falkcor

klfhngr - i've read this before, but found it linked again from a similar thread about 'anyone ever get left behind' on the carnival forum - and this condensed version was linked. i read it again, because it's still great info to keep in the back of your mind 'just in case'...

why didn't alfred leave you at, say, the british colonial hilton? now i see two different addresses when i google 'mr photo nassau bahamas'... so that's where i guess the plot thickens...

their current location (or maybe there's more than one location for all i know), as based on their website, shows them at market street (at bay street), all of a few hundred meters from the BCH (and cruise port, AND us embassy):

https://www.bahamaslocal.com/showlisting/2844/Mr_Photo.html#largemap

the embassy is all of 300m, a few minutes WALKING, from either, just south.

if i just type in 'mr photo nassau bahamas' to google maps, it shows it on Shirley St, about 2.6km from the BCH (7 minutes via taxi):

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/British+Colonial+Hilton+Nassau,+One,+Bay+St,+Nassau,+Bahamas/BahamasLocal.com,+Shirley+St,+Nassau,+The+Bahamas/@25.0759111,-77.3435988,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7d1b19f200c3:0x453562fa0f5eb52a!2m2!1d-77.345713!2d25.0784252!1m5!1m1!1s0x892f7db18d205bed:0xe556d7f7ee5bbea5!2m2!1d-77.326891!2d25.073971

i really ask this mostly because you specifically said you were expecting a hilton or hyatt (and then mentioned again when you moved near the airport), rather than the 'seedy' hotel you were left at, and quite frankly the BCH is directly next to the port. i've always thought it was odd the port agent (for any cruise line) would direct someone to those sort of accommodations when there's a very nice hilton right around the corner, close to the embassy. there obviously would have been better internet connectivity, either via business center type computers or wifi there vs. where you were left. i guess i also figured there'd be somewhere to get a passport photo taken that close to the embassy (and i believe other countries' embassies are also in the same general area, around the nassau government complex).

i'm not for a moment questioning your story. i did read this whole thread to see if it's been answered, and it hasn't even been asked. it's just something i've always wondered. if it was answered on the other (un-redacted) thread anyone else please feel free to relay info.

glad to see you're back to cruising, and i wouldn't bother asking but i see you've been here semi-recently (and have more cruises planned, way to go)... but i've always wondered. anyhow, thanks regardless for your story, it definitely has influenced the way i think of such situations. cruise on!

victory does not have guys burgers YET, so the grill may still have the chicken tenders available. i haven't been on victory so cannot comment, but chicken tenders were often available at the 'off the grill' station before being changed to guys burgers. ymmv. the website definitely still lists 'grilled chicken' but not the tenders:

https://www.carnival.com/cruise-food/off-the-grill

chicken tenders are now available from the a la carte room service menu for 5.00:

https://www.carnival.com/~/media/Images/explore/dining/menus/room-service-menu.pdf

i would choose triumph over fantasy any day.

triumph is a larger, more modern ship. she has more, larger, facilities than the fantasy class, and she's smaller than the conquest forward derivations of the destiny platform - so pretty much the same stuff of the bigger ships with less passengers.

i can also speak from experience on triumph - i'd go again without hesitation. also, triumph has the more modern feature of many balconies, for greater availability and lesser cost vs. fantasy class ships.

i just don't dig the fantasy class ships (granted, i've never been on one), and given the choice, i'd pick the larger more modern ship any day.

i've seen the issue raised before and as posted, i believe the answer has always been 'no plans at this time'.

i think it's only fair if you're paying for imaginary pax #2... (i would not agree if they waive the supplement as they have in the past but i haven't seen that for a while)

i've seen email addresses for carnival management posted here and there, but i have no idea where. i bet you could find them if you're really bent on pursuing this

yes

it depends on a few things.

first - is the ship sold out? if by 2 weeks from now you mean the nov 11th cruise, they have interior, balcony and suites (no ov) available. in fact, all the sunshine sailings i see in november have availability at this time.

ETA: if this is indeed the nov 11 sailing, i just checked and no there are no interiors that *i see* on the website for 3, they are sold out. balconies are still available but are of course more expensive.

second - can a third passenger be accommodated in the room they have booked? i can't tell you this without knowing the room number. many cabins can accommodate a 3rd passenger with pull down bunks, couches (but interiors do not have these), and sunshine is one of the older ships that should still accommodate a trundle / rollaway bed. if the room they have booked cannot have 3, then you need to see if there is a room that DOES. further, it also depends on what the lifeboat capacity is in those sections. even if there are rooms that can accommodate 3 or more, if the lifeboats are to maximum capacity, then they cannot book more into those sections and those berths have to sail empty. lots of variables here, carnival will have to advise.

so there's the answer to the question of whether it will be possible or not.

as for not being able to talk to carnival until monday i'm inclined to call BS on that one. if your cousin was booked with carnival direct, she could call them RIGHT NOW or any day 24/7 at the 800 number and ask these kind of questions / make changes. granted maybe the TA is waiting for her own inside sales rep, but i would be very surprised if a TA couldn't contact carnival just like i can when i'm in control of my own booking (booked direct - via PVP or the 800 number - even if a PVP isn't available you can still talk to the CVS at the 800 number about stuff like this). this is why i book direct.

good luck :)

search 'cheers' on this forum and you will find tons of threads and posts to help you make this decision.

as far as beer is concerned, each fosters is about 2 beer, so hubby could have more than a 30 pack a day available to him. or 15 16oz of several domestic brands, or 15 12 oz imports.

as far as your concern - if you try something you dont like, you could toss it and get another.

non-alcoholic drinks - coffee, water, virgin drinks, even milkshakes are all included now.

there are 'break-even' charts, etc. in threads here.

it's a personal decision and you're the only one that can make it. it works for me. it might not for you.

I'm not positive but I think they would cut you off if they think you've had too many though.

that is true, but subjective. purchasing a la carte does not have the same steadfast 15-drinks-and-you're done-limit as cheers does.

and that kinda makes you wonder why there is a steadfast limit with cheers, and not if you order a la carte - it's all about the profit margin built in to the system.

granted, ^above was not all for me, but it was a la carte...

but the cheers limit it not to 'encourage responsible drinking' or anything like that, it is to ensure they make enough money off the purchase. there is no such limit if you don't have the package.

i clicked on this because i was really wondering what the premise may be. i see you're trying to prep for some under your wing... i don't think there's anything in particular to be 'warned' about though... here's my thoughts...

cruising is addictive.

balconies are addictive, too... that whole 'once you go balcony you don't go back...'

the 'welcome drinks' are not free.

turn your cell phone off. charges can be exorbitant.

this is a new one - if your room steward asks you to pick once a day service, tell him/her no, you can have twice a day service

no bottles of anything except wine

don't try to take a power strip or splitter with surge protection

no 'decorations' that aren't flame retardant

you have to ask for ice most times...

glory isn't carnival's best (or worst) ship so don't take it as a full representation of the line based on one experience.

that's what i've got right now.

that was definitely a good deal. i can tell from your posts that you'll love a balcony. don't let the nay-sayers get you down lol. be excited, it's awesome. tell your husband to shut up, he'll like it too lol. have a great cruise ;)

no, they don't limit you to the time constraints of 5 minute intervals.

yes, you can order as much as you want.

no, there is not a limit - i bought 12 once :D

so long as you don't have cheers, you just do what you want. they will not challenge you.

When are decorations usually taken down? We're on the New Year's Eve Vista cruise and it would be super to get to see the Christmas decorations too!

they will probably still be up. i think they start taking them down the first full cruise after new years (probably with the same variability as when they put them up).

they were still up on my january 4 cruise though they may have started taking them down for all i know.

you can order distilled water from room service for 3.00 per gallon.

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3372/kw/distilled%20water%20-pap%20machine%20available/session/L3RpbWUvMTQ3NzM2Mzk3NC9zaWQvSDRBMmFZMW4%3D

Carnival Cruise Line carries distilled water which is available by contacting Room Service once onboard. The cost is $3.00 USD per gallon.

schedules are not released that far out currently.

sunshine will be in new york city again next year (as she was this year), so if they don't 'rock the boat' and stay with status quo that would be the likely ship.

pride is and has been in baltimore for a few years now, and baltimore's ship options are limited due to the bridges - they can only accept fantasy or spirit class ships in that port - and since they do not typically put fantasy class ships on 7 day runs, and pride's relative speed, covered pool and balconies are needed for sailing from baltimore, which fetches premium prices, it's pretty likely that pride will remain in baltimore.

Whats next ? Limiting the food at the buffets ? Making the comedy club a 2 drink minimum ? Taking turns washing dishes ? Making us was our own towels and sheets ?

exactly. agreed. i said the washing towels and added cleaning toilets a few 10's of posts back. i think we agree.

i am tired of 'apologists' trying to say 'oh please think of the poor steward when you 'demand' twice a day service' - come on... it is not our job to worry about the employment agreement between employee and big corporation - it is our job to say when they've gone too far.

if people keep accepting, and even worse, apologizing for the cruise line making further cuts, then the cruise line will keep taking, and will be in a downward spiral to the bottom.

I agree to that point. One of our upcoming cruises we are doing 5 in a cabin. I surely am not setting up and putting away the 3 extra beds every day. If im paying 5 sets of gratuities to clean the same size cabin i better get something for it. And mind you we are the type that straightens up our cabin before the steward is allowed to clean it. So to me 2x a day should be the norm not the exception.

exactly. this situation, 5 in a cabin, is a big part of why there is twice a day service. it's by design for the product they sell (5 people to a room, and small rooms to begin with). i don't like the slippery slope they're forcing. this said, while they increase gratuities, and are proposing as a 'trial' half the service, while apparently they increase the workload of the stewards. it's their problem, and i think the customer should be entitled to the service standards offered, and they can figure out their own staffing and payroll issues.

that's why i say so long as an option is offered, choose BOTH, regardless of whether you want it or not. otherwise soon enough we'll have a stupid comment about how they're going to reduce service further (and you'll still pay more). i still love carnival but you gotta tell them when they're being stupid and have crossed a line.

PLEASE also be aware that just because you are celebrating something and have noted it, does not mean you're going to get anything... It is all random ... doesn't matter the color of your card etc.... ALL RANDOM NOT GUARANTEED ...

 

If you really want something or want someone else to get something, seriously order it yourself ....

whereas i agree with you that it certainly should not be counted on, they are indeed doing it... i agree and offered a preface ymmv i doubt everyone will get the same thing per se - and so far as we know they could stop doing it tomorrow.

and as nice as it may be for anybody celebrating an 'anything' as it seems, i don't understand the business practice.

anybody can walk on, with say the lowest cat room, spend nothing, (this is a hypothetical) say they're celebrating something, and get a for instance $50 spa + $25 wine + $20 photo = 95 benefit...

but if i book a balcony, pay double for single, and then spend $500 onboard.

maybe they should start sending gifts to people who book higher category rooms, buy cheers, buy stuff at the shops, play bingo, etc. basically, the passengers that spend money onboard, which is what makes their profit margin.

fwiw, i think it's a nice gesture, but at the same point one that doesn't make business sense - to give free stuff for the sense of giving it, although it will grant goodwill. however, this is at a point when they are forcing 'once a day room service', 'ask for robes', 'pay to not wait (fttf), etc. t just doesn't make much sense. congratulations to everybody that has been celebrating something and i'm glad you enjoyed it!

ccl ust needs to get their game in line.

Bottom line is that Carnival wants to reduce the number of Stewards (payroll cutback) they want to employ. They are giving the Stewards a larger number of rooms to care for which leaves them less time for each room. Hence once a day service.

 

Me, not a messy person but I still would like to have service twice a day.

that's why i think so long as they give a card that requests preference - request BOTH. they're number crunching and before we know it the story will be 'due to overwhelming response from guests preferring once a day service this is the new policy'...

it was met with resistance when it came out, so they put the 'both'. PICK BOTH. everyone should at least have the OPTION for BOTH. whether 'one' (the general one - people happy with once a day) wants it or not, everybody should have the option. otherwise they'll just take it away. i think most want both and many are being 'bullied' or 'pigeonholed' into selecting once.

Have you ever visited the Cunard bored? You'll understand why Lou hangs out here. ;)

haha no, not really, no. and i see what you did with that, the cunard 'bored'...

i think i went once after watching a documentary on the building of the QM2 to see if there was anything relevant, there wasn't.

it strikes me as someone staying at the intercontinental purposely driving a few blocks away into a perhaps less desirable area, to find someone staying at a holiday inn (they're owned by the same group, same as cunard and carnival so that's relevant) to tell them 'oh hey, i'm staying at a better hotel than you are - let me tell you why'. who the hell does that. i really wish he would stop.

it's almost always off topic and often diminutive.

speaking of off topic... i know, op, but i was refuting feedback from a non-qualified poster. the ships pushing it are listed in this thread from EXPERIENCE. as is feedback regarding the same from people who sail this cruise line (many of which actually like it!)

Who gets these-Platinum and higher?

yes

Lou's got a lot to say factoring in he's never been on Carnival and never will go.

 

Now ask him if he'd feel stiffed if his beloved Cunard snubbed him...It's easy to tell people they shouldn't expect certain things when it has zero impact on your life.

 

Also, this post is about what ships are forcing the issue, not whether a paying guest at a hospitality company is right to want a certain level of servicing.

i don't understand why lou seems to comment on threads HERE several times daily.

being told 'you get what you pay for', that 'there are other lines that offer what you want' or relating current happenings to what happened on the titanic or similar era ships (often with pictures) is getting old. any time i've questioned the relevance / being off topic he's never responded. go figure :rolleyes:

that actually seems like a decent, useful gift.

surely someone will come say they don't have a computer and have a flip phone, but i think this is a decent gift with a little thought about it for the majority of recipients. i guess the guy who thought of the croc visor was fired lol :rolleyes:

You aren't paying anyone at home, I assume you don't keep ice in your bedroom at home to chill drinks either do you?

 

Personally I don't see filling an ice bucket as a room stewards job. Their job is cleaning the room, that includes extra towels or blankets if you need it. Ice is an extra job that is nice if they include it but I don't necessarily see it as one of their job duties just because Carnival use to have them do it automatically. I'm sure they waste a lot of time filling up peoples ice buckets and to me guests that want ice can carry that bucket up to the Lido and get their own or Carnival could put public ice machines on each floor like hotels do, but I doubt they do that because kids and some adults would be scattering ice around from them and making a mess.

until carnival provides a self-serve option to obtain ice in close proximity to the rooms, then i disagree, this is the room steward's job.

i'm sure room stewards did waste time filling ice buckets for those that did not use the ice, which was then just a lot of melted water - they said that's why they instituted 'must request ice' policy which i totally understood. i'm one that does require ice.

if you were staying at a hotel, would you walk to the convenience store next door to get ice? that could be as far as having to walk to lido...

if they added ice machines to each floor, i would be perfectly happy to get my own. but i disagree having to walk to lido is an acceptable alternative.

you mentioned this might result in having ice scattered about around the machines - well which would be more work, cleaning that up, or providing ice in the rooms? i don't know, but either would be the room steward's job.

perhaps a compromise - they could even have pre-bagged ice (similar to what you see in convenience stores, etc., albeit smaller than the 8 lb sizes - something more suitable to ice bucket size), then there's no mess. i'd go get that myself, no problemo.

all that said, i DO tip extra for the service (especially if i bring a small cooler) regardless. a small cooler or ice bucket filled, to be enjoyed with product purchased onboard (to chill beer bought from a bar, to ice drinks etc.)

i really just think this whole service issue is getting out of hand. what's next, we're supposed to wash our own towels and clean the toilet? just like the purchase of a cocktail is based on the presupposition of somebody making it for us (with an auto gratuity added, just like the rooms), purchase of the room / cruise fare itself tacitly presupposes a certain level of service.

Didn't Carnival pushed this whole once a day service thing as "for the customers". Supposedly we wanted more time to spend with the stewards to chat (does anyone really want this?) so they were going to once a day service with no turndown to give the stewards time to get to know you more. Or did I imagine that?

 

Yet from what the stewards tell us they went to once a day and almost doubled their room count. Either the stewards are playing the poor me card and just trying to get out of twice a cleaning knowing they have that option now or Carnival fed everyone a load of bull. The truth probably lies some where in the middle. Stewards are playing it up a bit and Carnival knew they were increasing their rooms and hoping people would go for the once a day so they could cut back on workers.

no, you didn't imagine that, and it's one of the most lame justifications i've ever seen for a service reduction. and no, i do not want more time to chat with the steward. i want them to do their job, which in my opinion includes twice a day service and ice upon request.

Just off the Legend - choice of am or pm. We took am which was fine with us as is only once a day. No offer of ice whatsoever - we were in a Vista Suite.

 

When insisting on two per day, just think about these guys who now have so many more cabins to do, why add to their enormous workload even further.

 

Surely we can pull up our bed if need be after an afternoon nap.

think of it another way...

1) the cruising public did not make up this notion of twice a day service, it was a feature offered by the cruise line. some people have understandably become accustomed to it.

2) part of why they offer the twice a day service is the design of the rooms - they are small. some are designed for 4-5 people with pull down beds etc. the design of the product they offer necessitates the twice a day service for the room to be more liveable. and just like some require the beds to be put up etc, others will keep their rooms tidy and really just need ice and towels (i'm in that group).

3) they have increased gratuities, and are offering less services than they have before. how does that make sense.

4) people 'insisting' on twice a day service are not 'adding' to the workload - that is the steward's job, and the number of rooms (their workload) they are expected to service is by design of carnival. the fact most still do twice a day (and 'both' is on that card) proves that this is within their job description.

5) stewards have been doing this job for decades. they still choose to do it to this day. the job can't be so terrible if that is the case.

6) if this is indeed a 'trial', or moreover even if they are moving in that direction - if you are so concerned about the poor stewards' workload, then check both and send a message to carnival that many if not most cruisers PREFER twice a day service. i am certain they monitor this and are crunching numbers, that's why there's a card in the first place and not just a casual conversation with the steward with no documentation. if they realized that the majority of their customers do indeed prefer twice a day service, then perhaps they wouldn't go exponentially add (or double, or whatever arbitrary figures are thrown around here) to their workload. check both, for the stewards' sake.

i really don't think it's fair for carnival to push any of these thoughts onto their employees or customers, anyway. people shouldn't have to worry about burdening their steward with 'extra work' which has been part of the offered services (and still is, evidenced by BOTH!), and stewards shouldn't have to be concerned with time constraints or begrudgingly offer services they are supposed to due to a system which is just FUBAR. leave it to carnival. this is one of their dumbest ideas in a long time :rolleyes:

Platinum with Carnival.

 

Cruises during birthday months, noted.

 

One during 40th anniversary. noted.

 

Never received anything for any occasion.

 

Not something I would look forward to.

If you want to ensure a celebration then you better plan it yourself. In the many years that we celebrated my daughter's birthday onboard there was nothing special that wasn't planned by myself. Granted, a very helpful room steward helped me decorate the room once, but other than that, nada from Carnival.

this is a relatively new program, where they do indeed give 'gifts' for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

so while in the past it would be true to not expect anything special aside from perhaps a song sung by waiters in the dining room, your past experience is moot, given that this is a relatively new program. what was true then is not necessarily true now. that said, since it is still relatively new, ymmv and i wouldn't be surprised if the 'experience' ship to ship was not reliably the same yet - nothing ever seems to be consistent fleetwide all at once...

i started reading about this a few months ago (and there are some other threads about it). just as i'm certain your experience is accurate, i'm also pretty sure people posting about spa coupons, free photos, bottles of champagne, etc. aren't lying either. some have confirmed it in this very thread.