Are you considering other cruise lines

[LeanneS]

I think all cruise lines have their pluses and minuses. I have been on Carnival, Holland and Royal Caribbean. Carnival has the best dining room food but ok Lido food. Holland has the best Lido food, but the dining room food is not good. Royal Caribbean has ok dining room food and the worst Lido food, but their pizza place is really good and I like having the coffee shop with free and good coffee. I think Royal has the best ships. I like the different entertainment and the designs of the new ships. Getting ready to go on the Breeze in a few months so I am looking forward to the new design so I may feel differently as to whether Royal has the best ships or not. I don't have a preference regarding the line; I prefer to go on ones where I can get the best deal!

[richstowe]

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!

I can't imagine being happy to take a 4 day over a 7 day cruise. A 4 dayer? Not even close !

 

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.

An inside cabin on Carnival for $3400 ? Seems high to me.

[graphicguy]

LeanneS....agree with you...all lines have pluses and minuses.

 

What I've observed...

 

-NCL has the best entertainment

-RCCL has the biggest ships

-CCL has the best overall food and service

-only two ships I'd rate lower is my Celebrity Solstice and HAL cruise. Neither was bad. Just not my cup of tea.

[SHayesShip]

I an not unhappy with CCL but I cruise other lines also and always will. I last did a back-to-back Dream cruise in Nov. 2011 and have a cruise booked on the Paradise this November.

I am Platinum with CCL, Elite with Princess, 4 Star Mariner with HAL, Emerald with RCI,not including other lines that I have sailed on such as Cunard (2) Celebrity (1), NCL (1) and other lines that are no longer around.

[dclark]

After our upcoming cruise we're going to try out RC Allure but it has nothing to do with not being happy with Carnival, we just want to check it out.

 

You'll love it. Ignore the posts from people who have claimed to have sailed it and say the service and food is bad, while not giving specifics.

 

A few examples-

Service- Dinner in the mdr was always excellent, we would be in and out after about an hour. Drinks were promptly refilled and the waiter told us he could bring stuff faster if we were in a rush to catch a show. If you wanted another meal, it would be there five minutes after you asked for it.Waiter had plenty of time for us, even had time to play a little guitar for us!

Food- anytime steak was so tender that it could be cut with the dull part of a knife, lobster tails were 5x larger than CCL, I could give more examples, but that would only serve as a target for a sarcastic CCL cheer leader.

Since there are so many different places to eat, lines are near non existent.

Want a hot dog? Longest line at the Dog House was three people. Want a roast beef sandwich at Park Place Cafe? I never had a line in front of me. Want to eat breakfast at the healthy solarium? No lines. The only line I saw was at the popular pizza place which could be five minutes long- guess that's what happens when you serve up pizza that actually has cheese on it. Compare all that to the lines on CCL- long lines of people with trays at the buffet, long lines for stirfry, long lines for hamburgers... you get that idea.

I count that as part of service, or lack of it.

[mikel24m]

Not loyal to one cruise line to begin with. Having sailed quite a few lines, they all have their plusses and minuses. One is always going to do one or two things better than the others, and they're also going to do one or two things worse than the others.

 

I've had the extreme good fortune of sailing the biggest and best from NCL, CCL, RCCL. Really looking forward to the Breeze this month. You really can't go wrong on any of them, even though something here and there may irk you.

 

You'd have to try really, really hard to make any cruise a "bad" cruise....one that would make me swear off sailing that line, or that ship, again.

 

Cruising is changing, for certain. That's true of all the cruise lines. People are dressing differently. The cruise lines a diversifying the experience on their ships (just look at what you can actually do on a cruise ship that you couldn't do 10 years ago). The entertainment is getting more diversified and there's more of it.

 

On these ships, there's not one hour, any one day, that you can't go find something new and different to do.

 

I noticed on the Breeze, the food is about as diverse as any I've seen on any ship....Guy's Gourmet Burgers, Mongolian Wok, etc...in addition to the Garden Buffet and the MDRs.

 

I look for the itenerary, the time of year, the ship, then I make my plans. Oh yeah, I look at the fare, too.

 

Cruising is different, not necessarily worse.

 

I agree !! Its hard to have a bad vacation unless your stranded at sea

 

 

Things change but most people don't like to change

 

I paid $632 for 2 including tips and port charges :) for our 4 day cruise next month.We paid under $200 each in fare picking our cabin

 

Its hard to find a nice hotel for that price,but you have to factor in some want to pay what I paid and have $250 dinners at night ,they revolt when they had a shortage of snails ,they look at me with anger when I rock shorts in the MDR ;)

[KITKAT0229]

We sail both Carnival and Royal Caribbean and wouldn't hesitate to try other lines. We cruise for different reasons and each time different factors sway our decision. We've never really had a bad cruise - some better than others but always better than being at work.

[pungo3]

I am by no means a cheerleader, but I'll stick with Carnival as long as the costs stay low. I have also cruised Princess and felt the service wasn't quite as good, but food in MDR was equal or a bit better, but food at buffet was not as good. Prices are a little more for Princess. If another cruise line drops their fares to make it equal to Carnival, I would try them. I like getting good value for my money.:)

[CruzVinnieCruz]

We have cruised both Carnival and Princess in the past few years. We have noticed the decline of Carnivals service to the point it has turned us a little negative toward Carnival.

 

The last time we were on Carnival we spoke to the Asst Maitre D about something he could have easily solved for us and what we got was he avoided our table like it had a plague the rest of the cruise.

 

On Princess we were on a 15 night cruise and on night the waiter mentioned not to miss the next nights dinner as it was going to be veal parmigiana. My wife mentioned I was not into veal so the next night he had chicken parmigiana made especially for me. I have many other examples of this type of service on Princess.

 

Not saying we will never cruise Carnival but we use them for the unplanned cruise since it seems for us they are a little easier to book last minute.

 

Vinnie

[mikel24m]

We have cruised both Carnival and Princess in the past few years. We have noticed the decline of Carnivals service to the point it has turned us a little negative toward Carnival.

 

The last time we were on Carnival we spoke to the Asst Maitre D about something he could have easily solved for us and what we got was he avoided our table like it had a plague the rest of the cruise.

 

On Princess we were on a 15 night cruise and on night the waiter mentioned not to miss the next nights dinner as it was going to be veal parmigiana. My wife mentioned I was not into veal so the next night he had chicken parmigiana made especially for me. I have many other examples of this type of service on Princess.

 

Not saying we will never cruise Carnival but we use them for the unplanned cruise since it seems for us they are a little easier to book last minute.

 

Vinnie

 

The last time we were on Carnival we spoke to the Asst Maitre D about something he could have easily solved for us and what we got was he avoided our table like it had a plague the rest of the cruise

 

What was so bad ? If not the assistant then go to the Maitre D and they would have made it happen for you unless it was a request that was too much

[mikel24m]

You'll love it. Ignore the posts from people who have claimed to have sailed it and say the service and food is bad, while not giving specifics.

 

A few examples-

Service- Dinner in the mdr was always excellent, we would be in and out after about an hour. Drinks were promptly refilled and the waiter told us he could bring stuff faster if we were in a rush to catch a show. If you wanted another meal, it would be there five minutes after you asked for it.Waiter had plenty of time for us, even had time to play a little guitar for us!

Food- anytime steak was so tender that it could be cut with the dull part of a knife, lobster tails were 5x larger than CCL, I could give more examples, but that would only serve as a target for a sarcastic CCL cheer leader.

Since there are so many different places to eat, lines are near non existent.

Want a hot dog? Longest line at the Dog House was three people. Want a roast beef sandwich at Park Place Cafe? I never had a line in front of me. Want to eat breakfast at the healthy solarium? No lines. The only line I saw was at the popular pizza place which could be five minutes long- guess that's what happens when you serve up pizza that actually has cheese on it. Compare all that to the lines on CCL- long lines of people with trays at the buffet, long lines for stirfry, long lines for hamburgers... you get that idea.

I count that as part of service, or lack of it.

 

Would love to see one 5 times bigger than this please post a link I would love to see it ;)

 

http://zydecocruiser.net/CarnivalSpirit/Hawaii/Sea2/d3s3/P1130094.JPG

 

 

Im not a cheerleader

[dclark]

Would love to see one 5 times bigger than this please post a link I would love to see it ;)

 

http://zydecocruiser.net/CarnivalSpirit/Hawaii/Sea2/d3s3/P1130094.JPG

 

 

Im not a cheerleader

While that tail is a little bigger than what i have had on CCL cruises, it still pales in comparison to what I had on the Allure. I have "lobster" on CCL where the shrimp were bigger than the the "lobster":pI am using the size of the shrimp and the butter cup to give an idea of scale.

[mitsugirly]

Yes, I considered Carnival (coming from NCL)....how's that for you? (A little switch up from the original question). I took my first Carnival cruise on the Dream 2 months ago. I loved it so much I'm coming back as soon as I can. (I already had another NCL cruise booked for this December, so after that is done, I'm checking back on another Carnival cruise). :D

[beachseasand]

Yes we would love to go on the Oasis or the Allure. Do not have loyalty to one line. But would sale Carnival again, they sometimes have the best ports on certain times of the year.

[nitro2448]

You'll love it. Ignore the posts from people who have claimed to have sailed it and say the service and food is bad, while not giving specifics.

 

A few examples-

Service- Dinner in the mdr was always excellent, we would be in and out after about an hour. Drinks were promptly refilled and the waiter told us he could bring stuff faster if we were in a rush to catch a show. If you wanted another meal, it would be there five minutes after you asked for it.Waiter had plenty of time for us, even had time to play a little guitar for us!

Food- anytime steak was so tender that it could be cut with the dull part of a knife, lobster tails were 5x larger than CCL, I could give more examples, but that would only serve as a target for a sarcastic CCL cheer leader.

Since there are so many different places to eat, lines are near non existent.

Want a hot dog? Longest line at the Dog House was three people. Want a roast beef sandwich at Park Place Cafe? I never had a line in front of me. Want to eat breakfast at the healthy solarium? No lines. The only line I saw was at the popular pizza place which could be five minutes long- guess that's what happens when you serve up pizza that actually has cheese on it. Compare all that to the lines on CCL- long lines of people with trays at the buffet, long lines for stirfry, long lines for hamburgers... you get that idea.

I count that as part of service, or lack of it.

 

One could also say ignore the CCL haters. One can also say people line up for good food, not bad food. So there's no lines on RCCL ? ;)

 

 

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[Blk_Amish]

You'll love it. .

 

Wow, someone will love it because you loved it and your taste is universal, correct? Have you ever thought there were no lines because people weren't impressed or interested? Most foodies or anyone with a mature palate would never consider what you ate or even look in that direction -, hot dogs on a cruise, really? So, no on hot dog, no on sandwiches, maybe at pizza after the disco closes. If this is your draw no wonder you think the food is better....ENJOY! From your other post you stated that you compared the hot dogs, yuck!

 

I can only hope you spend as much time posting on the cruise line that you love as you do the one that you don't. To be sure, I will check you posting history to see if you are here to feed your dark side, ( no pun intended) but I am sure what I will find.

 

dclark, life is too short. Forgive CCL for what it has taken and move on.

[ruezim2]

Wow, someone will love it because you loved it and your taste is universal, correct? Have you ever thought there were no lines because people weren't impressed or interested? Most foodies or anyone with a mature palate would never consider what you ate or even look in that direction -, hot dogs on a cruise, really? So, no on hot dog, no on sandwiches, maybe at pizza after the disco closes. If this is your draw no wonder you think the food is better....ENJOY! From your other post you stated that you compared the hot dogs, yuck!

 

I can only hope you spend as much time posting on the cruise line that you love as you do the one that you don't. To be sure, I will check you posting history to see if you are here to feed your dark side, ( no pun intended) but I am sure what I will find.

 

dclark, life is too short !

 

Funny how that works isn't it, CCL haters spend more time here than on the forum for the cruise line they like.

[Blk_Amish]

Funny how that works isn't it, CCL haters spend more time here than on the forum for the cruise line they like.

 

Mental illness if you ask me.

[ruezim2]

Mental illness if you ask me.

 

Yeah that to

[A/CLarry1]

I have read comments and reviews on a lot of things from cruises to hotels. I am amazed sometimes at the two ends of the spectrum. I believe a lot of things in life are what you make of them. Life is not perfect anywhere on this earth. For me to go on a cruise and expect it will be perfect would not be realistic. Our first cruise was with Carnival and have cruised Carnival ever since. I can truthfully say we have never had a bad cruise. We have looked online at other cruise lines and their ports of call. We can get a suite on Carnival for what others charge for an inside cabin on some of the others. I say to each his own and one can choose to see the glass half empty or half full. I choose to look for the good and love cruising. Personally I have never had a bad cruise on Carnival. If someone else prefers RCL or any other line that's OK with me after all to each his own. We are currently booked on the Pride out of Baltimore on 11/12/13 and the Breeze out of Miami on 04/12/14. We am looking forward to both of them.

[Mulege]

Tried Carnval after many sailings with Celebrity and Princess. Carnival gave us what we expected and we were happy, nothing's perfect on any cruise. We prefer the more upscale product on our other cruises, however.

[richstowe]

Funny how that works isn't it, CCL haters spend more time here than on the forum for the cruise line they like.

While I fully agree with you and Bik, there is an answer .The Carnival site is the busiest, most fun craziest on Cruise Critic.

Even the haters enjoy spending time here.

 

The other explanation is that the haters are not "allowed" on the other CC cruise line sites.

Their posts tend to quickly disappear.

[halos]

. Value is subjective. ...

 

That is very true.

 

When I first sailed CCL, back when cruising was pretty pricey, I did pay for those things, and I liked having them.

I understand that to get those same things now (or at least something smililar, because it's never going to be what it was, not on a mass-market line anyway) I will have to pay a little more.

 

I will also say that if I was just starting out, and had young kids, I would happily sail CCL. Back when I was just starting out with very young kids and had a small vacation budget, cruising was way too expensive (for us) to do as a family vacation. Our kids first cruise didn't happen until they were 14 & 16.

 

For us now, Carnival isn't bad, we just discovered that other lines work better for us.

Each line has something special to offer.

Unless you are loyal because of your wallet, to just stick with one line out of a sense of loyalty or fear of the unknown is beyond silly, when all of them provide a great vacation.

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

My past 2 carnival cruises have been on the pride because it was an easy drive. My next carnival cruise will probably be on the prides last voyage from Baltimore for the same reason. Unless ccl comes up with something innovative or eye catching, I don't think their product I worth spending additional money for airfare.

 

 

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[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Funny how that works isn't it, CCL haters spend more time here than on the forum for the cruise line they like.

 

Do you check all the forums to time it? :) i am equally on DC (my cheerleader cruise line) CCL and RCI because I have cruised on all 3. Honestly DC isn't completely represented on cruise critic because most of us hang out on a specific forum but I do check it for other CC users posting on it.

 

CCL is lively enough so far to keep coming back to and seeing what the latest opinions are. I tend to think most people who have only cruised CCL really love it. (Like half my friends.) The other half of my other friends have a different economic situation and have cruised other lines pretty much wont plan to cruise CCL again. (The mom sometimes goes with the other friends on CCL and then plans her other cruises.) They cruised DCL before I did and loved it, have an NCL planned in Jan. None of us seem to be that interested in RCI (my boss likes them) so I haven't been on one since 02. That RCI forum is a very lively bunch! Yikes! Drama but interesting reading too...

 

If you have nothing to compare it to a lot of people find CCL to be just fine. In recent years not so much for me (but a few years ago, their product was more consistent.)

 

I guess I find if I have invested enough to be gold on CCL even if the Dream was a complete waste of money for me, it still should allow us to be able to be active on the CCL forum. Its a CRITIQUE forum, not a forum for glowing reviews and cheerleaders. If it was slanted that way, it wouldn't be a very objective critic review site...

 

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