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

[ava_girl_123]

More likely for a drinker to spend that then a non drinker. So they want ALL pasengers to spend that? Not just the smugglers, or non-smugglers, or non drinkers.. Then how come everyone on this board that downs smugglers not fess up to their own share of what they should spend on a cruise. I constantly see people posting that because of the smugglers, they will have to pay higher fares and more for alcohol and such. But based on that CNBC]

 

 

 

They are looking at an average.....not specifically each person.....

 

Smuggling has been going on since waaay back......and if anything Carnival has lowered their prices since I started cruising......people just like to bitch.......

 

 

So for you Kurbanfan, what do you personally think about smugglers and alcohol and profits? Do you think for the amount of alcohol that is sold on Carnival, for the amount of smuggling, is there actually a huge loss for these companies? Or is it just a tiny little hole in a huge money maker? I really wonder..

[David-n-Rita]

ts tiresome.

 

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.

 

I work in a Maximum security prison and I can tell you, they give inmates pretty much whatever they want to avoid problems, they would never put up with restrictions such as this. They would get there free lawyers to file ridiculous lawsuits that they file at lightening speed daily at the expense of tax payers. If Carnival was a NY State prison ship, pretty much everything would get through.

[Vanessa L]

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?

 

On a personal note, they're not doing anything for or against me because I don't bring all that crap on board. I did bring an adapter as has been shown here because my camera battery charger will not fit in the awkward place they have put the socket. But the only thing that gets plugged in is the camera battery charger. I don't travel with 72 electronic items like some do. Thank God.

 

As for the engineers (my husband happens to have a degree in aerospace engineering and my BIL flies for Frontier), so you are saying they've been sitting around eating donuts for 20 years while all this has been going on? And they j-u-s-t n-o-w decided that this was a problem? I call bulls*it to the nth degree. Sorry. Not buying it.

[ava_girl_123]

Why do you think they push only Carnival excursions? Why are they playing all these Bingo games? Why do they push the sale items each day in the shops? It's all part of the bottom line. The above was just an example. but it should give us all an idea about expenses and profit. Smugglers should not be blamed if prices go up. EVERYONE needs to spend to keep prices DOWN. Just sayin' :)

 

 

Did you read the whole thread..? That is exactly what I said...;)

[Tapi]

The food and beverage manager stated that a weeks cruise is only profitable when each passenger spends $775.

 

I'll make a mental note to spend more money on our next cruise. The total S&S bill for our last 7 night cruise was $127! (excluding tips). That was a grand total of $63.50 each!

[Aknot]

I work in a Maximum security prison and I can tell you, they give inmates pretty much whatever they want to avoid problems, they would never put up with restrictions such as this. They would get there free lawyers to file ridiculous lawsuits that they file at lightening speed daily at the expense of tax payers. If Carnival was a NY State prison ship, pretty much everything would get through.

 

And when im on my cruise if everyone was locked in their room with no way to interfere with my enjoyment in my room they could also have it.

 

However since the cell doors are open on a cruise ship and the inmates can wander they (cruise people) need to make sure EVERY one stays happy. Not just the people that want things they think they cant live without. So rules are made and hopefully enforced.

[albether7]

I smuggle but not to excess. I would love to see the prices of drinks/beer come down. I still think folks will continue to smuggle so long prices remain high. Just sayin' :)

 

Gotta love the rationalizing," I rob banks, but not many" Just saying:)

[Vanessa L]

Sounds like they need to ugrade the electrical during drydock if they're incapable of providing the power needed for their guests with reasonable power needs.

 

And how is it that they haven't noticed this before now????? It's like the electrical guys suddenly woke up and said, "Oh my God...people are plugging stuff in!! Holy crap! We can't have that, it'll fry the whole ship, Jim!!!"

 

Honest to God this is the most ridiculous subject to come down the pike in ages.

[Kurbanfan]

 

 

So for you Kurbanfan, what do you personally think about smugglers and alcohol and profits? Do you think for the amount of alcohol that is sold on Carnival, for the amount of smuggling, is there actually a huge loss for these companies? Or is it just a tiny little hole in a huge money maker? I really wonder..

 

Personally I believe that the majority of smugglers don't smuggle an excessive amount and spend tons at the bars......

I personally believe it is an insurance liability and that is why they are cracking down.......

 

 

Gotta love the rationalizing," I rob banks, but not many" Just saying:)

 

Lets not confuse laws with rules.......

[Aknot]

And how is it that they haven't noticed this before now????? It's like the electrical guys suddenly woke up and said, "Oh my God...people are plugging stuff in!! Holy crap! We can't have that, it'll fry the whole ship, Jim!!!"

 

Honest to God this is the most ridiculous subject to come down the pike in ages.

 

Serious? Well you know that old commercial... you told friends and they told 2 friends... now apply that to more and more people using the jacks. Compound that onto more and more people bringing more stuff (phones, LTs, PDA's, MP3, radios, hair dryers, etc).

 

So while 5 years ago the electric pull wasnt that bad now it is getting to the point where it is safer/cheaper/better to restrict items then upgrade the grid.

 

Add to that people bringing extension cords and or strips that are not safe then you just ask for trouble.

[ava_girl_123]

 

Personally I believe that the majority of smugglers don't smuggle an excessive amount and spend tons at the bars......

I personally believe it is an insurance liability and that is why they are cracking down.......

 

 

 

 

Lets not confuse laws with rules.......

 

 

 

I agree with both of your statements. For the first: They can get in trouble correct if someone who smuggled booze on board hurts themself or others?

 

And for the second: That is a persons moral issue.. Not one that I consider to be law abiding..

I have said it a ton of times, to each his own. No one on this board will ever know if I smuggle or not.. None of anyones business..

[Tapi]

so you are saying they've been sitting around eating donuts for 20 years while all this has been going on? And they j-u-s-t n-o-w decided that this was a problem?

 

A lot of times, certain policies or procedures are not enforced until something bad happens. These incidents may or may not make it to the general public. I'm sure that if Carnival is all of a sudden getting tough on power strips, it is because somebody caused or almost caused an incident aboard one of the ships.

 

We see it all the time in aviation. We say that most changes that we see in the Federal Aviation Regulations are written in blood. Why? Because somebody had to get killed in order for the policies to change.

 

Thankfully Carnival is choosing to enforce their policy on power strips before one of their ship catches on fire and a bunch of people get killed

 

As for the engineers (my husband happens to have a degree in aerospace engineering and my BIL flies for Frontier),

 

Oh good. Your BIL is an airline pilot. Ask him how many read files, policy changes, AD's, and directives from the airplane manufacturer, etc they deal with on any given month. Then get back to me and let me know if you're still "calling bulls*it".

 

I just don't understand what you think Carnival's motive is to ban your power strip other than to keep you safe.

[Hunter28]

Smuggling alcohol onboard means less revenue for the cruise line. Less revenue means spreading the cost among all passengers. So the passengers that DO follow the rules end up indirectly paying the tab of those trying to save a buck.

 

It also means lots of drunken 20 years old who become a nusance to everyone else with loud and inconsiderate behavior.

[Aknot]

 

Lets not confuse laws with rules.......

 

" And thirdly, the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules. Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Turner . "

[ava_girl_123]

 

" And thirdly, the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules. Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Turner . "

 

 

 

Lol.. Why Thank you.. ;):D

[vacruisin]

More likely for a drinker to spend that then a non drinker. So they want ALL pasengers to spend that? Not just the smugglers, or non-smugglers, or non drinkers.. Then how come everyone on this board that downs smugglers not fess up to their own share of what they should spend on a cruise. I constantly see people posting that because of the smugglers, they will have to pay higher fares and more for alcohol and such. But based on that CNBC speacial, they want each person to spend that amount? :rolleyes: I am going for the least stressful thing to me which is not to smuggle, don't want to worry about it, but I can tell ya I won't be spending $1500 on board.. I will just drink less if I have to.. Whatever..

 

i agree 200%. I've said many times before that some of the non drinkers that whine about the smugglers, spend very little on the ship themselves. They are complaining about the smugglers taking away from the alcohol profits when those smugglers are generally spending much more money onboard than they are! Using their logic, THEY are the ones that are truly driving cruise rates up (Note, I said THEIR logic. I personally believe that cruise rates are driven by supply and demand like all other businesses). I say don't complain about the smugglers if you have less than say $300 on your S&S bill by the end of the cruise!

 

I don't smuggle but DW and I both consume quite a bit of alcohol on our cruises.:eek: If you judge us I really don't care, it's how we choose to enjoy our vacation (but I digress). :D Anyway, if we were to smuggle on an extra bottle we'd still be spending a lot of money on alcohol on the boat. I think it's fair to assume (yes I know what they say about assuming) that most people that bother to smuggle probably drink quite a lot of alcohol on their cruise, hence the need to cut down on their bill.

 

I just think that those that spend hardly any money onboard yet are complaining about smugglers are casting stones when they themselves live in glass houses! :rolleyes: Their whole premise is that smuggling causes people to spend less money onboard, thus causing a decrease in Carnival's profits, driving up cruise rates. Well, what are YOU doing for the cause?:confused:

[Jimsedge]

Its not like Carnival doesn't make enough money. Who cares if someone is smuggling booze. If carnival doesn't want people sneeking booze on onbroad they shouldn't charge $5 a beer or $8 a drink. I mean come on the price carnival pays for a case of beer is like $20 because they buy in bulk, do the math 24 cans X $5 = $120 so they make $100 on each case of of beer, So dont say that it hurts there revenue because that's BULL.

 

Do you feel the same way when you go to a ballgame or a concert? I'm getting tired of this same excuse. Try bringing in beer or liquor to a baseball stadium or any concert venue. See how far you get. Drinks cost a lot more at these events and rarely do you hear people B****ing about those rules. But for some reason on cruise ships they feel that they have the right to break the rules or make their own rules & justify it with "the cruise line makes enough money". That's really BULL.

[gonzo1124]

Carnival and all other cruise lines have rules. If people cannot go on a cruise without smuggling liquor (thereby breaking their rules), then don't go on a cruise. Nobody is putting a gun to your head to go in a Carnival cruise.

 

Simple!

[vacruisin]

Do you feel the same way when you go to a ballgame or a concert? I'm getting tired of this same excuse. Try bringing in beer or liquor to a baseball stadium or any concert venue. See how far you get. Drinks cost a lot more at these events and rarely do you hear people B****ing about those rules. But for some reason on cruise ships they feel that they have the right to break the rules or make their own rules & justify it with "the cruise line makes enough money". That's really BULL.

 

How long is that game? Now, how long is your cruise? :eek:

[Aknot]

I just think that those that spend hardly any money onboard yet are complaining about smugglers are casting stones when they themselves live in glass houses! :rolleyes: Their whole premise is that smuggling causes people to spend less money onboard, thus causing a decrease in Carnival's profits, driving up cruise rates. Well, what are YOU doing for the cause?:confused:

 

However... any business model will tell you that you need accurate data before you can get to the bottom line.

 

So if the cruise lines do not know what is making money or what is loosing money they have no way to know what to charge where to make up for what.

 

However if you limit certain things (especially if they are one of the bigger money makers) and monitor that particular area you can see where it makes a difference.

 

So as long as the rules with regards to what you can bring on board with regards to alcohol then they can make an accurate assumption on what they should charge, if they should lax the rules etc.

 

I only see the enforcement getting worse before it gets better. Cant wait to hear of someones luggage being thrown overboard for a hissing punctured beer can thinking it was a snake or an explosive device... :D

[vacruisin]

[quote name='gonzo1124']Carnival and all other cruise lines have rules. If people cannot go on a cruise without smuggling liquor (thereby breaking their rules), then don't go on a cruise. Nobody is putting a gun to your head to go in a Carnival cruise.

Simple![/quote]

Ok..now, the only problem with that is that if all the smugglers were to stop cruising YOU probably couldn't afford to go on a cruise! :eek:

[Jimsedge]

[quote name='vacruisin']How long is that game? Now, how long is your cruise? :eek:[/quote]

Doesn't really matter in my opinion. Length of either is no excuse, just an attempt to justify breaking the rules. In both scenarios:

1) Alcohol is available for purchase.
2) Rules are the same.
3) You don't have to go if you don't like the rules.

[vacruisin]

[quote name='Jimsedge']Doesn't really matter in my opinion. Length of either is no excuse, just an attempt to justify breaking the rules. In both scenarios:

1) Alcohol is available for purchase.
2) Rules are the same.
3) You don't have to go if you don't like the rules.[/quote]

Ok, let's say I won't. Let's say all the smugglers and all those that think alcohol prices are too high have decided to not go on anymore cruises. Do you think you'll be able to afford to go on one? Be careful what you ask for. :p

I don't think most of you are thinking before you type. But I'd bet it sure sounds good on paper though! ;)

Let's say hypothetically that smuggling does bring down Carnival's profits some; still I'd bet it would bring the profits down more if all of those smugglers decided not to cruise on Carnival. Drinkers are going to drink and spend money onboard whether they smuggle or not!

[CruisingAmazona]

[quote name='Tapi']I'll make a mental note to spend more money on our next cruise. The total S&S bill for our last 7 night cruise was $127! (excluding tips). That was a grand total of $63.50 each![/quote]

Our total S&S on the Dream two weeks ago was $75. But that doesn't even begin to tell the story.... seven nights of gambling and 3 full days at sea of gambling could and would, if I were saying how much I lost at the roulette table, which I won't...in fact, I'd like to forget. Bottom line, like Kurbanfan says...it's all about drinking and gambling mainly, that's where the big bucks are dropped! Photos, spas, excursions, and gold (?) and silver links, all that is nickel and dime! Booze and the casino chips that's where the dinero is at!

[Kurbanfan]

[quote name='Jimsedge'][B]Doesn't really matter in my opinion[/B]. Length of either is no excuse, just an attempt to justify breaking the rules. In both scenarios:

1) Alcohol is available for purchase.
2) Rules are the same.
3) You don't have to go if you don't like the rules.[/quote]

Ok fair....youR opinion then [I]yo[/I]u follow the rules;)

Now as far as others.......like me:D When I start spending a week at concerts and ball games and they supply me my own personal cabin.......that makes the difference;) A BIG DIFFERENCE........