mz-s

Ripped a gash in my foot from a hole in the deck and need a tetanus booster, but I AM ON A CRUISE SO I AM MAKING THE MOST OF IT!

I would say that you either booked a casino rate without realizing, or this is a new venture for Carnival - in which case I would have expected to hear more about it.

If you were gambling, it's likely you earned drinks on us as a result of your gambling. After you attain so many points, you get drinks on us for the remainder of the cruise.

Not everyone but it does seem like they've been more liberal with handing out drinks on us than before COVID.

"Yes I got a horrible splinter and cut my arm on the rusty window sills, I need a tetanus booster but I was on a CRUISE! A CRUISE PEOPLE!" "Yes my burger was ice cold after waiting 30 minutes for it, but I make the best of being on a CRUISE!" "My retirement is in jeopardy because I bought a lot of $CCL and it's in the crapper but I get $50 every time I go on a CRUISE!" "Yes Carnival doesn't give me my shareholder benefits anymore because I get discounted rates but I AM ON A CRUISE!" "No bacon anymore, but that's OK I don't want to risk botulism when I am ON A CRUISE!" "The guests down the hall from me beat the crap out of each other last night and our ship had to be escorted into port by the Coast Guard. But that's OK, I am on a CRUISE! MAKE THE BEST OF BEING ON A CRUISE!"

Yes, Carnival is tarnishing their brand with things like this and countless other things as we are talking about in the "long lines" thread.

I think it's worthwhile for us to discuss what Carnival is doing poorly as well as what they are doing well. That is how things improve. Just throwing up your hands and saying "well if you're not 100% satisfied then leave and never come back" as you seem to be, is not productive.

It's so much more than the service issues, if you would have read my post and understood it.

Far more than long lines. The long lines are just part of the ways Carnival is devaluing their brand. They are becoming more and more the "Dollar General" of cruising. Everyone knows the reputation that Dollar General has these days with dirty stores that are out of everything, overworked and too few employees, etc. Carnival's attitude of "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead" is doing damage to their brand. They do not have enough crew to adequately support every ship at full capacity. Damn the torpedoes, overwork the staff we do have until they are near their breaking point. Full speed ahead, let our paying guests wait in long lines for a hamburger and close the few late night food options we do have, leaving only pizza open. They do not have enough vaccinated people willing to cruise to fill all their ships at sustainable prices. Damn the torpedoes, sell the rooms at cut-rate prices to fill the ships. Full speed ahead, we'll worry about the fact that we've devalued our brand when and if we ever see profitability again. These cut rate prices are filling ships with people who fight and smoke pot. Damn the torpedoes, we'll cut rates more to fill the ships hoping their onboard spend makes up the difference. Full speed ahead, we'll ignore the fighting and pot smoking until it gets so bad that a ship has to have a Coast Guard escort back into port.

I do worry that Carnival is doing immense damage to their brand on several fronts. But realistically I'm not sure they have any choice.

1 - Tablecloths are gone for good now. They used COVID as the excuse. 2 - I agree Carnival could do so much more with the app if they wanted to. 3 - I think they want to try to appeal to all ages, so some nights they'll play family movies and others they'll play adult (but not that kind of adult) movies. On one of my sailings they played Encanto and the new Aretha Franklin biopic, those are two I remember anyways. 4 - Yes, Carnival rarely changes out the shows they play on their ships. In the past they had to wait for drydocks to change out the props and decorations, but now that everything is just costumes and the LED backdrop I don't know why they don't change them more often. 5 - I think Carnival and Hasbro severed their relationship a few years ago, before COVID. It didn't last terribly long.

My understanding is if you do have to pay for a test, you can file the charge with insurance and get reimbursed. Even those eMed/telehealth tests are eligible for reimbursement. I do not know if every insurance plan participates, I only know that mine does.

On the cruises I've been on where it's offered it's usually advertised on banners in the elevators.

Nobody reads the headings though. Boggles my mind.

So you're cruising with unvaccinated guests I assume?

You do not need the hub app to activate WiFi onboard. Just open the browser and go to connect.com. When finished, go to logout.com. You will need to enter the folio number of the person who purchased the WiFi to connect. That is how they ensure only one device per plan is connected at any given time. Beware that someone else can go to connect.com and force you off if they have your folio number.

I was not on this cruise but if it was cancelled during the cruise, then the refund was likely given in the form of a credit on your onboard account.

Ask me after Halloween

My wife and I are looking at booking something probably around February or April of next year. The rest of this year is pretty much booked for us unless we get a killer offer, then we can make things happen! 🙂

You can make some of the people happy some of the time. No matter what the gift is it will meet with less than universal appeal. It is what it is.

Have heard since COVID, you can't leave Princess Cays to get to George's Bar. Wondering if that's still the case? It seemed to be true when I was there in February of this year.

I don't think they've said anything about Fantasy but I hope they saved some things from her and they'll have a tribute to her as well.

Considering you can't just get up and leave the ship if you don't like the food, it's pretty important for most people even if it isn't for you.

It's a cruise-by-cruise thing. I'd say your hunch is mostly right. But depending on the cruise the $25 tables can be unpopular so it's tough to get a rhythm going.

Have you sailed over the past month or so? They closed it over the past month or so for supper but left it open for lunch.