ryanpatricksmom

Definitely a couple of times in Alaska. I remember our Captain shouting, "There she blows!" over the loudspeaker on one occasion.

I'm sure there have been dolphins a time or two in Florida/the Caribbean, but I wasn't looking for them. I know that every time I step into the Gulf a couple always seem to show up.

Even if true, if your room is done to your liking (in terms of the number of refreshes), why do you care? Our cabin steward on the Sunshine last month handled 35 (including the captain's suite I might add) with an assistant. Same for the cabin steward down the hall, had conversations with both of them. They also said the biggest obstacle to getting their job done was getting in the rooms (people sleeping late or staying in their rooms in the evening) which adds value to offering the "option" of alerting what the cruiser would like (including twice a day).

That's why I think it's actually a good idea to have the cards. It has the potential to make things more efficient, and the stewards should have more time to devote to those who want 2 a day service. I don't doubt that the original intent was to cut-back services for those who didn't know better, but in the end it may just be a win. I would take things a step further and have cards with 1-2 hour windows. I've been in some hotels that offer that option. In the old days you could communicate directly with your steward, but in our more recent cruises, I usually don't even run into him/her. Remember when they used to ask when your assigned dining time was? It was for our convenience, and also allowed for the stewards to be more efficient.

No offense, but just because you think the policy would be convenient for you doesn't make it a good one. I'm pretty sure that you could always have instructed your porter to only do service once a day. I could be wrong, but I doubt that they would have argued with you and said they have to clean your room twice a day no matter what. So you could have gotten what you wanted before. Unfortunately now, it looks like they're planning on taking it away from everyone. Giving people the option is certainly fine. Restricting people, or guilting them, into only one service a day is unacceptable -- unless they want to adjust the prices and tipping accordingly.

No offense taken, but I was making an observation comparing my preference to the majority, which seems to be the exact opposite. I didn't comment on the policy at all. I fully acknowledge that I don't have a horse in this race.

We sail on NCL in a couple of weeks. We've primarily sailed on Carnival because she sails out of Baltimore and I could essentially take a dinghy to her if I chose to, and because most of our cruises are free thru the casino.

I had previously sailed NCL many years ago in a 2BR Penthouse Suite and loved the room, hated the food. After looking at the offers with the included beverage package, and reading reviews that indicated that the food was much improved, we've decided to sail out of NY for 10 days on the Gem. We originally booked in a mini-suite because the size of their balcony cabins is much smaller than we're used to. Fortunately, I was able to snag a great price on an upsell to a 2BR Penthouse Suite, so even though it's just DH and I, we will have a "snoring room" and 2 bathrooms, which is always a plus. I'm looking forward to experiencing the differences after so many Carnival cruises in a row. We will be back for a (free) B2B on the Pride though, in September.

I gave up trying to read the entire thread, so maybe this isn't true, but I feel like I'm the only one on the planet that actually would prefer service once a day. When we used to buy Bon Voyage bottles, we would make a point of getting up and out of the cabin each morning so that we could get our mini-cooler filled with ice. I couldn't have cared less if they ever came back after that.

We actually are the type of pax that like to come in and out of the cabin a lot during the day. We may get up or sleep in. Since we will be purchasing Cheers this cruise and won't need ice, we'll request evening service during our dinner time. That way I don't have to worry about whether the room is clean, the towels replaced, etc. without avoiding our cabin throughout the morning hours. I cannot tell you how many times we returned from working out, wanted to take a break from the sun, or hide from bad weather, only to come back to the cabin to find the steward in the middle of working on our cabin. I won't miss it at all.

Are the same toiletries provided in the non-Haven suites that are listed in the Haven amenities? We're staying in a 2br and when we stayed before, seems like a 100 years ago, they did provide upgraded bath products, but that was before the Haven distinction. Thanks!

I'm going to tip the bartender that finds me that $50 drink.

I don't think that's exactly what was being asked. I'm wondering too. It's $50 per day plus tip to pre-purchase it. We don't cruise until August. Let's say they increase prices in May and it goes up to $60 to pre-purchase (and $65 onboard). If I pre-purchase now at $50 and it goes up in May, will they charge me the extra cost, or am I locked in at the price it was when I purchased it?

I've wondered that as well because it does say that whatever price is in place at sailing replaces any previously advertised price. I'm assuming that if they were to do that we would be given right to opt out of paying the extra and canceling the package, but who knows? I was going to watch and wait, but decided to throw caution to the wind. We don't sail until September, and I'm hoping that we will be locked in at this price, and that they won't make any further enhancements....you know, like the kind that were made to the loyalty program, lol!

I heard that most people get denied when they try. some get a nice bartender and let it happen but for the most part... it is what it is

That is exactly what happens, and why we had given up on Cheers. I have decided though that with the coffee drinks, waters and such that it's probably worth the hassle for us given that we'd buy Bon Voyage alcohol at a ridiculous mark-up anyway.

What I wonder is if you can "lock in" at the current $49.95 price if you pre-pay. They say numerous times in the list of restrictions that the price at the time of boarding will be in effect regardless of the advertised price. They don't ever say whether that only applies to those who buy on board. We don't sail until September, but it may be worth it to "lock in" after we see how the program is working.

It's true they have very few options that even exceed the $10 maximum that was in place to begin with. The big winner is that they've added unlimited specialty coffees, energy drinks and bottled waters. The problem that I've always had with the program is not the 15 per day drink limit, because honestly I wouldn't exceed that anyway, but they don't allow floaters or doubles, and it's even difficult to get some bartenders to pour a single shot in a large glass because they're afraid of getting in trouble.

We'll probably use it on our next cruise even though I keep saying never again, but I will definitely wait and see what transpires over the next couple of months before I decide.

I'm still at a loss as to why floaters are excluded. They've always been under the price point, and even more so now. There have only been a few wines that exceeded the $10 restriction per glass; I doubt they will be adding any now, lol!

We may go ahead and get it again with the additional non-alcoholic options included for convenience sake. I hope that they've finally worked out the kinks and you can get a single shot in a doubles glass without having to argue about it with half of the bartenders.

We're sailing in a month on NCL and I'm sure that's why they changed the verbiage, but we all know that finding anything that exceeds a $15 per drink price will be nearly impossible, and that's what NCL is offering built into the price, at a significantly cheaper cost.

We actually did the one way rental with Enterprise and were pleasantly surprised....twice! First, they ended up not charging the drop-off fee because they needed the cars for returning cruisers, and they also had a gentleman driving a shuttle to a block away from the port entrance, so we only had to tip. They don't profess to offer either, but it worked out for us!

We actually stayed midway between the airport and the port because we have grandkids in League City. You can stay at any chain hotel along 45 and do your shopping and expect a decent night's stay.

Thanks! They had the expired coupon on the website for so long I had given up on looking and booked with Valet Anywhere. I just canceled because if you add tips for the driver at drop off and pick up the price difference isn't enough for me to have to guess at my arrival time, or stress that I will miss it. If they hadn't offered a coupon, I definitely would use Valet Anywhere. Since they raised the parking to $40 per day, there was no way!

When I called on Tuesday they said that it could be as long as 10 days before it's up and running for any cruise beginning in April. Mine's April 1st, lol!

The lack of information across all cruise lines can be very annoying. I primarily sail with Carnival, and I can remember being on hold with the casino for long periods of time and they had a canned announcement that ran over and over. They talked about free room service and how you should "Go ahead and get those eggs at 3 a.m." First, room service never offered eggs at anytime, and second there aren't eggs available anywhere at 3 a.m. on the ship....and this was presumably created by their marketing department.

After the Carnival Pride dry dock it was a couple of months before they had the slide working (it was the type that starts with a free fall). So it definitely happens. I just wish they would update their websites to reflect what's actually functional, not each and every day, but if something hasn't started working yet, that should be noted. I'm disappointed that the bowling alley is gone, and the only way that I would know that's the case is by visiting this website.

The funniest case was on the Magic when a restaurant that didn't exist any longer was included in the ship's map that they passed out upon embarkation, lol!

Obviously changes are made in dry-dock all of the time. I don't take issue with upgrades or even the removal of amenities after I've booked a cruise...it's inevitable that some things will change over the course of many months. What I do find less than honest, however, is that NCL's own website touts certain amenities/activities that have been discontinued, or have not commenced yet. They should remove references to anything gone, indicate any items that are now at additional cost listed as included at no charge, and anything that has yet to be operational should be listed as "Coming Soon". Just my 2 cents.

Even more amazing to me than the waterslide debacle is that the NCL website still has the Gem listed as having a 4 lane bowling alley. I hope nobody spends too much time looking about the ship for that!

This is my question on flight times. Flying out of HOU for 1st time, read a lot about allowing a lot of time to get to airport, gate, etc. b/c of trip time, Houston traffic. So I'm on a 3pm flight. Did you book independent shuttle? Any other tips? TIA.

The earliest flight that the Carnival shuttle would allow was 1pm, so we thought that using a private car service a 12:40pm flight would be safe. Needless to say, the "Perfect Storm" worked against us. We figured on a 10am departure from the ship, which even with the storm should have been attainable. Unfortunately, the gangway was moved and as soon as that was announced it became a free-for-all while we sat in our waiting zone, clueless to the hundreds of passengers already disembarking. We checked several times with the crew and were repeatedly told that the luggage had not been offloaded as yet....which was completely untrue. Finally at nearly 11am we left to find that the stairwells and elevators were packed. We elbowed our way thru the crowd, found our luggage and a porter, then made it thru customs right away. Unfortunately by this time, the crowds who had left before us (many with luggage tags numbered in the teens) were awaiting pick-up at the curb by their traveling companions who had already gone to fetch their cars and were blocking access for our driver. Finally, he made his way thru and we were in the limo at 11:20. The boarding counter called the gate to have them hold our seats, and we ran to catch our flight...and miraculously our luggage made it all the way home with us.

So long answer to a short question....Carnival recommends 1pm or later. It was only due to a combination of issues and lack of communication that our flight was a problem. I would think that 3pm should be more than safe except in the most extraordinary of circumstances.

I can tell you our 12:40pm flight left from Houston on time on the 25th, because we had to run in our socks after going thru security and were the last ones to board the plane. Our driver drove thru a few flooded streets to get there, but we made it in the knick of time. I couldn't believe that there wasn't a flight delay.

It states very clearly in the new rules that the 15 drink limit will be enforced, and that Drinks on Us is combined with Cheers. We get Drinks on Us every cruise, but we decided a couple of cruises ago to get Cheers because it's ultimately cheaper. I cannot tell you how many times I've sat at a losing machine waiting 30 minutes for a drink. I could move, of course, but that's inconsiderate to the other pax who are also waiting for their drink while the server hunts me down. I could sit and not play, but that's sort of boring. We finally came to the conclusion that having the option to get up and get a drink from the bar of our choice (which also expands the drink choice) is worth it. So many people have Drinks on Us by day 2 that getting a drink becomes a total PITA.

I do think that sometimes the drinks aren't recorded in the Casino, but I'm just speculating on that based on what I've seen. I can't say that the servers haven't gone back and rung up the transaction later.

If you anyone really thinks that they will want more than 15 drinks in a day, you always have the option of buying thru Bon Voyage and keeping a bottle in the room. With Cheers and Drinks on Us both, soft drinks would be unlimited.

Due to the high winds and massive fog, the ship docked late. Passengers just jammed the stairways even before the 9:30 announcement that Customs was almost finished clearing the ship's pax log.

 

The CD kept pleading for people not to line up and he hadn't called for a single zone by 11AM. Meanwhile, whoever pushed, shoved, or crowded to the exit stairwell on deck zero was allowed to get off. Didn't matter if they were zone 10 or 20, the crew simply let pax exit as if they were Zone 1.

 

By 11AM, I decided to join the herd and flashed my platinum card to get into line, even though there was no need to do so.

 

IMO, the crew should have redirected all those who ignored the CD's instructions and only allowed walkoffs and Zone 1 to exit. By disregarding the CD's instructions, I place more blame on the crew than the pax. But isn't that typical of Carnival's policy lack of enforcement?

That's why I think that he should never have announced the gangway change. They do a pretty effective job at preventing passengers from storming the barricades when they're set up for it. I think that as soon as it was evident that wind was going to be a problem, they should have set up barriers to prevent people from using the stairways leading to deck zero, and cut-off the elevators from going to the lower decks. Once he announced that, the crowds became unmanageable. We must have left shortly before you did because we elbowed our way thru, got a porter, and found our limo driver to make it on the road at 11:30...and still made our 12:40 flight with a lot of running in our socks and beltless pants falling down our backsides, lol!

Here's the thing. I absolutely agree that the crew aren't in any position to control the mayhem, but having lived thru this a couple times (the last being yesterday on the Magic), if you want to have order and allow for the priority guests to make it out ahead of others DON'T announce that they've moved the gangway to deck zero until you've herded the priority groups out. Things were pretty orderly until then. The same thing happened on the Pride. The barriers are all set up for deck three; there are no barriers for decks one and two. As soon as you make that announcement, you're going to have a free for all.

There were many, many of us who waited in our specified areas and were told that the luggage had NOT been off-loaded. When we finally joined the mayhem (frantically trying to make our 12:40 flight) there were many, many people who were waiting to be picked up with tags that had zone 15 and higher when we were zone 1.

Thanks! Snagged one.

We did Cheers once and thought that it was too restrictive because of the types of drinks that I prefer (I like frozen drinks with floater shots, and also had trouble getting single pours in a doubles glass), so I swore we wouldn't do it again. We always have "Drinks on Us" in the Casino, and DH told me to get it this time. So many people have free drinks in the casino by day 2 at this point, you can spend $100 waiting for a drink sitting at a machine. I'd rather get up and get a drink at the bar, plus this time we're sailing on the Magic instead of the Fantasy so there are more specialty bars.

Only if you wear the short pants version like on the The Love Boat.