Do you think Cahill is making Carnival Stronger

[Cruiser1547228475]

Cahill , missing the point :rolleyes:

[winddawn]

Since Bob Dickinson's retirement and Gary Cahill's appointment as the big boss of Carnival, it seems his penny pinching bottom line view of the product offered is pi$$ing off people.

 

Using ourselves as an example, we cruised Carnival for our own reasons and admittedly brought some liquor on board to enjoy on our balcony and the odd time up on deck relaxing. We also spent liberally onboard on drinks, the casino, spa, specialty restaurant, etc.

 

Now, with all the crackdowns, it is just easier to sail other lines with less restrictions, better service and greater options. Or an All Inclusive where we know when we leave everything is paid for, no on-board account to worry about, same quality or better dining than Carnival, larger accommodations and overall less cost.

 

I don't for a minute think that Carnival will sail less than full for the next few years as they will always attract the first time cruiser with their low fares, convenient departures in most areas, etc. But I do think that all the penny pinching, rule enforcing, our way or the highway mentality will send repeat customers to other vacation options.

This is a very interesting poll. One that's been needing attention for some time. I'm glad you posted it and I am not surprised by the results. JMHO. :-)

 

I agree that the whole flavor of the Carnival experience has changed under Carnival's newest CEO. If everyone here on CC would buy Carnival stock and vote their opinions at shareholder vote time, perhaps things would change in a hurry.

 

I've never smuggled my hootch on board, and I still feel that way. And quite frankly, even though I'm a CCL shareholder, I couldn't care less if you smuggle yours onboard. :eek:

[winddawn]

LOL at Egon!!!!!!!

[winddawn]

The Bon Voyage debacle, had it not been fixed would have made me go with RCL. I booked the Victory the day they changed their minds.

 

At least they were listening when everyone complained. I would prefer they stick to their fun ship mentality and stop changing policies left and right.

But why do passengers have to complain about something to get it changed? It shouldn't happen to start with. Passengers need to have a great experience without having to beg for it. This is a symptom of poor leadership.

[crewsweeper]

Unfortunately it seems like Cahill puts the shareholders happiness before that of the guests. While penny pinching may give the shareholders a short term boost, the loss of guests could ultimately hurt the company.

 

If making more money is the goal, then improve the product. Don't water it down to save pennies. That same business mindset is why so many American car companies are failing while Japanese and Korean companies have gained huge followings in just a couple of decades.

 

Well that's what he's suppose to do, make the shareholders happy...Many shareholders are active managers running pension and foundation money. They are heavily influenced by Wall Street firms and trading desks. They are very short term focused because a couple of quarters of poor performance and the pension funds pull their money out. So CEOs are always cognizant of the quarterly earnings forecast and try NOT to even be a penny shy of estimate (which are often way out of whack anyway).

 

I do agree that long term company interests should prevail. But long term growth in the minds of CEOs and Board of Directors and Wall Street analysts is increasing revenues by growing customer base not just keeping repeat customers. All crusie lines want MORE NEW customers. That's why they're building bigger ships with more play things and constructing cookie cutter pier areas to cater to those travelers who don't really wish to leave home and have to "brave" the foreign elements. We may disparage these trends as being "WALMART", but lets face reality...big box stores do cater to the masses needs and price points better than mom and pop or smaller chains. I love the service at my local hardware store, but I hit Lowes or Home Depot for larger purchases.

 

BTW, I thought the thread title was a bit misleading relative to the actual question, ergo, I went with steveaaaaa.

[bsfstire1]

Good poll! I don't know if the "advise" will be heeded or not, but they better be careful on how much penny pinching they do, Cahill is definitly a numbers guy, and the dangerous thing about that is that numbers don't convey emotion, which is what drives bookings (why go if your peception is that you are going to be charged extra for EVERYTHING, newcomers are especially sensitive to this, especially when they get home and realize how much they spent). They are walking a fine fence line with taking things away, lets hope they don't tip to far and fall and injure their baby making (new customers) cajona's, that would truly be ugly:eek:

[halos]

Are you channeling Nunu???

LMAO!

My vote is YES. Cahill ain't Bob and Bob was better.

[Aknot]

Ive read through all of the replies. Can someone come to a consensus as to what has changed that makes that big a difference?

 

Maybe im blind but most things I see is "alcohol prices and powerstrips". I saw someone mention the removal of midnight buffet and another about something they were not sure of.

 

From what I have read here and on the forums since I have been a member will (as long as the expierence is good) make me come back to carnival. As a matter of fact we are already telling our son we will be taking him next time. albeit a shorter cruise but a cruise with Carnival none the less.

 

So please (maybe the poll creator?) create a list of things that have changed since the other guy took over, and the impact it has had.

 

My family is looking forward to continous cruises with Carnival. They are inexpensive and do what they are supposed to do.

 

Again I HAVENT CRUISED... however I dont see anything so far that would make me not cruise Carnival again.

 

Beleive me you... I will let you know the first day back...

[Ashpalo]

Ive read through all of the replies. Can someone come to a consensus as to what has changed that makes that big a difference?

 

Maybe im blind but most things I see is "alcohol prices and powerstrips". I saw someone mention the removal of midnight buffet and another about something they were not sure of.

 

From what I have read here and on the forums since I have been a member will (as long as the expierence is good) make me come back to carnival. As a matter of fact we are already telling our son we will be taking him next time. albeit a shorter cruise but a cruise with Carnival none the less.

 

So please (maybe the poll creator?) create a list of things that have changed since the other guy took over, and the impact it has had.

 

My family is looking forward to continous cruises with Carnival. They are inexpensive and do what they are supposed to do.

 

Again I HAVENT CRUISED... however I dont see anything so far that would make me not cruise Carnival again.

 

Beleive me you... I will let you know the first day back...

 

 

Some changes over the past couple of years have been:

 

- Increasing the workload for waiters (they now have more tables assigned to them) - which results in poorer, less personalized service

 

- Increasing the workload for cabin stewards (they now have more cabins assigned to them) - which results in poorer, less personalized service

 

- No more Gala Buffet (personally I thought this was a waste of money) - this upset many long time cruisers, as the Gala buffet is/was a tradition

 

- No more past guest pins, unless you are Platinum - many people collected these and were very disappointed that they were discontinued

 

- Crack down on smuggling, which upset those that are used to smuggling in order to avoid the overpriced drinks.

 

- Powerstrip/fan insanity - you probably already know all about that one!!!

 

I'm sure there are many, many more that I am missing, but at least this is a start. I'm sure others will add to the list.

 

Ashley :)

[MrPete]

My last Carnival cruise, I saw a step up of service when my platinum was in full view, but I saw a decrease in the quality of food, as well as MDR service (which could be attributed to the two bumbling idiots assigned to me)

 

I was truly disappointed, moreso as my ship didn't have a supper club to which to escape.

[Aknot]

Thanks Ash.

 

In reading through these forums I have yet to hear (maybe I havent found the right thread) about poor service with regards to waiters and cabin stewards on a regular basis. Quite the contrary that is the 2 areas I hear a lot of positive comments over. Which is evident especially in the "tip" threads.

 

Smuggling im very familiar with. However did drink prices rise or have they always been (about) the same? If so I feel this is a non issue. They are just enforcing a "rule" that has always been there. And people are getting upset cause they were use to bringing what they wante don board.

 

The powerstrip/fan thing was quite interesting. I see on one hand a safety issue with people bringing "subpar" stuff. So if you bring well kept things I dont think there is an issue.

 

Which leaves the pins and the buffet. Tokens of appreciations are always welcomed. However if they are given out on a regualr basis they tend to not be as "special". Maybe like anniverseries.. 2nd cruise, 5th, 10th etc...

 

As for the Buffet if it was a waste (meaning a lot of food was being placed and wasted) it was a smart business decision. I dont know. If 5 people out of 500 used it getting rid of it as a no brainer.

 

Thats just me looking from the outside in. Maybe if I had been cruising for 10 years I may feel different. However I see nothing wrong and as long as I feel im getting my moneys worth will more then likely do it again and reccomend it to friends/family.

[halos]

Ive read through all of the replies. Can someone come to a consensus as to what has changed that makes that big a difference?

 

...

overworked crew= service not up to standard AND crew obviously not as cheerful (which bothers me just as much)

 

Food isn't quite as good as it was about 5-6 years ago. MDR is still better than most other main stream lines MDR, but it is deteriorating and like Pete said, not all ships have a supper club to escape to.

 

alcohol prices, power strips and midnight buffet don't mean much to me, but service does.

[LaShea]

Ive read through all of the replies. Can someone come to a consensus as to what has changed that makes that big a difference?

 

Maybe im blind but most things I see is "alcohol prices and powerstrips". I saw someone mention the removal of midnight buffet and another about something they were not sure of.

 

From what I have read here and on the forums since I have been a member will (as long as the expierence is good) make me come back to carnival. As a matter of fact we are already telling our son we will be taking him next time. albeit a shorter cruise but a cruise with Carnival none the less.

 

So please (maybe the poll creator?) create a list of things that have changed since the other guy took over, and the impact it has had.

 

My family is looking forward to continous cruises with Carnival. They are inexpensive and do what they are supposed to do.

 

Again I HAVENT CRUISED... however I dont see anything so far that would make me not cruise Carnival again.

 

Beleive me you... I will let you know the first day back...

 

I am with you on this one!! I have only cruised on Carnival once (last December) and have another cruise planned for November 2010. I was so pleased with the first cruise that we scheduled our next cruise withon a week of coming back. It was the best vacation DH and I have ever had. My dad is a retired airline Captian so I have been to numerous places over my life time and this cruise was right up there with one of the best experiences I have had personally. I can see how maybe some of the experienced cruisers see some of these things as a loss, but really none of the things that have been listed would have been a loss to me personally.

 

1. I wouldn't eat at a midnight buffet because I would be full from dinner. I see this as a waste of money personally, that they could use for other things.

 

2. I don't collect things like pins and other nick nacks, so, the the past guest pins would be a waste in my opinion. I know other people like them...it is just my opinion.

 

3. Until I got on this website I had no idea about the powerstrip issue and even being on this website before my first cruise I did not bring one and we survived just fine.

 

4. We are not big drinkers and so the smuggling thing is something we would never do. I will just buy the few drinks we get and bring on the bottle of wine I am allowed as that is something I enjoy and it is allowed.

 

I would be interested to see what big things have been cut or replaced other than the 4 things listed above that we read about on these threads daily. From someone who is not truly an "experienced" cruiser I think carnival has a good thing going. I may have been lucky in my dealings with them (PVP, CSR and onboard crew), but I have never even got close to complaiaing about anything. That could be why over 66,000 people sailed with them this week alone (as listed on John's blog from 06/07). That is a lot of people for one week.

[halos]

I am with you on this one!! I have only cruised on Carnival once (last December) .

 

Ahh...ignorance is bliss in this case.

You don't know what you're missing, so of course it's all good for you :)

I imagine that other new cruisers will feel exactly as you do. Maybe this is what CCL wants...all new cruisers??? It's the repeat cruisers that have had better food, better service and the little amenities that are not thrilled with the changes.

While other lines seem to be making inovative changes, CCL is just making money saving ones....

[nobody000]

Ahh...ignorance is bliss in this case.

You don't know what you're missing, so of course it's all good for you :)

I imagine that other new cruisers will feel exactly as you do. Maybe this is what CCL wants...all new cruisers??? It's the repeat cruisers that have had better food, better service and the little amenities that are not thrilled with the changes.

While other lines seem to be making inovative changes, CCL is just making money saving ones....

 

 

Hammer on the nail!!

[LaShea]

Ahh...ignorance is bliss in this case.

You don't know what you're missing, so of course it's all good for you :)

I imagine that other new cruisers will feel exactly as you do. Maybe this is what CCL wants...all new cruisers??? It's the repeat cruisers that have had better food, better service and the little amenities that are not thrilled with the changes.

While other lines seem to be making inovative changes, CCL is just making money saving ones....

 

I am a REPEAT cruiser as I now have another booked cruise!! I may have not done cruises in the past as I am just getting to a place in my life where the career is steady and we are making enough money to afford luxuries like vacations without living in our car!:D Halos...please tell me what I am missing (other than the 4 things I had listed above) I am still waiting. I am curious to know. I had OUTSTANDING service on my cruise and have heard the same from numerous cruisers (all of which don't even know about these boards). My mom has sailed on 14 cruises in her past with my dad. When he started getting sick they had to stop. She is now getting out again with friends and going on cruises. She hated Carnival years ago and cringed at the fact she was going on them again with a friend last year. It was a free cruise to her so she went...low and behold, her and 10 of her girlfriends are on the Conquest as I type!! She absolutely loved it! She was gald it wasn't the party boat it used to be, but still fun and had no complaints at all. So, maybe not ALL "experienced" cruisers see it your way. We must not all be ignorant or they would not be sailing full almost every cruise!!;) Just my opinon!

[LambKnuckles]

I hit Platinum on my next cruise... I LOVE CARNIVAL!! Yep, I can afford it and I enjoy the closeness of the port of Galveston and NOLA...

I think the service is still GREAT!!

I haven't seen a reduction in care and caring of the MDR staff at dinner or breakfast or lunch...

I haven't noticed the quality of food dropping. I have noticed the portoins and choices have changed -- but the food is still GREAT!!! Granted you have to select correctly -- but there are choices. I don't get the steaks as often -- I think the quality of the beef in MDR has gone down with the availability of the speciality restaurant -- so I choose something different!

The Cabin Stewards are GREAT!!!

Maybe I've been lucky or just understand that they aren't slaves and I'm NOT their only charge... They still clean the room, bring towels numerous times during the day, make towel animals, fill the ice, and are there when required...

The ships are GREAT!

The new upgrades are WONDERFUL!!! The place is CLEAN!!! The pools are wonderful! The shows are great!

I can't complain and I'll keep cruising on CARNIVAL as long as the prices are right! And I'll tip the staff as I see their help and assistance.

Was this all Cahill?

or work ethic of the staff?

or policy?

or just the love of a job???

Who knows... But IT'S CARNIVAL and I do believe they are FUN SHIPS!!!! :)

[glrounds]

I am with you on this one!! I have only cruised on Carnival once (last December) and have another cruise planned for November 2010. I was so pleased with the first cruise that we scheduled our next cruise withon a week of coming back. It was the best vacation DH and I have ever had. My dad is a retired airline Captian so I have been to numerous places over my life time and this cruise was right up there with one of the best experiences I have had personally. I can see how maybe some of the experienced cruisers see some of these things as a loss, but really none of the things that have been listed would have been a loss to me personally.

 

1. I wouldn't eat at a midnight buffet because I would be full from dinner. I see this as a waste of money personally, that they could use for other things.

 

2. I don't collect things like pins and other nick nacks, so, the the past guest pins would be a waste in my opinion. I know other people like them...it is just my opinion.

 

3. Until I got on this website I had no idea about the powerstrip issue and even being on this website before my first cruise I did not bring one and we survived just fine.

 

4. We are not big drinkers and so the smuggling thing is something we would never do. I will just buy the few drinks we get and bring on the bottle of wine I am allowed as that is something I enjoy and it is allowed.

 

I would be interested to see what big things have been cut or replaced other than the 4 things listed above that we read about on these threads daily. From someone who is not truly an "experienced" cruiser I think carnival has a good thing going. I may have been lucky in my dealings with them (PVP, CSR and onboard crew), but I have never even got close to complaiaing about anything. That could be why over 66,000 people sailed with them this week alone (as listed on John's blog from 06/07). That is a lot of people for one week.

 

Although a first time cruiser, LaShea echoes my comments as a 17 time cruiser with Carnival even though I agree with halos comments also, below.:rolleyes:

 

Ahh...ignorance is bliss in this case.

You don't know what you're missing, so of course it's all good for you :)

I imagine that other new cruisers will feel exactly as you do. Maybe this is what CCL wants...all new cruisers??? It's the repeat cruisers that have had better food, better service and the little amenities that are not thrilled with the changes.

While other lines seem to be making inovative changes, CCL is just making money saving ones....

 

I'm no gourmet, but I think Carnival's food in the MDR has slipped significantly. Not much of a drinker anymore, so I'm hardly affected by the upswing in Carnival drink pricing.

I think the main problem Mr. Cahill faces is the ECONOMY which is banging all cruiselines around. If Carnival really wanted to "money grub", they could throw on the FUEL SURCHARGE which they've pre-warned us they could do anytime when oil reaches $70 per barrell, which has been the case for some time now.:confused:

Mr. Cahill has a tight rope to walk. He must please stockholders and at the same time keep customers coming back at a PRICE POINT that is profitable. Tough to do these days, I'll bet. :)

[LHP]

Over the past 10+ years with Dickinson and Cahill......

 

the food, I have found has more to do with a different ship than a different CEO. I have had excellent meals and disappointing meals under both CEOs.

 

I have actually seen some additions on Lido under Cahill. (double use of space for breakfast and lunch...that (in the past) was just for lunch)

 

Eliminating the midnight buffet was the right call. It was a horrific waste of food. In its place, Carnival added some extra "decorations" around the daily Lido food area and added the chocolate buffet that is never wasted.

 

 

The major cuts are things that the general passengers population never sees.

The first cut by Cahill was 4 positions in administration on the ship....and once the ships figured out who was going to cover those 4 people, things leveled out. We were on a ship the week after those cuts were made and it was a little "iffy" at that point, but that is to be expected.

 

The other cuts that passengers probably don't even notice is the reduction in the orchestra. The most recent cut, in that area, was the trumphets and trombones. This caused us to lose at least one GREAT musical director.

 

The additional hour that the solo entertainers and bands have now (from 4 hours a day to 5 hours a day and more importantly ~ broken sessions) will probably be the most noticable to passengers who love music. (especially in the piano bar area) As a singer, it is impossible to properly warm up and perform nightly singing for an hour and then breaking for an 1 hour and singing for a hour.... breaking for an hour and singing for 3 hours. This will result in the loss of some of Carnival's best piano bar entertainers. That and them now having to wear the "red shirt" (ASK ME) on Embarkation Day. Carnival has already lost one EXCELLENT piano bar guy to this new requirement. These are professionals and Carnival wants to treat them like day labors off the street.

 

The cabin stewards are now at 35 cabins each. I have not personally witnessed any reduction in service in that area. I am however more appreciative of the work that they do.

 

Eliminating the pins was also just common sense. On any given cruise, look at the percentage of passengers that you see with pins on a hat, backpack, lanyard etc. It is a very small percentage.

 

And when the cabin stewards for seeing 500 - 750 a cruise either left in the cabin or thrown in the trash on every cruise, it is time for a change. I know 2,500 pins a week does not sound like alot but multiply that by 20+ ships....every week and it adds up.

 

If someone wants a pin now, they can purchase it in the gift shop.

 

None of the new restrictions affect me. My fan is battery operated. Hubby has had no problems with his extension cord for his CPAP machine.

 

I don't care if they crack down on smugglers. I drink water and it is still free on Lido.

 

We are still getting a great value for our vacation dollar and as long as we continue to...we will cruise with Carnival.

[Nunu]

The loss of trombones is troubling.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Anyone who thinks Uncle Bob wasn't a penny pincher wasn't paying attention, but he did have a personality.

 

You can't grow the business with repeat customers, you can only do that by attracting new customers. Repeat customers used to just get a cocktail party and a pin. Now at least there is a rewards program.

 

I think the Future Cruise Certificates is a great program and worth a lot more to me.

[jimbo5544]

Ahh...ignorance is bliss in this case.

You don't know what you're missing, so of course it's all good for you :)

I imagine that other new cruisers will feel exactly as you do. Maybe this is what CCL wants...all new cruisers??? It's the repeat cruisers that have had better food, better service and the little amenities that are not thrilled with the changes.

While other lines seem to be making inovative changes, CCL is just making money saving ones....

That is exactly what Carnival wants, the 92% of the population that has not cruised before.

[jimbo5544]

The loss of trombones is troubling.

Thats because the Trombone union tried to organize...:eek:

[halos]

I am a REPEAT cruiser as I now have another booked cruise!! I may have not done cruises in the past as I am just getting to a place in my life where the career is steady and we are making enough money to afford luxuries like vacations without living in our car!:D Halos...please tell me what I am missing (other than the 4 things I had listed above) I am still waiting. I am curious to know. I had OUTSTANDING service on my cruise and have heard the same from numerous cruisers (all of which don't even know about these boards). My mom has sailed on 14 cruises in her past with my dad. When he started getting sick they had to stop. She is now getting out again with friends and going on cruises. She hated Carnival years ago and cringed at the fact she was going on them again with a friend last year. It was a free cruise to her so she went...low and behold, her and 10 of her girlfriends are on the Conquest as I type!! She absolutely loved it! She was gald it wasn't the party boat it used to be, but still fun and had no complaints at all. So, maybe not ALL "experienced" cruisers see it your way. We must not all be ignorant or they would not be sailing full almost every cruise!!;) Just my opinon!

 

I never said I don't like carnival.

I LOVE Carnival cruises....but there have been changes over the past 5-6 years as I already stated.

Yes, service is very good now...BUT it used to be better. There used to be a time when the wait staff was in charge of 1/2 the amount of tables they are responsible for now and cabin stewards, the same thing.

 

I do feel that I am getting what I pay for. The prices of the cruise are pretty darn cheap. I honestly wish they'd up the prices enough to cover hiring more stewards and waiters to bring service back to what it was. I woudn't mind paying a bit more and having the exquisite service I used to get.

 

Although a first time cruiser, LaShea echoes my comments as a 17 time cruiser with Carnival even though I agree with halos comments also, below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm no gourmet, but I think Carnival's food in the MDR has slipped significantly. Not much of a drinker anymore, so I'm hardly affected by the upswing in Carnival drink pricing.

 

 

I think the main problem Mr. Cahill faces is the ECONOMY which is banging all cruiselines around. If Carnival really wanted to "money grub", they could throw on the FUEL SURCHARGE which they've pre-warned us they could do anytime when oil reaches $70 per barrell, which has been the case for some time now.

 

 

Mr. Cahill has a tight rope to walk. He must please stockholders and at the same time keep customers coming back at a PRICE POINT that is profitable. Tough to do these days, I'll bet.

 

 

 

Gary, I agree with you. It is a very tough thing to balance and I know that CCL is a business and needs to make money.

 

I do worry at how 'low' they are going to go before it DOES become a true Wal-Mart cruise. (for lack of a better analogy)

[DGP1111]

The other cuts that passengers probably don't even notice is the reduction in the orchestra. The most recent cut, in that area, was the trumphets and trombones. This caused us to lose at least one GREAT musical director.

 

Like Linda (yet still less by comparison :)) I've had the great opportunity of somewhat lengthy interactions with the entertainment staff on almost every one of my CCL voyages. There has been a progressive loss of morale on a multitude of ships, and it's sad that some I meet again and again have gone from, "It's hard work, but I love my job" to "I've only got X weeks remaining on this contract and can't wait for the break, and I'm not coming back". :( The reduction/cut-back of between 3-5 dancers on each ship has also made re-blocking the shows close to impossible.

 

Speaking of entertainment . . . if anyone wonders why CCL (and, to be fair, one other line) now never mentions the word 'Broadway' or 'Broadway-style' in their marketing materials is because they got the cease order from the Great White Way, and any future use of the terms, or continued use of show elements from the majority of Broadway producers, was forced to stop or it was going to cost CCL a really nice chunk of change. All came about because the shows were not considered of acceptible quality for the comparison being claimed. At one time Yes, but less than two years ago a big No.