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It’s not profitable enough for them to continue doing regular seasons in Europe as there are many factors preventing Carnival’s target demographic from wanting to do these cruises. Some of these can include cost, length of vacations, duration of flights, perceived safety issues and other various obstacles.

In the past, Carnival sometimes sent ships from the US to Europe to do a season but times have changed and you’re lucky to have it for a few weeks after a new ship launches.

My husband and I have had a mixed bag, but on the whole...our experience was like yours since 2016! On previous cruises before Cheers existed, we always had our sodas on the dining room table the moment we walked in and got at least one refill. Roving waiters would gladly bring us each one as long as I ordered a mixed drink here and there with an extra $1-2 tip. Waiting was never more than a minute or two at the bar and it was well worth the costs!

 

Unfortunately, when we cruised the Dream, our experience was terrible. Despite asking, we only got our sodas at dinner 2 or 7 nights...and they were delivered during dessert. We waited in line at bars for several minutes at a time for warm, flat sodas...often they didn't even have Coke Zero available. I tried tipping more and everything, but it didn't change much. I probably drank 8 glasses in 7 days...it was seriously that bad.

 

I didn't opt for BB on our Triumph cruise, but husband did. He got great service all 5 days!

 

Mileage varies. Despite both experiences, I still cannot decide what to do on our September cruise! I love the convenience of BB, but am a bit scared about having the same experience we did on the Dream! I also don't wish to try to fly with sodas and may not have time before getting on the ship.

 

Decisions...decisions.

 

And fwiw: I had an even worse experience on Royal Caribbean! Their bar waiters would actually make us wait 10+ minutes while they served everyone consuming alcohol to quit ordering before they would fill our cups. I can't tell you how many times I heard, "I'll get you some soda once I have time." That's a huge NO in the future for me!

At the same time though, I've had fantastic to stellar beverage service on 100% of my Princess Cruises with the soda package. No difficulty getting refills in the dining room with them already waiting upon arrival, drinks brought over within a minute or two when sitting down at the buffet, no issues with the waiters getting "lost" in the Princess Theater and everything is served timely when sitting at the bar.

This comment always surprises me because we haven't had this experience ever. Our first cruise with BB, my youngest was ten. By the third day, I swear every bar tender/waiter on the ship knew him by name. The servers in the show lounge would catch his eye, give him a raised eyebrow, he would give them a thumbs up and they would go get him a Fanta. The kid drank his weight in Fanta that week. The bar tender at the pool bar knew his entire life story and would greet DH and I as "Joe's" mom and dad. LOL The next cruise, the older two set a goal to out drink the younger one. None of them ever had trouble getting service. (However, they lost that bet. :')) Third cruise, still no trouble getting service but not quite as much soda was consumed. ;)

It seems as though my experiences clearly differ from yours.

I’ve had the Fountain Fun Card and Bottomless Bubbles on every cruise I’ve sailed on Carnival just as I’ve had the Ultimate Soda and More package on every single one of my Princess Cruises. I don’t seem to have any difficulty being served in a timely manner on Princess but on Carnival, it’s like fighting tooth and nail. It shouldn’t be easier for me to leave the dining room to get my own refill than to ask a bar waiter in the dining room for one.

Tote you own. Massively cheaper.

Convenience can be worth the cost.

Edit.

Half Moon Cay is much better than Princess Cays but I'm sure you'll have a nice time at either one.

Amber Cove pool area is free. Great pool and plenty of lounge chairs. There is also a zip line there. Both kids can zip line next to each other and you can watch from your lounge chairs. I believe it's $20pp and you can go as many times as you want

The above information is correct however I can’t confirm the pricing either as ours was different when visiting Amber Cove with Princess.

It’s a basic zip line located right inside the Carnival-built port area over the pool. They’ll be fine especially if you’re comfortable with them being alone together (which it seems as though you are or you wouldn’t be asking this question). It’s not like they’re leaving the port area and venturing off alone in a foreign country to do the more advanced zip lines in a rainforest.

Once the bartenders peg you as a soda drinker, expect the wait times to increase... especially if the package holder is younger.

It's Carnival - anything goes.

I have always thought it funny that they would have ribs in Elegant night, one reason to dress up!

Ribs were a brilliant option for formal night ;)

Harmony.

If you're doing a Panama Canal cruise on a Spirit class ship, try to get a category 4K - Interior with French Door. Although the doors may no longer open, you'll have a larger cabin with a better layout and a window with an obstructed view. The stateroom type is essentially the same as a heavily obstructed balcony but at pricing very similar to an interior.

Sorry you didn’t enjoy your meal.

Preventative Maintenance.

Horizon.

We had a bargain on the Carnival Magic Transatlantic with a lot of onboard credit and I’ve been offered a couple fantastic Princess short cruises on deeply discounted casino rates that we took advantage of.

When the Carnival VIFP Offers started gaining popularity in 2013 and 2014 where Carnival offered several completely free (excluding taxes) or deeply discounted cruises, we received several of those offers but declined as we preferred to sail another line at that time.

Actually it's more than that . The steward will clean the bathroom if needed and replace dirty towels and so forth. Clean the counter and remove any items left discarded.

I guess that’s just what I’ve come to expect from hotels I frequently visit that offer turndown service and advertise it as such. It wouldn’t have dawned to me that was considered extra on top of what turndown service is because it’s always been done that way, for me, without asking in hotels where turndown service was the norm.

I wouldn’t expect the room to be vacuumed or the bedding stripped during the second service of the day which is what I meant to imply.

My apologies for any misinformation as my expectations are different.

This is a serious question-when you have twice a day service are they cleaning the entire cabin twice? I always assumed that the evening service was more of a wipe down the bathroom counters, replace towels, turn down the bed and go type of thing. If they're vacuuming and cleaning windows twice a day, that's a LOT more work than I thought.

 

I guess I figured it was like a hotel-evening service was basically turndown, not a full second room cleaning.

With twice a day service, the evening service is just a turndown service.

We were on one of the last long cruises (think it was before they were labeled Journeys) that has FTTF. The Miracle Mexican Riviera 13 Day Cruise.

Embarkation was a nightmare. No Staggered Check In at the time. Suites were checked in the Captains Lounge, Diamond/Platinum had three clerks, FTTF had a few. Seemed like over half the pax had some sort of priority perks.

Took over 2hours to check in outside. We hit the trifecta in Long Beach that day- Crew Immigration check, Coast Guard Lifeboat inspection, heavy rain.

After this cruise Carnival stopped offering FTTF.

Only good thing was that there was never a line at Guest Services.

Long Beach has improved greatly with using of the whole Dome now.

 

 

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Sounds like a disaster. Sorry you had to deal with that.

To answer your question, it’s still floating.

I would have reported him. You are entitled to be treated with respect and it is your right to choose twice daily service. I know that that is what I will be picking.

My husband suggested the same. I didn’t want to get him in trouble, even though I know he was definitely in the wrong.

 

 

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I probably would have said something to the Deck Supervisor and if nothing changes, I probably would then consider reaching out to the Hotel Director.

So far, I would say my favorites have been Copenhagen and Barcelona though we’re really looking forward to visiting South America and Antarctica soon.

Very.

Good job.

I didn’t realize pier 66 lost Hyatt. I stayed there three days before Irma hit. We were at sea for two weeks due to the hurricane. Still is a great place to stay especially for the great view from the tower rooms!

 

 

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Yep, it’s been a while since they lost the flag.

Riverside is another awesome option in Fort Lauderdale if you’re looking for independent but it’s a little further from the beach and the Dalmar looks promising for when it opens.