I just returned from the Carnival Valor western caribbean. The itenerary was great. Honduras, Belize, Cozumel and Grand Cayman were amzing. The cleaning staff and room stewards did a great job too. I enjoyed the production shows, some of the comedy shows, ventraliquist and juggler. For that i give kudos to Carnival. BUT. The cruise staff acted as if the didn't want to be there and succesfully made the cruise worse. The purser's desk was rude and arrogant. The crowd wasn't very great with partiers, drinkers, smokers and rude people. Carnival's ship was gaudy because of messed up joe Farcus. Dining assistant was great but our head waiter was inconsistant. Also the rooms the cruise line put us in very unpleasing and they did nothing to ensure our satisfaction. Also it was loud with many rude passesngers. not to mention the cruise staff was drinking on the job. The cruise was good but i won't take another Carnival! Time for Princess and RCI again.
wow, I have never experienced rudeness by the staff on any of our cruises. Can you give us some examples of the staffs rudeness. as for fellow passengers being rude, that is not carnivals fault. did you get the room you paid for or did the down grade you? what did you want from them so you cruise would have been more enjoyable. just wondering I love carnival. so I would love to hear the examples of what went wrong.
Originally posted by luv2cruise3: I just returned from the Carnival Valor western caribbean. The itenerary was great. Honduras, Belize, Cozumel and Grand Cayman were amzing. The cleaning staff and room stewards did a great job too. I enjoyed the production shows, some of the comedy shows, ventraliquist and juggler. For that i give kudos to Carnival. BUT. The cruise staff acted as if the didn't want to be there and succesfully made the cruise worse. The purser's desk was rude and arrogant. The crowd wasn't very great with partiers, drinkers, smokers and rude people. Carnival's ship was gaudy because of messed up joe Farcus. Dining assistant was great but our head waiter was inconsistant. Also the rooms the cruise line put us in very unpleasing and they did nothing to ensure our satisfaction. Also it was loud with many rude passesngers. not to mention the cruise staff was drinking on the job. The cruise was good but i won't take another Carnival! Time for Princess and RCI again.
Just joined and just posted negatively about your cruise Welllllllllllllll some people are never satisfied.........................
Nita that was my thought but I was trying to be more gentle. but i would love to know what her exact complaint was not just general complaint. on our first cruise we requested early dinning. got late dining, tried to get it changed but they wouldnt, couldnt, or didnt change it. we decided it could spoil our cruise if we let it. We had a blast. We are early eaters but never skipped a beat on the cruise. and absolutely loved it. Hooked on cruising and I love Carnival. We didnt let the lated dining affect our cruise one bit.
I'm sure Joe Farcus appreciates your constructive criticism and laughs all the way to the bank. He has designed all the Carnival ships with some type of theme, often whimsical. While you might not appreciate it, others do. Just as I don't particularly care for Picasso, but his paintings are valuable. Exactly what was wrong with your cabin? Carnival has some of the largest cabins in the industry. Staff was drinking? That's a first I've never seen. Are you referring to officers or service crew? Some crew of higher ranks are allowed in the passenger areas and are allowed certain privileges.
What crew members are you referring to made the cruise consistently worse? The pursers desk? If it was just the pursers desk you shouldn't be putting them in the same basket with the others when you already said the wait staff, and cabin steward were great.
Just what were your demands that the pursers desk couldn't satisfy? Did you ask to speak to the head purser or the Hotel Manager?
Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. However, Carnival cannot be held responsible for the clientelle on board. I do hope you enjoyed your ports and it does sound like you enjoyed the food. Word of warning, if you didn't like Carnival's decor, don't try Costa they're even more vibrant. Best wishes on your next cruise, it's great to have choices. It's evident Carnival wasn't for you, so Princess or Royal will be your next one. Let us know what you select!
luv2cruise3, I happen to agree with you as with my latest experience with Carnival. BUT..I KEEP GOING BACK because of the price and departure convenience. I have been on 11 cruises my most recent booking on NCL and find the guests IN MOST CASES are less pleasant than I have found on Celebrity or NCL. I also feel that there has been a great change in how the staff behaves ever since they implemented the tips automatically being charged to your card. In past years when you were able to tip to your discretion, I found they were more personable and went out of their way to make sure you were happy. I find that Carnival is great for a quicky get away but feel that I am always more satisified when I plan our more lengthy cruises with other lines.
AND....(FORGOT TO ADD THIS IN) JUST SO YOU KNOW YOUR NOT CRAZY..a few years ago I was on Celebrity in Bermuda and a store owner was openly talking about how they were just about to let Carnival in thier port for the first time and were limiting them to just a short period in the beginning of the tourist season BECAUSE THE ISLAND FELT THEIR CLIENTEL WAS NOT UP TO THEIR liking and prefer more subdued guests. try celebrity!! I think you will be satisfied all around
WE just returned from our third cruise and second on the Inspiration. Everything was great! I can't imagine the ship's workers being anything but EXCELLENT. I am not sure I believe all that you have stated about the crew. The passengers, I would believe were crazy! LOL! It is part of the fun. Carnival has done nothing but greatness on our vacations.
Posts: 49 | Location: Tennessee | Registered: April 18, 2007
BECAUSE THE ISLAND FELT THEIR CLIENTEL WAS NOT UP TO THEIR liking
Snobs are snobs, regardless of the country. I'd like to know which shop owner you are talking about so I can avoid giving him any of my money.
I've always enjoyed my Carnival cruises and found the staff to be just as helpful and pleasant regardless of the tipping arrangement. Given they are the largest and most successful cruise line in the world, they must be doing a lot of things right. They also have one of the highest repeat passenger rates.
I hope we don't have another "is too! -- is not!" argument starting here. If you don't like Carnival, then don't cruise with them. There is no reason to insult the Carnival clientele as though one is superior to them.
The shop owner was simply expressing himself not the sentiments of the island..Haven't checked recently but as of two years ago, I did indeed see that Carnival was doing a run as he said, only in the beginning of the season. I believe mid May.
Like you said ...to each his own. and I guess the destination makes a difference in how the the guest behave. I find with quicky Carnival runs, less people dress up, more loud, more heavy drinkers and I HAVE FOUND people are less tolerant to each other.
Perhaps the person who started this topic simply prefers a more quiet, elegant atmosphere.
I can shed a little light on crew drinking. The "staff", that would be officers, entertainment, and some others are allowed on deck if they are properly identified as crew and can indeed drink in the same lounges as the passengers. However the amount they consume is regulated and if any are found inebriated it could mean dismissal. So I find it unlikely that any Staff was over the limit.
I can sympathize with pursers not being cooperative, I had a case myself but by being firm and clearly stating what I needed they came around quickly. This may be a case of a passenger asking for the unreasonable or not being clear on what was wrong.
I am biased a bit for Carnival but have yet to have a bad cruise in the 7 we have done. I plan to repeat for a 3rd cruise on the Triumph Feb 09.
CORRECTIOIN ON MY LAST INPUT...HE, the shop owner was expressing himself NOT speaking for the island..I am sure NOT all persons there feel the same.
and like I said...I have gone back several times on Carnival myself and will likely again BUT it depends on what my needs are. Certainly not my first choice though. I prefer Celebrity
CruiseDad, I personally enjoy having the staff being able to mingle with the passengers and enjoy a drink with them. In fact, on one cruise, we had some staff members on our excursion. It was a lot of fun and you get to talk to them as "real" people. I've shared a drink with the captain and a few of the officers before. To me it makes it feel like they are more accessible. I have never seen any of them tipsy.
I find with quicky Carnival runs, less people dress up, more loud, more heavy drinkers and I HAVE FOUND people are less tolerant to each other.
This is not a Carnival exclusive. Any short 3-4 night sailing that can be booked for a very inexpensive booking rate draws a different demographic than a 7 day cruise. The world cruises certainly draw different clientelle than a 7 day crusie as well. There will typically be more families, many with small children on the quickies. It's simply a more affordable vacation option for family's with children. If you sail on RCCL Majesty or Soverign of the Seas on a quickie, you'll find the same crowd you find on CCL quickies. It's not the line nearly as much as the cost and itinerary that will determine the age range and other demographics on these ships. NCL now has Sky doing quickies at incredibly low fares, I'd be willing to bet there will be almost identical demo for this ship as the CCL and RCCL offerings.
Your likely right! I must admit...all my recent "quickies" have been with Carnival and my more lengthy runs with other lines. Your correct and this being likely why I see less dressing up and so forth! As I will admit that short runs with other lines will likely host the same atmosphere
sometimes i wonder why people feel the need to post negative post like luv2cruise3 did. It seems to me she was just not happy about one thing and took it out on the cruise as a whole. the poster has not answered my question about the room, was it just not what she expected or was carnival at fault. The poster has posted all of 1 post on this site so I am not sure I would value her opinion as much as I would someone who post several or bunches of post. I also know that there are some people who you just can not make happy.
