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28 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Regardless of W2 reporting, you are still required to submit a FinCEN form to CBP before leaving the terminal (US port) as you disembark if you are carrying more than $10K. 

Will the casino give you a check instead of cash? The $10,000 is for cash and you can carry a million dollar check with no problem. Just curious because we will soon be going on a longer cruise and are wiring front money so we don't have to worry about the state or local cops pulling a civil forfeiture on the way to the port or CBP seizing it at the boarding terminal. 

Gotta worry more about the government stealing your money than you do about crooks (other crooks).

37 minutes ago, carohs said:

Yes but are you comparing prices with an included drink package on both? OP has already provided examples of where Carnival comes out ahead if you have no interest in any drink package...

 

That's not a comparison I would make. I want to enjoy my cruise... 

2 hours ago, boffoboffo said:

 

...Went out and did another lap of the Waterfront and it was different to see all the lights from the other ships around. Not used to that when sailing from New York City...

 

I think you will find that most of those lights are from production platforms. You are likely coming in via the Mississippi Southwest Pass and the platforms are like fleas on a cat around there.

Prices vary a lot based on ship, sailing date, itinerary, state of the cruising market, etc. So don't take this one sampling of the cost comparison too seriously. Check NCL and others in addition to Carnival when planning a cruise. 

Also, as you gain experience you will find things that matter to you other than price that you had not previously considered. For example, we prefer the small ships where you actually feel like you are at sea. On the new, large ships you might as well be in the Hyatt Regency in Phoenix (where you can sleep, eat and attend a convention for a week without ever leaving the hotel). Carnival seems to have more small ships.

With us, the boorish clientele Carnival has attracted since covid, and Carnival's unwillingness to enforce rules against antisocial behavior, has us willing to pay more for NCL which is now our main cruise line. But we miss the smaller ships and will occasionally take a Carnival cruise (especially Journeys cruises that have older, civilized, clientele).

It is all a matter of trade-offs; personal preferences, price etc.

9 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

One thing to be prepared for. They don't like luggage in the elevator so they may ask you to unload it before parking and before retrieving your car. As a solo it causes problems for me since I don't have anyone to watch my bag. The one time I did it that way they called me on the phone while I was bringing my car down to tell me I left my bag. So I just ignore that now. You can do it either way.

 

Reminds me of our last time there in January. After the cruise, at the garage, I decided to make things easier for my wife and pulled both her suitcase and her wheeled carry on from the shuttle to the garage.

When we got in the elevator it was a bit crowded and I had to put my suitcase to the side a bit. When I got off I just took her wheeled carry on. One in the hand and backpack on my back felt normal.

Got to the car and said "where's my suitcase?" Rush back to elevator and pushed the button. Folks (different folks) on there said "we've been waiting for you" and had a good laugh.

8 hours ago, boffoboffo said:

Anyone who thought Starlink would be a major improvement for at sea internet I’m not seeing it yet, at least here in the bowels of the ship. Struggling to get pictures posted right now. 

We were on the Breakaway in January and found the internet to be quite bad in our cabin (deck 9 forward balcony) but pretty good in the public areas. Starlink can be blazing fast but it is for naught if the ship's Wi-Fi, that gets the signal to and from Starlink, is slow or doesn't cover where you are.

You have some nice pictures there!

33 minutes ago, boffoboffo said:

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Supposed to set sail at 5(1 minute from now) and the lines are still in place. I think we’re going to be late. 
 

You are now on island time...

3 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Or casino offers.  Trying to game the system and asking Carnival to make it easier?  EM

We don't make the rules, Carnival does. So you can take one path under the rules and pay full price or you can take another path under the rules and save $600.

Reminds me of a famous tax case that is a bedrock of tax law. The famed Justice
Learned Hand (love the name) wrote, “There is nothing sinister in so arranging one’s affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible… To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.”

Most don't know the meaning of cant, so as a point of information only as to what he was saying, Webster's definition: the expression or repetition of conventional or trite opinions or sentiments especially : the insincere use of pious words.

1 hour ago, Theosprey247 said:

Best free (included) burger at sea!

That's one of Carnival's slogans. But we give that title to the hamburgers at American Diner on NCL, especially post-covid. That's just us; different folks have different preferences...

Pre-covid we loved them. Post covid, not so much.

We've been on 14 Carnival cruises post covid and you never know what you will get. The fries are always different than pre-covid and greatly vary cruise to cruise; like they keep trying different brands and different seasonings to put on them. The meat is sometimes fatty, sometimes lean, sometimes seasoned and sometimes not.

So, Guy's is not always good and not always bad in our opinion. It's the luck of the draw.

Good Luck!

17 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Unfortunately, the smashing of car windows to rob the cars at the port seems to occur regularly.

 

Here is an off site port parking facility that is secure and has an excellent reputation for service:

 

https://www.machupicchutours.com/cruise-ship-parking.html

We've sailed 39 times on Carnival out of New Orleans, parking in the terminal (not on the roof so as to avoid hail damage), and have never had or seen or heard of (other than someone in this thread) a problem with cars broken into.

We think it is the safest option. When we sail NCL we go with Fulton because the NCL whale lot, which any crook would hit before the logistically challenging terminal, is just an open lot like cruise terminals in other cities have.

We park at the port when sailing Carnival and Fulton when sailing NCL. Both are good with the convenience of not having to even take your own luggage out of your trunk plus very little walking that comes with parking in the terminal for Carnival somewhat offset by higher prices for parking in the terminal. And for those who don't know, parking AT the terminal for Carnival means  parking IN the terminal building.

14 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I think I’m all caught up. Here is the rundown. 
 

Three people were removed from the ship in Freeport. Two for being rowdy. One for being dead.
 

An altercation during the second half of the cruise lef to the 24 hour security service on deck 1.
 

And someone from deck 6 was arrested in Mobile.

 

 

Other than the unfortunate death I take this as a good sign.

It's about time Carnival clamped down on antisocial behavior.

Blarko ... All I did was add a at the bottom. I swear it is not the way it sounds...

15 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

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You’d think I’d notice the pool drained or something…but apparently they never cleaned it. This might be a survey item.

 

Having extracted this part of the post from the rest of it, I can now say:

.😁😆😅🤣😂.

Last December we saw a record, for us, number of folks taken off the cruise. It was a fourteen day Journeys cruise so unsurprisingly an older crowd. But this seemed to be an older than normal Journeys cruise. I'm 70 and I was probably the average age. So lots of folks over 70.

Every time we hit port there were at least a couple of ambulances waiting. The thing is, old women find cruises romantic but the old guy's hearts can't take the exertion...

I'll keep booking lots of cruises for DW and I though. Kind of like picking how you go...

2 hours ago, kirtihk said:

I said it may times: it would only save so much time on pleasurable topics if a tipping concept is completely hidden inside (moves to) the total price (like in most of Europe and a lot of other regions)!  Just reading threads like this one generates a headache.

I agree, but I don't think it is possible with Americans. It looks to me, and I could well be wrong, that what you described is what NCL tried to do. They basically say "here's the price all tips included" but the tipping culture is so ingrained in Americans that many just have to add a tip. If NCL upped their drink and dining service charges to 50% and tripled their onboard service charge some would still feel the need to cash tip.

My guess would be the guy behind the guy holding the unit flag. I don't think Greg would post a picture in which his whole face was visible.

Between that guy being partially obscured by the guy in front and by the harsh shadow and being about the most out of focus guy there, it has to be Greg 😁

3 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

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 ...I also wouldn’t be padding everyone’s income. 
 

😁

Just as a point of information and not contention, I think your concern with tips going to "everyone" is a bit misplaced.

Before the cruise lines went to their automatically charged gratuities (or service charge as some prefer) you would only tip those who personally provided you service. That was the end of the story as far as the passenger was concerned but not the end of the tip story.

In those days, just as occurs today in many restaurants, the person who received the tip would "tip out" those behind the scenes. That is they would tip those behind the scenes who helped them earn the tip. Room stewards in those days were considered "up there" among the crew in great part because they received lots of tips and controlled to whom and how much they passed along the tips. That is why they had not only the authority but also the power to get their passengers whatever creature comforts they wanted.

Under the old system you tipped those who directly provided you service but your tip filtered along to "everyone."

Under the new system the room steward has very little authority and very little power to do much for you and you give your tip to the cruise line who when distributes it to both the front line employees and those behind the scenes. The advantage for the cruise line is that it cuts down on conflict between employees. The advantage for the customer is that they don't have to keep cash in reserve for the last day then run around giving out tips.

In either system you are paying everyone. But if you mix systems by not paying the cruise line but only those who directly provide service you gum up the system and create possible crew conflict.

We feel it better to consider the service charges full payment of tips for good service and only consider cash tips for above and beyond service. So it is rare we cash tip. I know some folks consider that cheap, but looking at the dollars it looks fair to us. I actually think NCL looked at what was fair, based the service charges on that plus a little extra, and considers that the end of the story. But some folks just have to complicate things and ask about cash tips. NCL isn't going to tick off their employees by saying no, they just say it is not expected, but I suspect they consider those who cash tip for regular service to be that thing that can't be fixed.

56 minutes ago, starstruck05 said:

3 days before we left for our cruise on the Mardi Gras I was leaving out the house the run errands when out mail lady pulled up and yelled "Yall got a mail hold, huh?" Mind you several of my neighbors were outside and heard. I quietly confirmed that yes we had a 2 week hold. (We took a road trip to Savannah after the cruise.) We left the next day and she started delivering mail 6 days later. 🙄 It was also set for pickup. Next cruise I'm just having my friend come get my mail.

Yep! About half the time our hold mail requests are ignored. Combine that with our getting other neighbor's mail regularly and neighbors getting our mail regularly and it not being safe to put mail in the blue mailboxes (because they won't change the locks when keys are stolen) and the postal service is totally broken.

The post office needs to be eliminated. Unfortunately that takes a constitutional amendment.

Wow! The USS Alabama tour was unexpected lagniappe.

Brings back memories of when I was one of the chaperones when one of my son's scout troops spent the night on the Alabama. Wandering that ship alone at night you unexpectedly feel transported back in time with the areas set up to look like folks have just left for a few minutes and would be back soon. Not sure one gets the same impact walking along with others during the day, but it was one of the more interesting experiences in my life.

10 hours ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

Somebody on CC is discussing mutiny. Do you think they're being serious?

About as serious as the folks discussing spending an absolute minimum of $10,000 in legal fees to get a maximum damage award of half their cruise fare.

The only way to know about removing DSC for sure is to contact NCL or to hear from those who have done it both with pre-paid and charged onboard.

I can't wait for those who have done it to post here. 😬

10 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

It doesn’t matter how far away you go, there’s no escaping it.

 

 

 

At least it wasn't Sweet Home Alabama...