Is the Carnival Paradise indicative of quality across Carnival Cruise Line?

[Aplmac]

On 4/10/2019 at 10:44 PM, Tapi said:

 Where I do find a big difference between these older ships

and the newer Carnival ships is in overall condition.

Fantasy, even with the recent drydock, looked sadly neglected.

We encountered many maintenance issues, not only throughout the ship

but also in our cabin (leaky window, ripped closet door, broken faucet,

and non-working TV).

 

It just felt like Carnival isn’t spending the amount of money that they should

in order to keep these older gals still looking youthful. ===> Sell them!

That’s where my biggest disappointment about that sailing came from.

.

Non-working TV in the cabin?

I'd better not let my wife hear about that! She particularly enjoys on-board TV

because she gets to enjoy all sorts of different channels that we don't get at home!

 

She doesn't quite cruise for the TV but it's a good part of her satisfaction, per cabin.

[Aplmac]

On 4/10/2019 at 6:31 PM, MCC retired said:

The only thing that I get out of this conversation is:

$2 -$3 tip “per drink” , on top of the already included 18%-20% tip , 

is Insane beyond belief 🤔

.

Mind you...

there is a certain I-tip-therefore-I-am mindset

 

[James4me]

OP look into the new ship Madi Gras.  This new ship has outstanding suites call Excel and with that you get to use the Loft 19 pool deck with private cabanas (must pay extra for them).  Take a look and see if this might change your mind on Carnival.  I’m looking to book an Excel suite myself.  You have your own private hot tub.  Can’t get any better.  

[Lottacruises]

More or less the same. Staying in a more expensive room or sailing on a newer ship won't change things too much. Still have those announcements about the art, the fun ashore sales pitch, the bingo, the watches, blah blah blah...don't want to miss it,as they say

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, Lottacruises said:

More or less the same. Staying in a more expensive room or sailing on a newer ship won't change things too much. Still have those announcements about the art, the fun ashore sales pitch, the bingo, the watches, blah blah blah...don't want to miss it,as they say

 

Don't forget the one time only sale on t-shirts that happens on every cruise. 

[Lottacruises]

40 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Don't forget the one time only sale on t-shirts that happens on every cruise. 

 

My first cruise I thought the next group of cruisers would have nothing to buy, as many blowout, closeout, discounts they gave... Lol

 

 

 

 

[wytygr8]

One cruise is never going to be a good indicator of the quality of service. For all you know, a popular staff member died and everyone is in mourning.

[Aplmac]

7 hours ago, wytygr8 said:

For all you know, a popular staff member died and everyone is in mourning.

.

You bring up an excellent point that I never even considered

(and few others as well)

 

And it's not the sort of thing the ship would broadcast about

because Carnival cruises are about fun fun fun, despite the mourning held inside.

[Tapi]

17 hours ago, Aplmac said:

.She doesn't quite cruise for the TV but it's a good part of her satisfaction, per cabin.

We turn the TV on for background noise, most often on the channel with the ship location and weather conditions. But not even that one was working. 

[Tapi]

14 hours ago, James4me said:

OP look into the new ship Madi Gras.  This new ship has outstanding suites call Excel...  

I’ve priced out these suites, and while the concept sounds wonderful, they take away a huge reason why a large percentage of cruisers choose Carnival: Price. 

 

If the fare that these suites command is in my budget, I’m not looking at a Carnival cruise in the Caribbean. I’m looking at premium or luxury cruise lines in another region of the world. But even if I did book one of these suites, they wouldn’t eliminate the issues that the OP addressed, and which sailing on a suite won’t solve. 

[ChinaShrek]

I am on the Paradise right now, and we are currently sailing back to Tampa.  I have never sailed Carnival before, so this thread sparked my interest.  I have been on five HAL cruises (with my mom) and one Royal Caribbean cruise.  I booked this cruise because I wanted to go to Cuba and I wanted to sail during school vacation week.  Based on this cruise only, I just want to make some observations. 

 

First, mustering took about 45 minutes and was very chaotic.  Many people didn't know where to go.  One gentleman said he walked around the ship for 20 minutes before stumbling upon his station.  One Carnival workers kept telling the crowd to be quiet but people kept talking.  By comparison, on HAL it is very orderly and over in about 15 minutes. 

 

Second, it seemed to be more complicated to get on and off the ship.  In Cuba, they made everyone get a sticker to get off the ship if they weren't on a ship tour.  We had to get up at 6:15am and wait in line to get the sticker.   I understand the need for tender tickets but we were not tendering in Havana. So, why the stickers?  It only took us 10 minutes to get off the ship!  In Key West, they made everyone take a shuttle to get into town and mixed tour and non-tour passengers together on the shuttle.  I was considering one of Carnival's European cruises in 2020, but I hate the idea of waiting to get off the ship in each port and obtaining stickers.

 

Third, the buffet area always had dirty tables with piles of plates and cups everywhere during the breakfast hours.  No one would come around and ask us if we wanted a drink.  On HAL and RC, workers always come around and us what we want to drink.  On this ship. no one did at any point. Is this normal for Carnival? 

 

Fourth, I miss hearing announcements from the Captain.  On HAL and RC ships, the Captain would always tell where we were headed and tell us if the sea was going to be rough.  On the Paradise, the CD made all of the announcements and none were about the wind or wave height.

 

On the other hand, there were some things that I liked about the Carnival (again, based one one cruise).  The entertainment was great.  They had comedy shows most nights as well as singing and dancing routines. There was always something to do on the ship.  The Cabin steward was friendly and efficient.  I enjoyed the dinner service on the ship. Would I sail on Carnival again?  Maybe.