Carnival Disorderly Lines Galour!
Jul 25th, 2004, 09:00 PM
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Carnival Disorderly Lines Galour!
I just returned from Carnival Destiny. It was my 1st time sailing with Carnival. I found their method of check-in and check-out very disorderly. When we boarded in San Juan, we were all directed to one line rather than separated by floors. It must have taken a minimum of of 3.5hrs. If they were truly a fun ship, we should have been offered some rum punch on that miserable checkin line. 
If that was not torturesome enough, there were lines at every buffet. I initially thought that it was because it was the 1st day...however, we encountered it all week. At times we opted for room service or the dining room because of the chaos at the buffet. Some people are literally at the buffet 24/7, hence, the traffic. I never experienced this much congestion on Golden Princess, so I really didn't expect much of this.
Check out on Princess was painless-on Carnival I literally felt like it was a stampede.
The checkin/checkout process and the lines for everything will discourage me from sailing with Carnival again. I have to say though-Loungechairs were always available, this was a continual problem for us on Princess.
If that was not torturesome enough, there were lines at every buffet. I initially thought that it was because it was the 1st day...however, we encountered it all week. At times we opted for room service or the dining room because of the chaos at the buffet. Some people are literally at the buffet 24/7, hence, the traffic. I never experienced this much congestion on Golden Princess, so I really didn't expect much of this.
Check out on Princess was painless-on Carnival I literally felt like it was a stampede.
The checkin/checkout process and the lines for everything will discourage me from sailing with Carnival again. I have to say though-Loungechairs were always available, this was a continual problem for us on Princess.
Jul 26th, 2004, 03:23 AM
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Perhaps your experience was isolated.
Frankly, I'd be much more worried about safety issues (which is the main reason I will never sail with Carnival again).
At least, as in the past, your ship did not catch fire, did not lose power, did not ram a Cuban fishing boat.
BTW..has Carnival stopped making those horrible announcements about Bingo, the duty free shops, and everything else they are selling in the cabins yet?
Give them another try...millions evidently think they are wonderful and I'm sure for good reasons.
Frankly, I'd be much more worried about safety issues (which is the main reason I will never sail with Carnival again).
At least, as in the past, your ship did not catch fire, did not lose power, did not ram a Cuban fishing boat.
BTW..has Carnival stopped making those horrible announcements about Bingo, the duty free shops, and everything else they are selling in the cabins yet?
Give them another try...millions evidently think they are wonderful and I'm sure for good reasons.
Jul 26th, 2004, 10:33 AM
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I am sure that others have had better experiences than what I have had with the check in, but I guess I am just comparing the lines and the checkin/checkout to Princess. We certainly were not the first to arrive on the line of 3,000 passengers. I just didn't find their method of checkin orderly. Everyone was ushered to the same line. In Princess we were separated by deck (Baha, Aloha, Caribe...) I saw that Carnival actually did have banners to do this, but they didn't use it.
It is scary to think about the "what ifs"....if their was a fire. I remember how the stairwells were crowded with people during debarkation and it sort of frightened me. Safety was a major concern. People payed no attention during the muster drill...they had their cocktails in hand. I couldn't believe it. While the crew was going through the safety drill, people were laughing and blowing their whistles.
Carnival certainly has many positive points, but considering that I am not a "party person"...maybe the overall funship experience is not for me. We went with a mixed group, couples and singles so we wanted to make sure that they had fun too. Overall I enjoyed myself because I was in good company -and that is what is important. I certainly wanted to try Carnival to experience it. I just hope that my experience is isolated.
A majority of the announcements were announced in the hallway and only a few were announced in the cabins. I can really count on two hands how many times announcements were made in the room. (and this was mostly done during debarkation)
Jacketwatch-BTW thanks for your recommendation for not taking the Carnival excursion in Dominica. We took a private taxi for $20 each who took us around to all sites(A HUGE savings!!!). He even stopped to pick fruits and spices and it was a much more "personal" experience than a tourbus. It rained most of the time in Dominica, but I absolutely enjoyed it....It made the island more beautiful.
I hope some people will chime in here and tell me that they had some better check in experiences. Were those deck banners used? It would seem to me that if they were, that a 30min checkin is possible.
It is scary to think about the "what ifs"....if their was a fire. I remember how the stairwells were crowded with people during debarkation and it sort of frightened me. Safety was a major concern. People payed no attention during the muster drill...they had their cocktails in hand. I couldn't believe it. While the crew was going through the safety drill, people were laughing and blowing their whistles.
Carnival certainly has many positive points, but considering that I am not a "party person"...maybe the overall funship experience is not for me. We went with a mixed group, couples and singles so we wanted to make sure that they had fun too. Overall I enjoyed myself because I was in good company -and that is what is important. I certainly wanted to try Carnival to experience it. I just hope that my experience is isolated.
A majority of the announcements were announced in the hallway and only a few were announced in the cabins. I can really count on two hands how many times announcements were made in the room. (and this was mostly done during debarkation)
Jacketwatch-BTW thanks for your recommendation for not taking the Carnival excursion in Dominica. We took a private taxi for $20 each who took us around to all sites(A HUGE savings!!!). He even stopped to pick fruits and spices and it was a much more "personal" experience than a tourbus. It rained most of the time in Dominica, but I absolutely enjoyed it....It made the island more beautiful.
I hope some people will chime in here and tell me that they had some better check in experiences. Were those deck banners used? It would seem to me that if they were, that a 30min checkin is possible.
