What do you say to people who think Carnival cruise=cesspool?

My MIL, who has been on one RC cruise and is generally well-informed and not crazy, saw a photo from our latest Carnival cruise and said, "Carnival, that's the ship where people always get norovirus. They had an outbreak on your cruise two weeks after you got back." DH politely said that all cruiselines occasionally have norovirus. She insisted, "Not Royal Caribbean!" I gently suggested she google that. I googled it myself and it turns out that the only reported norovirus outbreaks in the month after our cruise were on Celebrity and RC. :D

Friends at church, when trying to describe a really bad situation that you can't get out of, said, "It's like taking a Carnival cruise!" :rolleyes: Everyone laughed and shuddered except us. We decided not to mention that we were about to leave on our fifth Carnival cruise.

My parents are platinum on Princess. They'd like to cruise with us in a couple years. Princess sounds nice when we're retired. They said, "Let's compromise and go on Royal Caribbean." I wouldn't mind trying a new cruiseline, but I would prefer not to completely rule out the most affordable choice for a family of five during school vacations.

What do you say in each of these situations?

I would simply say, to each his own... We have cruised Carnival, Celebrity, RCI, and Disney... All have their good and bad points, but I would say some of our best cruises have been on Carnival. Let them cruise elsewhere, more room for me and my family.

I hear the same things and sadly, most of the stuck up snobs who talk bad about Carnival, have never even been on one of their ships, so I mostly choose to ignore their ignorance in the matter....

My MIL, who has been on one RC cruise and is generally well-informed and not crazy, saw a photo from our latest Carnival cruise and said, "Carnival, that's the ship where people always get norovirus. They had an outbreak on your cruise two weeks after you got back." DH politely said that all cruiselines occasionally have norovirus. She insisted, "Not Royal Caribbean!" I gently suggested she google that. I googled it myself and it turns out that the only reported norovirus outbreaks in the month after our cruise were on Celebrity and RC. :D

 

Friends at church, when trying to describe a really bad situation that you can't get out of, said, "It's like taking a Carnival cruise!" :rolleyes: Everyone laughed and shuddered except us. We decided not to mention that we were about to leave on our fifth Carnival cruise.

 

My parents are platinum on Princess. They'd like to cruise with us in a couple years. Princess sounds nice when we're retired. They said, "Let's compromise and go on Royal Caribbean." I wouldn't mind trying a new cruiseline, but I would prefer not to completely rule out the most affordable choice for a family of five during school vacations.

 

What do you say in each of these situations?

Why not try another cruise line, and see for yourself, why so many people who have sailed have already discovered. You pay for what you get, and Carnival is a budget cruise line.

People want to justify spending more money on their cruise choices be making their other choices sound inferior. It's like people who buy iPhones while calling anything else garbage. They have NEVER owned an Android phone but somehow know its inferior.

You will not change their minds no matter what you say. I have sailed on RC and the Big X and NCL but most of my 30+ cruises have been on Carnival. There is no huge difference between Carnival and RC. RC's ships have a size advantage but they also come at a premium. We sailed Celebrity because it was actually LESS expensive then Carnival was for a Mediterranean cruise. That would be the only reason to book it over Carnival. I was very nice, but it wasn't worth it at extra cost.

It always surprises me how people can forget that ALL the cruise lines have issues, Noro, fires, breakdowns.. but the only ones that people make a big deal out of are the ares that happen on Carnival ships.

My MIL, who has been on one RC cruise and is generally well-informed and not crazy, saw a photo from our latest Carnival cruise and said, "Carnival, that's the ship where people always get norovirus. They had an outbreak on your cruise two weeks after you got back." DH politely said that all cruiselines occasionally have norovirus. She insisted, "Not Royal Caribbean!" I gently suggested she google that. I googled it myself and it turns out that the only reported norovirus outbreaks in the month after our cruise were on Celebrity and RC. :D

 

Friends at church, when trying to describe a really bad situation that you can't get out of, said, "It's like taking a Carnival cruise!" :rolleyes: Everyone laughed and shuddered except us. We decided not to mention that we were about to leave on our fifth Carnival cruise.

 

My parents are platinum on Princess. They'd like to cruise with us in a couple years. Princess sounds nice when we're retired. They said, "Let's compromise and go on Royal Caribbean." I wouldn't mind trying a new cruiseline, but I would prefer not to completely rule out the most affordable choice for a family of five during school vacations.

 

What do you say in each of these situations?

Carnival isn't in the top 5 cruise lines for Noro. Celebrity is number 1 and Royal is number 3, I believe.

The worst outbreak was Royal Caribbean's Explorer. Royal and Celebrity Cruises have the top three worst outbreaks and five of the top 13 worst outbreaks.

Princess is up there, too.

For the rest, I might say ignorance is bliss.

I've noticed that, too. People are just snobby sometimes for no good reason. Looks to me like all the same types people are found on RC & CCL. RC has beautiful ships, but not beautiful enough to warrant the extra cost for me. I tell people to look at activities offered on the lines & choose what type of onboard experience they want - rock climbing, water slides, surfing, serenity, etc. CCL has great comedy clubs & I love Guy's Burgers & the Lanai area that's on certain ships - wish they were on all!

So many people have opinions and just won't acknowledge other's. That's just the way it is .... on everything, not only cruises. Our favorite happens to be RCCI, but that's just been our individual experiences. However, there are always things that sometimes happen or things we don't like here or there as well as other ships and cruise lines. We've been on HAL, Carnival and NCL too. Again, some things we like, some we don't, but it's never been a deal breaker. I mean, it's a cruise! Fortunately our schedule is flexible which allows us to shop sales and sometimes go last minute for a cruise where both the timing and price is right. We're booked on the Allure in a few weeks but are also looking to try Celebrity next and at some point Princess. Sailing other lines is a good thing, in 'our opinion' and works for us. Just let them say what they will ... you're the one having the good time! Happy Sailing! :)

Carnival isn't in the top 5 cruise lines for Noro. Celebrity is number 1 and Royal is number 3, I believe.

 

The worst outbreak was Royal Caribbean's Explorer. Royal and Celebrity Cruises have the top three worst outbreaks and five of the top 13 worst outbreaks.

 

Princess is up there, too.

 

For the rest, I might say ignorance is bliss.

Well said .... and might I add that Noro is present at hotels and restaurants as well! You just don't hear about it as often because it's not the huge amount of people in confined space! It happens.

Dont start a fight you cannot win. Easier to just try another cruise line.

Why not try another cruise line, and see for yourself, why so many people who have sailed have already discovered. You pay for what you get, and Carnival is a budget cruise line.

My husband and I will try other cruiselines when we only have to pay for two people and can take long cruises at random times of the year. My parents got an amazing deal on their last Princess cruise. For now, with a five-person family, including a teen who can't miss school, a budget cruiseline makes us very happy. I like what we get for what we pay.

Or you could just ask them how many Carnival cruises they have been on that have been a problem. The answer will be "none"

I would say your MIL isn't all that well informed since RC is in the top 5 of cruise lines for noro and carnival isn't. A few of my friends are like this too, and think carnival is low class and awful. I'm sorry, I paid out of the butt for a couple royal cruises, and wasn't impressed and I won't be spending money with them for a while. I tried and was let down. But like others said, doesn't hurt to try other lines. I would like to try Disney, but cant see myself paying that much for a cruise just for the Disney name. 5-7 days over $3000 for an inside room? come on

My MIL, who has been on one RC cruise and is generally well-informed and not crazy, saw a photo from our latest Carnival cruise and said, "Carnival, that's the ship where people always get norovirus. They had an outbreak on your cruise two weeks after you got back." DH politely said that all cruiselines occasionally have norovirus. She insisted, "Not Royal Caribbean!" I gently suggested she google that. I googled it myself and it turns out that the only reported norovirus outbreaks in the month after our cruise were on Celebrity and RC. :D

review and be familiar with the CDC information regarding cruise ship norovirus outbreaks as classified by the CDC:

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/gilist.htm

carnival hasn't had an 'outbreak' as classified by the CDC since 2012, while

RC has had 7 since that time, and most other mass market cruise lines have had several more instances of this than carnival.

Friends at church, when trying to describe a really bad situation that you can't get out of, said, "It's like taking a Carnival cruise!" :rolleyes: Everyone laughed and shuddered except us. We decided not to mention that we were about to leave on our fifth Carnival cruise.

agree to disagree unless you really want to embark on some kind of 'education' process with them, which may or may not be well received. or you may simply tell them of your positive experiences, and that carnival may warrant a second look aside from the much publicised troubled sailings such as the triumph 'poop cruise'. numerous other cruise lines have had troubles recently, including fires and mechanical breakdowns which have forced cancelled cruises.

My parents are platinum on Princess. They'd like to cruise with us in a couple years. Princess sounds nice when we're retired. They said, "Let's compromise and go on Royal Caribbean." I wouldn't mind trying a new cruiseline, but I would prefer not to completely rule out the most affordable choice for a family of five during school vacations.

 

What do you say in each of these situations?

for this one i'd probably suggest choosing one of the newer ships like carnival breeze or vista depending on timing... further, i might suggest you turn them on to the spa cabins - even vs. standard cabins on other cruise lines like princess or RCL, these will have some of the cabin upgrades in terms of products, slippers, etc. but moreover the access to the spa, thalasotherapy pools, heat rooms and loungers, etc. if it's really THAT bad as they seem to expect, they can retreat to the spa, a feature they wouldn't have access to as an included amenity on other lines - that might have some appeal.

I have cruised many different lines and I like Carnival. I go for the trip, the ship, the itineraries and the joy of being away, I never pay attention to the other passengers, they're on their own.

We all spend our own money (or borrow it or have a rich uncle). When you hear someone say, "Oh, Princess is boring, I much prefer Celebrity" (insert any two cruiselines).

What they are really doing is defending their own buying decisions. We have been on a ton of cruises, some good some pretty weak....but we buy what we believe is the best price for the best time we can get away and where it goes where we expect to enjoy ourselves.

When you get those kinds of comments, ALWAYS ask: "Tell me about your personal experience on ________ cruise lines."

That, very often shuts them up because they have no experience to share.

You could remind them that gossiping is a sin. And, of course, how you spend your money is none of their business.

I have never had a bad cruise...

That being said - Carnival is still my favorite and when I am the one booking and organizing, that is who we cruise with. Royal Caribbean was nice with a lovely ship. Princess was nice with a lovely ship. I just like the way Carnival does things and my fave cruises have always been on Carnival.

Don't really care what people say about Carnival, I just smile and say I love Carnival and leave it at that.;)

I usually say "Go Fun Yourself" hahaha. No, I just tell them, to each their own, but I love Carnival and have never had a bad experience. I don't let other people sway me. I have tried RCI and NCL and I loooooooove Carnival!

Why not try another cruise line, and see for yourself, why so many people who have sailed have already discovered. You pay for what you get, and Carnival is a budget cruise line.

We've done both Disney and HAL at higher cost than Carnival. Tried both multiple times, didn't discover either of them to be exceptionally better. Did find more snobbish people on them though. Not everyone of course, but enough. Quite happy with Carnival thank you.;)

I too have found that many of the people that put Carnival down have never sailed on a Carnival cruise.

Only have had this happen to me a couple of times, but in both cases I told the person I was sorry that their Carnival cruise did not live up to their expectations. Of course in both cases the person had never cruised Carnival. :rolleyes:

We have no brand loyalty at all. We are a marketing department's worst nightmare.:D We have been on Celebrity, Carnival, NCL and Royal and like them all. In fact , I would be bored to death going on the same line over and over and over again.

I got norovirus on my ridiculously expensive Disney cruise. Quickly ran back to Carnival. Just kidding, I am more than willing to try other cruise lines. But with a 9yo and 5 yo, I can't go on a ship without a decent waterslide. They spend hours on them. All the RCCL boats seem to have Flow-riders and rock climbing walls? So why would I pay $1500 more for a family of 4 for a boat that my kids aren't going to enjoy.

I am sure once our kids are older and/or we can sail alone, our options and pricing will be similar with other lines.

Dont start a fight you cannot win. Easier to just try another cruise line.

Or ignore their comments.

Every passenger on every mass market cruise line should be happy Carnival exists. By saturating the market with their fleet, expanding the ports they serve and offering prices less than twenty years ago they drive costs of cruising down to the budgets of many more people. The competition would raise their prices even higher if Carnival were to vanish.

On a smaller scope, why listen to someone that has something negative to say about what you do or where you spend your money. That rates really, really high on the Bite Me scale.

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When people put down a cruise line that I've sailed before I am reminded of a famous line from a long-ago movie, where Clark Gable said, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

I'm going to enjoy myself because I'm on a cruise and not at work. :)

What do I say? Absolutely nothing. I quit worrying about 99.9% of what others think about things, a long time ago. We enjoy it, which is all that matters.