cattipillar

For me, CDs have never made a difference one way or another. I guess I just don't interact with them much.

Ditto!!!! After 20 cruises, my husband and I have had virtually ZERO dealings with the Cruise Director's on ANY ship and have often wondered what it is they "really" do? :D

Oh, well.......hakuna mata-ta!!!!!

Does anyone else have a specific pre-cruise activity that has become a tradition for them?

 

For example, years ago I started having steak and eggs the morning that we leave home for our trip. We always seem to leave at a very early hour the day prior to sail-away. My wife, despite being up hours before me, is normally still running around doing last minute things, so I have time :cool:.

 

Not really superstitious, but now I feel as if it would jinx the whole trip if I don't have my steak and eggs! My wife has capitalized on this by demanding a banana nut muffin at the airport as we start each trip haha.

 

Anyone else?

We EAT OUT DINNER for the last few days before a cruise and make sandwiches for lunch to save on time. We use the time that we would spend on cooking and run last-minute errands like picking up dry cleaning for the trip and/or any number of things that may come up........

We also stay up late the night before because we tell ourselves that we are ALREADY on vacation and can do that!!!!

I am the early bird so I get up EXTRA EARLY and imagine that in a few hours w will be sailing away.......again..........Oh, the anticipation!!!!!!

According to John Heald on his FB page, our voice has been heard by the beards at Carnival. Steel drums and caribbean music are coming back to the Lido Deck.

 

https://www.facebook.com/JohnHeald

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Been bummed ever since the steel drums left........NOW, I have something else to look forward to!!!!!

Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee............................

Yahoooooooooooooooooo.............................:D

Thank you, thank you!

Bon Voyage and have a wonderful, safe trip!!!!!!!! :D

I was reading several threads about the free cruise offer a number of Carnival Cruisers, but not all, received. To be honest, I really didn't have much of an opinion (Good for Them!, Not Fair, Why not me? etc.) UNTIL I got an email from a good friend today. She got one of the offers and is now booked to go in June as soon as school lets out (She's a teacher). The funny thing is I was the one that introduced her to cruising in 2011. Her first cruise, my first time on Carnival. Since that date she has sailed twice with Carnival with her husband, and I have sailed 3 times with mine. Neither one of us spends any money in the casino, and I know my on-board bill is always much higher than hers.

 

Anyway, happy for her, but now that someone I know got the offer and I didn't I have to admit that I am just a little bit annoyed with Carnival. Doesn't mean I will never sail with them again-Guess I'm just not feeling the love.

I'm FEELING the same way........after 19 cruises with CARNIVAL and not so much as a FREE grain of rice, I have come to the conclusion that I CHOOSE to be HAPPY, regardless of what they do or do not do and because I live only 1 hour from the port of New Orleans.....Laissez le bon temps rouler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does there seem to be any rhyme or reason to who they call for free upgrades? To me it seems odd to offer a balcony to a person booked interior unless they exhausted a whole list of OV passengers that passed on the opportunity. (And for free, why would they?). My point is, since OV typically pay more for their rooms, doesn't it make sense to offer a free balcony to them and then offer the vacant OV rooms to interior? I've considered that they look at how many cruises you've taken with carnival and are rewarding loyal customers with the calls. I really hope the latter is true as we've been cruising with them for over 10 years and are booked with #11 now and have never been offered a free upgrade. (I have been offered an upsell...)

Been wondering that myself!!!!! About to go on my 19th cruise with Carnival in a few weeks and have yet to get that long-awaited call from the infamous "upsell fairy"!!!! However, I remain.........optimstic!!!

For me, it's Carnival Elation. This is a much smaller ship that has been around the block but continues to give EXCELLENT service and after all these years, she is still a beauty.......I've been on her 5 times now with my next trip in 2 months and will one day be sad to see her go......:D

Not happy. What is Carnival thinking?

Ditto for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :confused:

Leaving off the Sunshine in New Orleans on Sun. 12/1/13 with our family of 6 and 2 in-laws, we didn't count our checked luggage and didn't discover that one bag was not brought home with us! It was a bag carried on, but we decided to leave it outside our door the last night of the cruise since I had 2 additional bags of souvenirs. Yes, it contained all of the cruise photos we purchased, including my Christmas photo cards! It was not sitting with all of our other bags at the terminal when we left.

 

Not sure why our name & address was not on this bag, but the homemade bright orange duct tape strips around all our luggage handles saved the day!

 

 

I called the Port of New Orleans on Monday morning and obtained the phone number of the company that handles "forgotten/lost" luggage: CONCORD SHORE SERVICES - (504) 304-0157.

 

Thank goodness we live near N.O. and I was able to stop by their office in Metairie, LA (3524 16th Street, Suite D, Metairie‎ LA‎ 70002 - off Severn - behind Lakeside Mall) the following morning. I described my luggage over the phone & several items in the bag, and Shannon put my name on the bag. Although Shannon said their office hours were 8:30-4, I did wait 10 minutes for a man to open the office. They were very helpful & professional, and after producing my Drivers License & signing a form, I was on my way!

 

I learned several things from this experience:

 

1. Put Name/Address/Phone Numbers on inside & outside of all checked & carryon bags - the plastic Carnival tag w/ our room number was no longer on the bag & our blue Zone number tag was missing as well;

 

2. Make sure the same bright tags are on all luggage;

 

3. Keep an accurate count of all checked & carryon bags; and

 

4. Make sure all bags are accounted for BEFORE you drive away from the cruise terminal!

 

I'm glad this story turned out the way it did!

This happened to my husband and I a few years back, but because we live over an hour away, we opted to have the bag delivered........$78.00 later, it arrived safe and sound........BIG lesson learned!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not really a well-known football player now, but @ the time of this particular cruise, he was a top-notch lineman for the LSU TIGERS! (the cruise was from New Orleans)

Seems as if everywhere we went, we ran into him and his girlfriend and after a day of two, struck up a conversation and talked many times throughout the remainder of the cruise. We even wound up going to the same beach in Cozumel, Paradise Beach, and we later joked that we were stalking each other...lol!

He was very sweet and a VERY BIG guy but seemed gentle as a lamb in person........nice memories!

I thought start a “you know that you are addicted to cruising” carnival edition. If you are game please add to the list!

 

You know that you’re addicted to cruising if…

 

…you spend way too much time on zydecocruiser’s site looking at food porn

…you know who zydecocruiser is

…you have donated to zydecocruiser’s site

…you go on cruise critic more that you get on facebook

…you go find the MDR menu online and plan our your meals so you will know what to order

…you think about cruising all the time

…you wish that you were cruising right now

…you get excited when you hear the words “lido deck”

…you know the cruise directors and are friends with the on facebook

…your PVP’s number is plugged into your mobile phone

…your PVP has your number programmed into their personal mobile phone

...people tell you that you are addicted to cruising

…you measure things in how many cruises that would cost

…when Carnival has had it’s PR issues you were just wondering how much prices would drop on your Early Saver booked cruises

…you miss the future cruise certificates

AMEN, Bother!!!!!!! LOL :D:D:D