Thoughts on Fun Ships 2.0 announced today

[LisaH]

Are these additions part of the drydock for Miracle in January? I have not seen anything on the specifics but am curious for sure since we are cruising in February.

[The_Geek]

I wish they would add flowriders to Carnival

[firefly333]

Are these additions part of the drydock for Miracle in January? I have not seen anything on the specifics but am curious for sure since we are cruising in February.

 

miracle not on the list .. but I was interested to see the changes to spirit, including waterworks, and the steepest slide on the seas.

 

If they can do all those changes to spirit, they can to miracle

 

Carnival Liberty 2011,

Breeze, Conquest, Glory in 2012,

Destiny, Legend, Pride, Victory in 2013

Elation Freedom Triumph Valor in 2014

Magic and Paradise in 2015

[luv cruising 007]

I happen to think that this program is ground breaking for Carnival. They are still the world's largest and most profitable cruise line and for good reason: the value. Of course people could pay more and opt for another line, but who wants to pay more for anything? You want to pay for better quality, all the bells and whistles? You want to pay for food that could and should be free? Well now you don't have to with the new improvements. You are talking about carnival bottoming out huh and scrambling for new ideas to put on ships? What do you think Royal Caribbean is going to do now besides offer rocket ship rides to the moon. They threw everything on their ships all at once with Oasis and Allure. Some people call it a nightmare at sea, others enjoy it. Either way, its subjective. What one may like another will not. I like Carnival's approach. Slow and steady and its going to pay off. Now I'm quite sure that the next ship will have a new layout of some sort and that makes sense. This program is guiding the line in a new direction and giving it room to grow from one concept to the next. I would rather that they improve their current fleet than introduce a new ship. I think its wonderful . They are giving the customers what they want all for a good value. Now eveyone will get what they pay for, good shows, more FREE food options, activities for the kids and adults and just more options. I'm quite proud of them.

 

Very very well spoken post thanx:)! Also the original posters comment was well said too!

[PFV]

I want to see the red Camaro pull up in front of the ship and ask is it a Diner, Drive-In or Dive?:D

[drosphot]

EA SPORTS BAR - I'm a sports nut and a craft beer drinker.

 

On the surface it looks great, but when you look at the list of beers, are any of them truly "craft" beers? :( Boddington's is still my go to beer based on the beer menu they have online. The Red Frog isn't even a true craft beer, it's contract brewed by the almighty AB but reminded me a St Arnold's brew from Houston, too "grainy" for me... All I really ask for is a good Hefeweizen for a hot summer day. :) I do like the Modelo Especial on tap at the Blue Iguana though... :cool:

 

I will still order large amounts of Bon Voyage liquor and I will buy beers from the bars, too. Nothing is changing for me, but I welcome the new changes for Carnival! :cool:

[Gig103]

They should sticky this so everyone knows what the changes were, in one location.

[Smithkids5521]

I'm completely shocked by the mixed response to these changes as you've probably seen from some of the other threads in here. I guess it goes to show how resistant people are to change, even change that is in a really positive direction as these are.

Great work, Carnival!

 

Well said!! I pretty much agree with everything you posted. Couldn't have said it better myself!! :)

[terryinal]

Firefly, I went back and looked at the George Lopez thread and realized that it had a lot of comments earlier in the day, but had pretty much died off over the last couple of hours. I had written quite a bit and thought it might go unseen in the other thread.

 

Should I delete this one? I do understand and don't want to be a jerk.

 

Thanks for the info. The first time I seen the changes

[Carolin]

I had to look up what a EA Sports bar is. :confused: Sports video game bar where they might show live sports. This should be interesting. I guess I'll stroll in and if there's an actual game on I might hang out. Not interested in watching fake sports or playing video games. Just not my thing. I'm sure other people will love it to pieces.

[BaseballMomof4]

I am booked on the 12/10 sailing of the Liberty and have been since before I heard about the drydock and all of the upgrades and to answer an earlier question, yes, after the announcement I looked up the price and it had gone up. ;)

[cpayne]

I have been slow in following the boards these past months. Therefore, please forgive my question in advance.....

 

These changes which were announced, are these features that are already on the Magic which is coming to Galveston soon? As Houston based cruisers we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Magic!

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Question: Are they taking anything away??? No

Are they giving you more for your money .... yes.

 

So what is the problem???? If you don't want self-served wine, then walk on by. If you don't like Mexican, then walk on by. Really people.

[Traveling Fishhead]

I, for one, don't know where an announcements thread is located, I saw 2.0 mentioned elsewhere and had no idea what it referred to, and I THANK YOU!

[weltek]

As someone that's never cruised Carnival, I might give it a shot to try some of these new things. While there's nothing really groundbreaking for the industry here, I think if Carnival can hold to low prices while still offering these "new" products, it's great. Alchemy and the improved sports bar are the two most interesting things to me. No thanks on the greasy burger bar, George Lopez driven comedy, better djs, or Mexican. But to bundle all these as a major revamp? Good on you, Carnival. There's something in here for most people that Carnival wants to attract.

[Jenbo57]

i want to see the red camaro pull up in front of the ship and ask is it a diner, drive-in or dive?:d

 

 

:) :) :) :)

[Haoie]

IMO it makes much more sense than building another ship, given that the market's oversaturated as it is.

[NAUdebo]

I have been slow in following the boards these past months. Therefore, please forgive my question in advance.....

 

These changes which were announced, are these features that are already on the Magic which is coming to Galveston soon? As Houston based cruisers we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Magic!

 

No problem, good question. My DW and I were on the Magic this summer and absolutely loved it. I promise that you won't be disappointed.

 

Some of these changes are built into the Magic already or will be, but most of them won't be there until 2015 when the Magic goes into drydock for the first time. Magic has the RedFrog Pub and will have the comedy club updates, and I would expect them to have the comedy brunch concept as well. Magic also has Cucina del Capitano, and that's not part of the 2.0 program. They already have a partnership with EA Sports with the creation of the sports deck on Magic. The EA Sports Bar isn't on the Magic, though. Magic does have the ropes course, waterpark, and outdoor exercise equipment the other ships will not. Carnival said they couldn't add those elements to other ships due to a lack of deck space.

 

Blue Iguana, Alchemy, Fiori's Burger Bar, and Library Bar also won't be on the Magic until 2015. Not sure if they'll be able to add the Hasbro game show or if that will wait for dry dock.

[elcuchio24]

I think the changes are great, and I also think Carnival is being smart marketing them well and not breaking the bank. If you think about it, adding a burger stand, or wine machine, or DJ/Comedian to be a figurehead there, aren't huge cash investments in the long term. I think they'll get allot of miles out of these changes without blowing a ton of cash on adding climbing walls, ice rinks, etc.

[LisaH]

miracle not on the list .. but I was interested to see the changes to spirit, including waterworks, and the steepest slide on the seas.

 

If they can do all those changes to spirit, they can to miracle

 

Carnival Liberty 2011,

Breeze, Conquest, Glory in 2012,

Destiny, Legend, Pride, Victory in 2013

Elation Freedom Triumph Valor in 2014

Magic and Paradise in 2015

 

Thanks Firefly and fellow Texan...we are in Plano. So do you have any idea what they will be doing to the Miracle in January during her drydock?

[kyrisong1]

Firefly, I went back and looked at the George Lopez thread and realized that it had a lot of comments earlier in the day, but had pretty much died off over the last couple of hours. I had written quite a bit and thought it might go unseen in the other thread.

 

Should I delete this one? I do understand and don't want to be a jerk.

I don't think you should delete it, I think it's great info. I posted a thread about it after this because I didn't see this one up here.

This is a big thing Carnival is doing and I think people SHOULD be talking about it and if there are multiple threads, well no one is forced to read more than they want.

Thanks for posting this Naudebo, it's got good info!!!

Carole

[hubofhockey]

I will tell you that Carnival is still more profitable than any other cruise line

 

They are more profitable because other lines spend more on ships, entertainment, and service. It's great news for shareholders that they are so profitable. As a customer, it is not something I am overly concerned with.

 

As for now playing catch up with other cruise lines, I saw some picture of the Allure of the Seas wine dispensers. It's not a bad idea to copy. I would prefer that Carnival put larger fresh water pools on their ships. But it doesn't look like that is a direction that Carnival wants to compete in.

[Silverscreencruiser]

Adding some different bars to appeal to different types isn't a bad idea (although I think the biggest thing they could do for customersis to upgrade the channel selecetion available in the sports bar).

 

But I fail to see what George Lopez and DJ Irie add other than doing a commercial here and there for Carnival and perhaps an appearance on one or two cruises a year for publicity. There's already a comedy club and a disco. I doubt we're going to see a better class of comics than they already have in the comedy club, and if they are upgrading the disco, they could get more bang for the buck by spending the money on a sound system rather than a new mouthpiece.

[bbmom2boys]

I think any "improvements" to any product consumed by the public is "earth shattering" in this economy! My family can afford almost 2 cruises a year on Carnival and could not come close to that on the other lines. So to hear that even though Carnival seems to not be having any trouble filling up boats (we just got off the Freedom on Sunday and it was full) that they realize they need to make changes to stay competitive!

 

Any business that wants to stay healthy has to evolve...will they please everyone? NOT IN A MILLION YEARS....am I glad they are trying ideas to attempt to please....ABSOLUTELY!

[NAUdebo]

They are more profitable because other lines spend more on ships, entertainment, and service. It's great news for shareholders that they are so profitable. As a customer, it is not something I am overly concerned with.

 

I'm sure my way of looking at this is different than most, but corporate profits should be a significant concern for the customer in the case of a cruise vacation. I remember hearing a lot of reviews and comments about decreasing quality of the cruise experience after the financial crisis in 2008. Hit with a major threat to their bottom line, cruise lines tried to find ways to cut back in order to remain profitable. It made for a lower quality of on-board experience, which no one should want.

 

Reality is that cruise prices have to go up. Fares have been really cheap over the last few years. It's similar to what happened to the airlines, you had too many ships with too much capacity, built in the mid 2000's under the thinking that years of explosive growth were ahead for the industry. After the financial collapse, the only thing cruise lines could do is cancel new build orders while dropping fares and hoping to squeeze out a profit on each sailing with ships at full capacity.

 

The trend now is to control the amount of available inventory, which will push prices back into a profitable range. Cruise lines don't exist for our pleasure, they exist to make money.

 

So they can increase fares and give us little in return, or make up for the higher cost by improving the onboard experience in ways that aren't too costly for the company. At least Carnival is going to try and give all of us more for our money, leaving their value proposition intact. If they didn't, it would be like the airlines - higher prices for lower quality. I don't think any of us want that.