Bye, Bye Carnival...........

[DocJohnB]

Seems like a comparison to me.

 

Perhaps, but not once were either of the two lines you mentioned singled out for comparison.

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

Years ago after I hit Platinum on Carnival I felt that I had personally outgrew the line and it's ships. Just like a relationship where you say "it's not you, it's me". I graduated over the next dozen years through Princess, Holland-America, Royal Caribbean, Cruise West and Cunard until I found a new home with Celebrity Cruises.

 

It happens to some of us that we just need different surroundings as we 'mature' in our cruise expectations. Not that there is anything wrong with Carnival, millions of people happily cruise them every year and keep coming back.

 

No real need to shed tears as you part ways, just leave. I did and never looked back. Well, not all together true. Even earlier this year when I was looking for a new cruise I looked at every option from Baltimore and NYC down to FLL and Miami. I just couldn't see me back on a Carnival ship. And that's fine. Carnival isn't for everyone. This year it's a B2B cruise on the Celebrity Millennium, maybe in 2012/2013 I'll look at Princess Cruises again.

 

Isn't it great to have so many choices in the cruise industry? ;)

 

Okay I have to ask, if you have no desire to cruise with Carnival any longer, why are you on the Carnival board?

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

Perhaps, but not once were either of the two lines you mentioned singled out for comparison.

 

 

Correct. Neither one of those 2 lines were singled out in a comparison of the individual items that the OP listed. However, I interpreted the above quoted sentence as a general comparison between the mentioned cruise lines.

[Trin1103]

I saw nothing major either. Maybe it's time for him to "graduate" to higher prices, then complain about choppy waters. I recently got off a cruise on another line, now that food was to not be thrilled about, whether dining room or buffet. I was shocked to say the least. Made Carnival look like the Waldorf.

As for using the sanitizers, they are for show, no matter what cruiseline. The cruise I was on had so many I said "OMG", even in the elevators! At eating venues you got squirted by an attendant. My thoughts are handwashing! But that's behind closed doors so it's not seen. To me, the sanitizers just "moves the dirt around". Kills bacteria, yes, not viruses that cause stomach ailments.

 

Hand "sanitizer" is absolutely worthless and should be avoided at all costs. If anyone on our upcoming cruise offers me a squirt of the stuff, I will decline - politely.

 

It is alcohol - nothing more, and all it does is kill every living thing on your hands. GOOD and BAD bacteria - it doesn't discriminate. SO - what you end up with is a bunch of people with alcohol-scoured hands, just waiting for the first opportunistic bad bacterium to cause problems because it CAN because the good bacteria and antibodies to combat it are all gone. From Norovirus to antibiotic-resistant diseases, hand sanitizer helps them all gain a foothold.

 

Go to the restroom - wash with soap and warm water for 30 seconds, dry with paper towel, turn faucet off with paper towel, open door with paper towel, leave. Those who are too lazy to do it are probably the ones who get sick. Sanitizer is NOT a viable alternative!!!

 

Oh - and keep your fingers out of your mouth, mose, eyes and ears. Simple. ;)

 

..Trin..

[DocJohnB]

Correct. Neither one of those 2 lines were singled out in a comparison of the individual items that the OP listed. However, I interpreted the above quoted sentence as a general comparison between the mentioned cruise lines.

 

That is pretty much the definition of taking something out of context.

[valtandc]

I had a great time on my recent CTN and in June 8 night cruise both on Miracle....But I do see why its the budget cruiseline.....and many of the passengers are folks that are from another world altogether and pretty nasty with no manners.....there were also some wonderful people I met.

 

I liked the food for the most part....I have to agree about the eggs...they are disgusting....not sure why....even the bacon stinks. I stick with a healthy breakfast on ship of cereal and fruit.

 

asian food was OK. dinner was OK. food much better and ship was significantly cleaner on the 8 day vs 2 nights

[debster11]

Well buh bye then. By your signature you have been cruising for quite awhile and go to some pretty amazing places other then the Carribbean. As others have said, I think you have outgrown Carnival or maybe got too old for Carnival. I don't mean that in a flaming way. I am serious. I like Carnival because I can take my family and not pay a fortune. I myself, prefer RCL for a when it's just my hubby and me.

 

Personally I would love to try a Mediterranean cruise or a European cruise, but that is for when the kids are grown and out of the house. Lol.

[DocJohnB]

Okay I have to ask, if you have no desire to cruise with Carnival any longer, why are you on the Carnival board?

 

I don't know about dmwnc1959, but every once in a while I am able to pick up some good information, if not about Carnival, about cruising in general. I am not sure why my reading or even contributing here should be restricted, because I no longer sail on Carnival. . . . nor why it should bother you.

 

Now if I am mistaken and my being here is not acceptable under the guidelines, please direct me to the pertinent information.

[geaux_aces]

Well....Bye.

[Yvonne]

Why do people feel the need to let everyone else know that they are leaving a particular cruise line?

 

Most of what the OP complained about just seems petty to me.

 

And as far as the hand sanitizer goes, I would be one you would see going through the buffet line and not using it. We stop at the restroom to wash our hands before we go in, so no need for the hand sanitizer. You shouldn't judge people on something like that, as you have no idea if they washed their hands before coming in to the buffet area.

[rlkubi]

As you can see I have been on both the Dream and the Magic. I didn't love the Dream but I loved the Magic!

[valtandc]

you have outgrown carnival or need a change. I know as I get older I won't do Carnival.

 

My problem is that I live near NYC and although i'm thrilled there are a number of ships out of there, its nothing like the options out of Florida. Also, Carnival is so much cheaper than the others and price is a consideration....So I, like probably many others, put up with some of the crude and rude travelers that sleep in Carnivals cabins.

[Yvonne]

you have outgrown carnival or need a change. I know as I get older I won't do Carnival.

 

My problem is that I live near NYC and although i'm thrilled there are a number of ships out of there, its nothing like the options out of Florida. Also, Carnival is so much cheaper than the others and price is a consideration....So I, like probably many others, put up with some of the crude and rude travelers that sleep in Carnivals cabins.

 

How old do you think you'll be when you "outgrow" Carnival? My husband and I are both 54 and still enjoy Carnival cruises.

 

Crude and rude travelers that sleep in Carnival's cabins? Wow. I really don't think I've seen any more bad behavior on a Carnival ship than I have on other lines. Or maybe it's because I'm enjoying myself and my family and just not paying that much attention to other people.

[tracyanns]

Never had grilled chicken ready at the grill, only dogs and burgers, it's difficult to eat healthy on Carnival.

 

I found this to be the case on the Miracle last week also. It was fine, had to go back in about 10 minutes once I ordered one...I asked the head of food and beverage why and he said 2...not that many people order it and if they pre-made it, which they used to do, it dried out too quickly and people complained. He said in average they do 1 grilled chicken to every 50 burgers...it is easier to keep turning the burgers over and only cook the chicken as needed. I know I didn't mind as when it was ready it was piping hot and juicy instead of room temp and dry...so people are going to complain about either waiting or it being crappy and he would rather people have to wait...

 

Made sense to me...

[tracyanns]

Why do people feel the need to let everyone else know that they are leaving a particular cruise line?

 

Most of what the OP complained about just seems petty to me.

 

And as far as the hand sanitizer goes, I would be one you would see going through the buffet line and not using it. We stop at the restroom to wash our hands before we go in, so no need for the hand sanitizer. You shouldn't judge people on something like that, as you have no idea if they washed their hands before coming in to the buffet area.

 

I agree...and also on the hand sanitizer subject, I bring and use my own...not all brands have moisturizer in them and I prefer to know what I am using...but we do prefer to wash our hands rather than use the sanitizer...some people also have allergies or just don't know...I am pretty sure the usage varies based on the demographics of the guests...

 

I am more skeeved out by the people that smell like they haven't showered in 2 weeks, the dirty hands I can take, the smell so not good and that is on everyline I have sailed on...

[zenful6219]

.....we know Carnvial builds these ships cheaper.....

 

 

We all know this or is that your opinion? If it's fact, please provide some kind of reference. I'm booked on the Magic and, if it truly is a cheaply made ship, I'd want to know the facts behind such an allegation.:confused:

[JerseyshoreBruce]

Years ago after I hit Platinum on Carnival I felt that I had personally outgrew the line and it's ships. Just like a relationship where you say "it's not you, it's me". I graduated over the next dozen years through Princess, Holland-America, Royal Caribbean, Cruise West and Cunard until I found a new home with Celebrity Cruises.

 

It happens to some of us that we just need different surroundings as we 'mature' in our cruise expectations. Not that there is anything wrong with Carnival, millions of people happily cruise them every year and keep coming back.

 

No real need to shed tears as you part ways, just leave. I did and never looked back. Well, not all together true. Even earlier this year when I was looking for a new cruise I looked at every option from Baltimore and NYC down to FLL and Miami. I just couldn't see me back on a Carnival ship. And that's fine. Carnival isn't for everyone. This year it's a B2B cruise on the Celebrity Millennium, maybe in 2012/2013 I'll look at Princess Cruises again.

 

Isn't it great to have so many choices in the cruise industry? ;)

Very well said!

[shootr]

I thought the review was fair and you explained yourself well. I too appreciate MOST of the threads that detail life aboard ships I am apt to travel on, and take what I want from those posts, and ignore the rest.

 

I don't travel enough to comment on decor, anything different from home is OK with me.

 

You may not agree with sanitizer use, but those of us that know how to wash our hands and fill a water bottle hygienically are far outnumbered by the pigs and ignorants that don't know or care how to. And they do affect us because it is their fecal germs left on door handles, food tongs, and handrails.

 

Next March will be my first Carnival cruise, I only have RCL and HAL to compare to, but it will have to be pretty dismal to offset a spectacular 1500.00 price tag for me and DW on a Cove balcony for a week!

[ccartman2]

One question about the balcony door thing. Is this something the room steward can fix? I've never had it happen in our balconies, so I just want to be prepared. On our last cruise, we had the balcony door squeak everytime it was open, which would have been just a minor annoyance if it didn't wake up our son about everytime we opened our door. As soon as we asked him about it, he had it fixed by the time we returned to the room. Didn't know if this was the same or not.

[mosbee]

We have cruised mostly RCL in the past. ( Back when "Song of America" was one of the largest cruise ships.) Have some really great memories and times. We now cruise Carnival, because I will no longer fly, so this limits us to departure ports that we can drive to. First Carnival cruise was the Fantasy out of New Orleans. We had a great time!! Next we sailed the Triumph from New Orleans. It was a girls trip and we had so much fun.!! We had an itinerary change, the ship was not the greatest ship on the seas, and we heard grumbling from other passengers occasionally, but we would do it all over again. You just cannot please everybody. Cruising is something different for everybody, I guess. As for me, any time I don't have to lift a finger to do anything, somebody cooks and cleans for me, takes me to beautiful islands, and doesn't charge me a lot of bucks for these pleasures, they have my business any day. Next up, Conquest from NOLA on Nov. 13. Can't wait!!!!

[RuthlessBoss]

Hand "sanitizer" is absolutely worthless and should be avoided at all costs. If anyone on our upcoming cruise offers me a squirt of the stuff, I will decline - politely.

 

It is alcohol - nothing more, and all it does is kill every living thing on your hands. GOOD and BAD bacteria - it doesn't discriminate. SO - what you end up with is a bunch of people with alcohol-scoured hands, just waiting for the first opportunistic bad bacterium to cause problems because it CAN because the good bacteria and antibodies to combat it are all gone. From Norovirus to antibiotic-resistant diseases, hand sanitizer helps them all gain a foothold.

 

Go to the restroom - wash with soap and warm water for 30 seconds, dry with paper towel, turn faucet off with paper towel, open door with paper towel, leave. Those who are too lazy to do it are probably the ones who get sick. Sanitizer is NOT a viable alternative!!!

 

Oh - and keep your fingers out of your mouth, mose, eyes and ears. Simple. ;)

 

..Trin..

Spoken like someone in the medical field. But Sanitizers don't conquer viruses as well as bacteria.

[afcj1]

As you can see from my signature, we have been Carnival cruisers for over 20 years and have completed 8 cruises with Carnival. Sad to say that our cruise on the Magic will probably be our last for a long time to come. We have been on both the Dream and the Magic and have to agree with those who say the decor is dated (looks like the early 90's) and cheesy. In my opinion the ships are nothing special, just larger versions of what came before, essentially passenger haulers. I've also been on the Dream and just off of the Magic on Sunday. IMO they did a great job of updating the room colors and common areas. No more horrid orange.

 

We took the 9 day European cruise and must say that the ports and the weather were both about as good as you can get. As such, if we just considered the Magic a floating hotel it surely served it's purpose. Basically, these are floating hotels. With the exception of sodas/alcohol, a ship is an all-inclusive. Everything on the ship is new and clean as you would expect from a new ship. I will give Carnival kudos for the tours, which we took in every port, and organization of getting us on and off the ship each day. Also the transfers from the airport to the hotel and on to the ship and back to the airport were well handled. Our cabin stewardess was about the best we've encountered. I only went on 1 CCL tour and it was fine. My others were independent. The stewards were the best I've had too.

 

But the ship itself was a disappointment. The layout of the food in the Lido is the worst I've seen in all of our 20+ cruises. You had to search out pancakes, french toast and waffles by the pool, while if you wanted yogurt or hot and cold cerial you had to wait on a separtate line and of course a 3rd line for omelets. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The food station at the main pool made omlettes, had pancakes, waffles, stuffed waffles, yogurt and cereal every morning...I was there:rolleyes: The scrambled eggs are about as gross as you can get. Smoked Salmon wasn't served untile 11AM at the deli or from room service. This may work in the Caribbean but in Europe when you are eating a quick breakfast at 7 AM and going out on 10 hour tours; day after day, it was a major frustration. The selections on the buffet line for breakfast, lunch and dinner were either limited or repetitive as compared to other cruises from both Carnival and other lines. With all of the other venues, why do people continue to eat the boring stuff at the buffet. There are too many other choices.

 

What's with the passengers not using the hand sanitizer before entering the dining venues?? Other lines have a staff member stationed at the entrance to the Lido encouraging everyone to use it, one line even sprays it into your hands as you enter. I would guess 80% of the passengers never bothered to use it. Not sure how you'd get to 80%, without counting people, which I really don't think you'd waste your time doing.If you're using the hs, then don't worry about others. Anyway, how many years did yoo cruise when nothing was offered? It's a sense of false cleanliness.

 

Also, talk about unhygienic, passengers filling up personal water bottles, jugs and thermos bottles with water, tea, coffee and other beverages, placing them right up to the lip of the spouts. Never once did a staff member say a word or was there a sign posted prohibiting the practice as we've seen on other ships. Guilty:) I don't touch my bottle to the spout, nor do I watch what others are doing. Now I know the second meaning of OBC, On-Board-Cold, which I'm still nursing here at home. You probably have a better chance of catching a cold from somebody coughing or sneezing, then from the spout of a drink machine. Of course, I'm not in the medical profession, so don't know for sure.

 

Something new in the dining room, dessert orders are taken up front with appetizer and entree. Heck that isn't even done in a diner. Not to important in the big scheme of things. The service in the dining room was robotic and uneven, some nights making recommendations, offering a drink from the bar waiter, offering ice tea, others not. I'd agree, if you were doing YTD and not sitting in the same section. I guess it goes along with the passenger's "casual dress", blue jeans, sneakers, t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops, etc. "Elegant" now means slacks and an open shirt for men with jeans being acceptable, how standards have sunk. Again...stop worrying about what others do.

 

The food in all non-paying venues was acceptable but nothing more, you didn't look forward to eating as you do on most cruises. The one exception was Cucina Del Capitano, which we had for lunch on 2 separate occasions and thought it was top notch. The pizza is never ready and you have to wait no matter what time of day. Try getting a slice at 5:30AM, like I did, no one was manning the area, thought it was supposed to be 24 hours. Never had grilled chicken ready at the grill, only dogs and burgers, it's difficult to eat healthy on Carnival. Healthy is what you make of it and there was always plenty of fish available. Of course griping about the pizza at 5:30 AM not being available and a chicken sandwich/healthy eating are kind of at different ends of the spectrums. Did you ask anyone for assistance?

 

The T.V. feed in the room was limited and repetitive, showing the same programs over and over for the entire 9 days. How many times can I watch a show on the virtures of Macedonia?? Agree.

 

The cruise director was nothing special. Definitely agree. I wouldn't have known him if I fell over him.

 

Never heard an announcement from the bridge the entire cruise. Also, definitely agree.

 

Two nights we had rough seas, the ship shook in such a way as to keep you awake all night, strange. We're used to the rocking of a ship in rough seas but not the actually shaking of the bed as if it had a vibrator in it. We also had 2 nights of rough seas and it was bad. I'm not going to question the ship, because the seas were rough.

 

Lot's of other issues but I won't bore you with them.

 

We thought Carnival reached it's peak for us in 2008 on the Freedom in Europe. It was a top notch product exceeding our expectations. The Dream in 2009 was a bit disappointing but the food was still as good as or better than other lines. But in 2011, when compared to Princess and Celebrity, which we took earlier this year, there was no comparison or I should say Carnival suffered by comparison.

 

Won't say we would never take Carnival again but it would have to be on a special itinerary, not one that other lines are sailing. I think it's worth the extra $$ for a better experience.

 

Just my opinion of course.

 

Just as a point of reference, I've been on Princess but not Celebrity or RCI. I probably cruise on CCL more for the nice people, affordability and descent food, then for the ambiance and ship decor.

[happy cruzin]

I found this to be the case on the Miracle last week also. It was fine, had to go back in about 10 minutes once I ordered one...I asked the head of food and beverage why and he said 2...not that many people order it and if they pre-made it, which they used to do, it dried out too quickly and people complained. He said in average they do 1 grilled chicken to every 50 burgers...it is easier to keep turning the burgers over and only cook the chicken as needed. I know I didn't mind as when it was ready it was piping hot and juicy instead of room temp and dry...so people are going to complain about either waiting or it being crappy and he would rather people have to wait...

 

Made sense to me...

 

 

Good to know!! I never realized that chicken from the grille was still an option!!

The last time (several ships ago) that I asked the guys said "no chicken" and I took that to mean that they no longer offered it - because the steak sandwiches has just been eliminated - not that it was a special cook item. :o

Woo-hoo!! Looking forward to ordering one up on the Magic ;) :D

[DEL67]

joie1016:

 

Most of your comments are reasonable; however I have been on most of the other major cruiselines in addition to Carnival and can say that they are not as different as they would like you to believe.

 

For me much of your concerns are not limited to Carnival.

 

- The quality of the food has gone down on all the cruiselines - including Celebrity.

 

- Dress code has been relaxed on many cruiselines. Last summer on HAL, I did notice that they asked a young man in a tank top to change, but accepted people in shorts or jeans into the MDR.

 

- Buffets in general as they have increased variety require you to go more places and stand in more lines.

 

- The signs on both RCCL and HAL asking people not to fill bottles directly from the dispensers are generally ignored. In fact on HAL, one employee was helping a passenger do so.

 

- etc., etc.

 

Yes, there are things that I do not love about Carnival, but I always have a good time and in general it still offers the best value which is one of the factors I use when making my choice.

[ranchette]

As you can see from my signature, we have been Carnival cruisers for over 20 years and have completed 8 cruises with Carnival. Sad to say that our cruise on the Magic will probably be our last for a long time to come. We have been on both the Dream and the Magic and have to agree with those who say the decor is dated (looks like the early 90's) and cheesy. In my opinion the ships are nothing special, just larger versions of what came before, essentially passenger haulers.

 

We took the 9 day European cruise and must say that the ports and the weather were both about as good as you can get. As such, if we just considered the Magic a floating hotel it surely served it's purpose. Everything on the ship is new and clean as you would expect from a new ship. I will give Carnival kudos for the tours, which we took in every port, and organization of getting us on and off the ship each day. Also the transfers from the airport to the hotel and on to the ship and back to the airport were well handled. Our cabin stewardess was about the best we've encountered.

 

But the ship itself was a disappointment. The layout of the food in the Lido is the worst I've seen in all of our 20+ cruises. You had to search out pancakes, french toast and waffles by the pool, while if you wanted yogurt or hot and cold cerial you had to wait on a separtate line and of course a 3rd line for omelets. The scrambled eggs are about as gross as you can get. Smoked Salmon wasn't served untile 11AM at the deli or from room service. This may work in the Caribbean but in Europe when you are eating a quick breakfast at 7 AM and going out on 10 hour tours; day after day, it was a major frustration. The selections on the buffet line for breakfast, lunch and dinner were either limited or repetitive as compared to other cruises from both Carnival and other lines.

 

What's with the passengers not using the hand sanitizer before entering the dining venues?? Other lines have a staff member stationed at the entrance to the Lido encouraging everyone to use it, one line even sprays it into your hands as you enter. I would guess 80% of the passengers never bothered to use it.

 

Also, talk about unhygienic, passengers filling up personal water bottles, jugs and thermos bottles with water, tea, coffee and other beverages, placing them right up to the lip of the spouts. Never once did a staff member say a word or was there a sign posted prohibiting the practice as we've seen on other ships. Now I know the second meaning of OBC, On-Board-Cold, which I'm still nursing here at home.

 

Something new in the dining room, dessert orders are taken up front with appetizer and entree. Heck that isn't even done in a diner. The service in the dining room was robotic and uneven, some nights making recommendations, offering a drink from the bar waiter, offering ice tea, others not. I guess it goes along with the passenger's "casual dress", blue jeans, sneakers, t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops, etc. "Elegant" now means slacks and an open shirt for men with jeans being acceptable, how standards have sunk.

 

The food in all non-paying venues was acceptable but nothing more, you didn't look forward to eating as you do on most cruises. The one exception was Cucina Del Capitano, which we had for lunch on 2 separate occasions and thought it was top notch. The pizza is never ready and you have to wait no matter what time of day. Try getting a slice at 5:30AM, like I did, no one was manning the area, thought it was supposed to be 24 hours. Never had grilled chicken ready at the grill, only dogs and burgers, it's difficult to eat healthy on Carnival.

 

The T.V. feed in the room was limited and repetitive, showing the same programs over and over for the entire 9 days. How many times can I watch a show on the virtures of Macedonia??

 

The cruise director was nothing special.

 

Never heard an announcement from the bridge the entire cruise.

 

Two nights we had rough seas, the ship shook in such a way as to keep you awake all night, strange. We're used to the rocking of a ship in rough seas but not the actually shaking of the bed as if it had a vibrator in it.

 

Lot's of other issues but I won't bore you with them.

 

We thought Carnival reached it's peak for us in 2008 on the Freedom in Europe. It was a top notch product exceeding our expectations. The Dream in 2009 was a bit disappointing but the food was still as good as or better than other lines. But in 2011, when compared to Princess and Celebrity, which we took earlier this year, there was no comparison or I should say Carnival suffered by comparison.

 

Won't say we would never take Carnival again but it would have to be on a special itinerary, not one that other lines are sailing. I think it's worth the extra $$ for a better experience.

 

Just my opinion of course.

I totally agree with you regarding the buffet and the MDR.