SmogMonster

Technically T-Shirts are listed in the dress code. The are listed as not allowed on elegant night.

 

I meant to say that they are not listed as acceptable on the cruise-casual dress code.

I agree that doing away with the paper fun times would not be a good idea, but I think developing an app that would be availble for those that want it would be cool.

 

The app would allow you to view the fun times and then create a custom schedule for the next day.

 

The app could also be set up to make reservations in one of the Specialty restaurants, check S&S balance etc. I am sure there is much more technology available that carnival could incorporate.

I know that several have said that you will be fine wearing your T-shirt but I am not so sure about that. I have seen people turned away because they were wearing a T shirt. It may be a good idea to pack a few polo shirts just in case.

 

technically, T-shirts are not listed in the dress code.

 

My problem is that Carnival has never consistently enforced policies. You can get away with some things on some ships but not on others.

I can chime in (At least with my opinion!)

 

My kids love camp carnival. It is an award winning program (google it for more info) and they do a great job.

 

We book about a year out. Also, make sure you book early saver if you can. Doing so will give you price reduction guarantees which can come in very handy. On my last cruise I ended up with over $1000 On Board Credit due to the price for my cabin going down as the cruise got closer.

 

Another reason to book early at a price you are comfortable with is that sometimes the prices go up. This is especially true for high demand cabins like balconies etc.

 

I think most would agree that Disney is unmatched in quality and service. However, it comes with a huge cost. Generally, I can do two Carnival cruises for the price of one Disney. So if price is not a big deal, your kids will love Disney. However, If you need to watch you $, Carnival will not disappoint. (Disclaimer...I have never been on Disney but have many friends who have.)

 

We loved the Breeze. Lots of great things to do and a fantastic Itinerary. The rope courses are alot of fun and the buffet is extensive. Just be careful of the slippery floors!

Be careful on this. Do not assume that all of your OBC is refundable. On my last cruise I had over $1000 on OBC all due to price drops after final payment. When I checked my balance on day 4 of the cruise I discovered that some of the $1000 was listed as refundable and some as non-refundable. I dont know why since the entire $1000 came from Price reductions.

 

I went to Guest Services to ask them and was told that they did not know why it happened and I would have to talk to my PVP. fortunatley for me, I had already spent enough on board to cover the non-refundable portion but If I hadnt, I would have left money on the table.

 

At the end of the cruise on debarkation morning, i went down to guest services. I still had $360 left OBC. I was given the option of waiting for a check in the mail or getting cash on the spot. i opted for the cash.

Just got off the Glory this past Saturday so I will chime in on this. We found the playlist shows to be mediocre at best. The quality of the both the dancing and singing has really declined.

 

There were three shows on our 7 day cruise. Latin and Divas was horrible. They started ths show with one of the performers and CD warming up the crows asking us to name famous Divas. Of course we came up with stars like Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Cher, Whitney Houston etc. the show begins and none of these performers songs are played at all. Apparently carnival's definition of Diva does not include these stars!

 

One of the male dancers had a paunch belly and unfortunatly, he was the lead dancer for a couple of the songs which required his shirt to be unbuttoned. Yuck!

Just got back from the Glory this past Saturday and our first experience with the new menu.

 

We loved it. I know that some have said the menu is confusing. I'm not sure what they were looking at or if the menu layout has changed but there was nothing confusing about it.

 

In my opinion the food was better quality and tasted better. There was a chicken curry with rice that was fantastic and it was good to have some different choices for a change. We have been on 11+ carnival cruises and the menu was getting old.

 

One thing that we missed is they no longer sing and dance each night. They do it on just two of the nights. We asked the Maitre D about it and were told that they no longer do it on most of the ships. That was always alot of fun especially when our waiter would get my 11yr old daughter up to dance with them.

Where is the place to submit price drops?

 

I do not recall the actual web address but if you google carnival price reduction form, it will show up.

That's my concern as well. I'm booking a 6K and there are a total of TWO of them on the Sunshine. Not sure how I'll know about price drops by doing phantom bookings because they won't show up. Heck, they don't even show up on Carnival's site when they're available. I found out about this category on travelocity!

 

Perhaps I should not use the term "mock booking" That is probably not what I am doing. So let me clarify...

 

I go to the carnival website and log in. I hit the "plan" tab and then "find a cruise". I enter the info (# of travellers, destination, select any special rates that I qualify for like Past guest, over 55, military etc and hit "search"). I select my cruise from the list. On the next page i select the room type that I booked (it will be either inside, OV Baclony etc). The rate page will come up where you can choose from a variety of rates. i pick the lowest one that is NOT Guarantee rate. Then look to the right of the page where the price shows up. If the price is lower than what I paid, I submit the form online. In the comments section of the form I describe what I found and ask them if I qualify. They research the booking and let me know if I get any OBC.

The scrambled eggs are from a mix, omelettes are made with fresh eggs. That's the difference.

 

unfortunately this is not always true. On some ships, I have had omelettes made from the mix on both the lido and dining room. On others they use real eggs. FYI, make sure you ask your waiter or you may be surprised!

This is one of the reasons we never use a TA. Frankly, with the ease of self booking on the internet, I really don't see ay vaulue or benefit in using a TA.

If your cabin category is sold out, then what price has dropped to give you credit? I'm thinking that the category above yours has dropped to less than what you paid and that is what you are getting the credit against.

 

If there are no cabins in, say, category 6A and you are booked in 6A, then the category is showing up as unavailable. There can't be a lower price if there is not a single cabin to be sold in that category.

 

i dont even look at the cabin category. i do a mock booking for the type of cabin I booked, (Either inside, OV, Balcony).

 

Let's say I booked an inside cabin for 4 people. I do a mock booking for an inside cabin for 4. If the price is lower, i submit a request. I always get some amount of OBC. I may not get the total difference. I believe they make an adjustment for catagory and deck.

The problem is the terms like "good" "bad', "worst", and "best" are all subjective. What is good for some is acceptable for others etc.

 

I have no problem trying to resolve LEGITIMATE issues like dirty sheets, broken toilets etc. But to try to get your monty back just because you didnt have fun or didnt like something is not appropriate.

My PVP has always helped me out every time there was a price reduction or other kind of promotion. In fact, she has been the best travel agent of any kind that I have ever had. I know that I have a very good one.

 

I wish I could tell you who she is, but that's against "CC Law". So I will just recommend that you politely find a different PVP by just calling the 800 number and don't enter your "previous" PVP extension. (I've never tried this so let us know if it works.)

 

Bob

Searching for Kokomo

 

I may do this. The lesson I learned is that you can still get OBC even if your cabin catagory is sold out! I have often read on Cruisecritic that you dont qualify if you catagory is sold out and this is what my PVP told me. Apparently, while this might be policy, it is not practice.

We had the same experience. when we called we were told since all the cabins for our class had been sold out there was nothing they could do. Submitted the form and voila....a $550 credit!

 

Glad to hear you got your OBC. I no longer call my PVP for this. Just fill out the form. Its faster and easier.

 

If I had gone with what my PVP told me, I would be out $1020.00 OBC!

I didn't do the actual booking since it was done onboard. How do I know what rate I'm booked under??

 

My advice is that you go ahead and fill out the Price Reduction form online and submit it. They will research your booking and if you qualify, give it to you.

Then you haven't cruised very often in rougher seas. Absolutely, there can be a LOT of noise from the waves hitting the hull.

 

Where have you cruised?

 

I will be the first to admit I was wrong so I stand corrected. I guess we have been fortunate never to experience waves banging against the hull.

 

Good info to have. We will avoid the front area of the ship when selecting a cabin.

On the price protection form there is a spot where they ask you the website where the lower rate was found. If you could only get price drops from the carnival site, this question would be unnecessary.

 

cant hurt to send it in. Worst they can do is say no.

Definitely call asap. My price drop requests are usually approved within an hour at the most.

That "banging" sound you heard is infact the waves hitting the bow.

 

You're on a ship and this does happen from time to time.

 

really?? are you serious or trying to be funny?

 

Been on several cruises with cabins in the bow area, Never heard waves or anything banging the hull of the ship.

No, the Platinum adults get them. My husband and I are both Platinum and we each got arcade tokens for our son who is not Platinum. It's a Platinum perk regardless of age. Saw lots of adults playing games in the arcade too. Ask one of the counselors at the kids club and they will give them to you.

 

This is something I was not aware of. How many tokens do the kids get?

If you booked early saver you did NOT book the group rate, so you are completely wrong in your "assumptions" of being "wronged". It doesn't sound like you understood what you were doing, with group booking. Everything is spelled out in the contract.

 

In defense of the OP, I think the OP has two concerns. First, why did the amenities keep dropping? This seems to have been happening independently of the booking rate.

Second, the members of the party should have been told that if they go with ES, they will lose the amenities. They could have then made an educated decision.

Sometimes an upgrade. Not obc.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

In my experience this is not correct. I was able to get OBC three times for the same cruise even when my catagory was sold out. I no longer call my PVP about this, Just fill out the online form.

 

If your catagory is sold out, they will give you OBC. It will be adjusted however to account for the catagory so you may not get the full difference but you will get something.

i disagree. Do not call Carnival. Form personal experience, the answer may or may not be correct.

here is what you do. Google "Carnival price protection form" and fill it out. In the comments line describe that you just saw a lower rate (state what it is) for the same catagory that you booked. Ask if you qualify. Hit submit.

If you qualify, you will get an email stating so. You can also check your booking online to see if they gace you an OBC.

I was told by my PVP that I did not qualify. I submitted the form anyway and ended up with $800 OBC

Thought I wold give you all a heads up a recent experience with my PVP.

 

Either my PVP is not familiar with the price reduction program or she just doesnt want me to get one!

 

Here is what happened. We are cruising in a few weeks with some friends. My friend called me several weeks ago to tell me our rate had gone down and he got OBC for the difference. So I do what most probably do and call my PVP to ask if I can get this. I am told that "no, you dont qualify because all the cabins in your category are sold out, sorry"

 

I said "okay, makes sense to me" and didnt think about it again.

 

A week later my friend calls again and said he got another price reduction and OBC. So I call again and get the same story. "nope dont qualify"

 

My friend says to me, forget the PVP just go online and fill out the Price Reduction Form and see what happens. So thats what I did. Lo and behold, within 10 minutes i get an email saying i qualified and was given a $498 OBC. Since then, I have done this two more times and received credits each time. i am now up to $798 OBC !!!

 

I am wondereing why my PVP keeps saying I dont qualify. Does she lose commission? I dont know. Bottom line, when it comes to requesting a price reduction.. DONT GO THROUGH THE PVP!!