mowogo

Their customer service in general takes some getting used to.

And don’t forget the status match. Getting all the benefits I’ve earned elsewhere honored on my first cruise definitely helped make me open to them. And then for Bahamas islands, Ocean Cay is magical with a sunset departure being an early departure.

MSC has definitely had an impact on that market, especially with all the newer ships offering cabins at prices comparable to older ships. Same strategy they are trying to apply in the US

I think Costa is dead line walking. The fact that they have been transferring ships to Carnival and seeing how little work they can do to convert them and still make money proves that management has already given up on the line.

The issue isn’t ships, it is all the infrastructure to run a cruise line and port relationships. Building up everything from scratch is hard, and while they have the money to launch brand new, that is not the most efficient use of their money.

In partnership with the PGA Tour

I took this with Carnival last year, and you really do get much closer than the ship. You also are able to actually get right up to the large chunks of ice floating to see it up close. For reference, these are phone pictures. Multiple trips sold out on my cruise, and after experiencing you understand why even at that price. And it also gives you a great perspective on Alaska, as you can actually see how small the ship is compared to the surroundings.

They have to manually remove the fees from your room. Most agents will do this when checking you in, although they did get it removed when i did online check in but doing it that way means they will hold an authorization for the resort fees.

Just booked, but I will be on the Eurodam 9/2/23 from Seattle 7 Day w/ Glacier Bay

Vancouver is very easy to find a hotel for whatever your personal price point is with the Skytrain making it very easy to stay in the suburbs and make an easy ride into town for sightseeing and the cruise itself. Metro town in Burnaby is quite reasonable for hotel rates if you find downtown too rich for your blood.

Though global factors could reduce the window to actually gain the benefit.

They've announced that until debt is under control they won't be doing the fleet renewals. I genuinely think the Carnival experiments with bringing Costa ships under Carnival are just preparation to shut down that line to try and save money. 2 different experiments at different price points to convert lets them know exactly how cheap they can be in moving Costa ships worth keeping into the Carnival fleet.

Which sadly is a step up from lines like MSC that make most on here want to actively avoid pre-cruise customer support.

Very simple, Carnival had to take a lot of debt during the pandemic to stay afloat and that debt is getting more expensive to refinance. And then when you look at the lines, Costa is doing poorly enough where Carnival is spending millions to convert them for Carnival usage. They’ve announced that debt is high enough that there are no more new ships to be announced, and they aren’t looking at ordering anything for years. And these same forces are hitting every publicly traded cruise line. It is very likely that we are going to see some cruise lines shut down in the next few years because the overall market dynamics are unsustainable, likely to be made even worse if stricter environmental protocols are passed into law.

It doesn't have to be, but I don't expect CCL to do something to benefit passengers. Especially since it appears that Virgin is offering some component based on spend, time to start preparing for the worst possible changes, as Cruise lines are looking to airline loyalty programs to create something that can be a source of revenue. Any partnerships would need to be for all customers, and that becomes a lot easier to manage in one program.

Cross brand loyalty is certainly doable, but I think Princess cruisers would end up very unhappy in the end. Full single program would probably end up as VIFP on Princess and HAL, with benefits and earning harmonized and reflecting the numbers of Carnival cruisers. And I likely wouldn't be surprised if they added in a clause like MSC has added where you need to cruise once every 3 years to retain any status otherwise you are booted to just full member with credit to the first elite level.

If you go in expecting a Princess/Celebrity experience with MSC you will be sorely disappointed. If you want over the top customer service, MSC will disappoint you. If you want a decent cruise at the price of Spirit and Conquest class Carnival cruising with a touch of European flair then MSC may be an attractive cruise. There are issues from them not quite getting the American audience, and depending on your cruising preferences those can definitely hit you. With that said, some of their 3 day itineraries just to Ocean Cay are dream cruises. Even on an 80% full ship I was able to get a giant stretch of beach to myself on the lagoon. A trip to Ocean Cay will ruin you for Princess Cays. And they are just short enough where all the minor issues of MSC don't bother you. If you are able to status match with MSC, then you can really get an elevated cruise from your first time. The free steakhouse dinner for Diamond is even available on the short cruises.

Which is why MSC has deck 13 and skips deck 17

Spoken, and remember that numbers (and even numerals) are different in different languages. Proper names gives a universal name for each deck regardless of language. Princess may present as a primarily English language cruise line, among the crew there are tons of different native languages.

I've stayed in Timeshare resorts in the US with worse internet than this.

Because names can eliminate confusion when dealing with multiple spoken languages. Carnival does this, and so does MSC (Divina used Roman Gods, Meraviglia uses Wonders of the World)

Carnival Corporation has announced they are rolling out Starlink.

I’ve got a cruise that I booked with new Premier coming up before one with the old premier. I’ll know then if any of the extra benefits are worth it for my upcoming Alaska cruise in September. Doesn’t look like it, but some of the stretching classes might win me over on the fitness classes. I’ll be getting the Premier Sport Clip on the cruise next month (That was the Premier accessory when ordering my medallion), so even that has reduced value and will quickly be viewed the same as the complimentary lanyard.

Pretty good condition for being in the Pacific.

Those Alaska cruise deals seem great until you see airfare and hotel costs for Seattle 😉