cruzinlisa

Does the buffet have similar appetizers as the MDR? I find that I can make a meal of them sometimes without the entrees.

The times I have gone, I did not really see any appetizers, beside soup or salad bar.

I sometimes feel that way about the apps too. I usually find at least 2 or 3 apps that sound good, even if none of the entrees really do it for me. I usually end up ordering an entrée though, but often don't eat all of it, because I ate 2 apps. LOL.

Shoot ... :D ... There's so much good stuff on the "Guys Dressing Cart" that who even needs a burger? Fill a bun with sauteed onions and mushrooms, throw on some lettuce and tomato and finish up with some of the great sauces LOL:p

LOL. I haven't done this exactly, but I have gone to the toppings bars and loaded up on toppings as my veggies.

If you can swing going to San Juan and don't mind a port intensive cruise, that is the way to go. If you can't, then maybe look for one with San Juan on the itinerary. I hear it is awesome as far as the historical stuff goes, with forts and that kind of thing. We have only been there once and went to the rainforest, but I definitely want to go back and explore.

As far as beaches, St. Thomas was pretty. I also liked Roatan. Grand Cayman is nice too.

I also absolutely love Cozumel, because there is plenty to do and its one of the more affordable ports as far as buying things for gifts.

I was not particularly impressed with St. Martan, Belize or Key West (which should not be a port anyway).

If you can't do San Juan, you might check out one of the 8 day cruises out of Miami. I think they have some with more exotic ports. I was checking that out because they go to Aruba. Since you are flying anyway, Miami or FLL will be your best options as far as variety.

<sigh> These are adults who work very hard.

":Trinkets" are demeaning(IMO). Cash is the currency you pay people who work for you.

I kind of feel the same way. I feel like giving someone little trinkets is treating them like a child or a dog. Either way demeaning. IMO. Money is not demeaning to me. If there is anyone that finds it demeaning, feel free to direct any money my way and I will take the shame. LOL.

I am not a big party person either. If I have the drink package I might drink a few fruity drinks, but if I am paying out of pocket, not so much. Never felt out of place on Carnival.

At the pool there will be a DJ and maybe some sexy man contests or something like that, but you can always avoid the area. Honestly I felt like the pool scene or Disney was more crazy than Carnival, but probably the 10 million kids.

I have been on Celebrity, Disney, and RCCL. Did not notice that much difference between Carnival and Royal as far as atmosphere or clientele, other than it seemed like pretty much everyone had a drink package on Royal. Celebrity was more of a upper middle aged crowd (50s) it seemed. A lot of drinking there but not that much to do other than drink. And don't even try to compare to Disney, because its in its own class.

As long as you don't have many preconceived notions, you should have fun. As always, there are people in this world with no class, but you can find those on any cruise line or even at the Ritz. One thing I liked about Carnival is that there seems to be a fair amount of things to do if that is what you want to do. Or you can always try to find a quiet spot and just chill.

We have been to the buffet a few times with our Daughter when she was young. Sometimes it was to get her a bit of an appetizer before dinner so she would not be grumpy and squirmy at dinner. Other times it was so that we could send her to camp- either she missed the deadline to be there for camp dinner or did not want to go. They did have some of the things that we saw at dinner, but generally not the things I wanted to eat. One night DD was so super grumpy that we did not think we could get her to sit through dinner and camp would have turned her away, so we went to the buffet with the intention of eating. Nothing really appealed to us. Luckily after some food DD's attitude changed (I think she was tired and HANGRY) and we were able to get her in a good enough mood to sit through dinner in the MDR with us. If we had to, we probably would have gotten pizza or a deli sandwich, because none of the hot foods really looked good.

Now I have been to the buffet on other lines and pleased with the offerings. But Carnival, not so much.

I haven't looked much lately but early this year (January), when I was booking my May cruise, I thought prices seemed high. I actually was able to sail on RCCL for just a small amount more (like $100) and they are usually higher.

If you were one cruise away from platinum maybe, but otherwise I would shop around. Carnival may change their loyalty program around (not for the better) anyway. We have cruised Celebrity, Disney, Royal (1 each) and Carnival. My preference is Celebrity, but its most expensive. Second choice would be Disney. I would like to sail on Oasis class ship on Royal. NCL, MSC, HAL, and Princess are other lines I would like to try some day, but typically the price and departure ports don't work out for me. I look for a cruise that interests me at a price I can afford. My needs change at different times for different vacations. Sometimes the goal is to get on a ship as cheaply as possible (Carnival typically wins that). Sometimes its the most luxury at the best price. With Royal it was finding a good price on a RCCL ship (did not even look around).

Not sure if Carnival still offers free lobster in the MDR, but both NCL and RCCL charge an up charge for lobster. [emoji22]

 

 

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Is that a new thing for RCCL? I was just on Liberty in May and no upcharge for lobster. I believe its only available for longer cruises though.

This is a terrible tragedy. Like most I am only curious as to what happened to see if it is something that I can learn from myself, do avoid that happening to myself or my family.

The accounts (theories) that I have heard about the child possibly leaning over to talk to someone and fell sound very plausible. Perhaps risky and bad judgment, but children do that. If an 8 year old was capable of making all great decisions all the time, they could be out on their own. Unfortunately even as a young adult I have made some decisions that as a older wiser adult, I cringe at.

As far as those blaming the parents, the child was 8, not 1. They may have looked away for a minute or somehow accidentally got separated.

It sounds as if it was a tragic accident. Unfortunate accident.

Well this is not really that creative, but at lunch or dinner if they have baked potatoes, potato soup, or tortilla soup, I will go to the taco bar (if they have one) or salad bar and get things like shredded cheese, bacon bits, etc to make loaded soup/potato. or add croutons from the salad bar to my soup. Also if they have nacho cheese for nachos I may use that to make cheese fries. Last cruise on Royal they would sometimes have this minute steak at the breakfast buffet that had onions and peppers in it. I would get the onions and peppers and add it in with the boring potatoes to make better hash browns.

Just little things like that to embellish the food.

Hello all!

 

Now, before you go crazy and decide to tell me what a fool I am, stop. My husband and I and a close set of friends of ours are cruising (as cheaply as possible) in February as a joint birthday trip! I'm looking to see if there is anyone out there that has tips for saving room/sleeping with that many people to a cabin. We love Carnival and can't wait to just sit back, relax, and AHHHHH again! :cool:

 

Thanks!

Yeah, you probably are a little crazy, but it sounds like you know what you are doing. What ship and how long of a cruise? Just a few days is probably doable, but if its 7 days, you better hope they are GOOD friends, because after a few days even the best of friends get on each other's nerves. LOL

We have done 3 in a room with my daughter (who is just now six and itty bitty) and found it cramped, so I can't imagine 4 in a room. But here goes:

1. Beds need to be separated and hopefully the uppers are situated right above the lower beds (bunk bed style). Then at least you have floor space to walk.

2. Bathroom- use as sparingly as possible. Probably just #1 unless its the middle of the day and no one is coming back. LOL. And consider showering elsewhere or in the middle of the day when the other couple is gone. Also, hopefully the ladies are low maintenance as far as hair and makeup or willing to do get ready in the gym

3. Alone time- not happening, Not unless you are into "that sort of thing";)

4. Pack light- no a lot of drawer space available and very few hangers. Hang multiple things on one hanger.

5. Pick everything up, it does not take long to clutter a small space. You also might want to do a pop up hamper or one per couple. Getting the suitcases out to put dirty clothes in can be a hassle, especially with a small amount of space and you gotta put your dirty underwear somewhere (assuming you are changing them LOL)

6. Pretty much only be in the room for shower, changing or sleeping and if you can do the first 2 at different locations consider doing that. There is basically NO room to sit or stand in the room so unless you want to lay in bed, no need to be there

7. Discuss any ground rules, pet peeves or issues before you go and feel comfortable to bring it up if something comes along.

Have fun.

I don't really care. I like to get dressed up a little and get pictures taken. But even then its not super formal, more like Sunday best. Honestly I would not care that much if they did away with them. Maybe make the steakhouse a little more formal for those who want a more premium dining experience. To be honest, we went to a nice restaurant in Galveston for our anniversary and DH wore shorts and a polo. And I called in advance to find out if there was a dress code and there was not. Its kind of the culture now.

Not too impressive. I found a couple of appetizers I would like but the entrees and desserts were lacking. Without steak I am not sure I could drag DH even if it were no extra cost. Oh well.

Mostly upgrades. I definitely saw a couple of apps that I would be interested in. (Mushrooms, Risotto, Lobster Bisque, Onion Soup, Spinach Salad, Ceasar). I may have to visit more than once because I definitely cannot eat all of those- even if Carnival would have let me.

The Wagyu beef is interesting, but DH would order a larger steak and I always get lobster when its offered. So probably would never try it.

Sides seem pretty standard although I don't remember seeing onion rings before.

Desserts- are a little underwhelming, but really who has that much room for dessert. Honestly I would be happy with a couple of chocolate truffles. Bite size and portable. Carnival- feel free to steal my idea.

Man, I got all excited. And then I read it and saw I am in a state this is not eligible. Pretty cool if you are eligible though. Does it cost a lot more?

I grew up in a very strict fire and brimstone "you're gonna burn in hell" Baptist family. For the longest time, even well into adulthood, I had to hide things from my family because I was concerned about what they would think or I was worried about them judging me. Everything from drinking to life choices to political leanings had to be hidden.

 

One day, I decided to hell with it. I am going to live my life and not worry about what anyone thinks. I decided that I can't go around living my life trying to fulfill other people's expectations of me.

 

So, if you want to have a drink by the pool -- have one. If you want to bring a bottle of wine and sip on it on your balcony during sail away or watching the sunset, then do it.

 

Believe me!! I know what I am talking about. You will be much happier and believe me they will get over it. And if they don't then that is their problem -- not yours.

 

Have a good trip!!!

My husband is a PK (southern Baptist). His father still actively preaches. They are extremely conservative- no drinking, no going to movie theaters and they even leave a wedding before the dance portion. DH is still respectful of his parents' but we live our own life. We try not to flaunt it, we don't drink in their home and in our own home he is discreet about it. They would never go on a cruise with us because they don't like oceans or cruising or anything like that, but if they did, we would bring on the bottle of wine and they can get over it.

My mom and I cruised in 2004. I don't remember the exact amount, but I believe it was comparable to now. It was somewhere between $350-$500 PP for a 5 day cruise. I do remember the airfare was about $300 pp to Miami, so that has not changed that much.

We usually try to fly into port early the day before the cruise. Spend the rest of that day/evening in the embarkation port. But hotels generally want you out by 11, maybe giving you a bagel on the way out. So pretty much as soon as we are up we are ready to head to the port. Ships usually start boarding around 11 and once we step onboard our cruise has started. Get lunch, get a drink, check out the ship... and usually after all that the room is ready.

 

I wouldn't want to drag my luggage around until 1 or have to make multiple trips to/from the hotel or port to store my luggage. And frankly, my room not being ready doesn't detract from my first day. Don't plan on spending in that in my room anyway. Just carry a backpack with my essentials.

 

 

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Yeah, this. If I lived in the departure port city or within an hour or 2, I would probably get there a bit later. But when you spend the night and have to check out of your hotel with your luggage, you don't have as many options.

At first I was all about the ports too. But I have been to a lot of the Caribbean ports. I like Sea Days because I can sleep a little later, lay sun, go to an activity (drop in/out as I please), NAP (what is that) or just do whatever I want. I can have a frozen drink at 2 p.m if I feel like it. I don't relax at home. If I am at home I am going somewhere, doing laundry or something..

Now, I am not one of those people that wants all sea days or cruise to nowhere. I like the ports too. I like to see new places and do new things, which is what the ports are good for. But those also mean planning, and getting up earlier- usually. And spending money. And I can only handle so much of that on a trip. Truly for me a good mix is a 7 day cruise with 3 ports (not counting home port). That gives you 3 port days and 3 sea days (not counting embarkation day). Its a great mix. That is why I love cruising honestly. You get a mix between exploring and laid back. Just my opinion anyway.

When you count everything you spend on a cruise that's not part of the fare/gratuities it's very easy to spend your fare again. We don't drink or gamble and we drive to port, but between travel insurance, hotel the night before, cruise parking, meals while travelling, excursions, dining package, excursion / porter tips, bingo, etc. it can add up pretty fast. If we drank alcohol and gambled I could easily see spending a total of 3 times the cruise fare. Of course, we book insides generally, so the fare is cheap(er).

I don't know about 3 times the fare, but up the amount of the fare, assuming you are accounting for all the travel expenses, as well as spending. We are neither particularly spendy or frugal- its vacation and we cut loose and worry about it later to some extent, but not through caution to the wind altogether (meaning we might have dinner at a nicer restaurant in the departure port even though we COULD go to McDonalds, order off the value menu and spend far less).

We are in the landlocked Midwest so everything is far from us. NOLA is a little under 12 hours and Galveston a bit more. Mobile is a little closer, but selection is limited so its not much of an option. We sometimes fly to Florida, but with a family of three when we can drive, we usually do. We like to break up the drive on the way down so usually it takes us two days to get down there (that's 2 nights at a hotel). Then there is gas and meals on the road (cheap for lunch but we try to at least eat at an applebees type for dinner). In the port city we either have to pay for parking or stay at a park and cruise hotel (more $$$). Then there is shuttle to the port, which may cost or may just be a tip. Also we typically buy insurance. That's all before we set foot on the ship.

Then on the ship we have a few drinks maybe and occasionally eat at a specialty restaurant. We may stay out later one night so there is baby sitting. And every so often I want to get a family photo. Other than that we don't buy much on the ship.

Ports we rarely book excursions, we either go to the beach or shopping. I pick up a few small things in port maybe, but Cozumel I do more shopping. The stuff there is cheaper than other places so if I have to bring back souveniers, we get them there. I usually budget $100-150 per port plus another $100 cash for tips, porters and shopping but lately I come home with a big chunk- enough to pay for dog boarding and meals on the way home.

So yeah, if you are counting everything it really adds up. Plus, we also book inside rooms so our fare is not that high.

I must be doing something really wrong here. I have this App that I must have downloaded a while ago but didn't do much with. So, after reading this I started playing. But I really only get about 30 loyalty chips a day. I only have about 3,800. What do I need to do to start earning more - or is it one of those things that the longer you play then the earnings go up. I can't imagine having 1,000,000 points... (but would love too)

It takes a while, and it does get easier. I started playing in 2013 before DH's birthday when we were taking a Vegas trip. I did buy a few chips, trying to get some free rooms. But I used up all of my gold points, or most of them on that trip. Since then I have not bought anything. Most days I log on and collect from my daily spin and my coins on my strip. Once you completely build your strip you will get a decent amount of coins. I played black jack for a while and got a bunch of coins from that. And a few times won big on slots. So I would play once in a while pretty high stakes to drive up my loyalty points. And there are a few sites you can go to with links for 2-3K coins, or sometimes loyalty points. That has gotten me almost 825K loyalty points. I hardly play now, but try to remember, most days, to go there and collect my daily spin. ANd maybe play a few mins/

I think its fantastic when complete strangers come up and let you know your photo is on the Wall of Fame, thus its free!

 

Nice little bonus photo. And again only something small to them but great for me. Especially because I didn't realise that it meant you get the photo for free. I now also take a look and see if there is someone I recognise.

 

Ah crap, I just thought did they remember us because we were annoying or did we stand out as the only Aussies on board.......

We had this happen to us once, but it was a crew member who let us know. I did not even know about the wall of fame. The photo was of my daughter, in her stroller, squinting to keep the sun out of her eyes. It was not a special photo or anything, just very everyday. Of course my daughter is beautiful, but I am her mom so I would think that. LOL. That was a rather "difficult" cruise in that my daughter was especially "challenging" that entire trip- she was about two and you know what they say about two year olds. But she looked sweet in that picture so it kind of erased the other 9 million moments of the cruise when she was less so. I appreciated it.

Our first cruise was a delayed honeymoon and a welcome home from Iraq trip for my husband. On elegant nights I wore ball gowns and he wore his dress blues. A man sitting upstairs saw us and brought us a large bottle of champagne. I didn't care for it but it was such a sweet thing to do that we drank a bit every night.

 

 

I love this.

You, as a consumer, have every right to cruise with other lines. That's not a bad thing, competition is good. But can you see the contradiction you create when you say you want more loyalty perks from Carnival, yet you're someone who isn't necessarily loyal to their brand? Look at it from their point of view. If they have a bunch of cruisers who say they want more loyalty perks but are only going to be kinda sorta loyal, they're not going to want to reward that.

 

I'm sure they know perks factor into the decision making process for a lot of cruisers. What they want to get away from are the ones who base their loyalty primarily on the free perks they're given. I can't blame Carnival for feeling that way. They see a lot of loyal customers badmouthing the company, threatening to sail with another line, or actually leaving and sailing with another line, all because they're upset about their free perks. They're not enough, they want more, etc. They don't want that kind of PR from people who are supposed to be loyal. Can you blame them? They'd rather cultivate a relationship with cruisers who become loyal because they enjoy the brand & enjoy the product. Sure perks are great and I don't think they'll ever go away, but they simply don't want to have to rely on perks to create loyalty. From a business standpoint, all the free perks cost them a lot of money. If they want to build loyalty based on a good product, I think that's a good thing because a good product benefits all of us.

 

From what I've read, it looks like they're taking a good look at revamping the lower tiers of the loyalty program. Simply put, that's where loyalty begins. They want to get the first and second time cruisers to become third time cruisers because that's when they feel someone begins to become loyal to their brand. As a newer cruiser, I'm not going to complain because it shows they recognize us, too. At the same time, the free perks aren't what's going to keep us coming back to Carnival for years to come. We're more interested in the overall product. Without a good product, they have nothing.

 

I'm also fully aware that Carnival knows new cruisers are to their benefit because we didn't cruise with, for example, chocolates on the pillows or tablecloths in the MDR, so we're not going to complain that they're gone. Honestly, even if I had cruised with those things back then, I wouldn't be complaining about them now because things like that aren't what's going to keep me coming back. Along those same lines, I'm sure there's things we enjoy now that probably won't be around in the future. It's just a matter of deciding if those things are a big enough deal to take our business elsewhere.

But that is my point. I am not loyal to Carnival because they keep eroding their product. They are just no longer the best value to me all the time. If they provided a consistently good product that met all of my needs, then I would probably continue to use them. I have used the same shampoo, toothpaste and laundry detergent brand for years. I am a brand loyalist when I get a good product.

Perks don't make me come back to Carnival, but taking them away negatively impacts me. Tablecloths, pillow chocolates, past guest parties, Free drink coupon, twice per day service, etc, don't individually make or break my cruise, but if you take them all away , it starts to make me wonder if this is worth what I am paying. Especially if someone else will give me all or most of those things without the price being too much higher. And sometimes that is the case.

I am all for them creating "brand loyalty" but what I am saying is that you don't do that by continuing to water down your product until it is unrecognizable. Little things add up.

Plus, when you are relatively similar to everything else, something has to set you apart. If its not price, it should be amenities. Because the world is changing and people don't just stick with one brand just because if that brand isn't doing it anymore.