DOES CARNIVAL SUCK?

[Victoria]

I'VE NEVER BEEN ON CARNIVAL SHIPS BUT I'VE HEARD THAT THEY ARE NOT CLEAN AS OTHERS AND DO NOT HAVE GOOD SERVICE. COULD SOMEONE PLEASE VARIFY ME IF THIS IS TRUE BECAUSE I WILL BE BOARDING CARNIVAL TRIUMPH 3/20/04!

[Cassie]

I would have to disagree. Yes i have only been on carnival but i have never been unhappy with their serivec. The Triumph does have water stains on the carpet but othr then that is seemed to be pretty darn clean to me.

[3FOB5Paradise]

No. it does not.
Personally, I have been on ten cruises. the first 4 were when I was very young but I started again in 2001. I cruised 3 times on Royal Caribbean and in some areas I was impressed and in others disappointed. Never returned to a ship.
Then I went on Carnival's Paradise in March 2003. They had jsut started their exotic itineraries, so I was excited by the new ports, and the smoke-free environment.
I was so impressed by the cleanliness of the ship, dining rooms, and staterooms that I was quite surprised.
that coupled with the excellent service I got, and the generally excellent cruise, compelled me to return just 3 months later.
And again the next time I could, 6 months after that
and now, about 4 months after that cruise is my next booking on the same ship.
If the ship had not been clean I would certainly have gone only once. But Carnival does a nice job in my experience.

[SandyW]

What you heard is untrue. The service we've had has always been great...the people friendly....and I don't recall seeing a ship that was not clean. They may not be what some might call "upper class" (as in the commercial with the guy that has his own butler, in a two floor cabin and is paying $50,000/pp for the transatlantic cruise).

We've enjoyed every one we've been on!

[marvholly]

For starters, your language is TOTALLY inappropriate.

To answer your question:I have been on 9 cruises over more than 35 years, 2 with Carnival with another booked for this March. I have also been on NCL and Celebrity in recent years.. Every cruise has minor glitches. If you really want to find the dirty carpet, bad wait/cabin staff, or rude shore excursion staff you most certainly will. I figure its a vacation and I am only renting a cabin for the week, not buying the blasted ship. I have also had just as many problems/glitches in hotels and resturants. Be nice. Be polite. Generally things can be worked out. Just don't expect to be upgraded from a 4A to a suite because the carpet is dirty.

[Barb Nahoumi]

The Carnival Triumph is a fine ship--------------Western Caribbean.

Clean ship, good food, excellent service.

[GayleR]

1. Why are you yelling?

2. By calling your thread "DOES CARNIVAL SUCK?" isn't going to win many friends, I'm afraid.

[betsyd]

No, it doesn't. As a matter of fact, all 13 of my cruises with Carnival have been top notch. Sometimes life (or cruises) is not perfect. Weigh the overall experience and don't sweat the small stuff. Love my Cruises!!

[Jim Bragg]

Definately not true. almost all those that say this have never been on a Carnival cruise but heard it from a friend of a friend etc. As Carnival has one of the highest, if not the highest repeat customer rate of any line, I have to ask you if you think people that are that upset would keep coming back?
Jim

You will LOVE Carnival. The entertainment, food, and service are excellent.

[hkolln]

Don't believe everything everybody says. If you did you'd do absolutely NOTHING!
I've been on 2 Carnival Cruises and both times had upmost service, food, entertainment, etc...I believe the experience is what you make of it. If you picked out every little thing that goes wrong you'd really worry.

Our 3rd Carnival cruise is in March and we'd do it again in a heartbeat!

I would have to paraphrase, Jim Bragg. As grandma would say, "The proof is in the pudding". If grandma's pudding wasn't any good, why do we keep asking for it.

If Carnival sucked, why does it have such a high % of repeat customers ?

Gary

[rodm]

It all depends on your point of view. We returned from a 7 day on the Inspiration in November and 6 days were great. The last day at sea was rough as a cobb. That was our second Carnival cruise and our forth overall. Did i let the one day influence future sailings? NO!. Were booked on the Jubliee in May '04. Just go znd have fun.

[hkolln]

But the water is not the cruiseships fault by any means.

We were on the Sensation in Feb 1999 when it went thru the Gulf during a noreaster! It was awful and we survived. Everybody was so sick but I can't say that ruined my cruise at all. Weather is unpredictable anyways. The captain told us he had all the stabalizers out but it really didn't help on those huge waves!

[David W]

No indeed ! I would recommend Carnival to anyone, As a matter of fact, The wife and I are sending our son and his new bride on there honeymoon on a Carnival Ship. Which will be the Conquest.
Also, the wife and I celebrated our 25'th wedding Aniversery on a Carnival Ship in August 2003.Which was the Conquest. And had a wonderful time.
So put your fears to rest. Carnival has some great ships,grand service,and great food.
Relax, and I hope you have a wonderful cruise. Remember the old sayin,"Bring half as many clothes, and twice as much money." lol !

Happy Cruising;
David

P.S
By lockin caps on your computer, refers that you are shouting. Just a hint !

[Stefanie]

I went on the Carnival Jubilee August 2003 and before I went I read many, many bad things about this ship including that Carnival should sink it. Since it was my first cruise, I had no other ships to compare it to. It wasn't perfectly spotless but it was clean and I thought it was in good condition for a ship of it's age. The service was AWESOME! I'm not sure what ship all those people who wrote the bad reviews were on, but I don't think it was the Jubilee.

Carnival was my first cruise and although my next is with Royal Caribbean, I would not hesitate to cruise Carnival again.

Victoria, I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise.

You will have a great time on a clean, well run ship with friendly service.

I just got off the Triumph and found it to be extremely clean and the service was great. Our room steward was a little rough at the beginning, but like others have said....nothing is going to be perfect. The carpets were a little rough, but I just walked on them and kept going. Food was awesome and the entertainment outstanding. Don't miss the magic shows.

Todd

[LBC]

My husband, son & I went on the Imagination March of 03. The decor was a little old. Orange is not my favorite color. Also, there was a little odor that I could not identify, but when you get over 1000 people in a closed in space, what do you expect. The service was great, food was super & we had the best time ever, to date. We are going on the Glory this March & can't wait!! My son was in a motorcycle accident 3 years ago yesterday & is in a wheelchair. They treated him like a king. Our room steward, Nam, took better care of him than I did! Adam went where he wanted to go, when he wanted to go & when I couldn't find him, Nam knew where he was. I couldn't have asked for anything better. If Carnival is not the best cruise line, then I cannot imagine how good the others are!

Carnival is tops with our group of 10 cruisers. We are going on our third with Carnival in April. But we have been on many others. Carnival gets all our business.... Love it!! Happy cruising!

[cruznRN]

The only complaint I have about my Carnival cruise (Conquest) was that it quite possibly may have spoiled me! It so far exceeded any expectation I had about cruising that I fear I may be jaded. I am sailing Glory next fall, and I hesitate to sail the smaller class ships for fear of "less than Conquest " service or splendour.

Lesley

nope, nuff said

I agree with everyone above! My first cruise was 10/2003 on the Celebration...an older ship. I read reviews that it was a horrible ship, but my husband and I loved it. It was not a glamour ship (lots of dressing up and formal to dos)....it's exactly what they advertise, a "Fun Ship". A casual, type of fun hang out. I would love to go on other Carnival cruise.

Have a great time!

[Thomas]

Look at it this way, you simply DO NOT become the largest company in the industry by sucking!

Regards,
Thomas

Went on the Triumph last 2 summers ago and liked it so much that I got married on it's sister ship the Victory. GREAT ships.

[Paul B]

I have been on Carnival seven times and enjoyed all my cruises. I have also been on RCI eight times and enjoyed all of them. However, given the same ports and a similar price, I would always take RCI over Carnival. Just my opinion.

It does not suck.

My first cruise was on Holiday 103104. I loved it and have since found out that it is one of their oldest ships. But it had everything I wanted.
As for the service....it was impeccable.
Our room steward was available and very concientious of our needs and I have no clue how many rooms he was responsible for. He amazed me.This is how.
One day I pulled something while working out so that night my neck was killing me.
In the middle of the night I grabbed the closest thing I could find to use to put pressure on my neck. It was the towel elephant he made for me at turn-down. I stuffed it in my pillow to help my neck feel better. The next night when I went to bed there were 2 perfectly rolled up towels inside w/ my pillow. The steward didn't have a clue why I had a towel in my pillow but he was concientious enough to think I might want to do it again.
That is the kind of service that makes you realise you are in good hands.

I sail again next week on the Elation. I've heard it is better and bigger than my first cruise and since it is also my Honeymoon I can't wait.

Good luck!

[Dorothy]

Tuscani,

Honeymoon? Great! Please let us know how everything goes!

dorothy

[BrianJ]

I reluctantly booked a Carnival cruise about a year ago only because the price was right and the dates fit my tight schedule. I wasn't expecting a whole lot but ended up having a great time. It is one of my more memorable cruises. The food and the service were excellent and even the gaudy, Las Vegas-like decor of the ship put me in a festive mood. I have been on many cruises and have been on every major line. I have NEVER had a bad one. It's all in your attitude.

Brian

I have traveled all over the world including 2 carnival cruises...is it just me or has anyone else never noticed the carpet............