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I guess i'm wondering what conclusions you're hoping people draw based on the commonalities you point out...

I cannot tell you how it felt to hold my breath until the page loaded from the forum homepage, just to feel the relief and joy to see you say this right off the bat! I had a great time on the Radiance in May and am really eager to get back onboard, even for the same itinerary. It sounds like you made the best of your cruise (even with some cancellations). Was Carnival helpful at all with rebooking you for a different excursion in Ensenada? FWIW, I don't remember ever really seeing the Italian place open when I was onboard- it was always really empty and when walking by on deck I think I saw people in there eating one night.

According to Carnival's FAQ, >a valid, unexpired government-issued photo I.D. for all guests 16 years of age or older >Also acceptable for cruise travel (for cruises that begin and end in a U.S port), U.S. citizens can show proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate issued by a government agency and accompanied by government-issued photo identification. I've never heard of a "lifetime" ID being issued by any state, even non-drivers ID's usually expire. I'd have your sister-in-law double check what they have before heading on your vacation.

I hate to say this, but in your two examples given you're flying from major citiy-> major city on what is considered an ULCC airline with less of a route network than the majors. If i were in Chicago and going to FLL (or anywhere, really), I'd definitely fly a mainline direct. The mainlines also have a more robust network and rescheduling options than Southwest. I agree with you that flying in the day before is overall a better option, but not everyone is in a position to do that.

Not surprised, but this looks really cool. I've always wondered why they don't do golf off of the ship with those bio-degradable fish food golf balls. I'm sure they don't want people thinking they can just throw anything overboard, but I love the creativity of the skeet style activities.

Excuse me, but I really need you to expand on this- I need details- and I also might need Carnival to bring this back.

Having been on Carnival and RCL in the past year- the overall feeling on Carnival's ships seems more relaxed/laid back and the party atmosphere is the priority. The cruise directors like to say that "the party doesn't stop, it just moves to another place." In reality, the two lines are more similar than they are different. The "fun" is always what you make of it.

The priority tendering is the point of FTTF for me when we cruise on the Panorama in December. I'm not waking up at 6am to get a ticket when I could just get priority, anyway. After my last cruise, I'll never show up at 11am again. When I arrived at 1/1:30pm, I walked straight through and onto the ship in 10 minutes. It was such a good experience that I'm making that my new normal.

I would 100% do the excursions and chef's table, as that's an experience in and of itself. It's a good opportunity to try an excursion you otherwise wouldn't, too!

Give it a few years and the Utopia and next Icon class launching for the pricing to change and become much, much more reasonable.

The crew do it at night after the pools close so they can clean the deck. Almost every night.

Right, but both of those packages covered drinks, it just depended on where you were on the ship. It's still drinks. The OP is complaining about not getting the same deal and is planning on borrowing from their friends package without paying for or having it included in their fare. In your case, you both had drinks already included (just in different ways).

It sounds like he's talking more about food quality for value, plus adding in paid options which are usually better quality overall. I also agree that Carnival's extra options such as Guys and Shaq's are some of the best food I've had on a cruise.

Is this not a different case, though? If you both had a package already, it's not like Carnival isn't already covering both of you. The situation being described in this thread is someone not paying for a service someone else payed for.

As others have said, and you said, they were offered a perk that you weren't, which happens all the time. If you are platinum, don't you already get drinks at brunch and an entire reception where drinks are flowing freely? Carnival is being inconsistent in some ways- and every single company you interact with does the exact same thing. I wish i could get $400 cheers for a week, too, but targeted marketing means we all get different deals at different times at the whims of their marketing algorithm.

That's a really good way to get caught and get your friends in trouble. Carnival doesn't look lightly on those who share their drink packages, especially Cheers.

Ok now i feel gooped. I never knew you could order a real order of ice cream with this cake! My server once brought me two of the little ones and I was amazed. Now I feel like I truly have the life hack.

Sure you can- it was his personal account. RCL didn't make him use a corporate account, and he clearly didn't sign anything saying he couldn't post non-official content. I'm not saying it's a good choice, but there was clearly nothing stopping him- versus if RCL had a chief meteorologist account that they could go in and edit/delete/control in addition to that person.

That's the point. Get folks super hyped up and interested in coming back because they feel like they missed something onboard.

This- it wasn't even on him that RCL didn't make an exclusive account that they could control and maintain history of, and I'm surprised an oversight like this happened.

I wouldn't be surprised, especially since Celebrity is owned by Royal Caribbean Group and that little island has made them a pretty penny, especially over the past couple of years. I wouldn't be surprised if they had a ship like Apex or Beyond stop there and even tender folks in (those ships have the really nice lifeboats that even seem luxurious).

I've done it- but it was in the pre-summer rush and a non-busy time. Port Everglades is like a 5 minute drive from FLL if that's where you're going out of. MIA is a bit further, but if you do land at 11 you should be fine.

I am one of those folks, especially since my first cruise in '09 was on the Triumph out of NYC and was such a great experience. I was also disappointed that this ship was getting re-deployed over winter as we were looking at taking a bahamas cruise in March, and NYC would have just been way more convenient. I hope that they work out some of these kinks/bugs as the crew become acclimated to the ship and the routine- especially food wise. Cruises aren't known for 5 star dining, but acceptable dining would be good enough.

I've seen 10% off shore excursion when you buy wifi sometimes, but otherwise prices usually stay the same.

That's why I was asking- since this thread is on the RCL board.