It's been 9 years since my last Carnival cruise. What's been taken away?

I love Carnival, but it's been 9 years since my last cruise. I know Carnival has cut back on some costs in the last decade. Is there anything that you miss that Carnival used to offer that they don't offer now?

From what I have read here in Cruise Critic, it appears that Carnival has cut back on:

--no more mints on the pillows

--no more lobster on the shorter cruises

--no twice-a-day housekeeping on some ships

--no past-guest party for non-platinum guests

--no tablecloths on non-elegant nights in the dining room

Anything else?

Joe , it's kind of like to much for me to list :D. I think Carnival ships offer quite a few enjoyable things , However there are so many cut backs it would take a while for me to answer your question. ;p

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Anything else?

My first cruise ever was 9 years ago on Carnival. I think you pretty much summed it up. None of those things are that big a deal to me. On the other hand, in 9 years they have also added some very cool things like the Fun 2.0 upgrades to a lot of their ships.

Smoking on your balcony.

Smoking on your balcony.

Oh, I didn't know that. For smokers, I assume that was a big deal.

My first cruise ever was 9 years ago on Carnival. I think you pretty much summed it up. None of those things are that big a deal to me. On the other hand, in 9 years they have also added some very cool things like the Fun 2.0 upgrades to a lot of their ships.

None of those changes I listed are a big deal to me. I mainly hope the food/dining experience is still great for us. It's one of my favorite parts of the cruise.

None of those changes I listed are a big deal to me. I mainly hope the food/dining experience is still great for us. It's one of my favorite parts of the cruise.

The food to me was really good, even with the American Table menu that everyone seems to hate. I REALLY enjoyed the steakhouse. Guys Burgers was great, the Blue Iguana cantina was good.........the pizza was excellent on Magic. I really didnt have a "bad" meal all week. Service was excellent

Smoking on your balcony.

Some still do it. Question is, should you narc on them.

American Table = no tablecloths. Do miss that, especially when the condensation from your water glass makes that same glass very mobile on the table.

None of those changes I listed are a big deal to me. I mainly hope the food/dining experience is still great for us. It's one of my favorite parts of the cruise.

That is the worst ,the worst part of it for us, the food in the MDR may as well be K&W . If your wanting a good steak now Joe your going to have to pay for it. MDR cuts reflect back to the Flat Iron , tough chew. More people are packed on the ships with longer wait times Food is delivered slow and slightly warm . They do offer prime rib on ships but its so thin you can see through it :o Sure you can order seconds but that will increase your time in the MDR .Still not up to par like nine years ago.

Good luck in the MDR Joe , it's a hit or miss for us. Last cruise it was a miss , didn't even bother going .

Lots more pay to dine venues

Fewer free exercise classes

Some items on the MDR menu and room service menu surcharged

Juice dispensers only filled for breakfast, have not seen it myself but have read reports of there only being lemonade at breakfast on some ships - no orange juice at the lido buffet

Late dinner seating often has the evening show before dinner, instead of after

Play list productions - no live music

I've seen some shows with mixed media / animation thrown in to the show, which in my opinion adds nothing of value

Subjective - but seems much fewer activities I really want to get to. If there are 2 things offered that day that really appeal to me, they are scheduled at the same time so you have to choose. Like the afternoon tea offered at the same time as a dance class.

Instead of concentrating on what's been taken away, why not look at what's been added?

Roz

None of those changes I listed are a big deal to me. I mainly hope the food/dining experience is still great for us. It's one of my favorite parts of the cruise.

Our first cruise was 2008 and 12 cruises later we are now Platinum. Have noticed a few changes that we don't mind. We don't smoke, have any time dining, and we always book longer cruises due to the fact that we have to fly to the ports. Our last cruise was January on the Vista, we had a great MDR staff, and the service was the quickest ever. I know that not all MDRs are the same, but we were impressed and left a large tip to the crew. Our room steward cleaned twice a day and never mentioned single service for the rooms. I have read that others have had the question about morning or evening service but we didn't and haven't on the other ships. On the Valor a year or so ago, the Maitre' D (sic) visited every table and we saw him in at the buffet during the day very visible and friendly. I think you'll have a good time.

That is the worst ,the worst part of it for us, the food in the MDR may as well be K&W . If your wanting a good steak now Joe your going to have to pay for it. MDR cuts reflect back to the Flat Iron , tough chew. More people are packed on the ships with longer wait times Food is delivered slow and slightly warm . They do offer prime rib on ships but its so thin you can see through it :o Sure you can order seconds but that will increase your time in the MDR .Still not up to par like nine years ago.

 

Good luck in the MDR Joe , it's a hit or miss for us. Last cruise it was a miss , didn't even bother going .

Poor food quality was not something we experienced on the Sunshine in Jan and May of 2016. In fact we actually like the American Table menu better than HAL's menu which tries to be very "gourmet".

On the Sunshine the food arrived promptly and the correct temperature. We'd never order a flatiron steak - it's not meant to be compared with a filet in the steakhouse :D but that being said the prime rib we were served was some of the most tender I've ever had - AND it was actually served medium rare !! The lobster and shrimp were both nicely cooked. :D

DH is not a big sauce lover and often orders his entree "naked". Even without the sauces the food was tasty.

It may not be 5 star dining but we didn't have a need to send any plates back where as on HAL we sent 3 back out of 10 due to poor prep. :(

I can only speak to the Sunshine .... but we had a good MDR experience both times.

PS.

Our stewards were fine doing our cabin twice a day - morning was full service and evening was towels, ice and turndown. I don't believe I've heard of anyone on CCL refused twice a day like ours if they ask.

Check out my posts. I asked this very same question a while ago and got some very interesting answers!

It's been almost a decade since my first Carnival cruise and I just came off the Vista. Instead of things that are missing, I noticed a bunch of new additions/improvements:

- Better food options: the fish tacos and Guy's burger joint by the pool were awesome

- Lots of comfortable and quiet places to lounge

- More focus on digital technology such as photos area. And that atrium is quite beautiful with it's digital decor.

- The Carnival HUB app. Helped keep track of my balance and showed all the daily activities. We told our stateroom attendant to stop giving us paper copies of the daily activities since we had it on the app.

If there's anything I disliked or they can improve on is the ventilation in the casino. It's terrible! I gambled for 1/2 hour and I left smelling like smoke. But hey, that's just the way it is!

I love Carnival, but it's been 9 years since my last cruise. I know Carnival has cut back on some costs in the last decade. Is there anything that you miss that Carnival used to offer that they don't offer now?

 

From what I have read here in Cruise Critic, it appears that Carnival has cut back on:

--no more mints on the pillows

--no more lobster on the shorter cruises

--no twice-a-day housekeeping on some ships

--no past-guest party for non-platinum guests

--no tablecloths on non-elegant nights in the dining room

 

Anything else?

If you adjust for inflation perhaps a zero to the cost.. the price to cruise seems to be cheaper than it was 9 yrs ago

Check out my posts. I asked this very same question a while ago and got some very interesting answers!

Good info. Thanks. There seems to be less cutbacks that I would have guessed. And the prices seem to have stayed mostly the same over the past 10 years, so that is impressive.

No longer have "surprise" bowl of random sample toiletries in the bathroom. Still our favorite cruise line.

If you adjust for inflation perhaps a zero to the cost.. the price to cruise seems to be cheaper than it was 9 yrs ago

I think that's true. Impressive.

Cruising is still enjoyable for us. I agree that the cutbacks don't affect us much, the mints, the past guest party we used to enjoy but doesn't make or break us. They give us each a large bottle of water, and although you can't bring on bottled water, they sell a 12 pack for a great price considering it is waiting in your room. We have had nothing but great meals everywhere, from the dining room for breakfast , the brunch on sea days is great and dinners are always good. I love the hub app and have started subscribing to the Internet package just to keep up with photos and check in once or twice a day with home. Once a day service in the room is fine too. Some times we come from breakfast and they have tidied up the room , and at night it is cleaned again. We don't miss it if it's not done although nice to have. Our coolers stay packed with ice and we tip well as a result . Cruising is still the best value wise and for convenience as we live close to Galveston. Our family enjoys all the variety of things to do and even if we relax the whole time it's fun.

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No more smoked salmon offered on the room service breakfast menu😥

I'm in the same boat as you (no pun intended! Lol), as I've done several Carnival cruises over the years, my first being on the TSS Carnivale back in the 80's. My last 3 cruises have been on RCI on their Voyager-class ships, and that last one was in 2008. So you might as well call me a newbie. I have the Vista booked for January '18, and am very anxious to see the changes that a decade or so of not sailing Carnival has brought. One thing that sticks with me is that I always liked the fruit punch served in the Lido area (along side the lemonade, iced tea, etc)...I'm guessing that has gone by the wayside, based on what I've read. Great thread here! [emoji4]

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The only thing that has changed in 9 years is the entertainment section- no more calypso bands on the lido deck and no more orchestra for the shows of course this is my opinion. But main thing I noticed

is the age demographics of the guests there seems to be more families than 9 years ago.

Gary