Are you considering other cruise lines

[scgamecock]

As far as Mobile goes - I always wanted to cruise out of Mobile, but every time I checked it was always $50 or so per person cheaper for me to drive 2 extra hours to New Orleans & sail on a bigger, better ship. The pricing compared to New Orleans was out of line.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[EZ4]

As far as Mobile goes - I always wanted to cruise out of Mobile, but every time I checked it was always $50 or so per person cheaper for me to drive 2 extra hours to New Orleans & sail on a bigger, better ship. The pricing compared to New Orleans was out of line.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

And this is why Carnival's reasons for leaving Mobile sounded so bogus at the time. Clearly, something else was at play besides just cruise fares.

 

Sent using Tapatalk 4 Beta.

[Mulege]

For us staying with just one company is like eating the same meal day in day out. We enjoy the variety and experiences of other cruise lines.

[Cakraz]

I had 16 fantastic Carnival cruises so far and I like oll those platinum perks, but I am looking for different itineraries, so I may change in the future ...

[cannockfrodo]

After my experience on 5/5 Sunshine, my second Carnival may well be my last. Especially now they've left Europe

[Pappion]

It wasn't so much the "cut backs" for me that have me not wanting to return to Carnival as it was their customer service (or rather lack of).

 

Our last Carnival cruise we booked for the itinerary, and of course the price was fantastic. When I called our PCC, she DID NOT mention that we were going on a latino themed cruise. Meaning the majority of announcements, entertainment (even comedian and karaoke), EVERYTHING was in Spanish. By the time we were on board it was obviously too late to do anything about it so we just rolled with it. The crew did speak English, so we could get what we needed, but we were pretty much limited to tv or the casino for entertainment, and even there the mariachi band got old. When we returned home and called our PCC, she said she didn't mention it because she "didn't think we'd mind." How about asking? On top of that we had a toilet that kept running/overflowing and our carpet was constantly wet in the room. They did nothing for us, no apology, no offer to move us (the cruise wasn't sold out).

 

After that it will take a heck of an itinerary that NCL or another line doesn't offer, or friends/family insisting we go on Carnival with them to get us back. They even offered me a free cruise (based on my casino play) last month and I declined, as all the recent incidents from the news are still a little too fresh for me.

 

In case you're wondering why I'm on the CCL board, I've been looking to see how reviews have been, as we have friends who have a smaller budget than us hinting at wanting to do a cruise getaway later this year, and CCL's prices are usually the lowest.

[Captain Carnival]

There are other cruise lines?? :D

[firefly333]

When I called our PCC, she DID NOT mention that we were going on a latino themed cruise. Meaning the majority of announcements, entertainment (even comedian and karaoke), EVERYTHING was in Spanish. By the time we were on board it was obviously too late to do anything about it so we just rolled with it. The crew did speak English, so we could get what we needed, but we were pretty much limited to tv or the casino for entertainment

 

What ship was this? Was the ship chartered partially? I have never heard of such a cruise. Whats a PCC, is that your term for a PVP? Very odd I admit. Never run into this myself. Are you sure you were not on a costa cruise and this was Carnival?

[Rockee4055]

What ship was this? Was the ship chartered partially? I have never heard of such a cruise. Whats a PCC, is that your term for a PVP? Very odd I admit. Never run into this myself. Are you sure you were not on a costa cruise and this was Carnival?

 

I thought it was a little strange as well. Not that they don't do it but to sell an entire ship like that?

[ccruisequeen]

Well RC had a fire today so all cruise lines have problems!

 

http://www.cruisecurrents.com/2013/05/27/fire-reported-aboard-grandeur-of-the-seas-updates/

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[Pappion]

What ship was this? Was the ship chartered partially? I have never heard of such a cruise. Whats a PCC, is that your term for a PVP? Very odd I admit. Never run into this myself. Are you sure you were not on a costa cruise and this was Carnival?

 

It was the Destiny. I don't know if it was chartered. My husband and I found it very odd that everything was in Spanish and it had not been advertised to us. I guess it would be PVP (the one who sends me the emails and calls me from Carnival). It was Carnival for sure. We had cruised on the Imagination before and had no issue, the Destiny cruise just left us really sour towards Carnival.

[TravelingDiva1]

I'm considering other cruise lines mostly due to itinerary. I'm also interested in trying other cruise lines' ships. It was hard going from a 2.0 to a non 2.0. Currently looking at a southern Caribbean cruise through RCCL.

[mikel24m]

It wasn't so much the "cut backs" for me that have me not wanting to return to Carnival as it was their customer service (or rather lack of).

 

Our last Carnival cruise we booked for the itinerary, and of course the price was fantastic. When I called our PCC, she DID NOT mention that we were going on a latino themed cruise. Meaning the majority of announcements, entertainment (even comedian and karaoke), EVERYTHING was in Spanish. By the time we were on board it was obviously too late to do anything about it so we just rolled with it. The crew did speak English, so we could get what we needed, but we were pretty much limited to tv or the casino for entertainment, and even there the mariachi band got old. When we returned home and called our PCC, she said she didn't mention it because she "didn't think we'd mind." How about asking? On top of that we had a toilet that kept running/overflowing and our carpet was constantly wet in the room. They did nothing for us, no apology, no offer to move us (the cruise wasn't sold out).

 

After that it will take a heck of an itinerary that NCL or another line doesn't offer, or friends/family insisting we go on Carnival with them to get us back. They even offered me a free cruise (based on my casino play) last month and I declined, as all the recent incidents from the news are still a little too fresh for me.

 

In case you're wondering why I'm on the CCL board, I've been looking to see how reviews have been, as we have friends who have a smaller budget than us hinting at wanting to do a cruise getaway later this year, and CCL's prices are usually the lowest.

 

Turned down a free cruise !!

 

We would eat pb&j for the week as long as we were on vacation and seeing the different ports

 

Sorry for the bad experience ,it happens every once in awhile on a cruise and on every cruise line

[Pappion]

Turned down a free cruise !!

 

We would eat pb&j for the week as long as we were on vacation and seeing the different ports

 

Sorry for the bad experience ,it happens every once in awhile on a cruise and on every cruise line

 

I'm sure I'll kick myself another day, but I was being cautious. I love finding this board to see reviews of all the lines, so I can get ideas of what each ship is like. I love how detailed some of the reviews get on here!

[mikel24m]

I'm sure I'll kick myself another day, but I was being cautious. I love finding this board to see reviews of all the lines, so I can get ideas of what each ship is like. I love how detailed some of the reviews get on here!

 

Its very tough(and expensive) to get a free cruise we love to gamble and have only had the offer a couple of times

[hattack]

It happens from time to time...a promoter will charter out a ship, and in the contract it states that if a certain % of the cabins are not sold by a specific date, in order not to lose their shirt, the promoter can work with the cruise line to fill up the ship with regular guests at the last minute by offering low low cabin rates to it's top level loyalty members. That happened to me once on a jazz cruise and the dynamics were interesting to say the least.(I LOVED it because I am a huge jazz fan and got the great rate, I was smart enough not to say anything at dinner

and when asked about how much I paid, I reply it was a gift)

 

I guess the lesson for these boards is when it's a last minute incredible rate that is almost to good to be true one should always ask the cruise line why if they don't disclose it upfront...sometimes the PVP might not know the specifics

[richstowe]

It wasn't so much the "cut backs" for me that have me not wanting to return to Carnival as it was their customer service (or rather lack of).

 

When I called our PCC, she DID NOT mention that we were going on a latino themed cruise. Meaning the majority of announcements, entertainment (even comedian and karaoke), EVERYTHING was in Spanish.

When we returned home and called our PCC, she said she didn't mention it because she "didn't think we'd mind." How about asking? On top of that we had a toilet that kept running/overflowing and our carpet was constantly wet in the room. They did nothing for us, no apology, no offer to move us (the cruise wasn't sold out).

 

Es una pena. Lo siento mucho por usted.

Too bad. I am very sorry for you:D

[Pappion]

Its very tough(and expensive) to get a free cruise we love to gamble and have only had the offer a couple of times

 

Strangely enough we were offered two this year. One on NCL from Caesars (couldn't take it as I'm finishing up nursing school and can't miss class), and the other from Carnival direct. Hoping they give us a "second chance" offer at a time when I can go, or am not too afraid to accept. ;)

[Pappion]

Es una pena. Lo siento mucho por usted.

Too bad. I am very sorry for you:D

 

LMAO. NO es bueno? I needed mas cervesa (sp?) by the end of the week.

[mikel24m]

Strangely enough we were offered two this year. One on NCL from Caesars (couldn't take it as I'm finishing up nursing school and can't miss class), and the other from Carnival direct. Hoping they give us a "second chance" offer at a time when I can go, or am not too afraid to accept. ;)

 

I think we are going to try NCL soon all of my gambling buddies on here say how well they treat gamblers

[Kroosin]

But not because we are unhappy with Carnival. On the contrary, we have always had a great time when we have sailed with Carnival-though we've only done three cruises. Great service, happy with our room, good food, nice people, etc, etc.

 

But we are always on the lookout for something different, and RCCL's Allure looks amazing. The size of the ship is actually one thing we can't wait to see.

 

But we are also checking out Disney, Celebrity and Cunard-why not try new things?

 

My sentiments EXACTLY!

[5waldos]

7 of our 8 cruises have been on Carnival, one on Princess. Our next one, to the Galapagos, is on Silversea. Will we sail Carnival again? Not sure. Not because of any disenchantment- our cruises have always been great. But there is a sameness that began to get to me. The entertainment, the activities, the bars- it all began to feel the same. But I never say never- who knows.

[CHRISnAMY]

We love Carnival & have been very faithful to them. Seven of my eight cruises have been with Carnival (DH has cruised with some other lines before we married). The main reason we were continuing to favor Carnival over other cruise lines is because we were getting close to Platinum status. However, since we're only able to cruise every other year or so, we aren't able to achieve 10 sailings by the end of the 2013 & the changes to the loyalty program put Platinum quite a ways off.

 

So, we will still continue to sail on Carnival when we have the kids with us. We think they are a great value for families. But we will definitely be looking at other lines since we are less motivated to sail exclusively with Carnival due to the VIFP changed. In fact, we booked a cruise with Celebrity today!

 

Amy

 

 

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[TwinPrincessMermaids]

We have moved on to DCL. I very much disliked my CCL Dream this yr, last yrs Conquest was slow service but pleasant and 2011 Triumph was one of the best trips I've had so each yr has gotten more and more predictable and even more disappointing. I thought I was done with cruising actually. Three annual CCLs and I said I'm cruised out.

 

Now I have dipped my toes into a 3 day DC and I'm hooked! I've found that I can pay the same for 4 days as I did on 7 day CCL and love every minute of it.(also you can stock your own beverages in your room, whatever u want, no smuggling needed). Literally there is a surprise around every corner. Its unfortunate actually because I seriously wish I hadnt spent $1500 that week on the CC Dream. I'm trying to catch some things up financially and I wish I had it back... So yeah its just Disney for the next few cruises for me, not NCL or RCI or anyone else. Can't wait for May!

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

[Blk_Amish]

Have you ever really looked at the claim "Cruises are cheaper now thatn they were X number of years ago?"

I have. First, you can't compare a cruise of today to a cruise of say, 15 years ago as CCL is not the same product as it once was. Back 15 years ago, CCL had captains party, repeater party for everyone and rum swizzle party- these ALL have a value. So do things like nightly entertainment, better food and better service.

I compared our last CCL cruise to our first one.

First was a 7 day, second was an 8 day, both done end of June.The seven day with OV was $2600, the 8 inside cabin was $3400, right off the bat, the 8 day is more money.

Now, let's look at inflation-according to a calculator, that cruise back in '98 would now cost $3587. You could say that is more than the 8 day cruise but then you could also say that 7 day had a window, so it really is a wash. However, would you be willing to pay an extra $187 for:

1:nightly entertainment, including two professional acts? - always miss those to enjoy quite on deck

2) Three cocktail parties? - Cocktails were watered down, no biggie

3) An assigned server who waits in the mdr for you at breakfast and lunch to give excellent service - only used mdr for breakfast or lunch once

4) high quality food that includes filet mignon, NY steak on the anytime menu,french made President buttter, fresh squeezed O.J. among other things?- not that of a beef eater

5) Nightly buffets, including the gala buffet- wasted food and not the best to eat that late

6) lower alcohol prices - when i am concern about drinks I go all inculsive resorts

7) water color print given at last night of cruise - throw those in the trash

Really, these things made it a cruise. - for you, which is fine.

People that say it doesn't matter, they just care about itinerary are only confirming what I have been saying; that CCL is becoming less of a cruise line and more of a ferry service.

 

Why is it necessary to keep saying it. Is it because no one cares or beliefs you? Twenty years ago I paid a lot more and when my budget allows I pay those prices now but elsewhere. With kids, I can cruise NOW before I am old , aching, and cold, the biggest advantage/value.