skiingj

I am booked using an outside agency and was asked to pay for upgrades.

Does this happen often? They never call me :(

I have been upgraded by Carnival at no cost as my wife knows people but the upgrade fairy has never called. I'm usually in a balcony. HAL or Royal has not called either. Costa called and asked if I wanted an extra life jacked, JK LOL

I wont comment on the stop sign because its not my alalogy but for your second question, see my post #39

Yes I see the points and understand. My point is that certain people on CC are very rude and attack anyone that suggests or comments about breaking a rule like smuggling. These same individuals make it out like they don't break any rules or laws. Its the hypocrisy that irritates me.

I just thought of one benefit of a PVP. Carnival appears to direct upgrade fairy calls to those PVP bookings first. Probably because they don't need to adjust and pay more commission to the TA. It's probably why the upgrade fairy has never called me from any cruise line. I'm happy with my TAs and all the OBC or no commision fares.

...and for the record I’m not a fan of most rule breakers, likechair hogs and line cutters to name a few.

Because they get to make the rules, not you. That's why.

 

Oh, and because you agreed to the cruise contract just like everyone else.

 

OP, you can probably get away with it, but only you can decide if your moral compass points in a better direction than sociopathy.

You agreed to abide by the laws when you received a drivers license. You have stated you don't, so what's the issue with cruise rule breakers. You can't have it both ways!

Just like people who speed or don't make full stops (law breakers) you can smuggle lots of rum runners onboard. It's very easy. It is against CCL policy but does not break any laws. You can also put liquor in a wine bottle and reseal. Why should wine drinkers be able to bring their favorite bottle onboard and not a rum drinker......

Some TA's are great. I get at the very least $100 OBC every 7 day cruise for a entry level balcony. A good TA provides great service with NO fees. TA's can provide the same service as a PVP. I have friends that are TA's and they even give me the cruise cost minus any commissions they would make. Carnival tried to eliminate the TA years ago but it backfired. Just don't use any of the TA cheerleaders on this board. lol

On my last few Carnival cruises I've noticed a cutback in waiters on Serenity but it's much worse in the MDR. The MDR has gotten ridiculously slow in service. On our last three HAL cruises we had a cabana and they had steeply discounted packages. They had great service but you are paying a premium. I wish Carnival had something similar.

It's like anything else.

 

1. Carnival makes rules, establishes policy and implements procedure

2. Boorish guests decide that said rules surely do not apply to THEM and subsequently disregard them completely

3. Carnival doesn't enforce them in the interest of not pissing off a customer

Do you come completely to a stop at every stop sign in the good ol USA? No rolling, no tire movement, a complete dead stop every time.

I guess we could all pack a satellite dome with our rum runners, MREs, table clothes, and trays.

taxes, fees, receiver charges, hd charges, dvr charges....They can make $45 into $100 real fast. I was with them for 15 years but cut the cord a few months ago.

I pay $45 after all taxes and fees but yes only one TV.

And once you go over 24 TV's in a location (ship) you move to a commercial contract with a whole different pricing policy. I know, we have DirecTV on my ship, and we are limited to 24 boxes.

Yikes...I never said they should get DIrecTV. Just showing my cost and the fact satellite prices have gone down significantly over the years. It's very easy to get $20 a month discount on a $55 a month package.

Gheez, I'd like to find your satellite provider. We pay over $150 a month. When cable came out it was about $20 a month.

DirecTV $45 a month, lowest package, includes locals and HD DVR.

Cutbacks = Greed. Funny how I pay far less for Satellite today then I did 10 years ago. Thanks to cord cutters many providers are deeply discounting. Carnival is pocketing more cash and watering down the cruise experience more and more each year.

It's hard to maintain any kind of tolerance and patience when you're perpetually dealing with (allegedly) grown adults who can't seem to understand and follow basic rules. Rules exist for reasons. Maybe you don't like or agree with them, but that doesn't make them any less valid rules.

Adults who choose to ignore this necessary part of living in a civilized society have earned neither patience nor tolerance.

Then why are you such a hypocrite? You break CC rules all the time! Name calling comes to mind, rude posts, etc.. You are like the pot calling the kettle black.

Nope, but very easy to do or you can pay ~8x the cost for a bottle delivered to the room.

We haven't found a military rate worth booking in a long time. Years ago they were discounted. Another cut unfortunately.

And if you look at the poster's signature, they have a future Carnival cruise booked in 2019. I scratch my head about that...complain about "cutbacks" yet continue to sail.

Last time I checked we still have free speech, Correct? Since you are the master observer then you must have noticed I drastically cutback on Carnival. Oh yeah and it's a 2018 cruise, maybe it will turn me into a cheerleader? or maybe they will stop cutting back so much?

Just another Carnival cutback unfortunately. I should add this to my sig.

Sorry this happened to you. Not sure why you wouldn't have brought a Passport? As you mentioned NEXUS is a US/CAN travel program. I have GE and would never think of not bringing a passport. You have to use a passport in conjunction with GE... How did you think you would get into Mexico? NEXUS is NOT a MX program.

The bands were great and Playlist is not nearly as good. Another Carnival cutback.

One 12 pack soda per person per port. 1 normal size bottle wine per adult at embarkation. Alcohol is easy to smuggle, just not allowed at all during embark. At ports alcohol is supposed to be handed in just after security. Also easy to get past... At $80 a bottle on the ship and $10 on land you can't blame anyone for trying. Happy cruising.

We were on the Vista her first summer in Europe. We had three balconies deck 8 aft. The three in the middle. You get more inside room space with the cabins in the middle. It's not much but does make some difference. You can tell by the space between the couch and bed. We had a couple feet extra.

I always avoid the deck below lido on most ships. Unless it’s under the beauty salon, gym, or something closed at night.

On the Vista class there is a large overhang on deck 9 aft balconies. It’s like the Dream class. If you like shade this would be perfect. I personally don’t like the closed in feeling and sound does echo off the steel. We had a really loud lady the entire ten-day cruise on the Vista and we knew everything she said.

It is important to know these aft balconies on any ship are very limited and in their own category(s). If prices come down I’ve found it’s unlikely these aft balconies decrease much if at all. Whereas regular balconies will have greater discounts if prices comedown.

I love aft balconies and the L shaped balcony cabins that wrap around the aft staircases. On some ships they’re only an 8A which is the lead in price for a balcony. We had one of these L shaped cabins on a 12-day Breeze Europe cruise. They have since increased the category (price) on some ships. Good luck!

...The Breeze is a beautify ship, since Joe Farcus didn't get this hands on it! ...

The Breeze is our favorite. FYI Joe Farcus did get his hands on Breeze. Both the Theatre and Casino were entirely his design.

They didn't try to eliminate TAs. They would be abandoning 65% of their booking business.

 

What happened was they restructured the commission percentage scale in a move that hurt smaller agencies and favored larger ones. It definitely created a *&$@storm but was later rescinded and reworked to a more fair and sensible structure.

Yes they did, like I said Carnival tried to eliminate the TA. They positioned themselves for only direct bookings to eliminate the TA and the so called 65% you speak of. I know this from a corporate and a TA industry standpoint. It was very clear what they were doing.