WHY (in your opinion) does Carnival seem to have a low rank among many 'cruise snobs'

[JillK]

Comparing Guys with a buffet burger isn't really fair! The roast beef sandwiches in park cafe are awesome, did you try one?

 

Blue Iguana ended up being me goto spot on Glory for breakfast. I enjoyed the options on Carnival. It's just a very, very different concept from Oasis.

 

 

I suppose that's true, but if we're comparing free burger to free burger it holds some weight.

 

I think we tried every sandwich at park cafe and enjoyed them all - the Cuban was my favourite. The salads were great too. Just a lovely spot for lunch. And yes Blue Iguana on Glory was awesome - those breakfast burritos rocked.

[Budget Queen]

We have been on many ships with Guys and have never sent them stacked. I think the

Poster was referring to windjammer which had them stacked and congealing when we were on Oasis. If so, that is not a fair comparison. Guys to J R's is closer but still clearly better burgers at Guys and free to boot.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

 

 

I was on the Glory last month and indeed, there were cooked burgers, in holding:, on trays. that they were serving from. Trays were stacked above the grill and they were "sitting" there. I saw this several times during the "off" later afternoon time frame, eg 3:30p So didn't have the "just cooked" feature, in my opinion. I then went to just a hamburger, which was grilled in front of me, as all the holding burgers had cheese.

[patrice1]

DH and I SWORE we would never cruise CCL after cruising RCCL twice, X once and NCL once. But...our circumstances changed and we booked one. We are not partiers in the sense that we're out all night, but we like to be on a ship with entertainment opportunities. We disliked X a lot because of snobbishness. We liked the "choice" parts of NCL, but the CCL prices were so much better, we booked.

 

We asked ourselves the entire cruise why we had heard so much negative about CCL. We had entertainment that we enjoyed, when we wanted it, we loved the piano bar, we asked for a table for 2 in the dining room and got it (that was what we liked about NCL - the dining choices. We dislike eating with people we don't know.) We've never gone back to any other line.

 

We know what to expect, know what we enjoy and know we'll get it. We like the Cheers, Platinum stuff (even if we leave the gift in the room, lol), and feel like returning celebrities by the staff. We've even seen staff on different cruises that we remembered and were remembered by them.

 

We are no longer willing to give up our comfort level, benefits and/or perks to go on a different line. I'm sure we would enjoy any cruise we took, but for the price, we're not willing to change lines.

[jaskie]

I have done 2 Carnival Cruises and 2 RCL. I will never go back on the Freedom of the Seas. I had to wait over 2 hours to speak with people in Customer Service. They outright lied to me about things (saying they could not limit a child's charging privileges even though it said on the website they could, along with saying that no one had complained about the noise level on rooms in the promenade. The had a party until 11:30 one night that my kids had to cover their ears with towels, etc, in order to sleep. We had adjoining rooms and it was only one of the two rooms that was noisy.). The Jewel was smaller and we did enjoy it. We did the Paradise before a dry dock, it did need some work, but the cruise wasn't bad. I loved the cruise we did on the Ecstasy. I think every cruise line has their "snobs" and every cruise will be a good or bad experience to different people. I like to cruise, and since we can (at the moment) can only do it when school is in vacation will choose whomever I get the best deal from that has a good rating.

[Budget Queen]

DH and I SWORE we would never cruise CCL after cruising RCCL twice, X once and NCL once. But...our circumstances changed and we booked one. We are not partiers in the sense that we're out all night, but we like to be on a ship with entertainment opportunities. We disliked X a lot because of snobbishness. We liked the "choice" parts of NCL, but the CCL prices were so much better, we booked.

 

We asked ourselves the entire cruise why we had heard so much negative about CCL. We had entertainment that we enjoyed, when we wanted it, we loved the piano bar, we asked for a table for 2 in the dining room and got it (that was what we liked about NCL - the dining choices. We dislike eating with people we don't know.) We've never gone back to any other line.

 

We know what to expect, know what we enjoy and know we'll get it. We like the Cheers, Platinum stuff (even if we leave the gift in the room, lol), and feel like returning celebrities by the staff. We've even seen staff on different cruises that we remembered and were remembered by them.

 

We are no longer willing to give up our comfort level, benefits and/or perks to go on a different line. I'm sure we would enjoy any cruise we took, but for the price, we're not willing to change lines.

 

 

Sounds like you only sail the Caribbean, which works out perfectly for you. I find Carnival's western Caribbean the best of the cruise lines for my snorkeling priority. :) Did that twice last month!!!, on Glory and Splendor.

 

But, sailing the Caribbean is not enough for me. (3 cruises next month, 1 round trip Barcelona, and 2 one ways Buenos Aries/Rio) So I sail other lines most of the time. Clearly something for everyone. :)

[toledo_cruiser]

Because this:

 

 

I know it's off topic, but if you've never sailed Princess, it still shows Love Boat episodes on cabin TVs. And the Royal Princess plays the Love Boat theme on the ship horns when leaving Port. Awesome!

I will admit the series piqued my interest in cruising. Imagine my surprise when the staff looked nothing like the staff of the TV show. LOL

Back on topic: If it wasn't for Carnival I might have taken many more years to take my first cruise.

Jim

 

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[nhsails]

Patrice,

Curious, would you explain "snobbiness" on Celebrity? Your post defines something I've said for years. All lines have a personality. Try them until you find what you are comfortable with. Glad you did. Happy Sailing

Dee

[Aeryn]

I have met some people who make a face when Carnival is mentioned. I have cruised a few lines. Had great cruises on Celebrity and Holland America; but can honestly say two of my favorites were Vision on RC and The Inspiration on Carnival--been on fancier, more upscale cruises; but these were fantastic for service, food, and fun.

[sammygoose]

My 2 cents:

 

- Carnival is partly responsible for the reputation that they have. Their advertising reflects a fun atmosphere at budget prices which does attract many, but it's also off-putting to cruisers who expect something different from their vacation. As others have said, the product may be similar to what other mainstream cruise lines offer, but the way that it's marketed doesn't come across as a quality product, but as a cheap product. It may not be cheap, but it's perceived as cheap, specially by those who haven't tried it.

 

- Carnival in my opinion is a solid product for the price, specially what's offered on their newer ships, but it's not for everyone. As some of you know, I've spent the last few years bouncing from one cruise line to another (Royal, Holland, Princess, MSC, and coming up Disney and NCL) after many years of being loyal to Carnival. If there's one thing that I've learned is that there are a lot of different people out there who wouldn't be caught dead on a Carnival cruise just like there are a lot of Carnival cruisers out there who wouldn't be caught dead on any of these other cruise lines. They would be absolutely miserable. People have different expectations based on what they like and what they have experienced in life.

 

- Some people do care for the little things that Carnival doesn't offer. I'll use my parents for this example. They've traveled all over the world and have experienced the finer things in life. They've sailed on Carnival a few times as well (including everything from a cheap 4 nighter on the Imagination to a 12 night European sailing during the Liberty's inaugural season). But they don't like Carnival and prefer to sail on other cruise lines.

 

My mother said that the difference is in the details. For example, we sailed together on Holland America to Alaska a few years back and she was thoroughly impressed with the product while I couldn't put my finger on what was so wonderful about them, so I asked. That's when my mother pointed out the little details like the fresh flowers daily, the white gloved service, the room service delivered in fine china (not plastic), the quality of linens and bedding, the throw blankets for balcony use, the laundry delivered in tissue paper with a gold seal in a wicker basket, the full restaurant menu available for stateroom delivery. The non-intrusive announcements, the quality of everything from decor to the brand of toiletries, and dinnerware, and the level of service throughout the ship, specially at restaurants, which followed the highest level of etiquette and protocol.

 

As I said before, for most people these things may be of little to zero importance, but for those who do care, it's a big thing. My parents are at a stage in their life where those things matter but I'm not there yet.

 

- We spend a lot of time on these boards complaining about chair hogging, dress code, booze smuggling, line cutting, etc. While I understand that people want to relax and enjoy their cruise with as few rules as possible and as casually as possible, there are a lot of people who would prefer to cruise in an environment where these basic social rules are followed. You can't fault them for that. While you can find this type of behavior on any cruise line, what I've experienced during the last few years is that, the more strict and upscale the cruise line is, the less you'll encounter this type of behavior (partly because these cruise lines will have less tolerance for this type of behavior and partly because cruisers who don't like this type of structure will go somewhere else). Just reading the boards from various cruise lines here will reflect that. These are hot topics on the Carnival board but not so frequent on others.

 

- With al of this said, there's ZERO excuse to bash, put other people down, or make them inferior because of what cruise line they prefer. That's just mean spirited. But at the same time, people shouldn't take it as a personal attack when someone bad mouths their cruise line of choice.

 

We all know why we cruise and why we gravitate towards a specific cruise line over another. Who cares what someone else thinks?

 

 

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Can we jut submit this for post of the year? I'm serious.

I'll readily admit to cruising HAL exclusively but I do enjoy reading the Carnival board. Why is that? Because I enjoy reading others cruise experiences and I do think that cruise lines are like relationships- you have to find one that fits-not one that is better or worse but that works for you.

I can't agree with the above poster more.

 

Cheers! :D

[IntrepidFromDC]

Honestly if someone is a "cruise snob" I'd rather not cruise with them anyway

 

 

Taking snobbiness to a new level? ;p

[IntrepidFromDC]

I don't think it is "cruise snobs", but if people have never cruised Carnival and come on this board and read daily numerous threads on Cheers and T-Rex costumes, it might definitely steer them to another cruise line.

 

 

At first I missed your point and was going to disagree in the context that I assumed the OP was targeting people who had cruised before (and, therefore, could make a qualitative statement about Carnival vs. brand X).

 

But then I thought about your post and it brought me a bit of humor. Imagine someone who has never cruised before and their first Google hit is cruisecritic.com, and the first thread they read is the inflatable T-Rex thread. I honestly think if that happened to me I would never have cruised! :')

[tallnthensome]

I have done 2 Carnival Cruises and 2 RCL. I will never go back on the Freedom of the Seas. I had to wait over 2 hours to speak with people in Customer Service. They outright lied to me about things (saying they could not limit a child's charging privileges even though it said on the website they could, along with saying that no one had complained about the noise level on rooms in the promenade. The had a party until 11:30 one night that my kids had to cover their ears with towels, etc, in order to sleep.

No offense, but it sounds like someone in your party was irresponsible with charges and wanting to blame RCL. Also, 11:30 is not late on a cruise ship and you apparently booked rooms in the wrong locations of the ship if you wanted quiet. Again, not RCL's fault ....... Yours.

[Sitzmark]

No offense, but it sounds like someone in your party was irresponsible with charges and wanting to blame RCL.

 

 

It doesn't say that there were unauthorized charges, only that guest services was unwilling or unable to help limit charging on a child's card.

 

On Oasis they were able to block charges for a child but I've heard others say they had the same problem. It also was all or nothing for us, either the child had full charging privileges or none at all. I know some people had wanted to limit their kids to a set daily amount but this was not apparently an option.

[skcrn]

I have been on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL, and Celebrity. I liked them all but NCL. I felt the crew was not as friendly and did poorly quality service and will not use NCL again. I still love Carnival the best but don't see much difference between it and Royal Caribbean . Both give good service and the staff work hard and want to please you. I think Carnival has done a great job of making an enjoyable area for kids, especially on their ships that have the waterworks areas. The kids look like they are having a blast. It infuriates me that we have to always stick up for Carnival. I promote them all the time.

 

 

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[tennboy1981]

Because Carnival is considered the "wal mart" of cruising. Not that I personally find an issue with it, I mostly have sailed Carnival because I LOVE cruising, and don't have the funds for the more extravagant cruise lines. That being said, I was on a Norwegian cruise back in 2015. I saw no difference between them and Carnival. My favorite was my VERY first cruise when I was 17. On Celebrity going to Bermuda. Maybe because I was young and it was my first cruise? Maybe, but Ill tell you this. I paid close to 800 dollars for my week long cruise in 1996 (And that was a deal). The most I ever paid for a cruise. And it was VERY elegant and high class. At least it was then....

Edited February 26, 2017 by tennboy1981

[Thrilled2012]

I have been on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL, and Celebrity. I liked them all but NCL. I felt the crew was not as friendly and did poorly quality service and will not use NCL again. I still love Carnival the best but don't see much difference between it and Royal Caribbean . Both give good service and the staff work hard and want to please you. I think Carnival has done a great job of making an enjoyable area for kids, especially on their ships that have the waterworks areas. The kids look like they are having a blast. It infuriates me that we have to always stick up for Carnival. I promote them all the time.

 

 

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Not trying to be offensive but I don't understand why you say you are infuriated or why you need to "stick up for Carnival". Carnival pays it's marketing staff to promote their brand and seem to be quite successful at doing so. They certainly don't seem to be lacking pax. You don't need to stick up for them to the point where you become infuriated (if you do, you may need to spend more money on another cruise to relieve that stress 😜). Let others enjoy the lines that they prefer, as not every line will be the best fit for everyone, and those that enjoy Carnival can continue to enjoy Carnival. Who cares what other people think?! 😁

[skcrn]

Never mind. Just made a comment.

 

 

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[bride928]

I just got off Carnival Vista yesterday. It was my first Carnival Cruise and will not be my last. I've been on 7 cruises total (Royal and NCL) are the other lines I've tried and Carnival completely blew both lines out of the water. This is including my two trips on Oasis of the Seas. So yeah, pretty much, Carnival gets a bad rep for nothing because I found it to exceed my expectations. The service was a bit lacking, but the food was world's better and the vibe was amazing. For anyone hesitant about booking Carnival, take it from me and just pull the trigger. You won't regret it.

[Thrilled2012]

Never mind. Just made a comment.

 

 

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I know that's all you were doing and I am very sorry if my post upset you. I didn't mean it that way. I guess I just don't understand why people sometimes "promote" a particular cruise line. Not that you were doing so in this instance, as you clearly stated that you don't see much of a difference between RCCL and Carnival. I have had spectacular NCL cruises but I understand that it's not the best fit for everyone so if they say they don't like the line, I just take it for what it's worth and move on. No point in trying to convince them why I feel differently because we are different people with different ideas of what we want out of a cruise. That's all I'm saying. 😁

[skcrn]

No problem, I agree with you. I just don't usually comment on these, just like texting, you can't get your true meaning out. I guess it just aggravates me that people look down on carnival. Even though I don't like NCL I don't discourage people to use it. I just tell them to look into what they want in a cruise but do tell them my experiences, good and bad. My friends come to me for opinions because I cruise a lot more than them. I have other friends that go Disney. I am not saying that this is bad, I just can't afford that and I have just as much fun on Carnival (depending on the ship, I like some more than others)

 

 

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[Thrilled2012]

No problem, I agree with you. I just don't usually comment on these, just like texting, you can't get your true meaning out. I guess it just aggravates me that people look down on carnival. Even though I don't like NCL I don't discourage people to use it. I just tell them to look into what they want in a cruise but do tell them my experiences, good and bad. My friends come to me for opinions because I cruise a lot more than them. I have other friends that go Disney. I am not saying that this is bad, I just can't afford that and I have just as much fun on Carnival (depending on the ship, I like some more than others)

 

 

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Gotcha! Obviously, I have the same problem with getting my point across and "tone" in forums. I'm glad that you accept my apology because I do not want to be one of those people that makes other's feel uncomfortable about posting here! Ugh, that's what I get for posting a comment while also on the phone and listening to little ones telling me that they want lunch. Not a good multi-tasker. I really appreciate people like you who will tell both the good and the bad! We are considering a premium cruise and have heard mostly good things about it until I spoke with a real life friend who went on the same line and was able to share positives AND negatives with me and it is most helpful in making the choice, although I still haven't decided. No line or ship is perfect. I also cannot afford many Disney cruises. I can do one long Disney for what I pay for a couple of NCL or Carnival cruises. We have a short Disney one booked for next Feb just to see what the hype is about and if it is really worth it compared to what I am accustomed to paying. I am an equal opportunity cruiser :)

[IntrepidFromDC]

t-rex's, less-educated cruisers, food come to mind.

[crusinpsychRN]

t-rex's, less-educated cruisers, food come to mind.

 

 

That trex thread is the worst!

[Sitzmark]

That trex thread is the worst!

 

 

Well, it certainly doesn't do anything to improve perceptions.

[nhsails]

Thrilled,

We've done almost all lines, perhaps I can answer some questions without a friend filter for you.