cantthinkofanythingfun

It seems that most of these positive experiences are someone de-escalating a drunken situation. I don't know if this is going to plan.

I've found all cruise ship mattresses, with the exception of the Haven on NCL, to be absolute garbage. I think it's because nobody really makes a quality twin mattress.

Two years ago when i was on the Pride they were loading on tons of new mattresses. I think it's something that Carnival slowly changes, like cabin televisions.

I've read that if you see pending, it means you won and will be notified soon!

 

 

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No, that's processing.

Seems like a good price to me. The drink package alone on Carnival would be an extra 50 bucks a day. Then they would probably charge you a solo supplement.

I'm going on my fourth cruise on the Breakaway this Sunday. This will be my second time in the Haven, but I had a great time on the two trips outside of the Haven. I wouldn't even have gotten the Haven this time if I didn't get it on a low upgrade bid.

This will be my first time going in the summer when school is out, although I did go over Thanksgiving one year. Yes, the pool is butts to nuts, but I tend to avoid cruise ship pools. The crowds really didn't bother me. I never missed a meal. I've eaten in all the specialty restaurants. I don't see any attitude, New York or other, from the pax. I really enjoy the entertainment, and not just in the main theater. I really like the lounge entertainment and Howl at the Moon. I've never had a service issue. I really enjoy the crew. If not in the Haven then I definitely recommend trying to score a Vibe pass. You can always find a lounger there and there are two hot tubs that are not crowded.

The comps aren't based on amounts won or lost. They are based on the amount played and over what time frame it was played.

As someone that used to have a bit of a gambling problem, I can tell you that hard core gamblers always talk about their big wins and rarely mention their big losses. We like to use free rooms and cruises to justify our losses. A gambler's favorite line is, "I'm about even".

Never gamble more than you can afford to lose because the odds are pretty clear that you will lose. Don't get caught up in playing for comps. Casinos love when you do. That's why they offer them. Land based casinos generally have better odds on slot machines and more favorable rules on table games. You can always drive to another casino. You can't swim to another ship, so they know they have you for that week. It can be fun to spend a couple hours in a casino on a cruise, but I never understood spending the whole cruise in one when there is so much more to do.

I agree with this. It really does seem like people suck up the passes and then never use them. I also agree to each their own on how they spend their money, but for someone to buy a pass they don't intend to use just to basically block me from being able to buy one, that kind of sucks.

I highly doubt anyone is buying up passes to stop you or anyone else from getting one. I think what happens is that many people buy them and just end up not using them much for various reasons. Maybe it's too hot. Maybe they are sunburnt. Maybe it's too windy. The one time I got Vibe passes, the most people I ever saw in the area was about 6. There was only one group that was consistently there.

If your in the Haven you get all the packages. And you do not have to pay the 18% gratuities. That's one of the perks for being in the Haven.

 

 

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No, that changed a coupe weeks ago. You now have to pay the gratuities in the Haven.

There is zero reason why someone on a budget can't still manage a shower, combed hair and either a collared shirt or a classic top. I don't care if someone is wearing formal/semi-formal/cocktail wear, I do care if the gentleman sitting nearby has B.O., or if the woman next to him smells like feet. That absolutely does affect someone else's appetite. Budget doesn't mean sloppy, lazy or dirty. Coming to the MDR in a ripped sleeve T-shirt or filthy shorts shows off trashy, not lack of money. Clean up and have some respect for yourself, as well as others around you. /rant

I agree, but a dress code doesn't ensure cleanliness. I'm all for no swim suits and tank tops or vulgar t-shirts.

It looks like you had a great time and great weather. Thanks again for sharing. You really helped me plan my cruise next week.

Carnival should really go to something like NCL's "dress up or not" night. That makes everyone more comfortable. I think it's fun to get a bit dressed up and always participate, but I do think it is utterly ridiculous to expect everyone to do it on a budget cruise line serving food that's equivalent to Applebee's. It's a throwback to when cruising was for the wealthy and elite, but the service, atmosphere, and food isn't being thrown back to those times. There are other lines priced accordingly that offer that true elegant experience.

Have you been using Vibe much, or have you found that there's plenty of space on the Haven sun deck?

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I did a mock booking this morning and it seems like they got rid of adding the gratuities for the promos for suite guests again. Maybe they saw this thread.

Another probably stupid question...but this is our first cruise since they implemented this system.

 

We are on the 6/25 Breakaway cruise. Got the upgrade offers, made some bids, etc. I see it says we will be notified, at the latest, 2 days prior to sailing if we were upgraded.

 

But do we get notified if we weren't? We leave on a Sunday. The Thursday before we are leaving for a trip for our nephews' graduation, and driving from there to the pier on Sunday morning. Taking our cruise luggage of course, with the luggage tags.

 

Basically, just wondering if we will be notified one way or another so I know if I have to find a Kinkos or Staples to print new luggage tags and Edocs then what we will have on Wednesday night when we're packing everything.

I'm on that same cruise and was notified a week ago that I did get upgraded. I hear that people do get notified if they weren't, but that is usually two days prior to sailing.

These folks don't seem to think it's all that fun...

 

Maybe it's like Washington DC. A nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there.

People are welcome to boycott the trips. I don't think I would go myself, but the fact is that our country allows travel to countless countries with severe human rights violations. This one was just banned over an incident in the 60's. It's a dated ban. I agree with lifting many of the restrictions, but I don't think it would be the end of the world if Trump reimposes them.

We are booked on the 8/27 Breakaway to Bermuda in a mid-ship mini suite. We put in bids for upgrade to H6, H7 and H4.

When looking it seems as though there aren't many H6 or H7 left so our chances are slim on those. We really want haven for this cruise. Would you rebook outright into H4 or wait and see if your bid gets accepted?

Also, I prepaid gratuities and am paid in full so do we just pay difference in fare and gratuities or do they refund whole thing and recharge to credit card?

 

 

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Does an H5 meet your needs? I won an upgrade to that with a poor bid. They seem to be plentiful. Haven prices do seem to come down closer to sailing, but if you definitely want one of the larger rooms than obviously the only sure thing is to pay for it at full price.

I once changed ships after I had paid in full and they just charged me the difference. I assume they would do the same for changing categories.

Sorry, but I cannot understand why someone would pay so much to go to Cuba?

It's the forbidden fruit. Until recently it was probably third behind North Korea and the moon as far as difficulty for an American to visit...and from the pictures I have seen it looks to be more fun than those two places.

If you booked the early saver doesn't that give you the price break if prices drop? If Cuba is cancelled than the prices on that cruise will drop tremendously. Honestly, Carnival and all these other lines should do the right thing and just give people the option of a full refund if Cuba is out. All of these lines are using this Cuba thing as an excuse to charge a premium on their worst ships. Yeah, the rules are in the fine print and the consumer should know the risks, but the cruise lines are much better versed in the political nuances of these trips.

BEYOND HAPPY to report we had the Stanley Cup Finals on our cabin TV on Sports 24.... woke up at 2am for the games and WOO HOO our Pens are back to back STANLEY CUP CHAMPS!!!! We had a GREAT time on the cruise. Decorated our cabin door in Pens stuff and had watch parties... our local news even posted our photo on air for cheering from the Adriatic!

As a fellow Pens fan I'm pretty happy, although as a Ravens fan, I hope the Steel City's sports luck runs out in September.

Great review! What is haven proper?

 

 

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It's the cabins that are directly in the Haven courtyard as opposed to the spa, aft, and forward haven cabins.

What happens if you do not drink alcohol and in a Haven cabin under this new program? In essence I would be "subsidizing" others that do but what benefit would I get from this?

 

Maraprince

You can opt out of the drink package and not pay the gratuity.

When mine was accepted the status changed to "processing" for a couple hours than to "upgraded". I had offers on three categories and the two that weren't accepted changed to "expired" right as the accepted one changed to "processing".

I was upgraded 18 days out. Their were 8 courtyard penthouses available right before I upgraded and 5 available right after. I guess they upgraded myself and two others. Today is 13 days out and there are still 5 courtyard penthouses available. maybe they will do another round of upgrades. Maybe I could have gotten upgraded for less, but my bid was still in the poor range and I saved a couple thousand over booking it outright. I'm happy and I really think they take other factors into consideration for upgrades besides just the bids.

I think that's a Carnival thing. Good idea that NCL should steal.

If a casino paid 2:1 on blackjack, depending on other rules and card shuffle, the player has an edge of about 0.4 and up to 2.0, so I am with the other posters who are having trouble with this type of payout. The odds on most (all?) blackjack tables for insurance is 2:1 for a dealer blackjack (after an ace is shown as dealer's first card). Can this be what you remember?

I remember the first time I played Spanish 21. It was actually called Fun 21 or something stupid like that. I didn't know and thought it was blackjack. I was getting paid 2:1 on blackjack and even just getting to 21 with any amount of cards. I was re-splitting aces and always given the chance to surrender or double down at any point. I thought, "this is the greatest game ever created. Why does a casino allow it to exist and why am I not winning huge amounts of money?" It took me a while to realize there were no tens in the deck.

I wonder when it changed..definitely paid out 2:1 in June 2016! Guess I'll be graduating to the 15$ tables!

Are you sure you weren't playing Spanish 21, or whatever the ship tries to call it?