CajunOyster

If that's the case, have you considered connecting with someone on an upcoming roll call on your ship, then asking them to call (or maybe even visit) the guests in the cabin you were in? It would require someone not afraid to reach out to a stranger, but I bet you could find someone willing to do it. I would certainly not have a problem calling a cabin and saying "Hi, my name is Bob and I'm calling from cabin 4321, my friend Spleen stayed in your cabin a couple weeks ago and left something behind. Would you mind looking for it?"

I was being facetious. The OP somehow thinks they're more entitled to an extremely scarce table than the 3000 other people on the ship and prefaces that entitlement with "no whining!"

Literally three posts above yours mentions Starry Zero....

I think that's whining. The rules said no whining.

Or her!

I would THINK that cash is still king in that environment. I could be wrong. Anecdotally, it seems like I get more "thanks" for cash than when I scribble a tip on the charge slip because I ran out of aces.

I haven't been on the Panorama, but the deck plans show 2-tops next to windows. Not many, but a few. There were definitely some on the older Triumph class ships.

Also keep in mind that the 18% is calculated on the 54.95 or whatever rate you pay. At 54.95 it's a little less than $10/day. That means if you're drinking more than 10 drinks (easily done) it's less than $1/drink. Remember that when you're trying to decide if an additional tip is warranted.

You are mistaken. You can use tanks but they must be delivered directly to the ship, you can't hand carry them onboard. I went through this on my last cruise because they misinterpreted my medical form and thought I was bringing on tanks instead of a POC. If they think you're bringing on tanks they will freeze your checkin process and make you call the special access people.

Agreed. Starry Zero is really good.

Good liquor doesn't need to be diluted. Too bad Carnival doesn't have enough liquor of that sort.

Just curious, but if you get a POC, why do you need tanks too? I use medical oxygen and rent a Phillips Respironics SimplyGo when I travel, including cruising. It is capable of constant flow up to 2L or pulse flow up to 6L. Never had an issue on a plane or ship.

Starry is available in regular and zero sugar. This zero sugar I have right here tastes an awful lot like sprite zero. Now whether they have it on board or not, who knows?

Mountain Dew is not the same as 7-Up, so you're right, no one WOULD say 7&Dew. But yeah, from years of running a bar, I assure you people do order Rum and Pepsi all the time, and probably half the time you order rum and coke (and it comes from a gun), you're getting Pepsi anyway. Oh, and if you can taste the difference between coke and Pepsi in your crown, you've got way too much cola.

When you buy it.

By the way, the Spirit looked like a dinghy tied up next to Mardi Gras.

They're also in high demand. The OP isn't the only person that "just would like a nice table. " Edit: I think they MAY also keep a few 2-tops set aside for special needs too. Case in point - my wife sailed on Victory a few years back with a broken leg. She couldn't bend at the knee and her leg "stuck out" into the aisle. They moved us to a 2-top in a corner where her leg wouldn't get bumped or stepped on by other diners or wait staff.

No, because I don't do that. Perhaps they were having a bad day.

That very same week (12/3) we were on Spirit on a similar itinerary to MG. In fact, we berthed next to her in San Jose. We had the same problem with very rough seas pretty much all week. It's not the ship. It did settle down a little at the end of the week.

Well technically you can play golf anywhere. It helps to have enough land for a course though.

Doesn't work that way. You can have the stability of an assigned table, or the flexibility to dine at any time. Pick exactly one.

True. I just like walking around on a mostly abandoned ship 🙂

Yes, we did this in December. Now the horror story... Not sure what airline you're coming in on, but we came in on Southwest. The shuttle meeting point is VERY far from the SW baggage claim, so be prepared if that's your situation. So we get to the meeting point and there is one person there checking folks in for both ships. There is supposed to be a separate shuttle for each ship. Two different color tickets are being given out - one for Spirit and one for Sunrise. Of the six people in our group, we got three different color tickets. When we asked about this, the lady told us to basically sit down and shut up we didn't know what we were talking about. I explained I was worried about getting separated from our group, especially since four of the six are inexperienced travelers and first-time cruisers. I suggested that maybe she gave out some wrong colored tickets. I was rudely sent back to sit down. A few minutes later, we were all called back up to her kiosk where she took all of our tickets and replaced with with six identical ones. As we were there early, we knew there would be about a 30 minute wait. But 30 minutes turned into 60, then almost 90 before they called BOTH buses at once. Only when we got outside did they tell us that one of the buses had broken down so BOTH ships were going on the same bus. Fine, not a problem. From there, we were off to the "other side of the airport" to collect more passengers from another terminal or part of the airport. The place we arrived looked a bit sketchy (like a back alley) and there was a small American Airlines desk there. The driver and the Carnival rep got off the bus and went to the American desk, closing us in the bus. And there we sat... for THIRTY MINUTES while literally nothing happened. We all figured there was a delayed flight arrival and we were paying for it, but after thirty minutes, both the driver and the Carnival lady got BACK on the bus (With no new passengers) and off we went. We arrived at the terminal late for our check-in appointment. Now granted, this was probably an anomaly - this was first time we have ever used that shuttle. But we will never, EVER do it again. I don't care what the alternatives are or how much they cost. Other than that, we had a great cruise!

Yeah, I usually just draw a line through the tip on the receipt and stick a bill of two or whatever in the folder

Was just on the Spirit on December. You wouldn't even know COVID was a thing. I have multiple autoimmune disorders and wear a mask pretty regularly, but I think my wife and I were pretty much the only ones on the ship that did.