ParrotRob

9 hours ago, theeddie said:

Happy to see this,   Carnival cancelled a chef's table on me because everyone else cancelled day of.

Its ALOT of food and booze

I'm not sure what chef's table you're dining at, but every one I've done has been a lot of food, a glass of champagne and a glass or two of wine, certainly not "a lot of booze".

14 minutes ago, Lottacruises said:

 

Since you're so knowledgeable please provide examples of them all. I dont drink alot but I want to drink like a king for a week and try everything. 

Well you're not going to drink like a king on carnival.  They really have no high end beer or wine.  The best wines they have on board can generally be had for $15 a bottle ashore.

Vodka?  They have Grey Goose and Grey Goose VX.  I like both, but some prefer Belvedere.  All are good choices.

Tequila, Don Julio Anejo is my favorite, but Roca Patron is the "highest end" they carry that I know of.

For whiskey, depends on what you like.  They do have Makers, and there's a recent rumor you can find Blantons in the steak house, but I haven't seen it firsthand.

The best Whisky they have is probably a 12yo MacAllan.

The advent of the Blue Iguana and Red Frog bars have introduced a lot of new rums.  The rum bar alone could probably fill a whole thread.

Generally speaking, if you want fairly good quality spirits and decent drinks, spend some time at the Alchemy Bar.

Or you could also drink 15 Coors Lights in a bucket by the pool.  Whatever you like.

31 minutes ago, mjhouse2 said:

I have this booked for our next cruise in February.  Booked a few months ago and didn't have to pay up front.  Got an email confirming my reservation but not the time or day.  Hopefully it hasn't changed lol

 

In our experience, you don't find out what day it is until you're actually on board.  

8 minutes ago, MT_Sea_Cruisers said:

We sailed on the Legend a few months ago.    All machines take cash or transfer from either your Sail and Sign card or casino bank balance.  Once funds move from sail and sign to your casino back they do not go back,  Any winnings from cash inserted into the machine go toy our casino bank.  You can cash out of your casino bank at any time as many times as you wish.  Just take your sail and sign card to the casino cashier and let them know you are cashing out.

You're right, you can't transfer them back.  But you CAN cash out your casino bank, march down to guest services, and apply that cash to your S&S bill

Caveat upfront, I have never stayed in one of these cabins. 

That said, I have seen the inside of these cabins many times.  And I've seen them from outside of the cabin.  The window in the cabin faces the open deck area on the front of the ship where people sometimes congregate to watch water over the bow.  From this walkway it's pretty easy to see inside the cabins.  Keep that in mind, you'll have very little privacy there unless you keep your curtains closed all the time, and that kind of defeats the purpose of having a window in the first place.

Well hell, if I had known you could do that, I would have have bought $20,000 worth of gift cards before my last cruise for the discounted price of $18,000, then cashed them in for the $2000 profit and gotten my cruise for free. 

No wonder they're starting to put limits on the number of discounted GCs you can buy.

On 12/31/2019 at 3:32 PM, edbro said:

I use the casino to "launder" gift cards. I have quite a few gift cards that I've purchased at a discount from AARP and I will add them to my casino account and then pull the funds out. I don't gamble but I'll probably play a few slot to make it look good.

So you buy the discounted gift cards and run them through the casino with no intention whatsoever of spending the money and just pocketing the 11.1% profit?

55 minutes ago, twodaywonder said:

Have they switched to Pepsi for 2020?

Have they added self serve Pepsi machines?

Did anyone say they were installing self-service machines or was this just wishful thinking?

14 minutes ago, coevan said:

I would hope to think the airlines and travel agents will apprise the traveler of the new rules. The bottom line is if you are leaving U.S. soil, get a passport.

THIS.  But it will never happen because people will continue to do whatever is the absolute minimum they can get away with.  It's mind-boggling to me, but I guess it's a totally different mentality.

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

 All international travel is not created equally and the only time a passport is a requirement is when you are traveling via air.

Your still not getting my point.  I never said it was a requirement.  But it IS  the smart thing to do.  And a very inexpensive insurance policy.

34 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

never heard this, go to any reputable store

Well what if you buy them off the back of a donkey cart?

8 hours ago, Banditswife said:

There is no smoking allowed in the cabins

Nah, that doesn't mean anything.  You can still get away with it, I'm sure.

33 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

There is a difference between traveling to a country via air and traveling to a country via cruise ship. The authorities know that you are on the cruise, they know who you are (since they vet all passengers during the cruise). The cruise line is responsible for letting them know when someone has left the cruise and why and arrangements are then made for the passenger to fly back to the US where they are cleared in secondary inspection (which consists of them proving that they are who they say they are). This is a far cry from some random person on independent travel just showing up at the airport saying "my passport was stolen". At the end of the day each cruiser must decide which documentation work best for their travel needs but millions of people travel every year on closed loop cruises with something other than a passport and have no issues at all.

Millions of people cross the street every day without getting hit.  But I still look both ways.  Millions of people drive every day without getting in a wreck.  But I still wear my seat belt.  

Having (and carrying) a passport out of the country is still a good idea - no matter how many people DON'T do it.

32 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

I totally agree. Years ago, in 1986, I took my whole family to Aventuras Akumal, Mexico for a 1 week all inclusive land vacation. We could see Cozumel from our balcony, being on the mainland. We flew down, DFW to Cancun. We only had to have a picture I.D. and birth certificate to enter the country, AND to enter back into the United States. My how times have changed. THAT, my friends, was before widespread global terrorism, AND 9/11..... Now the requirements are a passport to travel via air. I can see why. These horrible international travel requirements are due to the birth of global terrorism, and the U.S. attempt to thwart the importation of same. It's in our best interest to have a passport when travelling internationally. Please keep that in mind when you get stranded in a foreign country. Just my humble opinion. 

I couldn't agree more.  Sure, you CAN travel with a DL and BC, but I wouldn't dare set foot out of the country these days without a passport.  Small price to pay for ten years of peace of mind.

1 hour ago, dcwalker said:

But if you're really lucky it is free - or better - the casino is paying you. Heavy sigh. I wish I was that lucky. All my casino perks are costly - but fun. So. Yeah. What the heck.

I'm thinking that if the Carnival slots return anywhere even close to 90% it would be a miracle.  Unlike land-based casinos, there's nobody to regulate them (e.g. The Nevada gaming commission).  There's also no competition.  Those slots can be as tight as they want them to be.

$3750 of slot play on a 7 day cruise.

This is why I think it's funny when people in the cheers threads say they won't buy cheers because they get DOU for "free".

3 minutes ago, glrounds said:

 

I've vaped in my cabin for nearly a decade. I don't flaunt it, however. All my ejuice and charging equipment in plain view on my desk. Never a peep. There is no remaining odor and no one in my cabin to complain about the strawberry, watermelon or cherry essence in the exhaled mist. I find some women's cheap perfume much more nauseating. 🙂

Most smokers don't think cigarettes leave odors behind either...

2 minutes ago, serene56 said:

so if you do not fill out that form   then what?    Sorry   Most people cruising will not know about that form

It's not a form.  They have your address on file, you know.  You leave money in your player bank, it lands in your mailbox about two weeks later.  No fuss.  No form.  And no lying.

What part of "AUTOMATICALLY forwarded to guests" do you not understand?

3 hours ago, serene56 said:

THIS is not true as the Casino part of your sign and sail card is known as the bank.  Its two different things.   IF you fail to close out that account by closing of the casino on the last night-- you lost all that money.  Announcements are made a lot in the casino that last night.  and its on the fun times

 

Nothing hacks me off more than people spreading BAD information.  This is blatantly false.  The reason they tell you to cash out on the last night is because the casino is not open on debarkation morning and you won't be able to get to those funds.  But you haven't "lost all that money".  That's ridiculous.

"I left a balance in my Player Bank - how do I get it back?
Funds in excess of $10 USD will automatically be forwarded to guests. For further inquiries on outstanding balances, please visit carnivalplayersclub.com."

9 hours ago, glentally said:

I don't believe the cruise company doesn't skim some off for administrative fees etc.  No one here can prove me right or wrong, its all speculation including my own comments.

So if the company is skimming from their employees, why hasn't ONE SINGLE WHISTLEBLOWER ratted them out on out?  All it would take is one.

Or maybe your giant conspiracy theory includes buying the silence of disgruntled former employees?  After all you just said yourself that there's no evidence they're happy with the arrangement.

5 minutes ago, buckeyefrank said:

Between the SOC 1 which tests the cruise lines internal control structure and the financial audit, you can rest assured the tips, DSC, services charges, etc. are going to the employees.  They would likely be captured under a revenue code (or handful of codes) that would be easy to test in a SOC 1 environment.  The auditor (SOC 1 and financial) would perform testing on a limited basis to ensure that the amounts reported as service charges (which have been asserted by management as employee funds) go to an appropriate account (liability account on the balance sheet).  They would also test the disbursements, making sure that payments that were made are appropriate.  Materiality doesn't really come into play at this level.  The amount of DSC collected throughout the year makes the account material and would surely be tested.  Carnival Corp shows that they had 12,400,000 passengers in 2018.  Figure an average of 6 days a cruise you are looking at DSC collected of about $800 - $900 million. 

 

I do certainly agree with you in assuming people who argue the opposite are trying to justify in their own heads why they don't tip.

It's easy to just make up reasons not to tip.  Not everyone understands things like accounting and auditing.

3 minutes ago, meh56 said:

I would like to make a reservation for the steakhouse on the Miracle, I understand we now need to prepay this reservation. Can anyone tell me if we have to cancel this cruise (we will have insurance) or decide to cancel the reservation, is it refundable.

Yes, if you cancel your cruise, any pre-paid excursions, fun shop purchases, packages, etc are refundable.  Just had this happen to me on one I cancelled for January.

4 hours ago, glentally said:

This topic brings up the unknown of how cruise lines divide the tips.  So if I do early or late does that tip I prepaid for get divided between just my staff?  Thrown into a big pool and EVERYONE gets some? 

 

I know I am going to rock the boat but I don't believe the cruise company doesn't skim some off for administrative fees etc.  No one here can prove me right or wrong, its all speculation including my own comments.

Why do you care how tips are divided?  Apparently the employees are happy with the arrangement.  When you tip at a restaurant on land, do you dictate how you want your top divided between your server, hostess, bartender, kitchen staff, etc?

3 minutes ago, coevan said:

well aware of the exchange rate, .77 on the dollar. When we travel internationally we know the exchange rate but never wondered if the total trip was costing more due to the rate. 

Well then doesn't it stand to reason that when the Canadian dollar only buys $0.77 worth of goods in the United States that it costs Canadians much more?  That cruise you paid $2000 for costs $2600 CAD.  That would be fine if Canadians made proportionately more money, but they actually (on average) earn about 16% less than their American counterparts.  Lower wages plus unfavorable exchange rates makes for a big disadvantage.

4 hours ago, jdemps said:

The odds may be slim but it happens.  I didn't say it was 3 on the same cruise, it is 3 total over different trips.  

I don't appreciate your tone in the comment above and would appreciate if you would just STFU if you don't have anything relevant to type. Thank you for your cooperation with butting out of my comments.....lmao

I honestly couldn't care less what you "appreciate".  I'm not here to please you.  I just think it's utterly amazing that you know three people that have lost bags, regardless of how many different trips.