Lee Cruiser

Not sure how it didn't. They've adhered to arrival appointment times since the restart in 2021. We did three Carnival cruises last year and have another coming up this month. They've all required arrival appointment times.

We used Saltwater Moms back in September the day before our cruise to get from Hobby to Galveston. We had a great experience and certainly wouldn't hesitate to use them again. We would have used them to get back to the airport, but they were already booked, so we used Lyft instead. Saltwater Moms service was much better. The Lyft driver obviously didn't know the port very well. She drove right by us at the Lyft pickup area and had to go back out and come back around again for another 15 minute wait.

May be a price change that’s coming soon, but hasn’t taken place yet, like the internet and gratuities. It’s going up soon. They are constantly raising prices on lots of things. It’s just a matter of when.

Did you get notified before the cruise or one you tried to login?

They just had increases back in the Fall. I did it for two cruises before the October 1 deadline. It’s going up again for the second time in three months.

We've used SW numerous times without any problems, including our most recent cruise back at the end of September into October. Hopefully they will be able to make the upgrades they need to make and continue to be a great option for so many. Time will tell. Apparently this is the failure of the past CEO and the new leadership is working to make things better. I read this interesting post from a SW pilot, Larry Lonero: What happened to Southwest Airlines? I’ve been a pilot for Southwest Airlines for over 35 years. I’ve given my heart and soul to Southwest Airlines during those years. And quite honestly Southwest Airlines has given its heart and soul to me and my family. Many of you have asked what caused this epic meltdown. Unfortunately, the frontline employees have been watching this meltdown coming like a slow motion train wreck for sometime. And we’ve been begging our leadership to make much needed changes in order to avoid it. What happened yesterday started two decades ago. Herb Kelleher was the brilliant CEO of SWA until 2004. He was a very operationally oriented leader. Herb spent lots of time on the front line. He always had his pulse on the day to day operation and the people who ran it. That philosophy flowed down through the ranks of leadership to the front line managers. We were a tight operation from top to bottom. We had tools, leadership and employee buy in. Everything that was needed to run a first class operation. When Herb retired in 2004 Gary Kelly became the new CEO. Gary was an accountant by education and his style leading Southwest Airlines became more focused on finances and less on operations. He did not spend much time on the front lines. He didn’t engage front line employees much. When the CEO doesn’t get out in the trenches the neither do the lower levels of leadership. Gary named another accountant to be Chief Operating Officer (the person responsible for day to day operations). The new COO had little or no operational background. This trickled down through the lower levels of leadership, as well. They all disengaged the operation, disengaged the employees and focused more on Return on Investment, stock buybacks and Wall Street. This approach worked for Gary’s first 8 years because we were still riding the strong wave that Herb had built. But as time went on the operation began to deteriorate. There was little investment in upgrading technology (after all, how do you measure the return on investing in infrastructure?) or the tools we needed to operate efficiently and consistently. As the frontline employees began to see the deterioration in our operation we began to warn our leadership. We educated them, we informed them and we made suggestions to them. But to no avail. The focus was on finances not operations. As we saw more and more deterioration in our operation our asks turned to pleas. Our pleas turned to dire warnings. But they went unheeded. After all, the stock price was up so what could be wrong? We were a motivated, willing and proud employee group wanting to serve our customers and uphold the tradition of our beloved airline, the airline we built and the airline that the traveling public grew to cheer for and luv. But we were watching in frustration and disbelief as our once amazing airline was becoming a house of cards. A half dozen small scale meltdowns occurred during the mid to late 2010’s. With each mini meltdown Leadership continued to ignore the pleas and warnings of the employees in the trenches. We were still operating with 1990’s technology. We didn’t have the tools we needed on the line to operate the sophisticated and large airline we had become. We could see that the wheels were about ready to fall off the bus. But no one in leadership would heed our pleas. When COVID happened SWA scaled back considerably (as did all of the airlines) for about two years. This helped conceal the serious problems in technology, infrastructure and staffing that were occurring and being ignored. But as we ramped back up the lack of attention to the operation was waiting to show its ugly head. Gary Kelly retired as CEO in early 2022. Bob Jordan was named CEO. He was a more operationally oriented leader. He replaced our Chief Operating Officer with a very smart man and they announced their priority would be to upgrade our airline’s technology and provide the frontline employees the operational tools we needed to care for our customers and employees. Finally, someone acknowledged the elephant in the room. But two decades of neglect takes several years to overcome. And, unfortunately to our horror, our house of cards came tumbling down this week as a routine winter storm broke our 1990’s operating system. The frontline employees were ready and on station. We were properly staffed. We were at the airports. Hell, we were ON the airplanes. But our antiquated software systems failed coupled with a decades old system of having to manage 20,000 frontline employees by phone calls. No automation had been developed to run this sophisticated machine. We had a routine winter storm across the Midwest last Thursday. A larger than normal number flights were cancelled as a result. But what should have been one minor inconvenient day of travel turned into this nightmare. After all, American, United, Delta and the other airlines operated with only minor flight disruptions. The two decades of neglect by SWA leadership caused the airline to lose track of all its crews. ALL of us. We were there. With our customers. At the jet. Ready to go. But there was no way to assign us. To confirm us. To release us to fly the flight. And we watched as our customers got stranded without their luggage missing their Christmas holiday. I believe that our new CEO Bob Jordan inherited a MESS. This meltdown was not his failure but the failure of those before him. I believe he has the right priorities. But it will take time to right this ship. A few years at a minimum. Old leaders need to be replaced. Operationally oriented managers need to be brought in. I hope and pray Bob can execute on his promises to fix our once proud airline. Time will tell. It’s been a punch in the gut for us frontline employees. We care for the traveling public. We have spent our entire careers serving you. Safely. Efficiently. With luv and pride. We are horrified. We are sorry. We are sorry for the chaos, inconvenience and frustration our airline caused you. We are angry. We are embarrassed. We are sad. Like you, the traveling public, we have been let down by our own leaders. Herb once said the the biggest threat to Southwest Airlines will come from within. Not from other airlines. What a visionary he was. I miss Herb now more than ever.

Yes

We like the itinerary on the Sunrise much better, but we're not real fond of the ship. It definitely feels more crowded after they added more cabins. Because of that, and the fact we can drive to N.O. instead of flying to Miami, we would probably pick the Valor for a five day.

She would need at least the Value (middle) plan. Depending on the ship it should be fine for those needs. Yes, you can get different plans even if you are in the same room.

Who are the "less efficient customers" that you are talking about and how does Carnival get rid of them?

Not for me. I will probably keep the 100 shares, but not really a good investment beyond that. The debt load is going to be a long term problem for Carnival. I’ll stick with other quality stocks they are actually paying dividends.

So much for a "Santa Rally" that some were predicting. I should have dumped it when went above $11 in November.

I've never had much success with wi-fi calling on Carnival. That being said, the internet has improved in recent months so it might be possible.

Definitely more cutbacks

We had it one night back in April. It was the first night and I had the filet and my wife had different meats. We were not impressed. The filet was okay, but nothing to brag about and we've had much better barbecue. We had planned to go another night, but didn't. Definitely won't go back with this new menu.

On Vista in September it was 8.7 with the premium internet, so Celebration is over 10x the speed. We were on the Mardi Gras in April and it was the best internet we've ever had, so apparently they have really upgraded it on the Excel ships. I'm glad you had good internet on the Valor. Back in January it was horrible. Cloudy skies most of the time probably had a lot to do with it.

Yes indeed. We didn't get it for our last couple of cruises before turning platinum because we thought the price was ridiculous. Certainly wouldn't pay $150. Obviously, they believe that there will be enough who will. Judging by the comments on this page, they are right. Hey, maybe Carnival making more for things like this will help keep the prices lower for the rest of us. 😀

BTW: It was listed as $89.95 for our 5 day out of N.O. I added it to the cart, but didn't complete the purchase since we didn't need it.

The purchase page says they will be ready upon boarding.

Here is what is listed from the purchase page from our next cruise. It certainly says rooms will be ready upon boarding. I hope this is the case with D/P as well. What you will get (Note: VIFP Club Diamond & Platinum members do not need to purchase this package as these and other benefits are included as part of your VIFP Club status.) Priority Check-in Bypass lines and have exclusive security screening lanes for initial embarkation at onset of cruise. Guaranteed Stateroom Your stateroom will be ready as soon as you board, so you can relax or freshen up for the fun you're about to have. Express Luggage Your luggage will be expedited to your stateroom so you can unpack and get settled in for a great vacation! Guest Services You'll have a dedicated phone number and line at Guest Services so you can quickly have your questions answered. Dining Reservations Priority Main Dining Room and Specialty Restaurant reservations (excluding Your Time Dining). Priority Water Shuttle Boarding We hope you take advantage of Carnival's Excursions. If you choose to explore the destination on your own, you will have the option to choose a priority water shuttle from the ship to shore. Debarkation We're always sad to see you go. But when your cruise is over, you may choose an early or late debarkation time upon arrival to your homeport.

Yes, but it certainly could be argued that they are not nearly as bad as Carnival. Looking at stocks this year, Carnival is down about 58% from the January peak, RCI about 29% and NCL 23%. Carnival stock has been diluted greatly in the last couple of years and it appears they are continuing that trend. Again, it's going to be a rough ride if you own Carnival stock.

Bummer. But it really doesn't surprise me. Carnival is a financial mess right now and the stock is going to continue to be on a roller coaster with slow rises and lots of dips.

Apparently your optimism isn't shared by most major economists. I'm not that optimistic either. Every interest rate hike increases the chances of a major recession. I'm believing that stocks, especially Carnival, will continue to see big dips. I don't think it will stay above $10 very long. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not optimistic that I am.

John mentioned that suites would be after D and P, but I'm not sure the information has gotten out to all the employees yet. There were several out of N.O. that said it was still suites first, then was based on zone number diamond 1, platinum 1, diamond 2, platinum 2, etc...

This upsets us more than the meal changes. We don't order more entrees anyway and we don't go to the steakhouse, but going to Nassau instead of San Juan is a problem for us. Now, the only decent port is Grand Turk. Nassau and Amber Cove are stay on the ship ports for us. We've already been looking into other lines (mainly MSC) that offer four nice ports for a seven day cruise. But you are right, it seems to be some new change or cutback every week and sometimes every day.