MasterMason

4 minutes ago, starstruck05 said:

Sadly there is no Pig and Anchor on the Glory. (Just left her on Sunday)

I'm boarding the Horizon on the 30th. I purchased the growler on Glory. I guess I should have made that clearer. Pig and Anchor is definitely on Horizon, I've been on there twice.

Hi all, long time no post. We'll be sailing September 30th, and I have a souvenir 64oz growler that I purchased from Glory earlier this year. My question is, can I have Pig and Anchor fill it up under Cheers, or will there be an additional cost. Do I fill 12oz, and wait 5 minutes to repeat, and repeat... or just pay the difference? Or.... do they have a discount that is applied for Cheers holders? I want to use my growler, but would like to know what I can expect to pay, and is having Cheers going to even make a difference. 

Thanks for any answers! 

Hi everyone, here is my question: 

On our upcoming February 12th cruise on Glory, our travel companions both got a great deal, so they booked 2 cabins and invited us. As booked, the husband and I are in 1 cabin, and his wife and mine are in the second cabin. Is it possible to go to guest services and swap him out for my wife, so that we both have room cards keyed to our cabin, or is this frowned upon by Carnival?

On 8/17/2022 at 9:37 AM, ProgRockCruiser said:

How can you know what prices Carnival pays for wholesale beer (or other alcohol), potentially purchased outside the US duty and tax free, after negotiations with the distributors or manufacturers?

 

Your price at the grocery store is marked up from what the store is paying the distributor, and the distributor is marking up whatever they are paying the brewery, and incudes whatever built-in taxes.

 

I would be shocked if Carnival was paying more than 50 cents for their tall boys of Bud.

I agree. Especially if you counter in the fact that Carnival operates multiple cruise lines with multiple ships on each line, so have the bargaining leverage far beyond someone with a liquor license operating a bar, or warehouse even.

On 2/18/2022 at 8:26 PM, Duanerice1 said:

Yahoo!  A step in the right direction!!

No big deal, after the 3rd day you can remove your mask!

Just off Horizon Sunday 9/13/21. Masks indoors, your choice outside. We are both vaccinated, and we comply with rules. We only took ours off outside when we could social distance, and that was pretty easy since the ship only felt around 60% full. Inside, we masked up while walking around, but when we sat at the Alchemy bar, we had the same peopl every night, and even hung out with them at the ports off ship, so we took them off when there. But, WE HAD A BALL!!! This was my 13th? cruise, and even though things are a little different, it was still great to be back to cruising. We never felt like the masks subtracted from any of our fun. It was just "different" not being to see everyones expression. 

5 hours ago, silvercrikhix said:

Yes, that’s the rule starting soon. If you can’t wait that long:

Buy a disposable vape to use in the approved outdoor smoking areas until it’s allowed.
Simple solve. 

That's  a big no. I vape, and bring 2 devices so I have a backup, and until Bunkering is done, no smoking anywhere, even on our balcony just off the Horizon. It was a long wait. A LONG wait.

It's my understanding that the fully vaxed cruises are credited toward the test cruises, so after several successful sailing, they can sail at will. The test cruises are mainly for procedures at sea, with medical and staff. 5% of the passengers on the first sailings will not be vaxed, so it should count toward test runs. My opinion.

On 4/1/2021 at 6:07 AM, pe4all said:

We have gotten soda at the Alchemy bar every cruise that has one.  We stop there and get a caffeine-free diet on our way down to the dining room, as the stairs are right there on certain ships.  In fact, after the first 2 nights the bartender had our cans waiting!

That is really odd, because I've sat there and heard them tell people that they don't have sodas there. They don't even make any drinks that use soda so are you sure you're talking about the Alchemy Bar? I can't see them having sodas, and especially caffeine-free diet soda. I'm calling shenanigans on this one! 😂

On 3/16/2021 at 11:26 AM, ProgRockCruiser said:

Just to circle back:

 

Any of the bars open pre-dinner or pre-theater are not typically access-controlled, so just like the Red Frog Pub has games for kids of all ages, your daughter could sit at the Alchemy bar and have a non-alcoholic drink (for example).

Actually, no. I have seen them advise children that seating is for adults only. Also, they don't serve non-alcoholic drinks or even sodas there. Also, seating is ALWAYS limited at the Alchemy. I LIVE at the Alchemy bar every cruise. I've even taken the class 3 times!

We're booked on the Mardi Gras for the March 5th sailing out of Orlando! DW, and I will be sailing with 4 other couples who have confirmed bookings. 2 days after we booked, the ship was sold out! I can't wait to get on this new ship. Only 474 more days!

Congrats!!! My wife will be platinum on our next cruise in March on the Sunrise, and after that cruise, I'll be 5 days away from my platinum, which should be before September this year! At least I'll be able to share in some of her perks this trip in less than 46 days!

Living in NY, the only lobster we are usually exposed to are the Maine Lobsters. When we cruise, we used to get the lobster tails on 7 day cruises 1st formal nights in the MDR. They damn near always ended up being overcooked, and cold by the time they reached us. I don't like eating rubber that has a fishy taste, so we stopped ordering them even though they were "free". We do the Steak House, but order anything other than lobster tails. If you live somewhere outside of the east coast, then I can understand that fresh lobster might not be something easy to get, so ANY lobster may be good to you, so I don't knock you for enjoying the ships offering. But when Maine is only a good 4 hour drive away, the fish markets in our city have fresh lobsters all of the time.

1 minute ago, airlink diva said:

So true!   Few years ago sailed with someone who is a vegetarian.   She loved the Indian dishes every evening.   She ordered an extra dish so the table can try.  So yummy!

Last September I would order the Indian  dish and just a piece of salmon.   When I told my waiter I love the Indian  dishes and spicy,  I got some of the best meals the remaining nights.

Depending on the ship,she also got Indian dishes at breakfast in MDR

Also, just tell them to add meat to the dishes instead of vegetarian meals!

What I’ve learned to do, thanks to these boards, is have Indian food each night. On the first night tell your head waiter that you would like an Indian dish every night. So many of the cooks come from India, and feel pleased to cook you their foods! Each night is always something different and delicious! Plus, you can still order off the menu too! Win, Win!

Just some thoughts on this topic:

Ting soda is sold here in New York at Caribbean shops and Jamaican restaurants. Delicious. 

Blue Mountain Coffee is the most expensive coffee in the world... however, the hurricanes that have wreaked havoc in Jamaica starting in 1988 have caused the quality of the beans to decrease. It is STILL great coffee, just not what it used to be.

And finally, if you love jerk chicken/pork, you will NOT have any better than what’s sold in Jamaica. BUT... the Pimento wood that it’s cooked over, that’s only native to Jamaica, is sold and shipped online. One of the places selling it is HERE.

Carnival Magic entered service August, 2010. Ask yourself how old is your family car, and what condition it's in after 9 years of constant continual service by authorized company service personnel. The ship is maintained on a daily basis by dedicated staff, and bought into drydock when mechanical/cosmetic updates are needed.

"She's tore up plenty, but she'll fly true".

On 10/14/2019 at 10:24 AM, ray98 said:

Yup....included food is top of the list for me.  If we go to a basic mainstream steakhouse the bill is still probably $60 with tip.  

I had to read twice when I saw $60 mainstream steakhouse with tip, then I saw Georgia! Lucky you! Mainstream steakhouse here in NY with average tip costs us around $120 easy with 1 drink a piece! Man oh man, I can't wait till we retire and head south!

2 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

We always get Cheers and have bought countless shots in the MDR over the last several years without it ever being an issue. They count it as one drink under Cheers and only charge you for the shot glass. We have always bought the shot glass and have never considered handing the shot glass back to the server. 
 

I don’t know how often you cruise on Carnival, but they are not big on following their own rules. The only rule I see them consistently enforcing is making everyone 21 and over in a cabin purchase Cheers. 

Correct. They DO NOT add the shot to your Cheers only if you give the shot glass back. Once you take it, you are billed for the shot and glass. I don't know what others on here are drinking (joke) but you CANNOT hand back the shot glass and expect not to be charged for it, you just forfeit the glass. Their billing service does NOT work this way. If you take the shot, expect it to go against your billing account regardless what you do with the shot glass, don't be fooled. Some people posting may have not noticed a shot or two... or three on their account, but it's there.

On 8/26/2019 at 7:55 PM, Amadawn1 said:

There was nothing better than cruising down to the Pizzeria Del Capitano/Pizza Pirate (or whatever it was called on the Freedom last Oct) at 1AM.  Small line that moved fast.  Brought my Quattro Formaggio back to the cabin.  I don't think pizza has ever tasted so good for some reason.  Maybe it was my Cheers pkg?  I don't need a late night buffet. There's also always room service.  Don't usually ever eat that late.  Not usually up that late.  But that pizza was pure heaven sitting on the balcony, while my husband was snoozing!

That's been my wife and I's experience as well. That Cheers Package is killer, so is the late night pizza! Never had to wait long in line, and it always tasted like Heaven when back in the cabin. That's how we ended every night, and in 4 days, we'll be on the Magic doing it allllllll again!

58 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

Where do you see lower prices during hurricane season? With the exception of cruises over the Christmas/New Years timeframe, the most expensive cruises we have been on were in the Summer, which is right in the middle of hurricane season.

September is the most active month of the hurricane season. The entire season runs from May 1st, thru November 30th.

Typically, Carnival cruises are discounted from mid-late August thru September. This is when we cruise historically. In all of our cruises, this will/may be the first that we are effected(We are scheduled to sail 9/2/19 on Liberty).

If you drink 5 drinks in a day, you’ve hit the break-even point. And that’s not even including the unlimited power drinks, specialty coffee, milkshakes, or sodas. We don’t cruise without Cheers. For us, it’s a no-brainer.

Carnival Epic

Carnival Plateau

Carnival Nebula

Too bad there's never any of these out of New York, we'd jump on them in a heartbeat! Not having to spend $800 roundtrip airfare for both of us for a cheap cruise would be the greatest!

44 days till the Magic! I'm beginning to love December sailings! I was excited to break triple digits!!!