What is the stigma with Carnival?

A coworker recently got back from a cruise for her honeymoon on NCL. After sharing her experiences with me I mentioned we were cruising on Carnival this fall, and she immediately turned up her nose at the mere thought of Carnival. What do people have against Carnival? Is it the bad press as of late or...? I am new at cruising so excuse my ignorance.

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Simple question to the co worker. Has she cruised Carnival?

No - that was her first cruise as well. All she said was "it will be interesting to hear about your experience."

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No - that was her first cruise as well. All she said was "it will be interesting to hear about your experience."

 

 

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So she's gone on one cruise and thinks she found the best one. Her loss.

Yes, I think it is the now out-dated reputation of FUN, FUN, FUN all the time with whatever rowdiness people associate with this concept. Certainly, the unfortunate recent incidents have contributed to this thinking.

That is why they have to, and I think are, changing their marketing strategies. There are perceptions about the Carnival product in the marketplace that are not accurate.

No - that was her first cruise as well. All she said was "it will be interesting to hear about your experience."

 

 

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I sure hope you do have a better experience just because of her "snobbery".

Oh, wait, it was her honeymoon.;)

I'm a flight attendant and on a recent flight I had a travel agent onboard...she and her husband just won a free cruise on NCL Breakaway. That's wonderful. She told me she could get me great rates on cruises, better than I can as an airline employee. I told her I have cruised on Carnival...omg, her response was UGH....please!!

I will take my business elsewhere, will not use her for my travel needs.

I don't know what her perceptions are but I can share mine. I had only been on one cruise an RCI Monarch of the Seas about 12 years ago. I walked away thinking "this was nice but so many seniors - not my cup of tea". Then a couple of years ago we went on the Sensation to celebrate a friends birthday on a 3 day and I walked away thinking "too many drunks, rule breakers, and foolishness - not my cup of tea". Now we are scheduled to take a 7 day on the Magic with our children and I am hopeful because what I am learning through research and talking to people who actually take 7 day cruises is that yes, Carnival is going to draw a younger crowd but on a 7 day there will likely be less unauthorized foolishness than on the 3 day. At least that is what I am hoping. I will admit that the stigma of Carnival being a less quality product, being stuck in the middle of the ocean with no electricity, and being surrounded by drunks was definitely something we had to work past before booking. Honestly we wanted to take a Disney cruise but no one can convince me that they are worth DOUBLE the price. I just cannot believe that my kids will have $1500 MORE fun on DCL. But maybe I'm wrong - there are certainly those who have the belief that they can...

My first Carnival cruise was a Spring Break cruise, a 6 day cruise on Carnival Freedom. It was one of my favorite cruises. Were people having fun? Yes. Was there the Hairy Chest Contest? Yes. Did I see any rowdiness--even from the many Spring Breakers that were aboard? No! Does one have to involve oneself in activities that you care not to attend? Of course not!

In fact, I have seen more inappropriate behavior on some of my Holland America Line cruises, including one just concluded this month on the Eurodam, than I have seen on any of my Carnival cruises.

You will have a good time!

Before our last cruise (Legend in the Baltic), a co-worker remarked, "I hope you're not sailing on Carnival." He has never sailed Carnival and was basing his remark on the recent bad press. I told him this cruise would be our 18th, all on Carnival, and we've had no problems (well, aside from weather) and loved all our cruises.

For some Carnival has a reputation of being a "White Trash" cruise line.

Just sayin'

For some Carnival has a reputation of being a "White Trash" cruise line.

 

Just sayin'

LOL :p

I am actually reluctant to tell people we are sailing on Carnival this March because the few times I have it is always the same response. "Aren't you afraid the ship will break down in the middle of the ocean and you won't have food and toilets?" (or some variation of that).

I have learned to not volunteer any information about my cruise because I am tired of hearing it. It's really a shame that we have to feel that way.

A coworker recently got back from a cruise for her honeymoon on NCL. After sharing her experiences with me I mentioned we were cruising on Carnival this fall, and she immediately turned up her nose at the mere thought of Carnival. What do people have against Carnival? Is it the bad press as of late or...? I am new at cruising so excuse my ignorance.

 

 

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Our first 2 cruises were on Celebrity (LOVED them!), 3rd cruise was on RCI (very nice) and had my own "snobbery" when thinking of Carnival :o. But then a friend and her hubby were going on Liberty for a family wedding and invited us along ....and we LOVED IT!!! I couldn't believe how wrong my perception was.

I turn Gold on my upcoming Legend cruise (39 days!!!) which will be my 4th Carnival cruise.

Each line has their pluses and each has their minuses....but in the end I've enjoyed all of my cruises .. HTH :D

For some Carnival has a reputation of being a "White Trash" cruise line.

 

Just sayin'

That works well for me.

For some Carnival has a reputation of being a "White Trash" cruise line.

 

Just sayin'

Who are the 'some'?

Here's my 2 cents. While CCL might be a lower end cruising line, I would say, for the most part, it is still the best value on the seas. I really can't see how you can debate that.

Here is my question though..has CCL had any real issues as of late? The Triumph was 7 months ago. Are we still considering that recent? How long will that take for it not to be 'recent'? 1 year? 2 years? Is there anything else that has happened that I'm missing?

I am actually reluctant to tell people we are sailing on Carnival this March because the few times I have it is always the same response. "Aren't you afraid the ship will break down in the middle of the ocean and you won't have food and toilets?" (or some variation of that).

 

I have learned to not volunteer any information about my cruise because I am tired of hearing it. It's really a shame that we have to feel that way.

I have friends that say that to me.I always reply that in that case I would get all my money back and a free cruise!

Laura

Almost all of our cruises have been with CCL. We did go on a Norwegian cruise through the Hawaiian Islands last year. I will say the owners suite we had was amazing, much better than any cabin I've seen on Carnival. BUT that about ends the good things I can say about NCL, rude staff, bad food etc. My son (33) & I went on the Lido deck to hang out have a drink, it really felt like the staff was trying so hard to get a good time going it was almost painful to watch.

On Carnival the good times just seem to happen. Now whether that is from the Carnival staff, the cruisers themselves, all of the silly(yes I am talking about hairiest guy contest) games or some combination of all that. But on a CCL cruise you REALLY have to work hard to not have a good time.

If it is the "white trash" cruise line, than I guess I really must be white trash, because I love CCL.

I am not a fan of Carnival, but it always amaze me when people have such strong opinions without trying a product.

A coworker recently got back from a cruise for her honeymoon on NCL. After sharing her experiences with me I mentioned we were cruising on Carnival this fall, and she immediately turned up her nose at the mere thought of Carnival. What do people have against Carnival? Is it the bad press as of late or...? I am new at cruising so excuse my ignorance.

 

 

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That is incredibly funny coming from an NCL cruiser! I only needed one cruise on NCL to conclude that that was the one and only time I would do so. Carnival is by far a better cruise line than NCL!

Hi all!

I've always avoided Carnival because of it's party reputation but the price, itinerary & port I wanted were available on the Dream this past April so I went for it. I LOVED it & am now booked on Breeze next month.

It took me over 20 cruises on most of the mid range lines to find out I like Carnival & it has some things the other lines don't.

~ Jo ~ :)

I also thought royal Caribbean and Norwegian were top notch, until I tried my first carnival cruise. There is nothing like a fun carnival cruise. Great food, best staff on the seas, great fellow cruisers, decent entertainment, great destinations, and a great value

Been on 5 Carnival and 5 RCCL. Will most likely never sail Carnival again. Best Value means that you get something for your money other than bars, hotel room, cheap food, and poor service. Pay one to two hundred dollars more, and get a more relaxed atmosphere, less drunks, less late night noise, better and live entertainment, better food, better activities and a more attentive staff.

The most interesting thing is, my teenage son, does not even want to go back on a Carnival ship. :eek:

That is incredibly funny coming from an NCL cruiser! I only needed one cruise on NCL to conclude that that was the one and only time I would do so. Carnival is by far a better cruise line than NCL!

This is the same type of statement as the one which gave birth to this topic.

It's all a matter of taste.

I am actually reluctant to tell people we are sailing on Carnival this March because the few times I have it is always the same response. "Aren't you afraid the ship will break down in the middle of the ocean and you won't have food and toilets?" (or some variation of that).

 

I have learned to not volunteer any information about my cruise because I am tired of hearing it. It's really a shame that we have to feel that way.

Before my recent Carnival Magic cruise, I was talking about how excited I was to a coworker. She then says to me, "oh, you're not cruising on the line that has all the problems, are you?" She had no clue of what any "problems" were, just assumed you can't have a good cruise on Carnival thanks to all the bad press and half truths out there. Needless to say, it was another great cruise for us!

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