firefly333

I agree about sabors it is just not that popular. I was just saying in general it's good to have a reservation for most meals if I want to eat at a particular time. Sabors isnt a big draw on allure from what I saw either.

I was kinda following this as my hc sister used to cruise all the time with me until a bit before covid. She cant find the cabin by herself is why I worry we will get separated. It only happened almost once but scared me. We came out of the theater and were waiting for the elevator and one stopped going up and we were going down or whatever and she started to follow people into the elevator.. I looked up and grabbed her shirt collar and got her off just as the elevator doors were shutting. Just in time. I've told her ask someone to take her to guest services .. but idk .. scared me. I'd like a way to track someone else. Peace of mind. I cant do a excursion except leave her somewhere and tell her not to leave so very limited and she has little interest in the ports except shopping for junk. Sure would be nice to track someone.

I agree too many people post solo gets double pts and confuse others. 1 regular, 1 for solo, 1 for JS and above. So 3 a day max. Book a 6 day in a JS? Or B2b 4/4 days on a ship that does the 3 and 4 days rotation.

Usually right after easter in florida a lot of the snow birds go home. Later half of april its starting to get hot and people who live in the north and live there part time will be making plans to go home. Hotels start to get cheaper around easter and going forward. I'm booked for wonder feb 2025 and havent seen a sign prices are dropping. Utopia will be doing 3/4 day cruises. I hate having a extra turn around day so it might not be as direct competition as you think. One short and one longer cruises. Though on carnival I hadnt seen any sign the price of mardi gras was falling until now they are brinjjg in that costa ship they are making a carnival ship out of. .. I saw a couple of dates drop maybe $50. Not enough to get excited but some I know what to try the italian ship which will also be out of PC and competing for pax. .. getting crowded.

Since they are only open sea days and those with the UDP will be grabbing times for lunch and dinner. And booking ahead is a slight discount, nothing to lose by booking ahead. Plus if booked with OBC easy to cancel and immediate refund. Plus all the ones I've book the price went up so I have a locked in price.

There was a time when it wasnt added on. I think early last year they started to add the 18% on. It's still not 100% consistent. For instance I bought izumi hibachi lunch and it did not add on 18%. I bought another dining and it added then18% on. .. izumi hibachi seems to be a glitch not adding it on I guess. Their IT is known for glitches.

The drink pkg is drinks up to $14. A lot of wine is over that per glass. You can pay the difference. Sometimes a bigger tip works.

Which is actually what rcl gives me. I did 4 short cheap cruises on grandeur last year, smallest oldest rcl ship. To get to the points early last may. DP340 gives me 50% off the 2nd fare. I said 25% off overall, but it comes out the same. Also solo gets a extra loyalty pt. I wish carnival offered solo deals. It's nothing against carnival. I wouldnt be diamond on carnival if I hadnt cruised carnival a lot. I had way more points on carnival after covid but rcl offered double pts, thru last dec. So I was getting 4 pts a day. JS and higher was 6 pts a day. I went from around 100 pts to 444 pts fast. Did 3 on carnival after restart and realized i could up my perks big on rcl with double pts plus the extra solo pt. Wished I had just done rcl and gotten to pinnacle. Free wifi the whole cruise. Dont care about more drinks so much. I'm a value type and want the most value for my $$$. I didmpost to solo here take advantage last year of the double pts promotion. .. and rcl also gives solo a extra loyalty pt so 2 just normally so I jump up double fast vs carnival. Not because I did more days. .. and yes I would like free wifi before someone says carnival perks just as good. I love my wifi. Both give free laundry. Rcl gives bogo at D+ also for pay restaurants. And my ta has cheaper group rates on rcl, not carnival. Need to find a way to get lower carnival rates.

@John&LaLathey are bad mouthing your cats again. At least cats is a real broadway play.

I too love JiJis better than any other restaurant ..though I loved the lobster rolls at the fish place. So much food. And the dessert was the best.

I'm always confjzzled when someone says carnival is cheaper, then quotes a casino rate. From what I hear carnival counts pts each cruise individually and rcl counts casino pts by the year april to April. I am diamond on carnival but hardly gamble and about half way to pinnacle on rcl so a balcony solo is cheaper on rcl than carnival. I sure wish carnival would give solos a break. I'll book again I'm sure besides the one on carnival but it's hard to give up my 5 free daily drinks and 2 free days of wifi when a inside on carnival costs more than a balcony on a older oasis class. My only complaint is the prices .. but I lost my butt on a bunch of carnival stock, sold at a loss and bought back in at 21 .. so im still down ... so go go go on these high prices. Keep them high. Sooner to pay off the debt, so doesnt bother me how high prices go. Maybe once I take my jan cruise they will send me some better deals. My theory is if you are booked the deals arent as good. I'm patient. I keep thinking I need to gamble more.

Group rates vary with nothing I can figure out. I add 3 adventure dec 13, dec 21 and april 2. April 2 is rhe most expensive as it's one of only 2 south. Group rate is about $100 less than the dec 13, 8 day eastern which is only $12 less than booking direct, though it is refundable. Just saying group rates seem to be rather random. The more expensive one you see on rcl website might not have the cheapest group rate. And dec 21 is over xmas and DP340 works and not supposed to be for holidays. Not anywhere close to what people paid 6 months ago .. but I was dealing with moms death and hadnt really thought much about moving, still seemed not loyal. Took me a while until about a month ago and prices were way up by then. So it doesnt hurt to ask for quotes if you might be interested in a group rate. Some will really surprise you on the downside.

Says maximum 2 bottles of wine per cabin, 1 per adult. 3 or 4 might or might not get by.

Lol I'm booking more than 4 or 5 a year. But I long since closed that card, pre covid. Oh well. I dont charge enough I want more than the 2 cards I have.

I hated the lines. Rcl doesnt do anytime well. Wish it was more like carnivals. I have fixed on rcl, do anytime on carnival. Just push a button, assigned whenever I want to eat.

My jan 13 2024 cruise has been sold out since april. I've seen 2 people post they cancelled but never saw the booking open for booking, not even just the 1 cabin. Just gone. If there is a wait list maybe that's why idk .. but cant book direct. Used to be 2 of these but the other went last oct and no more with this itinerary were added .. some jewel with not terrible ports but nothing as good as mine from Galveston imo. Aruba curacao and Panama costa rico and Columbia. ..and the 6th is Jamaica. Booo lol. Even at outrageous rates, cant book it anymore. Last I saw cheapest cabin offered over 6k. Good luck. Might not happen. Keep watching but it may not come back.

I was on conquest during the storm that wiped out Galveston about a dozen years ago. We were not allowed to cancel nor did they. We ended up in new orleans and had to rent cars. I never saw my own car again. I swore off carnival then but here I am back. Hurricane Mike. We spent a extra night in cozumel before coming back. I've missed 1 or even 2 out of 3 ports. At ,eat carnival refunds port fees small as they are if you miss ports. Rcl has no such policy if you miss a port. Can be 0 back. I've been to most ports .. though I'd mind if it was unusual ports I missed. Common ports I dont care.

If your ta isnt giving you good service I wouldnt continue using him. Mine answers emails fast. I get refundable cheaper rates. We dont know what you get as far as obc or better rates?

I'm at 197 pts on carnival, next one I'm top at diamond. Booked 14 days for next jan. 3 on ncl, 3 on princess and also celebrity. I started with princess but they left Galveston and I switched to carnival. I was only diamond when covid hit .. I pushed pts last year on rcl to get solo discount. Added 4 legs on grandeur last minute. Not everyone here has been loyal to royal. I was in texas so did whatever I could drive to.

Once you hit D+ they also seem to keep giving bottles of free wine. Too many! Lol I give them away. Cant drink that much alcohol a day. I'm at 2 amenities .. and pinnacles get to go to the free happy hour in the suite lounge.

Actually a lot in there get 5. It's a long way from 175 pts to 700 pinnacle. ..though I've seen pinnacle,es in there too when diamond has a better view like allure. They get 6.

We had over 2k on oasis spring break, mid march. What is a lot to you? December I expect to see a lot of kids to view xmas stuff.

Imo the one year difference explained the price difference more so than anything else. All lines went up during the past year. Rcl perks as you cruise more. I get a 25% solo discount on royal I dont get on carnival plus $250 off a balcony so for me whenever I've checked at my loyalty level royal comes out cheaper. Carnival used to do 1A no solo supplement, then 50%. I wish they would bring this back. Solo price is my biggest difference. For those who buy drinking pkg. Rcl costs more but is good in Galveston when you board. It's good on private islands, and not limited to 15 drinks. Beer drinkers prefer rcl . Me I dont care. Pay restaurants here is where carnival shines. Overall costs less though now I get a bogo each cruise on rcl so half price on 2. But I loved JiJis and wish it was on more ships. I also love carnivals lobster rolls. Looking forward to mardi gras if not jubilee. I love rcl pre sales on excursions. I've gotten 35% and 30% off .. cheaper on rcl. Cold fruit soups on carnival. I hope they dont get rid of these.

My oct 2024 dining is open but not my may 2024. They dont even open in any kind of order. No rhyme or reason.

They have a continental breakfast and a coffee machine in the morning. At night the size of the spread depends a bit on the ship. Radiance had a smaller spread than oasis. Oasis had hot bins and more choices.