Worst Deal on Carnival

[lottiegreen56]

Title says it all, what is the worst deal among the experiences, items for sale and services on a Carnival Cruise. Please limit your responses to items not included in the base fare. 

[lottiegreen56]

I'll start, I think the Bingo is an absolute travesty. They rake in about 10x as much as they pay out.

 

Dishonorable mentions, the spa is really expensive but they do a good really good job so it's tough to completely fault it. On the other hand the steakhouse is very reasonably priced (for steakhouses) but I don't think it tastes very good. 

[TNcruising02]

I think Bingo is definitely the worst deal on the ship.  Their cash prizes are very, very small.  It's really just a money grab on their part.  I know they are in business to make money, but it wouldn't break their bank to make the prizes worth playing when they are taking in huge sums of money.

[coevan]

+1 on Bingo and the jewelry is much more expensive than the islands. The gold and silver by the inch is fake and a ripoff.

[lottiegreen56]

4 minutes ago, coevan said:

+1 on Bingo and the jewelry is much more expensive than the islands. The gold and silver by the inch is fake and a ripoff.

 

I should have thrown this in too!

[Butterbean1000]

30 minutes ago, coevan said:

+1 on Bingo and the jewelry is much more expensive than the islands. The gold and silver by the inch is fake and a ripoff.

You beat me to the gold by the inch.  Trash

[jbethel11]

I think photos are a rip off.

[crooooze]

Any drink in the coconut monkey... you think you're paying $20 for a large drink, then you open it and there's a small plastic cup inside.

[cruisologist]

The whole interior decor of Vista.  The main dining room looks like it was designed by Russian cold war decorators.  I've been on 74 cruises and Vista is the ugliest ship I have ever seen.  The dining room looks and feels like hospital dining area.  Gray....ugly gray.  Sterile and completely uninspiring.  Vista is not an old ship but the inside looks tired and worn out.  The comedy club chairs on the floor wobbled side to side and front to back.  The chairs have one center leg and are not meant to move and are not meant for people of size.   I couldn't believe the stains on the chairs and couches.  I am top tier with carnival and it saddens me that they made this ship look so cheap.  I can't wait for Vista to be moved to another port.

 

[FSHLOT]

To me, i think FTTF is a total scam. We dont need to get there any faster, There is no rush for us when we're cruising. If you cant wait till 1-130 to get into your room then maybe you should get FTTF....😀

[Darcy03231]

Have to agree to PP's - - Bingo, jewelry (I can do much better at home), and FTTF.   I'll also have to add shore excursions.   We do much better booking our own privately.   

[MMastell]

Art auctions. are the worst. Others mentioned are right up there.

 

Take care,

Mike

 

 

[bingomamma19]

bingo...by far.   They literally can have 100 or 200 people playing that paid at a minimum $20 --that's anywhere from at least $2000 to $4000 they take in, but prizes are only paid for 1 to 3 games or so of  $100 to $300 on average. 

 

They are raking in thousands in less than 30 minutes....a complete rip off.

[buddylover]

Agree with ALL of the above.....Bingo, art auction, fake jewelry by the inch, shore excursions thru CCL (mediocre, high cost, huge groups), upcharges in the 'specialty' restaurants that are generally mediocre and no better than MDR food, photos, cost of wi-fi which is really SLOW etc.  Most of the 'for fee' add ons are a big rip off and we stopped subscribing to them years ago.

[TEXSUN46]

I am going to agree with everybody on Bingo.... Art Auction I could not say since I never been to one but I would not expect much. I have seen them with the flea market rolls of gold colored chains but never paid much attention and again wouldn't expect it would be anything worthwhile. Shore excursions I disagree somewhat, we have done some through carnival and found them to be decent value, it depends on where we are going and what is available direct and I will say that times we have booked direct it was more for the money spent. Specialty restaurants are far and away better than the MDR in my opinion. The MDR for the most part is banquet quality buffet food that someone else is putting on a plate and bringing to you with a little garnish. Never purchased photos and I disconnect when on vacation so never used wifi. 

[lottiegreen56]

I had totally forgot the art auctions and photos because we'd wrote them off YEARS ago! 

 

The art auctions have no redeeming quality in my opinion. The only argument I can see for the photos is the potential to have the entire family, extended family, group whatever together for a picture, dressed up as appropriate without having to coordinate on land. Other than that, talk about inflated.

 

Clearly also FTTF is a ripoff but that's just such a topic for discussion that I don't want to derail. I hoped when I started these to threads for new, newish, or those who hadn't cruised in awhile to get some good tips on what is good and bad deals! FTTF is too subjective and too much disagreement.

Edited July 22, 2019 by lottiegreen56

[Dicecatt]

I think the art auction isn't a total waste,  you get champagne.  

[HillBilly Bob]

11 minutes ago, Dicecatt said:

I think the art auction isn't a total waste,  you get champagne.  

And BAD champagne at that.  

[glrounds]

16 hours ago, lottiegreen56 said:

 

I should have thrown this in too!

 

15 hours ago, Butterbean1000 said:

You beat me to the gold by the inch.  Trash

 

Got me, but once. Absolute rip off. . . but what can one expect? There are no miracles.

[coevan]

37 minutes ago, Dicecatt said:

I think the art auction isn't a total waste,  you get champagne.  

 

 

sparkling wine, no way you're getting Champagne 

[2wheelin]

Specialty restaurants in general. They are just an excuse to lower the quality in the MDR. I don’t understand the people who claim “they are cheaper than on land”. Do they not remember they have already paid for a nice dinner and the fee is on top of that?

I would rather have quality return to the MDR but why would they when so many are willing to shell out extra. Great money maker.

[Doggielover68]

The "limited time" 2 for $20 destination t shirt sale (that is on EVERY cruise)

 

Let's see, a folding table set up in a crowded location, with piles and piles of destination t shirts for destinations that aren't even on the itinerary. People swarm the tables as if they are handing out free gold. 

 

To top it off, the sizing is so inconsistent and the material is thin and cheap. Seriously, I once bought 4 shirts of the same size. One I couldn't fit in. One went down to my knees! Never again. It's much more worth it to buy one of the better quality Groove for St. Jude t shirts. 

[soonernstlouis]

Mandatory gratuities.....just kidding.  

 

To list something different than above....any “exclusive” excursion where Carnival charges more than you’d pay if you weren’t coming from the cruise ship.  Often these are more crowded

too.  

 

I know someone is going to chime in about guaranteeing to not miss the boat but how often does same tour operator have 1 group make the boat or it is held up and 1 misses it.

[sfaaa]

There is no bad deal anywhere on Carnival unless you decide on your own to open your wallet and spend your cash. 

[jcearth]

Great topic!! And definitely some good information for new cruisers to be wary of.  I would have to agree with the previous posters on Bingo and Art Auctions.  Your monetary rate of return on either is very low.  There would be some entertainment value in each, for sure, but not enough to make up for the utter lack of value in either product.  Perhaps the one item that most have missed though, is alcohol. As cruise prices have come down over the years (when factoring in inflation), alcohol prices onboard have skyrocketed. I just purchased the Cheers package for my wife and I for our upcoming cruise, and while it provides the best overall value if you plan on drinking, the cost is still enormous, almost equaling our base fare (porthole). So for my money (of which I am paying a lot 🙂), alcohol is one of the worst deals on the ship.