mz-s

I'm glad you're happy with your PVP and don't deny they are useful for people. Back when my wife and I used one, he knew where we liked our room to be etc so bookings were quick. My MIL needs a fully accessible room so her PVP is able to help her with that. Etc. Having a consistent voice on the other end of the line can be important.

Paying more for gas to get to work is a little different than something like a cruise vacation in my opinion. I'm a little more understanding when I have to pay more for my dozen of eggs at the grocery store these days. Needing gas to get to work and eggs to eat are what we call necessities. Carnival doesn't deal in necessities - I do not need a Carnival cruise to survive like I need the things I buy at Aldi or Walmart. They have to work hard to earn every dollar they get from me. When Carnival is going on year 3 of a self-described "bacon vacation" just because they want to save money, or if they fire half their stewards and therefore cut the service I receive in half yet refuse to reduce the gratuities they charge me (and indeed, sharply increase them with no good explanation), yeah I'm going to call them out on it. Carnival has chosen to cut their experience such that their only option is to compete on price. It's going to be a very dark decade ahead for this company $30Bn+ in debt that is still not profitable.

Well I'm as guilty as anyone for complaining (perhaps more so). The popcorn back when it was fresh and free reminded me of Target's popcorn. Got the job done.

Maybe they'll start cruising out of Vancouver again in 2025, but at least through the 2024 season they aren't. They may never again, nobody knows right now. They also don't sail out of San Juan anymore for example.

🤷‍♀️ I ain't getting sent to the chokey again for something silly like that. Try asking on social media maybe if it has to be a recomendation. Otherwise just go to Carnival and fill out the form to have one contact you. I don't think it really matters who you get, they can't do anything other than what calling Carnival directly can do - because at the end of the day they're just Carnival employees with a direct line.

The entire purpose of this thread in particular is to discuss things that are gone from the experience, anyone is welcome to make a thread about things that Carnival has added over the years and I'd be glad to add my own things to that thread as well.

Like room service, the prices are now punitive.

And the bottles are priced so high now, the savings vs. ordering drinks from the bar is barely worthwhile.

Our cruise fare and gratuities used to include so much more than you get today it's really quite sad if you actually want to go down that road. Look at post #13 in this thread for a brief list of things we've lost just since COVID.

Talk to the "Menu Mate" desk, available fleetwide at every dining location, for help navigating food allergies. If you and your kids don't eat at the buffet and ran out of dining options on Mardi Gras, you have no business sailing Carnival ever again because Mardi Gras has by far the most non-buffet dining options in the fleet. And for what it's worth I agree Carnival's buffets are largely blah to disgusting. It used to be so much better it's actually sad.

They won't turn you away. Like I said earlier, if your shorts have a zipper and an actual hem instead of cut-offs, you'll feel overdressed in a Carnival dining room these days.

The dining room isn't set up for to go. In fact I don't think they will let you take the food out of there. My understanding is JH has reported that on his facebook page. They probably just told you that to get you out of line. Time to broaden your kids horizons from pizza, french fries, and chicken nuggets it sounds like...

Seems like the shareholder's meeting where these things are discussed is generally in April. Not sure when exactly this year though.

I don't know if the Vista class has a conference room they could convert or not. Another option may be to take over the IMAX and/or Thrill Theater areas, but that would probably require a drydock to cut a hole in the side of the ship to remove all that equipment etc. And I don't know if Carnival would want to remove those areas from the ships, not sure how popular they are.

The most maddening thing is you're still paying for that evening turn-down service, because gratuities have gone up. You're just not getting it anymore.

Yeah my wife and I specifically wanted to cruise to Alaska in 2024 for our 10 year. But now we are thinking of pushing Alaska further out and doing Hawaii next year. So I wish I would have gone ahead and taken advantage of those deals last year...live and learn.

Oh how I wish I could have gone last year when they were offering insane deals for Alaska.

right you are, tiger... my mistake - thanks for correcting me! 😬

https://www.carnival.com/cruise-food/?shipCode=DR It has Cucina. And free pasta during lunch.

Only change is they're no longer using the "enhanced cleaning procedures" excuse because people aren't buying it anymore.

It's only been approved through July now so if you submit it for a cruise leaving after that they'll just reject it and tell you to resubmit after, assuming it's re-approved...

They should just sell bags of skinny pop or Funnyuns if people want a snack. The magic of seeing that popcorn machine steaming under the jumbotron is ruined, anyway. Nobody wants to beg a bartender to sell them a box of probably day-old popcorn for $3. Special touches...

Yeah I have thought about it, especially during the COVID craziness. My TA (granted a big box clearinghouse style TA that I book with purely to get OBC/gift cards/etc, otherwise I'd just book on my own) was impossible to get on the phone without an hour plus long hold. And Carnival won't help with TA bookings obviously. I wish I had used a PVP that way I would have had an easier time during the COVID shutdown. But we're beyond that and frankly I'm not booking many Carnival cruises anymore so I feel less of a need to have a PVP dedicated to Carnival. I like that my TA, as faceless as they are, can help me with whatever I want - a cruise with any line, a trip to Orlando, an all-inclusive, etc.

I personally have had more incorrect charges on my bill since the restart than EVER before...every cruise I've had to go to guest services or a bar manager to get something fixed.

I haven't printed anything in color (besides photos) in years.