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No more free drink coupon

thomarvin

By thomarvin,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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RuthlessBoss

RuthlessBoss

Posted
Posted
No worry. I'm Platinum. I still get my free drink. Even better, as an Elite Member with Princess, I get an entire complimentary mini bar and TWO complimentary mini bars in a suite. On a B2B in a suite, I get FOUR COMPLIMENTARY MINI BARS.

 

Well, whoopee doo!:D

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t1adams

t1adams

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Posted

Just watch....I am willing to bet big money on another change to come....hmmmm...probably at the end of this year:

 

"Effective immediately, Gold Members will no longer be invited to the welcome back party. Many of them didn't attend anyway due to restrictions from other shipmates who weren't yet Gold. Instead, they will be rewarded with a complementary alcoholic beverage!!! And this will be in addition to their free one liter of water!!"

 

Praying they at least have the grace and professionalism to NOT do this before my spring break cruise. Next year for our annual cruise, we will be sailing on Celebrity. Their prices are becoming competitive with Carnival now.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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thomarvin

thomarvin

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I am happy about the water. While it would have been nice to have them not have any restrictions on where to use the coupon, that didn't happen. While packing up on our last cruise I found my free drink coupons that we forgot to use. My kids got the Cheers coupon so they didn't use theirs either. We were having to much fun to go to brunch. We bought a case of water for $21 because yes I am a water snob and we flew in so we didn't carry on our own.

 

About the "Walmart" referral, if you want to go on 'the other' cruise line and pay double the price, go for it but i will stick with Carnival. I have cruised them and while they do have some things CCL doesn't have I don't find it worth double (or almost double) the price.

 

Thank you CCL for giving me something for free. I appreciate it.

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thistoo

thistoo

Posted
Posted
Why not make the drink coupon redeemable anywhere on the ship?

 

Because then more people would have used it, thus costing Carnival even more money. Downgrading perks for Red and Gold cruisers is going to save them money, end of story. This decision has nothing to do with complaints about the restrictions.

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Miss_Mono

Miss_Mono

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I do not post much here...Just use this site for information for our cruises. Just wanted to say my opinion on this heated topic....

 

I actually do not mind the water. It's better than the dining room tap and convenient to be in our room.

 

We are in the planning stages of my second cruise -coming in Oct 2015- but my bf has been on plenty and during our first cruise together he did not use his free drink coupon. We didn't take advantage of the brunch. We also had the Cheers package, so the free drink wouldn't have really been that big of a deal for him. Maybe this has some bearing on the free drink coupon as well?

 

We like Carnival because it affords us a cruise vacation together at a great value. We make our vacation a fun time regardless of what perks or freebies or negative opinions we hear.

 

I do see why some would be upset by the free drink being taken away. Especially if you aren't that big a drinker and do not use the Cheers package. I see the $ value it offers to those. However, is the $4 difference in a cocktail vs a bottled water really that big a deal to make you have a bad vacation/opinion of Carnival? The bottled water at most hotels aren't free and some are expensive! Does that ruin your stay at a hotel? Will that make you choose from one hotel chain to another? Over water?

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Pixelate

Pixelate

Posted
Posted
I do not post much here...Just use this site for information for our cruises. Just wanted to say my opinion on this heated topic....

 

I actually do not mind the water. It's better than the dining room tap and convenient to be in our room.

 

We are in the planning stages of my second cruise -coming in Oct 2015- but my bf has been on plenty and during our first cruise together he did not use his free drink coupon. We didn't take advantage of the brunch. We also had the Cheers package, so the free drink wouldn't have really been that big of a deal for him. Maybe this has some bearing on the free drink coupon as well?

 

We like Carnival because it affords us a cruise vacation together at a great value. We make our vacation a fun time regardless of what perks or freebies or negative opinions we hear.

 

I do see why some would be upset by the free drink being taken away. Especially if you aren't that big a drinker and do not use the Cheers package. I see the $ value it offers to those. However, is the $4 difference in a cocktail vs a bottled water really that big a deal to make you have a bad vacation/opinion of Carnival? The bottled water at most hotels aren't free and some are expensive! Does that ruin your stay at a hotel? Will that make you choose from one hotel chain to another? Over water?

 

I don't pay for bottled water in a hotel. It is included with my Club- and Executive-level privileges, room upgrades to an SPG floor, intraproperty loyalty and comped resort fees.

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Miss_Mono

Miss_Mono

Posted
Posted
I don't pay for bottled water in a hotel. It is included with my Club- and Executive-level privileges, room upgrades to an SPG floor, intraproperty loyalty and comped resort fees.

 

Congratulations! You must be a very privileged person to have earned that honor.

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monteboy

monteboy

Posted
Posted
I don't pay for bottled water in a hotel. It is included with my Club- and Executive-level privileges, room upgrades to an SPG floor, intraproperty loyalty and comped resort fees.

 

Do u own a Gulfstream 650 jet also?

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iconoclast

iconoclast

Posted
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Suspect that most of the people complaining loudest about this never even went to brunch to use their coupon anyway.

 

Seriously if one free drink in the middle of the day is a make or break thing for you, you may have larger problems than your VIFP status.

 

I myself always get Cheers, and welcome the bottle of water. Thank you Carnival for giving me something I can use.

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Pixelate

Pixelate

Posted
Posted (edited)
Suspect that most of the people complaining loudest about this never even went to brunch to use their coupon anyway.

 

Seriously if one free drink in the middle of the day is a make or break thing for you, you may have larger problems than your VIFP status.

 

I myself always get Cheers, and welcome the bottle of water. Thank you Carnival for giving me something I can use.

 

I didn't lose anything as I'm currently Platinum. However, I do feel strongly for those who lost one of their benefits. We didn't on this single Carnival changed, but last time we were promised improvements to the brilliant loyalty program, we lost Platinum perks. Those who were downgraded from Gold to Red already lost the past guest party... ;)

Edited by Pixelate
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Pixelate

Pixelate

Posted
Posted
Could be worst, as in no more bringing wine

On board or increasing the cheers program I like $$$ of fare it works for my budget

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Forums mobile app

 

Where have you been? They just increased the price of the Cheers program.

 

It started out as $45 or so, switched to $50something for 3 day cruises, changed to "based on seasonality" with various lengths and different pricing ranges, dropped down to $37 and now at $50. These changes were all within one month back in late 2014.

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reno3

reno3

Posted
Posted

I'm disappointed with the water switch :mad: We did use our drink coupons. You didn't have to actually go to brunch to use it. They had a small bar set up outside the dining room during brunch and you could just walk up to the bar and get your drink and be on your way.

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It's a Ship!!!

It's a Ship!!!

Posted
Posted (edited)

I don't like the change. That being said, it won't bother me a whole lot. I'll still drink the bottle of water since it's there, even though tap water is fine for me. I love the brunch so I will still go...I just won't have a drink during that time.

 

The thing I don't get is why people are attacking everyone who doesn't like the change. Some may over react and say it will ruin their cruise, but everyone else is mildly annoyed. You can't deny that the value of the perk is going down for those who use it. People don't like it when you take something away from them, even if it was free. The whole point was to feel appreciated for returning to Carnival. When that token of appreciation is replaced with something lesser, people naturally feel like the amount of appreciation is lessened.

 

The stupid thing is it probably isn't saving Carnival any money overall. People are a lot more likely to use the bottle of water than the restricted free drink. So even if the water is $4 and the drink is $8.75, if 3 times as many people are drinking the water, then it costs Carnival more.

Edited by It's a Ship!!!
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LSmith82463

LSmith82463

Posted
Posted
I am beyond pissed with Carnival. I was sincerely looking forward to using my drink coupon at brunch on our upcoming cruise. Now I can't.

 

 

 

I drink the free water all over the ship and find a bottle of water to be so utterly stupid. That is just my opinion.

 

 

 

Right now I'm so frustrated with Carnival and their cutbacks that I'm not even quite as excited about our cruise anymore.

 

I just feel very offended by this whole situation...they want people to think that this bottle of a water is a reward and that losing the drink is nothing. A bottle of water is $4, or you could have a drink that costs up to $8.75 free. So cheap Carnival, shame on you.

 

 

To let not getting a free drink make you less excited about your cruise is beyond childish. If you don't like what Carnival offers you there are other cruise lines. Such is the benefit of competition in a free market system. Just take your business elsewhere. This is my second cruise so I was looking forward to the free drink but to say it offends me, we'll vote with your feet and not your mouth.

 

 

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