Cruising Rules

Why is Carnival doing this? I can only see it as devaluing everyone who spent the time/money to get to platinum

It's just another one of their "brilliant" ideas. Another insult to those who have demonstrated loyalty. It is truly amazing how many mis-guided (and I'm being nice) ideas they have come up with. You would think they are trying to chase us away.

Kinda easy for you to be critical of those of us who are angry. I see you have three Carnival cruises under your belt.

 

Well some of us have 10, 20 or thirty and we have been ignored by the geniuses who dreamed up this promotion.

 

Suppose thousand dollar bonuses were randomly given out by your boss. You then found out that part time employees (some working only 5 hours per week) received the thousand dollar checks while you, a full time employee, was ignored. I dare say, you would be angry!

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Well color me angry. This is just another incredibly poor marketing decision made by an incredibly weak management team. First FTTF, then offers to individuals to have a single cruise with Platinum benefits at no additional charge, finally they now are offering free cruises to anyone. What is next? Free upgrades to owners suites to first time cruisers?

I have never seen such poor decisions by any service based company. After 26 cruises and the loyalty I have demonstrated, I am done with Carnival. Next three cruises already booked with RCL and Celebrity.

Im sailing on the Breeze next Sunday so have been reading Carnival posts. I have detected an ongoing theme in some posts about Holland America line that aren't very complimentary. One poster said the cure for cruise addiction is Holland america. The reason Im curious is that I have sailed on HAL several times and had great experiences. Are Caarnival and HAL really that different? Thanks for your imput.

Holland America is a far more refined and relaxing experience. I have 26 cruises just on Carnival and three on Holland America and I assure you that if your looking for a cruise that does not include constant sales pitches, choices of live entertainment, good food, no hairy chest contests, a still special MDR experience, then it's a no brainer. Holland America is the clear choice.

I am so disappointed in the direction that Carnival has gone in recent years that they have become a far less certain choice for my wife and I.

You are absolutely correct, Stu. The "brilliant" loyalty program, Faster to the Fun, and this recent promotion.

 

 

 

Faster to the Fun does not give you temporary Platinum status... it gives you select Platinum perks.

YEP, another brilliant move on the part of Carnival. Loyalty means nothing to them. Thats why our next three cruises are booked on other carriers. I have 26 cruises with Carnival and would have to really think hard as to whether I want to do another one. You think these inane marketing decisions are not hitting them in the pocketbook?. I have never in 15 years of cruising seen Carnival's rates so low.

Most who post here and use/have used a PVP either like or dislike, seems as nothing in between. A regular PVP is a CCL employee (salary + bonus structure) and do not receive a commission, however as someone pointed out, they do have certain goals (quotas) to maintain.

 

Have used the same PVP for over 8 years, but no real advantage. They have never gotten us a different price than what I have found myself, never received an upgrade or upsell offer, and have decided, I can just book directly myself. At least this will keep the PVP from calling to see if I'm ready to book after each time I log onto the CCL site.

It is correct that the pricing is no different between a TA and a PVP. The one advantage to me anyway is that when you book with a TA, and you have an issue or request, Carnival will refer you back to your TA. In essence you have cutoff direct communication with Carnival customer service.

OP...thanks for your review. I have not tried Holland America but would like to try it someday.

 

I must say though in your reference to the hand sanitizer issue, if I was on HA and they made me use hand sanitizer I would refuse. Hand sanitizer does nothing for norovirus and has actually been proven to be harmful. It not only kills bad germs but kills the good germs that you need. Also, many hand sanitizers contain a toxin called triclosan which is damaging in many ways.

 

I use to use hand sanitizer all the time and could not figure out why when I would get even the smallest of paper cuts on my hands they would not heal. The reason for this is that the hand sanitizer had killed the good germs needed to heal the wounds.

 

The best defense is hand washing.

While I agree that hand washing is the best defense, you ought to spend time in a men's room sometime. I would venture a guess that 30%-40% of men don't even run cold water over their hands after using the toilet. I congratulate HAL on trying to force the issue and get people to use hand sanitizer. This is also done on Celebrity as well. I am not sure where you get these "facts" regarding hand sanitizer, but you are flat wrong. They do nothing to inhibit healing and are a proven product for killing 97% of the bacteria they come in contact with. Next time you visit someone in the hospital, look outside every room. Yep hand sanitizer! I say bravo to every cruise line encouraging passengers to use the sanitizer. (Your post would make sense if you were talking about anti-bacterial soap)

I like them a little crispy around the edges - I want my ground beef well done!

While I do think this is a huge improvement to the Carnival food segment my biggest criticism is the crispy edges. It has been my experience that they tend to over cook the patties and create a crunchy texture that should only come from the produce and not the meat itself. Yes some say I am picky but it's all in the eye of the beholder.

Looks like Carnival's recent changes are making a difference:

 

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12302153/1/carnival-ccl-falls-despite-record-bookings-in-january.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

 

Carnival had an awesome January!

Unfortunately for Carnival this was done by offering not only $50 deposits but also pricing for an entire 3-4 day cruise starting as low as $119! I personally have never seen cruise pricing so low. If you'll notice they number released was the total number of cruises sold in the month with no mention of revenue. They simply bought the business.

But your open minded and ready to not form an opinion until we see how it goes, that's what is important.:cool:

In fact I am open minded. With that said I see no way that the concept of paid unreserved seating is workable. Knowing human nature as I am sure you do, this concept I am afraid is fraught with pitfalls. This will most likely end up being a free for all as aggressive humans fight for position! Also I am not sure in another post if you or someone else mentioned there are no bad seats in these theaters. I must disagree. There are plenty of bad seats only made worse by the, "hey I paid for this" mentality.

We shall see but roll call is full of people who love Princess.

I have this vision of the stampede that will ensue once the doors open as ticket holders scamper towards the UNRESERVED seats. Or maybe even better, passengers bringing sleeping bags on board so they can stake out "their place in line" right after breakfast that morning. That vision includes those calm interactions between guests as they challenge each other over "those seats are taken" responses. Or finally the relaxed manner in which a ticket holder tells Carnival staff that "there is no way in hell they are going to sit behind that pillar. I paid the same price that everyone else did and expect to be able to see the stage". The concept of paying for entertainment adds a whole new dynamic to enjoying performances on the ship. Or maybe I am just being unrealistic. Only problem is, I doubt it.

They may be owned by Carnival but they are not the same in policies. No FTTF people to deal with, and no smoking on balconies on Princess. It's not about the money for us.:D

And Princess has far better entertainment and it's live!!!

Usually 50 a cruise do not have to purchase for each individual only for the room your in.

 

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So what your telling me is that Carnival has caused this uproar and animosity between guests in addition to insulting their most loyal supporters over a paltry $2,500 per sailing? Sad, very sad!

It's Carnival's responsibility, not yours or anyone else who chooses to purchase a benefit they offer. I don't think Platinum folks (speaking for myself, but assuming for others) resent the guests who take Carnival up on the offer. We just want Carnival to respect the benefit they've told us that we earned.

 

Have a great cruise!

Bravo ... Well said and oh so true!

Oh geez not again yes no tableclots on casual nights yes get over it.. Yes who gives a flip about a darn table cloth

I and many others "give a flip"! At the time of this announcement a survey surfaced on here and after several days those results indicated that 50+ per cent gave a flip. So let's all admit for as many of those like you that don't care, there are just as many that do care! Of course your entitled to your opinion. :-)

Are you their best customer? I doubt it.

 

Their best customer is probably the first time cruiser that buys all the photos, carnival excursions, souvenirs and any other fee based items. Not the person that has been on 15 cruises that has been there done that and doesn't buy extras.

 

I love it when people say they worked for those benefits. No you worked for a vacation which was provided. Anything extra is a added bonus that they are in no way required to give.

I think if you had reached the Platinum level would be singing a different tune. Keep in mind that those who have enough cruises on Carnival to reach the Platinum level were promised certain rewards for their loyalty! We did not work for these benefits we EARNED them by supporting Carnival with our business. As I have noted previously from my point of view, most Platinum customers are not being critical of those who take advantage of FTTF, we are critical of Carnival for even offering it! I think a new argument from those of you who are critical of the Platinum customers is truly in order! I repeat we EARNED these benefits we DID NOT work for them.

Guy's Burger Joint is really good and now I wish for it every cruise. I had the chance to try it for the first time on the Carnival Triumph after it received it following the extended dry-dock. Unfortunately not all ships have Guy's Burger Joint.

 

I wrote a review on my blog about Guy's Burger Joint and the "Straight Up" burger and thought I would share it here!

http://www.embarkandaway.com/1/post/2014/01/review-ofcarnivals-guys-burger-joint.html

 

Have you tried Guy's Burger Joint?

What did you have? Did you like or dislike it?

I thought it was much better then the previous Carnival burgers. My only issue was there was a tendency to over cook the meat leaving you with a patty with crispy edges

Granted I've only cruised 4 lines so far but I've noticed very little difference between Princess, RCCL & Carnival on our 7 night Caribbean cruises. I do notice a difference in Carnival's 4 & 5 night cruises and a very big difference in our one Holland America Alaskan cruise.

 

The shorter cruises seem to have a younger, less formal and more late night crowd. As for the Holland America cruise I don't know if it was the cruise line or the fact that it was an Alaskan cruise but the decks were empty shortly after late seating.

You noticed very little difference between RCL, Carnival and Princess? Wow I see a huge difference even if just in the decor of the ships. Add to that the level of entertainment on RCL and Princess vs. Carnival. I guess it's all in the eyes of the beholder.

Its my money. I decide what it goes for and I don't have to blindly accept these changes which are clearly not for our benefit...

absolutely agree!!

Interesting thread. We always look a the other lines, Disney, RCCL, Princess and others every time we book. Prices tend to be much higher on like itineraries and cabins than CCL. Entry level? The general consensus on most of the threads and with our personal contacts seems to be that there are more similarities than differences especially between CCL, RCCL, NCL and Princess.

 

Can't say as we have sailed only Disney and Carnival. The reason why for us is that, to date, we have never has less than a great vacation experience with Carnival. In our 8 years we haven't seen a ton of changes as I am sure some of you more veteran cruisers have. We could sail the other lines and I'm sure we will at some point. Just not enough reason to.

 

The Europe itineraries on some of the more luxury lines are very tempting now with longer 10 and 14 day trips with air fare included.

If you shop the various online travel cruise sites you can pretty easily find pricing on RCL, Celebrity, Princess HAL and others that compare nicely to CCL. Just booked a Celebrity cruise for $40 less then the similar CCL seven night itinerary.

Does the infirmary on miracle provide free motion sickness pills?

on inspiration I was directed to guest services in which they charged a fee,

on paradise there were a box by the door full of them at no charge.

They used to be free. Now Carnival has turned them into a profit center! For $3.50 you get like four pills. Better to stop by Walgreens or CVS and buy their generic versions. Much cheaper!

The same reason they did not just cancel the benefits to begin with.

 

Grace periods for any programmatic change at any company is common practice to keep major PR issues from killing them. Carnival is no different. Look how long they allowed people to use drink coupons after they stopped selling them.

 

The financial losses probably would not have broken the company but they certainly would not have helped. Any program that is losing money either needs reformation (which FTTF+Sea days based loyalty did) or cancellation.

 

It makes sense to me.

Glad it makes sense to you. It is in fact a very mis-guided solution and one that shows a very poor understanding of customer relations.

Or could the choice for carnival have been cut loyalty programs completely or find a way to fund them?

 

We do not know the business drivers behind it, but part of it could have been that there were so many platinums from 3-4-5 day sailings that they were losing money. The way to fix that would be two parts, revamp to be nights at sea, and add a program that pays for those perks completely.

 

If you had to choose between boarding with VIPs and FTTF, or no platinum perks at all, which would you prefer?

While I appreciate your thoughts, I have a difficult time understanding this when they gave everyone a year to make their 10 cruises to reach the Platinum level and thus increase their financial burden. Add to that there were probably 50 other ways they could offset these costs that did not involve insulting their best customers.

Hi all,

 

My nephew was diagnosed with T1D just a little over a year ago. This will be his first vacation since that time. We are so very proud of him and his adjustment.

 

My question is this, how can I easily get access to carb counts for food served on board? I have read that most just approximate counts, but we need to be a little more precise than that.

 

Any an all suggestions are welcome.

 

PS I did look on carnival.com but the information was limited and whatever I can do to help my sister and nephew have a stress free trip is well worth the ask here.

 

Thank you!

The cruise line will just estimate. Suggest you print out some low carbs lists from the internet and carry them with you. Other then that eat lots of lean protein and keep bread, Potatoes, deserts and rice products to a minimum. As a diabetic I can tell you it's relatively easy to eat on a cruise ship and keep your carbs in check.

Love those Lice cooking demonstrations.

Made me smile.

Nice review. I found food on Celebrity......FOUL. Swimming in sauces. Too Foo Foo. LOVED the Activities. LOVED them. Shows were great.

I just don't comprehend why you folks don't yearn for sauté'd lice. Not sure I can go a week without it!! Glad I was able to provide you a smile. :-)

my Celebrity cruises were years ago, very nice. I never saw a lice cooking demonstration though :eek::eek::eek:

You mean you never had cooked lice in a nice garlic sauté? What the heck is wrong with you!! You have no lived until you have experienced that dish!!! Sorry for my poor typing skills. Did not notice this until I pushed submit. I hoped that no one else would either. :-)