Permanent Cutbacks on Carnival

[lazydayz]

Another issue is the pressure they are putting on their staff.  They said the shortage would be quickly corrected, after the US government agreed to fast track visas, but with the cuts to service, I wonder if they aren’t planning to continue to make unreasonable demands on staff.  
 

I don’t want a cut rate vacation where I have to bring an insulated cup or hoard food in my mini fridge for a late night snack.  If that’s ok for you, go for it.  But my cruising and gaming dollars will be looking elsewhere when I plan future vacations, and could impact those already booked. 

[fuddrules]

18 minutes ago, breadandbutter said:

Carnival just keeps lowering the standards and quality of food. I'm ditching them, I've had enough. When I go on a cruise I like to have a good choice of quality (and tasty) food, not Golden Corral!

 

Oh Boy.

[CruizinSusan70]

5 minutes ago, lazydayz said:

But my cruising and gaming dollars will be looking elsewhere when I plan future vacations, and could impact those already booked. 

Celebrity has late night dining options up to 130 am and NCL and Princess have 24 hour options with The Local/O'Sheehans and the International Cafe.

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, CodyMiles1994 said:

 

Cancelling the Comedy Shows
MDR having an additional charge

 

Those are the big two that are obvious lines in the sand.

When were the comedy shows cancelled?  Been on 6 since restart and shows on every cruise?  The mdr having steakhouse items is an OPTION.  Been around  for years.  

[jimbo5544]

55 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

So charge us more. Look at Disney - they had to close their park for COVID, they've started charging more for everything, and yet the parks are still full every day. People want to travel and they want a good experience when they're spending their money.

 Disney charges more for almost everything now, seems to back up my point.  

[ALKID]

Soon we will no longer book any cruises on this line.  With all the cutbacks, we dont see any benefits.  A land vacation to a nice beach resort are will suit us just fine.  We never really minded the downfalls of being trapped on a ship, because they were outweighed by the benefits.  Not so much any more.  Tired of the small rooms with the AC that may or may not work, the limited times in the ports, the lines to get off and on and the lackluster food available.  

[jimbo5544]

52 minutes ago, lazydayz said:

Another issue is the pressure they are putting on their staff.  They said the shortage would be quickly corrected, after the US government agreed to fast track visas, but with the cuts to service, I wonder if they aren’t planning to continue to make unreasonable demands on staff.  
 

I don’t want a cut rate vacation where I have to bring an insulated cup or hoard food in my mini fridge for a late night snack.  If that’s ok for you, go for it.  But my cruising and gaming dollars will be looking elsewhere when I plan future vacations, and could impact those already booked. 

Any facts that back up their claims that visa screw up by the US is NOT the reason?   Makes zero sense.  

[Joebucks]

13 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Death by a thousand cuts.

 

And it's not double on other lines. Not even close.

 

I was referring more to people looking at "other" options than cruising. However, Carnival is still by far and away the price leader. There absolutely are people that would stop cruising because of $50 of total room service charges and spend many multiples more for XYZ reason.

 

Selecting vacations around baselines of what used to be or cuts is a great way to constantly find disappointment. It's better to look at the total value of the trip and decide if that matches what you are looking for. Again, I agree that if it's too much of a hassle to get food or other high-level perks, that is definitely a negative. In the end, many people obsess on the 1-2% of "fees" rather than the other 98%. Many hotels are double the price that they were in the past year or two. No one bats an eye. God forbid that hotel institutes a fee for something that was once included. Mutiny.

[CodyMiles1994]

37 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

When were the comedy shows cancelled?  Been on 6 since restart and shows on every cruise?  The mdr having steakhouse items is an OPTION.  Been around  for years.  

I didn't say they were... You asked what things would make people cancel a cruise. If everything in MDR is for charge & no comedy, that's the line for me.

[jimbo5544]

7 minutes ago, CodyMiles1994 said:

I didn't say they were... You asked what things would make people cancel a cruise. If everything in MDR is for charge & no comedy, that's the line for me.

Got it

[auburn77]

We nearly quit sailing with them when they stopped the mints on pillows. (kidding!)

[BlerkOne]

All these people leaving Carnival, yet occupancy rates continue to rise. Yep, nobody is irreplaceable.

[mz-s]

4 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

All these people leaving Carnival, yet occupancy rates continue to rise. Yep, nobody is irreplaceable.

 

Given the seemingly increased rates of fights on their ships, maybe Carnival should have chosen to keep their loyal guests happy vs. courting new guests from the bottom of the barrel.

[ALKID]

5 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

All these people leaving Carnival, yet occupancy rates continue to rise. Yep, nobody is irreplaceable.

Good for them, hope they enjoy it!  All I know is we will avoid any beach resort on cruise ship days

[kdr69]

3 minutes ago, mz-s said:

Given the seemingly increased rates of fights on their ships,

Yes a whole 2!!! thats it im done!!! 😳Like to know which lines can predict a fight and stop it before it happens since Carnival was not the only Line with "increased rates of fights on their ships". Seems to me that you could walk into a spontaneous fight absolutely anywhere.  And the fights had not one connection to "Standards of Service" or "food items".  What about the massive fight that erupted at one of the Disney Parks last month?  Im not gonna say im never going to go there again because of it.  Things can happen during any type of vacation.  I cruised in March and had no issues with the Standard of Service i was given, not once did i ever go hungry because of reduced access to food items and there were no fights onboard.

[mz-s]

6 minutes ago, kdr69 said:

Yes a whole 2!!! thats it im done!!! 😳Like to know which lines can predict a fight and stop it before it happens since Carnival was not the only Line with "increased rates of fights on their ships". Seems to me that you could walk into a spontaneous fight absolutely anywhere.  And the fights had not one connection to "Standards of Service" or "food items".  What about the massive fight that erupted at one of the Disney Parks last month?  Im not gonna say im never going to go there again because of it.  Things can happen during any type of vacation.  I cruised in March and had no issues with the Standard of Service i was given, not once did i ever go hungry because of reduced access to food items and there were no fights onboard.

 

I can't recall of a ship needing a Coast Guard escort due to a fight before.

[LHARTWICK]

18 hours ago, ultrafighter said:

I'm probably just being my usual cynical self, but they're probably banking on people just giving up on it by making it difficult.

BINGO! Same with requiring passengers to pick up their own P/D gifts at the photo shop.  And calling to get their chocolate delight delivered.  And picking up their own water.  Oh we could go on and on.

[ProgRockCruiser]

18 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

I can't recall of a ship needing a Coast Guard escort due to a fight before.

It wasn't escorted due to the fight, AFAIK - it was a regular escort for regular reasons - just the newspapers had to make it seem like a big deal, but was really unrelated.  Coast Guard and Sherriff escort our cruises out of Port Canaveral every time - they probably do the same inbound, but I'm still sleeping...

 

I mean, everyone had to go through customs and immigration when they got off the ship too!  They must have been looking for more trouble makers!  Or...it is standard procedure...

[mz-s]

11 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

It wasn't escorted due to the fight, AFAIK - it was a regular escort for regular reasons - just the newspapers had to make it seem like a big deal, but was really unrelated.  Coast Guard and Sherriff escort our cruises out of Port Canaveral every time - they probably do the same inbound, but I'm still sleeping...

 

I mean, everyone had to go through customs and immigration when they got off the ship too!  They must have been looking for more trouble makers!  Or...it is standard procedure...

 

In reality of course, Coast Guard and NYPD were involved because of the brawl.

 

"The Coast Guard's involvement included a boat crew from USCG Station New York escorting the ship through the New York Harbor . . . after our Vessel Traffic Service received the report of the incident at approximately 4 a.m. Tuesday morning," a representative for the Coast Guard tells PEOPLE. "After that, a boarding team from USCG Sector New York assisted NYPD and CBP with crew processing."

 

https://people.com/travel/coast-guard-escorts-cruise-ship-back-to-port-following-large-dance-floor-brawl/

 

It has nothing to do with Carnival ending room service an hour early so I'm not going to keep discussing it here as it is off topic for this thread. Just a symptom of Carnival's new bottom of the barrel strategy.

[ALKID]

7 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

In reality of course, Coast Guard and NYPD were involved because of the brawl.

 

"The Coast Guard's involvement included a boat crew from USCG Station New York escorting the ship through the New York Harbor . . . after our Vessel Traffic Service received the report of the incident at approximately 4 a.m. Tuesday morning," a representative for the Coast Guard tells PEOPLE. "After that, a boarding team from USCG Sector New York assisted NYPD and CBP with crew processing."

 

https://people.com/travel/coast-guard-escorts-cruise-ship-back-to-port-following-large-dance-floor-brawl/

 

It has nothing to do with Carnival ending room service an hour early so I'm not going to keep discussing it here as it is off topic for this thread. Just a symptom of Carnival's new bottom of the barrel strategy.

Some know it all on here said the escort had nothing to do with the fight and it was routine in nature and the others went along with yet more disinformation, but hey, thats the world we live in with alternative facts if there is such a thing.

[mz-s]

12 minutes ago, pc_load_letter said:

 

Dumbest comment in this entire thread.

 

With the exception of late night eats like NCL does with O'Sheehans, I think Carnival is doing pretty well in regards to food.

 

Shaq's chicken is widely regarded as excellent. A large number of people enjoy Guys burgers and pig and anchor. The new concepts on Mardi Gras are getting great reviews.

 

Sure, buffets can be hit or miss and layout and options vary from ship to ship. I loved the buffet on Miracle whereas the buffet on Radiance was, while good, I felt lacked options.

 

I had the steak and eggs on Radiance for sea day brunch and while the steak was not a 16 ounce porterhouse, I felt it was good and tasty, maybe smallish but with the other food I ordered, it was fine.

 

People think they write for the Michelin guide, and it cracks me up when I hear comments like this.

 

You don't have to be a Michelin guide or Zagat's writer to know Carnival's new striploin or steak and eggs is a huge downgrade from what it used to be.

[BlerkOne]

6 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

You don't have to be a Michelin guide or Zagat's writer to know Carnival's new striploin or steak and eggs is a huge downgrade from what it used to be.

When is the last time you tried the striploin?

[mz-s]

2 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

When is the last time you tried the striploin?

 

May. I've eaten it at least twice on each of the 3 cruises I've been on since the restart. It's not as good as what was there before. Once or twice I absolutely couldn't eat it, either it was too gristly or far over/under cooked (due to it's thinness it's tough to be precise with the cook I'm sure). The rest of the times it was fine for what it was - but I still say with 100% confidence I get a better steak at my local Golden Corral any day of the week.

[CruizinSusan70]

3 hours ago, ALKID said:

Soon we will no longer book any cruises on this line.  With all the cutbacks, we dont see any benefits.  A land vacation to a nice beach resort are will suit us just fine.  We never really minded the downfalls of being trapped on a ship, because they were outweighed by the benefits.  Not so much any more.  Tired of the small rooms with the AC that may or may not work, the limited times in the ports, the lines to get off and on and the lackluster food available.  

Enjoy going to an all inclusive for your vacation needs.  The food may be better, the room will be better and your time in the port is longer.  However, you stay in one place, the entertainment sucks and it becomes monotonous compared to a cruise.

They each have their place and if the Covid cutbacks are what are souring you on Carnival, be prepared for the same if you decide to choose a different cruise line since none of them are the same as 2019.

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

All these people leaving Carnival, yet occupancy rates continue to rise. Yep, nobody is irreplaceable.

More blue cards are always available.