Calnev1

As you all know, AARP offers many discounted gift cards other than cruise line cards.  I just noticed that AARP is now selling Instacart gift cards.  My daughter and her husband work long hours, and they use Instacart a lot, so i am getting these cards for them.  Also, oddly, there is now a discounted gift card for a place called "San Luis Resort."  Never heard of it, so I Googled it.  Apparently, it is on Galveston Island.  Perhaps a place to stay before or after your Carnival cruise out of Galveston?

On 10/12/2023 at 12:09 PM, Organized Chaos said:

 

The difference is, I'd rather have $5 worth of free gas than a Taylor Swift ticket. 😁

The resale value of that ticket is probably way more than $5!!

On 10/16/2023 at 8:33 AM, StephPS79 said:

I think it's also important to consider, there are a lot of offers that can be booked up to 3 times.  So one cruise with a lot lost could potentially lead to 3 more "free cruises."  While yes, you are expected to play on subsequent cruises to keep the offers coming, even if you don't you still got 3 more "free cruises."

Or more than three times.  My wife and I currently have five future "free" cruises booked, four balcony cruises and one oceanview.    Unfortunately for Carnival, I won't be spending nearly as much in the casino as in the past because Carnival has significantly altered the casino game that I like.  

4 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

 

I slept well last night so maybe my body is adjusting to the toke changes or maybe I was just wore out.

Yeah, It takes awhile to adjust when they don't let us smoke weed on the ship . . . .,

Oh wait.  d*amn you autocorrect!

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

On elevator buttons I use my knuckle.👍

+1

1 hour ago, jam19872016 said:

 

 

There is a diamond galley tour today at 2. I'm going to go get in some walking before that starts.

I will move up to diamond on my next cruise.  Are these diamond galley tours (or other special diamond tours) offered on many carnival cruises?  How are you notified of availability?

8 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

That's what I would like to do at least once a year. I tried to make Glory work but I couldn't find anything that ended in Barcelona in time. One HAL ship came close but requires disembarking a day early and traveling from one port in Spain to another.

 

In the end I decided against it. Royal has a pair of TAs in November 2024 that I'm also eyeing but I really want to do the Panorama transpacifc during that time if I can make the costs work.

Yup, we may have to fly over to Europe before taking the Glory back in the Spring of 2024.  However, in 2025 the Majestic Princess TA cruises into Barcelona exactly two weeks before the Spirit leaves Barcelona for the States.  So we will likely book the Majestic.  Also, we booked the Panorama transpac from Singapore to LA in the fall of 2024 (same as you??), and I wanted desperately to find a transpac in the other direction that made sense but couldn't find one, so will likely cancel the Panoram transpac.  I mean, the flights to Europe are tiring, but the flights to eastern Asia are really long and uncomfortable. 

Yes, beating jet lag is now the number one reason we prefer transatlantic cruises.  We currently have two TAs booked, one in the spring of 2024 on the Glory, and the other in the spring of 2025 on the Spirit.  In both cases, the ships are going "the wrong way," meaning they are crossing the Atlantic East to West (i.e., from Europe) when most cruise ships are headed West to East (i.e., from the USA to Europe).   As our cruise dates approach, we plan to find and book an additional TA that will take us to Europe and thus we avoid jet lag (and those lousy overnight flights) both coming and going.  Yay!

14 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

I know in the end it will beat the heck out of jet lag especially when I get those hours back on the return, plus one for daylight savings.

@Haljo1935  Very much enjoying your review!  Particularly like the photos of the Teppanyaki, my favorite specialty restaurant.  I didn't know it was $5 cheaper at lunch, we will do that on our next cruise. 

2 hours ago, Jeafl said:

Thank you!  I was able to order the $100 cards, but it looks like they are still out of $500 cards.

I just checked the AARP Rewards website.  The $500 Carnival egift cards are back!!  Only gone from the site for just a few days.

6 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

We booked in advance for both weeks we're on now. Also available for lunch. Dinner times were very limited once onboard to book an additional meal. Yes, we enjoyed it so much we wanted to go again.😉

The Teppanyaki is our favorite specialty restaurant.  Its not so much the food (which is of course good), but the cheesy entertainment provided by the chefs from "South Philly."  I was telling my wife how I missed the pyrotechnics that the land-based Japanese steakhouses employed . . . and then to my surprise the South Philly chef on the Panorama proceeded to create a pillar of fire on his cooking surface.  (For those of  you who don't know, some Carnival ships now have "sealed" Teppanyaki restaurants that allow them to employ open flames . . . and that was not always the case aboard ship).  

On 9/21/2023 at 6:14 AM, ProgRockCruiser said:

Understood.  I guess I haven't pored over the new (non-Vegan) menus enough to notice it missing as an everyday item - I make much better salmon at home, so I don't even try Carnival's any more.

My wife cooks pretty much every dish Carnival offers better than Carnival does.  If I used your standard for meal selection onboard I would starve to death!  😁

22 hours ago, Cherries Jubilee said:

I’m on Venezia next month and I would like to book Teppanyaki but I want to see which night I should skip the MDR menu first.Is there usually any availability to book once you get onboard?

 

 I’m not opposed to switching to the steakhouse if they have availability.

 

I’m also not opposed to doing Bonsai Sushi.

We were on the Panorama a few months ago.  Could not book the Teppanyaki before boarding, but were able to get a reservation after boarding.  We had to go to the earliest seating though.

1 hour ago, ultrafighter said:

I've used several even within the same transaction.  I just got a $500 GC on Wednesday, but I've never seen them not come back after going "out of stock".  Not much consolation, I know.

It is highly likely that the $500 Carnival GCs will be back soon.  I noted that the $500 Princess and HAL gift cards are still there, so that is reassuring.  I was going to buy $700 in Carnival GCs this morning, really don't want to do all of that in multiples of $100.

47 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Did you read the post right above yours?

 

Its quite possible that Ms-z did not read Chengkp75's post, because it looks like they posted within minutes of each other.

4 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

Cruise mapper shows the Panorama north of Cabo traveling at 20.7 knots. I guess their propulsion issue has been temporarily solved. 

Yeah, Cruise Mapper appears to be accurate.  And this is the last time I use the whatsinport live map.   

6 minutes ago, LaRue1975 said:

Someone from my NYE cruise Facebook page is on the Panorama now and has said nothing about a change in itinerary due to the hurricane. Everything seems fine, he posted pics from Mazatlan yesterday and mentioned Cabo this morning. I think they are on schedule, it is the cruise departing Saturday that may have issues. 

Hmmm.  Perhaps the Whatsinport live map is showing an erroneous position for the Panorama.

1 minute ago, BlerkOne said:

Plenty of food and I'm seeing an ETA of 13:30 on the 19thh.

Lol.  No way the Panorama makes it to Long Beach by the 19th.  Unless they want to surf Hilary's eyewall.

The Panorama is stationary off of Mazatlan waiting for Hilary to pass.  No way the ship makes it back to Long Beach by August 19 for its next cruise.   I wonder how much extra food the ship carries when a scheduled seven day cruise turns into a cruise of nine or ten days or more.

1 hour ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I am...but when I purchase cards I am not logging into the main AARP site...just the Rewards area.

They still know you are a regular AARP member. 

32 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Recently AARP card cost for Princess increased to $460 for a $500 card. Will the rest also change?

Who knows.  One hopeful thing is that Princess cards have had varying discounts before (15%, 10%, and 8%), but Carnival cards have always remained steady at a 10% discount.

14 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

There is a limit of 5 cards per person per month, whether you buy 100 or 500 denominations.  If you wish to buy 9 cards, then you could buy 5 on 8/31 and 4 on 9/1.   

Yes.  If you have a spouse or significant other, open a second AARP Rewards account for them.  I set up separate accounts for myself, my wife, my sister-in-law, and her husband.

1 hour ago, Mike45LC said:

“Fun 21” itself is a gimmick.  You’d do better playing regular blackjack instead.

You are incorrect.  When played with the correct strategy the Fun21 game has less of a house advantage than any other table game offered on the ship, including the $25 minimum bet standard 3:2 blackjack. 

 https://wizardofodds.com/games/fun-21/

Of course, most BJ players that venture into Fun21 are either unaware of the correct Fun21 strategy or don't want to put in the effort to learn it. 

29 minutes ago, northwestbear said:

They are back… I bought one yesterday- however, they are now only an 8% savings whereas before they were 10%. I bought a $500 gift card and it was $460. 

You are repeating what others have already said.  Please read the most recent threads in a post before commenting.