Is there such a thing as being "CARNIVALED" out?

[jules815]

I'm currently feeling a bit Carnivaled out... doesn't mean I won't be sailing on Carnival anymore in the future, I just really needed my next cruise to be different (and it is, sailing next month on RC).

 

I love Carnival cruses (so don't get me wrong) I just feel that they've very repetitive in terms of the experience -- kind of cookie cutter. Maybe it's because I haven't had particularly good CDs lately. I'm looking forward to returning to Royal (as I'm definitely not feeling Royal-ed out) but I know I definitely will return to Carnival in the future... after a bit of a break.

 

I kind of feel the same way with RC right now.

 

We've never had a bad cruise with them, and if the price and itinerary were right, we'd go again. For now though, we wanted to give another line a try, and everything I've read here over the years lead me to Carnival. Had a wonderful time on Destiny girl's cruise in March, and look forward to our Dream cruise in June.

[Perfect Stranger]

I haven't gotten Carnivaled out yet but I did get Vegased out after 12 trips to Sin City. It was exciting the first 10 times and then I got tired of it...plus it became more high end.

[Cruise, J.D.]

Sure, the experience has lost some of its pizazz. We've talked of trying a different cruise line or something different altogether. This summer we are cruising with newbies, so perhaps that will make things more fun. They are really excited and that tends to rub off on you.

[Georgiagolfer]

As we prepare for our upcoming 12th Carnival cruise a few months from now, I'm finding myself feeling quite different from previous times.

 

I'm excited about the idea of cruising, being at sea, and enjoying some days of relaxation, but as much as I've enjoyed my past Carnival cruises, I'm somewhat not feeling excited about sailing specifically on Carnival once again. :eek: For the record, Carnival has been VERY good to us, and we have nothing but great memories.

 

 

So,

• Is there such a thing as being "Carnivaled" out?
  
• Has anybody felt what I'm feeling?
  
• Is there a cure?
  
• Have you "strayed" from Carnival only to come back begging for forgiveness? (P.S. We're planning our first NON-Carnival cruise in 6 years for 2011. Wonder how that will go...)
  

 

We're Platinum on CCL, but have sailed RCI, and love both lines. DW and I love cruising and I can't imagine being Carnivaled out or any other line we've sailed. We're not Carnival loyalist, it just seems they are always the best price and itineary when we want to travel.

[OceanSea]

you might just need to do a different type of vacation. I have ony been on 2 cruises, and cannot wait to go again in August. I do think I would be less excited if I did a cruise every year. Even though we did two different lines, both were really similar. how much can the reviews, magicians, comedians, etc vary? Just a thought.

 

I totally agree. We won't have been on a cruise in three years when we go in September. We took a trip out west in 2008 and to Disney World in 2009, so I'm very excited to get back on a ship. I think taking the same type of vacation year after year gets old, as much as I LOVE cruises.

 

Variety is the spice of life, as they say!

 

If you really don't like landbased vacations, I'd recommend trying a different cruiseline and see how that goes for you. If it doesn't help it probably is a need for a different type of vacation.

[LHP]

Would think being Carnival'd out would mean you'd sailed at least once on every one of their ships.....................

 

:D:D

 

If that is the definition.....we will find out in December. (except the Carnivale)

[MrPete]

As we prepare for our upcoming 12th Carnival cruise a few months from now, I'm finding myself feeling quite different from previous times.

 

I'm excited about the idea of cruising, being at sea, and enjoying some days of relaxation, but as much as I've enjoyed my past Carnival cruises, I'm somewhat not feeling excited about sailing specifically on Carnival once again. :eek: For the record, Carnival has been VERY good to us, and we have nothing but great memories.

 

 

So,

• Is there such a thing as being "Carnivaled" out?
  
• Has anybody felt what I'm feeling?
  
• Is there a cure?
  
• Have you "strayed" from Carnival only to come back begging for forgiveness? (P.S. We're planning our first NON-Carnival cruise in 6 years for 2011. Wonder how that will go...)
  

 

I didn't feel obligated to any line when I booked my second cruise. But within a day, I realized "MY GOD! WHAT HAVE I DONE????" and came running back to Carnival.

 

It wasn't until I repeated a cruise to the same destination, on the same ship, with the same cruise director, that I started to realize this Carnival formula was orchestrated, and repeated week after week. I almost thought I was going to run into myself.

 

Then, on other cruises, we started finding we could skip shows, cause we'd seen them before. It got stale. Same jokes, same top ten stupid things people say, same menues.

 

We tried Disney, but that was just a whole different experience. Enjoyable, but different.

 

When we tried RCCL, we found that freshness again, in how similar, yet different they were. It was like being a newbie again.

 

We've since sailed them three times, and enjoyed each and every one.

 

I hope to get out to the other lines as well at some point. I may even try Carnival again if they cycle through, and offer something new.

[nycruise]

We love Carnival and obviously lots of other people do, that's why they got to be the bemoth of the industry. Snobs will tell you other lines are better, but I would say they are just different. But different can be important! You won't beat Carnival in terms of value but sometimes it's worth an extra 10% for a different experience. As you can see from my signature, the majority of our cruises have been on Carnival, but we have also sampled most of the other mass market lines. Each has their pluses and minuses but as they say variety is the spice of life.

 

For us, we rarely go on the same ship twice, newer and bigger is always better, and different lines take away from the repetitiveness of the "Carnival Experience".

 

As the Alka-Seltzer ad said, "Try It, You'll Like It!";)

[Tapi]

If you really don't like landbased vacations, I'd recommend trying a different cruiseline and see how that goes for you. If it doesn't help it probably is a need for a different type of vacation.

 

Both my wife and I travel for work (I spend 3 nights a week at a hotel), so needless to say, land vacations which involve spending yet another night at a hotel is not our idea of fun.

 

We're definitely giving a different cruise line a shot for our next cruise! We already started planning that cruise for 2011 since we're booked with Carnival in 2010!

[hazeleyez3]

I have to go with others in being just about "cruised out." We are doing one last one (for now) in November. It will be nice to actually hit ports we have never been to.

 

We will come back to cruising in the future but there are just too many places that aren't accessible by cruise ships, and (for us) need more than 5 hours to appreciate.

[foreverleanna]

took a 15 day on the disney cruise line. Talk about "Disney'ed out" I still get itchy when I see a glipse of disney charachters or, god forbid, the jonas brothers, hannah montanh and wizards of waverly palace! Disney is in my nightmares!

[PROCRUISE]

As we prepare for our upcoming 12th Carnival cruise a few months from now, I'm finding myself feeling quite different from previous times.

 

I'm excited about the idea of cruising, being at sea, and enjoying some days of relaxation, but as much as I've enjoyed my past Carnival cruises, I'm somewhat not feeling excited about sailing specifically on Carnival once again. :eek: For the record, Carnival has been VERY good to us, and we have nothing but great memories.

 

So,

• Is there such a thing as being "Carnivaled" out?
  
• Has anybody felt what I'm feeling?
  
• Is there a cure?
  
• Have you "strayed" from Carnival only to come back begging for forgiveness? (P.S. We're planning our first NON-Carnival cruise in 6 years for 2011. Wonder how that will go...)
  

 

We have switched cruise lines around a little. We love being VIP with Carnival but we know that each cruise with them will involve the same old activities and the cruise directors will tell the same old stories. It would be great if Carnival would just add something new, BUT, we just enjoy cruising and Carnival does offer a great product. We'll be back on Carnival (Valor) in December but have already decided to try Celebrity for next March, just for a change.

[rickcop44]

Dave85: "I just feel that they've very repetitive in terms of the experience -- kind of cookie cutter."

 

Thanks Dave, that's what I was thinking, but it wouldn't translate to paper. I think this is why I'm feeling a bit burned out with Carnival. The fun is gone for now. There used to be that excitement of boarding a new ship and finding out all the special places, what the DOD was, how to find our cabin. Now, after 19 total cruises, I find that I don't do nearly as much preparation as I used to. Why? I already know what kind of shows will be in the show room. I know the types of drinks being offered. This past February, I knew exactly where our cabin was before even boarding.

 

Boarding through VIP was always fun, but this year - eehh, whatever. But all that said, I really do wish I could afford to go at least once on a Seabourne ship or a Crystal ship. But I just don't have $10 grand laying around.

[bakechef]

I am a bit cruised out for now. After 4 Carnival cruises, I need a change. My parents want to go on a cruise with us and I will try to get them on another cruise line, just because I need a change, I am actually not looking forward to another cruise soon. Don't get me wrong, I love to cruise and will cruise in the future, I just want to get excited about it again! My dad has terminal cancer, so the cruise will have to happen sooner than later, he is doing well, but you never know how long he has.

 

There are some land trips that we want to take, so it will likely be those after the cruise with my parents. We spent a day and a half in Los Angeles prior to our Splendor cruise and had a blast and wished we had more time, so much to see and do. We will likely fly to So Cal and drive up the Pacific Coast Highway and see the sights, THAT I am excited to do!