BlerkOne

The menu we had

They are and Rolex watches being mechanical sometimes need maintenance. If sent back to Rolex, they might cooperate. Not just anyone can work on them and parts can be hard to come by.

Ima gonna try

It has not been disproven, but is irrelevant since it is a rule. One of the reasons the water tastes better is because the bottle fillers often have filters.

I do draw the line at drinking from the toilet. But I do respect that it is Carnival's cruise line and Carnival's rules. At least when sharing resources with other passengers.

True, but I have misplaced a lot more stuff than has been stolen from me.

In my experience it isn't hard to overlook an item multiple times. Especially when the search is frantic.

Insurance through Princess is a group policy and age isn't a factor. As we celebrate anniversaries of our birth, cruise line insurance becomes more and more attractive.

Did you ask your steward for some?

NCL had to get a waiver from Congress to get a ship US flagged and has a legal monopoly in Hawaii (which should be illegal). They have had a number of issues including high turnover in the beginning, despite paying US wages. NCL cut back on the number of ships doing Hawaii cruises or they likely would be bankrupt.

32 is less than 33. It would be illegal for Carnival to give false guidance.

As Carnival Corp doesn't release individual cruise line financials, I don't see how that is possible to know. If Princess did follow US labor and other US laws, they would go bankrupt.

Unlike other cruise lines, I think Princess is being transparent about how the gratuities are distributed. If only other cruise lines were as honest.

Accounting aside, All of the Crew Appreciation and Service Charge payments made by all guests on all ships in our fleet are pooled, net of credit card transaction fees. The pooled funds are distributed throughout the year in the form of compensation, including bonuses, to crewmembers fleetwide who interact directly with guests and/or behind the scenes throughout every cruise, including those in the Bar, Dining, Entertainment, Housekeeping, Guest Services, Galley and Onboard Revenue areas. https://www.princess.com/html/global/disclaimers/crew-appreciation/

I don't care about the mechanics, this is the takeaway: "This is yet another step forward in our deleveraging journey, building on the $1.4 billion we already early retired this year. With this debt repayment, we now expect our year end debt balance to be less than $32.0 billion , an improvement over the November 30, 2023 debt balance of less than $33.0 billion provided in our June guidance."

I approve!

Once upon a time, cruisers had about a thousand envelopes with which they had to fill with dirty money and hand to various staff members. The current method in much preferred. To say it is a bonus to Princess is misleading. The money does not go to Princess. If it did, they would have to declare it as income. Gratuities have been part of cruising forever. You have a choice to adjust up until the cruise is over. But really, if you are unhappy with how Princess does business, there are other cruise lines to choose, most of which do exactly the same.

The only difference I notice is that is a service charge and is non-refundable.

Supply and Demand. + onboard spend

The crew remembers names, I wouldn't be surprised if the crew remembers who tips and how. Or even if they shared the information with other crew members. It is always a team effort. Without the team, there is no service.

https://www.carnivalcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/carnival-corporation-plc-announces-anticipated-debt-pre-payment

Open up the policy for your particular state and search for non-traveling https://affinitytravelcert.com/document/pdfs/CCL_Landing.html

It seems that Princess is betting the impact is minimal. Bookings across Carnival Corp brands are up and so would mitigate some loss. As I said, Time will tell.

I think getting warmer. Resources on cruise ships are limited - including cabins available for staff. There is a limit to the number of staff unless they are going to start bunking with passengers. It is cheaper for the customer and easier for Princess to bundle instead of offering a la cart pricing. Of course some people will balk at the packages and it will serve to limit demand. All cruise lines are raising prices and trying to manage costs. Trying to live in the past will only become exponentially higher in cost, but some will try to hang on. The only constant is change.