mz-s

I have a coworker that has a live feed on her phone of a camera in her house running all day. It's aimed at where her dog typically sleeps during the day. It gives her comfort knowing her dog is okay while she's at work.

Ladies, if your ring or tennis bracelet is attracted to a magnet then you need to have a stern conversation with your jeweler.

There are still bellhops in the UK and other cultures where tipping is not common and even seen as unwelcome. The invisible hand of the marketplace figures out how much these jobs are worth.

not saying you've said this ... read post #6, #11, #13, #17, #20 on this thread ... and that's just the first page ...

3 year old thread folks...

They'll probably have to book through the casino, effectively making the casino their travel agent so all payment will have to go through them. If the offer mentions a rate code, they can try booking through a PVP or a different TA with that information though. Nothing to lose.

It was done so they could redistribute salaries off their balance sheet and directly onto the backs of their customers. A hidden price increase. And it gets worse every time they hike the gratuity rate. They certainly aren't increasing their level of service, anybody who has cruised Carnival consistently for the past several years can see it's quite the opposite in fact. Who knows how much of that increase each individual crew member sees - it's just as likely they just add more "behind the scenes" positions to the pool, or cut the base salary, so nobody really sees any increase at all. By the way - Where else in the world are you called a cheapskate if you refuse to tip "behind the scenes" workers except the Carnival cruise critic forum I ask you? I don't know if there's a TGI Friday's Critic forum somewhere on the internet, but if there is - do they call you a cheapskate if you don't give a tip to the guy who refills the paper towels in the bathroom?

Yeah I don't know how far back your experience goes but this has somewhat recently changed. It used to be you could say "I want to pay for this drink" as you were getting close to your 15 Cheers drinks, and you'd pay out of pocket for the drink and it wouldn't count against your 15 included in Cheers. And people buying drinks a la carte could buy as many as they wanted. Now, you are only served 15 single serve drinks per day. It doesn't matter if you order them via room service, from a bartender, or a roaming waiter. And it doesn't matter if you have Cheers or not, you only get served 15 drinks a day. Limited exceptions - like buying a pitcher of margaritas or drinks purchased on private islands - apply.

Every casino offer I've received from Carnival, I can book it however I prefer. Online, PVP, TA. Just use the booking code on the offer when booking. Then you can pay however works for you.

multi-serve drinks like a bucket of beer or a pitcher of margaritas doesn't count against your 15, probably because like you said it's assumed you're sharing it. But single serve drinks will.

That's one of the great things about Carnival's home port strategy, they get ships to ports that many people can easily drive to so they can test out cruising without the commitment and extra expense of flying to Miami, hotels, taxis, etc. Cruising isn't for everyone but those of us that love it, love it!

Your chances of getting the shareholder OBC applied to a $100 room + $100 OBC casino rate (so a "free cruise") cannot be represented by a real number.

Yes - the cookies from Cherries on Top are good! I don't know if they're fresh baked or not, but I liked them!

I do the same thing with the iced tea, which I actually like with a little bit of lemonade mixed in. It's far too strong straight from the tap.

And if you've ever seen a Scorsese movie, you really don't want to get on the wrong side of a casino...especially in international waters.

Glad to hear someone in your group won an excursion! I always tell new cruisers to attend as many of these seminars as they can, because there are a lot of giveaways! Same thing with the jewelry store, spa, and the on-shore shopping talks.

I don't think any modern cruise ship has enough capacity to evacuate everyone in a Titanic-level disaster using the davit-mounted lifeboats. they'd all have to resort to inflatables, etc., to get everyone off.

right, 4 total. 2 in stateroom, and 2 from any bar since you're gold.

I wish they would. I think they should. AIs by and large don't do tipping. Neither does Virgin Voyages. The main issue is baking gratuities into the cost of the cruise would raise Carnival's costs, and therefore fares, when their main differentiator in the marketplace is price. The fact that it isn't happening proves the cruise industry is happy with offloading a substantial portion of their expenses to their customer's shoulders directly.

Good info, the last time I ordered multiple apps they served them serially. The only time they serve both my items at the same time is when I order prime rib and lobster. I guess since that's such a popular combo.

There isn't a hard limit like there is with entrees but if you try to order one of every appetizer they might say something. And generally they'll only serve one at a time, hoping that you'll give up before you eat them all.

supposed to be, yes...in the MDR anyway. On Lido it's a guava juice "cocktail" that is disgustingly sweet and artificial tasting.

Yes my wife and I are trending back to land-based vacations as well, at least for a while... we're still open to cruises but we are preferring land-based for now.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/onboard-services/laundry/

you still can return to it - just not on cut-rate lines like Carnival.