Lee Cruiser

1 hour ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Once you have the card(s) how do you use them?  Call ahead with card number and attach to your account as OBC, or is it done after boarding?

Thank you.

If you want it as OBC, then you do that onboard.  If we know that we will spend a certain amount, we go ahead and purchase cruise cash ahead of time to avoid having to do it onboard.  But, you only want to purchase what you will use, because it is not refundable.

We also use them to pay for the cruise, internet and excursions that we book beforehand.

We always choose YTD, but I believe I've read that you actually have to wait until 7:45 to request a table because it's based on when tables become available and not actually a set reservation time.  It works the same way with YTD, except YTD can request a table as soon as the window opens. With YTD, you request a table and you are notified when your table is available.

We've used it several times and love it!  It certainly speeds up the debarkation process in comparison to previously having to speak to an agent every time.  We've been glad that we have a passport, because the line for those who do not was extremely backed up.

7 minutes ago, ManImBored said:

I'd have to agree there, that is a bit misleading. Was it 10% before the recent price change? I can't remember what the old cost was per day. 

I have never gotten it, so I really don't know.  I thought it may say up to 10% or something like that, but I just looked at our September cruise and it says save 10%, so definitely misleading.  This is the quote for the purchase page:

Enjoy the ease of paying one flat price for your spirited beverages over the entire length of your cruise.  Now, that’s something to cheer about! Save 10% by purchasing before you sail. 

If the description says 10%, then it needs to be changed, because $59.95 is not a 10% savings on $64.95.

Our cruise in September is sold out.  Also, our cruise in November is already sold out.  These aren't even holiday weeks when kids are out of school. Cruises are selling out a lot now.  If you are wanting to go in 2024, you probably want to book soon.  John Heald had a post about how 2024 is filling up fast.  It looks like prices are going to be higher for the foreseeable future.

Carnival appears to currently have 11 ships with the upgraded internet. Seeing that Valor has it is great, since we have two cruises coming up on it in the next six months and the previous internet was not good.

Here is the list according to the article:

• Carnival Celebration
• Carnival Elation
• Carnival Magic
• Carnival Panorama
• Carnival Pride
• Carnival Sunrise
• Carnival Sunshine
• Carnival Valor
• Carnival Venezia
• Carnival Vista
• Mardi Gras

https://cruiseradio.net/starlink-maritime-carnival-cruise-line/

I just looked and our September cruise (Celebration) and November cruise (Valor) are no longer showing up.  The November cruise previously had very little availability and this is not during the holiday, so it is pretty surprising.  Cruises are apparently selling out a lot now.

3 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Never heard of a Fall School Break in Oct, but whoever is needing to see that cruise that has disappeared might ask if it got pulled for a charter. Even if sold out, you should still be able to see it, just would show sold out on each cabin type.

I'm not sure that Carnival would ever charter a ship as large as Mardi Gras, especially this close to the sailing date.  Specialty charter cruises are usually done a year or more in advance.

33 minutes ago, Butterbean1000 said:

I haven't cruised since 2019.  So Plat rooms won't be ready?

Not any longer.  You can drop off your bags, but you cannot get stay until 1:30 (or whenever they announce rooms are ready.)  That's one of the big negative changes for us.  Early boarding is okay, but we always went back to our rooms as soon as we finished eating to relax and unpack while the chaos was taking place in the public areas.  That's one of the perks that we had most looked forward to.  Most of the others really aren't that big of a deal to us.

5 hours ago, HaliMakai said:

What schools have a fall break in October?  We are from Florida and usually when we sail in October there are no children....

 

Numerous school districts in Mississippi and Tennessee have fall break in October with many surrounding Columbus Day.  Some have it a full week and others just partial week.  A few districts have adopted the longer school year schedule with more breaks during the year and some of those get two weeks in October right after completing the first nine weeks.

We have played trivia numerous times.  It is always just for the fun of it for us.  I came close to winning one time.  I missed it by one question. As far as cheating, it probably happens every time.  I always thought that trivia was an individual effort, so if you are playing as a group, would that not be technically cheating as well?

May just be a glitch in the system.  However, that is fall break week for many school systems, so it could be that it is getting near capacity and they are limiting booking.  The week prior and the week after are still showing up, so it's not really likely that it is cancelled.

2 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Didn't think so, but had to ask. I know if there's a creative or effective workaround to something, this CC community will know about it!!

You might do a search on here.  I remember someone saying earlier that they did have success in getting the B2B cruises approved for extra onboard credit.  They put a not on the request asking about it.

We had four approved for September through next April a couple of months ago.  Two of these were the 50% off anniversary rates and these were approved.  We don't do the casino, so never get any of those rates.  Those usually seem to be the ones getting denied.

14 hours ago, Babyfin said:

How/Where do I get a brokers statement? All I was mailed was the receipt for buying it.

EDIT - So I found a statement online but its 20 pages long and has 10/49 of our stocks listed with Carnival in the mix. Do I send them that with everything but carnival blocked out?

We send the title page and the page that Carnival is listed on.  You can probably use your purchase confirmation the first time, but they usually want something closer to the date you are making the request.  We made our last request back in May for all four of our cruises between now and next May.  All were approved in a couple of days.

We just email it in to shareholders@carnival.com using the information on this form and a copy of our monthly brokerage statement.

ShareholderBenefit2023-2024.pdf

6 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

I never knew this, but then again I have never tried it in the first place so it never came up.  I guess that one other approach would be to book different airlines.

 

Yes, it has to be on separate airlines.

Obviously the ones selected to play on stage are the ones that could win the most, but that is one or two out of hundreds of cards sold.  As far as everyone else, chances are slim at winning much, if anything.  Carnival is the one making big money out of this.

47 minutes ago, stobe1 said:

I'm booked on Vista with a stop at HMC. But you are right about Excel class. No way they could tender that many people efficiently.

 

 

Yes, that’s right. I have seen some coming itineraries for Vista there. I guess it’s because Vista was in Galveston and not the size. 

I've never been the HMC with more than one ship.  That has to be incorrect information.  I didn't even realize the island could handle more ships at once.  I thought that was why the bigger ships like those in Vista and Excel class don't go there.  Has anyone ever had more than one ship at HMC?

We've been on over 20 Carnival cruises and the longer ones are typically very good with very few issues.  Our worst experience was on a four day cruise out of N.O.  It was a weekend wrap around (Thursday-Monday) and many just treated it as one big weekend party.  Loud music, screaming, and partying on balconies until the early morning hours.  We said then that we would never take another cruise shorter than five days. 

28 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

For the most part, we skip those parties now. It's, basically, a waste of good cruise ship time !!

 

Tom

Same.  We went a couple of times and it was certainly a waste of time for us. We don't drink, so we actually like getting the free drink added to our accounts so we can get milkshakes or other non-alcoholic drinks with it.  Plus, it's usually held around 5 pm, which is usually when we are getting ready to go to dinner.  We always choose YTD and go as soon as the dining room opens at 5:30.

6 hours ago, 787cruiser said:

is it as simple as the debt/interest repayments?

Yes, a large part of it is interest on $30 billion of debt.  You are probably talking in terms of more than $100 million a month.

11 minutes ago, jsglow said:

You'll see that they early retired roughly $1 million without my going back to re-read the announcement.  The signs are very encouraging but it will take a number of years to regain financial health.

I didn't read it again either, but I'm thinking it was $1 billion in debt that was retired