Expectations

My first cruise was back in 2006 and it was wonderful. I didn't really know what to expect and hadn't researched anything. When I took a break to do only land tours between 2008 and 2015. I know that's a long time but I have friends in London and Paris was spending long weekends in those locations. But when I had returned to cruising, I notice that things had changed. I want to say that the clientele had changed. I mean no offence to anyone but, now everyone is cruising. I mean the type of people you wouldn't want to deal with on land much less at sea. I deal with customers everyday and I wouldn't want to stand in the same foot space as some of them. With that in mind, when something is not right on a cruise you have to be professional and polite and have a little class about yourself. You have to use common sense to know that everything is not perfect and will "not' always go smoothly. This new breed of cruiser (thousands and thousands of them) are beating down the cruise staff. I'm not saying that the crew/crewmembers are not at fault on various ships at times but, look at what has happened to customer service in our regular everyday life. That same ignorant customer is going to take a cruise and go crazy on some cruise trip over something that could easily be corrected/modified/compensated for. Sorry to say, but cheap cruises attract all kinds of people who really just need to stay home. That being said, even though I don't work for Cruiseline.com, I will conduct myself in a professional manor because I would be representing the company. Just as if I were on a cruise with my family.

Expectations can make or break a cruise. The first time I went on Carnival I had very low expectations for food and service because well, it was Carnival and I had been loyal to Royal. By having low expectation I was surprised that the food and service were good. After that I have gone on Carnival 6 more times and am about to book my 8th Carnival on the Vista for next year (concert series cruise)

Now my first time on NCL (the Star) was very bad, they switched our cabin class and did not give us the cabin type we had reserved, bad service in the cabin, bad service in the MDR and not good food. 2nd time on NCL (the Pearl) expectations were very low (but so was the price 350.00 for 7 night in cabin by myself) turned out the pearl had good service in cabin and MDR and the food was much better then the star so I was brave enough to go on NCL a 3rd time, big time mistake, the Star still had bad food and bad service but my expectation were high from the Pearl.

New cruisers that hear stories from old time cruisers or people that cruise premium cruise lines like Celebrity, HAL or the Evil Mouse will have high expectations and think Carnival or NCL will give them that kind of food and service. I can remember my uncle used to say service was so good if he took out a smoke a arm with a lighter would come out of a wall to light it for him, that was back in the 70's on Sitmar line.

I believe that much has to do with today's overall expectations in general and that there are some the just go with the flo and enjoy what the day alots and then there are those that are hard to please and not often satisfied with the days bounty always expecting and wanting more. It is just a reflection on society in general.

Have you not been on a cruise and witnessed a passenger having a meltdown over something that you felt was a minor annoyance or no annoyance at all?

Sometimes the bad reviews have merit. With out a doubt there are problems on cruises. But not all of the bad reviews are due to bad service or otherwise. Some are due to expectations being high and tolerance for faults being low.

Just my 2 cents CDN which is worth little enough these days. (after taxes worth even less)

Cheers,

As for 1) I think that with a cruise, that title of "cruise vacation comes" with a certain level of expectation in general so I would say that even tough a shorter cruise is cost wise more appealing to the budget friendly folks, they are expecting the same level as a suite guest on a 14 day cruise, so Yes 2)That is a good question, and I think It's a mix of yes and no... I think it goes to the idea of entitled for people. if we are going to any place where we are a guest, majority of people will expect a level of quality and service be it a restaurant or resort. I'm not sure if I cruised during the "Glory days" of cruising as I started in 2007ish and took a break before continuing, but I would hope that with my previous experience on the ship and cruise line, and interactions with the people on this site we would have a splendid time no matter what!

I think my opinions are skewed because I missed the "glory days" of cruising, having started in 2013. We are laid back and low maintenance no matter where we vacation, so we have been more than satisfied with the service and experiences we have had with Carnival.

Except for our cruise on the Triumph last fall .....that one made me think we might have to rethink our addiction. Embarkation in Galveston was the worst we have experienced, the ship felt crowded (and I thought the Sunshine never felt crowded), and the mood of the ship was just "off". Entertainment was feast or famine. We still found ways to enjoy ourselves and had a good time, but it wasn't what we have become accustomed to. Then our cruise on the Breeze in February was awesome as always, so we still enjoy our addiction :)

Our experience on the Triumph did give me a better understanding of why people who have been cruising much longer than we have are disappointed about the level of service and amenities today vs when they first started cruising.