Diminishing Quality on Carnival?

[soccer2010]

No.

 

yes

[S.S.Oceanlover]

all the cruise lines are cutting back. You just don't realize it until you cruise with a certain cruise line for awhile.

 

Bill

[coldweather]

I recently completed a 6 night cruise on the Carnival Conquest. This was my first Carnival cruise since 1998. Yes, 20 years later we decided to try Carnival again. We selected it for the itinerary and price. We were super pleased with our return to Carnival and have booked the Fascination out of San Juan for our next Carnival cruise.

 

We have also cruised Azamara, NCL, Celebrity, Princess and Royal Caribbean. They all have their advantages.

 

Our 6 day Carnival cruise was just less than $200/day for 2 people in an inside cabin. On a per day basis, my pre-cruise hotel was more expensive than my Carnival cruise. For that price, we couldn't go wrong.

 

Carnival is a value cruise line. I felt the cost, itinerary, multiple free restaurants and Comedy club made it worth the purchase.

 

I found the food was good and the ship was clean and the service was better than expected.

[salty dingo]

Quality is defined as conformance to expectations. Perhaps, as one matures, expectations increase?

[dianeneste]

I agree. Carnival has taken away just about everything they can get away with taking away, without giving back anything in return. It's not like it used to be at all. If someone were to take their first cruise now, they would not know that anything is missing, unless and until they cruise on another line. We still continue to cruise on Carnival because of good port proximity to our home, but will cruise a different line when taking our Alaska and Mediterranean cruises in the future. Carnival is what it is now, and I'm still ok with it, for now.

[Kaii]

I've only cruised on Carnival but haven't cruised since 2009. I'll be cruising on the Magic the end of this year. All of my cruises have been wonderful and based on those experiences I have chosen to cruise again with Carnival. Havening not cruised in a while I have been a little worried and excited by all the cutbacks, additions/ changes that have taken place over the years, we shall see how it affects our next cruise. I don't think the OP is bashing Carnival, just his opinion on his experience and everyone has a different cruise experience and a right to voice it. Its 'nothing new than what I've read from other posts/ threads in the Carnival forum.

 

To OP, Carnival has 2 new Ships debuting this year and next year, maybe they will give you a better experience.

Edited March 22, 2018 by Kaii

[Retired_to_Cruise]

I'm Platinum on Carnival and I completely agree with the OP's assessment. Carnival has slipped and they need to step it up a notch for the consumer, and down a notch for the share holders. The product is slipping and it is showing. Thus far, Carnival is third on our list of cruise providers for our next cruise.

 

I am a shareholder, a consumer, and a Diamond member of Carnival. I do not feel that they have taken a step down for any of those segments. They have developed 2.0 features for their new ships and have been adding them or parts of it on every class of ship in their fleet. And many of the things in 2.0 are NOT additional costs. And they have added some higher end dining options that are additional cost. I will take those changes and enjoy them as opposed to complaining about "cutbacks" like getting rid of cheap chocolates on pillows, not putting razors and lotions in the bathroom because the manufacturers decided to stop giving them free for that purpose, pretending that you can only get your cabin serviced once a day, pretending that there are no robes anymore, and constantly ragging Carnival about things that every other cruise line worth its salt have been doing as well. If you call those things letting the product slip, then you need to just pack up and go somewhere else. You obviously would be much "happier", but you may also realize that your expectations of those other lines will lead you to complaining about them just like you are complaining about Carnival now. Happy hunting.

[emm126]

I feel I am an experienced cruiser as well, like OP I have been on Carnival, RC, Celebrity and NCL plus higher end (classier, that always cracks me up when people say that about NCL and RC). OP is looking for opinions, so here is mine, I disagree with most of your comments based on my experiences.

 

I do not agree the quality of food has gone down, I will say I am not much of a foodie however if I would compare dinning room on Carnival to that of RC and NCL, I think Carnival wins, I don't compare specialty restaurants because Carnival has the most 2-3? while NCL and RC has 10 plus. And that is at an extra cost. For my last cruise on the Allure, for a party of 5, eating at specialty restaurants added close to 1K to our bill.

 

As for customer service issues, personally I have none on any of my cruises however having seen how NCL and RC have handled storms, hurricanes cancellations, etc I was not impressed. I feel they put their customers at risk at times. In the past, Carnival has had huge customer service disasters, Splendor and Triumph however they have learned from that and I believe handle issues much better than their competitors.

 

Entertainment- I agree, Carnival is probably below RC and NCL however I don't like going to shows, I will if I am forced-ha but it is not important to me.

 

As for my platinum perks, well I am fortunate for when I became platinum nothing has been taken away from me, would I like it if it did happen? depends on the perk. I do think Carnival could step up their game with the perks compared to RC.

 

Mints, never ate them. The toiletries, Carnival did not buy them, they were freebies, so Carnival did not cut anything. IMO.

 

I honestly believe Carnival has the best crew out there. I was just on the Pride last month, in a 7 night cruise I did not meet 1 crew member that was not smiling and willing to assist me. Normally in a week cruise you can meet that 1 or 2 that was not smiling etc Did not happen on the Pride. By the 3rd or 4th day, I said to my nephew how many times have we seen the captain already, it must have been at least once a day. He even stopped to ask me how I was doing in the casino, while playing slots. ( not good:()

 

For OP, Carnival is taking away the reasons he likes to cruise and that is fine. For the reasons I like to cruise, Carnival does it for me. I have enjoyed every cruise I have been on, I cruise 3 to 4 times a year, everything being equal, I always go back to Carnival. I am going on the new NCL Bliss in 2 months, well because it is free however reading recent reviews of NCL lately I am nervous. Happy Sailing whatever you choose!

[Crusin Hogs]

I'm Platinum on Carnival and I completely agree with the OP's assessment. Carnival has slipped and they need to step it up a notch for the consumer, and down a notch for the share holders. The product is slipping and it is showing. Thus far, Carnival is third on our list of cruise providers for our next cruise.

 

I agree with this , we to are platinum on Carnival ,, The cruise is not the same as it used to be ,,, Things have gone downhill for Carnival ,, People new to cruising seem to like it ok , Not knowing what they missed in the past ... Looking at different vacation options

[geckoaz]

Funny this is the first post too of the person who started the the thread and he chose to discuss quality. I dont see cc members here mentioning how other cruise lines have raise mandatory tipping and other topics. For the time being carnival is keeping cruising affordable. It has introduced changes over the years. I always have a good time and i come back.

[dorchrislen]

I agree with this , we to are platinum on Carnival ,, The cruise is not the same as it used to be ,,, Things have gone downhill for Carnival ,, People new to cruising seem to like it ok , Not knowing what they missed in the past ... Looking at different vacation options

 

I agree with most of this. I am also platinum and have been cruising since 1992. But I have never been on another cruise line and don't plan to, just because I don't want to pay the extra cost for those lines. I'm sticking with Carnival even though I get what I pay for and it's been less and less IMO. But I also feel that it's still a great, relaxing vacation and I can make up for the missing perks with a positive vibe and laidback attitude.

 

Now if we could just do something about the chair hogs... jk

[nicnic96]

I am a shareholder, a consumer, and a Diamond member of Carnival. I do not feel that they have taken a step down for any of those segments. They have developed 2.0 features for their new ships and have been adding them or parts of it on every class of ship in their fleet. And many of the things in 2.0 are NOT additional costs. And they have added some higher end dining options that are additional cost. I will take those changes and enjoy them as opposed to complaining about "cutbacks" like getting rid of cheap chocolates on pillows, not putting razors and lotions in the bathroom because the manufacturers decided to stop giving them free for that purpose, pretending that you can only get your cabin serviced once a day, pretending that there are no robes anymore, and constantly ragging Carnival about things that every other cruise line worth its salt have been doing as well. If you call those things letting the product slip, then you need to just pack up and go somewhere else. You obviously would be much "happier", but you may also realize that your expectations of those other lines will lead you to complaining about them just like you are complaining about Carnival now. Happy hunting.

 

I'm glad you admitted to being a shareholder. As a stock owner of other corporations, I understand the urge to defend the reputation of the corporation for the sake of your stake. I would suggest that if Carnival hears the complaints and works to improve quality, you will benefit as a customer and shareholder.

[Joebucks]

Funny this is the first post too of the person who started the the thread and he chose to discuss quality. I dont see cc members here mentioning how other cruise lines have raise mandatory tipping and other topics. For the time being carnival is keeping cruising affordable. It has introduced changes over the years. I always have a good time and i come back.

 

And that raises the question. What are you willing to pay for? NCL has just raised their gratuity. It is a common theme that RCL has a lower quality MDR than Carnival, but good Specialty Dining.

 

There are tons of choices out there. You can't go off "what has been". It needs to be judged off of "what meets demand"

[Kiwanistaz0322]

I have done 7 cruises on carnival, one on princess and just came off ncl. My experience on ncl was less customer friendly than anything I have experienced on carnival. They lost my friend’s wheel chair and there were apologies or compensations offered, except to give insurance papers so she could get another when she got home. Then it magically was found on the last morning. I do not say this to bash ncl, but to say I don’t think that would have happened on carnival, my experience with their customer service has been much better. Just booked ccl for next spring.

 

 

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[richfret]

Have completed twenty one cruises (7 or 8 days) since 1995 and all have been with Carnival. Have a Carnival cruise booked for 2019 and 2020. So why haven't I tried another line? I guess I would have to say that I was very satisfied and enjoyed each cruise so much that I just continued with Carnival. Always seemed to be a fantastic way to vacation. When you book extra early, use AARP gift cards for the cruise purchase, then AARP gift cards for excursions and ship expenses, get the Military discount and enjoy VIP privileges, that's quite a vacation value package.

 

Now the ugly question. Have things been taken away. Absolutely! But have things been added? Absolutely! So in the end, I remain satisfied.

 

I really do miss the old theater shows with real bands, fancy costumes and non ROCK music. Table cloths ................... Not really. Enjoy the newer and nicer ships? Again absolutely especially when I compare the Tropicale to the Vista. A Model-T compared to a Lincoln. I could go on and on with the pluses and minuses but by now, you either agree or are looking for a new cruise line.

 

So I hope Carnival continues to provide an economical vacation value. Certainly there is danger that they will go too far in cost saving changes but we face that situation daily in most of what corporations are doing.

 

So just 345 days, 14 hours and 16 minutes according to the Carnival HUB. (See another positive change!)

[gtonda]

A few things have made me laugh about the posts here: the OP critiqued Carnival for not keeping up with new ships and the newest ship in the ocean is Carnival's Horizon sailing on its inaugural sailing this weekend... "LOL".

 

Secondly, another poster was complaining about Carnival not offering a great experience and literally a few words later complained that the Carnival staff is some times too friendly...

 

We have not sailed in a little more than 3 years and will be Horizon in a couple of weeks. I prefer to be a big fish in a small pond so I would rather have a suite on Carnival than a lower class of Cabin on more expensive lines... For what we pay, we have never been disappointed with the Fun Ships. I hope I can say the same in about 4 weeks.

 

 

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Having the newest ship does not in and of itself, equate to "keeping up". Carnival is far behind in the use of on board technology compared to some ships on other lines. We tried MSC a few weeks ago (first cruise ever not on Carnival), and while we will be going right back to Carnival, for various reasons, the technology that they have installed in the ship is far superior to anything Carnival has out there.

[summersigh]

They have unresolved feelings of inadequacy, stemming from an irrational inferiority complex. They go into hysterics if anyone doesn't share their never ending love of all things Carnival. Carnival is a fine cruise line and they should sail with pride, but obviously they don't.

I'm trying to understand how anyone can expect that a post that "bashes" virtually every aspect of a cruise line posted on that cruiseline's chat boards will be received in a positive way. I assume there is something those folks like about their cruise line or they wouldn't spend their $$ sailing it. It's not about a love of all things Carnival ... but the OP's post felt contrived and intended to annoy regular Carnival customers IMHO

[RWolver672]

Yes indeed.

Because of the degradation of the cruise experience on Carnival my wife and I will NOT be doing any more Carnival cruises. Food is down. Entertainment is down. P/D perks are down. Service is down. Bigger ships are too crowded. Cruise director was nonexistent as were senior ship officers. Ship lay out and decor on last ship I was on (Dream) was a joke, really ugly, no class at all. Crew was friendly but sometimes overly so. I have 175 days on Carnival. All my business will go to HAL or maybe an upscale line. I have 215 days on HAL and about 475 total.

 

 

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I would hope they were doing their jobs and not just wandering around the ship to be seen by the passengers.

[Cafedumonde]

I agree that Carnival is bare bones, but that's why we like them. We really are not interested in paying extra for all the balony on Royal. We are there for the ocean, not cirque de soliel or whatever.

[Retired_to_Cruise]

I'm glad you admitted to being a shareholder. As a stock owner of other corporations, I understand the urge to defend the reputation of the corporation for the sake of your stake. I would suggest that if Carnival hears the complaints and works to improve quality, you will benefit as a customer and shareholder.

 

100 shares of stock owned for no other reason that the tax free OBC Carnival grants on each and every cruise you take is hardly holding a "stake" in a company that I feel needs to have its reputation defended. I just happen to be sick and tired of all the talk about "cutbacks" that are in most cases trivial compared to the improvements as well as inaccurate and misleading compared to the truth. Looking at the differences between the improvements and the "cutbacks", I feel that they have improved my experience much more than they have reduced the quality of it. That is all I was stating.

[hawaiibound24]

We are Carnival cruisers and we don't see the decline. Yes the mints and bathrobes are gone but that is far from a deal breaker. We find the entertainment and meals to be in the main excellent and we are going again the end of April.

 

 

Actually the bathrobes are not gone. If they are not in your cabin just ask for one.

[Expat Cruise]

The answer is yes but I believe all the major cruise lines have loss quality of service as the market has grown and the ships got bigger. The more main stream cruises become the more they more from being something special.

 

Like Airlines I remember when I was a young child and travel in the 1960's with my family. You dressed to fly, the service was very good, drinks and snacks serviced, free items to remember the flight. Now airplanes have become flying buses. I see the same thing happening overall with cruises.

 

You still have a very few high line cruise companies but even those seem to have slipped.

[A&Jfamily]

First let me say that my wife and I are experienced cruisers and have cruised on Carnival, Celebrity, Norwegian, and Royal thus far. This post is not meant to bash on Carnival in any way... just looking for opinions. Does anyone else notice that it seems like Carnival is really going down hill quality wise? Food problems (quantity, variety, and temperatures), customer service issues, common area ship and stateroom cleanliness complaints, poor entertainment, etc. Is it just me or does it seem like Carnival is having problems? Our last Carnival cruise was very disappointing and we both agreed that our Carnival days were over until changes were made. Many small things like return guest perks, mints on the pillows, and complimentary toiletries in the stateroom bathrooms, to much larger issues like food, cleanliness problems, and a general feeling of a lack of concern for customer satisfaction. It also seems to me like the fleet is showing signs of age and they do not seem to be keeping pace with other lines in regard to introducing newer ships with more current features. I do understand that they try to be the "value" line and must keep costs low, but it just seems like their has been a real effort to take away the few last remaining reasons that we would choose to sail with them in the future.

 

I see changes, but not an overall "decline." Just got off the Fascination which is 20+ years old and has a wonderful new face lift - she looked better than Sunshine who came out of dry dock 4 (?) years ago. Had a fantastic cruise at Christmas on the Triumph and our worst out 4 on the Sunshine last October.

 

Rather, I would say Carnival is attempting to be more efficient, perhaps sacrificing things like sample toiletries, automatically hanging robes in the rooms (which then have to be washed between every cruise), giving people a choice of room service (morning, evening or both), mints on the pillow (my family never at them) in FAVOR of new additions like Alchemy, Guys, Blue Iguana, Tequila and Rum bars, Bonsai etc. and new options like you can pay for some room service items, but the old stand-bys are still free.

 

Carnival has been releasing new ships every year or so, getting bigger and bigger with each class. If you have been following in the news, the next 3 after the Panorama are slated to be the biggest ships at sea.

 

If you are wanting all these little details, then perhaps one of the other lines better suits you at this point. Personally, for us, that stuff is wasted and we would rather have all the bar/dining options and a low cost for traveling with our family. I will also note that Carnival has the largest presence in the Caribbean with the most itinerary options - can't beat that!

[pacruise804]

OP (if you are still around) I will assume you were genuine in your request for opinions and give you mine based on our experience with Carnival. They were our first line (2012) and we have since sailed RCI, NCL, and Princess. We have found both disappointments and things we liked on all (just like most things in life) and returned to Carnival last month to give them another try.

 

For us, we did not notice a decline in quality like you did. Perhaps because we went in with lower expectations but we were very pleased with the 2.0 upgrades, found the entertainment good and a nice variety of choices, and a reasonably clean pleasantly decorated (expected garish colors like our first cruise:eek:) ship that handled the sea well.

 

I don't remember being very impressed my first time with the food, and while I still wasn't impressed with MDR (slow vs leisurely meal) or the main buffet the specialty spots - Guys and Blue Iguana - had some exceptional offerings with no upcharge. We had some toiletries on our first cruise, but not on the other lines (except what we won on Princess) - my understanding is outside contractors used to provided them and stopped, so not really a Carnival cutback. With the exception of very slow Atrium bar service (with no apparent reason) customer service was excellent for our cruise.

 

We enjoyed our cruise so much that we booked another for the fall, but also plan to sail other lines in the future. I hope you can find a vacation where the positives outweigh the negatives - I find all vacations will have both.

 

First let me say that my wife and I are experienced cruisers and have cruised on Carnival, Celebrity, Norwegian, and Royal thus far. This post is not meant to bash on Carnival in any way... just looking for opinions. Does anyone else notice that it seems like Carnival is really going down hill quality wise? Food problems (quantity, variety, and temperatures), customer service issues, common area ship and stateroom cleanliness complaints, poor entertainment, etc. Is it just me or does it seem like Carnival is having problems? Our last Carnival cruise was very disappointing and we both agreed that our Carnival days were over until changes were made. Many small things like return guest perks, mints on the pillows, and complimentary toiletries in the stateroom bathrooms, to much larger issues like food, cleanliness problems, and a general feeling of a lack of concern for customer satisfaction. It also seems to me like the fleet is showing signs of age and they do not seem to be keeping pace with other lines in regard to introducing newer ships with more current features. I do understand that they try to be the "value" line and must keep costs low, but it just seems like their has been a real effort to take away the few last remaining reasons that we would choose to sail with them in the future.

 

 

Quality is defined as conformance to expectations. Perhaps, as one matures, expectations increase?

 

I totally agree and think this is something that is often overlooked. Much of the music I thought was great when I was a teen does not stand the test of time. Recipes I made 10-15 years ago with notes about us really enjoying, today remaking them they are not as good now that we are used to better quality ingredients.

 

When I was younger Red Lobster was considered a special night out (at least where I grew up) and you would be asked what you were celebrating, and a small local restaurant was at best diner quality (nothing wrong with that, but not a special treat). Today it has flip flopped and the local restaurant tends to be the place we will choose if we want a nice night out rather than a chain. I suspect some has been a decline in quality of ingredients, but more has been the farm to table movement and high quality small restaurants replacing all but a few "mom & pop's".

 

Also, cruising (at least in my world) used to be a luxury reserved for honeymoons or milestone anniversaries and not an every year or more vacation. As the saying goes "familiarity breeds contempt."

[pe4all]

Just give me a lounge chair in the sun, someone to cook, clean, and do my laundry for me for 7 days, and I am a very happy camper. Doesn't matter what ship/cruise line I am on!