MadManOfBethesda

Boy, was that an understatement, lol!

Yes, I am aware of that language on CCL's website. However, there is other language from Carnival's website that seems to contradict that. The info in the below link specifically delineates each and every PepsiCo beverage offered on CCL vessels, including all the ones that are included in the Cheers! package and those that are not. If you scroll to the bottom of the list, you can see that the two Muscle Milk protein shakes are the only two products specifically identified as being available on the ships, but not included in the Cheers package. Beverages | Carnival Cruise Line It's for the above reason that I thought that Muscle Milk did not appear to be included in the Cheers package. And while I have never gotten the Cheers package because I always have DOU through the casino, I have had a similar drinks package on another cruise line and that package did not include protein drinks because the drinks are apparently considered "food." Be that as it may, since I am currently onboard Glory, I took the opportunity to walk over to the Java Blue Cafe and confirmed that Muscle Milk is, in fact, included in the Cheers package so I stand corrected.

I don't believe that is correct.

As another poster mentioned, if this is for a medical reason, special needs can authorize an exception to that limit. But I would strongly recommend bringing a copy of that authorization in writing to show the security personnel when checking in. I received authorization to carry-on three twelve-packs of Ensure High Protein for a Carnival cruise last year, but security said they didn't know anything about my authorization and wouldn't let me through with the Ensure until I produced a written copy of the email.

I'm currently on Glory. Muscle Milk is $5.25.

First of all, as I mentioned earlier, I wasn't even aware it was against the rules until I recently read about it here on CC. And consequently, I never even tried to conceal the fact that I was bringing a kettle on board. Secondly, and as others have pointed out, other cruise lines with the same wiring on their ships allow kettles. And finally, passengers are allowed to bring curling irons on board. Perhaps you can explain how bringing a kettle on board is "playing with safety", yet a curling iron with a much higher wattage heating element is not. And if you can't, you probably shouldn't lecture others on safety.

What a strange comment. Where did you get the idea that I was trying to "prove" anything? MagnoliaBlossom made a declarative statement that Carnival would confiscate kettles brought on board and I replied that based on my personal experience over the past year that that wouldn't necessarily happen. I'm not sure why you have a problem with that. I didn't write that CCL authorizes kettles to be brought on board, or even that Carnival would never confiscate a kettle if a passenger attempted to bring one on board. All I basically said was that Carnival wouldn't necessarily and 100% automatically confiscate one if you attempted to do so.

Not necessarily. I've been on 4 Carnival cruises in the past 12 months (and am currently on one now) and it's never been an issue. And I've never made any attempts to hide it at embarkation or in my stateroom because to be perfectly honest, I didn't even know it was against the rules until I read a similar thread here not too long ago. I bought mine on Amazon a couple of years ago and have taken it on every cruise since (about 8 cruises in all across 3 lines: CCL, RCL, & Celebrity.) Sometimes I have it in my carry-on when I board and sometimes I pack it in my larger luggage. But either way, no one has ever said a word to me about it. (Not that that makes it right; only that they aren't necessarily going to confiscate it if you bring it with you.)

Yes; one of the nicest aspects of embarking in Barcelona. I picked up a bottle of Licor 43 on my way to the ship and my cabin yesterday afternoon.

Exactly. It is one thing to blame the late eight for missing the ship, it is quite another to exonerate NCL's actions with regard to the 80-year-old stroke victim. After all, what is the purpose of the cruise line requesting that passengers provide emergency contact information that includes the name, relationship, and telephone number of a person to be contacted in case of emergency if the cruise line isn't going to bother to actually make that phone call? And that doesn't even address the issue of whether the stroke victim would have been better served by remaining on the ship until she could be debarked at a larger mainland facility rather than what São Tomé could provide. And the ship's doctor didn't even make that determination. According to an article linked earlier in this thread, it was the ship's nurse who made the decision. I have no problem at all with NCL leaving the late eight behind, but in my opinion, they really dropped the ball with regard to the stroke patient.

Interesting because I've only sailed out of NY one time (12/23) and my experience was similar to that of the OP's. I was in two exceedingly-long lines before reaching CCL's check-in area. (The first was out on the sidewalk just to hand over our luggage, and the second was the security line.) Once I got to the Venezia check-in line, I was directed to the exceedingly-long late check-in line since we were now outside of our 30-minute window. And no, contrary to your alternative theory, the regular check-in line had not closed as people were still being directed to enter that line if they were within their window.

Yes, probably close to 10, including two last year: Carnival Pride from Tampa to Barcelona in April & Celebrity Reflection from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale in October. And now this year in addition to the transatlantic on Glory in April, we're also doing a 25-night transpacific cruise on Panorama in October from Singapore to L.A.

Well, I can't address what "usually" happens, but in November, I booked a last-minute "free" 10-night cruise over Christmas (Dec 18-28) in an interior cabin on Venezia, and on the Friday before the Monday departure, I received an upgrade offer to a Terrazza category cabin at the rear of Deck 6 with an enormous wrap-around balcony. It was only $250/pp and I leapt at the opportunity.

We were in cabin 6501 with a wrap-around balcony this past Christmas and had no issues with noise whatsoever.

About 6 weeks ago. December 18th-28th on Venezia out of Manhattan.

That wasn't my experience at all on my 10-night Christmas cruise on Venezia. While I occasionally ordered the night before because my wife needed to oder her gluten-free items in advance, I normally just waited until the same evening to order off of the vegan menu. The only pushback I received (if you can call it that) was that I sometimes was told that it would take longer to receive my entree'. But I was never outright refused the option of ordering from the vegan menu for that same night.

That's not true. While institutions are not required to provide you with a 1099 form if the annual amount paid is under $10, the income itself is still taxable to the individual and required to be included as income on your 1040. In fact, everything from $1 and above (technically, all the way down to 50 cents and then rounded up) is required to be reported as income when filing your taxes.

Well, I don't know about "most" offers, but I'm certainly not going to complain about the one I received last month. We were booked in a standard inside cabin for our 10-night Christmas cruise on Venezia, and 3 days before the trip I received a phone call with an upgrade offer to a "terrazza" cabin on deck 6 with an absolutely enormous wrap-around balcony at the rear of the ship. And we enjoyed the terrazza benefits even more than the upgraded cabin and balcony itself. In fact, being able to relax and enjoy a relatively private continental breakfast each morning far from the madding crowd in the cordoned-off area of the Carnevale Bar & Lounge area at the rear of deck 5 was almost worth the $250pp upgrade charge itself.

Do you consider John Heald to be an official source? Because according to an article in TheStreet,com, he answered that specific question on his Facebook page. Here's a link to that article, which includes John's verbatim response that the limit does in fact apply to all passengers, whether on a Cheers package or not. Carnival Cruise Line Explains Controversial Beverage Policy - TheStreet

That just goes to show how everyone's tastes and experiences are different. We were on Venezia over Christmas and my wife and I both agreed that he was our least favorite CD in over 40 years of sailing. I found him to be extremely irritating and dreaded anytime he began making an announcement.

Fwiw, that's not the first voyage. I'll actually be on the first voyage, which is a transatlantic out of Barcelona on April 18th, and I'm not worried at all. If it will ease your concerns, I can report back during the cruise.

You're mistaken.

I never said that they didn't. But you've been whining incessantly that they cancelled your shore excursion on Xmas Eve and I'm just pointing out to you that in actuality it was the tour operator who cancelled your excursion, not Celebrity.

Well, as long as you want to argue semantics, Celebrity didn't cancel your excursion, the tour operator did.

I'm sure this was an anomaly, but my wife and I were walking through the Venezia casino the other day, and two separate $10,000 jackpots were hit within what seemed like 30 seconds of each other. And the two lucky winners weren't even playing the max amount on the winning spin. One individual was playing $1.60 on an 80-cent minimum machine and the other was playing the 88-cents minimum on that particular machine. I've seen many people hit jackpots on a variety of cruises over the years, but this is the first time I've seen one right after another one has hit, and with both people playing the minimum or close to the minimum. In fact, on many machines, you're not even eligible for the jackpot unless you're playing the max amount or several multiples of the minimum.