Back from Carnival Magic July 9th, Never Again!

[BenjiRodney]

Sorry to hear that, I feel about Royal the way you did about this cruise. Three times and I have yet to be wowed. Hoping the 4th time on Royal is better, but until then, # 14, 15 16 17 booked on Carnival.

[Cuervosar]

Same here. Nice sig line, BTW. I had to chuckle. I have had a few goodies too. Real ones! The hurricanes were fun. The fire, not so much.

 

Wow, my sig line is a crock, but it looks like you've had some adventures. Bravo for sticking with it.

 

I just read these boards for entertainment and sometimes get sucked in. Somehow I found out about the new MSC Seaside, and I'm glued to their forum looking for updates.

 

Fires and hurricanes, sounds like you have some interesting tales to tell...

[Liljo22]

I seem to always see a common trend with negative reviews. There is always something that happens before getting on the ship. Unable to make it to the port. Our Hotel overcharged us. Our taxi driver was rude. The security line was too long. It just seems that they are set off by something and then it snowballs from there and every little thing wrong is a huge annoyance.

[exarkkun]

Uh, when we sailed Royal in 2014 the buffet was not open all the time. We utilized room service a few times because we were hungry at odd hours. So whilst your statement may not be false, it also isn't entirely true.

[louanne93]

I always enjoy reading post like these, they are indeed very entertaining. Why come onto a Carnival board and post this? What do you hope to happen honestly? OHhhh, I was thinking of going on a Carnival cruise in October, but darn now I wont because this person said it was horrible! I think I will do something else.

 

Second, while reading this I really sat down and thought, could I EVER have a bad cruise? Lol, heck no, ill take the worst cruise of my life over a week of stress at the office. Bad food? Okay no big deal, I don't honestly expect it to be 5 star Chef Ramsey food. Just feed me, im happy. Bad Service? Who really cares, ill get my drink and move on. I am not here to gain friends, I am on vacation. Staff doesn't want to smile at me? Okay, well, you work 7 days a week 15 hours a day or so and tell me if you would smile. About the bomb situation, I wont even touch that one, lol. Bed bugs, hmmm, I highly do doubt it, there are tons of ways you could have woken up itchy. Did you say something to them? Did you investigate it? Cause Heaven knows, I would have the first time I woke up itchy, JUST to make sure.

 

I mean come on, I am not bashing you at all. I am just saying you are on vacation. You are Not at the office, you are not working, you are not waiting in line at the DMV, you are not stuck in traffic trying to get home or having to use the bathroom. YOu are sitting on a beautiful ship, drinking a drink, traveling to wonderful destinations across the Caribbean. Ill trade places with you in a heart beat! A cruise is what you make of it and your attitude, stop sweating the petty stuff.

 

Finally, I meandered across the "Amazing Royal Cruise line" board and found just as many bad reviews about them. Which really leads me to say its not the cruise line honestly, its most likely the person.

 

Going on a cruise in 68 days, and I promise I wont complain! =)

 

I agree 100%. We have been on 4 Royal, 4 Carnival, and 1 Princess. We had a blast on the Royal and Carnival. Anytime I spend time with my family and my husband we have a blast. I do like how many people we meet on Carnival and I have always felt the food was better on Carnival. Everything else is "I'm on vacation!". Even the Princess cruise wasn't bad, just boring and everyone on the ship was asleep by 9. The place was deserted! But my husband and I really enjoyed ourselves. We caught up on some much needed sleep, ate our dinners in the specialty steak house where I met the chef and had several conversations with him. My husband and I used this cruise to focus on "US", instead of having a crazy, wild time on the ship (and I don't even drink!).

 

The OP complained about her cruise on the Oasis as well. Same complaints, about how bad the food was, how unfriendly the service was and how it was the worst port ever!

[elliair]

 

For the life of me I can't figure out the people who pay so much money for a cruise and go in looking for trouble or those that spend the majority of their evening meals in the buffet. What a waste.

 

 

Ever heard of "diabetes?" People who control their diabetes by diet and exercise may find the buffet a better choice than what's offered in the MDR. If someone wants to eat their meals in the buffet, where is the waste? Certainly it's not a waste to them, why should you care where people choose to eat? Where is the waste?

 

We were on a Carnival cruise, and there was a Jewish couple who ate all their meals in the buffet because they were served "kosher" meals. Each dish was wrapped in tin foil and they sat and complained the whole time about the food. None of my business, but I got a laugh out of them having to eat like that on a cruise.

[Mike0223]

It sounds like we were on a completely different ships from the time we got on board the staff was very friendly and polite, we found the ship was clean. I'm not sure how the peace of unattended luggage is Carnivals' fault but with the way the world is today it's better to play it safe and again how's is it Carnivals fault someone had a heart attack ( I ask one question if it was you or your friends or family would you look at it in a different light I bet you would )

[clearwaters]

Dear OP, I am sorry so many posters are being so rude. You are right about being allowed to express your opinion about the experience you had on your cruise. I have to agree with you about traveling on Carnival. I just sailed on the Sunshine from June 30th to July 4th and I also realized that I won’t ever go on another Carnival cruise again. I have been on 38 Princess cruises and have never been as disappointed as I was with Carnival. As you said the breakfast was very good in the MDR, but only mediocre the rest of the time. The buffet was the worst, very few choices and closed very early everyday. On Princess, whether it was one side or both sides there were many types of food choices and always seem to be open. Don’t even get me started on the Italian place in the back of the buffet, which was the worst Italian food I’ve ever had.

 

Our room stewardess was the best and very friendly, everyone else was just so-so. As far as the entertainment, it was a joke. I felt like the singers were there because they couldn’t get a job on a Princess ship. Thankfully the comedian was very good. I will definitely stick with Princess going forward. Please don’t feel too bad about what the others say, I understand they are defending their favorite cruise line. Good luck in the future.

 

After 38 cruises I'm positive you realize Carnival Corp owns Princess... Carnival has a clue. :rolleyes:

[clearwaters]

LOL, I love your comment! Good way to start my day with a good laugh!

 

I agree that there is good and bad with all of the lines. I have been very happy with Carnival over the years. It might not be as upscale as other lines but we always, always meet some great travelers while on board. There are also other people that we just shake our heads at. As far as the staff goes, I have never encountered any rudeness or slackers. The food can be iffy at the buffet and that is why I prefer the Dining Room especially for dinner.

 

I always laugh when we are on a shuttle with people going to different ships and they say something like, Carnival is the party ship. Well, who wants to go on a vacation and not have a party! I am almost 60 and love the fun atmosphere on Carnival...no old lady cruising for me...at least, not yet!

 

Hope the OP sticks with the line he/she is happy with.

 

Deb

 

Hi Deb,

 

I'm Toni and I'm 60, too. If only I could get younger folks to realize what a blessing a cruising opportunity is. Only the wealthy were afforded the opportunity to pleasure cruise when I was young.

 

When my kids were small in the late 80'-early 90's, we would go to the Port of Los Angeles at San Pedro at 5pm every Sunday and watch the cruise ship sail away. It was a sight!

 

I never took them on a mass market cruise back then because smoking was allowed what seemed like EVERYWHERE on board (a coworker was then and still is a travel agent--she took me on board once pre-launch for a look) and I didn't want them or myself exposed to smoke on the ship.

 

Now they are grown and married and we travel as a family as often as possible.

 

Speaking of smoke, I noticed on our last Pride cruise this summer, the casino was very, very well vented. Although people near us were smoking, we couldn't smell the smoke. :D

Edited July 20, 2016 by clearwaters

[lsp]

I got lost reading all the comments back and forth, but did the OP realize there is a dining room that also has food? If it was on her postings I missed it.

 

Also, I don't know if she was in port but she could have gotten bitten by those horrible little sand gnats. I did in May in the BVI and that night I looked like I had leprosy or small pox. I was covered with bites and thought I would itch and scratch until I had to sit on my hands. And we were on a sail boat away from land and a drug store. But, then again it could have been bed bugs but my DH who slept next to me for 7 nights didn't get one single bite. I guess I am sweeter. lol

[sjn911]

Califgirl67, I read your review a few times, and will not comment one way or another on it. Just want to say, that if you don't want any backlash to a review, you can always post it on the main review boards, where it is there to read only, and not to comment. Just in case you ever want to do another review of a cruise that you did not enjoy. Just an FYI.

 

 

Very good option and FYI....

 

We all have just bad weeks...if you cruise on a bad week for yourself or the line..or go with different expectations than what that line does best and offers...then every little thing can be a bummer.

 

To me everything is a mix of a clean enough ship or hotel, mostly nice people, that one or two instances that simply shine with love and that "life is amazing and unique and so different feeling" be it in the ship or hotel or out on your day....and some stellar meals along with some good enough grab and go food.

 

I oddly had a much better first than second Carnival cruise and simply have had to have family weddings and graduations and a fortunate family cabin be the primary getaways...Plus 3 concert/city trips around US and 2 Carnival cruises be it the past 10 years.

 

I had a long stay at a Comfort Inn being remodeled to their new thing in 2014. It was not the Holiday Inn..(top level hi rise whatever) that they have in the area I go but..new everything and a fridge and micro made up for it...treats from breakfast bar to room always allowed and empathy from crew when I got sick and had to basically make things for lunch and dinner from there and always letting me in for needed juice.

 

The more you go..the more your expectations get in the way. Probably reverse snobbery goes on with folks that hate anything but Carnival...

 

I think we should be kinder to the like and dislike reviews...this one was short and sweet...thanks Original Poster...

 

I do Know of all the beach hotels I went to while living in Oregon for 21 plus years..I had one bed bug deal..nothing came home with me luckily.

 

You can't believe it and think it is you until more evidence and have to look in the bed corners and seams...and get help...I learned that here...the beach stay of one night was what I had as experience to hang my hat on.

 

We all have bad weeks but if the variety can be the favorite part and enough good things..I think I would enjoy a trailer...(set up for me LOL) on a river in a safe campground as much as a 5 or 6 star hotel and cruise..ALMOST as much. It is expectations and longing and being lucky enough to have seriously enjoyed annual or bi-annual trips whatever they may be. Happy cruising....

Edited July 20, 2016 by sjn911

[sjn911]

I love this place.

 

Ok, right out of the gate, I'm an ass and a snob. But you have to read these "reviews" with a grain of salt. The grammar is usually a tip off.

 

There is an art to traveling. You need to be open to and accept the unexpected and treat those who are there to "serve" you as if they are your long lost best friend.

 

I have three goals when traveling; see something new, learn something new, and meet interesting people. Hopefully the people we meet find us interesting as well.

 

I also take very specific steps when we plan trips. No trip less than 10 days. This keeps the drunks and the kids away. 14 to 16 days is our sweet spot. We travel less often but enjoy it more.

 

We always spend most of our dinners in the mean dining room and request tables for six or eight. This seems to be the best odds for great conversation without too much pressure on any one party to carry the load. As couples opt out for specialty nights, there are still enough others around for a fun dinner.

 

Guess what? Fun conversation seems somehow to keep the crappy food away. Must be magic.

 

For the life of me I can't figure out the people who pay so much money for a cruise and go in looking for trouble or those that spend the majority of their evening meals in the buffet. What a waste.

 

Honestly I can't imagine what some people expect when they board. Just remember that the crew you encounter has most likely been working in excess of seven days in a row with horrendous hours and yet they still do their best. I know I couldn't do it and I make sure they know I appreciate their effort.

 

Never had a bad trip.

 

 

Good post..had not read whole thread before mine....fist coupe of pages and a post at end...previously posted...My "bad" cruise has become better and better in my memory...lol.

Edited July 20, 2016 by sjn911

[sjn911]

I was on this same cruise and a die hard Carnival cruiser. Although, I don't agree with your overall dislike of Carnival, I can say honestly that the service during the first formal night dinner and first sea day brunch was less than stellar (not Carnival like) and appeared the staff was short. Yes, the pools were packed and three times one of the pools was closed because of bodily fuilds, but it was not one pool open the entire cruise. I have always thought more pools are needed but with the waterworks, serenity area and spa cabins mineral pool there was plenty of options. I was also in a spa cabin on deck 11 and did not hear any of the noises your are claiming but I was on the other side of the ship. If you had a problem with the bed or thought there were bed bugs did you tell you room steward?? I have no doubt that issue would have been looked into and corrected if needed. Not sure what you mean by the cruise was boring as there was always something going on. We ate at the Steakhouse too and my daughter got sick the next day. She got the NY strip. What did your husband order?? All the staff that I encountered were nice, always said hello and we very accommodating. Food across the board was great, so not sure about that comment either. This is why I do not post or read too much into others reviews, maybe Royal is where you belong but for those questioning the Carnival Magic, I enjoyed my 20th cruise so much I booked my next one while on board.

 

On a very fancy Thanksgiving dinner at a high end restaurant in Portland we all got sick and it boiled down to the stuffing and mashed potatoes where ingredients in them were left out too long..it was a real disaster for the restaurant and health authorities,,,everyone got a check..and food workers reimbursed more for longer time outs before being able to work.

 

They thought eggs and milk...in both things..I had a bad outside the bird stuffing and sweet potatoes instead and was the least ill. Sorry off subject a bit but relates to bad cruises...

[Drobber]

to be fair... if you had bedbugs, there would have been multiple bites in a cluster or a line but not 'a bite' . I have never heard of bedbugs where they itched someone but did not bite and finally a few days later there was 1 bite

 

this in no way sounds like bedbugs. Sounds more like a mosquito bite

 

Actually sounds more like they may have been allergic to the detergent used to clean the sheets.. at least that is why I itch sometimes with sheets.

[serene56]

And to answer your question, on Royal the buffets are all open at the same time not half open part of the time! And on Royal the serenity deck has its own bar,pools,jacuzzi and an area all its own. On magic its just a couple jacuzzi's and chairs/hammocks. A joke in my opinion.

If you like Carnival, thats ok.... I don't!

 

Sailed our second cruise on Freedom of the seas in April. The buffet was closed from breakfast to lunch for about 30 -45 minutes EVERY day.

It was also closed from lunch to dinner for about 2 hours. EVERY day.

Towards the end of the meal only one side was opened. The back was opened the entire time

 

The bar at the serenity area was located at the door-- NOT in the serenity area. (woulda defeated the purpose of a quiet area with the ice cubes and people ordering at the bar I guess.)

 

I felt nickled and dimed on Royal. Could NOT find anything to drink except water at 9:30 the first night - yep even along the promenade where I thought at least lemonade- nope only water. Was forced to buy a soda card.

so each cruise has their ups and downs.

 

I will not be sailing royal anytime in the near future

 

I also learned a LONG time ago to never ever post a bad review on any cruise after my nightmare of a cruise on the Destiny. People just don't want to hear the bad

Edited July 20, 2016 by serene56

[SMSACE6]

Very good option and FYI....

 

We all have just bad weeks...if you cruise on a bad week for yourself or the line..or go with different expectations than what that line does best and offers...then every little thing can be a bummer.

 

To me everything is a mix of a clean enough ship or hotel, mostly nice people, that one or two instances that simply shine with love and that "life is amazing and unique and so different feeling" be it in the ship or hotel or out on your day....and some stellar meals along with some good enough grab and go food.

 

I oddly had a much better first than second Carnival cruise and simply have had to have family weddings and graduations and a fortunate family cabin be the primary getaways...Plus 3 concert/city trips around US and 2 Carnival cruises be it the past 10 years.

 

I had a long stay at a Comfort Inn being remodeled to their new thing in 2014. It was not the Holiday Inn..(top level hi rise whatever) that they have in the area I go but..new everything and a fridge and micro made up for it...treats from breakfast bar to room always allowed and empathy from crew when I got sick and had to basically make things for lunch and dinner from there and always letting me in for needed juice.

 

The more you go..the more your expectations get in the way. Probably reverse snobbery goes on with folks that hate anything but Carnival...

 

I think we should be kinder to the like and dislike reviews...this one was short and sweet...thanks Original Poster...

 

I do Know of all the beach hotels I went to while living in Oregon for 21 plus years..I had one bed bug deal..nothing came home with me luckily.

 

You can't believe it and think it is you until more evidence and have to look in the bed corners and seams...and get help...I learned that here...the beach stay of one night was what I had as experience to hang my hat on.

 

We all have bad weeks but if the variety can be the favorite part and enough good things..I think I would enjoy a trailer...(set up for me LOL) on a river in a safe campground as much as a 5 or 6 star hotel and cruise..ALMOST as much. It is expectations and longing and being lucky enough to have seriously enjoyed annual or bi-annual trips whatever they may be. Happy cruising....

 

sjn911, respectfully, I am not sure what all this has to do with my post that you quote. I did not comment either way on op's review, as I feel enough has been said. I was not condemning her, just giving an option to posting reviews, especially the unenjoyable ones.

 

I know that cruises, hotels, or vacations are often not quite perfect, and have posted negative hotel reviews, but I guess lucky for me all 9 cruises have been pretty darn good, including the one NCL and Celebrity:)

[pearose]

Didn't know Magic went to Key West.

 

Well anyway, can't wait to board the Magic next month. Enjoy Royal. Adios.

 

You will LOVE the Magic. Was on her back in February 2015. As luck would have it, we were booked on the Triumph for a 5 day cruise, and they changed the itinerary, and bumped us up to the Magic for a 6 day, no extra charge. Biggest ship to date that I have been on, but I loved everything about it (except at that time it did not yet have Guys Burger joint).

 

Wear your walking shoes, cuz it's a big one! have a great cruise!

[pmms052999]

You know its a darn shame that this site is made up of folks that can't handle if someone has a negative comment or review of something. I just experienced more issues on Magic.

 

Just because I love Royal doesn't mean all my cruises on Royal have been without any issues etc. In fact, the Pizza on carnival is a lot better,tastier then that on the RC ships I have been on that offered it. And NO the "adult" area on the Magic was nothing compared to that of a RC ship, in fact the Magic was lacking a lot to be desired. No pool to enjoy away from kids, area just seemed to be filled with hammocks,lounge chairs and in my opinion that area should have more.

 

Not "all" crew was rude so I guess I should of clarified "some" to be fair, but most of the time there attitude wasn't very good and when asked where the BBQ eatery was they couldn't tell us, Several times we were told "Oh I just got on this ship 3 weeks ago", thats not a good answer. At the very least they could of said "let me get someone who might know the answer" But.... they didn't

 

As for the Itchy issue, Yes I complained about that as well as the AC not cooling our room several days. NO I didn't use any products such as lotion that I don't normally use so that wasn't the problem.Was it "bed bugs" I have no idea as I have never encountered them b4, I just said it could of been but I don't know. All I know is that I itched every night and only when I got under the sheets and at no other time.

 

We started to eat in the MDR on the 2nd night and walked out about 20 mins into it because the service,food etc was terrible. In fact my hubby asked for Ice Tea and it took forever for them to even bring it to him.Needless to say we walked out and said no more MDR food.

As for the Buffet, we tried it several times and like I said in my 1st post ,the breakfast buffet and made to order omelettes was great, no issue with that at all and we ate the breakfast each morning. The other buffet food like others also mentioned was not that good so we ate at the eateries when open instead. In fact, RC Oasis buffet wasn't all that great either last year when we went, but on the Freedom the year b4 it was awesome. So you see its not just issues with carnival!

 

Dr E was great as I mentioned, comedy shows were also great, we didn't go to any other shows. Muster drill was like any other muster drill on other ships.

 

I am happy to read from others that the guy that had a heart attack didn't die, we were told he had died so thank goodness he is ok! And again I will state that the medical issue and the bomb threat scare "DOESN'T effect any part of my decision to NOT go on another carnival because we have no control of those issues.

 

And lastly, I didn't come on here for your sympathy or for any other reason other then to just simply post my thoughts on my cruise on the Magic. I will say that from now on I will NOT post anything in cruise critic ever again about my thoughts on a cruise whether good or bad because you people that flamed me are just to rude, and frankly its not worth my time. From the attitudes of people on this board, I would never recommend cruise critic to anyone again like I have in the past. I use to think this was a great site to learn about cruise ships,ports etc without all the "attitude" but I now see I was wrong. So with that being said I am done with this and my post, Buh Bye!

 

CalifGirl, this post/review seems much more balanced. If you had written that to begin with, then I doubt you would have gotten the responses you did. You mentioned the good stuff, but it was overshadowed by the negative title and overtone of the post.

[sjn911]

stevefrisco - thanks for reading my reviews. I just try to be objective. Hey, I'm a CPA. We're required to use objectivity in our work, so it comes fairly easily. However, I am rather opinionated and am not afraid to vent, either! :p

 

I think most cruisers are expecting to have a great vacation so when something isn't up to their expectations, they're disappointed. That's not surprising. If it seems those expectations were unrealistic, though, then maybe their disappointment should be more their own fault rather than the fault of the cruiseline or the staff/crew. I think they get flamed when their comments lean that way.

 

As for the over-the-top Best Cruise EVER threads, I don't give those any more weight than the bad ones. And since they're posted on the Carnival board, where many Carnival fans read, they're going to be looked at more favorably than the negative ones. Except, of course, by the few people who troll here looking for every negative comment so they can also bash Carnival (geez, just get lives people!).

 

Like I said, my experience could be a polar opposite to the experience of the person next door, mostly based on MY expectations and decisions made during the cruise.

 

And attitude! I go expecting to have a good time. I don't expect perfection. Does that mean I settle for mediocre or worse? Nope. And that's why I point out the issues/problems in my reviews. I've had some not-great cruises. Never has that caused me to even think "never again" for Carnival.

 

I just did #25 and have #26 & #27 booked. I was just going to do the Pride Journeys to get my Milestone OBC and then move on to other lines. Then I got a Premier offer and booked Splendor. Then I realized that would mean I was only 16 nights away from Diamond, so I'll probably do 2 more to reach that plateau. THEN I hope to move on to HAL and/or Celebrity. I'm rather bored with Carnival, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy myself. I just want some different experiences and, hopefully, different ports.

 

I hope people read the reviews, but I sincerely hope people don't make their own vacation decisions based on my comments or the comments from any other person here. Teeny tiny sample sizes cannot be relied on.

 

Great post...I am reading whole thread now..lol...:o

[summersigh]

The driving in circles pre-cruise was not Carnival's fault. In this day and age I'd rather they erred on the side of caution.

 

We've sailed Cunard QM2, RCCL, HAL and Carnival. In our experience the Carnival crews have been as efficient and pleasant as any we've had on any of the other lines. We tend to be friendly and smiling to staff :) - perhaps that's mirrored back?

 

The other issues I can't speak to as, like you we enjoyed breakfasts and lunches at the various venues. We eat dinner in the MDR - buffets for dinner hold no allure for us :) thus how good or bad it is at dinner wouldn't concern us.

[sjn911]

sjn911, respectfully, I am not sure what all this has to do with my post that you quote. I did not comment either way on op's review, as I feel enough has been said. I was not condemning her, just giving an option to posting reviews, especially the unenjoyable ones.

 

I know that cruises, hotels, or vacations are often not quite perfect, and have posted negative hotel reviews, but I guess lucky for me all 9 cruises have been pretty darn good, including the one NCL and Celebrity:)

I accept your comment...I should have left first line and started a new post....thank you...:) and blush face....Happy cruising. I am so excited to try other lines too and glad those 2 were good for you..they are on the list.

Edited July 20, 2016 by sjn911

[Luke Dawg]

I agree 100%. We have been on 4 Royal, 4 Carnival, and 1 Princess. We had a blast on the Royal and Carnival. Anytime I spend time with my family and my husband we have a blast. I do like how many people we meet on Carnival and I have always felt the food was better on Carnival. Everything else is "I'm on vacation!". Even the Princess cruise wasn't bad, just boring and everyone on the ship was asleep by 9. The place was deserted! But my husband and I really enjoyed ourselves. We caught up on some much needed sleep, ate our dinners in the specialty steak house where I met the chef and had several conversations with him. My husband and I used this cruise to focus on "US", instead of having a crazy, wild time on the ship (and I don't even drink!).

 

The OP complained about her cruise on the Oasis as well. Same complaints, about how bad the food was, how unfriendly the service was and how it was the worst port ever!

Agreed. We have been on mostly Carnival, two RCL, 1 NCL. We always have fun. RCL and CCL smaller boats (shorter cruises) are literally the same experience, food, entertainment, cruisers, etc. Have to say the NCL Boston to Bermuda in September was kind of boring and lack a lively pool area. Rascals parked 4 deep around the pool desk. Not what I was expecting, put a damper on fun for a minute until I found the bucket of beers came with 5 soldiers not 4. happy day.

 

Your take on Princess is concerning, going on our first Princess in Nov on Regal Princess. I bet the food is good. I guess I will just relax and have fun anyway...

[SMSACE6]

I accept your comment...I should have left first line and started a new post....thank you...:) and blush face....Happy cruising. I am so excited to try other lines too and glad those 2 were good for you..they are on the list.

 

Ok, no worries then:)

[RecoveryDude]

I think Carnival is a wonderful VALUE. Typically, when I book pretty far out, I spend roughly $85 - $125 PER DAY (and $125 gets me a BALCONY!) and I consider that "inclusive" as it includes food and any extras are "optional" -- for that amount of money I think Carnival provides more than adequate food.

 

Guys burgers rival Royals Johnny Rockets ... but I get guys FREE on Carnival!

 

Most of the time, Royal cruise fare is 1.5 to 2X the price, or more than a Carnival cruise. I am going on THREE Carnival cruises in 2017 with balconies ... if I was trying to do that on Royal it would be a lot more money! I love what I get from Carnival for the money.

 

Also, the serenity deck is different on each ship. For example, the Pride has a huge serenity with its own pool and huge bar. Just depends on the ship.

 

That being said, it really doesn't matter what any of us say, you have your opinion, and I doubt my post or anyone else's will cause you to change your mind and sail Carnival again, which is fine with me (Bye, Felicia)

 

I think what makes me frustrated is when people come and fill the board with a largely negative review -- someone who is not as experienced might think this is the norm when, in fact, if you read other reviews about the Magic, she gets stellar reviews (especially for her friendly crew!) and I can't wait to sail her 2/2018.

 

Regardless, have fun on RCCL. I have sailed them and I think they have a good product too, just typically so much more expensive than what I get with Carnival ... and I don't think their product justifies the outrageous price tag. That being said, I am planning a trip on the Oasis of the Seas in 2018 cause I want to try out the mega-ship. ;)

 

Cheers,

 

Jeff aka Recovery Dude

[SeagoingMom]

Though I am sorry that the OP is going away mad, the irony of the situation here is that actually, this board has done exactly what CC does best -- gotten to the bottom of the story. The OP felt attacked, perhaps justifiably. But through the course of the thread the responses the OP got drove her to "defend" her position and explain her original comments further. This ultimately resulted in readers getting a more balanced picture of the OP's cruise experience, which is what her detractors wanted.

 

I think this thread represents CC pretty well -- folks won't let posters get away with much. And just like the general population, some folks are nice, some not so nice. For good or for ill, it's inadvisable to express an opinion on CC if you don't have pretty thick skin.