Carnival bashing??? Why???

kstwo728 · May 10, 2006

:confused: Why do I always get such negative comments from people when I tell them we booked our HM on the Carnival Pride????

Carnival????? Why would you book with Carnival???? Why didn't you book with one of the *nicer* cruise lines?!

I've never been on Carnival (or any other cruise for that matter) so I dont have any answers to these not-so-friendly questions :mad:

S.S.Oceanlover · May 10, 2006

ask the people who ask these not so friendly questions if they've ever sailed on Carnival. Odds are that not many of them have, but they've heard from a friend of a friend whose friend once cruised on Carnival in 1979.

Just ignore them. The Pride is a beautiful ship. Have a wonderful honeymoon.:)

Bill

tef43 · May 10, 2006

So why *did* you book Carnival? Not that it's a bad thing, but you had to have had *some* motivation. There's your answer for the naysayers.

kstwo728 · May 10, 2006

we could afford a balcony on our budget, it was out of the hurricane risk area (for the most part!) and the ports were appealing! plus, it's our HM....how can we go wrong on our HM?!?!?!?!

hdawson · May 10, 2006

Years ago, Carnival was known as the frat party at sea. Not suitable for families or nice people. It was cheap by comparison to some other lines.

Carnival has worked very hard to dispell that image and overall been sucessfull in building a new image. Reputations are very hard to overcome. Both personal and business. And of course, some people choose Carnival thinking that the old reputation is still valid today. You may still encounter those that vacation to drink so much that they won't remember it when they get home, but they are a minority. 30% of Carnival cruisers are 55 or over. 30% under 30. And many families.

BrendaB1 · May 10, 2006

Uninformed people give those replies. Congrats and you should have a wonderful time on most any of Carnival's Fun Ships. If they are so bad....why do all of us keep going back? ;) They must be doing something right. :D

caprcorn28 · May 10, 2006

Ask them in return, "Why do you care?" Unless they are willing to pay for a different honeymoon, they have no business in the matter....And everything else that the others said!!!

Go have a fabulous honeymoon...get all those naysayers for as much $$ as you can before you leave (Do people still do dollar dances?? I don't know!!)...And then tell them, "Thanks, I'll be using this on my Carnival cruise!!"

:cool: LOL

Leo Jay · May 10, 2006

Hope these are good friends of yours, criticizing your vacation plans -- otherwise it's sorta rude! :)

Carnival's old 'wild and crazy party animal' reputation is still lingering in some quarters, but just respond with, "Why Carnival? Why, haven't you heard? They're the FUN SHIPS!"

momofzeke · May 10, 2006

Don't worry about those comments. You'll have a wonderful HM cruise on the Pride, and then you'll be able to decide for yourself. We LOVED the Pride 2 years ago. Have fun! :)

Stircrzy · May 10, 2006

I think it's so the Carnival ships won't get so crowded. Some people like to keep a good thing to themselves.:)

I may start dissing Carnival to people too...I prefer to sail without a big crowd!

ala-kat · May 10, 2006

Carnival is often refered to on other boards as the 'Wal-Mart' or 'Bubba' cruise line, when they have the same demographics. Maybe their self esteem needs a boost?

ala-kat · May 10, 2006

That's how we look at here in the south. Keep 'em thinking we're stupid and they won't move here!!

Kittybork · May 10, 2006

I think that plan is failing; they move here and still say southerners are stupid!

Lurkyloo · May 10, 2006

We just got off the ship last month - you will love The Pride - she's a beautiful ship! Don't listen to other people, your cruise (in part) is just what you make of it! If you go in planning to have a great time, you probably will! Enjoy!

jakesplace · May 10, 2006

Alakat....That was a good one...you hit the nail on the head...

Kstwo728-- some peolpe in life always go around trying to look for whats wrong and let that be there guide to everything...They just make themsleves MISRABLE...

I look for whats right and don't sweat it...I have a much better time.

You made a good choice have fun..:)

DqALEX · May 10, 2006

I only sail CARNIVAL now

VentureMan_2000 · May 10, 2006

The Pride is a gorgeous ship... I loved sailing on her...

Naismith · May 10, 2006

I'm sure you are going to have a great time on your honeymoon. After all, it's your honeymoon.

But I think there are legitimate reasons why people who have cruised other lines (even other mass market lines) don't consider Carnival to be one of the "nicer" cruise lines.

The legacy of the party image has already been discussed, and I think that is real, and I would add to it my personal prejudice against Carnival because of having Kathie Lee Gifford as their spokesperson some years back. Since she is the antithesis of everything I consider worthwhile, of course I wasn't going to sail Carnival while she was pitching it.

But even today, I think there are some other concerns with fleetwide policy, and not just about any particular ship (since things like decor vary from ship to ship within the fleet, and service and food quality can vary from week to week even on the same ship).

These are some of my least-favorite things about Carnival:

1. Refusing to confirm dinner seatings at booking. This is much like the Southwest Air practice of not reserving seats on flights. Other cruise lines will tell you prior to booking if your preferred seating is already full, so that you can make a decision about whether to still book or not. Dinner time matters a lot to some folks, less to others. But it is ironic that Carnival is simultaneously upgrading the menus with their new chef, yet claiming it doesn't matter whether or not you get to eat in the dining room. I would much prefer knowing if my preferred seating is available.

2. The frequent, loud announcements, much like the KMart blue light specials. I think some of these may have been in the hall, not all directly into the room, but we had a speaker right outside our door, so we heard it all.

3. The color game ("team spirit"), which even inpinges into the dining room experience.

4. Inconsistent, unprofessional customer service. Carnival is notoriously reputed for giving different answers every time one calls, so that you can't trust anything they say. In preparing for my first cruise on Carnival, I found the folks on this board were right much more often than the Carnival folks. Some of the customer service reps I talked with were also RUDE.

5. Lack of diversity in entertainment, with an emphasis towards the less refined (hairy chest contest, adult comedy), including a selection of daily movies that leans towards action adventures rather than serious films. Other lines offer things like lectures. (Carnival does do a nice high tea on sea days, and they are starting to offer some ecotourism trips as excursions, so it is by no means a cultural wasteland--but the ratio still favors bubba-appeal.)

So those are a few of the reasons why I don't consider Carnival as "nice" as other lines. But they have a (relatively) huge fleet, and a lot of itineraries that appeal to me and I can't get elsewhere (including Grand Turk, and a port less than two hours from my door), so I am sure I will cruise Carnival occasionally in the future, and just work around those things I don't like as well.

jckvpa0 · May 10, 2006

You know what, go & read the other lines on this board & you will see everybody discussing the same things that you will see on the Carnival board! They all have the same "jeans thread", "the kids in the pool thread", & "do you tip thread"!

I think Carnival is great, my next cruise is planned with them!

But that being said, the next cruise that my dh & I plan alone I'm looking into Silver Seas. For that cruise I'm looking for something different. After so many years with our vacations being so action filled & a little crazy I'm looking forward to a little quiet! From what I have read about Silver Seas, beside there not being many people on board I really like that it is all inclusive!

Now at the same time that I'm contemplating a nice quiet cruise with dh I'm also thinking that I would love to do a cruise with our friends! For this cruise I would definitely pick Carnival or RCI, (most likely it would be Carnival),. If I wanted to have a really great time with friends this is the way I would go!

futaba951 · May 10, 2006

Why is it that mass murderers, serial killers and most other notorious criminals seem to always go by all 3 names?

PACURN · May 10, 2006

To the OP

The Pride is a great ship and you will have a great trip. It's all about what YOU make it. I always sail with Carnival because it's a great family vacation for us. We have always had a great time.

JerseyGirl97 · May 10, 2006

I have never been on a cruise either. I ran into a woman at Dunkin Donuts and it came up that she was on a RCCL cruise and that I was going on Carnival. Apparently she only sails this one particular RCCL ship and said if I wanted to try a nice cruise I should go on that one as well. I think it was the Mariner of the Seas.

I just said "I think I'll take my chances! As long as it floats - I think I'll be ok." You don't have to have an answer for these people. Try sarcasm. It normally leads to nervous laughter on their part which is amusing to watch! :D

Congrats on your upcoming wedding/honeymoon!

F5Loar · May 10, 2006

I always thought people consider Carnvial to be the WalMart line because they are the low cost leader. However the "bubba" name is another issue.

Having cruised all the lines I can say as others that all lines have those that don't follow dress codes(jeans,shorts,tank tops,etc); parents that incourage and allow their kiddies in the adult areas(pools, babies with daipers etc),

line busters, chair hogs, inconsiderate smokers(not obeying the non-smoking areas) but it seems Carnvial has more of them then other lines. Just my observation from a Carnival Platinum member. One reason you don't see "hairy chest contest" on some of the other lines...... there would be no volunteers! But on Carnival no problem!!!!!! Same goes for the topless deck.

It would be empty on other lines!!!

MrPete · May 10, 2006

Usually you find neither have they. :eek:

caribbean dreams · May 10, 2006

I have nothing bad to say about Carnival, i love the ships, staff, food ect...

I only problem i have on my cruises is the same complaint as everyone else around here, chair hogs, jeans at formal night, saving seats at the shows, children running around crazy, babies & diapers in the pools, drunk underage drinkers.

This happens on most all the cruiselines and if you love to cruise as much as i do than you just learn to ignore it.

I totally agree with the poster that said Carnival has worked very hard to get rid of its bad reputation, over the late years i have seen the changes in Carnival to a more pleasant cruising experience for older folks & families.

Have fun and when you come back write us a great review.

Carnival bashing??? Why???

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