DallasGuy75219

I have not been on Venezia, but I'm 99.9% certain Carnival would have put the new touch-screen S&S/player bank modules in the slot machines when they converted the ship from Costa to Carnival. Those modules allow a separate promotional bank that you can only gamble with and not cash out. If Venezia has those modules, the are giving slot FreePlay as credit to be used on the slots, not cash.

Absolutely not.

Calling it a service charge (not tips or gratuities) also encourages people to write in additional gratuities if they don't think they've already been charged for gratuities.

Crew appreciation paid through Princess is pooled across the entire fleet (so that staff aren't penalized for being on ships homeported in countries without topping cultures--where a larger proportion of customers pull their gratuities). So one less customer paying into the tip pool makes an infinitesimally small (probably less than a penny) difference in the gratuities that ultimately get paid out to your steward.

I've noticed the same thing, they're more concerned about my Diamond status than appointment time. Maybe they're unofficially going back to the old process of letting priority guests check in any time they want, without announcing it to everyone else in order to keep the integrity of the appointment system for them.

Definitely Guys, with the cost of beef.

For everyone fighting over who gets what boarding group.... each letter is associated with a 30 minute check-in window. You get A, B, C, etc. based on your check-in time, not based on your priority status.

The entire change from $50 to $60 per day was just a money grab... add inclusions that 90% of cruisers don't want (exercise classes and "premium" desserts) and start charging for things that used to be free (Alfredo's/Gigi's, OceanNow, room service delivery, and medallion shipping) to increase overall demand for packages and try to justify the $10 price increase.

Diamond, Platinum, and Suites can check in online and select an a arrival time 16 days before the cruise (48 hours before everyone else). And I don't see the early check-in period listed a as a FTTF benefit, so actually it looks like you won't be able to check in online until 14 days before the cruise.

No. FTTF lets you check in and pick your arrival time 2 days before people without priority. Officially, Diamond/Platinum/Suites/FTTF who show up earlier than their scheduled arrival time will have to wait until that time. It varies from port to port, ship to ship, and sometimes even sailing to sailing whether this is actually enforced, but you if you show up early you're taking a chance on not being allowed to check in until your assigned time.

Carnival calls them chicken tenders on the menu but is too cheap to buy actual chicken tenders/tenderloins. Similarly they serve the meatball sandwiches on hot dog bugs instead of a hoagie or sub roll.

The glasses they don't want you removing from Vines are Riedel or similar quality glasses.

Unfortunately I've only seen honey mustard sauce offered with the "chicken tenders," which are mostly breading and 'imperfect' (read cheap) bits and pieces of chicken that couldn't be sold as actual chicken tenders.

Same here. I won't book Carnival unless a comped casino rate because for me Carnival's product is no longer worth paying for. And even moreso when I have free cruise offers from Royal and Carnival.

If multiple calls and emails to directly to Princess didn't get you anywhere, I don't understand why you think you'll get different or better results hoping someone from Princess reading this cares to look up your booking numbers and get involved.

Carnival added pool attendants (not even lifeguards) because of a rash of drownings, near-drownings, and accidents in pools (on multiple lines). It was a reactionary response to reduce bad press and potential liability, not anything to do with diapered or not potty trained kids in the pool. I can assure you Carnival doesn't give a crap (pun intended) about that in comparison to the bad publicity and liability for drownings and near-drownings.

Scooters in the hallway shouldn't have to be reported; anyone crew/staff member walking down the corridor can clearly see them. What remains to be seen is if the crew/staff onboard the ships will actually enforce the rule. This is not a new rule but obviously it has not been enforced in the past.

If someone asked me a personal and nosy question like that, I'd lie too.

And 99% of AMEX Black cardholders have no interest in slumming it with the unwashed masses on Carnival. They're sailing Virgin, Celebrity, or one of the luxury lines.

In the Crown Lounge drinks are not complimentary, and only Diamond Plus and Pinnacle are allowed during evening hours. You have to use a drink voucher or charge your SeaPass if you don't already have the premium drink package. Only if you're among the top Pinnacles on your sailing do you have access to the Suite Lounge, which does have complimentary drinks.

As far as onboard comps, the casino usually holds a certain number of specialty restaurant reservations on each night of the sailing (probably except the first night) and/or a has a budget for comps. The cutoff for how many points you need to get comps is completely dependent on your points in relation to the highest point earners. The higher your points in relation to others, the more likely and sooner you are to get comps. The lower, the less likely you are, and if you do get comps, the more likely it is to be at the end of the cruise as after the bigger point earners have already gotten their comps.

That's the first time I'm aware of anyone on here reporting successfully getting a waiver to buy Cheers if the other person has it. Until now anyone who was pregnant and tried to get a waiver was told they had to buy Cheers and Carnival wouldn't serve them alcohol (seems obvious but there was a thread about a pregnant alcoholic whose OB said stopping drinking was a bigger danger than the effect of alcohol on the baby), but Cheers wasn't of no use to them due to the nonalcoholic drinks it includes.

Yes, and that's exactly why Carnival's rule is that the person who got the offer has to sail.