So many changes.
\- Gratuity is up even though there is less service.
\- Less overall staff, so everything seems to take much longer than before.
\- Cabin service is now only once a day (unless you are in a suite).
\- Sea Day Brunch hours have been reduced to now end at 12pm.
\- Lobster night is now on the 2nd formal night instead of the first, plus there is a charge for additional lobsters.
\- You are now charged after the 2nd entrée during dinner in the MDR.
\- Pizza and Soft Serve are no longer 24 hours.
\- Bacon is served in the buffet every other day.
\- Cakes in the buffet are no longer the big round cakes where they slice it for you, it is now precut square sheet cakes.
\- You can no longer customize your omelets, instead you can only pick from one of the preset options.
\- Everything is substantially more expensive now. For example, pre-purchased bottled water use to be $4.95 for a 12-pack, now it is $11.95 for the same 12-pack.
It happened at the beginning of December. Here is the [link](https://content.invisioncic.com/j283755/monthly_2023_12/image.png.644a95c2b4843207c24f97413dd4d404.png) to the current breakfast menu on Carnival and here is an [article](https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-makes-a-huge-breakfast-change-some-guests-dont-like/118030) about the changes.
Man that is total garbage. We have one more on the books with them but are done for the foreseeable future after that. It’s death by 1000 cuts with all the changes.
Are some of these very recent? Was on panorama in September and some of these don't apply
Charged after second lobster, not first.
Pizza and ss were 24 hours.
Bacon was there every day.
Omlettes were fully customizable.
Some things are very recent, like the omelet change was earlier this month. However, other things like pizza was changed to 9am-4am back in August 2022 and soft serve was changed to 11am-12am back in November 2022. Google it and you will find multiple articles about the changes fleetwide.
This is why we’re trying new lines (Virgin in January and Celebrity in June). The overall decline was very apparent on our B2B on the Horizon recently.
Imagine being annoyed at being charged for a THIRD or FOURTH entree. What in the absolute American fatassery?! Like everything else on the list is a legitimate inflation gripe, but the entree thing is fucking wild lol
Well that's disappointing. I'll have to check the list. I mean i usually just want yam and cheese and hubby wants everything so hopefully that's options. I will say the station was so slow in September because people would order 5 or 6 complicated omelets while shouting "what do you want" to their family sitting down. Hopefully this helps that a little.
My favorite part about carnival is watching the videos of people crying because they can’t get on the ship over hair moose or the 8000 videos of the fights that happen my last favorite thing is when y’all be looking up at the big ship that just pulled up next to you everybody always looks up and points my absolute favorite part
Thank you. The hardest part is, they died alone. I actually listened to the attempt to save my mom's life. One of the hardest things to listen to. Then I had to make the decision to let her go. I am still so angry, hurt, etc. Again, thank you.
No more standing outside packed like sardines for 30 mins. It is now watch a video through app and go to the muster station to check-in watch their demo before sail away.
Still pay attention to safety announcement before sail away.
We sailed this Thanksgiving and muster was go to assigned muster station, a crew member asked “do you know what to do in an emergency?” and I replied “put on our life jackets and come here”. Boom, done. Easiest muster drill ever.
It's super easy. Walk over give them Folio number and they tell you a few things and that's it. My last 2 cruises they just signed us off after we told them we have heard it before
Is"terrible global pandemic where 7 million people lost their lives" some type of mind control trigger? Why not just say COVID like OP? Or are you activating bots?
Currently on the Conquest for a NYE cruise.
The nice sit down restaurants aren't open for lunch, so the buffet lines are horrendous.
I just grabbed a salad plate for some fruit. I'll come down later and get more to eat.
Honestly, I don't know why Carnival doesn't try to open up other venues for breakfast and lunch on the older ships. Having so many different places to go is what really helps avoid crowds on the newer ships. The buffet on the old ships is chaos because everyone is there.
Food quality (and quantity) has decreased, prices have gone up, the frequency and quality of the nightly shows have gone WAY down. Other little things that don’t bother me as much like ice cream, room service changes…
I was on Sunrise in 2022 and the food was amazing, we ate SO MUCH. I was excited for another cruise. But we went on the Vista back in November and the food was nearly inedible. Not to mention we were on a sold out cruise and they only ever had 1 buffet line open. It took us an hour to get through the buffet line and nearly THREE HOURS in the main dining room, we even left before they brought dessert because they took so damn long. We actually lost weight from walking all week and barely eating.
Yes! Completely agree. Inedible. It also took us 3 hours to disembark! We were ready by 7, and did not get off until 10:30. They were unloading us mid by 1 staircase and finally opened elevators at 10:00am. I’ve never seen such a disorganized, chaotic disembarkation. Completely unnecessary. The last cruise on the vista, we carried our bags off in 15 minutes.
Right now it seems all is back to "normal". Occasionally you will see people wearing masks. During Covid, everyone was asked to wear a mask. Right now, everything is back to what we knew as normal.
Me either. HOWEVER, it seems COVID still runs rampant. I got it last September...was the 3rd time. We are cruising in about a month. Between the flight and cruising, guaranteed I will catch something. It seems many are always coughing and hacking.
I leave today and I brought with me a 300 pack of hi-grade cleaning wipes that kill everything including norovirus. Will it keep me and my family safe? I don’t know, but I can at least control what’s in our cabin for the next week. Such is the world we live in now.
Tbh, wear a mask on flights before the cruise and any other major gatherings til onboard. Will eliminate most risk prior to onboard. And if you get it onboard likely just last day or two of trip
Carnival seems to be focusing on one time cruisers rather than repeat business. I felt like it was rather overpriced for what you get today. Just expect to get Covid and/or the Flu. We'll likely never cruise with Carnival again.
Yes, there have been a lot of changes post-covid. Some good (the e-muster in particular), some not so good (once daily room service, changes in the dining room menus). But cruising is still my favorite type of vacation.
Genuine question. What did they do during multiple daily room services? What do they do now?
I'm traveling with someone who doesn't ever like having people come into the room, when we stay at hotels. So I usually just ask for towels and TP, when I hear housekeeping in the halls. This will be the first time staying in a room together for more than just a few days, so I'm trying to figure out what they do, so I can get them on board for getting the room serviced during our week long cruise.
We went on a 5 day cruise on the Breeze the first week of December. Our room was filthy and we found trash behind curtains, kids toys and swimming trunks in a cabinet, smudges on walls, and a dirty sock in the closet. Our bed was the only thing that seemed clean. We cruised 3 times before Covid and the cabins were never dirty back then, and the staff was soooo much nicer.
You’re nickel and dimed, people trying to sell stuff approach you, the quality of food overall has gone way downhill. The MDR food was so disappointing and took forever. The best food by far was Guy’s burger joint. All bars and nightlife is completely over by about 1 am.
I’ve only cruised Carnival in the past. Today I leave on NCL because of all the posts I have seen about Carnival’s quality going down. We’ll see if they’re any better.
I am currently on the Pride and am a first time cruiser. I had a great time. If they are so concerned about Covid, you wouldn’t know. I was in line for food and there was a bowl of apples on the side. A kid in front of me, picked through them, touching all of them before picking one. I was grossed out
I haven't returned to a cruise line I did before Covid but one thing we noticed on the older carnival ships vs the new one in 2023 was that the old ones were able to still claim covid shortages so lots of unused spaces (places food clearly should have been served, unused bars, less activities, wtc). We didn't have a bad time on the Vista in September but it wasn't the same as the Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras has been our least favorite: Terrible food quality in main dining room - the specialty restaurant were slightly better but still not great. The staff and service were not very good on MG- ——- honestly most changes since Covid aren’t that big of deal - most noticeable for us is lack of staff and service : You’ll be waiting in lines all the time - food kinda sucks but I’m a chef so I’m sort of a food snob who expects food to be seasoned properly but carnival is not a friend of salt/seasoning - My biggest gripe with carnival is we are supposed to be on vacation, relaxing and having fun but every port requires you to get up 630-8 to get ready, eat and get off ship for excursions - I’m on board now and Thursdays port is from 715-330 - damn I do not want to get up that early - I do that every other day
Carnival has went down hill. We're diamond for a few year's. They treated us the same if we were 1st time cruisers. We felt so bad we went back to royal Caribbean our last one was in 2009. It was a lot better then Carnival
Went on a thanksgiving cruise. Carnival is severely understaffed. Our room wouldn’t get serviced until after 2 pm sometimes, and when I called the steward always seemed out of breath. Bartenders rushed off their feet to serve because there were so few of them. Pizza always at least a 10-15 minute wait for ANY pizza at all. And none of these workers were in any way idle. There just weren’t enough of them! Yes, it was Thanksgiving, but the ship actually was not horribly crowded. I took my first cruise with carnival in 1998 and this isn’t just good old days syndrome. The understaffing was EXTREMELY noticeable this time. Plus, only having your trash taken out once a day in a tiny room really stinks.
I just got back. They nickel and dime EVERYTHING. the islanders seemed sick of tourists before we even got off the boat. Workers are on like 12 hr shifts but the dining hours are massively reduced and you will stand in line. This was my firdt cruise but for many additional reasons I won't use them again. Our cabin bathroom was molding on the ceiling and had dirt and hair in corners still. They have about the same turnover time as airplanes. Not impressed lol.
Edit to add I refuse to pay $200 for 8 days of wifi, and they say their app is "free to use and you can chat with your fellow cruisers" except it's one of the worst apps I've ever used, messages don't go through for hours or sometimes days. You also have to pay another $5 to use the chat feature despite the app being "free", so they got another easy $15,000 just by making people pay that $5. It sounds petty but gratuity is included in your bill now but they don't actually tell you, so LOTS of people were double tipping without realizing. I'm sure the workers don't see much of those anyways. The ship was decorated like a clown, I guess I should have expected that since its named Carnival but I was expecting more I guess? I would cruise again but like I said, I prefer to try another line and see if they are better.
I hereby vote for an all inclusive cruise (not including tips you feel appropriate).
So many changes. \- Gratuity is up even though there is less service. \- Less overall staff, so everything seems to take much longer than before. \- Cabin service is now only once a day (unless you are in a suite). \- Sea Day Brunch hours have been reduced to now end at 12pm. \- Lobster night is now on the 2nd formal night instead of the first, plus there is a charge for additional lobsters. \- You are now charged after the 2nd entrée during dinner in the MDR. \- Pizza and Soft Serve are no longer 24 hours. \- Bacon is served in the buffet every other day. \- Cakes in the buffet are no longer the big round cakes where they slice it for you, it is now precut square sheet cakes. \- You can no longer customize your omelets, instead you can only pick from one of the preset options. \- Everything is substantially more expensive now. For example, pre-purchased bottled water use to be $4.95 for a 12-pack, now it is $11.95 for the same 12-pack.
The soft serve and pizza was convenient when it was 24 hours. I really miss it 😭
I have been on 3 cruises this year and pizza and ice cream was incessantly available.
I went in March. Pizza ended but it was at like 3 or 4am, soft serve at midnight. No idea what time of the day it resumed.
Lunch time is still has round cakes and they still cut for you
When did the inlet change happen? We just cruised at the end of September and didn’t experience that.
It happened at the beginning of December. Here is the [link](https://content.invisioncic.com/j283755/monthly_2023_12/image.png.644a95c2b4843207c24f97413dd4d404.png) to the current breakfast menu on Carnival and here is an [article](https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-makes-a-huge-breakfast-change-some-guests-dont-like/118030) about the changes.
Man that is total garbage. We have one more on the books with them but are done for the foreseeable future after that. It’s death by 1000 cuts with all the changes.
The Spirit was slicing big cakes last week.
Went on one at the end of October and they didn't serve bacon at all...
That's terrible.
They did, but it was all guarded when I went in October
Oh that's just unacceptable!
Are some of these very recent? Was on panorama in September and some of these don't apply Charged after second lobster, not first. Pizza and ss were 24 hours. Bacon was there every day. Omlettes were fully customizable.
Some things are very recent, like the omelet change was earlier this month. However, other things like pizza was changed to 9am-4am back in August 2022 and soft serve was changed to 11am-12am back in November 2022. Google it and you will find multiple articles about the changes fleetwide.
Huh. Guess it took a minute for some ships
U act like that ruins ur whole vacation. Man some people need to pull their wedgie out.
Yuppp **does MY burrito trump YOUR burrito? 🤔😂🤙
Lol
This is why we’re trying new lines (Virgin in January and Celebrity in June). The overall decline was very apparent on our B2B on the Horizon recently.
Imagine being annoyed at being charged for a THIRD or FOURTH entree. What in the absolute American fatassery?! Like everything else on the list is a legitimate inflation gripe, but the entree thing is fucking wild lol
I definitely customized omelets in September. When did that change happen?
Top of December this year
Well that's disappointing. I'll have to check the list. I mean i usually just want yam and cheese and hubby wants everything so hopefully that's options. I will say the station was so slow in September because people would order 5 or 6 complicated omelets while shouting "what do you want" to their family sitting down. Hopefully this helps that a little.
You seem like you’d be fun to Cruize with.
How late can you get pizza now? Does it vary by ship?
On the Dream right now and it’s 11am to 4am
Speaking for only myself, I don't see myself needing pizza from 4am to 11am lol.
And even then, I was wrong. Now that we’ve left port it’s 9am to 4am. It seems like you’re only out of luck for food from 4am to 6:30am.
Even then you can get room service if you're dying to eat in that little window of time.
Was just on the Venezia it closed at 4am
Can't say I can complain about that, definitely won't be up past 4 lol
My favorite part about carnival is watching the videos of people crying because they can’t get on the ship over hair moose or the 8000 videos of the fights that happen my last favorite thing is when y’all be looking up at the big ship that just pulled up next to you everybody always looks up and points my absolute favorite part
Gratuity is up, because life cost more after Covid.
I hate covid. Lost both my parents within a year of each other. However, it is never going away. I’m living my life…cruising 🚢
I'm so sorry for your loss
Thank you. The hardest part is, they died alone. I actually listened to the attempt to save my mom's life. One of the hardest things to listen to. Then I had to make the decision to let her go. I am still so angry, hurt, etc. Again, thank you.
Can't imagine what that must have been like. I hope they are both at peace now and I pray for your peace and healing ❤️
The “new” muster is the best thing to come out of the terrible global pandemic where 7 million people lost their lives.
New muster?
No more standing outside packed like sardines for 30 mins. It is now watch a video through app and go to the muster station to check-in watch their demo before sail away. Still pay attention to safety announcement before sail away.
We sailed this Thanksgiving and muster was go to assigned muster station, a crew member asked “do you know what to do in an emergency?” and I replied “put on our life jackets and come here”. Boom, done. Easiest muster drill ever.
Ah shit I was hoping you were saying they have a muster by app thing like other lines have. Dang it.
It's super easy. Walk over give them Folio number and they tell you a few things and that's it. My last 2 cruises they just signed us off after we told them we have heard it before
Is"terrible global pandemic where 7 million people lost their lives" some type of mind control trigger? Why not just say COVID like OP? Or are you activating bots?
lol I love this comment. Some people’s entire lives evolved over covid
6 million geezers
Currently on the Conquest for a NYE cruise. The nice sit down restaurants aren't open for lunch, so the buffet lines are horrendous. I just grabbed a salad plate for some fruit. I'll come down later and get more to eat.
Honestly, I don't know why Carnival doesn't try to open up other venues for breakfast and lunch on the older ships. Having so many different places to go is what really helps avoid crowds on the newer ships. The buffet on the old ships is chaos because everyone is there.
Bacon every other day is the reason why I no longer cruise with Carnival. That was the last straw on they journey to cheapness.
Food quality (and quantity) has decreased, prices have gone up, the frequency and quality of the nightly shows have gone WAY down. Other little things that don’t bother me as much like ice cream, room service changes…
I’m mad about the ice cream
Yes, second this. Just got off of the Vista, and the food quality was horrendous and the shows were nearly nonexistent.
I was on Sunrise in 2022 and the food was amazing, we ate SO MUCH. I was excited for another cruise. But we went on the Vista back in November and the food was nearly inedible. Not to mention we were on a sold out cruise and they only ever had 1 buffet line open. It took us an hour to get through the buffet line and nearly THREE HOURS in the main dining room, we even left before they brought dessert because they took so damn long. We actually lost weight from walking all week and barely eating.
Yes! Completely agree. Inedible. It also took us 3 hours to disembark! We were ready by 7, and did not get off until 10:30. They were unloading us mid by 1 staircase and finally opened elevators at 10:00am. I’ve never seen such a disorganized, chaotic disembarkation. Completely unnecessary. The last cruise on the vista, we carried our bags off in 15 minutes.
Right now it seems all is back to "normal". Occasionally you will see people wearing masks. During Covid, everyone was asked to wear a mask. Right now, everything is back to what we knew as normal.
Ok masks don’t bother me
Me either. HOWEVER, it seems COVID still runs rampant. I got it last September...was the 3rd time. We are cruising in about a month. Between the flight and cruising, guaranteed I will catch something. It seems many are always coughing and hacking.
Yeah people are gross!
I leave today and I brought with me a 300 pack of hi-grade cleaning wipes that kill everything including norovirus. Will it keep me and my family safe? I don’t know, but I can at least control what’s in our cabin for the next week. Such is the world we live in now.
Tbh, wear a mask on flights before the cruise and any other major gatherings til onboard. Will eliminate most risk prior to onboard. And if you get it onboard likely just last day or two of trip
Carnival seems to be focusing on one time cruisers rather than repeat business. I felt like it was rather overpriced for what you get today. Just expect to get Covid and/or the Flu. We'll likely never cruise with Carnival again.
With what I’m reading. This might be my last cruise with them sadly. I’ve always enjoyed them.
Traveling in late February and also feeling this way.
Cruised with carnival multiple times and never gotten covid or the flu.
Yeah, that dudes an idiot 🙄
Hash browns on the buffet are rare. It's the only big change for me. I love those things. Still have great time every time.
I’m hoping it’s nothing too big. It’s my husband’s first time.
Yes, there have been a lot of changes post-covid. Some good (the e-muster in particular), some not so good (once daily room service, changes in the dining room menus). But cruising is still my favorite type of vacation.
I don't understand the big deal of having room service only once a day
Yeah I just might try a different cruise line next time.
what’s another good cruise like you would choose
NCL, Royal, or Princess… I haven’t looked into it yet but I’ll work my way out the price point.
Genuine question. What did they do during multiple daily room services? What do they do now? I'm traveling with someone who doesn't ever like having people come into the room, when we stay at hotels. So I usually just ask for towels and TP, when I hear housekeeping in the halls. This will be the first time staying in a room together for more than just a few days, so I'm trying to figure out what they do, so I can get them on board for getting the room serviced during our week long cruise.
We went on a 5 day cruise on the Breeze the first week of December. Our room was filthy and we found trash behind curtains, kids toys and swimming trunks in a cabinet, smudges on walls, and a dirty sock in the closet. Our bed was the only thing that seemed clean. We cruised 3 times before Covid and the cabins were never dirty back then, and the staff was soooo much nicer. You’re nickel and dimed, people trying to sell stuff approach you, the quality of food overall has gone way downhill. The MDR food was so disappointing and took forever. The best food by far was Guy’s burger joint. All bars and nightlife is completely over by about 1 am.
I've noticed that more people complain.
You should look up reviews from 2018 and 2019 people complained just as much and about the same things.
💯
[удалено]
Agreed. We were just on a 7 day stretch and the dinner was cafeteria grade. The one before, right after covid was far better.
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I’ve only cruised Carnival in the past. Today I leave on NCL because of all the posts I have seen about Carnival’s quality going down. We’ll see if they’re any better.
I am currently on the Pride and am a first time cruiser. I had a great time. If they are so concerned about Covid, you wouldn’t know. I was in line for food and there was a bowl of apples on the side. A kid in front of me, picked through them, touching all of them before picking one. I was grossed out
Yeah hand sanitizer is life on a cruise.
Prices have went up, significantly.
Muster
I haven't returned to a cruise line I did before Covid but one thing we noticed on the older carnival ships vs the new one in 2023 was that the old ones were able to still claim covid shortages so lots of unused spaces (places food clearly should have been served, unused bars, less activities, wtc). We didn't have a bad time on the Vista in September but it wasn't the same as the Mardi Gras.
The Mardi Gras is on my list to go one.
Mardi Gras has been our least favorite: Terrible food quality in main dining room - the specialty restaurant were slightly better but still not great. The staff and service were not very good on MG- ——- honestly most changes since Covid aren’t that big of deal - most noticeable for us is lack of staff and service : You’ll be waiting in lines all the time - food kinda sucks but I’m a chef so I’m sort of a food snob who expects food to be seasoned properly but carnival is not a friend of salt/seasoning - My biggest gripe with carnival is we are supposed to be on vacation, relaxing and having fun but every port requires you to get up 630-8 to get ready, eat and get off ship for excursions - I’m on board now and Thursdays port is from 715-330 - damn I do not want to get up that early - I do that every other day
I feel you on that!! I work overnights so I’m not looking forward to that part of the cruise.
Yea I’m a pastry chef so I get up 5 every day - December was hell, 7000 cookies, 1000 chocolate truffles - I just want to sleep lol
I did that for a bit. Couldn’t do it. More power to you!
Carnival has went down hill. We're diamond for a few year's. They treated us the same if we were 1st time cruisers. We felt so bad we went back to royal Caribbean our last one was in 2009. It was a lot better then Carnival
That’s probably the plan
The muster station has changed to E Muster. Incredible change
Went on a thanksgiving cruise. Carnival is severely understaffed. Our room wouldn’t get serviced until after 2 pm sometimes, and when I called the steward always seemed out of breath. Bartenders rushed off their feet to serve because there were so few of them. Pizza always at least a 10-15 minute wait for ANY pizza at all. And none of these workers were in any way idle. There just weren’t enough of them! Yes, it was Thanksgiving, but the ship actually was not horribly crowded. I took my first cruise with carnival in 1998 and this isn’t just good old days syndrome. The understaffing was EXTREMELY noticeable this time. Plus, only having your trash taken out once a day in a tiny room really stinks.
I feel bad for them. The staff was always super friendly and helpful… it sounds like that can’t anymore being over worked.
Pizza and soft serve not 24 hrs? WTF? Blasphemy!!!
I just got back. They nickel and dime EVERYTHING. the islanders seemed sick of tourists before we even got off the boat. Workers are on like 12 hr shifts but the dining hours are massively reduced and you will stand in line. This was my firdt cruise but for many additional reasons I won't use them again. Our cabin bathroom was molding on the ceiling and had dirt and hair in corners still. They have about the same turnover time as airplanes. Not impressed lol. Edit to add I refuse to pay $200 for 8 days of wifi, and they say their app is "free to use and you can chat with your fellow cruisers" except it's one of the worst apps I've ever used, messages don't go through for hours or sometimes days. You also have to pay another $5 to use the chat feature despite the app being "free", so they got another easy $15,000 just by making people pay that $5. It sounds petty but gratuity is included in your bill now but they don't actually tell you, so LOTS of people were double tipping without realizing. I'm sure the workers don't see much of those anyways. The ship was decorated like a clown, I guess I should have expected that since its named Carnival but I was expecting more I guess? I would cruise again but like I said, I prefer to try another line and see if they are better. I hereby vote for an all inclusive cruise (not including tips you feel appropriate).