cruisingguy007

2023 at the earliest. Stay tuned for fall/winter this year, it will be a barometer of what's to come and a harbinger of lifting of vaccine requirement(s). If all goes well, the new year may bring a change, if not, more of the same.

On your next cruise, thank an alcoholic, someone who only eats at up-charge establishments, a smoker and/or a degenerate gambler, they are helping to subsidize cruise fares and make it cheaper for everyone else. It's your money, spend/waste it however you want! Happy cruising! 😄

This was an anomaly, The Carnival Long Beach terminal is run very well. Lots of employees and never much wait.

When you call, they will see what you see (price wise). Do a mock booking for what you want and price the difference, if you like it, then call and a agent will take the payment for the change if your rate allows for it, sometimes there can be fee to change but if you're simply upgrading, they may do it with no quibble. The phone waits were horrible before, not sure now but when you call, select the option to book a cruise, should get you through quicker. Good luck!

What are you trying to manage specifically? Their UI is great IMO and I find their site to be very user friendly. I like their booking engine too.

Interesting, thanks for chiming in. We are trying Thanksgiving next year and were wondering if it was something special. I think I will miss some of the traditions/food of home but not the driving to visit family, shopping, cooking and cleaning. I can see how some would just like to escape the hassles of the Holidays, but at the same time, those hassles are what make it special and sharing those with friends/family. I think I'd miss a lot of the hoopla, even the endless Christmas music in stores lol, if it weren't there. I can see both sides and figure it will be nice to try at least once to see how it is but wouldn't do it every year, or both in any one year. Appreciate you sharing your experience.

I'd have taken the money, the Bahamian Maritime Authority is just an empty office with a desk and a few chairs where people send checks. Good luck lol. https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x892f7dabde0720e1%3A0x4dfbbc1b6360fcad!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNWznM73eq6d56WpH09wbUQTi7E-jesDBucpHdZ%3Dw284-h160-k-no!5sBahamian Maritime Authority - Google Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipNWznM73eq6d56WpH09wbUQTi7E-jesDBucpHdZ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUrcXbuYD4AhW7j4kEHSjGDWwQoip6BAhnEAM

What else can you really do but be honest? You going to Pay Pal OP some money? Because Carnival sure isn't going to give OP money for another vacation on top of a refund, a free cruise and incidentals. I think we can all empathize with the OP's plight but it's a bit ridiculous when you really think about what is being asked here. This is not how things work.

Based on all the threads and complaints we've seen here, maybe Carnival should just ban them from being able to have bacon. Make a few examples "NO BACON FOR YOU" out loud and it may keep everyone else in line. Put a bacon block on the sign and sail for the dining room and put some wanted type posters up in the buffet area to alert service staff handing out bacon. That should get their goat and live in infamy, they'll tell, or forewarn rather, their friends about it. 😄

Are they really still taking bookings or are you just trying to jump in front of this to get some FCC of some sort? I remember some folks doing this when covid was hitting and complaining when a few cruises actually sailed lol. One person in particular booked a bunch of these and was bragging about racking up all the FCC they received. Ironically, that same person often laments openly on why they don't receive cruise deals/offers lol. Coincidence or causation? Who knows.

No. Not currently. You can still on your own but they will bill you if a violation fine is assessed on them. It's like $800 IIRC, someone on another sub forum here got hit with it for disembarking early.

That's how the world works. What's the problem?

None, the point of insurance isn't to profit off of it or to guarantee you a higher value vacation, it's to make you whole, cover you in emergencies/medical and help cover things like your car breaking down on the way, flights cancelled, luggage lost etc. Yes, you are limited to what you paid to cover a trip but the medical benefits/coverage is why most get it (myself included). You can add riders for addition coverage with some policies, but you'd pay a lot more for it and I'm not aware of any that will let you declare something is of higher value than you paid unless specifically declared in the policy.

This! Some folks got some nerve. Sheesh.

3 day weekend for a lot of folks too, all win for lots of folks. I'd be pumped to get this compensation package. Heck, I'd consider myself blessed..lol. It's like a bonus cruise! I'd pay extra for this. 😁

LOL. Fair point. Though, the night club is open pretty late and they used to keep the casino bar open until super late also. I do think that was a major mistake to close/convert that on certain ships. I imagine it was a old head who decided to replace one of the most happening places on the ship late night, it makes zero sense in their efforts to attract the younger subset. Cruising can be so much more than a geriatric targeted market. The potential that they have is enormous but it goes ignored. I suspect that one day cruising will target a younger demographic, even if targeted to specific times or shorter cruises. The potential and untapped market potential is huge, though not everyone wants to float around eating and playing bingo/trivia. 😆 There is a room for both and it behooves the lines to dig in to a market they have ignored. Once these folks figure out how awesome cruising can be? Forgetaboutit! It's the ultimate market for these very folks. A moving party that goes to awesome places and a one stop shop? Ding! Ding! Ding! Winner! In fact, if they could manage two day cruises that depart on Fri evening/night from major ports and return Sunday evenings, it would be off the chains! They could potentially disrupt an entire market of huge spend. Trust me, I would have done exactly this in my time/prime. The stigma of "old people cruises" is hugely limiting. Some will spend in two days what others spend in 7. I've personally seen folks blow grands in just a night. If you only have two days, two days it is. 😄

Not true, I've slept through plenty. Heck, I didn't even make it to sea day brunch for multiple trips lol. That's with the old hours. Lunch was breakfast. They also used to have a late night buffet, sure it's been cut but I see them bringing that back when staffing is back. I've stayed out until 4-5am on a Carnival ship, no sleepy line unless you opt in to that. I will concede that they have changed the product but hope it's temporary and I can cut them some slack in the meantime. Happy to have the opportunity to sail as free as I want to be and hope it's only looking up from here! People love to knock Carnival but I quite enjoy their normal product, their altered product isn't bad either, all things considered. Even AI's are limited right now, tons of folks complaining about limited dining and early closures. It can be mitigated on Carnival if you are willing to pay for it, plus the reduced fares allow wiggle room for just those exact expenses. #GoteamCarnival!

It's Ken!! Get it right! 😁

Wait, can't Carnival just roll on down to the pick-n-pull and snag a whale-tail and grab some duct tape from Harbor Freight to git-her-done? 😁 All this speculation hinges on cosmetic damages being the crux of the problem, that may very well not be the case at all when they really get in there and take a good look. You raise a good point though, even if it is mostly cosmetic, it may still take a while to return to service.

It's awesome for the folks on the Freedom, why fly back? Carnival hooked them up nicely IMO. I'd be pretty stoked if I were on that sailing and got a refund, OBC and another cruise comped.

Seems like Carnival is doing the right thing all around and taking the classy route and offering nice compensation. Thanks for the update and info.

Seems very fair and even generous. Pretty much a free cruise! Sweet

Don't forget about stock buybacks, most people forget about that. Mind the buybacks and beware of leverage. Fire is dangerous.

A "BIP" wristband, Bacon important person. 😄

Hopefully, you're right. Carnival could certainly use a break right now. They keep getting kicked while they're trying to get up.