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MJ DeMarco, what is your Carnival cruise story?

papi016

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ln Unscripted , chapter 16 page 106, you state:

If you believe the Earth is flat, you’ll avoid a Carnival cruise. Actually, no one should ever cruise Carnival, but that’s another story.

Just wondering @MJ DeMarco what is that story?
 
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MJ DeMarco

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what is that story?

Just that everyone I know who did a Carnival cruise, said it sucks. Not to mention all the problems they've had years ago. @Red
 

Red

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Just that everyone I know who did a Carnival cruise, said it sucks. Not to mention all the problems they've had years ago. @Red

Hahahahahaaaaaa I'd blocked out that memory due to trauma. LOL. The food was absolutely the cheapest slop you could serve, the people were profoundly unaware of their surroundings/lacked any kind of politeness.... the "destination" trips you could purchase for excursions outside the boat were ALWAYS funneled through the most thinly-veiled tourist trap/shopping centers so people would buy their local shit (or booze or cigarettes)... it was maddening.

Then there were the upsells: Think you're buying a 6 hour excursion to the local marina with sea turtles? Subtract an hour drive there & back (okay, okay, that's acceptable) then add in all the F*cking stops at the tourist-kitch-sell-shacks, then bathroom stops (also where you can buy things) & you end up with a 45min tour of the marina life conservation center. We were pissed. I think we got refunded for that one.

Add to that choppy seas, a shitty gym that's neglected machines were from the 80's & just overall dissatisfaction with the whole thing, both of us agreed to never do an ocean cruise again. Ever. We couldn't get off that boat fast enough. Which reminds me, we were delayed into port due to fog. F*cking FOG. We missed our flights out that evening (we figured 12+ hours was enough of a cushion to allow for delays, we were wrong).

Never. Again.
 

BradD

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Hahahahahaaaaaa I'd blocked out that memory due to trauma. LOL. The food was absolutely the cheapest slop you could serve, the people were profoundly unaware of their surroundings/lacked any kind of politeness.... the "destination" trips you could purchase for excursions outside the boat were ALWAYS funneled through the most thinly-veiled tourist trap/shopping centers so people would buy their local shit (or booze or cigarettes)... it was maddening.

Then there were the upsells: Think you're buying a 6 hour excursion to the local marina with sea turtles? Subtract an hour drive there & back (okay, okay, that's acceptable) then add in all the F*cking stops at the tourist-kitch-sell-shacks, then bathroom stops (also where you can buy things) & you end up with a 45min tour of the marina life conservation center. We were pissed. I think we got refunded for that one.

Add to that choppy seas, a shitty gym that's neglected machines were from the 80's & just overall dissatisfaction with the whole thing, both of us agreed to never do an ocean cruise again. Ever. We couldn't get off that boat fast enough. Which reminds me, we were delayed into port due to fog. F*cking FOG. We missed our flights out that evening (we figured 12+ hours was enough of a cushion to allow for delays, we were wrong).

Never. Again.

Lol this sounds miserable.. I actually did my first cruise (I'm 33) last month on Royal Caribbean (Allure of the seas) and loved it- it boarded in FT Lauderdale and was supposed to be a Caribbean cruise until the islands got levelled in the hurricanes.. so, ended up w/ Nassau (untouched), and 2 Mexico stops (Costa Maya and Cozumel).

The food was incredible- menu/dining options were comparable to 4-5 star food. Gym was huge and looked like new. Pools were great. Shows were A+ and watched the comedy/stand up show probably 4x. Did a couple excursions but just walked off the boat and booked directly mainly because we didn't want to deal with any cancellations if the weather wasn't working out.

Total cost for the cruise only (no alcohol pkg, which is a crazy up charge think ~400 USD) was ~700 USD, which I thought was a great price.

Based on your recap and some other horror stories I've heard, think I'll have to avoid Carnival, but would definitely cruise again :clap::
 
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Red

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Wife and I are looking into our first one. Royal it is.

Consider Viking. We did the Rhine from Switzerland up to Amsterdam. Amazing staff, amazing food, amazing sites & excursions, all inclusive. We will do Viking again.
 

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We did Windstar on their smallest boat. Everything was first class and incredible. It was uncrowded and fit into small ports. Very little along the tourist traps. It was pricy but absolutely worth it.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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Never. Again.

Just to clarify if someone doesn't see your post below, never again Carnival, not a cruise.

To echo the others, we've had good experiences on Viking and Princess. I hear positives about RCL too.

Anytime I hear a cruise nightmare, the word "Carnival" always seems to be in the nightmare.
 

MJ DeMarco

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fastbo

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Not to mention nearly every major cruise disaster in the past decade was on Carnival. Concordia, the engine fires, etc.
Carnival is like the Golden Corral of cruises. Quantity instead of Quality. Actually got bored on Carnival. Ships are overcrowded, food is low quality. The only plus side is they're the cheapest cruises.
Royal Caribbean is one of my fav - if you get one of their deals (kids sail free) the price can rival Carnival for a family. RCI did a bunch of humanitarian missions on their dime after the hurricane, delivering food and water the day after the hurricane hit St Martin and the Virgin Islands. Don't think the other cruise lines did that.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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papi016

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Found another Carnival cruise story

abc13.com/water-line-break-floods-50-rooms-on-carnival-cruise-ship/3434353/?sf188925112=1
 
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