Carnival Triumph

[CF DolFan]

I've been on three Royal Carribean Cruises and never had an issue. It's the best vacation I've ever had.

The biggest issue for all of the cruise lines are what they pay and how much they work their people.

[Phishfan]

I always thought it would have been a great job for someone just getting started in life. As I look back I really would have liked to travel more when I was young. I had ideas of going to Alaska to be on the fishing boats, working on a crusie line, or the military. Instead, I went to college and traveled far less than I wopuld have liked.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Blatantly false.  You aren't "reading" and "talking to people" to deduce anything. 

Tell me what a dumbass ship captain ignoring the charts and running his ship into the ground has to do with ship maintenance.  Costa and Carnival are completely separate operations.

Its your choice to fictitiously never give Carnival any money.  Fine.  But don't give ridiculous reasons.  The Triumph was an isolated accident, out of anyone's control.  Shit happens.

It is not an isolated event.  Different companies have different corporate philosphies. 

The same people who made the decisions about how to run Carnival made the decisions about how to run the Italian cruise.  And the philosphy at Carnival is low price, low quality, save money anywhere you can including on maintance and safety systems and offer a low cost product.  That doesn't mean they purposefully run their ships aground or set them on fire but they do skimp where ever possible and sometimes it bites them (and their customers) in the ass.

Disney on the other hand has a philosphy of high quality at a high price.

[Brian Fein]

It is not an isolated event.  Different companies have different corporate philosphies. 

The same people who made the decisions about how to run Carnival made the decisions about how to run the Italian cruise.  And the philosphy at Carnival is low price, low quality, save money anywhere you can including on maintance and safety systems and offer a low cost product.  That doesn't mean they purposefully run their ships aground or set them on fire but they do skimp where ever possible and sometimes it bites them (and their customers) in the ass.

Disney on the other hand has a philosphy of high quality at a high price.

Disney charges for their name and for the peripheral bullcrap like Mickey Mouse on board, etc.  Disney cruises are grossly overpriced for what they are.

Like I said I've been on three Carnival cruises, 1 Princess, 2 Norwegian, and 1 Royal Caribbean.  I didn't notice any lack of service, and sub-par or low cost anything on Carnival.  They cater to younger crowds, yes, but that doesn't mean they neglect their ships to the point that they don't work anymore.  I'd sail Carnival again in a second.  And they're not much cheaper than their competitors, if at all.

This snafu cost the company millions.  I don't think its something they knowingly and willingly risk as a rule.  Accidents happen.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Disney charges for their name and for the peripheral bullcrap like Mickey Mouse on board, etc.  Disney cruises are grossly overpriced for what they are.

Like I said I've been on three Carnival cruises, 1 Princess, 2 Norwegian, and 1 Royal Caribbean.  I didn't notice any lack of service, and sub-par or low cost anything on Carnival.  They cater to younger crowds, yes, but that doesn't mean they neglect their ships to the point that they don't work anymore.  I'd sail Carnival again in a second.  And they're not much cheaper than their competitors, if at all.

This snafu cost the company millions.  I don't think its something they knowingly and willingly risk as a rule.  Accidents happen.

I haven't sailed Disney.  But my family has and all of them say it goes way beyond having Mickey on board, but better food, better service, more organized boarding and debarking, cleaner, etc.

I haven't sailed Carnival either, but about half the people I know who have say they won't sail Carnival ever again even if the trip was free.  Whereas I haven't met anyone who says that about other cruise lines.  Granted, the other half did enjoy their cruise and are willing to go back.  Given the high disastisfaction rate with one and not the others it is a pretty easy decision for me to make.   

[Brian Fein]

^^ to me, its all about the clientele and your own personal tolerance level.  Do you go to bed at 10 PM and can't sleep if people are talking in the hall outside your room?  Carnival may not be for you.  Do you expect five-star food and stuffy dining rooms?  Carnival may not be for you.  Are you over the age of 50?  Carnival may not be for you.

But if you just want to have a casual good time, not be restricted, and have flexibility and options, there's nothing wrong with Carnival.

[Dave Gray]

I have sailed most of the major cruise lines -- many times.

Carnival is not the classiest, but it's on par with Royal Caribbean.   ...not quite as nice, but still the same kinda deal.

Carnival is a more "fun" experience.  Conga-lines, people drinking fruity drinks on the deck, etc.
Royal Caribbean is more "elegant."

[TonyB0D]

Disney has great customer service - they woulda had that ship back in port or transferred all the passengers off within a day. 

Holland America and Costa are the best - Holland America is so ritzy and luxurious it's amazing; altho yes there are a lot of geezers because it's ridiculously $$$.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

^^ to me, its all about the clientele and your own personal tolerance level.  Do you go to bed at 10 PM and can't sleep if people are talking in the hall outside your room?  Carnival may not be for you.  Do you expect five-star food and stuffy dining rooms?  Carnival may not be for you.  Are you over the age of 50?  Carnival may not be for you.

But if you just want to have a casual good time, not be restricted, and have flexibility and options, there's nothing wrong with Carnival.

Great theory....but that doesn't touch any of the complaints...

Which included.....

lost or delayed luggage -- multiple complaints. The oddest--  One person I know complained 5 times in the course of two days that there was a suitcase in her room that didn't belong to her and she was missing one.  Nobody from Carnival ever did anything.  However, on the third day of the cruise she overhear another passenger complaining about the same thing and lack of help.  Low and behold they had the each other's luggage and swapped.  Finnally on the 5th day someone came to get the suitcase that didn't belong to her. 

Slow or non existent repair.  Such as 3 days to unclog a shower drain.  One person told me how when they arrived the bathroom light didn't work.  Nobody fixed it for four days.  They bought an overpriced flashlight at the gift shop so they could use their bathroom which carnaval then double charged them for. 

I have heard multiple complaints about Carnval screwing up the ground transport to and from the ship and airport in sometimes resulting in missed flights.  (No, it wasn't a matter of booking the flight too close, Carnavel said the window was don't book before noon and their flight was 2 pm)

Etc, etc, etc. 

 

[Brian Fein]

You must have the most unlucky friends ever.

[Landshark]

A snippet from a buddy: 

"A big ship has a poop deck.  In this case, the Carnival Triumph had more than one"

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

You must have the most unlucky friends ever.

Yeah, but they are only unlucky on one crusie line.

To quote a advertisment for a Time Life book series, "Cowincidence?  I think, not" 

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Guess which cruise line had a power outage again?

Carnival is either very unlucky or poorly managed.  I am going with the latter.   

[Landshark]

Guess which cruise line had a power outage again?

Carnival is either very unlucky or poorly managed.  I am going with the latter.   

Yeah, this time around, it was the Carnival Dream.  Luckily the ship was still in port when it happened, so they were able to take care of everyone and get them housed. 

Like I said earlier on, if I ever take a cruise, it will not be with Carnival.

[CF DolFan]

Another Carnival is struggling now to make three. Carnival Legend out of Tampa is having issues with sailing speed. Because of the reduction in sailing speed, Carnival says Friday's visit to Grand Cayman has been cancelled and the ship will proceed to its homeport of Tampa, where it is expected to arrive on Sunday.

At least they've got beer and poopers!!