Oletruckdude

OMG. Carnival IS in the cruise business and likes customers who spend $$$ period, whether or not they like the brand or the perks or anything else. That is their ONLY target market. Money talks and BS walks, as they used to say. Carnival says "give us your money", and I say "give me a reason to give you my money". MONEY makes the world go round. Not loyalty. Not warm fuzzy feelings. Not Pats on the back. Those are nice, but bottom line is all about the Benjamins. And even Carnival doesn't care which area of the ship you spend yours on. Stepping off my soapbox again😬. This horse ain't gettin' any deader.

As a Carnival customer I don't give a flyin' Wallenda (ELR quote) which Dept is paying for my perks. Just shower me with the good stuff and I'll keep coming back! 👍😁

Just an update to this thread: My wife and I both applied for renewal passport books mid August. We both applied the same day on their new online web site. My wife got hers 2 weeks to the day. Mine took 6 weeks. And today it showed up in the mailbox but still shows online as "in processing".

Yes, I am one of those people. I dislike many of Carnival's recent cutbacks, so I come here and discuss, or criticize, those cutbacks. But I continue to sail Carnival because there are many things I like about Carnival. Just not everything. There's always room for improvement.

These are discussion boards. People are going to discuss the recent changes in the cruising environment. And the "critical" posts are expected because, after all, you are reading on a forum called Cruise "Critic".

We have always loved the production shows. The casino is our #1 interest with the production shows #2, and the comedy shows #3. We see more then enough passenger "talent" on the lido. No interest in watching it as an official entertainment show.

Of course it's a level playing field. Follow the money. People that don't gamble pay near full price for a cabin. People that spend enough money in the casino get free cabins. Either way Carnival gets the $$$. If you want free cabins you gotta spend time and money in the casino. If not, you pay the going rate. Either way it's gonna cost you. That's about as level as it gets. You're gonna pay either way. I think I've beat this poor dead horse long enough. Continue the spirited debate! I'm on the sidelines on this one.

Without the casino offers I wouldn't have been on the ship. TBH, we get similar offers from other lines as well, and we utilize those offers when they work for us. We do love the cruising lifestyle but the casinos are the biggest draw for us. And with the casino offers we can enjoy a week of gambling for less than most people spend on a week's land based vacation (we used to do Disney World but who can afford that any more). So to answer your question, no, we wouldn't be dropping cash in the casinos without the casino offers. Kind regards.

Been on 20+ Carnival cruises. I like it the way it is. I've dropped more cash in the casino over the years than it would have cost me just for the cruise fare without gambling. I've earned my platinum status same as everyone else. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Or risk making happy customers unhappy ones. Feel free to disagree. That's why these boards are called cruise "critic". All critical thought processes welcome here. 😁

The buffalo cauliflower is very good on the Sunshine late night buffet. It goes great with a couple slices of pizza from the pizza place.

Hey Jimbo5544 and Blerkone. Thank you both for the spirited debate. It's good exercise for the mind. I believe we're more in tune on this issue then it may appear. What we can certainly agree upon is the love of the cruising lifestyle. To that end I wish you both many more ocean sunsets and great days at sea. Keep on cruisin'

Thank you for your opinion. Now here is mine.... All the cruise lines have loyalty marketing to attract repeat customers. Call it "bribes" or whatever you like, it's marketing targeting repeat customers. Without repeat customers any business is doomed to failure. The cruise industry cannot grow without repeat customers. The programs are not "to try to keep people from trying a superior cruise line". The programs are to build a loyal customer base. As far as a "superior" cruise line goes, that's your opinion and you're welcome to it. My personal opinion is that I choose the cruise line that is offering me a cruise on a ship I like, on a date I like, with an itinerary I like, at a price I like. I happen to like RCL's loyalty program more then Carnival's, although I still cruise Carnival several times a year based on the above criteria. I'm not a cheerleader for any of the lines. They all have their pros and cons, as does each individual ship and port. Choose wisely grasshopper.

I text with my mom and daughter on every cruise through WiFi. I have Google Fi and my mom and daughter have Verizon. My phone is a Pixel and theirs are Samsung. My phone is in airplane mode connected to Carnival WiFi on the premium plan. It has worked for us this way for the last couple of years on several different ships. I think the deciding factor is if you're phone can do WiFi texting.

I heard they're bringing in a crack team of experts to tweak the kanuter valve (home improvement reference) 😁

Yes, we will agree to disagree. You said "They want customers who like the brand for what it is". Part of getting customers to like the brand is marketing perks to retain loyalty. Every service oriented company in the world knows this. People aren't going to love Carnival without reason. And loyalty is earned, not given. Which is why Carnival offers perks to begin with. You said Carnival's target market is "novice cruisers and gamblers that cruise free". I believe this to be partially true, in that Carnival wants novice cruisers to become loyal repeat cruisers, and for gamblers to receive the free offers to cruise with Carnival they must first be repeat, hence loyal, cruisers. So my point is Carnival isn't going to throw out the baby with the bath water. They want those repeat "loyal" cruisers to keep coming back to Carnival. Hence the perks. Perks people feel they have earned with their cold hard cash. They may not amount to much in dollar value but when they're taken away without consideration of the people that earned them then there's going to be hard feelings. And again my point is that there is no need for carnival to do so. Show some appreciation to the folks who have supported this company for decades and treat them as though they really matter. Off my soapbox now. Enjoy your cruise!

Hence, my suggestion that they substitute another perk for the one being removed. Maybe at minimum a free drink? Maybe something better? They could easily do this without the need to pull the rug out from under their loyal customers and chance leaving them with a bad taste in their mouths, so to speak. We ARE talking about customers that spend literally tens of thousands of dollars with Carnival over a long period is time. With most companies these customers would be considered the cream of the crop and worthy of consideration for retainment. Again, my two cents worth. Feel free to disagree. That's what these boards are for.

I can see both sides of this issue. However, from where I'm standing an email to many of your most loyal customers explaining how they're losing an earned perk doesn't seem like good marketing to me. Maybe an email explaining a substitute perk in place of the lost perk might be a better marketing ploy? The opportunities are limitless. What would you suggest? Seems like marketing 101 to me... Keep your customers happy to EARN their repeat business. My two cents worth.

THIS!!! 20+ cruises and our passports are always on us in foreign ports.

We've done both, digital and the old method. It doesn't really.matter which method you use since it always ends in a cluster flank at the stairs and elevators because of all of the jacka$$es who don't follow the rules. It's a little better for us as Platinum because we meet at a specific area then they release us to debark. But once released we still end up joining the cluster trying to get off the ship. Until Carnival finds a way to enforce some sort of organization to it all it will continue to be a cluster flank. In the meantime my suggestion is to take a deep breath and just go with the flow.

I have been on a number of recent Carnival cruises. Since the addition of the new starlink systems I have found the premium access to be very fast and reliable. I always get the premium because I like to read the news and surf the net while onboard. That being said, I have discovered the access works best higher up on the ship. Down on the lower decks I experience more drop outs. So I usually find a quiet spot in a public space on the upper decks and the access works much better with constant access and no drop outs.

My go to at Guy's is a double pig patty with cheese and BBQ sauce. No LTOP. Here in the Greenville SC area we still have 2 Fudd's. Love their 1/3lb burger and steak fries with melted cheese sauce on them!

I hate the new "offers" page layout. Too confusing to have to sift through each cruise's offers to find the cruise/offer I want. Carnival's I.T. has never heard the adage "if it ain't broke don't fix it". They love changing the website just as I start finding it useful. Their website can be buggy, their onboard APP can be buggy, their onboard system seems to always be buggy. My wife and I were given Carnival gift cards as anniversary presents from family and when we went to add them to our S&S accounts they told us they had a zero balance😬. A little while later the balances mysteriously showed up when we again presented the cards and the GS person couldn't explain it. The onboard Chat feature is buggy. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. And I won't even get started about the onboard Internet connectivity issues. Carnival's I.T. needs to step up their game.

From the Carnival website: Carnival Sunshine 08/03/2024 – At this time, we are very tentatively anticipating arriving late morning or early afternoon, tomorrow, Thursday, August 8. We will not know the actual time until after the team in Charleston confirms that it is safe for us to proceed into port. Updates will be provided as more details become available. Carnival Sunshine 08/08/2024 – Please do not proceed to the port until you receive final details on our operational plans for this cruise. Thanks for your patience and understanding. To stay up to date, please sign up for text alerts by texting CCL5 to CRUISE (278473). We will post another update by 6:00 PM (ET), Wednesday, August 7, 2024.

From the Carnival website: PORT OF CHARLESTON – The port is currently open but may close as the storm approaches the Charleston area. Carnival Sunshine 08/03/2024 – The ship is now sailing on its scheduled itinerary. We will continue to monitor the storm’s path and provide timely updates as more information becomes available. Carnival Sunshine 08/08/2024 – To stay up to date, please sign up for text alerts by texting CCL5 to CRUISE (278473). We will post another update by 12:00 PM (ET), Wednesday, August 7, 2024.

I am on the Sunshine right now and have heard no such scuttlebutt. In fact the Carnival hub app is asking people to do the digital disembarkation routine now for Thurs. And having a car towed tomorrow will do little since Charleston has been inundated with rain for hours now today. Here is a website to view the harbor area live: https://webcoos.org/cameras/nwlon_charleston/ Nothing looks flooded as of yet, but I don't have a crystal ball. At this point all we can do is hope for the best. One last thing... The port folks parked the vast majority of us on a higher elevation lot Saturday, I would assume in preparation for the storm. Fingers crossed. 🤞