StephPS79

28 minutes ago, Megan_Strick said:

So my next question is this. If he buys a bucket I'm assuming it counts 6 towards his 15? Will they be open or does he have to open? It will be cheaper to buy the bucket and bring back to the room whatever he doesn't drink but that wont work if they open them for you.

I'd pre-order some for the room.  

I don't think they plan much for shared tables during YTD.  It would involve several people who want to be seated with others requesting a table at the same time.  Sure, it's possible, but it's probably less likely to happen than not.

As someone else stated, we prefer YTD because we would prefer to not be seated with others, I'd imagine this is the case quite a bit. 

While yes, I agree that not having a cabin assigned before sailing is unacceptable, I don't think there is any chance the ship would have sailed if there was even the slightest possibility that there wouldn't be enough cabins.

I'm sure this has happened a time or two, but I doubt it is a common occurrence for the ship to sail before all rooms are assigned.  

On 1/20/2024 at 8:29 PM, ferfoodle said:

I don't know if I would feel comfortable filling out how much I plan on spending. If I give a low amount, will my casino offers come to an end? If I give a high amount, will they sign me up for gamblers anonymous?

 

Seriously though, I always take the same amount budgeting a limit for each day of the cruise. Sometimes my winnings on the first or second day cover the rest of the cruise where I don't have to spend my own money anymore. How does one "truthfully" answer that question?

There's no requirement to complete.  If you don't feel comfortable providing the information, skip the survey.  To answer truthfully, it would be the amount that you typically budget per day.

We actually love Bimini, but it's going to be specific to what you enjoy.  We did do an excursion and did a snorkel at the SS Sapona, which was a lot of fun, but short.  Afterwards, we had a lot of time left, so we rented a golf cart and just drove around the island.  There isn't going to be really a lot to do, other than I think the majority of people go the Resort World or whatever it is.  But we actually had one of the best days just driving around in the golf cart.  There are some beautiful beaches.  We stopped at a few of the local "bars" for cheap beers and great views.  

As mention by @jsglow, very "local" vibe, and very chill, but if that isn't your thing, you might not like it.  The Hilton is probably the most exciting thing.

I've no-showed a guest booked under my offer code with no issue, but never no-showed the guest who received the offer code.  Personally, I think it would be risky, but I'm sure people have done it.  There's no guarantee though.

1 hour ago, Pyxie said:

 

It's kind of luck, but the easier Carnival thinks they can sell your current cabin, the more likely you are to get an offer to move to something else.

Definitely the part where Carnival thinks they can sell your cabin.  It's whatever is going to maximize the profit.

12 minutes ago, TravelE said:

How obvious are the drug dealers? I did not see this when we were there in December 2021.

Very, lol.  Good ol' Coki Beach.  I think mostly stay by the restaurant area though.

16 hours ago, dacsmom said:

I was booked in 5208 on the Horizon and it was fantastic. Loved the square layout and I walked out of my cabin and and the outdoor area was right there. I never heard a peep from the havana bands playing. I would book it again in a minute.

We have this room booked for November this year - I'm extra excited for this cruise!

As unfortunate as this is, and it certainly is unfortunate, I, like the others, don't see a way around this.  I'd agree, possibly reach out to John Heald, but the company can't be held responsible for the agent scamming people.  I don't imagine they will say this will be resolved without the charge-back amount being accounted for.

Not sure what the expectation is for Carnival to give notice of a price increase on every single item, but I do recall hearing about this increase quite some time ago.  As @dbrucern mentioned above, I'm pretty sure John Heald did "announce" this a while ago.

27 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

Are in room bottles still gone for 5 day cruises?

Yes, not offered on cruises under 7.

I called last week to add a booking for Celebration 2/25/2024, booked a guarantee interior.  I checked the next day and had a room assigned.  Got assigned a Cloud 9 Spa interior, so not upset about that.

No email, I was just went to look at a few things in cruise manager and saw it assigned.  Granted, the sailing was in under 45 days, but it only took one day to get a room number in this case.

37 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

In case you forget to bring cologne, just pop down to the shops for a squirt... I might pick up a bottle of something nice this week.

 

 

I will fully admit to having done this before!  😆. In my defense though, I do like to test run a fragrance before purchasing.

30 minutes ago, 1BDNANA said:

So yes, I just looked at my cruise contract and ALL passengers are limited to 15 alcoholic drinks per day. I know that they have had many issues with passengers being rowdy and drinking too much but it almost feels like when I was a child, and one sibling broke a vase and all of us were punished for it. 

Sometimes I can have 15 drinks THROUGHOUT THE DAY and not even have a buzz (I mean, come on, some of those drinks are more frozen juice than anything) ane while a lot of people already gripe about the 15/day being too much, I do wish the limit might be a bit higher, but I see the purpose of the limit.  I honestly don't think it has much to do with the "rowdy" bunch, as let's be real, if you drink 10 drinks fast enough, you can get pretty tipsy.  And there are certainly ways around the 15 limit (that are legit).  But I think the limit helps prevent wastefulness.  On other lines where there is no limit, people are more likely to order something to "try" and take a sip and hate it and there it goes in the trash.  Those drink packages also tend to come with a higher price tag.  I feel like there is less wastefulness if you know those drinks are being counted!  The price is already high, so if it helps keep it down a little, I'm okay with it.

2 hours ago, May1cruiser said:

DOU everywhere for both named and other cruisers comes at a high cost in casino. IMHO, it costs more in gambling than simply buying cheers. 

Not really if you consider you can book multiple cruises under the the same offer.  We just booked our cruises through 2025 with DOU Everywhere, that saved us future thousands right there, and we're good for the next 2 years.

19 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Steakhouse reservation at 6:00, and I'm just here trying to make it till 4:00...

Ha, yeah, after a few times of booking the steakhouse on the first evening, I learned the lesson of The Funship Effect, and decided it was best to just plan that for another night lol.   

I believe you can “buy someone a drink” though and it won’t count towards your 15.  And shareables do not. 

All passengers regardless of drink package.

My offers were improved, already went and booked all we could squeeze in for 2025, and made a few swaps for things already booked!

My partner’s offers remained almost identically to what she already had, but hers had been better than mine already.  So I don’t think there was a general reduction in offers.

4 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Now I think I know why the hotels were so expensive in Miami this weekend. The largest fitness convention in the world is in town, and happening right there at Bayside Marketplace... Restaurants are probably going to be packed downtown as well. 

 

 

We are on Celebration 2/25/2024 - Miami hotels are sky high that weekend!  I realized yesterday the SOBE Wine & Food fest is 2/23-2/26, so that explains that!  

Saturday the 24th is the Celebrity Chef Pickleball Tournament for a thousand bucks a pop, maybe we'll try to scope from afar...🤣

3 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

Things are already beginning to spiral out of control here at work, but that's nothing new. Always happens on the day before my vacation. Just gotta keep my eye on the ball... "Be the ball Danny"

ALWAYS!

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten

I'm not sure what point to take from this comment, but as it relates to this post, my experience on Carnival has been better than my experience on Royal Caribbean, regardless of the ship itself.  Royal Caribbean's price tag is exceedingly higher than Carnival's.  Do I think Oasis of the Seas is superior to any ship in Carnival's fleet?  Absolutely!  Do I think that justifies a poorer experience with a higher price tag?  Not a chance.

I haven't been on Venezia, but I've sailed a few different Oasis class ships, including Oasis, along with some various size Carnival ships.  What I always find myself saying, Oasis class ships are beautiful ships, they win on this ship itself, hands down.  But whatever reason, I have more fun on Carnival.

A pretty ship is nice, but that doesn't complete the cruise experience.  

Yes, it is still under In Room Food and Beverages, but only available on cruises 7 nights or longer, so if your cruise is 6 nights or less, it won't be available.  Also limited to 1 bottle per stateroom.