nireg

I stand corrected. You’re right Brian. I can’t upload the chart for some reason but it’s great for comparison. Looks like breakeven is 6 cocktails a day or 10 beers a day or 6 wines a day or 25 sodas a day( not all at together) will make your money back. But I will say you are paying a lot for convenience. Plus I left out that my husband is good for 2-3 at night and that’s probably not every night so it’s not worth it since both need to buy. So, for us...doesn’t work. But could be a great value for others! Find that chart! It’s really interesting!

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I’m sure someone out there has priced out the cost per drink if buying bottle service and mixers and beers from the fun shop. I just purchased Cheers without giving this alternative much thought. Anyone?

 

 

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Heard the breakeven on cheers is 10 or so drinks a day. There is a chart offered to help you make the decision somewhere. Not worth it if you get free drinks in casino. Even without, adding another almost $1k to the bill doesn’t appeal to me. Would rather buy a few and make my own during the day from the room.

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Usually we pre purchase a 12 pack of water just to have readily available (even though we get the Cheers package). Once, we got a towel/tote combo as souvenirs for the kids and they liked that surprise. Our next cruise we will get the soft sided cooler with the beer (to take onto Princess Cay)

 

 

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2 cases of water, bottle of rum and bring on 2- 12 packs of Diet Pepsi with 2 bottles of wine. And 2 drink cups/ quart container to put in cooler bag to walk around. That and the DOU cards in the casino is more than enough beverages for an 8 day cruise!

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Yep that sounds right. The shows that weren't in the Liquid Lounge we're only one comedian at a time and only 30 minutes long

Can you use the hub app to reserve seats for any of the shows or just ytd? Anything else that can be reserved in advance other than dining reservations?

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After about 30 cruises, I believe the slots are the loosest the first 2 days and the last day of each cruise.

 

Who has experienced this theory? I have seen arguments that the host of the casino ha not control on payouts etc.

 

I say they may in fact have control , but the theory is based on my experience...

I believe the host does watch the gamblers closely. I won the last night and another attendant was close by talking to me several times before it happened. Thrilled but also thought it wasn’t a coincidence.

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I don’t know about that but they stated we would be qualified for one in the Fall if we took a Premier in the winter. Will let you know

 

 

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Happy to say we will be sailing the Horizon in October on an Ultra offer. We already had it booked with friends and then it was tagged as one of the Ultras so happy to be able to take advantage of it. If anyone has done an Ultra recently, would love to hear about it!

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The total cost for the cruise was over $3000 but we only paid port charges. It's a drive to Galveston but not too bad. Retired this past April and have the time finally.

Are you saying you got the cabin for free and only paid port charges? That is fantastic!

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That is awesome! Good for you! How were the rates? Usually pretty high for that time. Would love to surprise my family at Christmas with that trip!

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these are the elite cruises they offered on my email:

 

AUGUST 4, 2018

 

 

 

From: Galveston, TX

 

 

 

7 days aboard Carnival Freedom[emoji768]

 

 

 

AUGUST 25, 2018

 

 

 

From: Galveston, TX

 

 

 

7 days aboard Carnival Freedom[emoji768]

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

 

 

 

From: New York, NY

 

 

 

8 days aboard Carnival Horizon[emoji768]

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2018

 

 

 

From: Galveston, TX

 

 

 

7 days aboard Carnival Vista[emoji768]

 

 

 

 

 

 

OCTOBER 6, 2018

 

 

 

From: Port Canaveral (Orlando), FL

 

 

 

7 days aboard Carnival Breeze[emoji768]

 

 

 

 

 

 

OCTOBER 14, 2018

 

 

 

From: Galveston, TX

 

 

 

7 days aboard Carnival Vista[emoji768]

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

 

 

 

From: Baltimore, MD

 

 

 

14 days aboard Carnival Pride[emoji768]

 

 

 

 

 

 

DECEMBER 9, 2018

 

 

 

From: Miami, FL

 

 

 

6 days aboard Carnival Horizon[emoji768]

Thank you for sharing!

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I booked an elite cruise for October 6, 2018 on Carnival Breeze. Do you receive the same gifts as you would on an ultra? I have been on two premiere cruises but never invited for an ultra. I know some of the Elite perks include free drinks throughout the ship, one free shore excursion, games and drawings in the casino and casino cash? I’ve heard the gifts on the ultra are over the top. Including TVs, iPads, etc. for every guest. Is the same true on an elite cruise?

I know Ultra guests were invited on Horizon, not sure if they added Elite. Was Horizon listed also?

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When I was on the Ultra cruise they had a table set up in the casino with approximately 20 to 30 gift boxes on it. They would do this each night. They would inform each invited guest which night to be present to get your gift. When they called your name you would pick a number out of container and you would get the corresponding gift box. When you opened the gift box it would say what you had won; ipad, tv, etc. I have been on two Ultras. The first one was Dec 2014 where I won the Ultimate cruise package, which was phenomenal. It was a cruise of your choice, up to 12 days, and included a Grand Suite or Captains suite, airport transfers, shore excursion, chef's table, $500 for spa and $500 dream studio photo shoot. You had one year to take it. My second Ultra was in December 2015 and I won and ipad. It is luck of the draw. No one knows what they are getting. The last few ultra invites were no good for me, but I was able to book one for this November. I do not know if they have changed anything since the last one I was on was 2015.

Well that sounds wonderful. Thx for sharing!

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Ultra is above the Premier. The Ultra has all that Premier offers, plus each invited guest gets a gift. The last Ultra I was on the gifts ranged from ipads, iphones, laptops, TV's and gift cards.

Great, what did they give you and how long ago?

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Yes we did an Ultra on the Vista last year.

How was the Ultra different from the Premier? Just got an offer. Thanks

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I had the pleasure of going on an Elite cruise a couple of months ago. And I had to tell you that it was pretty incredible. Not like an ultra cruise but a little different.

 

 

 

On our cruise, it was limited to only the first 35 cabins so once they’re filled their filled. So basically it is on a first come first serve basis. And we had less than three weeks before the cruise actually set sail.

 

 

 

After I was booked they sent me an email asking me my drink of choice for the room with mixer. This is for both guests.

 

 

 

It includes a Steakhouse dinner with the casino host, drink card for anywhere on the ship, multiple drawings and excursion with the hosts (ours was in Roatan and was cancelled due to rough seas so we got $100 casino cash instead). Plus incredible service in the casino.

 

 

 

I only hope I get another invite (and I am not a high roller).

That sounds great! What is the difference between Premier and Ultra then?

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So I guess the people with 30,000+ points get the Elite Cruise?

I don’t know about that but they stated we would be qualified for one in the Fall if we took a Premier in the winter. Will let you know

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Just got an invite for this cruise as a Premier with $1,000 casino cash. Nice offer, anyone else get it?

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You can buy in at the tables or on the slots using your sail card / room key. There are no fees for this. The only limit on buying in is the credit limit of the card you have on file, and you can add another card if you do hit the limit..... not that you ever want that to happen. (Just back from a MSC Seaside cruise and did my buy-ins using this method.)

How was the casino overall compared to other ships? Was it still non-smoking and did they have a variety of slots? Crowded?

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So, just returned from the Seaside and the winner is...

 

Entertainment - this was far superior to any other cruise line entertainment. We booked the show at 8:00 every night and attended EVERY show at 8:00 and they were all superb, much better than any of the cruise lines we have attended. The shows were about 35 minutes long and all were EXCELLENT

 

Food - Vista had many more choices, but the choices on the Seaside were good. We purchased the Trio package which was good, the best being Ocean Cay, then the Asian food experience and lastly Butcher's Cut. However, the best meal we had was the French restaurant which was $15 and was superb. The onion soup, significantly different from the dining room onion soup, which I would be fine never having again, the onion soup in the French Bistro was definitely worth having again. There were many more choices on the Vista, all were good, but at the end of the day not necessary as the food on the Seaside was good. How much can one eat in 1 wk on a ship.

 

Pools - The aft pool on the Vista was great, had umbrellas, jacuzzi and food nearby and was superb, the pool on 16 - Miami Beach pool on Vista wasn't as nice but was fine.

 

Rooms - we only do inside cabins, have done balconies in the past and just didn't use the balcony enough to justify the cost, but if balcony is your thing - I think (think not know) you would be ok. Would have to check with others who may have more knowledge.

 

Extra costs - this area was a bit confusing as we had the Fantastica experience and figuring out what brand of alcohol was ok in which bar was a challenge, but when 12 drinks are included in the charge, which was still less than what we paid on Vista - a good thing no matter how you look at it, whether you get specialty water, coffee or drink it is an added perk

 

Staff and Captain - amazing on the Seaside - best cruise director we have ever had and Captain was friendly and visible often. Not usually impressed by such things, but when they circulated on the ship and always greeted you...it was nice.

 

Prior to this cruise, I really enjoyed the Vista, but after being on the Seaside...would take the Seaside...why because we enjoyed the entertainment, without realizing how much we could enjoy the entertainment...food was satifactory...passengers were always friendly and respectful...somewhat loud and not respectful on Carnival, which was the biggest criticism we had of Carnival. Staff was EXCEPTIONAL - never had a negative experience there. If these things aren't big for you, I think you would enjoy Carnival as we did, but when comparing the two...like the Seaside much better

Thanks very much for this review! Glad you enjoyed it so much!

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For us, it was worth it as we got a direct flight which was much cheaper and direct. Otherwise, flight would have been a couple of hundred dollars cheaper and 2 hours less travel time. Of course, if it doesn't work there is stress but if not it is very good. Don't think an 1100 flight would be a problem.

Great to hear! Looking forward to your comparison of the Seaside and Vista as well! Hope you enjoyed the cruise!

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OK, thanks for looking. Appreciate it!:D

can you check if the Carnival Horizon on October 6th is listed from Miami?

I just got a carnival elite offer in the mail and I am not sure why lol. I have never been on a premier or ultra cruise and I have not cruised in a year because I was disgusted with the carnival offers and the bounceback offers with no cruise dates so I gave up and started to go to Vegas. In the first 6 months of 2017 I did 2 cruises and had about 20k total points between the two. I emailed carnival within 5 minutes of receiving the offers in the mail so I will see if I can get in. Has anyone been on an elite cruise recently(I could only find threads from 2 years ago). I see a few offers like drinks and an excursion but no mention of casino cash. Do they have drawings every day? Prizes? Gifts? Ect. Thanks

Wow, good for you! How far out are the cruises they offered and about how many? I was supposed to be invited to one after my January cruise and have not received anything yet.

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Can I ask...how long was this premier cruise that you took

I took an 8 day on the Dream in January and we enjoyed the premiere experience. Weather was awful so we probably had a chance to stop in more often for the scheduled drawings. They gave us $500 in cash at the casino and I won $75 on a drawing and $875 on a slot machine last night which was awesome. My husband pulled another $100 out of the crane machine too! We didn’t feel the casino was too crowded and getting free drinks immediately was another great value! We saw a lot of people winning and the extra gifts in the room almost every night were a nice treat!

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I’ll need to see how secretive they are in October! Lol

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We always choose based on itinerary (mainly because we don't have that many cruises under our belt and want to see new and different places).

 

We've cruised MSC once (it was the Divina).

 

In regards to extra costs once on. Not really, IMO.

their pricing for the internet package (at the time we went) was excellent and the speed was very good. (your mileage may vary).

Drink pricing (when they had the 18-coupon book), was like $4.50/drink or thereabouts. Higher end drinks it wouldn't cover (it was basically anything under $9 or $10 I forget which). But MSC no longer offers those any more.

Upcharge for the specialty restaurants (just like everyone else, IMO). But they had a package you could get (or USED to) for like 4 specialty restaurants for like $75? That was a pretty decent value (we were on a 10-night cruise, BTW).

 

Photos. OMG, very expensive (but probably inline with other cruise lines). If you want photos, make sure to get the expensive photo package and pre-purchase it. (I say "expensive" as there's two packages to choose from).

 

The issues with MSC, IMO are not the costs, but rather what you get. I'd say expect:

1) Very unorganized customer service. God help you if you have to go there. You'll be blamed for anything (it's your fault of course).

2) You may not get what you pay for. They'll try to tell you that you don't get a digital CD with the photos (if you got the package that had that). They'll tell you you don't get ABC, etc. Make sure you print out everything before you go on the cruise. Especially if you pre-purchased it.

3) Refunds/issues - nightmare. Has to do with the fact they can't actually do anything on the ship. They have to email "corporate" and if you're lucky, it'll get resolved BEFORE you leave the ship.

4) Some folks consider the behavior of the other passengers to be rude. Expect a lot of line cutting, etc. It's a cultural thing, apparently, just know this going in and take a deep breath.

 

But the pricing is good, it's just not for us. We'll only go again if we can afford the YC. But your experience may be different.

 

Check out the MSC board and read the Seaside posts to get a better feel for what to expect.

 

You can see my review there as well (again, this was on the Divina and it was in Dec. of 2016). Unfortunately for the Divina, doesn't look like they've fixed many (if any) of the issues we encountered. But Seaside is a different ship.

Thank you for your comments, very much appreciated!

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