Badfinger

They just want to get you in their maze chasing the cheese. MC already has you spending $350 (600-250) that you probably were not even thinking about spending on things you did not even know you needed until you got this offer. Sure, many here will trumpet all their rewards and how they pay off their cards each month...no interest, no annual fee, blah blah blah. But the cold truth is pretty much what I stated above...rewards programs are enticements to get you to spend/overpay when you otherwise would not have. Studies (even one from MIT) have shown how people buy more with a CC vs Cash as using a card doesn't hurt like using cash. They are willing to overpay, or even compromise on what they purchase all for the sake of the mighty reward. So Carnival is getting sales that they would not have otherwise, MC is collecting fees on every transaction (and if you pay interest...that is just a bonus), and your are going home with some lame tee shirts, photos with stupid backgrounds, or gold by the inch necklaces that you will never wear. A win-win-lose proposition. But yes, by all means, as a MC shareholder I absolutely encourage you to apply for the card.

This is correct. If you are booking a Cloud 9 Spa Cabin, you will not see an itemized charge for Spa access. However, If you do not have a Cloud 9 Spa cabin, then you have to buy a pass. IIRC they sell a single day pass or a cruise-long pass. And for a second IIRC they offer a couples cruise-long pass the will save you a few dollars vs buying two individual passes. Also note that not every cabin on deck 11 are Cloud 9 Spa cabins. The cabins on deck 11 closest to the lido pool are not Cloud 9 Spa Cabins. Luv the Breeze. Luv the Cloud9 Spa. Anymore if I am not on a Dream Class ship in a Cloud 9 Spa Balcony, I am not cruising.

Yeah the Mongolian Wok is the worst. People staring at the "fixins" 4-5 deep in line, and then when they get up there, they have no clue, standing there mouth breathing for 2 minutes, and then here it comes...ummm, ummm......then pick 10 things that really don't go well together. As with the omelet, more is not better, it's just more...and usually worse.

No internet.

Vegetables? On a cruise? No...don't miss those at all. Extra room for meat and/or cheese. As for gravy...yeah maybe...it can be hit or miss. But a a flood of melted butter is a home run every time.

Fantastic! On the Breeze/Magic going to the Italian restaurant first day lunch was a great way to get away from the crowds, have a quiet meal, and just relax until the cabins are available. On those two ships, there was maybe 15 other people there. Only downside was the basketball noise from above...but looking at the deck plan, that is a steakhouse, so even better!

Going on the Dream for the first time later this year. Have been on the Magic and Breeze about 8 times total and usually went to the Italian restaurant on the first day for lunch. I know the Dream does not have an Italian Restaurant. However, I read somewhere (I searched and cannot find it here...might have been elsewhere) that for lunch that they do serve the Italian Pasta Bar in the Steakhouse (located in the same place as the Italian Restaurant on the Breeze and Magic). Can anyone confirm this to be true? TIA!

Have always cruised on Carnival. And anymore will only book a dream class ship due Cloud 9 Spa with T-Pool (yeah I know a couple other ships have the pool but are not in Galveston). However....have been looking at a Princess Cruise on the Regal, which has a Lotus Spa including multiple saunas and a hot tub. Videos make me believe everything is smaller, darker and louder. Anybody here that has experienced both Spas and can provide a comparative review? FWIW...on a typical 7 day cruise I would be in the Spa about 25 hours, so kinda important to me. Thanks.

Frequent cruiser on the Carnival Dream Class ships that have the Cloud 9 Spa with the Thalassotherapy pool. I am not a Lido Deck kind of person, so spend a lot of time in the spa (pool, 3 saunas). When I say I spend a lot of time in the Spa, on our last 7-day cruise on the Breeze I totaled about 26 hours in the spa, so yeah, important to me. Have pretty much said no Dream Class ship, no Spa. However, we are now thinking of a cruise out of Galveston on the Regal Princess. I looked at some online videos of the Lotus Spa. My gut tells me I would be disappointed with that Spa (hot tub looks small, whole area seems dark and noisy). But will keep an open mind if anyone who has been in both can provide a comparative review. Thanks!

And when you consider one probably has to earn about $850 gross dollars in order to clear $600 net after taxes, ss, etc...yeah definitely not negligible. That said, I much prefer a balcony. But then I try to avoid crowds and loud music on a cruise. I find the opportunity to sit on the balcony, looking over the water, with perhaps my favorite beverage, a few snacks and some music, lost in my thoughts...now that is something that is just not available to me at home. I try to do that for a couple hours most everyday when we are on a cruise. Add to that a couple visits a day to the Cloud 9 Spa thermal suites and T-Pool..now that is a vacation and worth the extra money to me.

Too late for a worthless apology IMO. Just another example of CCL doing CCL things....

Since I don't drink alcohol and usually drink diet Zero sodas when I do drink soda, I really like to indulge in a Mexican Coke (real sugar) in Cozumel. Hopefully a 16 oz glass bottle. Life's simple pleasure!

Our first cruise or two we tried to do everything. After those two, we just decided to relax and what happens, happens. Worst case, we head to our balcony and just watch the sunset. Rushing from this show to that club to that MDR and back to that show....not really relaxing always checking the time, hurrying, etc. Just the opposite of what we wanted our vacations to be.

Why in the world would you call that number provided in a suspicious email? And twice? SMH.... Know just like phone numbers popping up on your phone, "from" emails can be manipulated to display as legit emails. Just never ever never ever respond through an email (or text) or to any contact (phone, email) provided in that suspicious email.

As others, have done that with some non-cotton workout clothes. No issues. Another tip...pack some old clothes (or clothes you don't like) that you can basically wear 1-2 times then trash. Have done that with an old sun shirt and baseball cap...wore them on two excursions then trash. Trashed an older pair of swim trunks at the end of the a cruise. Same with some old running shoes on three different cruises.

Well, apparently Carnival is now (correctly) below Burger King in service....you cannot have it your way! Any yeah I know BK changed their tagline, but most still recognize this one.

We thought about going to the steakhouse a couple cruises ago...but then we realized we could save that money and go to the local Brazilian Steakhouse $26(weekday lunch). It was a no brainer to pass on the steakhouse. And glad I did because the more cruises we have taken, the less I like the beef on CCL. Open flame is just so much better.

Liking a product is not a reason to buy that companies stock. I have bought Honda vehicles exclusively for over 30 years. No way on earth I would ever buy their stock...even if they offered free oil changes and tire rotations to shareholders!

Good grief. It is all about the bottom line. If the same ports produce sold out cruises, the the itineraries are cost efficient, why change? Perhaps time to explore non-cruise vacation options.

NEED? No.

I always stay in a Spa Cabin just for access to the thermal suites (Dream Class). I have only booked two appointments and both times it was on the ship when they were offering specials to those of us in the Spa Cabins. One was $50 off any service (no minimum price) another was a full hour massage for $75 IIRC. My belief is they will offer you better prices once on the ship...unless of course their staffing levels are as bad as the rest of the ship then who knows. If you cannot find your answer, and you are not looking to book something on the embarkation day, I would just book it in advance, and once on board, go check with the spa on the final price. If you don't like it, just cancel.

Agree with your post-pandemic assessment. We are likely to not cruise again. Now I just need to ween myself off this website.....

Curb food waste on a oil burning ships that regularly dump sewage in the ocean. Yeah...excellent.

No additional charge...yet. Give them time to figure it out.

Agree...but not in cruise stocks. Sure they will likely go up eventually, but there are other much better market leading blue chip companies with solid earnings and revenue that are screaming buys. Carnival...not so much. And getting a lousy $100 OBC is not a reason to buy a stock.