Joebucks

I mostly agree with what you say here. The constant food elitism is just plain annoying. We all understand the economics of food and where to find 5-star dining. It's nice every once in a while, but overrated as a whole. However, out of all food changes, the new Carnival steak is the one I have the hardest time getting over. I was quite content with a sirloin or flat iron. The filet was also very delicious. This new cut is just plain bad.

I am curious as to why this went away. During these times, it seems that most things removed are to save costs. I don't know if something like this was that costly. I wonder if it is an attempt to "clean up" the environment. I have my doubts that other entertainment will replace it. These silly games often brought a smile to tons of people's face. On paper, it doesn't sound great. Even in person, it isn't always perfect. It is not as bad as the pearl clutchers on the internet made it sound.

Not to mention that the world travelers don't like these spots anyways. Even if they go there, there is literally nothing taken away. Just more options for more people.

I was referring more to people looking at "other" options than cruising. However, Carnival is still by far and away the price leader. There absolutely are people that would stop cruising because of $50 of total room service charges and spend many multiples more for XYZ reason. Selecting vacations around baselines of what used to be or cuts is a great way to constantly find disappointment. It's better to look at the total value of the trip and decide if that matches what you are looking for. Again, I agree that if it's too much of a hassle to get food or other high-level perks, that is definitely a negative. In the end, many people obsess on the 1-2% of "fees" rather than the other 98%. Many hotels are double the price that they were in the past year or two. No one bats an eye. God forbid that hotel institutes a fee for something that was once included. Mutiny.

The room service doorhanger rage I don't get. I really don't see any reason why you need it hanging on your door. That is a 1980s process. More paper waste, more labor waste. However, calling is also inconvenient and inefficient. This should 100% be done on the app. Either way, it doesn't impact me, I'd much rather go eat the actual food than a bread. The late night lido hurts. I don't always get it, and it's not exactly a feast for kings. However, it was quick easy, and did the job. I really hope this doesn't involve waiting in the pizza line. That is absolutely annoying. I always chuckle at the people that say this is the absolute last straw for them, and will go somewhere else to pay double. Meanwhile, you can order better options than what was previously available from room service for $7. I had that philly cheesesteak before, and it hit the spot. Then I have to hear the justifications why it's not about the $7.

I was expecting the same thing too. When I think about it, that could be 14 Carnival ships docked there a week. They probably don't need that many more ships there.

There is no bacon shortage. What there is though, is an extreme rise in the price of bacon. It costs a lot of money to put tubs of bacon out for people to grab entire plates that they may or may not even eat.

The best price for Cheers on Carnival is likely a "cheers included" fare price. No, the drinks are not "free," but it is often the cheapest route if that's the way you are going to go. Otherwise, the only other sale is a 10% markup later to make you feel better about purchasing it ahead of time.

This cruise is a good example of why this thread was made. Not everyone can take a 14 day cruise. Especially when only 1 date is available. I also very much miss the San Juan departures. I hit (San Juan,) St Kitts, St Thomas (St John), St Maarten, St Lucia, Barbados, and Antigua in 7 days for $400pp. That is unparalleled. While it is gone for now, nothing says that this is forever!

Have not sailed the MG yet. Had a fantastic cruise on the Panorama this past January. Very fun and modern ship. General consensus seems to be that Vista class ships sailing at full capacity don't handle the traffic well (it was 50% when I went). I can't see myself not liking the MG more though. I love the bigger ship with more amenities. I am really excited to try some of the new food and bar options. As someone who has a few Carnival cruises under the belt, the MG offers a little more of a "fresh experience".

I've heard great things about these new bars. On land, I am nearly defeated with trying cocktails. Most bars are awful. Carnival's specialty bars have been much more reliable.

Because no one is up at 4 am ordering pizza. The people complaining are mostly "it would be nice instead of cutbacks" people. What actually would be nice is to use the staffing when everyone actually needs it.

That's ironic, because nearly every Bahamas post turns into dozens of "I stay on the ship" posts. All of a sudden, it's this place of beauty when it is being changed. I am actually very excited for this new port. As much as I try to get off and each port and have a good time, I do understand why Freeport is not popular. Being dropped off at that industrial port isn't the most exciting. I also can't stand having to take a taxi to go anywhere decent. Personally, I might be more inclined to take additional short cruises including Grand Bahama if this is done right. Sometimes, its nice to have a simple day where you just walk off, hit the beach, and have other options nearby as well. You'll notice that quite a few popular ports like HMC and Grand Turk follow similar sentiment from cruisers. Perhaps there's a correlation! Plus, if you want to see the rest of the "real Bahamas" you still can! (A future visit for me will likely include Gold Rock Beach). How is this not a win-win?

In most big companies, if you completely removed all compensation from a CEO (pay, bonuses, and stock options which they are supposed to be creating value in) you are lucky to give the entire workforce $100 total. What you are falling trap to is the ever-popular classism politics. Blame your problems on someone else. Seek the protective wing of someone who tells you what you want to hear. Oh and then once you've removed the CEO or any incentive to run a big organization, watch what happens to the rest of the worker's wages when there is no leader.

While I'm not necessarily against this, it's rarely a good idea when the people start to decide how they want to run things. I have had my towel removed when I literally got up for 10 minutes to get food.

Saw whales this past January while pulling into Cabo. Dolphins are also quite common if you're looking.

Because it's assumptions like this that lead to employees not wanting to work in these industries anymore. How many people in this thread had the assumption that because "I bought a flight from Carnival, they should refund me at my slightest inconvenience". Where is that a thing anywhere? When the actual policy is dictated as Carnival will take best measures to ensure you get on your cruise, as soon as possible. That is the perk. The whole thread title is about Carnival not having good customer service. I'm sure the OP was a delight to the CSR they likely chewed out on the phone. I'm sorry if my post wasn't rainbows. After dealing with the public for a few decades, it gets old dealing with people who tell you what they thought they deserved. No employee deserves to get yelled at because of entitlements. The original complaint is a poor one. An airline no longer offers the flight. Any airline that changes the itinerary offers a full refund of the flight or change to another. It has happened to plenty of times over the past year. There is plenty of time to pick something else. It has always worked out completely fine in the end. There is no need for me to yell at an employee. There is no need to me to mention personal concerns or demand an exact time or $4000 handed to me.

This is when we know we've gone overboard on this. When we're just worried on the very thought of "COVID". Not even consequences anymore. But fear not, if you are scared of it, there are multiple boosters you can take and N95 masks you can wear. The theater of "other people" needing vaccines and masks is a false sense of security in protecting yourself from a virus. I also don't know how so many people were confused by the policy. It explains it pretty clearly to me lol.

I don't believe I ever implied illegal labor should be allowed. However, yes I will agree that some people are going to make smaller wages. Those wages also went a lot further when government policy isn't involved in skyrocketing the cost of housing, healthcare, etc. It is an absolute fact that when the wages of line-level employees skyrocket, so do the costs of everything. Just think of food. Paying your farm workers more, then your distributors, then the grocery store workers, just for a small view. What does that do to food cost? Some of us are more mature to acknowledge the reality vs scream "record profits for the big guy!" Now in the disaster we are in, people are demanding further raises to adjust for the inflation. It's like a catch 22 economics designed by emotional high school students. It's pretty tough to say we needed socialist intervention when you look at the history of our economy and when that has ever helped. Just a few short years ago, our economy was very strong. There were zero hints of socialism. Then the minute we started paying people to stay home, it went to crap. That's not the only reason, but you have zero evidence to back up that socialism helped in the slightest. It's a shame. The people that vote for and support these policies are never held accountable to the terrible result each and every time. It's that moral right that supersedes common sense, and history. On that basis, they will keep doing it.

The "rent and expense" line is an absolute sham. It is just regurgitating popular political victim speak. Travel and other luxury spend has been absolutely through the roof. Sure housing prices are up, but that isn't telling the whole story. Skilled trades are having shortages. Even in a restaurant, you can make solid wages (whole avoiding paying taxes). Before the pandemic, these entry-level jobs were paying a lot less. Yet we didn't have this shortage. The pandemic was a turning point for a lot of people. When you get people hip to getting money for free, do you think they are going to give it up? Free housing, food, spending money, phones, unemployment, healthcare, etc. Then you can just fill in the gaps with gig work like uber or doordash, working when you want. If you can get it all easier, why would you want these other entry-level jobs? Working undesirable schedules, touting the company propaganda, dealing with Karens. They wouldn't. That's the problem. They don't want to work these jobs, and don't need to. Unfortunately, we all need people to work these jobs. The usual internet-friendly lines of "they just need to pay more" isn't the fix. They are already paying historically high wages. In fact, wages need to start going down if we want to address inflation. You don't fix high costs by increasing costs. Less government aid and more job automation will help bring the job market in line.

I really wish airlines would just level the playing field on luggage. If you're concerned about an extra 50 lbs, that 50 lbs shouldn't matter if it's in two smaller bags or one large one. It is tiring to fight with people for overhead space, hear arguments over what everyone feels they deserve, get whacked in the head, have to help people with heavy bags, slow down the entire deboarding process, etc. Carry-on culture has become far more of a hassle than it needs to be. All largely because of this loophole we've created to get "free luggage". I love to watch people being shot down for storing their backpack in the overhead bins. You want to bring this stuff, you follow the same rules. It's a terrible precedent to allow everyone to put their personal item up there. God forbid you try to bring a carry-on to a flight that has it free but charges for a checked bag. Good luck finding a space. If there's extra space after everyone has had a chance to store their carry-on, then have at it. Getting on a plane should never be a rush to get an amenity, ie - seat or storage. It just adds to the stress of flying. This is one reason I hate flying Southwest. I'm not trying to battle for seats. However it is nice to have included checked in luggage there so everyone doesn't feel forced to carry on.

Do you see an issue with not being seasoned, yet you have entitlement expectations? No company or TA is refunding anything in these cases. It isn't a "carnival customer service issue".

Was this survey more along the lines of what amenities / options you would like to see vs where else you would like to go? Perhaps they are looking to "Cococay" the island?

I don't get how price increases of beer makes the increased price of Cheers better, all while throwing in that while on the topic of beer, Cheers is not the best value. The "bucket of beers" comparison is how people fall for the Cheers trap. "Since a bucket is $45 and cheers is $76 for the day, I might as well do it for only a little more." Not taking into account what the other half will drink, and if you will actually drink that much again on say day 5 or any other port day. If the numbers work for you, then they work. Most people aren't slamming a bucket and more every day. Especially as a couple. The measure is not "can I spend $76 in drinks on the first day of vacation?" It is "will we spend $1070 in a week?"

Without even looking at the policy, do you think it makes sense for a business to refund a "$3700" trip when airlines change their routes? Especially when cruise lines are already strapped for cash?