Welcome to Carnival Cruises Bob---it does not get any better IMHO which is the reason I won't book a carnival cruise even if it was free--honest. Carnival advertises most of their cruises as ( this is from their ad elsewhere on this site) ***These are ships designed for partying, so unless you want to party, it may be difficult to find a late-night hideaway offering peace and quiet.*** There sure is a lot of partying but what I wonder is, and have never received a good answer--is where do they put all those kids at night??? The ones that are running over your deck chairs, lounges and yelling at the top of their lungs as you lay in the sun reading--during the day???? Do they just lock them in the cabin? I had my first Carnival cruise in 1990 with an alumni group. It was hell on the high seas because of the previous problems--kids--jillions of them and no control. The parents just seemed to ignore them as if they were someone others pashion accidents. The food, was, as you described, cold and no taste. It was Panama crew and they were into more talking than service. In 2000 I decided to give Carnival another chance with a cruise out of LA ( San Pedro) Thinking thigs had changed. They placed a guy at our dinner table that constantly showed up in a tank top with more hair than a gorilla and smelly armpits--great for dinner atmosphere-right?. We changed dining time and got the ships loudmouth drunk in the process. 2000 is the year---two months later than the previously described Carnical cruise We changed to NCL . OMG what a difference--food (which is available 24/7 and fresh) was fantastic. We had an ""adult only" area on deck to read and sun in and our cabin was fantastic as were the cabin help. It appeared as we could not ask for anything they could not bring to us ASAP. We had meals in our suite,bottomless ice bucket and sweet smelling, fresh linen every night with the usual chocolate on the pillow routine. All in all, NCL has my business in the future. I have been on RCL, Celib and many others in the past 30 years of cruising and NCL is the only one that I am proud to have a platinum card with. Money well spent.

This is interesting. Two 1st time posters and they happen to be commenting on the same thread. Amazing. .

what's the point jacketwatch? You work for Carnival?

what's the point jacketwatch? You work for Carnival?

C'mon Ari. Lighten up. You get it, don't you.

Ari did you even read the above??

Sorry sounds like you made a number of clueless newbie errors

Always wise to have a look at

www.cruisecritic.com ship reviews believe the baddies

file your review over there to help others

but I have had nice budget value experiences on Carnival

last on the Legend Western Carib $428 Balcony 7 day

booking www.priceline.com awesome value if not too picky.

Food not gourmet shows so so usually for me but low cost

NCL freestyle cruising HAL good value for more upscale.

So check CC ship reviews next time to save ruined trip.

Weird, 2 new posters only 2 hours apart.

Yes, cabin location can make or break your vacations.

By the way, what's the booze story? Did you get another bottle on the ship? Inquiring mind wants to know

The stereotyping of a "typical" CCL cruiser above to me sounds ridiculous. Sorry. We've been on two CCL cruises, the Destiny in 2003 and the Triumph in 2009 and our experiences could not be more opposed to what I read above. In fact we were in some rough waters during the latter cruise and the ship held up quite well, noticably better than the Island Princess did when she hit similar rough waters in 2008 coming out of the Panama canal on the way to Ocho Rios. Nothing shook, rattled or rolled. Also I just can't believe that CCL would advertise about being only a party ship and have wording to discourage those who want "peace and quiet." Again lets not be ridiculous. What company would stay in business with ads like this?? Thats what I mean Ari. Did you even read this?? How are earth then does CCL own so many cruise lines like Princess, HAL, Costa, Seabourn, etc. with business practices that are so dumb so as to discourage "peace and quiet" Ari I don't work for CCL and if you must know I work in a teaching hospital is Chicago in critical care. BTW I've taken 2 CCL cruises but 4 on Princess and no, I've never worked for them either. We've taken 2 RCI cruises and loved it and hopefully will take our 1st X cruise in Oct. As for NCL I'll pass until the reviews improve which actually are getting better but I still hear and read much that is negative. I'm very surprised to read that in 2000 one of the above posters began taking NCL and loved it then. back then and up until a few yrs. ago their reviews on cruisecritic were terrible, though improving. To each their own. Bottom line is if you want to complain, fine but make sense. JM2C. Now its time for coffee. Cheers, Larry

Dayenu; Thats what I mean. We have a tag team here.

Hey Jacketwatch,
I don't care what you think about what I said. If you like Carnival by all means keep sailing them. I'm not casting aspersions on what you said but I don't appreciate you doing it to me. I did find out that the penthouses on the Fantasy were added at the time of the last refit. Those suites were never part of the original architecture of the ship but were added. This leads me to believe that they are not correctly supported. As for any other negative comments on my post it is there for informational purposes only. I do not work in the travel industry I am industrial sales. I hope to save someone else from what we went through. Yes we did get the bottle back at the end of the cruise I have to reclaim it a 6am before we dock back in Charleston. And as for the food aboard ship if your on land you can just go to another restaurant aboard the Fantasy you don't have that option. Since food is a major expense portion of a cruise that is why (I'm sure) cruise lines are going to on board restaurants. If you notice from their literature those meals are usually at an extra expense. As for two people commenting two hours apart on the same thing what are you insinuating? Maybe you work for Carnival. There that way I am insinuating the opposite.

87bob. If you really understood what I said you should see that the only comment I made inre to your cruise was about our experience structurally with CCL ships. I do find it odd that you two posted so close together after registering around the same time, that you both slammed CCL and that you both said the same thing about carrying on booze. He said that in another thread. Coincidence or two strikes as you would put it? Thank you for insinuating I don't work for CCL. Do you work for a CCL competitor?

Oh and one more thing. Its too bad you had a tough time on your cruise. I wish it would have been better.

Larry, like rowing boat, same unison?

. You are correct as usual.

Really sorry that a couple of you have had such bad experiences. We're doing our 5th CC in Oct., and our 1st 4 cruises were pretty nearly flawless. BUT-We don't ever take liquor onboard, and we always stay in the least expensive cabins. I remember when we cruised on the Marco Polo in '08 one of our dinner mates, a seemingly wealthy woman, had a very nice suite on an upper deck. She complained that early each morning she was awakened by the sliding of deck chairs and early morning noises. For the kind of money she probably paid, that seems to be a problem that should not happen. For that kind of $$ those cabins should be soundproof. Makes me appreciate anew our dark, quiet little cabins where we sleep like contented babies, and are never awakened by anything but our own internal alarms.

Too bad to hear about someone having a really bad experience. It does happen. Personally, I've been on 5 Carnival cruises and am doing #6 in May aboard the Valor. I've always had the best time and the food, always top notch, as is the crew. They go out of their way to assist and I can never say enough good things about the cabin stewards. Location is really important. If you have never been on a cruise, I would always recommend going through a travel agent. I use one and she is the best at what she does and goes out of her way to seek out the best cabins. You will be thankful later. They also tell you what the rules are and you aren't left guessing about a policy. I wouldn't hold the entire cruise line at fault because of one bad experience. Next time, just be prepared and know what you are getting up front. A well written letter to the CEO of Carnival would be the way to handle this. Enjoy your next cruise..it's a great way to travel.

THose reviews on CruiseCritic can be as worthless as $3 bills, believe me. There are people out there who swear by Carnival and all other cruise lines; there are just as many who HATE Carnival and every other cruise line.

After we took our first, and last Carnival cruise and were VERY conscerned about some of the safety practices we saw (and DIDN'T see) enough so that we actually wrote the Coast Guard in Mimi a letter about them, we decided to give them up. Not to mention the disorganized shore excursions, the rather (for us) inane on-board entertainment such as the "wear your wife's lingerie" contest (no, I'm NOT kidding), not to mention the incessant pushing of bingo and anything else designed to make the cruise line more money. Yes they all make money but at least some of them have heard of the term "finesse."

To each their own and no I don't think you made any so-called "newbie mistakes" tand the greatest thing you did was probaboly not listen to all the other "experienced" cruisers. You have to go On some of these things to actually BELIEVE they happen/exist.

Just because it's on the Internet . . . . etc. I do wonder abut the advice given and no, I'm not certifiably paranoid. But sometimes it just looks like some one is beating the drum for one line or service or another. Read the internet stuff, read two or three guide books and talk to a real live travel agent who has some experience and you can get face to face with. And forget trying to save a few dollars on the cheapest fare you can find. A cruise is expensive and trying get a great fare may be counterproductive.

' But sometimes it just looks like some one is beating the drum for one line or service or another"
Or against one.

Have never been on Carnival but whenever we do cruise we always take great care as to the cabin location. Apparently this cruiser did not. Thta is their fault. Alos I and many resent being called "idiot heath nuts" simply because we like to run. Again it is not their fault that the cruiser above wanted a room juts below the running track.

Perhasp these the writer should not associate with people at all if this is their attitude.

I have to agree with the OP's assessment of Carnival. We've been on 2 and would not get on aother one of their ships if it was free. I do agree also, that with a more dedicated research some of the issues you experienced could have been avoided, but sometimes you have to actaully experience it first hand to know for sure.

After our 2 let down cruises with Carnival, we went with Princess and had a much better experience. We did make the mistake in getting a forward balcony cabin and bounced around alot like you stated. Now I know why we got a good deal on that cabin. We are booked agin this year on Princess for an Alaska cruise. Mid-ship this time. I noticed that some of the ships overpriced suite cabins have to be located in the worst part of the ship. Not worth it to us.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience and hope with your next cruise you do more research so that you get the kind of vacation you are looking for. Cruise Critic and Cruise Clues are great resources for info and pictures.

I do wish that other posters would not be so quick to assume that first-time posters are making up their stories. Many people do not bother to register or post unless they have had a negative experience. That said, the overwhelming impression I got is not that Carnival is a bad cruise line, but that it was a poor choice for 87bob and his wife.

We are taking a Carnival Cruise in June, and I sincerely hope it is a good choice for us, but we did a lot of research. However, we get up early and go to bed late on vacation, like to talk to strangers, and eat a great deal, but are not terribly fussy. If I were looking for a seamless, relaxing, elegant experience I would go elsewhere. I am looking for a high-energy, on-the-go vibe with a slightly old-fashioned approach (not to mention the absolutely awesome fare I got), all of which I expect Carnival to deliver.

Most people probably have the wit to realize that there is a difference between a $300 cruise and a $3000 one, but even lines at similar price points appear to have very different personalities, and a little rudimentary research will reveal if a particular line/itinerary/cabin location is a good match for you.

KVR: we made a similar mistake booking a forward facing cabin on the Tahitian Princess which to boot is a small ship. It was terrible and we were fortunate to be able to relocate 3 days into the cruise to an amidships location.
Presimmondeb: What ship will you be on? I would avoid the older CCL ships like the OP was on but the newer ones afford a much better experience IMHO.

We're on the Glory. My DH was a little reluctant on the whole cruise thing, but my DS and I really, really wanted to go, and he was really impressed by my deal. We'll see how it goes, but I'm thinking the cruise line should be a reasonable match for us. We have an outside cabin on Riviera Deck, near the elevators, which gets some noise complaints, but will probably not bother us, since we make a fair amount of noise of our own, and DH and I are getting a bit deaf.

Jacketwatch: Our first Princess cruise was on the Star Princess. We are on the Caribe deck, port side 2nd cabin from the front. We bounced pretty good coming out of Cozumel. A few times it literally felt like the Captian had slammed on the brakes a few times. All of the sudden we were just jerked. We missed our stop in Ocho Rios because the Captian said the weather was to iffy to dock, but I felt it was for other reasons. We were bouncing going into Grand Cayman and I thought well heck if we skipped Ocho Rios, we'll probably skipp GC too, but we didn't.

Our Alaska cruise in Sept is on the Golden Princess. We are on the Baja Deck, room 305, which is starboard. My parents are directly across the hall on the port side. I think it's 308. We were orginally booked a forward patio/balcony cabin on the Lido deck. No way. I had to pay another $200 to get out of it and into the cabin we are in now. That's what researching on CC helped with. Some people might like those cabins, but we saw one on the Star. It's not for us.

Our Carnival cruise in 2002 was on the Triumph. I believe we were mid ship. The food was terrible and well as the atmosphere. I didn't know until we got on board that they were hosting a singles group of over 500. I'm sorry, but some of the nastiest people we have ever met. Also, children running everywhere. I really don't know how I could have researched that better. I was a memeber of Cruise Critic at that time. I really don't like cruising and prefer AI vacations, but we when do decide to do a cruise we try to book ships where people complain of too many mature passengers and say its boring. That's where we feel more comfortable. We are in it for the ports, not the ship.

However, I have read about the new class of ships on Celebrity and some of the amenties look great compared to other lines. I also like that they are doing a pre-pay AI alcohol package. I've weighed the prices, the benefits, pros and cons and as much as we like AI resorts because of the alcohol, I think we can make that worth our while.

KVR: Well we have a few things in common as we too were on the Star and the Triumph. The Star trip was the Baltic in 2007 and after our experience the yr. B4 on the TP we were sure to be as close to amidships as possible. In any case the seas were quite calm so motion was not an issue. We were on the island Princess in 2009 for a full transit Panama canal cruise and we hit some rough H2O after we exited the canal on our way to Ocho Rios It was pretty rough and quite few folks became ill. We hit similar rough seas on the Triumph at the end of 2009 for a NE/Canada cruise but this ship seemed to hold up a bit better than the Island, that is the motion was less. For us CCL has been fine but the old saying is different strokes. Perhaps all those singles had something to do with it. As for the new X ships a CN Traveler mag readers poll has them ranked #1 for their respective size. I like to have a drink at night B4 bed but thats about it. I did look into their AI alcohol package too but for me its more than what I would get use from. in this regard CCL has a nice feature that suits me. You can have a bottle of booze delivered to your cabin. I preordered mine and actually it was waiting for me upon arrival. A one L bottle of Glenmorangie, a pretty decent Scotch BTW was $70.00. Not bad at all really. Unfortunately X doesn't have a similar deal and hopefully we will cruise the Constellation in Oct. to the Holy Land so I suppose I'll have to just belly up to the bar.
Perdeb: The Glory is a big ship and her ratings on CC are pretty good so I think you will have a nice time. Good luck, Larry

We knew we wanted a large ship, and liked the idea of cruising out of NYC, so I think we'll have fun. Thanks, Larry!

Oh yeah! We cruised out of NYC too and spent 3 days there B4 embarking. It was well worth it. Cheers, Larry

Not that I had any control over the choice, but other family members decided we 'had' to do our family reunion on Carnival's Fascination. I'd never cruised before (nor my husband, nor my kids) and I can honestly say I doubt I ever will again. They made us wait HOURS to board, and I swear...this boat NEVER stopped pitching. I am still, 36 hours after gleefully leaving the ship, walking around with a pounding head and trying to walk a staight line. There were no storms, it just never stopped rolling and pitching. I swear, if another person told me, 'gee, I've NEVER had this happen before' I would've slapped them.

The food was mediocre, at best. If you prefer to eat hockey puck burgers, chicken nuggets and Golden Corral-type food, have at it. The midnight Mexican buffet simply didn't appeal to me. Think Golden Corral meets Super 8 meets Walmart. I am not kidding here.

The Fun Ship? If you call watching the senior crew members come to the Lido Deck to eyeball their next booty call "fun", then sure...it was GREAT. Loud, obnoxious music constantly and smokers everywhere.

On the plus side: our daughter came down w/strep throat and the medical crew was really great. Quickly saw her and gave her the antibiotic I knew she needed. She rallied and we were able to salvage a nice shore excursion in Nassau w/snorkeling and paddle boarding (another nicety...but then again, it was on shore).

In a nutshell, you get exactly what you pay for on Carnival. As I said, I doubt I'll ever cruise again but I can say with certainty I will never book a Carnival cruise again...even if it's free.

We were fairly happy with Carnival. Our only real complaint was that the weather was really on the cool side, and we spent very little time in the pool. Also the motion of the boat made us very sleepy, and we took a lot of naps.

We were happy with the food, but we skipped things like the burgers, which didn't seem to be what they did best (I had one-and it was about what I'd expect from a snack bar or a church fair). We took most of our meals in the MDR and the only thing we ate that we were underwhelmed with was the famous chocolate melting cake. They did a particularly nice job with fish, but it was all quite decent. We skipped the Mexican buffet, but enjoyed the chocolate one. Cakes were generally nice.

We'll probably cruise again, and probably with Carnival, but somewhere warmer, with more time in port. And we might try another line for variety.

We just got off the Carnival Inspiration. When I returned, I was afraid to fill out the Carnival survey because "I might win another cruise on Carnival." The food was soooo bad. Last morning there was baked beans on the breakfast buffet. I swear they don't have any sugar or salt on board. The desserts were awful. The first night I order artichoke dip and it was a watery mess. The soup after was gross. We had so looked forward to the food, since it had been so good when I was on a Royal Caribbean ship. They seemed to charge for everything. Bingo was $20. That seemed pricey to me for Bingo. They had photo areas set up along one floor and the photographers really tried hard to pressure you to get your photo taken. It was annoying and they did it over and over everytime you walked by. Our ship was rocking the moment we stepped on and we were all sick the whole cruise (not that it was in their control, I suppose). The boat itself seemed really old. The wallpaper was patched poorly with thin strips of more wallpaper, there was glass on one wall that was just shattered and left. Our stateroom attendant was excellent. The room was more accomodating size wise than expected for 4 in a room. Just didn't expect to have to eat pizza for a week because it was the only tasty thing on board. So disappointing.

I am new to cruising and plan to take a cruise thru the Panama
Canal. What is the difference in mid-ship and amidship? I
like the ports out of the west coast better than those
out of Ft. Lauderdale..which is preferable for reasons other than
ports? I have been looking at Holland America..is that a good
choice? Thanks

Xenii: You should ask your question on a new post. It is considered rude to highjack another thread that has nothing to do with your inquiry.

Do you see the "Start a new topic" on the top of this page?

Well IMHO its time this post get a redirect anyway. To answer the question it mean the same, just slightly different terms. basically it refers to a cabin in the middle of the ship. I do agree that for more info relevant specific to your questions its best to start a new thread. Cheers, Larry

CARNIVAL CRUISE IS THE WORST!!!! If they promise you a refund of any kind - beware! My parents had to cancel a trip and were promised a refund. Carnival keeps changing the rules, adding new forms - making it IMPOSSIBLE for them to use the promised credit. BEWARE!!!

Another one hit wonder.

All cruise lines give NO REFUNDS if you cancel right before or during your cruise, unless you purchased insurance and you cancel for a reason covered in the policy, like sickness or death of a passenger or immediate family member.

There are policies that allow you to "cancel for any reason" but they are expensive, generally don't give a 100% refund and must be purchased within 2 weeks of booking your cruise.


As to the original first time cruisers, you made lots of first timer mistakes. NEVER book a 20 year old ship, NEVER book a cabin that isn't sandwiched between 2 other cabins above and below, and NEVER expect gourmet food on a rock bottom priced cruise.

As to the weather and the ship shaking, welcome to cruising. It happens on the best of ships and the most expensive lines.

Thanks for your post..BOB. Good info on the cabin. I try to research a cabin..by looking at whats above, below and next to it..and trying the exact room number on the web. (sometimes from a sister ship). best to have staterooms above and below. At the front of the ship vibration can be a problem. I ONLY know to check things because folks like you post...so THANKS. On some ships there are specialty restaurants (for a fee) which may have better service.
Cunard has princess suites which have their own level of dining and service...sounds like a better match for you. MY husband definitely likes Celebrity over Carnival, food being a major reason. Take care. My husband worked in Industrial Sales too..small world.

87bob,

Just got back from my 6th Carnival Cruise (Miracle 8th Day Southern Caribbean) and your experience surprises me. Like others have suggested some more research or info about the ship may have saved you the bad experience.

While we have had some dissapointments with Carnival, we will continue to sail with them as our dissappointments have been minor. (some unfriendly staff members, poor event scheduling, etc.)

I have had more problems on NCL, like waiting hours to be tendered off the ship or the continually haggling to play Bingo!

So far I have sailed on NCL, RCL and Carnival for a total of about 12 cruises and I still prefer "The FUN Ships".

I hope as time passes you will venture to cruise again and have a much better experience

DMBT-I agree with you. We're about to take our 9th cruise, with 5 different lines. We prefer CCL. They are as good as the others, better than some. We're never done luxury cruising, so no idea about that. But our budget requires we get the most value for our travel dollar, and CCL gives us that and then some.

87bob,

I am so sorry you had this experience on your first cruise. I have taken over 25 cruises with several lines including Carnival, RCL, NCL, Princess and others that no longer exist. When I was in my 20's I loved Carnival. Now in my 50's, I want a different experience, so I cruise RCL. Each cruise line (and to some degree each ship) has it's own personality and demographics. Many of the issues you dealt with are fully discussed on cruise critic dot com. At cruise critic each cruise line has it's own forum. A wealth if information on cruising and specific cruise lines can be found there.

Well the OP posted this more than 1 yr. ago and hasn't been back. This was his only post BTW. Maybe he lurks.

Jacketwatch, you are probably right! Otherwise, he was just blowing off steam.

Probably. I agree.

Carnival Triumph Rip-Off. Just got back from the worst cruise I have ever been on. I paid for my wife and two college daughters for a trip to Cozumel. My daughters have always wanted to swim with the dolphins, senior year in college, why not. Got to the terminal in Galveston to find the ship had not arrived. Seems like the captain and his crew had failed to perform proper maintenance and they had a hard time getting back to port. Carnival told us the ship was to leave at 4:30 pm, Lie, the ship did not even start boarding till 4:30. Get in line, for over 4 hours stood in line, Yes FOUR HOURS, did not even get on the ship till 8:40 pm. Carnival had folks, old and young stand in line for hours just to get in one line to go stand in another line. Very poor planning or a complete disregard and respect for their guest. After the boat finally heads out we find the next Carnival lie, the trip we booked and paid for to Cozumel is not going to Cozumel but to a place I had never heard of, "Progreso". Not kidding you, they just up and decided that this was going to be best for you, doesn't matter what you planned or paid for, we are going to take you where we want to go. Well when you have a captain and crew of a bunch or morons I guess this is what you get.
The ship has a cruise director, "Jen" I believe was from England, who believes that folks from Texas are a bunch of stupid morons like herself. She keeps getting on the ship's speaker advising of how you are going to have the time of your life in Progeso, Mexico. So we go check with Shore Excursions to see the exciting things we can do in Fabulous Progeso. Para Sailing, No. Snorkeling, No, Jet Skies, everyone has jet skies, No. Swim with the Dolphins? , not even close. They give us a list and my wife sees something she likes, to sit in a hammock out on a secluded beach. They also state free food and drink for your $70 per person get-away. So stupid me, I pay it, get on a bus loaded with folks and head to the Tropical Paradise. The bus trip is through the worst part of the city, make East LA look like River Oaks then out of town down a highway littered with trash, like you were driving through a dump. On the way to the "Resort" the tour guide starts briefing us on the amenities of our destinations. First be prepared that the free food is not going to be quite like what you had expected and the free drinks are going to be that like the locales drink, so if you thought you might have been drinking a Corona or a Tecante , you thought wrong. At least he gave us a warning, (why did he think he needed to give us a warning?) and make sure you are on the bus at 1:30 cause we are leaving and you will have to take a cab back which will cost you $90. Well we get there, my wife is looking for that hammock. Well with two hundred folks here and eight hammocks, that was not going to work. Find a beach chair and order a margarita. The thing tasted like lime aide, they were using some watered down tequila I had never heard of, the beer they served was called SOL, never heard of that ever . I am beginning to realize we have been had, Go to the food bar, no fajitas, but they will make you a taco. He makes this taco that is about 2 inches long, 1 inch high, filled with cooked onions and about 4 or 5 slithers of chicken meat, at least I thought it was chicken meat, terrible. (I will never say anything bad about a Jack In The Box taco again) We had not eaten breakfast due to the fact we thought we had paid for an endless buffet. Ok, where are the hamburgers and hotdogs you mentioned, "Well we are out right now, should have some more in about 30 minutes." I did get to see the last hamburger they had and it was a piece of meat served on a biscuit. So after this 3 hour joyous $70 per person adventure is over it is time to head to the bus which we were told was leaving at 1:30, at 1:20 we are on the bus, 1:30, the bus is not rolling, 1:45, the bus is not rolling, 2 pm still sitting there, 2:10 finally moving. Got back to the boat, scheduled to leave at 5pm, not Carnival, they don't do anything they say they are going to do. They hold the ship up because a group of drunks could not get back to the ship on time.
OK we are starving, let's go to the restaurant and eat. I first order a ship cocktail , when it finally comes , the guy hands me the plate and all five ship are hidden under a piece of lettuce, a very little piece of lettuce. I ask him where are the shrimp and he picks up lettuce and shows me the tiniest shrimp I have ever seen. You are in the Gulf of Mexico, home of the largest shrimp on earth, the things did not even taste like shrimp, not even sure if they were really shrimp. They we so small you could not have used them for bait. The rest of the meals were about the same, a lot of flowery stuff all over the plate, but very little real food. I did order meat loaf and mash potato's one night, how can you screw that up right? He brings me something, it was not meat loaf and when I asked where the mashed potatoes were he pointed to a little ceramic bowl 2 inches across and one half inch deep and said "Here they are". I thought they had brought me a butter dish. The cruise director, Jen, is nothing but Wal-Mart trash. The only thing that comes out of her mouth is "Lets Party" and "Shake Your Booty". It is cute the first 100 times you hear it , but a thousand times later, give me a break. She has a DJ that has only about 30 CD's of which about 15, he plays over and over and over................"Put your hands up", "Back it Up", "Get down Low" and "You are brick house, she's a brick house, somebody is a brick house. For entertainment she impresses herself and fellow Wal-Mart passengers with a "Hairy Chest" contest. This was in her opinion, the highlight of the cruise. She was so impressed with the fact that men do in fact have chest hair, something I guess they don't have in England, that she had a video of it made which she had played on the ships outdoor screen on a loop so every 60 seconds you saw it over and over and over again. This is the best this moron cruise director could come up with? "Let's Party - Shake Your Booty". Ok so now we come to Sunday, God's day right, folks sitting out with their families, beautiful day. Sitting on the top deck, the moron Jen starts playing her Hairy chest video again, over and over, the DJ starts playing his same CD's again over and over. I notice that most of the passengers are wearing Texans Football shirts, caps, have their Texan coffee mugs, getting ready for the 12 noon kick off. Not a surprise since this ship left G A L V E S T O N !! Most of the passengers were from the H O U S T O N area !! Only a real moron would not realize that. But the idiot Jen and Carnival Cruise Lines believes that the folks in their Texan gear would much rather watch a member of the crew bang away on a block of ice to make a unique ice cube than watch the game. No @#$%!!! Jen has them continue to show her hairy chest video over and over and over again instead of showing the Texan game. I personally watched as a guest complained to her little male assistant to please turn that insulting video off, there were families on board and to put the game on which "Americans" like to watch, and this guys just bold face lied to the passenger saying that the ship was working on it. He never left, never called anyone. In a real emergency could you trust this guy with yours or your family's life?, He is nothing but a cheap liar. Finally at 3pm amazingly they got the video turned off in time for the Cowboy game. The same CBS network that broadcast the Texans. Shows a lot of respect for their Houston area passengers. The captain of the ship somehow has realized that most of the passengers were not real happy about being swindled out of their money and time, thinking they were going to Cozumel, the old bait and switch tactic, so he makes an announcement that he feels bad so for 45 minutes he is going to open up a couple of bars for free drinks and he is going to give you back $50 dollars to make up for his inability to perform maintenance on his ship. Really? I spoke with one newlywed couple that the father-in law had flown the wedding party down to surprise them at dock, another guy whose college buddies meet every five years at a different location that he was now going to miss, my daughters who wanted this trip just to swim with the dolphins and the idiot thanks that $50 and free watered down drinks makes up for that, OH I forgot "Let's Party - Shake Your Booty" ..... run the hairy chest video again, that's pretty classy ! As you can imagine with the Wal-Mart passengers really thinking they were going to get free drinks when you have the slowest bar tenders in the world working this ship, give me a break, yes you are right, most folks never got one drink . . .great job Carnival ! Brilliant thinking ! The other great point is that you pay your gratuity up front, you now know why with Carnival. The cabin stewards did work hard, the waiters did try, but if you plan on using Carnival, plan on standing in lines, they love lines, and plan on being lied to over and over again and remember that when the captain and the crew lie to you about your destination, completely screw up you vacation plans which you took off work for and had planned for and had paid for, yet thinks $50 should make up for it, then Carnival is the ship for you. Me, I am going back to Princes and Norwegian.

You heard what happened in Italy, and read how the whole ordeal was (mis)handled by the headquarters, yet the low price was a magnet without thinking why do they offer it?

"I am going back to Princess and Norwegian."

I agree with your Princess choice, it's our favorite cruise line.

Carnival wasn't bad years ago, but have gone down hill the past few years. The food is pretty bad and we call their ships, particularly their larger ships, "passenger haulers".

I guess you get what you pay for, Princess, Celebrity and Holland are head over heels better tha Carnival. RCCL and NCL are mid-level in our opinion with Carnival far behind.

We have had two CCL cruises inc. one on the Triumph and our experiences were fine. Our last cruise was on the Triumph in 2009 to NE/Canada and I had no complaints about the food or service.

Our last two cruises have been on Celebrity and for us the onboard service was the best though thats not a knock on Carnival or the other lines we have cruised, RCI and Princess. Its just that X was a notch or two above.

Our post cruise f/u with X on our 1st cruise was another matter, at least initially. We had an issue on the Connie and basically were lied to by the CS rep I spoke to. Finally after going up the ladder, which took some effort, we got the matter resolved the way it should have been resolved the first time so alls well that ends well.

It depends on how one is treated. We decided to probably not go with X again after the first time but as they went to great lengths to correct the initial poor CS f/u and we went with them again and the overall experience was excellent.

If we had a bad time with CCL and it was not resolved then see ya, there are many fish in the sea. I would at least give them a chance to fix the problem first however.

On one of our RCI cruises we had a problem on board which the maitre 'd basically blew off with a load of bull so we upped it to the hotel manager and got it solved. And he, not the maitre 'd got the tip!

Bad experiences on Carnival continue.

http://tinyurl.com/bbcvvwr

LOL these days nobody will argue with you... about Triumph. Many people are happy with their cruises.

I'm booked on Carnival in March. Here's hoping we don't have any engine room fires!

persimmondeb, you better check you reservations. I read several articles that Carnival has canceled all thier cruises through mid-April. Here is a quote in one article:

"Cruisers will be reimbursed
Passengers will get $500, reimbursement for the cruise and a credit for a future cruise, Carnival announced earlier this week. Cruisers will be reimbursed.

Carnival has also canceled its cruises through mid-April."

I wouldn't get on another Carnival cruise if they gave it to me free. Good Luck!

Only the ones on the Triumph, which obviously, isn't going to be functional for a while. I did check my reservation, just in case other schedules had been affected, but everything else seems to be fine.

I was happy enough with the one I took, and I was pretty willing to get on one of their ships again. As long as they don't set anything on fire, I think it should be fine. I would have preferred another line for this one, since I am traveling with my father, and I don't think it's the best line for an octogenarian, but itinerary was very important to him, and they were the only ones we could find offering Tortola out of New York, at least at any reasonable price. I will also say that the people I dealt with on the phone regarding boarding and his mobility issues were extremely helpful.

Clearly it's different strokes for different folks. I've never cruised with a different line, but I suspect I would like most of them. You put me on a ship, you feed me, you take me interesting places, I'm good. I've met people who prefer Carnival to other lines, and obviously there are people who hate Carnival.

We sail out of Galveston in 2 days on Carnival Magic. Only Triumph cruises are cancelled for a while. We've cruised on 5 different lines, and had great cruises every time. Carnival is our favorite, and the recent incident hasn't changed that. The very best prices in the industry, good food with lots of eating choices, roomier cabins, good service, good itineraries. We're packed and eager to get to the fun.

You're brave!

Things can happen on any ship at any time. I think those who dont like Carnival can use this incident to bolster their dislike. However what about problems on other lines? For example the Celebrity Constellation has had numerous problems with Noro virus as had one of the Princess ships, the Crown or Caribbean. I am just glad no one lost their lives, that the fire control system worked as designed to contain the fire and that all on board are back and safe. Theirs was an ordeal and I am so sorry for them.

BTW we cruised that ship in 2010 and had a great time. It's a very nice ship though I wonder how long it will take to get her back to seaworthiness.

JM2C.

Also this is yet another great reason for trip insurance!

A law suit is in the news. Just yesterday (or is it this morning) they walked off the ship, and already a law suit?

I am not surprised by it, just by how soon. Don't they need time to prepare the legal grounds, or whatever is done in these cases? This is a law suit from an individual, not a class action.

The Triumph would be Carnival's second engine room fire within 3 years, the last one being in Nov 2010 with the Splendor. In both cases, the ship was disabled and was towed back to port. The previous engine room fire on a Carnival ship prior was the Tropicale in 1999, which also lost populsion in the Gulf of Mexico, and was caught in a tropical storm without power for 2 days.

With the engine room fire on the Splendor and the Triumph, from what I have heard was that the incidents were quite different. Either way, both ships lost populsion and drifted; there was no electrical power in general, resulting in no A/C, ventilation, kitchen fridges/freezers probably not working, food spoiled, no hot food, etc until power was restored.

I thought Carnival would have learned their lesson and added more back up or fail safe. With Splendor, the official explaination was that the electrical panel that distribute power to the various section of the ship were "fried" and the backup system met the same fate.

According to my source, the Splendor has 3 engines in the aft engine room (main engine room) and 3 engines in a forward engine room (for front and side thrusters) and each generator is connected to 2 switchbaords. The ship should not have a total power loss. I am not an engineer but on a massive ship with multiple engines, one would presume that if something happens to one engine (or engine room), the other one(s) would still function and be able to limp along or something.

It is interesting to note that the Splendor is the only Concordia class ship in the Carnival line up. If the Corncodia name is familar, it is because it is the same class (sister ship) as the Costa Concordia, the one that sunk off the Italian coast last year.

And here is a quote regarding the Carnival Triumph: Two weeks prior to the at sea fire casualty, a Port State Control vessel inspection (designated as USCG Activity #4523900) was conducted on January 28, 2013 by the Texas City, TX, U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit which revealed "a short in the high voltage connection box of one of the ships generators causing damage to cables within the connection box." A directive to resolve this deficiency was issued under 50AC SOLAS 2009 CH1 reg 11 by the Coast Guard to the vessel with a compliance due date of February 27, 2013 requiring that "the condition of the ship and its equipment shall be maintained to conform with the regulations to ensure that the ship in all respects will remain fit to proceed to sea without danger to the ship or persons on board." The Coast Guard Marine Information Safety and Law Enforcement System showed that this deficiency still remained "unresolved" at the time of the subsequent fire and loss of power while at sea on February 10.

So one can only wonder if that's the cuase of the fire and subsequent power loss. The news report showed that partial power was restored to the front of the ship but not the rear.

To add insult to injury, a bus transferring the passengers from Mobile to New Orleans broke down, stranding the passenegers one more time. I wonder if those folks will get extra compensation.

Just wondering if the life boats or tenders were rendered unusable w/o power. I am assuming power is needed to lower them or can they be lowered manually in case of an emergency like this. I shudder to think what would happen if power is the only way to lower them, a ship loses power and is sinking. I would hope there is a fail safe paln for usch a scenario.

no kiddin ... it better be mechanical.

http://www.marineinsight.com/misc/maritime-law/types-of-lifeboat-release-mechanisms-solas-requirements-for-lifeboats/

Liftboats should be able to be launched/lowered without power. That's when gravity davits come into play.

Actually, I find it quite funny when a lot of posters on a well-known cruise forum actually claimed it's not possible to launch lifeboats to transport passengers to other cruise ships because Triumph lost power.

Not that I agree to such exercise (it could be even dangerous and if it resulted in any casaulty, Carnival would be in deep trouble), but too many people simply made up conclusion in order to support their view.

I thought the supposition was that power was required to use them the way tenders are normally boarded, which is something that is usually done at anchor, and I believe is contingent on relatively calm seas, rather than to lower them in an emergency. I've always thought the two procedures were different.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/18/travel/cruise-ship-fire/index.html

USCG investigator now says the fire is due to leaking fuel-oil return line.

Poor maintenance or half hearted safety inspection. That would be my conclusion. Beacuse the cruise ship's engine rooms work so hard, thre really isn't much down time for maintenance (scheduled or not) or safety inspections.

They may receive regular Governemnt inspections and perform some maintenance when they are in port and docked, the ship s should have some wholesale overhaul in the engine room for some "critical" parts, almost like some car engine's timing belt are scheduled to be replaced every 120,000 miles, needing it or not. You don't want it to break as you will be stranded if you.

So if a cruise line will have the ship dock for a week on a yearly basis and change the hose, tubes and what have you that may break, there will be less chance of a breakage, or the need to use duct tape

Let's assume thet it is a warship during war time and in enemy infested water, I can bet you any money that the ship will be moving on it's own steam within an hour rather than waiting to be rescued.