Carnival has lost control

[bigdaddyyo]

7 minutes ago, starstruck05 said:

The cruiseline is not responsible for disciplining children. The parents are the ones responsible. If their child can't be controlled they shouldn't have taken them on vacation.  Every single sailing is different and no way can anyone one say "the Vista has too many bad kids" when a whole new group joins the next week. That's insane. There are bad kids at Disney, Universal, the mall, the movies, everywhere! If the parents aren't doing their job, why is it anyone's else's job to do it for them??

I've been on 14 cruises and I have NEVER seen anything like this.  I've seen kids running up and down halls and being wild and crazy in the pools/waterparks, but again I have never seen kids act like these kids did.  I spoke to numerous crew onboard and they all said the same thing, that this is the type of behavior they see week in and week out.  Some weeks are not as bad as others, but overall the theme was that the kids are out of control.  When I saw the kids climbing into the walls outside of the casino, I was completely dumbfounded.  I know that others have mentioned that they usually see security outside O2 and Circle C, but I walked by those places multiple times and never saw any.  My child was in O2 and said that he never saw security.  

In regards to your comment that "The cruise line is not responsible for disciplining our children", that is absolutely correct, but they are responsible for enforcing the rules on those children and their parents.  If it wasn't a problem then Carnival wouldn't have instituted a curfew for kids and wouldn't have sent out press releases about behavior on their ships.  

Again, my initial question is this type of behavior and craziness happening on other cruise lines?  Since the restart of cruising we have only done this cruise, but before that we have sailed on 6 different cruise lines without issue.

[LHARTWICK]

4 hours ago, Gamecock_Cruiser said:

I think it is more like America has lost it's control. Parents don't discipline their kids anymore... but don't get me started on this subject. 

BINGO!  And the adults are as bad as the kids, if not worse. Land or sea, it's the same. Sorry the OP had such a horrible experience.  I don't doubt anything you say you've witnessed.  For us, it's usually the adults who are acting so horribly, but we have seen our share of kids who need to be disciplined for sure. If I acted half as bad as kids do now, I wouldn't have lived to be posting on this message board!! On our May cruise on the Glory, it was the adults in the cabins near us yelling at each other at all hours of the night.  In our experience, it definitely depends on the itinerary.  Worst experiences have been caribbean cruises.  AK, New England and California Coastal cruises have all been with very well behaved passengers.

[nydney1]

6 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

I’ve never seen a more polite, quiet, good natured bunch of kids as I’ve seen on my current cruise.

 

May have something to do with the long itinerary and the fact that there are only 250 kids aboard (I’m on the Venezia transAtlantic).

 

But, I was on the Mardi Gras for Spring Break, and the kids were everywhere, but had a GREAT time and perhaps were a little exhuberant, but overall they were well behaved.

My wife and I were just talking again about how well behaved the kids. We’re on our Spring Break trip this year. 
 

Sorry you had such a bad experience 

[lazydayz]

Our recent Mardi Gras cruise (spring break) had some out of control kids.  My favorite example were the kids across the hall from us.  They were laying in the hallway after midnight singing.  My husband asked them to quiet down, and they did not respond or even look at him.  Once our door closed, the loud singing resumed.  We called security, who responded and then let us know, they "had tucked the little darlings in."  That worked, but where were their parents?  And why the heck would they just continue to misbehave once their behavior was called out? And who lets their kids think it is ok to lay down in a hallway?  That's just gross.  

[nydney1]

2 hours ago, Aplmac said:

No we don't have driver's edu. classes here...
and btw we love our car wrecks - lol.
 

We spend our days eating roasted breadfruit on the beach

and dancing the nites away... to the bongo drums!

 

I live on this beach: address all fan mail

to Aplmac, Barbados. I'll get it!

 

#jealous

[pinklucky61]

I'm always concerned when I see minors running around alone.  There are plenty of reports of sexual assaults on ships.  Parents seem to forget predators are everywhere.

[ColeThornton]

After reading this thread I have the urge to go and yell at my neighbor kids who are climbing on my maple tree.   😉

[notscb]

2 hours ago, jerseyjjs said:

And then revered as "heroes".

Mind clarifying what you're talking about?

 

[ibarrio]

 Although Carnival has the reputation of being the Walmart of cruising it is still not cheap in the grand scheme of things. For the most part, the people who are cruising are not the people who are one paycheck away from disaster or the people you see zombied out on Fentanyl. Generally this has very little to do with Socioeconomic status and more to do with bad parenting. Carnival attracts solid middle class to upper middle class who tend to be new to cruising, prefer a fun environment, are younger, or have new found wealth.  Not to say the super wealthy are better behaved because they are not...they just are hard to find on any cruise lines below Viking. Those are the misbehaving passengers you see on Below Deck. 

Edited June 5, 2023 by ibarrio

[acminton]

4 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

After reading this thread I have the urge to go and yell at my neighbor kids who are climbing on my maple tree.   😉

Yelling... encouragement?

[MtnSeaGirl]

It is horrible when you are on a cruise and have a bad experience that someone else created.  For those that had this happen, I am really sorry and would be upset as well.  DH and I  completed a 6 day and an 8 day on Carnival Horizon April/May.  Of the 3300 +/- each cruise, it was reported around 1000 kids each sailing.  We did not encounter any issues; however, we are early risers and early to the cabin in the evening.  That may have been why we had no issues, or we just had really good parents onboard.  The 6 day cruise had a lot of kids in the pool near the Big Screen in the evening.  There was one night the chatter made it difficult to hear the movie well, but they were not out of line.  The noise floated up.  Maybe Carnival is stepping up???

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, bassmk said:

My husband and I just got off the Horizon yesterday. On our last sea day (Saturday), we were on our balcony and witnessed a man PISSING OFF HIS BALCONY. Keep in mind...the balconies aren't over the water. The roof of the sushi restaurant was directly under us, and a promenade was beyond that.

 

I was absolutely appalled, and it's hard for me to be appalled by anything anymore.

Now if he was also smoking on the balcony while urinating, you could really double report him and maybe get some action from Carnival. 😒 

[Purvis1231]

16 hours ago, bigdaddyyo said:

I’ve been on 14 cruises from Carnival to Disney to RCCL and what I saw last week on the Carnival Vista blew my mind.  I have never seen kids behave so badly on a cruise ship.  From food fights to throwing ice cream on the walls in hallways and stairwells.  One kid was beaten so badly by another that part of his ear ripped from his head.  I saw kids opening access hatches near the arcade and were climbing in those hatches and were walking in between the walls of the ship. I was told of other kids pushing over carts that crew were moving.  Kids cussing out crew members and other guests.  It was absolute chaos.  When I mentioned the behavior of the kids to Guest Services, I was told that they are a little rowdy, but they are young and to keep that in mind.  I had two kids onboard and if either acted like these kids it would be their last cruise.  I was told by crew members that this is how the kids act on every cruise.  Sometimes it is better but for the most part it is awful. The kid that assaulted the other kid was told to stay with his parents for the remainder of the cruise but that only lasted a day.  The Mom said she was pressing charges on him.  
 

Again I’ve been on many cruises before and I’ve never seen anything like this.  I’m just wondering if it is Carnival or are all cruise lines experiencing the same craziness.  One thing is for sure, Carnival does not have control of the Carnival Vista ship. 

I have been on at least 14 cruise, two Carnival cruises last year and I never witness any outrageous behavior described here. Don't get me wrong I have seen some bad behavior-from kids, teenagers, young adults, and older adults. I have seen 20 kids in a hot tub, I have seen young adults in the BVD drinking from wine bottles in the hot tub,  I have seen adults making-out in the pool, I have seen teens fighting outside the teen club, and plenty of old drunks in the casino plus several times I have seen people taken off in handcuffs. But bad behavior can and does happen everywhere. I am going in a few weeks on a ship out of New Oreans and I have heard this is the worst- I will report back. 

Edited June 5, 2023 by Purvis1231
typo

[EngIceDave]

9 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Now if he was also smoking on the balcony while urinating, you could really double report him and maybe get some action from Carnival. 😒 

You meant smoking weed, right?

[ontheweb]

Just now, EngIceDave said:

You meant smoking weed, right?

No smoking anything is a fire hazard, but I guess weed makes it another violation as it is illegal on a ship.

[Butterbean1000]

6 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

The preteens inside the shopping carts while Mom pushes them so they can stay on their phones kills me.  

Wow, never seen this, nut no doubt it happens.

[JCrewz]

9 hours ago, havanadaydreaming said:

I havent noticed any different behavior onboard recently as opposed to a decade ago. 

 

Except some adults seem to want to walk 3-4 wide in common areas...expecting me to turn sideways to avoid them. 

 

Nah gunna do it (as dana carvey says).  

Right Dreaming....it's crazy.  Not just teens, but older, well dressed adults will walk 4 abreast down the corridors, clearly see you walking down the right side of the hall and not step back behind their companions.  When they walk right up to you and act offended that you haven't flattened yourself against the wall, I ask them to please share the hall...which apparently offends them.

 

Then there are plenty of stair sitters that will block the entire stairwell waiting for the restaurant to open.  Bad form, but politely asking them to move is apparently a high conflict proposition.  I think my wife and I are content to let most shocking and appalling behavior go because encouraging anyone to follow rules or show some level of courtesy can lead to an ugly exchange.

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, Butterbean1000 said:

Wow, never seen this, nut no doubt it happens.

Every time I am at the grocery store...exhausted mom at the end of a work day and the kid kicks around the groceries if they are in their way.  My mom would let us stand on the sides and ride until one of us jumped off and then, all four of us needed to "get off!" 

[Cruising_Addict]

19 hours ago, bigdaddyyo said:

I’ve been on 14 cruises from Carnival to Disney to RCCL and what I saw last week on the Carnival Vista blew my mind.  I have never seen kids behave so badly on a cruise ship.  From food fights to throwing ice cream on the walls in hallways and stairwells.  One kid was beaten so badly by another that part of his ear ripped from his head.  I saw kids opening access hatches near the arcade and were climbing in those hatches and were walking in between the walls of the ship. I was told of other kids pushing over carts that crew were moving.  Kids cussing out crew members and other guests.  It was absolute chaos.  When I mentioned the behavior of the kids to Guest Services, I was told that they are a little rowdy, but they are young and to keep that in mind.  I had two kids onboard and if either acted like these kids it would be their last cruise.  I was told by crew members that this is how the kids act on every cruise.  Sometimes it is better but for the most part it is awful. The kid that assaulted the other kid was told to stay with his parents for the remainder of the cruise but that only lasted a day.  The Mom said she was pressing charges on him.  
 

Again I’ve been on many cruises before and I’ve never seen anything like this.  I’m just wondering if it is Carnival or are all cruise lines experiencing the same craziness.  One thing is for sure, Carnival does not have control of the Carnival Vista ship. 

Next time make a video of what you witness and post it all over social media. That’s literally the only way Carnival is ever going to do anything about it. 

[adonisr]

They act that way on the ship, it's likely they act that way at home.  Parents don't care. 

[#55worktoplay]

14 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

There was still (or again) security outside the teen club on the Magic in mid-April 2023. We never noticed bad behavior from kids on that particular cruise.

I was on the Magic mid March and there were no wild kids that I saw and miraculously all the adults were well behaved too. 

[Stallion]

Crazy Mixed Up Kids

 

[LibertyBella]

Decorum seems to be disappearing in the public sphere as many young people feel it is their "right" to do what they please and have fun, and parents are weak at discipline.  There are posters on the Cruise Critic website who complain that the cruise lines do not offer enough activities for teens, but they do not seem to even know how to help their children learn how to behave.

 

Well, I live here in Philly, and many, many families from PA, NY, and NJ enjoy beach vacations, sometimes for weeks or months in the Summer.

 

Let's just say many parents also seem to think that their somewhat spoiled children are "safe," and can be on their own doing whatever until very late at night (!).

 

In response to many, many "rowdy" teens (vandalism, assaults, weapons, drugs, fights, shoplifting, drinking), emergency meetings were just held and a lot of family-friendly beach towns are/have: banned alcohol sales, set earlier curfews, banned backpacks in the evening, closed the beaches early in the evening, closed bathrooms, etc.

 

I also have to say we just had an unfortunate weekend event in our city of hundreds of young people doing illegal street racing and closing down some of our major roads. There was a fatal police shooting of an 18 year old who was participating in this activity.

 

I have not really ever experienced any issues on any of my cruises, but I do tend to book a bit longer or more exotic itineraries which may not be as popular with families with children.  There are many posters who book Viking or other similar cruise lines because they want to avoid children!

[samiam0403]

13 hours ago, bigdaddyyo said:

Again, my initial question is this type of behavior and craziness happening on other cruise lines?  Since the restart of cruising we have only done this cruise, but before that we have sailed on 6 different cruise lines without issue.

Since the restart of cruising, I've sailed on Carnival, Royal, Oceania, and Azamara. I've only seen the bad behavior on Carnival - 2 grown men fighting while in line at the casino cashier's cage, a grown (very drunk) man shouting at the casino bar staff (and security) because neither they, nor the bar on the pool deck, would give him a new key card after he lost his, a drunk woman spilling her full beer down my back, a 70-80 year old woman on the elevator pulling the back of my dress down and poking at my back tattoo, a multi-generation family parking themselves in the entirety of the outside smoke area with strollers and blaring music for the length of the cruise, grown adults and children/teens randomly sitting on the stairs and blocking the entire stairway while refusing to move, the list goes on and on. Only on Carnival, in my experience.

I've cruised with Carnival for about 20 years - I truly miss the Carnival of old, but I know it's likely not coming back. I'll also still cruise with Carnival if the timing/deal is right (like my upcoming Elite cruise to Iceland), but probably not on anything shorter than 7 days. I know the passenger makeup changes every sailing, so maybe it's just bad luck on my part. I hope so, because when Carnival gets things right they put out a great product. But when things go wrong, it's very very wrong - and they don't seem to be in a hurry to fix it.

Now pardon me while I don my flame-proof suit...

[jean87510]

23 hours ago, pe4all said:

We were on Magic out of NY last summer, and it was the worst-behaved group of kids AND adults I have ever cruised with.  As a native NY-er I was embarrassed at some of the things I saw.  Groups of kids running full-speed through the casino chasing each other, adults yelling to each other in the hallways at 2 a.m., groups sitting totally blocking stairways and giving the hairy eyeball if asked to move a little to let people through, etc.  Luckily never saw an assault.  After 3 days - yes, it took 3 days- Carnival posted security outside the teen club, which seemed to settle things down a bit. 

Yep.  those 5 day Bermuda sailings were interesting to say the least.  We were on over Labor Day weekend and it was memorable.