Do you wish Carnival travelled to other ports areas of the world?

[Tapi]

I don't know why they can't alternate itineraries out of San Juan. That would be the best B2B ever. :cool:

 

 

 

Other cruise lines out of San Juan do, but Carnival has two ports of embarkation on these southern routes (San Juan and Barbados) which somewhat forces them to maintain the same itinerary every week in order to remain consistent for those passengers boarding at these two different ports. At a minimum, they'd need to maintain their stops in both San Juan and Barbados on the same exact days every week.

 

Carnival used to have a similar scenario many years ago when they operated one ship with dual embarkation ports in Tampa and New Orleans. They had to maintain the same itinerary week after week in order to allow passengers to have a consistent itinerary and to return them to their original port of embarkation a week later.

[Drazil65]

We have never had any issues with finding a cruise line that goes to just about anywhere we have ever wanted to book. We have cruised several different lines over the years and do not find it necessary to stick to only CCL so we feel the whole world is open to us...if CCL added some then that is more to choose from I guess....;p

[Keys2Heaven]

Mentally, you're at that crossroads that many Carnival cruisers find themselves. You've enjoyed your Carnival cruises, had a great time, and enjoyed the ports of call. But now you are a few years older than when you started cruising, you find yourself wanting to broaden your horizons, and you wish to try something new.

 

And people like you are exactly the reason why Carnival Corporation has so many cruise lines under their umbrella catering to different demographics. Their goal is that people who start cruising with Carnival when they are younger will eventually move up to their more premium brands as they age, become more traveled, and develop a greater appreciation for finer things and a greater desire for new destinations. Princess would be the next logical step, followed by Holland America, Cunard and then Seabourn.

 

A lot of people will choose to remain with Carnival, whether it's because of loyalty, convenience, budget considerations, or because that's simply the cruise line that best fits their personalities. But for those who decide to try something else, there are plenty of other options.

 

I highly encourage you to try other cruise lines if you want to explore new destinations. It would be silly to keep going to the same places over and over on the same ships over and over out of loyalty to a cruise line.

 

 

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Yeah, this pretty much sums it up. Thanks.

[Micahs Grandad]

Now that most of our cruising is to see the world we are still shaking our head and wondering why we didnt start doing this awhile ago.

 

Have already had some great European cruises.

 

At some point the Caribbean does get a bit boring and Carnival entertainment is nowhere near as good as it used to be. Especially now that Journey cruises will now have all the same flyons.

[hate2shop]

Other cruise lines out of San Juan do, but Carnival has two ports of embarkation on these southern routes (San Juan and Barbados) which somewhat forces them to maintain the same itinerary every week in order to remain consistent for those passengers boarding at these two different ports. At a minimum, they'd need to maintain their stops in both San Juan and Barbados on the same exact days every week.

 

Carnival used to have a similar scenario many years ago when they operated one ship with dual embarkation ports in Tampa and New Orleans. They had to maintain the same itinerary week after week in order to allow passengers to have a consistent itinerary and to return them to their original port of embarkation a week later.

 

That certainly explains it and I should have known this having done this itinerary twice. :) We met new people on both who embarked in Barbados from the UK.

I took your advice to try new cruise lines last year and did NCL to Europe for a Baltic on the Getaway. This January we try Celebrity although it is a charter and may offer a different experience than a scheduled cruise. At this rate I'll never earn loyalty with anyone and I don't think I mind.

[Saint Greg]

Really?? I've never been out of Miami but did do a repositioning cruise to New Orleans. Disembarkation was an absolute nightmare. Took forever, people jam packed outside trying to get a cab. There was no order and I was actually getting knocked around a lot. After an hour we have up and dragged our luggage down a no pedestrian road along with lots of other passengers and walked about 1.5 miles to our hotel.

 

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Never experienced anything like that in New Orleans. In September I was at the casino bar when my number was called and 30mins later I was on I-10. I haven't sailed out of Miami but my barber just got back from Miami/Vista and he doesn't want anything to do with the Miami airport or cruise port again.

[Kittybork]

Really?? I've never been out of Miami but did do a repositioning cruise to New Orleans. Disembarkation was an absolute nightmare. Took forever, people jam packed outside trying to get a cab. There was no order and I was actually getting knocked around a lot. After an hour we have up and dragged our luggage down a no pedestrian road along with lots of other passengers and walked about 1.5 miles to our hotel.

 

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You should have done self assist. You would've been off of the ship by 7:30, eating beignets by 8:00 and waiting for your hotel to allow you in.

 

Miami was a mess on embarkation and debarkation, even with self assist.

[JimmyTheSaint]

Being European based we've only done carnival in the med and loved it (vista) we loved the upbeat vibe and fun crowd, something we've found a bit lacking in other lines in Europe, for instance I would never book a princess cruise or HAL in Europe because the crowd would be nothing like carnival! We've done both NCL and RCI both med and carribean and found them to have some similarities but hands down a different vibe in Europe, it really bugs us that carnival corp don't send carnival ships to Europe unless it's a new ship because they have other brands in Europe, we just don't get how your u can compare P&O and costa etc, I'd never book those lines in Europe..... like chalk and cheese! Totally different experiences to a carnival ship.

Well said, totally agree with every word. We're Brits who've cruised the Med on Legend and on Vista. Both were absolutely brilliant. We've also cruised the Med with RCI and MSC which were okay but not as enjoyable as Carnival. We've also been with Thomson which was rubbish. We have no interest in cruising the Caribbean so the only opportunity we have with Carnival is when they launch a new ship but it's going to be difficult next year with Horizon only being in the Med for six weeks. We have no interest in booking P&O or any other brand owned by the Carnival Group, we loved our experiences on Carnival ships. Please come back to Europe.

[Keys2Heaven]

Well said, totally agree with every word. We're Brits who've cruised the Med on Legend and on Vista. Both were absolutely brilliant. We've also cruised the Med with RCI and MSC which were okay but not as enjoyable as Carnival. We've also been with Thomson which was rubbish. We have no interest in cruising the Caribbean so the only opportunity we have with Carnival is when they launch a new ship but it's going to be difficult next year with Horizon only being in the Med for six weeks. We have no interest in booking P&O or any other brand owned by the Carnival Group, we loved our experiences on Carnival ships. Please come back to Europe.

 

Hey Jimmy! That's my brother's name. Because of this thread and the responses, we're looking at a Princess British Isles cruise a few years from now. Both my wife and I have ancestors from that area and would love to visit your part of the world. Probably fly into London ahead a few days and try to take in some sights.

 

 

Cheers!

[Micahs Grandad]

John Heald has been talking about a Journeys cruise to the Baltics. Maybe that will happen.

 

Doubt it as they do not do Baltics these days even when they are sailing in Europe. Also would probably have to do it in two segments and lately journey cruises have been closed loop.

 

More likely an Iceland and Greenland cruise out of NY.

[Animalgirl27]

We would love if Carnival sailed to other places such as Europe. We have sailed MSC and Costa. Although their ships are very nice, it would be nice to see more American ships in Europe. We did a Princess cruise in the Mediterranean and it was a really nice cruise!

[cruizergal70]

The Carnival Corporation owns various cruise lines that go to those ports. From their standpoint, it's all covered. They don't need to run everything under the Carnival brand name.

[mek]

Nope-- Lots of cruise lines go to those other places but we use Carnival cruises as relaxing time. Most of the cities in Europe and Asia are too richly filled with things to see/do for me to use a cruise as a way to visit them.

I go to those places on land vacations so I can actually stay and get to see/feel more than just a one day quick overview.

 

Well, thank heavens cruise lines do go to those places or I would never visit many of them, at least not with my DH, who hates most ethnic food. On a cruise, he can eat a big breakfast, skip lunch, and then be back in time for a plain food dinner.

 

We have taken a few land tours in Europe and it is always quite an ordeal finding places where he will be happy. We did take a land trip to China once, but only because I promised I would find western style food for dinner - a promise I was able to keep even if one of the places was the Hard Rock Cafe in Beijing! Burgers, french fries, and rock and roll right in the middle of China - what a hoot that was.

[Micahs Grandad]

Well, thank heavens cruise lines do go to those places or I would never visit many of them, at least not with my DH, who hates most ethnic food. On a cruise, he can eat a big breakfast, skip lunch, and then be back in time for a plain food dinner.

 

We have taken a few land tours in Europe and it is always quite an ordeal finding places where he will be happy. We did take a land trip to China once, but only because I promised I would find western style food for dinner - a promise I was able to keep even if one of the places was the Hard Rock Cafe in Beijing! Burgers, french fries, and rock and roll right in the middle of China - what a hoot that was.

 

There are people who dont like Chinese food? Who knew?:)

[OceansOfTravels]

I was recently at this crossroad myself, where I have seen most of the Caribbean islands onboard the Carnival ships, and eanted something new. I did a Divina cruise from Miami in order to test the line, and I really loved it, it was definitely my favorite cruise to date. I know know that I can cruise MSC when I plan on cruising to some new destinations. With the Loyalty Match Program, you can match your highest loyalty status to MSC, and get the MSC equivalent onboard, which is equal to what most of the mainstream lines offer. If you are looking to expand to some new locales, or even want a new experience, without sacrificing your loyalty points, MSC is where it's at, especially if your new horizons involvw a cruise to Europe.

 

But as for Carnival, as much as I would love to see a ship like Legend back in the Baltics, or the Vista in the Greek Isles, or the Splendor in Montevideo, like many have said, you need to consider its proper market and niche. Carnival is catered to Americans who are looking for a good quality getaway for a cheap price from ports that can be easily accessible, to ports with established cruise ship passenger programs to ease the stress of many first time cruisers. A 26 night cruise from Athens to Dubai through the Suez Canal, with an overnight in Tel Aviv, a stop in Aqaba, and a stop in Sri Lanka fits the market of HAL, Princess or Cunard. At the end of the day, I will continue to cruise Carnival for the same reason why I liked them from the beginning: fun/relaxing getaway, cheap price. Whenever I want a cruise around the Middle Eastern ports, or a Baltic Capitals cruise, I will hop ship to MSC, or another line for that matter, because as you may see, I have broken my Carnival loyalty a few times ...... :)