"Class Wars" on the ships--Diamond+ folk, Carnival haters, etc

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Mikeerdas, have you considered Norwegian Cruise Lines and if not, why not?

[cruzendude]

[quote name='acc82']i agree with the poster that pointed out there is generally no correlation between those who are diamond plus, wealthy, or dislike carnival.

we are platinum and far away from diamond plus, but we've done 6 cruises in 5 years of marriage, so with a cruise a year, we are headed toward the diamond route in time. for me, a cruise is MORE ECONOMICAL than other options. we're going to disney world this summer and it's going to cost as much as our cruise. I priced sandals and it was waaaay too high at 3400 for a week. and, we love to cruise. we are middle class DINK's. (double income, no kids) but, we're young (20's) and that means we'll make less than someone in their 40's who has stayed with the same company for say, 15 years. so, we do fine, but are definately not rich -we have a budget.

I DO NOT cruise with carnival. Reasons are:
1.) we've never had a bad experience with royal and don't care to try anything else. (not carnival, norwegian, etc....) Only royal.
2. ) carnival's ships aren't as big as the biggest in the royal fleet. we like having more to do on the ship during a sea day.
3. ) carnival doesn't appeal to me like royal does, something as simple as the decor on the ship (which is different) is a factor for me.[/quote]

I used to have this argument with some knucklehead on the Princess board for years..he has only cruised Princess and has like 30 cruises and poclaims Princess the best cruise line ou there....BUT hoe obviously has nothing to compare it with so he in fact has no clue....

Cruising while in yur 20's is an awesome thing but you really should try another line or 2 just to ensure Royal is the best for you...there are LOTS of good options out there.....:D

[MrPete]

[quote name='cruzendude']I used to have this argument with some knucklehead on the Princess board for years..he has only cruised Princess and has like 30 cruises and proclaims Princess the best cruise line out there....BUT he obviously has nothing to compare it with so he in fact has no clue....

Cruising while in your 20's is an awesome thing but you really should try another line or 2 just to ensure Royal is the best for you...there are LOTS of good options out there.....:D[/quote]

Now who could that be?

"If it ain't broke...."

People that ONLY eat at Jack in the Box think Jack in the Box has the BEST burgers.

[cruzendude]

[quote name='MrPete']Now who could that be?

"If it ain't broke...."

People that ONLY eat at Jack in the Box think Jack in the Box has the BEST burgers.[/quote]

What are these Carnivore people doing invading this thread! :eek: :p haha...btw....he has come back to the Princess board after a self imposed 6 month banishment!

[seatraveler24]

[quote name='amybear912']I don't think of it as a "money" issue, I see it as a class (as in character) issue...

Look at it this way: If it were about money, wouldn't those who have an abundance be sailing on a more upper-crust line like Crystal or whatever??? Seriously, if you were very wealthy, why on earth would you choose a mass-market line???

I had a similar experience to yours on our first ever cruise... we were seated with 2 other couples, one was our age and they spent each meal bragging about what they had (their own business, their cars, where they shop, etc)... they kept trying to meet up with us for drinks or excursions throughout the cruise but we were so turned off by their constant material tally sheet that we conveniently made other plans or just downright ditched them whenever we could... Dinner was more than enough time to spend with these people... they had nothing else to offer to a conversation than to talk about what they had and compare it to others...

If the only thing you have to talk about is what you have, you're just not an interesting person and I can't be bothered to deal with you...

Anyway, I don't think it's "rich folk" who hate Carnival... I think they are actually people who believe they have more than they really do... and like to put on an air of pretention.[/quote]

Money does not by class. I have found that those who truly have money don't talk about it. The person who does a lot of bragging may have a big house or fancy cars usually also have a lot of debt. Many people with this pretense are the same ones we see on the news losing homes and cars because they're so busy trying to lead a life "to impress others". A wise old man once told me "The more self esteem you have the less other peoples opinions matter" If those tablemates had class they would have considered those dining with them and realized that it made others uncomfortable. I treat everyone the same whether you're average joe or a CEO. Those who share a table with me will get to know me not what I own or how much I have. :)

[BecciBoo]

By government standards, I think we are almost below the poverty level. We don't usually buy lots of 'stuff' although we have a large t.v. and an ipod and a good DSL camera. We live in H-E-double toothpicks here in south Texas, and we have an above ground pool that we have fixed up rather nicely for a fraction of the cost of an expensive inground job. I can say it fits our needs to cool off in the south Texas heat with a nice deck and cabana that we built ourselves. Our home is neat, up to date decor wise and as comfortable as you can make a 1400 sq ft home. We have no desire to live in a sprawling granite counter topped cash drain, nor drive around in some expensive car. Cars are a means of transportation. We own two Toyotas, a Yaris, because we are green minded and a Highlander, an old Highlander. We live to cruise and next month will probably achieve diamond level, but only because we'd rather save all year for a cruise or two than spend our money otherwise. We've only sailed RCCL and won't do others until we get to diamond. I am driven. But I would do Carnival or any other if the price were right and the iten. interesting. I love to be thought of as a bargain hunter, the thrill of the hunt is a past time with me, I have a second home...at Marshall's and Ross's (we aren't impressed with Labels)...so we save more money...so we can go on another cruise. I'll be happy to be diamond, but only because of the few perks left. I can't wait to go to happy hour and get free drinks. And the diamond discount on balconies. But you could've found us in an interior cabin half of our cruises. We never feel the need to talk about money or possessions at table, we enjoy cruising with our buds (whom we met on CC) and they don't have a lot of money either. It matters not whom we hear discussing their things or their money. We enjoy almost anybody we meet cruising. I quit putting our cruise history on here and stopped talking about Royal Champions because of some very nasty and biggoted comments from others here. I agree, if you have to talk about it, you don't have enough of it. And if you have to rub other peoples noses in it....it stinks and you should flush it! And that's all I have to say about that.:cool:

[aqhacruiser]

Lol if we get tablemates at our upcoming cruise (our first real vacation) who brag about their possessions, I can tell them about the Saturn we have, student loans, and the fact that our first cruise is postponing our first house purchase, allowing us another year to fully enjoy our small basement apartment ;p

 

You can tell them you a level B, when they ask what that means, tell them BORED:D That'll shut them up;)

You do not have to tell anyone anything, just go, have fun and enjoy your cruise:)

[dmdiver]

The 2 cruises we went on Carnival were exactly the way you described, wife beaters, drunk bubba and the wives, kids running around unsupervised all day long. Their smart casual clothing choices for dinner and formal night were picked from the bottom of the dirty clothes pile, tanks and tshirts everywhere.

We tried 1 and thought we might have had an off cruise, tried a 2nd a few years later from a different port and it was worse. I wont call this class wars, I'd call it the aggregation of like minded adults. Those that prefer to Carnival fast and loose and RCCL for a plesant cruise trip.

Carnival may be slightly cheaper right now, but you get what you pay for. We're thinking of trying Celebrity or maybe MSC after we make diamond in sept. Then we can have cross section to make educated choices.

 

I've been on 3 Carnival cruises & never once ran into wifebeaters, drunk bubbas or wild children. Yes, children were all in the pool & on the slide, at the arcade & ping pong tables. I don't recall any wildness, though. My daughter has sailed RCCL & CCL & she liked both, only commenting that CCL had more of the crazy fun around the pool type activities and RCCL was a bit more formal overall. CCL formal nights are just that - formal. Do we see some people that aren't super dressed up? Sure. Does it bother us? No way. Why on earth do I care what someone else is wearing? As for the decor, I haven't seen an RCCL ship in person. The pics I see all seem to be of the mall & I still haven't figured out why someone would pay for a balcony overlooking a mall, but to each his own. I have looked at RCCL as well as other cruise lines. I just can't get past the price difference, though. I'd rather sail more often or take more excursions. I suppose I will eventually sail other lines if I want particular ports. For now, I haven't run out of ports to sail to with CCL, so I will probably save my cash until then.

[MrPete]

The 2 cruises we went on Carnival were exactly the way you described, wife beaters, drunk bubba and the wives, kids running around unsupervised all day long.

 

The cruiseline and ship Bubba and family books will be present on that particular cruise. You can not keep the Bubbas off the ships. You will probably see them on all mass lines. I know I have.

[carhirer]

Wow!

 

I had no idea the world of cruisers had so many chips on its shoulders.

[EBFURR]

By government standards, I think we are almost below the poverty level. We don't usually buy lots of 'stuff' although we have a large t.v. and an ipod and a good DSL camera. We live in H-E-double toothpicks here in south Texas, and we have an above ground pool that we have fixed up rather nicely for a fraction of the cost of an expensive inground job. I can say it fits our needs to cool off in the south Texas heat with a nice deck and cabana that we built ourselves. Our home is neat, up to date decor wise and as comfortable as you can make a 1400 sq ft home. We have no desire to live in a sprawling granite counter topped cash drain, nor drive around in some expensive car. Cars are a means of transportation. We own two Toyotas, a Yaris, because we are green minded and a Highlander, an old Highlander. We live to cruise and next month will probably achieve diamond level, but only because we'd rather save all year for a cruise or two than spend our money otherwise. We've only sailed RCCL and won't do others until we get to diamond. I am driven. But I would do Carnival or any other if the price were right and the iten. interesting. I love to be thought of as a bargain hunter, the thrill of the hunt is a past time with me, I have a second home...at Marshall's and Ross's (we aren't impressed with Labels)...so we save more money...so we can go on another cruise. I'll be happy to be diamond, but only because of the few perks left. I can't wait to go to happy hour and get free drinks. And the diamond discount on balconies. But you could've found us in an interior cabin half of our cruises. We never feel the need to talk about money or possessions at table, we enjoy cruising with our buds (whom we met on CC) and they don't have a lot of money either. It matters not whom we hear discussing their things or their money. We enjoy almost anybody we meet cruising. I quit putting our cruise history on here and stopped talking about Royal Champions because of some very nasty and biggoted comments from others here. I agree, if you have to talk about it, you don't have enough of it. And if you have to rub other peoples noses in it....it stinks and you should flush it! And that's all I have to say about that.:cool:

 

BecciBoo, you sound like our kind of people. We do ok financially (for now) but have seen our share of ups & downs - enough to make us thankful for what we have and appreciative of the truly important things in life (Hint: you can't buy them).

 

It took us 15 years to reach diamond status because there were times when cruising was just not an option financially. When we were able to start cruising again we felt very lucky. We have met all kinds of people on our cruises from all walks of life. Most all of them have been great people and have enriched our cruise experience. Some of them were financially well off, while some may have considered us wealthy by comparison. None of that really matters to most people we meet. All we expect from anyone is courtesy and respect and we try to offer that in return.

 

By our standards you guys are truly wealthy in the most important sense of the word. I hope we cross paths on a cruise someday.

[livylotte]

Money does not by class. I have found that those who truly have money don't talk about it. The person who does a lot of bragging may have a big house or fancy cars usually also have a lot of debt. Many people with this pretense are the same ones we see on the news losing homes and cars because they're so busy trying to lead a life "to impress others". A wise old man once told me "The more self esteem you have the less other peoples opinions matter" If those tablemates had class they would have considered those dining with them and realized that it made others uncomfortable. I treat everyone the same whether you're average joe or a CEO. Those who share a table with me will get to know me not what I own or how much I have. :)

 

How very true, my sentiments exactly :)

[EBFURR]

We met a very interesting gentleman on our last cruise aboard the Majesty that this thread brings to mind. He gave me a business card, but I cannot seem to find it right now. In any case, it would probably be best to respect his privacy and leave his name out of the story. I suspect that some of you may know who I am referring to. Here is the story:

We were on the Majesty’s four day Bahamas itinerary for our anniversary last August. We had asked for a medium-large table for the second seating, but when we arrived it was just the two of us at a very nice window side table for four. Eventually, we did pick up two very charming tablemates, but that came later. Seated immediately behind us at another table for four was a lone gentleman. He was very handsome and well dressed & he was always seated at his table when we arrived. We noticed that he got a lot of attention from the waiters and that he seemed to have a lot of visits from the ship’s staff. His food always arrived quickly and he would be finished eating before we got our main course. We would see this gentleman all over the ship, especially around the pool area during the day. He was very quiet and seemed to take great pleasure in just watching the other cruisers enjoy themselves.

One day as he walked past us on the pool deck I stopped him and introduced us as the folks seated next to him at dinner. He was extremely polite and introduced himself as well. As we talked, we learned that he was on his 130th cruise aboard RCI. He has never cruised with any other line. He knows many of the Captains personally and often gets phone calls at his home from them asking how he is doing, when he will be back aboard, etc. He seemed very genuine and I had no reason to doubt anything he said, especially given all the attention he seemed to get from the crew. Nothing he said sounded like bragging or self aggrandizement, he was simply sharing his enthusiasm for cruising. We talked a little about how cruising has changed over the years – some things for the better, some not for the better. It was a very pleasant and enlightening conversation with a very charming and interesting individual.

Later in the week, we were at the C&A gathering and they were giving out some awards for the loyal guests with the most RCI cruises. They recognized several people in the crowd with various numbers of past cruises. There was one lady that had 60+ cruises and she got a prize of some sort. After that, the captain got up and called upon our gentleman friend. He announced that this gentleman was indeed on his 130th cruise with RCI and you could hear a collective gasp from the crowd. After a round of applause the captain presented him with a bottle of very good champagne as a gift. The festivities continued with a few more speeches, Q&A, etc. Near the end of the meeting the CD came back up and called the lady with the 60+ cruises. Our man then presented her with the bottle of champagne that he had been given. He said that he was not much of a champagne drinker and would like for her to have it instead.

The moral to this story is that the gentleman in question simply oozed class and dignity. He cruises because he enjoys it. There was not an ounce of arrogance or pretentiousness about him even though he obviously has financial means and also gets a very high level of service and consideration from the staff. If you saw this man around the ship you would never know that he was a VIP based upon his demeanor or appearance. Those dolts who brag about their material possessions or feel a sense of superiority because they are Diamond or D+ could all take a lesson in humility and humanity from this man.

Ok, I am off the soapbox now….

[mafig]

nice post, ebfurr.

[Aquahound]

We met a very interesting gentleman on our last cruise aboard the Majesty that this thread brings to mind….

 

At first, I thought I knew who you were talking about because I met a man on the Majesty who cruises 3 to 4 times a month on her.

 

But the guy I met is definitely not the one you are describing. This guy was very loud and made sure everyone knew his cruising history. This guy lives on Fisher Island. He even paid for the wedding of one of the crewmen.

 

The guy you met oozed class. I wish I had met him instead.

[hellosailer]

LOL I never knew that!

 

Looks like I picked the wrong activity. Maybe not Bingo then ...

 

I was just trying to get across my point that Indy would not appeal to someone looking for 'a more refined' kind of cruise and Bingo popped in my head.

 

We did have a go on our last cruise ... it was far to stressful for my liking!

 

Just goes to show what useful:rolleyes: information you can find on CC:)

 

Was it stressful because you won........or lost? Probably the last:eek:. I won't play anymore because I get depressed if I don't win.:D

[EBFURR]

At first, I thought I knew who you were talking about because I met a man on the Majesty who cruises 3 to 4 times a month on her.

 

But the guy I met is definitely not the one you are describing. This guy was very loud and made sure everyone knew his cruising history. This guy lives on Fisher Island. He even paid for the wedding of one of the crewmen.

 

The guy you met oozed class. I wish I had met him instead.

 

This gentleman is from Canada, Montreal I think. I will ask my wife if she knows where we put his card. He is probably over 140 cruises by now. I was doing a little figuring (since the numbers are so large I had to take off my shoes so I could use fingers AND toes). If a person cruised once a week,every week, it would take 2 years and six months to reach 130 cruises. WOW.... :eek:

 

I was hoping that someone else on CC had met this guy, but that is the thing - unless you asked him you would never know that he had cruised this much. He pretty much just roams around and watches the activities.

[ChipLondon]

Off topic....

 

Mrs. Pete - I LOVE that show "Keeping up Appearances" :p:p Have you ever watched "Are you being served" ? Hilarious!

 

Oh Dear, now you are confusing MrPete with MrsPete, he will not be amused, they are not even husband and wife, and acually do not know each other. But it is good to know how much the Americans enjoy our English sense of humour

[ChipLondon]

I agree with you...here is a link to the World Cruise Ship! This is awesome!

 

www.aboardtheworld.com

 

 

Now whilst the principal of The World might appeal to some, if ever lucky enough to win the lottery, the actual truth is different. The World is a nice ship, but not a patch in design against many open market cruise ships. Also because many of the apartments on board are owned by the very wealthy, who only occasionally visit, it means that the ship is rarely busy and therefore lacks atmosphere. Also some owners decide to offer holiday rental, as such you get a different style of client on board. The ship has limited entertainment, with no theatre type shows. For me a lottery win would mean a private yacht for those exclusive occassions and a open market cruise ship for the party times. Sure I would treat myself to the Royal Suite, and invite loads of nice people to party with me.

[livylotte]

Just goes to show what useful:rolleyes: information you can find on CC:)

 

Was it stressful because you won........or lost? Probably the last:eek:. I won't play anymore because I get depressed if I don't win.:D

 

No I didn't win, but even if I had I probably wouldn't have known it - I couldn't get my brain to work fast enough... numbers and me just don't get on :p

[chriskwarren]

You can tell them you a level B, when they ask what that means, tell them BORED:D That'll shut them up;)

 

You do not have to tell anyone anything, just go, have fun and enjoy your cruise:)

 

This is indeed my plan. Actually, if there are cruisers with a lot of experience and they like to talk I look forward to their stories. Unless they go out of their way to make us uncomfortable, I will do what I can to ensure I have no impact on their enjoyment.

[TEXASMUNK]

Is not the size of the bank account. We have cruised with extraordinary folks that were scrapping by and we cruise with folks that make us look like pikers.

What really counts is manners. Respect for others. We no longer cruise another line (no, not Carnival) becuase we got fed up with the trash passenger base. Not just one couple or one family, but people that you would not want your kids near.... they could afford the cruise, but they could not buy manners and they showed little or no respect for themselves or others.

We are so cautious on CC to "not offend' but be honest. We have all crossed the paths of the obnoxious wealthy, the crude middle class or the vulger idiot...but on CC we never discuss the passenger mix on a ship....but, in reality, it ain't only the ship or the food or the ports...people like to vacation where they are comfortable. There is little comfort everytime you step in an elevator and mama is yelling at daddy, dropping the f bomb every other word while little johnny is banging into the senior in a wheelchair, etc!

 

We love RCI because of the ships, the ports, and the passenger mix..the rich ones, the poor ones, the young ones, the old ones, the ones with 9 kids and the ones with no kids....

[BND]

This Carnival bashing is absolutely the most ridiculous thing I have read on the RCCL site. I'm sure I'll see and meet less than perfect people on RCCL also. We have been on 4 CCL cruises and as I said earlier have met many wonderful people. I have yet to see a wife beater on anyone. People dress up, very nicely, I might say for dinner. I saw very good manners and met very nice people. I happen to know someone who was on a large family cruise in the last few weeks on, gasp, a Carnival cruise and he makes more money than any of you probably ever hope to. He could easily afford to go as upscale as they come, but chose something that makes financial sense. And, you would never know that he is wealthy.

[BecciBoo]

By our standards you guys are truly wealthy in the most important sense of the word. I hope we cross paths on a cruise someday.

 

Awwww, how sweet. Hope we do too.

I think we cruised with that guy on Mariner last year. Or there are more of these solo cruiser guys than we thought. He was recognised at the meet the captain thingy. Some of you may remember that cruise cuz there were a lot of Scots there in kiltz. It was so fun.

[Debde]

EBFURR

A truly wonderful post.

My favorite part of your post:

 

Those dolts who brag about their material possessions or feel a sense of superiority because they are Diamond or D+ could all take a lesson in humility and humanity from this man.

 

And yes-that is a gentleman with true class !!