ParrotRob

3 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

hi Sean, have a great first cruise, don't be sure it's a one and done deal, many of us got hooked and it's a very reasonable vacation. BTW, what does Canada have to do with it,  airfares are marginally different. 

Exchange rates favor Americans buying Canadian goods and services, not vice versa.

1 minute ago, Joe817 said:

^^^^^ This!

Never quite works out though.  The pesky taxes on pre-departure in-port drinks always give me like a $4.00 bill...

2 hours ago, Danca4eva1994 said:

why do you choose prepaid gratuities? 
 

For that elusive $0.00 S&S bill at the end of the cruise.

51 minutes ago, imluvncruzn said:

Yes a DL and BC will suffice.  Make sure the BC is from the state dept. or dept. of vital statistics (not hospital issued one).  He will be able to go ashore in Mexico.  They don't require you to show any type of passport to leave the ship in ports.  He'll just need to bring his DL and sail and sign card to get on and off the ship.  

Just be extraordinarily careful not to miss the boat.  Getting stuck in Mexico without a passport could be a little bit problematic.

5 minutes ago, cheermomof2girls said:

 

LOL, I wondered the same.  To me, it's not like flying, bags dont seem to get lost do they?  I have never known anyone with a lost bag on a cruise.  I hear everyone say to tip the porter so your bag doesn't get lost.  I tip the porter bc I tip for service, but not in fear they are going to throw it in the ocean or something.

I know, right?  What are the odds that one person has THREE FRIENDS that "lost" bags?

17 minutes ago, JennyB1977 said:

Cheers! is a BEVERAGE PACKAGE. If you don't think it's worth it for you and your traveling companions, by all means don't buy it. If you think you'd drink enough bottled water, soda, specialty coffees, energy drinks, milkshakes and yes alcohol then purchase away.

 

The judgmental tones by both sides of this topic are harsh. One is not simply an alcoholic or forced to drink because they have chosen to take advantage of a product that includes alcoholic beverages. Those that choose not to purchase the package are not necessarily boring, cheap, teetotalers.

 

Getting your money's worth on Cheers! is not simply about alcohol. It's about the total package. It includes alcohol. It's not just alcohol.

 

It's certainly appropriate to answer whether you regret purchasing it or not and why. But the continued speculation and judgment on the drinking habits of others is ridiculous.

 

I drink, I'm sure based on the tone here that some would assume, based on my drinking habits, that I'm some sloppy drunk that can't remember my evenings. Nothing could be further from the truth. We all handle and enjoy alcohol differently. I do so responsibly and hope others do as well.

 

Happy Cruising!

If you buy Cheers, you're clearly a raging alcoholic.  After all, no one could possibly drink enough to make it worthwhile otherwise.  😉

52 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

It sounds easy when you break it down to the smallest unit of one day. That is exactly what the marketing wants you to do. Don't forget to multiply that amount by 2 people, then multiply it again for 4-14+ days. How often does one person in the couple not drink very much? Then we create a bunch of drinking schedules, that few people do in their normal life, and few actually keep on top of vacation. Is it so hard to accept that most couples will not drink $860 of liquids in a week, and if they did, they forced themselves to?

It's probably no harder for YOU to believe that people DO.

7 hours ago, cmichael1279 said:

If you have a problem with someone showing up in jeans, I think the rest of the group would be happy with your decision to leave and eat elsewhere!

It's not the jeans people mind...

47 minutes ago, rebeccac said:

Just a suggestion, you could wear closed toe shoes just for the galley tour and then change into a pair that better suits your outfit after that portion of the evening is over.  

You go directly from the galley tour to the dinner table.

5 hours ago, Sean_B said:

Which doesn't even remotely answer the question I asked.

And isn't even remotely correct, either.

6 hours ago, SERK said:

No regrets here.  Wife and I love the Cheers Program!  It's more of a peace of mind to us because we not only use it for the alcohol but for waters and soft drinks as well and don't have to think about how much we spent.   I know I make my 5 drink minimum on port days and then some on most days.  Wife doesn't drink as much and will sometimes use some of her drink purchases to give to family/friends on cruise that may want a drink.  Yes, you can share if you're willing to wait the 5 mins. 

By "you can share", you really mean "you can get away with sharing despite it being expressly forbidden if you're sneaky enough", right?

3 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

If you paid via gift card, they’ll mail you a new one, but I’m not sure of the time frame for that.

That's pretty quick, too.  About a week or so.  Comes via courier.

12 hours ago, Korbiesmom said:

I’m going on the Carnival Panorama in three weeks and I want to make sure I get a decent cup of coffee. I haven’t been on Carnival in years but was very disappointed in the regular coffee served on the Princess Cruise I took to Alaska last year. There was no half and half for the coffee served anywhere, it was only milk. Every time we asked for half and half we were brought full cream. It was disgusting and made the coffee greasy. Question, does Carnival serve real half and half with their coffee? Otherwise I’ll have to bring my own creamer. 

You want a decent cup of coffee, but then you're going to ruin it by putting cream in it?!  😛

2 minutes ago, coevan said:

I doubt the food is any better. The ship does not cook the food. 😎

No one said it was any better.  I suspect the price of Chef's table is based on demand, like the price of anything else.

The first picture says STARTING AT $75/pp.  As someone else said, it varies from ship to ship.  Your ship happens to be $95.  And yes, they will add gratuity, as well they should.  The service is great.

16 minutes ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

CHEERS break even:
4 drinks if $13.00 each
5 drinks if $10.40 each
6 drinks if $ 8.65 each

 

I could easily drink a Mocha coffee and 4 bottles of water ($8.75) each day.  That leaves $43.20 left of the $51.95 package price. 4 drinks at the Alchemy Bar @ 10.95 each takes care of the rest.

Exactly.  Anyone who says they "don't know anyone who can drink as much as the package costs" is out of their mind crazy.

9 minutes ago, grandmarnnurse said:

Actually, no. I really don’t know anyone that can drink 15 alcoholic drinks in one day, and still remember anything! If you can, more power to you. But I think most people buy it because they don’t want to worry about their final bill growing. But we found that we would never even break even, and that would be with other non alcoholic beverages purchased as well. And since my hubby only drinks beer, it is much cheaper for us to buy as we go along. Now, I’m not saying it won’t be a good value to those that purchase a lot of specialty coffees, milkshakes, sodas, etc. along with their alcoholic beverages. I’m saying I find it hard to believe anyone can drink 15 alcoholic drinks in a day. And since usually one of the partners in a cabin may drink considerably less than the other, but both have to purchase the plan, it just may not be worth it to most people. To those, yes, they may regret purchasing the plan. 

You didn't say you don't know anyone that can drink 15 a day.  If that's what you had said, I wouldn't have replied "you're kidding, right?".  Your EXACT WORDS were "There is no way most people would drink as much as the package costs.'"  The package costs $51.95 a day, which is nowhere even CLOSE to 15 drinks a day.

On 12/27/2019 at 4:07 PM, grandmarnnurse said:

There is no way most people would drink as much as the package costs. Cheaper to buy outright. 

You're kidding, right?

22 minutes ago, Crusin Hogs said:

Have to be paid in full 45 days before the cruise sailing date 

No.

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/481/~/deposit-and-final-payment-requirements

5 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

Have they done any more repairs? I wonder if today will be another delayed sail away? Just curious, as I board the Glory in just 35 days on February 2. 

Purely speculation on my part, but I'm willing to bet the repairs may be done or close to it before you even sail.  Jane a great cruise, you'll love Glory.

Nice review.  Victory was my first carnival ship and I've been on her twice since.

The only thing I didn't like in your review was the recommendation to show up late for muster drill because they take forever.  The whole REASON they take forever is - you guessed it - people showing up late (or not at all).

15 hours ago, jdemps said:

We like to take our luggage on with us too.  I don't like waiting and hoping my bag doesn't get lost.  I had at least 3 friends sail without their luggage before and that was not fun.  We have 28" and 29" tall large hardside cases and it always fits through the scanner.  Have fun on your cruise.

I'm glad I'm not your friend, because your friends have almost mathematically-impossible bad luck.

I would tell the waiter that if the steak were properly seasoned at the time of cooking it shouldn't need salt at the table 😉

This popped up in my AMEX offers, check yours you may have it too.  This was on an AMEX gold.  Good luck.

On 12/26/2019 at 11:13 AM, CruiseHealing said:

That is still too cheap, $4 per drink on 15 drinks. It should be $5 to $6 per drink, or $75 to $90 per day. As a long term shareholder, I believe this program has hindered revenue growth. Just like FTTH should be increased by 20%. 

As a shareholder, you should be well aware of why things are priced the way they are.  Everything (and I mean literally everything) is priced at the point at which profit is maximized.  Not volume sold.    Sure, $75-$90 would make more profit per person, but an increase in price will reduce demand, and overall profit will suffer.

Consider this: you manufacture widgets that cost $100 for you to make.  You can probably easily sell them for $300 and profit $200 per widget.  1000 people will buy them at that price and you'll profit $200,000.  But if you sell them for $250, you'll only profit $150 per widget but 1500 people will now buy them, creating $225,000 in profit.  Which would you do?

THAT'S why Cheers is priced exactly the way it is.  Supply, demand and price are very basic economics.