staceyglow

I found it to be pretty average.  IMO it's not as good as Chik-Fil-A or Cane's.

Perfectly adequate, but nothing special.

34 minutes ago, Linsuesue said:

   Our Firenze cruise in September had the return time to Long Beach bumped from 8:00 am to 9:00 am. What time are they actually letting people off the ship, if they are arriving at 9:00 am? Meanwhile, our flight out of Long Beach was also moved to one hour earlier. I just need to figure out when we can get off the ship so we can change our flights.

The time people get off the ship can vary.  I have been on cruises out of Long Beach that got back to the port later than scheduled because of rough seas.  I would not book my return flight based on the hope that you can get off earlier than the posted arrival time.

18 minutes ago, lazydayz said:

Sometimes people and organizations amaze me.

 

She could have avoided all of this by not posting her boarding pass online.  This was a huge purchase, did she really book it on her computer?  

 

Carnival is getting lots of bad publicity out of this.  Why not just say sorry this happened to you and we will take care of you?  Either give her a full refund in cash or book the exact same suite and ship for a later date?  Instead of creating a happy customer, they caused themselves more headaches.  

It seems to be that it's the customer that is coming off looking bad in this situation.  She's trying to embarrass Carnival by going public, and it is backfiring.

Carnival doesn't owe this woman a thing.  She should have accepted those inside cabins they offered and consider it an expensive lesson learned.

Could the bars be so busy that you have trouble getting the 15 maximum drinks?  I suppose that is a possibility.

Will they be busy enough that you won't be able to at least break even on a Cheers package?  Highly unlikely.

I have been on over 25 Carnival cruises and other than the first afternoon, I have rarely had a significant wait (more than 5 minutes) for a drink at a bar.  Any indoor bar during the afternoon will be relatively uncrowded.  I have never seen a long wait at the Serenity bar.

Now, if you rely on a roving server to get your drinks, that will definitely take longer.

So, what happens when they add the gratuities towards the end of the cruise?  Do they make those low cash people either add money or remove the tips?  That might explain the lines at Guest Services.

If those types of specialty waters are available on the ship, I am sure they are included in Cheers.

However, I don't know if they are available.  I am a tap water drinker.

1 hour ago, Sgwscruiser said:

 

 

 

Italian Restaurant was awful. (Have never had a decent meal in this restaurant on any Carnival ship) last time going there

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow.  I have probably eaten at the Italian restaurant on Carnival ships a half-dozen times or more on about as many ships, and it has always been great.  I far prefer this meal to the steakhouse, especially at the relative price points.

What exactly about it do you think is awful?

46 minutes ago, sgttami said:

A friend who is Loyal to Royal sailed on Sunrise last year (first time on Carnival).  Nothing but negative comments.  I told her to try a different ship and it was, "NO way, Carnival is S*** "

 

She couldn't believe that I like Carnival and there would never be a way to convince her to try it again.

 

I've never been on Sunrise but can't imagine it being THAT bad!

 

 

 

 

I would never trust a review or opinion about anything from someone who had literally nothing positive to say.  

I have never been on an RC ship, but they do have Heroes Bar that has sports on multiple large TVs, a score scroll, etc.

51 minutes ago, Slattery said:

Australian as per title 

So that means they are making prices closer to what they charge in the US.

3 minutes ago, Slattery said:

Beer was $8 now $12.50

Bottomless bubbles was $9.99 now $14.99

Australian Dollar or USD?

I am sure that the price increase was a shock, but the company does not owe anyone an official communication on the justification.

They raised prices because it increases their revenue and they believe people will pay it. That is what businesses do.  If no one buys beer or soda or if people stop cruising Carnival because of it, they will lower them.

Did they increase the price of Cheers and Bottomless bubbles?  If not, that might be the way to go.  I am cruising in Australia in a few months myself.  Yes, a price increase on beer and soda is disappointing to me, but I won't let it ruin my trip.

31 minutes ago, Bubbeh said:

They could go to one of the bars, get drunk and make a fool of themselves?  Just a suggestion. 😉

No they couldn't, unless someone over 21 bought them drinks without getting caught.

11 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

Do most cabins have regular king.beds?

No.  They are the twin beds pushed together.

They need to be flexible so that there can be twin beds in that cabin if that's what the passengers want.

They aren't going to give you a balcony for the price of an oceanview just because the oceanviews are sold out.  They will wait for someone who is willing to pay what they are charging for the balcony.

1 hour ago, bar1068 said:

Very curious to know how Carnival made that decision.

I am guessing it was based on when they could dock the ship in Baltimore.

5 hours ago, babygrljaz said:

I rarely ever use the towels. If I decide to lay out on a lounger I just go to the towel hut for one & when we go ashore I take my own. I bought my own for cruising because they are smaller/thinner when folded & so much lighter. I've seen quite a few others but carrying carnival towels too. So no not everyone uses the cruise line's as well as not everyone takes their own

I pack extremely lightly.  I have been on B2B cruises for over 20 days total where I only brought a backpack and a carry-on.  No way would I waste precious packing space on anything they provide for free on the ship.

1 hour ago, n6uqqq said:

 I am just a bit sore from getting two different demand letters over the years via email to pay for pool towels from my room. I wouldn't dream of taking one of those mostly ratty beat up blue towels. 

Not sure that having to request towels would eliminate that problem.  And perhaps they don't monitor that as closely as they used to.  On my last several cruises, the steward has left additional towels unasked while we were up on Lido with our original ones.  I don't think they would do that if they had to account for all those additional towels at the end.

7 hours ago, n6uqqq said:

Call me strange but I think Carnival should add pool towels to by request also. I am guessing a fair amount are never used and they already have towel huts. This could save a fair amount of laundry. I rarely use them and have had problems with being billed for pool towels being missing that I never touched. Making the robes by request didn't bother me in the least. 

Who doesn't use the pool towels?  I rarely swim on the ship, but I still take them up to my lounger on Lido, and I certainly use them at beach port stops, and I think nearly every other passenger does the same.  Making everyone request them would create a lot more work for the cabin stewards and long lines at the towel hut.

And there would also be a ten-page thread on CC about another Carnival Cutback.  

1 hour ago, larry_s_taco said:

I'm not saying this to be rude or throwing shade in any way, but why not try other lines? As you can see by my signature I've traveled across various lines so I'm not particularly devoted to any. Each line has it's own menus and preparation methods. I would be really disappointed if I couldn't find something I liked on the dinner menus. The dining adds so much to the cruise. 

Based on the poster's extensive list of things they won't eat, I am not sure that any cruise line is going to have a menu that is going to make them happy.

4 hours ago, mrpayroll said:

When you buy a car, they advertise the price before the tax is added on. I don't see what the big deal is. Grocery stores advertise the price for an item. They don't say PLUS tax. Much to do about nothing.

But the add things like "dealer prep" and "doc fees" that aren't part of the advertised price. I am guessing that is going to change in California as well. 

10 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

But the numbers can change. If you reprice a cruise, the port taxes and fees often change and not always lower. That would be a violation as I read it.

If they are making a good faith effort to quote the most current amounts, they should be fine. I don't think the government  expects anyone to predict the future, even in California. 😁

1 hour ago, Mike45LC said:

 

 

We were too early to check in for our flight -- we were not allowed to proceed into the secured area (beyond the TSA checkpoint) and had to sit in the public area for a few hours.

That is why we try to be the last ones off the ship if we have a later flight. 

4 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Will be interesting, because all Carnival can do is estimate the port taxes and fees. They can't control them.

 

 

Carnival knows how much they quote you for port fees and taxes when you book. That is what they would advertise.

I wonder if the California law means that hotels will have to advertise the price including taxes and resort fees and taxes.