FiredogCruiser

Having read through these 18 pages, I am finding this thread interesting. I am equating the comments contained in this thread to conversations I've had with fellow passengers on recent cruises from a number of differing cruise lines. Since last fall we have been on Carnival, Holland America and Royal, and currently have the Norwegian trans-Atlantic booked for next month, along with a Cunard return trip, so I guess you can say not particularly a cheerleader for any one brand.

What I find interesting in both the complaints about Norwegian, and the defense of them is the relative lack of any expressed expectations. To me the expectations have a huge impact on whether or not I perceive value in a cruise. For example if I book a cruise based upon a desire to visit a specific destination, and then not make it there, as happened last fall on a Carnival cruise to Greenland that never made it, then the value of the inflated price of the cruise for the specific destination is diluted. I paid a vast premium for a product that was not delivered, and received an experience of far less value, thus overpaid for that experience.

On the other hand, if I book a theme or charter cruise, my expectations are entirely different, as they were when I was on the Holland America County Music Cruise this January. Ports were changed due to weather, and also due to a change made to accommodate one of the performers booked  Since the expectations were based upon the performances to be experienced, and not the ports visited or food served, the criteria for evaluating the cruise is entirely different.

In both cases I had the opportunity to talk with, and or listen to, passengers who were angry, disappointed, accepting, and so on. What I found interesting was that those with specific unmet expectations were far more vocal than those who were just along for the ride.

So what I look at in these instances is how the cruise line markets and prices a specific expectation. If they market a specific expectation, and increase the pricing based upon that expectation, and then fail to deliver, then I believe customers are justified in their complaints, if adjustment are not made.  On the other hand if the marketed expectation is delivered, but other changes are made for one reason or another then perhaps complaints are not as valid.

In my conversations though, I was amazed at how many people do not have specific expectations on the majority of their cruises, other than to enjoy vacation. My position is that if you have no expectations, then you should have no complaints.

3 hours ago, ngrund said:

Did Carnival at least give you guys on this trip fist shot at booking a Greenland trip for next year? When this one was first announced (not that I would have been able to go), one of my first thoughts was concern over storms preventing the Greenland port stops being that it was Sept

No.

Did the Chef's Table last night. Fabulous experience. Friendly people, great food, wine and deserts. Wonderful, informative crew. Highly recommend.

On 9/2/2023 at 2:31 PM, jimbo5544 said:

Went to our room.  
 

 

Following along. We are in 4174.

I think the best port embarkation experiences I have had have been in Baltimore, New Orleans and Port Canaveral. The most aggravating were Miami and Seattle. We had a similar experience where we needed to show our boarding pass at least four times, AFTER checking in at the desk, before getting on the ship. With today's technology there is no reason for that to slow down the boarding process. Appears New York could be added to the aggravating list.

6 minutes ago, jsglow said:

We've sailed a lot since the restart.  I have the menu practically memorized. I do think a tweak is in order (if only to change things up a bit) and am hoping that Emeril Lagasse will insist on a 'touch-up' as part of his contractual relationship.  Now mind you, they'll always need to remain within budget.  But you can freshen without adding to the costs.  Oh and BTW, I think the dining room offerings now are totally fine.  And yes, brisket night comes first. 😉

I would guess the budget is not keeping up with inflation, and it won't see a sizable increase until Carnival returns to profitability.

6 minutes ago, jsglow said:

We've sailed a lot since the restart.  I have the menu practically memorized. I do think a tweak is in order (if only to change things up a bit) and am hoping that Emeril Lagasse will insist on a 'touch-up' as part of his contractual relationship.  Now mind you, they'll always need to remain within budget.  But you can freshen without adding to the costs.  Oh and BTW, I think the dining room offerings now are totally fine.  And yes, brisket night comes first. 😉

I also suspect that they are seeing some supply chain issues. Revising supply contracts is currently not an easy thing to accomplish.

2 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

As long as he doesn't "let" Carnival do to his menu updates what they did to his Muffuletta  (August '21 versus now)... 😞

 

Then:

 

 

Now:

 

 

Tom

Absolutely correct. Just got off of Celebration two weeks ago, and were surprised by exactly what you illustrated versus what we had experienced  on Mardi Gras previously.

We did Elation out of NOLA years ago, and it was one of our more memorable cruises. Great itinerary, and the Captain's party was the most enjoyable we ever attended. Having said that though, our favorite class is the Spirit class.

2 hours ago, WKUTopperFan said:

I enjoyed my meal at Rudi's on my April sailing aboard Mardi Gras. The ship was over 100% capacity and the service in the specialty restaurants (I dined at steakhouse 2X that sailing) was rushed and food quality below average. Rudi's was the best experience all week. The servers were personable and smiled (the manager was phenomenal)... the only crew smiles I saw all week. The food was great and hot. The restaurant is beautiful (at least on Mardi Gras). I actually did not notice that pants were required (I always wear slacks to the steakhouse) and when I checked in the manager commented they were required. She gave us the option to dine outside or to go change. I APPRECIATED her holding to the dress code and told her as much. I was in shorts but had the matching jacket and bow tie... I was dressed up but no pants. Since I bought the outfit to wear one evening I elected to dine outside and it was the perfect night for it. I discovered I wasn't the only person dressed up with shorts on and made some friends to boot that night.

 

Eat at Rudi's... the menu is full of great items.

Like you, did not notice the pants requirement until we arrived, and like you opted to dine outdoors. Great meal, prompt service. Highly recommend.

As a long time CCL cruiser, recent observations would suggest that 'dress codes' are seldom observed, and never enforced.

Over the years we have booked a number of different types of cabins. Currently on the newer Carnival ships (Mardi Gras especially) the standard balconies are very small, and the furniture uncomfortable. Just did Mardi Gras and Holland's Nieuw Amsterdam and the balcony was much larger, chairs nicer and more comfortable. So, we have 3 more Carnival cruises booked and have opted for interior on all 3.

Have been to the steakhouse on a number of different ships and have found the quality to vary, with the exception of David's on the Pride which was consistently excellent. Maybe just me, but the Wagyu did not seem exceptional to me. I'll stick with the ribeye.

4 minutes ago, Ilovesailaway said:

Wait Carnival is having a tech issue and sending out erroneous emails?

Maybe someone should call them and let them know......lmao

They are aware of the problems. John Heald has acknowledged them several times on his page. What I am having difficulty with is their inability to resolve them. They seem to careen from one web related problem to another on a far to frequent basis.

I find it seems to vary greatly by ship, and to some extent location. G5 seems to impact satellite WiFi, like near Miami for example. Had great experience on Mardi Gras, not so great on Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam, which is a Signature Class.

We had a good experience in Port Everglades with Holland America, but not so good with Carnival in Port Canaveral, had to verify everything there.

Is it just a perception, or are they continually having web issues?

16 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

It was kind of a rhetorical question…. The point was it is totally subjective, one persons like is another’s blah.  In general, cruise ships have gotten much smoother, sleeker in recent years,  Some with the reverse bow hull design look horrible (imho), but it is all good..  

I have to agree with the subjectivity aspect of what you may or may not like. Personally I have never been on a ship I didn't like, but have liked some better than others. I think for me, I enjoyed the variations within a class, where you could go on two different ships of the same class size and find two very different interior appearances, which I believe Farcus was known for. My favorite class is the Spirit Class, and the differences between say the Pride and Legend are appealing to me.

As a shareholder, I have mixed thoughts regarding the comments relative to fees being charged. This pandemic has put Carnival Corporation through some extremely tough financial times. Despite being back to sailing, they are not at 100%, either in passengers per ship, nor number of vessels sailing and as a result are still in a position of losing large amounts of money, in spite of the fees. Additional costs are also being incurred due to the pandemic precautions that are being taken in attempts to insure safety for passengers. Money has to come from someplace, and that place is from customers. So they have to balance the entry price of the cruise against revenue that can be obtained on board. Its a tough situation to be in, and there certainly isn't any way of approaching the matter that would satisfy everyone.

Personally I would prefer a little higher entry point price, and less on board charges. That way I believe I would have a much better feel for the overall cost to be incurred. But having read the comments people have made regarding the more all-inclusive nature of pricing on several other lines, I realize that many would rather have a lower entry point and then have the ability to determine what additional costs they decide to incur on board. But my feeling is that would lead to decisions to short change experiences over a fear of overspending.

I am looking forward to Carnival Corp. returning to profitability and am doing my part. We have two cruises currently booked on Carnival and one theme cruise booked with Holland. 

After having our MardiGras cruise cancelled twice, we gave up on 2020 and  2021 and rebooked for January of 2022. One can only hope they survive until then.

We had an RCL cruise also cancelled for January 2021. We are requesting a refund on that one, and will be interested in seeing what and when we actually receive any refund, and whether or not it is a full refund.

I have no confidence in the government getting cruising operational, regardless of the procedures and precautions the cruise lines put in place. I am convinced that since the vast majority of cruising is done on foreign flagged vessels, resumption of cruising, and the jobs it provides, is simply not a priority. Florida seems to be the only place actively interested in the resumption of cruising, and that is only at two of the five ports that I am aware of.

I think it has to do with the Canadians decision to keep their ports closed through the 2021 Alaska season. So unless the US Govt foregoes the requirement for a Canadian stop on foreign flags, there goes the season.

I think at this point it is still far to early to draw any conclusions about when cruising will resume, and more importantly where. While everyone seems focused on the CDC and their no sail order, and whether or not they will extend it again, I am more interested in shore side emergency management decisions in port cities, which will determine whether or not ports open, and or to what extent. I am more concerned about ports refusing to open, or dramatically limiting throughput, due to their inability to manage shore issues.

What I have read regarding the science does not jell port opening recommendations I have seen. For example if one person on a ship were to test positively upon return, the science does not justify refusal, or 100% isolation, yet that is what is being proposed in some places I see.

Additionally, cruising has traditionally been attacked, unjustifiably by environmentalists, as being a major source of pollution, which it is not, yet I see a number of environmental activists urging more draconian measures be employed against the industry.

We did three cruises out of NOLA, two on the Dream and one on the Elation. Have been to NOLA a number of times, business and pleasure and always had a great time there. Probably our favorite city to visit. Unquestionably our favorite city to eat in.

Not ready to give up. Have two booked presently, first one January 2021, second January 2022. Looking at other options in addition.

17 minutes ago, EscapeFromConnecticut said:

Again, neither raging nor mad - but surely observant. Facts are what they are.

 

 

Under current conditions, the facts are no plan that would be submitted would be acceptable, or enable sailing. Why would anyone submit a plan that would not result in a positive outcome? Answer no one, which is why none of the lines have submitted anything to this point.

I believe it would be far more constructive if the CDC were to actually sit down with the industry, and jointly develop an acceptable plan, but so far the CDC has been unwilling to take that approach.

According to their information this morning they are going to concentrate on north American drive to ports. I assume to avoid the need to fly, as people seem to be more concerned about flying than cruising. I believe John Heald did a survey a while back and the majority indicated a desire to drive to the port for their next port. They did say this morning that San Juan would remain a port of call, however, but no longer a home port until at least 2022.

Personally, we have been to San Juan a number of times, both as a port of call and as a debarking port from a journey cruise. But we had never originated from San Juan, and I doubt we ever would given the cost of air travel, ship options, and itineraries offered. Our view there were always much better options available, usually at less overall total cost.