carrieluvsgreg

This next trip we have booked and prepaid for our specialty dining, prepaid for the internet package and have CHEERs included with our rate... the only thing left is tips and excursions in port and a few souvenirs. I don't anticipate it to be too much-I think $1000 will be what we take for a 7 day and I expect to come home with a lot of it.

The Pig and Anchor is extra- but at lunch on embarkation day and sea days they have a bbq buffet that is included. They have various meats, coleslaw, mac and cheese, potato salad and rolls, if I remember correctly. The food is served outside the Pig and Anchor on the promenade. You can carry the plates back inside to eat if you wish.

As others have stated, I think Carnival's basic demographic is geared to 7 day and under sailings. They understand that the majority of folks that cruise the line are still limited on vacation time and doing longer than 7 day sailings leave many folks who must travel to the port out of those sailings altogether. The introduction of the Journeys sailings several years ago was to supplement their typical model. They have been doing them long enough to determine the success. If it were tremendously successful, they would add more itineraries. Apparently it isn't worth assigning more Journeys sailings to the current offerings. As another poster stated, within the brand they offer at least two lines that consistently offer longer sailing with more exotic ports of call. Having lived on the east coast for our entire cruising career, we have thoroughly exhausted the Caribbean ports. We took the Dream relo to NOLA several years ago to go to new ports, we took the second sailing on the Horizon in the Mediterranean to tick that box off the bucket list and our 2020 cruise out of Galveston was canceled due to Covid. We board the Panorama Saturday for our first time in the Mexican Riviera. Crossing the country requires more money and lots more planning for sure. I think Carnival isn't counting on people doing that-they understand most of their clientele will go to the closest port to their home

We board the Panorama on Saturday and that is the basic time for our stop in Cabo, My understanding that it is like that every week that starts with PV. My experience in the Caribbean ports with early port times is that the locals that are interested in making a buck open when a ship pulls in. On our Cabo day we are the only ship in port. So, they better get up and get ready for business if they wanna make any money. Also not sure it is dumb for Carnival either-they make "0" dollars on passengers who get off the ship. If you stay onboard, you might spend money on booze.

We've done everything up to Vista class. I view each class as it's own experience. So far, our favorite class is the Dream class with the flagship being our favorite within the class. (Even if she's an old lady- we still love her!) We love the Cloud 9 ships but have enjoyed many sailings on the smaller ships that do not have those facilities. We just know going in that it will be a different experience. I am hesitant to book the new class because I have looked at the ship layout and it seems weird to me that the spa is low in the ship and some spa rooms are still up top... That doesn't seem convenient to me at all. I know they now offer cove balconies in the spa which I can see would be a draw. Anyway- I do agree with another poster's recommendation to watch some YouTube videos and begin getting familiar with the "bells and whistles". Some with appeal to you and others will not.

If he is able to do the plane trip, the Mediterranean was an amazing experience. We never knew when the ship was moving or standing still. We flew first class to Paris a few days early and then took a short hopper to Barcelona. (the original plan was to take the train but they were on strike when we were there.) We didn't want to spend the extra on first class on the way home...that was a mistake... if we ever do it again, we would book first class both ways.

When you're looking on the Carnival website first select suite, then all of the options will be listed. You will have to choose a rate code that allows you to select your stateroom. The available cabins at that rate code will then show up as well as how much it costs to move up in the ship.

That's tough.... Our first cruise with our kids was very special. Our last cruise on the Horizon in the Mediterranean was amazing. It was incredible to see so many things that we had only seen in pictures in person.

The only way to skirt this on Carnival is to split your reservation when traveling with two (or more) children when booking two staterooms. You list one adult and one child in each stateroom. They cannot force a minor to purchase because they are not of legal age. Presto-you can purchase one drink package.

You will get a coupon for a free drink during the last sea day brunch. On sailings 5+ days there will be a platinum/diamond party that has free drinks. The party lasts 45 minutes and varies on the drinks and appetizers offered.

LAUNDRY! My favorite benefit-coming home with a suitcase full of clean clothes! Also, priority debarkation and priority tenders to shore on tendered ports.

Typically it has been chocolate covered strawberries for us... but basically it is a plate of special chocolate treats delivered to your stateroom.

We are some of those folks who made it with the old program that still continue to cruise. We were averaging more than once per year for several years then life changed and then a world wide pandemic hit... Our 2020 cruise was canceled and we moved to a new state in 2021, all of those changes caused us not to cruise again until this Saturday when we board the Panorama. I am especially glad that Carnival did not "kick us out". We fully intend to book another cruise and are glad to be able to be cruising again.

To compare your doctor to a vacation experience isn't a fair comparison... you build a relationship with a doctor and trust him with your health. His knowledge and expertise is key, his training and ability to provide quality healthcare are paramount. Carnival is a vacation option... it is a choice made by many things. (destination, onboard experience, ship, duration, price and amenities.) When considering those options the perks (mainly priority boarding, priority tenders and free laundry) that we have earned play a role in our decision. Since Carnival does not offer us anything for the loyalty to them across the brands, we would be just as inclined to sail with someone else, outside of the brand as a whole.

Does anyone happen to know if they try to work around other specialty dining that we have already booked? We sail on the Panorama next weekend and our Chef's Table is also DBD. We have scheduled the steakhouse for the first sea day and Tepanyaki the last sea day. I feel like we should be good... but it would have been good to be able to pick it ourselves.

I am beyond disappointed that they seem to have abandoned the whole idea of T-pools. That is our FAVORITE part of the spa on the Dream class ships... We were so disappointed to find it was just a big whirlpool on the Horizon when we sailed in 2018. I had hoped when a new class of ship was introduced they would return to the previous kind of pool... so sad to see that has not been the case...

We have cruised to Western Caribbean ports many times without issue as well as taken week long vacation to Cancun. We have never felt unsafe anywhere in that region. Cozumel is an island, and a relatively small island at that. If you're doing an excursion that remains on the island- you'd actually have to work at being back late... I would only recommend booking with the ship for that reason if going to the mainland to see the ruins or cenote... The people of Cozumel really rely on tourism and they know that. For that reason it is very friendly, safe and great place to visit.

Not sure that is completely accurate... You can't grow a business if you're losing as many out the back door as you gain new customers... It is a careful balance- you do need to gain new blood, but if you're not offering anything to retain customers, you gain nothing.

It could be done without diluting the program. As the Carnival loyal get older, it makes sense to develop a program to allow us to transfer at least some perks to a sister brand. I am not suggesting platinum for platinum (or whatever it is on Princess). But as others have said, if I am just a "first time cruiser" on princess or any other CCC brand, then I'm just as likely to try Virgin...

That's fantastic! Thanks for the info!

On the Dream class they tried adding hot tubs to draw folks out there but it isn't a great fit as wet bathing suits aren't great inside on Promenade. We sailed on the Horizon in the Mediterranean on the second voyage and don't remember much about the ship because our sailing was so port intensive, but do remember the bbq lunch served at Pig and Anchor was nearly vacant on embarkation day.

For me, even in this picture, the tables would look better without the cloths, it would make the place settings pop. It really is just a personal preference and it is extremely difficult to keep white tablecloths looking pristine. They stain easily and wrinkle bad. I kinda put it into the same category as pantyhose. It used to be something worn daily, then moved to only special occasions and now I don't even own a pair... it seems dated even in this setting.

We board the Panorama in 12 days and were offered "free" CHEERs when booking under that rate code. We have a spa balcony cabin and it was $200 more than the cheapest available rate. I knew we'd spend at least $100 at the coffee shop on a 7 day sailing and most likely would have a $100 bar tab. So for us it was a "no brainer". There was a constant reminder that if we changed our reservation in any way (rate jumping) we would lose the CHEERs. I really did not even check the rates after booking because of this. I did check rates a few weeks back just to see how many spa rooms were left and to book our same cruise then without CHEERs was $1000 more than what we paid, so I am very pleased with our choice.

I typically go by the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mind set. If I have taken 14 Carnival cruises and have been satisfied with my experience, itinerary and value, why mess that up? We are boarding cruise number 15 with Carnival (next week) in the last 20 years and have had amazing experiences including most of the Caribbean ports, one relocation trip, Panama, Mediterranean, and next Mexican Riviera. We started with Carnival because it was a good value for our money and we still feel that way 20 years later. I have cruised once with Disney and nothing about that trip swayed me away from Carnival. We aren't opposed to sailing with another line and have priced it out many times. So far we have not found a trip that offers anything to make a switch. When we have more time to cruise, Holland America has many itineraries that interest us, but until then, I'm not sure we will branch out...

I feel like the larger ships offer variety by way of specialty dining. They are offering you options, you just have to pay more for those. Having ship specific MDR offerings would drive up the overall cost of cruising with Carnival. They are able to keep prices lower than the competition because of things like fleet wide MDR menu choices. We have been cruising with Carnival since 2003 and have seen the changes in the MDR over those years. The MDR experience is overall pretty different, but still a good experience. We have had dining teams that we enjoyed better than others. We have also had sailings that we opted to eat elsewhere much of or trip. I appreciate that Carnival still strives to offer a nice vacation for a low price. It was the only reason we could afford it 20 years ago. Now, we can afford more but remain loyal to the brand both for the perks and price. I like the flexibility of having specialty restaurants if we want to splurge but still having a MDR with good offerings if we don't