I just returned from a 5 day cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines Destiny ship. What a mess. After having experienced Royal Caribbean's excellent service and creative and amazing kids program I was told that Carnival was even better. The only reason I switched was because Royal did not offer a 5 day in the timeframe I needed to go.

I never realized how good I had it on Majesty of the Seas until I experienced the old delapitated ship that Carnival is still sailing. Below is a letter I chose to send to Royal Caribbean in hopes they continue their excellent service.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I just returned from a 5 day cruise with my family on Carnival Cruise Lines (Destiny ship). Before I sent them my letter of disappointment, I wanted to send you a letter of praise. Never before have I been more disappointed with a vacation. Because my family and I had such an outstanding experience on our Royal Caribbean cruise in January of 2009 (Majesty of the Seas), we choose to take an even longer cruise. My children and husband could not stop talking about the excellent service, friendly staff and AMAZING kids program. So why did we stray? Royal Caribbean did not offer a 5 day cruise in our timeframe so we had to look at other alternatives. I was told by several people that Carnival was "the fun ship" and that if I liked Royal's kids program I would LOVE Carnivals. Well, upon our first checkin with the unpleasant staff member it was pretty apparent that their kids program was nothing more than a floating daycare. You should be very proud of your program and staff members. After experiencing another program it is obvious that you go to great lengths to make the entire family happy. I could not get my kids away from your program they had so much fun! And having the expedited dining program is an excellent selling point. My husband and I joked the entire cruise because everything Carnival did made us feel like we were part of a cattle call! Yes you need order but you don't need to make your guests feel like numbers. Below is a summary of comparisons. Kids Program: • Carnival you could not see the play area. Royal had small walls where you could see over. • On Carnival pagers were not mandatory and I don't recall them being offered. Isn't that a little dangerous? It sure made me as a mother feel not connected. Royal gives pages for the entire trip. • Staff was not nice • NEVER left the room (not even for ice-cream or alien searches like on Royal!) • My daughter is 5 and my son is 8. They were on opposite ends of the ship. Royal has an amazing large area where all younger kids are in the same area (different sections but in the same area of ship!). Carnival has a tiny room that is just for toddlers. Nothing to play with or anything to do. Royal had great age appropriate things for kids 8 years old. • Carnival did not have an area for the kids on the private island. Royal has a darling area just for kids allowing the parents a little r&r! • Carnival did not have the expedited dining program. Kids could eat with the staff in the buffet. But you never knew where exactly to go. Royal offers the expedited program where everyone can eat as a family and yet the parents can still have time to relax. • Carnivals hours were much more limited and inconvenient. You had to pick your kids up at 11:00 until 1:00. Then it closed again at 4:45 until 6:00. General: • Upon arriving in the Carnival Destiny we were overpowered with a nauseating bathroom smell. When asked what the smell was the guest service manager remarked "well ma'am "it" happens." I am still waiting to know what "it" was. I could not eat dinner that night because the smell was so disgusting. It did go away overnight but returned again throughout our time on the ship. • My son's allergies were triggered by the immense mold and mildew on the ship. • There was rumor that the reason the ship was so rocky was because the stabilizer was broken. This was a known problem before leaving port. Probably not a good idea since it is hurricane season and the seas are rocky to begin with. Not sure if this is true but it absolutely felt like it. Even when the waters were calm we experienced a tremendous amount of rocking which tells me the boat either the rumor was true or the boat is just too old and the one they have is not sufficient. • Guest Service: Royal Caribbean treats guests like they should be treated; as guests! They are warm, friendly and try to make you happy. Carnival staff was rude (i.e. customer service staff, bar staff and kids program staff). • Rooms: Carnival's room was a bit larger or it at least seemed larger due to the bed arrangement. HOWEVER, they were very old, dated and dirty. • Pools: Carnivals were dated, old and very, very small. Royal Caribbeans were cleaner looking and much larger and accommodating. • Carnival did not have any alternative restaurants like Royal (i.e. Royal had the hamburger restaurant with shakes that the kids loved) • Carnival: Overall atmosphere was "party" oriented. Like the "hairy chest contest" on the kid pool area that turned pretty provocative. Not really something you want your kids watching. Royal really fits any age - they do a better job of separating those kinds of activities. • Carnivals private island was too commercialized. You didn't feel like you were on an island like you did on Royal. Plus the shops on Royals were more fun! Carnivals bathrooms were nice and clean. Much better than the ones on their ship. • Carnival Destiny is not laid out to be user friendly. The coffee shop is tucked away. Royal has everything in one area making it easy to find! • Royal's shops were much better and offered more of a variety. Carnival was super expensive and did not offer much. Read more