brownc424

11 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we simply take extra magnesium supplements and that solved the balooning problem.

Also helps with leg cramps, constipation and sleeplessness, so it's a win-win-win.

I take a salt/magnesium/potassium combination every morning. It's meant for fasting, but I find it helps me in general.

3 hours ago, island lady said:

 

I only do B2B plus cruises.  Boil and Fry (aka wash and fold), hand washing, and on really long trips, dry cleaning is our option versus overpacking.  

 

Just how many suitcases would I need for the World Cruise if I didn't do that?   😉 

I packed the same amount for my two week cruise as I generally do for my one week... I'm a travel hoarder! 

On 2/9/2023 at 4:55 AM, dltaeg said:

We are travelling as a family of 5 on a 12 night cruise (15 night holiday) and I really want to try and travel light so we aren't having to carry 3 big suitcases with us before and after the cruise. 

 

So can anyone tell me about the laundry bag, how big is it, is it easy to do, do I need to book in advance or anything else really. Thanks 😄 

Unless you're traveling with very small children, take the big suitcases. You're a big enough group that you'll need larger transportation options (Uber xl instead of regular for example), so that won't factor in. This way you don't have to try and travel as light as possible, and you have room for anything you might want to purchase on the trip. Personally, as a duo, I take three suit cases, but i admit that's out of sheer laziness. 

1 hour ago, joeyancho said:

My favorite is San Pelligrino on ice with lime.  Or a squirt of bitters.  Very refreshing. Zero calories 

Just a FYI, if you don't know and care, bitters do have calories. It's pretty minimal, but a teaspoon of orange bitters is about 20 calories. 

23 hours ago, ILCTCRUISER said:

My experience as well. Won’t go into details but I believe I provided the documentation Allianz required.  Major stalling.  I’m confident it was all about attrition:  Allianz recognizes (and probably has the statistics) that if it stalls long enough x number of claimants will give up.   During one of my dozens and dozens of calls, one rep even told me he didn’t understand why I hadn’t received my claim funds because his review of the file showed that my claim had been approved for payment.  In the end, Allianz asked for more documentation, documentation that would have been very very difficult to get and which seemed to be unnecessary.  I was told my file would be closed and would be reopened when I produced that documentation.   It got to the point at which I felt I needed to call my lawyer.  Then, one day, I get an email:  Your claims have been paid in full.  Sure enough, the funds had been deposited to my bank account.

 

 

Not exactly the same scenario, but when I had to file a trip delay claim (missed connection due to delays), I wound up having to send in the exact same forms three times. Took me four months, but they eventually approved it. It definitely is a delay tactic to get you to forget / lose the paperwork. 

I'm on Voyager later this month, and I've been wondering how the demographic compares. Are there a lot of Puerto Ricans onboard, or is the cruise demographic basically the same as you'd find on a ship out of Miami? 

I booked an owner's suite, my friend is in a balcony. He paid for the Key, does anyone know if the reserved seats are the same section? If not does anyone have any suggestions for the best way to coordinate theater seats? Thanks!

On 12/4/2022 at 9:27 AM, rebeccac said:

I understand being upset by this, but a class action lawsuit over a $31 purchase (even IF you could win) just doesn't make sense.  Simply never buy the card again.  

I'm not in the slightest bit referencing the validity of this lawsuit, however. You realize there are class action lawsuits over items that cost less than a dollar, right? If you're referring to the expense of a lawyer, virtually all class action lawsuits are billed on a contingency basis (the lawyer is only paid if they win, and than a percentage of the award). 

18 hours ago, crooooze said:

We did it on the Anthem a few years ago. It was $99 a person but we thought it would be super cool on that ship. It was just “eh”. Once you’ve see a huge galley and laundry room on one ship, they all look a like.  They did give us a mimosa and a chocolate chip cookie though.
 

We’re sailing the Symphony next month and will also put the $158 toward drinking 🙂

It sounds kind of cool to do once, but even $99 for a tour around the ship sounds ridiculously overpriced.

1 hour ago, Husky1987 said:

If they have to make a few bucks on people who gorge themselves on lobster tails, big deal.

You know, if they served a decent sized lobster tail, I doubt anyone would complain, but they serve you a 4-6oz lobster tail, about half the size you'd get if you ordered it at a decent restaurant. 

6 minutes ago, topnole said:

It was $125 for 100 prints.  Digital or physical prints.  We’ve paid a lot more for a pro at home than that.  A lot more.   I can always cancel, but that seems like a good deal to me.   It is a longer cruise too.  So plenty of time for photos.   

Oh! Sorry I read photo package as photo session. The photo package is an ok deal if you like cruise photos, the actual session IMO is overpriced and blah. 

11 hours ago, topnole said:

Never bought one before but considering a photo package for a cruise next year.   Seems like a good deal with the current “sale” if you can call it that.   
 

Can I cancel it later with no penalties like you can with other things line beverage packages?

If you have OBC and no better use for it, but unless there's something special about this cruise to you, I'd highly suggest just paying a professional (at home) instead. It should cost you approximately the same amount of money (depending on your location) and you'll get a lot more than 5 prints, as well as someone who actually knows what they're doing. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a photo snob.

16 hours ago, PWP-001 said:

If anyone wonders why cruise lines may "put on a smiley face" when speaking of this website but internally hate the site, consider this thread to be good justification.  

 

Non-refundable OBC is intended to be used for PURCHASES of good and services onboard including food, beverage, merchandise, and excursions.  Anyone who believes otherwise is just kidding themselves.

 

Place yourself in the shoes of a cruise line executive, reading this discussion.  How would you feel about passengers sharing information on how to cheat your company, and how would you feel about the website that allows this type of discussion?

You've got some brown stuff on your nose, maybe you should take a step back and wipe that off. If the Cruise lines cared, they'd close the "loopholes", but the truth is that they're making money on people who think they're being clever. It gets people into the casino who would never go otherwise.

19 hours ago, icft said:

I don't know the answers to your questions but I wanted to let you know my experience with one lowly $100,000 tournament.

 

I won it by winning a regular cruise tournament - the kind you used to get free entry to as a Platinum or Diamond. The prize for that tournament was a free cruise for this $100,000 tournament and free entry to that larger tournament.

 

But what was the deal with the tournament, was the grand prize actually $100,000 in cash? Was it even a top cash prize, or something else and the $100,000 was just totally misleading?

On 7/22/2022 at 12:03 PM, Shaded Lady said:

 

 

To each his own, I guess... but I got tremors when I heard that he might be on Jubilee- I'm on the transatlantic sailing and unless his attitude has improved, I'm not looking forward to any interaction with our CD...

Funny, I had a totally different experience with Cookie, but the exact same reaction! I found him to be incredibly annoying and obnoxious. I also really disliked the way he ran all of the events. I plan to avoid his cruises as well.

On 7/13/2022 at 11:40 AM, UPNYGuy said:

 

not really. HAL is a mass market line, as are Celebrity and Princess. Oceania, Azamara, and Viking really are the premium tier, and the next step. 

Celebrity and Princess are both considered Premium, HAL is as well but it seems to be very hit or miss.  Generally, CCL/RCL/NCL are considered mass market or "contemporary" cruise lines. Celebrity, Princess, Disney and HAL are premium. Ultra-Premium includes Azamara, Viking, Oceania and Cunard. Ultra-Luxury would be Regent, Seabourn, SeaDream, etc.

45 minutes ago, lazydayz said:

Most of my offers have dropped a little.  From balcony to OV, from Free Drinks Everywhere to in casino only, and amount of free play has dropped as well (from $1,000 to $500 or lower).  I think that is just where they are in the cycle.  I will wait for the next round of Elite offers to come around before booking anything else on Carnival.  Without a substantial amount of FP and FDE, I will likely just book on Royal.

 

Royal gives me either a JS or balcony, free drinks in the casino, plus free wifi but very little free play.  Since I am Diamond Plus, I  also get four free drinks a day, which can be used anywhere.   My Royal offers have not declined the way the Carnival ones have.  

 

I'm on my first real cycle of Carnival offers, and my offers make zero sense to me. $1000 in freeplay, drinks on us for myself and a companion, and yet the room isn't free. Depending on the specific cruise and which offer it decides it likes the best, it's anywhere from 10-80% off.

12 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

. Especially when the masses are likely subsidizing to some extent, those areas.

 

 

Other way around, those suite guests are subsidizing the masses. Those suite guests are the most profitable passengers by far. In general, they spend more per square foot, and they spend more onboard, and with excursions, because on average, they have significantly more disposable income.

20 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

In my experience; If you’re not betting blacks on the table, you can forget earning DOU. 
we just recently bet green (table max was $50 on Heads Up Hold Em) and basically got ZERO for it.

we switched to playing slots, and earned 40k points between the both of us, then we got two steakhouse dinners (two separate nights)..wow..$180 worth of soft comps for going through $100k in slots (it takes $2.50 to earn a point)

From what I've seen/read/experienced, Carnival is fairly tight with backend comps, but incredibly generous with front-end. Expect fairly generous offers in a few weeks or months.

47 minutes ago, cruizergal70 said:

I hope you know that all of this service is not truly "more human and friendly." The service staff are not your friends, they don't care about you, and they don't think you are special. It's their job to engage in these performative actions. 

I mean... DUH? Do you really think that needed to be stated? Although, somehow while pointing out the obvious you managed to also be wrong at the same time. The service is "more human and friendly". Even if it's simply a "performance". They're doing their jobs, which is literally to pretend to be your friend.

8 minutes ago, keels81 said:

 

You also get access to the best fried chicken and red beans & rice the city has to offer, but that's just me being a New Orleanian. 🥰

To be honest, it's not as nice a hotel as the one in Cabos, but I liked it so much better in almost every way. 

On 7/3/2022 at 4:07 PM, KmomChicago said:

• This might sound stupid, but honestly I cannot quite grasp exactly what people are doing all day on luxury small ships to justify their prices. 
•  

I think I can help you understand. It's the difference between a typical 5 star hotel, and a Real 5 star hotel. I'll try to explain.

If you stay at a nicer hotel, let's just say The Roosevelt (A Waldorf Astoria) in New Orleans. In a regular room, as an unknown. You'll get great service all around, all of the food options will be good, you won't have to wait particularly long for help, service, or even a taxi.

If you stay at a higher end hotel, generally a more boutique location, let's go with another Waldorf Astoria, The WA in Los Cabos, by the second day every single person, almost without exception, will refer to you by name. Your personal concierge will check in with you at least once a day, sometimes more. Any request you have will be answered almost instantly. Theoretically the food will be better (although I was very underwhelmed at this hotel), and if you have a special request, it will be done without any question. Your preferences will be remembered, and if you come again the next year, odds are Very Good that you will recognize and be recognized by the vast majority of employees from your last trip.

That's what I found on Celebrity, in a suite at least. It's a completely different sort of experience, and much more personal. I went to the buffet one day, and one of the assistant waitress for Luminae (the private MDR for suite guests) was working there that shift. She asked how everything was going and offered to get my food for me, we had a pleasant conversation and I continued to serve myself. Every single staff member that I dealt with on a regular basis was the same way. They all did their best to make me feel like they genuinely cared about my happiness, and were willing to do almost anything to ensure it, even if it was above and beyond what was necessary.

That's the type of experience you should expect on the smaller cruise ships, and the more expensive lines. A more human touch, and a friendlier experience. That isn't to say that you can't have the same experience on Carnival, or any of the other lines, it's just much less likely.

That kind of experience might not be for you, it definitely isn't for everyone. Personally, I only want that experience some of the time. Sometimes I want something similar but lesser, and sometimes I want to be an anonymous cog in the machine and just drink and relax.

I'm really not sure why anyone would pay for the Loft 19 cabanas. Than again I also don't understand paying for the Excel suites. I'd much rather do Star class on RCL, or suite class on Celebrity for the same money. It feels like Carnival is dipping its' toes into the "ship within a ship" concept, which is great! But they haven't actually touched upon the vast majority of amenities that actually draw people in. 

On 5/13/2022 at 12:19 AM, WonderMan3 said:

My biggest complaint with bartenders onboard (outside of the Martini Bar or when ordering from Luminae) is the inconsistency. One of my favorite drinks onboard is the French Caribbean which is a frozen concoction. On my last cruise on Summit it seemed like every bartender onboard made it differently and at least one bartender was totally clueless about how to make it. That inconsistency happened with other drinks too like Bahama Mamas, Blue Hawaiian...

 

The cruise line should really have a set bartenders guide for drinks so they all can make them the same way.

I found mixed drinks to be the weakest part of my Celebrity sailing. Outside of ordering at Luminae, every other drink varied from "that was ok" to "disgusting". I found that overall Carnival had much better drink service. At the pool bar on Reflection I was served multiple drinks that were undrinkable. Like a mudslide that was literally just solid ice with a little bit of bailey's and chocolate syrup.

56 minutes ago, MomofTheBoy said:

Yes I saw the Atlantis prices and the Ancestors weren't pleased with those prices LOL  Neither was I!

It's actually cheaper to just stay at the hotel (well, the comfort suites next door that they own, it gives you full park privileges), for 2-3 nights (1 night is the same price as 2). It's ludicrous!