not so thanksgiving cruise

I know how you feel. Just once, 7 or so years ago we cruised out of Galveston. I booked our cruise around Louisiana's Spring Break not realizing that Texas's Spring Break was different. Yes, you guessed it. We were on the Cruise from Hell. 3,000 passengers and more than 1,500 were kids. The elementary, high school and college children (young adults for those in college) were actually polite. Held the elevators for us, excused themselves if they bumped into us and let us cut inline at the buffet if they were having trouble deciding what they wanted it. BUT, the middle age school kids were a nightmare. Blocking stair wells so you couldn't pass, hiding then pelting you with ice right before the elevator door closes, stealing breakfast room service menus, running in the halls screaming all hours of the night, etc. And security did nothing. So no complains on your post, Uncle Bobby, coming from me.

I always finding it interesting seeing all the different views, sometimes on the same ship and even the same sailing. Part of what makes this site work. I agree that when people say things like horrible or totally inedible it does them more of a disservice.....

 

 

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Yes , i remember some people on the threads here telling the parents how well their children behaved at dinner on his cruise .:rolleyes:;)

Carnival is affordable for families. I always expect families on a carnival cruise. I just embrace it. If I run across teens acting like teenagers I start talking to them. Teens love attention.

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The food has gone downhill. Maybe with menu changes it'll be better. Food on Lido was cold all week on Magic recently except at breakfast. No matter what I said to the chef on a few occasions it didn't change.

I always finding it interesting seeing all the different views, sometimes on the same ship and even the same sailing. Part of what makes this site work. I agree that when people say things like horrible or totally inedible it does them more of a disservice.....

 

 

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Hi

I agree. Couldn't find anything edible on my last cruise, I lost 10 lbs. :D:D:D:cool: The shows were soo bad I had to wear earplugs. :* Oh yes, and it rained for seven day. Carnival should give me a refund.

I have been reading similar comments about Carnival for the several years I have been a member of cruise critic. At first I didn't understand, I thought somebody was kidnapping these people and forcing them to endure this kind of punishment over and over again. Personally, I have travelled with most all the mainstream (less expensive) cruise lines. Sorry to disappoint anybody out there, but they are more similar than different. Nobody is forcing people to become a repeat cruiser. If you don't like a particular product, there are many other choices, find one you like.

We always cruise january and February just so there we wont be so many kids. But no matter, the hot tubs are always full of kids with no parent anywhere in sight.

 

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Don't count on that either. We were on the Breeze in January 2017 and there were 600 kids on our sailing and 700 the week before according to the GS manager. Loads of people pulled their kids out of school because the price was good and there were several large homeschooling groups. We have yet to find a time that is pretty much child free since school attendance apparently is no longer compulsory, just a suggestion for many families.

I am certainly no cruise line loyalist and have no issue with people sharing negative experiences, but to say that the food was horrible does not really help anyone. What was horrible about it? The choices? Served too hot/cold? Poor quality of meats?

 

Also, this is a message board and we do not get to dictate who does or does not get to comment. From my perspective, Carnival is actually better overall now than they used to be. Ship designs are better (hate the tacky Farcus designs). They have done a fairly good job of keeping food quality where it was 14 years ago when we first stepped on one of their ships. They are not our "go-to" cruise line but will sail with them under the right circumstances.

Food is so subjective that I no longer take reviews of food into account. We got into a discussion in the MDR with a couple onboard our last cruise about the food. They thought it was horrible because it was "too fancy" for them, especially the brunch options. They just wanted chicken nuggets, hamburgers and fries. I told them to check out the children's menu when they went to dinner that night. The next time we saw them, they were happy because they could get what they wanted from the children's menu. So, while the rest of us are eating escargot, duck, and lobster, remember there are people who have never been exposed to some foods and never developed a taste for them.

Honestly, the food in the MDR on the Thanksgiving Dream cruise was quite nice (except for the escargot, which had little flavor). Everything else was cooked to order, delivered at the appropriate temperature, and was at least good, if not downright delicious. We last sailed on the NCL Escape in June, and the 3 nights we ate in the MDR, it was less than stellar. NCL's specialty restaurants are very good, but of course they cost extra. We did eat in the Chef's Art Steakhouse on the Dream, and that was a fantastic meal for a very reasonable $30 upcharge.

seems that mediocre food is a common complaint on all lines recently - only been sailing since 2004 (typically twice a year) I wouldn't say the food is horrible but it has changed - personally I think it is so more will pay for the specialty dining options - as for kids - I got nothing -

We usually cruise in January, once kids are back in school,after Christmas break, and before their winter break. We made the mistake 3 Year’s ago traveling during Presidents week when many schools have off. Not only was the ship full of kids, but airfare was higher that week! We are sailing again early January and hope it to be calmer. But I have to confess—we have our daughter and her family cruising with us, and that means she is keeping her kids out of school for an extended Christmas break. I hope not too many others will do this! [emoji51]

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I personally don’t think that all the blame should be placed on the cruise line, but on parents who want to have fun at the expense of letting their kids go wild unsupervised.

We just returned from a 7 night Disney cruise over Thanksgiving. As expected, it was the first cruise that we’ve taken where kids outnumbered (by a lot) adults. Yet, we didn’t run into unruly kids or poor behavior. On the contrary, kids were in the most part very well behaved (better than many adults). I witnessed A LOT of parents doing what they should be doing on a cruise: spending time with their children and parenting. We didn’t see children running wild by themselves late at night. In the MDR, children sat at their tables with their parents and behaved. Around the ship, we saw tons of children participating in activities but almost always with their parents. That didn’t mean that adults weren’t having some adult fun. But when they did, they’d leave their children supervised at the kids club.

I do understand that Disney ships and their onboard offerings are specifically designed to handle enormous amounts of children. For example, you’ll never see a hot tub overrun by children because, simply stated, the ships are designed with none accessible to children since they are located in adults areas. But this type of family friendly cruise experience where adults without kids can still have fun wouldn’t be possible without the cooperation of those parents who do choose to bring their children on vacation.

Carnival rightfully takes pride in being a family friendly cruise line, but parents shouldn’t come onboard expecting the cruise staff to do the parenting for them. It’s not fair to the already overworked staff. Unfortunately, people like the OP end up paying the consequences of the misdeeds of other passengers.

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