25th Cruise Milestone

[pe4all]

7 hours ago, Clarasgrandma said:

I was just sharing this obc topic was my husband...we have a long way to go b4 we will see this but I was curious as to how we would spend a larger obc as we don't drink a lot and we don't gamble...he said he would drink a lot of pina coladas! Lol! But really, if u could cash it out, that would be great! I'm thinking excursions we wouldn't normally book might be nice too or specialty restaurants....

Our milestone cruise is coming up in a few days.  I will be using our 25% obc on our NEXT cruise, which is in May to Cuba.  I always prepay my gratuities before each cruise, but on the Cuba cruise I will be using the obc to pay for the gratuities while onboard, and also the visas we need.  Definitely treat yourselves to things you normally may not pay for!

[cruise_mojo]

well you can use the obc towards your gratuities,  a steakhouse res, or dining selection in the mdr if on say a fantasy class ship, the bubbles program, shore excursion, gift shop purchase, photos, really anything you might wanna spend moolah on

 

and since you don't have to both take the obc on one cruise you could split say a husband and wife milestone up over two cruises? 

 

but think about it 25% of your cruise fare not counting port charges or taxes so unless you are booking a suite or really premium balcony the credit is usually gonna be 400 beans or less on a cruise of say 7 days  ( as long as you're getting a good deal to begin with... ) 

 

so the real discounts are for peeps taking journeys and grand suites where they might blow 3gs on a room or more, but even then their obc for a room fare of 3grand is 750 bucks, but yea I can see a teetotaler might have issues spending that much on a 12 day cruise without taking an excursion or two

 

then again, take just one milestone benefit betwixt the two of you? 

 

or get a couple couples massages? we had two during our 9 day b2b on elation those totaled just under 400 bucks total one with $90 spa credit gifted to our acct from elations spa team and the other was a bit cheaper with the valentines day sale ( about 100 off )

[cruise_mojo]

we just called in to set up our milestone benefit on our march 29th cruise on the pride from baltimore

 

we got back from a cruise on ecstasy on the 10th and saw we were 40some days out from the pride cruise which was our planned trip to benefit from it 

 

so, yes you are supposed to request your milestone benefit at least 30 days in advance, I looked it up on carnivals' FAQ page, called the number there and set it all into motion after a few minutes of chatting I may have my certificate somewhere but who knows where? didn't need it, they look it all up for you but it does help to have your booking number looked up so I was online on my cruise manager so they could get my booking and vifp number quickly and they want your PIN number too

 

then a quick holler into the other room to get mom's approval to use her milestone credit too if she's got one available or wants to use hers and then they say they'll actually apply it 2-3 days before your cruise sets sail

 

you will get a couple emails, one pretty quickly that won't say much except they are acknowledging that you contacted them

 

then the next day a gobbledygook one followed by a facsimile or pdf download incident report thing - stockholders will know what I'm talking about as will handicap accessible peeps out there since we get these all the time when we apply for stockholder credits obc OR book accessible cabins and get the forms to fill out for wheelchair or scooter acess or special equipment we're bringing with us 

 

anyway, at this point I have all these email things and we are just now waiting for our credit to show up on the booking !🤑  a bit over 400 beans on our march cruise for a extended balcony 

[cruise_mojo]

WHEW!

and now it can be told.......

After what is it?  couple three years since we earned our milestone credit and booking a Charleston to Cuba cruise then figuring we'd never make it to Cuba with the political climate of the time on our anniversary which was jan of 2020 we decided to change it to a Pride cruise from Baltmore last year then boom covid hit

 

and thence the long trail of tears as we languished thru about three Pride cancellations switched to the Breeze and saw that get cancelled about 3 times or maybe 4 then the Radiance, then Carnival swapped ships back to the Breeze but the same date 

 

whew gotta catch my breath are ya'll following....

 

then to the Mardis Gras for a couple three times and 

 

FINALLY! I belive it was our tenth booking for a single cruise we got to go on the Mardis Gras on aug 21st and redeem our milestone cruise credit! 

along with our shareholder and holdover credits we were just pennies under 1200 bucks of OBC and had an aft extended balcony cabin and we blew thru that in about 3 days! ( some of it was loaded on to our cards at the casino )🤑

 

but anyway we finally got our belated 40th anniversary sailing in !🤪🥰 

[sailingships]

Congratulations. You dont need a letter. You can use your award on any upcoming cruise. It doesnt have to be the very next cruise. You will get extra OBC. Its 25% of your share of the basic cost of that cruise. If it costs $1,000 you will get $250 so pick one of your more expensive ones.  Choose one where you will be doing a lot of shore excursions etc  Just call the special phone number It used to be 877-225-8477 Tell them which cruise you wish to apply the OBC too.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

On 2/20/2019 at 4:00 PM, Bostwick girl said:

We completed our 24th Carnival cruise in January. I understand there is something Carnival does for your 25th milestone. Nothing spectacular, just some sort of recognition. I mentioned it to my PVP and she asked if they'd sent me a letter yet. I told her I hadn't received anything. She said until I receive a letter, she can't do anything, which is understandable.  I think she said you would get a discount off the next cruise or something.  Meantime, I've booked 3 more cruises and still haven't heard anything from Carnival.  Any of you long time cruisers have any information or insight you could provide?  Thanks.

 

When we hit the 25th I did not know if there was any perk. They gave us a diamond card that said on it 25th. The bartender said congratulations and asked if we got the 25% OBC. So we went and found out. Yes we did. 25% of the cost of the  cruise. if both you and your wife are doing the 25th. You both get it as OBC. Here is all the information. We are doing our 50th.

GUEST RECOGNITION - MILESTONE REWARDS PROGRAM

As part of Carnival’s Guest Recognition Program, Milestone Rewards was developed in appreciation of longtime Carnival guests.  This milestone reward benefit is in addition to the wide range of amenities and privileges that guests already receive as part of the VIFP Club.

Milestone Rewards Program denotes a guest’s 25th, 50th 75th and 100th revenue cruise with Carnival.  Guests will receive a special Milestone Sail & Sign card on their corresponding Milestone cruise.  We want to distinguish guests on their Milestone sailing with a unique card so that we can make his/her Milestone experience extra special and memorable.  After this milestone cruise, they will revert to the card that corresponds to their VIFP level.

In appreciation for their loyalty, the guest will also be granted the opportunity to redeem a future non-refundable onboard credit equivalent to 25%, 50% or 75% of the cruise ticket price, corresponding to the milestone reached. And when a guest reaches his/her 100th cruise, will qualify for a FREE Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska or Australia cruise of their choice (8 days or less, for 2 guests), in accommodations up to and including Ocean Suites (category OS). This onboard credit may be applied to any future cruise in accordance with the terms and conditions below.  

If you have questions regarding your Milestone rewards, please contact our Milestone's Desk at 877-CCL-VIPS. 877-225-8477

Terms and Conditions (in fine print on the bottom of the Milestone letter)

·       Milestone Reward is valid for its stated value in U.S. dollars, only on Carnival Cruise Line and/or Carnival Australia cruise booking, to be used as a credit on board a ship. The Milestone Reward is not valid on any other cruise line, including any Carnival Corporation affiliate line. Milestone Reward is nontransferable, nonrefundable and has no cash value.

·       Milestone Reward must be redeemed at least 30 days prior to sail date and will be applied to the booking on the week prior to sailing.

·       Only one Milestone Reward is redeemable per guest, per booking; more than one guest per booking may redeem a Milestone Reward.

·       Booking must be made within 18 months of the date stated on the letter from Carnival's Milestone Desk; there is no specific sailing window.

 

[Pellaz]

On 9/26/2021 at 7:59 PM, cruise_mojo said:

we got to go on the Mardis Gras on aug 21st and redeem our milestone cruise credit! 

along with our shareholder and holdover credits we were just pennies under 1200 bucks of OBC and had an aft extended balcony cabin

 

Oh, sweet!  

 

We have an aft extended balcony on the MG on Oct. 9th.   Is the balcony the same "depth" as other ships' aft extended balconies?   (Meaning, is it deep enough to accommodate a lounger lengthwise feet-facing-out?)   

We booked it based on our prior experience with aft-extended balconies, but with a new ship we were just hoping for something like the last ones we've had on Conquest and Magic.  

[cruise_mojo]

welll funny you should aks! YES the balcony IS big and long enough to accomodate a full size lounger BUT it just has two regular chairs and a very sturdy table on it in the case of our balcony - we had a fully accessible aft extended and we brought our own scooter and had another rented for the trip

 

with both in the room we couldn't turn em around but at least the automatic doors opened and the room had an auto door on both the balcony and entry so we could pull up or back up and hold our room key to the sensor and just pull or back in when the door opened, we never took a scooter out on the balcony though - actually we didn't use the balcony much at all on this trip - not as much as we thought we would - the mardis gras has so much stuff to do and see we were still discovering stuff all the way up to the last days of the cruise and still didn't eat in every venue or even visit every single bar or place on the ship though we did try to pop in almost every one of them just to  do a ride thru 

 

heck some of them we couldn't find for about 4 or 5 days!  

 

we've cruised on the Oasis of the seas and Harmony as well as the smaller if you can imagine it Freedom ots which is still bigger than Mardis Gras and really it would take a couple weeks on any of these or MG to fully get to appreciate what the ships have to offer ( if like us you have things you like to do and you wanna get to it! ) 

 

we like comedy, and they had I think about 10 comedians on board although they all might not have performed in the main comedy lounges some did acts on the center stage thing and some had comedy juggling acts  or even some magic stuff too we didn't bother starting up our comedy jagg till about day 3 I think then we hit it heavy the rest of the cruise with covid in play ( but not on board ) carnival didn't swap entertainers like normal in ports 

 

we're already booked back on elation for 9 days in oct part casino deal and part retiree airline deal to mate up with it on a b2b but for sure we'll go back on Maris Gras as long as it stays in CC 😃

[Pellaz]

12 hours ago, cruise_mojo said:

welll funny you should aks! YES the balcony IS big and long enough to accomodate a full size lounger BUT it just has two regular chairs and a very sturdy table on it in the case of our balcony - we had a fully accessible aft extended and we brought our own scooter and had another rented for the trip.

 

 

Thanks, I couldn't be sure from the deck plans.   It's rather disappointing that they don't include a lounger on the extended balcony; after all, it's kinda the point of getting one.  Our aft-extended balconies on the Magic and the Conquest did include a lounger.  

 

Oh, well.   We'll know better next time and maybe save some money.  

 

[cruise_mojo]

well you got three options ....aks the room steward if he can get one or two for ya, five finger discount the things early in the am when nobodys lookin, and be prepared to beg forgiveness when they catch ya!

 

and just a warning mardis gras has smallish elevators gotta admit its gonna b sweet seeing someone sneak a deck chair n2 their room!😝