If you could change anything about Carnival?

[bitemyfly]

Exactly! People who pine for the past have lots of choices. There are many options if they wish to spend more.

 

Re Bitemyfly (Hope you're a fisherman) LOL yes big time fisherman and boater!

[PA Dutchman]

How much more does everybody want to pay for a cruise to do all the ideas people have ? $200 a person or more for any cat. You get what you pay for. New cruisers don't know everything has been the same in the MDR for years, shows used to be alot better. Alot of the same jokes are used by the CDs, same cruiseing shows with the CDs. If you ever go on a BtoB on the same ship, everything is the same on the ship down to every joke by the CD. Keeping the price down gives alot of new people a chance to go on a cruise. Lately alot of people just keep complaining about anything and everything they should already know before they take a cruise. When you have 2000+ people on a ship you better learn to go with the flow, we are not all the same and don't care about what your personal pet peaves are. You need to read your cruise contract before you go, don't come back and bitch about anything you should have already known about before you booked. JMO

[boowaaccaa]

Entertainment!! I have been on 4 cruises with Carnival and on 3 of them I saw the exact same juggler/comedien entertainer (and these were different ships over the course of 4 years) - same jokes same show. Saw one comedien twice and one magician twice (and his show was billed as brand new just for that ship--total bull becuase we saw the exact show 1 year eariler on a different ship).

 

Also I would like to see a better loyalty program from people with less then Platium status. On a recent RCI cruise the past guest got a coupon book with a bunch of buy 1 get 1. Right now we don't spend much on the ship but if we had these coupons we would spend more so it would be a win for Carnival.

[oldstuffshirt]

I would carnival to install (on all ships) an outside deck that goes completely around the ship, much like the dream class ships /lanai .This outside deck would be the super saver /camping deck. It would have no cabins , just 10 x 10 spaces . people would bring their own tents, allow large coolers for any beverage they want to bring. They can run some hose ‘s with sprinkler heads for a water works.

Unlike the dream the camping deck would have 24 hour grill and also server all comfort food .

Spaghetti O’s, beef a roni , scrapple you know the basics! Shops to include a wal mart outlet, Tattoo parlor, and of course a 99 cent store.

Now that would be a party

[cybercon]

The mentality of the new management....:D

 

Hope they have allot of new bees. We have cruised CCL every year since 1990 and have seen a decline of bands to they ain't there know mooo. Theses young guns need to step up the plate and re-evaluate. We are looking in to an all-inclusive just because of poor to non entertainment. Sorry CCL but I was not inpressed this year.

[H82seaUgo]

I would carnival to install (on all ships) an outside deck that goes completely around the ship, much like the dream class ships /lanai .This outside deck would be the super saver /camping deck. It would have no cabins , just 10 x 10 spaces . people would bring their own tents, allow large coolers for any beverage they want to bring. They can run some hose ‘s with sprinkler heads for a water works.

Unlike the dream the camping deck would have 24 hour grill and also server all comfort food .

Spaghetti O’s, beef a roni , scrapple you know the basics! Shops to include a wal mart outlet, Tattoo parlor, and of course a 99 cent store.

Now that would be a party

 

tents.

 

that's a great idea for people wanting to get around the tipping issue. a deck dedicated to all those third class passengers. a true return to the olde days of cruising.

[nbsjcruiser]

1. Gotta do something with that god awful decor

2. Pools should be bigger bringing more focus and fun to the pool deck

3. Stop with the 50 foot TVs. I can get CNN and HLN anytime I want at home. Instead, see suggestion #4.

4. Bring back the calypso bands

5. Put the flat iron steaks where they belong, the local SPCA. The animals could use the food.

6. Different menus for each ship.

7. Different entertainment in the theater on each ship.

[PROCRUISE]

Just read every response. Lots of interesting suggestions, many of which I agree as we also have seen the decline in CCL. However, I don't think for a moment this thread will make any difference with the CEO and other head administrators. That's why we tried another cruise line last March and will be cruising with them again in January because we were so impressed with the decor, the food, the activities, and especially the staff and officers on board. So, look around, try other cruise lines, that's one bottom line that CCL might notice. Just so you know, we are booked on The Breeze for 12/12-we hope that the new decor is not the only thing that CCL will begin to change with this ship.

[allener58]

Get rid of the ridiculous 200% single supplement for all cabin classes. Why should I be penalized for cruising alone and have to pay the same as two people?

 

Stop playing info commercials on the big screen and turn the volume down.

 

Turn off the lido deck tv all together except movies at night.

 

Bring back the 1A single supplement at least.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

 

That's why we tried another cruise line last March and will be cruising with them again in January because we were so impressed with the decor, the food, the activities, and especially the staff and officers on board.

 

...

 

You'll enjoy the Constellation - not quite a Solstice class ship, but very nice! We are looking at the Eclipse for January as well.

 

Tom

[lillian marie]

I like CCL for exactly what it is, a bargain cruise experience. I'm alittle bored with the menu and would like to see some different recipes for the fish and chicken that they serve. My favorite cruise line is Cunard, 2nd is Holland. The food and service was exceptional on those lines but the cruise cost for those lines is more than double what I pay on CCL so I cruise CCL often. I'm getting the cruise vacation product that I pay for on CCL. You get a lower quality experience on CCL but it is still a wonderful overall vacation experience. The cruiser on CCL is often a typical middle class individual and that's just fine with me. I don't cruise to make friends, I don't care what others wear or eat. I don't care if other cruisers eat or drink too much, wear inappropriate clothing, etc. I cruise to have a great, relaxing experience with my husband and family, period.

Edited June 14, 2011 by lillian marie

[carncruiser1964]

I would like to see the shows changed up more often. We've seen the same shows so many times now that we really don't enjoy them anymore.

[Spaniel Lover]

Five things Carnival could do that wouldn't really be that expensive and which would please a lot of customers:

 

1. Put real king-sized beds in a select number of cabins on every ship. When I say a "real" king-sized bed, I do not mean two twins pushed together! Make these cabins a separate category all their own, so that people that want a real king-sized bed can book them specifically... and so that people that want two twins don't accidentally book them. Maybe this could be used as a way to encourage people to book the higher classes of cabins in each category... for example, putting king sized beds in category 8E cabins but not in 8A through 8D.

 

2. Change the pizzeria to a pizza buffet... where there are pizzas sitting out (under heat lamps) so that guests do not have to order and wait for a slice of pizza... they can just come up to the buffet and grab a slice or two.

 

3. Put cola dispensers in the Lido restaurants so that cola is as easily available as the soft serve ice cream is. Yes, I know you'd be giving up a small amount of bar revenue on cola... but think of how much people love that free soft-serve ice cream and how much they would enjoy free unlimited colas in the Lido buffet. This would give you a competitive advantage over RCCL and Norwegian... and believe me, there WOULD be some serious cola drinkers who would book Carnival over RCCL and NCL simply for the free cola.

 

4. Make it easy on Carnival.com to book back-to-back cruises. Go over to Princess.com and see how they do it... they make it EASY. For example, when a Princess ship does alternating 7-day eastern and western Caribbean itineraries... they also show a 14-day version on the web site, which is simply two of the seven-day cruises back to back. It is currently not possible on Carnival.com to easily determine a cabin that is available for two cruises back to back. It's simple on Princess.com

 

5. On the ships you build in the future... put more electrical outlets in the cabins! This is not 1975 anymore. People have iPods and iPads and iPhones and iDontKnowWhatElse... and they want to charge them all overnight.

[sjcruiser]

Add a "real" Promenade like Royal, and/or add more offerings to the menu to the Lido/24 hour pizza and salad cafe.

Edited June 15, 2011 by sjcruiser

[Thoth]

Carnival should go back to giving us SOLO CRUISERS a discount like they did in the previous years.

 

.

AMEN !!

It should be against company policy to charge anyone 200% for a broom closet sized room.

[joshl44444]

Bring back full calypso bands, bring back quality fly on entertainers and one of the many professional entertainment nights cut.

[happyville]

We sailed the Liberty in May and what I would like to see changed is:

 

Not having to walk through the Cigar Bar to get to the Silver diningroom

 

Eliminate all the smoking in the casino, if people want to smoke they should have a designated enclosed area in the casino and other parts of the ship. Not enough people go out on the decks to smoke in the areas allowed.

 

The volume in the Showroom. We went to the shows at night and the volume on the mics of the signers was so loud you couldn't understand what they were signing. We got up and left way to LOUD.

[nbsjcruiser]

I do have a solution since I have read other boards that many like these comfort foods....why not have a dining room just serving these comfort foods and another dining room continue the regular menu? Two different dining rooms plus having the buffet gives more choices to poeple I think passengers would like this.

 

 

If they want to serve "comfort" foods like burgers in the MDR then pass out free McDonalds coupons and have a McDonalds on board every ship. Let them go there for their comfort food but leave the MDR alone. Its meant for a higher class of food than burgers and Mac and Cheese. Its a cruise for crying out loud. One of the things I keep telling my family who do all inclusives is that the food is not comparable. Cruise food is so much better. If Carnival goes down the comfort food line in the MDR it cheapens the product and isn't worth spending good money on.

Edited June 15, 2011 by nbsjcruiser

[nbsjcruiser]

Here's a suggestion - do away with the MDR all together on newer ships and begin fazing them out on the other ships.

 

Have only smaller venue restaurants that all charge a small fee from $10-$30. The only "free" food is in the buffet. No more tough steaks and lower quality food unless you choose the buffet. If you want a steak you'll get a damn good one in the steakhouse but you'll pay for it.

 

This means the average person will pay $70-$210 extra for their cruise on a 7 day cruise. Carnival could drop the price on their cruises even further than they do now because all dinners will be paid for by the customers unless they choose the buffet and there will be no more MDR food - a significant savings. It would be a way of letting those with simpler tastes to choose a venue that gives them what they want for a cheaper price and allow those who want a better dining experience to have that as well.

[ib4cruzn]

:D

 

 

 

Knowing LHP well (sailed with her a few times), I know what she meant - though at the same time, when I read it, I knew that some people would misinterpret her comment. I am sure she'll come along and explain where she was coming from. It CERTAINLY was not a blanket statement saying that "people who sail Carnival are cheap" - trust me! :)

 

 

Tom

 

Ditto. I understood her and have to agree. I think she meant "cheap" as an attitude. Rhymes with railer rash...

[ib4cruzn]

You get what you pay for.

 

Ok. How about "you don't get what you used to pay for"?

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Longer cruises

[ib4cruzn]

Hope they have allot of new bees. We have cruised CCL every year since 1990 and have seen a decline of bands to they ain't there know mooo. Theses young guns need to step up the plate and re-evaluate. We are looking in to an all-inclusive just because of poor to non entertainment. Sorry CCL but I was not inpressed this year.

 

Huh?

[jgawne]

Opinions are like noses: we all have one and they are all different.

 

I've cruised 64 times, 15 of them on Carnival. I've had some of the best meals and seen some of the best shows on Carnival.

 

My only complaint is that they used to have a combo playing dance music in the steak houses and they have done away with it. It really made it a supper club. You could even just go up and use the bar and dance.

 

Carnival's philosophy is to attract the 1st time cruiser. If you cruise often, find a line that limits smoking to only 2 locations on the ship, like Oceania or Azamara. Norwegian Epic has 21 places to eat and 14 are free. Etc.

 

The price of cruising has held relatively steady for 10 years. They have to make up the revenue some way, and they do it by focusing on onboard revenue: drinks, casino, shops, specialty restaurants, etc. Don't know why I'd pay for bottled water when the water made onboard is better and pure than the bottled water, and it's free.

[richstowe]

Wow! that's 4 cruises per post.:)