BlerkOne

and downhill from there...

Fair enough. One person's bribe might be another person's perk. But the "free" alcohol that Royal "gives" to upper level cruisers is a consideration for some to book Royal.

I have said similar for some time. Carnival wants cruisers who cruise for the brand, not because of perks. Royal prefers to bribe past guests.

Both natural and man made events could cause the Internet to be down for weeks, months, or longer. I know I would survive but am not sure about others.

Who care if gamblers get free cabins. It is the marketing program that some think is a loyalty program that has been wrecked. That is a primary reason why there will never be a higher level than Diamond.

Tonight we have al fresco, with tablecloths!

That explains all the outages.

Carnival global casino op is at a corporate level. Many cruise lines utilize it - not just Carnival Cruise Line.

Maximizing profits long term, short term, strategic or tactical, whatever, we lack the knowledge and the power to decide.

So all an enemy needs to do is take out an internet backbone, and they have won. We are doomed. How did we ever get here?

Steakhouse!

I thought it was my relatives I smelled. 🙂

If Internet is a necessity, we are doomed.

As neither of us make decisions for Carnival, it is all smoke.

Some people just aren't happy if they aren't complaining. Marketing programs exist to provide a certain ROI. When they fail, adjustments are made.

I'm sure it doesn't, since they only charge $5 for the sandwich and that includes chips and a cookie. LOL. When services or products are bundled in with a good, the cost is absolutely a consideration in the selling price.

If referring to me, I have NEVER accepted a free cruise, or $100 cruise, or whatever, from Carnival. The only free cruise I have received was from Celebrity, and I still am not sure why, since I had never cruised on them before. When cruising restarted after Covid, Carnival was desperate to get people on ships again, and to get cash flow going. Carnival knew that if you lowered prices enough, people would cruise, no matter what the risk. Risk takers describes gamblers. There are always more waiting in the wings, and Carnival helps nurture new gamblers by giving Platinum and Diamond cruisers $25 seed money. They served their purpose but are now expendable. Carnival needs to get back to basics and what got them where they are today. A mass market family cruise line where all are equal and none are more equal. There is nothing wrong with the casino having their own marketing program and giving away whatever they want - but they crossed the line.

It isn't equal. Carnival started as an anti-elitist mass market cruise line and kowtowing to any niche market is contrary to the founder's intentions. Even if Carnival could make it equal, the perception would be there that it isn't.

No, they don't. They include it in the price of the room or Big Mac.