Bottomless Bubbles Price Increase

[CoW mAn]

Hours before the change takes effect John Heald posts about the price increase hidden in the description of a picture of the room service menu...thoughts?

Price went up $1 or 15% in May 2017 and now is going up another $1 or 13%.

 

[DramaQueen22]

I wouldn't use this option since Carnival allows each guest to 12 pack of soda.  I know many fly to their cruise, so that isn't feasible for them.  If I have the option, I am carrying mine onboard.

[Lottacruises]

1 hour ago, DramaQueen22 said:

I wouldn't use this option since Carnival allows each guest to 12 pack of soda.  I know many fly to their cruise, so that isn't feasible for them.  If I have the option, I am carrying mine onboard.

Plus the tip went up 3 percent not long ago.

 

How long before they ban canned sodas being brought onboard?

[MississippiMom]

I am grateful I saw John Heald’s FB post earlier today.  I went ahead and purchased BB for our two kids, today.  I envision a lot of root beer ordered to go with vanilla ice cream for root beer floats in the MDR.

Edited January 1, 2019 by MississippiMom

[Purvis1231]

5 hours ago, Grandpa Elliott said:

WOW A WHOLE ONE DOLLAR!

Not a big deal. I will continue to buy the package and enjoy it. 

[Eliot Ness]

Like anything else you just have to decide if it's worth it to you or your family.  We fly in and I really don't like schlepping a 12 pack to the ship, plus the couple of times I bought a few cans in my luggage I never had a can with me when I wanted it.  Plus, since I only drink one or two sodas a day (max) the program wasn't worth it to me.  With kids it might be a different story and the convenience for them might be worth it.  And hey, I never thought of making a float, thanks for the idea MissippiMom!  Not sure if they have root beer on Carnival, but a Black Cow (Coke float) is good also.

[emoorehead]

The cost is definitely worth it for me. My son will be 17 when we cruise in April and his package was only $46.73 for 8 days (including gratuity). Sure, I could have brought a 12 pack along for him, but he would have gone through that in 2 days. Each one of us has to decide what will work best for our individual situations.

I went in and purchased our packages last night (after midnight) and the prices had not gone up. Don't know if/when it will change. But as of right now, Carnival's site is still showing $4.95 a day for kids and $7.50 a day for adults.

[MississippiMom]

1 hour ago, Eliot Ness said:

Like anything else you just have to decide if it's worth it to you or your family.  We fly in and I really don't like schlepping a 12 pack to the ship, plus the couple of times I bought a few cans in my luggage I never had a can with me when I wanted it.  Plus, since I only drink one or two sodas a day (max) the program wasn't worth it to me.  With kids it might be a different story and the convenience for them might be worth it.  And hey, I never thought of making a float, thanks for the idea MissippiMom!  Not sure if they have root beer on Carnival, but a Black Cow (Coke float) is good also.

You are welcome for the ice cream float recommendation.  Our middle daughter doesn’t like chocolate AND isn’t very adventurous with desserts.  In the past, she has often felt left out while the rest of us are trying the fancy soufflés or delicious tarts.  Barq’s Root Beer is on the list of Carnival sodas, so she will be thrilled when she realizes that she can create her own float.  I’m not sure if she’s ever had a Coke float, but now she can give it a try, and if she doesn’t like it, she can send it away and try again, with no issues on the cost.

 

We have tried taking our own sodas on the ship, and I understand the cost savings, but the inconvenience of having to go back to the cabin for a beverage just hasn’t really worked for us.  On this upcoming cruise, our kids are high-schoolers, so they will be wandering the ship a lot, and they would NEVER remember to go back to the cabin to grab a root beer, Diet Coke, sprite, etc.

[glittergal1]

Showing as $8.50 for us in the UK 

[Lottacruises]

It was barely worth it for us before, not worth it now. I'm no longer a purchaser of this package. 

[bingomamma19]

1 hour ago, Grandpa Elliott said:

 

LOL that $1 made that big of a difference to you?

isn't it a dollar more per day?   I know that is changing my mind for our horizon cruise.   And now that we have an 11th floor room, it is very convenient to go back to the room for sodas.   We prefer Pepsi anyway, so this is a better way to go now.   No bottomless bubbles at that price

[scpirate]

15 hours ago, Grandpa Elliott said:

 

LOL that $1 made that big of a difference to you?

A dollar here,$4 for a peanut butter sandwich there,$3 more at the steak house ,3%more for the tip on that beer,we can go on and on it all adds up.the big money grips on the budget cruise line kill me with their b.s.money matters to most people if you got it to throw away why are you on carnival? Don't give me the "funship"excuse.they lost that title 15 years ago when the cutbacks started.

[Pellaz]

3 hours ago, scpirate said:

A dollar here,$4 for a peanut butter sandwich there,$3 more at the steak house ,3%more for the tip on that beer,we can go on and on it all adds up.the big money grips on the budget cruise line kill me with their b.s.money matters to most people if you got it to throw away why are you on carnival? Don't give me the "funship"excuse.they lost that title 15 years ago when the cutbacks started.

 

Sorry, I don't agree with you there.  Even with these relatively small increases, Carnival still comes out ahead when it comes to free/included food options and (usually) overall lower fare pricing.   

 

As for "Fun".....

I find that Royal and Carnival's slogans are both very apt.   Royal's ships are certainly "Wow" (at least at first glance), and I think Carnival's ships are often more "Fun."  Consider:  how long did it take Royal to come to the realization that, hey presto, people of all ages really like water-slides?...the same water slides that Carnival and Norwegian have already been including on their ships for decades?  

[Lottacruises]

On 1/2/2019 at 6:36 AM, Grandpa Elliott said:

 

LOL that $1 made that big of a difference to you?

 

Yes. 

[Lottacruises]

On 1/2/2019 at 8:17 AM, bingomamma19 said:

isn't it a dollar more per day?   I know that is changing my mind for our horizon cruise.   And now that we have an 11th floor room, it is very convenient to go back to the room for sodas.   We prefer Pepsi anyway, so this is a better way to go now.   No bottomless bubbles at that price

Agreed.

I can certainly afford it, but I no longer get my money's worth either. No thanks to the bubbles, I'll be bringing a few diet mountain dews.

[Joebucks]

I thought it was excessive before. It's even more now. If they do ever ban soda cans, that change would really anger me.

 

I guess everyone has their idea of convenience on a vacation. For me, it's being able to have whatever soda I want, in a can (superior form IMO), cold, and $4 total. 

[rukkian]

On 1/3/2019 at 2:37 AM, Pellaz said:

 

Sorry, I don't agree with you there.  Even with these relatively small increases, Carnival still comes out ahead when it comes to free/included food options and (usually) overall lower fare pricing.   

 

As for "Fun".....

I find that Royal and Carnival's slogans are both very apt.   Royal's ships are certainly "Wow" (at least at first glance), and I think Carnival's ships are often more "Fun."  Consider:  how long did it take Royal to come to the realization that, hey presto, people of all ages really like water-slides?...the same water slides that Carnival and Norwegian have already been including on their ships for decades?  

I get what you are saying, but I will say that the waterslides on any ship are not really something that many people over the age of 10 would get much enjoyment out of unless they have never been to an actual water park, and even then it is once or twice and then bored of it.  RCI has flowriders and many ships, and that holds people's attention much longer imo, simply because there is always more to learn.  As for included food, not sure I understand that either, at least on the bigger ships.  Oasis class has many, many included food options.  Maybe the smaller ships, older ships might not have as many, but neither do Carnivals smaller older ships.

 

Carnival may have the fun (going on our first in many years with the next cruise), will see.

[brookeq]

I just don't find the package worth it because I don't want flat soda.  They take warm cans and pour over ice.  It tastes flat right away :(.  If they had a fountain then maybe I would consider.  

[rukkian]

7 minutes ago, brookeq said:

I just don't find the package worth it because I don't want flat soda.  They take warm cans and pour over ice.  It tastes flat right away :(.  If they had a fountain then maybe I would consider.  

So it is all cans?  We are still trying to decide whether to order or not.  We did order for the 4 of us before it went up, but I may still cancel.  

[bingomamma19]

2 hours ago, rukkian said:

So it is all cans?  We are still trying to decide whether to order or not.  We did order for the 4 of us before it went up, but I may still cancel.  

yes...there are no fountain sodas on Carnival.  Its all cans, its warm and they will use a can that has left over soda also to pour yours.  

 

Our next cruise in March is on the 11th deck--right next to all the action.   We are bringing all our own sodas.   I used to purchase the bubble for my daughter, as she doesn't care about it being flat, but this is just not worth it by far now.