So Disappointed

[patrice1]

While I recognize the concerns many folks have over cutbacks, we still find our CCL cruise is the best bang for our buck. Cutbacks in shows don't bother us because we never liked them and don't go. Hate the noise on the Lido & always tried to be in a place on deck where we couldn't hear them. We have always enjoyed the food & have loved the changes like mac & cheese & are looking forward to the American Table changes. Love that we can get steakhouse stuff for an up charge in the DR now. Ccl allows us to cruise enjoyably at a reasonable price for a balcony at our own pace. We make friends every cruise. Why is it so hard to ask for an ice bucket? Never had problem with asking for an extra. Frankly, we haven't noticed any cutbacks, as we love the new additions every cruise - Cheers, Guys, Alchemy, Chef's Table, comedy & others.:D We have tried other lines & will stay with CCL because it meets our vacation needs.

[klct39lg]

I have never found the food on any of the four lines I've cruised with to be anything to write home about. It always looks good but is lukewarm and bland. Also, I have seen a tremendous amount of food waste on the lido decks. Do people waste food because it's crappy, or is it crappy because people are going to pile their plates full and then barely eat any of it?

[Bgentles]

I have never found the food on any of the four lines I've cruised with to be anything to write home about. It always looks good but is lukewarm and bland. Also, I have seen a tremendous amount of food waste on the lido decks. Do people waste food because it's crappy, or is it crappy because people are going to pile their plates full and then barely eat any of it?

 

 

That is something I think about every time I see a heaped plate left half eaten. I tend to think they leave it because they've put more on it than they wanted just because they can. Also, I've seen tons of children unaccompanied leave whole plates and bowls to run off and play!

 

 

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[VASOXFANN]

Been on countless cruises, and I love Carnival, cut backs and all. But it is what it is. Like a cheap wedding, lots of booze, mediocre food, and an awesome party! Party boat, yes. Vacation of a lifetime? Not exactly.

 

I beg to differ regarding "cheap weddings." If you head over to the Wedding and Honeymoon Cruises section, you'll see many glowing reviews and beautiful pics of Carnival weddings.

 

Carnival's weddings may be less expensive than land-based weddings, but they are not "cheap" or "tacky." We toured our ship and saw the wedding and reception venues set up. Our reception hor d'oeuvres will include caviar and shrimp, and we're having a 3-tier cake with favors we picked.

 

It's not like we're getting married by an Elvis impersonator at the Chapel O'Love for God's sake. :rolleyes:

 

We enjoyed the food on our Glory cruise, and I've never starved on a cruise ship (even NCL that upcharges for decent food :eek:). I'm just thankful to be able to travel to so many gorgeous places on amazing ships!

Edited September 7, 2014 by VASOXFANN

[ShakyBeef]

All I'm saying is that we should not expect the same level of service or food quality if we're paying the same prices that we have come to expect from Carnival.

Something has to give' date=' so either prices go up, or quality and service goes down[/quote']

 

True. And what I'm saying is that I wish Carnival would increase the prices the necessary amount to keep the level of quality that they have provided us in the (recent) past. I know that wishing for a reversal of the cutbacks already instituted is quixotic at best.:o But to just halt the rapid plunge in quality and increase the prices as necessary from this point on would be a big step in a redeeming direction for Carnival. Alas, as I have already observed, Carnival is choosing to go the other (downhill) route.:(

[ShakyBeef]

I have never found the food on any of the four lines I've cruised with to be anything to write home about. It always looks good but is lukewarm and bland. Also, I have seen a tremendous amount of food waste on the lido decks. Do people waste food because it's crappy, or is it crappy because people are going to pile their plates full and then barely eat any of it?

 

Ah, the age-old question of the gluttonous chicken or the crappy egg.:p

[klct39lg]

That is something I think about every time I see a heaped plate left half eaten. I tend to think they leave it because they've put more on it than they wanted just because they can. Also, I've seen tons of children unaccompanied leave whole plates and bowls to run off and play!

 

 

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Yes!

 

I am looking forward to our Liberty cruise. I sleep well on ships. I will get to relax and read on the serenity deck, drink a little, eat a little, watch movies on deck at night, see a couple of comedy shows, visit a few ports, and just gaze at the ocean.

[yogimax]

When we started out cruising, Carnival and Royal Caribbean were equal in quality. We were loyal to both. Now, we are exclusive with Royal and Celebrity. Carnival has cut, cut, cut and cut. My only regret is wasted credits on Carnival. Although we made Platinum, I now wish I had those credits added to my RCCL account!

[klct39lg]

Ah, the age-old question of the gluttonous chicken or the crappy egg.:p

 

The world may never know.

[Bgentles]

Yes!

 

 

 

I am looking forward to our Liberty cruise. I sleep well on ships. I will get to relax and read on the serenity deck, drink a little, eat a little, watch movies on deck at night, see a couple of comedy shows, visit a few ports, and just gaze at the ocean.

 

 

Hahaha, I booked one last Saturday, left Sunday because I was tired and I needed 4 good nights of sleep. Left the ship Thursday a.m. and went straight to work all rested up (just a touch of a little hangover though) met a great group of people. Yes, 2 weeks and ill be at the dive-in movies, then sleeping like a bear[emoji3]

 

 

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[EZ4]

I beg to differ regarding "cheap weddings." If you head over to the Wedding and Honeymoon Cruises section, you'll see many glowing reviews and beautiful pics of Carnival weddings.

 

Carnival's weddings may be less expensive than land-based weddings, but they are not "cheap" or "tacky." We toured our ship and saw the wedding and reception venues set up. Our reception hor d'oeuvres will include caviar and shrimp, and we're having a 3-tier cake with favors we picked.

 

It's not like we're getting married by an Elvis impersonator at the Chapel O'Love for God's sake. :rolleyes:

 

We enjoyed the food on our Glory cruise, and I've never starved on a cruise ship (even NCL that upcharges for decent food :eek:). I'm just thankful to be able to travel to so many gorgeous places on amazing ships!

 

uh......pretty sure that lido deck larry wasn't talking about Carnival weddings. I think he was comparing the Carnival cruise experience vs. a cheap wedding, and all that that implies.

[DMH15]

I'm probably paying less. I can't remember. But who is asking for prices to be so low? For a regular cruiser that's thousands of dollars a year. Even one cruise a year is going to be over a thousand bucks. We can't afford a couple hundred more? I get that on HAL or NCL you can have a "cruise within a cruise", with the Haven and Neptune Suites and specialty restaurants. How can you do that on Carnival? Serenity deck with sticky lounge chair cushions that is always full? Go to the steakhouse? So what do you do for the other 22 hours in the day? Play bean bag toss and scrounge around for ice? Hang out with people wearing Duck Dynasty people in the dining room (yes, yes, Fantasy, just saw it)?

 

 

I am going to be on the Magic in November my sister and I decided to get an aft extended balcony cabin. We are doing the chefs table, the spa, steakhouse other specialty dining. I like to play trivia. We plan to lay out on our balcony with fun drinks from our bar set up. My sister will bring wine.

 

I think that is an escalated experience. One I will enjoy.

 

 

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Edited September 7, 2014 by DMH15
punctuation

[JohnSpo]

I find Carnival to be a great value and a very good cruise experience. The level of service, quality and price works for me and I am able to cruise with Carnival multiple times a year. I wouldn't be able to do this on other cruise lines. I like that they have a low base rate and I can pay for add ons to enhance my cruise experience if I want. I wouldn't want to pay for a rock wall I will never use.

 

If you want a better cruise experience then by all means go to another cruise line. Be prepared to open your wallets deep for this better cruise experience. Probably most will come back to Carnival.

 

:cool:

[JohnSpo]

I am going to be on the Magic in November my sister and I decided to get an aft extended balcony cabin. We are doing the chefs table, the spa, steakhouse other specialty dining. I like to play trivia. We plan to lay out on our balcony with fun drinks from our bar set up. My sister will bring wine.

 

I think that is an escalated experience. One I will enjoy.

 

 

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This sounds great. I am sure you paid a good rate and will then pay for some reasonably priced add ons to enhance your cruise experience. This is a better way to cruise than to pay upfront for things you may not want to do.

 

Enjoy your cruise on the Carnival Magic!:cool:

[DMH15]

This sounds great. I am sure you paid a good rate and will then pay for some reasonably priced add ons to enhance your cruise experience. This is a better way to cruise than to pay upfront for things you may not want to do.

 

Enjoy your cruise on the Carnival Magic!:cool:

 

Thanks much. I am sure it will be great.

 

 

 

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[JPEvans]

Oh, they're shrinking the packaging and the amount and often the quality of product (YES, BREYER'S "FROZEN DAIRY DESSERT"-THAT-USED-TO-BE-ICE-CREAM, THIS MEANS YOU!:mad:) all over the place, man.:cool: But I just wish they would raise the price appropriately and not treat us like idiots, trying to fool us with a crappy product in a similar package.

 

Give me back my 6 ounce can of tuna, Carnival!:( Or if you won't do that, could you at least not continue to shrink it to a 4 ounce can?:rolleyes:

 

I promise I'm not drinking.;) Just bored on a Friday night.

 

And don't forget Land O Lakes American (what used to be) cheese.

[Manny13840]

I've been reading these Carnival cutbacks threads for years. By now they can be split in two parts: those who are disappointed and those who aren't disappointed yet. The first group grows bigger by the month, and the second group is mighty small at this point.

 

 

 

I'm a rational person who has sailed many lines, including 8 Carnival cruises over ten years, and who does not demand too much on vacation. I have to say that Carnival has hit a level that makes me not want to cruise them. Keep in mind we are talking about spending THOUSANDS of dollars cruising. We have a right to expect a certain level of food quality. Tried penne mariscos lately? How many people does it take to come back and post about lido dinner and lunch food?

 

 

 

As another poster said, my babies are almost grown up. One year left, one more Carnival cruise.

 

 

 

What do you people think they're saving by not having lido live music? Just wondering. Wonder what they're saving by doing away with ice buckets. Is the margin that thin??

 

 

 

And you still will cruise with them.....

 

Really how do you know it grows by month??? If it did we wouldnt see carnival getting sold out or getting people buying... And these forums on carnival would be empty..

 

 

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[Manny13840]

Dont like carnival just open your fat wallet and spend more for another cruise line..

 

 

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[Out to sea!]

Been on countless cruises, and I love Carnival, cut backs and all. But it is what it is. Like a cheap wedding, lots of booze, mediocre food, and an awesome party! Party boat, yes. Vacation of a lifetime? Not exactly.

 

It's funny how some people get so melodramatic towards one end of the spectrum or the other. :rolleyes:

[Out to sea!]

by the early saver I didn't book penalty

 

Or rather, I booked a cabin on a courtesy hold with the early saver rate thru the website. Now I didn't actually pay for the room or deposit! Just booked a particular room I wanted. Later in the day I was able to get up with our PVP and finalize our booking at a different rate and rate structure that is available to us and not thru carnivals website. For whatever reason, the early saver crap carnival says, still applies to our non early saver rate! So now that I need to cancel our cruise which is still outside by three weeks the final payment date. They say we have to pay the cancellation fees and transfer 400 bucks of the deposit to a future cruise booking!!!!

 

Load of bull I say! Our rate we booked does not have any cancellation or change fees associated with it! I was assured of this at the time and even though I questioned my pvp about this then, and several times this year the pvp said not too worry about it!!! Well I worried an PISSED OFF! right now!!!

 

Anyone else have a similar screwed over story?

 

and yea, service, quality and selection of foods declining for years now, my next cruise is ROYAL CARRIBBEAN!

 

already booked next april, in stead of looking at feb on carnival, will be looking RCI or Celebrityfor feb!

 

Nope. But I pay attention to what I'm doing so I don't get screwed over (in your terms).

[Out to sea!]

Having sailed since the 80's as well, I don't agree with the logic. Since then, they have crammed twice as many people onto the ships, so automatically the fares should be halved.

 

Then take a look at a brochure from the 80's. Take a look at the what's included column, and what's not. And what you got was premium quality with premium service.

 

No they haven't. Once they start putting 4,000 people the Ecstasy, then your "claim" would be accurate. Nothing like a little grandstanding though, eh? :D

[Out to sea!]

Many more social media cruise board outlets have sprung up over the past few years, which has a LOT more activity than this site according to the stats. It seems the hits on this board have dramatically declined over the past couple of years, while the others have skyrocketed.

 

And yet the results and complaints are the same.

 

Would be nice to know which ones.

 

Maybe the reason this board has declined dramatically the past could of years is that every other post is some over the top, melodramatic thread that put's Carnival show to shame for the amount of drama included or is about some type of rule violation. Just look at some of the posts here......."I wouldn't eat in a Golden Corral if they paid me"........truthfully, I didn't know Gordon Ramsey was a member of cruise critic. :rolleyes:

[Out to sea!]

Wow. My experience is pretty much the opposite and the reason is as the mainstream cruise lines have made cut backs to keep their prices low and appeal to every budget I have upgraded my own cruise experience.

 

My first cruise was in an inside cabin on the NCL Norway. That was 1986. My cost was approx. $950 with airfare included. My most recent cruise was in an aft penthouse suite on the NCL Sun. My cost was about $3,300. Both out of Miami. Norway 7 nights, Sun 11 nights. I now do some specialty dining and Chef's Table. So add to my Sun cruise making it $3,500.

 

So I paid a daily rate of $137 in 1986 and $318 in 2014. Two and a half times as much. Factor in inflation and my salary differential and yes, I pay more but get more. How many people are paying the same or less as they have for years and are complaining?

 

Nothing like comparing apples to oranges (insides to suites) and then concluding that cruising cost more today than it did in 1986. :rolleyes: If you want to compare apples to apples, I sailed the Jubilee (4A, Riviera Deck) in Dec 2000 for $650 for a 5 night cruise. I sailed the Ecstasy (PT, Upper Deck) in Dec 2013 for $149 for a 5 night cruise.

 

BTW, just look at almost any thread and you will see people who have been paying the same or less and are complaining (except me, I've never had a bad cruise and most likely never will).

Edited September 7, 2014 by Out to sea!

[sweetsixteencruisers]

If you don't like what Carnival has to offer, then why are you here? Why are you cruising with them? Take your money somewhere else.

 

I think some people have a lot of time on their hands and nothing better to do but to find things to whine about.

 

This one is the best: Not getting a paper receipt, OMG! my cruise is ruined now.:roll eyes: Seriously!

[Out to sea!]

I'm probably paying less. I can't remember. But who is asking for prices to be so low? For a regular cruiser that's thousands of dollars a year. Even one cruise a year is going to be over a thousand bucks. We can't afford a couple hundred more? I get that on HAL or NCL you can have a "cruise within a cruise", with the Haven and Neptune Suites and specialty restaurants. How can you do that on Carnival? Serenity deck with sticky lounge chair cushions that is always full? Go to the steakhouse? So what do you do for the other 22 hours in the day? Play bean bag toss and scrounge around for ice? Hang out with people wearing Duck Dynasty people in the dining room (yes, yes, Fantasy, just saw it)?

 

I wonder how many of the cutbacks could be reversed if they just tacked an average of $50 onto each fare (maybe about $40 on Insides, up to $80 on Suites). As Seago2 said, who (that can afford to cruise) can't afford that? Food, entertainment, and maybe even mattresses:eek:;) could be brought back to some semblance of their former quality. And further cutbacks could be halted. *Sigh* A girl can dream.:rolleyes:

 

But Carnival isn't interested in offering us the same quality they did just a couple years ago. They don't seem too interested in keeping any of us coming back, for that matter. All they seem to care about is packing as many low-budget, usually new cruisers onto their ships as possible. I came to realize this is their business model a long time ago. And for those of us that don't fit into their desired demographic, it's either a lot of what I call "DIY cruising" on Carnival, trying to counteract the cutbacks; or just move on. I'm doing both.

 

But I'm also going to continue to express my dissatisfaction with the continuing cutbacks (sorry, cheerleaders;)). As others have pointed out, my "side" is constantly growing in numbers. And maybe someday our combined voices will be enough to make a difference.

 

Actually, cruises do not have to be THOUSANDS of dollars if one does not wish to pay that. As I stated in my last post, my Ecstasy cruise cost $149 per person just 9 months ago and we had a wonderful time. Yes, people can pay more for better accommodations and such and there are MANY folks who have no problem doing that. And for many it really has nothing to do with what they can afford to pay but what they want to pay and are they getting their monies worth for what they pay. To me, the answer is YES, I get my monies worth and I'm happy with what I get for my money. That is what matters to me.

 

BTW Shaky, "your side" is minuscule and so is the "cheerleader" side. The overwhelming majority of cruisers have never been on a cruise board, know nothing of cutbacks, and don't really care as long as they have a good time on their cruise. You can keep complaining as long as you want (although those complaints become less and less valid as you start cruising other lines), for the most part, they are falling on deaf ears (here) and not falling on anyone's ears (98% of the cruisers out there).

Edited September 7, 2014 by Out to sea!