Originally Posted by
skofarrell
Interesting that you're comparing a ship built in 1982 (Holiday) to one built in 1996 (Grandeur)
I don't hate Carnival. I've been on the Pride and enjoyed it with a family group of 10. I think in this particular case the company did not take care of their passengers.
...Take a look at Royal Caribbean. Their older ships (Majesty/Monarch) don't have ice skating rinks or onboard surfing, but their core cruise product, from food to service, is pretty consistent across all their ships....
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I was gently trying to make the point that, using RCCL as the example you cite, there is useful information available to compare ships before one sails, and that according to the Cruise Critic reviewer ships and service vary on RCCL too.
It's the same reason FTers compare planes. Flying experiences on UA, our airline of choice, can vary significantly depending on the type of plane, not to mention old vs. new C config.
Coincidentally, we enjoyed our one Carnival cruise on the Pride as well. Passengers also were a little younger and generally tended to be more appreciative (and less fussy) of the cruise experience, which itself was positive.
I agree that Carnival appears to be offering a sub-standard experience in this instance, certainly not one that would entice customers to sail with them again. I wish the disappointed posters better experiences in the future.
Cheers,
Fredd