Carnival made me appreciate Celebrity

Just off a short cruise on the Carnival Liberty. We took my sister in law and her husband as a gift after some very tough months for her. She wanted the Liberty and wanted us with her so off we went.....

oh my.......

I was astounded at the noise level EVERYWHERE on the ship...people here complain about a centrum area on various X ships being too loud.....this was ear busting loud at the pool, at the centrum, in the casino, pretty much everywhere....amazing the decibel level of both the entertainment AND the customers.....even in our room and on our balcony.....

Internet was horrible(X is stellar in comparison) at dinner they delivered two courses at once, you are qiven a choice of either morning housekeeping service or evening room service for your stateroom but NOT both...the ship wide announcements began at 8AM and continued till after midnight, pretty much at least once an hour...TV (for those who care) is far worse than even the M class... The pounding on our door at 3:30 AM by a group of drunks the first night, followed by the phone ringing at 1:30AM (wrong number) on the last night did not make for a restful experience.

On a good note we DID like the bottled water program they offer...much easier than dragging a case with you on board. The coffee was actually drinkable and a few times even good(something X just can't seem to get right). Also the mini refrigerator in the room did a great job. I brought a bottle of wine on board and it kept it and my husbands beer very cold.

But I have no desire and can't imagine ever going on another Carnival cruise....the sound level alone is enough to keep me away....

We were along side the Silhouette and Summit in Nassau and I kept hoping I could hitch a ride back home....lol :D

So sorry you cruised Carnival. Our 1st cruise (over 30 yrs ago) was on Carnival. I absolutely hated it and said if that was what cruising was like, I never wanted to do it again. But, after about 10 years, my husband booked a cruise for us on Celebrity's Zenith. That cruise was pure heaven and we have not stopped cruising since, mostly on Celebrity ....never again on Carnival. We were in Nassau on the Summit docked near you. Everything about our cruise was perfect, except disembarkation. One of best ever with great food and entertainment!

So sorry you cruised Carnival. Our 1st cruise (over 30 yrs ago) was on Carnival. I absolutely hated it and said if that was what cruising was like, I never wanted to do it again. But, after about 10 years, my husband booked a cruise for us on Celebrity's Zenith. That cruise was pure heaven and we have not stopped cruising since, mostly on Celebrity ....never again on Carnival. We were in Nassau on the Summit docked near you. Everything about our cruise was perfect, except disembarkation. One of best ever with great food and entertainment!

I guess everyone has their own experiences and expectations. We were also on the Summit.

I agree the disembarkation was much longer and disorganized than it should have been. We have been off both the Oasis and Allure in less time, and they have almost three times the passengers. ( and a much nicer terminal, I might add)

As far as the food, I expected much better from Celebrity. It was mediocre, at best. Granted, we have noticed food quality going down, and have read about some of the cutbacks, but didn't expect it here.

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38 Celebrity voyages under my belt. 26 Princess and several on other lines - Holland America, Norwegian, etc.

Tried one Carnival. Quite horrible for reasons you mention and more.

In the thought that we just caught Carnival on an off-week, we booked a second. Abominable.

The Staten Island Ferry shames Carnival, IMO.

Celebrity, Under Lutoff-Perlo, has deteriorated from even the Micahel Bayley reign. But it would, literally, have to fall of the Empire State Building to get down to Carnival's place in the dungeon of cruising.

Succinctly - - Carnival sucks.

I've never been on Carnival and I don't follow the Carnival Board, but is the choice of morning or evening stateroom service new for Carnival? Do any other cruise lines follow this process? I wonder how long it will be before X or RCL try this approach? Perhaps first on inside or use it as a difference between veranda and below and other classes?

My wife really wanted me to try cruising, our 1st one was Carnival ugggh. It was a 4 day to the Bahamas, bar bill was more than our cruise fare, literally only 1 person could be on the balcony at a time. Don't even ask me about the buffet, I thought the ship was going to turn over when they opened it.

The new cheers program at 15 drinks per day does not interest me, that alone tells me Carnival knows it customers habits. If I want a Irish coffee at 7 AM, then a double bloody mary at breaky at 9 AM, before my nap :) you are already at 3 drinks and lunch has not even been served. 2 beers at lunch now you are down to 10 drinks left, 3 beers in the afternoon at the pool down to 7, nap time, dinner 3 more beers down to 4 drinks, after dinner hit up the casino and well you are done by 8 or 9 PM and you can't even buy drinks after that.

To be fair this was 10 years ago so it might be better now, but it was mostly the clientele that turned me off and like the OP said the constant noise.

we have been on three Carnival Cruise and three Celebrity Cruises. Both have their pros and cons. If you are over 60, and can't handle kids Carnival is definitely not for you. If you are cruising with kids under 18, Carnival is great as they have a ton of games, trivia, comedy shows (both PG and R versions), and other things for family activities. We felt the food in the MDR on both lines was comparable, with Celebrity taking a slight advantage. Celebrity needs a Comedy Club or another venue for after dinner aside from the mediocre theater shows.

we have been on three Carnival Cruise and three Celebrity Cruises. Both have their pros and cons. If you are over 60, and can't handle kids Carnival is definitely not for you. If you are cruising with kids under 18, Carnival is great as they have a ton of games, trivia, comedy shows (both PG and R versions), and other things for family activities. We felt the food in the MDR on both lines was comparable, with Celebrity taking a slight advantage. Celebrity needs a Comedy Club or another venue for after dinner aside from the mediocre theater shows.

Yes, the 1 thing we did really like was the piano ar with trivia that was a lot of fun wish X had that.

My wife really wanted me to try cruising, our 1st one was Carnival ugggh. It was a 4 day to the Bahamas, bar bill was more than our cruise fare, literally only 1 person could be on the balcony at a time. Don't even ask me about the buffet, I thought the ship was going to turn over when they opened it.

 

The new cheers program at 15 drinks per day does not interest me, that alone tells me Carnival knows it customers habits. If I want a Irish coffee at 7 AM, then a double bloody mary at breaky at 9 AM, before my nap :) you are already at 3 drinks and lunch has not even been served. 2 beers at lunch now you are down to 10 drinks left, 3 beers in the afternoon at the pool down to 7, nap time, dinner 3 more beers down to 4 drinks, after dinner hit up the casino and well you are done by 8 or 9 PM and you can't even buy drinks after that.

 

To be fair this was 10 years ago so it might be better now, but it was mostly the clientele that turned me off and like the OP said the constant noise.

No, it's the same now......trust me....:eek:

we have been on three Carnival Cruise and three Celebrity Cruises. Both have their pros and cons. If you are over 60, and can't handle kids Carnival is definitely not for you. If you are cruising with kids under 18, Carnival is great as they have a ton of games, trivia, comedy shows (both PG and R versions), and other things for family activities. We felt the food in the MDR on both lines was comparable, with Celebrity taking a slight advantage. Celebrity needs a Comedy Club or another venue for after dinner aside from the mediocre theater shows.

It was NOT the kids that were a problem it was the adults....including the woman who was pulling her dress above her panties dancing in front of the casino band and accosting every man who went by....real high class clientele....:rolleyes:

I've had 5 great cruises on Carnival including 2 on the Liberty but haven't sailed them in at least 10 years. We had a good time and enjoyed the food very much. There was always something happening. It sounds like things have changed if you have to pick when to have your cabin cleaned. As we aged up and the kids have left the roost, our preferences have changed. We have been on 13 different cruise line from Carnival to Windstar to Oceania and Grills on Cunard after starting on Celebrity Horizon her inaugural year. We prefer small and intimate such as the R class ships now but will always have fond memories of Carnival. And, believe me. We have seen horrible behavior on Celebrity as well.

I know a half dozen singles or couples that took their first cruise on Carnival. None of them ever took a second cruise. They just weren't impressed by their experience. Carnival advertising seems to be aimed at first timers on a budget, offering them affordable cruises to entice them. Unfortunately, the product they deliver doesn't satisfy many, and they are turned off to cruising because they don't realize that there are differences between each of the cruise lines. They think that all cruise lines will be the same, and since Carnival was disappointing, then the others will be as well. A real shame that they are discouraged. If they had tried a different line, they may have come away with a good opinion, and kept cruising.

Then there are my friends who have taken several cruises in the past and continue to do so. A few go every few years, and some much more frequently - one couple takes a cruise every year. Every one of these friends were fortunate enough to have had their first experience on lines other than Carnival.

Seems that first impressions certainly makes a big difference.

I have never been on Carnival, so all my knowledge of them is through what my friends have told me or what I read here, such as in this thread, and in the press. This knowledge has resulted in my avoiding Carnival completely. I feel I don't need to try Carnival to find out if I will like it. I have enough knowledge to know it won't work for me.

I've been fortunate to cruise several lines...Most have been great and more similar than different...But although we are platinum on Carnival, we too are sailing with other lines also...But will likely go back yet will remain unloyal to any single line...I've had some amazing meals on Carnival. I am definitely over the short cruises from the west coast...Would rather stay home.

We recently tried Carnival Legend and were pleasantly surprised. OK we got an amazing deal on a Vista Suite so did have a lovely quiet space to retreat to when needed but that wasn't often.

The meals in the MDR on Carnival were much better than on Celebrity Solstice. More variety and when the dish was supposed to be spicy it really was. I'd actually rank Celebrity third best for food after Carnival and Princess.

OK, the decor in most of the Carnival public areas was so bad it was hilarious. Those damned urns!

We didn't find Carnival too noisy at all. In fact they had some great musicians onboard, and we enjoyed sitting at the Atrium Bar before dinner and in the Piano Bar after dinner. On Solstice the only quiet bar with entertainment was the Ensemble Bar but the amount of through-traffic from the speciality restaurants and Blu made it busier than I would like.

We'd cruise Carnival again especially if we can get deals like that, and we're giving Celebrity another go in less than a month.

We are Celebrity cruisers but took our Grandchildren on the new Carnival Vista in the summer and were very pleasantly surprised. We had standard balcony cabins which were a good size and well appointed, although the buffet was large the layout was a bit all over the place and food choice a bit lacking, that said the cakes on offer were the best I have seen in any cruise ship. The entertainment was very good and a different choice all over the ship so there was something for everyone but luckily not the party type atmosphere I was expecting. For me the one big plus point Carnival had over Celebrity was at no time during our entire cruise were we pestered to purchase speciality restaurants, drinks packages, photos etc it was a refreshing change to be able to walk round the main areas and not be accosted.

We are Platinum on Carnival, mostly because for the last few years we have sailed the Med on the new ships together with a Baltic cruise in 2013.

All I can say is they were excellent cruises and the clientele were somewhat different to our previous Caribbean cruises with Carnival.

The design and layout of these ships is much improved on the brash Las Vegas designs of the older ships.

We sailed the Vista last summer and were given this option of morning or evening stateroom cleaning. However they will still do both, all you have to do is ask.

The one thing I don't like is the no table cloths in the main dining room. Makes it look like a works canteen. Never experienced being served two courses at the same time.

We will still be looking at the new ship in 2018, Carnival Horizon depending on her itineraries in the Med.

We sailed on the Equinox in 2015 and are back on her in March. I think any future Caribbean cruises will not be with Carnival

Hi Gracie. I am not a cheerleader for any cruise line. We love them all. Sorry you had such a horrible time. In all fairness, a few of your complaints were about the pax's. (not Carnival's fault). We have always had a great time on our Carnival cruises and we are no "spring chickens"...lol. Always found the food to be pretty good and don't recall the noise level on any of them bad. I am thinking that the short cruises may be very different. Most people refer to them as Booze Cruises. I have never been on one, so cannot give my opinion and have no intention of ever doing so.....especially reading all the negative comments about them. I truly hope your next cruise is better! :)

Hi Gracie. I am not a cheerleader for any cruise line. We love them all. Sorry you had such a horrible time. In all fairness, a few of your complaints were about the pax's. (not Carnival's fault). We have always had a great time on our Carnival cruises and we are no "spring chickens"...lol. Always found the food to be pretty good and don't recall the noise level on any of them bad. I am thinking that the short cruises may be very different. Most people refer to them as Booze Cruises. I have never been on one, so cannot give my opinion and have no intention of ever doing so.....especially reading all the negative comments about them. I truly hope your next cruise is better! :)

I had no issue with the food, it was typical main dining room fare, and service was good. YES I think this would qualify as a "BOOZE" cruise, but I have been on several other short cruises on Royal and on X and just never saw the kinds of things we did on this one. OH well, lesson learned....and I certainly do believe that longer cruises on Carnival may be different but I doubt we will ever sail on Carnival again...not with the other choices we have....Celebrity, Royal, HAL.....

A short cruise on Liberty (I'm guessing it was either 3 or 4 nights) may not be the best indicator of a Carnival cruise. By their very nature they attract the party crowd.

I had no issue with the food, it was typical main dining room fare, and service was good. YES I think this would qualify as a "BOOZE" cruise, but I have been on several other short cruises on Royal and on X and just never saw the kinds of things we did on this one. OH well, lesson learned....and I certainly do believe that longer cruises on Carnival may be different but I doubt we will ever sail on Carnival again...not with the other choices we have....Celebrity, Royal, HAL.....

I don't blame you after such a crummy experience. Have a GREAT "next" cruise!!!! :):):)

It's almost as though there are people who might have different priorities for a vacation.

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I've never been on Carnival and I don't follow the Carnival Board, but is the choice of morning or evening stateroom service new for Carnival? Do any other cruise lines follow this process? I wonder how long it will be before X or RCL try this approach? Perhaps first on inside or use it as a difference between veranda and below and other classes?

It is being tested and only on a handful of ships. Most all Carnival ships still offer cabins service twice a day, and even on those testing this program, you can still ask for both morning and evening.

I know a half dozen singles or couples that took their first cruise on Carnival. None of them ever took a second cruise.

 

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I have two friends and family that fall into this category. I really think my friends would enjoy a nicer cruise but they refuse to even try. Just this weekend they asked me why oh why are we going on another cruise in a few weeks. Especially with me being a travel snob. (Hotel snob, perhaps...but I'm really not that fussy.) They just can't understand it! Her response was her cruise was just so gross all around. It's a bummer, but I totally understand the hesitation.

We too are one and done Carnival cruisers. I really felt like it was 1983 Las Vegas at sea. Didn't hate the experience but it surely wasn't for me. It did take some serious convincing to get me back on a ship a few years later.

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In St. Maarten on our Thanksgiving Silhouette cruise, we were walking back to the ship (there were about 5 in port that day) and came across no less than 3 groups of people who were having to carry/hold up at least one or two members of their party who were so drunk they could not walk. I commented to my wife that I would bet my life they were headed for the Carnival ship. And, that is indeed where they went. We have been in so many ports over the years and just sat on the balcony watching drunk passengers come back aboard a Carnival ship. I know this happens on other lines but seems to be more prevalent on Carnival. I will say our last Carnival cruise about 10 years ago was superb in the MDR food department though.

Just off a short cruise on the Carnival Liberty. We took my sister in law and her husband as a gift after some very tough months for her. She wanted the Liberty and wanted us with her so off we went.....

 

oh my.......

 

I was astounded at the noise level EVERYWHERE on the ship...people here complain about a centrum area on various X ships being too loud.....this was ear busting loud at the pool, at the centrum, in the casino, pretty much everywhere....amazing the decibel level of both the entertainment AND the customers.....even in our room and on our balcony.....

 

Internet was horrible(X is stellar in comparison) at dinner they delivered two courses at once, you are qiven a choice of either morning housekeeping service or evening room service for your stateroom but NOT both...the ship wide announcements began at 8AM and continued till after midnight, pretty much at least once an hour...TV (for those who care) is far worse than even the M class... The pounding on our door at 3:30 AM by a group of drunks the first night, followed by the phone ringing at 1:30AM (wrong number) on the last night did not make for a restful experience.

 

On a good note we DID like the bottled water program they offer...much easier than dragging a case with you on board. The coffee was actually drinkable and a few times even good(something X just can't seem to get right). Also the mini refrigerator in the room did a great job. I brought a bottle of wine on board and it kept it and my husbands beer very cold.

 

But I have no desire and can't imagine ever going on another Carnival cruise....the sound level alone is enough to keep me away....

 

We were along side the Silhouette and Summit in Nassau and I kept hoping I could hitch a ride back home....lol :D

Just got off the Silhouette and yes we were docked next to the Liberty. At one point that jumbo-tron TV was killing my nap. All I was thinking was thank goodness I am not on that ship. I as well took one cruise on Carnival and NEVER again. Crazy on choosing a housekeeping time.