Would you really leave Carnival if.....

[wanderingjew]

It's not the Chocolates as i'm diabetic but the Cutbacks have made it so bad i did my last 4 cruises in a row on CCL but even with the very low fares they were not enjoyable even as a Diamond . Next cruise i chose the Breakaway over the Pride here are the Reasons i chose NCL:

 

1 Sabrett hot dog cart VS OVERRATED Guy's Burger

2 LIVE showbands VS Canned music Playlist

3 Free UBP IE Cheers

4 no overnight stay in Baltimore I live in NYC

[A Sixth?]

I'm considering a cruise on the Glory, and I've cruised 20 or 30 times on maybe a dozen lines since my last Carnival cruise.

 

ALL the cruise companies are cutting little things here and there, it's a competitive market.

 

For me Celebrity and Princess stole my "loyalty" with free laundry, free happy hours... the list goes on, but in the end if the cruise fits I'll buy it.

 

All the majors do a good job keeping passengers happy

Edited March 5, 2015 by A Sixth?

[latitude918]

I cruise for the ports, not the perks.

[A Sixth?]

I cruise for the ports, not the perks.

 

Used to, and on cruises to new ports I've never been to, that's true.

 

But after literally dozens and dozens of times in some places, we stay onboard and have a ship-to-yourself experience. That's when the ship is the destination for us... the little things add up then at least for me.

 

PS I see there's another thread about the chocolates are gone from the pillow, it's not just Carnival who are ridding them.

Edited March 5, 2015 by A Sixth?

[GaNavy]

For all of the objections I hear to Carnival doing something that the commenter sees as a "cutback," I agree with the poster who said that Carnival is a better value and superior product to what it was when I started cruising with them in 1997. I would prefer a live show band and the much-missed rum swizzle part (remember that?) but their disappearance hasn't lessened my enjoyment of the cruise, which is based on being at sea in a relaxing but engaging environment with a friendly crew and staff. My experience is that Carnival always delivers on those.

 

The fact is that Carnival has its business model down pat, they know exactly what their passengers want, and there are far more satisfied Carnival passengers than one would imagine from reading Cruise Critic boards. I've cruised other lines and no doubt will again, but Carnival works great for me.

[ray98]

 

The fact is that Carnival has its business model down pat, they know exactly what their passengers want, and there are far more satisfied Carnival passengers than one would imagine from reading Cruise Critic boards. I've cruised other lines and no doubt will again, but Carnival works great for me.

 

 

Yup...they successfully tapped the large market of people who normally partake in beach vacations and all inclusive type resorts. Cruising is now seen as another variety of the Caribbean vacation experience. Once cruising had a fairly limited clientel, normally well to do people (or those who thought they were) who dressed in their finest and enjoyed afternoon tea. Now the people you see the same people you would find at a resort in the islands who would rather enjoy that type atmosphere than a stuffy formal type environment. It works and is one of the reason Carnival has exploded over the past few decades, they understand their customer base and what they expect for their money.

[Bob NC]

If, in your life, you are a complainer, you will always find something to be upset about.

 

I have been on 5 Carnival cruises, the last 2 being 4 years apart.

 

A few weeks ago someone posted about the little basket of crap disappearing from next to the bathroom sink.

 

I was on a cruise the PREVIOUS week and I for the life of me couldn't tell you if there was a basket in my bathroom, or not.

 

The chocolates on that cruise piled up on our counter and were always in the way. We never ate a single one of them, and yes we do like chocolate.

 

If this thread had never happened I wouldn't have even noticed the missing "turn down" chocolates on my next cruise.

 

Every cruise I have taken has been better and more fun than the previous one.

 

Who in the world agonizes over these little things?

[GottaLuvCruising]

Those little things make no difference to me. What does matter in a big way is good entertainment (#1) and good food (#2). Carnival just isn't doing its best in those regards so my next booking is with RCI and I expect to sail Princess again later this year.

[ray98]

If, in your life, you are a complainer, you will always find something to be upset about.

 

 

Quote that for truth.

[makeda]

Not leaving carnival for these silly little things. The overall cruise experience is what I am after (said as I look as pics and chocolates from my last cruise.)

[rudechuck]

I sail with Carnival for these reasons:

 

1. Price
   
2. Service
   
3. Staring at the ocean for days on end
   
4. Fun
   

If any one of these things are taken away, I would reconsider. Until then, I'm good. Everything else is incidental. I never ate the chocolate and I bring my own toiletries.

 

I rarely go to shows. I did enjoy "Ticket to Ride," and the comedy shows on occasion, but that was about it. We pretty much make our own fun.

 

For the most part, I enjoy the food in the MDR. Some things have been hit or miss, but others have been great. The buffet is not great, but I can always find something appetizing, or go to the deli, or wait for pizza, or order room service or Guy's or Blue Iguana (if available).

 

I don't need, nor want, a rock climbing wall, an ice rink, Blue Man Group or broadway show. I'm not knocking those who do, but those things aren't fun for me. (A Flowrider might be nice though ;))

 

I have NEVER been disappointed with a Carnival cruise, 2.0 upgrades/cutbacks and all. I'm not saying that won't change, but so far so good.

 

(This was a much longer post than I intended :o)

[EZ4]

(This was a much longer post than I intended :o)

 

Awesome screen name. Thank you for your service to Cruise Critic. :D

[OCruisers]

Would you really leave Carnival and choose another cruise line if you don't have chocolates on your pillow, or towel animals, or complimentary robes, or turn down service, or a 'reward' for being a return customer, or any of the other little "services" that have no impact other than they are a nicety?

 

The things above would not keep us from taking a cruise on Carnival or ANY OTHER Cruise Lline! :D

[ajee622]

If they get cheap for the gamblers, meaning no free alcohol or comps yes I would.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[larkz]

Would you really leave Carnival and choose another cruise line if you don't have chocolates on your pillow, or towel animals, or complimentary robes, or turn down service, or a 'reward' for being a return customer, or any of the other little "services" that have no impact other than they are a nicety?

 

No. Every single one of those things are pretty much meaningless to me. Food, cabin, beautiful ocean, nice overall environment on the ship, and get me to the ports - those are my requirements.

[Hendricks Clan]

Yes and infact I did. I was once a loyal Carnival cruiser...however once they changed the loyalty program, I haven't stepped foot on another Carnival vessel. It has nothing to do with getting things free for being a Platinum customer but all to do with by making those changes, it displayed Carnival's true feelings. The put off an attitude that they didn't care about the customers who had spent thousands of dollars on Carnival vacations over the years. Its the small things that companies do that say they appreciate your business or in some cases display they could care less as they are now going after a different demographic. At the same time the prices of Carnival's competitors became very comparable with Carnival as Carnival slightly raised their prices and allowed us to branch out. We tried both NCL and RCI. In fact we fell in love with the NCL product and regret not giving them a try much sooner.

[Therobielyn's]

I for one can say that, unfortunately, regardless of the litte "extra's" that Carnival puts out, ie chocolates, etc that we will probably not return to Carnival.

Having just been on a "back to back", the first leg with Carnival (Conquest) and the second with RCCL (Oasis) that Carnival has just cut corners far too much for us.

Now, we know better than to compare ships, as the Conquest is in no means any match for the Oasis and we knew that going in, but the service, the food, the entertainment, the attention to detail just didn't come close, with RCCL winning hands down.

We had been on 5 Carnival cruises prior and one other RCCL and noticed a steady decline with Carnival from our first one. The stateroom furniture is drab and boring (nice orange haha) no matter which ship you are on and there isnt even a slight feel of luxury, except for the robes. The upkeep of the ships don't compare either.

We are open to trying as many cruise lines as we can. It is the itinerraries and cruise "value" that matter to us, not necessarily lowest price though.

I do have to admit though that on our last Conquest cruise we had the greatest stateroom attendant we have ever had and the best cruise director at sea (Mike Pack).

[foundmyMcGyver]

Nope.

 

Chocolates at night is a complete, COMPLETE non-issue for us.

 

Totally over the towel animals. Nothing wrong with them but even my kids couldn't care less at this point.

 

I usually will not wear the robe as I have no clue he last time it was washed.

 

Cutting out turn down service would be lame, but it wouldn't make me leave Carnival. That said, I have no problem trying other lines but not going to them for any of the stuff you named.

 

DH and I do wear the robes after a shower and use them as blankets for naps :-) would I leave Carnival if they did away with them..nope

 

Never eat the chocolates but did like bringing them home for my DH candy dish at work. His co-workers enjoyed them, would I leave Carnival because they are gone...nope

 

Now turn down service is another story though a mute point as I doubt it will ever go away. I don't care about the morning service as I always make my bed anyway before leaving the room and always keep it clean. So the ice is the only thing I would miss but could go get my own. However I like fresh ice and glasses in the room in the evening. The towel animals I used to keep and line them up but now I just move them out of the way and they reuse the towels each night. If it saved them time I could care less if they did them. Fresh towels,soap,ice,glasses, fun times etc... that's what I care about with turn down service.

[Beachdude]

If, in your life, you are a complainer, you will always find something to be upset about.

 

This is a common passive aggressive attempt to intimidate folks away from making apposing comments. It shows lack of emotional maturity to accept that not everyone thinks like them.

 

This thread got me thinking because I didn't think we would ever say we have left Carnival. But when I look back on it, we haven't cruised Carnival for over five years because their cuts were taking away from our expectations of what we like about cruising. So maybe we have left.

 

To add to the conversation, while we liked Carnival because it made cruising affordable, I realize that we are willing to pay for the kind cruise experience Carnival was changing away from. I think we have cruise seven or eight times in the last five years on other lines. Cost is important, but so it the expectation of the experience. Sally thinks it might be time to give Carnival another chance, but she hasn’t been reading the forums. I am a slave to my wife, so we will likely try Carnival again, but I’m not looking forward to it.

 

Burt

[Lace]

If, in your life, you are a complainer, you will always find something to be upset about.

 

I have been on 5 Carnival cruises, the last 2 being 4 years apart.

 

A few weeks ago someone posted about the little basket of crap disappearing from next to the bathroom sink.

 

I was on a cruise the PREVIOUS week and I for the life of me couldn't tell you if there was a basket in my bathroom, or not.

 

The chocolates on that cruise piled up on our counter and were always in the way. We never ate a single one of them, and yes we do like chocolate.

 

If this thread had never happened I wouldn't have even noticed the missing "turn down" chocolates on my next cruise.

 

Every cruise I have taken has been better and more fun than the previous one.

 

Who in the world agonizes over these little things?

 

I guess I missed where someone said they were agonizing over any of these issues.

[elliair]

Would you really leave Carnival and choose another cruise line if you don't have chocolates on your pillow, or towel animals, or complimentary robes, or turn down service, or a 'reward' for being a return customer, or any of the other little "services" that have no impact other than they are a nicety?

 

No, we left Carnival because of their smoking policy. Now that that has changed we're looking for more cruises on Carnival. We don't care about the chocolates, the towel animals and we request no turn down at night. I realize this has been a tradition on cruise lines, but it's not a cruise stopper for me.

[sgttami]

Would you really leave Carnival and choose another cruise line if you don't have chocolates on your pillow, or towel animals, or complimentary robes, or turn down service, or a 'reward' for being a return customer, or any of the other little "services" that have no impact other than they are a nicety?

 

No. I would stop cruising Carnival or any other line if they stopped being fun!

 

Don't care about the chocolates, towel animals or robes..(robes are too heavy for me in the Caribbean, I don't eat chocolate and end up moving the animals all over the cabin(lol)

 

Rewards, perks and little extras are nice but I wouldn't stop cruising because they no longer offer them.

[sparks1093]

Would you really leave Carnival and choose another cruise line if you don't have chocolates on your pillow, or towel animals, or complimentary robes, or turn down service, or a 'reward' for being a return customer, or any of the other little "services" that have no impact other than they are a nicety?

 

No, because I'm not booking for those things in the first place. As long as I feel that I am getting a good return on my vacation dollar I'm all set.

[SugiMO]

I'm not trying to start anything, but ...are you telling me they don't do the towel animals? I only care because we are taking a 2 year old, and I was looking forward to her having that experience.

 

If they have discontinued the towel animals, I wonder if I can request them, for the room she is in?

Edited March 6, 2015 by SugiMO

[Lace]

I'm not trying to start anything, but ...are you telling me they don't do the towel animals? I only care because we are talking a 2 year old, and I was looking forward to her having that experience.

 

If they have discontinued the towel animals, I wonder if I can request them, for the room she is in?

 

They have not discontinued towel animals.