Mr Bulldops

The Carnival site has laundry listed as 5 standard bags for $50, but varies by ship. Is this price typically accurate? How big are the standard bags - like something you would find at a hotel? Headed out on a 16 day next month and I'm going to have no choice but to do some laundry. Thanks.

Since I did the match in January, I have been getting bombarded with emails from Royal Caribbean. I never signed up for them or sailed with them before. Seems weird that Carnival would share my data with a competitor, unless maybe a third party is administering the fun match and sharing it.

MGM has Royal Caribbean / Celebrity as their regular partner. Wynn has Holland America. Caesars and Penn have NCL. I'm sure the Semiole tribe/Hard Rock has one as well. Those are pretty much all the big players. I know someone that "Carnival fun matched" their Diamond Plus at Caesars, which is really not that difficult to obtain, and was offered the same thing I got (detailed above), less the free play and in a balcony room. He opted for a 14 day Hawaii option. Cruise lines are not making money on unoccupied cabins, so they are taking a chance that if you gamble on land, you will gamble at sea.

Interesting. I'm actually in an Ocean Suite on the Spirit next month. Did you enjoy it? It seems like the Ocean Suite is just slightly bigger than a regular balcony, with a nicer bathroom.

Thanks for that link. Hadn't seen that mentioned anywhere else. Overall, perks seem kind of weak for how much more they charge for these cabins when compared to a normal balcony cabin. Booked this one on a casino offer, but seeing how much they charge for them normally, no way I would pay for it.

Other than the standard list Priority check-in, embarkation & debarkation Priority dinner reservations & main dining room time assignment Two complimentary large bottles of water Pillow-top mattresses Bathrobes Are there any other perks for booking a suite? Also, are the two large complimentary bottles of water per day or per cruise?

It's a pretty common promo casinos offer. It doesn't really cost the land-based casinos anything and it gets players in the door. If you have a higher tier, don't be afraid to shop around either. Cruise lines want your business if you can prove you have established play. I am 7 stars at Caesars and get a free 7 night balcony cruise with NCL. Instead of taking them up on that this year, I opted to try Carnival's "fun match" program and as a result of that I booked a 16 night Panama Canal cruise on the Spirit in a suite with $500 in free play for only a $200 credit refundable as OBC + tax, port fees, etc.

2 questions... Is there a reason not to wait until you're actually on board to purchase these AARP gift cards if you have the wifi package or will there be a delay in receiving them? Is it still possible to load them to a slot machine and cash them out through the casino? Thanks.

Has anyone tried using RingCentral? I purchased the highest tier of wifi and am planning on using RC on board.