Carnival voted best cruise line 2019

[RRLLAL]

Well deserved for the fun ships.

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-voted-best-cruise-line-of-2019/36631

[Organized Chaos]

This and the Sunrise being voted best refurbished ship of 2019, which came from the same website, are based solely on that site's readership. In reality, how prestigious is it? Not very, if you ask me. I mean, Cruise Critic could easily take the same poll and end up with different results. As could any other cruise website.

 

I noticed they said Carnival "dominated" the votes with RC taking a "far behind" second place. They also voted the SkyRide the best cruise feature for the 4th year in a row, the Panorama the best new ship of 2019, and the Mardi Gras the most anticipated new ship of 2020. It seems like their readers skew heavily to Carnival.

[Tapi]

That article read like a paid advertisement for Carnival 😂

[Roz]

Obviously lines that have the most ships with the most passenger capacity are going to get the most votes.  

[grandmarnnurse]

As someone who has sailed all three lines, starting with 5 Carnival, then 2 RCCL, and 2 NCL, before returning to Carnival, I have to agree with article. Carnival gives you the best cruise value for the cost. As a retired couple on a tight budget, Carnival gives us exceptional food, plentiful entertainment, and beautiful ships—all without breaking the bank. Yes, I’m sure there are more “elegant”, “prestigious “, or “luxury “ cruise lines out there, but the vast majority of cruisers out there are middle class families looking for a great cruise experience and the best cost. And that is how Carnival has won 2 years in a row. I actually have 3 Carnival cruises booked in 2020. I may not have been able to afford 3 with another line. Carnival has been mocked and called the “Walmart of the Seas”, which is totally unfounded. Their ships are beautiful, and their staff was far more friendlier and accommodating than the other two lines I sailed. Bravo to Carnival!

[Organized Chaos]

4 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

As someone who has sailed all three lines, starting with 5 Carnival, then 2 RCCL, and 2 NCL, before returning to Carnival, I have to agree with article. Carnival gives you the best cruise value for the cost. As a retired couple on a tight budget, Carnival gives us exceptional food, plentiful entertainment, and beautiful ships—all without breaking the bank. Yes, I’m sure there are more “elegant”, “prestigious “, or “luxury “ cruise lines out there, but the vast majority of cruisers out there are middle class families looking for a great cruise experience and the best cost. And that is how Carnival has won 2 years in a row. I actually have 3 Carnival cruises booked in 2020. I may not have been able to afford 3 with another line. Carnival has been mocked and called the “Walmart of the Seas”, which is totally unfounded. Their ships are beautiful, and their staff was far more friendlier and accommodating than the other two lines I sailed. Bravo to Carnival!

 

My comments above don't have anything to do with Carnival's value. It's about the touting of Carnival and some of the ships as "the best of 2019" when the voting was done solely by readers of that website. Overall, that's too small of a sample size to have any real meaning. It's not as prestigious of an award as some try to make it out to be because other cruise websites could easily do the same thing and get different results. From what I could see, Carnival won every 2019 award they were nominated for on that website, other than the one where Guy's was nominated, but I don't think those results are out yet. So like I said, it seems like the readers of that site are heavily biased towards Carnival.

 

The SkyRide has won best cruise feature for 4 years in a row on there. You mean to tell me no other feature on another line has been introduced within the last 4 years that can top the SkyRide? Especially considering the SkyRide has been broke down and closed many times, on both ships, since it was introduced. With readers seemingly being so biased towards Carnival, winning those "awards" doesn't mean much, if you ask me.

 

I'm not arguing how good or bad Carnival is. Just pointing out that all those so-called awards from a single website aren't as prestigious as they're made out to be. We sail Carnival and enjoy their product...so far. We do see a decline in some areas. For example, the reduction in steward and MDR wait staff have noticeably affected our cruising experience. As much as we still enjoy Carnival now, it may not always be that way if they let the quality of their product continue to slip.

[Illbcruzn4life]

just a few examples: Panorama best new ship. Ship only had 2 cruises under her belt when the winners were released.

 

Best refurbished ship: Oasis of the Seas wasn't even in the voting.

 

6 out of the 8 categories the winner was the first choice listed in each category.

 

Carnival Skyride won 4 years straight. Gotta agree with many of the above post.

[scpirate]

8 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

As someone who has sailed all three lines, starting with 5 Carnival, then 2 RCCL, and 2 NCL, before returning to Carnival, I have to agree with article. Carnival gives you the best cruise value for the cost. As a retired couple on a tight budget, Carnival gives us exceptional food, plentiful entertainment, and beautiful ships—all without breaking the bank. Yes, I’m sure there are more “elegant”, “prestigious “, or “luxury “ cruise lines out there, but the vast majority of cruisers out there are middle class families looking for a great cruise experience and the best cost. And that is how Carnival has won 2 years in a row. I actually have 3 Carnival cruises booked in 2020. I may not have been able to afford 3 with another line. Carnival has been mocked and called the “Walmart of the Seas”, which is totally unfounded. Their ships are beautiful, and their staff was far more friendlier and accommodating than the other two lines I sailed. Bravo to Carnival!

I've sailed 3 lines and rc and ncl are not among them .I've sailed msc and celebrity.carnival is #3 on my list.being retired I can manipulate dates to where price wise they can be comparable.celebrity is number one to me at the moment.i have no desire to go on 3 cruises in a year's time neither though.they all have their quirks so do whatever makes you happy .they all need to fill ships.

[jimbo5544]

59 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

just a few examples: Panorama best new ship. Ship only had 2 cruises under her belt when the winners were released.

 

Best refurbished ship: Oasis of the Seas wasn't even in the voting.

 

6 out of the 8 categories the winner was the first choice listed in each category.

 

Carnival Skyride won 4 years straight. Gotta agree with many of the above post.

Not sure I understand the significance of whether Oasis being on the list or not.  If she is the only one refurbished and not on, then I get it.  Usually, the submissions for these types of things are done by the cruise lines, if so, possibly Royal made the decision.  

[Cruise-Crazy]

I’ve sailed RC & NCL, I keep coming back to Carnival too.  

[Illbcruzn4life]

3 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Not sure I understand the significance of whether Oasis being on the list or not.  If she is the only one refurbished and not on, then I get it.  Usually, the submissions for these types of things are done by the cruise lines, if so, possibly Royal made the decision.  

 

The significance to me is that one of the most popular ships, (I know you didn't like it) among cruisers just went under a $165,000,000 refurbishment and it wasn't even on the ballot.

 

You have more insight into the cruise lines than I but I can't see RCI missing a chance to blow their horn if they would have won.

 

Hey it is what it is.😀

 

 

[Tapi]

13 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

Carnival gives you the best cruise value for the cost.

 

Carnival gives us....beautiful ships

 

I may not have been able to afford 3 with another line.

 I agree that Carnival consistently delivers some of the lowest prices which makes cruising within reach of many, and for that, I applaud Carnival, but in my humble opinion, cheapest doesn’t always translate into value. 
 

For example, we used to always book the cheapest hotel when traveling. But at one point in time, we learned that if we spent just a bit more, we could get a much better experience which made the difference in price worth it. In one instance we could book the Comfort Inn by the airport for $125, or we could book the W Beach Resort for $175. Yes, we could’ve saved $50 by going with the Comfort Inn, but booking the W elevated our pre cruise stay and beginning to our vacation considerably to memorable status. In our humble opinion, the W provided a much better value. 
 

As mentioned, Carnival does seem to consistently deliver some of the lowest prices, but with some research, we’ve found better prices on other cruise lines which has also allowed us to explore new destinations. This is a reason why we’ve barely sailed on Carnival during the last few years and instead have been bouncing around from cruise line to cruise line. We’ve saved a lot of money by shopping around rather than defaulting to Carnival assuming that they are the cheapest. Our upcoming Holland America cruise is a good $1,000 cheaper than a similar cruise on Carnival and we are visiting 3 new ports that we’ve never visited before. 
 

Respectfully, the one thing that I can’t agree with is that Carnival ships are beautiful. Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but my goodness, I don’t think that “beautiful” is what Joe Farcus wanted to evoke when he designed the interiors of a large number of ships in the Carnival fleet. Thankfully the newer ships are much more aesthetically pleasing though.

 

With all of that said, what I do thank Carnival for is for making cruising affordable, convenient, and accessible for many cruisers. Carnival places some destinations that normally would be prohibitively expensive within reach. Our next Carnival Cruise is a partial Panama Canal sailing. Not only does the shorter itinerary perfectly fit within our vacation days, and it departs from a port within an easy drive for us (which means no airfare), but the price is a fraction of what other cruise lines are charging for a Panama Canal transit (Princess and Celebrity are charging more than double).  It’s not a great “value” since the itinerary is mediocre at best (only 2 ports of call in 8 days aboard an older ship), but the price and convenience were enough to skew our decision process towards Carnival. 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Tapi

[Illbcruzn4life]

2 minutes ago, Tapi said:

 I agree that Carnival consistently delivers some of the lowest prices which makes cruising within reach of many, and for that, I applaud Carnival, but in my humble opinion, cheapest doesn’t always translate into value. 
 

For example, we used to always book the cheapest hotel when traveling. But at one point in time, we learned that if we spent just a bit more, we could get a much better experience which made the difference in price worth it. In one instance we could book the Comfort Inn by the airport for $125, or we could book the W Beach Resort for $175. Yes, we could’ve saved $50 by going with the Comfort Inn, but booking the W elevated our pre cruise stay and beginning to our vacation considerably to memorable status. In our humble opinion, the W provided a much better value. 
 

As mentioned, Carnival does seem to consistently deliver some of the lowest prices, but with some research, we’ve found better prices on other cruise lines which has also allowed us to explore new destinations. This is a reason why we’ve barely sailed on Carnival during the last few years and instead have been bouncing around from cruise line to cruise line. We’ve saved a lot of money by shopping around rather than defaulting to Carnival assuming that they are the cheapest. Our upcoming Holland America cruise is a good $1,000 cheaper than a similar cruise on Carnival and we are visiting 3 new ports that we’ve never visited before. 
 

Respectfully, the one thing that I can’t agree with is that Carnival ships are beautiful. Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but my goodness, I don’t think that “beautiful” is what Joe Farcus wanted to evoke when he designed the interiors of a large number of ships in the Carnival fleet. Thankfully the newer ships are much more aesthetically pleasing though.

 

With all of that said, what I do thank Carnival for is for making cruising affordable, convenient, and accessible for many cruisers. Carnival places some destinations that normally would be prohibitively expensive within reach. Our next Carnival Cruise is a partial Panama Canal sailing. Not only does the shorter itinerary perfectly fit within our vacation days, and it departs from a port within an east drive for us (which means no airfare), but the price is a fraction of what other cruise lines are charging for a Panama Canal transit (Princess and Celebrity are charging more than double).  It’s not a great “value” since the itinerary is mediocre at best (only 2 ports of call in 8 days aboard an older ship), but the price and convenience were enough to skew our decision process towards Carnival. 

 

very well said. your post are always balanced and fair.😊

[jimbo5544]

Just now, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

The significance to me is that one of the most popular ships, (I know you didn't like it) among cruisers just went under a $165,000,000 refurbishment and it wasn't even on the ballot.

 

You have more insight into the cruise lines than I but I can't see RCI missing a chance to blow their horn if they would have won.

 

Hey it is what it is.😀

 

 

I have no idea of the criteria used to have ships be on the list.  If it were dollars only, then oasis would be in but still lose. Maybe there are timing issues, maybe their dog ate their homework.  Just because oasis is oasis in not a reason why in my eyes.  I do not even know what they did to her.   Maybe 165 mill upgrade for a ship that cost 1.4 Bill is not a big deal.  

[jimbo5544]

6 minutes ago, Tapi said:

 I agree that Carnival consistently delivers some of the lowest prices which makes cruising within reach of many, and for that, I applaud Carnival, but in my humble opinion, cheapest doesn’t always translate into value. 
 

For example, we used to always book the cheapest hotel when traveling. But at one point in time, we learned that if we spent just a bit more, we could get a much better experience which made the difference in price worth it. In one instance we could book the Comfort Inn by the airport for $125, or we could book the W Beach Resort for $175. Yes, we could’ve saved $50 by going with the Comfort Inn, but booking the W elevated our pre cruise stay and beginning to our vacation considerably to memorable status. In our humble opinion, the W provided a much better value. 
 

As mentioned, Carnival does seem to consistently deliver some of the lowest prices, but with some research, we’ve found better prices on other cruise lines which has also allowed us to explore new destinations. This is a reason why we’ve barely sailed on Carnival during the last few years and instead have been bouncing around from cruise line to cruise line. We’ve saved a lot of money by shopping around rather than defaulting to Carnival assuming that they are the cheapest. Our upcoming Holland America cruise is a good $1,000 cheaper than a similar cruise on Carnival and we are visiting 3 new ports that we’ve never visited before. 
 

Respectfully, the one thing that I can’t agree with is that Carnival ships are beautiful. Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but my goodness, I don’t think that “beautiful” is what Joe Farcus wanted to evoke when he designed the interiors of a large number of ships in the Carnival fleet. Thankfully the newer ships are much more aesthetically pleasing though.

 

With all of that said, what I do thank Carnival for is for making cruising affordable, convenient, and accessible for many cruisers. Carnival places some destinations that normally would be prohibitively expensive within reach. Our next Carnival Cruise is a partial Panama Canal sailing. Not only does the shorter itinerary perfectly fit within our vacation days, and it departs from a port within an east drive for us (which means no airfare), but the price is a fraction of what other cruise lines are charging for a Panama Canal transit (Princess and Celebrity are charging more than double).  It’s not a great “value” since the itinerary is mediocre at best (only 2 ports of call in 8 days aboard an older ship), but the price and convenience were enough to skew our decision process towards Carnival. 

Interesting assessment.  Farcus get plaudits and complaints at the same time.  Some hated him and some wish he were back.  The path Carnival has taken on new builds is certainly unique, whether it is right or wrong, who knows.  

[Illbcruzn4life]

13 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

I have no idea of the criteria used to have ships be on the list.  If it were dollars only, then oasis would be in but still lose. Maybe there are timing issues, maybe their dog ate their homework.  Just because oasis is oasis in not a reason why in my eyes.  I do not even know what they did to her.   Maybe 165 mill upgrade for a ship that cost 1.4 Bill is not a big deal.  

 

as a TA i'm very much surprised you don't even know what they did to the ship unless you only sell Carnival.

 

What does the amount of what the ship cost have to do with the cost of the refurb?

 

How can you say that it would lose unless you know ahead of time that it's skewed. There is no way of knowing that.

 

I'm not saying it would have won just it didn't even have a chance.

 

Timing issue? Don't buy that either. Look Panorama won for best new ship when she only had 2 sailings when the results were released.

 

In the end we are getting nowhere but it was an entertaining way to spend some time on my day off.  😊

Edited January 2, 2020 by Illbcruzn4life

[Tapi]

11 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Interesting assessment.  Farcus get plaudits and complaints at the same time.  Some hated him and some wish he were back.  The path Carnival has taken on new builds is certainly unique, whether it is right or wrong, who knows.  

In all fairness, I always considered the Farcus designs to be horrendous. But I remember watching a video when we sailed on Liberty when she was a brand new ship where Joe Farcus explained in detail his thought process behind the central idea on each one of the ships that he designed. Understanding how he came up with each idea, and what some of the design elements meant, made me develop a new appreciation for his work.
 

I do remember walking around the Liberty after watching the video and finding the ship much more pleasing once I understood what was behind the elements of his design. Still not beautiful, but in my head the ship went from being a hodgepodge of bad ideas that made no sense, to a well thought out design that made total sense. To this day, Liberty is still one of my favorite Carnival ships. 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Tapi

[Garf]

13 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

As someone who has sailed all three lines, starting with 5 Carnival, then 2 RCCL, and 2 NCL, before returning to Carnival, I have to agree with article. Carnival gives you the best cruise value for the cost. As a retired couple on a tight budget, Carnival gives us exceptional food, plentiful entertainment, and beautiful ships—all without breaking the bank. Yes, I’m sure there are more “elegant”, “prestigious “, or “luxury “ cruise lines out there, but the vast majority of cruisers out there are middle class families looking for a great cruise experience and the best cost. And that is how Carnival has won 2 years in a row. I actually have 3 Carnival cruises booked in 2020. I may not have been able to afford 3 with another line. Carnival has been mocked and called the “Walmart of the Seas”, which is totally unfounded. Their ships are beautiful, and their staff was far more friendlier and accommodating than the other two lines I sailed. Bravo to Carnival!

I agree 100% with you, DW and myself have been cruising from 1990 and have been 5 times on RCCL, 3 times on NCL, and 15 times on Carnival.We will be platinum on our next cruise in July 2020.

[Organized Chaos]

56 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

The significance to me is that one of the most popular ships, (I know you didn't like it) among cruisers just went under a $165,000,000 refurbishment and it wasn't even on the ballot.

 

You have more insight into the cruise lines than I but I can't see RCI missing a chance to blow their horn if they would have won.

 

Hey it is what it is.😀

 

 

You make an excellent point about the Panorama winning even though it had only cruised twice when the winners were released. If that's the case, then how many times did it cruise when the poll was still open? Once? None at all? How do people legitimately vote a ship "best new of 2019" when no one had sailed on it yet? Or at best, one sailing.

 

I find it very hard to believe that the cruise lines submitted themselves as nominees for some cruise website's independent awards that are only voted on by its readers and hold no relevance anywhere else. I seriously doubt Carnival, or any other line, was scrambling to be cruisehive's "best of" anything. If that were the case, why wouldn't Carnival submit the Panorama's Sky Zone as best cruise feature instead of the SkyRide?

 

All the talk about Carnival's value doesn't go very far because value is subjective. Different people find value in different things. Some find value in things that others don't.

[jimbo5544]

9 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

as a TA i'm very much surprised you don't even know what they did to the ship unless you only sell Carnival.

I did read something about it but forget the details.  If a client was sailing here would do a refresh to tell them, we sell all travel, cruise land and group

What does the amount of what the ship cost have to do with the cost of the refurb? 

Big ship, big cost, more cost for non significant things.   

How can you say that it would lose unless you know ahead of time that it's skewed. There is no way of knowing that.

That was in reference to the cost of the upgrade being the only factor and sunrise being more

I'm not saying it would have won just it didn't even have a chance.

I agree it is weird, maybe she has lost some of that wow factor with her newer better equipped sisters...again no idea

Timing issue? Don't buy that either. Look Panorama won for best new ship when she only had 2 sailings when the results were released.

 

In the end we are getting nowhere but it was an entertaining way to spend some time on my day off.  😊

Replies listed above, I enjoy the discussion

[jimbo5544]

10 hours ago, Tapi said:

In all fairness, I always considered the Farcus designs to be horrendous. But I remember watching a video when we sailed on Liberty when she was a brand new ship where Joe Farcus explained in detail his thought process behind the central idea on each one of the ships that he designed. Understanding how he came up with each idea, and what some of the design elements meant, made me develop a new appreciation for his work.
 

I do remember walking around the Liberty after watching the video and finding the ship much more pleasing once I understood what was behind the elements of his design. Still not beautiful, but in my head the ship went from being a hodgepodge of bad ideas that made no sense, to a well thought out design that made total sense. To this day, Liberty is still one of my favorite Carnival ships. 

When he designed the Dream and knew his time with Carnival was coming to a close, they had a video interview with him.  I found it fascinating and like you, found a greater respect for what he did and the time, thought and work effort it took to put it all together.  Love him or hate him, he certainly has left his mark on Carnival and cruising.  From a Carnival perspective, I could argue the only one who had a greater impact would be Bob Dickerson, but that is another story for another day.  

[ontheweb]

19 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

My comments above don't have anything to do with Carnival's value. It's about the touting of Carnival and some of the ships as "the best of 2019" when the voting was done solely by readers of that website. Overall, that's too small of a sample size to have any real meaning. It's not as prestigious of an award as some try to make it out to be because other cruise websites could easily do the same thing and get different results. From what I could see, Carnival won every 2019 award they were nominated for on that website, other than the one where Guy's was nominated, but I don't think those results are out yet. So like I said, it seems like the readers of that site are heavily biased towards Carnival.

 

The SkyRide has won best cruise feature for 4 years in a row on there. You mean to tell me no other feature on another line has been introduced within the last 4 years that can top the SkyRide? Especially considering the SkyRide has been broke down and closed many times, on both ships, since it was introduced. With readers seemingly being so biased towards Carnival, winning those "awards" doesn't mean much, if you ask me.

 

I'm not arguing how good or bad Carnival is. Just pointing out that all those so-called awards from a single website aren't as prestigious as they're made out to be. We sail Carnival and enjoy their product...so far. We do see a decline in some areas. For example, the reduction in steward and MDR wait staff have noticeably affected our cruising experience. As much as we still enjoy Carnival now, it may not always be that way if they let the quality of their product continue to slip.

it's not really the size of the sample, it is more that the readers of that magazine are not a random sample.

[Joebucks]

As usual, a lot of people mad because they feel their cruise preferences should speak for all. Remember what majority rule looks for. Carnival offers many itinerary choices, affordable prices, tons of activities, fun vibes, and believe it or not, amenities that are completely acceptable by many. What do you expect? Celebrity to be the mass market choice?

[Organized Chaos]

47 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

As usual, a lot of people mad because they feel their cruise preferences should speak for all. Remember what majority rule looks for. Carnival offers many itinerary choices, affordable prices, tons of activities, fun vibes, and believe it or not, amenities that are completely acceptable by many. What do you expect? Celebrity to be the mass market choice?

 

OK I'll bite. As usual, a lot of people mad because someone dare say something about Carnival that is anything other that heaping praise. How can I be mad about my cruise preference in this situation when my cruise preference is Carnival? As I've already said, we sail Carnival and enjoy it, but I won't be their shill. I'll equally point out what I see as bad just as much as the good. And, for the third time I believe, my comments about these "awards" have absolutely nothing to do with the good or bad of Carnival. I'm merely pointing out the biased results. By the way, you refer to those results as the "mass market" choice. The readers of one cruise website are far from being the mass market.

[Organized Chaos]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

it's not really the size of the sample, it is more that the readers of that magazine are not a random sample.

 

I agree with you, and the fact that they aren't a random enough sample is why the results end up so biased. But I think the sample size is just as important. If it had been a nationwide poll, for instance, I think it'd be much more respectable.

 

Just look at their 2018 results. Carnival won 6 out of 8 categories. I don't frequent that website, barely knew about it. If I've ever been on it, it was merely by accident because of a web search. Even so, it's not hard to tell where their readers stand when it comes to their preferred cruise line. I don't have a problem with those readers preferring Carnival, all power to them. But that awards program is tainted because of how much their readers skew towards Carnival, so in my opinion, it's flawed and doesn't mean much.