I have cruised Carnival before and chose them again (November). Everything is attitude. On my last cruise there was a couple from Holland who were upgraded to a suite and they were upset because it wasn't nice enough. Give me a break. My only complaint that I had the last time, and it DIDN'T wreck my vacation is that the waiter served us too fast and we didn't have enough time between courses. On any cruise ship, don't expect 5 star dining like you get on land especially when they are feeding 3000 people. No on land restaurant could do that. Read eviews on other boards about Princess, RCCL, etc and there are always negative things said too. Lighten up people.

Don re/Victory. <BR>Each cruise is different and it could have just been our luck/timing that it turned out that way. <BR>There are quite places you can find,the library is one,and yes you can get coffee other than in the dining room. <BR>I noticed other people in the dining room that appeared to be getting good service,so as I said,sometimes it's just the luck-of-the draw. <BR>I'm sure you will have a great time-we all hope so and I wish I could sail-a-way again but I have to work some more,earn some more money,then hope to go maybe in the fall. <BR>Happy sails to you!

Kayla; <BR>Yes Mam.

I have taken my family on many cruises over the last 20 years and you always will find good and bad. <BR> <BR>The difference that we experienced was that at RCCL or Princess, or NCL, if you had a problem and complained, someone would try to help you wether it be a manager or a supervisor at dinner they would move you to another table with another waiter if you were not happy. <BR> <BR>On Carnival it just seemed that NO ONE CARED the least bit if you were mad or not. The pursers desk was the worst. They were so much attitude, with a "If you don't like it, tough" attitude. <BR> <BR>I'll never sail that cruise line again. I've talked to hundreds of cruise line passengers on my cruises and OVERWHELMINGLY the seasoned cruisers won't even consider Carnival. They have all had their share of bad experiences on all of the cruise lines, but Carnival seems to be the most problematic, with the worst attitude, with the most static of any I've sailed or heard about first hand from regular Cruisers. <BR> <BR>Sure you can look for trouble, some here have said to lighten up. But how frustrating is it when you are on the ship with nowhere to go, with no recourse available except to ask for help and some Carnival employee tells you to bark off. Never in my vaccations have I ever been so angry as to get red in the face as when I travelled on Carnival. <BR> <BR>Never again.

To Kiddingru: <BR>Our family cruised on the Paradise the first week of January this year- departed Miami on New Year's Eve. We had a terrific time! The ship is beautiful and clean. The service was excellent. The food was good. I knew that Carnival has the "party boat" reputation but we didn't find that to be so. A bartender on the ship put an interesting spin on it; he had worked on other Carnival ships that were definitely more of the drunken, party atmosphere. He thought that due to the non-smoking status of the ship that there were fewer big drinkers. That made sense to me if you think about how smoky bars are in general. On New Year's Eve, the crew filled the hot tubs with ice and bottles of champagne which was flowing freely. Sure, there were a few tipsy passengers, but, for the most part, we didn't see anyone who was totally trashed. I hope you enjoy (or enjoyed) your trip. By the way, I'm a Canadian too.

Re:Meg <BR>&lt;&lt;I've been reading these cruise reports for a while, and I can only conclude that Carnival must have problems. Too many people report awful things for this not to be true.&gt;&gt;&gt; <BR> <BR>On the other hand, Carnival is the most popular cruise line for whatever reason. They also have many repeat cruisers, so you can also say that too many people sail Carnival for that statement to be true. <BR> <BR> &lt;&lt;, Paul says the Carnival food is rated excellent like more up-scale lines. Well, could that be because the low-brow Carnival cruisers wouldn't know a good meal if it bit them in the behind? &gt;&gt;. <BR> <BR>Was this really called for? I have eaten in all types of restaurants from Dennys to Windows on the World & yes I did enjoy Carnivals food. So that makes me as you say "low brow"? I don't think so. Also, The Frommer book Carribean Cruises 2000 syas that Carnivla food is now on par with RCL & NCL & almost as good as Celebrity & they are well now travel experts, not "low brow" carnival cruisers. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

It is funny you say all this as I couldn't disagree with these complaints any more! I went on my first cruise 2 years ago with Carnival and had the time of my life! Everything from food to staff was fabulous. My husband and and I are now bookin another crusie and won't even consider another cruise line. My experience the first time along with other recommendations make it that other cruiselines don't even compare to Carnival. I would love to prove you all wrong!

Hi <BR> <BR>Doesn't say much when you say the food is on par with NCL and RCL. RCL food is horrible. I happen to agree most of these cruise lines seem to cater to the low brow. Gone are the days of professional service and quality food. These cruise lines are like most american cars. All show and no go. I thank you for the input though. I'll make sure I never use Frommers book as a guideline. P.S. One of NCL ships is being detained right now as a result of inadequate safety measures. I.E. a sprinkler system. More and more of these cruise lines are getting in trouble and that's even with the protection of foreign registry. Kinda' scary to think about that. Think about all the stuff they cover up and you don't hear about. Carnival reminds me of Barnum and Baileys circus. Lots of hype.

Hey Don, <BR> <BR>just curious. What was your trip like during spring break cruise?

Phil, What ship is being detained? Any more info? <BR> <BR>Peter Too, I'm not Don but just thought I would throw in my 2 cents since we have been on four Spring Break cruises. I really couldn't tell a difference from other times except in the airports. We've never been bothered by rowdy students or had any other problems. There are more kids at that time but they are so busy doing their own thing that it hasn't caused any problem for us.

<BR>Whoa.... wait a minute Staci. I didn't say Carnival food was equal to the upscale lines .... no way. <BR> <BR>I stated it was catching up with Celebrity which is a middle-road cruise line. <BR> <BR>Carnival cruise food is not gourmet. <BR> <BR>As far as kids on board, this is definitely what you are going to find when you book a family oriented value cruise line. But then again you never know. I booked a couple of senior citizens in the Hamilton Princess and a high school graduating class was celebrating. Private school no doubt. It was a mass of noise and mahem. Go figure. The hotel won't tell you this. <BR> <BR>Paul <BR> <BR> <BR>

Paul...reread my post please, I was quoting Meg as to what SHE said you said, I was not quoting you. Sorry if it wasn't clear.

How do you spell troll? P-H-I-L <BR> <BR>My wife and I went on the sensation in Dec of 98. <BR>The service was OK, not excellent. It was clean. Embarking was very painless. The food was pretty good, not great. <BR>Things that irked me include: <BR>the noisy neighbors, rude co-cruisers, crappy entertainment, cheesy decor, and the boredom of waiting to debark. <BR> <BR>Other than that, Carnival was fine. Don't believe the whiners. Just do your homework before you book a cruise. Find the line/boat/tour/price that suits you. <BR>

Davey <BR> <BR>Just read your comments. What was good? Sounded like the negatives outweighed the positives. The food was ok, the entertainment was bad, etc... Why would you suggest this line?

Paul, <BR> <BR>Something to be said when 80% of the people on this post thinks this cruise line is bad. I can't believe that that many people have their heads in the sand. Maybe you are the one with a jaded point of view.

Paul, I agree with you. This board is really depressing. It is like a few people are on a vendetta. Get over it people. You have made your point. As Paul says, if they are so bad how come they are rated #1? Put it to bed people, for crying out loud! By the way, Paul don't encourage them to go to other boards. Thhose boards are generally upbeat and I for one don't want these people on those boards to ruin it as they have almost done here. <BR>Enough already!!!

To the previous poster. Tough. Answer me this. Why are there so many people complaining on this web site? It seems to me that these cruise lines are not everything they are made out to be. People that are complaining have usually tried to file a complaint with the cruise line that has wronged them. And, have not obtained satisfactory results. Granted a lot of you have good experiences with them, but a lot are not. <BR> <BR>You all should be helping them, even consoling them instead of flaming them as one poster has put it. Try putting yourself in their shoes. They have done it with you by trying these ships in the first place. <BR> <BR>As far as being #1. Just about anything can be made to appear #1 statistically. Any poll taker will tell you that. There are a lot or products that are made to appear #1. You buy it and it turns out to be less than what you expected. This is no different. <BR> <BR>Once again, stop slamming the people that don't agree with you on these cruise lines and show/tell them how to experience what you have enjoyed. A postive approach usually gets a postive response. If they had a bad time they had a bad time. You are not going to change that. And telling them differently is inadvertently calling them a liar. No one likes that.

Hey Allan, <BR>People cruise for different reasons. <BR>My wife and I like the idea of visiting a new place everyday. <BR>Carnival offers an affordable price to do this. Everything to us is a bonus (or detraction). <BR> <BR>

Davey, <BR> <BR>If you didn't like the food, entertainment, lodgings (crappy decor) or people, but liked the price. Try back packing. You can see a lot more and save even more money.

I thought I had already posted to this message but while scrolling down through them, I couldn't find mine. I just want to go on record that I have been on 7 cruises with 5 of them on Carnival. I am a female, 54 and single, have met lots of fellow cruisers in my age bracket on Carnival. I have never encountered unruly drunks or have been disturbed by loud noises. I MOST DEFINATELY DO NOT consider myself a "low-brow" customer as I am a licensed insurance agent and consider myself a professional. I believe a remark of that nature was posted in an earlier post and ordinarily I would find it insulting but I just merely contribute the remark to "ignorance" on the part of the message writer. I have traveled extensively over the years including Europe. I have found that seasoned travelers are more laid back and more relaxed about their travel experiences. Granted, not every cruise is wonderful; it doesn't matter which cruise line you are on. <BR> <BR>I am currently planning at least a 14 day Panama Canal cruise and most likely it will definately be a Carnival ship. <BR> <BR>Bon Voyage, <BR> <BR>Sharon