Carnival is so bad and it is just for first time cruisers

[guxu]

Well, I found a good Carnival deal and shared it to a friend. But that was her reply: Carnival is so bad and it is just for first time cruisers. She booked a HAL cruise and said it is well worth it for extra $300, because Carnival (we are talking about Dream) does not have (free) sushi.

 

I know they changed sushi bar to taste bar. But does Carnival Dream still have sishi somewhere? And does HAL have free sushi on all its ships?

[N00B]

Seems weird to pay $300 for free sushi. I hope she has other reasons as well.

[HollandAvery]

That seems like an incredibly silly reason to ditch Carnival after only one attempt...I really do hope it wasn't just all about the sushi, that would be sad for your friend. I hope they decide to give Carnival another chance one day! I have heard HAL is good, but I have no idea if they offer free sushi, haha...certainly wouldn't be the main reason why I'd book a cruise with them.

[springs741]

No, Carnival is not just for first time cruisers. I have completed 8 cruises since September of 2011 and have two more booked.

 

Carnival may be more economically friendly than some of the other lines but that is what has allowed us to sail as much as we have. Me thinks OP friend must have reasons other than free sushi for not wanting to sail Carnival. And that is OK.

 

There are many ways to spend your vacation dollars and each of us must decide for ourselves how we want to spend them.

[gregg204]

Really because of sushi? The 1st time cruiser comment was just as ignorant.

[thephillykid]

Sounds like a terrible reason to me. I love sushi but the sushi on board is average at best. Limited choices and not much raw fish. There is a Japanese place down the street with 50 % off, and it blows away the ship. For a $20, you can fill up on any kind of fresh made sushi to order. For $300, you could eat for a month

 

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Forums mobile app

[guxu]

Really because of sushi? The 1st time cruiser comment was just as ignorant.

That's what I was thinking. Neither she nor we are first time cruiser. However, her family cruises three or four times a year (poor government employees). I am not sure what she wanted to teach me here. Is HAL really that good?

[KevInPitt]

CCL and HAL are two very different experiences for two very different target customers.

 

The extremely limited offering of Sushi on CCL menus, in my opinion, correlates to its target customer.

 

A wider offering of sushi on HAL's menu would correlate to its target customer. Based on my understanding, the Tamarind Restaurant (offering a wide variety of sushi) is only on HAL's ms Eurodam and ms Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

Everyone is entitled to (and I respect) their opinion but in the limited recounting of the comment "...so bad, for first time cruisers, no sushi" I would echo others who have replied that these are very narrow-minded reasons to dismiss CCL for the broader experience and value it offers.

[guxu]

A wider offering of sushi on HAL's menu would correlate to its target customer. Based on my understanding, the Tamarind Restaurant (offering a wide variety of sushi) is only on HAL's ms Eurodam and ms Nieuw Amsterdam.

She did book ms Eurodam. She also said ms Eurodam is 5-star and Carnival Dream is a motel.:mad:

[Canadian_J]

She did book ms Eurodam. She also said ms Eurodam is 5-star and Carnival Dream is a motel.:mad:

 

No offense, your friend sounds like a stuck up b*&ch :p

 

CCL and HAL are two very different lines. As they should be! They have the same owners and as such target two different markets.

 

Personally, I'd never book a HAL cruise at this point in my life. Don't care for small ships, don't like being overly formal, don't like having an average age that high, prefer having more to do on board.

 

I wouldn't take it personally, I'd remind them "to each their own" and tell them to enjoy their floating retirement home ;) I had clients who tried HAL once and their comment when they returned was that "the average age on board was deceased" lol so if we're making sweeping accusations, I'm just gonna throw that out there!

[jcsuzeta]

Well, I found a good Carnival deal and shared it to a friend. But that was her reply: Carnival is so bad and it is just for first time cruisers. She booked a HAL cruise and said it is well worth it for extra $300, because Carnival (we are talking about Dream) does not have (free) sushi.

 

I know they changed sushi bar to taste bar. But does Carnival Dream still have sishi somewhere? And does HAL have free sushi on all its ships?

 

 

Is it free sushi if she paid an extra $300?

[CAnative1]

My first cruise was on Oosterdam (HAL), my second was on Glory (CC). I don't remember there being that big of a difference in food quality. I did enjoy the 24 hour pizza on Glory on more than one occasion after being at the nightclub.

 

Anyhow.... I am now booked for a cruise on the Miracle leaving in 3 days.

[Can'tWait2SetSail]

Cruise snobs abound. My boss looks down his nose at my Carnival cruises because he prefers RC. He says it is a "higher class" cruise. I really did not find that much of a difference between Carnival and RC. The one RC cruise I went on was fine, but to tell the truth I liked the food on Carnival better and I am a bit of a foodie. By the way, my boss has never even gone on a Carnival cruise, so his opinion is meaningless.

[tkportersat]

:D Thanks for the laugh this morning, I needed that.

I agree, to each their own. People can say anything they want about Carnival, I really don't care. I like it and that is all that matters ;)

 

 

No offense, your friend sounds like a stuck up b*&ch :p

 

CCL and HAL are two very different lines. As they should be! They have the same owners and as such target two different markets.

 

Personally, I'd never book a HAL cruise at this point in my life. Don't care for small ships, don't like being overly formal, don't like having an average age that high, prefer having more to do on board.

 

I wouldn't take it personally, I'd remind them "to each their own" and tell them to enjoy their floating retirement home ;) I had clients who tried HAL once and their comment when they returned was that "the average age on board was deceased" lol so if we're making sweeping accusations, I'm just gonna throw that out there!

[Orison]

Well, I found a good Carnival deal and shared it to a friend. But that was her reply: Carnival is so bad and it is just for first time cruisers. She booked a HAL cruise and said it is well worth it for extra $300, because Carnival (we are talking about Dream) does not have (free) sushi.

 

I know they changed sushi bar to taste bar. But does Carnival Dream still have sishi somewhere? And does HAL have free sushi on all its ships?

 

Last I heard they had moved it from a sushi stand to the lido buffet.

 

But for $300, just the but up experience is worth it; not because of the sushi.

[PCHENG]

She did book ms Eurodam. She also said ms Eurodam is 5-star and Carnival Dream is a motel.:mad:

 

Just out of curiosity, did your friend ever sailed Carnival before, or is it all just her imagination?

[legion3]

I found a great deal on HAL and approached my DW about it,

And to quote Canadian above,

don't like having an average age that high, prefer having more to do on board.

 

she wasn't sure she wanted to do a cruise that was in that realm just yet, and certainly our 5 and 7 DD's would rather do CCL.

[DirtyDawg]

.... By the way' date=' my boss has never even gone on a Carnival cruise, so his opinion is meaningless.[/quote']

 

.....about Carnival maybe. I bet his opinion about your employment status is very meaningful!;)

[rob6465]

No offense, your friend sounds like a stuck up b*&ch :p

 

CCL and HAL are two very different lines. As they should be! They have the same owners and as such target two different markets.

 

Personally, I'd never book a HAL cruise at this point in my life. Don't care for small ships, don't like being overly formal, don't like having an average age that high, prefer having more to do on board.

 

I wouldn't take it personally, I'd remind them "to each their own" and tell them to enjoy their floating retirement home ;) I had clients who tried HAL once and their comment when they returned was that "the average age on board was deceased" lol so if we're making sweeping accusations, I'm just gonna throw that out there!

no offense?? lol

[guxu]

Just out of curiosity, did your friend ever sailed Carnival before, or is it all just her imagination?

She did. They cruise 3 or 4 times per year, around the world. And they have been cruising for about 20 years.

[Canadian_J]

no offense?? lol

 

Okay okay, maybe a little offense. I just get frustrated when people who have never tried Carnival have all these drastic opinions (party ship, cheap cruise, floating motel) which I disagree with. At least I've sailed RC twice so I can say I've compared. Some people are stuck in their ways though, but I'm still going to have just as much fun :cool: no matter which cruise line!

[Tapi]

Wouldn't pay $300 more for "free" sushi, but would gladly pay $300 for the overall experience. We sailed on HAL for the first time last year and the experience was exceptional. And honestly, we didnt find the age difference to be that dramatic as some people like to say. We are in our late 30's to early 40's and didnt feel out of place.

[PCHENG]

She did. They cruise 3 or 4 times per year, around the world. And they have been cruising for about 20 years.

 

I see she is an experienced cruiser, but that doesn't mean she had sailed with Carnival. Hard to believe someone would ditch a line because of the absence of mass produced sushi.

Edited October 30, 2014 by PCHENG

[jujurasc1083]

I took the OP as the friend was referring to the DEAL that the friend mentioned as being only for first time cruisers, not Carnival itself.

 

Either way, the free sushi comment was just silly!

[joeyancho]

Only $300.00 ? That's a good deal. HAL has the superior product. Carnival is geared for the first time cruiser and to the party crowd. After more than 20 cruises with carnival we have decided to try princess. Carnival has just gone too far down hill. Especially in the areas of entertainment and food. Also too many woohoo people. We no longer are content to just pay a low price and settle for the deterioration of the experience. If we have to pay more for what we want, so be it. Life is short and getting shorter.