Disappointed, CCL 30 year customer. Where next?

[earthdog]

I have cruised primarily Carnival for the last 30 years and just got off the Mardi Gras for the second time tour 29th CCL Cruise. My wife and I are 60 and we enjoy being reminded to be young. We love the comedians, casino and bars and of course sun. I think it's time to look for what CCL used to provide. 

 

We miss twice a day room steward. Morning room service that woke us up with coffee on the balcony, white table cloth in the MDR, real upper class service in the steakhouse, bacon (not every other day), chair service in the sun for drinks, full menu in the MDR not the trim backed menus of today. 

 

Cruising used to be premium service and you were wowed it was a deal for what you paid. Now it's all gone. The premium dinning sites are just different food with no premium service to go with it. 

 

We love Carnival reminding us we are younger than our ages. We do the Cheers package and like to drink, laugh and meet other people. But we like our quiet time but we want the premium service. 

 

So where can or should we go next? We have done Princess too low key older ships, RCCL we just hate the Mall Type aspect (we want to always see the ocean). We primarily cruise the Caribbean. We enjoy the newer ships with so many choices.   

 

Help us pick a new home really want some suggestions from those that understand what was...

[NotADopey1]

All cruise lines have cut back on service except of course the premium lines like Seabourne and Oceania.  If you want excellent service you now have to pay a premium.  Celebrity cut back on their service so now we are choosing NCL. They don’t have better service but they do seem more fun and not so stuffy.

[Water_Baby_]

If you're wanting coffee served in your cabin then you'll need to likely book a suite. Maybe look at the Retreat on Celebrity. It's not party city - more sedate but plenty of 50+ year olds who feel younger. 

[navybankerteacher]

You need to consider the means by which cruise lines have managed to attract so many more passengers year after year - while having kept  the fare increases well below the inflation rate: they have cut expenses by cutting staff - while increasing passenger load, thereby reducing the share of fixed costs each passenger must cover, while reducing their “grocery bills” by cutting amounts and quality of food purchases.

 

Obviously, Carnival has followed this path, certainly NCL as well; but Princess, Royal Caribbean, HAL, and Cunard are essentially doing the same- perhaps at slightly slower rates.

 

You commented that “cruising used to be premium service”; you should realize that, if you want to receive premium service, you cannot expect to pay discount prices. Either pay for the premium spaces and restaurants on the same lines, or switch to premium lines.  Anyone who started cruising 30 years ago (when cruising WAS a luxury) must remember the old days, recognize the changes and adjust his expectations.

[ldubs]

48 minutes ago, earthdog said:

I have cruised primarily Carnival for the last 30 years and just got off the Mardi Gras for the second time tour 29th CCL Cruise. My wife and I are 60 and we enjoy being reminded to be young. We love the comedians, casino and bars and of course sun. I think it's time to look for what CCL used to provide. 

 

We miss twice a day room steward. Morning room service that woke us up with coffee on the balcony, white table cloth in the MDR, real upper class service in the steakhouse, bacon (not every other day), chair service in the sun for drinks, full menu in the MDR not the trim backed menus of today. 

 

Cruising used to be premium service and you were wowed it was a deal for what you paid. Now it's all gone. The premium dinning sites are just different food with no premium service to go with it. 

 

We love Carnival reminding us we are younger than our ages. We do the Cheers package and like to drink, laugh and meet other people. But we like our quiet time but we want the premium service. 

 

So where can or should we go next? We have done Princess too low key older ships, RCCL we just hate the Mall Type aspect (we want to always see the ocean). We primarily cruise the Caribbean. We enjoy the newer ships with so many choices.   

 

Help us pick a new home really want some suggestions from those that understand what was...

 

Caught my attention when you mentioned the Mall type ship design.  I don't like the interior boulevard designs for that same reason.  And, it is one of the reasons I have enjoyed the Princess ship layouts.   I think there are some older RCI ships that are better, but they are older.  Some of the Celebrity ships have great layouts, IMO.  We enjoy Millennium and Silhouette.  

 

As far as what was, I think it gone on the mainstream lines and not likely to return as part of basic fares.  Instead, it has been (or will be) replaced by the ship-within-ship approach or extra pay venues.   Speaking only for myself, even considering cut backs, we still find the service is more than we need or want.  We do recognize the quality of included dining is not near what it used to be.  

 

Again speaking for myself, I enjoy just about everything on mainstream lines and will continue to use them.   I think to truly get back to the higher level or service and quality that "was" might need a move up to a luxury line.  

[Essiesmom]

It sounds like you need to try the Yacht Club on MSC.  Visit the MSC board here for advice.  EM

[buckeye7]

You might try Princess again and book one the newer ships. We were on Royal last year and it was great.

[mnocket]

It's not my cup of tea, but given your description of what you're looking for, the obvious choice for you is Virgin.  It delivers on the food front and offers plenty of social activities that it seems would appeal to you.  If you haven't looked into Virgin, I'd encourage you to take a look.

[happy cruzer]

Virgin will not have the white table cloth except in one restaurant.  And thought that the service was good but very casual.  It does not match going back to traditional style cruising.  Only one ship in the Caribbean and often doing shorter cruises.

 

Op might try some of the premium lines when they sail in the Caribbean like Oceania or Seabourn.  The cruisers skew younger in the Caribbean.

 

But really don't think you can find the traditional experience any more.

[zqvol]

The obvious choice for OP is one of the following:

 

Seabourn

Silver Sea

Regent

Sea Dream Yacht Club

 

nothing else is going to suffice. 

[vaindioux]

On 5/3/2024 at 3:01 PM, Essiesmom said:

It sounds like you need to try the Yacht Club on MSC.  Visit the MSC board here for advice.  EM

Stop telling everyone please 🤣👍🏻