2aprilbabies

I just watched a couple of youtube videos and it looked like just one large shower. Are there others that weren't shown?

Good idea.

Good points. I'll see what Tuesday brings.

We've cruised Carnival before and I considered it in the past, but never went through with the purchase because the stock price was so much higher then. I know there is always a risk with stocks, but it seems like occupancy rates are pretty good these days and I would imagine that would translate into a better financial picture. The OBC is just a bit of a motivator to consider purchasing sooner rather than later.

We are set to sail on a Carnival ship this summer. I saw a few posts about the shareholder benefits, and with the stock price so low, it seems like a smart gamble. We would probably just buy the 100 shares and get $50 OBC right away for the planned cruise. However, I just looked at Carnival's Shareholder Benefit page and it says reservations had to be made by 2/28/23 for sailings through 7/31/23. We just booked our cruise so does that mean it wouldn't apply to us? Are they no longer offering the shareholder benefit? Also, we booked two cabins for our sailing. If they are still offering the OBC, does that mean we could get it for both cabins or just one?

I wish you could share your agent. Would like to book and don't know who to use.

How do you know if the online ones are reputable? I used a site to compare offers from TAs, but now I am a little hesitant to book with one in case they turn out to be scammers.

@APDMOM- thank you so much for all your information! I loved your review too! The ship looks beautiful. For all you MSC lovers, did you book directly with MSC or use a travel agent? I put in a query with CrusieCompete but the offers don't seem to be as good as booking it directly.

Question about the entertainment: do you book the fee-based shows? I can't imagine my son wanting to go, but my daughter probably would. I am a little concerned about my kids finding stuff to do since they are older (18 and 21). Did you use the bowling alley or the F1 simulators?

Thank you. Your response was very helpful. Do you do Yacht Club? I've read it's a ship within a ship, but I don't really know what that means. I also just noticed the Status Match. We're Gold with Carnival so not sure if that will mean much with MSC, but I'll fill out the match - nothing to lose there. We'll definitely go with an open mind, but can you share some of the major differences you noticed?

I am not the OP, but I have the same question. We are a family of 4: 2 50-something adults, 18-year-old, and 21-year-old. We are limited to a specific week to sail and wanted to leave out of NY or NJ. It seems we waited too long to book Celebrity to Bermuda and I just noticed Meraviglia for the week we can travel. We haven't cruised recently, but in the past, we've cruised with Celebrity and Carnival. We were happy with all our cruises. I am seeing mixed reviews for MSC and wondering if it's worth us giving it a try. One member of the family needs gluten-free.