cmichael1221

You beat me to the point about the OBC. With so much of it floating around these days, I'd bet a lot of it goes to merchandise, for people who don't drink/gamble/etc.

I saw his post - that's what I was getting at... It needs enforced with no exceptions, for my reasons listed above! 🙂 I definitely do not think it has anything to do with Carnival losing any money in the casino, like people continue to insist!!

This is exactly why I don't understand why people are mad about the group "only playing for $1" or whatever the amount was... How does Carnival say that is okay, but then tell another group that wants to play for $10 or $100 that their amount is not okay? Or tell someone who wants to play poker/blackjack/Pai Gao/craps/etc. that their dice/card game for money isn't okay, but the group next to them playing Left Right Center for money can continue doing what they're doing... This is one of those that needs to be all or nothing and should be enforced as such.

I just add my offers every couple of days, so a long list to add never builds up - and the off chance I miss one and then miss free $$ or points!

Go to any bar in any major city and Carnival's prices look really good!

I think they're always available now and they're E-gift cards now, they're not mailed any longer. You can also find deal to join AARP. Chase often has cashback offers on their cards and check the shopping portals, they usually have offers... I just made $2 on renewing my membership! 🙂

After 3 sailings on Mardi Gras and 3 sailings on Celebrations, we're having a hard time going back to the smaller ships, with all the new options for food and drinks on the Excel class ships... We always do a basic balcony cabin, but spend minimal time in there - outside of sleeping, so the Havana options wouldn't have an impact. I didn't notice much of a difference in terms of crowds between Mardi Gras/Celebration and Horizon/Vista.

I feel like there are some people on these ships who have never used any elevators in their lives, let alone "smart elevators"! 🙂

If you have Chase cards, check your offers - you'll often find one for AARP. I got $8 back from Chase and then another $6 back from Rakuten, so ended making $2 on the membership, before I even bought any gift cards! 🙂

Check AMEX/Chase offers & shopping portals - might be able to stack to save a few extra $$ or get some points/miles as well. Usually gift cards are excluded in the shopping portals, but sometimes they'll work. But they'll almost certainly work if you have an AMEX or Chase offer...

No - sorry - I meant the rotational dining on Disney - a whole different experience, so it's easier to deal with for us.

Awesome - thank you!! Exactly what I was looking for!

Agreed - we really liked the new menu items in the MDR on Celebration in December, especially he Emeril-inspired dishes. We had been avoiding the MDR, gave it a try once so see how things were and decided to keep going back!

As mentioned below - on Celebration several other restaurants are included with YTD - so make sure to look into those if you're interested in venturing outside the dining room.

Good point! I couldn't imagine going back to a set dining time on Carnival! We have on Disney, but it's a whole different experience, so you can't really compare.