mz-s

Yes they did .

Carnival used to do that pre-COVID with the American Table menus but they always had selections that stayed the same. Carnival has actually moved away from theme nights.

For what it's worth I've often cruised over Thanksgiving and found it a great time to cruise. It's not my first choice (holiday cruises are often more expensive so that's the main reason why). It is busier than May obviously, more families, but not as bad as a month later over Christmas! The weather is usually good, provided you're sailing out of somewhere south. It can be chilly that first and last day if you're sailing out of Baltimore! Brrr

Carnival is far more "laid back" now than it was in 2009. Some good some bad. You won't feel underdressed if you forgot your necktie on elegant night, so that's good to me. Tea time is still there on sea days. Food has been cheapened (they cut a chicken thigh into thirds and serve that with dry nasty rice on the buffet now and the sea day brunch menu is laughable compared to before) and hours for some cut back (pizza isn't 24/7 anymore). Carnival has a huge behavioral issue right now that they seem unprepared to deal with. Kids running around, fights (some so bad the coast guard has to escort the ship into bay), smoking marijuana all over the ship, you name it. This varies from ship to ship so you may not experience it. You shouldn't cruise on a modern megaship over a holiday if you're worried about crowds. But there are always quiet places on the ships - library, serenity (if you can find a chair), your cabin, etc. You won't be able to avoid the crowds when eating because Carnival has been trying to funnel everyone to the Lido for meal times lately, that's their cheapest way to feed their guests. So Lido is busier than ever.

I didn't say you were, I was replying to someone else (the person I quoted in my post).

If you included that detail in your appeal letter you might have some chance. As you mentioned earlier they don't owe you anything but there's certainly no harm in asking.

Straight up cancelling, chances are slim you'll get anything. Maybe a token credit of $200 or something as a "we're sorry" If you requested to move your funds to a future cruise you'd have a better chance.

Nobody is forced to buy Cheers, so it's kind of ridiculous that people keep saying it's punitive. If you don't agree to the terms of the program, you don't have to participate at all. How many more women would suddenly be pregnant when they're told that both people in the room have to buy Cheers unless you're pregnant?

My last few cruises I feel like they haven't been as good as they were before, but maybe my tastes are changing (I can't eat as much greasy foods as I used to be able to) or maybe I wasn't getting fresh ones as I usually only go when there's no line. I do sorely miss the grilled mushrooms topping as well.

It cuts down on a lot of sharing because most people aren't going to book multiple rooms just to skirt the rule. It is what it is. If guests don't like it, they can switch to other lines that do allow mixed packages (like Royal) or buy drinks a la carte. Carnival doesn't actually follow a lot of their rules, but this is one they are very strict about.

Yeah I'm not sure where the replace Guy's idea came from in my quoted post. Nothing is going to replace Guy's for a long, long time. It's one of the best concepts Carnival has ever come out with.

It is up to the captain. Typically they switch to Cayman time but it is not required.

Booking two rooms isn't an exception. If booking two rooms with a single supplement is cheaper than Cheers, more power to you.

It is printed on your boarding pass.

They can do anything they want, limited only by their budget really. I think the new dining concepts are sorely needed on Carnival's older ships and should be non-negotiable for all drydocks going forwards. Guests really demand them these days.

And the gold free drink is likewise only on 5+ day cruises.

If you don't want it, then don't buy it. Nobody is being forced to buy Cheers. However yes as you said if one adult in the room buys it then the system automatically adds it to all other adults. There are no exceptions to this.

The gold drink on the last night was added to the program when gold guests were eliminated from the past guest party. Platinum gets the plat/diamond party which (on most ships anyway) is better than the single drink that gold gets on the last night.

The closest you'll get is a light renovation like the Luminosa, I'm afraid. The mass market lines are only going to build ever bigger ships. Eventually, likely decades in the future, Tampa will have to decide if they want to be a mass-market cruise port and build a new bridge/cruise terminal free of height restrictions. Of course the Spirit class ships aren't going anywhere any time soon, so Tampa doesn't have anything to worry about in the next several years.

The best thing to do is call Carnival and see if they can move your money to the new booking. It is not guaranteed but they are often willing to waive penalties if you are moving your money to a future booking, rather than cancelling for a refund. However you may have lost your leverage when you booked the December cruise first. So you may have to pay the penalty.

The chocolate delight comes with chocolate covered strawberries, macarons, and truffles. There are two options with the chocolate delight - take it or leave it.

OBC is used for any onboard purchases so whatever you buy onboard with your S&S card will be applied to your OBC first. Slots, chips, drinks, bingo cards, doesn't matter. if it's refundable OBC you can turn it into cash in the S&S kiosk. If it's not refundable you have to run it through a slot machine/table and get it cashed out at the cashier.

There's lots of reasons to visit guest services besides complaints as we all know... 🙂

Pretty sure this is only being done on Mardi Gras and Celebration at this time, because otherwise the people standing in line for pizza would have to see all the people standing in line at guest services.

As was mentioned in post #2, reservations for included restaurants is done on the app when you're onboard. You cannot reserve them ahead of time.