Cutbacks? Improvements? -- Our recent experiences

[KatieCharlotte]

We've just returned from our cruise on the Freedom. We've been on a variety of ships, from the Fantasy-class to the Dream-class, over the past five years or so. There's been a lot of talk about cutbacks versus improvements, etc. I thought I'd give my opinions on some of the changes in the experiences we've had, good and bad.

 

First, embarkation and staggered check-in -- I'm not sure how this works at every port and for every ship. We arrived slightly early -- the taxi showed up 10 minutes before the time we scheduled and we hit zero traffic. There were two "lines" -- on time and early/late. No one was in the on time line when we arrived (about 11:15 a.m.). We entered the early/late line. Everything was quick and smooth. We were zone 10. Getting cards outside the room at 1:30 p.m. felt strange but we had no issues.

 

Cabin service -- I was a little worried when they were frantically finishing rooms/replacing towels at 1:45 p.m., but the cabin service was excellent. The steward gave my teenager the Comfort Matters card when I was not in the room but ended up just asking me if I wanted once or twice a day service (that was how he described the choices). I said twice-a-day, and he did I good job pretending to be thrilled with my choice. Towel animals were after morning service instead of at evening turndown.

 

Dining Room -- No real complaints. I didn't miss tablecloths. The food was hot and mostly good. Service was excellent. We really do prefer set-time dining. On our last cruise, we tried anytime dining and did not have good service. I miss some things about the old menus and the choices felt more limited at times, but some new options were good. They really need a basic fruit plate appetizer for kids.

 

Evening entertainment -- Unfortunately, we feel this area is lacking. We appreciated the Dive-in movies, but we would have liked more variety in the live shows in the theater and more family-friendly comedy nights. As my daughter said, the productions are basically all the same but with different music. We went to one and were bored. On past cruises, we enjoyed the magic shows, comedy juggler, etc.

 

We like the new-ish venues, like the Red Frog pubs, better lunch options, and the Dr. Seuss library for families.

 

We were surprised and disappointed by how few trivia contests were available. Is this a fleet-wide change? I hate to think that trivia is being replaced with money-maker activities. When we attended, the room was packed. One of the scheduled trivia contests turned out to be a "mistake" in the FunTimes -- when people complained, they ran it a half-hour late, with a different theme.

[apcci2]

Interesting...

[bury me at sea]

Thanks for your review. We are sailing on the Freedom for the first time next year so it's interesting to read what others think of it.

[RhondaAndRobert]

We're on the Freedom in 4 weeks, so I appreciate the information. We've cruised several times before, but it's our first time on Carnival.

 

 

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[Micahs Grandad]

Cruising has changed substantially over the years.

 

Food overall still good but entertainment has sure gone downhill overall

[KatieCharlotte]

We're on the Freedom in 4 weeks, so I appreciate the information. We've cruised several times before, but it's our first time on Carnival.

 

 

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If you have any questions, please ask. A couple "secrets" unique to the Freedom -- go up the stairs in the buffet area for barbecue, a beverage stand, and quiet tables. On the same end as the water slide, Deck 12 has foosball, ping pong, and giant chess, and deck 14 (by the slide entrance) has beanbag toss (a/k/a corn hole).

 

The aft pool and hot tubs were adult-only even on a spring break cruise, and they enforced it even though the pool and hot tubs were practically empty much of the time. The water was lukewarm, unlike the rest of the hot tubs on the ship, which were actually hot. I was rarely back there because this was a family cruise, but the one time I was in the lukewarm "hot" tub to sooth my sunburn, a staff member asked two teenage boys to leave. I can say that no one had complained, because I was the only other person in the hot tub and they were just having a quiet conversation. One was actually 18 but decided to leave with his friend.

[simplelife]

Cruising has changed substantially over the years.

 

Food overall still good but entertainment has sure gone downhill overall

 

I agree with you about the entertainment, on most sailings. Last cruise, though, we were fortunate to have an excellent house band, as well as a great piano bar guy. The main stage shows have really gone downhill. The the comedy is usually good, but the theater is small. sometimes the lines are so long you can't even get in. I think they should have the comics in the big theater.

[bury me at sea]

Is the minimum age for aft pool and hot tubs 18 or 21?

[KatieCharlotte]

Is the minimum age for aft pool and hot tubs 18 or 21?

 

 

The funtimes said 18+ for the aft pool and hot tubs. Serenity is 21+.

[Organized Chaos]

The aft pool and hot tubs were adult-only even on a spring break cruise, and they enforced it even though the pool and hot tubs were practically empty much of the time. The water was lukewarm, unlike the rest of the hot tubs on the ship, which were actually hot. I was rarely back there because this was a family cruise, but the one time I was in the lukewarm "hot" tub to sooth my sunburn, a staff member asked two teenage boys to leave. I can say that no one had complained, because I was the only other person in the hot tub and they were just having a quiet conversation. One was actually 18 but decided to leave with his friend.

I understand how some might feel about the adults-only aft pools. Especially in situations like you encountered...hardly any adults there, two teens quietly talking and not bothering anyone. Some will think, no harm, no foul. Personally, I think it's nice to hear that they're still enforcing the rules in that situation. Sometimes it's hard to get Carnival to enforce their own rules. If they enforced the adults-only rule some times and not others, it would cause a lot of confusion and anger people that way, too. Someone who gets to swim with their kid back there one day, but not the next, won't be happy. So I think it's best just to enforce the adults-only rule all the time. At least that way, everyone should know what to expect.

[bury me at sea]

The funtimes said 18+ for the aft pool and hot tubs. Serenity is 21+.

 

Thanks!

[KatieCharlotte]

I understand how some might feel about the adults-only aft pools. Especially in situations like you encountered...hardly any adults there, two teens quietly talking and not bothering anyone. Some will think, no harm, no foul. Personally, I think it's nice to hear that they're still enforcing the rules in that situation. Sometimes it's hard to get Carnival to enforce their own rules. If they enforced the adults-only rule some times and not others, it would cause a lot of confusion and anger people that way, too. Someone who gets to swim with their kid back there one day, but not the next, won't be happy. So I think it's best just to enforce the adults-only rule all the time. At least that way, everyone should know what to expect.

 

I do understand your point about consistency and knowing what to expect. I know it would be impossible to enforce, but I always wish there was a hot tub for kids, teens, and families who want to be calm and peaceful. Or maybe make the aft hot tubs 13+, like the hot tubs at our YMCAs. Unfortunately, one of the three family-friendly hot tubs on the Freedom was closed for parts of the cruise, so sometimes there were four adult-only hot tubs (two on Serenity and two on aft) and two small hot tubs for kids, teens, parents, and adults who wanted to be on the main lido deck. Fortunately, the weather was too nice for too much time in the hot tubs. :cool:

 

I do wish that Carnival hadn't promoted the change to family-friendly aft pools and then quietly switched back. The up-to-date info is difficult for the average cruiser to find online. I'm all for having different amenities on different ships -- just make it easier for cruisers to know what they're booking.

[KatieCharlotte]

To get back to the main topic, I forgot to mention tea time changes. The treats were just as good as usual. Service was better when we sat at a large table. I don't mind the upcharge teas even though I prefer a basic black or green tea, but I thought it was tacky that they always brought the fancy teas first and didn't explain the free versus upcharge choice. Guests had know to ask for regular/free tea, and it felt a bit awkward, especially after your tablemates have purchased $1.95 tea bags.

[Organized Chaos]

I do understand your point about consistency and knowing what to expect. I know it would be impossible to enforce, but I always wish there was a hot tub for kids, teens, and families who want to be calm and peaceful. Or maybe make the aft hot tubs 13+, like the hot tubs at our YMCAs. Unfortunately, one of the three family-friendly hot tubs on the Freedom was closed for parts of the cruise, so sometimes there were four adult-only hot tubs (two on Serenity and two on aft) and two small hot tubs for kids, teens, parents, and adults who wanted to be on the main lido deck. Fortunately, the weather was too nice for too much time in the hot tubs. :cool:

Well you probably won't find me in the hot tubs, no matter who they're for. I sweat just thinking about getting into 100 deg. water in the summertime. I need a cold tub. :D Well maybe not cold...fairly cool tub.

[Schoifmom]

They really need a basic fruit plate appetizer for kids.

 

They always have some sort of fruit plate on the desert menu. Just ask for it as an appetizer. We do it for the cheese plate all the time.

[A&Jfamily]

Haven't noticed a change in trivia at all; was offered 3-5 times a day on the Fascination, it seemed like.

[Texasl8dy]

I agree about the lack of trivia on the Freedom. We sailed last month and some sea days had only ONE trivia scheduled. When it is THEMED trivia and you didn't watch that particular show...well it's not fun at all. Very boring cruise, trivia-wise.

 

 

.

[KatieCharlotte]

I agree about the lack of trivia on the Freedom. We sailed last month and some sea days had only ONE trivia scheduled. When it is THEMED trivia and you didn't watch that particular show...well it's not fun at all. Very boring cruise, trivia-wise.

 

 

.

 

I thought I recalled only one trivia (Game of Thrones, which we don't watch) on a sea day. On the last sea day, there were three in the morning, including Harry Potter, and that was all.

 

Maybe it's just the Freedom and not fleet-wide.

[dsotm73]

I t

 

Maybe it's just the Freedom and not fleet-wide.

 

 

On the Dream last December I was disappointed to see only 2-3 trivia contests per day, whereas on past cruises it was more like 5-6 or more. I wonder if this is a Carnival cutback or more dependent on the cruise director and staff on that sailing?

 

 

 

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[Texasl8dy]

Cutting back on trivia is NOT something I like. Trivia has always been my favorite Sea Day activity.:(

 

 

.

[ricew001]

We were on the Victory in August and I was very disappointed in the lack of trivia contests. That had been one of our favorite things on our last cruise. We didn't see any shows (except Love and Marrage). And our main entertainment was the piano bar every night. It was absolutely the most fun on the ship!

[Bookster99]

We've just returned from our cruise on the Freedom. We've been on a variety of ships, from the Fantasy-class to the Dream-class, over the past five years or so. There's been a lot of talk about cutbacks versus improvements, etc. I thought I'd give my opinions on some of the changes in the experiences we've had, good and bad.

 

First, embarkation and staggered check-in -- I'm not sure how this works at every port and for every ship. We arrived slightly early -- the taxi showed up 10 minutes before the time we scheduled and we hit zero traffic. There were two "lines" -- on time and early/late. No one was in the on time line when we arrived (about 11:15 a.m.). We entered the early/late line. Everything was quick and smooth. We were zone 10. Getting cards outside the room at 1:30 p.m. felt strange but we had no issues.

 

Cabin service -- I was a little worried when they were frantically finishing rooms/replacing towels at 1:45 p.m., but the cabin service was excellent. The steward gave my teenager the Comfort Matters card when I was not in the room but ended up just asking me if I wanted once or twice a day service (that was how he described the choices). I said twice-a-day, and he did I good job pretending to be thrilled with my choice. Towel animals were after morning service instead of at evening turndown.

 

Dining Room -- No real complaints. I didn't miss tablecloths. The food was hot and mostly good. Service was excellent. We really do prefer set-time dining. On our last cruise, we tried anytime dining and did not have good service. I miss some things about the old menus and the choices felt more limited at times, but some new options were good. They really need a basic fruit plate appetizer for kids.

 

Evening entertainment -- Unfortunately, we feel this area is lacking. We appreciated the Dive-in movies, but we would have liked more variety in the live shows in the theater and more family-friendly comedy nights. As my daughter said, the productions are basically all the same but with different music. We went to one and were bored. On past cruises, we enjoyed the magic shows, comedy juggler, etc.

 

We like the new-ish venues, like the Red Frog pubs, better lunch options, and the Dr. Seuss library for families.

 

We were surprised and disappointed by how few trivia contests were available. Is this a fleet-wide change? I hate to think that trivia is being replaced with money-maker activities. When we attended, the room was packed. One of the scheduled trivia contests turned out to be a "mistake" in the FunTimes -- when people complained, they ran it a half-hour late, with a different theme.

 

Thanks for the review. Good info.

[MistyRo76]

They always have some sort of fruit plate on the desert menu. Just ask for it as an appetizer. We do it for the cheese plate all the time.

 

When we had our then 3 year old with us on the Vista last fall and we always got her a fruit plate first thing. By day 2 or 3, our waiters had that and her milk waiting for her before we even got to the table. It really helped get her through to the main course!