MauiWowie57

15 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Just wait until you have been Platinum for awhile or on your way to Diamond and your attitude will change. It happens to everyone.  Not sure when it will happen, but one day something will happen that will change your view, like spending 20 minutes in line at GS behind a Blue card with FTTF who is not happy because they don’t use real glasses at bars located in pool areas. 

Sadly, they do seem to sell too many FTTFs; I've been Plat for a while now, and don't begrudge FTTFs at all - I don't like sitting around in long lines either, but at some point (as noted on another thread about priority room access), with staff reductions, something's got to give. In hindsight, I don't think I necessarily got my money's worth out of the FTTF before hitting Platinum status. 

I do think that at some point they'll monkey with the VIFP Tiers again, there seems to be more Platinum than the system can accommodate at this point. I did the Vista maiden trans-Atlantic a few years ago, and more than half the passengers were Platinum (including me!), which had the effect of...diminishing the value of that tier. 

On 4/4/2019 at 7:53 AM, jimbo5544 said:

I agree with that, which makes it more interesting why they would trial this on HAL.  It is engrained in the process on Carnival (both staff and customers) and do not see that changing.

Doing quite a few cruises on both lines ... 

I'd say the reason to start this on HAL is exactly that. Not that many HALsters are going to want a second entree, and so the incidences of this occurring are going to be rare; an easy way to see if the extra accounting procedures work,  kitchen management processes easily adapts, and the service staff is able to overcome the resistance to being charged for what used to be considered "included."

The first two would carry right over to Carnival from HAL once perfected, but the second is going to require some 'strategic communications/change management training" for the service staff to avoid customers getting upset.  

I always think it's funny when businesses (and the cruise lines are really going after this in recent years) talk about "testing" additional fees, or unbundled fees for things that used to be considered included.  Airline baggage fees, fees for a seat inside the plane (as opposed to in the cargo hold I suppose), etc.  The presumption with 'testing' is that the test could FAIL.  All of a sudden bookings drop to zero because of additional entree charges...? I doubt it. More along the lines of "(a) how many people does this negatively impact, and (b) are they impacted enough that hurts our bottom line more than the additional revenue we're now getting from the second entree up charge?"

You’re exactly right. Koningsdam. My error. I hate getting old. 

We sailed the Eurodam for Christmas, and couldn't figure out what they did to the Tamarind menu. Not only did they separate the sushi (it's additional) but they changed the original theme of "Earth/Fire.." etc. 

I was disappointed. 

On 3/21/2019 at 7:35 AM, puppycanducruise said:

Apparently it's a trial run on some ships. 

Wonder how long it will last?

Until the Corporation implements it across all ships on all lines....

😞

On 3/22/2019 at 8:20 PM, hrmkr said:

So sorry everyone.

 

I typed in the wrong islands for option 2.  The previous option 2 would not work because of the sailing dates.

 

New  Option 2: 

St. Thomas

St. Maarten

St. Kitts

St. Lucia

Barbados

 

Does this change your opinions?

Heck yes! Option 2!! I don't care for St T., but the other three are great, especially Barbados.

You can order a gallon jug of distilled in advance for delivery to your room. (You're not the only person on the ship with a CPAP!). Never had a problem with Carnival or Holland America doing that - just go to the "Fun Shops." link.  You *might* need to ask your room steward to bring you an extension cord if you're on an older ship without a sufficiently close outlet.

And yes, I realize the ship distills water from the sea...but it's not the same as "purified steam distilled," which is what you want to keep your machine working better, longer, and to keep you from inhaling bromide and whatever else the ship has to put in it's water system to keep it sanitary. 

$3.75 for 50 fl. oz.

https://www.carnival.com/FunShops/item/Y36/water-large-bottle

If you have an iPhone:

- There's an option under SETTINGS to MANUALLY SET the timezone for your phone. You can (and should) make your phone conform to whatever time zone you decide.  

Settings/General/Date & Time/ ---> UNCHECK "set automatically" and pick a time zone (eg, New York) 

- Now when you synch with your FitBit, your phone won't change it's time. 

The only problem you will have is your FitBit app trying to upload your date to the cloud (the website), you'll get the red banner that says "Connect to the Internet to View Historical Data."  Mine won't synch between the phone and the FitBit at all unless it has a wifi or cellular connection to the host server.  

Sometimes there are cancellations....people get sick, or change their minds, or someone is too hung over from the night prior, or anything. Go make friends with the concierge at the Excursions Desk, and see if you can get them to put you on a waiting list - that's worked for me in the past.  

On 3/20/2019 at 10:33 AM, Mem0ryEat3r said:

Does anyone have any experiences flying in the day of the cruise?

we know most people say to fly in a day earlier, but my wife and i are taking an 8 day Caribbean cruise on the magic and with total travel time we have maxed our vacation days from work and can not, unfortunately fly in the day before. its in october so we have time, flights are booked thru my carnival agent with the fly2fun program. we can change them if need be. 

 

both my wife and i are hoping we can get the extra day and change our flights, but if not, we want to hear some experiences to soothe our fears.  i used to fly a lot when i was in the military and i never had much problems, if any, with delays that were at all significant, but life happens. 

Again, "don't risk it."  Take a redeye if you have to, but with all the airline drama these days...?... (737 Max 8 groundings; Southwest's mechanic's union, etc...)....

If ya'll figure it all out....let me know.  The pricing never has made any sense to me - except for the obvious: Holiday/Break times cost more. Other than that - it's all madness. Holland sometimes charges more for inside than outside cabins...! Number of port calls vice sea days (the few the port calls, the less expensive, right??)...

Depends on what server you get onto when you do log on. Like everyone else here, depending on the time of day, which browser, etc., I'm liable to get onto the old or OR a new one.

A little IT story: Sometime prior to 2012 Carnival dumped their old IBM AS400 mid tier platforms, which served up web content (and were managed in the Good Ole' USA, in Miami I believe) for a  newfangled client server architecture. Yes, I know, C-S was the "sexiest thing ever" in IT up until "cloud computing" (*yawn*) became the sexiest thing ever. They've had issues ever since. I occasionally chat with some of their old IT guys - and they're as frustrated as we are.  Most of the hosting is done by folks in....India, so I'm told, and when something goes wrong, it's challenging to fix.  I can't say I really know for sure, but those are the tales I've been told, and being in that business professionally - that's what it looks like.

They are very good bartenders; Carnival really worked on developing a coherent theme, providing some excellent training, and stocking these particular bars with outstanding, fresh ingredients.  

I just completed a HAL cruise last December, and was again reminded that although they have "good" bartenders - Carnival Alchemy mixologists are world-class.

Here's a simple litmus test - sit down at a bar and order a "Vesper." (That's James Bond 'shaken not stirred,' 1 pt vodka-2 pts gin with Lillet dry vermouth and a twist, not an olive). If you get a fuzzy look ... not a world class professional bartender. 

7 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

 

8 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

I believe that instead of a fixed price NCL's specialty restaurants have gone to an a la carte menu where you have to pay for every item selected instead of paying one price for your meal. 

That's the Rudi's Sel de Mer approach on HAL.  

It's just a thing; we'll get used to it. Cruising is still an amazing vacation value.

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

A la carte cruising was the topic of many articles in travel magazines when we started cruising and I wouldn't be surprised to find it happening at some point. I've only been cruising for 10 years but I've not seen the MDR experience being cheapened although I have seen changes. Seeing what the market will bear is an age old business tactic that many businesses have used. I have tried specialty dining one and a half times and was underwhelmed with both experiences so I'll stick to the MDR.

Carnival used to have white tablecloths, etc., just like HAL in the MDR.  Now they've done away with those on most nights (and yes, it's less laundry, etc. etc) and made the experience less formal.  Carnival's assertion was that people didn't care about the more formal experience (this might be true?) so they're just giving the people what they want. 

HAL hasn't quite done the same thing - yet - though they are gradually relaxing the dress code in the MDR. 

Regarding a la carte cruising - yes Sparks, that's a thing. Doesn't NCL claim to have invented the concept of "freestyle," which goes from getting out fixed dinner/tables to now (with Carnival in particular) many smaller, specialty venues for 'nominal' fees (which really are pretty nominal actually) to....HAL's Rudi's Sel de Mer, which is an actual a la carte experience - not fixed price (nominal fee).  Granted, we loved Rudi's, but it's completely unbundled - you pay individually for whatever you wish off the menu. 

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

As I understand it the upcharge lobster you can order from the menu is a full lobster, not just the tail. They still had lobster on the menu on a formal night on our last cruise (and it was just a tail).

Oh!? You're right. I wasn't thinking - that's correct. The "tail" (really a crayfish or something) as opposed to "whole Maine lobster," which is what the steakhouse would serve.

Still. *sigh*

23 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

Testing charging for a second entree = the end of the MDR as we know it. I still don't believe all of those who say they wouldn't cruise again if the MDR was gone.

HAL's stated reason is to "curtail food waste." As in - I suppose - someone eats their dinner, then says, "You know, I've never had broiled rock fish, let me try that?" They take one bite and it gets throw overboard. That is wasteful, but rather than charge - the theory being that it disincentives wasteful behavior, why wouldn't they simply say, "No sir, you can't have a second entree tonight?" 

I appreciate that cruise lines have to turn a profit, and it is wasteful, but on the other, I get nervous every time they start unbundling or upcharging or whatever. I realize on the super-expensive lines, that's not the case (their cruise fares fully recover all costs by themselves) but ...

Sounds fantastic. I did the Paradise in 2013 and the crew was wonderful - must be something about the ship attracting friendlier sorts. 

I do think this is where it's going though. There's a parallel thread that mentions HAL's "testing" (as if this notion wouldn't pass a 'test'?) charging for a second entree. The next logical step is to eliminate the MDR or unbundle formal food service from the cruise rate - and as mentioned, turn the aft dinning room into a non-smoking casino.

Personally, I like the MDR. As has been mentioned, I didn't go on cruise to eat pizza.  It does seem, however, that there's a generation of younger cruisers (I'm 62, which is above the average for Carnival and below the average for HAL) that find the MDR experience to be too slow and unnecessarily formal. Perhaps the Virgin model, where there's nothing but specialty restaurants (which is far more challenging from a galley design and service standpoint) is the way ahead - hopefully they're not all additional fee though....

On 3/3/2019 at 6:35 AM, jimbo5544 said:

I do wonder how many cruisers actually order 2 entries on HAL?

Got me. I cruise HAL a lot as well, and honestly have never seen anyone do this - though on Carnival, I often order a second entree myself. 

I am a little scared of this, as it continues the slippery slope towards unbundling meals from the cruise rate. Already, there's a plethora of specialty/additional fee restaurants on most lines' ships, and as well, you can pay the upcharge and get a premium entree (lobster) in the MDR that used to be one of the rotational/formal night items. Seems as though the next logical step would be to charge for MDR, with the 'complimentary option' limited to the buffet on the Lido deck.....

16 hours ago, BoDidly said:

Well that definitely has merit and a worthy suggestion. 

I agree! What a great idea. 

Ships do reach the point where they're more expensive to maintain than a 'new build' would cost - I don't know where that number is for the Fantasy Class, but like most of us old platinums, I like the smaller, more intimate feel. From my conversations with the crews over the years, they generally prefer working Fantasy Class ships to the newer ones as well. 

It already does seem as though many of the "Journeys" cruises are doing that - they just haven't gone completely into it yet - maybe the economics don't work good enough to do that.

Had a Cove on the original Transatlantic re-positioning of the Vista.  Think North Atlantic in winter; they wound up closing it off (which they do with large metal storm shutter 'doors' that only have two hinges and two 'dogs' to fasten them shut) and not only did we lose the use of the balcony, but the incessant squeaking (metal on metal) of the 'metal storm shutters' drove us insane - we finally got moved to an inside cabin for the rest of the voyage.

I'd say if you're confident of good weather, it would be very nice.  Any hurricanes, rough seas....not so good. 

Get the Cabana! I'd never considered it's relationship to FTTF, but it definitely makes the beach experience at HMC far more enjoyable.  I never thought they 'withheld' some for sale during the voyage - and I've paid for/reserved cabanas at the time of booking, sometimes over a year in advance.

26 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Suggest  you google 'clothing and social status'.  

 

When you wear a 'senior military officer', did you not wear rank insignia to distinguish your superior rank?  How about the 'fruit salad' on your chest?  Was that a way to distinguish yourself, to express your social status?

I have to stop participating in this thread as it's out of hand.

As has been pointed out, there are some people that enjoy dressing for a special occasion on cruise, and some that prefer not to. At this point, again, as has been pointed out, HAL will follow its market, and if the majority of its loyal clientele want a more relaxed dress code, HAL will go that way. 

For the convenience of our fellow readers, I did google as suggested:

https://www.encyclopedia.com/fashion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/social-class-and-clothing

---

To answer your question, assuming you're actually curious, wearing medals as prescribed on uniforms isn't a means of expressing "social status."  It's serves to exemplify the actions and accomplishments of the wearer. Whether that Medal of Honor winner is a non-high school graduate junior enlisted service person or a four star general, whether or not they come from a wealthy family or somewhat more modest origins, their wearing of that (or any other medal) is a visual testament awarded by the President (or Congress or other authority depending on the Medal) that they did something significant. 

I've sailed on Vista, Signature and now Pinnacle.  As noted, the Pinnacle class have smaller staterooms (the odd placement of the toilet has been discussed in numerous forums), the library is virtually non-existent, and the "world stage," takes a little getting used to. As has also been pointed out, the "Music Walk" venues are all too close together; so that the Rock Room is easily heard down the passageway in other venues.  I think they were working with scheduling to deconflict some of this noise-bleed over during my cruise on Koningsdam. The Thermal Suites seemed a bit smaller on the Koningsdam as well. 

The Vista and Signature are only truly distinguished by the additional deck on the Signature, which allows for Tamarind, Silk Den and some other nice additions.  That being said, they've done something to the Tamarind menu which deserves a thread of its own. 

Knowing what I know now:

- The Signature class ships (sadly there's only 2) amplify the charm resident on Vista classes.

- The Pinnacle ships don't seem to add much more, but rather reduce the square footage per passenger, are notably lacking in decor and non-revenue amenities such as the library. They still do have the 'walk around' on Deck 3 (Promenade) but it's a tight fit, single file at some spots. As well, while Rudi's is only a 'pop up' on the other classes, I don't know that I would plan to dine there more than once on a seven day cruise, which makes it popping up (in the Pinnacle D.R.) more than adequate. 

- The Pinnacle does have "Blend," which is fun, but that was the only really unique fun-can't-do-it on the Eurodam- venue that made the Koningsdam unique for me.