My wife and i just returned from our 25th cruise. This one was aboard the carnival splendor. Although not all of our cruises have been with carnival, we have noticed so many changes over the years. All of these changes seemed to have eliminated the "class" factor associated with cruising. The biggest change has been the dress code or lack of a dress code. When we started cruising (late 80's), there were only two casual nights.....one on the first night and the second on the last night. There were two formal nights where women wore gowns or fancy dresses and men were asked to wear either tuxedo's or dark suit / black tie. on our very first cruise, aboard the celebrity meridian, jackets were required in the dining room every night (except casual night).

on this most recent cruise, every night was "cruise casual" except for the two formal nights which are now called "cruise elegant". on formal nights, i felt so out of place wearing my tux. Many passengers looked at me and thought i was the maitre d.. There was no mention or expectation of formal night. In the past, formal night was when you met the captain of the ship and waiter's came around with free champagne. during one formal night, at a comedy show, i sat next to a man in shorts and a white, wife beater t-shirt. I'm sure this guy just came from the dining room. Years ago you could not wear that outfit at any time in the dining room. all this being said, i don't blame the passengers...i blame the cruiseline's for allowing this. People will get away with as much as they can.

We also found out that carnival has eliminated lunch in the dining room (brunch is offered on sea days). In the past, we always had the option of the buffet or the dining room for lunch. I asked the waiter about lunch in the dining room and he said that for as long as he has been working for carnival, they only serve brunch, not lunch, in the dining room on sea days only ! Read more