StephPS79

The more formal experience still exists. I think it's time to accept that it is no longer the experience on Carnival.

Yes, the opinion of many, it seems, is that the idea of pajamas at breakfast in a public area is offensive. Did you read the comments?

There's a lot to consider here. First, I hope we aren't naive enough to believe that everyone's TCH content is correctly labeled. This is to say, I can take some high-as-a-kite gummies and put them in a container labeled CBD, and no one is going to be testing them at the port. Scissors aren't illegal.

Why, though? Just curious how someone in their pajamas impacts your daily activities.

Curious what the "upgrade" offered is, from an Aft Balcony. I'd only see a suite as being an upgrade.

My only concern here is: Just off an RCI cruise, where there is a lot of discussion surrounding this. There are of course stories of people being denied jackpots because they (the person pressing the button) weren't the name printed on the card. The point was raised though, you can play without using a card at all, so how could you be denied. The answer is - the policy states that misuse or abuse of the card voids winnings. In this case, if you are using someone else's card to accumulate points, that could probably be considered misuse. My partner and I played a lot together, on one card, and we were both seated together the whole time, so I felt confident that we weren't misusing the card, and if we won a jackpot, we would receive it. I would feel less confident if we were not seated together. Again, this is RCI policy, I haven't taken the time to read the Carnival TOS specific to this, but I'd assume it is similar. I don't have any personal experience either way, and most of the accounts and stories are hearsay. But I, myself, probably won't risk it if there were even the slightest chance. I want that money!

Don't waste your time, Elaine will never concede to this, even though there are countless examples otherwise.

I just don't understand why people are so offended by this thought. Part of me can see the uproar if it were dinner in the MDR (although I couldn't care less about what someone else is wearing, I understand the whole formal dining experience that people expect and enjoy). But OP asking about breakfast. I mean, come on. This is breakfast. I don't think anyone is planning on showing up in a teddy or negligee, what difference does it make if someone comes to breakfast in pants made out of flannel or made out of denim. Why my outfit would impact anyone's breakfast dining experience just baffles me. And then why it would be acceptable for a "special event" but otherwise unacceptable. It's the same clothing. The gifts though, I'd probably leave those in the room.

We were on the Magic last in May. I find the food to be the same as always, it was decent, it's not a 5 star meal, but perfectly acceptable. I'll say though I don't think we ate in the MDR that much, we kept getting steakhouse dinners from the casino, and Capitano once. I'll say, if people find much to complain about from the steakhouse, their expectations need to be reevaluated. Our expectations were exceeded by far on each visit.

But don't you sail on Carnival though?... I think a lot of us here know it is cheaper for a reason, and actually don't find any problem with that.

This all sounds about right.

Being the OP, here's an update for us: One of us has managed to find our way into DOUE, but only for VIFP, not for a companion. In June, we played ALOT in the casino, on a 6 day, down mostly, sometimes FAR down lol. But then made most of it back, and dropped the cash at Guest Services (yes - most of the bank roll was charged to the room). By the time we left, losses were probably under $900. Now I'm thinking we should have waited to pay the tab until off the ship. Otherwise, we would have had a hefty charge, looking like we lost a lot. But maybe it doesn't matter since you have to cash in your chips anyway, who knows. We'll probably go that route next time and see what happens lol.

Anyone tried to book today? Just went to play around with bookings for the fun of it, after long times searching, there is an interesting new layout. It seems to be quite glitchy today though, so I haven't haven't been brave enough to actually click through anything lol.

Booked for March 2025, happy to see this info!

I kind of agree with you here, I do think it makes it harder to justify purchasing Cheers. I spend a decent amount of time in the casino, but I also like some drinks by the pool. Trying to decide for our next cruise if those "drinks by the pool" will add up to enough to make Cheers worth it. And I like to stop by the coffee place. And have a Bloody Mary at brunch. I do like the added benefit of not having to think about it with Cheers. They do have "all or nothing" though with DOU Everywhere. I wouldn't want them to do away with DOU Casino though, it's a benefit. I've never had any trouble with service in the casino, tip a few dollars per drink and they will find you.

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."

Well, there is the "Up To 10%. If at one point in time the someone saved "up to 10%," the wording isn't false. RCI says you can say 40% of drink packages, but when you look at it, it's a case of water.

We are booked, but never sailed. I just assumed it put us on some kind of contact list. All of the questions were about experiences on other cruise lines/vacations, and nothing really about the VV experience, so I'm assuming that part isn't really a factor.

While I am not advocating a cigar lounge - I don't smoke - I do think it is a shame that such a beautiful venue is underutilized, with the exception of myself and 4 other dining companions waiting for dinner (as mentioned the room was otherwise empty), and a few (FEW) other people having the time of their lives singing karaoke on nights 3 and 5. While not advocating, to be quite honest, karaoke could be held in one of the countless other locations on the ship, and sure, why not give the cigar smokers a place to smoke their cigars, secluded from all the people who get so offended by it. At least the room would seem some action.

As I mentioned, the old cigar lounge on the Glory is now basically just used for karaoke, and yes, no one shows up for that and that beautiful room sits pretty much empty most of the time. One plus I guess, we did wait there a few nights while waiting for our MDR check-in table, and there was a whole empty bar with bored bartenders just waiting to make you a drink.

I received the email survey and promptly completed it! I thought it seemed too good to be true, and there was no way they would give $200 to everyone that completed the survey, but I figured, eh' why not lol. We have our first sailing on VV booked for June 2024. I guess I know now not to expect this $200 haha. I agree, this seems super deceptive and frustrating, but I'm really not the fight-it-out type, I just don't have the space for that extra negative energy. But I do truly hope everyone that tries gets what they should. Seems like a bad practice on VV's end.

The Ivory Club Lounge on the Glory used to be a cigar lounge, but as others have said, they have done away with that. It's actually quite sad, I am not a smoker, but that is a beautiful venue/lounge that now sits largely empty and unused. A few nights they had karaoke in there, and even then 10 people max showed up.

There is not. They stopped after restart and said it wouldn't be back. I guess one of the "cut-backs."

It's Pig and Anchor on the other ships. From what I've read, it’s the same food, just didn’t have the Guy Fieri branding due to licensing or something. Having had both, it seems like the same food.

Yes, it's up on Deck 10, aft, there's a staircase by the buffet. Not many people realize it's up there. They do have very limited hours though.