sassy0930

Best cure for post-cruise depression is booking another cruise! I'm excited to sail on Victory with the family this weekend. I appreciate people coming back to mention the upgrades!

Thanks for the response, Joe.

 

I will just submit the price protection form and let Carnival tell me. I hope it was ES since the fare is currently over $100 pp less than I paid, booking direct with Carnival. I just can't recall since it was booked months ago.

That's what I did! When they told me I didn't qualify, I stopped looking. :loudcry::loudcry::loudcry:

I think a good way to make them money-makers without losing the library quality would be to implement some of the "fun hub" computer deals there. You get to add money making internet access without invading, too much anyway, with the quiet space and resource people love.

I think this WOULD be quite convenient!

Carnival has rooms for 5 at all levels, interior, ocean view, balcony, and suite. However, you are charged for the baby.

I'm pretty sure when the beards of carnival meet formal is a huge topic of conversation. It's time you realize you're the vocal 5 percent minority. Just like table clothes. My point on the clothes is just because it's a suit or isn't blue jeans doesn't make them superior. I know for a fact I look better in what I wear, than a pair of dockers and a collared shirt that's why I wear it. I'm not letting some silly outdated dress code determine what I do!

How you look is completely irrelevant. How much your clothes cost is completely irrelevant. The quality of your clothes is completely irrelevant. Your perception of superiority is completely irrelevant. Essentially, your entire argument is completely irrelevant.

You can walk into the MDR on elegant night wearing diamond studded jeans sewn with gold thread and they would still be completely inappropriate. Conversely, if you wore $2 thrift store khakis made 40 years ago with Walmart button down you'd be wearing a completely appropriate outfit for the ocassion.

I'm totally split on this. On the one hand, I really don't care what other people wear. Unless someone is rubbing up against me in their wet swimsuit, I just don't care. But I also LOVE a chance to really dress up and I would hate for things to become so informal that I would begin to feel out of place for it.

Perhaps even making one of the dining times more formal for the whole cruise would be a good compromise. So late dining has higher dress standards and it's advertised as such. Early dining has a more cruise casual the whole time. My time dining is cruise casual with elegant nights.

I'd wager they make more selling drinks on the island than they would in the increase in sales of Cheers packages.

Probably. I just really loved that aspect of RC's drink package. It was so nice to have it all included.

I can't wait until Carnival follows RC and let's their drink package travel to the private islands.

I’m so glad someone posted about the reviews. We are first time cruisers that were leaning toward victory or enchantment of the seas. We really want to visit Key West and I thought victory would be great just being out of dry dock. I’m glad to see people that sailed on it before would again. Have a great time on your cruise.

Having sailed both, And booked again on the Victory, I think the experience was pretty similar on both ships. The differences being the things that generally differentiate RC from Carnival. I would gladly sail both regularly. I think the Victory hits the sweet spot of size VS number of pax.

Just as a note, the BBB is a scam in itself. Companies pay to be listed. They can pay more to have negative ratings covered up. It is not a consumer focused group. The FTC could help, but as others said, getting a lawyer involved will probably be the fastest way to get some kind resolution.

We've never really had a "great" experience with room service, so I wouldn't put it past them to put the wrong condiments on your tray just out of their own... hmmm.. ineptitude? I know people will think that harsh, but it's part of their job and they don't do it well, so I think that's appropriate.

Thanks! We'll be on her this weekend and this is great information!

I have an anchor and ships wheel/compass tattoo because of my love of cruising. It also honors my wedding, which was on board the Carnival Victory. But get a Carnival logo? Notsomuch.

That is... well... I guess brand loyalty is REALLY strong with some people. LOL

Its easy in these discussions to get the impression additional gratuities are "customary". They aren't. Your viewpoint that additional gratuity for exceptional "above-and-beyond" service would be more accurate.

Exactly this. I've only ever tipped extra a few times because I was really happy with a bartender. On our last Carnival cruise we had a bartender that we saw several times a day and got to know her schedule and would chat with her and she was more like a friend who helped us get drinks than a bartender by the end of the cruise. Every several drinks I'd add a dollar to the slip.

It's probably just orange juice from concentrate for free. Sure it isn't the best quality, but it's pretty snooty to pull the "I don't know what it is, but it isn't orange juice" line. So they offer the cheap stuff for free to anyone who wants some juice with their breakfast, and they charge for fresh squeezed. No big deal. It isn't nickel and dime-ing if you don't have to choose that option. Nickel and dime-ing would be if you can have your dinner for no extra charge, but you are charged a buck for your cutlery set.

At that point I'd be looking at prices honestly. Which would be cheaper? I'd pick that option.

I've never purchased the drink package, but don't they tack on the 18% gratuity on the cost of when they are purchased? If that's the case why would anyone want to tip more? Seems to me like an 18% surcharge for just purchasing the package (before even using it) seems fair enough.

 

Maybe they do get a lot of write-on tips. I don't have any way of knowing. It would really surprise me if people felt the need to tip more than 18% and, if they did, they'd likely use cash so the server could keep the extra.

 

Tom

 

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The 18% is added to the cost of the package if you buy one, so you are not paying a gratuity per drink. And the cost is automatically added if you are paying per drink (so a $12 will cost $14.16 to someone paying per drink) and this can't be removed. I think that is more than enough, but I am not what one would consider a "generous" tipper. I'm a bregrudging tipper! LOL

Haven't been on a RCI cruise yet, but from what I've read, the precise reason they print them out is to try to get more tips. A lot of people will add a tip out of habit. But I also think that perhaps some servers/bartenders find it easier to just establish one system for every drink they serve, instead of stopping to look at whether it's a $0 charge or a $10 they just print the slips and slide it across. Every customer gets the same exact treatment in that regard, so there are fewer chances of a mistake happening or getting written up for some small infraction. Devil's advocate of course, but on Carnival with the plan we still had to sign all slips, so I won't really care about doing it this time either.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a shop or stand or store that I can find a cheap hammock? I'm looking for either a mesh-style hammock or a cotton-y one. I don't want the new-fangled nylon "camping" style hammocks that I see online lately.

Nassau isn't that bad, really. It's certainly not our favorite, because it isn't as nice to just wander around as Cozumel, and it's not as relaxing as a typical beach port like Grand Cayman. It seems like a "filler" port to me. When we stop for 12 hours on our May 8th Enchantment cruise we'll probably get off for an hour or two and see if any shopping interests us, but we'll mostly enjoy our drink package and already-paid-for-food on the ship that day.

The pressure point bands help me for minor seasickness, for sure. For some reason lately, I've been getting a lot more sick than I ever sued to when riding in the car, so I'm going to stock up on some ginger-somethings and bonine for our trip coming up.

I've seen it right here on these boards. Think about how many times people complain here that they aren't eligible for a price drop. Indirectly they're complaining that someone else got a better deal.

I've not been on the RCI boards very long, but I never saw it on the Carnival boards. And I haven't really noticed it here yet, either, but I trust that it happens if you say it does.

My personal philosophy is that you book something like this, a cruise, a flight, a hotel at the price you are comfortable paying and deal with it. The value is not determined by how much someone else paid, but by how much it is worth to me.

There are probably people who pay less for a seat in first class than I pay for coach sometimes, but it ain't no thang. I have PLENTY of things to worry about, and money is certainly one of them often enough, but once I have seen a price I'm comfortable booking, who cares if someone else gets a better deal?!

I don't know about other cruise lines following suit. While the last minute cruisers may not be a huge percentage of any one company's revenue, with RCI making this announcement, those people who do specifically look for last minute deals will be going with another line, more than likely. The boost in the other lines might make them consider marketing the fact that they DO have last minute deals even more heavily. I abide by the idea that empty cabins have a ZERO percent chance of earning on-board revenue, while discounted rooms have at least some chance.

I have to say, though, I've NEVER seen anyone complaining that someone else got a last minute deal when they paid more, at least not legitimately. Like, an "aww, bummer" kind of thing, but never where people are actually offended. ALL industry is at the mercy of supply and demand. In industries like cruising, flights, hotels, etc demand fluctuates much quicker than in some other industries so the pricing often reflects that. Do people complain that they had to pay an extra $100 for a last minute flight? What about having to pay more for a nearly booked up hotel? Why are people whining that cruising is the same way?!