Comparing Carnival, Celebrity, and NCL w/regard to CC Meet-n-Greet's

[halos]

Numerous people have posted the same thing. I enjoyed the Eggs Benedict onboard, and I like Crabcakes - but I just can't bring myself to put the two together!

Tom

 

Did you try the steak & eggs??? I think Bill had that every morning :eek: I swear by the end of that 9 day cruise, the man had eaten an entire cow.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Did you try the steak & eggs??? I think Bill had that every morning :eek: I swear by the end of that 9 day cruise, the man had eaten an entire cow.

 

LOL - nope. I am a fairly boring breakfast eater. At home I alternate between fried eggs (w/ketchup!) and cereal. On a ship it's either the fried eggs or Eggs Benedict -- with some cereal thrown in for good measure. Cheryl is your basic omelet person or grits w/poached eggs. That showcases her southern upbringing, whereas grits don't seem like food to me! :D

 

Tom

[halos]

LOL - nope. I am a fairly boring breakfast eater. At home I alternate between fried eggs (w/ketchup!) and cereal. On a ship it's either the fried eggs or Eggs Benedict -- with some cereal thrown in for good measure. Cheryl is your basic omelet person or grits w/poached eggs. That showcases her southern upbringing, whereas grits don't seem like food to me! :D

 

Tom

 

Well, at home, my breakfast is coffee (with my morning Cruise Critic)....when I do eat it's a yogurt. On a cruise...well, crab cakes benedict is just too difficult to resist.:p

As for the steak & eggs, the steak is a very decent sized fillet...I'd say somewhere between 6 and 8 ounces.

amazing...

 

Ok.

Now I'm hungry....:D

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

As for the steak & eggs, the steak is a very decent sized fillet...I'd say somewhere between 6 and 8 ounces.

...

 

... as in tenderloin??

 

Tom

[halos]

... as in tenderloin??

 

Tom

absolutely ;)

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

absolutely ;)

 

I may consider a ... s l i g h t ... modification to my breakfast routine. ;)

 

Tom

[dasmonkey]

If you are a Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean, you get the behind the scenes tour for no charge. Does Carnival do this for the Platinum?

 

 

No, and there is no reason to.

 

Seriously how much Kool-Aid does one have to guzzle to preach the concept of "less is better"? ;)

[iluvdoxies]

We won't count this one as your last question.. it's still out there in the future somewhere! :D

 

The Epic Club is a Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner restaurant exclusively for suite guests (even family and friends traveling in non-suite accommodations are not eligible). There is no extra charge for dining there, as you have essentially already paid the tab, owing to your being in a suite! Their menu does not really differ through the week, but they often have daily specials. On all other NCL ships they have a steakhouse (Cagney's) which is reserved for suite guests during breakfast and lunch, but open to all (at additional cost, including suite guests) for dinner.

 

 

Here is the Epic Club menu:

 

 

wow that looks amazing ! We will definately eat there a lot, esp. breakfast. Will our butler make ressies for us or is it just show up ?

I like the breakfast buffet on Carnival, but not really fond of buffets in general, we eat a lot of breaky in the dining room.

 

Also want to try the restaurant that has the different meats I forget the name. ANd the Japanese one too. SOOO many choices. But since the Epic is no extra charge, will prob eat there most nights for dinner.

 

You have been a wealth of info and so nice about it too.

 

Btw we are on deck 14, mid ship

 

I love to eat a big breakfast when cruising, usually eggs benedict or omlette, grits and bacon, fruit and of course some mimmies to wash it down with. At home, usually Cheerios lol.

[golfadj]

Everyone says Carnival does not really care much about the returning cruiser but not sure I believe that.

 

Between the FCC and stockholder credit we save $ 200 on each cruise which becomes a major reason we keep coming back (besides the fact we have a great time on board).

 

Also offer a credit card with double points for Carnival purchases so we can get 50 to 100 obc for each cruise. Still manage to go over this amount with a bit of smuggling too.

 

Why do this if they do not want us returnees.

 

I do realize the first time guest is more likely to run up large bills on board and pay for overpriced excursions.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

wow that looks amazing ! We will definately eat there a lot, esp. breakfast. Will our butler make ressies for us or is it just show up ?...

 

We never made reservations, not sure if they are an option or not. The several times we ate there (only the one time for dinner) we just showed up. The wait was never more than a couple/few minutes - usually being seated immediately.

 

Tom

[halos]

Everyone says Carnival does not really care much about the returning cruiser but not sure I believe that.

 

Between the FCC and stockholder credit we save $ 200 on each cruise which becomes a major reason we keep coming back (besides the fact we have a great time on board).

 

Also offer a credit card with double points for Carnival purchases so we can get 50 to 100 obc for each cruise. Still manage to go over this amount with a bit of smuggling too.

 

Why do this if they do not want us returnees.

 

I do realize the first time guest is more likely to run up large bills on board and pay for overpriced excursions.

 

I love OBC too :) However, not all past guests of CCL cruises are stockholders. Heck you can own CCL stock and have never cruised the line, so being a stockholder doesn't say anything about CCL's teatment of past cruisers.

 

And other lines have the same credit card gig going.

I also get 2% on any money I spend on NCL cruises. There was a time (before the economy went down the toilet) that number used to be 4%

THAT was really nice. We made out like bandits back then. :)

 

BUT any OBC, from any source is good OBC :)

[DGP1111]

Well I did it, come 2/25/12 we will see up close and personal NCL's meet and greet on the EPIC ! I'm just giddy with excitement :)

 

Tom your posts and Don's convinced me to do it, so it's your fault lol.

 

If you have the same wonderful time, I'll gladly accept partial credit. :)

 

If you don't, well, then it's all Tom-n-Cheryl's fault.

 

Wait, Cheryl has been very quiet, so I shouldn't . . . (naaah, I'll throw that sweet lady under the bus anyway) :p :D :p

.

.

[DGP1111]

. . . EPIC is not the first ship to have an observation area for the bridge. It would be interesting to see if they keep it open for viewing during emergencies.

 

I'm admitting in advance that's one question I'll never ever know. :o

They may leave it like it is, cover it with a curtain, or perhaps even remove the window entirely and put in a revolving door. I won't care.

If the ship is having an emergency I'm taking my fanny (with passport, iPod and waterproof camera in hand) to the Bliss Lounge, knowing that about ten steps outside that side doors is a brigade of life boats, if needed. :)

.

.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Everyone says Carnival does not really care much about the returning cruiser but not sure I believe that.

 

Only a few say that. I know I don't believe it for a second. I believe some just like stirring the pot.

 

Between the FCC and stockholder credit we save $ 200 on each cruise which becomes a major reason we keep coming back (besides the fact we have a great time on board).

 

RCL has the same offer.

 

I do realize the first time guest is more likely to run up large bills on board and pay for overpriced excursions.

 

And every show will be new to them. They won't whine about the good old days. We still sometimes pay for overpriced excursions and sometimes risk missing the boat with private tours. Things can, and sometimes do go wrong with private tours. Invariably the cruise line still gets the blame - go figure.

 

Someone asked why less is better? Only to a few is more better, those who receive it, usually at the expense of less for the rest, except perhaps for cost. Far better is equal treatment and shared costs by all. All for Fun and Fun for All, don't cha know! Many prefer value and not overpaying for cruises.

 

However this thread is about Meet & Greets. Not quite sure how it got to breakfast items, suite, past guest, and other perks. :confused:

 

I think this thread is officially way off topic and has been for a while.

[iluvdoxies]

Only a few say that. I know I don't believe it for a second. I believe some just like stirring the pot.

 

 

 

RCL has the same offer.

 

 

 

And every show will be new to them. They won't whine about the good old days. We still sometimes pay for overpriced excursions and sometimes risk missing the boat with private tours. Things can, and sometimes do go wrong with private tours. Invariably the cruise line still gets the blame - go figure.

 

Someone asked why less is better? Only to a few is more better, those who receive it, usually at the expense of less for the rest, except perhaps for cost. Far better is equal treatment and shared costs by all. All for Fun and Fun for All, don't cha know! Many prefer value and not overpaying for cruises.

 

However this thread is about Meet & Greets. Not quite sure how it got to breakfast items, suite, past guest, and other perks. :confused:

 

I think this thread is officially way off topic and has been for a while.

 

Then dont read it anymore :)

[iluvdoxies]

If you have the same wonderful time, I'll gladly accept partial credit. :)

 

If you don't, well, then it's all Tom-n-Cheryl's fault.

 

Wait, Cheryl has been very quiet, so I shouldn't . . . (naaah, I'll throw that sweet lady under the bus anyway) :p :D :p

.

.

 

We have a good time, no matter what. So go ahead and accept credit :)

[golfadj]

I love OBC too :) However, not all past guests of CCL cruises are stockholders. Heck you can own CCL stock and have never cruised the line, so being a stockholder doesn't say anything about CCL's teatment of past cruisers.

 

 

Lets agree to disagree on this one. Many people purchase 100 shares of CCL stock for the onboard credit and gotta believe Carnival instituted this to help bring people back for cruise after cruise.

 

We bought it 2 years ago after the stock price was knocked way down and thought it was a good investment in its own right and than add $100 stock dividend to each cruise and it became a no brainer to me.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

However this thread is about Meet & Greets. Not quite sure how it got to breakfast items, suite, past guest, and other perks. :confused:

 

I think this thread is officially way off topic and has been for a while.

 

It's easy to get it all mixed up -- what with all these "comparison" threads floating around. ;)

 

Tom

[Sargent_Schultz]

Then dont read it anymore :)

 

or perhaps it is time to merge all of the threads on similar (or not) subjects since they have morphed into each other. :p

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

or perhaps it is time to merge all of the threads on similar (or not) subjects since they have morphed into each other. :p

 

Of course, then it would become next to impossible to sift out useful information. It can get cluttered enough as is! (he says to all but one.. ;) )

 

Tom

[near the beach]

The only meet and great we attended was on the Imagination. We had one of the bars. There was a sign that said private function next to the door. We were assigned three Carnival employees. A bar tender, a waiter and a DJ. It was a good thing that it was free except for the cost of drinks. Only five people showed up. More than twenty five said they would show up. We brought in people as they walked by to fill the room. Carnival was great to let this happen. It was fun even if for a short while. :)

[ChefSusan]

Tom,

 

GREAT thread! It's convincing me more and more to "expand" our horizons and start to look into other cruise lines :)

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...Only five people showed up. More than twenty five said they would show up. We brought in people as they walked by to fill the room. Carnival was great to let this happen. It was fun even if for a short while. :)

 

Don't you love it when that happens! Some people on the roll call don't take all of this a seriously as others. If we say we'll show up - we'll be there!

 

Tom,

 

GREAT thread! It's convincing me more and more to "expand" our horizons and start to look into other cruise lines :)

 

Thanks!

 

When you do try something else, just don't assume the worst if it does not meet your expectations. I know that our first, and only thus far, trip on Royal Caribbean (Sovereign of the Seas) fell short on multiple fronts. It caused us to look elsewhere since then. However, I am sure we'll make it back to Royal at some point --- I am interested in the Oasis/Allure.

 

Tom

[halos]

When you do try something else, just don't assume the worst if it does not meet your expectations. I know that our first, and only thus far, trip on Royal Caribbean (Sovereign of the Seas) fell short on multiple fronts. It caused us to look elsewhere since then. However, I am sure we'll make it back to Royal at some point --- I am interested in the Oasis/Allure.

 

Tom

 

I agree.

Our first and only (thus far) on RCI (EOS) didn't meet my expectations by a long shot. I have to put some of the the blame on RCI cruisers who adamantly insisted that RCI was so far superior to CCL...so I went in expecting something totally fabulous and it didn't meet that expectation. I ran right back to CCL.

I will sail Royal again though...I just won't have expectations one way or the other. It's a cruise. I'll just expect to have fun and I'm sure I will :) I've learned to enjoy the differences each line offers.

I'm on a ship...which to me is what is most important.

 

I was having horrific ship withdrawal this past weekend and my DH and I drove into Portland hoping one would be in port to oogle :p ....unfortunately no ship. We should start getting some in at a steady pace this week coming up though. :D

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

..

I was having horrific ship withdrawal this past weekend and my DH and I drove into Portland hoping one would be in port to oogle :p ....unfortunately no ship. We should start getting some in at a steady pace this week coming up though. :D

 

:D Then I shouldn't feel guilty when we head to the port for lunch every few weekends just to enjoy Coronas/wings/oysters and watch the ships leave! :D

 

Sorry... :o

 

;)

 

Tom