staceyglow

Go to either Ji JI's, Cucina del Capitano, or Pig and Anchor for lunch on embark day They are usually uncrowded because people haven't discovered them yet.

It depends on how quickly the cruises sell. Compare a cruise in December to the same cruise in late March. Often the one during the height of Spring Break is double what they charge for the lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And every cruise has over 1000 cabins to sell, as opposed to a handful of cabanas and villas. They can be more aggressive on the pricing on those.

If the new card has the same credit card number, you should be fine. The new card only updates the expiration date.

Exactly. At least if you cruise a different line, your spot on Carnival is likely to be taken by someone who doesn't mind leaving gratuities for the hard working staff.

If you read enough posts on Cruise Critic, you'll eventually see complaints about practically everything on every cruise line... I personally think the coffee is just fine.

You don't even have to leave your house to get Mars bars! https://www.amazon.com/Mars-Chocolate-Bars-12-Count/dp/B000L1GRQO/ref=asc_df_B000L1GRQO/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312157254677&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7348265433193884623&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030819&hvtargid=pla-569131454839&psc=1

They usually aren't, but they will be within a few minutes of where you are. Maybe even dropping off someone who is about to get on the ship!

I think @TxTeach79 means across the board on the package - alcohol, soda, specialty coffees, etc.

That's exactly my point. How would you feel if Carnival said to your pension fund, "Sorry our stock price is so low. Our pricing studies show that we could successfully increase what we charge cruisers, but we decided to be nice. Hope your retirees know how to stretch their budget!"

I am guessing you are in the minority, especially compared to pension funds and other investment groups that own tens of thousands of shares.

Absolutely. And everything in the world of business is indeed about maximum ethical/legal profit, especially if you are talking about publicly traded companies. My guess is that the people who hold Carnival stock that has tanked since they bought it think Carnival should charge as much as they can get for cabanas and villas and cruises.

Is he willing to do medication? I found the patch works great for me. I have only needed it on smaller ships - I am fine on Carnival.

We have never booked the steakhouse before we got on board the ship and had an opportunity to see the menus, and never had trouble getting in when we wanted. On a ten day cruise, it should be pretty easy as it spreads out the people who want to go to the steakhouse even more. If you want to book ahead of time and want to be absolutely sure it's not formal night, you can always go the first night. Embarkation day is never a formal night, and you get a free or half price bottle of wine.

I believe it depends on the ship. If the machines aren't set up to keep track of freeplay, you get the cash.

Don't order the Uber ahead of time. There are way too many factors involved in determining exactly when you will be getting off the ship, and there is no way you will be able to give the driver an accurate pickup time.

I was on this this one as well. There were choppy seas that slowed the ship down and an incident that delayed our sail away from Cabo San Lucas. I know there were many people who had to change their flights or missed them altogether. OP, if you are asking your question because you want to talk an early flight, I would advise you not to risk it. There are too many factors that are out of Carnival's hands.

That doesn't mean it can't do a world cruise at some point in a season. I don't think any line has a ship dedicated to world cruises. That being said, I still don't think Carnival will ever host one. It's a huge amount of work for a very long one-off that they won't even be sure they will be able to sell.

I think they just hike prices every time someone complains on Cruise Critic. Notice the price hikes are mostly on optional items? That way they can even stick it to the complainers with free cruises. 😉

So do you think your TA would have been able to move the hurricane out of your ship's way? 🤣

If you are going to order hot water from room service, you might as well just order coffee. 🙂

Other than the cruise fare, taxes and port fees (and IMO, gratuities), everything you purchase on a cruise is completely optional. What you spend after that is up to you. An important question to consider: Are there splurges that you planned and saved for, or will your "What the hell - I'm on vacation!" mindset give you a credit card bill at the end that you will be paying off for months and months? Personally, I don't buy photos. The only gambling I do is with the free slot credit I get for being a Platinum member and the occasional "Deal or No Deal" game. Our shore excursions tend to be on the modest side, and often with less expensive third-party operators. I buy Christmas ornaments for my souvenirs, which is usually under $50 per trip. DH and I buy a modest wine package and each have 2-3 drinks per day other than that. We buy Wifi, but we need it for business reasons, and we get the least expensive one that meets our needs. We usually go to a specialty restaurant once per cruise. Even with the gratuities on it, our combined S&S account at the end of a Caribbean or West Coast cruise averages well under $150/day. And we don't ever feel like we are skimping on anything. Only you can decide what your budget should be. And whatever you decide that is, you can make it work if you focus on what's important to you.

Why shouldn't Carnival have the right to charge any amount they want? It's not a charity. They are in business to make money. It is their duty to their stockholders Io maximize their revenue. A villa is a luxury item and they have a limited number of them. You don't need it to enjoy Half Moon Cay.

Yes, you can bring your own snacks onboard if they are still factory sealed. My guess to the reason that they don't have crunchy snacks out like chips or nuts is that there are people who would empty the entire container and take it back to their room.

Yeah, if I was traveling with folks that had a later boarding time, I would just pick a meetup place on the ship. You will still have cell service so they could text me when they got onboard.

Carnival is adding another ship to NYC and that's driveable from Boston, so there's that...