sparks1093

They might accept the travel insurance if the company sends the money before treatment, otherwise the policy gets the traveler nothing.

Pretty much the way that I look at it, except for the being retired part (which will happen some day). A look at Carnival's stock history is telling- from a high of $66 in 2018 to just under $10 today. There are a lot of factors in play in the decisions being made and I would guess that no one on the exec team likes having to make these changes, but they are necessary ones for now. As for Carnival charging more, well, all cruise lines are charging more and when I'm booking a cruise Carnival is still the lowest (and that is now factoring in the cost of Cheers and wifi for us). We do want to sail with other cruise lines and have, but we aren't breaking the bank to do it. When we sailed with Royal we lucked out and the cost of that cruise was $400 less than a comparable cruise with Carnival. And while Royal was a little better than Carnival in some ways we didn't find it to be the "all that" that Loyal Royals say it is. Now if a Royal cruise was $400 more than Carnival we'd book it, but likely not more than that.

The allure of extra alcohol being available.

For one ship that's $156,000 per year and for 10 ships it would be $1.5 million (if my math is right)- profit. Very few companies would turn up their nose at that. I think that when all things are considered Carnival is really stopping this in an attempt to control consumption and passenger behavior. I hope that they actually looked at the data they have and that there is at least a direct link (something along the lines, well, we had 1,000 violent incidents in x period of time and in 900 of those incidents the passenger had purchased a bottle of liquor for the cabin) but we'll never know if they did that or if they are just guessing and hoping that this will help. I know that they've instituted $500 fines for violent behavior, but like the $250 fine for smoking in one's cabin I'm not sure that will be a deterrent.

It's sometimes worse than needing the funds to be discharged, some hospitals require the money upfront just to provide treatment. There are some policies that will provide these funds upfront, but of course they cost a bit more. With insurance it is very important that you understand exactly what is covered and what is not.

When I see businesses around here finally being fully staffed then I'll expect the cruise lines to fully staffed. My comment about the drink limit was made to someone who said a 30 minute wait prevents them from receiving value on the package.

That's presupposing that the wait is consistently 30 minutes throughout the day. which it probably isn't and even if it is you would still be able to get your 15 in for the day.

Yes it is horrible timing. I would check into moving the sailing or even canceling before final payment. Once you are sure what you are dealing with you can reassess.

We can certainly agree to disagree but I don't see the connection to the package. A 30 minute wait is a 30 minute wait whether you are paying for each drink or whether you've prepaid. (Just did a search for slow service on Cruise Critic and a quick scan of the first page of results had complaints about slow service for many ships and lines.)

Instead of spending hard earned money to find out just read the forums for the other lines. I have and will sail other lines but only if their price is as low as Carnivals, which does happen but not often. Since it can take 30 minutes at a busy club to get a drink I don't think that's an egregious wait.

Even so punishing the vast majority of passengers who don't go over the line seems a bit draconian to me.

We typically get both Cheers and a bottle for the cabin so we can have a few drinks on the balcony before turning in and I'm pretty sure they don't want us out of the cabin then.🤣

It's strange that they would have decided to cut off a revenue stream without even attempting a price increase. I spend most of my time outside the cabin, but I'm not spending money. We'll bring our two bottles of wine and make do with that and beer bought through fun shops.

In which case OP your companion will need a passport. If he lives near a Passport Issuing Office he might be able to get an appointment since travel happens soon. Probably the only real shot at getting the passport before sailing.

Not sure what this has to do with eliminating something they sold at a hefty profit. All they had to do was raise the price and increase the profit margin (they would undoubtedly still hear complaining but many would just adapt). It probably is related to behavior onboard, but I don't think this is the way to address that problem.

OP, if you can't cancel before final payment (and I understand why) do make sure that you cancel as soon as you are sure you won't be going. Most cruise lines have a graduated scale on how much of the fare is forfeited after final payment and before a certain cutoff where 100% is forfeited.

In addition to the above some lines may be a bit more flexible if you ask to transfer the cruise instead of cancelling, but again this is going to vary by cruise line. Also it is best to do this before the final payment date if at all possible.

I misunderstood your response then. I apologize for the confusion.

Some people leave them in the safe (if you miss the ship the crew will retrieve your passport and turn it over to the port agent), some people take them ashore- since it is a matter of personal preference there is no right or wrong. For what it is worth we leave ours onboard unless they are required for some reason (some excursions cross international boundaries, for instance, and you would need it for that).

If it's not saving you money why buy the package? That's the first and foremost consideration for most people when deciding whether or not to buy it. I also wish that Cheers worked on any of the private islands, but it doesn't. A minor annoyance at best but as I said, when determining if Cheers is a good purchase we factor in all of the port days (and sea days).

On the ship I can certainly understand but off the ship I doubt. They don't go through bags at security when you are leaving (Edited to add that I've never seen or experienced this at any port, on any line). It does sound like having the beer unopened might be problematic but it's worth a try since it doesn't cost extra (I would ask and if they indicated they couldn't then I would tell them to forget it, since at that point in time I'm not looking for a drink).

People fall into the trap of thinking that cruise lines sell drink packages to save the passenger money. They don't. They sell the drink packages to make money for the cruise line (but of course it is marketed as a cost savings for the passenger). I personally do factor the port stops into the equation when deciding whether or not to buy Cheers and even with a port intensive itinerary it is usually worth it to us.

Yes, I've heard that as well. Now that they no longer sell liquor for the cabin we will be trying to grab some beer during the day to take back to the cabin with us. We'll see how it goes.

This is how I understand the process to work as well, everything is uploaded to the ship later. Here's where the 15 a day thing breaks down, though- everyone is limited to 15 alcoholic drinks per day according to their policy. This just reinforces my feeling that the 15 a day limit for Cheers is where their profit point is on the package and that the 15 a day limit for everyone allows their bartenders to cut someone off by using the 15 a day rule, which limits arguments from overserved people. (Someone who is overserved might argue vehemently when told they are too drunk to have more, it's harder for them to argue against a hard limit established by the cruise line. I have seen bartenders override the 15 a day limit in the point of sale system, which also reinforces this feeling.)

In the hospitality industry, which includes cruise ships, paying customers are guests. I am not sure I would like sailing with a line that treated me as "just another paying passenger". As for the concept of living onboard, even though one can roam around the ship at the end of the day they are limited in their personal space to the cabin. Some can do it, some can't. I'm very likely in the "can't" category.