salty dingo

Let's just hope whatever the new program looks like, the existing benefits earned will be grandfathered in!

Recently on Panorama I requested cranberry juice for breakfast and they wanted to see my card. I had enjoyed free cranberry at breakfast on prior cruises. Pineapple, tomato, orange, etc. are all still free. The "fresh squeezed" is extra. There's always the juice machines on the Lido as well.

Cinco de Mayo cruise! Hooray!

It's always a good idea to look at the deck plan and see what is on the deck right above and below the cabin. If you have other cabins nearby, that's a good sign!

My guess is that some may view "gratuity" as optional, and could try and opt out of paying it. A "service charge" on the other hand implies it is mandatory to pay.

If you go to the Alchemy bar, they have Lyre's non-alcoholic spirits which can be used to make some very interesting drinks. You may be able to mix one yourself with the bottomless bubbles - go get a cranberry or pineapple juice and then go back and get a lemon-lime soda. Mix together yourself and you have a mocktail.

I've done this on my last two cruises. It's really nice on sea days - in port I usually have other less expensive wifi options available. Pro tip: if you purchase your 24 hour pass in the middle of the day you'll have it for the rest of the day and the next day up to the time of purchase. I usually buy it around noon and it covers my online needs for two days.

Interesting hypothetical but in the real world Carnival would have structured these as two cruises.

I know, sounds too good to be true, right. Plus, the stock has doubled in price.

That's good, but same percent off as AARP right? I would buy some to pay off my 2025 cruises on Splendor out of Sydney, however, when I tried to use a gift card in the past Carnival would not accept them. The Australia cruises have pricing in AUD and the gift cards are loaded with USD, so that's not going to work.

I can report that on Panorama recently I saw virtually no empty scooters anywhere, so either the guests were being very courteous or the policy is being strictly enforced. Or maybe both!

Upgrades on a Guarantee can happen. On one cruise I booked an inside guarantee and was assigned an ocean view. It's only happened once to me, out of maybe 5 or 6 cruises that I booked a guarantee.

Must be a New York thing? Out of Miami, Cheers was active from the moment you boarded. There are taxes added on to each drink, which are extra on top of Cheers, until the ship reaches international waters. The taxes don't amount to much, however.

Maybe I'll tune in to the conference call in two weeks when earnings are announced. Some stock analyst could pose a question about this, though I wouldn't bet on it.

If the port area is secure, you need not worry about what's happening in the rest of the country. On my recent trip to Cabo San Lucas on Panorama. an entire squad of Mexican Marines with their assault weapons was stationed in the port area. Doesn't matter how bad the gangs are nearby, the port was safe as could be!

I finally received a reply from Investor Relations to my question about the Shareholder Benefit. It was a disappointing reply which did not address my question. They provided a link to the existing shareholder benefit web page and mentioned StockPerks. No indication about continuing the benefit, which I asked about. I can only conclude that they don't know. Let's wait and see if anyone at the shareholder meeting asks about it.

Yes, even the coffee shop will give you a bottle of water along with whatever beverage you are purchasing under the package. Only extra water though, they won't let you have both a coffee and an energy drink for free at the same visit.

The Diet Pepsi part of the drink is zero, but the Jack has 65 calories per ounce.

I will - nobody wants the benefit continued more than I do. It would give me $300 of free stuff in 2025. I'm just not optimistic about it, unfortunately.

I agree, it appears the shareholder benefit has been discontinued in 2025. Here's the 2024 Shareholder Meeting Agenda and there is no mention of the shareholder benefit up for a vote. FYI, there was also no proposal up for vote on the shareholder benefit at the 2023 Annual Meeting. Despite what some have said in this forum, the shareholders do not vote for or against offering the benefit. It's solely offered at the discretion of management. Also, last year the benefit was published in the Annual Report, not voted on at the meeting, and it's not in there this year. To me, this implies that management has used their discretion to not continue the benefit. If I had to guess, they have figured out it's eating into their bottom line too much for people like me, who bought 100 shares for $850 to get hundreds of dollars a year of discounts in return. Even at the current price, it really is a deal too good to be true. Before Covid you'd probably have spend $5,000 or more to get that benefit. Management got wise. I did email investor relations with a question on this topic but got no reply. I do imagine in the Q&A session at the annual meeting, some shareholder will bring up the subject of the benefit, and the management will have to address it, but I would assume that for 2025 cruises there is no benefit. My request for benefit for my 2025 cruises was denied because they said the benefit would need to be extended... which it has not been.

I tried the Cheers because Carnival gave it to me for half price in a special fare. It was nice but I would not pay full price for it. I enjoyed it but there are way too many calories in those virgin frozen cocktails and milkshakes. Even without the alcohol!!!

The full drink package is worth considering even if not drinking alcohol. The alchemy bar can whip up a great concoction with non-alcoholic spirits. The milkshakes and coffee are nice, and you can get an energy drink or virgin frozen drink any time. Honestly, when not drinking alcohol you can consume a lot more... not just because there is no 15-drink limit, but mostly because your body won't stop working, :LOL!

I haven't been on Celebration but my favorite embarkation lunch spot on the Vista class ships was the Mongolian Wok. Then, I head downstairs for a bite of funfetti cheesecake and some gelato.

Maybe I'm getting seated that way because I am checking in as soon as the restaurant opens? Could be different at the busier times. I tend to go to breakfast/brunch early to beat the crowds and because I'm an early riser.

Here's a cool fact I just observed on this topic. I just turned 70 points as of the last cruise, and I have a 5 night previously booked, which will be my next cruise. My confirmation when I booked the 5 night said gold because I had only 64 points when I booked. After completing the last cruise I went to Carnival's site to see if my points had increased to 70, and they had not yet posted the new points. My next cruise showed a check-in date 14 days prior to the cruise. The next day I check the Carnival site again. My points were now at 70, and my next cruise showed a check in date 16 days prior to the cruise! So I'm receiving Platinum perks like early check-in now!