fuddrules

Just an FYI on cost:  My daughter got an ear infection last week on board and the base charge was $125.   With medications and out the door the total charge came to $156.  I didn't think that was too bad.   

I've had a few rough ones but we just debarked the Carnival Miracle in Long Beach on 1/6 and it couldn't have been faster.   I never came to a complete stop at all during debarkation.  They would "ding" people off the ship almost in stride.  I guess technically I stopped to scan my face at customs, didn't even have to get my passport out.  That took, maybe, 15 seconds, otherwise it went as quick as you could walk. Perfect coordination all the way around.

On the Miracle now.  When cruising in the open Pacific,  often deck 10 and above are closed.   Too windy per the signs.   The only outdoor available space seems to be on Lido deck.  

The ship has a little rock to it but nothing that has bothered our group.  

General comment.   I'm just realizing how hard it is to get in a bunch of steps on these smaller ships.   My step counter just doesn't go up much like on the bigger ships.    This may be a positive for many.  

On the Miracle now....small size, all cake, no melting goo.   

Disappointing for me but others may like it.   The other desserts are as good as always.   

On 12/10/2023 at 9:00 AM, KaiBlue said:

We used some on our recent cruise out of Dover, UK with no issues. 

Same with us.  Must be that if you book the cruise on the US based website and the cruise is booked in dollars, they work.  I've never had a problem in the past.

A lot.  My daughter worked in Camp Ocean this summer.  I can't recall every detail but she had to do a ton of leg work to get all of the documents and fingerprint to Carnival.   

2 minutes ago, mz-s said:

Do you have to book the cruise through them by using them as a travel agent, or can you simply bill your Carnival.com purchase to your Chase card?

I've used them in the past via carnival.com and it worked.

Offer expires 8/15/2023. Offer valid one time only. Offer only valid on purchases made directly with the merchant. Offer not valid on Carnival Corporation sister lines. Offer not valid on purchases made using third-party services, delivery services, or a third-party payment account (e.g., buy now pay later). Payment must be made on or before offer expiration date.

I noticed today (not sure how long they've been there) a Chase offer on my Ink Biz Card.  

Earn 15% back on your Carnival Cruise purchase, with a $129.00 back maximum.

There is a link to book a new cruise but it didn't specify new cruise only.   Good deal it appears.

Thanks for all of the replies.  I got wrapped up traveling and didn't get a chance to respond sooner.  

We are on the wait list for the Your Time dining.  Assuming that doesn't work out we will let the Maitre D know our plans.  

How often does this happen and is it ok?

We just booked Mardi Gras for June and the only available dining is late😴.  We've never done set dining and I don't know anything about it.   We've always had YTD and always eat early.   It's looking like buffet for us.

Can you show up for just dessert occasionally, eat and leave?  We may have to have 1(or more) WCMC.

Note:  We just booked because our daughter is working on the ship this summer and she just found out her ship assignment Friday afternoon so.....we've been waiting to book, just didn't know on what ship.  

13 hours ago, bguppies said:

If they're expecting Florida will get clobbered this year, the Bahamas will have it worse. (the same general area as the Miami/ Keys beaches, just a tad easterly)

 

At least Florida can load it up in dumptrucks and haul it away.

 

Where do you take this much Sargassum on an island? (barge 1,600 dump trucks a day, away?)

 

And for those thast say it happens every year don't worry.

Its been getting worse the past few years.

From the reports I've been watching, alot of scientists think that fertilizer runoff from South America where they have been converting rainforests to farmland has been feeding the natural yearly bloom of Sargussum that flows from Africa to Florida/Mexico each year.  (Kind of looks like it grows bigger off the South American coast)

They should load this up on the biggest barges they can find and ship it down to South American, just in international waters, and dump it.

6 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Guppies are what casinos want because more often than not they don't come home with any money.

If they comp my cruise $800 and they get $400 out of me in the casino, I'm good with that.

Not worth it.  Just buy pre-board via the funshop.

21 hours ago, Trueblueky said:

What are the odds there'd be two deaths in one year? 

Once in a lifetime - at least for you.

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

They were visibly (to the naked eye) dirty. 

Good thing you didn't bring a microscope on board and take a look.

19 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

I can just about guarantee that I know what happened.  A USPH inspector found unsealed food in a crew cabin, and marked the ship down for it.  The crew are not supposed to have any open food in their cabins.  Even things like chips should be in individual serving packages.

Unfortunately that whole big bag of Doritos is an individual serving for me.   Although I guess the USPH inspector wouldn't find it unsealed unless I was actively eating.

35 minutes ago, mz-s said:

The best thing to do is call Carnival and see if they can move your money to the new booking. It is not guaranteed but they are often willing to waive penalties if you are moving your money to a future booking, rather than cancelling for a refund.

 

However you may have lost your leverage when you booked the December cruise first. So you may have to pay the penalty.

Thanks - but unfortunately I had no intentions of ever cancelling either.  My wife on the other hand.....sometimes I think I should just look for a cruise wife to go along with me when the land wife has alternative plans.

I know this has been discussed a bunch but I've never paid close attention 😳 given I've never cancelled. 

We have an early saver cruise booked March 24.   We are going to cancel and incur, I believe, a $250 cancellation fee.   We have paid $1,250 to date.

We now have a cruise booked for Dec. of 23.  Can I just roll the remaining leftover funds into that Dec. 23 cruise as a form of payment?

A very big fluffy bun.

23 hours ago, RobertoF said:

You definitely have a point.  Maybe we'll give Carnival another try with Celebration or Horizon at some point.  Those are the two newer ships close to us.  With Princess and Celebrity we have been on old and new ships and the experience has been similar.  There are things we like better about the old ships (wrap-around promenade decks; traditional large dining rooms; real balconies) so it does not feel like a significant downgrade to be on the older ships on these other lines.

Just be aware that Carnival is generally far from elegant.  It attracts quite a few people that aren't elegant (like me for instance).  I don't prefer elegant and I certainly don't want to pay for it.

I go along with the dog and pony show and wear a button down shirt and tie on Carnival's fufu nights, but that's as far as I go.  It's simply not me and I don't like to pretend.

I prefer what I consider comfort.   Khaki shorts and a t-shirt or really get crazy with a collared pull over.    Having an occasional drink, some comedy, eating a good burger, getting some sun,  hot tubs, exploring new cities anywhere in the world, etc...  That's it, that's all I'm looking for - no fluff no fufu.

I seem to fit in with most of the Carnival crowd - but I've never been on their short booze cruises and have no desire to go.

2 hours ago, seaman11 said:

It could be also connected to letting unvaxx onboard but yes lower brow clients are noticable. 

This is what the uneducated believe.

1 hour ago, Island Dog said:

Very true. The difference is Carnival (and Princess by my experience) keeps cutting things and keeping prices level yet other lines, like NCL, are keeping the experience consistent and raising prices.

 

Ultimately I'll opt for the latter.

Ultimately?  Do it now.

55 minutes ago, Out of Iowa said:

75 Euros for one person, for a single-day hop-on, hop-off bus tour with harbor cruise?  That seems very expensive...did I miss something?

Yes, European pricing.

2 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

NCL's the Local/O'Sheehans is open 24 hours a day and RCI's Sorrento's is open 24 hours a day and Princess's International Cafe is open 24 hours a day.  No pretending going on, these are facts.

The fact that Carnival has cut back the hours of the pizza place is not that big of a deal, but it is a big deal that it's the only place to get something to eat that's free after 10:00 pm on the Excel Class.

Just being honest here but missing a few late night meals and doing a little more walking wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for many frequent cruisers.

Currently sitting at $10.52 after a   >11%   gain today.