Is RC turning into Carnival????

[caviargal]

I have been on short cruises with both RCI and Carnival. Depends on the time of year that you cruise but yes you will find basically the same type of cruiser on any short cruise. Most are first time cruisers or folks looking for a quick get away cheap cruise. You just happened to cruise during spring break. One needs to do their homework when cruising. Spring break, summer and holidays brings more kids on board. Spring break tends to bring more college age kids on board.

 

 

cruisingator2 is absolutely correct. Booking during spring break on most mass market lines is looking for rowdy behavior and short cruises are the worst of the lot, even on non holiday weekends.

 

Book longer cruises during non holiday times or just be prepared.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I was on the Majesty last week (March 5-9)and I felt like I was on a Carnival Cruise!!!! There were 800 college students onboard. RC crew did not know how to react so they stood by and allowed foul language, sloppy drunkeness,vomiting in pools and fighting to go on. It wasn't until two days into the cruise for them to remove 6 guests to be removed off the boat and turned over to Bahamian authorities. And even still they couldn't control the group.I was really disappointed in RC. I realize its the beginning of Spring Break but there is fun and going overboard. No Pun intended!!! Anyone experience this on larger boats? I want to book on Liberty but I'm really thinking twice.:confused:

 

Yeah those Carnival cruises are well known for being one big frat party on every cruise!:rolleyes:

 

Bill

[MrPete]

Sorry, but I've never seen any of what you describe on any of my 15 CARNIVAL CRUISES OVER 19 YEARS.

[minimartha]

We were just on the NOS during last week and did not experience the same thing. There were some college kids but they were made to behave, not overindulge etc. We were in port with several carnival ships on two days and the atmosphere was WAY different. Those kids were drunk out of their minds and so rowdy it was past annoying. Our cruise was more international passengers I thought than Americans and it was calm and very enjoyable, even during spring break week. It was just sometimes in port that it was annoying.

[Clarksfan1]

I love the younger crowd on the ships.

 

Day1 drink.........drink...........drink.........drink

Day 2 sleep in cabin.

Rest of cruise stay far away from the drinks.

 

It's funny to watch.

[Hondu]

It is hard to change what you perceive to be true but if you check out an RCI annual report and/or talk to management, you will find that the have position the line to attract same market segment as Carnival.

[cruis2007]

I actually have enjoyed reading everyones responses. I do agree that as a whole, people who spend their hard earned money and save for these trips should be able to go on a cruise and expect proper behavior from ALL guests - not just teenagers, tots or college students. I will tell you that I did bring my two college students with us as well as our 15 year old son. All are far from perfect and knew some of the students on board. They chose to act like humans - something we taught them at a young age. My original point was not to bash Carnival. My hubby and I have been on Carnival and expected to be in a "partying" atmosphere. I chose to travel during this period of time because I chose to treat my children to a relaxing cruise. There were many students and young adults that were very polite.....unfortunately, the rowdy ones outnumbered them. I will say that from this point on.....its 7 days for us......Ho hum....I guess I'll just have to force myself to relax and be catered to for longer periods of time.

 

As for the cruise itself - the ship is beautiful, the food was lacking from the last time we were aboard - minute steak on every day, the service was superior.

 

I just returned home today from dropping my two off in college.....I did have a flash back of the drunken girls sprawled out on the stairwell and I did chuckle.

[BobBeaSea]

I love the younger crowd on the ships.

 

Day1 drink.........drink...........drink.........drink

Day 2 sleep in cabin.

Rest of cruise stay far away from the drinks.

 

It's funny to watch.

 

Naaahhhh! The kids are tougher than that :D

[SeafordCruiser]

Actually I think Carnival is becoming more like RCI. The last Carnival cruise we took was absolutely wonderful. Though we prefer Royal Caribbean, we found hoards of teens running amok on our last two RCI cruises throughout the hallways while their parents were off having fun (I guess). I have also seen staff tell them to leave the clubs after hours and yet other times, turn their heads and ignore them.

On our last Explorer trip at the 'adult pool' the staff was real great, telling young children alone to leave and keeping the place peaceful.

I guess its up to the staff no matter what ship or cruiseline you are on..

[39august]

Had a different experience from minimartha on NOS( 7 days) last week. We had 4 cabins of 20-somethings near our aft balcony(usually very quiet) and they spent at least an hour every morning between 2:30 and 4:30 AM out in the halls screaming at each other and laughing hysterically. Security was called 3 times, but only manged to shut them up for that particular night. Next night,(rather AM) it started all over. Talked to several people in the concierge lounge who had experienced very rude behavior by college age cruisers. We will never sail during spring break again,tho' previously have done so without problems. Interestingly, many of us in concierge enjoyed the company of a young couple 23 and 24 respectively. They were very polite and interesting to talk with. They were concerned with the rude behavior of many of their contemporaries on board.

[tkportersat]

For those of you that choose to bash Carnival, I am glad you are not on MY cruise. Please DON'T cruise on Carnival because I don't want YOU ruining MY good time. Keep your nose stuck in the air like you are better than everyone else and stay off MY ship - please.

 

Give me a break already.....

[PrincessJen]

OP, I think it was the timing of your cruise that was a major contribution to the behavior you encountered. Having been a Spring Breaker less than 5 years ago I will wholly admit the behavior during Spring Break tends to be wilder than during the balance of the year. As other posters suggested, I would recommend cruising a different time of the year or a longer cruise. We can't force the security guards to enforce the rules but we can choose our cruises. JMHO

[minimartha]

39 August

We sat at dinner with Rick and Angela, the 23 & 24 year old you must be talking about because Rick was a diamond member.They told us there was a couple they enjoyed sitting with in the evenings before dinner. They mentioned to us how much they were concerned about seeing how some of the kids dressed and acted and were concerned they would be associated with the rowdy crowd just because of their ages. They were a delightful couple and we traded emails etc. to keep in touch for when Rick decides to propose.

I'm sorry you got a bunch of rowdy kids near you. We just lucked out I guess and never were were around any of them. We had a 10th floor balcony and it was really quiet. (which I admit I'm so thankful for!) We've been foster parents for a long time and have adopted kids that are emotionally and physically special needs. I really needed respite from all of that!!!

[BecciBoo]

As mentioned, the security guards where overwhelmed.

 

Look at this and maybe this will explain some things.

Scroll towards the bottom after you open this link...and find a title that uses some particular language.

 

http://video.google.com/videosearch?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&q=Royal+Caribbean&sa=N&tab=nv

 

I think RCCL tries their best, but are sometimes overwhelmed by rude and crazy kids, teens, and college students.

 

Unfortunately for all reasonably sane and cultured people, there are increasing numbers of scum like the persons on your link intruding upon cruise lines and all other venues around the world. But you are right, RCCL should STRICTLY enforce the rules and then these types would be less likely to be on one of OUR boats. The security man in that movie should have called additional security immediately and then these people should have been escorted off the boat at first port of call. I once heard a story of a man who drunkenly jumped off an RCCL ship and RCCL not only put him off, but billed him for thousands of dollars because the ship had to turn around to retrieve him and people threw lots of deck furniture and things off to him so he would not drown. I hope that kind of policy still exists. If I had been a passenger on the boat with that bunch your link showed, I might not have been able to just sit by and tolerate that kind of behaviour. Then I might rightly have been disciplined:( but "I just can't tolerate rude behaviour in a man." (from Lonesome Dove)LOL

[rwillis9]

Not sure it would do anything, but has anyone informed RCI of this video. There is also another stupid video of some punk high school kid tearing up stuff and hitting golf balls off the ship at 4am. Just wondering....

[Mikew0805]

You always post this and it is so untrue. I can find so many differences between Royal Caribbean and Carnival. There is absolutely no denying that Royal Caribbean is classier than Carnival, just look at their ships. On my cruise, Carnival's food was truly embarassing, but I have heard that this has changed since 2003. I'm really not trying to bash Carnival, I plan on giving them one more try, but there just are undeniable differences between the two lines.

 

I always post this because it is my opinion. I don't find it necessary to put "IMO or IMHO or JMO" in every post. However, it is not untrue.. they are both mass market lines. Sure RCI has a LOT of things like a rock-wall, ice skating, in line skating. However, besides the logo & the decor, I would have been hard pressed to tell which line I was on.

 

Classier.. I don't think so. More subdued, maybe even more elegant public space decor.. agreed.

 

You have done one cruise on CCL, I have done one cruise on RCI. I have the same complaint as you do.. and that was food. Not the dining room, but the options at the Windjammer. It was disgusting. Now, if you read my review of the ship, you would also know that I didn't let this affect my view of the entire line. If the Serenade, really stands out from Carnival, and I think they offer something better ( won't use the word "classy", as people throw that around, without knowing what it means ) then I will say that it does. I am sure when I return, I will feel the same way, and continue to patronize both lines.

 

Decor & ship layout does not make a cruise to me. Service, food, and comfortable accommodations are important to me, and these three things were the same with both lines.

 

Anyway, I will continue to say that they are more alike than different, until they are not so.. for me.

 

-Mike

[Guienevere_Arianette]

I was on the Majesty last week (March 5-9)and I felt like I was on a Carnival Cruise!!!! There were 800 college students onboard. RC crew did not know how to react so they stood by and allowed foul language, sloppy drunkeness,vomiting in pools and fighting to go on. It wasn't until two days into the cruise for them to remove 6 guests to be removed off the boat and turned over to Bahamian authorities. And even still they couldn't control the group.I was really disappointed in RC. I realize its the beginning of Spring Break but there is fun and going overboard. No Pun intended!!! Anyone experience this on larger boats? I want to book on Liberty but I'm really thinking twice.:confused:

 

Have you been on a Carnival cruise?:confused:

[Dremac373]

I've been on 3 three night weekend Majesty of the Seas cruises and have never seen anything but good behavior from guests and crew alike. It doesn't need to be Spring Break for young people to go on a cruise from 5pm Friday - 7am Monday as is the schedule of the Majesty of the Seas.

 

My first cruise was a 7 nighter in the heart of Spring Break - still no issues were noticed.

 

My only Carnival cruise was during Christmas Break and the guests were just as well behaved as on every Royal Caribbean cruise I've been on.

 

Maybe my day/cruise will come. So far, so good.

 

I was wondering the same thing!! Also what I wanted to know was...HO wdoes the cruise line know if a person is a spring breaker or not?? I am taking classes myself and not once did I see a question askin if I was a college student or not and and please for those of you that feel you know how to operate a multi million dollar cruise line better then them tell me how they are to then spilt this up??? are these people talking about segregateing a cruise line just to break up "spring breakers"??? I sure hope not the press would have a field day withthat!!

I for one will enjoy my cruise just as I have any other land based vacation, as long as the rowdy crowd does not disrespect my or my wife and kids then I could care less what the others do

[caviargal]

I was wondering the same thing!! Also what I wanted to know was...HO wdoes the cruise line know if a person is a spring breaker or not??

 

The season, the age of the passenger, an affialition with a group on board; there are quite a few ways to arrive at this conclusion.

 

IMO, it is the attitude overall. I have been disappointed on the short cruises to find more than the usual number of rowdy, drunken 20 somethings. I truly do not enjoy the foul language, lewd behavior and disrespect for people and property that have become far too common these days.

 

Fort Lauderdale got tired of the destruction that got heaped upon them by spring breakers and took significant steps to prevent them from descending; it is far better off for the effort made.

 

Cruise ships face too much competition to do the same.

 

As for the differences between RCI and Carnival, IME these are growing ever smaller, though if I had to choose between the two, I would still opt for RCI for overall quality. But, I would definitely avoid all school holidays.

[Dremac373]

I agree CAVIARGAL that respect for property and fellow passengers should be something not taken lightly. I am sure that not all that cruise during sring break booked as one big old group, in fact I am cruising in Oct on Carnival Victory with 6 other couples just as a "thank goodness the kids are back in school" mini vacation!! adn we all booked thru different agencies and some booked directly thru the web site..so how are they to be able to determine when this techique is done by spring breakers. Each cruise line or depatrure port has a right to maintain thier property but my comment was more geared towards those cruisers that feel the cruiseline "SHOULD" limit the amount of spring break cruiser and I just wanted a to know how would they suggest the cruiseline handle this seperating of paying passengers??

Also something to think about that there are plenty of "ADULTS" that dont care for other people property just becuase they had to wait too long for a deck chair...such throwing items on the floor, in the pool hiding them etc.. which has been well admitted my quite a few "Adults" on here, so not only spring breakers but all ages are subject to being disrespectful, nothing against you caviargal, like I said I gree

[CGTNORMANDIE]

AVOID SPRING BREAKS...try a longer 10-12 day cruise. Every year it's the same old song...either college kids or teens out of control. RCI will not do much about it because they booked these people. We just avoid school vacations like the plague. If RCI were smart they would have professional bouncers with zero tolerence. I believe that more good people would book cruises in March and April if the security were beefed up and unruly kids were tossed off the ships. Experienced cruisers just avoid this time of the year.

[caviargal]

Dremac, I have little tolerance for chair hogs and bad behavior. I am not one to toss things on the ground but will certainly move items when a chair is obviously "saved" and remains unoccupied for a half hour or so.

 

Again, if the cruise lines enforced their own rules, there would be far fewer issues. If saving chairs was not allowed, if kids in adult only spaces was not tolerated, if drunks banging on doors in the middle of night was not tolerated, there would be few problems on ships these days.

 

Bottom line is the bottom line. Cruise line staff is loathe to stand up to passengers, and those who do not behave badly are simply expected to shut up and grin and bear it.

 

There needs to a line drawn somewhere and I do believe that someone someday that is important enough for the cruise lines to care about will have an incident that causes really bad behavior to no longer be tolerated. It will take a few big lawsuits to change anything.

[Shipyard Cruiser]

Whenever I read about folks wanting the cruise line to enforce whatever rules they happen to feel strongly about I wonder.

 

Why is it the cruise lines job to teach people how to act like adults?

 

Why is it the cruise lines job to teach adults how to get along?

 

Safety rules should always be enforced but things like dress codes and chair hogs are up to each adult to follow.

 

If you don't like the quality of cruises on RCI or any cruise line then find another line to cruise.

[LauraUSF]

Naaahhhh! The kids are tougher than that :D

 

 

Totally agree, definitely tougher than that :D

[caviargal]

Whenever I read about folks wanting the cruise line to enforce whatever rules they happen to feel strongly about I wonder.

 

Why is it the cruise lines job to teach people how to act like adults?

 

Why is it the cruise lines job to teach adults how to get along?

 

Safety rules should always be enforced but things like dress codes and chair hogs are up to each adult to follow.

 

If you don't like the quality of cruises on RCI or any cruise line then find another line to cruise.

 

Whenever the behavior of others that is against the rules established by the line, and this behavior negatively impacts other passengers, it is the obligation of the cruise line to step in.

 

RCI has a Vacation Policy that lays this out in detail, just as they do an alchohol policy. Now that one they seem to be enforcing as it impacts profits:(.

 

Policies are established to avoid mayhem. If cruising is supposed to be a free for all, then don't have policies. If a line has them, they should enforce them.