Why do people who love Carnival......

For us, it's all about the money. So far, I haven't been able to beat Carnival's prices. I always price out the other lines. If I could even get close in price, we would try something different.

I have cruised several lines, and am looking at more lines. Each line is special for its own reason.

The only thing that gets me down on a Carnival cruise are the vocal minority of the passengers.

Very well said Cruising CM

It's something called Comfort Zone.

There is nothing wrong with it. Some people have one and prefer to maintain equilibrium with what they know from experience. Others are more willing to explore and to change accordingly. We cruised all of the popular cruise lines. Our first voyage was NCL. It was the cruise experience that got us hooked; not the cruise line itself. We progressed through CCL, then RC, PC, HAL, RC (again), CCL (again), Celebrity (finally), and back to PC. We enjoyed each of our trips for different reasons. Just because one thing went sideways, we found other delights to offset the negative(s). Over all the years, our tastes and preferences changed, as did our abilities and budget. Our cruise line preference changed accordingly.

It is actually a bit disturbing to us that some people are so set in their ways and unwilling to change but taking a step back, it is not surprising in the least. Just take one look at todays' popular culture and politics. People tend to fear that which they do not know or bother to understand.

As for these "I'll never go on XYZ again"... Some are so blatantly idiotic, I highly doubt that the "person" writing the review is an actual person who took the cruise. I believe a percentage of these extreme reviews come under the heading of Guerrilla Marketing and Misinformation. These posts cast shade on competitor lines through use of generality and innuendo. Many of these posts do not provide examples of why an experience was as horrible as the rating and when pressed for details (by those responding to the extreme comments) few to none are provided or simply "this was my experience and I stand by it".

I've been of the mind that there are categories of review quality. Type A = well-thought out and relatable comments pertaining to one's personal cruise experience. Type Z = inflammatory and unsubstantiated comments that only serve to cast shade on the competitor cruise line while using hyperbole to compare how much better their "preferred" cruise line is in every possible way.

While I take time to read a wide variety of reviews, I discount those which provide little to no example of why the experience was so negative. Overall, the ratings follow bell curve logic and are relatively reliable... outliers are controlled. I've said this before about online reviews of anything... maybe there needs to be a review or rating of the reviews themselves for people who do not apply critical thinking analysis to their selection process.

Bottomline is that everyone is entitled to have their own opinion and no one is required to provide rationale. However, the "all or nothing", "black and white" type of review is one to which I lend very little credence.

We've only cruised on Carnival and can't see ourselves trying out any other cruiseline. We like the casual atmosphere of Carnival, the many choices of activities, enjoyed the food and most of all the price. When we have compared the Carnival price to other lines for the same itinerary and stateroom type, Carnival has been the cheapest, so that's what we will stick with.

Not sure who you were referring to BAK when you mentioned those that will not try another line because they think the line they are on is the best. In my case I stick with NCL not because I think it is the best but because I like the style, atmosphere and the way they do things. I am comfortable with that. Will I try others, yes. But for now I like what NCL offers. And I never criticize the other lines.

Cheers.

The only reason to check e-mail for us is to check on the welfare of someone who is ill or expecting a baby. Just a side note, we have that situation on this upcoming cruise. We will check if it seems necessary, but usually the electronics are locked away for the duration of the trip.

I hate it when someone who has only cruised one line will state that they stay with that line because they are the best. Really ? How would you know if you haven't tried any others ?

I think it's a fair statement that most people started sailing on Carnival. They are convenient, and, inexpensive. But as we gain experience many of us spread our wings and tried other cruise lines. When we took our first cruise, Carnival Holiday, she was the largest ship in their fleet. We loved it. There was no wi-fi, no alternate restaurants, no huge water slides, yet we still had a great time. I often wonder why some people even bother to book a cruise. They spend all day, laptop or tablet in hand, FBing, Tooting, Tweaking or whatever. And they all complain about the slow signal. Then there is the working vacation " guy. Works early in the morning, and later in the evening. Spends the day with his family, but checks his e mail every chance he gets. It always reminds me the song "Cats in the Cradle ". I guess we're fortunate in that we can actually relax and not have to worry about work.

Whatever

Happy sailings y'all

Each line has their own characteristics and flavours. I have not tried Carnival because I really enjoy the style and atmosphere of NCL. Each line will have it's faults and share of mistakes. So all of them will have detractors. If it is what you like then many will stay with that.

I started cruising being Loyal to Royal. Through the years I have tried Princess, HAL, NCL and Celebrity. I cruised for 14 years saying I would not go on Carnival, after all it is the Walmart of cruising, the Circus Circus (For you Las Vages fans) of cruise lines. I finely broke down and gave it a try in 2009 when the price was so low it did not pay to stay home. I got a ocean view cabin to myself for $ 179.00 for the 4 night Baja cruise. I went with very low expectation and was surprised how clean the ship was, how good the staff was, that the MDR food was actually good and it was just a lot of fun. Since then I have done 7 more on Carnival and I'm booked on the Vista for next year.

A good part of the reason for so many Carnival cruises for me is they are the only line that goes year round out of my local port (Los Angeles) and they have the Concert series (this year we saw Journey on the Victory and next year is Jay Leno on the Vista).

I don't say "I'd Never go on "XXXXX" again. I will state my opinion of some cruise lines that I have tried...... I did not like the food on Princess, but that was 20 years ago and I'd try them now if I saw a good deal on them. Out of 3 NCL cruises 2 were the worst cruises I have been on for bad service throughout the ship and bad food and service in the NDR, I would still go on NCL if I got a great deal and it was an itinerary I wanted to go on and not on the Star. I did not like HAL, but I was in my 30's when I tried it, I'll try them again when I hit my late 60's or 70's.

People get used to things and that is what they expect. I have a friend that is on his 3rd car of the same model and make. I just test drove a car of a different make then the one I have, it was OK, but It had quirks that I did not expect or like (the gear selector was on the steering column, when I expected the wipers to be). People have brand loyalty, people start to like a cruise line because it is out of a local port so no travel expense.

I have read plenty of people bad mouthing Carnival on review comments, when you look the profiles of the ones bad mouthing them have never even been on a Carnival ship ???? so how do you bad mouth if you don't know ???

I will say Carnival has a very loyal group of cruisers..... some take it personal if you give a bad review and they leave you nasty comments that you work for RCI or the ever common "Troll" comment. I have read the same kind of remarks for people that gave a bad review to RCI. I have not read nasty remarks for bad rating of Celebrity or HAL..... Maybe it is a socioeconomic thing like you see more fights in a Walmart then in a Sack's 5th Avenue. Demographics of the client base.