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I didn't see this anywhere on the thread yet, but on another forum on CC folks have mentioned that if you need cash without ATM fees, the best way to do it is through the casino. Charge your room card and then cash out kind of thing. I wanted to mention this here to see if anyone has done this on Carnival or if this is line-specific (RCL).

I've been keeping an eye on Carnival's website for our upcoming cruise on the Dream, and noticed in my "planner" and in my "booking and order" pages there's an offer for a $94 upgrade from a cove balcony to a traditional balcony on deck 8 or 9 (plenty available it looks like). It's my first time on Carnival in 10 years, so I was surprised to see any upgrade offer at all. My question is, is it worth the switch to the regular balcony when the coves are a unique experience and offer more privacy? I assume the rooms themselves are the same size. Our current cove is right at the edge of the kitchen and the dining room, so it should be relatively quiet versus some of the others which are more directly under the galley.

Seems like it. They've quietly gotten rid of their post-covid policy of honoring the other price and replaced it with a 48 hour guarantee. IMHO, maybe think about what might be a "successful" resolution to the issue from your point of view and present that to the supervisor. Maybe it's an upgraded cabin, OBC of X amount, but realize they'll do everything they can to keep your "extra" $500.

That's such an important differentiation to make. To me, I'd save that $26 if there's no real 'spa' benefits included in the upgrade, especially with kids programming going on right underneath.

Really?

I think a potential con would be the location, depending on what is really close by and what sort of activities you want to do, you might have to walk a bit further compared to midship (a pro, to me, but not to all). Also, being so high up you might feel the ship move more if there's any rough weather. A pro, at $26, might also be any extra amenities the room might come with (i.e. nicer linens, robes without asking, products in the shower, access to the steam room or facilities). I'm not sure what the freedom has, so you'd have to find out.

As someone else already replied, the ships belong to the cruise lines. They are allowed to tell passengers what is and isn't allowed, and already have extensive lists with examples of both. The most obvious example of this is how cruise lines control alcohol and other beverages that are able to or not able to come onboard. I stand by my comment 🤷‍♀️

You're 100% on the money. In my experience, the shrimp were the normal MDR shrimp, but the steak was above the normal MDR standards for sure. I have to say, doing lunch in the MDR on embarkation day set a much calmer and relaxed tone for my entire vacation vs fighting the crowds on the main deck and in the Windjammer. It was accurate when I was onboard in May. The wait staff even asked me to pull up the app vs bringing a menu to the table in the MDR. Yup. The sales on the Key make it worth it only if it's within a few bucks per day of the surf+stream and you were going to get the surf+stream anyway.

That's certainly excessive. I still wonder, for every X number of passengers, how many are realistically doing this, especially when most travelers fly to their embarkation port and checked baggage isn't exactly cheap. Ultimately, if cruise lines found this to be a problem, they'd stop the folks with suitcases full of ducks and confiscate them before the suitcase came onboard. That hasn't started happening, so it must be okay for the most part.

For sure.

Well, the OP of this thread was someone going to cruise NCL who had found the activity. There are other websites, such as RCL Blog, who also talk about it. A quick google search also reveals many articles talking about it, non-brand specific. But sure, I'm making assumptions.

Please do expand on what you mean by this. Carnival is, especially by extension of Carnival Corp., one of the largest cruise lines in the world. If they are promoting this as a fun activity, I can see how it's grown to other lines. Sure, there's a difference, but is that actually happening? Are people bringing entire suitcases of ducks onboard? It seems like you're not really happy with others enjoying their vacation. It's okay to just say that.

Depends on your comfort level. There are some shuttle services with fixed rates (not including tip) that would fit the bill. There's also FlixBus which runs between MIA and FLL airports and is super, super cheap. The Brightline is a privately owned railroad service that goes to other places in Florida but would get you between MIA and FLL as well. The nice thing about being in that area is that you have a ton of options, you just have to decide which is easiest for you.

So they don't appreciate yet advertise it on their website as a "fun" activity to get involved in. If some folks find it to be fun, why not let them have their fun? A small rubber duck inconspicuously hidden isn't going to ruin a vacation. There are a lot of other reasons cruising has gone downhill- and most of these can be attributed directly to cruise line cut backs, not some ducks.

I'd say that the hurricane probably did quite a bit of stirring up over that area. That's how I feel about cruise line private island areas by cruise lines. It's the same as being on the ship (to me at least) but with the added bonus of the cruise line trying to squeeze even more cash out of you for their own benefit (versus the benefit of a local economy if they were to stop in a non-private port).

I really appreciate Cheng's enlightenment. It adds a TON of value to these boards and discussions.

Good to know that each of the sinks as well as the dishwasher onboard has these systems. The one I worked on was quite old at the time (and not onboard a ship) but I remember having some issues if we didn't have hot water to begin with. I definitely appreciate the insight you've provided on this thread!

As someone who has worked in a commercial kitchen and has used a commercial dishwasher, I'm aware of how some of them work. I'm also aware that if you don't have hot water to begin with, most commercial models don't boost the temp enough to make it go from room temp to where it would need to be to sanitize the dishes. But if you care to enlighten me, feel free

This was my first thought as well. If the galley doesn't have hot water all day, there's no way that the dishes are being cleaned to health code standards.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us! I'm really curious (based on other discussions on this forum), do you feel that the aft balconies give enough privacy? I know you're on deck 12, which might provide for a bit more, but with the ships design do you think it's enough?

What a neat view! We're sailing on the dream in cove 2346. Did you find there was any noise form the galley above you during the night or was it quiet enough?

Ah, I've never heard of those! This thread has been really helpful to exploring different options. I really don't think the Atlantis experience is truly 100% what they market it to be, but it's nice to see other options that are a bit more realistic and inclusive in their marketing efforts to to the community.

And i also expect her to name their next ship after my firstborn cat.

The entire industry is an example. New ships get rolled out, prices for those sailings increase, then newer ships get announced and prices fall on sailings on older ships, like what's happening with Oasis class ships right now, even within their own class. I doubt it'll decrease in price a ton, but as RCL's competitors roll out similar products and services, there will be a price to compete with a beat for customer base.

That's a funny way to phrase it 🙂 Cruises have, for a very long time, overcharged for what they're providing. But I imagine with Starklink, the initial equipment costs are going to be astronomical and it's going to be a novelty service (like the oasis class ships, for example) so it's going to be expensive for the first year or two. (Equipment cost reference on their website