New rules on Carnival Cruises stir controversey

Boo hoo hoo. The rules sound reasonable. Except for the rap and hip-hop ban. That is profiling.

No butt sex on the lido deck.

Hmmm I wonder why ? Just like Amtrak,and airlines that are cheap,or malls ,or state fairs or concerts, a large gathering of certain individuals always seems to create conflict. Google Orange park mall here in Jax Fl . a couple of days ago and we had 100s of feral teens running amok. Not for the 1st time. Jumping on cars,fighting,running into heavy traffic,stealing etc.

Sounds perfectly fine to me.

[quote] Strict adherence to the 15 drink daily limit

What??!!!

What R5 said. Fifteen drinks of anything is crazy yet alone stuff with alcohol.

What about crab legs? Will passengers still be able to get their crab legs?

I thought the same thing R5 & R6, but drink packages are usually per person on a cruise, so it is very possible to get a drink, give it to someone (maybe underage), and then go back and get another.

Carnival is one of the cheapest priced, so the clientele they attract necessitate these type of rules.

You won’t find a “15 drink limit” on Celebrity, because their customer base isn’t ghetto people.

What about scrimps? How many scrimps we has a day on the ship?

Fried chicken still ok though?

All HETEROSEXUAL FATTIES are required to walk on the treadmill in the fitness room for a minimum of 30 minutes per day.

If you've ever seen YouTube videos of out of control fights on cruise ships, you'd understand why Carnival has implemented these rules.

It’s NOT A Fucking Carnival Cruise™️

Ain’t we?

When I type in carni into the YouTube search box the first autofill is “carnival cruise fights” and there must be hundreds of videos. Apparently CCL is know as “section 8 of the seas” Not that it affects me. In the least. I’m more likely to blow Kim jong-un on worldwide live TV than I am to do on a carnival cruise.

The good part starts at 3:12

And another perspective

TikTok videos have put a real hurt on Carnival and forced them to deal with these issues. It’ll be interesting to see if their crowd tries other cruise lines and how they’ll deal with them.

[quote]Strict adherence to the 15 drink daily limit

Dear Lord in Heaven!

Their policies aren’t racist, they’re just targeted at the people who cause all of the problems.

The drunkest rowdiest group I ever saw in on a ship ( car ferry) were a group of young Orthodox Jewish men. Apparently on their way to a wedding. No fighting though .

I hear there are going to be new rules for the gay cruises targeting the trashy gays.

The confused white couple investigating the scene at 10:10 in R17’s video. 😂

15 drinks? Holy shit that's a lot.

r16 r17 r18 r19 r23 I wonder why you're so invested in this topic?

i’ve drank more than 15 drinks on a holiday gay pride sunday. also remember, on carnival drinks are measured pours, so much less alcohol than we gays are used to.

R16- There's a video on youtube of some American ghetto blacks in Italy writing graffiti on some historical bridge and two young Italians are chiding them for writing on the bridge and the blacks accused them of being racist.

[quote] Strict adherence to the 15 drink daily limit

This legit sounds like a Moe Szyslack line.

r29 ok?

R23 is full of shit.

R28 The one time I drank that much I was hung over for four days.

They didn’t say delta 8! You can get breath strips and put them in a regular breath strip container.

[quote] People are alleging the new rules are Anti-Black or targeted toward the line's black patrons.

Pick a capital.

The ghetto, hunny. The GHETTO!!!

World Star!

This will only drive up clientele.

Is there downlow BBC on these ghetto cruises? On men under 200lbs?

R39 You make it sound like visiting flyoverstan.

Some people had no home training.

Sad.

Mandatory dance off!

How are they going to track how much you drink in a day?

I think these Sharkeishas have learned to have one person buy a drink package, and then scam unlimited drinks for their entire entourage. Hence the new “15 drink daily limit”.

15 is around one drink an hour (not counting sleep time). That's a silly limit for a vacation.

Well, Well , Well..... I hate to say I told you so....but ...

I’ll bet Carnival’s onboard shops have a high rate of theft.

I was on one years ago and it was a MAGa shithole.

R48 Carnival is a weird mix of hot-dog eating, NASCAR-loving MAGA Bubbas and ratchet, section 8, 3 baby daddy LaToyas.

It's the Motel 6 of cruise lines - I've never been on one and never will.

But yeah - the hiphop and rap is still divisive and many people do not want to hear it. I don't care if it offends some people - it makes a lot of people's ears bleed.

You've got earbuds - you don't need to have that crap blasted everywhere.

10% of it is great - but 90% is just ghetto crap and everyone knows it. Now - equally, I'd like a ban on Country.

What about legally prescribed cannabis?

Wait, so people do the bullshit personal speakers and speakerphone media and phone calls on Cruise Ships? I guess they do, huh.

Ok, I'm not going to this either. These fucktards ruin it for everyone with their stupidity.

R49- Anotherwords RIFF RAFF

R28 = Liza.

My mom paid for my sister and her family to go on a cruise with her. My sister and her husband would get up late, eat at the buffet and drink until they passed out. Then they would get up for another dinner buffet and get blotto drunk again. I am sure they were drinking more than 15 drinks each.

The first time I went on a cruise was one of those Atlantis gay cruises.

I was chatting with one of the staff people. I joked that they must get hazard pay for this cruise. He said the staff actually enjoyed it because the people were more fun and the rules were significantly relaxed.

He also mentioned that the first Atlantis cruise that he ever worked they had stocked the bars with the regular amount of alcohol that they would for a normal cruise. They had to restock at the first port because they had already burned through about 80% of what they were carrying. He said the staff was stunned at how much liquor gay men go through.

None of these rules are outrageous nor do any appear obviously targeting any demographic.

If these basic and sensible restrictions offend you - and everyone must be offended these days - you shouldn’t be rudely encroaching on civilized people’s hard-earned vacations.

[quote] She pointed out that viral cruise fights never happen in the clubs, where the music plays. Rather, they happen in hallways and pool decks; places fueled by excessive drinking, not DJ playlists. “It is 100% the alcohol […] not the music,” she added, calling the association between rap music and violence “discriminatory.”

R55 that is the point of cruising

[quote] He said the staff was stunned at how much liquor gay men go through.

Well, wouldn’t you drink if you were gay?

Luxury problems

Here to save the day. Unlimited Henny shots, 24 hour on board dispensary and check cashing for your convenience. The Mt. Olive Covenant of the Holy Redeemer chapel with 30 person baptism pool, and a freak off deck in back.

R60 = Anita Bryant.

This is definitely…a disrespectin’.’

[quote]He said the staff actually enjoyed it because the people were more fun and the rules were significantly relaxed.

Of course the bartenders are going to love it. Talk to the housekeeping staff and the rest of the interior and I assure you, it is a different story.

Nice try though. Gay men of all stripes are every bit as uncivilized in large numbers as a black teenagers. Probably even more so.

A family friend went on a Carnival cruise once. She said a drunk guy pulled down his speedo and started shaking his dick around for the whole pool area to see.

R66 = Louis CK.

A Carnival Cruise sounds like the tenth circle of hell.

15 drinks a day? JFC. It always amazes me how much some people can drink.

Will they outlaw Kathy Lee? Let’s go!

Is Carnaval a bargain cruise line?

I can't imagine people like the folks in the video at R17 are making much more than $22 an hour.

Honest Carnival Cruise ad

Carnival is very cheap, r71. A three week Seattle-Sydney cruise is $1500 per person for an inside cabin.

R65 I was told a variation of the same thing, unsolicited, by one of the dining room serving staff on an Atlantis cruise, that the gay cruise was the one they all looked forward to—the most fun, no dealing with a lot of kids underfoot, and the one where they were treated the most respectfully by the guests. I could see where that would be true and felt proud to be gay.

They've made the film SOUL PLANE, so can SOUL SHIP be in the works?

My MAGA in-laws recently did a cheap Carnival tour and boy did we get an earful upon their return. Security guarding certain halls and lots of guests in one party under room lockup. The family, who live in a rural area, were so triggered. Mind you, these are th same people who refer to POC as Canadians so they can talk about them within earshot at a Denny's in the big city...

[quote] How are they going to track how much you drink in a day?

They swipe your card each time you order.

It's funny when these policies come out, whether at a nightclub or on a cruise ship, blacks always feel targeted.

It's basically admission of guilt.

R65 raises a point, much as we might not like to go there. Years ago, at a gay bar, I overheard a bartender and patron comparing their bar tabs on recent cruises; I'm no stranger to the bottle, but the amounts knocked me for a loop. Thing is, they were more bragging about it than pissed off "Damn! I spent all that money!"

R73: for that price, I'd expect a bowl of generic Cheerios as breakfast, and a bologna-and-American cheese sandwich as dinner.

R66: I wouldn't expect yahoo trash to wear speedos.

R73 I've heard of retirees opting to live on cruise ships. At that price, it sounds like a viable option for those on a limited income. Maybe BrendaD Ickson can consider it once she's evicted from her condo.

The new written rules are entirely reasonable.

I had no idea they allowed personal speakers before this. Sounds like a nightmare on a "relaxing" cruise.

15 drinks a day is plenty. If you think otherwise, you might be an alcoholic.

As for the "unofficial rules" and what plays in the bars/used by DJs, that's always a tough one when you have people of various backgrounds. If that's an actual "unofficial rule" now and not just social media nonsense as it often is, it's probably because they ran the numbers from surveys and other things and found that far more customers were bothered by the music than said it was a must have.

Nobody’s talking about the egregious marijuana ban?

r65, pure nonsense. Gay men are extremely good tippers. And there is not a chance in hell they are as bad as large groups of teenagers, black or otherwise.

Imagine learning that a cruise line is going to start restricting personal speakers and believing that it is a targeted slight against your race. Sort of a self own, that.

What is their policy re barefoot dancing?

One drink at your average gay bar is probably equivalent to three watered-down drinks on Carnival, so 15 drinks isn't all that much.

I wasn't sure what "personal speakers" meant. The things you learn from Datalounge! I had no idea that people would bring speakers on a cruise ship (or anywhere else, for that matter) so they can have their music blasting, thereby annoying the fuck out of everybody else within earshot, instead of doing the polite and courteous thing by wearing ear buds instead.

Yes, I'm white. But I probably didn't have to mention that.

Why dont they ban country music? I never want to hear that shit.

R66 has convinced me to go on a Carnival Cruise

Black TikTokkers complain about cruisers wearing bonnets, pajamas and slippers all over the ship. Dang, if I can’t wear my PJ’s in the dining hall I ain’t going.

Only fifteen drinks a day? That's ridiculous!

15 sounds about right for breakfast.

Remember the first rule of urban survival. If there's more than three turn around and flee!

It's funny how these rules give them the worst PR as it makes Carnival look so trashy that they have these behaviors in the first place.

They will always be for the budget traveler - and that's fine. But if I'm going to spend money on a vacation, I'm going to save up a little bit more to be on a premium line to avoid these issues.

Not everyone has the ability to do that, I understand.

But I feel like most travel companies (including airlines) need to provide a list of unacceptable behaviors and rules of conduct. Shit has gotten out of control and people clearly need guidelines - people from lower economic backgrounds would never have afforded planes and cruises 30+ years ago.

I like rules - they are there for a reason.

R94- I would suggest Holland America. The people on those ships are much nicer more respectable upper middle class crowd- No MAGA nor Ghetto RIFF RAFF.

OP linked to a right-wing site

I've heard good things about Regent Seven Seas. They have more of an "upscale" crowd who understand proper manners and correct behavior that is expected of civilized people. Read into that what you will.

[quote] There are also accusations that Carnival has unofficially banned rap and hip-hop music in its clubs and bars and has additionally prevented DJs from playing songs from that genre on the pool deck.

So, 24/7 Neil Diamond?

It's controversy, no second e.

R95 - Holland is classic but it's old people primarily unfortunately. I prefer Celebrity - modern, funky, urban, upscale, primarily adults 30-60.

R97 - true - but Regency is a luxury line, not just premium. The downside is that they are smaller ships with limited lounges and entertainment - and the PRICE. Literally costs 3-5x the amount of a premium line and 10x a budget line.

Many luxury lines can be $1000 a day for 2 people. Of course it's not going to have the riff-raff, but I can't justify a $1000/day budget for any vacation.

What’s marijuana have to do with it?

You can have it… A cruise is not a vacation.

You sound poor r100

Lots of people find the smell offensive R101. It stinks to high heaven just as cigarette smoke does. Also, like cigarettes, a fire hazard.

R103 - so witty! Such a comeback! No - anyone spending $7000 for a week cruise has more money than sense.

Actually I just checked Crystal Cruises to see prices - it's $5500 per person for 7 nights - so $11,000 before taxes, gratuities, etc.

There is no way to justify $1700 a day for food (albeit great food) and a floating hotel room. It's a matter of sense and value for money. If you've got money to burn - by all means.

But getting value for your money is smart - blowing it is stupid no matter how rich you are.

It looks like Carnival Cruises needs to significantly raise their rates

[quote]But getting value for your money is smart - blowing it is stupid no matter how rich you are.

Then by all means have fun on Carnival "where Section Eight meets the Seven Seas" Cruises so you can get "value for your money."

R103 Is that illegal around here?

One theory I read was that Carnival is trying to attract "better" clientele because they're worried about a downturn in the economy. Wealthier people will still travel, but the lower middle class and working class won't be able to take cruises in a recession.

Years ago I was shocked - shocked, I tell you - to read upscale Celebrity’s passenger guide prohibiting passengers from biting, spitting, and hair-pulling. We go on Celebrity a lot, and will be the Silhouette this summer and happily have never seen that kind of behavior. Clearly Celebrity has, or else their lawyers wouldn’t have felt it necessary to include the verbiage. They also wouldn’t let the Trinidadian reggae band by the pool play the Pokémon Song. The singer told me they’d been forbidden to sing it because of the lyrics: “Tha shit’s OK in Barbados, mon, but we can’t play it here.”

All smoking, cigarettes, cigars, and marijuana, is verboten on most ships. Some we’ve been on (QM2 last year) have a single, outdoors, cigarettes only area where you can smoke but I know of none that allow it in your cabin, on your balcony or in the public areas.

R107 - I've never taken Carnival, that's why I suggested Celebrity upthread.

Look - there's cutting witty remarks and there's just being a cunt. Your comments fully display how low-brow, unintelligent and trashy you are.

Go try to fool other people with your false "I'm rich, you're poor" insecurities. You're not fooling anyone here.

I can't believe you can't smoke on your fucking balcony.

My parents took Seabourne and among the small number of guests were Don Rickles and Bob Newhart and their wives, and DL fav Juliette Prowse. It's expensive and exclusive. Save up, bitches.

R97 Regent markets to an upper-middle class Calif., Ill. NY and Florida crowd. They host Friday Sabbath services on board.

I cruised on Crystal with Barbara Walters. More than once with Howard Fineman and his wife Amy (they were sweethearts). Another time, the couple in the next stateroom were MTM’s in-laws; she gifted them a Northern Lights/Norwegian fjord cruise because her mother-in-law was going blind. Lovely and sad to spend time with them.

I lent Alice Faye my binoculars on a whale-watching tour off Maui when we went on the old QE2. Bill Cosby (then as yet unconvicted) was the entertainer that night. On that cruise, Tony Warren (he created Coronation Street) was speaking onboard and sat next to us in the Queen’s Grill from California to Honolulu.

Dr Ruth was at our table on a Celebrity cruise. Walter Cunningham, one of the Apollo 7 astronauts, sat with us on another X cruise. I didn’t think it’d go too well because he was a pretty crusty right-winger sitting with two gay guys, but my husband’s a Texan, too, and retired Navy and they got along great.

[quote]Nobody’s talking about the egregious marijuana ban?

Marijuana is still illegal in most states and perhaps in the port where the cruise starts or ends. Not to mention the countries it visits. And any kind of smoking is VERY restricted on cruises due to the very high risk of catastrophic fires.

You could probably get away with marijuana edibles.

R105, you can’t base other people’s spending power on your wallet. The fact that you probably have a smart phone as well as a computer and a subscription to at least one streaming service and internet WiFi from home means you have more money to burn than 80% of the globe. Money is the most relative thing there is. $11000 is nothing to a great number of people in the United States - at least enough to keep those cruises afloat with hundreds of thousands more to spare. Someone making 300k a year is probably taking home 18k a month. Now how many people in the US make more than 300K? Even at 1% that’s still 3.5 million people.

Wait, there’s a gay Carnival cruise?

[quote] The fact that you probably have a smart phone as well as a computer and a subscription to at least one streaming service and internet WiFi from home means you have more money to burn than 80% of the globe.

You’re an idiot.

R120, It’s a fact silly.

R121, the fact that you can find food to eat makes you wealthier than half of the world. You’re not making the point you think you are. The majority of Americans have phones and access to wifi. It’s essential. We don’t do global. At the very least you could have narrowed it down to Westerners.

I can't afford to go on a booze cruise of Boston Harbor.

R73 $1,500 seems like a stretch for most of these people.

I legit want to go on a Carnival cruise now after reading this thread…with the right companions (I wouldn’t take my mom lol). It sounds hysterical and like you would leave with great stories.

Of all the rules, the one that ASTOUNDED me was letting unaccompanied children run around until 1 am. And that's "cracking down" on the problem!

Well, now I'm wondering - on the nicer upgrade cruises, are there mouth breathers using speaker phone there too ?

I went on a Carnival Cruise but there was no carnival!

And Tom wasn't there, either.

19 people a year fall overboard. I wonder how many of them are on Carnival ships?

15 drinks a day is a lot, and it's a reasonable limit, but it's not that hard to reach into the double digits on vacation if you start with a couple of mimosas or a bloody mary, have 2-3 drinks with meals, and spend the night partying into the wee hours. It's definitely a lot but spread out over 24 hours it's not impossible.

r131 = alcoholic

Isn’t Atlantis the big gay fuck cruise?

R132 = zero reading comprehension, probably illiterate.

r134 = drunk AF

I could do 15 drinks in a day but I would be incapable of doing that every day, let alone two days in a row.

15 drinks a day is ridiculous, no matter how spread out they are.

You start with a couple of mimosas or a bloody mary...every day?

Then 2-3 drinks with lunch, and 2-3 with dinner--then another 7 to 9 drinks when partying that night...and you would be doing this every day? Oh, that's an alcoholic.

It would take several days for me to consume 15 drinks without feeling like shit.

After drink #3 I would be snoozing into the buffet

Yes, I also live full time on a cruise ship and every single day is a vacation day. I also made it clear that this is something I personally do in my post at R131. I mean the phrase "this is what I do every day without fail" is clearly there in my post.

The dumbest and most reactionary fucking people post here, I swear to god.

Who hurt you?

I'd feel like shit after a day of 15 drinks. I'd probably puke too.before the day was over. I might have 2 much later the next day to ease out of the hangover. Then it would be at least a few days of abstinence.

Preppy dress code and only play Eurodance.

[R73]$1,500 seems like a stretch for most of these people.

These trashy Bahamas cruises are more like $300.

I hope Carnival pays their workers decently. You know they’re making zero tips on these Section 8 voyages.

R145 That makes more sense.

Well, it is called "Carnival Cruises" after all.....

Anyone been on a Virgin cruise? They’re adults-only, so no brats running around. But I’m wondering what the clientele (age, socioeconomic status) is like?

My mom went on a Caribbean cruise once, it didn't sound anything like this, the wild partying or anything. But that was probably 15 years ago. Someone had a heart attack on the ship and they had to skip some ports and come back to Florida a day or so early.

I haven't R149, but know someone who has. She's a str8 gal in her 20s, loved the drag queen bingo. They are proud of attracting all ages. Food is said to be great.

I did a 3-day Bahamas cruise on Royal Caribbean back in 2002. It was a free trip as part of a reward for work.

It was okay, but I wouldn't do it again. The dinners were nice, but I remember the breakfast buffet being really overcrowded and fully of trashy people stuffing their fat faces until they practically exploded.

I took a friend with me, and when we checked into our cabin, there were two single beds in the room, and the steward said he would push the two beds together for us. We told him not to do it and that we were just friends, but every day when we'd come back to the room, they had pushed the beds together and we would have to move them apart. Geez.

[quote]Who hurt you?

Who dropped you on your head and caused your intellectual disability?

*hic*

The point I was making r121 is that R105 has no place to tell other people what is and isn't stupid when it comes how they spending their money. He is complaining about other people spending $11000 on vacation when someone else much less fortunate, like 80% of the rest of the world, would think he spends his money in stupid ways. His $100 cellphone bill might swell be $11000 to them.

My mother does Carnival with a group of other elderly "divas" (the name of the group) every year. She says it's fun but they also have customized excursions and their own private activities and servers. She did say there's a lot of fat people in swimwear they should not be wearing. She took a Royal Caribbean trip a few months ago and actually said she preferred Carnival as the food and entertainment were better.

Children and women first.....but mostly children.

R150 the good ships all have morgues.

R158 The person wasn't dead.

R150 I don't remember, I wasn't there and it wasn't recent. My mom would know but she's dead now. Must have had to take him to the first available port, which was on their way home. Anyhow, they had to get back a bit earlier.

For R158^^^

Or they skipped a port and went straight back to Miami.

[quote]Or they skipped a port and went straight back to Miami.

Probably this. You wouldn’t want to be having a heart and get dropped off in Haiti.

R149- I’m going on a Virgin Voyage gay cruise . It leaves from Barcelona. They brag about there being no Cafeteria/ Buffet on the ship- I’m concerned about that. I like being able to take food from the buffet back to my room and it’s quick which is especially good when you’re in a rush to go on an excursion.

R163 Yeah I seem to recall that is what happened.

What are the nice cruise lines, where I can discuss Mahler and Thomas Mann over dry martinis?

[quote] the good ships all have morgues.

and lollipops

R163 It was a Royal Caribbean cruise. I remember it went to Coco Cay, which is their island.

r166 - they are Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Seabourn, Silversea, Crystal, and Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection

The 15 drinks per day are WEAK WATERED DOWN drinks, objectively speaking - as has been said aleady on this thread, yet there seem to be a few dumb dumbs who still want to opine on whether that is too much or too little.

They're allowed to serve watered-down liquor?

So it's more like seven or eight? That's still enough to raise the eyebrows of 12 steppers

Carnival, the dollar store of cruises

R170 Neely O'Hara, dear, 15 drinks, watered down or not, is a lot of drinks.

I couldn't deal with the amount of people at R102. I recently watched the Poop Cruise video on Netflix and was amazed at how crowded the ship was. That doesn't seem like a relaxing vacation to be elbow to elbow with your fellow travelers.

With who, R166, ancient widowed Japanese war brides who hooked a GI during the Occupation who then came home to run the family business, dying and leaving her millions? Crystal Cruises.

Titanic cosplayers of every race, creed (the Captain is Muslim), color, and nationality crowd the QM2. The top deck’s not worth it any more, but with the cheap cabins and the right attitude you can have a lot of fun. Very well-behaved. Lots of Brits, obviously. Cunard Line.

Holland America: God’s Waiting Room Goes To Sea. It can be very nice depending, but it’s expensive for what you get. Lots of prunes served at breakfast. If you can afford a nice cabin/suite they do or include a lot, but it’s pricey. If you drink with the officers you learn what really goes on onboard.

Celebrity always seemed the most gay friendly mass market line. Not sure if it still is. It started as the Hyatts and the Greeks and every ship has been better than the one before it. The food, service, cleanliness are all great. Entertainment varies, they try to dazzle. It’s middle-aged, middle class, more than some swinging and sauna adventures with married men on the dl.

Norwegian. Awful. Just awful. A Greyhound bus that floats. Never again. People came onboard with their clothes in paper bags - no luggage. No manners, either. One hustle after another.

We haven’t been on Virgin.

I cannot imagine 15 drinks a day. OTOH, I had an aunt and uncle who played 36 holes of golf and drank two pourer bottles a day all winter in Florida. Screwdrivers at 7:30 in the morning, even with fresh OJ, were the eye-openers when I visited.

Canada's DOLLARAMA is so successful.it should start a cruise line, serving the canned food on its shelves. Who wants ravioli? Pea soup? Paris Paté? Swiss Rolls for dessert.

[quote] Holland America: God’s Waiting Room Goes To Sea. It can be very nice depending, but it’s expensive for what you get.

I’m on a HAL cruise next year. It will be interesting to experience a new dynamic. I’ve been seeing them lately referred to as a premium line, but I don’t think what I paid is too much, considering it includes wifi and drinks.

[quote] I cannot imagine 15 drinks a day.

I used to think that, but when drinking drinks with little alcohol in them, it wasn’t too hard to hit the limit. I keep telling myself to drink only wine, beer, cider, or shots, so that I at least will get some bang out of it.

[quote] I’m going on a Virgin Voyage gay cruise . It leaves from Barcelona. They brag about there being no Cafeteria/ Buffet on the ship- I’m concerned about that. I like being able to take food from the buffet back to my room and it’s quick which is especially good when you’re in a rush to go on an excursion.

You can take food from The Galley or any of the non-reservation eateries back to your room. No one is going to stop you. There’s also grab-and-go boxes of food available in several locations.

R169 - You missed Hapag-Lloyd and at least a dozen other lines.

[quote] when drinking drinks with little alcohol in them

I’ll add that with the ice in the glass, it’s not even a lot of liquid that you’re drinking.

You can’t water down a bottled beer. 15 beers is A LOT.

Wine too.

The 15 drink a day thing is more of an indicator of the size of these beached whales that are on the cruise.

Some of these obese people are 300 pounds or more. They can drink 6 drinks and not be legally drunk because of their body size.

A 300lb man can drink 10 beers in 3 hours and be under 0.10%. (!!)

Nobody thinks drinking 15 drinks is a great idea - but I can see how it happens - particularly if you start at noon and are up until 10pm. It's not insane for 1 day - every day is another story.

R184 Drinking that much alcohol can't be healthy for anyone, but what you are saying is true. Ethanol blood level is a function of body weight, gender and probably age. In some of those videos you can see some really HUGE people. That may be one reason they choose cruises to begin with. Lots of/unlimited food with little walking.

[quote]You missed Hapag-Lloyd and at least a dozen other lines.

Yes, but why list more - no one was listening. They're still talking about the lines for the poors...

[quote]Celebrity always seemed the most gay friendly mass market line. Not sure if it still is. It started as the Hyatts and the Greeks and every ship has been better than the one before it. The food, service, cleanliness are all great. Entertainment varies, they try to dazzle. It’s middle-aged, middle class, more than some swinging and sauna adventures with married men on the dl.

I took a Celebrity cruise and from the first night all the gays, lesbians, and straights looking for a good time congregated at the same bar. All stone-faced but very hot Eastern European dudes doing flair bartending. Had fun chatting up an extremely sportif (and clearly wealthy) lesbian couple that took cruises four times a year.

And there was NOTHING for children to do on the ship.

R187 - yep - my experience too. I think there were like 6 kids on the entire ship - that's their problem. But yes - many stone-faced Eastern Europeans.

I like the Celebrity experience.

[quote]19 people a year fall overboard. I wonder how many of them are on Carnival ships?

On Carnival, most of them probably jump. I know I would.

I guess Patti LuPone found a new job.

“What do you think of this is? Maybe if you put down tha phone and find some pants that fit….”

How come when you look on American travel sites, they don’t show cruises on foreign-foreign cruise lines? They just show the ones with operations in America. Are the cruise lines that cater to Europeans any good?

r192 Not true. I see cruises from MSC, Costa, Cunard, et al. all the time.

Just checked the Carnival website. Cheapest cruise is a 4-day from Long Beach to Baja California — $548 for two people.

So, yeah…

That’s a voyage of the damned waiting to happen…

[quote]Not true. I see cruises from MSC, Costa, Cunard, et al. all the time.

Costa and Cunard are owned by Carnival and MSC has some operations in the U.S. (as well as elsewhere). I said I don't see foreign-foreign cruise lines listed.

The ban on weed is stupid. If I would ever be forced to go on a cruise, it would be my life saver. Those floating ecological nightmares with too many people with nothing to do, mini cabins, ... A new circle of hell for me.

R194 Good grief! How can they be making money? I've only ever been on one cruise and that was to Alaska (started in Vancouver). I guess that was an OK way of seeing Alaska, but I doubt I'll go on another cruise ever. I travel a lot (internationally), but cruises are not for me.

R196 the point is that they are marketed to a different crowd. If you took a Costa cruise in the Med, you could easily be the odd one out in terms of language, entertainment, timing of meals, etc., cocktail culture (or lack of it), etc.

I took a Crystal cruise in the Med, where half the ship was Ford Mexico dealership owners and their families on an awards gig. The ship accommodated them by adding a very late dinner seating, flying in special entertainment from Latin and South America, stocking up on tequilas and mezcal’s, etc. it was like two different cruises were going on. We had a lot of fun doing the Mexican version.

There were only 800 passengers in total^

The white folks from Florida didn’t enjoy that cruise so much….

R17 dinner & a show has been updated

[quote] I cruised on Crystal with Barbara Walters. More than once with Howard Fineman and his wife Amy (they were sweethearts). Another time, the couple in the next stateroom were MTM’s in-laws; she gifted them a Northern Lights/Norwegian fjord cruise because her mother-in-law was going blind. Lovely and sad to spend time with them.

What the fuck, are you 115 years old?

This sounds like a floating nursing home.

This post should have zero replies because there’s nothing controversial stated.

Carnival is tired of being a ghetto cruise line and who can blame them after years of those vile videos of abhorrent behavior and garbage people. It’s like a Popeye’s with life preservers.

I applaud these new restrictions as should any decent individual.

R166's sarcasm aside, as we floated among the castles on the Rhine during a Viking cruise, I was able to assure a fellow passenger that she did [italic]not[/italic] need to buy a Kindle to replace her Nook in order to borrow (free) library e-books. Hardly a discussion for party animals.

I've been on Viking twice, and Windstar twice. Both featured polite, intelligent guests (of course, there'll always be a few exceptions). My trip with Tauck, using the French line Ponant, was overall fine, but I'm not looking to do that again.

R198: my first cruise was a week's curcumnavigation of Iceland on Windstar. Awesome experience, my mother and I still talk about how much we liked it years later.

r203 you must be new to Datalounge. There are posters here who were taking cruises during the Genesis Flood.

R203 we were young then, and beautiful.

R200 We had a similar experience on Crystal. There was a female televangelist and 300 of her followers onboard and - odd for 25 years ago - a full video crew to record everything they did on and off the ship, including daily shots of them doing just that: getting on and off the ship to see whatever Christians look for in Alaska. (Jewels of the Caribbean seemed to be very popular.) Jesus and his lady representative on earth weren’t getting all their money.

Versus Celebrity, where on one transatlantic crossing to move the ship from Europe in the summer and fall to the Caribbean for the winter) the cheapest cabins went for $400 pp for a 14 night cruise from Barcelona to Miami via Spain, Morocco, the Canary Islands, Bermuda and Nassau. The empty cabins must have been pitched to airline employees because there had to be 30 or 40 trolley dollys in addition to the 50 or 60 gays who sailed, not as part of a group because as R200 mentions, X has a reputation. Anyway, God rest his soul because he must be dead by now but one old regular, Mr Bill from San Diego (we saw him on half a dozen cruises over the years) was the hostess with the mostess on the ball. He took it upon himself to organize the gay contingent, whether it was drinks, games, the sauna (no organization needed: the FA’s owned that place), trivia, and even a lunch on a sea day in the main dining room. We had a great time as a spontaneously gathered group. About 60 of us marched in to lunch together behind Mr Bill and got a hand from the rest of the room. The repositioning cruises are cheap (many still under $1000 pp for two weeks) and always get a big gay crowd.

It all depends on the ship. One of Celebrity’s older ships, the Constellation, sails from Tampa and, perhaps as a consequence, draws a lot of passengers from the South and Midwest. One friend said it sucked onboard: people ignoring the no-smoking rules, Fox News 24/7, lots of redneck racism overheard) but he’s been back three times now because there’s so much corn fed daddy dick looking for love in the right places if you’re looking for that kind of love.

I think these new rules make perfect sense, but not because I'm racist, but I think low-priced anything brings out trashy people who do trashy things. I've never been on a cruise, but I've heard enough stories about cruising, especially gay cruises, to make me never want to set foot on any cruise.

Do they have metal detectors to screen for weapons when boarding on these ships?

I didn’t know blacks go on cruises. I thought it was only for the world’s stupidest whites.

R211 = Shecky Feldman., world’s worst comedian.

R210 They do, actually.

Metal detectors to check for guns. On cruise ships.

God Bless America!

Same as at the airport or sports event.

They mostly screening to make sure you're not bringing your own liquor on board. They'd probably be okay with a gun before a bottle of liquor. That's a big no no

Now I know where all the security guards and medical office receptionists go for vacation.

I never understand why anyone wants to go on a cruise anyway. Trapped on a vessel with inconsiderate people.

R218 I've only been on cruise and will never go on one again, but I must say that there were times when I'd look out and see nothing but ocean all around me. It was both eerie and incredibly soothing.

Other than that, it was like being in a giant floating hotel, but not being able to leave it. Oh, and I was surprised to discover that the swimming pools use ocean water. So you taste salt when you swim, and when you get out, your skin is extra dry and rough.

Salt water in the middle of the ocean. Who knew🥺

R220 Talking about the pool, not the ocean, honey.

R221 Yes, it made sense once I swam in it. But when one thinks of a swimming pool at a hotel or resort, one thinks chlorinated water. It was a surprise to jump in the first time and taste salt.

[quote]So you taste salt when you swim

No telling what other horrors were mixed in with the salt ...

I swim in the local ocean pool every summer, I love it, my skin is very soft afterward. I have a hot shower with minimal body wash and am good to go.

[quote]No telling what other horrors were mixed in with the salt ...

"I'm tasting salt but also something else. It's kind of a tangy taste. I wonder what that is?"

[quote] I never understand why anyone wants to go on a cruise anyway.

I never understand why assholes like you comment on posts you purportedly couldn’t care less about.

We get it. No one likes you. Find another outlet for gratification, you piece of shit.

R226 is very upset that others don't love karaoke night in the Tiki Lounge on the Promenade Deck as much as she does.

Took one Christmas week cruise out of New Orleans 35 years ago and don't want to go on another.

“The Love Boat” made me really want to go on a cruise ship. Not because of the stupid plots or unattractive cast but the idea of it seemed so luxurious.

But these stories and videos have changed my mind over the years, especially the stories about how much everybody seems to eat.

the only way I'd take a Carnival Cruise is it was an all-Black cruise (and me). At least it would be a fun time and not a bunch of drunken suburban fraus and trailer dwellers.

[quote]Other than that, it was like being in a giant floating hotel, but not being able to leave it.

To me, this is the problem with cruises that have too many sea days. As long as you stop in a port at least every other day, it's not that bad. But I avoid cruises like the ones from the West Coast to Hawaii, which have at least five consecutive sea days in each direction. Or long repositioning cruises.

If you go on a big enough ship, there’s plenty of room to move around and enough activities or ways to entertain yourself to make it enjoyable.

In that Netflix shit boat documentary, one of the crew members said that the crews on ships all fuck each other. It's just a constant fuckfest with the crew.

R233 that seems obvious. People need sex and you’re all stuck with each other.

Any port in a storm, as they say ;)

No farting in people’s faces

[Quote] In that Netflix shit boat documentary, one of the crew members said that the crews on ships all fuck each other. It's just a constant fuckfest with the crew

It makes sense. They are all stuck on boats for weeks at a time. Of course they’re going to fuck one another

r230 if you were actually in an environment of ghetto realness, you would not like it.

Cruises can be a lot of fun. The food is usually good and plentiful. The pools are fun. The entertainment is hit or miss but making fun of it entertains the whole next day

R239 - I agree. You just need to avoid:

1) Budget cruise lines (Norwegian, Carnival) and family-based cruises (Royal Carribbean) 2) Holiday weeks 3) Old people cruise lines - Holland, Princess

Celebrity or Virgin are the hip, funky, premium lines with no kids. And here's the thing about the no kids option - there are also going to be less people on the ship by definition.

Believe it or not - a family of FOUR will book into a regular cabin with the kids sleeping on the pullout sofa. And kids on cruise lines are FERAL - the parents figure that they're fine and nothing can happen cuz they're on a ship, so explore all they want.

I've had a lot of fun on cruises - and had two major disappointments, the last being a Royal Carribbean short cruise over July 4th. Jesus Christ - people EVERYWHERE. Kids EVERYWHERE. So not worth the money for that one.

Celebrity is NOT premium.

[quote] In that Netflix shit boat documentary, one of the crew members said that the crews on ships all fuck each other. It's just a constant fuckfest with the crew.

I mean, they're all stuck at sea with one another, no surprise there.

No rap or hip hop is in fact anti-Black.

Gotta know what other new rules they have. No boots no baggy jeans no ballcaps or bandanas? What are the dog whistles here?

R242 - yeah, not sure how anyone is surprised by that. It's the same crew - they don't get breaks between cruises. You're just on that ship doing 1 or 2 routes for months at a time.

Now they're not supposed to fuck guests - and I can understand the reasoning for that.

R243 - if you bothered to read the article: Carnival has not confirmed an official ban on any specific music genre, but the absence of hip-hop and a push for DJs to play only “pre-approved” tracks has some guests raising eyebrows.

In an email to the Daily Dot, a Carnival spokesperson wrote, “Our DJs play a wide variety of music, including hip-hop.”

So yeah - some of the DJs may have been going overboard and playing their own lists and too much of it. You have to mix it up - AND some rap and hip-hop have offensive lyrics. You know that. Nobody needs to hear that on their vacation.

I've been on Holland America, Princess, Carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian. Norwegian shouldn't be lumped in with Carnival, but it is lower end. Celebrity, Holland America, and Princess are all mid-level. They all have positives and negatives, and of course it all depends on what you're looking for.

In addition to the line, consider (1) the time of the year, and (2) the length of the cruise. You're not likely to find a lot of younger children on longer cruises during the school year, for example.

[quote]a push for DJs to play only “pre-approved” tracks has some guests raising eyebrows

Pics please.

The “hip hop” their DJs are playing is likely MC Hammer and Tone Loc. I think the rule applies more to guests with their personal speakers. Seems targeted imo.

R247 - personal speakers are offensive - anywhere, not just on a cruise ship.

And so what if they have an approved music list? Look - the SuperBowl Kendrick LaMarr beef with Drake was stupid and alienating to a huge demographic.

People who go to a club want upbeat music that they can dance to. Not some mumble rap - which I'm sorry, does not provide an entertaining atmosphere for everyone.

You know what else isn't played? Thrash music, heavy metal - which has the same off-putting energy and sound as most rap and hip-hop. There IS some melodic hip-hop and rap which is fine- which is probably what is approved.

But a lot of rap music also has offensive lyrics. I'm perfectly fine with this. Enjoy last year's hit by Kendrick - Like That.

Stickin' to the code, all these hoes for the streets I put it in her nose, it's gon' make her pussy leak Pussy niggas told, ain't gon' wake up out they sleep You can't hear that switch, but you can hear them niggas scream All my hoes do shrooms, nigga, all my hoes do coke 20-carat ring, I put my fingers down her throat (uh, uh, uh) If I lose a carat, she might choke (uh, uh, uh) I know she gon' swallow, she a GOAT (uh, uh, uh)

This is not for the majority of cruise passengers. No melody - just cursing to a repetitive snap.

personal speakers are offensive - anywhere, not just on a cruise ship.

Don’t come to NYC—you won’t get far with that attitude

Personal speakers are not an issue in the better neighborhoods.

[quote] Yes, I also live full time on a cruise ship

How does that work? Do you work on one? You never have to leave the ship?

[quote] No rap or hip hop is in fact anti-Black.

Oh, really? The most successful rap artist in history is a White man.

Isn't there more than one venue on these cruise ships? I would hope there would be different genres of music playing. If there are sufficient people on board that enjoy hip-hop, then that should be offered. I'm not personally into rap or hip-hop, but I'm not overly fond of country music either. If I ever went on another cruise ship (highly unlikely), I would congregate in the area that was playing the music I liked. Carrying around a boom-box shouldn't be allowed by anyone period when in a captive area like a ship.

In the bar industry it's been known forever that if you get some rowdy ghetto rats in your bar, you put country music on. It's like Kryptonite. They leave in two minutes.

R253 - People don't like to feel that a certain area is off-limits for them or that they aren't wanted. They paid to access the entire ship. I'd be pissed if I felt like there was only one place where I could go.

Yes there are always several bars on the ship - but there's usually just one club at the top of the ship.

And they still play rap and hip-hop, stop making it out like they don't. It's just approved songs - and those songs are probably crowd pleasers.

I guarantee you that you will not find any hip-hop or rap on other pricier cruise lines at all.

[quote]No rap or hip hop is in fact anti-Black.

It’s anti-noise pollution. It’s an environmental issue, not racism.

I'm no fan of hip-hop and agree with Carnival's policy of no personal speakers, but go to any lily-white suburb in this country and hip hop is all those kids listen to.

The type of music, just like the type of entertainment, would have to match the clientele of the cruise. It sounds like to me that there are various cruise lines that appeal to various markets. Some are largely elderly people. I doubt hip-hop is their thing. There are cruise lines that are definitely marketed to the young to middle aged gay crowd. Something tells me Atlantis cruises don't have a lot of activities set up for children. If cheaper carriers, like Carnival, attract largely a young and/or Black crowd, the entertainment offered should appeal to that group. I find it difficult to believe that hip-hop (or any type of music) is inciting destructive behavior. I suppose if you have a younger set of clientele, there may need to be firm rules in place for everyone's safety. It's either that, or the carrier can reassess how they market their line.

For crying out loud - it is NOT BANNED. They are just pre-approving the songs and not playing the offensive lyrics like I posted above.

Stickin' to the code, all these hoes for the streets I put it in her nose, it's gon' make her pussy leak Pussy niggas told, ain't gon' wake up out they sleep You can't hear that switch, but you can hear them niggas scream All my hoes do shrooms, nigga, all my hoes do coke 20-carat ring, I put my fingers down her throat (uh, uh, uh) If I lose a carat, she might choke (uh, uh, uh) I know she gon' swallow, she a GOAT (uh, uh, uh)

That was one of the biggest songs last year.

Rap is total garbage.

Odd fact, 83 year old Martha Stewart is a big fan of rap music.

R261 believes everything he reads.

I never believed that Martha Stewart is friends with Snoop and I don't believe she likes rap.

[quote] Odd fact, 83 year old Martha Stewart is a big fan of rap music.

Martha also did hard time.

They're just trying to clean up their reputation. Too wild and crazy. Drugs and out of control drunkenness. Fights, assaults, even rape, all kinds of trouble, all kinds of bullshit. So now they're trying "rules." All they have to do is increase prices.

I find Martha to be a stone cold bitch. Which is a very vulgar thing to be, her impeccable taste aside.

The most shocking thing here is that DL's official Black Liaison hasn't chimed in yet with his blaxpertise. Or maybe he has, but is posting incognito for some reason. Or perhaps he's on one of these trashy cruises himself as I type.