Badfinger

Have always cruised on Carnival.  And anymore will only book a dream class ship due Cloud 9 Spa with T-Pool (yeah I know a couple other ships have the pool but are not in Galveston).  However....have been looking at a Princess Cruise on the Regal, which has a Lotus Spa including multiple saunas and a hot tub.  Videos make me believe everything is smaller, darker and louder.  Anybody here that has experienced both Spas and can provide a comparative review?  FWIW...on a typical 7 day cruise I would be in the Spa about 25 hours, so kinda important to me.  Thanks.

Frequent cruiser on the Carnival Dream Class ships that have the Cloud 9 Spa with the Thalassotherapy pool.  I am not a Lido Deck kind of person, so spend a lot of time in the spa (pool, 3 saunas). When I say I spend a lot of time in the Spa, on our last 7-day cruise on the Breeze I totaled about 26 hours in the spa, so yeah, important to me.   Have pretty much said no Dream Class ship, no Spa.  However, we are now thinking of a cruise out of Galveston on the Regal Princess.  I looked at some online videos of the Lotus Spa.  My gut tells me I would be disappointed with that Spa (hot tub looks small, whole area seems dark and noisy).   But will keep an open mind if anyone who has been in both can provide a comparative review.   Thanks!

On 11/25/2022 at 12:58 PM, JT1962 said:

Most don’t consider $ 600 negligible, especially if the price is per person. If they do, they probably are looking at cruise lines other than Carnival.

And when you consider one probably has to earn about $850 gross dollars in order to clear $600 net after taxes, ss, etc...yeah definitely not negligible.

That said, I much prefer a balcony.  But then I try to avoid crowds and loud music on a cruise.  I find the opportunity to sit on the balcony, looking over the water, with perhaps my favorite beverage, a few snacks and some music, lost in my thoughts...now that is something that is just not available to me at home.  I try to do that for a couple hours most everyday when we are on a cruise.  Add to that a couple visits a day to the Cloud 9 Spa thermal suites and T-Pool..now that is a vacation and worth the extra money to me.

2 hours ago, Kellyann said:

Just an update.......Carnival ought to be ashamed and if I believed the Better Business Bureau pulled any weight, I'd contact them.  Now it's just the point.  I called VISA again and started a disputed charge for $199.  They have tentatively credited my account while they wait to hear from CCL.  My T.A. called CCL and after bouncing around to 3 different useless people, she was told they are short staffed and I'll just have to wait.  How come the "short staffed" only applies to credits but bills get processed within a week.  So from my 10/1 cruise to the 10/25 form letter telling me I need to wait at least 45 days, it will take 3 months to receive my credit. This is a terrible way to treat customers when charges on your credit card appear in a nanosecond.  It appears I just need to practice patience.  My purpose in writing this update is in the hope that CCL will apologize for their lack of business acumen and to credit my VISA.  BTW I'm a loyal customer and one credit away from platinum status.

Too late for a worthless apology IMO.

Just another example of CCL doing CCL things....

Since I don't drink alcohol and usually drink diet Zero sodas when I do drink soda, I really like to indulge in a Mexican Coke (real sugar) in Cozumel.  Hopefully a 16 oz glass bottle.  Life's simple pleasure!

Our first cruise or two we tried to do everything.  After those two, we just decided to relax and what happens, happens.  Worst case, we head to our balcony and just watch the sunset.   Rushing from this show to that club to that MDR and back to that show....not really relaxing always checking the time, hurrying, etc.  Just the opposite of what we wanted our vacations to be.  

Why in the world would you call that number provided in a suspicious email?  And twice? SMH....

Know just like phone numbers popping up on your phone, "from" emails can be manipulated to display as legit emails.

Just never ever never ever respond through an email (or text) or to any contact (phone, email) provided in that suspicious email.

As others, have done that with some non-cotton workout clothes.  No issues.

Another tip...pack some old clothes (or clothes you don't like) that you can basically wear 1-2 times then trash.  Have done that with an old sun shirt and baseball cap...wore them on two excursions then trash.  Trashed an older pair of swim trunks at the end of the a cruise.  Same with some old running shoes on three different cruises. 

6 hours ago, seaman11 said:

I was on the elation and i wanted a pasta dish in the mdr as a side one night. I was told only after i finish my first entree.  I get waste or cold food but i explianed id like to eat it together. I was refused this. 

 

Anyone hear of this one at a time thing? 

Well, apparently Carnival is now (correctly) below Burger King in service....you cannot have it your way!  

Any yeah I know BK changed their tagline, but most still recognize this one.

43 minutes ago, skrufy said:

The steakhouse food is delicious, but for us they have out too high a price. We have never had any of the other restaurant fares. So on our Jubilee cruise will will be feasting on the lower priced restaurants.

We thought about going to the steakhouse a couple cruises ago...but then we realized we could save that money and go to the local Brazilian Steakhouse $26(weekday lunch).  It was a no brainer to pass on the steakhouse.  And glad I did because the more cruises we have taken, the less I like the beef on CCL.  Open flame is just so much better.

29 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I had a ton and took losses last year. Only 1100 shares left. I was so happy today to see it up. People hoped carnival didnt need to raise more cash.

 

Just saw it on CNBC after hours down 11% raising more money.

 

I promise to never buy more carnival if I can ever get out of these last shares. I had a gob i bought for the dividend.  ...we know how that went. I'll just keep 100 shares and never look back I keep hoping. 

Liking a product is not a reason to buy that companies stock.  I have bought Honda vehicles exclusively for over 30 years.  No way on earth I would ever buy their stock...even if they offered free oil changes and tire rotations to shareholders!

Good grief.  It is all about the bottom line.  If the same ports produce sold out cruises, the the itineraries are cost efficient, why change?

Perhaps time to explore non-cruise vacation options.

4 hours ago, PinkSand26 said:

Is there anything I need to actually carry on with me on the ship versus keep in my luggage? (Other than travel docs and meds.)

NEED?  No.

I always stay in a Spa Cabin just for access to the thermal suites (Dream Class).  I have only booked two appointments and both times it was on the ship when they were offering specials to those of us in the Spa Cabins.  One was $50 off any service (no minimum price)  another was a full hour massage for $75 IIRC.

My belief is they will offer you better prices once on the ship...unless of course their staffing levels are as bad as the rest of the ship then who knows.

If you cannot find your answer, and you are not looking to book something on the embarkation day, I would just book it in advance, and once on board, go check with the spa on the final price.  If you don't like it, just cancel.

6 hours ago, Raysgirl said:

I never thought I would say this, but after 15 Carnival cruises I am trying another cruise line.    We have been on 3 Carnival cruises since the restart and even though we enjoyed ourselves (a cruise is what you make of it) we are very disappointed with all the cut backs and poor service.   We knew there would be staffing issues when they first restarted and had to get back in the groove, but at this point things should be back to normal.  I think they are putting all their focus on the new ships and just leaving the older ones behind.  We have encountered slow bar services, slow dining room service with cold food and so so entertainment. Now they are nickel and diming you with their increases for things on the ship and an extra charge if you order 3 entrees.   I know 3 entrees sounds like a lot, but look at the portions they give you, they are not very big.  I have not totally given up on Carnival, I have 2 cruises currently booked, 1 for 2023 and 1 for 2024  (I just cancelled another one for 2023 to try the other cruise line) but I would like to see if the other cruise lines are experiencing the same issue.  Is anyone else disappointed on how things are going?

Agree with your post-pandemic assessment.  We are likely to not cruise again.  Now I just need to ween myself off this website.....

3 minutes ago, notscb said:

 

FWIW, I think this plan is an excellent plan and will help Carnival curb food waste that cruise lines are so well known for. The up-charge if you want a third entree is only $5 for the entree itself, and you can still have as many appetizers and desserts as you want (as well as the other included options around the ship).

 

IMHO, moves like this are going to be much more common among the entire industry. Even if Carnival were to enforce it on all of its brands, it would ultimately set a precedent for other lines to do the same.

Curb food waste on a oil burning ships that regularly dump sewage in the ocean.   Yeah...excellent.

4 hours ago, Raysgirl said:

This is my own opinion.  I have numerous times decided to try something new while cruising and found it was not my cup of tea so I would order a good old standby like chicken, but when it comes it is dried out and cold, so should I be entitled to a third choice, absolutely.  The current portion sizes they serve are not even close to what you would get in a restaurant on land.  You may stuff yourself during the day, I don't.  I save my appetite for dinner.    You can also look at the additional charge for the 3rd item this way.   If I elected to eat at the buffet, which normally has the same dinner items I can load my plate up with as much as I want as many times as I want and there is no additional charge.

 No additional charge...yet.  Give them time to figure it out.

4 hours ago, kona_wahine said:

Now is the time to invest….

Agree...but not in cruise stocks.  Sure they will likely go up eventually, but there are other much better market leading blue chip companies with solid earnings and revenue that are screaming buys.  Carnival...not so much.  And getting a lousy $100 OBC is not a reason to buy a stock.

So a couple cruises ago, our 7th cruise IIRC, I had done the research and knew exactly what I wanted to book.

I even chose a room next to a suite, because after all, don't suites get the best cabin stewards?  What a smarty I am!

But I always call our PVP to make the booking.  

As we were going through it all, I told him what cabin we wanted.  He then pointed out that I might best be served going to a cabin on the other side of the ship as that side would be the most likely be the side that would be towards the dock while the ship was in port... in both the ports we were visiting...assuming I wanted that view.  I did.  So I made the change.

I guess I knew that...but just an example that even if you have cruised multiple times, there is always something one just overlooks while going through the process. 

Another set of eyes is never a bad thing.

On 11/6/2022 at 2:45 PM, sid_9169 said:

There's got to be more than ONE Cruise Critic member on board!... Let's see those pictures!...

Maybe they are actually enjoying their cruise rather than worrying about social media BS.

If you are talking about grades up through High School, I don't think it really matters.  The kids will be there.  As for college kids...frankly I don't think that many want to do a SEVEN DAY cruise.  My two sons just finished college and their choices for spring break were the beaches in Florida or Texas Padre Islands.  

Back in 2013 IIRC we paid $4k for a Spa Balcony cabin for 4  on a 7-day out of Galveston.

It was the exact cabin we wanted on the ship we wanted on the date we wanted for the itinerary we wanted.

Absolutely zero compromises on that cruise.  

All others since...yeah compromises made for cost savings...so hard to say if the cheaper cruises were better values.

8 minutes ago, LatinaInTexas said:

Like others posted I can grill my own steak better than most places can so rarely order steak at restaurants, unless I'm in Vegas lol. Tried the steakhouse twice, once on the Dream and once on the Panorama. Wasn't impressed with the ambience, the service, or the food so would have been hard pressed to ever book it again, the 2 price raises will seal the deal for us. I have never had ice cream on my cruises or ordered multiple entrees.

Love Carnival but since the restart things just aren't the same and after trying MSC I'm open to trying other lines for new and better experiences.

I have said it before...Carnival just does not do beef very well.  But I figure that is because they have to cook with electricity.  Open flame is just so much better.

1 hour ago, ctlyf said:

I agree that going out for steak where we are is setting yourself up for disappointment... my husband has BBQ or smoking down to a science, and even if we go to a high end steakhouse, we always feel that it wasn't worth the higher cost. Had the Wagu Rib-eye at Hell's Kitchen in Vegas (US$89) and honestly felt like we could have bought a "regular" rib-eye at our local Costco for CAD$25-30, and had just as good of a meal at home. 

 

That being said, we have started treating ourselves to the steakhouse for one meal each cruise, but it is also only 2 of us. I couldn't imagine doing it for us and our kids (who are now adults and fully appreciative of a great cut of steak).

Here in south Texas, I have grilling down to a science.  I would compare my burgers, steaks, salmon, pork tenderloin and chicken breast to most any restaurant around San Antonio.  So...when we go out to eat, it is usually something I cannot make as well at home (pizza, thai).  And of course sometimes we just don't feel like cooking and will hit a fast food like Chi FiLa, Whataburger or numerous TexMex places purely for convenience.

That said, regardless of the Carnival Cheerleaders, these dining cutbacks and prices increased are real, and do degrade the overall cruise experience.  It was not uncommon for 2 in our family to order 3 entrees at the MDR, especially when the appetizers were less than appetizing, or they were offering our favorites all on the same night.  Next will be the servers at the buffet, scanning your S&S card as you enter the queue.  After all, what is the sense of limiting entrees  in the MDR if one can go hog wild at the buffet for many of the same entrees?  I can actually see the day when all dining will bar controlled by your S&S card.  Pay as you go or buy dining packages for various levels of gastric indulgence.

But none of that matters to us anymore.  Given the horrible service,  long lines, and stale entertainment on our June cruise, unlikely we would pick a cruise as our vacation anytime soon.

IMO it is supply vs demand,  It was not detailed that San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and Austin are 4 of the 11 largest cities in the US.  And they are all a relative easy drive to Galveston.  I live in SA and would always leave our house by 8am on the day of the cruise.  We would make two stops along the way (I-10 rest area and Buc'ees) and still be dropping our luggage off about noon.

As for those who say they save money by flying to another port...not sure I buy that if your record keeping is accurate.  But I definitely only buy that if you put a $0 value on your time you spend flying to that port vs say a 4-hour drive.   And yeah...flying pretty much sucks.