Carnival 'Special touches' gone?

[asalligo]

3 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.

Actually, taking an MSC cruise made Carnival look so much better. I was a bit down on Carnival after my last cruise because of exactly what we are discussing in this thread. Then when I got home I compared Carnival and MSC in video and literally everything Carnival did was better. I lament what we have lost, but it could be a lot worse. 

[iria64]

Not sure if this was mentioned... how about when the drink of the day came in a real glass.

On our last cruise all we saw was those cheap plastic things that get thrown in the back of a cabinet and forgotten.

[ProgRockCruiser]

1 hour ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

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. 

For those curious, here a thread from this very site, back in 2012, asking about what cruise prices were like "back in the day".  And it includes the very same type of comments as found here!:

 

"IMO the prices have not changed much over the years, but the quality and service has."

 

and

 

"If the $$ price hasn't changed over the years, than the actual price with inflation has actually decreased. This is probably why you may see some decreases in quality and service."

 

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by ProgRockCruiser

[smwc71alum]

My first cruise was in 1975.....You have no idea the changes for the good and the bad !  The good for example...endless food options.  The bad Mega ships !

[PA Dutchman]

10 hours ago, asalligo said:

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. 

 

 

and tha't the way it was, add the Los Vegas shows you could never get a seat for

[PA Dutchman]

7 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

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)_/¯

 

10 hours ago, asalligo said:

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. 

 

 

room service , coffee pots and a cig out on the deck at 0500 and watch the sun rise

[nybumpkin]

1 hour ago, PA Dutchman said:

and tha't the way it was, add the Los Vegas shows you could never get a seat for

I'm doing a NCL cruise next month and all I keep reading about is how I have to sign up for shows as soon as I board....

[Theosprey247]

9 hours ago, asalligo said:

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

 

On Navigator of the Seas they used a crumb sweeper and promptly swept the crumbs onto my BIL lap! 

[matymil]

Imo its barely enough of a change to notice. When i started sailing in 2010, it was the tail end of the midnight buffets and people got all worked up about that. Somehow we survived. These are all cost cutting measures so id much rather them do this than charge me twice as much or possibly go bankrupt.

[samiam0403]

11 hours ago, Sea Raven said:

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

 

On my last cruise in November/December. Not Carnival though.

 

I miss the days of real butter and bread baskets placed on the table. And the days of freely available late night food (I'm a night owl). This has been a fun thread to read - there was a lot of 'oh yeah! They DID used to do that.' 

[ruru107]

13 hours ago, Sea Raven said:

On cruises, I sleep in leggings and a t shirt. I don't actually need or want them laid out for me.

Yes! This sounds so creepy to me! I don’t want a stranger going through my luggage and touching my clothes. 

[ruru107]

On 2/16/2023 at 3:25 PM, nybumpkin said:

I refuse to carry my phone. I look at the Hub App in the morning before I leave the cabin and then look at the dinner menu in the afternoon. Aside from that and going ashore, the phone stays in the safe. I don't even take many pictures with my phone - that's why I have a compact point-and-shoot camera that fits in my pocket.

I would do the same, but:

1) I have some downloaded offline maps on my phone that I plan to use. 
2) most basic digital cameras nowadays cannot compete with the quality of smartphone cameras. 

[EngIceDave]

No complaints because they aren't issues for me, but changes I've noticed.

 

Once a day cleaning (same as a hotel, some hotels)

Food portions are smaller in all areas.

No more gorging yourself on 10 entrees per seating.

Service is slower. 

Does seem short staffed at all hours.

Sure Coke to Pepsi was a financial decision (I prefer Pepsi)

You'll have to live without your 3am soft serve ice cream.

[Incognito1]

On 2/16/2023 at 6:29 PM, SRQbeachgirl said:

I miss the Midnight buffets with unlimited lobster and the chocolate extravaganza

I think this went away due to uncourteous behavior of some passengers.  Last one we were at, there were gorgeous fruit sculptures and chocolate displays -- which were destroyed in the first 15 minutes by rude passengers who pushed to the front of the lines and then just grabbed whatever they thought was most valuable and made a mess.  How heartbreaking that must be for the staff that put in a great deal of time.

 

Frankly, some cruise lines have yet to find the line between offering a vacation value and attracting the lowest classes of people.

[DanBoy]

4 hours ago, Incognito1 said:

I think this went away due to uncourteous behavior of some passengers.  Last one we were at, there were gorgeous fruit sculptures and chocolate displays -- which were destroyed in the first 15 minutes by rude passengers who pushed to the front of the lines and then just grabbed whatever they thought was most valuable and made a mess.  How heartbreaking that must be for the staff that put in a great deal of time.

 

Frankly, some cruise lines have yet to find the line between offering a vacation value and attracting the lowest classes of people.

 

[Smatth]

After reading these posts, it would seem that this is an excellent time for a cruise line to distinguish itself and possibly gain market share by providing quality pre-Covid experiences on board. We were recently on the Horizon, our 13th. cruise.  Seemed like we were nickeled and dimed at every step, even charged for popcorn (previously free, now $1) at the Lido deck nightly movie(!)  Burned food (green beans) was served to us in the MDR. However, the BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT was the obvious cut back in the live music entertainment. We especially really missed the variety of music that we experienced in various areas of the ships on our pre-Covid cruises. And there are no more ice or fruit sculptures or the chocolate extravaganza (minor disappointments).  Going again in May and hoping for a better experience. Cruise lines are stressed... I get it... However, a devalued, no frills, "shrinkflation" cruise experience is not what vacationers are looking for. The challenge is to make passengers feel they got value from their cruise. That's difficult during this time of financial stress.  But with fares rising. less value for more money can't be a good, sustainable business plan. Oh... and here's a suggestion... let's forget about these mega, 6,000+ passenger ships. It seems counterintuitive to me that a quality cruise experience can be delivered to that many passengers.  I think that cruise lines have bitten off more than they can chew with them.

Edited February 18, 2023 by Smatth

[mosiegirl]

i used to enjoy the little white dish in the bathroom that had samples in it..toothpaste, floss, nose strips etc..a nice treat to find..  i do also miss the mint on my pillow at night.. 

[ShakyBeef]

PSA:  Carnival didn't leave a "mint on the pillow."  The Room Steward provided fake chocolates on top of the paper Funtimes (previously, on top of the Carnival Capers), beside the towel animal near the foot of the bed.  This may seem nitpicky of me, but so be it.  This oft-repeated "mint on the pillow" line is fiction.  They were "chocolates" (and I use that term in the loosest sense) on the bed, but not on the pillow.  And they haven't had any mint component since at least 2011, if they ever did.

 

For those interested, a very scientific😉 study concerning the cutback in quality of said "chocolates" (before they disappeared altogether) was conducted and reported on this thread, several years ago:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/1796910-those-quotchocolatequot-quotmintsquot-cutback/

 

PSA over, please continue with your discussion.

Thank you.

 

 

[TomCruise48]

On Mardi Gras now at full guest capacity, but crew is 400 below stated number of crew members for this ship.  Not certain if Carnival is doing this to save money or if they are still having staffing issues after Covid. This appears to be a contributing factor to changes in service that we have experienced. There are not enough crew members to provide the same services that we received in the past.  In spite of this, we still enjoy cruising with Carnival. 

[staceyglow]

13 minutes ago, ShakyBeef said:

PSA:  Carnival didn't leave a "mint on the pillow."  The Room Steward provided fake chocolates on top of the paper Funtimes (previously, on top of the Carnival Capers), beside the towel animal near the foot of the bed.  This may seem nitpicky of me, but so be it.  This oft-repeated "mint on the pillow" line is fiction.  They were "chocolates" (and I use that term in the loosest sense) on the bed, but not on the pillow.  And they haven't had any mint component since at least 2011, if they ever did.

 

For those interested, a very scientific😉 study concerning the cutback in quality of said "chocolates" (before they disappeared altogether) was conducted and reported on this thread, several years ago:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/1796910-those-quotchocolatequot-quotmintsquot-cutback/

 

PSA over, please continue with your discussion.

Thank you.

 

 

Lol. I see that as far back as 2013 people were griping about cutbacks.

 

Some people aren't happy unless they are miserable.

[ShakyBeef]

 Too late to edit my PP.  So edit follows:

 

Edit: I forgot that a mild mint flavour was detected during the very scientific study in a batch of Carnival "chocolates" from circa 2010, so I deleted (rather, I would have deleted, if it hadn't been too late to do so🙄) the "if they ever did" clause about mint flavour.  Just keepin' it honest, y'all.😁

[nybumpkin]

16 hours ago, ruru107 said:

I would do the same, but:

1) I have some downloaded offline maps on my phone that I plan to use. 
2) most basic digital cameras nowadays cannot compete with the quality of smartphone cameras. 

Download maps on a phone? A bit beyond this Luddite.😮

 

My camera is a Canon PowerShot. I've used it on cruises for at least 10 years now, probably more. I'm by no means a great photographer, but I like the photos it takes and I'm more comfortable with it than I am with my phone. I read not long ago that these cameras have become popular with twenty-somethings. Guess I need to keep it away from my sons....😉

[N7786W Flyer]

On 2/17/2023 at 9:21 AM, 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.  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!

 

See attached from our 1984 cruise on the Mardi Gras...

[N7786W Flyer]

I miss...

 

The men's nightgown contest...

 

[N7786W Flyer]

...and the beer drinking contest 😬