Lenliner

We liked the Duck appy, and the Pork main course! 😋

We started cruising Carnival in 2007, and watched a lot of the aforementioned amenities gradually erode since then. Slowly becoming a glorified ferry service! >_<

Does this topic only apply to RCCI & NCL? Anyone buy OBC in advance on Carnival? Should I start a new thread to try to get an answer? Fairly new at this.

Happy New Year to all! 🎉

Unfortunately I am in a position where I booked my cruise using an online US agency.

 

 

 

 

 

Does anyone know the onboard exchange rate? If I take Canadian dollars will I be able to purchase USD at a better rate than the bank here?

I'm in the same position, except with CCL. Anyone have any experience pre-purchasing OBC on Carnival? ⚓

In the two weeks we were on board we made quite a few trips to guest service. I know they can change you from credit card to cash but not sure if they would do it on a daily basis

Sounds like a lot of work to me, when one should be enjoying the precious time on board.

As a Canadian cruiser, I've found a way to eradicate all of the angst that goes with having a low Dollar. Our next cruise is in Feb, which we booked a year in advance, when our dollar wasn't so weak. After we return home, we're only going on vacations that DON'T involve the greenback. It's just too expensive for this Canadian. 😐

I have been trying to download app to my phone and can't seem to get it to download. Any suggestions?

Have you got a Windows Phone? NO Carnival Hub Windows Phone app. Both me, and my DW have Windows phones. They are inexpensive [paid 100 Cdn. for our Lumia 635], and work well. If folks want to pay $700+ for the "i experience" that's their choice. I would rather put the $1200 we saved toward our next cruise! We think it's a mistake on Carnivals part to not port the Hub App to value oriented cruisers who are also Windows Phone users like us. >_<

I spent a few hundred in the casino. 200-300 tops last cruise. I've only cruised carnival twice, and both times the shipboard account was over 1000. Almost all in drinks. The last cruise was a 5 day, and it was over 1400. over 1000 was drinks.:D I figure that is carnivals thinking, is get the people on board that we know spend $$$ on a long cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

So many people are like my parents, their shipboard accounts are aways zero, hell last cruise carnival owed them a dollar, so it would make no sense for carnival to give them this offer.

 

 

 

 

 

With me getting the offer, carnival knows I will spend plenty on board. I'm buying the drink package. that's 550 right there(sailing solo) I will eat in the steakhouse at least 2 times, drinking some premium wine, thats another 200 bucks, and I'm sure I'll do some gambling.

I guess we're more like your parents, which explains why we've never had an offer. It's prudent on CCL's part to entice folks who tend to be bigger spenders. Just look at the price range of CCL shares in the past year: 52wk Range: 33.11 - 49.21. Sitting at $47 today. Their strategy, which is not unlike Vegas Resort Casinos seems to be paying off! It's nice to be "compt", but it's almost always earned. 😖

I can't help but wonder if some of those "free", or almost "free" cruises were prepaid in the casino? 😖

GATORCHINSKY, when are u cruising on the Sunshine? We are booked for 1/17/15 cruise & are in 8108 & 8112

Review of 8108, PLEASE. :-)

Unfortunately, you will not find any sympathy here on the Carnival forum.

 

Hopefully there won't be a next time, but if you encounter any issues - go to Guest Services and kindly request them to solve these to your satisfaction. Everyone deserves a clean room and a beetle-free salad after paying for a cruise.

I think OP has some legit concerns. Part of the reason I signed up for CruiseCritic, and the same reason I read Consumer magazines. Too many cheerleaders posting on a forum called CruiseCritic IMHO. 😖

"Unfortunately, you will not find any sympathy here on the Carnival forum."

 

 

 

Wow! I thought I signed up for Cruise CRITICS. Same reason I read Consumer Reports. To many cheerleaders on here IMHO. 😖

My son and i did an AI at riveria maya we each had our own suite overlooking the ocean w jacuzzi on balcony and in the room, 13 restaurant 13 bars 5 pools plus adult only area and beach w butler service w air for 5 nights all for LESS than an overcrowded cruise. I hate having to rush back to a ship that's so freaking overcrowded plus the costs of cabs and such AI is the best vacation value

IMHO, 5 nights is too short, especially when you have to travel as far as we do [YVR - CUN], for example. We've done AI's for 2 weeks every year for the last 6 years. We don't cruise as often, and would cruise even less, or not at all if it became a floating collection of chain restaurants. Airlines have really made flying something we no longer look forward to. I hope the Cruise lines don't follow suit. 👀

No! Fortunately, money spent on vacations is very fluid, and will flow to where it is most attractive to the traveler. The proposal is unattractive to us for the same reasons we won't even look at NCL. When the cruise lines start putting the shareholders interests ahead of customers, it will ultimately be the shareholders that will suffer.

Thanks for this refreshing information. This is why I joined CC. For an exchange of info & ideas, experiences, etc., THANKS! ⚓

This is why I usually just lurk. I call it the way I see it. PDF is REAL, UNTIL that changes, it's ending. There was a thread a while back that stated Carnival is changing a lot of their loyalty programs. Could this be part of the bigger picture? I sincerely hope not.

The "Shareholder Benefit" is coming to an end on July 31, 2015, for "cruises purchased by Feb. 28, 2015". Just search: carnival corporation shareholder benefits . This brings you to a page that points to a PDF Document. Sorry for the bad news, maybe when the selloff starts, the B.O.D will have a change of heart.⚓