salty dingo

If you go to the Alchemy bar, they have Lyre's non-alcoholic spirits which can be used to make some very interesting drinks. You may be able to mix one yourself with the bottomless bubbles - go get a cranberry or pineapple juice and then go back and get a lemon-lime soda. Mix together yourself and you have a mocktail.

I've done this on my last two cruises. It's really nice on sea days - in port I usually have other less expensive wifi options available. Pro tip: if you purchase your 24 hour pass in the middle of the day you'll have it for the rest of the day and the next day up to the time of purchase. I usually buy it around noon and it covers my online needs for two days.

Interesting hypothetical but in the real world Carnival would have structured these as two cruises.

I know, sounds too good to be true, right. Plus, the stock has doubled in price.

That's good, but same percent off as AARP right? I would buy some to pay off my 2025 cruises on Splendor out of Sydney, however, when I tried to use a gift card in the past Carnival would not accept them. The Australia cruises have pricing in AUD and the gift cards are loaded with USD, so that's not going to work.

I can report that on Panorama recently I saw virtually no empty scooters anywhere, so either the guests were being very courteous or the policy is being strictly enforced. Or maybe both!

Upgrades on a Guarantee can happen. On one cruise I booked an inside guarantee and was assigned an ocean view. It's only happened once to me, out of maybe 5 or 6 cruises that I booked a guarantee.

Must be a New York thing? Out of Miami, Cheers was active from the moment you boarded. There are taxes added on to each drink, which are extra on top of Cheers, until the ship reaches international waters. The taxes don't amount to much, however.

Maybe I'll tune in to the conference call in two weeks when earnings are announced. Some stock analyst could pose a question about this, though I wouldn't bet on it.

If the port area is secure, you need not worry about what's happening in the rest of the country. On my recent trip to Cabo San Lucas on Panorama. an entire squad of Mexican Marines with their assault weapons was stationed in the port area. Doesn't matter how bad the gangs are nearby, the port was safe as could be!

I finally received a reply from Investor Relations to my question about the Shareholder Benefit. It was a disappointing reply which did not address my question. They provided a link to the existing shareholder benefit web page and mentioned StockPerks. No indication about continuing the benefit, which I asked about. I can only conclude that they don't know. Let's wait and see if anyone at the shareholder meeting asks about it.

Yes, even the coffee shop will give you a bottle of water along with whatever beverage you are purchasing under the package. Only extra water though, they won't let you have both a coffee and an energy drink for free at the same visit.

The Diet Pepsi part of the drink is zero, but the Jack has 65 calories per ounce.

I will - nobody wants the benefit continued more than I do. It would give me $300 of free stuff in 2025. I'm just not optimistic about it, unfortunately.

I agree, it appears the shareholder benefit has been discontinued in 2025. Here's the 2024 Shareholder Meeting Agenda and there is no mention of the shareholder benefit up for a vote. FYI, there was also no proposal up for vote on the shareholder benefit at the 2023 Annual Meeting. Despite what some have said in this forum, the shareholders do not vote for or against offering the benefit. It's solely offered at the discretion of management. Also, last year the benefit was published in the Annual Report, not voted on at the meeting, and it's not in there this year. To me, this implies that management has used their discretion to not continue the benefit. If I had to guess, they have figured out it's eating into their bottom line too much for people like me, who bought 100 shares for $850 to get hundreds of dollars a year of discounts in return. Even at the current price, it really is a deal too good to be true. Before Covid you'd probably have spend $5,000 or more to get that benefit. Management got wise. I did email investor relations with a question on this topic but got no reply. I do imagine in the Q&A session at the annual meeting, some shareholder will bring up the subject of the benefit, and the management will have to address it, but I would assume that for 2025 cruises there is no benefit. My request for benefit for my 2025 cruises was denied because they said the benefit would need to be extended... which it has not been.

I tried the Cheers because Carnival gave it to me for half price in a special fare. It was nice but I would not pay full price for it. I enjoyed it but there are way too many calories in those virgin frozen cocktails and milkshakes. Even without the alcohol!!!

The full drink package is worth considering even if not drinking alcohol. The alchemy bar can whip up a great concoction with non-alcoholic spirits. The milkshakes and coffee are nice, and you can get an energy drink or virgin frozen drink any time. Honestly, when not drinking alcohol you can consume a lot more... not just because there is no 15-drink limit, but mostly because your body won't stop working, :LOL!

I haven't been on Celebration but my favorite embarkation lunch spot on the Vista class ships was the Mongolian Wok. Then, I head downstairs for a bite of funfetti cheesecake and some gelato.

Maybe I'm getting seated that way because I am checking in as soon as the restaurant opens? Could be different at the busier times. I tend to go to breakfast/brunch early to beat the crowds and because I'm an early riser.

Here's a cool fact I just observed on this topic. I just turned 70 points as of the last cruise, and I have a 5 night previously booked, which will be my next cruise. My confirmation when I booked the 5 night said gold because I had only 64 points when I booked. After completing the last cruise I went to Carnival's site to see if my points had increased to 70, and they had not yet posted the new points. My next cruise showed a check-in date 14 days prior to the cruise. The next day I check the Carnival site again. My points were now at 70, and my next cruise showed a check in date 16 days prior to the cruise! So I'm receiving Platinum perks like early check-in now!

There are two types of OBC called refundable and non-refundable. An example of a refundable OBC is when the port charges end up being less than you already paid, so they post a credit for the difference. An example of a non-refundable OBC would be the shareholder credit you are entitled to. As the name suggests, the refundable credits can be refunded to you in the casino I suppose, or at the end of the cruise. The non-refundable credits will be forfeited if not spent onboard. When they tally up the charges, they will subtract from the non-refundable OBC first, and items like gratuities, specialty restaurants, drinks, and excursions can be paid out of non-refundable OBC. I have had cases where at the end of the cruise all my non-refundable OBC was spent but I still had some refundable credit left on my account. If the amount is at least $10 then Carnival will mail you a check for the unused refundable OBC shortly after the end of the cruise

This is not what I experienced in my last two cruises, in October and last month. In the Hub App, you check in during the times the dining room is open. Pro tip: the app starts accepting reservations exactly 10 minutes before opening time. While there is an option to request a shared table, it's turned off by default. I ate in the MDR for every breakfast and brunch and was never seated at a shared table - always was sat at a 2-top. The one time that a shared table was possibly required was for the afternoon tea. I witnessed a couple who asked to be seated at a table for two, and the waiter replied all the tables for two were already occupied, and they left.

I know it's a different type of refund but if you have money on your account at the end of the cruise, they will mail you a check if it's over $10, and that check usually arrives a week to ten days after the cruise.

Recently on the Panorama. On debarkation morning the dining room opens for breakfast at 6:30 AM and I recall watching us pull into the harbor and dock during that time. The people doing the earliest self-debarkation were told to meet at 8:30 and were escorted off shortly after that. I was on the bus headed to the airport by 9 AM, at LAX around 9:30. This may not be typical but was my experience.

I recently did two solo Carnival cruises and tried different seating options. The first cruise (actually 2 B2B sailings for 14 total nights) I had the early seating. Carnival made sure the tables I had for each cruise was full of other solo travelers. It was really fun to meet other people and to have someone to talk to at dinner. The most recent cruise I had the Your Time Dining and always had a table by myself. This was also fine, as I brought something to read and entertained myself. The only downside is that there is likely to be a wait for a table. After trying both, I'd prefer to be at a shared table with other solo travelers.