Earthworm Jim

The boarding pass for our upcoming Horizon cruise says platinum (first time for us) and priority, but also has a note saying "Stateroom access will be available at 1:30 PM for all guests, including VIFP Diamond and Platinum." So apparently we aren't getting the early bag drop off that platinum normally(?) gets.

But then we get an email from Carnival "Suite Update and Online Check-in Invitation" which says "Once on board, you will be able to access your stateroom."  Which contradicts the boarding pass. Only trouble is, we're not in a suite. Just a regular Category 8B balcony cabin.

Did we just receive the suite invitation in error, or is there something else going on?

19 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Corporations aren't charities. They exist primarily to make money for their shareholders.  You can be sure Carnival would charge more of a premium if more than their 3 newest ships were competitive.  They have (relative) value pricing not because they're altruistic but because they're otherwise pretty noncompetitive, because when Royal and NCL were trying to outdo each other with the biggest ships with the most bells and whistles, Carnival sat on the sidelines.

 Gee, no kidding. That still doesn't mean it's not in the customer's best interest to not have to pay a premium for bells and whistles which they may not want. 

On 2/8/2024 at 3:20 PM, DallasGuy75219 said:

Yes, being the lowest provider isn't always the most profitable decision in a market.  For example in today's travel market people are increasingly looking for a more premium and less no-frills experience. See for example how Spirit and Frontier Airlines are currently performing with their no-frills business models.

You're looking at it from a shareholder point of view. I was maintaining from a customer point of view it 's nice to have an option without a price premium built into the cost, as Carnival's competitors have.

1 hour ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Yes they are filling ships but they could command a premium on more than the 3 Excel class ships, if only they had more competitive ships.

Perhaps there's something to be said for consumers to have an option without that premium, or at least with a lesser premium, built into the cost. 

22 hours ago, bg2310 said:

No, not Cheers anyway. Unless you drink a LOT (6-8+ alcoholic drinks per day AT LEAST) then it might be, but just not worth it when considering you're forced to get it the entire cruise.

Keep in mind that's averaging 6-8 drinks a day for each person in the cabin, since both of you need to buy it if one does.

As other's have said, there's no one answer as to whether it's worth it. It depends upon how much you and your travel companion are likely to drink.

Besides, you can't walk off the ship in Paris anyway. Paris is over 100 miles from the ocean. Unless your cruise is going up the River Seine.

48 minutes ago, angelsfort said:

 

In my opinion, many of the covid cases could have been avoided in the first place by folks just taking responsibility for their own health.  

learning to wash your hands properly is a great first step!  (just rinsing your fingertips is NOT washing!)

Covid doesn't commonly spread through physical contact, so washing your hands doesn't really help there. It's predominantly airborne transmission. On the other hand, hand washing is very important in preventing noro. And that may be the worse ailment at this point. A case of covid is hardly more than a cold now for most people since we've been vaxed so many times.

13 hours ago, staceyglow said:

Not Teppenyaki or the sushi place. 

 

Cucina an Jijis are free at lunch, including embarkation day. 

Carnival's website is wrong then. Which frankly doesn't shock me.

https://www.carnival.com/cruise-food

When you click "Additional cost", "Carnival Horizon", and "lunch" is says only sushi, Teppanyaki, and Seafood Shack. From what you say two of those are wrong and two others that should be there are missing.

8 hours ago, ishap said:

Last time I was on Horizon the dining room was not open, but the specialty restaurants were.  And there is no charge for lunch at these places. 

Wait, what? The specialty restaurants are open for lunch embarkation day without charge?  I assume that's only the specialty restaurants open for lunch other days. Which, according to the Carnival website, is Bonsai Teppanyaki, Bonsai Sushi, and Seafood Shack (which isn't really a restaurant per se, so I'm guessing not free?) So is it just the two Bonsai offerings that are free?

Presumably not the steakhouse? Surprised to see Cuchina del Capitano isn't listed as being open, I thought that was open for free lunch every sea day. Also surprised Pig & Anchor Smokehouse isn't listed as open for lunch. Sounds like a lunch type place.

3 hours ago, dabomb6608 said:

This is actually something I hadn't considered...but I've wanted to try a B2B. My only thing with doing a 3 or 4 day B2B is the risk of less than pleasant crowds. In our (limited) experience and from reading online it seems the shorter length/cheaper cruises risk that. I will look into it for comparisons sake though.

That's probably fair. And also B2B short cruises might well take you to the same nearby ports of call.

Have you looked at options to do a B2B 3/4/5 day cruises to get you the 8 days you're looking to get? That might find you some closer ports.

12 hours ago, mz-s said:

And once you get on the ship you'll be sitting around a lot because there really isn't anything happening on the ship until at least 1:30 when the cabins (yes including suites) are ready.

Au contraire. That's the nicest time to be on the ship the whole week in my opinion. Explore the empty ship, have an uncrowded lunch, a relaxing first drink in the seat of your choice in an empty bar. I can enjoy myself before I get access to my cabin.

5 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Steelers-Ravens and Texans-Colts are on SAT at different times, so no conflicts there.

As expected, Bills - Dolphins is Sunday night.

But https://sport24live.com/home (@sea) shows no NFL games on Saturday. The Sunday night game isn't being shown either. Just two afternoon games Sunday.

My understanding is, yes, still only 2 specialty restaurants. Which everyone agrees makes little sense.

On 12/26/2023 at 9:44 AM, mz-s said:

..sells bingo like their life depends on it (because it literally does).

Wait, Carnival is executing CDs who don't sell bingo?? Seems harsh.

On 12/23/2023 at 3:11 AM, groundloop said:

And yet they still keep raising prices on everything.

Who doesn't increase prices when sales are doing well? Do you think Apple says "We made a fortune again last quarter. Let's cut the price of the latest iPhone."?

1 minute ago, john91498 said:

 

uh, did you read the policy? You can't bring on water in plastic bottles...

I assume cellfree meant purchase water from Carnival.

Some types of Snapple come in cans, which would be OK. But it might be only their juice drinks.

Didn't I read here that the shipping option only becomes available to click about a month before the cruise? hopefully someone who actually knows will chime in.

Edit: Found it, post #22 in this thread:

It is a glitch which eventually will get resolved. Just keep checking app from time to time. On our first Princess sailing few month back, our package would not show up until probably a month before sailing. Only then I was able to cancel my medallions port pick up order (since I did not want to pay which was supposed to be free with Plus) and re-order home shipping for free. Medallions are not ship until about 3 weeks prior to sailing anyway. Our second sailing is in January and package has appeared now automatically and no problem to order without 10 dollars charge. 

3 hours ago, staceyglow said:

I have never paid anywhere near $2300 for a  7-day cruise, not even on a "fancier" line, and I can't imagine that I ever would.

That doesn't sound out of line for 2 people in a balcony. And includes taxes/port fees (say $150 pp, so $300) and tips (~$200 more). Which leaves $1800 for the cruise for two people, so $900 pp.

If you've never paid nearly $900 pp for a balcony you're a better shopper than I am. Or maybe you get casino rates.

46 minutes ago, Butterbean1000 said:

... the cruise industry is having a boom season so why all the increases?

You answered your own question. You know how when the cruise industry is struggling prices go down to try an entice people to book? Well this is the opposite. Their bookings are selling out early, so they can charge more.

Your only recourse is if you don't think the product they are offering is worth the price anymore is don't buy it and spend your vacation dollars where you see a better value.

20 hours ago, bg2310 said:

News flash! You can be disappointed without being all extra about it.

 

I've never heard "extra" used the way you're using it. I get the gist from the context though. Maybe it's a Colorado thing. Or a young person thing.

Strange the don't have a Western omelet. They are pretty standard and I'd think would be one of the 3. Can't be they wanted an option for for vegans because they wouldn't eat eggs, right?

That must have ruined a lot of flight plans for the returning passengers. I doubt many people from other places are familiar with the Gulf coast fog season and knew to book a late flight.

On 12/1/2023 at 11:47 AM, Italy52 said:

If, Princess were to drop the standard fare option we would turn to another line.  We have done comparison shopping before and we would have no qualms about jumping ship.  We have cruised various lines many times and we are not loyal to any one of them as we are itinerary driven cruisers.

And Princess would probably be OK with that. If they went that route, it would mean it was a conscious decision to aim for higher profit passengers at the risk of losing lower profit standard fare passengers.

To be fair, some of those standard fare passengers might be very profitable if they spend in the spa, the shops, the casino, excursions, etc. But I think it's safe to say the average package buying passenger is going to be more profitable than the average standard fare passenger.

17 hours ago, shiner6 said:

It depends on who is in my group. When we travel with drinkers, we easily can reach our 15 drink limit. When we travel alone, we do not come close.  The extras are meaningless to us. So depends on itinerary and travel companions for us.

You don't need to reach 15 drinks for the package to be a value to you. You just have to normally average a daily beverage cost which is greater than the cost of the Plus package. Which is basically $44 if the wifi and other minor perks hold no value to you. So, what maybe 5 drinks? Less if you're getting waters and coffees too.

(Admittedly, we probably don't reach that $44 some days, Therefore getting it is probably a slightly negative financial move for us, so we shouldn't buy it. But we usually do anyway.)