VentureMan_2000

There's an easy way to tell... Log onto your Carnival account and print your luggage tags. They will have "Priority" printed on the tags. I'm in the same situation where I turn Platinum on 2nd to last day of a cruise... and my luggage tags for this cruise says "Priority".

5 drinks to break even at $12 a drink for cruises 6 days or longer. 6 drinks to break even at $12 a drink for cruises less than 6 days.

So, how long did everything in my timeline actually take ? Said another way, What time did the Uber arrive to pick you up, and what time were you finally settled in enough for check-in ?

Hanging out is not a big deal, but you may not be hanging out as long as you think -- 3 minutes to board the Uber, a 7-minute ride, 2 minutes to get out of the Uber, an extra 5-10 minutes for your Uber to get to a drop-off area at the port, 2-5 minutes to hand off your bags to porters and 2-5 trying to figure out where to go. You are looking at the long end of 32 minutes. If the Uber is on time, then only a 30-minute wait. Sometimes, check-in is 30 minutes or more ahead of schedule.

This memo amuses me. On my Alaska cruise last June, there were so many priority Platinum and Diamond that the Gold peons' check-in line was waaaaaayyyyy shorter than folks waiting in the Priority line. We zipped right up to a check-in desk while the Priority line just slugged along. 😄

Use this calculator to decide: Drink Package Calculator - Cruise Spotlight

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Casino tour was very cool. Golf Cart rentals was also a lot of fun. Reserve and pay in advance of the cruise - $120 for 2-hours, cart can carry 4 people. 2-hours is plenty of time. The Island is small. We selected this company as it's right near the tenders, snf no issues with them providing a refund if you cancel: Golf Cart Rentals | Catalina Island Golf Cart Note: The web site comes up as not secure, but when you click on the "Book Now" button, the payment site is a secure connection.

I'm bringing a newspaper that I can wad up and shake at the kids... 🤣

Can I receive Shareholder OBC for multiple cabins that I booked and paid for ? If I book and pay for 4 cabins, let's say for a 7-day cruise, can I receive the $100 Shareholder OBC for each of the bookings ? Toying with the idea of paying for my kids and spouses to come along.

Panorama Deck 6 Aft - Purple Miracle Deck 6 Aft - Red

Yes... Thank you.

Please report on your Carnival Shuttle Ride from the port to IAH. I have purchased the 8:00am shuttle to IAH for my cruise in October. I'd like to know what to expect. i.e., What time did you board the shuttle ? How long were you waiting on the shuttle before it left for the airport ? What time did your 8:00am shuttle actually leave ? How long was the ride ? Did the shuttle encounter any noticeable delays due to traffic/construction ? What terminals do they drop you off at ?

Yes. UberXL. Can be a tight fit for 4 depending on size and number of luggage, and the size of the SUV that picks you up.

The largest table I've seen is for 11-people.

You have to wait in line. Folks are getting soda, juice, snack etc. along with their coffee. Usually, only two people working... one making the coffee and the other taking orders and prepping.

San Francisco is really a pretty small place... about 8 miles by 8 miles, pretty easy to get around. I'd stay in the Fisherman's Wharf area both before and after your cruise. You can take the Cable Cars to China Town, and from China Town, it's an easy walk -- all downhill -- back to Fisherman's Warf. First... I would book the Tour of Alcatraz. It fills up, so you have to book well in advance. It's a must-see bucket list item. I've attached a SF walking tour, 2 files, I put together 5 years ago. Easily done in a day or less. Walking to China Town would be all up hill, so definitely take a cable car to it. I strongly suggest visiting the Cable Car Museum -- it closes at 4pm. It's not just a museum... it's actually the Powerhouse that runs each of the cables, so you get to actually see the cables as they are moving. China Town: visit the fortune cookie factory. Tiny little place, but a fun visit. Kam Loc is my favorite restaurant in China Town. It's located down in a basement area from the street. It's where the locals eat so you know the food is authentic and inexpensive. It's not a glamorous place but can be lively as it's very family oriented -- sometimes an argument breaks out between the family. Note: There is a theory that you do not want to go to a Chinese restaurant rated any higher than a 3.5 on yelp. The low 3.5 rating is usually due to patrons expecting, and not receiving, excellent service. It's not because of the food. Non-tourist Chinese restaurants do not bend over backwards for you... you have to assert yourself if you need something. Kam Loc fits this category. Great food and prices... okay service. Ghirardelli Square is fun to visit... right there near the hotels at Fisherman's Wharf. And if you want a nice dinner out with a view of Bay, I suggest McCormick's right near by. Cruise San Francisco Tour.docx San Francisco Walking Tour.pdf

You won't even need to send someone ahead... You can make the dinner reservation request from the comfort of a nice chair on one of the decks via the Carnival "Hub App". Just link all the cabins together, which will allow a person to make a dinner reservation for any or all linked. The App tells you when your table is ready - you have to arrive to the MDR within 10 minutes or the reservation is cancelled.

My observation while waiting and watching was: Weddings first, followed by wheelchairs being pushed by Carnival staff, Diamond, Plats, FTTF, then non-priority starting with A01 boarding.

Spirit Class is great and by far our favorite. So far on the Spirit Class we have cruised two 7-day Mexican Riviera cruises on the Pride and a 10-day Alaskan cruise on the Miracle. Coming up, a 11-day Alaskan cruise on the Miracle, a 14-day Panama Canal repositioning cruise on the Miracle, followed by a 9-day Western Caribbean cruise on the Miracle.

I'd leave it an open invitation since it's just close family. If they can make it, great. If not, great just the same. My wife and I booked a cruise last May 2023... and just let family members know of the cruise we booked -- that they were free to join us on the cruise. Didn't make it into a "Group" thing where we all had to agree on the cruise date and destination. Nine family members ended up joining us. We again did the same... booked a cruise for June 2024. Nine family members ended up joining us for this cruise. In short, just book the cruise you want... try to pick a reasonable future cruise date that is likely to entice the family wedding invites to consider joining you. If no one can join, shouldn't be an issue as you're on a cruise.

We ate there on our Carnival Glory cruise. I recommend it. Wife loved the pulled pork and Slaw. We eat a lot of chicken at home, so didn't even bother trying it. It looked good on other's plates. I had the beef and Mac. Beef was a little dry... I should have asked for a fatty piece. Mac wasn't cheesy enough for me but was fine. Potato salad was average... not bad, but nothing to brag about. Can't go wrong with sausage and baked beans.

Luckily, I got out after a lot of cost averaging during the pandemic. Even made a dollar per share more than my break-even get-out price ( pure luck price opened higher than my asking ). Bought 100 shares at $9.40 in April only for the OBC. OBC on my booked cruises is enough to pay the $940 buy-in, so I'm good to go here forward without worrying about stock price. Not important since I do not plan to sell, but CCL is up 100% since April.

Do you think this is true of the restaurants you patronize in the US... that you are subsidizing them with your gratuities ?

I don't buy into the severs not making enough money argument... at least not in California. In California, they eliminated the two-tier pay of restaurant workers decades ago. They get paid minimum wage regardless of TIPs. Minimum wage in California is $15.50 per hour. So, when we go out, we sit at the table for 2.0 hours and our bill is generally $120 or more before taxes. I normally tip 18%, or $22 for this $120 tab. So, in 2 hours, our server made $26.50 per hour... but for only one table. Let's say they have 6 tables to serve, and others' tabs are half mine, but they are only at the table for half the time, or 1-hour. So, the server is making ( Let's do the math... I like doing the math ) $11 per hour, per table, plus California's $15.50 per hour. That's $81.50 per hour. How is that a bad wage... even with hearing over and over the same old bad jokes and smiling at the customers until your cheeks hurt ?