Carnival Temporarily Closes Popular Restaurant, Dining Experience

[BlerkOne]

Anyone who deals with the government on anything from the IRS to passport renewal to anything else knows the delays staffing issues are causing. It is ludicrous to try to somehow shift blame to Carnival.

[icft]

2 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Anyone who deals with the government on anything from the IRS to passport renewal to anything else knows the delays staffing issues are causing. It is ludicrous to try to somehow shift blame to Carnival.

I guess Carnival is not as smart as "anyone" as they apparently didn't know.

[BlerkOne]

4 minutes ago, icft said:

I guess Carnival is not as smart as "anyone" as they apparently didn't know.

Carnival has gone from zero ships sailing less than a year ago to full deployment today. Very impressive. If only the visa department could keep up.

[cruisingguy007]

14 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Anyone who deals with the government on anything from the IRS to passport renewal to anything else knows the delays staffing issues are causing. It is ludicrous to try to somehow shift blame to Carnival.

 

Agree, unless you owe the IRS money, then they are efficient as hell, they turn gangster real quick and will get that money no matter what. Ask me how I know. 😏  

[Badfinger]

Glad to here Cucina is still open for lunch as we are sailing the Breeze in June.

 

It has been our tradition to select 1200-1230 check-in and immediately head to Cucina for a somewhat peaceful and definitely relaxed and uncrowded lunch, bypassing the gastric mob scene on display in the Lido.  

[vwrestler171]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

Carnival has gone from zero ships sailing less than a year ago to full deployment today. Very impressive. If only the visa department could keep up.

Very impressive to bring back a full fleet without making sure they had adequate staff to operate them?  Poor management if you ask me.

[Illbcruzn4life]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

Carnival has gone from zero ships sailing less than a year ago to full deployment today. Very impressive. If only the visa department could keep up.

as per usual, Carnival has no blame in anything. It's always the other guys fault.

[pc_load_letter]

3 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Anyone who deals with the government on anything from the IRS to passport renewal to anything else knows the delays staffing issues are causing. It is ludicrous to try to somehow shift blame to Carnival.

 

Care to share any cutbacks that RCL, NCL, Disney or Virgin have announced since restart?

[ashkir]

3 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Anyone who deals with the government on anything from the IRS to passport renewal to anything else knows the delays staffing issues are causing. It is ludicrous to try to somehow shift blame to Carnival.

I heard the delays were horrible during the early part of the pandemic. I got my first passport a few months ago, took 11 days. 

[WKUTopperFan]

4 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

You need to go on the Mardi Gras. 

Did Mardi Gras in March/April for first time. Dined in specialty restaurants every night with the caveat.that I dined at Cucina which they completely bastardized by making it am extension if the dining room/ complimentary option. Cucina is my favorite restaurant at sea and the fact most menu items were absent on Mardi Gras, replaced by options not made to order was the greatest disappointment.  I think it is a terrible choice. I dined at Emeril's, Chef's Table, Rudi's, Steakhouse X 2, Teppanyyaki, and Seafood Shack the other nights. Mardi Gras works for me but prefer the Vista Class ships.

[KmomChicago]

18 hours ago, Retiredmedic said:

Expecations for Carnival are fairly low anyway, how much lower should we lower them?

You don't have to lower anything, cruise with whoever you want to cruise with, and not Carnival if you don't like it. Very very simple. 

[KmomChicago]

18 hours ago, WKUTopperFan said:

On Vista Class ships  I dine in specialty restaurants for dinner exclusively.  On my first Mardi Gras experience in March/April, the same held true. I also usually do Chef's Table.  

 

My next Carnival cruise in August is on the Magic ( which I only booked because I wanted a New York shopping and theater weekend in advance) which dining options are very limited. I booked 2 nights in Cucina, 2 in Steakhouse and Chef's Table. I figured i could tolerate the MDR for two nights. This move is unacceptable.  I am sure this suspension of service will continue throughout the summer. I am calling my PVP and requesting a ship change with more specialty restaurants (Vista Class or Mardi Gras) that are actually going to be open so I have options to dine to my liking.  I'll deal with a airfare change. This is a joke. My November cruise on Celebrity Apex is looking better by the minute. 

 

Sounds like Celebrity is definitely the right fit for you. Might want to look at Virgin as well which seems to have innovative dining options.

[jerseyjjs]

On 5/16/2022 at 11:56 PM, ScottsSweetie said:

I've cruised 3 times since the restart - they haven't had a single platinum event yet. Can't suspend it if they already aren't doing it.

 

 

They had the platinum event on my Legend sailing in March.   Though it didn't include finger foods and games w/prizes.   Just drinks and the roll call for the ships in the fleet.

Edited May 18, 2022 by jerseyjjs

[ChattTenn]

On 5/16/2022 at 11:46 PM, vwrestler171 said:

Carnival was in such a rush to bring their ships back, that they forgot to make sure they had the staff to run them.  Now the cruise experience is being tarnished.  Watch Carnival is seeing where the most complaints are and will focus there while not worrying about other areas.  I truly don't think we will ever see pre-Covid Carnival again.

We were on Mardi Gras sailing 4/30 - May 7, it was a full ship 5200+.  We had 2 cruises post Covid late last year and loved them both.  Carnival is making MONEY now but the service level is DOWN.  Our cabin steward has 35 cabins to take care of (with 1 hour extra help each morning and afternoon).   Our dining staffs at the Palm fixed sitting had 8 (6 seats each) to serve and while most of the tables were not full but the food portion from kitchen was SMALL and most of the time was barely WARM or nearly cold.  The Steak House dining staffs were RUNNING not walking because they had to serve too many people.

People might say because we are picky people but no we are not.  After 10+ cruises with Carnival and more with other lines we knew the different.

MG is a beautiful ship and after 2 cancellations we were glad to be on her but only thing we say good about our last sailing.

[Guest BasicSailor]

10 hours ago, WKUTopperFan said:

This was my initial thoughts... we'll said. I'll take this a step further. Axing Cucina and Chef's Table eliminates two unprofitable activities.  Both are guest experiences and break even at best. They cost Carnival little in actual dollars, but make use of resources and consumables which come at a cost. Using visa processing time as a advantageous reason, Carnival can easily trim this fat to save money. I'm really mad. As I've previously stated... specialty dining is part of my cruising experience as I find the MDR subpar. This makes cruising Carnival a non option for me. 

MDR experience is subpar only the lively extra small lobster (I get three) can pull me anywhere near the MDR. Waiting on that to get cut sometime in the future.

Edited May 18, 2022 by BasicSailor

[jerseyjjs]

6 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

as per usual, Carnival has no blame in anything. It's always the other guys fault.

 

 

Especially with the shareholders who post here.

[Thenagers]

 

20 hours ago, d12j28 said:

Whip that voucher out when they say you have hit #15 and see if it works.

I read somewhere that it could come in handy in NY and Texas where they can not use Cheers the 1st day.

[ledges1]

This is a bunch of random thoughts on this topic. Those of us commenting on this site are the super minority of cruisers so we should not think too much of ourselves. On my first cruise I thought the food was was very good. It was a new experience. After cruise 25, I realize the food is average at best. Even the specialty restaurants lag behind land based restaurants. After all these cruises, I have never found a hot baked potato in the MDR. Most want melt butter and were cooked hours before dinner. The potato salad in the BBQ place is made from left over bake potatoes. The baked beans do not qualify as baked beans from a southern perspective. I cruise for the ocean experience, not for the food or theme park. Everybody cruises for different experiences.

[Joebucks]

On 5/17/2022 at 9:47 AM, Homosassa said:

LOL - I just looked at the Cucina's menu and cringed.  Really meatballs? Not in Italy. Fried Calamari? Not in Italy. I don't know where these "family" recipes came from, but they aren't Italy (or from my straight off the boat grandmother and the recipes passed down).

 

I was also going to suggest Olive Garden for quasi "Italian" fare.

 

This also explains the complaints that are posted about MSC's offering.

 

I have never met an Italian grandmother (and there were many in my family) that did not make meatballs. Italy absolutely eats meatballs. Polpettes as they are called, are often eaten by themselves.

 

19 hours ago, pc_load_letter said:

 

And I will disagree.

 

Carnival announced they are 100% back with all ships returned to the fleet. Splendor was the last one I think.

 

So tell me, why run ships with low staff and cut back on passenger offerings when the could easily take the 1000 or so staff from Splendor, and perhaps even keep Ecstasy in dock.

 

You would then have over 2000 crew members that could be reallocated throughout the fleet.

 

Sure, there may very well be a delay in visa processing, but if that's the case, keep ships offline until there is the staff to adequately man them.

 

Because when restaurants announced dining rooms were open again, we all didn't scream "ACKCHYUALLY, you don't have your full menu or staff as before". And a chain restaurant shutting down all locations so that fewer locations can operate and serve the less popular entrees, is a silly business decision.

 

I'd be with you if it was something more serious. This isn't serious.

[pc_load_letter]

4 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

You don't have to lower anything, cruise with whoever you want to cruise with, and not Carnival if you don't like it. Very very simple. 

 

These comments are do dumb. Can't believe in 2022 people still post "if you don't like it, don't purchase it" crap. Someone can enjoy Carnival and still be annoyed, not like, or even hate some features and still enjoy a cruise.

 

These replies are simply dumb. It was the same response I got when I posted on John Healds FB about poor late night dining options. People just need to grow up.

[KmomChicago]

30 minutes ago, pc_load_letter said:

 

These comments are do dumb. Can't believe in 2022 people still post "if you don't like it, don't purchase it" crap. Someone can enjoy Carnival and still be annoyed, not like, or even hate some features and still enjoy a cruise.

 

These replies are simply dumb. It was the same response I got when I posted on John Healds FB about poor late night dining options. People just need to grow up.

Have a lovely and blessed day.

[KmomChicago]

31 minutes ago, pc_load_letter said:

 

These comments are do dumb. Can't believe in 2022 people still post "if you don't like it, don't purchase it" crap. Someone can enjoy Carnival and still be annoyed, not like, or even hate some features and still enjoy a cruise.

 

These replies are simply dumb. It was the same response I got when I posted on John Healds FB about poor late night dining options. People just need to grow up.

Thank you for your kind words. Much appreciated. ❤️❤️❤️

[JGB]

with apologies to Rick Nelson Garden Party

 

It's all right now, I learned my lesson well

you can't please everyone so you've got to please yourself

 

going on my 27th Carnival cruise in 10 days

 

JGB

[BlerkOne]

3 hours ago, pc_load_letter said:

 

These comments are do dumb. Can't believe in 2022 people still post "if you don't like it, don't purchase it" crap. Someone can enjoy Carnival and still be annoyed, not like, or even hate some features and still enjoy a cruise.

 

These replies are simply dumb. It was the same response I got when I posted on John Healds FB about poor late night dining options. People just need to grow up.

Is it more or less dumb than the people who threaten to leave Carnival yet keep cruising on the line they hate?

[pc_load_letter]

34 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Is it more or less dumb than the people who threaten to leave Carnival yet keep cruising on the line they hate?

 

I don't think anyone, on any thread, has stated they are leaving Carnival. Quite the opposite really. Probably three or four new posts of people going on Carnival for the first time.

 

It's people who have sailed Carnival for years, who are seeing the changes, and are displeased with the way things are going\being handled.

 

BTW, you failed to answer my question above, or is no answer in fact your answer.