Carnival got more expensive for solos, right?

[maryann2]

4 hours ago, firefly333 said:

 Naive outlook. There are other cruiselines ready to take them. Ncl has solo areas. Royal recently announced for TA TP and transits now instead of me paying 150% I pay 125% ... for any cabin. Not the 1A carnival used to offer to solos. My TA and Panama transit in a balcony cabin on royal were about $100 a day and my TA repriced them down 25%. .. though he said now the rates are so low he cant pay extra obc. That's ok I took it. 

 

What you dont seem to get is carniva is pushing people to book other cruiselines, just not carnival. And taking their friends so they can all cruise together. As a shareholder I think it's a mistake. I dont need to take other kind of vacations. That's where you are not seeing what's going on. The cruising deals are so good I wish I could separate myself and be on 2 cruises at once. A TP just came up for calif to Tokyo so good I sure wish I could do it too. There cruising deals for solos are out there, just not here. Some have such a myopic view they cant see what's going on. My solo deals are only limited by my time I see ... not a one on carnival. Even princess has many lower supplement deals. Carnival is becoming a gamblers cruise. If you dont get casino rates, the rates shrink. And then people wonder why the casino so crowded. I took a friend and she had trouble finding a machine and said no more carnival..

 

I'm watching mardi gras rates and if a last minute rate is low and I'm not booked I'll jump on it, if not there are lots of other deals.

I agree with you about jumping ship to other lines. I have Panorama TP booked for October but sadly feel it will be my last Carnival cruise.

I love Transatlantics and my two recent ones have been on Princess.  The first had no solo supplement, booked after final payment, the second one minimal.

Had offer to upgrade to balcony with minimum bid which I did.

I can still get $250 OBC for Shareholder benefit .

Like you I used to love the solo 1A prices and the portholes.

[n6uqqq]

Ironically Princess is not charging double the "required fees and expenses" for solos despite being under the same CCL corporate umbrella. Go figure! 

[kad56]

3 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

Ironically Princess is not charging double the "required fees and expenses" for solos despite being under the same CCL corporate umbrella. Go figure! 

 

Yup. I did dummy bookings of two similar sailings, and Carnival's more expensive. 

[StephPS79]

I don't think Carnival is the only line to charge a single supplement fee.  It's definitely more highlighted now with the new pricing breakdown, which was the intent of the law.  As it was mentioned, these fees can no longer "hide" inside of other fees.

 

Instead of picking apart fees, it might make more sense to look at the total dollar spent, and then decide what is a value to you.

 

I'm certainly not going to change my plans because I might be charged $80 dollars instead of $40 when my overall price is $500 vs. $1000 with another cruise line.  

[Cinnamon2]

I just did a mock booking for a balcony cabin on Carnival Pride for a cruise we are considering.  The exact same cabin is about $85 less when booking for one passenger than when booking for two.

[xyzcruiser]

17 hours ago, StephPS79 said:

I don't think Carnival is the only line to charge a single supplement fee.  It's definitely more highlighted now with the new pricing breakdown, which was the intent of the law.  As it was mentioned, these fees can no longer "hide" inside of other fees.

 

Instead of picking apart fees, it might make more sense to look at the total dollar spent, and then decide what is a value to you.

 

I'm certainly not going to change my plans because I might be charged $80 dollars instead of $40 when my overall price is $500 vs. $1000 with another cruise line.  

 maybe, but there are other lines with comparable prices that don't do this and give a solo double points too, that's why I will be switching

[VentureMan_2000]

How much do y'all lose gambling, on average ?

[DeniseTr]

On 8/20/2024 at 4:06 PM, StephPS79 said:

I don't think Carnival is the only line to charge a single supplement fee.  It's definitely more highlighted now with the new pricing breakdown, which was the intent of the law.  As it was mentioned, these fees can no longer "hide" inside of other fees.

 

Instead of picking apart fees, it might make more sense to look at the total dollar spent, and then decide what is a value to you.

 

I'm certainly not going to change my plans because I might be charged $80 dollars instead of $40 when my overall price is $500 vs. $1000 with another cruise line.  

Single supplement isn't the issue. It's the lying claiming that the fee is for port fees (taxes), when in reality it's not. 

Princess charges significantly less to solos than carnival, although it's still a lot higher than per person for pair.

[DeniseTr]

21 hours ago, xyzcruiser said:

 maybe, but there are other lines with comparable prices that don't do this and give a solo double points too, that's why I will be switching

Which ones give double points?

[kad56]

3 minutes ago, DeniseTr said:

Which ones give double points?

 

Princess does. HAL doesn't. I'm not sure about any other lines.

[shof515]

11 minutes ago, DeniseTr said:

Which ones give double points?

Royal does when you book as a solo

[firefly333]

33 minutes ago, DeniseTr said:

Which ones give double points?

Royal gives 1 pt regular, 1 solo, 1 for JS and higher. 3 possible now. They ran a double pts promo for a year or more after covid, so 6 a day possible. Wish I'd done more then!

 

I was 197 after covid and now 503 and missed 2 cruises when mom died and I was overwhelmed.  Or I'd be even higher. A 10 and 7 day. Need 700 for pinnacle. I'll be there with double pts as a solo end of next year.  ... plus they reduced the supplement on TA TP and transits to lure more solos. Free wifi here I come. I wish I was there already as I love my wifi. You can keep my free drinks. Dont need more. 

 

Double pts really help get me higher faster. Love them as a solo. 

[StephPS79]

33 minutes ago, DeniseTr said:

Single supplement isn't the issue. It's the lying claiming that the fee is for port fees (taxes), when in reality it's not. 

Princess charges significantly less to solos than carnival, although it's still a lot higher than per person for pair.

 

This isn't the case at all.  There are two line items, in addition to "Cruise Fare" there is a line item for "Required Cruise Fees and Expenses" and one for "Government Taxes and Fees."  There is even an info button that tells you what these fees are.  The only thing claimed as taxes is "Government Taxes and Fees" and that is the same amount per person, regardless of how many people are booked.  "Required Cruise Fees and Expenses" are part of the fare, and have nothing to do with port fees.

[mikayla73]

14 minutes ago, StephPS79 said:

"Required Cruise Fees and Expenses" and one for "Government Taxes and Fees."

I wonder what the breakdown of these are. I know we used to be able to see the specific port fees for a sailing, but no longer can and port fees are now part of these fees.

 

It'd be one way to know for sure what and how much is charged per person. I doubt anyone would ever show that exact breakdown of either, but just curious.

[Badfinger]

On 8/20/2024 at 4:46 AM, kad56 said:

All true, but hotels advertise per room, rental cars advertise per car, parking garages per space...

 

Carnival advertises per person, not per cabin.

 

And I'm looking at casino rates, which are $100 per person, and I know I'm going to have to pay $200 for myself. I'm fine with that. The part that bothers me is that they've added this "Required Cruise Fees & Expenses" fee, which doesn't actually the port fees per person, and they're going to pocket anything over the fees. It feels a dishonest.

But if you read the fine print, my guess is it is per person based upon double occupancy.

 

[crzndeb]

On 8/22/2024 at 6:27 AM, DeniseTr said:

Which ones give double points?

I sail mostly Royal now, because of double points and single deposit, and reciprocal benefits on Celebrity. I have earned enough points now to get a discount as a solo. Like @maryann2, I will be sailing on the Panorama TP in October. My last cruise on Carnival was coincidentally on the Panorama in 2021. I have nothing against them and will continue to sail on long, unique voyages if I see something I like. Some folks don’t really care about the little extra perks long time cruisers get, but I do. 

[firefly333]

14 minutes ago, crzndeb said:

I sail mostly Royal now, because of double points and single deposit, and reciprocal benefits on Celebrity. I have earned enough points now to get a discount as a solo. Like @maryann2, I will be sailing on the Panorama TP in October. My last cruise on Carnival was coincidentally on the Panorama in 2021. I have nothing against them and will continue to sail on long, unique voyages if I see something I like. Some folks don’t really care about the little extra perks long time cruisers get, but I do. 

I feel the same way. If I could get a decent price I'd jump on carnival. I'm watching Mardi gras just to try her. But now royal upped the anti offering 125% on TPs etc. I'd so love the ovation TP calif to Tokyo oct 2025 at 125% of the group price. The rate was soooo good, except I'm doing the Panama transit when this dropped recently, also 125%. ... though unlike you I'm booking group rates so paying deposits for 2. Prices irresistible. 

 

I wish carnival would start offering something like this. Enjoy your TP on carnival. 

[BlerkOne]

Port taxes and fees are estimates and If they were the same for different ships I would be very suspicious. 

 

Different cruise lines get different tax breaks from different authorities.

 

I see no evidence of conspiracy or lying.

[firefly333]

8 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Port taxes and fees are estimates and If they were the same for different ships I would be very suspicious. 

 

Different cruise lines get different tax breaks from different authorities.

 

I see no evidence of conspiracy or lying.

Theh seem to be saying solos get charged more per person. If 2 people are charge $200 total,  $100 each for port fees and taxes, solos should be charged $100 for the same port fees and taxes. They are saying the math doesnt add up. 

[shof515]

50 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Theh seem to be saying solos get charged more per person. If 2 people are charge $200 total,  $100 each for port fees and taxes, solos should be charged $100 for the same port fees and taxes. They are saying the math doesnt add up. 

 

the math does not add up. this is what i noticed:
1 person aka the solo:

 

2 people:

 

There is only a 50 dollar difference between 1 person and 2 people. The required cruise fees and expenses 60.35 per person. 2 people pay a total of 120.70 dollars. the same total that 1 solo person is paying.

 

why is solo person paying double cruise fees and expenses? 

[BlerkOne]

6 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Theh seem to be saying solos get charged more per person. If 2 people are charge $200 total,  $100 each for port fees and taxes, solos should be charged $100 for the same port fees and taxes. They are saying the math doesnt add up. 

What is highlighted are from two different cruise lines - Carnival and Princess. One is a free casino cruise and the other isn't. The casino cruise likely includes free drinks and free play. It is not apples to apples.

[StephPS79]

12 hours ago, shof515 said:

why is solo person paying double cruise fees and expenses? 

 

Single supplement fee.  Several cruise lines charge this, since you taking a double occupancy room, with only a single person.  Thus, the cruise line misses out on charging the second occupant that fee, so the single person pays it.  It's really pretty common.