1313steve

Using standard paper (20 pound) and tri-folding it as directed on the tag, makes them plenty strong enough to work with just a couple of staples.

In my opinion, packing tape and/or holders are unnecessary. If it was much of a problem at all, Carnival (and other cruise lines) wouldn't do it!

As a Richmond resident (two hours from the Norfolk port), I'm really glad to see they will be returning. But it will come down to the destinations they offer. We were on the Glory in October and enjoyed the quick 5 day cruise to the Bahamas and back.

That's the first time I've been on a cruise less than a week, and it reinforced my believe that I want at least a week and I'd be fine with destinations that are about 10 days or so.

Are you sure about 4 hours?

My map is showing Charleston, SC to Norfolk, VA as 435 miles.

I don't think the OP meant is was 4 hours between Norfolk and Charleston. I think they meant Norfolk was 4 hours from their home. I suspect they live somewhere in between Norfolk and Charleston!

What you are proposing is just fine. Not an issue at all!

Wine bottles are limited to 750ml.

Anyone consider how these slick new tables will fare when the ship starts to rock and roll? They look very smooth, and when glasses get wet from sweating they will surely slide very easily. How much money will they lose from breakage to offset the savings? Anyone know if these are typical of local restaurants with the high gloss finish?

Breakage is so common that it doesn't even get a notice from the staff. We were in the galley doing the Chef's Table, when there was a loud crash that sounded like a LOT of dishes/glassware breaking. Everybody in our party made an "Oh no" comment, and the chef said "Oh no, what?" He was so used to the sound of breaking glass he didn't even notice it.

The cost of commercial glassware and even dishes bought in bulk is pennies per glass. I don't think it would have any effect on costs, but it could get messy if things really start sliding.

I think you're irritation or frustration is misdirected. It shouldn't be at Carnival nor RCI. It should be directed at yourself (sorry!!).

What you did was the same as buying futures in the commodity market. You bought a certificate for future goods/services. You paid X dollars for that certificate. When it came time to redeem the certificate, the current value of the commodity (the cruise) was less than what you paid for the certificate.

Now you're trying to cut your losses by getting another entity (Carnival) to give you your OBC. It isn't (nor should it be) their responsibility to make up for your "bad investment". Your "futures contract" (the RCI certificate) spelled out the details of what you were buying. Unfortunately the terms and conditions don't match with what you thought would happen.

We've all made investments that "lost" money. This is just one of those cases.

The good news is you're going on a cruise!!! Have fun, don't worry about the OBC and the next time you decide to buy futures, you'll better understand them and can make a decision based upon your increased knowledge!!

Happy cruising! :)

I'll agree with many of the other posters and say your post was pretty fair and balanced (and appreciated).

It sounds like there were six major issues that made your cruise a disappointment............

1) bad weather - could happen regardless of cruise line or ship

2) Pajama parade - could happen regardless of cruise line or ship or even a 5 star hotel. I saw two groups in PJs having breakfast during a stay at a very nice hotel (rhymes with Blitz Tarlton). Yes, it was annoying and I made a point to shake my head and sigh loudly when I walked by the groups.

3) Lousy Ports - can't blame that on Carnival. You picked the itinerary.

4) Rude people - another example of the erosion of manners in our society. People are getting SHOT during black Friday sales fighting over cheap TVs. Makes cutting in line at the buffet not as big a deal, but still disgusting. This is a problem that's certainly not limited to cruise ships.

5) Bad décor (in your opinion) - We all have different tastes in décor, but I wouldn't let it dampen my cruise experience. Might make me not sail that ship again though!

6) Bad Lido design - probably compounded by the rude people, but a valid point.

So all in all, most of your negatives are things that could (and do) happen everyday in a lot of different places besides than the Splendor. I'd say your negatives are more of an indictment on society in general than they are of any cruise line or cruise ship! :(

What does the Donkey sauce taste like??

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

It tastes like it would if you mixed all of these ingredients together (easy to find recipe!):D

1/4 cup roasted Garlic (minced

1 cup Mayonnaise

4 dashes Worcestershire

1 teaspoon Hot Dog Mustard

1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

4 pinches ground Black Pepper

That's why the bathroom and a half was useful. You can also send one or two people up to the spa showers to get ready.

Sounds more like a week at camp rather than a nice vacation on a cruise. I can't imagine 5 people in one cabin!

You can also look for doors that say "Danger - High Winds" - that's how some of the doors to these decks were labeled on the Glory. Sometimes they are locked, but if not, they do lead to good vantage points.

Also, watch out for that one door that quickly closes behind as you realize you are walking the plank!! :D

This will result in the customers thinking twice about CCL next time, though. If they are truly going to be the 'fun' economical cruise line for every one, then they can put ONE family film on in a week... if they are going to limit choices, than the customers will go where they can guarantee their entertainment will have options and that they just aren't important enough in the numbers.

Any business that tries to be for "every one" is just asking to fail. Businesses that are that unfocused usually aren't successful.

We were on the GLory, deck 7 last month. It's quiet, fairly close to everything. You can use the steps and be in most of the public spaces very quickly.

Deck 1 is going to be a long way from everywhere!!!

I also recommend a balcony cabin. You'll be glad you did it.

Maybe regional prices..cheaper in Midwest. I live in a tourism area and just looked at the top 3 restaurants visitors like ( the ones locals like me rarely can afford. Now, I have eaten at all 3 several times, we eat out of the house once a month on average, maybe twice a month sometimes.

 

Looking at the 3 places and their top $$$ meals, balsamic fig pork, Dungeness crab, full rack ribs, 14oz sirloin, lamb with blood orange and pancetta sauce, all come with soup and salad all are 23-29 dollars

 

Now, add an appetizer for 8-12 you do reach that 35.00

 

Appetizer we rarely order, except on vacation on a cruise, drinks I don't count (2-5 per drink here) since you pay in the Steakhouse for that as well. Desserts same as appetizers for us, but often since I dislike sweets, the wife and daughter share one.

 

Keep in mind, these are the top of the line at the local places, I don't think we ever go for the most expensive item on a menu ( or commonly go to these restaurants. We also when we are out try to hit lunch time, to save money over dinner costs. It is not odd to go out and pay 35-65 for the 3 of us to eat, but a ships steakhouse for us would be 105.00!!!!! That is totally crazy????

 

Like I said, maybe regional, but 105.00 is like 2-3 months of dining out for us.

Let's say three of you go to one of your local "top 3" restaurants....

If you each order a $24 entree, and share one $10 appetizer, you're at $82. I'm guessing you'll drink something more than water, so let's add another $6 for three ice teas (free in the steakhouse). Now you're at $88. Let's "splurge" and share one dessert, say for $8. Total is now $96. I'm sure there's some taxes involve, but let's say it's only $5. $101 total. But wait, we can't forget the tip either. That's another $20, so for a modest, higher end, but still reasonable meal for three, you're at about $121.

You can do all that in the Steakhouse for the same price, including a a $15 tip and everybody can have their own appetizer and desert, and if you go the first night, they'll even through in a bottle of wine for free.

See it's a bargain!! :D

Of course, everybody assigns importance to different things. I just looked online at my credit card statement and in the last billing cycle, my GF and I went out a total of 17 times. Looks like 6 lunches, and 11 dinners! And we spent more than a years worth of your typical dining out budget! YIKES! Different strokes for different folks.:)

As a stockholder would hope tht Carnival plugs this loophole.

I'm guessing the amount of time and effort it would take to effectively do that would cost more than the possible impact on revenue that would result from people "cheating" the system this way.

Besides, these people might think they are beating the system, but somewhere along the way Karma will even things out!! It always does.:D

Ok...Thanks

 

Does CCL scan the checked luggage as well?

I mean, what if (by accident):cool: I forget I have 2 bottles of booze in my luggage.

Does it make it through or does CCL take them out?

You've been a member here for 6 years, have over 900 posts, been on several cruises and are asking that question???????

Show up whenever you feel like it! You're on vacation, so enjoy a leisurely morning and don't worry about getting there by a certain time.

I've arrived as early as 10 am and as late as 3pm (for a 5pm sailing). It all depends what we wanted to do that morning. One time we went out for a very nice brunch at a local restaurant, another time we laid out by the pool at the hotel and enjoyed lunch there. Another time we got up, had coffee and headed to the ship.

In all these cases we had a great first day, arrived very relaxed and had a great cruise. One of the main reasons I like to vacation is it gets me away from the day to day schedules that we all seem to live by these days. No way I'm going to start my cruise by feeling I've got to be somewhere by a certain time. :D

If I read between the lines, I'm suspecting the "let's buy stock to get $100 OBC" strategy might really be something like this example............

9am - buy the stock ($7 cost)

9:30 am - it shows up in your portfolio online - print a copy

9:31am - sell the stock ($7 cost)

The "investor" has spent $14 to gain $100 in OBC. The odds are unlikely the stock will move very much in such a short time.

Not exactly the most ethical way of doing things, but I wouldn't be surprised if people are doing this. Seems crazy to me, but seem people think things like that are a smart way to do things.

Foolish not to go????

 

I disagree, Now, I never went mind you, but I avoid mdr cause it takes too long, heard steakhouse is longer. MDR food doesn't impress me, so we buffet, just as good, so trusting the steakhouse scares me. Finally, we eat out at home about once a month or so, never in my 50 years have I paid 35 for one meal, even in tourist country where I live...heck why would I do it in a place I already paid big bucks to be on?

This is one of the reasons I find this forum so interesting. I certainly don't mean do be critical of your dining habits, because everybody has different priorities, likes, and dislikes in life and it's certainly not my place to pass judgment on yours.

With that being said, I can't imagine not enjoying fine dining and fine meals on a regular basis, and $35 doesn't even come close to buying a fine meal in a land based restaurant. I had lunch today with a friend and I just went and looked at my copy of the receipt.....

Two salads @ $9 = $18

Two Soup de Jour @ $7.50 = $15

A modest bottle of voignier wine - $33

With tax and tip the total was $87. And we spent about two hours enjoying good food and great conversation. I consider it time and money very well spent!!

Let's look at the facts:

1) CCL corp profits are down

2) RCL profits are up 19%

3) NCL profits are up 43%

 

Which cruiseline do you want to own a part of?

Also, people fleeing CCL are not just avoiding CCL; they are avoiding Princess and Hal and sailing RCL and NCL.

 

Let's also put this myth to rest- that all CCL ships sail full. Not anymore, not anymore!

CCL is willing to sail less full now, in the hopes that it will help increase the sale price of cabins.

Source: http://news.investors.com/business/112013-679917-carnival-corp-and-royal-caribbean-and-norwegian.htm?ntt=carnival

Very true. When we were on the Glory in mid-October, the HR person who led our Behind the Fun tour said there were 89 vacant cabins on our cruise. That's about a 6% vacancy rate.

I think room service is the best deal on the entire ship. Yes, the menu is limited, yes it sometimes take awhile to get things delivered, but it's still a steal.

I can't tell you how many times I've stayed in hotels and spent $9 to $12 for a carafe of coffee from room service. Then they add the 18% gratuity and a delivery fee of around $5. So suddenly that pot of coffee is almost $20.

So I'm more than happy to tip at least $5 every time room service brings us coffee and whatever else we've ordered that morning. No better way to start a day than with coffee on the balcony!

What did you think about the playlist production shows?

 

Doing the Glory again for first time since it got these shows and most reviews of playlist dont care for it.

We only saw one (Motor City) and I thought it was fine. Not exceptional, but enjoyable. Never sailed on Carnival in the pre-playlist shows, so I can't compare.

It's all about expectations. I don't expect Broadway or Vegas caliber shows, but I'm not paying for that kind of experience either!

We were on the Glory in October (5 day Norfolk-Bahamas). Our first Carnival cruise and I thought the Glory was just fine compared to the other cruises I've been on.

If you plan on dining on the Lido deck buffet, go to the aft of the ship. There's a serving line back there that's not near as crowded. Also, one deck above the aft Lido buffet is the fish and chips place. Good food, hardly ever crowded.

All in all a nice ship. The décor was a little dark for my tastes, but that shouldn't have any affect on your enjoyment. Friendly crew, good experience.

You'll enjoy it!

I'm glad the OP like chocolate wine, but I've had the displeasure to taste a couple of the different offerings and in my opnion, it's neither wine nor chocolate. I like both of those, but the combination is terrible.

Want chocolate wine??? Here's a great recipe.......

1)Pour a glass of your favorite red wine

2) Open your favorite chocolate candy

3) Hold the wine in your left hand... Sip

4) Hold the chocolate in your right hand....bite

Repeat steps 3 and 4 as needed. I promise it will be a much more palate pleasing experience that any chocolate wine!! :D

It sounds like he's going to be around family he enjoys spending time with. Also sounds like he's cruised before, so I'm sure he'll find things to do on his own if he wants some "me" time.

I think you're probably more worried about him having a good time then he is. He'll be fine, mom! Might be time to loosen up those apron things a bit and let him do his thing! :)