bender031177

Carnival Glory

rec'd call 10 days before sailing

currently booked category 8E - Lido Deck Balcony, midship

paid $599 per person with $50 OBC

offered upgrade to Ocean Suite (midship Empress) for $500 total ($250pp)

after much consideration, declined

You're still not getting it.

 

 

 

Or you can have a hissy fit and get Carnival to give you the lesser rate.

Just to be clear, Mona, no Hissy Fit was involved. I was extremely polite and respectful and the Carnival agents returned the curtesy. My issue, again, is that ES was sold to me by making me believe that I would be guaranteed the best deal. To me saving 1/3 the price of a balcony room at the expense of choosing my own room is a better deal.

Carnival has acknowledged that fact I was misled by giving me the credit and I appreciate that. I now know that the program does exclude me from this particular price drop but I don't recall the vacation planner on the Sunshine asking me to read the terms and conditions before she accepted my $500 deposit.

My main beef is that Carnival seems to be coming up with new programs all the time to exclude ES. I for one will not book under ES again.

One more thing Mona, I couldn't help but notice in your overly emotional post that you said "booking your cruise, we will honour it". Do you work for Carnival? If so you should be mindful of who pays your wages before engaging passengers with that kind of enthusiasm.

Op,

I don't think Carnival is doing anything wrong in that you agreed to a cabin number and to be changed to a guarantee is not the same as you booked. I think so many times people booking don't understand what they are doing---just looking for price drops and feel cheated when they don't meet the criteria.

 

You aren't the only one not understanding how things work, and in all reality, you aren't price matching when you downgrade to a guarantee. I think Carnival is being more than fair, since downgrades aren't allowed on Early Saver. One of these days they will begin enforcing their own policies and even then, you are asking for someone that you entitled to. JMO

I fully understood that I would lose my chosen cabin and was willing to accept that - but Carnival wasn't willing to give me the new rate until I escalated to a supervisor.

The issue I take with this is that I could have booked under a regular rate and had a refundable deposit, allowing me to cancel at any time before final payment and rebook under any rate without penalty. But today, the first PVP I spoke to absolutely refused to change me from ES to this new GTY rate (with my full acknowledgement that I would lose my assigned room) and even the supervisor had to put me on hold for a good long time before she was able to make it happen.

If I hadn't been booked under ES, I could have easily cancelled and rebooked under this new promotion but my deposit is non-refundable which is generally acceptable because we are told we will have access to price drops...except if it is a special promotion, or a ______(fill in the blank).

Not looking for special treatment, just access to the best rate if I am willing to pay out a $250pp deposit a year in advance of the cruise.

We booked on the Glory for Jan. 10th under early saver last January and noticed that Carnival had a major price drop from $759 to $509. I called to take advantage but they tried to deny me because that rate was only for new bookings.

I argued my point and they gave in. I did loose my pre selected room, which I was a little bummed about, but it was worth it for $500 in savings.

It seems to me that Carnival is coming up with new ways all the time to not honor the Early Saver price drop guarantee. I went through the same argument last year when they had a pack and go rate.

The spirit of the Early Saver program was to make sure that no one was going to cruise for less then me, for the same room category. If I am willing to accept the terms of the new promotion (no room selection) I should be offered the rate.

Agree?

Thanks for the review. Glad to finally hear some great things about the Sunshine. We finally booked on Friday after some hesitation due to a lot of bad reviews.

 

Is there a fee for the shake bar? Do they serve anything else besides shakes?

 

Also to a pp about the cruise director, I know Butch Begovich is taking over the Sunshine soon.

The shakes cost $1.50 i think and you get a punch card so your sixth is free. You can also get them spiked for $6 more. I think they serve something else there but I can't remember.

I did see Butch on the ship doing training. I had him on two previous trips and he was good. He takes over on his own this week. I thought it was only temporary but I could be wrong.

Sorry, no copies of the fun times.

The piano player was Gary :)

I wanted to add that the Lido deck buffet area is greatly improved by setting it up as stations and the buffet food even seemed better than past trips. The mexican cantina was great for lunch too.

We ate in the main dining room for sea day brunch each sea day and like this new option.

The VIP Production show was outstanding - in particular, the male performers were better than any others we've seen. My SIL saw the Rock tribute show and said the same thing about the performers.

Since smoking was limited, areas of the casino could be quite smokey...it was odd that they had the non-smoking slots mingled in with the smoking slots instead of a section dedicated to each.

We had a shake from the shake bar and tried the taste bar most nights it was open - all good stuff

There was a future cruise desk - I believe it was just added because we had conflicting reports prior to the cruise.

We walked through the Red Frog Pub the first day but never made it back there (for no particular reason - there is just a lot to see and do)

They made good use of the Ocean Plaza area and the entertainment there was always good when we walked through and drew good crowds.

There was a live singer/guitar player in the Atrium and lido deck at times - he had a great voice

Another great cruise, too bad about the smell - it's hard to believe that it's not on every sailing because it was remarked on by almost everyone we encountered and many said they wouldn't sail the ship again because of it. Too bad because as I said earlier, everything else about the week was wonderful.

I am not usually the type to write reviews but I thought I had to in this case.

I just returned from a cruise on the Sunshine this past Sunday. We sailed to Belize, Roatan and Cozumel. I had read many reviews about the sunshine before going and most were negative.

I went as a group of six. There was me, DW, her two sisters, one cousin and a friend. I was the only man on the trip. I had cabin # 11028 (Spa 9 Balcony) and the other four booked cabin #'s 6105 and 6106. Those rooms are wheel chair accessible walkway view interior cabins. The idea is that a person in a wheel chair needs the room they will get a free upgrade. The balcony isn't any bigger than a standard balcony even though a PVP told me it was 10 square feet larger but the sliding door made it so much more usable.

My room was perfect in every way and just the sliding balcony door and fridge made it worth the extra $, never mind the access to spa facilities and not being around smokers. On that note I have to say that smoking is severely restricted on this ship which is great for me.

The other rooms both had a musty smell in the showers and Carnival moved both groups to an ocean view on decks one and two on the second day and credited them each $24 per cabin for the inconvenience.

The ship is amazing to look at and the lay out couldn't be better. I was concerned that i would feel crowded because of the extra passenger capacity but I found the opposite, with a few exceptions which I will explain later.

I was never stuck in a line for more than a few minutes and that was at the amazingly popular Guys Burger Joint. It is popular for a reason! They are the best burgers you can get period. For all the heat Carnival takes for entertainment or features they deserve all the credit for this one. I ate there at least five times.

The MDR meals were not as good as I have experienced on other cruises but that may have been because the lunch options were so good the MDR meals didn't seem as good by comparison.

I did do something I said I would never do and that was eat at a pay restaurant. I feel that if people support the pay restaurants then they will scale back on MDR service and try and funnel everyone into a pay venue like some other curie lines do and that would take away from the all inclusivity of the trip.

The restaurant I went to was JIJI asian kitchen. It was only $12 each ($15 after tip) and it was sensational. For the price of a few drinks we were treated to true 5 star dining. The food was prepared fresh and the portions were huge. The cuisine was also authentic.

We went out every night and tried to experience as many different venues as possible. Here is a snap shot of each one.

Liquid Lounge- This venue pulls double duty as a show lounge by day and a night club at night. As a show lounge it works fine but I found it to big for a night club. There were no more than 50 people on a massive dance floor the night we went. It wasn't intimate enough for me. On the positive side the light and sound systems are top notch.

Lime Light Lounge- The comedy shoes are a must see. I went to at least one a night. You have to go early for a good seat though unless you want to watch the act on tv. 1/4 of the seats are not visible from the stage. They might as well pipe the video to your state room so you can watch in total comfort. If you arrive a half hour before show time you should be ok.

Piano Bar - This is the first ship I have been on that has a non smoking piano bar and it was our favourite venue. We spent hours there. The piano player wasn't only a good musician but an excellent entertainer too. I can't remember his name but he's from Long Island. The venue is perfectly sized and situated.

Serenity - This was the best feature on the Dream when it was launched and Sunshine takes it to a whole new level. Three decks that have various levels of serenity. Deck 11 is loud because it overlooks the Lido as does deck 12. Deck 14 is very quite towards the front. Anyone that has complained about Serenity on this ship just likes to complain.

Sports Square and Water Park - The water slides are insane, no other way to say it. Carnival is investing a lot in their water parks and its money well spent. The timers didn't work which would have been cool but they were still a blast. The rope course was also fun and gave you a workout. I didn't use the rest of it but they looked good.

Overall I had a great vacation but I would not recommend going on this ship. There was a strong sewage smell on the ship. It was worst on deck three and four forward but I would catch the scent as far back as the Piano Bar.

This ship was put into service to soon. The sewage smell is in almost every review

I read and Carnival is well aware of the problem. If the problem could have been fixed it would have been by now. The ship needs to be dry docked and have the issue addressed.

If you are already booked on the ship you can still enjoy the vacation by avoiding the worst areas, which is what I did but that shouldn't be necessary. If you think it will be an issue for you call Carnival and demand a credit to be used on another cruise.

The ship is beautiful and the service was amazing top to bottom. I like Carnival's direction and I even booked my future cruise on the Glory while on board but I will not go back on their nicest ship until its fixed.

I am sailing on the Sunshine this coming Sunday and have found the same conflicting reports.

I emailed Guest Solutions Monday and heard back from Valerie Williams on Tuesday. She said all there is a Future Cruise Desk "offered on all ships with the exception of the Carnival Imagination, Carnival Sensation, Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Valor, Carnival Spirit-Austrailia and Carnival Legend-Australia"

I thought that answered the question for me but then I remembered I booked this cruise at the Future Cruise Desk on the Valor in Dec. 2012 which Valerie said doesn't have one. So either the Valor had a FCD and removed it ore Valarie doesn't actually know what she is talking about.

I emailed her back for confirmation on Tuesday but am yet to hear back.

I also put a post in Carnival's Fun Zone forum but haven't gotten a response there either.

Very Frustrating!

I am in room #11028 in a cloud 9 balcony sailing on Jan. 26th. I also noticed the same thing on our sailing.

On the Conquest and Dream class ships the interior rooms are smaller than OV or balcony rooms. Where the OV and balcony rooms have a sofa the interior rooms have a desk chair.

I had an OV on my first cruise then a balcony on every one sense, including the Sunshine next week. I had friends with interior rooms on every cruise too and they have always been the same basic layout.

If you want to save $ without sacrificing size you will need an OV but then you can't be on the Lido deck.

We don't only use our balcony to relax on but we dry swim suits out here and its the best place for sale away.

I had an OV on my first cruise. Ever since I have had a balcony and I wouldn't give it up. Nothing better then waking up in a new port and walking out on your private deck to breath in the fresh air and checking out the landscape.

You will get an on board credit of $100 if you book at the future cruise desk. Not all ships have a future cruise desk. I am on the Sunshine later this month and it doesn't have a future cruise desk and I am dissapointed.

I have always taken advantage of the program. The old "Future Cruise Certificate" was better IMO but the new program also gets you two $100 OBC coupons that friends can use as long as they book with you within 30 days of your return to port.

Ten square feet is nothing to celebrate about. The cabins are about ten feet wide. That means that one extra foot of space is all that is added. That's hardly noticeable.

Thanks, Dick. Given how narrow those balconies are, I think an extra foot in depth will be noticeable but even if it isn't, the low price we started with plus the other benefits (location, floor to ceiling window, fridge, sliding patio door, etc) make it worth it to us.

To each his own. Thanks for your input ;)

We called and the PVP looked it up and confirmed the room is the same size but the balcony is 10 sq ft bigger. So that, along with a fridge and the location (steps away from the waterfall pool on the Serenity Deck), we upgraded for $100!

I really like the idea of floor to ceiling windows and a sliding door to the balcony too.

:)

Thanks :)

Does anyone know if the balconies on deck 10 are larger too or only 11 and 12?

We are booked in a regular balcony on deck 6 of Sunshine and are considering upgrading to a spa balcony. The deck plans make it look as though the balconies on spa decks 11 and 12 are larger than a standard balcony or even the rooms on spa deck 10.

Does anyone know for sure?

I also read that spa balcony rooms are 10 sq ft larger than standard balconies - true?

The larger balcony and fridge plus the location would make the upgrade worth it to us if the balcony is larger.

Pictures would be awesome! Thanks!

Does anyone know what it costs to get into Mystic Mountain and what each of the activities cost?

Thanks

Carnival's site shows two excursions for catamaran tours in Roatan - the Barefoot Catamaran and the Jolly Roger Tour. What's the difference? They are both the same tour operator but one is $10 more than the other.

The Barefoot seems like a much nicer boat but it's description says "a" complimentary drink while the Jolly Roger says "open bar". Does anyone know if only one drink is actually included on the Barefoot?

I'd love to hear others' experiences with these tours.

Thanks :)