2legit410

We will be in Grand Cayman for a cruise in March. I am looking to find a tour company that will allow me to customize where we want to go. I would like to go to the turtle farm, brewery, distillery, and run cake place... and possibly to see the stingrays if we have time. I would love a tour guide who is fun and interactive. Anybody know of a company that will let me customize like this?

Small problem though but it happens all the time: Folks want a window seat. So they book early or in the case of the MDR get one for the cruise. After being seated they demand the curtains be pulled. Meaning, anybody close by who thought they might dine, while viewing the ocean or scenic beauty, are greatly disappointed.

 

However, it doesn't stop there, some guests get the window seat and allow the shades to remain open, however other guests, sometimes those 30 or 40 feet away, ask the waiters to pull the blinds down. Almost always, the reason for this is that some folks don't like the sun on their dining tables. This is really true in Alaska late in the afternoon, as the sun is low on the horizon when rays parallel the surface. We had that occur on one of our last cruises in the specialty restaurant, the waiter asked if he could pull our shades down, so we couldn't see the beautiful evening sunset from our table. WHAT?? He pointed to a couple many tables away that said the sun bothered them. I can't repeat here now how I responded. Anyway, stuff like that doesn't really help one enjoy the vistas and dinner atmosphere very much.

Not on an Alaska cruise, but Carnival recently had a huge fight in the MDR after the waiter tried to pull the curtains, at another tables request and those next to the window objected.

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You would like RCCL or an AI land resort.

 

The ship, for me, is not a destination. It is a floating hotel that moves to the destinations. Also, the sea itself is a destination, but not the ship. It's just a hotel.

 

The trend seems to be to transform the hotel to be like the Contemporary Resort at Disney World... connected by monorail to all the activities and restaurants, etc. I realize the trend would not be happening if a lot of people did not want it. I just hope there are enough folks like me left who want a more basic cruise experience.

 

Regarding cruise to nowhere, if you are going on cruise #30 and have already explored every Caribbean port there is to explore, maybe staying on the ship would be fine. However, there are still lots of other ports around the world to explore on a cruise. More expensive to get to, for sure, but worth a look, unless the objective is to cruise from Florida where it does not require a plane ticket and is cheapest.

 

I just can't see myself not choosing a cruise based on the ports, or enjoying a cruise to nowhere nearly as much as a cruise to somewhere.

Put me on a cruise to nowhere, set me up at a hotel, take me to Mexico, just let me spend several days not worrying about anything but having a good time and relaxing and I will be happy ... So long as it is warm [emoji12][emoji4]

We still exclusively sail out of Galveston (live in the Houston area). The only Caribbean cruise we haven't been on is Bahamas. I don't see us cruising the Mediterranean or anywhere else really until my kids are grown and gone (the youngest in about 13 years and 3 months). So until then, we will happily visit the same ports on repeat. There is always something new to see and experience. (That said, my mil is planning to take us on an Alaskan cruise next summer, which I am very much looking forward to).

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I am on Carnival Horizon transatlantic and there is a small late night buffet at 11:30-1AM Some salads, sandwiches, hot dogs, cookies, a few other things I can't remember. Only went once so far. Only been on 5 nights so far. The pizza is delicious. 4 or 5 choices of pizza.

 

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I read this on John's old blog (before his FB page). I don't have a link to the actual article, I just simply remember what was written (because it was a WOW moment).

I am a chocolate and dessert lover (banana caramel cake sounds like the perfect way to start my day [emoji23]), and I have maybe eaten 2 of the Carnival pillow chocolates on all 31 of my days at sea.

The first 2 cruises, I brought them home thinking I may eat them, but they just sat in my suitcase until the next time I used it. I think this was a brilliant way to cut costs.

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Yes, and the market will (I predict) reward the cruise lines who get more right about what the market wants.

 

The market is many people with many interests. Some have kids, some like to eat gourmet food, some like to get hammered, some like to hook up, some like to explore new ports, etc. One ship can never be all things to all people, so they try to hit the sweet spot where they are more of the things that more of the people want, while trying to annoy the fewest people in the process.

 

I don't care if there is a Chef's table... great for those who want it but it's not for me. On NCL, it's great that there is an entire section of the ship with access given only to the select few who book the most expensive cabins. Some people drive, some fly commercial, and some hire private jets. It makes no difference to me what someone else spends their money on as long as it does not affect me (e.g. all those people driving and all those private jets don't delay my commercial flight.)

 

There are a few areas where the cruise lines intentionally make life a bit less pleasant for their guests in order to extract more money:

• FTTF - in order for some to pay extra to get onboard, others have to get on later. So now we have the "assigned check in time" ... this is just fallout from the new money grab.
  
• Ice - simple thing you take for granted at home, and is self service on ever floor of a hotel. On a cruise, it's difficult to get ice. You have to special request it from the steward during the rare time he is available, or schlep it from the lido. Not convenient. Why??? so people will just go to a bar instead of having a drink in the cabin.
  
• Alcohol - biggest money pit ever. NCL is going to eat Carnival's lunch with this one. Of course, not everyone is a big drinker ... the Red Frog self pour kiosks are a step in the right direction, but why is there not a "Beer-only package?" I guarantee you is is not because of "the market"... market would love it but Carnival would rather sell you liquor at $60 a day than beer for less. Why? Because they can make more money... and if people willingly buy the only package, why would they offer a less expensive one? Solution - don't buy the package.
  
• Advertisements - they are all over the Fun Times, all over the PA during the day. Most folks can tune it out but it is always there... "hey! here's a great thing to do... it only costs $$$. Try it!"
  
• I could go on and on but am tired of typing...
  

1. I cannot speak for FTTF, but I for one am really excited to experience the new check in times. I haven't cruised in 3 years, and the last time we did, this was not in effect. We generally had to wait in line for 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on the time of year, to get into the cruise terminal. Of course, summer months, which are hotter than Hades in Galveston (which we are still sailing out of exclusively), had the longer outdoor wait times. From what I've read, the check in times have dramatically cut down on the wait to board. If I had to choose between getting onboard at 11, but having to wait in line for an hour plus or not getting on board until even as late as 1 or 2 (which isnt the case if you get your check in time early enough), but not having to wait more than 15 minutes, that is an easy choice for me. Particularly as the cruise we are taking next week will be our first with kids.

2. I don't disagree entirely that the cheers package is ultimately designed to make the cruiseline money. However, I do think you should be telling John H and your post cruise surveys, as frequently and loudly as possible, about your desire to have a beer package. You and all of your beer drinking friends! Carnival does listen to it's guests! I don't think that they are deliberately ignoring beer drinkers in order to price gouge. After all, they have the wine packages, which, as I understand it, are very reasonably priced.

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I have cruised several times and always have the possibility of an itinerary change in the back of my head. Weather, weird situations arise that make planning difficult at times. One Western cruise with a stop in Belize was one that comes to mind. We boarded the ship and were told after a day of cruising that there was a possibility of not going to Belize because the tender boat drivers were talking strike. It all worked out and we did go the day that we were originally scheduled. While cruising last September ( yes, during an active hurricane season!) our entire itinerary changed from Eastern to Western. We originally were to be in San Juan and it was the day that the hurricane hit. So glad that we went West. We even had a change of plans with the new proposed schedule. I am always thankful to go on vacation and be with friends that it doesn't really matter where we go as long as we are get somewhere safely. It just goes with cruising. I tell people that if you really want to go somewhere and have a 100% quarantee of location, book a land vacation.

I have (thankfully) never experienced an itenerary change, but if I did, I am sure I would just roll with it. I don't normally handle change well, but my philosophy on vacation is that I am going to have a good time no matter what. I can be miserable at home!

I think the OP really did make the best of a bad situation. I am really sorry that this trip ended up being such an expensive disappointment! I hope your next one is everything this one wasn't.

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I'd be curious to see more of these kinds of comparisons. What people are actually spending. Even those with Cheers.

 

I spent even less than you on my 7 night cruise. I spend more on going out on Saturday night than I wanted on my cruise (minus the drinks at port).

On our honeymoon, a 7 night, we spent about $850. Both times we didn't worry about price of the drink we wanted or about what our final bill was going to be.

So even though I drink far less now, being able to pre pay and know exactly how much its costing us, plus not having to try and order cheap drinks to stay under a certain budget, is definitely worth the cost of cheers package for us. It isn't for everyone, and that's fine. But if bars had a deal where you could go in, have 15 of any drink(s) you wanted and only pay $56, people would happily pay it.

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Our entire S&S account (3 of us) was funded by GC's last month on the Magic, cashed out at GS last night of cruise, recd EVERYTHING left on account in cash...we have never rec'd the remaining balance back on the GC...we have been doing this for years......we have used the casino cage and GS...maybe if you leave it on the acct and CCL sends it back, maybe then it will come back in form of GC if that was orig source???

 

If the minors S&S acct are the same account as yours (or the main person) then the money can be cashed out by you. Our 15 son has a limit on his spending on the S&S acct we all share (3 of us), his card will no longer work once he reaches the limit assigned by me, in your case if friend is on same acct as you then just assign the limit of his GC's amt and when he reaches the limit its over...if he is on his own account (is this possible for a minor???) then no reason he cannot cash out at end like anyone else...

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Folio numbers. With minors, they can't set up their own S&S account, they have to be linked to an adult's account. You then choose whether or not you want to give the minor charging privileges on your account. If you don't, then you can put their own funds on their S&S using gift cards, cash, or Cruise Cash.

 

If you have the physical gift cards, there shouldn't be an issue. The person who had to go through the verification was using E-cards. Guest Services told him it was due to an increased number of fraudulent E-cards purchased from sites like ebay, etc. But usually if something like that happens to more people, chances are good more than one person on these boards will bring it up, so I don't know what the heck to think. If I can check the balance of my E-card, with Carnival's own balance checker, in less than a minute, then why does it take them 24 hours? Are there actually fraudulent E-cards out there that do have funds on them, but aren't officially backed by Carnival? Is that why verification takes so long? Who the heck would sell a fraudulent Carnival gift card with funds actually on it? I always assumed that if someone bought a fraudulent card, it was simply empty when the buyer got it. That would be apparent immediately just by checking the balance and wouldn't take 24 hours.

Weird that the ecards are placed on specific folio numbers but I can put cash on the whole sign and sail. We have a credit card set up right now. My kids have charging privileges, but I am going to set up a limit once we board (9 days!!)

I thought I could just add the gift cards to my sign and sail. Looks like I will have to rethink that. Thank you for answering!

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For crying out loud. Grow up man. I wasn't being mean. Insults are unnecessary.

To your point, however, the cheers program is topic adjacent. It isn't like we started talking about the NBA playoffs (Go Rockets!).

But even so, you aren't the OP. There's really no reason to be so concerned about which way the conversation is flowing, don't sweat the small stuff! Hence the overdue for a cruise comment.

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STOP!

 

Alright I'm nipping this in the bud before this thread spirals out of control over the merits or otherwise of the Cheers! program. Original post was an exclamation on the cruise ship drink prices vs. those found at a music festival. If you all want to discuss whether or not Cheers is worth it, please do it on another board.

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Do you really think you will drink 15 drinks a day for seven days? If you can, you have quite the hollow leg... most folks could not get close to that.

 

So, you have to adjust the math to divide the cheers price by the real average number of drinks consumed per day. It's going to be a lot less than 15 for most, so the per-drink amount is going to be a lot higher and the savings a lot less.

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Do you really think you will drink 15 drinks a day for seven days? If you can, you have quite the hollow leg... most folks could not get close to that.

 

So, you have to adjust the math to divide the cheers price by the real average number of drinks consumed per day. It's going to be a lot less than 15 for most, so the per-drink amount is going to be a lot higher and the savings a lot less.

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When you go to a bar, you are paying not just for the cost of the drink, but also for the building and employees and owner's profit. If you prefer to simply drink beer somewhere else (at home, on the beach, anywhere it is allowed) then you get to buy it at the store and pay only what it costs (plus lots of taxes.)

 

On a ship at sea there are no taxes, which right there should equal giving the customer a break.

 

Sure, you have to pay for maintaining the bar and the staff but what about just sitting on the deck in a lounger or having a beer on your balcony? Shouldn't the customer get a break for that?

 

I don't think it is fair to compare the cost of drinks at a sporting event that lasts 3 hours to the cost of drinks on a cruise that lasts 7 days. I am probably not going to do too much damage to my wallet in 3 hours but sure can in 7 days.

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Right. They'll refund any remaining balance in the form the original deposit was made. If you use cash on the S&S account, they'll mail you a check (if you don't cash out at GS or a kiosk). If you deposit funds with a gift card, the remainder is refunded as a gift card. That's what I'd like to avoid. The friend (and his family) aren't likely to go on a cruise anytime soon, so I didn't want him to be refunded any possible remainder with a gift card. For that matter, if my son has a remaining balance put on with a gift card, I don't want another gift card for him either because I'd rather not have any money tied up in a Carnival card if we don't know when we'll cruise next.

 

If they don't insist on putting the entire amount of the gift card into the S&S accounts, I could give the two kids a part of their share and keep the rest on the gift card. That way if they don't spend it all, I could deposit it to my account, cash out in the casino, and get the refund in the form of cash.

 

I'm aware we can add funds to the S&S account as needed. That's what we did last time. The reason I'd put the gift card or Cruise Cash funds on my account is so I can cash out in the casino at the end of the cruise, if anything's left.

 

I'm thinking of buying some Cruise Cash for everyone because someone on this forum who recently cruised on the Glory, which is where we'll be, were told by Guest Services that they had to verify the Carnival e-gift cards now (the ones that are emailed) due to trouble with fraudulent e-cards. And it took them 24 hours each time they verified an e-card (don't ask me why). I don't know if that was an isolated incident or what. So far, I haven't seen anyone else say they had to go through this with e-cards. I don't want that hassle, so buying Cruise Cash ahead of time with our e-cards would prevent us from needing them verified, if they just so happen to do it to us too. But any Cruise Cash put on the kids' S&S needs to be spent or is lost. If they allowed transfers to minors, I could put some of it on my account and be able to cash out in the casino if need be. Hope all of that makes sense.

 

Bottom line, I don't want the two minors to end up with a remaining balance that was deposited using gift cards or Cruise Cash.

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My husband once ordered a Budweiser in a bottle while poolside at a hotel we were staying at. I asked him how much it was, and he said he hadn't asked. When he went to order another one, he decided to ask how much it was. Turns out he had just finished a rare bottle of liquid Budweiser gold for the great price of $10.

I get concert venues, sporting events, etc having exorbitant prices. You can't bring your own food or drinks and you're basically at their mercy. And even though I had a feeling that bottle of Bud was going to be overpriced, I definitely wasn't expecting it to be $10!

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Are the gift cards applied to specific folio numbers or to the whole storeroom sign and sail?

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I am 90% sure that there is one on the deck where guest services is.

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I’ve been playing for years on all the formats. Just get the free coins when you think about it and play when you are bored. The loyalty points add up pretty quick if you have a good luck run. Headed on a free 5 night from Galveston in a few weeks and have a $250 OBC for Royal later this year.

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I’ve been playing for years on all the formats. Just get the free coins when you think about it and play when you are bored. The loyalty points add up pretty quick if you have a good luck run. Headed on a free 5 night from Galveston in a few weeks and have a $250 OBC for Royal later this year.

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We are doing the 7 night Eastern Caribbean on the Pride out of Baltimore. There will be three ports- Grand Turks, Halfmoon Cay and Freeport. We had been considering booking a 3-4 day cruise for our 1st one to give cruising a try. Working on building my points back up on MyVegas so that I can get another cruise in the future if we like this one.

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Carnival has disappeared on the partner lists as of tonite.

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45 mins a week is only 3 hours a month....that's getting you between 25-40K LP points?! Or do you mean 45 mins a day?! Because I can't see how anyone could rack up that many LP points on 3 hours a month playing the game. Just not possible.

I will do auto spin on my computer, myvegas slots mobile, and mykonami and just let it spin without me having to do anything.

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I started playing this past December and already racked up 25k "Loyalty Points" which was enough to get the $50 OBC for Royal Caribbean. When you first start playing the game, it's pretty easy to rack up the first 25k LP's...after that however, it slows down considerably and takes a LONG time to accumulate the gold coins needed for Rewards.

 

But if you're wanting something on the low end reward tier for 25k or less, it only takes a month or so to get there. I'd love to hear from those who racked up over a million and how long it took them to get to that.

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