

I am craving warm chocolate melting cake!

 

Carnival gives you a drink for being repeat guests...Princess doesn't.

 

Thanks for letting me vent! I wish our next cruise was going to be on a Funship, but we will be back:)

 

I find Princess gives me better casino perks then Carnival. And they do the robes on day 2 because they are washing them on embarkation day.

 

Princess also has a repeat guest party with drinks and apps.

But I am not loyal to any one line. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Dawn

[LSGDRG]

Princess can seem sedate. There are some things they do well. Their balcony dining experience is a nice touch. They go to more exotic destinations than are available through Carnival Also, their suite perks are better.

[own]

 

We sailed Princess several years ago, and liked it just fine! Princess isn't quite as laid back as Carnival or NCL, but we had a great cruise!!

 

I've had one cruise - on Princess. I'm looking at the pricing on Carnival, especially since I'll go solo next time. Can you tell me what you mean when you write "Princess isn't quite as laid back..."? I'm not sure I understand, and really want to know what the differences might be.

 

Thank you.