I just got back from my second cruise (both through carnival). First ship was the Facisnation this past ship was the Holiday; this will be the last time I cruise through them.

Problems at a glance:
1) Food
2) Entertainment
3) Room
4) Management
5) After returing and calling Carnival's headquarters, I know have a problem with customer service.

I have no experience of Carnival, but as they are the No.1 line they must be doing something right in the eyes of many of their passengers.

I would hope that the food, service and entertainment to be pretty good, but you cannot expect the 'best' from a mass-market line who offer some very competitive prices. Personally I would never be able to come to terms with the decor.

Maybe you should try 'Royal Caribbean' next time. They have excellent ships and represent very good value. The 'Voyager' class impress most people and now there is the new (bigger) Freedom of the Seas. If you prefer something a little more tasteful, try one of their 'Radiance' class ships.

If you want to move up-scale and get better food and service, try 'Celebrity'. But you do often pay more for it.

[ 04-17-2006: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

Carnival ships are just so-so, and the passenger demographics can be questionable. This is where they fall short. The Spirit Class is quite good but you can have the rest of the fleet. I would NEVER cruise on Carnival on anything less than a 7-day cruise, or during the Summer months, Spring break, and anytime school is not in session. I also stick with the Spirit Class ships. Following these guidelines almost ensures a superb experience. I stick to these basic guidelines for many cruise lines, not just Carnival. Of course sometimes I break them but it depends on the circumstance.

People LOVE to knock Carnival, and mostly its from those who have never sailed on one of their ships. They are an easy target and people enjoy taking stabs at them. Maybe it makes them feel superior in one way or another, I don't know?? I always laugh when people say they would never cruise Carnival, but then sail on lines like Royal Caribbean, NCL, or Princess. They are all really very similar offering the same basic product at competitive prices. Royal Caribbean is probably the most expensive of the lot, and also offers the most spectacular ships. They fall short in the service and food area (and sometimes entertainment) so it is a trade-off.

Like any cruise line, there are going to be good and bad cruises within the fleet at any given time of the year. Much of it depends on the crew, officers, chef, entertainers, the ports, weather, the ship itself, and most of all ... you. These are all variables that can change from week to week.

My first experience on Cunard (a so-called luxury line) was pretty pathetic. It made Carnival look like a dream. The cabin was dirty, staff rude and surly, entertainment laughable (except the lectures), and the fool barely passable. I have since taken two more Cunard cruises and they were both excellent.

I have sailed on all the major lines multiple times, and many of the not so major. In each case there have been cruises within the same line that were excellent, and others that were just mediocre. Princess is probably the most consistent, but also the most bland.

As I have said before on other threads, every cruise line has the potential to offer an excellent experience, but to also fall short and disappoint. It all depends on the varibles I listed earlier. This being said, I have never had a "bad" cruise, just some that are better than others. For me, I think it would take some extreme situations to make a bad cruise. No air conditioning, a filthy ship, plumbing not working, rampant noro-virus, or worst of all a fire, flood, or the ship sinking.

I agree 100% and I have sailed on them over a dozen times on their Fantasy-, Destiny-, and Spirit-Class ships.

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Originally posted by mec1:
But what I miss the most of all is Royal Cruise Line. I sailed to Canada on Royal Odyssey and it was imply exceptional and then they went bankrupt....

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Interestingly enough, the Panagopoulos family, the founders of Royal Cruise Line, through their current cmpany, Attica Enterprises, signed a letter of intent with Costa Crociere S.P.A. in November, 2001 to enter into a joint venture which would have seen the formation of a premium/upscale cruise line to be based in the Med and Greek Isles.

From an Attica Group release dated 11/14/2001:

"Costa Attica Cruises will be the new shipping company, a partnership between the two Companies, which will engage in the cruise market, with itineraries mainly in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Expectations are that Costa Attica Cruises will offer superior service and cruise experience that will set a new standard for cruises with home port in Greece."

I can only assume that due to the subsequent announcment by RCCL of their intended merger with P&O-Princess Cruises, it never advanced beyond the letter of intent stage as Carnival decided to focus on their intended takeover of P&O-Princess. It died a very quiet death and nothing was ever spoken of or heard of this proposed venture again.

While it would have been great to see the Panagopoulos family back in the cruise business, "one man's loss is another man's gain" and it left the door open for another new line to establish a dominant presence in the eastern Med and Greek Isles.

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Originally posted by P&Ocruiser:
..as i'm not fussed over being complitely pampered and am not use to it, to be honest, use to doing things myself, if u get wht i'm saying.

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I am lucky enough to have been on a number of cruises. Firstrly I would say that you DO NOT get the finset food, service and 'completely pampered' on a mass market ship.

Now, I'm not used to fine food or being 'pampered' either, in my daily life either. However when you pay for a cruise you do expect certain standards and the meals are part of the cruise experience.

Often when people complain about food and service, they are complaining about some very basic errors that have been made like: Slow service, wrong orders brought to the table, cold food, tasteless food, over cookerd food and maybe rude waiters. The cruise lines really should be able to do better than this.

Fortunately, it would seem that Carnival and RCI DO provide reasonable food and service much of the time, in keeping with the price that has been paid.

If you like a bit of action, RCI is probably the right choice for you.

[ 04-18-2006: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

Firstrly I would say that you DO NOT get the finset food, service and 'completely pampered' on a mass market ship.

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Apparently you don't always receive it on a so-called "luxury" line either .... but you sure do pay a lot more!

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Originally posted by J.S.S.Normandie:
[...] I mean compared to some other cruise lines Carnival's ships are just exceptionaly tacky. [...]

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Originally posted by J.S.S.Normandie:
...To me it looks more like Las Vegas than a ship. Which is fine in the casino, but not in the lounges and dining rooms.

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Considering that Las Vegas attracts three times as many visitors as the cruise lines, making their ships more Vegas-like seems to be a reasonible approach.

The younger members of our audience might find it hard to believe but mass-market cruising is what actually saved the industry. If not for Carnival and their ability to attract a broad range of customers, and apply their lessons learned to other brands, the more "traditional" lines such as Cunard and HAL would not have survived.

As has been discussed previously, if the cruise lines depended on the money spent by ocean liner afficianados and message board scholars to survive, they would have gone out of business a long time ago.

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Originally posted by joe at travelpage:

Considering that Las Vegas attracts three times as many visitors as the cruise lines, making their ships more Vegas-like seems to be a reasonible approach.

The younger members of our audience might find it hard to believe but mass-market cruising is what actually saved the industry. If not for Carnival and their ability to attract a broad range of customers, and apply their lessons learned to other brands, the more "traditional" lines such as Cunard and HAL would not have survived.

As has been discussed previously, if the cruise lines depended on the money spent by ocean liner afficianados and message board scholars to survive, they would have gone out of business a long time ago.

Joe at TravelPage.com

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Originally posted by joe at travelpage:
Considering that Las Vegas attracts three times as many visitors as the cruise lines, making their ships more Vegas-like seems to be a reasonible approach.

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I heard the CEO of RCI say in an interview that Las Vegas, Disney World and Hawaii were their main rivals - he did not mention other ships!

Many (most?) people who sail the big three have NO interest in ships, that why the ships, brochures and advertising push a 'resort/vacation ' concept NOT a 'maritime' one. Carnival are obviouslt the moxt successful at this.

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Originally posted by J.S.S.Normandie:
But the point of this discussion was criticism's of Carnival. Not economics of a cruise line.

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You are wrong! 1ondariva asked for a general consensus on what people think about the Carnival cruise line. He/she did not ask us to specifically criticize them. Our consensus may well include much praise.

The success of the Carnival's product and its perceived shortcomings is linked directly to economics. In fact it is very difficult to talk about Carnival in isolation of the 'mass market' in which they operate so sucessfully.

[ 04-18-2006: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by Joe1690:
In my opinion having completed 7 Carnival cruises...I can say that Carnival is not a cruiseline for me.

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With all due respect Joe1690, it has taken you SEVEN Carnival cruises to decide that you do not like them! You even say that you will be giving them another chance in the future. How come? (That's what I call brand loyalty at its best. )

Even the person who started the thread, who obviously does not like them much either now, has been twice with them! Carnival must be laughing all the way to the bank.

I must be odd. If I do not like a ship or cruise line, I will probably NEVER cruise with them again.

[ 04-18-2006: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

I am lucky enough to have been on a number of cruises. Firstrly I would say that you DO NOT get the finset food, service and 'completely pampered' on a mass market ship.

Now, I'm not used to fine food or being 'pampered' either, in my daily life either. However when you pay for a cruise you do expect certain standards and the meals are part of the cruise experience.

Often when people complain about food and service, they are complaining about some very basic errors that have been made like: Slow service, wrong orders brought to the table, cold food, tasteless food, over cookerd food and maybe rude waiters. The cruise lines really should be able to do better than this.

Fortunately, it would seem that Carnival and RCI DO provide reasonable food and service much of the time, in keeping with the price that has been paid.

If you like a bit of action, RCI is probably the right choice for you.

[ 04-18-2006: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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