Georgiagolfer

notyours78, welcome to cruise critic. Thanks for the account of the events on the Triumph. Glad it all worked out and you had a great cruise, otherwise.

I wonder if Carnival is giving all the pax with smoke filled rooms the $250 they charge if they catch the pax smoking in the room? :p

Probably not, but this may have given the opportunity for someone to smoke in their room. LOL

I really enjoyed the cabin and location of the cabin on my last cruise. I was wondering has anyone ever booked the same cabin on a future cruise? Did it take away some of the excitement knowing what you would expect? Did you have the same cabin steward?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

DW and I stayed in the same room number on 4 consecutive cruises. Room 7278, with 1st 2 times on Glory, next on Liberty, and last on Triumph.

OP, thanks for your review. Please elaborate as to why you probably will not sail Sunshine again. :confused:

I haven't seen Mr Pete either for some time. I don't think he's too enthralled with Carnival mainly over the loyalty program and dining.

Firefly has always been a cruiser of multiple lines and very knowledgeable about budget cruising. I miss both of their comments.

 

Sent from my GT-P5210 using Tapatalk

Mr. Pete is not listed under the general membership any longer. Firefly is still there, but there are no posts under her name since September 2012.

DW and I have sailed Liberty 2 times and Dream once. We would pick Liberty over Dream if these were the only 2 ships available.

To me, a Cruise Director on a ship is a bit like a DJ on your favorite radio station. There are some you like, and some that you wish would just be quiet and play the music. I do have to admit that Jaime is a terrific CD, very likeable and very upbeat. Karl "with a K" was good too. So sorry he's gone. Making announcements is just part of a CD's job and never really bother us. Maybe part of the upcoming meeting will be to discuss NOT using the same corny jokes over and over again. Maybe George Lopez will be there to offer some fresh ideas.

Real announcements fine, but the continuous sales pitches about Bingo in 30 minutes, gold by the inch sales, photo ops, etc. these become annoying. We have the Fun Times and already have the schedules.

OP, thanks for your reviews and comparisons of these 2 ships. DW and I have never sailed NCL, but are seriously looking at booking the new Getaway for this year out of Miami.

Thanks for explanation. We have been using the same pvp for some years now and we get along great and she is very helpful.

DW and I also have used the same PVP for our bookings since 2008. However, all we use them for is booking. I do all the research and even know which cabin we want when we book. Based on this, the PVP only handles the original booking, so I could just call CCL direct to book. Convenience, I guess.

Post 309. Gallbladder.

Although we had to wait for the confirmation, I felt from the beginning this would be the diagnosis. I had the same symptoms and had mine removed 5 years ago.

And if we're really lucky, they'll appoint CD MATT to teach all the others

how to talk mellow into the microphone for those often annoying announcements

instead of being too-close to the mic.

where it comes across too loud and harshly like so many of the other CDs do.

.

No, if we're lucky, CCL will train all CD's to eliminate many of their PA announcements.

Does there seem to be any rhyme or reason to who they call for free upgrades? To me it seems odd to offer a balcony to a person booked interior unless they exhausted a whole list of OV passengers that passed on the opportunity. (And for free, why would they?). My point is, since OV typically pay more for their rooms, doesn't it make sense to offer a free balcony to them and then offer the vacant OV rooms to interior? I've considered that they look at how many cruises you've taken with carnival and are rewarding loyal customers with the calls. I really hope the latter is true as we've been cruising with them for over 10 years and are booked with #11 now and have never been offered a free upgrade. (I have been offered an upsell...)

You would think so, but not true. No rhyme or reason as to how they pick upsell offers that I'm aware of.

Ive never had an upsell OR an upgrade call :(

Me either.:(

Generally less movement midship and on the lower decks.

See you are one of the winners. I expect you to be happy. Just because you would pay for "better" entertainment doesn't mean everybody wants that.

 

I am currently on the fence about this change. I enjoy the free entertainment they currently have and will not book any of the current concert cruises because I am not really thrilled with any of the acts.

 

If I had a cruise already booked that got changed to a concert cruise, I would be upset. Luckily none of my currently booked cruises got changed.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

Of course it wasn't changed. You are booked for February and this doesn't take effect until April.

charliedog, sorry about all of your problems on the cruise. Seems to me you probably were looking for a reason to not cruise on CCL or possibly even not cruise any more period. As you are Platinum, I also don't understand you not contacting Guest Services about either problem, the injury or the shower problems. Good luck if you do decide to cruise again, on any cruise line.

You have been a member of cruise critic for almost 5 years, so also find it hard you didn't know to contact Guest Services about maintenance issues, or any issue for that matter. Sure are a lot of threads about complaints, issues encountered, and working with Guest Services. Just saying.

I do not like the idea of paying for main theater entertainment. Once this starts as always with Carnival, you will be paying for more and more things.

Good thing is you don't have to go to it. As always with Carnival ? What are you referring to ?

I was going to ask the same question. I have had 18 cruises with CCL and do not understand your "As always with Carnival" comment. CCL has become and will continue to be a cheap (costs), or should I say economical cruise line. Just as Wal-Mart says they are the price leader for Department stores, so is CCL for cruise lines. Nothing wrong with this strategy BTW, it is just how CCL has decided to move forward.

DW and I were wait listed for early dining on our cruise on Fascination last November. YTD also was a wait list. When we boarded the ship, our S & S cards showed late dining. Went to see Maitre D' and he could (would) not change our dining times. As Platinum, this is 1 area where benefits were reduced, dining times went from guaranteed to priority.:mad:

We just ate at the buffet each evening, as Fascination has no specialty restaurants. Only thing we missed were the baby back ribs, which DW loves, and the small lobster tail. No big deal. At least we didn't spend 2 hours in MDR.

Good luck on getting the time you want.

Honestly, I can't tell you who the CD was on any of our cruises. Now I can give you names of CD's we have had, but not which ship and/or cruise. I guess what I'm saying is, to us, the CD has not been a major factor in our cruise experience, except the ones who are constantly making annoying announcements on the PA system.

DW and I have found our cabin ready when we board since we achieved platinum. Of course we have only gone to our room on ships that offer FTTF, while some have stated they always go to their room as Platinum, FTTF or not.

6]Well' date=' I finally booked my first cruise!! [/color']Yay! Sadly, in the process I inadvertently started a ruckus between a couple of vacation planners at Carnival. :confused: I read somewhere that you could sign up for Carnival's reward program even before you sail so I signed up yesterday. That seemed to spur several phone calls from Carnival and I talked to 2 or 3 of them. (And I am terrible with names, I have no idea who they were) Not one of them said anything like "I'm you're assigned person and it is faux pas to book thru anyone else" So...this morning, I was ready to book it, and the phone rang, and it was Carnival, and I booked it. And I did a little happy dance!:D Then about five minutes later, another one called and I found out that I was the worst cruise booker in the history of cruise booking. This lady was peeved. :eek: Lesson learned. Your personal vacation planner really is yours personally. Don't take it personal.:rolleyes: So, anyway, I apologized, they forgave, I'm a goob...but I'm going on a cruise!:cool:

Congrats on your upcoming cruise, and welcome to cruise critic. You will find a ton of helpful info here. You didn't say which cruise and date you booked. I suggest you go to the roll call section here and join the roll call for your particular cruise. It's a good way to met some of your fellow passengers prior to the cruise, and it is always nice to actually met them on the ship.

If you forget your own corkscrew, just ask your cabin steward for one. You can get wine glasses from any bar to take back to your cabin. Or you ask your cabin steward to keep wine glasses in your cabin for you each day.

 

Here's hoping you have a great cruise. Bon Voyage!

cabin stewards don't always have these, as what happened on our Fascination cruise in November. We had to call room service to get a corkscrew.

Wasn't going to post on this thread, but after reading all the comments, I decided to put my $0.02 in here. DW and I are Platinum on both CCL and RCI. Only sailed RCI 4 times, but thanks to their generous policy of awarding double points for booking JS and above, we are Platinum. RCI has a much better Loyalty Program. Never went hungry on any cruise, nor have we ever gotten bored on any cruise.

Never understood the "Loyal" to 1 line comments by some. DW and I are loyal to cruising, but not to a cruise line. As others have stated their opinions, I concur that these were their opinions, which are not always facts.

In general, we have found the demographics to be similar on most cruises. On the shorter cruises, you will find more of a party attitude on both lines. CCL has a more relaxed atmosphere, and a relaxed suggested dress code for the MDR. As far as we are concerned, what difference does it make if our table mates are dressed in a tux vs. khakis? Unless something happens, I can't tell you what most are wearing anyway.

We cruise based on the following:

1. Date(s) we want to cruise

2. Embark port; do we want to drive or fly (which impacts total cost)

3. Cabin availability when we book. Note that I rarely book a cruise at least 90 days in advance. In fact, it is usually after final payment is due.

4. Cost

To us, we have enjoyed all of our cruises. My suggestion is go on your cruise, enjoy what you enjoy, and do not go around trying to compare the 2 lines, especially while on the cruise. Otherwise, you will not be able to "live in the present" and enjoy the ability to cruise.

I was looking at the Jennifer Hudson cruise on the Breeze,June 15. It does not give you the option of chosing whether yu want to go to the concert or not. Therefore, everyone who wants to cruise for that week has to pay for the concert as well, not to mention that their children/parents will also have to pay for the concert. Did I miss something, or does everyone that cruise on 6/14 Breeze have to pay for this concert? If you booked early, you are in luck, but if not.....

If you actually book the cruise, then you look under the excursions and this is where you find the option to purchase concert tickets. So no, everyone can not attend (seating capacity) and everyone does not have to pay to see.