Permanent Cutbacks on Carnival

[Lee Cruiser]

Maybe this is the reason that John Heald is going on "holiday" for the first time in three years. 😀 He probably doesn't want to be on FB right now.  I haven't looked, but I imagine the comments are pouring in.

[Indytraveler83]

4 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Same reason why pizza is now the only late night food option. People will walk down to the pizza pirate, see the line, say "I'm not really that hungry" and go to bed.

 

For a "party ship" they really don't have much going on after 11PM other than the disco...

 

I didn't think of it, but that may be another factor.  Carnival has long publicly considered itself a "family" cruise line, while benefiting from the "party" crowd on the short, cheap "booze cruise."

 

It could be a bit of a quiet way to try to encourage that late night party to head to bed before anything too bad happens.  

[BlerkOne]

3 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

When was the last time there was a dining room lunch available on Carnival with the possible exception of a Journeys cruise?  The Sea Day Brunch can now be renamed Sea Day Breakfast since it ends at 1159 AM.

Long cruises such as Journeys and sometimes the occasional cruise where port arrival time was afternoon.

[staceyglow]

5 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

It appears Xcaret's restaurants are open until 11pm, in general, and some offer snacks through the early hours.  So I would expect that qualifies as a "good late night meal"?  (I looked out of curiosity, now I'm intrigued...)

 

https://www.hotelxcaretmexico.com/en/gastronomy/

Clicked through and discovered that for what this place charges for one night, I could book a really nice balcony room on Carnival for an entire week.  At that price, the food should darn well be better than Carnival's!

[BlerkOne]

27 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Same reason why pizza is now the only late night food option. People will walk down to the pizza pirate, see the line, say "I'm not really that hungry" and go to bed.

 

For a "party ship" they really don't have much going on after 11PM other than the disco...

I imagine all it would take is for some high roller gamblers to convince the casino to put out some late night snacks - perhaps require x number of points for admission. Oh, that's right, many gamblers are already cruising for free. What more do they want?

 

Room service is still going on after 11pm.

[BlerkOne]

23 minutes ago, Lee Cruiser said:

Maybe this is the reason that John Heald is going on "holiday" for the first time in three years. 😀 He probably doesn't want to be on FB right now.  I haven't looked, but I imagine the comments are pouring in.

Most of Europe goes on holiday in August.

[cxr133]

1 minute ago, staceyglow said:

Clicked through and discovered that for what this place charges for one night, I could book a really nice balcony room on Carnival for an entire week.  At that price, the food should darn well be better than Carnival's!

i would like to see a comparison with Drinks (cheers) and excursions

since this really is an all inclusive resort and affiliated with 4 or 5 eco parks also.

 

we had a coupon code when we stayed here for 5 days .  it was great. 

[mz-s]

4 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

Clicked through and discovered that for what this place charges for one night, I could book a really nice balcony room on Carnival for an entire week.  At that price, the food should darn well be better than Carnival's!

 

Now build in the cost of your drinks, excursions, better food, gratuities, etc., to your Carnival balcony. It is an all inclusive, after all.

Edited August 4, 2022 by mz-s

[mz-s]

3 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

I imagine all it would take is for some high roller gamblers to convince the casino to put out some late night snacks - perhaps require x number of points for admission. Oh, that's right, many gamblers are already cruising for free. What more do they want?

 

Room service is still going on after 11pm.

 

The high rollers got smoking back in the casino PDQ...

 

The casino is Carnival's best hope to get back to the black, that's why they've been so generous with casino offers (even to casual gamers) since the restart.

[RollingMeadows]

Reasonable contractions in these economic times. Gotta stay profitable. 

[staceyglow]

2 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Now build in the cost of your drinks, excursions, better food, gratuities, etc., to your Carnival balcony. It is an all inclusive, after all.

I am still not spending anywhere near what they are charging. 

[BlerkOne]

1 minute ago, mz-s said:

 

The high rollers got smoking back in the casino PDQ...

 

The casino is Carnival's best hope to get back to the black, that's why they've been so generous with casino offers (even to casual gamers) since the restart.

The high rollers got the cash flow going which is what Carnival needed to jump start, but I see cutbacks coming for that group in the future.

[BlerkOne]

4 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Now build in the cost of your drinks, excursions, better food, gratuities, etc., to your Carnival balcony. It is an all inclusive, after all.

Cheaper for me to pay as I go for drinks. Never have and never will pay for Cheers. Theme parks don't do much for me.

[mz-s]

4 minutes ago, RollingMeadows said:

Reasonable contractions in these economic times. Gotta stay profitable. 

 

Carnival hasn't been profitable for going on 3 years...

[Illbcruzn4life]

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I read a recent review of horizon that said after 11 pm the wait for a pizza was over a hour. I can remember when they served  Caesars salad which I sometimes got, but didnt much lately as they kept drowning it in dressing. Too much of a good thing for me. 

 

I took a big loss on a sizeable chunk of ccl stock and bought some back, not as much. Could have sold it for a profit. I gotta quit believing in carnival. Seems to me they are trying to attract the lowest common denominator and not trying to stand out in any way except for cheapest fares for those who gamble. Prices for jubilee still high to me. ..and now food cut backs. As a diamond of course I'll still cruise carnival but feeling more and more like it's not the best fit as I like to eat. Lol. If they are goimg to cut back then fares need to drop. A march to the bottom. 

 

Still doing dream 14 day journey cruise for the ports. I'd like to see how they are goimg to stand out, not just how cheap fares for gamblers is their strategy. A gamblers cruiseline. I'm sorry when I read how they are struggling still financially and issuing more shares and further dilution. At least their pay restaurants are good and a bargain. 

Im with you. Im on rci in october and Ccl Celebration in April. Then going to give MSC a shot and see what they have to offer.

 

i made Plat maybe 2011 and have only cruised with Carnival twice since. Loved the Horizon and the Cabana area. Pizza waits were 45 minutes each night. The pizza guy worked his butt off butt couldn't come close to keeping up with the demand. I saw the lasagna there one night and dome cookies and brownies another.

 

NCL is prices too high for me do ill stick with RCi  and maybe MSC. Probably still mix in a Carnival cruise here or there if the price is right

[KnEcruisers]

I can understand some folks being upset at some of these changes, but if Carnival kept everything, but had to raise the cruise fare, people would lose their minds! I would bet eventually when cruising becomes profitable again for Carnival, some of these things might come back.

[csm5986142]

59 minutes ago, Indytraveler83 said:

However... All lines are making changes all the time.  Cruisers have to adapt to the changes as time goes on.  Anymore I try not to react much to changes until I've experienced them, then weigh the effect of those changes vs the experience on another line.  I feel like that's the best way to not be either a fanboy or too much of a cynic.

 

I feel the same way, and I try to look at the big picture.  Most of my local venues are terrible right now.  We tried to take some guests out to dinner (to one of our favorite restaurants) a few days ago, only to find out after we got there, they no longer offer dining room service (take out only) due to staff shortages.  Customer service is pretty awful everywhere.  It seems places are so short staffed, the employees they do have are exhausted.  The cruises we have been on in the past year are one of the few things that seem somewhat back to normal for us.  

But I will concede, it does seem like Carnival is more concerned with attracting new/younger cruisers who probably won't even notice the changes (because they don't know what it was like before).  

[ilovesparky13]

8 hours ago, shof515 said:

with the brunch closing earlier it is going to make other areas of the ship for food be more crowded. as is most other lunch places closes at 2 which can be early

I have never understood why any of the lunch venues close at 2:00. That is waaay too early, especially for those of us who are more active. 

[wemjam]

5 hours ago, JT1962 said:

Things are always trivial when they don’t affect you. The main issue is, the cuts will continue and will eventually affect something that most people enjoy.

 

I don’t drink alcohol, gamble, swim in the pools or get in the hot tubs, use the spa or gym, eat at specialty restaurants, etc. They could remove all of those from the ships and it would not affect me, but I know there are many (most?) that enjoy those amenities.

I just don't see in the grand scheme of things how these minor changes in things impact the overall cruise experience in general.

 

I think it is more the fact that they are being taken away that might be upsetting than the thing itself.  If these items were never part of the cruise experience to begin with, they are not something major that a person would feel like they "needed."  

 

Swimming, casinos, bars, good dining options, port experiences, etc.  These are things most people cruise for and are far more relevant than chocolate fountain night or having to pick up the phone and order my breakfast to be delivered rather than being able to fill out a door tag.  

 

The things you are comparing it to like casino, pools, restaurants, etc.  These are a much more integral part of why people cruise and really aren't a fair comparison IMHO.  

 

 

 

 

[IrishSails]

I’ll admit I have not read the whole thread. So I apologize if this has been discussed. Call in for breakfast service? Idk what system they have for that but, that seems antiquated. Hopefully, they might have it available to do on the Hub app in the future.

[lasvegascruising]

I think I am most sad about brunch, usually defined as breakfast/lunch 10am-2pm.  How many times have I had a small bite in the morning on Lido knowing that I will go to "brunch" about 1pm? LOTS OF TIMES!  Not anymore and I will not show up at 11:55 am expecting to be seated and enjoy "brunch" until 1pm.  I hope Carnival someday can return to the hours of the past.  What great memories I have of hubby and myself on our last sea day going to brunch. 

[JT1962]

50 minutes ago, wemjam said:

I just don't see in the grand scheme of things how these minor changes in things impact the overall cruise experience in general.

 

I think it is more the fact that they are being taken away that might be upsetting than the thing itself.  If these items were never part of the cruise experience to begin with, they are not something major that a person would feel like they "needed."  

 

Swimming, casinos, bars, good dining options, port experiences, etc.  These are things most people cruise for and are far more relevant than chocolate fountain night or having to pick up the phone and order my breakfast to be delivered rather than being able to fill out a door tag.  

 

The things you are comparing it to like casino, pools, restaurants, etc.  These are a much more integral part of why people cruise and really aren't a fair comparison IMHO.  

 

 

 

 

Yes, those examples were something many find important, but they are trivial to me since I don’t use them. Those may be important to you.  The other items were trivial to you, since you did not regularly use them.  But obviously many found some of them important, based on the comments.  Everyone has items that are important to them, but trivial to others.
 

The point is, the small cuts add up over time and reduce the onboard experience.  I am sure more cuts will come because they need to cut costs to survive. At some point, something will be cut that most everyone thinks is important to them.

Edited August 4, 2022 by JT1962

[mz-s]

4 minutes ago, JT1962 said:

Yes, those examples were something many find important, but they are trivial to me since I don’t use them. The other items were trivial to you, since you did not regularly use them.  But obviously many found some of them important, based on the comments.  Everyone has items that are important to them, but trivial to others.
 

The point is, the small cuts add up over time and reduce the onboard experience.  I am sure more cuts will come because they need to cut costs to survive. At some point, something will be cut that most everyone thinks is important to them.

 

The story of $CCL over the past 3 years is death by a thousand cuts.

[Drew B 58]

For my past five cruises, I have booked a cabin on the Lido deck (or one deck above).  I would MUCH rather be able to leave my room when I feel like it, walk a few hundred yards and grab coffee or a few items from the buffet or the Blue Iguana (WAY more selection than on the free room service menu) rather than hang an order form the night before for disappointing food that may or may not still be at the best time.  In the past, most times I got the room service, I was either awakened when I could have slept longer or woke up earlier and twiddled my thumbs until RS arrived.  
 

I’ve never been on a ship with Ocean Plaza before, so I won’t know to miss that.  However, when I’m on Panorama on my next cruise, the Lido will be WAY more convenient from my cabin on deck 11 mid than trudging down to deck 5 aft, so I doubt I would have availed myself of it even if they had it.

 

I'm generally STUFFED after dinner following a long day of eating, so I’m not one who is generally looking for late night food.

 

I always plan to try the afternoon tea, but I don’t recall doing so a single time in all my Carnival cruises.  I always find myself doing something else that time of day.

 

The only one I find disappointing is the brunch hours, as I was considering perhaps hitting the brunch TWICE in the same day; once early and once late!  😛 I think I will survive with just one brunch, though!  😉 And it’s not like there aren’t other options from noon to 1:00.

 

I’m sorry for those these changes does affect, but I’m not really one of them…

[CruizinSusan70]

4 hours ago, Concretemanstan said:

 We're from the UK and my wife is desperate to go to Platinum (we're not far away) but I don't think that is ever going to happen now!

You're not missing much.  One of the best things, priority embarkation,  was taken away because of Covid.  The line at guest services is nice, but hot water laundry not so much.