Diminishing Quality on Carnival?

[hawaiibound24]

I actually, overall, think the food has gotten better. 20 years ago, there were very limited choice during the day (buffet, salad bar, burgers were about it). Since then Carnival has added many free choices - Mongolian Wok, BBQ, Indian, Chop Sticks, Deli, etc. They also greatly improved the burgers with Guys. Some will say the main dining room has gone down, but I have no problem finding something to enjoy even if its off the everyday menu - steak or grilled chicken. One night on our recent cruise (January on the Vista), they had beef tenderloin which was very good. The lack of tablecloths some nights makes the restaurants on par with say Outback which is fine with me.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

How would you know what the prices are since you don't even sail on Carnival?

 

How could you know the price of Diesel fuel, since you only pump 87 Octane? Many of us who are not loyalist, price shop. I could tell you the price of an Carnival Alaska cruise, and a 4 day Bahamas cruise on Halloween, by looking at all the lines.

[IPlayWithString]

 

One thing from your essay that stood out was about the small older ships. Ports for NCL, X and RCCL are very limited often requiring airline fares to even board the ships while Carnival stations its smaller, older ships in cities accommodating a wide range of customers - like Baltimore, Charleston, Jacksonville and Mobile.

 

I haven't read the whole thing but this stands out to me because this is one of the main reasons we've ever only sailed with Carnival. My husband is a retail mgr and I work in a school kitchen. We can ONLY take vacations during certain times of year--mainly Spring Break and summer vacation. While there are other lines that sail out of our home port (Galveston) besides CCL (mainly RCL, I believe) they never seem to be leaving when we want to (or can) go on vacation due to our limited span of time. Even though RCL is (I believe) similarly priced to CCL, we've never sailed with them because none of their sailings ever fit into our itinerary for vacation. Carnival leaves from Galveston I think three days a week (possibly four, I'm not sure) which fits into what we can usually do very nicely. If RCL left more often (instead of I think 1 maybe 2X per week), we MIGHT consider sailing with them. But until and unless that changes, we won't be.

[GMChambers]

“Not bash on Carnival in any way” ... and then that’s exactly what you do.

 

In my opinion, yes, it’s only you and your opinion.

 

My experiences are vastly different.

 

Happy sailing on other lines until the changes you want from Carnival happen but I suspect you’ll be saying the exact same things about those other lines as those forums are filled with people saying the same thing about them as you are curently saying about Carnival.

 

Its the cycle of life.

 

Excuse me StolidCruiser but there is no bashing in my post, I was merely bringing up valid concerns based on factual observations made by myself and other cruisers that have sailed Carnival. If raising valid concerns and questions is what you consider bashing then so be it. We have sailed other lines many times and NO we have not seen any of these types of problems happening to this frequency like it is with Carnival. I am glad you have had better experiences with Carnival, that is the point of my post as I wanted to see if others were witnessing the same problems that we have. Best of luck to you as well on future Carnival sailings.

[GMChambers]

We all have choices folks. No one is twisting your arm. Do what makes you happy instead of complaining about it.

 

Yes I agree... the point of the post was to get opinions to see if others have noticed the same problems we have or if our experiences were limited to a single situation.

[GMChambers]

If this wasn't a bash I'm not sure what is. There was no aspect you left untouched. I'm not a Carnival cheerleader and have sailed other lines but ..... Carnival IS a budget line - and fills a necessary niche. To compare it to Celebrity, which is Rccl's high end branch, is unfair. The cost of living has gone up yet Carnival fights to hold a line on fares so that those on a tight budget can still enjoy the magic of cruising. Even NCL and Royal are most times significantly more expensive than Carnival.

 

One thing from your essay that stood out was about the small older ships. Ports for NCL, X and RCCL are very limited often requiring airline fares to even board the ships while Carnival stations its smaller, older ships in cities accommodating a wide range of customers - like Baltimore, Charleston, Jacksonville and Mobile. Because a line puts out mega ships looking like a square hotel on a barge doesn't mean the atmosphere and staff service are better.

 

Yes, I understand that there are things CCL could do better but if you peruse the RCCL, Celebrity, HAL and NCL boards here on Cruise Critic the same concerns are being voiced on all of them. These issues are not restricted to CCL alone but are industry wide. We continue to sail Carnival because of excellent staff service we've received on all of our CCL cruises.

 

One last thing .... do you really think the Carnival Board of Directors sits around making "a real effort to take away the few last remaining reasons that we would choose to sail with them in the future" ?

Just wondered.....

 

summersigh thanks for your input but again there is no bashing in my post. I was asking other cruisers if they had noticed the same decreased level of service and quality that we had, or our experience was limited to a single bad experience. If I wanted to bash I would just make blanket statements based about the entire Carnival fleet on NO experience, but that is NOT the case! OUR observations were based on numerous sailings on Carnival yearly over the past decade. If others have had positive experiences that is great and maybe our experiences were possibly a crew having an "off cruise". We have sailed on these other lines and have never had any of the problems on them that we had repeatedly experienced with Carnival. That is why I was asking for general feedback from other cruisers.

[GMChambers]

I sailed Carnival in 2011. It was good, but not great. They seemed to do the bare minimum to be acceptable. I tried NCL the following year and sailed NCL ever since until two years ago. Cutbacks got worse and worse on NCL each year. The final straw was the banning of bottled water and soda cans as well as a no-frills version of Margaritaville replacing a free option for burgers and salads.

 

The reason I'm trying Carnival again is that it ought to be a better deal than NCL. The Havana Cabana on a Vista class ship should be equivalent to a trip on the NCL Breakaway class with Vibe passes included...in theory. I believe it when people say quality has diminished on Carnival, but I'm telling you the same happened on NCL. Don't know if other cruise lines are any different. If this cruise doesn't wow me, I'll move onto another.

 

Thanks for the input! I appreciate it...

[MrsKC08]

To the OP, welcome to Cruise Critic. I hope that some of these posts do not keep you from coming back and posting more and sharing your thoughts, opinions, and experiences. This is just how this forum tends to be. You have cheerleaders for every cruise line out there.

 

Like you, DH and I have cruised on many different lines, Carnival, Royal, Princess, Holland, Celebrity, and NCL. Each one has their good and their not so good. I started off with Carnival and sailed a few times with my last cruise with them in 2011 when we sailed the Dream. At the time it was their largest and biggest ship. It was a complete letdown. DH then introduced me to Princess which he had sailed on twice before meeting me. That cruise line became my favorite and we sailed several times on them. It was an eye-opener as to how much of an "economy" line Carnival was in comparison.

After about 3 Princess cruises we decided to do a cruise on Royal, again DH had sailed on one of their smaller ships before meeting me and thought I would enjoy their "nightlife" and entertainment. He was right. My first cruise with Royal was on the Freedom of the Seas and after 7 nights, RCCL became our favorite cruise line even over and above Princess and the Freedom class is still our favorite class of ship.

Just three weeks ago we sailed on Independence of the Seas, a Freedom class ship and it was probably our least favorable cruise on Royal. My dad went with us on that cruise, which was his FIRST cruise ever and he really enjoyed it; of course, he didn't have anything to compare it to. We saw cutbacks, and completely dislike the new menu and MDR ordering process they have now and the ship was in need of some repairs but to be fair, it is getting ready to go into a month-long dry dock in a couple weeks.

We tried Holland, and quickly learned that it was too old of a crowd for us and wasn't a very good experience, but had we not tried we would not have known.

 

I could go on and on but in all fairness, some of what you mentioned isn't offered on any cruise lines any longer. Mints have been gone for a while now. Princess used to give chocolates but it has been a few years since we sailed them. I'll find out in November when we are on the Regal. Complimentary toiletries are now usually only in spa class cabins or suites. Food is such a subjective topic on these boards that it probably isn't even worth mentioning because everyone's tastes are different and their expectations vary quite a bit. Of all the lines out there, Celebrity probably has the best food at sea, but they have always been known for that. Let's face it, I don't think anyone is having a hard time finding food that they like on a ship. My dad who is probably the pickiest of eaters and who was genuinely concerned about the food on our cruise was quite happy with the selection on our last cruise.

 

I'll admit, when I last sailed Carnival I said I wouldn't sail again, however, I am doing a short girls trip in May on the Liberty and after all my cruising my feelings are that there isn't truly a bad cruise. I do have my favorite/preferred lines (Royal/Princess), but I can make the best of just about anything as long as I'm on vacation and I don't have to cook or clean.

[GMChambers]

I've found that anything someone starts with this isn't meant to be a bash it usually is. Not meaning to bash the op though. I'm happy with Carnival, if OP isn't then move on.

 

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bobandsherry if asking for others opinions is considered bashing on this board, what is the point of having the board. I was not calling names or bad mouthing Carnival without any basis in fact. My concerns were based on my experiences of sailings on Carnival over the past decade. I was merely asking if others had noticed any of the things that I had noticed. Thanks for your input.

[krehberg]

Excuse me StolidCruiser but there is no bashing in my post, I was merely bringing up valid concerns based on factual observations made by myself and other cruisers that have sailed Carnival. If raising valid concerns and questions is what you consider bashing then so be it. We have sailed other lines many times and NO we have not seen any of these types of problems happening to this frequency like it is with Carnival. I am glad you have had better experiences with Carnival, that is the point of my post as I wanted to see if others were witnessing the same problems that we have. Best of luck to you as well on future Carnival sailings.

 

I think its fair to say, when your OP could not say one positive thing about your Carnival experience that it is indeed a bashing post. As someone that has cruised both Carnival and Royal Caribbean in recent years, I can say there are things I like about both lines and things I don't. That said, the only line I got Norovirus on was Royal Caribbean..spending 36 hrs quarantined to my cabin along with my wife during our honeymoon. I've also noticed it seems RCCL seems to have more problems with "sick" ships than Carnival. So, if Carnival is cutting back on cleanliness...then RCCL must be cutting back more.

[FSHLOT]

As a person who has cruised on a few different lines, I can tell you right now that a cruise is what you make of it. Each line has its own pros and cons.

 

Cruising, in general, has changed a lot throughout the years on every cruise line, not just Carnival. I still love cruising and it don't matter what company im traveling with. Maybe some expect way too much from a cruise line.

[GMChambers]

To all of you who shared your experiences both good and bad I say thanks for the worthwhile feedback. The point of my post was to ask other cruisers for their experiences based on their sailings on Carnival to see if our recent experiences were isolated or a general trend across the entire line. Some of you guys brought up some great points and it was really helpful. Maybe we will give it another shot.

 

For those of you who just wanted to bad mouth my post because I am new to CC, or "he hasn't posted in 2 years", or "you are just here to bash on Carnival" first I say grow up and quit acting like a schoolyard bully. I ask you what is the point of a message board if someone cannot ask a legitimate question based on observations made over a decade of cruising on Carnival. If you guys just want to sit around and talk about how great Carnival is and giving each other high 5's about your experiences be my guest. But for some of you to be so rude because I was simply asking a question is sad. My apologies if I offended your sensitivities in any way. Now go back to worshipping your "ship on a stick" door prize.

 

And they wonder why I haven't posted in 2 years...

[Flatbush Flyer]

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

 

 

 

You're in the neighborhood...

OP cited Carnival as a "value" line. Perhaps, because so many experience it as having a lack of "quality" it would be better described as "budget" or "economy" or "entry level."

"Value" suggests ROI (return on investment) or "more bang for your buck."

What many CC posters erroneously do when comparing "value" is to look solely at cabin cost rather than the "net daily rate" for all required and anticipated optional costs.

Flying internationally? Surely, some of those premium/luxury lines' cabin fares appear to be "astronomical" to your "average Joe." But, $2,000/person of that "expensive" fare may be the included air tix (convertible to a credit).

When comparing "budget" to "high end" cruise lines, the list of included items (e.g., airfare, specialty restaurants, beverages, internet, booze, excursions) and excluded items (e.g., smoking, thundering herds, photogs/art shows, nickel-diming, etc) all need to be considered in getting a true picture of "value" as opposed to "budget" or "economy."

Bottom line is that cruising is definitely one industry where "you get what you pay for." Hopefully, folks who are unhappy with the lack of quality on Carnival (or even one or more of the other mass market lines) will do the "net daily rate" math (all costs divided by total days away) as well as consider the quality when comparing cruises in the future.

 

 

 

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[bransworld]

I am very content with Carnival. I like the price, I like the food, I like the service. The only reason my cruise in 2019 is on another cruise is because Carnival doesn't have a British Isles itinerary. I will also choose a different cruise line when I go on a Mediterranean cruise, again because Carnival doesn't offer that itinerary for very long when they do have it.

[declansdad]

Glad to see the OP returned to add some more to the thread. Perhaps you didn't intend to bash but that is how your written response comes across in the forum. Posts such as yours seem to be a magnet for poster who seem to have fun commenting on a cruise line they don't use because they feel it is beneath them.

 

As for our own experience, we've cruised 6 times in a about 7.5 years, 4 times with Carnival, 1 time with Disney and 1 time with Norwegian. We have enjoyed all the cruises but the company with the worst overall service and food was NCL. Disney was fantastic but the price is much more than any of the others.

 

We have noticed changes over the 4 cruises but we don't think they have reduced the quality or the value of the cruise. Carnival has served us well and we will continue to go back to them in the future. Will we look at others, most likely. We would be interested in RCL and possibly Princess is the itinerary and prices are good and comparable. NCL we tried to cruise with them again a few weeks ago and they refused to honour something they told us so we probably won't go with them again.

[ja_martin]

I have to be honest when I say that I got a real kick out of reading some of the responses.

 

There are a lot of reasons why I still sail Carnival, but I still sail NCL too. A few others here and there, but mostly these two.

 

Why? Simple:

 

The friendliest crew on the seas. There's no such thing as too friendly. The crew is awesome.

 

Very good food. It doesn't have to be great. I couldn't possibly want for more than cooked-to-order eggs in the morning or a good salad for lunch. Pizza that I love 24 hours a day or a freshly-made sandwich or burger. And dinner: very good soups and salads every night along with a dinner my husband and I always share. Do I need more? No, not unless I want to weigh 200lbs.

 

Entertainment: Sometimes good, sometimes not so much. Find something you like and enjoy it. Our last trip on The Freedom, the Playlist Cast was the absolute best. Sometimes we like comedy. Sometimes we do no entertainment at all.

 

Officers: Always friendly and accessible with a "door-open" policy.

 

Robes: If you want them, ask for them. Same as ice and everything else people look to complain about.

 

Mints on Pillows: Give me a break!

 

I could go on and on. Have some things changed? Yep, but Carnival is affordable and I LOVE that every time I step on a ship, someone remembers me. They treat me like family.

 

Remember, you get in return what you give. Treat the crew right.

 

If you don't like your Carnival experience, there are other options out there. For me, for the amount of cruising I do, I'm very happy with my overall Carnival experience.

[summersigh]

I think there is something else that nobody mentioned that is a plus for Carnival's customer service.

 

Based on comments made by most of the totally negative posters on this thread it's apparent that they can afford to sail on whatever line they choose.

 

What I often see in Carnival threads are hardworking folks without a lot of "disposable income" who want to cruise. They appreciate Carnival's low deposit sales. They especially like the payment plans Carnival offers so they can use them to pay off their cruise without it being a huge hit to their tight budgets.

I remember our son when his kids were young. If he planned to "save" up the money for a final payment something would come up to eat into those savings. But if he'd paid it to the cruise account somehow money was found elsewhere for issue that had come up.

Carnival has it's demographics down :)

[Flatbush Flyer]

 

 

 

The friendliest crew on the seas.

 

 

 

 

 

And you know this, how?

 

 

 

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[A&Jfamily]

And you know this, how?

 

 

 

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Well for a lot of people who have tried a lot of lines, they can make judgment calls. Clearly, it's an opinion statement.

 

Personally, I agree. My base might not be as broad as some, but the crew on my first cruise (RCI) with their grudging, no smiles half-hearted service - like I was putting them out - drove me off for cruising for quite a while. And while I love Princess, it is definitely more hands off, polite but not friendly service. We are to the point where we prefer Princess as a line, but not for this reason...we actually prefer the crew on Carnival. They are the fun ship and service with a smile and sometimes a hug! We have sat for hours at Alchemy and just chatted with the crew, learning about their homes, jobs etc. This friendliness is part of our Carnival experience.

 

Also, if you take the time to talk with the crew, many of which have worked multiple lines, you will learn that the service reflects the corporate mentality and cruise model. On RCI for example, they are specifically told not to shake hands with guests and simply deliver the service. When I learned this from a former worker, it all made sense.

 

The more I cruise, the more clear it becomes to me that the feel of a cruise is very well captured by their advertising. Carnival - the Fun Ships. Princess - Come Back New. And a new tag line from RCI website- Bring on Brag-worthy Moments....that says it all! They are all about the bells and whistles and that "wow" factor...whereas I have had plenty of brag-worthy moments on all my cruises...but that's not why we take them, and we certainly never brag about them. For all these reasons, and others RCI is just not the line for us...but for many its what they want in their vacation. To each his own.

[NavarreCruiser]

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!

 

This is incorrect and someone may have already posted that (ihave not read the whole thread).

From a Florida newspaper: not quite as big as Royal Caribbean's Oasis-class ships, which surpass 225,000 tons each, the two new Carnival ships are set to debut in 2020 and 2022. Carnival just debuted its newest ship this spring, Carnival Vista, which is already the line's largest, but that ship is only 133,500 tons. A sister ship to Vista, Carnival Horizon, will debut in 2018. So the two new ships are a significant bump for the line.

[FreudianSlipper]

Admittedly I've only gone on one Carnival Cruise (Mexican Riviera last year), so I don't have any knowledge of how things used to be, but I loved my experience. I'm booked on another cruise for January out of New Orleans and prior to booking I checked prices on Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Norwegian. RC was close in price but I really didn't have any reason to switch from Carnival so I booked with them. Now, I think if I book several cruises through them and start to notice things I enjoyed going away I'll probably have some negativity about it, much like the OP. Conversely, if I had started on another cruise line and switched to Carnival I might be disappointed but for me the determining factor is price, along with my positive prior experience. I can't miss what I never had (bathrobes, mints, etc). :)

[grandmarnnurse]

I haven't cruised Carnival for four years. I recently booked with them for an upcoming October cruise. One of the reasons I left was the feeling of wanting more entertainment and activities. On my last carnival cruise I tried one show and couldn't return the rest of the cruise as the first was not good. I went to NCL and most recently Royal which are fantastic IMHO. I'm giving Carnival another try and I hope this will be a great cruise. I'm nervous after some of the posts I have seen regarding the same concerns you have.

 

 

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I, too, haven’t sailed with Carnival for several years. Since 2007. I’ve sailed RCCL and NCL since then. Well, I have booked the Breeze for March 2019 because I had reward points I wanted to cash in, but was looking at RCCL for my 50th Anniversary cruise for 2020. I just couldn’t find the right deal, port, or itinerary with RCCL or NCL. And a RCCL wanted $250pp deposit, as opposed to sales on NCL with $1pp deposits and Carnival with $50pp. So, I ended up with Carnival Magic for 2020, for the better itinerary (Southern Caribbean) and hope all is good with this decision.

 

 

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[Computer Nerd]

After sailing the last few trips on NCL, I finally did a 7 day on the Carnival Dream last July. My big disappointment was no lobster night but that is the same deal on NCL. However, the addition of Guys Burgers and the Pig and Anchor was a nice perk. Carnival seems to have more free food choices then the other lines.

 

I miss the tablecloths although some people do not. The table cloths make me feel like I'm at a really nice restaurant and not a coffee shop. I don't miss the mints on the pillows and I didn't notice that our cabin was only cleaned once a day.

 

Overall, I think that the cruise lines (Carnival, NCL, RCCL) are more similar then different. They all know what the other ones are doing and eventually its monkey see monkey do.

 

If you were on a 7 night cruise they most definitely had lobster night (usually the first formal night). Also, Carnival has never had "mints" on the pillow......it was chocolate. There are many differences between NCL and Carnival which is why I choose Carnival almost every time.

[NCbmwmom]

Haven’t really noticed. I’ve had a great time on all of our cruises. Must just be you.

[missholly24]

Before my previous cruise, I would have agreed with everything you said. However, after our most recent Carnival Sunshine trip in February I have changed my mind. Our food and service were excellent! Only complaint was the ship was waaaaay too crowded. We paid around $1890 for 8 days for 4 people. No way could we complain about what we got for that price. RCI is definitely nice but also 50% more money. You always have to keep that in mind-- Carnival is most definitely the budge cruise line but I always go back!!! Much love to them.