Getting worries reading this websight. 1st cruise in a few weeks

[GABooBoo]

Hi:

 

We are taking our 1st cruise ever in a few weeks (Carnival Imagination to the Western Caribbean). This is our first real vacation of our entire life and I'm getting very worried reading this websight. Brawls, alcohol smuggling, people with warrants for their arrest, badly behaved adults, out of control children, diapers being changed in the restarant. This is supposed to be a trip of a lifetime We been saving for a long time for this trip. I'm getting ready to cry.

[CENTEX CRUISER]

Never witnessed any of the above on any of our cruises, only nice people, great food and service and fun , and total relaxation.

[Elustriah]

We went on our first cruise in July of this year. I think these stories are "extreme" not the norm. We didn't have any bad experiences (and yeah I've been reading these too).

 

Just think of it like this...There are HUNDREDS of people on board. The chance of you running into the nuts are small :P

 

Don't worry, we had the time of our life and already booked our second on for Thanksgiving.

[camper49]

Hi:

 

We are taking our 1st cruise ever in a few weeks (Carnival Imagination to the Western Caribbean). This is our first real vacation of our entire life and I'm getting very worried reading this websight. Brawls, alcohol smuggling, people with warrants for their arrest, badly behaved adults, out of control children, diapers being changed in the restarant. This is supposed to be a trip of a lifetime We been saving for a long time for this trip. I'm getting ready to cry.

Our first cruise was in 2001. I had every reason/excuse to not want to go!! Did a lot of worrying for nothing!! We are now hooked and will be on our 21st Carnival in January. You will love your cruise!!!

[Ontario_Cruiser]

Please just go and enjoy yourself! Ignore what is on here. I have not seen any of what these are talking about and doubt you will either. This site can be very informative, and many folks are very helpful - but much of it needs to be taken with a grain of salt too. Do not, under any circumstance, let this website disrupt your vacation!

 

Have fun. I have taken 2 cruises on Carnival and both were a total blast. My kids kept saying how rich they felt on the cruise - and this was 2 weeks ago, after all the supposed 'cutbacks'. While I did notice some minor differences, they were that - minor. I also noticed many improvements as well!

 

Carnival is doing a lot right, but there are many complainers here that have little better to do.

[oceanave67]

I have been on 5 carnival cruises and 1 coming up at the end of September and, I have NEVER experienced anything like the mentioned. I think some people just like to complain. You will have the best time and, if you are that worried ill gladly go in your place!:D

[BigDoug]

Please ignore most of what you have read. Those events are few and far between. People do smuggle alcohol but you will not be affected. It will just cut down someone's bar bill. I have been on 18 Carnival cruises and I have never witnessed a brawl or diaper changing in the restaurant. As for the kids, I have seen groups of kids roaming the ship but none causing any trouble. Just hanging out. Fortunately, there should be few kids on your upcoming cruise. Don't sweat it and just enjoy your cruise.:)

[5Hawkeyes]

Don't worry, the Imagination is a spectacular ship and you're going to have a great time. All the things you listed could easily happen right in your own hometown at your local hotel or on any vacation. As previous posters have said it's not the norm.

 

Go and have a great time with your trip of a lifetime!!! Your vacation is what you want to make of it. And it sounds like you're on the right track to make it the best vacation ever. So go enjoy!!!

[Elaine5715]

Over a million CC members, more than a few prefer to trash bit if you look at their signatures, these folks have multiple cruises. So, if their experience was so bad, why did they book another and another and spend time here instead of moving on?

[jayjay94]

Hi:

 

We are taking our 1st cruise ever in a few weeks (Carnival Imagination to the Western Caribbean). This is our first real vacation of our entire life and I'm getting very worried reading this websight. Brawls, alcohol smuggling, people with warrants for their arrest, badly behaved adults, out of control children, diapers being changed in the restarant. This is supposed to be a trip of a lifetime We been saving for a long time for this trip. I'm getting ready to cry.

 

 

Yes Ignore, I just got back from my first cruise. Let me tell you I am hooked... I said the same exact thing reading the reviews here of some people they are either mad at the world or are just picky. While the Victory is one of the older ships it was awesome and I have no complaints.. From food to staff to service it was the best experience and I can't wait to go on my next cruise. Enjoy!!!

[pungo3]

Hi:

 

We are taking our 1st cruise ever in a few weeks (Carnival Imagination to the Western Caribbean). This is our first real vacation of our entire life and I'm getting very worried reading this websight. Brawls, alcohol smuggling, people with warrants for their arrest, badly behaved adults, out of control children, diapers being changed in the restarant. This is supposed to be a trip of a lifetime We been saving for a long time for this trip. I'm getting ready to cry.

 

I have never seen any of these actions on any of my cruises. They are not frequent. Go and enjoy your vacation.:)

[lukeduke07]

My wife and I try to take at least one cruise a year. Now we have our kids hooked too!! Just dont sweat the small stuff and you will have the time of your life.

[richstowe]

I'm sorry that you are getting upset BooBoo. I promise you will have a GREAT time ! :)

The down side is you may become addicted to cruising ;). Carnival is a perfect "first time" cruise line.

There are many here who have many many cruises under their belts and Carnival no longer meets their needs.

This is fair but it is irrelevant to you. Perhaps you should stop reading the general CC Carnival site.

The roll call for your cruise is always helpful.

 

Enjoy!

[Dead-metal]

Hi:

 

We are taking our 1st cruise ever in a few weeks (Carnival Imagination to the Western Caribbean). This is our first real vacation of our entire life and I'm getting very worried reading this websight. Brawls, alcohol smuggling, people with warrants for their arrest, badly behaved adults, out of control children, diapers being changed in the restarant. This is supposed to be a trip of a lifetime We been saving for a long time for this trip. I'm getting ready to cry.

 

Just go and enjoy yourself. Ignore 90% of what you read on here as you won't see it.

[stlouistravelers]

I have been on several cruises and my experience is that during certain times of the year a less than mature group of people will be on the ship. This includes spring break and usually when the kids are out of school. Remember the large numbers of people who cruise (and cruise and cruise) that are not on this board.

[loveJake]

Only ever saw 1 fight (no punches only words) on a cruise ship. And that was on the Disney Magic, man and women going at it on the steps. The F word was flying and poor Mickey stood there not knowing what to do, funniest thing I ever saw. Never seen anything else close to what some have. Go and have fun.

[stargate fan]

Hi:

 

We are taking our 1st cruise ever in a few weeks (Carnival Imagination to the Western Caribbean). This is our first real vacation of our entire life and I'm getting very worried reading this websight.

Brawls I've never seen one.,

alcohol smuggling That just means that people sneak on alcohol. It will not affect you.,

people with warrants for their arrest They could be in a mall, in a supermarket, in a Chuck E Cheese, anywhere where there are people. Don't worry.,

badly behaved adults Yes, we have been exposed to overly drunk adults who act like ninnies, but we've also had that at weddings and at the finest hotels.,

out of control children Unfortunately I see this in restaurants and malls everywhere.,

diapers being changed in the restaurant That has not happened while we were in the dining room on any ship..

This is supposed to be a trip of a lifetime We been saving for a long time for this trip. I'm getting ready to cry.

 

Please, please don't let those comments scare you. Look at poster's signatures and how many cruises we have all taken. I can tell you right now that if the above mentioned incidents were commonplace, we'd never cruise.

 

I remember when we booked our Victory cruise back in 2003. After we paid the deposit, we started reading about the ship. One person complained about rusted balcony door hinges (hello, salt water ocean all around the ship), coffee stains on the carpets (I was carrying a cup of coffee when the ship lurched ever so slightly. I spilled my coffee on the rug. I cleaned it as best as I could and let a staff member know), scratches on the elevator walls (horrors!), etc, etc. We had such a great cruise and only after our return did I remember those comments.

 

Though we have not yet sailed Imagination, I will happily let you know about all the great cruises we have taken.

 

To which ports in W.Caribbean are you sailing?

[wannago35]

Hi:

 

We are taking our 1st cruise ever in a few weeks (Carnival Imagination to the Western Caribbean). This is our first real vacation of our entire life and I'm getting very worried reading this websight. Brawls, alcohol smuggling, people with warrants for their arrest, badly behaved adults, out of control children, diapers being changed in the restarant. This is supposed to be a trip of a lifetime We been saving for a long time for this trip. I'm getting ready to cry.

 

Let me say that I don't think you have anything to worry about. Until I started visiting these boards I hardly heard anything about bad behavior on cruise ships.

 

But I'd also like to add that ALL of the things you listed happen on land in real life on a daily basis. There just isn't a forum out there for open discussion on all of these topics in one place.

[asalligo]

I would not say this is completely unfounded. I have been on two 3 day weekend cruises with Carnival and I will never do that again. Just one big drunk party. Begin the Flames!

[mikel24m]

Hi:

 

We are taking our 1st cruise ever in a few weeks (Carnival Imagination to the Western Caribbean). This is our first real vacation of our entire life and I'm getting very worried reading this websight. Brawls, alcohol smuggling, people with warrants for their arrest, badly behaved adults, out of control children, diapers being changed in the restarant. This is supposed to be a trip of a lifetime We been saving for a long time for this trip. I'm getting ready to cry.

 

I will make sure to take care of your ship until you get their ;) We will be on the Imagination on Monday :)

 

You will have a great time !!

 

You will be addicted like the rest of us :)

[tkportersat]

I have been on 14 cruises, 9 with Carnival..I wouldn't keep going if I encountered all the problems below. Relax and have fun.

 

Hi:

 

We are taking our 1st cruise ever in a few weeks (Carnival Imagination to the Western Caribbean). This is our first real vacation of our entire life and I'm getting very worried reading this websight. Brawls, alcohol smuggling, people with warrants for their arrest, badly behaved adults, out of control children, diapers being changed in the restarant. This is supposed to be a trip of a lifetime We been saving for a long time for this trip. I'm getting ready to cry.

[mhurley0504]

I'm gonna agree with the other posters. I have gone on 4 previous Carnival cruises and will be going on the Glory on Sept 21st. I have NEVER encountered anything remotely close to what I've seen on here.

Get excited about your cruise! Don't worry about anything you've read on here and enjoy!!

[iruser]

Hi:

 

We are taking our 1st cruise ever in a few weeks (Carnival Imagination to the Western Caribbean). This is our first real vacation of our entire life and I'm getting very worried reading this websight. Brawls, alcohol smuggling, people with warrants for their arrest, badly behaved adults, out of control children, diapers being changed in the restarant. This is supposed to be a trip of a lifetime We been saving for a long time for this trip. I'm getting ready to cry.

 

 

our first cruise is in October. I've been following cruise critic for six months and have read the horror stories.

 

At the risk of turning this into a smoking thread, my only concern are the threads that talk about smoking and balconies. We got a balcony for my claustrophobic wife. Two adults and two kids, she's going to need the balcony. Just hoping that balcony neighbours are not chain smoking as some threads lead you to believe. We have the first balcony in the row, so hopefully when the ship is moving forwards any smoke there is will go away from us.

 

But also a lot of how wonderful a time people had.

 

What I've taken away is get on the boat with an open mind (belly flop contests can be fun) and Carnival will bend over backwards to show you a good time.

 

Enjoy

[fragilek]

If you read through my posts you will see that I had all the same fears, well from my review you will see that we loved our cruise. We cruised over new year so probably saw more alcohol consumption than the norm, but no one was behaving badly. We avoided any game show/ pool area games stuff as not for us- but there are many other areas to go and sit. We are now looking at our 2nd cruise, as as its just DH and myself next time we may try celebrity but we have not ruled out carnival if we can get to san juan easily from uk and would definitely cruise with them again if we were taking our girls (16 and 20yr).

 

Do not worry, I wasted so much time do that for no reason.

[michigancruiser0715]

Hi:

 

We are taking our 1st cruise ever in a few weeks (Carnival Imagination to the Western Caribbean). This is our first real vacation of our entire life and I'm getting very worried reading this websight. Brawls, alcohol smuggling, people with warrants for their arrest, badly behaved adults, out of control children, diapers being changed in the restarant. This is supposed to be a trip of a lifetime We been saving for a long time for this trip. I'm getting ready to cry.

 

I'm telling you, as a first time cruiser, negative reviews definitely cause pre-cruise jitters. I understand where you're coming from 100%. Before my first voyage, I let all those scary scenarios get into my head ... but, trust me, you have nothing to worry about!

 

All the situations you listed, as others have said, could happen anywhere. However, the likelihood they'd all happen at the same time on land, let alone the ship, is slim. I witnessed no negative behavior on my cruise as it was one of the best vacations of my life. Truly!

 

As far as alcohol "smuggling," that word has a terrible stigma. Sure people break the rules and bring their own liquor aboard, but it's not to be thought of as dangerous like drug trafficking. It's simply common folk wanting to save a buck (or eight) on a drink. Right or wrong? Your choice. But, trust me when I say you won't even know and it certainly won't affect you.

 

Have a SPECTACULAR cruise vacation. I know you'll love it. :-)