DallasGuy75219

I don't recall that being specified, but I expect Carnival VIFP points. Carnival's typical passenger isn't of the mindset to fly to Europe for cruise, so a don't think one cruise with Costa points (or however their frequent cruiser cruiser program works) is going to motivate them to fly to Europe to take more cruises to get status with Costa.

This came up in my Facebook feed and completely explains/defines Carnival's "new clientele."

Kinda in the middle. Carnival's spin was introducing CCL's pax to a new brand/ experience, but in reality it's just making use of Carnival Corp. assets that would otherwise go unused in the near term. Thus the minimal/nonexistent effort to convert them to full Carnival standards (I know, an oxymoron) before putting them into service in North America.

I did two 7-days B2B without any issues using the same Medallion the whole time. Worst case scenario, if the battery dies Guest Services (or whatever Princess calls it) will issue you another one.

These weren't to be major overhauls and total rebranding like Luminosa. The original press release made it sound like they were doing the minimum possible to sail for carnival, presumably so they could go back to Costa in the near term and/or on short notice.

Have you checked actual suite pricing for your sailing? 2 people sailing in an inside cabin and another paying solo in another inside (if not oceanview cabins) is likely to be cheaper than 3 in any suite, much less a 2 bedroom suite.

If they're like their liquor pours, about 8😀

There's nothing to activate; it comes ready to use (unless of course the battery is already dead). Your decision is just whether to have it shipped directly to you (if eligible) or pick it up at embarkation.

I think I've seen him jiggling his man bits over the Lido buffet.

Yes, I have Mardi Gras booked for next year. Otherwise the newest Carnival ships I've sailed on are Dream class; had Horizon and Panorama booked but those were canceled during shutdown. Hoping that the Excel class ships are at least something revolutionary, otherwise everything Carnival has built (other than Spirit class) since Destiny has basically been the same design with just more decks, cabins, and length added. Yes, they've replaced other venues with Guy's and Blue Iguana in drydock, but those too get boring due to limited menus and being on every ship in the fleet. Also in my mind, it's not just what the cruiselines offer but what they can successfully execute. Carnival has had issues executing what they offer due to staffing cuts way before COVID, not just post-restart due to crew availability.

The low prices Carnival is charging to fill the ships are attracting the new clientele. At the same time Carnival is cutting everything possible, resulting in the Motel 6/Golden Corral experience that those new clientele are happy with. If that’s the brand that Carnival wants to become, so be it, but even as a Diamond my loyalty only goes so far, and that Carnival is longer for me. I've moved on to Princess and Royal unless there's a specific reason to book Carnival (namely a specific group I cruise with or because they have the most options out of New Orleans where I have family nearby).

Myself included. Carnival's death by a thousand cuts has turned their product into such crap that they can't give it away (at least to me). I get casino offers for free cruises on Royal, Princess, and Carnival, and Carnival is my last choice. I currently only have 3 Carnival cruises currently booked because (1) I needed to use FCC from COVID cancellations before it expired, (2) another is with a group I enjoy cruising with, and (3) they have the most options out of New Orleans if I want to combine a cruise with a visit to family nearby. On my last Carnival cruise (first post-restart), again my last choice and booked only because Royal canceled my Jewel cruise a month out and I already had hotel and airfare booked, I found myself constantly comparing my experience to Royal or Princess and so often concluded "this would be better on Royal or Princess because (insert reason)" and then would just get irritated with the whole Carnival experience.

Not to mention that bartenders generally don't work in the same bar all the time but may rotate through different bars in a given day. Someone would have to avoid all bars altogether to avoid (1) that careless bartender working at another bar or (2) any other bartender who charges the account of the wrong Medallion holder who happens to be close enough to be picked up by the tablet.

Years ago I got away with a B2B on Spirit, the repositioning from Los Angeles to Vancouver at the beginning of the Alaska season then the first Alaskan 7-day from Vancouver to Seattle. I booked it as a B2B on the same call with the same PVP and later realized it was a PVSA violation after flights and hotels were paid for. I was so nervous Carnival was going to figure out it was a violation and make me cancel one of the legs, but they never said anything. I think now they've gotten better about preventing or at least finding these kind of bookings and/or realizing which B2Bs are violations.

PVSA applies to transporting passengers, Jones Act applies to transporting cargo. But notwithstanding, the fine is levied by CBP against the cruise line, not the passenger. Granted the cruise line will likely pass on the fine to the passenger's S&S account, but they try to avoid the violation in the first place by (1) educating their agents not to make B2B bookings the violate the PVSA and (2) cancelling at least on leg of B2B cruises that get past (1) and get booked anyway.

Not if someone is doing a B2B and staying on the same ship in Vancouver to do the next cruise that ends in Hawaii. CBP views that as transporting someone from Seattle to Hawaii (even if they physically get off the ship in Vancouver) and a PVSA violation.

It applies regardless of the citizenship of the passengers being transported. The flag of the ship creates the violation, not the citizenship of the passengers transported.

Might be some takers at lower tiers (red and gold equivalents), but I don't think many people with mid- to top-tier status on another line are looking to cruise Carnival, status match or not.

Got confirmation email 1 hour and 14 minutes after sending last night for a January 2023 cruise. However, nothing on the November 2022 cruise I requested in the same email so I'll have to follow up on that.

Have to be careful about PVSA violations with this B2B. Can't do the last Alaska cruise if it's Seattle-Vancouver and then the Vancuver-Hawaii cruise because CBP views that as a Seattle- Hawaii cruise. But Vancouver- Hawaii then Hawaii-Australia on a ship repositioning to Australia would be ideal so OP didn't have as far to travel back home.

Agreed, but in terms of cruises I see it more on Carnival than for instance Royal and Princess, people who can't or won't follow directions that are clearly communicated to them multiple times. Rules and instructions simply don't apply to them because they paid their $299 cruise fare with their hard earned money and they're going to do what they want to do how and when they want to do it.

There are also 8 day Southern Caribbean itineraries out of Miami and Port Canaveral that hit 2-3 of the ABCs.

Some of the ships doing 6-8 day cruises out of Miami and Port Canaveral (Orlando) alternate Eastern/Western Caribbean or Eastern/Southern Caribbean itineraries each sailing. These would be good candidates for B2B cruises to see different ports each sailing without having to change ships.

The problem is the "in stock" part. There are lots of wines on the menu that either they don't have onboard (due to "supply chain issues") or if onboard are only in one venue not convenient to the MDR. Hell, on Regal they didn't even have some of the no-name $12 varietals listed on the MDR menu as included in the Princess Plus package.

Wine that's been allowed to get too hot, technically anywhere in the process of going from grapes to the bottle on your table, but probably most likely due to improper storage once shipped from the winery. Although none of us were on the ships while they were sailing without pax and with minimal crew during the first 1.5 to 2ish years of the COVID epidemic, I suspect making sure the wine onboard was stored properly was not high on the list of priorities. Then they get ready to put the ships back in service and realize "Oh $#!%, this wine went to crap!" They were already so far in the red from COVID that they didn't want to write it off, so what do they do? Carnival tried to offload it in wine packages, and Princess tried to give it away as birthday and anniversary "gifts". This year I've been served 2018 wines from both with the same problem.