quickrate

On 6/17/2019 at 10:28 PM, 2wheelin said:

There is an early/late line but we have arrived as much as an hour early and not even been directed to that line. Just the regular line.

This all depends on which port you are leaving from. I have no experience with New York but Miami sticks to the early late line.

Pat

20 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

I love Fantasy.  I have about 40 nights on her.  Feels like I'm "home" when I board!  When they moved her out of Charleston and put Ecstasy there, it just wasn't the same, although they're practically identical.

 

IMHO, the Fantasy-class ships always seem to have good service and good food.  Fantasy just always had a good "vibe" to her.

 

If you think you can't live without a dinner in the steakhouse or without a big TV by the pool, you'll be disappointed. 

I agree! I feel the service and crew on the smaller ships are so much better. 

Pat

On 6/14/2019 at 7:36 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Definitely a trend in the wrong direction in my book. When we cruised on Victory last month, the ship never felt crowded no matter where we were or what we were doing. On the other hand, when we were on Sunshine in February, every place on the ship always seemed crowded with the exception of the Havana Bar and the Thermal Suite.

 

My wife and I have 28 cruises on Carnival on 11 different ships. We both agree our three least favorite ships are Sunshine, Vista and Horizon.  It’s not like we think these ships are terrible, but these ships definitely feel a lot more crowded than other class of ships. We still prefer Dream, Spirit and Conquest class ships. 

I have to agree with you. Have not been on Sunshine, but not a fan of The Vista and Horizon. Even though I enjoyed my cruise on both those ships, way too many people! I prefer Dream class on down. Even enjoy the Fantasy class. I'm not saying I will never go on the Mardi Gras but it isn't on my bucket list!

Pat

How is this a disadvantage?!! The card will be there when the rooms are ready. People who have priority access to their room such as Diamond, Platinum, and FTTF, will have early access to their room.

Pat

On 6/13/2019 at 7:50 PM, grandmarnnurse said:

I’m sure I already commented on here, but with two more cruises coming up to this port, it really irked me, the experience we had. I also know that John Heald has addressed this after numerous letters to him, including mine. As John Heald stated, only the Blue Loungers with Green Umbrellas are free to cruise passengers. But it seems that there are a lot more of the “for fee” loungers and umbrellas from the locals. And they went and put them right in prime beach areas (closest to water) so that the free ones are scarce and in the back. I know someone will say there are plenty of free ones, but there were NONE available when we got off the ship. There was literally nowhere for us to sit. We found two loungers (one that was broken) back by Margaritaville, but not in a very shady area (no umbrella), so we just headed back to the ship after one cocktail at Margaritaville. We were really disappointed. Hoping for a better experience next time. But I’ve seen pics of this beach before they allowed the locals to take it over, and it was a much better experience for cruisers.

so, isn't this called free enterprise? the locals aren't scamming you, they are just trying to make a living. In the beach town I live in in south florida, there are businesses up and down the beach that rent chairs and umbrellas for a fee. same thing, in my eyes. we believe in democracy and free enterprise in our country, just not in other countries?!! I don't get it.

Pat

1 hour ago, purplephenom said:

This thread has me literally LOLing.  I didn't think the walk to Jack's Shack took 45 minutes, but now I want to tell people it does because the reactions are great.  

It's 45 minutes if you walk to town first! LOL  

Pat

Maryred, Her cruise is in 2 days so I don't think switching passengers this late would work. I acutually thought of that but then looked at her cruise date. 

Pat

I would say it depends on the port. some ports will let them board with you, some are much stricter and they will have to go thru genneral boarding. There are so many platinum and diamonds now that they are cracking down at the ports as priority boarding is getting very crowded. If they say no, you can always wait and board with them.

Pat

10 hours ago, loanshark said:

For cruises that far out, you are outside the final payment window at this point.  You could just cancel and re-book to get the lower price.

As long as they give me full refund for my deposit that is what we will do. 

Pat

22 minutes ago, Sean_B said:

 

I would imagine that with the time given, you'll be given the option for a full refund or stay with the itinerary they option for you. I can see Carnival only giving $50 OBC per person due to the time gap (meaning you have the option to cancel and/or rebook).

My problem with staying with the itinerary they will offer is a cruise to Cuba is way more expensive than a 5 day cruise to the Bahamas. I would expect the price I'm paying to be adjusted accordingly. 

for those that say Carnival has the right to change ports, you are right. But, I didn't pay the price I paid to go to Cuba to go to Nassau! My cruise is for next April, if they don't honor a;ready booked cruises, I will cancel. 

Pat

On 5/14/2019 at 4:33 PM, jean87510 said:

Omg. Thank God I canceled. Thank you for posting your review. I feel still that for the steerage class, it still doesn't look like MSC is ready in the US market yet. Yacht club appears ok. It may the reason why the yacht club was sold out on my cruise.

I must jump in here as I had close to the same experience on Divina in December. Not as bad, but very similar in issues. Gave husband wrong card at check in, he was suppose to have black, same run around. guest services was frustrating, spent hours of my cruise trying to get the things I had been promised when booking. I had brought print outs of everything from emails MSC had sent me. we were both suppose to get $50 OBC but they weren't there. Even though I produced an email sent to me by MSC verifying it, they kept denying it. It took a guy at guest services, that use to work for Carnival, 30 minutes on his computer to find a "valid" verification. He was very frustrated and would not give up until he got it added to our account. He said it happens all the time with MSC. I'm not saying I would never book them again but my first experience was pretty lame.

Pat

I would have to vote for the Victory. Her crew is #2 in the line and food #3. We cruised her last October and out of all our Carnival cruises, 34 and counting, she was one of my favorites. I liked that she isn't too big of a ship but still has everything you need. 

Pat

We always tip extra. I bring lots of dollar bills with us when we cruise for extra tipping at bars and for room service.

Pat

2 hours ago, ray98 said:

No matter how late you try to wait and get off, debarkation morning will just not be pleasurable.  Too chaotic.  

 

I would rather get off and find something land based to do to kill the time.

 

If you still want the last time frame then just pick up the highest number luggage tags from the display.

It's not chaotic if you go straight to Lido and chill out why the frenzy is happening.

Pat

2 hours ago, JCinATL said:

I'm traveling with a friend whose flight out on the last day isn't until 6 p.m.  And I don't want to end my vacation by getting up at the crack of dawn and rushing around.  Standing in a long line to wait to for my cruise to be over just seems depressing.  😞 I'm looking for tips on doing the opposite of what most people want to do - how can we get the latest possible debarkation time slot so that we can sleep as late as possible and not rush through breakfast? 

 

My forum searches for past posts have indicated that we need to be out of the cabin by 8:30 so cleaning can begin, and the buffet will close down by 9 or 9:30.  But I'd be happy to chill on the lido deck with a final cup of coffee until the last possible minute.  And it would be great if that would result in hitting customs after most people have already gone through and the line is short.  

 

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

(And also any tips on killing time in Orlando for an afternoon.  I'll have my car so we can drive somewhere and not have to drag our luggage around.)

We have done this many times. we leave cabin by 8:30, go to Lido and have breakfast and sit and talk until they start calling last #s for debark. they now have a system on most ships where they put out the luggage tags, not sure where as ours are always delivered to our cabin, so my advice is to grab highest # possible to be called. We have many times been the lasy people to walk off ship. 

Pat

18 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Why is it insane?  No one is forcing anyone to work on a Carnival ship. I talked to my cabin steward last week on my cruise and he said the increase in cabins he is now responsible for is not overwhelming. What he does have trouble with is getting priority/FTTF cabins ready on time, especially when boarding begins around 11 AM, which has been the case on all 3 cruises I have been on since February. The other thing he said, which I have heard directly from the Hotel Director at a Diamond special event, is Carnival is moving towards only servicing cabins once a day. That will obviously make their job easier. 

You are right, no one is forcing them to work on a Carnival ship. But, just imagine you worked for a Company for over 10 maybe15 years and all of a sudden they doubled your work load without providing much more compensation. You could go look for another job but that is easier said than done. Talk to the room stewards  who have been with Carnival for over 10 years. Then you will get the "rest of the story".

Pat

8 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

You're obviously going to believe whatever you want. The fact of the matter is, FTTF is capacity controlled and they are following their own policy in regards to it. If they weren't limiting its numbers, as you claim, FTTF wouldn't sell out as quickly as it always does. For our next cruise, it sold out in about a week or two, and we're still almost a year out. How did it sell out if they aren't controlling the number of FTTF packages allowed? As is always the case, they won't open more for several months, after they get a better count on P/D. And that's if they open up any more. Sometimes they don't. Some people are only able to buy FTTF after someone cancels who already had it. Again, yet another indication that it's capacity controlled.

 

If you'll notice, the OP didn't say the Carnival rep. told P/D that their cabins aren't guaranteed to be ready, but FTTF will be. No, if they're telling people this, they're telling EVERY priority passenger that's given that perk, to include FTTF. And it's not due to FTTF, it's due to the heavy workload of stewards and their teams. You can't blame FTTF when they are vastly outnumbered by P/D's.

 

I've never seen anyone on this forum so much as say they demanded a refund for their cabin not being ready, let alone encourage other FTTF passengers to do the same. If you actually have been at Guest Services while a FTTF passenger complained, so what? Do you think there aren't any Platinum or Diamond cruisers who complain about something? Read this thread alone. P/D's are complaining about FTTF passengers because their cabins aren't ready. P/D's complaining about the FREE gift they're given. Read this forum...P/D's complain all the time. Sometimes it's justified, sometimes it's frivolous. But for some reason, it's always the lowly little Blue, Red, & Golds who get crucified for complaining about something. 🙄 And then those of us who buy FTTF are called the entitled ones. Give me a break. Here's the big difference between FTTF and P/D perks: FTTF passengers pay for those perks. Everyone has complained about not getting what they paid for at one point or another in their life, regardless of what it is. That's called being a good consumer. If you don't get what you paid for, you should complain. If a FTTF passenger gets to their cabin and it isn't ready, and they do go to Guest Services to ask about it (or even complain), they have that right. But I find it hard to believe that a majority of them are demanding refunds for that alone. What's more likely is that they aren't aware it's much more common now that priority cabins aren't ready, so they go to GS. Once you become aware that it's common now, you either accept it or don't buy the package. But by all means, y'all can continue to demonize FTTF.

 

This thread has devolved into a soapbox for P/D's to talk trash about FTTF and falsely accuse them of hurting their cruising experience. Thankfully, I know not all P/D's feel this way about those who have yet to reach P/D level.

WOW! somehow you took what I said as I was against FTTF and that is not the case. I even said I had nothing against people who bought FTTF, I feel, my opinion, that Carnival isn't following their own guidelines. Nothing I said demonized FTTF, I could care less if you buy it. I also didn't talk trash about FTTF. You want to pay for it, more power to you. Namaste!!

Pat

10 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Just wait until you have been Platinum for awhile or on your way to Diamond and your attitude will change. It happens to everyone.  Not sure when it will happen, but one day something will happen that will change your view, like spending 20 minutes in line at GS behind a Blue card with FTTF who is not happy because they don’t use real glasses at bars located in pool areas. 

Or, standing in line at guest services behind someone with FTTF who is there to remove either their gratuity or demand a refund because their cabin wasn't ready when they boarded or it took too long to get on the tender. I have had it happen many times. 

Pat

7 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

It's Carnival's official policy. Straight from their FAQ's:

• The number of people who may purchase the FTTF package will be capacity controlled based upon the number of VIFP Diamond and Platinum members booked on the sailing.

If you've ever bought FTTF, you'd know this to be true. They open up a certain amount of FTTF to start. Some have said the number is 30, but I don't know where that number came from. Those sell out pretty quick, then that's it until they get a better idea of how many P/D's will be booking. On any given cruise, the number of FTTF is more often than not much less than the number of P/D's.

what Carnival's official policy is and what they are doing are 2 different things. IF they were actually limiting the # of FTTF to be bought on cruises, they wouldn't be telling Diamond/Platinum that their cabins won't be ready on time when there is a room full of FTTF waiting to board. which means they are no longer following their own guidelines.  And, I have never in 34 cruises complained about my room not being ready on time or my luggage not arriving early but I have stood next to many FTTF in priority line at guest services who are there to lodge those complaints. I have read threads on here of those who have bought FTTF encouraging others to demand a refund from guest services if they aren't receiving the priority perks expected. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against people who buy FTTF. The perks are offered at a price so why not buy it? I'm against Carnival not following their own guidelines which seems to be the path they are taking in many instances.

Pat

1 hour ago, RumpunchGirl said:

We are sailing on Victory on a 3 day as well. Maybe to same one, Oct.11th? Anyway we sailed on Victory 19 years ago and are excited to get back onboard! Love all the positive feedback!

Yep, we are doing October 7th and 11th. we will be in MN. August and september as we have a booth at the Renaissane Festival and my husband is a magician there.

Pat

2 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Even for cruises where FTTF is sold, the number of FTTF they do sell is determined by the number of D/P's on that cruise. More D/P's = less FTTF.

Unfortunately, I don't believe this is the case anymore. If it was, the room stewards would be able to have priority ready as there would be no FTTF on those sailings. For priority to be told " your rooms won't be ready when you board as there are too many of you" and there are still FTTF waiting to board as well shows Carnival is not holding back on selling FTTF.

Pat

7 hours ago, beacha said:

Yes, it was very nice. We had a spa cabin, so we used the steam room and sauna every evening. It was never crowded.

did the spa area as one of the whirlpools like on the Splendor?

On 5/6/2019 at 9:52 AM, txjenny77 said:

Thank you!  My husband is rarely in the casino so DOU would be of little value to him.  We tend to have 2 drinks each at Alchemy each day and maybe a drink or two throughout the day.  I'll have to look at the numbers.  Just didn't know if it was possible.

My husband also is rarely in the casino but he does come in and check on me and they always offer him a drink even though he isn't playing a machine. If you have drinks on us, I would never buy cheers. Don't forget you also get to take a bottle of wine each onto the ship. 

We love the Victory! We are Carnival Diamond cruisers which means we've been on a lot of their ships. We cruised the Victory last October and had a wonderful time. Staff is top notch as was the food in main dining room. We loved it so much we have booked a 3 day and 4 day B2B in October. We always stay on Lido, the best place to be. 

Pat