Elitism by other cruise lines about Carnival?

[BlerkOne]

6 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

The one celebrity review I saw it was shocking how small their MDR lobsters were. 

If you desire a second lobster on Celebrity they will gladly sell you an additional one for $15.

 

The bathrooms on Celebrity may resemble art galleries, but Carnival bathrooms are functionally equivalent, and who wants to do their business in public?

 

Celebrity now charges for room service, jeans are allowed every night in the MDR, etc. etc. There really is a lot in common.

 

 

 

 

[sanger727]

If it makes you feel better- the Oceania crowd likes to shame the Celebrity cruisers for choosing such a mediocre cruise line. 

Edited July 20, 2023 by sanger727

[Eli_6]

People are ridiculous.  There is nothing wrong with Carnival.  We can well afford to do more expensive cruises but we usually pick Carnival because we have kids and are now familiar with the product. (And we also like good deals.)  If you have kids, your main choices are pretty much Carnival, Royal, MSC, or Disney. Anything else is a big drop off in terms of programs and facilities for kids.  

 

I am looking at a Celebrity cruise for spring break 2025, though, because CCL doesn't go to where I am wanting to go (Holy Land and Egypt). I would like to consider HAL, MSC and Royal as they do sail to those places, but they haven't posted 2025 schedules yet. 

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, crzndeb said:

And this can also work in reverse. Although I sail both Carnival and Royal, I have heard many on Carnival says they would never sail Royal, just because of a few jerks. Mob mentality takes over and a lot of people have never even sailed on the other cruise line they are putting down.

 

"and a lot of people have never even sailed on the other cruise line they are putting down."

 

I think this may be true in a lot of cases.    

 

We prefer RCI, Celebrity, & Princess over Carnival for a variety of reasons but not because I dislike Carnival.  To be fair, all of our Carnival cruises have been Mexican Riviera while the others have been more far flung.  Mexican Riviera cruises, IMO,  just have a different vibe regardless of the cruise line.   That might include a younger crowd, more vibrant atmosphere, & more families.  

 

I have found folks on all lines to be mostly friendly.  Of course there are always show-offs that are best avoided (though I sometimes find their silliness entertaining 😀).  

 

The mainstream cruise lines have some differences and like @FastShip24 says, a lot of things in common.  

Edited July 20, 2023 by ldubs

[ldubs]

Oops - duplicate post.  

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by ldubs

[Eli_6]

1 hour ago, hard_eight said:

Well.  That changes everything.  If I can require someone to call me Queen Elizabeth for a week, that may well be worth the extra couple hundred dollars in cruise fare and making my kids forego water slides. (I kid. I kid.)

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

If it makes you feel better- the Oceania crowd likes to shame the Celebrity cruisers for choosing such a mediocre cruise line. 

 

I've seen that too.  Being totally honest, I've managed to develop a negative view of the atmosphere on a certain cruise line based on comments from a relatively few posters here on CC.  I'm sure my perception is not fair to the vast majority of passengers on that line. 

[Purvis1231]

Carnival has too many of that kind of people.

[Saint Greg]

2 hours ago, hard_eight said:

 

His wife has the same deal. I chose Zorro. 

[Saint Greg]

I really get a kick out of when Carnival comedians make fun of Southwest or Spirit Airlines. The guys working for the budget cruise line are making fun of the budget airlines.

[Eli_6]

On some level...is any cruise line really like Walmart?  Because you have to have some sort of disposable income to even cruise at all.  

 

Obviously if someone else is paying for the cruise this doesn't apply which is how/why I think some people act the fool and don't care if their cruise is ruined or they are banned for life...because they didn't pay for the cruise to begin with and know they probably won't ever go on another one!  

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Eli_6

[sparks1093]

44 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

Well.  That changes everything.  If I can require someone to call me Queen Elizabeth for a week, that may well be worth the extra couple hundred dollars in cruise fare and making my kids forego water slides. (I kid. I kid.)

The funny thing is if you read that thread that poster is the only one that brings up a cruise line at all. The OP certainly didn't.

[Viajera7]

I have sailed on different cruise lines and I like them all. Some of them more than other ones. I only have been on Celebrity cruises twice and I didn’t see the conduct  described here. But I have  to be honest and say that the friends that I travel with sometimes don’t want to cruise with Carnival because of the perception that they have of some people’s behavior. When I travel with Carnival, I travel by myself and I have a good time. 
 

30 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

I really get a kick out of when Carnival comedians make fun of Southwest or Spirit Airlines. The guys working for the budget cruise line are making fun of the budget airlines.

That’s funny. On NCL is the opposite. The comedians are always making fun of the Haven. Those jokes get a positive response from the audience.

[May1cruiser]

I will never forget the time we were in St Thomas and a young girl, about 12, was bragging about the size of her RCCL ship and how it was the largest in the world. We were on the conquest during that cruise. 

 

Many of our friends are RCCL fans and always talk about CCL as "Walmart" of the seas. It gets old fast. 

 

We have always enjoyed our CCL cruises and find the staff amazing overall. 

 

No reason to pay more when they take great care of us and fantastic prices they offer. 

[FastShip24]

11 hours ago, mz-s said:

Some people have a desire to feel superior. It's a character flaw of theirs that they shouldn't be proud of.

Wow    any evidence of that?

[aztekpm]

Like many I like what I like. I book balconies as it's my preference and could afford to pay more, ie. book a suite, choose a different line if I desired. I have no desire to pay thousands more for basically the same thing, but everyone needs to do what's best for them. Basically you do you!  Look at the reviews & comments on every line, many filled with issues & complaints. Ain't nothing perfect!

 

I choose to sail Carnival and I have also sailed a few times with NCL. Unfortunately, my two bookings with RCL didn't come to pass, the first cancelled as the dry dock resulted in not adding the room I booked and the other cancelled due to the Cuba embargo.

 

I am not a big ship superfan as I like to see, be somewhat close too and feel the sea, at least a little. Put me in a balcony, mid-ship on a Spirit Class and I'm in heaven, but, I will sail other classes too.

 

I've seen & heard many nasty opinions of Carnival and the 'type' of people that sail them. Yet, the worst behavior and only fight I've ever witnessed was on NCL. Plus, you know what they say about a$$holes and opinions, right? Everyone's got one. My opinion is, if you feel the need to comment on and put down others choices, whatever it may be, line, cabin, etc. in order to feel superior... guess what, you're not!

Edited July 20, 2023 by aztekpm

[nybumpkin]

I have an interesting perspective on this topic. We sailed the June 9 Norway cruise on Carnival Pride out of Dover and followed it with the June 23 TA on QM2 out of Southampton to NYC. We're Platinum on Carnival, Gold on Cunard. In our 28 days on QM2, only once have I experienced a negative reaction to Carnival - and that was a person who was trying to show her "sophistication" to one of the on-board lecturers, who was speaking about maritime and ocean liner history. When she heard that we had 24 (at the time) cruises with Carnival, she exclaimed "And you LIKED it?" (Gee, no - that's why we keep coming back.🙄) The lecturer was similarly unimpressed, and went on to discuss his admiration for Ted and Mickey Arison for keeping sailing - and cruising, in particular - alive. He also noted that if not for Mickey Arison, there likely would be no QM2 and no Cunard.

[icft]

I'm just amused at how the word "elitism" has become one of the most misused words.

 

Not liking something or preferring one thing over another is not elitism.

[BlerkOne]

I might not have used the word elitism. Certainly some of the comments of Carnival sucks with no first hand experience are based on ignorance.

 

 

[Tenderpaw]

Carnival and Royal are both mass market cruise lines.  Celebrity is supposed to be a "premium" cruise line, but having sailed on all 3, its only slightly/barely more premium.  You still get cabin service twice a day and the passenger count is a bit less.  Food is the same quality as Royal and a huge step down from Celebrity's food  a few years ago.  There are jerks sailing on all 3 companies.

 

[FastShip24]

7 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Perfect case in point.

24 million cruisers a year, you found one

[stobe1]

I am an unapologetic lifelong Carnival cheerleader cruiser but I sailed Viking once. Does that mean I can thumb my nose at Celebrity cruisers?

[Stick93]

Not sure why people get so hell bent on what others say - an opinion belongs to the person whose it is.
 

Sailing out of NY the product of Carnival is not great. The demographics are very diverse and that can be a good or a bad thing depending on how rough the crowd is. I have found that Carnival out of Florida has been a better product and in my experience have been calmer. 
Celebrities product is much different and lends itself to be a bit more snobby. People are less open to meeting other people and are more set in their ways. The ships are less dated and are nicer - at least the ones I have been 

For me is I have a choice at this point I will always chose celebrity over Carnival but would go back on Carnival if the dates work out better. You pay more for Celebrity but that okay it’s like getting a suite or an inside room - one is clearly more but goes to the same place. 
 

[firefly333]

23 hours ago, GwenyP said:

Ok so I’ve been on nine Carnival with our tenth booked for December.   We are also going on Celebrity next June.  I’ve joined a couple of Celebrity message groups to learn more about the ships, etc. but the elitism by Celebrity cruisers is unreal.   It’s like they can’t wait to find a reason to be able to say Carnival sucks or they would never set foot on a Carnival ship based on a few TikTok videos they’ve seen.  Has anyone else noticed this about Celebrity or other cruise lines?   IMO Celebrity is barely a step above any mass market line.   They have better service and frou frou restaurants, sure, but IMO that doesn’t mean Carnival is trash.  Makes me wonder if the people I meet on board will be just as snobbish or if these are just keyboard warriors.  

FYI carnival does the same thing about other lines. It's both ways.

 

Carnival pax act like carnival is the best. To them I'm sure it is, but I hear it both directions. Every line the pax think is the best. I feel it both directions all the time. So does this mean carnival people are snobbish who only cruise carnival and put down rcl? Hmmm. 

[rolloman]

So let me get this straight...a person who says they do not like Carnival... that automatically makes them a snob? Ridiculous. Carnival is a deep discount cruise line. Let there be no doubt. However, while they are lacking in several areas, they are not bad in others. What I am concerned about lately is the lack of maintenance on Carnival. For example on a recent Freedom voyage, in the buffet area, the glass was busted and they replaced with plywood over it instead of glass.  Just this past Sunday I came off the Mardi Gras, it was filthy. Carpets literally smelled like stinky feet in certain venues (theater, limelight lounge) and were clearly soiled. The chairs in the casino a good portion of them were ripped and torn. Really sad for such a new ship. You won't find that on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. If they don't take the time or have the resources to fix the small stuff...it only makes sense they are failing in areas which are vital.  I have two more booked, both on the Vista, but after that...I am going to take a timeout and stick with Royal, Celebrity and Princess. I guess I will now be considered a snob!