Not the same "quality" of cruising

[Brenna's Mom1]

Actually no. Never had a problem with the food. Just think that some years ago cruising was more elegant.

 

Now to cut costs lots of things have gone by the wayside.

 

I probably read this thought in some form or other 10 or 20 times a day on these boards. And I really wonder how many current young cruisers give a flip about elegant since they don't have elegant in their own lives. My work is Friday casual every day...in fact my boss does not allow guys to wear ties. The last time I went to a formal wedding was in 1970...now they are all bar-b-ques or mountain parties or the odd trip to the beach with barefoot being a prominent theme. Church is levis and tenny runners for anyone under 30, and I have neices who are in high school and other than proms have never worn a dress...and most of my nephews don't own a suit and even prom night is a vest with a tie, no jacket.

 

I am sure there are lots of folks who would like to bring back formal and elegant and upscale to cruising but it just isn't how we live today. And young folks like simpler food, comfort food, and familiar food. They could care less if the MDR serves fru-fru meals. I am sure that there are some high-brow cruises out there that still charge a fortune and every one dresses for dinner...but it ain't Princess or HAL or Celebrity and definitely not Carnival, NCL, or RCI (I have traveled all of them and know from first hand experience).

[golfadj]

I probably read this thought in some form or other 10 or 20 times a day on these boards. And I really wonder how many current young cruisers give a flip about elegant since they don't have elegant in their own lives. My work is Friday casual every day...in fact my boss does not allow guys to wear ties. The last time I went to a formal wedding was in 1970...now they are all bar-b-ques or mountain parties or the odd trip to the beach with barefoot being a prominent theme. Church is levis and tenny runners for anyone under 30' date=' and I have neices who are in high school and other than proms have never worn a dress...and most of my nephews don't own a suit and even prom night is a vest with a tie, no jacket.

 

I am sure there are lots of folks who would like to bring back formal and elegant and upscale to cruising but it just isn't how we live today. And young folks like simpler food, comfort food, and familiar food. They could care less if the MDR serves fru-fru meals. I am sure that there are some high-brow cruises out there that still charge a fortune and every one dresses for dinner...but it ain't Princess or HAL or Celebrity and definitely not Carnival, NCL, or RCI (I have traveled all of them and know from first hand experience).[/quote']

 

You are right. Society has changed. In some way good in others not so good.

[jeschwartz82]

i am so glad to read that its not just me experiencing this lately. i thought my feb/mar cruise was a fluke with the service and food, but this last one sealed the deal for me. honestly, i was not expecting white glove service, but i was expecting decent food and a clean cabin.

 

i should note that in my survey we indicated that the dinning room staff was as friendly as could be expected however, given that they had more assigned tables than they did previously, service suffered as a result. i hope that we didnt make them look bad because they were working their butts off, but to the point that they couldnt even say hello some nights.

 

it looks more and more like we will be trying NCL next. at this point in my life, i can afford to pay more for a cruise and i would like to experience better service for my cruise dollar. i dont think that carnival will be my go to cruise line for the foreseeable future.

[Peg_S]

 

Instead of "Ah...!" there was more "Oh..." :(

 

 

 

Well said.

 

Peg

[Redsfan]

have also read mixed reviews for food and service on RCI and NCL. My Inlaws are frequent cruisers and took their first Oasis cruise recently. They loved the boat and what it had to offer, but they like the food on Carnival better...

 

We are open to other lines as well, but have to work within a budget...this is one reason why Carnival works...

[Julienatul]

have also read mixed reviews for food and service on RCI and NCL. My Inlaws are frequent cruisers and took their first Oasis cruise recently. They loved the boat and what it had to offer, but they like the food on Carnival better...

 

We are open to other lines as well, but have to work within a budget...this is one reason why Carnival works...

 

Carnival has always in the past been the most "budget friendly" line but now I am noticing not so much anymore. Price out some comparable itineraries on other lines. The last 3 I have tried have been lower on NCL than Carnival. This used to not be the case but now it seems it is.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Carnival has always in the past been the most "budget friendly" line but now I am noticing not so much anymore. Price out some comparable itineraries on other lines. The last 3 I have tried have been lower on NCL than Carnival. This used to not be the case but now it seems it is.

 

I agree with you. I am Platinum with CCL but who isn't and the Plat perks aren't anything to write home about so I don't really miss them.

 

To me even if NCL was $100pp more you are still getting a better cruise just in the fact that they have professional shows every night, not guest participation shows 2-3 nights of the week.

 

The wait staff took their time and weren't running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

 

Bill

[nbsjcruiser]

My first cruise on Carnival was in 1996. It was amazing. The quality of food and service was fantastic. I was hooked. I have been on 27 cruises since. But as many others have stated, the experience has gone downhill. Don't get me wrong, it is still great to go on a cruise. But to be honest, it is not what it was. The quality of the food is the main complaint for me. Alot of folks will say that the price is lower than it has ever been, and that is probably true. But I would be willing to pay more for a return to the finer experience that it once was. Try Royal Caribbean. It is a bit more expensive, but you get what you pay for. The ships are much more elegant and the fodd is better, especially with the new menus.

 

I think you summed it up quite well. Our first ever cruise was on the Fantasy in 2001. I remember having the feeling that we were treated special and the food was all I could rave about when we returned. We then did 4 RCI ships and it was then time for a change. We did a Princess and the food on that ship was outstanding. We followed that up with 3 Carnival cruises in a row and I found the quality of the food, especially in the MDR, had gone downhill so far I couldn't believe it was the same cruise line. After our last Carnival cruise we felt exactly as you did. You get what you pay for. We did a NCL and a RCI and have 2 RCI's booked.

[ChaplainPagne]

I do not like the new menu. Carnival are you listening?

 

It's not that the food is bad, but it no longer seems appropriate to the traditional cruise fare in a Main Dining Room. It is just not as good.

I'm heading out on November 10th and have seen a lot of people talking about the menu change...can you tell me when the menus changed? I am looking at a list of menus on a website and they look the same the last 2-3 years if i remember right? is it the same menu but worse quality?

[joeyancho]

I probably read this thought in some form or other 10 or 20 times a day on these boards. And I really wonder how many current young cruisers give a flip about elegant since they don't have elegant in their own lives. My work is Friday casual every day...in fact my boss does not allow guys to wear ties. The last time I went to a formal wedding was in 1970...now they are all bar-b-ques or mountain parties or the odd trip to the beach with barefoot being a prominent theme. Church is levis and tenny runners for anyone under 30' date=' and I have neices who are in high school and other than proms have never worn a dress...and most of my nephews don't own a suit and even prom night is a vest with a tie, no jacket.

 

I am sure there are lots of folks who would like to bring back formal and elegant and upscale to cruising but it just isn't how we live today. And young folks like simpler food, comfort food, and familiar food. They could care less if the MDR serves fru-fru meals. I am sure that there are some high-brow cruises out there that still charge a fortune and every one dresses for dinner...but it ain't Princess or HAL or Celebrity and definitely not Carnival, NCL, or RCI (I have traveled all of them and know from first hand experience).[/quote']

 

Bst post I have read in a while. Blame the sloppy dress on the hip hop culture. Blame the lack of appreciation of fine food on families not cooking dinner anymore, just getting pizza and fast food. Sad but true.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I probably read this thought in some form or other 10 or 20 times a day on these boards. And I really wonder how many current young cruisers give a flip about elegant since they don't have elegant in their own lives. My work is Friday casual every day...in fact my boss does not allow guys to wear ties. The last time I went to a formal wedding was in 1970...now they are all bar-b-ques or mountain parties or the odd trip to the beach with barefoot being a prominent theme. Church is levis and tenny runners for anyone under 30' date=' and I have neices who are in high school and other than proms have never worn a dress...and most of my nephews don't own a suit and even prom night is a vest with a tie, no jacket.

 

I am sure there are lots of folks who would like to bring back formal and elegant and upscale to cruising but it just isn't how we live today. And young folks like simpler food, comfort food, and familiar food. They could care less if the MDR serves fru-fru meals. I am sure that there are some high-brow cruises out there that still charge a fortune and every one dresses for dinner...but it ain't Princess or HAL or Celebrity and definitely not Carnival, NCL, or RCI (I have traveled all of them and know from first hand experience).[/quote']

 

this must be a left coast thing. Tenny runners? I guess that they are sneakers?

 

Let's see if i can use this in it's correct context.

 

I am going for a jog in my new tenny runners and when i come back i will have a nice cool diet pop.:p

 

Bill

[mauraoel]

this must be a left coast thing. Tenny runners? I guess that they are sneakers?

 

Let's see if i can use this in it's correct context.

 

I am going for a jog in my new tenny runners and when i come back i will have a nice cool diet pop.:p

 

Bill

 

Yes Tenny Runners is definitely west coast... Some how we were talking about corny jokes at work one day and I threwone out there from elementary school days and no one knew what Tenny Runners were.

[Earthworm Jim]

You are right. Society has changed. In some way good in others not so good.

 

While as someone on the wrong side of 50 I agree with you, I'd also say every older generation probably has always said that about the younger generation, and probably always will.