Permanent Cutbacks on Carnival

[ninjacat123]

2 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

I realize you didn’t ask me, you asked another poster. But I can tell you Vegas hotels cost an absolute fortune on Friday and Saturday nights. The resort fees are extremely irritating. Restaurants are expensive and also sometimes have junk fees. Entertainment ain’t cheap. Night shows such as comedy or Cirque or magicians are at least $50 (really only a few down here) and often well north of a hundred per ticket, per show.
 

Getting room plus food plus day and night entertainment plus a pool with deck chairs and view of the sea for a relatively cheap fare plus foreign ports to walk around in is a great value, as long as you LIKE all that stuff.
 

Vegas used to give you more for less than nowadays just like everything else. But even if I try to cheapo Vegas I can’t touch the overall value of a cruise. 

I totally agree!  I spent 4 days in Vegas, staying with my BF from Junior High at the MGM.  She had a business convention and invited me to hang out.  No coffee maker in the room?  No little fridge?  Barbarians!  I picked up tickets for Blue Man Group (loved it!) at about $100/tkt.  Food and drink is way expensive, there are no deals.  Will I join my BF for another convention?  Probably but I need a bigger budget.  Carnival cruises are a deal compared to Vegas.🤑

[ShakyBeef]

24 minutes ago, Petersonfcu said:

I am having trouble understanding this.  Its seems that you don't really want to cruise Carnival . . . .but you have the Carnival Mastercard and you collect funpoints on the Mastercard from purchases and you have to use those funpoints to book Carnival cruises.   I think, though, that the Carnival Mastercard only gives you funpoints worth about 1% back on nonCarnival purchases, which you can then only redeem toward Carnival cruise fare.  Have you thought about getting a no annual fee 2% cash back card (like the Citi Doublecash Card)?   More money back . . . and you wouldn't be forced to use it to cruise Carnival!!  Or if you wanted to cruise Carnival, you could just pay the fare with 2% cash and still have money in your pocket left over.  What am I missing here?   Perhaps I am missing something, because 300,000 funpoints for $4,500 in cruise fare looks like the equivalent of about 1.5% cash back when used for the cruise . . . but that is still not as good as a card that earns a clear  2% cash that you can use anywhere.

 

All fair questions.  be prepared for long answers.😉  I'm going to respond point by point so i don't miss anything.  Yes, given my choice, strictly for my (and DH's) cruise enjoyment, Carnival is our last choice of all the lines we've cruised so far (CCL, NCL, X, & RCI).  But my children (now 20 and 16) have only ever cruised Carnival and enjoy it.  All of their happy cruise memories are on Carnival ships, going all the way back to 2005.  Also, the cruises DH and I take on other lines (high-end Suites on long itineraries) are not something we're going to do with the kids.  Much more expensive and too long for them to be out of school.  When DH and I want a cruise, we pick what we like.  When we cruise with the kids, we take our free (or heavily discounted) cruises with our FunPoints.  I have booked a Carnival cruise for next March because my girls had been asking for one for a while (our last cruise was a B2B on Elation in January 2020, before the world fell down). 

 

If it weren't for my girls wanting to cruise with us so badly, a cruise would not have been in our plans for probably another couple years.  And then, if it was only DH and me, it would have been on RCI's Baltimore-ported ship.  Cruising out of Baltimore is by far our most important consideration in picking a cruise.  But DH and I are not as excited about cruising as we used to be and were in no hurry to book.  Other Carnival cruises over the last few years have been because that is the line family or friends wanted to book and they wanted us to cruise with them. 

 

I don't hate Carnival.  We're shareholders (a lot more shares than necessary for the OBC).  And yes, I have the Carnival MC and use it exclusively.  I have had it since 2005 and cancelled all my other credit cards years ago.  We use it for everything a for which a credit card can be used (including some utilities and insurance), pay the balance offf in full every month, have never paid a penny in fees or interest and rack up the FPs for cruising.  Which brings me to the rewards...

 

Yes, I get a 1.5% return rate when cashing in 100,000 for a $1500 statement refund.  Yes, Carnival Corp. purchases earn me 2 FPs per dollar spent.  And all other purchases only earn 1 FP per dollar spent.  But all that is nothing compared to the rates I get doing most of my online shopping through Barclay's (the CC's bank) Rewards Boost shopping portal.  Somewhere around 6 FPS per $ is my average. 

 

Yes, I know there are better rewards cards out there.  I will never argue that this is anywhere near the best.  But it works for me because with these points, I'm forced to use my free money for cruising.  If I had a cash back card, I'd use the free money for boring stuff like groceries or gas, etc.  And I'd never notice it.  We are blessed (and have worked hard for decades to help those blessings along) to not need that cash back to make a difference in our budget.  And yes, we could afford to book and pay in full for just about any cruise we wanted to take.  But a free cruise every couple years makes cruising more frequent for us.  And, so far, we have never gotten off a cruise and wished we hadn't taken it.  Even a Carnival cruise.😁

 

All that said, the cutbacks are real.  The cutbacks are noticed.  The cutbacks affect our cruise in negative ways.  So, every time I book a Carnival cruise, I come back to CC to research the latest cutbacks, so that I know how much I need to DIY to bring our cruising comfort and enjoyment level up as close as I can to what we are used to from previous Carnival cruises. Or, not being able to DIY somethings, at least I can adjust our expectations ahead  of embarkation. And we always have a good time.  

 

Did I answer all your questions?  I'm sorry this is so long.

[Petersonfcu]

12 minutes ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

 

Did I answer all your questions?  I'm sorry this is so long.

Yes, you did! 

 

I can see that you view the funpoint collection as a sort of forced savings toward a cruise.  Not the way I think about credit card rewards, but I do understand your point of view.

 

I was not aware of the Barclay's Rewards Boost shopping portal, but I also magnify my credit card returns by using different online shopping portals.  I usually check with evreward.com to see what portal will give me the greatest return for a particular purchase.

 

And to get back on topic, i am pretty much unconcerned about Carnival's cutbacks.  The only one that affects me directly is the loss of the filet mignon at sea day brunch, but, heh, I am already over it.  Someone pointed out that the various cutbacks can indirectly affect everyone through increased waits and lines, but I guess that remains to be seen.

[wemjam]

6 hours ago, ShakyBeef said:

I told myself I wasn't going to get involved in this discussion.  I've been here before and should know better.  But I'm a little bored and apparently a slow learner, 'cause here I go...

 

For those of you that say "no big deal" / "I don't care about any of this" / "I'm glad they're making these cuts because they have no effect on my cruise experience" and the like, I have a few questions:

 

Will longer lines, longer amounts of time on hold / waiting for the food choices you want, and larger crowds in your venues of choice (leading to longer lines, less available seating, etc.) affect your cruise experience?

 

Have you considered that as these options (dining options in this case, but this could apply to entertainment options, as well) being eliminated or reduced will lead to more demand for and crowding in the remaining areas?

 

As others before me have stated examples,

 

Onboard a Carnival ship, I never use the pool, the hot tubs, the Lido Deck lounge chairs, the Spa, the kids' clubs, or the gym.  I rarely play anything at all in the casino and don't mind if I never set foot in another casino in my life. I avoid the Buffet like the Plague.  But I'm glad all these options and venues are onboard for the enjoyment of my fellow cruisers.  If for no other reason than crowd control.  All those people at any given moment in those venues which I never visit are people with whom I don't have to compete for the things that I do enjoy in a cruise.

 

These cutbacks as well as others Carnival has made in the past and those that they will undoubtedly make in the future will affect your cruise experience whether you think so or not.  If you're fine with the effects, so be it.  But there will be effects.

I never use the pool, the hot tubs, the Lido Deck lounge chairs, kids' clubs, the gym once in a blue moon back when I was trying to get in shape, and the spa only for the occasional pedi if I feel like treating myself.  Never used to play in casino, but last couple times decided to try for just a little bit for the heck of it and could care less as well, also avoid the buffet.  So not that different than you.

 

And I still don't think these changes they are making are the big deal everyone seems to be making it out to be.  People seem to be acting like Carnival just said they are shutting down the bars or something (which by the way I very rarely use either.)  If people really want to jump ship over these minor changes, HAPPY to see them go - maybe we could get back to 70% capacity that way.  And that I LOVED.

 

Like I said before, the average cruiser that never knew these things existed to start with wouldn't even know they were missing.  It's not like someone is going to be like, dang! I wish Carnival had afternoon tea, or geeze why do I have to pick up the phone and order my breakfast.

 

Unlike something that is major like - Boy it would be nice if we had a swimming pool, gym, hot tubs, etc. if they didn't exist on board.  This is the stuff people expect and are major when contemplating a Caribbean beach vacation.  

[cruisingguy007]

24 minutes ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

All fair questions.  be prepared for long answers.😉  I'm going to respond point by point so i don't miss anything.  Yes, given my choice, strictly for my (and DH's) cruise enjoyment, Carnival is our last choice of all the lines we've cruised so far (CCL, NCL, X, & RCI).  But my children (now 20 and 16) have only ever cruised Carnival and enjoy it.  All of their happy cruise memories are on Carnival ships, going all the way back to 2005.  Also, the cruises DH and I take on other lines (high-end Suites on long itineraries) are not something we're going to do with the kids.  Much more expensive and too long for them to be out of school.  When DH and I want a cruise, we pick what we like.  When we cruise with the kids, we take our free (or heavily discounted) cruises with our FunPoints.  I have booked a Carnival cruise for next March because my girls had been asking for one for a while (our last cruise was a B2B on Elation in January 2020, before the world fell down). 

 

If it weren't for my girls wanting to cruise with us so badly, a cruise would not have been in our plans for probably another couple years.  And then, if it was only DH and me, it would have been on RCI's Baltimore-ported ship.  Cruising out of Baltimore is by far our most important consideration in picking a cruise.  But DH and I are not as excited about cruising as we used to be and were in no hurry to book.  Other Carnival cruises over the last few years have been because that is the line family or friends wanted to book and they wanted us to cruise with them. 

 

I don't hate Carnival.  We're shareholders (a lot more shares than necessary for the OBC).  And yes, I have the Carnival MC and use it exclusively.  I have had it since 2005 and cancelled all my other credit cards years ago.  We use it for everything a for which a credit card can be used (including some utilities and insurance), pay the balance offf in full every month, have never paid a penny in fees or interest and rack up the FPs for cruising.  Which brings me to the rewards...

 

Yes, I get a 1.5% return rate when cashing in 100,000 for a $1500 statement refund.  Yes, Carnival Corp. purchases earn me 2 FPs per dollar spent.  And all other purchases only earn 1 FP per dollar spent.  But all that is nothing compared to the rates I get doing most of my online shopping through Barclay's (the CC's bank) Rewards Boost shopping portal.  Somewhere around 6 FPS per $ is my average. 

 

Yes, I know there are better rewards cards out there.  I will never argue that this is anywhere near the best.  But it works for me because with these points, I'm forced to use my free money for cruising.  If I had a cash back card, I'd use the free money for boring stuff like groceries or gas, etc.  And I'd never notice it.  We are blessed (and have worked hard for decades to help those blessings along) to not need that cash back to make a difference in our budget.  And yes, we could afford to book and pay in full for just about any cruise we wanted to take.  But a free cruise every couple years makes cruising more frequent for us.  And, so far, we have never gotten off a cruise and wished we hadn't taken it.  Even a Carnival cruise.😁

 

All that said, the cutbacks are real.  The cutbacks are noticed.  The cutbacks affect our cruise in negative ways.  So, every time I book a Carnival cruise, I come back to CC to research the latest cutbacks, so that I know how much I need to DIY to bring our cruising comfort and enjoyment level up as close as I can to what we are used to from previous Carnival cruises. Or, not being able to DIY somethings, at least I can adjust our expectations ahead  of embarkation. And we always have a good time.  

 

Did I answer all your questions?  I'm sorry this is so long.

 

And people always complain about kids on cruises, they are the future cruisers! It behooves the lines to get them early, much like Disney does, most will go on to be fans for life. My kids love cruising and associate cruising with Carnival and the kids club. I suspect they will take many cruises into adulthood and will probably take my future grand kids on cruises as well. It's a winning recipe to pay attention to your future customer base and build that relationship early.    

[DrSea]

53 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

And people always complain about kids on cruises, they are the future cruisers! It behooves the lines to get them early, much like Disney does, most will go on to be fans for life. My kids love cruising and associate cruising with Carnival and the kids club. I suspect they will take many cruises into adulthood and will probably take my future grand kids on cruises as well. It's a winning recipe to pay attention to your future customer base and build that relationship early.    

Yes I agree. I started cruising when I was a kid. I can get very nostalgic when cruising. 

[Bgcruising]

On 8/4/2022 at 9:18 AM, jsglow said:

TERRIBLE.  We've used the hanging tag Continental breakfast nearly every day on every cruise. It literally serves as our alarm clock, as necessary. For those that know, does the house phone have a wake up call feature?

Your room phone has it, yes

[DrSea]

1 hour ago, wemjam said:

I never use the pool, the hot tubs, the Lido Deck lounge chairs, kids' clubs, the gym once in a blue moon back when I was trying to get in shape, and the spa only for the occasional pedi if I feel like treating myself.  Never used to play in casino, but last couple times decided to try for just a little bit for the heck of it and could care less as well, also avoid the buffet.  So not that different than you.

 

And I still don't think these changes they are making are the big deal everyone seems to be making it out to be.  People seem to be acting like Carnival just said they are shutting down the bars or something (which by the way I very rarely use either.)  If people really want to jump ship over these minor changes, HAPPY to see them go - maybe we could get back to 70% capacity that way.  And that I LOVED.

 

Like I said before, the average cruiser that never knew these things existed to start with wouldn't even know they were missing.  It's not like someone is going to be like, dang! I wish Carnival had afternoon tea, or geeze why do I have to pick up the phone and order my breakfast.

 

Unlike something that is major like - Boy it would be nice if we had a swimming pool, gym, hot tubs, etc. if they didn't exist on board.  This is the stuff people expect and are major when contemplating a Caribbean beach vacation.  

I will be jumping ship. In the last 8 months, I have cruised 7 times on multiple lines. If CCL doesn't want my business, I am happy to give it to others. No sweat off my back. It's just business at the end of the day and no need to lose sleep over it on my end. 

 

The only reason why my guests agree to sail on CCL is bc of the value. With the loss of the fillet mignon, the proposition really tips in the wrong direction. I don't want to spend my vacation eating burgers and tacos. Occasional pizza is ok, but they are taking that away. 

 

I will be contacting my TA on Monday (or waiting until I see a deal that I like on other cruise lines) about cancelling my Thanksgiving cruise and trying to get my nonrefundable deposit back. It isn't fair that I booked the cruise under conditions that have changed. I know, I know, read the fine print, legalese, etc. I think I will be locked in, but it's worth a try. CCL changed their minds, and I think it should only be fair that I get to change mine too (with my full deposit back).

Edited August 6, 2022 by DrSea

[KmomChicago]

46 minutes ago, DrSea said:

I will be jumping ship. In the last 8 months, I have cruised 7 times on multiple lines. If CCL doesn't want my business, I am happy to give it to others.

 

You'll be missed here, but I understand. When it's time, it's time. We don't have any more booked at the moment. We have two trips booked for 2023 and neither is a cruise.  If / when we do cruise again, it may well be CCL or it may well not. 

 

I actually would NOT have taken 8 cruises in the past 5 years at all (six Carnival, two RCI), except it was what my family wanted to do. 

[cruisingguy007]

59 minutes ago, DrSea said:

I will be jumping ship. In the last 8 months, I have cruised 7 times on multiple lines. If CCL doesn't want my business, I am happy to give it to others. No sweat off my back. It's just business at the end of the day and no need to lose sleep over it on my end. 

 

The only reason why my guests agree to sail on CCL is bc of the value. With the loss of the fillet mignon, the proposition really tips in the wrong direction. I don't want to spend my vacation eating burgers and tacos. Occasional pizza is ok, but they are taking that away. 

 

I will be contacting my TA on Monday (or waiting until I see a deal that I like on other cruise lines) about cancelling my Thanksgiving cruise and trying to get my nonrefundable deposit back. It isn't fair that I booked the cruise under conditions that have changed. I know, I know, read the fine print, legalese, etc. I think I will be locked in, but it's worth a try. CCL changed their minds, and I think it should only be fair that I get to change mine too (with my full deposit back).

 

If you got a good deal on a Thanksgiving cruise, you may want to reconsider. I got a great deal on one for next year and the prices are usually very high during holidays. It may be worth it to suck it up for that particular cruise if you got some super great rate. It may not be worth it to pay a significant holiday price increase on another line, could be much higher, much more than a whole filet mingnon roast. 

[cruisingguy007]

16 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

I actually would NOT have taken 8 cruises in the past 5 years at all (six Carnival, two RCI), except it was what my family wanted to do. 

 

We used to vote on places, we'd give the kids a few choices and would ponder the possibilities with pros/cons of each but now it's not even up for discussion, I get an eye roll for even suggesting other possibilities and get cut off mid-sentence "cruise-cruise obviously cruise" like "duh dad" 🤨. The older ones don't even want to go on other trips and would rather stay home "because it's boring compared to a cruise" lol.  

[DrSea]

52 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

 

You'll be missed here, but I understand. When it's time, it's time. We don't have any more booked at the moment. We have two trips booked for 2023 and neither is a cruise.  If / when we do cruise again, it may well be CCL or it may well not. 

 

I actually would NOT have taken 8 cruises in the past 5 years at all (six Carnival, two RCI), except it was what my family wanted to do. 

Thanks. It really depends on the deals that CCL will give out. I have a strong hunch with the economy slowing down that new bookings for the holiday are down. So I think that big deals are coming. I will just compare and make the most informed decision. 

 

36 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

If you got a good deal on a Thanksgiving cruise, you may want to reconsider. I got a great deal on one for next year and the prices are usually very high during holidays. It may be worth it to suck it up for that particular cruise if you got some super great rate. It may not be worth it to pay a significant holiday price increase on another line, could be much higher, much more than a whole filet mingnon roast. 

We will for sure be sailing a Thanksgiving cruise this year. At the very least, I have a nonrefundable deposit sitting in CCL for my Thanksgiving cruise. I will try to get out of it and get my full refund back bc of the shenanigans that CCL is pulling.

 

I saw that NCL has some sales. RCL had a sale last week. I am loyal to no CL and will shop around. If CCL is still the cheapest with the best value, then I will keep sailing with them. If not, then I will be on a different brand. 

[jimbo5544]

18 hours ago, Badfinger said:

I think our last straw was our Breeze cruise in June.  But these cutbacks make it much less likely we will spend our vacation dollars on a Carnival cruise.  Guided fishing trips to Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin have been my thing lately...just so much fun.

Yeah, but no drink of the day….

[KmomChicago]

11 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

If you got a good deal on a Thanksgiving cruise, you may want to reconsider. I got a great deal on one for next year and the prices are usually very high during holidays. It may be worth it to suck it up for that particular cruise if you got some super great rate. It may not be worth it to pay a significant holiday price increase on another line, could be much higher, much more than a whole filet mingnon roast. 

 

This is a very good point. . . as we all know you can get upgraded steak if it really is what you want, and with pricing skyrocketing on every possible thing, you're still going to be likely to do better even if you are adding some unexpected a la carte items to get it back to where you can enjoy the trip.  A lot of folks here on the boards, especially long time cruisers, eat at the steak house almost every night when they cruise and feel the pricing is worth it.  Also, maybe this is a good time to do Chef's Table. 

[ray98]

On 8/5/2022 at 4:13 AM, sanmarcosman said:

Since March, the filet mignon that was served with the steak and eggs at brunch was replaced with the same nasty, tough strip loin served on the every night section of the MDR menu. Poor decision by Carnival.

Yup....I hoped it was a temporary supply issue.  We first noticed the change in March even though the menu still said filet by name.  I noticed on our last one the menu now just said steak.  The quality is not even comparable.

[DrSea]

2 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

This is a very good point. . . as we all know you can get upgraded steak if it really is what you want, and with pricing skyrocketing on every possible thing, you're still going to be likely to do better even if you are adding some unexpected a la carte items to get it back to where you can enjoy the trip.  A lot of folks here on the boards, especially long time cruisers, eat at the steak house almost every night when they cruise and feel the pricing is worth it.  Also, maybe this is a good time to do Chef's Table. 

I literally eat about 10 pieces of fillet mignon. So the al a carte options is a no go. Other lines have fillet mignon in their buffet nightly. So at that price point, the value is on other lines imo even if the stated price is higher.

 

I wish I booked the RCL cruise instead at this point instead of CCL for the thanksgiving cruise. It would have been $40 more for the entire fare per pax, and I could have brought my wet suit to use on the flow rider. I would have had the flow rider to myself bc of how cold it would be. Would be nice. I'll wait for RCL to drop its price and then I'll call my TA to complain about these changes on CCL hoping to get my non-refundable deposit back. If I can't, then I can't. I'll live. These are first world problems. But it rubs me the wrong way and I would only sail on CCL if there are steep/insane discounts or if my other guests (different than the ones I have booked on Thanksgiving) insist we do CCL.

 

I guess this is a lesson that with cruising you have to be flexible. When lines change things, you have to be able to adapt and adjust your calculations. it stings and I'm very annoyed but i'll live. Right now, the value proposition is still in favor of cruising. Self reflection is important.

Edited August 7, 2022 by DrSea

[ray98]

The steak issue is the perfect example of death by a million cuts.  I remember the day when you could get a premium cut of steak in the MDR nightly.  Then it moved to just select nights.  Then the premium cuts disappeared and a flat iron steak became the only option unless you paid another $20.  Now it downgraded again to a thin strip loin unless you pay $23. 

[ObstructedView2]

On 8/5/2022 at 6:47 PM, ALKID said:

Walmart of the seas is too generous for them!  They must be going for dollar store of the seas, or johnnys bargain store of the seas!

 

 

 

😉

[KmomChicago]

1 hour ago, DrSea said:

I literally eat about 10 pieces of fillet mignon. So the al a carte options is a no go. Other lines have fillet mignon in their buffet nightly. So at that price point, the value is on other lines imo even if the stated price is higher.

 

I wish I booked the RCL cruise instead at this point instead of CCL for the thanksgiving cruise. It would have been $40 more for the entire fare per pax, and I could have brought my wet suit to use on the flow rider. I would have had the flow rider to myself bc of how cold it would be. Would be nice. I'll wait for RCL to drop its price and then I'll call my TA to complain about these changes on CCL hoping to get my non-refundable deposit back. If I can't, then I can't. I'll live. These are first world problems. But it rubs me the wrong way and I would only sail on CCL if there are steep/insane discounts or if my other guests (different than the ones I have booked on Thanksgiving) insist we do CCL.

 

I guess this is a lesson that with cruising you have to be flexible. When lines change things, you have to be able to adapt and adjust your calculations. it stings and I'm very annoyed but i'll live. Right now, the value proposition is still in favor of cruising. Self reflection is important.

 

Gotcha. I know people are not happy with the striploin but my husband had it on our recent cruises and for him it ranged from good to outstanding. Still, like many others, he was not really thrilled in general about the change and no longer feels sea day brunch is a must-do. 

 

He was also very happy with prime rib in the MDR one night, but I feel like prime rib is something that can vary even along the same piece of carved meat.  

 

Again I do realize neither of these is filet mignon and that's what you really want.  I am not in any way trying to argue or suggest you change your standards, rather just trying to share possible coping workarounds that, while not great, might for some people move the gauge back into "barely good enough" territory.  I guess I'm trying to salvage what will likely be your last CCL cruise. 

 

Now, what I was told is that the steak switches between filet and striploin for brunch depending on supply chain - this suggests to me that as the week goes on, if they haven't sold enough upcharge filets your chances improve of getting one as they become sort of surplus. 

 

[DrSea]

54 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

 

Gotcha. I know people are not happy with the striploin but my husband had it on our recent cruises and for him it ranged from good to outstanding. Still, like many others, he was not really thrilled in general about the change and no longer feels sea day brunch is a must-do. 

 

He was also very happy with prime rib in the MDR one night, but I feel like prime rib is something that can vary even along the same piece of carved meat.  

 

Again I do realize neither of these is filet mignon and that's what you really want.  I am not in any way trying to argue or suggest you change your standards, rather just trying to share possible coping workarounds that, while not great, might for some people move the gauge back into "barely good enough" territory.  I guess I'm trying to salvage what will likely be your last CCL cruise. 

 

Now, what I was told is that the steak switches between filet and striploin for brunch depending on supply chain - this suggests to me that as the week goes on, if they haven't sold enough upcharge filets your chances improve of getting one as they become sort of surplus. 

 

Thanks Kmom. Yea I appreciate your feedback. Thanks for bringing up the prime rib, which I like. It's decent. 

 

Probably not my last CCL crusie. I'll just wait for steep discounts. The CCL thanksgiving cruise was priced ok. 6/10 with 10 being a steal. I will just wait for deals to get to 8+/10 with their current offerings and cutbacks. I can wait. I am in no rush. No hate for CCL. It just means that I am looking for a steeper discount since they are offering less. Plus, the math could change with how other lines are cutting back (NCL with their fixed menus...smh). We'll see. Only time will tell. 

[ShakyBeef]

18 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

And people always complain about kids on cruises, they are the future cruisers! It behooves the lines to get them early, much like Disney does, most will go on to be fans for life. My kids love cruising and associate cruising with Carnival and the kids club. I suspect they will take many cruises into adulthood and will probably take my future grand kids on cruises as well. It's a winning recipe to pay attention to your future customer base and build that relationship early.    

 

Although my DDs might very well grow up to be fans for life of cruising, I am fairly certain they will not be fans for life of Carnival.  So far, it's the only line they have cruised, because it's the only one we have been willing to pay for them to cruise.  But they both enjoy good food and higher quality experiences and products than that which Carnival is currently offering.  When Mommy and Daddy are no longer footing the bill for their cruising experience, they will spend their money on a product that will be more appealing to their tastes.

 

It's a little ironic - one of the factors that led my girls to have somewhat "expensive tastes" as young children was their early cruising on Carnival.  As toddlers and very young children, my girls first tried and found that they loved such dishes as duck, chateaubriand, baked Alaska, filet mignon (and learned to appreciate a good steak cooked MR), es cargot, penne mariscos, and lobster, among many others. 

 

They enjoyed an assortment of flavoured teas on Lido Deck. They enjoyed tea time in the MDR.  They appreciated nice place settings at dinner, with tablecloth and proper silverware.  They even appreciated the attentive service at dinner including the use of crumb sweepers.  Chocolates on their beds at night.  Twice-a-day (sometimes, it seemed more often) cabin servicing by our "Room Ninja" (their nickname for our RS).  All of these things and many others are now gone or very drastically downgraded in quality and/or availability.  The shrinkflation of Carnival's constant cutbacks over the years is obvious to and felt by children.

 

They will both be Platinum soon (the 20 yo five cruise days sooner than the 16 yo because I was pregnant with the youngest on our first cruise).  But who knows if the loyalty program will still exist or offer any perks worth mentioning by the time they are booking their own cruises?  Also, they have already been bumped down from Gold to Red and had to wait a couple more cruises to get back to Gold back when the VIFP system was last revamped.  So they won't be surprised if it goes away. 

 

I can pretty much guarantee that my daughters will have zero loyalty to Carnival.

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, DrSea said:

I literally eat about 10 pieces of fillet mignon. So the al a carte options is a no go. Other lines have fillet mignon in their buffet nightly.

Please educate us at to which cruise lines have filet mignon on their buffet nightly.  We rarely go to the buffet for dinner except sometimes on the first night on NCL since that is prime rib night.  Regarding filets at the buffet, they did have them at lunch a few different days at the grill on the Celebrity Apex back in January.  Thanks.

[DrSea]

3 minutes ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

Although my DDs might very well grow up to be fans for life of cruising, I am fairly certain they will not be fans for life of Carnival.  So far, it's the only line they have cruised, because it's the only one we have been willing to pay for them to cruise.  But they both enjoy good food and higher quality experiences and products than that which Carnival is currently offering.  When Mommy and Daddy are no longer footing the bill for their cruising experience, they will spend their money on a product that will be more appealing to their tastes.

 

It's a little ironic - one of the factors that led my girls to have somewhat "expensive tastes" as young children was their early cruising on Carnival.  As toddlers and very young children, my girls first tried and found that they loved such dishes as duck, chateaubriand, baked Alaska, filet mignon (and learned to appreciate a good steak cooked MR), es cargot, penne mariscos, and lobster, among many others. 

 

They enjoyed an assortment of flavoured teas on Lido Deck. They enjoyed tea time in the MDR.  They appreciated nice place settings at dinner, with tablecloth and proper silverware.  They even appreciated the attentive service at dinner including the use of crumb sweepers.  Chocolates on their beds at night.  Twice-a-day (sometimes, it seemed more often) cabin servicing by our "Room Ninja" (their nickname for our RS).  All of these things and many others are now gone or very drastically downgraded in quality and/or availability.  The shrinkflation of Carnival's constant cutbacks over the years is obvious to and felt by children.

 

They will both be Platinum soon (the 20 yo five cruise days sooner than the 16 yo because I was pregnant with the youngest on our first cruise).  But who knows if the loyalty program will still exist or offer any perks worth mentioning by the time they are booking their own cruises?  Also, they have already been bumped down from Gold to Red and had to wait a couple more cruises to get back to Gold back when the VIFP system was last revamped.  So they won't be surprised if it goes away. 

 

I can pretty much guarantee that my daughters will have zero loyalty to Carnival.

Having no loyalty to any brand is not an overly bad thing imho. It means that they will get to try different things that they may end up liking better. They may get better deals on other lines. So it's a win/win imho.

 

Yes I get the irony with CCL exposing them to the finer things in life only to change to no longer incorporate them. But we can't lament about CCL's changes while not do anything about it. CCL made their choices. They are a large corporation and won't really hear our lil voices. We can only vote with our feet. 

[DrSea]

17 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Please educate us at to which cruise lines have filet mignon on their buffet nightly.  We rarely go to the buffet for dinner except sometimes on the first night on NCL since that is prime rib night.  Regarding filets at the buffet, they did have them at lunch a few different days at the grill on the Celebrity Apex back in January.  Thanks.

PCL and HAL both had it in the buffet nightly. Last I was on HAL was in 2019. PCL was last thanksgiving. PCL just labelled it as steak, but if you look at it closely, you can tell it's fillet mignon. I think they try to do that so that you don't realize it's fillet mignon. But it caught my eye and I would eat it nightly.

 

Now, IDK if this has changed recently with all of the budget cuts. But in the past PCL and HAL had fillet mignon nightly.

 

A recent 3 star mariner said that he didn't see nightly fillet mignon in HAL since the restart, but he wasn't actively looking for it like I am. IDK since I HATE HAL with a burning passion and haven't sailed with them since 2019. I could maybe stomach going on another cruise with them for their 150 year anniversary and my buddy wants to go with me. 

Edited August 7, 2022 by DrSea

[CruizinSusan70]

23 minutes ago, DrSea said:

PCL and HAL both had it in the buffet nightly. Last I was on HAL was in 2019. PCL was last thanksgiving. PCL just labelled it as steak, but if you look at it closely, you can tell it's fillet mignon. I think they try to do that so that you don't realize it's fillet mignon. But it caught my eye and I would eat it nightly.

 

Now, IDK if this has changed recently with all of the budget cuts. But in the past PCL and HAL had fillet mignon nightly.

 

A recent 3 star mariner said that he didn't see nightly fillet mignon in HAL since the restart, but he wasn't actively looking for it like I am. IDK since I HATE HAL with a burning passion and haven't sailed with them since 2019. I could maybe stomach going on another cruise with them for their 150 year anniversary and my buddy wants to go with me. 

Tell us how you really feel about HAL, LOL.  Have never sailed on them and only did two cruises on PCL, on the new Discovery back in April.  Like I said before, we rarely eat at the buffet for dinner, but the buffet at lunch time on the Edge Class of ships on Celebrity, which we have done three times has been the best we have seen in over 40 cruises.

Edited August 7, 2022 by CruizinSusan70