Is Carnival really that bad?

[SMSACE6]

I have already had my say on this topic earlier, but felt I should add; a few years ago, I talked my mother into a cruise on Carnival with me. She and my father sail pretty much exclusively with Celebrity, but have also done NCL and Princess which they both enjoyed, but they found their niche with Celebrity.

 

After over ten Celebrity cruises, my mother came along with me on the Liberty, and she LOVED it. There were a couple of hiccups on this cruise, things that had nothing to do with the ship, but still, she still says it was one of if not the best cruise of her life. What she remembers most, was our very good room steward, and our doting dining room staff, (once our unfriendly tablemates had left for greener pastures), but they were so sweet to us. Also my mother says that she has never seen so much choice in food venues on board, ie; if you dont like buffet there were so many other options, and that was before sea day brunch. She like I also loved the ship and the many quiet places to hang out if you were not into lido antics. She still keeps saying how much she enjoyed this cruise.

 

Unfortunately we cannot cruise or vacation together at this time as my father is no longer able to be left at home alone.

 

Just wanted to add her opinion as a frequent cruiser from Celebrity.

[dljones]

After spending years on these boards, I am convinced that the people who find fault in everything, find fault with their cruise no matter what line they are on. I've been on RCCL and they are nice but Carnival offers things they don't and vice versa. I think if you want to have a good time you will and don't worry about the naysayers.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Cruise both Carnival and NCL and also princess. Between NCL and Carnival I'm taking me out of the mix because I like Carnival better, for reasons that don't really matter I just do. But my kids say Carnival and NCL are the same. So If you like NCL you will like Carnival is what they say.

 

Come on, spill the beans. It's the Hasbro show that takes it to the next level.:)

 

Bill

[PhotoKirk]

Most of the folks who have nothing nice to say about Carnival have never sailed on Carnival.

[A2Mich]

Most of the folks who have nothing nice to say about Carnival have never sailed on Carnival.

 

 

Good observation. Many do post hearsay information as fact. Even then, I may not like the same things as the person asking, so making an informed decision based on others' subjective opinions is rather difficult. Making a decision based on actual facts would be a much better opinion. 5 people saying "my cabin was too warm" is a matter of opinion. 2 people saying that the same cabins were 75-78 degrees, and 3 people saying that their cabin was consistently 72 degrees is much more informative. Only the individual knows what is acceptable to them and can make a decision based on said factual information.

[PhotoKirk]

Good observation. Many do post hearsay information as fact. Even then, I may not like the same things as the person asking, so making an informed decision based on others' subjective opinions is rather difficult. Making a decision based on actual facts would be a much better opinion. 5 people saying "my cabin was too warm" is a matter of opinion. 2 people saying that the same cabins were 75-78 degrees, and 3 people saying that their cabin was consistently 72 degrees is much more informative. Only the individual knows what is acceptable to them and can make a decision based on said factual information.

 

I was on Triumph during the fire. You have no idea how many people who weren't on the ship have told me HOW HORRIBLE it was.

 

I didn't think it was that bad. I've been through worse.

[A2Mich]

I was on Triumph during the fire. You have no idea how many people who weren't on the ship have told me HOW HORRIBLE it was.

 

 

 

I didn't think it was that bad. I've been through worse.

 

 

Somehow that doesn't surprise me.

[pauleydm]

We have only sailed with Carnival. We have never had anything but great experiences. Some people like to complain...

[shealea]

It's all of the positive posts about Carnival here on Cruise Critic that makes me excited to cruise with them on our next cruise!!!!

[moobear67]

There's already 7 pages of great responses, so I probably don't have too much to add, but I agree that cruising on Carnival is a wonderful experience. Comparing Carnival to my most expensive cruise on the Disney Dream, I would say you definitely get more "bang for your buck" on Carnival. Although I enjoyed my Disney cruise, I could have gone on 3 Carnival cruises for the amount I spent on one Disney cruise. I found that overall the food and service are both better on Carnival (but still good on Disney), while the shows and entertainment options were better on Disney. Each cruise line has things that make it shine, and each person taking a cruise has things that they find important. Just go with a positive attitude, an open mind, and the knowledge that the rest of us are at home, cooking our own meals and going to work or school, while you are on vacation! In my book, any cruise is a good cruise! Have a fantastic time!

[beshears]

I have seen several GOOD answers on here of why to cruise Carnival. I know Carnival is not perfect, but I have in my26 years,never found any ship/personnel that are perfect.

 

Yes, that was one of the big things I had heard of Carnival, a PARTY ship! Well it could be, that is, if YOU want to party. We know how to have a great time on their ships, without them having to say we are "party" people!

 

Great beds/bedding/pizza/personnel/towel animas, etc. As I've said before, anyone can "nit pick" if they want to.

 

Were looking forward to our cruise on April 12th. Each day is getting us closer, away from Missouri!

[Beachdude]

We have only sailed with Carnival. We have never had anything but great experiences. Some people like to complain...

 

Some people like to compare. Cruisers who have not broadened their cruising experience with another cruise line don't have any firsthand knowledge for contributing a comparison.

 

Complaining is your negative perspective of opinions that you don't agree. But Cruise lines do read forums to learn how their customers feel about their product. Trends are a positive feedback to use for improving the product.

 

Burt

[mzmartinez]

Remember some people will ALWAYS find things to complain about. I have been on 5 Carnival cruises and I love Carnival. Very laid back, great staff, and tons of fun.... Take the complaints and negative feed back with a grain of salt.. People will always find something to complain about. Relax.. You'll enjoy it!!:o

[Bellicheck Brain Trust]

We are taking our FIRST Carnival cruise in oct on the Glory. We were super excited to try a new line as we have only been on NCL. But seems all i read on the FB page and other review sites is negative feedback!! Is carnival really become that bad? It cost us alot in airfare to make these trips from Colorado and im kinda worried now...[emoji27]

 

Why would you even ask this question..... You booked carnival for a reason so this is something that should have been considered well before you booked the cruise. Secondly, if carnival was "that bad" they would not continue to fill their ships on a regular basis. This has to be one of the dumbest questions posted

[MCFTJCH2V]

We are taking our FIRST Carnival cruise in oct on the Glory. We were super excited to try a new line as we have only been on NCL. But seems all i read on the FB page and other review sites is negative feedback!! Is carnival really become that bad? It cost us alot in airfare to make these trips from Colorado and im kinda worried now...[emoji27]

 

Today's Carnival is a shell of what it once was. Premium service, goods and entertainment swapped out for inferior to acceptable.

 

All while the competing lines have upped their game while trying to match what Carnival once was.

 

Carnival chose to go the opposite route by going the discount and budget one.

[Philly Steve]

As others have pointed out, a cruise is what you make it. I would not hesitate to book another CCL cruise. :)

[A2Mich]

Today's Carnival is a shell of what it once was. Premium service, goods and entertainment swapped out for inferior to acceptable.

 

All while the competing lines have upped their game while trying to match what Carnival once was.

 

Carnival chose to go the opposite route by going the discount and budget one.

 

Have read and heard same concern with all mainstream cruise lines - seems like they have all made cutbacks in some form or another, whether it be fewer crew members, cutbacks in food costs/quality, elimination of pillow chocolates, note pads, bathroom toiletries, increases in for-fee dining venues and activities, etc. Have read the same concerns about RCI, NCL, Princess, Carnival. Can't tell your for sure about HAL, X, or any of the upscale or luxury lines, as they are out of budget. Seems to be a sign of the times - make various cutbacks here and there to reduce costs and increase profitability. Bottom line is that a large number of people still have never taken a cruise, and the cruise lines need to attract these consumers. The only people likely complaining of the cutbacks across the board are the long term/repeat cruisers who have experienced cruising before and after the cost cutting measures. The first time cruisers that the cruise line needs to attract likely won't notice any cost-cutting because they have no prior experience to compare to.

 

The cruise lines will have a tough time attracting first time cruisers with the prices they would need to charge to give them the experience that most cruisers once enjoyed. Keep in mind that cruise fares, based on inflation and cost of living, have actually decreased at face value over the years. Back in the 80's, on my first cruise, per passenger prices for a 7 day cruise were several hundred dollars, though I don't remember exact figures. This fare was for an INSIDE cabin (as ships at that time were mostly converted ocean liners and had no balconies (except MAYBE for suites)). These ships, with a few exceptions, were in the 15-30,000 GRT range, and had one dining room, maybe one buffet area, a handful of bars, one or two nightclub areas, and a few shallow pools. There was no internet, no rock climbing walls, no Solarium areas, no multi-deck atriums, no alternative dining venues, no Flowriders, no water slides. It was a much more basic experience, but even Carnival had excellent service onboard at the time. Cruise lines started building larger ships, with more features, gimmicks, cabin choices, restaurants, activities, etc., yet cruisers still wanted rock bottom cruise prices, as there was a fair amount of competition from other vacation options. Fast forward to today, where ships can cost over a BILLION dollars, yet cruisers have many options on how to spend their vacation dollars. The cruise lines don't want you to book an AI resort - they want you on their ships. So, they need to maintain fares on a competitive level to attract these people. In order to keep their ships filled, and to get repeat business, they are in competition not only with AI resorts, but obviously the other cruise lines. So, when one cruise line adds a few new features, the other cruise lines need to do something to still be an attractive alternative. So now we have the one-upmanship between the mainstream cruise lines. All of these things add tremendous costs, while the public is not willing to shell out the big bucks to pay for it. So now what happens? Now they have to build larger ships to increase the passenger load to cover these costs, along with their existing fixed costs, and also to hopefully show a profit. With a larger ship, still low fares, increased fixed costs, more staff members, something has to give somewhere, and the cruise lines need to increase revenue. Increased revenue comes from the dining venues, shore excursions, drink sales, etc. Service levels and other niceties/non essentials need to go to maintain a level of profitability while not increasing fares. If the cruise line were to deliver the same level of service and niceties that they used to, we would all be paying suite prices for even the smallest inside cabin.

 

The airlines are in a similar situation as well. The public wants low fares, yet fuel prices were pretty high for quite a few years, aircraft purchasing, repair, maintenance costs have not gone down, government safety, and security regulations have become more stringent, employee wages have increased, in part due to the ALPA union, and other unions involved. Gate rental fees have increased, landing fees have increased, yet most travelers still want the cheap airfares. So, now we have baggage fees, snacks instead of full meals, self check in, etc.

 

It's simply a sign of the times and the economy. In order for these companies to stay viable and maybe show a profit, costs are having to be cut. Obviously the high execs and board members are not decreasing their salaries at these companies, and the stockholders want returns on their investments. So who suffers the cutbacks to make all of this happen? The consumer, of course.

[beshears]

Bill, I have to agree. I would do Carnival "any day," before I would go back to NCL. Only way, would be if they give it to me FREE.

[Jay Sam]

Bill, I have to agree. I would do Carnival "any day," before I would go back to NCL. Only way, would be if they give it to me FREE.

 

Carnival to me is way better than NCL too, and a few of the others too. I would call it a tie between Carnival and Royal Caribbean as my fave's. Annoys me when I talk to staff on NCL and they roll their eyes at the mention of Carnival. I am thinking, really you think NCL is better than Carnival. Oh brother. I will try NCL again given the opportunity and a good deal on Breakaway/Getaway or one of the newer builds, but Carnival for me is my choice. I took Epic on NCL and even that didn't persuade me to be an NCL fan.

[beshears]

We were on the Star, brand new ship of NCL. Oh my, you would never believe all the "complaints," they had. I never heard so many people say they would never do (this was even people talking on the plane that we were riding on) NCL again, and we haven't.

[Jay Sam]

We were on the Star, brand new ship of NCL. Oh my, you would never believe all the "complaints," they had. I never heard so many people say they would never do (this was even people talking on the plane that we were riding on) NCL again, and we haven't.

 

Funny you mention Star. The other of the 2 ships I have been on with NCL. Took a 2 day cruise to nowhere (don't recommend) and it was not great. Many of us got locked out of our cabins twice, twice on a 2 day cruise. The salmon was good though. Way over-priced for a 2 nighter. I feel all of them are on the average high compared to a regular cruise. Ocenview cabin compared to Carnival's was small.

[A2Mich]

Carnival to me is way better than NCL too, and a few of the others too. I would call it a tie between Carnival and Royal Caribbean as my fave's. Annoys me when I talk to staff on NCL and they roll their eyes at the mention of Carnival. I am thinking, really you think NCL is better than Carnival. Oh brother. I will try NCL again given the opportunity and a good deal on Breakaway/Getaway or one of the newer builds, but Carnival for me is my choice. I took Epic on NCL and even that didn't persuade me to be an NCL fan.

 

One thing to keep in mind when talking to staff is that their impression of the cruise lines is likely going to be different than theirs. You see it as a fare paying passenger out to have a good time. They see it as an employer-employee relationship - one cruise line may offer better pay or hours than another.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We were on the Star, brand new ship of NCL. Oh my, you would never believe all the "complaints," they had. I never heard so many people say they would never do (this was even people talking on the plane that we were riding on) NCL again, and we haven't.

 

Come on now. You are talkingabout something that happened almost 15 years ago. Sheesh

 

Bill

[Jay Sam]

One thing to keep in mind when talking to staff is that their impression of the cruise lines is likely going to be different than theirs. You see it as a fare paying passenger out to have a good time. They see it as an employer-employee relationship - one cruise line may offer better pay or hours than another.

 

Thanks for your response. I too agree with the employer-employee relationship. You are correct. The thing I remember is becoming acquainted with the cruise director, who was quite nice and did a great job. However, his yuck attitude towards Carnival's service and as a cruise line in general came through. In general was saying why would anyone ever want to cruise with Carnival. That seems to be the general attitude with many folks. I don't get it. Hey I used to live in the Denver area many years ago. Great memories and a great area. Colorado is amazing.

[shealea]

I've always loved all of my NCL cruises, so I'm surprised to read that some will never use them.

 

I've not tried Carnival yet, but we are considering it on the Miracle this Fall to Mexican Riviera