TheLargeFamily

1 minute ago, bar1068 said:

Yea, I suppose we could do something like that, but I have this stubbornly misguided thought that after over 2 dozen cruises, with an average cruise length of about 9 days, Carnival would throw us a bone once in a while vs someone who hasn’t even cruised with them twice!! I know, completely illogical.

I agree! Instead it's free laundry. That's crazy to me. 

36 minutes ago, bar1068 said:

Curious, how many cruises has your daughter been on? We're sailing with a friend on Venezia later this month, this will be her second Carnival cruise. Since booking, she's received several offers for free cabins and OBC from Carnival, as well as from BJ's who she booked the cruise with. Meanwhile, we've hit the diamond level with Carnival and get..well...nothing. Sounds like we may have to up our onboard spending game.

Maybe make all purchases on board with one persons sign and sail card if u can strategies that. 

6 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

 

$600 that you know of...  😉

hahahahaha!

1 hour ago, 80sGal said:

Count yourself lucky!  Sounds like you got the best of both worlds by booking both offers on the same trip!  We have yet to get ANY good offers except the early post-Covid Cheers deal and a one-time 100/pp offer that was only good on an Australian sailing even though we have cruised enough to be Platinum.  We are now trying out the other lines to compare since the algorithm doesn't seem to favor us, although so far we actually still prefer Carnival.   Have a great cruise! 

Thank u! We were about to book another line when these offers came. I hope u get lucky too! 

I booked Firenze. I snagged 2 rooms. One is with my deal and one was with my husband's casino deal. It's more than a year away, but it's always a dopamine hit to book a cruise. 

19 minutes ago, LatinaInTexas said:

There really is no rhyme or reason on who gets offers. My last cruise was last Sept. a comp from my local casino. Got no good offers for the next 3  months.

Took a short trip to Vegas for Xmas and a few weeks later got an offer I liked. It is $100 pp with $200 OBC and drinks in the casino for me and a companion. 

There are over 50 sailings to pick from, some for every month this year and thru March of 2025. The same promo shows up after the old promo expires. Booked 8 night Vista for next year, already had other cruises booked for this year

I see that you're in TX. Do you ever get offers for TX? 

47 minutes ago, StephPS79 said:

 

This certainly sounds like a casino offer - why do you think it isn't?  

Bc my husband gets casino offers that come from players club. My offer noted my activity in purchasing pixils, spa, dining and shore excursions. Mine doesn't offer DOU. while my husband's casino offers do, with higher OBC (500). 

I spent played in the casino for an hour at blackjack. I came out ahead. My husband played and lost $600 over the week at blackjack, playing approximately 1-2 hrs a day. No slots. His offers aren't for free rooms. Only OBC and DOU (in casino only) , and room discounts that aren't much more than early saver. 

17 minutes ago, CruzerDeb said:

I’ve sailed on Carnival 10x and have never received an offer for a free cruise. Hope you find a way to take advantage of the offer. 

Wow. I have heard these deals don't seem to have any rhyme or reason... Case and point. I am currently poised to send my PVP an email... I think I may have found an option...

We took our first Carnival Cruise in March on Jubilee. Right after we got off the ship we rebooked for January on Breeze.

Yesterday I received a Free Cruise Offer in my email. It's for an interior room and for a limited number of sailings in 2025. Most are 4-5 day cruises but one is a transpacific. Although there are many options, I don't think any of them work logistically. It seems like you pay $200 for the room but get a $200 OBC. You still pay for gratuities. 

Is there any rhyme or reason as to why I got this? I gambled at the blackjack table for an hour and doubled my $100. It's not a casino offer. I did spend a bundle onboard... Pixils, Specialty Dining, a few souvenirs, tipping bartenders with the Cheers pkg. I didn't use Carnival's shore excursions at all. 

I'm hoping that I'll get another for my homeport someday... but it seems like TX sailings are super popular. 

Edited to add... I am seeing 6 day cruises and a 22 day Transpacific... as well as a few other fun options... none that work with my crazy schedule. Oh well. But dang, I hope I can take advantage of these types of deals when I retire. 

6 hours ago, cyntil8ing said:

Carnival went a bit further! https://www.carnivalcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/carnival-jubilee-floats-out-and-reveals-texas-star-bow

The merch in Jubilee also has lots of Texas flair. 

On Jubilee it opened at 2pm (ish) each day. Cool that other ships open it sooner! 

It was never terribly busy and they'll often let you go multiple times while harnessed. 

10 minutes ago, ray98 said:

 

....but it really isn't complicated, people just make it that way.  For decades many states gave out DL's like candy.  That is what prompted the Real ID standard, the government said lets make sure people are who they say they are and required identity documentation.  That is all it is.

 

EDL's are a niche that fills the same role as a federal passport card.  When entry to our neighboring countries by DL went away it created a need for those in border areas who commonly cross.  The EDL/Passport card replaced it, it carries all the same citizenship and identity verification but is easily carried in a wallet.

You're right. It's not complicated... once you're actually aware that there are different types of driver licenses. 

Call me crazy/stupid/whatever, but I think the inconsistencies in DL's is confusing. I had googled "does Texas have enhanced drivers license" and gotten confusing results (I shared a pic within this thread). Is it my fault that I didn't do more digging? Sure! But, instead, I grabbed hubby's birth certificate as I was packing. Glad I did! 

Then there's passport cards vs passports. My husband will renew his passport. As for the kids, I am in decision paralysis. 

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

Listing out the various scenarios would just confuse people more.  If people book on their own, they take on that responsibility.  If they use a PVP or TA, then the knowledge is not needed. You removed the lack of by using someone who KNOWS.

My first PVP did nothing beyond book my rooms. Never responded to emails. 

So I tried a TA for my upcoming cruise (when we will have passports) and she couldn't book us ANY of the rooms I saw online. So I had to book online myself. 

Hey, look! More inconcistencies!

Also, I wonder why carnival cannot note this during the online check in process? It has our state of residency in its system. Can't it note the handful of states with an EDL. 

I don't intend to blame Carnival, but this would be helpful for the occasional traveler. 

I wonder how often people are turned away at the terminal when they bring the wrong travel documents or the wrong state ID... As we did. 

I'm so grateful for the nudge to bring my husband's birth certificates. 

7 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

I ask because Texas doesn't offer an Enhanced Driver's License.

Yes it's Texas. 

I have a sinking feeling right now. Back when I was planning, I googled and found this (attached) which I thought was adequate at the time.  Glad I packed those birth certificates. Wow. 

Glad to learn from u rather than at the terminal. 

FYI, if they do the EDL have them also bring a birth certificate. For whatever reason, the gal at the Galveston terminal wanted both for my husband on our March cruise. 

Also, the birth certificate line on the way out had a quarter the amount of people! Just saying!

That said, we are renewing passports now that we have a booking in January. 😜

Can it go to another continent? 

In Texas, school ends in May and starts the 2nd week of Aug. 

Try staying in Tha Havana area on a Vista or Excel?

And, even as a mom, I can't stand to be in a hot tub full of children. I never got in the hot tub on our last cruise and if I did it would have probably been on serenity. The few times that one of our kids would go in the hot tub my husband would sit in there with her.

After the last fire, did she immediately get repaired or did she sail with a half burned tail? Any photos? 

8 hours ago, vwrestler171 said:

I agree. I think it is because it is out of the way and many people forget about it.  I know every night on Mardi Gras, we would head to the Fortune Teller Bar and every night, we would say we needed to try emerils before the cruise ended, and each day we forgot about it until we went to the bar again.

Hahaha same. We never got around to eating there. 

It seemed really under utilized! 

Is anyone booked on this new ship? I considered it but the reviews are terrible! Bad food, bars closing early, grumpy service. It seems like you have to do yacht club to have a decent experience. 

Hello Fellow Texans! Galveston is my homeport. We live in DFW. How do y'all stay up to date on cruise ships comings and goings and new itineraries from the Galveston port? Is cruise critic your best bet?