Carnival 'Special touches' gone?

[nessz79]

8 hours ago, RD64 said:

And the waiters with the small “thingie” to clean off the crumbs from the table before serving coffee and dessert.

I used to feel embarrassed when they did that as if I felt judged for how messy I was. 🤣

But it was still that extra touch.

[Honolulu Blue]

It's been fun reminiscing.  Special thanks to @mz-s for the list of things that have been eliminated post-pandemic.  I'll add one more that probably only I remember enjoying - the Hasbro shows.

 

Oh well, my next Carnival cruise is in November after not having cruised on any CCL ships since the great shutdown.  I'll have to see how much the experience has been changed.

[shof515]

i miss getting the chocolate at night on the pillow

[asalligo]

18 hours ago, Woody14 said:

So what did they used to have that they don't have now that would warrant someone feeling that the 'special touches' are gone?

My first Carnival Cruise in the 90's, the room literally was tidied every time we left it. We started joking that he had to be hiding somewhere in the room. 

 

Real elegant nights, tablecloths, the attention in the Main Dining Room was amazing compared to now. The little chocolates on the pillow at night. The over the top midnight buffet! A real Lobster and a real steak in the MDR included in your price. Robes without asking. A full room service menu. I could order a full breakfast to my room every morning for free. 

 

I often say people who are not complaining often are the ones who do not know what they are missing. I would pay Carnival more for one cruise that brought all that back. Even the more expensive lines are not doing most of this anymore. 

 

 

[pe4all]

Many of the things people mentioned have gone the way of skeet shooting, hitting golf balls into the ocean, and watching the ships dump giant black trash bags into the wake of the ship.  Some things are missed, and some not missed.  

[mz-s]

3 hours ago, gkbiiii said:

No, it is an assistant waiter. 

 

The assistant waiter used the crumb butler to clean the tablecloth of crumbs between courses.

[Sundsgn]

36 minutes ago, pe4all said:

Many of the things people mentioned have gone the way of skeet shooting, hitting golf balls into the ocean, and watching the ships dump giant black trash bags into the wake of the ship.  Some things are missed, and some not missed.  

Yes, a little bit back I posted some pics of the Carnival Capers back when my parents went on a cruise in 1978. I didn’t post all the pages, but I remember my dad telling me about some contest where you would dress up in your wife’s pajamas.

 

[sparks1093]

Every cruise line has changed in the last 30 years. What attracts us to Carnival is the price and when another company can meet or beat that price then we sail with them. Yes, some little things have gone but I feel that the overall product is still solid and meets our needs. If the day comes when that isn't the case then it's likely the end of our cruising days.

[Sea Raven]

33 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Every cruise line has changed in the last 30 years. 

Society in general has massively changed over the last 30 years. Casual and comfortable is the new standard.  People now show up for job interviews in pajamas. And speaking of pajamas, I have read on these boards where it was standard for the room steward to lay out a ladies nightgown in the evenings. On cruises, I sleep in leggings and a t shirt. I don't actually need or want them laid out for me. So does this count as a cutback or an improvement?

[ninjacat123]

Just now, Sea Raven said:

Society in general has massively changed over the last 30 years. Casual and comfortable is the new standard.  People now show up for job interviews in pajamas. And speaking of pajamas, I have read on these boards where it was standard for the room steward to lay out a ladies nightgown in the evenings. On cruises, I sleep in leggings and a t shirt. I don't actually need or want them laid out for me. So does this count as a cutback or an improvement?

One of my guilty pleasures is watching "Below Deck" and the idea of someone other than myself or DH unpacking my bag and putting my clothes away gives me the willies!  I guess that's lifestyles of the rich and want to be famous🤣

[pe4all]

6 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

One of my guilty pleasures is watching "Below Deck" and the idea of someone other than myself or DH unpacking my bag and putting my clothes away gives me the willies!  I guess that's lifestyles of the rich and want to be famous🤣

On our first ever cruise (which was our first anniversary celebration in 1984) I was mortified to come back into our cabin the first night and find a very sexy negligee I had packed beautifully laid out on the bed with rose petals spread out over it.   That was the way things were done back then.  After that I learned to leave my pjs on the pillow so when the steward made up our cabin he wouldn't go searching through my drawers - literally!

[hard_eight]

14 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

One of my guilty pleasures is watching "Below Deck" and the idea of someone other than myself or DH unpacking my bag and putting my clothes away gives me the willies!  I guess that's lifestyles of the rich and want to be famous🤣

Wife watches this religiously. We started drinking espresso martinis because of it. Got a feeling we're gonna try it once. $50k for a few days is miles from Carnival Fares!

[Sea Raven]

4 minutes ago, pe4all said:

On our first ever cruise (which was our first anniversary celebration in 1984) I was mortified to come back into our cabin the first night and find a very sexy negligee I had packed beautifully laid out on the bed with rose petals spread out over it.   That was the way things were done back then.  

This is why you need to be careful what you wish for. Sometimes there's a good reason why they *don't do it like they used to". And really, when is the last time you actually witnessed a crumb sweeper being used ANYWHERE? 

 

[ninjacat123]

3 minutes ago, hard_eight said:

Wife watches this religiously. We started drinking espresso martinis because of it. Got a feeling we're gonna try it once. $50k for a few days is miles from Carnival Fares!

My DH wants to do a catamaran charter through the BVIs which is where we honeymooned.  Maybe not "Below Deck" but I would be feeling pretty swanky doing that!🍸😎💃

[gkbiiii]

11 minutes ago, hard_eight said:

Wife watches this religiously. We started drinking espresso martinis because of it. Got a feeling we're gonna try it once. $50k for a few days is miles from Carnival Fares!

Royal has a new "Family Villa" which is $40K for a week, so not that far away, from private charter fares!

[gkbiiii]

9 minutes ago, Sea Raven said:

This is why you need to be careful what you wish for. Sometimes there's a good reason why they *don't do it like they used to". And really, when is the last time you actually witnessed a crumb sweeper being used ANYWHERE? 

 

In many of the high/medium end restaurants here in Miami Beach!

[ProgRockCruiser]

I agree there have been changes made to cut costs.  Many of these seem to be in areas that attempt to impact the overall cruise experience the least, so I guess some of that makes sense.

 

I will not judge those that desire (or not) twice a day room cleaning with/without turn down service and chocolates/mints on pillows.  I've experienced that in land-based accommodations, and I understand why some people value it.

 

I guess if you look at how much a cruise cost back in [pick your year], vs inflationary rates since then, it might become apparent that if you want that same experience, be prepared to pay the equivalent in today's dollars.  Which would probably mean switching lines based on today's offerings.

 

Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean and Norwegian (I guess) all compete for the lowest overall price.  They do it in varying manners, but as long as there is someone else selling a cruise package for less, there will be market pressure to find a way to match that price, which often means finding ways to cut back on costs so the line remains financially viable.

 

Many people were so quick to declare that Carnival Corp (and possibly other lines) was just days away from declaring bankruptcy, bailing on their stock, nervous about that $200 deposit for a cruise next year.

 

Well, if you're gonna come back from the devastation that was the pandemic shutdown, you probably have to cut back even further than what had been the trend prior to the shutdown.

 

Otherwise all the CCL and RCI and NCI customers will be bemoaning how their favorite line went out of business because they didn't cut back enough, and now they have to pay those huge fares on Holland America, Celebrity, whatever.

 

I'm interested in exploring a "slightly better cruise experience" too, like back in the "good old days", but not at double the fare.

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[hard_eight]

13 minutes ago, Sea Raven said:

This is why you need to be careful what you wish for. Sometimes there's a good reason why they *don't do it like they used to". And really, when is the last time you actually witnessed a crumb sweeper being used ANYWHERE? 

 

 

2 minutes ago, gkbiiii said:

In many of the high/medium end restaurants here in Miami Beach!

Was going to say Ruth's Chris does it, as does Capital Grill(e)

[Honolulu Blue]

30 minutes ago, hard_eight said:

$50k for a few days is miles from Carnival Fares!

This made me think about how much I've paid/will pay for the 27 cruises I've had or will have in my lifetime of cruising.  It's around 200 days at sea, roughly 140 of them on Carnival.  But the answer is I'm sure I haven't paid $50k for all my experiences combined.

[Sea Raven]

13 minutes ago, hard_eight said:

 

Was going to say Ruth's Chris does it, as does Capital Grill(e)

Well, then I will try a little harder to get to Ruth Chris since I have one about 15 mins away from my home. Been a while since my crumbs were swept 😁

[Joebucks]

It's amazing the amount of people that won't let go the Andes mints on your pillow. Was this really that ground-breaking of an event, or are you feeling nostalgic? It's also equally amazing that people complain about tablecloths, food, etc, but won't choose a different line that has all of these things. Instead, they stick around and complain. The "little touches" must not be that important if you won't go to them. 

 

That's not to say there haven't been any negative changes. I think the elimination of the snacks at night is very silly. A few others as well. It's ingenious to ignore the positives. If we swapped cruising today for cruising 30 years ago, it would not have the following it has today.

[mz-s]

44 minutes ago, Sea Raven said:

This is why you need to be careful what you wish for. Sometimes there's a good reason why they *don't do it like they used to". And really, when is the last time you actually witnessed a crumb sweeper being used ANYWHERE? 

 

 

My last cruise, not on Carnival - the assistant waiter used a crumb sweeper between courses - also had table cloths every night, and no it wasn't 3x the price as the Carnival cruise.

[asalligo]

49 minutes ago, Sea Raven said:

And really, when is the last time you actually witnessed a crumb sweeper being used ANYWHERE? 

 

On the MSC Meraviglia last month. It was a sucky cruise, but they were doing that. 

 

[Sea Raven]

16 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

My last cruise, not on Carnival - the assistant waiter used a crumb sweeper between courses - also had table cloths every night, and no it wasn't 3x the price as the Carnival cruise.

 

13 minutes ago, asalligo said:

On the MSC Meraviglia last month. It was a sucky cruise, but they were doing that. 

 

Interesting. Once I retire, I plan on trips with different cruise lines. I'm looking forward to experiencing all the options and differences.

[mz-s]

2 minutes ago, Sea Raven said:

 

Interesting. Once I retire, I plan on trips with different cruise lines. I'm looking forward to experiencing all the options and differences.

 

People so often just assume that to get a better experience than Carnival, you have to spend 3x as much or whatever. Absolutely not true. You can spend that much obviously - there are cruises at every price point all the way up to a chartered yacht. But you don't need to. If you miss the special touches of Carnival, you can get them - not from Carnival, but from other lines. Yes you will pay more but you will not need to pay that much more.

 

It's all what you want. Sometimes I want a cheap cruise with zero niceties or special touches (or even food with bones in it), I still cruise Carnival for my boneless cruising.