salty dingo

There are two types of OBC called refundable and non-refundable.

An example of a refundable OBC is when the port charges end up being less than you already paid, so they post a credit for the difference.

An example of a non-refundable OBC would be the shareholder credit you are entitled to.

As the name suggests, the refundable credits can be refunded to you in the casino I suppose, or at the end of the cruise. The non-refundable credits will be forfeited if not spent onboard.

When they tally up the charges, they will subtract from the non-refundable OBC first, and items like gratuities, specialty restaurants, drinks, and excursions can be paid out of non-refundable OBC.

I have had cases where at the end of the cruise all my non-refundable OBC was spent but I still had some refundable credit left on my account. If the amount is at least $10 then Carnival will mail you a check for the unused refundable OBC shortly after the end of the cruise

On 3/7/2024 at 9:36 AM, mz-s said:

If you go to the MDR for breakfast or brunch you will be seated at a shared table, they typically don't do individual tables for breakfast or brunch.

This is not what I experienced in my last two cruises, in October and last month.

In the Hub App, you check in during the times the dining room is open. Pro tip: the app starts accepting reservations exactly 10 minutes before opening time.

While there is an option to request a shared table, it's turned off by default. I ate in the MDR for every breakfast and brunch and was never seated at a shared table - always was sat at a 2-top.

The one time that a shared table was possibly required was for the afternoon tea. I witnessed a couple who asked to be seated at a table for two, and the waiter replied all the tables for two were already occupied, and they left.

I know it's a different type of refund but if you have money on your account at the end of the cruise, they will mail you a check if it's over $10, and that check usually arrives a week to ten days after the cruise.

Recently on the Panorama. On debarkation morning the dining room opens for breakfast at 6:30 AM and I recall watching us pull into the harbor and dock during that time.

The people doing the earliest self-debarkation were told to meet at 8:30 and were escorted off shortly after that. I was on the bus headed to the airport by 9 AM, at LAX around 9:30. This may not be typical but was my experience.

I recently did two solo Carnival cruises and tried different seating options. The first cruise (actually 2 B2B sailings for 14 total nights) I had the early seating. Carnival made sure the tables I had for each cruise was full of other solo travelers. It was really fun to meet other people and to have someone to talk to at dinner.

The most recent cruise I had the Your Time Dining and always had a table by myself. This was also fine, as I brought something to read and entertained myself. The only downside is that there is likely to be a wait for a table.

After trying both, I'd prefer to be at a shared table with other solo travelers.

I gave up alcohol a few cruises ago and still have a blast on Carnival. My old routine was to party hard before dinner and after the late dinner seating was over I rarely was feeling like doing anything but going to sleep.

Now I am enjoying the comedians and shows a lot more. Also, the deck parties are still lots of fun and I don't have to worry about stumbling as much!

So yes, you will enjoy yourself a lot. I'd recommend going on longer vs shorter cruises to avoid the hardcore partiers.

On my recent cruises on Horizon and Panorama it was not open on embarkation day.

2 hours ago, lostsoulcruiser said:

The benefit is available on sailings through December 31, 2024.

This agrees with my experience. I have a November 2024 sailing which did receive the shareholder benefit.

My Jan/Feb 2025 sailings were not approved. I'd be interested to know if anyone has had any luck with the benefit for 2025 cruises?

I still have not received a response from Investor Relations about my Shareholder Benefit question.

I did download the SharePerks app it seems more convenient that the previous method which involved emailing in a brokerage statement.

Would be a great addition to the Hub app to be able to request a specific serving team. Currently there is only the option for a shared table.

I was on this cruise, and had a blast. It was a solo trip for me, male age 61. I had a nice inside cabin forward on the Lido. It was exactly 7 steps to the door of the "Hidden Deck" on deck 10, so it was easy to check the conditions outside.

I flew in to Burbank airport the day before and out of LAX. I took public transportation all the way to the ship and took the Carnival bus back from the ship to LAX.

Upon arrival in BUR, I walked to the free shuttle which will take you to the nearby train station. I was the only person there, just called the number listed on the airport website and the driver came right over and took me to the station.

The train runs once an hour on Saturday. You can buy a paper ticket at the station or use the app, which I did - fare was $4.50 to Union Station. Then, I switched to the Metro A-Line to long beach. It's very easy and I did not have to walk far at all. The fare for the  Metro was $1.75. I got off at the Pacific Coast Highway stop because it was near the hotel, and walked to few blocks. Stayed in a really cheap place named "Travel Eagle" but it was perfectly adequate for me.

All this was done with a carryon and a small backpack. I have learned my lesson about over-packing for cruises!

The next day I took a bus from in front of the hotel to the main Long Beach stop - Fare was $1. From there I found a Starbucks and hung out, then went to Von's grocery to get my sodas for the trip, and then caught the free Passport shuttle that takes you from downtown Long Beach to the ship.

My arrival time was 1:30- 2:00 and I got there at 1:40 and had very little wait outside. Those who did not arrive during their scheduled time were in a very long line outside. I highly recommend heeding Carnivals warnings (they sent at least three of them to me) and do not attempt to arrive earlier than your scheduled time.

I breezed through security and onto the ship. I was surprised they didn't open my backpack to make sure the soda was not beer! A dog named Tito was there to sniff you, and he must have done a good job because I did not smell any weed the entire cruise!

I had the anytime dining and depending on the time I checked in there was a 20 - 50 minute wait. I got used to checking in a half hour before I wanted to eat and had no issues with the table.

I found the food to be consistent with the other Carnival ships I have been on. The ship was nearly new looking! There was still evidence of the funnel and topside work that was done recently but it did not interfere much. They did have part of the jogging track closed a couple of port days while they worked but it didn't last too long.

I really enjoyed the comedians. There were four different ones, as they changed them in Cabo. Really funny, even the PG shows. I enjoyed the production shows too, and I saw all three.

Debarkation was easy - if you book the airport bus they tell you where to meet and when, and I think we were among the first people off the ship. I was at LAX quickly. At $39 it cost a whole lot more than it did to get to the ship, but I felt it was well worth it.

The best dish I had the entire cruise was the duck appetizer at Jiji. Absolutely delicious!

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

The Board has to vote on it first. It isn't a property of the annual report.

I sent an information request to investor relations. Will report back when I get a response.

1 hour ago, weezal said:

i received the digital gc, within a few minutes after the order confirmation email.

This was my experience too, after ordering from AARP.

After reading the 2023 CCL annual report, I noticed the section on shareholder benefits has been deleted. In the 2022 annual report, the benefit is described on page 5.

It seems the Shareholder Benefit is kaput for sailings after July 31, 2024.

Previously I had requested shareholder credit for my 2025 cruises and was told I needed to wait and see if the benefit was repeated for the next year. Looks like I'm out of luck!

Anyone heard anything about this change?

11 hours ago, drsel said:

At this rate, if they keep on selling more ships, their capacity will be severely reduced and cruise fares will go up substantially after this virus pandemic is over.
I am looking forward to the virus becoming extinct but not inflated Cruise fares.

Inflated cruise fares would only occur if demand remained strong. This cruiser is totally done sailing for the foreseeable future, and I suspect I am not alone. So fewer ships combined with weak demand may not result in higher prices. In fact, if the prices did rise, demand would surely fall, and the business model of mass market cruising may no longer work. You can see it in the stock prices now, and I think they could fall a lot more.... perhaps to zero. 

On 6/27/2020 at 5:49 PM, tree.critter said:

My fear is that the cruise lines won’t sail until a vaccine is readily available. I do have hope that this will be by early 2021.

Most of the experts I trust say it will be at least a year from now until there is a vaccine that we can actually receive at a clinic. One may be developed way before then, but trials take time to be 100% sure they are safe and effective, and then it takes time to mass produce and distribute them to every person.

So Summer 2021 if we are lucky.

If the cruise lines sail before there is a vaccine and we all have received it and let it take effect (that's a big IF) then they will most certainly have to implement social distancing measures. It is inconceivable there will packed ships - so how will the cruise lines make money?

What will those social distancing measures look like? Sparsely populated sun decks? Reservations for the few tables left in the buffet? Reduced seating in the bars, restaurants, theaters, clubs (which were never that big to begin with?) Fewer seats on tenders?

Which ports want a cruise ship to dock (and possibly infect an island with limited health services?)

What about passengers who won't wear masks and are sneezing? Forget the chair hogs, we'll be talking about air hogs! How much of a fun ship will that be?

I read a few comments to the effect "life is getting short, to heck with it, I'm going"... but I think they miss the point. They won't be going on the same cruise they had been on in the past. They will be going on a stripped-down, social-distancing cruise which has not even been disclosed in any detail yet. We don't know what we would be getting!

I'm not sure folks have given much thought to what a cruise will be like going forward. It definitely will not be the same experience as it was.

A little bewildering why they would set the start up date right at the beginning of the fall Flu season.

Don't they know by now if the new virus is this active in the heat of summer it will be a supercharged hot mess come this Fall! Until there is a vaccine and we all have a chance to get it and let it work, it's risky to think about a cruise.

If I were holding a booking and being strung along by the cruise line, I'd be pretty mad right now!

I read the article in the Miami Herald. A key recommendation was reduced capacity. If this is actually implemented it will fundamentally alter the cruise business. Since the costs to run the ship are largely the same no matter how many guests are on board, the key to profitability has always been to pack the ships to the brim.

If capacity is reduced, one of two results will occur: prices will rise sharply, or earnings (stock prices) will fall sharply. It's pretty simple. Actually both could happen.

Prices may be low at first to lure scared cruisers back but it likely won't last unless the capacity controls never materialize. In that case, packed ships with social distancing protocols would make for a pretty miserable cruise experience. Especially in bad weather lots of people would have to be confined to the cabin at times. Not an appealing thought.

I am  hearing a lot about a recent rise in new cases. If anything affects the return to service date, I expect it would more likely be delayed than enacted sooner.

5 hours ago, SurfCat said:

... I'm not sure how this can be done even relatively safely without reduced capacity.

You asked the right question. Nobody is sure. Cruise lines have a business model that depends on filling up ships to capacity. Deck, club, and bar space is limited, and spacing must increase. Lots of people who want to do what they want, when they want, will not be able to.

What will be the answer? I'm waiting on shore to see. I won't even consider a cruise until I know what the deal will be, and we probably won't know that until after the reviews of the "new cruising world order" are.

Masks are not an issue. Here's why:

• You can't sip a drink wearing one
• They still let viruses through for you to catch ill, but they do contain your sneezes and coughs so you do not spread your disease to others
• Tan lines on your face
• In all seriousness, there is not enough room on a ship for people to have adequate social distance and the cruise lines to be profitable offering affordable cruises. Until there is a vaccine I would not consider a cruise. No cruise, no mask, no problem.

Every single day I am spammed with an "offer"... it got way past ridiculous. Today I have had enough and unsubscribed.

Anyone else having this issue? Carnival is not alone here... NCL is spamming me too. They are next.

Just now, TNcruising02 said:

I agree.  I may have to hold on to the Carnival stock for awhile, but once a vaccine comes out I predict it goes way back up.  If not, I am hardly out any money at all.

That is a good way to look at it. There was a thread a while back and the stock had dropped into the mid 30s. People were debating if the OBC was worth the risk of owning the stock at that price (which was low at that time.) I concluded the risk was just too great to tie up $3,500 in CCL stock. Now, you may only be tying up $815 or so.... maybe that changes the calculus... but you can also look at it like this: You are risking over $800 for a $100 credit you cannot even use right now and there is no guarantee you can ever use the OBC or get you $800 back.

I would not touch this with a 10 foot pole.

You guys do realize that the price can drop to zero and never recover, right?