Hey Carnival! If you are going to hike up the price of cruises, why don't you....

[vwrestler171]

5 hours ago, thunderingherd11 said:

Thanks for the reply.  This is where it matters on what type of person you are.  The gains are better than the losses for me.  Who needs service two times a day?  First world problems.  Who needs a mint?  I never do room service.  Guys burgers is great even after covid.  MDR doesn't seem to be as good as it was, but I am not expecting a five star meal and I certainly don't go hungry.  And we are talking about changes over ten years.  Name a business who hasn't made changes over ten years?  The things that bother me most on the ship are the customers.  But we all beat to a different drum.  

The issues is all the small cuts while increasing prices sucks.  They cut cabin service, and immediately increased gratuities, so it is essentially getting charged more for less.  We don't have to like the changes.  

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, Drew B 58 said:

From what I understand, with NCL’s “Free at Sea”, you still get charged for the gratuities on the drink package.  And they aren’t optional (meaning you can choose to leave something each time or not).  They charge you upfront what the tip amount (not sure if it’s 18% or some other number) would be if you PAID for the given drink package…

20%.

[Joebucks]

11 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

Some of their free at seas have allowed you to pick which items you want. I think with the one I booked I got everything. When you figure the fare was 1/4 of what I paid on my carnival Alaska cruise last year and 1/5 of what it would’ve cost on carnival this year, it wouldn’t matter If I drank or not.

 

 

Are you really trying to imply carnival is 5x the price of NCL?

[Saint Greg]

45 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

Are you really trying to imply carnival is 5x the price of NCL?

I’m saying for my Alaska cruise in two weeks Carnival was going to charge me 5x the price of both NCL and Princess. Of course as a solo carnival charges me double and on NCL and Princess I’ve been able to find solo deals. On my NCL cruise I’m getting the cruise, drinks, Wi-Fi, airfare, and four specialty dinners for about the price I paid for just my ticket on Carnival to Alaska last year and $400 less than what just the ticket would’ve cost me this year. 
 

I got a 7-day Princess cruise in November for the same price Carnival wanted for their 4 and 5 day cruises out of Galveston and New Orleans. Again they gave me a solo deal, Carnival does not. With Princess I got drinks, Wi-Fi, gratuities and some specialty meals for less than what just the drink package costs on carnival.

 

[Saint Greg]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

 

Are you really trying to imply carnival is 5x the price of NCL?

Right now for this year this is the cheapest for a solo on carnival.

 

 

And this is the cheapest for a solo on NCL. 

[Jamman54]

6 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Right now for this year this is the cheapest for a solo on carnival.

 

 

And this is the cheapest for a solo on NCL. 

That looks like 5X + to me! And the NCL cruise is 9 days vs 7 days. 😎

Edited August 11, 2023 by Jamman54

[ProgRockCruiser]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

Right now for this year this is the cheapest for a solo on carnival.

 

 

And this is the cheapest for a solo on NCL. 

 

You don't include all the details, so I need to ask the obvious apple-to-apple questions:

 

Are those equivalent rooms?  If all Carnival has left is a suite, while NCL has interiors...

 

Does NCL upcharge you for sailing solo?  The Carnival price seems to already include the solo fare, but the NCL one is just "PP".

 

Maybe that just indicates the Carnival cruise is more sold out, so fewer rooms left, whereas NCL is still wide-open for capacity?  Which might explain the lined-out "was" price being so much higher (unless that's their standard trick).  What do the prices look like next year?

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

You don't include all the details, so I need to ask the obvious apple-to-apple questions:

 

The NCL cruise is Oct 2 for a GTY and almost none of the not so "Free" stuff NCL tricks people with. I don't see availability for Carnival Spirit this year and Carnival (or Royal or Princess or...) doesn't offer October Alaska cruises.

 

NCL obviously has excess capacity with an end of season sale on cabins with a cruise that is really after the season ends.

 

 

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, fyree39 said:

 

We’re slowly working our way toward AI cruising with EVERYTHING included: drinks, tips, dining, excursions, everything. 

at a premium

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by jimbo5544

[Haljo1935]

14 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

Right now for this year this is the cheapest for a solo on carnival.

 

 

And this is the cheapest for a solo on NCL. 

Oh my! Been a while since I sat in a math class, but that looks like a really big difference. Even the original non-discounted NCL price is almost half the Carnival price. Ugh

[Squirreladd]

TBH, Carnival's prices are far tamer then RCLs. RCLs Icon of the sea will be their newest vessel when she debuts this year. The cheapest Per person on her is listed at $2058 not signed in vs $669 per person on the Carnival Jubilee.

[Joebucks]

22 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

Right now for this year this is the cheapest for a solo on carnival.

 

 

And this is the cheapest for a solo on NCL. 

 

22 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

That looks like 5X + to me! And the NCL cruise is 9 days vs 7 days. 😎

 

This couldn't be anymore deceptive if you tried. The real problem here is Carnival is (now) sold out for last-minute Alaska cruises. The price you were displaying before was likely a suite or whatnot. So yea, if you're looking to book a last-minute Alaska cruise, NCL is your go to. If you want to book one in advance Carnival has plenty of options at the similar price. I also priced out the cheapest NCL 9 day option in October. It is $1750 with the free at sea offers fyi. I'm not getting into whether that is a good deal or not, just what the facts are. I also won't get into how much of a value proposition the Norwegian Sun is either.

Edited August 12, 2023 by Joebucks

[Saint Greg]

30 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

 

This couldn't be anymore deceptive if you tried. The real problem here is Carnival is (now) sold out for last-minute Alaska cruises. The price you were displaying before was likely a suite or whatnot. So yea, if you're looking to book a last-minute Alaska cruise, NCL is your go to. If you want to book one in advance Carnival has plenty of options at the similar price. I also priced out the cheapest NCL 9 day option in October. It is $1750 with the free at sea offers fyi. I'm not getting into whether that is a good deal or not, just what the facts are. I also won't get into how much of a value proposition the Norwegian Sun is either.

Well they weren’t sold out in April when I booked my cruise. It was about 2k for an interior back then. I paid $479. Sorry I didn’t think to screenshot it in case someone questioned it later 

 

Oh. Look you can get NCL for $300 now.

 

 

[Saint Greg]

41 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

I also priced out the cheapest NCL 9 day option in October. It is $1750 with the free at sea offers fyi. I'm not getting into whether that is a good deal or not, just what the facts are. I also won't get into how much of a value proposition the Norwegian Sun is either.

I can’t speak to NCL in October. I booked Princess in November out of Galveston for like 900. 1300 after adding their package that includes drinks, Wi-Fi, gratuities, and specialty dining. 
 

What’s the base price for Carnival out of Galveston in November? Maybe they’re doing great and selling out. Maybe they’re giving away too many casino rooms. Bottom line is they aren’t the best deal now and I’m not booking with them now.

 

 

[jimbo5544]

17 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

I can’t speak to NCL in October. I booked Princess in November out of Galveston for like 900. 1300 after adding their package that includes drinks, Wi-Fi, gratuities, and specialty dining. 
 

What’s the base price for Carnival out of Galveston in November? Maybe they’re doing great and selling out. Maybe they’re giving away too many casino rooms. Bottom line is they aren’t the best deal now and I’m not booking with them now.

 

 

Maybe they are 20+ billion in debt.  The reality is, if people will pay, the rates will be high(er).  I have no first hand knowledge, but would say they get “paid” for the casino rate rooms despite the cruisers not paying.

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

 

 

This couldn't be anymore deceptive if you tried. The real problem here is Carnival is (now) sold out for last-minute Alaska cruises. The price you were displaying before was likely a suite or whatnot. So yea, if you're looking to book a last-minute Alaska cruise, NCL is your go to. If you want to book one in advance Carnival has plenty of options at the similar price. I also priced out the cheapest NCL 9 day option in October. It is $1750 with the free at sea offers fyi. I'm not getting into whether that is a good deal or not, just what the facts are. I also won't get into how much of a value proposition the Norwegian Sun is either.

I don't think Saint Greg is out to deceive anybody. All of his cruises have been with Carnival, and now that prices are rising, as a solo, he's doing a lot of research in order to get the best value for him. After sailing on both NCL and Princess he can decide if these lines meet his needs and are worth the lower prices.

[Organized Chaos]

On 8/3/2023 at 11:08 PM, Stick93 said:

The only issue I have with their pay and gratuity is that they pay little, work the staff very hard and tie the bundle to the tips they let people remove. The staff is usually from poorer countries without much  opportunity and don’t have the options of a different occupation. The staff is working harder as they have less (especially housekeeping) than before Covid and not making much more. I have suspicions when they raise gratuities the staff is not getting that big raise.

 

This has been a common concern for years, but people make the mistake of comparing their wages to U.S. wages. You have to compare them to that of their home country. Cruise ship crew from those poorer countries make more on a cruise ship than they ever could at home. Yes, they do bust their butts working on a cruise ship, but there's a reason they're willing to do it...because it pays (them) so well. There's countless stories of crew members talking about how they were able to buy their parents a new home, pay for their sibling's college education, and more, all thanks to their job as a crew member. Something they wouldn't have been able to do with a job at home.

 

On 8/4/2023 at 8:36 AM, Stick93 said:

Carnival says a lot of things and letting people remove gratuities seems to suggest that they are not serious about constant wages. Raising the tip means more people remove - it’s reverse supply and demand. 

 

I'm still of the firm belief that there aren't as many people removing their gratuities as it's made out to be. I've stood in those long lines at the end of a cruise and have never heard person after person removing tips. Not to say it doesn't happen, but I just don't think it's as prevalent as claimed. I'm old enough to understand that tipping was meant to be a reward for good service. Nowadays, we as customers are often made to think it's our responsibility to compensate an employer's wages. No, it's not. If service is bad, they shouldn't be rewarded for it. That only encourages more bad service. I will say this, though, if I were ever to adjust my tips at the end of a cruise due to poor service, I'd lower my amount (if that's even an option) but I wouldn't remove them altogether.

[Saint Greg]

54 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Maybe they are 20+ billion in debt.  The reality is, if people will pay, the rates will be high(er).  I have no first hand knowledge, but would say they get “paid” for the casino rate rooms despite the cruisers not paying.

Potentially. We’ve seen plenty of people on here saying they don’t gamble or don’t gamble much or haven’t cruised on carnival in years and they’re getting free rooms. When they do get “paid” the question would be is it more than I give them for my fare, drinks, Wi-Fi, specialty dining, and excursions? I don’t know. They better be making at least 2-4k/week off of those people.
 

Either way if high prices on carnival = low prices on NCL and Princess that’s fine with me. Carnival has a situation where I cruised with them 22 times. I wasn’t shopping around. I was just blindly booking with them. Now I am shopping around and I probably always will now. Good for me. Maybe not so good for Carnival in the long run.

 

[Theosprey247]

10 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Potentially. We’ve seen plenty of people on here saying they don’t gamble or don’t gamble much or haven’t cruised on carnival in years and they’re getting free rooms. 

 

People say a lot of things on here that don’t match reality…..

 

Enjoy your cruises Greg.

[Organized Chaos]

On 8/6/2023 at 6:26 PM, silvercrikhix said:

ok. So would you agree that 1/2 of these folks in line are removing the grats?  Would that make one believe that the other half of those lines are people who have billing errors or complaints…that’s would be interesting, that is an awful lot of mistakes. Or real issues. I’m doing a line poll in 2 weeks on next cruise and find out!!!  I’m JUST KIDDING. Hmmm….we’ve never had an errors ever. Someone want a make a poll asking how many passengers have had mistakes on their bills?

 

If I'm understanding you correctly, you're on the side of the debate that says the sole reason a vast majority of people in line at the end of a cruse are removing their tips, correct? There are plenty of reasons for being there. "Billing errors" encompasses a wide variety of problems and/or simple questions. Maybe someone doesn't understand a particular charge. It's a legit charge, but they're confused or whatever. Many people just have questions, then walk away with their bill unchanged because everything was as it should be. Point is, there's countless reasons for going to Guest Services at the end of a cruise other than removing tips.

 

According to a lot of people on this forum, dozens, if not hundreds, of people remove their tips on every cruise. Don't you think Carnival would take notice and do something about that? If so many people were truly removing their tips, wouldn't Carnival make an effort to find out why and work to improve the services that fall under the tip umbrella (if bad service was truly the problem)? Or do you think they care so little about the crew members who fall under that tip umbrella that they'd continue to allow thousands of cruisers each year take away their tips?

[Organized Chaos]

On 8/6/2023 at 6:13 PM, Itried4498 said:

Prices will continue to rise as long as people are willing to pay them.

 

This! 👆

 

The bottom line is, if cruisers continue to pay for it, the cruise lines have little reason to change. Prior to covid, we saw changes that negatively affected quality of service. A couple example being the drastic decrease in the number of cabin stewards, then MDR wait staff. As individuals, we can draw a line in the sand, so to speak, and decide to take our dollars elsewhere if we feel the quality of the cruising experience isn't worth it anymore. But overall, cruise customers kept coming regardless of price hikes and a decrease in quality in some areas. If they make changes that raise costs but lessen quality, and we as consumers allow it, of course they're going to keep pushing the limits.

[jimbo5544]

I do know this.  Carnival of course does know, and does track customers who remove tips.  I do not think it is a majority, or even the logistics of the disucssions when these people attempt to to do.  That said, there are way more then a couple of dozen that do this  Every  Single   Cruise.

 

I have seen it being done when the need to be at GS during the last day, I do not track it, just know it to be real.  I have had conversations with people who work for Carnival that KNOW these things.  It is real. Take it for what it is worth.

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

Potentially. We’ve seen plenty of people on here saying they don’t gamble or don’t gamble much or haven’t cruised on carnival in years and they’re getting free rooms. When they do get “paid” the question would be is it more than I give them for my fare, drinks, Wi-Fi, specialty dining, and excursions? I don’t know. They better be making at least 2-4k/week off of those people.
 

Either way if high prices on carnival = low prices on NCL and Princess that’s fine with me. Carnival has a situation where I cruised with them 22 times. I wasn’t shopping around. I was just blindly booking with them. Now I am shopping around and I probably always will now. Good for me. Maybe not so good for Carnival in the long run.

 

Interesting.  We have been comped a time or two, but the reasons we get this is fairly unique, and probably would not apply to teh general public.  I cannot argue with your logic (especially as a single cruiser). Carnvial’s model punishes (perhaps to strong a word) those that cruise by themselves.  As you branch out, please come over and post link, I always enjoy the read, the journey, the adventure.  Was hoping to cruise with you (and get included in the secret club with Jammin).  But forever is a long time.

[BlerkOne]

People demanding lower prices are a reason behind cuts in services to accommodate the consumer. A la carte pricing will cost more than bundling. All cruise lines sell illusions and marketing departments help them. There is never one size fits all. Princess and Carnival are owned by the same corporation. These are universal truths.

 

 

[Saint Greg]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

People demanding lower prices are a reason behind cuts in services to accommodate the consumer. A la carte pricing will cost more than bundling. All cruise lines sell illusions and marketing departments help them. There is never one size fits all. Princess and Carnival are owned by the same corporation. These are universal truths.

 

 

There is no bundling with Carnival. With NCL and Princess there is. Wi-Fi, internet, drinks, and more bundles costs less on those lines than just the drink package alone on carnival.

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Saint Greg