NutsAboutGolf

Just hearsay that a crewmember informed me that it's incredibly rare for them to not arrange overnight operations as many behind-the-scenes crew members only receive their free time during overnight hours. Additionally, my WAG (Wild A$$ Guess) is the cost of keeping the terminals open overnight is passed on as port fees. Overnight operations = more employee shifts, more people spending in the country and therefore more in taxes; seems like a win-win for everyone

Often anything that starts or ends in SJ, I'm sure it's to offset the assumed more expensive airfare

Yes, they are some of the good ones yet many "biodegradable plastics" are greenwashing made by oil companies, and while they degrade, they are very dirty to create and can leave behind chemicals. Yet, "green" aside, there is the overlooked major benefit of even "dirty" biodegradable plastics which is every piece that breaks down is no longer a physical threat to animals and marine life Now if only we could do something with all those plastic cruise ducks...

Even if they kept it, they would have given it back at the end of the sailing

On our first Carnival sailing after the restart on Dec 2021, we brought $200 in singles and generally tipped a few bucks every day in the MDR, drinks, and our stateroom cabin. The crew all talks to each other and routine tippers are always a hot topic. It just seemed no matter where we were, some server would find us. I remember one specific instance where we were in the Aft hot tub with a half-full drink, there were at least 50 people in line by the aft bar and a server came to us by the hot tub to take our drink order and we received the drink we didn't even need minutes later. The overall point is if you enjoy great service, become a routine tipper which includes leaving a few dollars at every meal. Otherwise, unlike the itinerary, you really can't "pick" the crew besides possibly picking a sailing with Capt Kate at the Helm or seeking out reduced capacity sailings such as TAs/TPs

For the casino lower rollers like myself, they typically offer us sailings under their target occupancy. I imagine there's a lot of overlap with "exciting deals". Here's today's casino offer:

Fixed

It used to state you cannot bring even a non-surge extension cord, not sure if that's been updated. However, this is the one rule I violate on every sailing, as I bring a non-surge extension cord and it has never been confirmed. Pro tip, put it in your luggage that goes to the porter. The stateroom attendant usually tapes it to the carpet for us

You have used them at the CRUISE port?

You forgot the Effy credit! lol Edit to add, my WAG ("Wild A$$ Guess") is they removed the drink package so it encourages gamblers to visit the casino more often

I've provided two screenshots of actual bookings from 2022. The X reservation documentation can still use SELECT for non-traditional dining. In most other locations on X, they replaced the word SELECT with ANYTIME and X confusingly re-defined the use of the word SELECT to mean both traditional and non-traditional. The correct answer is, at one time, X defined SELECT DINING as non-traditional dining and there are still a few references to this here and there including your documentation (which will probably be eliminated). Now when one makes a new booking, during the booking process you are only presented with ANYTIME DINING as non-traditional. Clear as mud...lol

Everyone receives free drinks while playing, even a first-time X-passenger on embarkation day

This is from a booking confirmation from Oct '22, where anytime isn't used but select is and it even gives the definition of "select dining". It seems like the reservations depts documentation are using select

Good to know, thanks. They used to have deals where you prepaid your alcohol bill, they contributed towards it, I seem to recall paying $150 get $200

I couldn't come up with a good "wifi allergy" joke, apparently neither can AI...ha ha

VV drinks and wines were reasonably priced as well, no idea if that's still the case but would guess they're cheaper than the major cruise lines

The author/contributor also posted on the street. Most likely other has or will post the same article elsewhere https://www.thestreet.com/travel/celebrity-cruises-makes-a-bold-move-to-improve-its-drink-packages

You don't go into your cruise planner (or "Plan my cruise") to cancel, you want to "Manage reservation":

Ditto

Perhaps the better question is, are there exceptions? With the drink package, reportedly if you call in and tell them someone's sober, that person won't need to purchase the drink package. Is that untruthful? Not if the person was currently sober when the drink package request was made as the definition of "sober" isn't bound to any timeline

Pro tip, you can ask any MDR host what the wait times are so, could leave to it to fate to pick the ones with the least wait. I've found the busier side of MDRs is the side the sunsets

Also, with the E-Class exclusively being select/anytime, things can change at any time which is why you should visit the M'D upon boarding if you want to select/anytime

They are slowly changing from "Select" to "Anytime"

We can't list TA sites on here but generally, that's the fastest way. Usually, the cruise lines advertised "deals" apply to inside rooms, on most TA sites you can select your room type

Unless something recently changed, you can ask for a wifi extender. Sucks they don't fix the issue by permanently installing them somewhere. Premium is throttled to 5Mbps