Ask Carnival Corp’s CEO: Call for Questions for Josh Weinstein

[Steelers36]

On 2/15/2023 at 3:11 PM, CCAubs said:

One of the biggest cruise industry events, Seatrade Cruise Global, is quickly approaching. At the event, cruise line CEOs sit side by side to discuss all things cruising. This year’s panel of esteemed CEOs includes Carnival Corporation’s President, CEO & Chief Climate Officer, Josh Weinstein. 

 

And he wants to hear from Cruise Critic members. 

 

Do you have a question that you’d love to ask Mr. Weinstein? Are you wondering what’s ahead for onboard dining and entertainment? Have thoughts on how Carnival Corp. can leverage technology to improve the cruise experience? Do you have questions about the cruise line’s sustainability efforts? We want to hear from you.

 

Share your questions below, and your question might be one asked of Mr. Weinstein at this year’s event.

IMO, you should have given us the date of the event and the deadline to submit questions.  Outside of that, thanks for including us in this process.

[Steelers36]

On 2/15/2023 at 5:57 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

Just as a side note...I noticed that "CCAubs" has this same notification posted in almost every other line's forum here on CC.  I'm not holding my breath that *any* of these questions/concerns will really be addressed.  (No...I'm not the least bit cynical...why do you ask?)

To your point, I think it was about a year ago that another CC post was pinned to top of page and we were invited to ask "Princess Experts" questions on Medallion App, etc.  Well, there were plenty of pointed questions to which we never got answers.  The so-called "Expert(s)" finally showed up one or twice and posted a platitude or two about not much and never addressed the real issues and questions.  Several of us were not amused and CC shutdown the thread.  Waste of time and energy on that one. 

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by Steelers36

[Steelers36]

On 2/15/2023 at 5:38 PM, PacnGoNow said:

It’s been 5 years since the Medallion Class App (Now Princess App) was introduced to Princess cruisers.  When will it be user friendly with less errors caused by IT updates? 
 

We are now 187 pages, just on Part 3 of Ocean Medallion Help thread on Cruise Critic. Trying to help others to navigate the App.  So much frustration for many guests.

Love the concept, but it was too quickly implemented before basic testing. 
 

Simplify the App. 

TBH, the Medallion Class App went live around June 7, 2021.  It is approaching 1yr, 9 mths - almost TWO!!! years.  What existed prior to that release date and prior to The Great Pause, was some on-board functionality that worked basically and was not full of bugs.  I would focus on the past two years and the total mess when it first came out despite having a ton of time to design, develop and test.  (Oh sorry, forgot - they didn't test it).

 

[Steelers36]

13 hours ago, Coral said:

I can't believe it has been 5 years (I believe you). The app is just horrible. I spent hours with it the other day because I cancelled a cruise and then rebooked it due to price drop and it took days for me to get logged in! It kept saying my booking number was claimed. What a nightmare.

It has not (see my post above).  All of the problems have occurred since June 7, 2021, launch of MC App and the PRE-Cruise experience and functionality.

[travelin.sisters]

what is being done to address the massive problem with consistency policy implementation, I could write pages of examples, but here is one form last summer/fall platinum/elite members were given 1/2 internet packages but to get the pre order discount you had to pay the full price & then get a refund onboard--it was supposed to be refundable credit per the official Princess documentation but depending on the ship it was often issued as non-refundable...there are so many other things that it depends on the ship, CS rep, or whoever you happen to manage to ask, what the answer is so we are many times "sailing blind" as it were at the mercy of the person we manage to talk to for how  policy is carried out...CC friends, I am not sure I am expressing the frustration of this well, so if you can help clarify please do!!

[PacnGoNow]

7 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

TBH, the Medallion Class App went live around June 7, 2021.  It is approaching 1yr, 9 mths - almost TWO!!! years.  What existed prior to that release date and prior to The Great Pause, was some on-board functionality that worked basically and was not full of bugs.  I would focus on the past two years and the total mess when it first came out despite having a ton of time to design, develop and test.  (Oh sorry, forgot - they didn't test it).

 

You’re right, in that it was a full blown App in 2021 and seemed to be overdeveloped and under tested.

 

I did list in my post #15, my memory of using the OM and the initial beginnings of the App. We were on the first ships in 2018 & 2019 using the OM.  
 

That was the opportunity they had to develop and test before implementation of the App.

 

 

 

 

[Honolulu Blue]

Mr. Weinstein:  When will the next group of 80s themed cruises be announced for Princess?  Has there been any thought to expanding this theme to any other Carnival Corp. cruise lines?

Edited February 17, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[voljeep]

Will / can Princess schedule a couple of 5-4-5 day cruises out of PE to substitute for the 7-7 day eastern/western cruises in the Spring and Fall.

[PacnGoNow]

Give us longer cruises in the Caribbean 14-21 day more extensive, with new islands. Instead of all the same itineraries of the 7 and 10 day, and having to do b2b2b’s. 
 

Give us longer Alaskan cruises out of the US ports, instead of so many Vancouver departures. 
 

 

 

 

[CruisnDeb]

On 2/15/2023 at 4:09 PM, PacnGoNow said:

I would like to know, for the health of guests and crew, why not have no smoking casinos or at least no smoking nights during a cruise? 
 

 

On 2/15/2023 at 4:21 PM, Lady Arwen said:

Yes, yes, yes!  #1 Question!  Please listen, Princess!  No casino smoking!

 

On 2/16/2023 at 8:08 AM, Coral said:

It needs to go "no smoking ever". The casino just reeks of smoke even when empty. I am guessing they will get gamblers when smoking is banned. Those who gamble won't stop gambling and those who hate smoke can now go in. Our local casinos do fine with no smoking.

 

On 2/16/2023 at 8:15 AM, PacnGoNow said:

I agree.  But, I don’t know if they will ever change.  They even took away the no smoking on formal nights.  I could go there on formal night and wear a 😷 if it was no smoking.  
To separate it as half no smoking, is really a joke.  
This thread is not going to turn into a no smoking thread.  But, I totally agree with you!

 

 

Agree with all of the above--inside smoking needs to go away.  I'm all for smokers having a covered space outside at the back of the ship.

[Steelers36]

This is more of a PCL-specific question, but there were re-positioning type voyages with PCL pre-Covid, such as UK/Med thru Suez Canal to Dubai and then east to Singapore and Australia - or the reverse.  When will we see these longer voyages with rarely-visited ports again?

[cr8tiv1]

Yes, I was one of those that was promised refundable 50% elite internet OBC.  Fought it all the way up the chain of command on the Grand.  Told by multiple people that they would look into this.  huh!  “It is what it was.” 
 

Then there is the testing wording for Covid.  All

in the same paragraph.
Yes, PCR test 3 days 

Yes, Rapid Antigen proctored. 1, 2, or 3 days

Yes, self tested RAT 24 hours.

 

Every variation, but nothing clear.  
 

There lies the issue with many policies.  Someone needs to coordinate and come to an agreement before print.  Princess is inconsistent in many ways.  
 

OH….how many days before cruise to pick arrival time?  Anywhere from 59 to 1 week before.  
 

Do you see a pattern here?  @travelin.sisters

Edited February 17, 2023 by cr8tiv1

[Thrak]

1. Fix the corkage fee notice. Supposedly it is now $20 per bottle but the luggage tags still plainly list $15. Make it one or the other but make it the same everywhere it's listed.

 

2. Ban smoking in the casino or at least offer some non-smoking nights as was done prior to the shutdown.

 

3. Update or change your dress code. Either enforce the code or get rid of it.

 

4. Rethink the policy regarding wine "naming" with Princess Plus. It's unfair not to list the wines by name and winery. At this point you may as well just be offering "clear or purple".

 

5. Stop selling itineraries that you know in advance won't be honored. If a port stop won't be made don't advertise it in the itinerary.

 

6. Enforce the "no smoking" policy for balconies. Since the restart there have been numerous complaints regarding smoke when people want to use their balcony. This has been both cigarette smoke and marijuana smoke. Even when reported nothing is done.

 

7. Increase staff so people don't have 3 hour (or longer) hold times when calling.

 

8. Train your phone staff. Questions are answered inconsistently. People are told by staff that something can't be done but another call may get a different answer.

[LACruiser88]

46 minutes ago, Thrak said:

2. Ban smoking in the casino

 

47 minutes ago, Thrak said:

Enforce the "no smoking" policy for balconies.

Ditto!

[Ombud]

INPUT: Request to institute coffee pkg on other lines (aka: Carnival) / keep it on Princess.

[roadster08]

Why can't some cruises be offered without formal nights? Many cruisers are just not interested but would ok with business or country club casual every night. Others would rather not have to pack formal clothes for just one or two nights  Princess should at least try out scheduling some cruises during the month without formal  nights.

 

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

The dine my way was an interesting concept but it's poorly implemented and leads to unneeded stress, long lines and loss of pre-cruise dining time coordination with multiple cabins or large groups. Will you consider bringing traditional dining times back to Princess? The same question goes for the problematic Medallion App, will you make this a pre-cruise stress free experience for your guests by taking the anxiety out of the check-in process and return to a web based experience with an easy check-in method where surprise changes/deletions aren't made without us knowing.

Edited February 18, 2023 by ATL_Miami_Cruiser

[trekkerlady]

I agree with other posters regarding instituting No Smoking in the Casino or on balconies.  I would also like to see some different Caribbean itineraries (I live in Florida so PE is close for us) as well as some shorter cruises.  Would love to see Island and Coral back in the Caribbean or Alaska as well.  Thank you for including CC members in this process.  

[Steelers36]

Elite mini-bar swap.  Allow us to swap 50% of the mini-bar content, which must consist of at least 50% of the alcohol allotment, for ONE coffee package.  I.E> minimum 5 alcohol drinks in the 10 swapped for the single coffee package.  Either of the cabinmates is designated as the receiver of the coffee package and loaded to their onboard account. 

 

[PacnGoNow]

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Elite mini-bar swap.  Allow us to swap 50% of the mini-bar content, which must consist of at least 50% of the alcohol allotment, for ONE coffee package.  I.E> minimum 5 alcohol drinks in the 10 swapped for the single coffee package.  Either of the cabinmates is designated as the receiver of the coffee package and loaded to their onboard account. 

 

They’ve gotten rid of the coffee package and turned it into a “Zero alcohol package” which is a coffee, smoothie, juice package.  It’s outrageously priced for those of us that want just coffee and not all that other stuff. 
 

So, now what happens to the Elite minibar exchange that we did for the coffee packages?  

[PacnGoNow]

Bring back our coffee package please.  

 

No notice, just a disappearing package over the weekend.  Coffee lovers aren’t interested in packages with smoothies, juices and soda.  $47.19 a day per person for coffee, really?

 

 

 

 

[Host CJSKIDS]

On 2/15/2023 at 5:57 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

Just as a side note...I noticed that "CCAubs" has this same notification posted in almost every other line's forum here on CC.  I'm not holding my breath that *any* of these questions/concerns will really be addressed.  (No...I'm not the least bit cynical...why do you ask?)

They will be there in an official capacity and the conference is really amazing and huge as I was fortunate enough to go one year for cruise critic. I'm sure questions will be picked from each cruise line area and asked. 

[Thrak]

What is happening with the Coffee package and the Soda package?  They have disappeared from availability to purchase. Will they become available again? What will happen with Elite cruisers who want to trade out the mini-bar for the coffee package?

[georgiavol]

Stop poisoning us with smoking! Ok, I get it. Drunks who blow cash in the casino also like to smoke. I'm sure the degenerate gamblers will still come in a smoke free environment. SO STOP IT!!!!

[Steelers36]

12 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

They’ve gotten rid of the coffee package and turned it into a “Zero alcohol package” which is a coffee, smoothie, juice package.  It’s outrageously priced for those of us that want just coffee and not all that other stuff. 
 

So, now what happens to the Elite minibar exchange that we did for the coffee packages?  

 

12 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Bring back our coffee package please.  

 

No notice, just a disappearing package over the weekend.  Coffee lovers aren’t interested in packages with smoothies, juices and soda.  $47.19 a day per person for coffee, really?

 

 

 

 

Worst news since the increase in PLUS to $60.  Yikes!!