Just back of Carnival Dream and the alcohol confiscating IS WAY UP!!!

[PirateGal]

I had to do the walk of shame to get my luggage because they took my flat iron for my hair! I knew that clothes irons and steamers were forbidden but have never had any issues with bringing a flat iron. We were just on Princess in October and no issues there. Goodbye expensive hair cut. Hello ponytail for the week.

[RossTheBoss]

...left us a note that it would be redelived to our room on the last day of the cruise, which they did... Having to drag all that back off the ship including all our stuff we bought was no fun.

 

You could have had a party and consumed all the booze that last night! :D

 

With regards to Carnival loosing money due to smuggling, I suspect Carnival are bothered more by the cheap folks who spend nothing on their S&S accounts. I also suspect the booze smugglers still buy more drinks than many of the other passengers.

[pjpu]

I had to do the walk of shame to get my luggage because they took my flat iron for my hair! I knew that clothes irons and steamers were forbidden but have never had any issues with bringing a flat iron. We were just on Princess in October and no issues there. Goodbye expensive hair cut. Hello ponytail for the week.

 

which ship and what date?

[Margarita Mom]

I had to do the walk of shame to get my luggage because they took my flat iron for my hair! I knew that clothes irons and steamers were forbidden but have never had any issues with bringing a flat iron. We were just on Princess in October and no issues there. Goodbye expensive hair cut. Hello ponytail for the week.

 

Did they give it back to you? I always bring my flat iron and never had an issue.

[Frank12]

You could have had a party and consumed all the booze that last night! :D

 

With regards to Carnival loosing money due to smuggling, I suspect Carnival are bothered more by the cheap folks who spend nothing on their S&S accounts. I also suspect the booze smugglers still buy more drinks than many of the other passengers.

 

I concur. I smuggle to ease the pain a little, but always spend plenty on the

S & S. It is not always convenient to go back to the room for a refill.

[ava_girl_123]

You could have had a party and consumed all the booze that last night! :D

 

With regards to Carnival loosing money due to smuggling, I suspect Carnival are bothered more by the cheap folks who spend nothing on their S&S accounts. I also suspect the booze smugglers still buy more drinks than many of the other passengers.

 

 

 

I agree... I posted this on another thread about alcohol..There are a ton of factors that cruise lines take into consideration as far as profit margins are concerned. Not just the alcohol and the casinos.. They might have a week where sales of alcohol were good but the shops, spa or on shore excursions, photos, art auctions or bingo did horrible.

Cruise companies have also introduced diverse practices to attract customers to spend their money, for instance, in extra-tariff and alternative restaurants and bars, satellite telephone services, cybercafés, and diverse revenue-generating schemes in passengers’ cabins (interactive multimedia and TV, minibars, etc.). If those do not do well during a sailing, then it does not matter how much alcohol was consumed by someone like myself...

Why do people always assume this..?? What happens if 85% of the ship are truly non drinkers or light drinkers?

[Vanessa L]

Actually, it's not that far fetched. I was on a cruise in 1991 where our whole floor went dark because of an electrical overload. The origin of the overload? The passenger cabins. We received letters in our cabins the following morning banning everybody from using certain electrical items in their cabins, including hair dryers.

 

Ask an airline pilot or a cruise ship's captain if an overloaded electrical system is something to be taken lightly or something that is "far fetched"

 

The fact that, that was almost 20 years ago makes it even more asinine. Either you have a problem or you don't. If you do, make changes (THEN, not 20 years later) and if you don't, move on. Further, in 20 years of ship building (since they've known about this problem since 1991 AT LEAST) they couldn't build something in to enable the use of electronics? WTH are the engineers doing at Carnival??? Sitting around eating donuts??? Jeeze. :rolleyes:

[Kurbanfan]

I agree... I posted this on another thread about alcohol..There are a ton of factors that cruise lines take into consideration as far as profit margins are concerned. Not just the alcohol and the casinos.. They might have a week where sales of alcohol were good but the shops, spa or on shore excursions, photos, art auctions or bingo did horrible.

Cruise companies have also introduced diverse practices to attract customers to spend their money, for instance, in extra-tariff and alternative restaurants and bars, satellite telephone services, cybercafés, and diverse revenue-generating schemes in passengers’ cabins (interactive multimedia and TV, minibars, etc.). If those do not do well during a sailing, then it does not matter how much alcohol was consumed by someone like myself...

Why do people always assume this..?? What happens if 85% of the ship are truly non drinkers or light drinkers?

 

LOL! Sure........

[Tapi]

The fact that, that was almost 20 years ago makes it even more asinine. Either you have a problem or you don't. If you do, make changes (THEN, not 20 years later) and if you don't, move on. Further, in 20 years of ship building (since they've known about this problem since 1991 AT LEAST) they couldn't build something in to enable the use of electronics? WTH are the engineers doing at Carnival??? Sitting around eating donuts??? Jeeze. :rolleyes:

 

Vanessa:

 

It doesn't matter if it was 20 years ago or today, the physics laws governing electricity are the same. And the reason why they are banning power strips is exactly because the engineers at Carnival are NOT "sitting around eating donuts". In order to keep you safe, they need to visualize "worse case scenarios". True, not every single person brings a power strip and plugs in their hair dryer, celphone, gps, fan, curling iron, Xbox, etc, but they can't "assume" that only a handful will.

 

"Assuming" kills people. In my career (which involves transporting hundreds of passengers on a daily basis) we're taught to always take the most conservative path. That's what the cruise lines are doing by preventing you from bringing that power strip. Chances are that something bad won't happen. But what if it does...?

 

How DARE them sacrifice your comfort in order to keep you safe?

[ava_girl_123]

LOL! Sure........

 

 

 

Kurbanfan loves to follow me around the message boards regarding this subject for those of you who don't know...

 

You know what Kurbanfan, you are right.. Nothing else but alcohol sales matter for a cruise ship's bottom line.. Nothing else.. Just the alcohol..:rolleyes: Naive thinking there if that is what you really think...Unless your "Yea right Lol" was meant for the statement on a cruise that might have 85% non or light drinkers.. Still can happen..

 

Us drinkers are all they depend on.. You win..;)

[Kurbanfan]

Kurbanfan loves to follow me around the message boards regarding this subject for those of you who don't know...

 

You know what Kurbanfan, you are right.. Nothing else but alcohol sales matter for a cruise ship's bottom line.. Nothing else.. Just the alcohol..:rolleyes:

 

Us drinkers are all the depend on.. You win..;)

 

Yeah that's what I said:rolleyes: Little paranoid donchathink:confused::rolleyes:

Carnival banks their profit on alcohol and casino and excursions......it's not a secret;)

[Sargent_Schultz]

Amateurs!

[CruisingAmazona]

Nothing else but alcohol sales matter for a cruise ship's bottom line.. Nothing else.. Just the alcohol..:rolleyes:

 

Funny...!

 

I just dropped tons of $$$$$ at the Casino on the Dream. That $$$$$$ does not appear on my S&S card, but that doesn't mean Carnival isn't keeping it just the same!

 

Much as everyone wants to make this only about alcohol, it's about so much more!

[ava_girl_123]

Yeah that's what I said:rolleyes: Little paranoid donchathink:confused::rolleyes:

Carnival banks their profit on alcohol and casino and excursions......it's not a secret;)

 

 

 

And like I said, you are crazy for thinking a ton of other things don't go into the bottom line.. Guess you have never owned your own company;)

[DragonMouse]

I'm sorry but I'm not impressed with this "crackdown". Granted some smugglers really go "overboard" (no pun intended) :rolleyes: but many others are just taking a bottle or two. Really now...It's not that huge...a lot of these people still spend more than enough on drinks of the day and gambling. HAPPY people tip better too.

 

Are people REALLY spending more money on drinks now that they don't have any "smugglings"????:confused: Let's face it...I know I'm a "rolling" drinker. If I get a little "lubricated" I'll spend more without stressing about it. Without that little "kick start"...I'll have my budget book out and thinking about every dime. Really now...going back to the cabin...gets tiresome.

 

I would support that Carnival may lose revenues from people who smuggle BUT..."now" the smugglers are being "caught" what benefit is there? ...Is ANYBODY being rewarded with even "slightly" lower drink prices??? Nope...they're rising still. Are base cruise prices dropping...Nope...they too are rising. There's Bon Voyage...Granted I EXPECT prices to be a bit "up there" but really...$55 for a $17 bottle of Malibu :eek:....SIGH...No problem...I'm not "addicted" to alcohol. It just is a bit of fun to loosen me up a bit. No drinking...no tips...no problem.

 

There's reports of power strips being taken, Fans being taken, now some reports of curling irons. Hello...we're on VACATION. Not a prison ship.

[ava_girl_123]

[quote name='CruisingAmazona']Funny...!

I just dropped tons of $$$$$ at the Casino on the Dream. That $$$$$$ does not appear on my S&S card, but that doesn't mean Carnival isn't keeping it just the same!

Much as everyone wants to make this only about alcohol, it's about so much more![/quote]



Read my post before that.. I am defending that it is not just alcohol, or not just casinos and not just excursions and not just the shops, it is everything all together..;)

[Kurbanfan]

[quote name='ava_girl_123']and like i said, you are crazy for thinking a ton of other things don't go into the bottom line.. Guess you have never owned your own company;)[/quote]


roflmao!!!

[Kurbanfan]

[quote name='ava_girl_123']Read my post before that.. I am defending that it is not just alcohol, or not just casinos and not just excursions and not just the shops, it is everything all together..;)[/quote]

All cruiselines are not created equal......Carnival banks on the casino and alcohol.......Regent doesn't.......gee I wonder why:confused::rolleyes:

[meme2manthajoe]

[quote name='timh111'][B][I]We did the Dream 4/17 - 4/24. I brought on a bottle of Jack Daniels via my check in baggage and my brother brought on a bottle of Rum in his check in baggage. NO PROBLEM!! We even bought Tequila in Cozumel and brought that back onboard and still not problem. I agree SOMEWHAT with those that are glad that Carnival is cracking down. I and so many others would be MUCH happier if they didn't charge $4.50 for 1 beer not to include the 15% gratuity or $9.50 for the DOD in a cheap plastic glass (that used to be REAL GLASS years ago) and the $15.00 for a bucket of beer (that comes to $3.00 per beer) when you consider they are buying these items in BULK and probably spend .50 cents per beer and .03 cents for those cheap plastic glasses for the DOD's!!! And what's with the $49.95 for the unlimited beverage card for the week??? OK, I regress. I'm NOT happy they are. If they charged a FAIR price where then could make a decent profit, people would NOT try to smuggle alcohol onboard!!! Times are tough for most cruisers and making an allowance of $2000.00 in their budgets for JUST the cruise not including excursions, shopping or the bar bill you will incurr EVEN if you smuggle alcohol onboard brings that up to around $3000.00 for a couple!! Price fairly, people will buy and they will make a profit!![/I][/B][/quote]

We were on the same sailing and my hubby and our friends all brought some form of booze on and it all made it through without a hitch. We figured if they took it oh well, if we got it through cool.

[jks336]

example of too many powerstrips,etc.. how many reviews have you read recently that power went out on the cruise ship.. overloaded system. just like at home, put too much on a powersource it trips. and hopefully thats all it does, trip to save further problems. but in the meantime your out of power.

and as of now, clothe steamers are still allowed, its on their FAQ page, in fact one poster on board right now had hers, she went a couple calls with gs, then went down the next day and nicely explained to them that it is allowed, they doubled and tripled checked "you sure its not an iron" deal. and she did get it back. as to curling irons, to me, those are just like clothes irons, hot metal.

and sorry, i as well agree, alot of smuggling does bring down the bottom line. and as we all know, pushing the drinks is what makes their $$. just like in your local bar, we pay 7-750 for a jack n coke, out of a 750ml bottle, their getting 20-25 shots. so lets say 23 @ 7.50 that is $172.50.. do you smuggle in your rest/bar?

whether or not your smuggle, it is your choice. you can smuggle, we can do it "their" way. again, your choice, our choice.

i think its a game to play. lets see how much we can get away with.. and we are all guilty of that. i think just like the soda/water.. [B][I]let ppl bring on a personal amount of their choice of drink whether liquor, beer, wine[/I][/B].

and you never know, they may be like rcl one day, in their contract it states both ways on the liquor, in one wording states they will return it.. in another (and what supposedly happen to one cruiser) they toss it away.. you don't get it back.

[ava_girl_123]

[quote name='Kurbanfan']All cruiselines are not created equal......Carnival banks on the casino and alcohol.......Regent doesn't.......gee I wonder why:confused::rolleyes:[/quote]



Ok, whatever you say.. If that was the case, then there would only be alcohol on the Carnival ships and nothing more for you to spend your money on because, hey, the company doesn't need it.. If that is what you are really saying why have a TON of other ways to spend your money on these ships then? More then alcohol factors into the bottom line..

[Kurbanfan]

[quote name='ava_girl_123']Ok, whatever you say.. [B]If that was the case, then there would only be alcohol on the Carnival ships and nothing more for you to spend your money[/B] on because, hey, the company doesn't need it.. If that is what you are really saying why have a TON of other ways to spend your money on these ships then?[/quote]

I never said that people only spend money on alcohol......that would be ridiculous to even think that:rolleyes:

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

[quote name='CruisingAmazona']Again. Excess!

We boarded at 11:30am - no problem.[/quote]

A few years back, our record was THREE CASES of 16 OZ Miller Lite (plastic bottles). Never a problem - though we have stopped bringing all of that stuff and either order our drinks or enjoy comped drinks (the best kind) in the casino.

Apparently all that we "smuggle" now is our fan, extension cord, etc... :eek:

Tom

[arenfroe]

After reading several threads on the subject, I have come to conclusion to just buy a couple of bottles from Bon Voyage. Here is what I've discovered:

1 litre bottle of Absolute vodka - home price = $27.99, BV price = $40
1 litre bottle of Makers Mark bourbon - home price = $29.99, BV price = $60

Conclusion: It will cost me $42 more to buy from Bon Voyage, have the drinks waiting for me in my room, no smuggling, no purchasing rum runners, and no walks of shame. Uh...yeah...I think I'll spring for the extra $42. I'll easily save that much by not purchasing as many drinks at the bar.

[ava_girl_123]

[quote name='Kurbanfan']I never said that people only spend money on alcohol......that would be ridiculous to even think that:rolleyes:[/quote]


Then why bash my original post that said EXACTLY that?? My original post says that for one to basically figure that alcohol sales should not be the only thing considered in Carnivals bottom line is naive, that there are a TON of other factors regarding profits in a company as there are a TON of other factors regarding losses in a company.

We own a petroleum company in the greater Baltimore area. Our primary source of profit is gas stations breaking down, computers, tanks, monitors, credit card machines, drive off's. We also service car washes. If we lost even a quarter of our car wash services that we provide to our vendors, we could be in trouble. If we have an employee that decided to drive around in our trucks while not working that can hurt our bottom line for that month. Waste management, complaints, gas prices, etc..:cool:

My statement is simple: People need to spend money on all that these lines offer if they want to see prices continue to be good.. Do not bash [I]only[/I] the smugglers if you see a price hike in alcohol drinks, but those who decide not to drop a penny more on a cruise or all inclusive vacation.. Companies will increase prices on one item to off set a loss on another item..