Looks like Carnival is getting desperate for bookings, even on Mardi Gras

[mondello]

15 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

You show you are in texas. Why fly to florida when you can drive to Galveston. 

Some people don't want to miss 1 day of Cheers! I thought maybe OP wanted to see what all the hoopla was about Mardi Gras, but it was Magic. Cancelled just before final payment due to unease with situation by Thanksgiving.

[firefly333]

2 minutes ago, mondello said:

Some people don't want to miss 1 day of Cheers! I thought maybe OP wanted to see what all the hoopla was about Mardi Gras, but it was Magic. Cancelled just before final payment due to unease with situation by Thanksgiving.

You can do rcl and their drink pkg is good when you board, or just pay for a few drinks. Surely it's worth paying for a few drinks rather than  flying. The logic here escapes me. It's not like you get a full day to drink your money's worth the day you board. 

 

Your logic is cutting off your nose to spite your face. My time and aggravation is worth something to me. Next friday I'll be down with my ocean view hotel suite walking along the boardwalk next to ocean. Eating dinner, and putting my feet in the ocean. To me Galveston is like a extra day of cruising with staying on the ocean. 

[bucfan2]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

 

Enjoy your cruise. Chris Wong, an RCI crew member is on the brand new Odyssey of the Seas, reporting 542 passengers on a recent sailing. Normally a new megaship would have huge initial demand. They are not tanking their prices so much like Carnival, but they are just as desperate. I think all the lines must be.

IMO, as long as the fear-factor and extensive protocols remain in place, the number of cruisers will continue to drop (particularly on mask req'd lines).  We have 8 cruises booked on masking ships, and will try 1...and then most likely cancel them and go back to an unmasked ships similar to what we sailed in July.

It astonishes me that the protocols are working on other lines, their bookings remain respectable, and yet CCL and RCL think they should make them more stringent.

The 'I don't care what the protocols are, just get me on a ship' crowd is quickly fading away, and the general public isn't causing a run on cruise bookings....vaxed, masked and vacation isn't the perfect threesome.

 

[Ohio Bucki]

19 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Well, once you are aboard as we are currently I can tell you that cruising now isn’t far off from normal. Besides a mask, everything else is the same. Service has been wonderful . 

Could you estimate what percentage of the ship capacity your ship is sailing at?

[tallnthensome]

45 minutes ago, Ohio Bucki said:

Could you estimate what percentage of the ship capacity your ship is sailing at?

We have 2500 of 4000 aboard the Panorama this week according to a staff member. 

[Ohio Bucki]

1 minute ago, tallnthensome said:

We have 2500 of 4000 aboard the Panorama this week according to a staff member. 

Thanks for the info!!!

[kdr69]

1 hour ago, bucfan2 said:

It astonishes me that the protocols are working on other lines, their bookings remain respectable, and yet CCL and RCL think they should make them more stringent.

Maybe you should take another look at the protocols for each line as they are fairly similar and no matter the protocols they all have cases on board.  

[bucfan2]

1 hour ago, kdr69 said:

Maybe you should take another look at the protocols for each line as they are fairly similar and no matter the protocols they all have cases on board.  

On the Edge, we had 8 cases...a whopping .1%.  An example, yes.  The highest?  No...heard there were 30 or so on Vista(?).  

Big deal....the protocols continue to work.  And no, masking protocols were nowhere near similar.  I understand choosing what protocols one wants to follow is their choice...just making sure people realize there are other protocols that may fit their desires.

Edited September 4, 2021 by bucfan2

[Joebucks]

This was the only logical outcome. Mandating vaccines automatically disqualifies about half of society. Then of those remaining, eligible people, there's unnecessary fear, testing requirement, chance of denied boarding, masks onboard, and a few other things. 

 

Some are still cheering these measures from the sideline. They are not sustainable. The cruise lines know this. I assume they will start pushing back soon. They've already proven the original CSO was a complete joke.

[BohJang]

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

You show you are in texas. Why fly to florida when you can drive to Galveston. 

We wanted to try a different itinerary because we have been to most of the ports Galveston ships sail to.  However, you are exactly right and in the future we will just stick with driving to Galveston. It's just not worth the hassle of flying.

[glrounds]

I'm currently on hold until my final payment date of 10/31, but will cancel also as these additional protocols are just not worth it, IMHO. After decades of cruising, Carnival, it's beyond any excitement and joy anymore.

[mondello]

6 hours ago, firefly333 said:

You can do rcl and their drink pkg is good when you board, or just pay for a few drinks. Surely it's worth paying for a few drinks rather than  flying. The logic here escapes me. It's not like you get a full day to drink your money's worth the day you board. 

 

Your logic is cutting off your nose to spite your face. My time and aggravation is worth something to me. Next friday I'll be down with my ocean view hotel suite walking along the boardwalk next to ocean. Eating dinner, and putting my feet in the ocean. To me Galveston is like a extra day of cruising with staying on the ocean. 

Lighten up, Francis! You take everything so literally. Cheers observation was obviously a poor attempt at humor, but then we all know humor does not belong on these boards. Maybe they were meeting their parents in Florida to cruise together on Magic?

[arkaine23]

6 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

We have 2500 of 4000 aboard the Panorama this week according to a staff member. 

2533 on Vista 8/28 - 9/4.

[cruizinisthebest]

Those offers aren't given out of desperation. You got them, because you haven't sailed with Carnival in a while. And because when you did, you spent some time in the casino. The longer you're away and/or the more you spend, the sweeter the deals get. 

 

I keep cruises booked and rarely go in the casino. They're not desperate enough to send me anything. Although I did get a good deal with Cheers included and took it!

[BlerkOne]

14 hours ago, Joebucks said:

This was the only logical outcome. Mandating vaccines automatically disqualifies about half of society. 

Now less than half and the number is shrinking as more people get vaccinated and Darwin takes care of the others. Everyday the number decreases.

[AstoriaPreppy]

1 hour ago, cruizinisthebest said:

Those offers aren't given out of desperation. You got them, because you haven't sailed with Carnival in a while. And because when you did, you spent some time in the casino. The longer you're away and/or the more you spend, the sweeter the deals get.

 

We sailed the Vista in June for around $325 pp in an ocean view room… our first Carnival cruise in 8 years. 
 

My husband and I both lost ~$30 in the casino during one afternoon of slot play. 
 

In August, we both received offers for comped week long cruises in inside staterooms, and free drinks while gambling. We booked and will be sailing in October. My brother in law also got this offer (although he hasn’t sailed in a few years). 

I can’t figure out what sort of win/loss metrics carnival is using to comp these cruises, other than desperation. 

 

[BlerkOne]

The draconian liquor laws of Texas don't bother us so much as the other draconian laws, particularly as of late. Testing is a plus. We like knowing that at least as of a day or two prior to sailing, all passengers tested negative 

 

[BlerkOne]

Carnival doesn't care so much about making money off of cabins as they do about on board spending. Running at about 70% capacity their stock is not crashing.

[SNJCruisers]

20 hours ago, amcankid said:

You’re such a meanie!!

Why would you want to boot the kids?

lol

Well behaved children are fine,  it's  those unruly rug rats raised by parents who take a vacation from their parental duties while on vacation that frustrate me.  If anyone should be booted, it's those parents.

[SNJCruisers]

17 hours ago, firefly333 said:

 It's not like you get a full day to drink your money's worth the day you board. 

Let me know how many drinks you have on day two of your cruise with Cheers between 900 am and 12 noon.  You can drink a lot between 12 noon embarkation and 12 midnight, easily enough to get your Cheers covered.  Unless you happen to embark from Galveston or NYC on Carnival.

[SNJCruisers]

13 hours ago, glrounds said:

I'm currently on hold until my final payment date of 10/31, but will cancel also as these additional protocols are just not worth it, IMHO. After decades of cruising, Carnival, it's beyond any excitement and joy anymore.

Have you read any of the current live threads on Carnival? Particularly the ones by Saint Greg and WhaletailFLCruiser on the Mardi Gras?

I think they enjoyed themselves and both had high praises for the new Jewel of the line.  But, what do they know, they just have first hand experience with testing, masking and current cruising.  

[RWolver672]

4 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Have you read any of the current live threads on Carnival? Particularly the ones by Saint Greg and WhaletailFLCruiser on the Mardi Gras?

I think they enjoyed themselves and both had high praises for the new Jewel of the line.  But, what do they know, they just have first hand experience with testing, masking and current cruising.  

 

You have to remember that each person's perception of fun is different.  What do the above two that you mentioned do for fun?  Nothing against what they both said but just because they enjoyed it doesn't mean that I will.  I think in most cases right now, the people are more worried about if their cruise will be cancelled before it sails. 

 

Do you go through the hassle of booking flights and hotel rooms not knowing if you'll be able to use them or have to go through hoops trying to cancel them.  Do you put in for vacation a year in advance in some work places only to find out your cruise is now cancelled and it's too late to make other plans.

 

In reading these posting through this mess, it started out that everybody was taking the FCC with the great OBC.  After many cancellations, a lot decided that it just wasn't worth it and decided to just take their refund and wait until things got back to fairly normalcy.  

 

What has always bugged me is that before this, the only time we ever got great offers was when we already had a cruise booked and you couldn't apply it to your booked cruise.  If we didn't have one booked, we never got great offers.  Now we get them every day.  Free cabin, DOU both in the casino and everywhere on the ship.  Free WiFi.  Free OBC, etc.  The one thing I did notice when I have looked at them is that most were for three or four day cruises.  A few were for Australia with $1000 OBC.

 

 

[firefly333]

6 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Let me know how many drinks you have on day two of your cruise with Cheers between 900 am and 12 noon.  You can drink a lot between 12 noon embarkation and 12 midnight, easily enough to get your Cheers covered.  Unless you happen to embark from Galveston or NYC on Carnival.

As I've said I'm not a drinker and my price has gone down hundreds with the recent price drops. I doubt I'll get my moneys worth but it will be fun. If I drink 3 or 4 alcohol drinks a day it will be a first. It will be speciality coffees and the like. 

[cruisernh]

We cancelled our B2B December cruises. Just too much. I booked refundable airfare and did not pre-pay for the hotel. So only out the small deposits. I want to cruise but this is too much. So it does not surprise me that cruises through January will be deeply discounted.

[jetsfan58]

On 9/3/2021 at 12:16 PM, tallnthensome said:

Well, once you are aboard as we are currently I can tell you that cruising now isn’t far off from normal. Besides a mask, everything else is the same. Service has been wonderful . 

Thanks for the needed reassurance.