cruisingguy007

We are in a recession supposedly, no one will be able to afford to cruise and the sky is falling, probably better to invest in Ticketmaster and Taylor Swift. Apparently, she is recession proof and cruise ships full of people will pay more than a cruise fare, in some cases thousands of dollars, to see a single night concert. Better to find those safe havens while everything is imploding. 😁

Disney just increased prices for fast lane to $25. The chip shortage has caused a great opportunity for the US to reduce dependence on China (CHIPS and science act). Housing still costs more than ever and is no where near collapse (maybe where you live, not where I live). Apples phones cost increased in every other market (and let's face it, are grossly overpriced in the US). There is your reality! 😉

I make it a habit to never trust anyone who finishes with "trust me". 😁

Recession! Recession! Recession! Reminds me of Marsha! Marsha! Marsha! LOL. Some of these folks are wishing/hoping on a star for it. Makes you wonder what positions they have and if their tune will change come December 30th when tax-loss harvesting is over and December 31st when all the washes have been washed out. It will be interesting to see if the same rhetoric is around come Jan 2nd and Jan 30th. In the meantime, Disneyland/Disnyworld is packed, airports are full, buying a new car is still a challenge and high end cars are selling out before even being built, they can't build houses fast enough, Apple still selling more status phones than ever, people still taking expensive vacations, etc etc etc. All these doom and gloom predictions, yet the beat goes on!

What service did they use (next day, 3 day?) I have been waiting for some cards from cancelled cheers purchase and even called in and was told they would be sending new ones but nada yet.

Wine is one of the best uses of cheers, I have also noticed the other drinks can be hit/miss depending on who/how they are made. Too much sugar is bloating, too much beer is bloating, the mix drinks can be weaksauce (though also awesome with the right bartender and some motivation lol) but wine is a solid choice that gets the job done, keeps the bloat down and Carnival actually includes some good ones by the glass. They really need to improve the cruise the vineyards packages, the cheaper one has swill and the more expensive one isn't good enough quality. It's an area for mass improvement and potential huge sales increases if revamped.

Ah, yes. Good catch, I suspect you are correct. Darn, I was hoping it was back.

These are relatively new, I wouldn't call it frustration inasmuch as confusion from folks who aren't used to it. I was a bit confused at first when I got the first one because they hadn't sent unsolicited payment requests previously, unless near final payment date. It's a new thing is all. I also believe, as others stated, it's an effort to round up some cash; which is understandable, all things considered.

Just inside the sliding doors, on either side of the lido buffet. It's very interesting that Late Night Snacks is back at lido marketplace. Is this accurate or an old copy? That is big news if it's back. Sure it's not fancy but it's something and helps with the pizza hoards.

Yes, normal, you'll get them from time-to-time, just don't miss your final payment date and you'll be fine and can ignore them.

Yup.

Smart plan. The only problem with John Wayne is that the hotels are much more than hotels near LAX. Basically the same hotels for double or triple the money. Irvine is a boring corporatocracy town and Newport Beach can be pricey but there are some good values like Holiday Inn Express Newport if you want location/value over elegance. Should be a easy drive in Saturday either way.

Considering Panorama embarks/debarks on a Saturday, there really shouldn't be much traffic like there is on weekdays, in fact, moving around on a Friday would likely see more traffic. There will be some folks heading down to San Diego and such but not like in summer months. I drive in day of all the way from the Tri-Valley area and it's not nearly as bad as weekdays, especially in the mornings. Hotels can be much cheaper in LA proper as well, you can get some nice 4/5 star joints for cheap through hotel arbitrage sites. I use those to look for deals and then usually get a bit cheaper of a rate by booking direct with nonrefundable rate or AAA discount. LA has much more going on than LBC and if coming in early I'd just as soon choose something there, especially on a Friday to avoid the commute mess. Plus carpool will also help make the trip a breeze on a Saturday morning.

I have seen this also and I always check with and without VFIP, usually without VFIP first and then with. Some offers are capacity controlled as well. As to why some only see "some" cabins available, the system will only show you a random set of ten cabins in each subcategory if there are a lot of cabins left. So when you select say balcony, then select forward/mid/aft and then see the results of the various decks, only ten will show max in each and that can change if you clear your browser or do another search at a different time.

I don't want to speak for stacyglow but I think she was trying to say that they sell them at less than they wanted in order to keep volume numbers up and future inventory. For example, you get 10 units on consignment and hope to sell each for $10 by a certain date, you sell eight and that date is approaching so you dump the last two at deep discounts (say $6 for giggles) in order to move inventory, thus keeping your sales unit count up but bringing the average down from $10 a unit to $9.20 a unit. This keeps the suppliers (in this case the cruise lines) happy with your volume so that they will continue to keep the volume the same and not reduce it, as they may if you try and return cabins (volume) back to them. It happens in sales all the time, suppliers don't like returns or when you make your problems theirs.

Can't speak to the insurance part as I see it's a personal thing/hangup but this is a totally reasonable expectation. I'd want to know ASAP also.

That's kind of the point, pay less for a nonrefundable and get travel insurance with the savings or pay more for a refundable. Everybody got choices.

You can get a rider for dang near anything, though I doubt you'll want to pay what it would cost for the coverage you seek. It's unreasonable to think any business is going to pay for your personal life affairs lol. Mind you, you can get something like that but it certainly isn't customary coverage. Plus, if you already have the time off and airline tickets, you can go anyway and make the best of it. It isn't all or nothing, insurance can mitigate risk, not remove it entirely (unless you get a hefty rider).

That's precisely what travel insurance is for; folks are essentially holding Carnival liable for their travel insurance coverage (basically an entitlement) because they don't want to spring for travel insurance. Should the airlines cover your cruise fare if a flight gets canceled? What about your car rental? Hotel? Missed concert? Missed hair/meal/message ect appointment that required a deposit? I assure you they won't, most will only cover their contract and not a string of them that someone puts together for a travel plan. The publicity should be to buy travel insurance, if Carnival picks these up then folks will come to expect it, then demand it and finally, come to rely on it. Travel insurance removes the risk, no begging and hopium required. Between paid policies and credit card benefits, folks should do their homework before booking nonrefundable anything and then hoping for the best. Being cheap is a risk and a choice, paying more for piece of mind is personal responsibility. Choose wisely.

Indeed, plus those third, fourth and fifth passengers are paying gratuities, taxes, port fees and potential excursions and onboard spend. It also decreases cabin servicing loads on crew since they have less cabins to clean vs all cabins booked single/double+ capacity.

That makes sense, need life boats for all souls onboard. It's also a nice buffer in case you have any issues with cabins and need to move folks because of malfunctioning cabins, quarantine passengers or passenger groups who are fighting/carrying on etc. Options are always a good thing to have.

The scotch selection is weak-sauce on Carnival, it's an area they could really improve in, even if they just offered it in their overpriced fun shop bottle pre-purchase options. You'll simply have to make do. They probably limit selections to control costs but it would certainly be nice to have an option to buy, any option, even if just marked up bottle sales. A scotch and cigar bar would be an excellent addition, even if they excluded it from cheers or added a small up-charge for cheers inclusion, either way, it would be nice to have on the ships. They could register and get listed as an authorized Cuban cigar seller as well and probably make a killing with the captive cruise audience, they may just have to limit sales to international waters but it seems like a huge revenue stream opportunity.

Indeed, I've seen some incredible deals recently, even for more premium lines (like crazy good!). The only problem is you have to be willing to sail in short order. Funny thing is we usually do that, just up and decide we want a vacation and then book something, in fact, most of our vacations have been essentially pack and go (even land based) so this could work for us in the future for sure. We did our first cruise this way actually and it was how we discovered cruising. I hadn't known anyone that went on a cruise before that, knew nothing about cruising and just hadn't considered it an option. Then when looking for a last min vacay, bam, good deal pops up on a arbitrage site and we said what the heck? Been hooked ever since.

This may be more about the departure port than the fact that it was a holiday cruise. Some departure ports seem to have more issues than others. Choosing a slow time could be better or worse, maybe less people but lower fares may bring out more knuckleheads. Catch-22.

One trick I learned is to check expedia cruises to see if it's really sold out, oftentimes there will still be cabins available that show up there but not on the cruise lines main booking engine. There usually aren't many cabin options but there are, oftentimes, multiple categories and some good deals. Now if you are trying to parlay that into some kind of upgrade with the cruise line then it probably won't work but if you are trying to find a cabin for a last min addition to your cruise companions it may allow them to join you on the cruise even when it isn't listed on the main cruise line website. Another option, as Blerk suggested, is to call the cruise line directly but even then, those listed cabins may be blocked off and only available through a third party arbitrage travel site. I will say that folks are booking, much more than usual, lots of ships are filling up. I've been quite surprised to see so many ships with limited availability into the shoulder season when there is usually plenty. Our Jan cruise is nearly sold out and that hasn't been the case in the past, even pre covid. Prices arn't as cheap as they've been in the past either and that hasn't seemed to slow demand. Folks looking to cruise.