Towel Critter

Data collection and tracking is big business, every company wants to know where and how someone goes in a store or on a ship, for how long, and where something might have caught their eye. There are sensors we wittingly carry, like smart phones, and cameras and other detection devices we aren't even aware of all around us every day.

 

Almost every app we install on a smart phone now asks about location and data collection, and many won't fully work if we decide to turn them off. Others just put it in the fine print, and how many of us just scroll to the bottom and press accept?

 

Big Brother is not just watching us; he's FEELING us too.

Exactly. I have precious few apps on my phone. Of course, I can't avoid these invasions of privacy altogether. I do try to limit them though.

Let's see... convenience... my privacy... which is more important to me? Hmmm...tough choice.

And when Carnival "data researchers" look at your hours in the casino without gambling they will probably deduce you are a smoker...whether true or not.

I wonder if people could actually get use to it, sorta like wearing an ankle bracelet ;)..

You cant leave home without it :D The big G is watching you.

Sure. You don't miss what you never had, and each generation is accustomed to less privacy than the former generation had.

Which is valuable to them as well. Certainly not foolproof but way (as in high double digits) more info then they have now.

 

 

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What they do is track you ur every movement, time spent there etc.

"You'll shoot your eye out!!!" ;-)

I hope never. I've worn one of those things for a week before at an AI. It was SO nice cutting it off that last day.

Ok thanks I kept clicking around until I found it :) thanks fingers crossed ! My birthday and anniversary will both be celebrated on our first cruise

I have seen people saying they got something special for Birthdays and anniversaries and such. Where do I add that on my carnival info? It’s worth a try

Lol! Yeah but I got my use out of it all the way around [emoji6]

I suppose it's a small chance, but one nonetheless. Wore out my old Victoria's Secret Gift Card after using it for a couple years for my safes half way through a cruise once. Would kind of be a pain if that happened to a good CC.

Not sure if this would qualify as a "hack", but it does enhance our enjoyment of our balcony. I bring a bag of M&M's (the peanut butter ones are my favorite) to snack on while we're sitting on our balcony. It's a cruise tradition for us. We also bring a pair of binoculars to get a closer look at any ships we see in the distance.

It wouldn't be a hack anymore. But the ships could supply guests with fire resistant hammocks, and some decent hooks on the ceiling to get them hanging without breaking a divider.

They could even rent them and make a few bucks.

I don't know if it's against regulations but I have seen pics of hammocks.

I've seen a lot of threads on CC about cabin hacks (magnetic walls, hanging organizers, etc...), but don't recall seeing one on balcony hacks. Maybe there aren't any that are within the rules. But if you have a neat idea for enhancing your enjoyment on the balcony, post here, please. Please, nothing that is against safety regulations. I don't want this thread to get derailed before the first page is filled. Thanks.

Before I had the plastic luggage tags, I used packing tape to connect the ends together. Of course I covered the tags in packing tape first.

 

 

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From what I understand, the satellite tv got too costly and most of the cruise lines dropped the service. If that is anything like my home satellite service, I can sure understand that. Seems like they up their price every few months and it's ridiculous as it is.

They should get cable TV. ;)

Not snarky, negative, ect. at all. Lol I completely agree! Yes I'm old. Yes I absolutely love them[emoji3]... When we bring our 7yo, and or the Grands, sometimes with our older kids & sometimes without, and even when we cruise blissfully alone, We Love Them... It's entirely a subjective thing. So don't worry about what anyone else may or may not think of your thoughts. You own them. Celebrate that. We do. It makes for happier Cruisin. Happier life.

 

[emoji924]️ Cruisin Trkrs [emoji597]

Oh I know, I'm in the tiniest minority here. My attitude comes from cruising so often that I've seen 'em all and they no longer have any "o look at this one" surprise or wonder. Plus I've stayed in a few hotels along the coast of Playa del Carmen and elsewhere that had much more intricate designs that the simple twist ones that Carnival staff devise.

 

BTW, I also prefer my travel and food to be more energetic and unique, rather than familiar and comforting. JMO, and YMMV, which I also respect. That's what makes the world go round.

 

Perhaps I should have said that by having 8 towel animals on my sofa, if Carnival was doing that for every one of the 1965 cabins, it was taking at least 16,000 towels out of circulation until turnover day, increasing the workload of an already hectic and busy shift. (At least I'm hoping the towels would get laundered!) Just reuse the same towels for the next days creature or not allow 8 days to build up?

We have a December cruise booked. The 90 day check-in policy happened fairly recently because when we first booked we had the Online Check-in button available but now it's inactive until 90 days prior to sailing.

We can do other things on Cruise Manager like book excursions or make Fun Shop purchases ... but not check-in.

We had 8 days of towel animals in our Horizon balcony at the cruises' end. Here is one "benefit" I would gladly give up to see a lower fare.

 

When I travel solo, I usually ask my room steward not to make any at all. I've seen them all, big deal, and this saves time and laundry.

Present. :-)

The majority of the people have inkjet printers. I wouldn't run out a get a laser printer just for luggage tags. If you don't have the plastic sleeves for the tags, just cover them with packing tape. It's a lot cheaper than buying a new printer. ;)

Inkjet printouts will smear in less than a second when it comes into contact with water. Printouts using toner do not.