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

[IntrepidFromDC]

That trex thread is the worst!

 

I got a laugh out of some of the posts on the t-rex thread, like the one about building a wall to keep the t-rex's off the ship and making the t-rex's pay for it. :D

 

I think I would rather run into an inflatable t-rex thread than an inflatable t-rex in the casino or bouncing down the promenade, where some kids would love it but some smaller ones might be scared.

 

Imagine a four-year old running away crying "mommy it's NOT a fun ship it's a SCARY ship!"

[Sitzmark]

I got a laugh out of some of the posts on the t-rex thread, like the one about building a wall to keep the t-rex's off the ship and making the t-rex's pay for it. :D

 

I think I would rather run into an inflatable t-rex thread than an inflatable t-rex in the casino or bouncing down the promenade, where some kids would love it but some smaller ones might be scared.

 

Imagine a four-year old running away crying "mommy it's NOT a fun ship it's a SCARY ship!"

 

 

Or knocking some drunks fifteenth drink out of his hand, the costume could end up as a flotation device.

[Thrilled2012]

I got a laugh out of some of the posts on the t-rex thread, like the one about building a wall to keep the t-rex's off the ship and making the t-rex's pay for it. :D

 

I think I would rather run into an inflatable t-rex thread than an inflatable t-rex in the casino or bouncing down the promenade, where some kids would love it but some smaller ones might be scared.

 

Imagine a four-year old running away crying "mommy it's NOT a fun ship it's a SCARY ship!"

 

Jeff, you got a kick out of reading your own post?? LOL, now that's funny. Gotta admit though, your post made me chuckle! But my momma always taught me never to talk politics with strangers (even in a humorous way), so I didn't comment on your post in that thread. Good gracious, if my 4 year old was on that cruise and saw a hoard of giant inflatable TRexs coming at him, he would have absolutely freaked!!!! Like seriously, no way would I get him back on another cruise!!!! Unreal that those people thought that was acceptable on a cruise. Halloween, maybe. Random superbowl Sunday...ummmm, no!

[Thrilled2012]

Thrilled,

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

 

 

Thanks so much! I wish there was a PM option on CC. I can't hijack this thread but I have some Crystal (that's the 'premium' line that we are considering) and RCCL and MSC questions. I have frequented those boards on here and elsewhere but it is always better to be able to ask specific questions to someone who has sailed them previously and is open minded. Oh well, thanks anyway :)

[summersigh]

We sailed the Sunshine 2x last year - an 8 day and a 5 day - same ship same cabin.

There was a marked difference in the vibe of the trip between the 2. The 5 day folks seemed a bit frantic trying to pack more into the days. The 8 day was relaxed and feeling very much like any HAL or RCCL cruise we've done.

Maybe the Hairy Chest contests feed the low rank rep ??? :D

One thing we have found is that the service on CCL has been consistently excellent.

We actually like the MDR menu on Carnival better than HAL. The HAL menu has IMHO attempted to "gourmet" itself up to the point the flavor of the entree is lost in sauces and unrecognizable veggies.

We wanted to go to Belize again in December and chose CCL over HAL.

[nhsails]

Thrilled, think of in order: 4Seasons/Ritz; Hyatt;Holiday Inn Express. We've done 2 Crystal:beautiful, elegant, pampered, clothes matter 😉. Gorgeous cruise, exquisite meals and we were bored to death.nit on our first again list.

RCCL: depends on class of ship, from Oasis up the ship is the destination certainly family oriented. Decent food, but lots of families. Freedom class down, more *traditional" cruise experience. Again, good food more couples more port focus.

MSC: More like RCCL,BUT it is certainly European focused particularly with food and entertainment. Lots of Euros on ships, which are beautifully done. Not as family oriented, I like the newer ones, in fact have Seaside reserved for next year. If you are comfortable with a much more varied cruise base and European staff( less client/staff personal contact) go for it.

We seem to do Celebrity, Azamara and Oceans more than any others. Fits our comfort level us live the very limited smoking. Let me know if you I can help more specifically.

Dee

[Thrilled2012]

Thrilled, think of in order: 4Seasons/Ritz; Hyatt;Holiday Inn Express. We've done 2 Crystal:beautiful, elegant, pampered, clothes matter 😉. Gorgeous cruise, exquisite meals and we were bored to death.nit on our first again list.

RCCL: depends on class of ship, from Oasis up the ship is the destination certainly family oriented. Decent food, but lots of families. Freedom class down, more *traditional" cruise experience. Again, good food more couples more port focus.

MSC: More like RCCL,BUT it is certainly European focused particularly with food and entertainment. Lots of Euros on ships, which are beautifully done. Not as family oriented, I like the newer ones, in fact have Seaside reserved for next year. If you are comfortable with a much more varied cruise base and European staff( less client/staff personal contact) go for it.

We seem to do Celebrity, Azamara and Oceans more than any others. Fits our comfort level us live the very limited smoking. Let me know if you I can help more specifically.

Dee

 

 

Dee, I love this. Yes I do have more specific questions. Can you please email me at ??? I will come back here and delete this portion of my post? Its the only way I know of to get in touch to ask more specific questions. Thanks!!

Edited February 26, 2017 by Thrilled2012

[nhsails]

Will do, boarding do

[nhsails]

Will do, boarding for short flight so will do when land

[Thrilled2012]

Will do, boarding for short flight so will do when land

 

Safe travels!! I edited my previous post because there is a limited amount of time before you can't edit it any more. So please let me know when you are ready and I will post it again :)

[nhsails]

Thrilled, landed.

[Computer Nerd]

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

 

 

And just how do you know the education level on any cruise line? On one of my early cruises, I sat in the MDR with the #2 guy in charge of the NYC transportation system and his best friend, a Miller beer truck driver. You get all kinds of education levels on all cruise lines and not a single passenger has any idea what the education level of the person standing next to them is.

 

as for food, the only cruise line that was almost as good as Carnival was Princess. NCL was the worst (based on the MDR).

[Computer Nerd]

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

 

 

And the 20 something girl who face planted in front of me on the pool deck on the Independence of the Seas last year and then let some strange guy help her back to her cabin doesn't help RCCL's perception either.

[nhsails]

Thrilled2012

All comfy at JFK. Let me when you are ready and I'll answer best I can.

Dee

[IntrepidFromDC]

Thrilled2012

All comfy at JFK. Let me when you are ready and I'll answer best I can.

Dee

 

 

What is the meaning of life?

[nhsails]

Nice Intrepid.

[IntrepidFromDC]

And just how do you know the education level on any cruise line? On one of my early cruises, I sat in the MDR with the #2 guy in charge of the NYC transportation system and his best friend, a Miller beer truck driver. You get all kinds of education levels on all cruise lines and not a single passenger has any idea what the education level of the person standing next to them is.

 

as for food, the only cruise line that was almost as good as Carnival was Princess. NCL was the worst (based on the MDR).

 

 

I never said I know the education level on any cruise line (btw, you need to capitalize that "a", bub).

 

I don't know the education level, but you seem to have missed both the question and the answer.

 

OP was asking anyone, including NON-cruise-snobs (that includes me who has ONLY cruised Carnival and has no inclination to ever cruise on Princess or NCL), why they think "cruise snobs" rank Carnival low. Get it? He's asking for opinions.

 

He asked for opinions and that's what I gave him, based on conversations with people who don't like Carnival as much as I do.

 

That said, the lack of capitalization at the start of a sentence might say something, don't you think?

 

Now derobe, t-rex!

 

:D

[Palmetto Pilot]

I've been "Loyal to Royal" for a long time, in between Royal Cruises my wife and I decided to try the booze cruise out of Charleston, which to my surprise I liked for what it was. After that positive experience we booked an 8 night on the Breeze and it was a phenomenal cruise totally shattered my expectations. I will say that the gaudy decor of most carnival ships is a turn off and I think gives a "cheap" perception. Anyways the Breeze taught me not to be loyal to any one brand.

[Butterbean1000]

I have been ignoring this thread for a while. I finally decided to respond. Carnival gives me an excellent vacation for the dollar. I do not care what the perception is. Get over it.

[Doggielover68]

My guess is that many people just base their decision on what other people say. Many have not even been on a Carnival cruise. This isn't limited to cruises...the same thing happens for stores, restaurants, anything really.

 

 

 

 

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[summersigh]

I have been ignoring this thread for a while. I finally decided to respond. Carnival gives me an excellent vacaItion for the dollar. I do not care what the perception is. Get over it.

:D I would assume that almost all of the folks on the CCL boards do sail CCL because they want to .... and long ago got over it ,,,, if they even ever got "it".

In this day and age Carnival delivers a good experience for the dollar ... that's the bottom line these days (minus the hairy chest contests LOL ):D

[bunnyette]

Another poster noted that all the ports are more or less the same, I'm happy to cruise Carnival for the Caribbean itineraries other cruise lines for different ones such as South America or Europe. I like to be relaxed when cruising the Caribbean and Carnival provides that option for me.

 

 

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[jaskie]

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.

---------------------------------------

 

Thank you -- you are correct, I did not say anything about the charges being incorrect. I was told they could not link the "arcade account" with the "cruise account", but it was listed at the time they could. Yet when my son spent his cruise limit (because of the arcade charges) they were able to stop his charging. Again, nothing was fraudulent, just being told on one side the two accounts don't talk to each other and then turn around and they are linked. They were able to do this on the Jewel when we sailed on that ship.

 

Secondly, about the noise, the promenade only has the late party one night. The noise was only heard in 1 or the 2 rooms (they were connected) It was like one room was sound proofed, yet when you walk through the connecting door to the next room it sounded like the party was in the room. I NEVER asked for any funds back. I was upset that they told me no one had complained before. I can't believe with the freedom being about 5 years old and 52 cruises at least a year no one had in over 250 cruises said anything about the noise in the one room.

[Motegi]

Hey everyone!

 

Pam and I just completed a full ship charter cruise on the Victory two weeks ago. It was a short 3 night cruise to the Bahamas.

 

It was Pam's first cruise on CCL and my first time back on in 20+ years. We usually sail with NCL. We got free vouchers for this cruise so we couldn't turn down the opportunity to try CCL especially after hearing some of our friends rave about Carnival so much.

 

Unfortunately, the ship was much rockier leaving from the port of Miami. Almost all of the seasoned cruisers on board said the same thing. The ship staff said that it is always rocky on the first night leaving Miami but we've sailed from Miami many times and not felt the waves quite as much. The weather was clear with some wind. I remember on my last CCL cruise (2 decades ago) it was extremely rocky as well with so many people getting motion sick everywhere. The staff at the time on the Jubillee blamed a malfunction of the stabilization system as the cause. Luckily Pam and I don't suffer from motion sickness onboard so it didn't affect us as much as it did the others. Things did smooth out considerably after the first night though (2nd night was spent docked in Nassau).

 

Next we found the choreographed stage performances to be lacking. The evening shows were so poorly attended it was staggering especially considering the usual standing room only theaters we encounter on NCL for their shows. For the welcome aboard show on Victory we went in 15 minutes ahead to "make sure" that we got a decent seat. There were maybe only 40-50 people seated in the entire theater playing bingo which lasted until about 10 minutes past the scheduled showtime. When the bingo ended and the cruise director came on stage to start the show several groups got up and left making the theater even emptier. We ended up sitting front row center which was great for us but I think the dancers and singers must've noticed the poor attendance and we could tell they were not as enthusiastic in their performance which only made things worse. In our past experience I n NCL and RCI all of the seating for the evening shows have been packed to the gills and we enjoyed the performances more than CCL.

 

On the other hand we did notice that the stand up comedy shows in the comedy lounge were much better attended than the main stage productions. But even still it wasn't difficult at all to walk in late and get a decent seat. The comedians were quite crude but it was still very enjoyable.

 

Being used to freestyle dining on NCL it was a little different to go back to the assigned dining times on CCL. We found the MDR service to be very pleasant if a little on the slow side. Perhaps because they had to serve each course to every table at around the same time. One night we didn't even get a bread basket. The food quality was good but I think Pam and I prefer the taste and choices of the MDR options on NCL more.

 

The buffet lines on the Victory for lunch and breakfast were much longer/slower than we were used to on NCL. I will say that the Victory's buffet bacon was far superior than the burnt ends we've seen too often on NCL. But the eggs benedict was not something I would try again. And the burgers were quite overdone and dry. Overall I found the offerings to be a little more limited on the Victory than NCL.

 

The overall decor of the Victory was very vibrant with emerald green dominating the main atrium and colorful Spanish tiles up on the walls around the pool deck. There was certainly nothing subdued about it. The main lobby at the base of the atrium was quite crowded with the bar taking up a significant amount of space. And the photo setups at night only made the clutter worse. We did really miss having the schools of fish carpeting on the floor of the passenger cabin halls that would help orient us fore and aft on NCL. Overall I think I like the more elegant decore of NCL over the eclectic eye popping colors of CCL.

 

We did notice that on the Victory there were not as many daily activities listed on the schedule as on NCL. We are used to having so many things like scavenger hunts, trivia, game shows that our afternoons and nights would be fully booked on NCL. On many occasions with NCL we would have to choose between attending one activity or another because they would overlap. It was not this way on the Victory with large gaps on our schedule. Maybe it was because it was a full ship charter or maybe because CCL guests prefer to just hang out by the pool. We live in Florida and have a pool at home so when we cruise we really prefer to enjoy the group activities onboard. We were honestly surprised at the slow pace after hearing so much about the "fun ships". Even the cruise director staff didn't seem very enthusiastic for any of the events which kept the energy level low for the attendees as well.

 

The one thing that redeemed the entire experience for us was the fact that the full ship charter meant that almost everyone in board had a common interest and it was very easy to strike up conversations with other passengers. We met so many people in person who I've only ever conversed with online and our group excursion on Nassau was more fun than I've ever had on an excursion before. And I've been to Nassau at least 10 times so it certainly wasn't the stops but rather the enthusiasm of our fellow passengers on the bus that made the trip most memorable for us.

 

Overall I would say that I liked the Victory more than my last trip on CCL but I think Pam and I will stick with NCL in the future. We are already booked on the NCL Pride of America in April for its 7-day Hawaii itinerary. And this weekend we signed up for the MSC Divina in June and are very excited to see what MSC Cruises has to offer.

 

As a footnote to prove that we aren't "cruise snobs" we have some good friends who will be getting married on the CCL Splendor in May and are hoping to attend if we can fit it into our schedule. Perhaps the third time on CCL will be the charm for me. We shall see!

Edited February 27, 2017 by Motegi

[summersigh]

Hey everyone!

 

Pam and I just completed a full ship charter cruise on the Victory two weeks ago. It was a short 3 night cruise to the Bahamas.

Unfortunately, the ship was much rockier leaving from the port of Miami. Almost all of the seasoned cruisers on board said the same thing. The ship staff said that it is always rocky on the first night leaving Miami but we've sailed from Miami many times and not felt the waves quite as much. ............ Things did smooth out considerably after the first night though

 

Sailing from Miami to the Bahamas you have to cross the Gulf Stream which is rougher than the waters on either side of it. That would account for the calm seas by morning (It's the same roughness you experience sailing to Bermuda from the mainland US.)

 

..........The evening shows were so poorly attended it was staggering especially considering the usual standing room only theaters we encounter on NCL for their shows. ........ On the other hand we did notice that the stand up comedy shows in the comedy lounge were much better attended than the main productions. ....

We did notice that on the Victory there were not as many daily activities listed on the schedule as on NCL. ............... Even the cruise director staff didn't seem very enthusiastic for any of the events which kept the energy level low for the attendees as well.

Normally full charters have their own daytime and evening activities planned and there aren't so many ship-directed things outside the regular musical venues.

Being used to freestyle dining on NCL it was a little different to go back to the assigned dining times on CCL.........

On normal Carnival cruises there is the Your Time dining option where you show-up at any time and you will be seated within a few minutes much like what you're used to on NCL.

My comments are in red :D