How bad is Carnival

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I'm mostly concerned about riff-raff passengers... are the Carnival horror stories true?

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The departure port probably has as much to do with riff-raff as anything, but their service really sucks. Room attendant once per day, if you have a pull-down bed or a converted couch to a bed it stays that way the entire trip, long waits for sit down non-dinner meals, the list is long in my experience of lacking service. The only thing they do right is delivering alcoholic drinks in a timely manner.

The passengers haven't been terrible, but it may be the time of the year. We typically go in January right when kids go back to school. Sure, there's annoying or trashy people here and there, but not enough to ruin the trip for us.

We also leave from New Orleans, so having LA as the port may help too.

Just know, you get what you pay for. It won't be a luxury cruise by any means, but it's definitely a fun getaway.

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The departure port probably has as much to do with riff-raff as anything,

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i figure a 7 day itinerary might price out some of the riff-raff, but, i also figured the riff-raff would be attracted to the ports (cabo, mazatlan, PV)

We always drive or fly to Florida and leave out of Port Canaveral or Miami. The passengers aren't nearly as bad as this website makes them out to be, especially from the ports in Florida. The two times I did leave from New Orleans, there was a good bit of riff raff, but they were also a 4 day and 5 day cruise, so they were much cheaper than the usual 7 day cruises we go on.

so it sound like New Orleans (and probably galveston too), along with shorter itineraries, are the main reason for the riff-raff

I just finished my 11th cruise. Of the 11, 3 were on Carnival ships. I've NEVER had a bad cruise but Royal Caribbean draws a nicer clientele and has nicer ships. I only cruise RC if possible. Carnival draws a more rowdy crowd, one that likes to stay drunk and party all night. Dropping "F" bombs is common amongst the crowd on Carnival. Not so on RC. I use that language myself during normal life. I work in a chemical plant. I don't use it on vacation and really don't care to hear it when I'm on vacation. We only sail in April and May. No threats of hurricanes nor cold fronts which make seas rough. Also usually kids are in school. RC has designated water areas geared for kids and a Solarium which is for 16 years old and older. Nice and quiet. Like I said, I never had a bad cruise, just some better than others.

I'll preface my statement with the fact that I really don't like the big production cruises. I can't stand feeling like a sardine in a can and the lack of personal service on cruises is a big turn off for me. They cater to the masses.

When I have cruised in the past I fould Carnival to be a step below many other cruise lines but the price competition has lowered some other lines to the level of Carnival. Honestly, I'd spend more and go on one of the higher rated lines. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to cruises.

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Never been on a cruise to this point, but my wife wanted to go on one this coming December, so I booked one for the Carnival Miracle out of Los Angeles. I expect some riff raff, but from everything I've read, those 7 day itineraries really cut down on some of those types, and going out of Los Angeles instead of somewhere like NOLA will help too.

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we're looking at the miracle in November... which itinerary are you choosing?