Permanent Cutbacks on Carnival

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

I will miss the hang tags for coffee in the morning, but I think I will be able to find a way to survive without it.  I love chocolate, but I don't miss the cr@p that they have been trying to pass of as chocolate and have never considered it to be any kind of 'extravaganza'

Same

[CruizinSusan70]

3 hours ago, asalligo said:

Just read this article and I think this may be the straw that breaks the camels back for me. So many cutbacks over the years and I know that most people here are rabid about cruising and will not stop over these changes, but I think this is it for me. Several of my favorite activities on the ship are gone now. Sea day afternoon tea, Midnight Chocolate Buffet, Quest, a real breakfast on my balcony. A good late night meal. Just too much of the experience eroded at this point combined with an amazing experience we had this year at XCaret. 

Enjoy your all inclusives in the future.  Oh and by the way where did you get that good late night meal at your all inclusive?

[cruisingguy007]

Bummed out about sea day brunch hours being reduced and the cajoling and corralling everyone to the pizza place as the sole eatery at night, it's already a disaster.   

[ProgRockCruiser]

3 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Enjoy your all inclusives in the future.  Oh and by the way where did you get that good late night meal at your all inclusive?

It appears Xcaret's restaurants are open until 11pm, in general, and some offer snacks through the early hours.  So I would expect that qualifies as a "good late night meal"?  (I looked out of curiosity, now I'm intrigued...)

 

https://www.hotelxcaretmexico.com/en/gastronomy/

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

Imagine Cunard no longer offering afternoon tea for example.

That would be sacrilege with Queen Elizabeth I rolling over in her grave.

[CorbinCatFan]

3 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

The one I don’t like is brunch closing at noon. They had it that way on Splendor. Not a fan. I like to go for lunch in the 12pm hour.

Before the Sea Day Brunch, we would take advantage of eating lunch in the MDR.  We always enjoyed that service.  We really didn't get into the Sea Day Bruch around lunch time, which in hindsight was on us.   

[wemjam]

NO biggies on any of these as far as I am concerned.  

 

1. Almost 50 cruises never went to tea

2. Never ate late at night (get WAY more than enough the rest of the day) - Oh wait once, years ago at the midnight Mexican buffet and regretted that BIG time for next 12 hours!

3. Slight reduction in some hours no big deal.

4. Don't even know what Ocean Plaza is (and been on Horizon & Vista) 

5. Can still order breakfast, so don't care how.  1/2 the time you used the door hangers it didn't show up when you wanted it anyhow

6. No cake, no big deal.  I order the dessert I want anyhow - don't even need the candle and the "Hoppy Birdday" song  - and yes I meant to spell it that way... think about it lol!

 

To me these all seem very trivial

 

 

Edited August 4, 2022 by wemjam

[JT1962]

16 minutes ago, wemjam said:

 

To me these all seem very trivial

 

 

Things are always trivial when they don’t affect you. The main issue is, the cuts will continue and will eventually affect something that most people enjoy.

 

I don’t drink alcohol, gamble, swim in the pools or get in the hot tubs, use the spa or gym, eat at specialty restaurants, etc. They could remove all of those from the ships and it would not affect me, but I know there are many (most?) that enjoy those amenities.

[cruisingguy007]

3 hours ago, CodyMiles1994 said:

It says you can call and make the order the night before, you just don't have the tags.

 

This part actually makes sense IMO. Saves on a bunch of paper door hangers, prevents lost door hangers (and the subsequent complaints thereafter), reduced staff having to walk all over the ship, and helps ensure orders are ordered correctly. It may also reduce some significant waste as an addition. 

[Top_of_the_Cube]

I don't know how many crew members it takes to maintain the late night buffet, but I assume they can reassign just a couple of them to overnight pizza duty and still come out ahead on reducing overall staffing.

[cruisingguy007]

2 hours ago, JT1962 said:

The “Hairy Chest” contest is gone permanently as well:

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-confirms-end-of-popular-lido-deck-activity/78081

 

The one bit of good news in this sea of bad news lol. 

[silvercrikhix]

We’ll see what happens next 2 cruises before making any decisions. The things cruises have been known for are disappearing. The product that drew us in 12 years ago has had so many changes. It’s losing its appeal, change by change. Change is NOT ALWAYS good. 

[Island Dog]

Reading between the lines here.....does this mean no more Dining Room lunch in any way shape or form? Sea day or not?

 

Sailed Princess in February and all of the cut backs onboard were disheartening. Now it seems Carnival is following suit. So disappointing. I'd gladly pay a slightly higher fare for all of the "old" amenities on both lines.

[lazydayz]

We have six more Carnival cruises booked, but I am seriously considering cancelling at least three of them.  From the crowds to the lack of staff, ineffective security, lack of a curfew for children, unruly guests, and now more cutbacks, just not sure I will cruise with Carnival unless it is an Elite offer or on the Mardi Gras or Celebration.  I find it comical I am coming to this conclusion as I am finally going to make Diamond next year.  

[cruisingguy007]

1 hour ago, ray985 said:

It's going to be awful. Have people working at Carnival never seen the line at pizza place between 10 PM and Midnight. On the older ships, it's easily a half hour wait (on the newer ships it's closer to 15 minutes because they can really crank out those pizzas). Now, we're going to give those poor guys working that place at that hour the responsibility to make sandwiches and salads to? Insane! They used to do Caesar salads and Pizza Pirate years ago but I heard they stopped it so the guys could just focus on getting the pizzas done. As a temporary setback, I get it, but not as an ongoing thing.

 

I was on an RCL ship this May and was so disappointed in their late-night selection (just pizza pretty much). I was telling everyone how Carnival at least has selections at the Lido Buffet for some munchies and now they get rid of it. 

 

Exactly, it's going to be like a Jack-in-the-Box drive through when the clubs/bars let out, a hot mess, a lot of drama, a few flights and everyone at the end of their ropes, passengers and crew alike. Not a smart move but maybe after a few completely foreseeable incidents, they will come to their senses and spread folks out to keep things moving.

 

They may also be doing this on purpose to increase frustration and irritation in the hopes that a lot will order through the app or simply give up, go to bed hungry and wait until the morning. This could be part of the new strategy of leadership, who knows.  

[shof515]

with the reduce of the seaday brunch service, how does this effect the platinum drink benefit? i got a feeling that they will be plenty of platinum people unable to get a drink now 

[cruisingguy007]

28 minutes ago, JT1962 said:

Things are always trivial when they don’t affect you. The main issue is, the cuts will continue and will eventually affect something that most people enjoy.

 

I don’t drink alcohol, gamble, swim in the pools or get in the hot tubs, use the spa or gym, eat at specialty restaurants, etc. They could remove all of those from the ships and it would not affect me, but I know there are many (most?) that enjoy those amenities.

 

This^^^, well said!! Concur 100%. This divide and conquer tactic is as old as time and still very effective. Why target a large group when you can target multiple sub-groups that equal a large group? Art of war can apply to business and politics just the same: chip, chip chip. 

Edited August 4, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[BlerkOne]

4 hours ago, CodyMiles1994 said:

It says you can call and make the order the night before, you just don't have the tags.

Reading comprehension is a lost art among the chronically hangry.

[bguppies]

Brekfast hangtags and loss of Ocean Plaza will hurt the most.

Was really looking forward to the Ocean Plaza for a quick bite before trivia.in Septermber.

[Island Dog]

22 minutes ago, lazydayz said:

We have six more Carnival cruises booked, but I am seriously considering cancelling at least three of them.  From the crowds to the lack of staff, ineffective security, lack of a curfew for children, unruly guests, and now more cutbacks, just not sure I will cruise with Carnival unless it is an Elite offer or on the Mardi Gras or Celebration.  I find it comical I am coming to this conclusion as I am finally going to make Diamond next year.  

Not comical, it's sad. About to embark on our first "Platinum" cruise in 30 days. Takes the lustre off a bit.

Edited August 4, 2022 by Island Dog

[CruizinSusan70]

30 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

The one bit of good news in this sea of bad news lol. 

Did away with the belly flop contest as well.

[ballarinamom]

4 hours ago, shof515 said:

with the brunch closing earlier it is going to make other areas of the ship for food be more crowded. as is most other lunch places closes at 2 which can be early

Just off the glory and Guys burgers, the Deli and Blue Iguana were open past 2:00 with Guys open until 6:00. The Sweet spot for desserts was open after 2:00 and of course pizza. I was really worried about lines after reading so much about it here but we never had to wait long for anything if at all.

[Ilovesailaway]

5 hours ago, mz-s said:

The late night snacks buffet is probably the biggest loss to me. That horrible pizza line after the last comedy show lets out is about to be even worse.

 

I was thinking the same thing. That line is gonna be a monster. I might keep a stash in my fridge for late night snack needs.

[CruizinSusan70]

32 minutes ago, Island Dog said:

Reading between the lines here.....does this mean no more Dining Room lunch in any way shape or form? Sea day or not?

When was the last time there was a dining room lunch available on Carnival with the possible exception of a Journeys cruise?  The Sea Day Brunch can now be renamed Sea Day Breakfast since it ends at 1159 AM.

[CruizinSusan70]

3 minutes ago, Ilovesailaway said:

I was thinking the same thing. That line is gonna be a monster. I might keep a stash in my fridge for late night snack needs.

Went to Piazza Panini and got the turkey on pretzel roll and brought it back and put in the frig on the MG in February.  It worked out well since those frigs actually work as opposed to the ones in the rest of the fleet whose description as a frig is YMMV.