Maleeni

Ummmm, not sure what Hawaii cruise you were on, but there are 5 sea days....unless they moved some islands in between the west coast and Hawaii. I asked Carnival mgt and the answer was exactly what the OP said.

You know you could call them back 4 subsequent times and get an additional 4 different answers.

Can anyone tell me what the official result of that was?

 

Or is this one of those bizarrely forbidden subjects?

It's becoming more and more frustrating having to go to other cruise sites and Facebook to get answers on certain topics.

Last thread I saw, someone posted that they were doing a B2B and were told there would be no evening service. That thread I see is now gone as well.

For this topic to still be simmering a year later, it's an indication they continue to want to roll it out without anyone noticing.

I also noticed the topic came on ince again with specifics on John Healds Facebook page. He said he was going to check into it but has not been back on that thread with an update.

In any case, the day u an informed there had been ANY cutback to any service I pay directly through tips, those tips will be immediately adjusted.

Heading on our first cruise where we will be travelling without a group. Dinner in the MDR has always been the highlight of our day. When booking we selected a table for 6 which means we will be with 4 strangers and are a bit apprehensive about this. Just wondering what experiences others may have had in a similar situation. Thanks

All life long friends. We wouldn't have it any other way.

"A publicized $10 kids menu is no big deal as kids could always eat off their parents plates .

Didn't love that but in truth this is no change"

 

 

NOT, eating off your plate in the Steak House is not allowed. Up until the kids menu, kids would be charged $35 like everyone else

I often wonder why some people post things that are not true.

We were specifically told before our first visit when making reservations that our 6 year old would ONLY be charged if we ordered an entree for her; otherwise she could just eat off our plate. And even brought her some sides.

I can't find anything about this.

 

Im trying not to buy into the conspiracy thing but these times are just well................strange. I could see where people would think they are setting them up to fail.

You don't need an IQ of over 100 to see this. Meet and Greets are not new on Carnival. They've had them for Cruise Critic and Facebook groups for years, just never Cruise Critic sponsored. I imagine Cruise Critic needs the advertising, since melactive membership is at an all time low. It's a last feast at a straw, too late.

But Carnival offered to set up a room on every cruise on every ship WAY before Cruise Critic got involved. John Heald would even make sure there was bottles of champagne and ships on sticks to hand out. And it was always at an Agreed time, which I think was first sea day, day 2, early afternoon.

And now that Cruise Critc is involved, I'm trying to figure out who want them to fail more.

https://www.zydecocruiser.net/carnivaldrydockschedule.html

Ugh! All my spam alerts just went off on that link. What the hell was that.

Note to self: don't click external links!

I will say that I am severely sensitive to any smoke, so much so I cant even BBQ because it feels like my throat is closing up. But to say there arent many places to go on a ship as large as even the smallest ship is ridiculous. I dont smoke period but I can't nor wouldnt deprive others from their vices whether its dangerous or not. People are adults and can make their own decisions. To say smoking isnt a "need or right", well neither is overeating, but yet I see some hefty people piling high plates at the buffets on board (and on land for that matter) all the time. But once again people are adults and can make their own decisions. It is not my job to police another human being who has chosen another path to my own. Plus I cant stand when people try to police another person.

 

I cruise with my small children all the time and there are MANY places to go without encountering smoke, especially open decks which is the best part of cruising, smell the fresh sea air! Kids these days spend too much time indoors watching TV, playing video games, online, etc on a regular basis. Why would you want to be cooped up indoors on a cruise anyway?

They do say BBQ's are just as bad for you as cigarettes.

I have a question. When you look at other lines, does anyone consider the size of the staterooms? It seems that other lines have way smaller rooms compared to Carnival. With Carnivals' average room size at 185 sq ft for an inside most others don't even come close. I have a friend that is sailing on RCCL in an oceanview room that is 114 sq ft! And most of Carnival's oceanviews are 220 sq. ft.!

 

I'm just curious from those who have sailed multiple lines....does it make a difference or are you in the room so infrequently that it doesn't matter?

 

Just curious...

You don't HAVE to get a smaller E size room. You can get a D size room that has the same dimensions as a carnival room. And if you have a balcony, with a sliding glass door.

It looked really nice but it was such a waste of food. I am glad that they don't have them anymore. I am sure prices would be much higher if they kept them up as so much of it went into the garbage.

 

I would go and look and take pictures and then wait in line to go get something but not much. So many people would come to look but that was it. There really wasn't a lot of other options but now there are a couple of different options. I did like the Mexican buffet on one of my cruises but the last one there really wasn't much there.

 

tigercat

Waste of food? You do know all food is reduced and reworked. What makes you think anything was ever thrown away. It was reworked and even offered at the late late buffer at 1:30 up at the deck 8 eateries

And based on the picture lines and the full dining rooms at midnight, they were anything but wasteful. BTW, in the early 90's, when Carnival attempted eliminating lobster from their formal night menu, it was the only time lobster was ever offered, although served cold.

If they are finally offering suite perks after all these years (took them such a long time to launch a loyalty program years after all the other lines, and then in true Carnival tradition destroyed it by trying to micromanage it), I imagine these perks will be offered out to others for a price.

I imagine Carnival will be the first line to embark on a la carte pricing. It's trending that way.

Wow, after seeing that market share page I can see why Carnival Corp isn't focusing on the Carnival brand. If you break down the avg $ per passenger Carnival is lagging way behind their other brands.

 

You mention Costa, Hal and Princess is where the new builds are going. Yup, the proof is in the pudding

 

Carnival= $669 per Pax

Princess= $1986 per Pax

Costa= $1608 per Pax

Hal= $2567 per pax

 

Royal Caribbean= $1514 per Pax

NCL=$1616 per Pax

Celebrity=$2382 per Pax

 

That's crazy to see that Princess has LESS than half the passengers but has more revenue. No other brand is anywhere close to being that low.

 

Royal Caribbeans revenue ($5.6 billion) almost doubles Carnivals revenue ($3.1 Billion).

 

Say what you want about Royals business, they obviously know what they are doing too. Maybe it's all that $3 popcorn you keep talking about :D

Yowza! It's no secret that Carnival has such a hard time filling their ships that they have to offer deep deep discounts, and all those free cruises to fill them, but this also supports why so many things have been downgraded, cut back, eliminated, or converted to a pay for. It also explains the lack of new ships over the last 5 years. If it weren't for the Corp, they'd be out of business.

Housekeeping!! Imagine the Disney World cleaner who mopped the floor around the table, then lifted the mop to wipe off the tabletop:eek:

One reason I never eat off a table without a tablecloth.

All the time.

Does anyone have any money saving tips for your Carnival cruises?

 

I have a local grocery store that sells Carnival gift cards. They give you $.20 off per gallon of gas for every $50 in gift cards purchased (it's usually $.10 but they had a special a couple weeks ago). I purchased $1500 in Carnival gift cards to put towards my balance and in return, I get $6.00 off each gallon of gas, so that's basically 3 free tanks of gas.

 

I also plan on using my Amex offer for $75 cash back on a $250 Carnival purchase.

 

What else is out there? Let's get creative!

Get the best price possible in the cheapest room possible that you are comfortable with, pay with a card that gives you cash back, including your sail and sign charges, and keep your on board expenses low. If you drink, bring a bottle of two, skip the pay for items on board, book own tours or do it yourself.

In states such as NJ have had cash and credit pricing for years.

 

The oil companies think we should be so grateful for lower prices we will not notice they are higher than they really should be.

That's incorrect. I've been getting gas in Jersey for 16 years, and that only came back during the last major decrease prior to this one.

But the are still stations that charge the same.

But it's annoying that you have to go 30 miles into NJ to get their uninflated prices. Right now extreme northern NJ is about $1.55, and just south of Rt 80, significantly cheaper.

It happened to us. WE got a notice when booking that if oil prices went over a certain amount they would have to add $75.00 per person to our cruise. And they did.

I am of the impression that there were many that got this money returned to them, under legal duress.

John has addressed these things over and over on FB, but folks continue to present rumors here and stir things up. And Cruise Critic folks continue to harass him on FB about Carnival not doing enough for Cruise Critic meet and greets. Seriously, folks, I enjoy coming here and reading everyone's reviews, good or bad. I get valuable information on ports, activities, etc. I've made friends and connected with them on cruises. But I don't think that just because some folks "meet" on the internet and then sail on the same cruise that Carnival or any other cruise line owes them freebies, whether it's food or gifts or that the captain has to take time out to meet up at these cruisers' convenience. I don't consider myself to be any more important/deserving than anyone else sailing on the same cruise I'm on. I'm sick to death of folks flaunting their platinum and diamond status as if that means they are owed having their every whim met by the cruise staff.

When doing investigative reporting, one rarely expects the whole truth from the company or any representative. Once again they got caught with their bloomers down. And allegedly are now making corrections.

On another post I read that Carnival no longer gives you turn down service twice, that you choose am or pm is this true? When did this start if its true?

 

I also read they took away the lobster on less than 7 night cruises, is this also true? Are we able to purchase lobster and or a better steak on short cruises in the MDR for an uncharge?

 

up a lot of money especially when we take a couple of carnival cruises each year.

It was done in a manner that raised many eyebrows.

Even the workers were telling passengers it was one OR the other. And if course it was rolled out without an advance notice of an advance notice. The form itself is so misleading, that they are redesigning, but apparently refuse to throw the misleading ones away.

And yes, they took the lobster away in the short cruises, even though per dorm, they usually cost more. Go figure. They tried removing lobster altogether in the early 90s and failed miserably. The lobster soon returned. Just like the cocktail shrimp and escargot in later years. It was funny watching John. Heald reporting it was due to flooding, then drought, then flooding. By the time the correct story caught up with him, the little buggers were back.

I am trying to round up items needed for our cruise. We will be taking our toddler.mhe has been on a cruise before, but was only 8 months at the time. We overpacked on that trip. ;) He currently uses a potty chair, but I know that will not be practical to bring. What about bringing a potty seat (just the seat part) that is made to fit on the big toilet? Has anyone brought one, and did it fit on the Carnival toilets?

What else would you recommend as a "definitely pack" for a 2-3 year old? We are bringing his essentials (clothes, undies, wet wipes, shoes, etc) a few sand/beach toys, his leap pad (for the long drive), an umbrella stroller, a toddler backpack with a tether, (aka child leash for ports lol) some snack pouches, and we are allowing him to bring one small stuffed animal and a book for bedtime. Do you recommend anything else?

We bought a potty seat on board. Fit perfectly.

Unfortunately we forgot it when we left.

We just got off the Conquest and were amazed by the lack of the use of hand sanitizer by nearly everyone. Most evenings we were the only ones using it going into the MDR. Rarely saw anyone using it at breakfast either. We were also surprised that none of the crew encouraged anyone to use it. This was our first Carnival cruise in two or three years. We've been on a couple of other lines lately and the sanitizer was practically shoved down our throat-or at least deposited on our hands. Is this the new normal for Carnival?

Thank God. It gives people a false sense of security, all while eliminating and killing the good bacteria that your immune system uses to protect itself. Only people with immune deficiencies need it.

Not to mention the drug that in it that screws up women's hormones, including the reproductive cycle. I think it's called Triclosan. Look it up. It's scary.

Some of my most enjoyable Love Boat episodes are those that take the ship to the Far East. I always figured if I was to explore that part of the world, that would be the way to do it.

I wonder if they will simply relocate one of the 2 Spirit class ships seasonally to test those waters.

Ok So I pre paid my tips...I ended up getting bottomless buddies...If hubby buys a beer is tip included in the price or do we need to tip etc...? Saw something about 15% Thanks so much...Looked for this saw several posts about tipping but none I found covered this

Being you didn't buy a liquor package, they will charge and add a 15% gratuity on each purchase, but you can change that amount to anything that you like.

Nice to see this thread pop up, but my claim of multiple lobsters eaten and challenged has entered some black hole.