Haven’t cruised Carnival in six years. Last cruised 1/23/2016 (Victory) What’s new the GOOD,, the BAD ?

[funship freddy]

Sailing on Sunrise 4/09. What should I expect ?

[sparks1093]

We have sailed on Carnival since 2012 and haven't noticed many changes. They did change their cabin cleaning schedule before the pandemic and you had to choose morning, evening or both. Now because of COVID it is only once per day. Not sure if that will stay after the pandemic is under control. Muster is more civilized now. You watch the safety brief on your TV and go to your muster station at your leisure. Your S&S is scanned and the crew demonstrates donning a life vest. This is one change that I hope they continue with. Other COVID protocols are going to apply, masking, etc. Some have found a decline in the food but we haven't. They use edible straws for drinks now. Some of the onboard activities are curtailed because of COVID (such as Quest). 

[ledges1]

There are numerous small changes. Many you may not notice and are not important in the grand scheme of things. Most are small expense reductions that add up over a fleet of ships.

1. Discontinued using tablecloths in MD.

2. Discontinued umbrellas in drinks 

3. No mints on pillows.

 

[funship freddy]

What ?????  No umbrellas.  Excuse me while I call to cancel  🤡

[DrSea]

3 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

We have sailed on Carnival since 2012 and haven't noticed many changes. They did change their cabin cleaning schedule before the pandemic and you had to choose morning, evening or both. Now because of COVID it is only once per day. Not sure if that will stay after the pandemic is under control. Muster is more civilized now. You watch the safety brief on your TV and go to your muster station at your leisure. Your S&S is scanned and the crew demonstrates donning a life vest. This is one change that I hope they continue with. Other COVID protocols are going to apply, masking, etc. Some have found a decline in the food but we haven't. They use edible straws for drinks now. Some of the onboard activities are curtailed because of COVID (such as Quest). 

I think a lot has changed, but for the better. I have sailed with them once in 2009, and the food was straight up terrible. Maybe the changes in food happened between 2009 and 2012, as I didn't sail with them again until 2018. The food is drastically better now. There is now fillet mignon at brunch during sea days. Guy's pig and anchor is leaps and bounds better than the bbq on ships that doesn't have Guy's. This remains true today. 

 

Things are on the up and up. 

[Indytraveler83]

I started sailing about when you stopped, here the changes I can recall (I don't pay attention to tableclothes or other decor changes):

 

Good:

-New Muster Drill is quick, easy and on your own time.

-Hub app allows you to check in for dining, order services and even food.  This eliminates many unneeded lines and much of the paper clutter.

-Embarkation ports are generally more organized with relatively strict check in windows permitting you to get through without waiting hours in line (don't forget to pick a check in window online, usually 30-90 days from the cruise.)

-The food has changed significantly since then. There's more of a focus on mostly free speciality venues than there ever was.  On our last cruise we found the MDR menu to be shorter than usual, but none of the microwave meal quality items we'd previously seen.

 

The "maybe" item-

-The fleet has changed significantly, with most of the Fantasy class becoming rebar.  If you like smaller ships with less passengers, this is bad.  If you like more entertainment and "fun" options like ropes courses and even a roller coaster it's good.

 

The bad-

-Only a VERY limited and ever shrinking breakfast room service menu is complimentary. All other room service is for fee.

-Once a day room cleaning replaces the 2x a day service.  They've said this is a COVID only measure, but don't hold your breath for the return of turndown service.

-Due to the craziness of the past several years, Carnival is nearly impossible to reach by phone.  Do yourself a favor and get a PVP, even if you never used one before.  I'd you have any problems it'll be a lifesaver.

Edited February 7, 2022 by Indytraveler83

[Retiredmedic]

Bout the worse change is it is really really hard to get bacon most mornings with breakfast.

[icft]

The biggest changes that I recall, other than covid procedures, are:

 

1. You don't automatically have bathrobes in your room. Find your room steward the first day and ask for them and they will be happy to provide them.

2. They only service your room once a day. You pick morning or evening.

3. More places like Guy's hamburgers to eat.

4. I think getting on the boat is much easier but it will take return to full cruises to tell how much is due to new procedures and how much is due to half full ships.

5. Getting off the ship is pure heaven these days. With "Smile and Go" there is no more handing your passport to the customs and boarder patrol guy; you just pause for a second and look at the camera then go to the luggage pick-up and grab your luggage and go. With half full ships finding your luggage is easy.

6. Your Time Dining is offered.

7. Smoking is very limited.

8. The pizza isn't as good as it was.

[brilliantseas]

This group has hit on a lot of the changes, but I'll hit on a few more.

 

1. The new Dream and Vista class ships are much more modern, and a tad bit more upscale than the older Destiny and Conquest class ships. Joe Farcus' last ship was the Carnival Magic, but even with the Dream and Magic, his contributions appeared to be more subdued than the previous elaborately-themed, and sometimes gaudy ships of the past. 

 

2. MDR menus have been somewhat updated. Gone are the days of Sea Day Lunch in the MDR, except on Journeys cruises. They now have Sea Day Brunch (combination breakfast/lunch menu) and a Port Day Breakfast. I've found a few new favorites on the current Sea Day Brunch menu, while others were a letdown in comparison to the old "Punchliner Comedy Brunch," which was a terrible concept, but had a good menu. The only item from the actual lunch menu that I miss is the Bing Cherry Soup, which does not appear on any Carnival menu, to my knowledge.

 

For Dinner, Carnival introduced the new American Table menus a few years ago. Many old favorites are still there, as well as some new introductions. There has been some cost cutting; for example, the broiled lobster tail is now only served on cruises of 6 days or longer, and was previously served with three shrimp. Now it is just the lobster tail with a vegetable side. American Table also brought about the removal of the tablecloths and chargers (the decorative plate at each place setting, which they used to set the smaller appetizer plates upon), although the high gloss wooden table tops with the silver seashell and starfish decor pieces still make for an attractive table setting. 

 

3. George Lopez is no longer affiliated with Carnival. Punchliner offerings remain largely the same, however the video recording and "Low Rider" intro song have been replaced by live intros from the comedy club managers. 

 

4. Many of the ships are ditching the nightclubs and aft lounges while in dry dock. The aft lounge, which formerly hosted the Punchliner, is being replaced with additional cabins, while the nightclub is being converted into a smaller Limelight Lounge. The nightclub function is being shifted to a remodeled main show lounge called Liquid Lounge on some of the ships, which are being installed with stackable chairs that are placed in the center of the room for shows, or removed to create a dance floor late in the evening. 

 

5. New restaurant concepts continue to emerge. The older ships are being fitted with an upcharge "Seafood Corner" that is open in the evenings on Lido, and some are also receiving a Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ, in addition to the Guy's Burger Joint and Blue Iguana Cantina concepts that have been on Carnival ships since the early 2010s. Carnival Radiance even got the new Shaq's Big Chicken concept on Lido during her recent refurbishment. 

 

5a. Speaking of Guy's Burger Joint, one unwelcome change that came about in the age of COVID was the replacement of the fresh cut french fries with frozen, skin on fries that resemble Wendy's french fries, only with some seasoning shaken on. I'm still hopeful this is only a temporary change due to staffing challenges. 

 

Similarly, the Lido buffet desserts at lunch have also been streamlined and consist nearly entirely of different layer cakes. One can only assume these are being produced en masse to reduce the burden on the galley and bakery during a time when the ships may have less than a full crew onboard. 

 

6. Casinos are getting upgrades, with the old three wheel, three line max bet slot machines becoming nearly extinct. They've been replaced with five reel, 30 line video machines, many of which are only a penny, nickel, or dime per line, but carry a max bet of up to $9 per spin, or more, but with lower payouts relative to the size of the max bet. I miss the good old days of the quarter, dollar, and five-dollar machines, where the max bet was $0.75, $3.00, or $15.00, but you could win some real money, even without a jackpot. 

 

7. Playlist Productions is now installed on all ships. Gone are the days of the "vegas style" reviews and the live band in the pit or off to the side of the stage. There are maybe a dozen plug-and-play 30-minute shows that are now utilized across the fleet, replacing many of the physical backdrops and set pieces with a large video screen. I still find them entertaining, but they are what I consider to be "amusement park" quality, and don't stand up to the Broadway-style shows or musicals offered by some other cruise lines. With that being said, Carnival's comedy shows and live music elsewhere on the ship more than makes up for the shortcomings in the theater. 

 

8. Family Feud and Deal or No Deal are now offered on select ships. Family Feud is a live stage game show, with tryouts taking place for families throughout the week, culminating in the live game show. Deal or No Deal is a new form of theater gambling where one passenger who buys an entry into the game gets to come up on stage to play for "big money", while everyone in the audience who has purchased a card still has opportunities to win depending on how the game plays out on stage. I have yet to see it in person, so I can't explain exactly how that works, other than to say that it is proving a popular alternative to BINGO in the main theaters on sea days.