JMAE

5 hours ago, aborgman said:

 

Total cost for the under 2 year old? $109 for a 4 day cruise. They're losing money on that 2 year old and making it back on the parents.

Guest capacity is based on two in a stateroom, which cover the operational costs (land/sea) and produces profits for each ship, taking into account fare and onboard spending.  A ship at 100% capacity should run a profit between 15 - 20%.  Cruise lines like to run a >100 capacity, which means they have additional guests in a stateroom.  I believe CCL reached 101% capacity late last year line wide.   Any guests over the first two in a stateroom add little expense to CCL, other than maybe the food.  Since the ship is still sailing, the room stewards still have to same number of staterooms to maintain, etc.  As % go, I believe CCL makes more profits on the additional individuals in the stateroom than you think.  

2 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

I hope Carnival won't take away Platinum status from my DDs.  They just got it last cruise.

I would assume they do it like last time and you keep the status you achieved prior to the transition.  My guess benefit changes are coming and an additional level or two.  I hope some changes include benefits like free or discounted internet based on your level, etc.  

4 minutes ago, starstruck05 said:

I think they will have some sort of grandfathering process but maybe like you said, if you haven't sailed in a number of years, you lose your status. I think a few lines already do that. We missed out on being grandfathered into the current program by like 1 or 2 cruises. So it took us a while to get to Platinum but we are on tracked for Diamond (based on the current program) in the next few years or less.

Prior to the VIFP program, the loyalty program gave credits based on the number of cruises you sailed regardless the length of the cruise.  When they moved to the VIFP program there was transition period (I think 6 months) for individuals currently in their loyalty program. The transition period allowed individuals currently in the loyalty program to make the next level prior by 12/31/13 if I recall correctly.  So, I think there will be some kind of a transition phase.        

41 minutes ago, starstruck05 said:

John Heald, Carnival's Brand Ambassador, has stated that the new program should be rolled out by the end of the year but he's not able to give details as to what the new program is. It's been in the works for a while. I suspect an announcement maybe in the fall.

Yes, and he also mentioned improvements to the milestone program that rewards cruises that have reached their 25th, 50th, 75th and 100th cruises which is in addition to the VIFP program.  

April 2024 will be our 12th cruise on a Spirit class ship (1 Legend, 11 Pride) and we love the layout.  You are able to walk from the front to back on each deck without using stairs to get around crew areas.  The Spirit class ships have the highest passenger space ratio of the entire CCL fleet, so there is "a lot" of room to move around compared to the other ships.  Here is one recommendation you may like, try Sunset Garden Promenade (Pride), located on deck 3 forward.  It is a little used walkway that goes around the outside of the Taj Mahal lounge (Pride).  It has seating areas with tables and windows.  Most don't even realize the doorways are for Sunset Garden. If you want a drink before dinner, try Raphael Lounge (Pride) on deck 3, just forward of the aft elevators.  The Alchemy Bar is located one deck below Raphael's on deck 2, Alchemy is often very busy around dinner time that is why we use Raphael's.  One more tip, if you don't need or want to sit around the pool, we get lounge chairs on deck 10 aft near the stairs to Serenity area.  It provides easy access to a bar, pool, food and restrooms on deck 9 without a lot of people sitting around you.   Enjoy your cruise!   

On 3/18/2024 at 8:38 PM, bg2310 said:

The app is basically useless until you're on board and connected to the ship's WiFi. Then, you will be able to see and access everything you asked about and more!

Agreed, I wish they made the menus, Fun Times, etc available a week before your cruise.  Also, I would like to see the info accessible post cruise too.  

It may be Ken Byrne.  I heard he was on the Legend but went on vacation and may returning to the Pride after his vacation.  We are sailing the Pride in April, so I hope he is back.  

5 hours ago, Noledad77 said:

For $5 per user (total for the duration of the cruise), you can also use the messaging feature to basically text or DM others. Comes in handy with large groups.

Totally agree, it works better than the old walkie talkies we used years ago.  

I would pick the Magic. I think it would be the warmer (air & water) cruise of the two.  But either one would be great! 

On 3/13/2024 at 12:50 PM, DukeASUGirl said:

 

I keep hearing about how Carnival's customer base are the booze cruisers, especially on the short cruises. But I saw way more and way rowdier drunks on my one Royal cruise (which was a 7-day) than on either of my Carnival short cruises (a 3-day and a 4-day). Obviously anecdotal, but hey.

 

For us, we found that we prefer the food on Carnival and prefer the pricing on Carnival. Royal does beat Carnival when it comes to entertainment, but my kids already live at the ice rink at home (figure skater and hockey player), so the idea of skating on a cruise ship holds no appeal at all. 

I know it has been a long time ago for us, our first cruise was a 7 day on CCL, our second was a 7 day on RCCL, based on what we experienced, we thought RCCL had a much more "rowdier" group of guests than CCL. Along with the fact that the onboard CCL staff was much more attentive to my family's which promoted another positive experience.  We also preferred CCL food over RCCL offerings.  Since this time, we have been CCL loyalist.  We know RCCL and other lines may have newer venues and things to do on their ships, we are at a point in life that we cruise for RR and not things to do on the ship.  In the coming year we are thinking of trying different brands but will always come back to CCL.  

Bring back the Taste Bar. 

Extra bedding is often stored in the couch drawers. 

We will be cruising on the Pride after it returns to Balitmore in April.  I hear Ken may be returning to it after his vacation.  I haven't been on it since the drydock, how is it holding up and any recommendations?  Thanks 

I agree that as this post-COVID market continues to grow, ships will continue to change to get the most staterooms possible sailing and new onboard venues to increase onboard spending. I recently read an article about RCCL, the avg passenger spent a total of $1,818 ($1,251 ticket/ $567onboard).  I assume, Carnival Corp breakdown would be about similar.  Tickets generate about 70-75% of their revenue while onboard spending is about 25-30%.  This produced about a 11-14% profit margin, if the ship is full. However, as markets go (up & down) if volume softens, we should see a decline in ticket pricing to a point with the cruise lines attempting to fill their ships to cover their expenses of the newer larger ships.  The current market forecast is good for the coming years, this is a good discussion to have during a high demand market.  If a major decline or a leveling occurs, we will be having a different discussion.  

You can send a PDF or a photo of your account statement.  when ours was approved, I sent a PDF of our statement with our account balance, account number and other stocks listed redacted.   

8 minutes ago, vandercapellen said:

I just hope they continue to go out of Baltimore for a very long time. They have to do that with a small ship due to it having to fit under the Key Bridge. We love going out of Charleston for short cruises and our home port of Baltimore for long cruises. Unfortunately, Charleston is going away this year. I'd hate to love Baltimore also.  

We are a Baltimore lover too.  An easy 3-hour ride along with reasonable onsite parking for seven days of relaxation.    

Not sure we have the power to define "smaller", but for RCCL I would guess between 100,000 to 170,000 tons which is largest number of ships in their current inventory, so they must be profitable. 

I'm not a ship designer, but if height is the limiter for port access why not design a ship with a wider beam.  The Spirit class ships have a beam of 106' while the XL ships have 137' beam.  By increasing the beam would add volume to the ship while maintaining the 12 levels but may add to the draft which may be limiting too.   

As far as the VIFP program across the corporate brands.  It may be a good corporate wide marketing program based on CCL efforts to lure first time cruisers while providing them a path to their other brands.  I recently watched a CCL marketing video, instead of discussing CCL as usual, they introduced a Princess brand marketing rep to inform the CCL agents of the Princess options.  The presenters alluded CCL had a higher volume of guests booked into 2025 and Princess has available volume.        

1 hour ago, jsglow said:

I'm back on my VIFP points portability soapbox I guess.

I agree, I believe this would be great for marketing while giving seasoned cruises additional options across their brands while recognizing this group's commitment to Carnival Corporation.   

With RCCL announcement that sometime this year a new class of "smaller' ships will be introduced.  We know "currently" CCL has no plans for smaller ship builds.  I know this will be few years down the road, but I wonder how CCL will market their older ships to the newer RCCL "smaller" ships.  I believe RCCL effort would be to attract the seasoned cruiser not looking for the mega ships while enticing new cruisers at the same time.  I understand cruise lines market new cruises dollars to expand their clients base and profits, but it appears to me RCCL understands new cruises become seasoned cruisers and seasoned cruiser provides a reliable base for the industry.     

Benefit extended to 12/31/2024.  

Shareholder Benefit | Carnival Corporation & plc 

Yes, in past years (reports 2016 to 2022) CCL listed the shareholders benefit as part of the annual report. 

I remember the Capers, post cards and chocolates and miss them all. 

37 minutes ago, bg2310 said:

Certainly not. I for one hope they do build smaller ships. For now, it looks like that is not in the cards but doesn't mean they can't one day in the future, especially once their older ships get to a point that they cannot simply "invest" in them anymore.

Totally agree, if CCL plays follow the "leader" RCCL indicated recently they are looking at some smaller ship builds. 

No smaller ships in the future. I hope CCL remains committed to the ports that have size limitations. 

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-looking-bigger-and-better-no-new-small-ships/124945

In the past it was included in the annual report and it is not noted the 2023 report.