mzlinda

I took 2 cruises in 2014 and I'll be taking 2 in 2015. After the 2014 cruises, I got 3 casino offers but once I booked 2 cruises for 2015, the offers stopped completely, even tho I gambled the most on my April 2015 cruise. They were only small offers anyway - $50 in casino cash and about $150 discount on my cabin. I cruise again in November and then I don't have anything else booked so we'll see if I start getting offers again once nothing else is booked.

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Interestingly, the cruise director Steve Kinsley said they are getting ready to completely redo the past guest party again. He offered no details. That was the first I had heard of it and haven't read anything on cruise critics- anyone else heard any details?

John Heald said something last week that very vaguely alluded to upcoming loyalty program changes.

They didn't have any for the 1st two days of our cruise, which really annoyed my friend, but they went to the supply room to get them by the 3rd day. (I don't travel with her anymore.)

I really don't care for the American Table menu. I don't eat any fish or seafood and I think the quality of the beef in the MDR is not good. so that doesn't leave me many choices. I had chicken, pasta and pork. The other nights we went to the lido buffet or the steakhouse.

I should add that it's not terrible. The service was still good but the food was mediocre.

One of my cruise companions practically demanded them from guest services on the Fantasy in October 2014. They just had a few decks tucked in a drawer behind the counter. They definitely didn't have enough for everyone on the ship but they gave them to her when she asked. I'm not sure exactly why they have them there.

My iPhone was stolen by the staff at the days inn in Miami before a cruise. I wanted to check my email periodically in case it had been "found" so I bought the cheapest Internet package but I was having trouble connecting to it with their computers most of the week. On the last night, I went to guest services to see if they would comp me a few more minutes. Instead they pulled me behind the counter and sat me at a computer and told me to check my emails, print my boarding passes and do whatever else I wanted to do. They were so helpful. Was it because of my high ranking red card status? [emoji3]

On the other hand, that scummy days inn could use a lesson in customer service.

I think if one thing goes wrong, it's easy to start letting every little thing seem like a big deal. I like to read the reviews so I can set my expectations realistically but I usually think only a small portion of the complaints would bother me.

I didn't realize Liberty had sea side BBQ

Oh boy! You're right. That was my Breeze cruise.

On the Liberty last year I was above the BBQ, below a deck with chairs and right behind the elevators, but I was not on the lido deck. The elevators were really a non issue since there is a hallway between the cabin and the elevator shaft. It's not like being in a hotel room next to the elevator where you can hear it moving up and down. This was a high foot traffic area, but it was only people going back and forth to their cabins which wasn't bad at all. Late at night most people were going to bed so they were tired. I think people are more likely to be loud earlier in the night when leaving their cabin for dinner or bar hopping. I never noticed any noise then either but it wouldn't have bothered me. If your lido corridor would be used by people from other decks to get to an outside area, that could definitely increase the foot traffic which wouldn't be good.

Being above the BBQ restaurant meant that people could look up and see us if we were standing by our railing but pretty much no one ever seemed to be looking. Also we could hear people talking if they were loud, but that restaurant was only open for lunch on the sea days so it was no big deal.

Possibly the most noticeable aspect of our location was that someone was dragging chairs around on the deck above us at night. We occasionally heard this if it was happening just as we were going to bed when our cabin was completely quiet, but it was not enough to keep us awake the sound was pretty muffled.

Although I wasn't on the lido deck on the liberty, I have stayed on lido deck in the past and it was my absolute favorite location. I wouldn't be concerned unless you are a very light sleeper. However if you really value peace and quiet and every little noise is going to bother you even during the day, then look for a cabin with cabins above and below. Otherwise, I say, go for it!

Geez, just when I was about to take a little break from cruising, you guys all have me wanting to take a New Year's Eve cruise.

We had one in our balcony cabin.

But you still need a corkscrew. However your friends really will be amazed if you pull the foil off this way.

I have "Wine Diapers" that I always bring our wine on with(and alcohol back in). You can leave them in there but you will likely need to remove them from the wrapping and show the bottles to security when you go through. A thing to remember if you haven't already.. Bring a foil cutter if they are corked wine bottles and a cork screw. Seems silly but that was my rookie mistake back on our first cruise bringing wine :rolleyes:

Foil cutter??? No need. Try this. Wrap your hand around the top of the bottle -basically make a fist around the foil. Twist the foil gently back and forth while sliding it up over the top of the bottle. The warmth of your hand will loosen up the foil and you should be able to remove it in one piece. It's very impressive to do in front of your friends. I have encountered one or two winds where this didn't work but 99% of the time it does.

If I were you, I'd call now to see if you can buy an upgrade. It can't hurt to ask. Honestly I'd probably call a couple of times a week if the first price is too high.

few years back they use to shut the doors after 10 minutes. but now they let anyone in up until the next serving. they are scared they might remove the tips if they refuse anyone!:(

I wish they shut the doors no later than 20 minutes after the dining time. On the Liberty in April, there were people at the table across from us who were late every night and our table service suffered. It's a shame that my MDR service was only mediocre because another table was always late. And I agree that they probably don't enforce the dining time because they don't want to lose tips, but I didn't tip any extra to the team on that cruise because the service to my table was barely ok.

I still view Carnival as the entry level Cruise. When people learn more about cruising, they move on. The argument about price has zero value because other lines can be booked at or cheaper than Carnival. It must be a comfort thing because nothing is gained in Carnival loyalty.

For me, it's probably laziness. I always assume that Carnival will have the best price because they did 10 years ago.

My first cruise was on the Carnival Destiny in 2004 in a balcony cabin, southern Caribbean cruise from San Juan. The next year I went on RC Adventurer of the Seas, southern Caribbean, also out of San Juan but we had an inside room with a window looking at the indoor promenade. (I think that's what they called it.) I paid more for that inside room on RC than the balcony on Carnival because my travel agent insisted that the RC experience was so superior to the Carnival experience. For me, that just wasn't true. I loved both cruises but I missed having a balcony, and couldn't afford it justify the higher price to get one on RC.

I just started cruising again last year so I've been back on this board. People have been saying that other cruise lines are the same price. Is that true if comparing just the straight up cruise price? ...for example a mid ship balcony on Carnival is about the same price as on other lines? In one case I thought someone said that one cruise line threw in a drink package for free so the price was about the same as it would be if they paid for a cabin and the drink package on Carnival. I wouldn't buy the drink package anyway so that comparison doesn't work for me.

I guess I should do my homework before I book another cruise.

I wouldn't have even known it happened except that I saw people coming and going with luggage on the gangway.

Bon voyage purchases do not show up anywhere on your reservations - presumably in case you are trying to surprise your cabin mate with something. Most people suggest that you print your receipt and bring it with you just in case there is a problem, which is pretty rare.

I booked 2, then the rate code disappeared.

Last year I sailed on the Breeze and Fantasy. I loved them both. In my opinion, the only place where Fantasy really showed her age was in my stateroom. There was nothing wrong with it, but it was definitely old. I liked the smaller size. It didn't take 3 days to figure out how to get to dinner and I liked bumping into and recognizing some of my fellow cruisers.

This is a great topic. Thank you for raising it.

I tried to plan an Alaska cruise a couple of years ago and became completely overwhelmed. Inside vs outside passage, which glaciers should not be missed, sailing one way or round trip, from Vancouver or Seattle, and whether I could add some land days at the end---I just felt like each of those decisions was huge.

If you plan to hang out in your room and don't want turn down service, it's nice to let your steward know. We didn't go to dinner one evening and while going back and forth between 2 cabins, we realized that our steward was just hanging out in the hall watching our doors. As it turned out, he was waiting for us to leave so he could turn down our rooms. We had no intentions of leaving. Wish he had just knocked on our door so we could have told him sooner.

Old San Juan is full of restaurants and things to do.

I disagree with most of the posters. If I fell and broke my wrist and they couldn't send someone to look at it, I would be livid. I'm sure she was in a lot of pain and she shouldn't have had to stabilize her wrist with a towel. I also agree that they could have been given 1 or 2 tags to get off early, if for no other reason than to avoid getting jostled by crowds of people.

hello has anyone received any new offers lately in mail for casino they are really getting slack with there offers getting my from casinos at sea with NCL

I cruised on Fantasy October 2014 and received 3 offers in the mail not long after I got back. I let 1 expire and I booked cruises with the other 2. One of the cruises was the Breeze in April. The other cruise is Fantasy in November. I didn't get any more offers after I sailed on the Breeze. I wasn't sure if that was because I already had the Fantasy booked, but maybe They've decided that I don't spend enough. The offers were for $50 in casino cash and a small room discount which turned out to be about $100 off per person on a $500 balcony room. I'm ready for a land vacation after this cruise anyway so it won't hurt my feelings if they don't send me another offer.