sparks1093

Appears to be working now.

I can't even do a faux booking right now. Considering adding a short cruise at the end of our 2/25 sailing so when we sail in 2026 we'll be Platinum. I can't log in, either. Hopefully it's just server maintenance and will be back up soon.

If you aren't flying why not bring the big bottle of electrolyte (I'm not sure how big we are talking of course)? It's not a prohibited thing and is medical in nature. I would put it in my carry on so security could look at it. In any event bringing a small bottle of it likely wouldn't get any notice. Also, you can take the beach towels off the ship in port if you'd like. Just make sure you bring them back so you don't get charged. (They usually have a towel exchange by the gangway to drop off the dirty one and pick up a clean one. You can also exchange your dirty towel at the towel exchange on the pool deck.)

Probably tussling over jurisdiction and who gets to prosecute. As for Carnival's potential loss, wouldn't it be zero? The Art Gallery is an independent business as I understand it. This does remind me of a short story that I once read. International jewel thief goes on a cruise and an expensive piece of jewelry is stolen from a museum in a port. He is an obvious suspect and is searched at Customs. They find nothing and let him go. The following week he re-boards the same ship on a Cruise to Nowhere, stays in the same cabin and recovers the item from where he had hidden it. Waltzes off the ship since there is no Customs to worry about. Neat story back in the day but I doubt that it would be that feasible nowadays (since Cruises to Nowhere have gone the way of the Dodo bird, among other things).

In most ports you would likely be fine. The folks on the ship won't care and it's doubtful the screeners allowing you back into the port would care either. Come to think of it we took our surrogate granddaughter on a cruise, had all of the documentation and left it in the safe on the ship. Didn't even think of taking it with us, but it isn't a bad idea to have it with you.

Our intro to cruising was on a CTN out of Boston.

The only sure way to know if the third person is really "free" is to do a faux booking for two, then one for three and note the difference in price. If the difference is only additional port taxes and fees then it's a true promotion. Given that most lines are trying to recover from COVID they may not want to run this promotion too often, so it's hard to say when they will.

True enough and the OP did not explicitly identify themselves as a US citizen, but since the OP did quote from the rules for a US citizen it is a reasonable presumption. If the OP happens to be reading the rules incorrectly for their situation that's on them.

That would be fine, but the people that use the term are using it about the customers of the line, not the line itself. Let's face it, the main stream cruise lines are simply a mirror of our society today. Many people don't consider 5 to 10 minutes late being a big deal because they are focused completely on themselves and not others.

We've been in a suite twice. The first time was because the upsell fairy called and since the net cost to us was $50 more than what we had originally booked the cruise for it was a no brainer to accept it. The second time was because we were celebrating a milestone anniversary and we were treating ourselves. Our next two bookings are in regular balcony cabins. You know what they say about "assume" 😉.

I wish that I got free suites.

Or maybe it's that people define "quality" differently than you do. For us they still give us a great value for our vacation dollar and until that changes we'll stick with them.

Ok. But you aren't ashore and you aren't paying ashore prices, you are paying what the cruise line charges. Your onboard credit (in whatever amount) is worth the full amount (in your case $128) for those charges.

Exactly this. They aren't going to balk at a passport that doesn't have 6 months remaining when there will be many onboard without a passport in the first place.

There is, of course, a difference between effectively conveying the image of a large scale operation and casting dispersions at the customers of said operation. The cruise industry has plenty of choices to offer and one should find the line that fits their needs. Surely we can do that without casting dispersions at anyone that makes a choice different from our own. For what it's worth I've never seen a suit being sold at a Walmart and while I have purchased some clothing from there over the years it has been a while. And some of us who do choose to sail on the main stream lines also own suits and wear them onboard (I've even been known to wear my tux🤣).

It is entirely possible that you have the poster in question blocked, which means that you wouldn't see any of his posts but when he (and others) uses the term "Walmart of the Seas" it likely isn't meant as a complimentary term. He does seem to use that term frequently. He is quoted in post 52.

For the shorter cruises, 5 days or less.

Since this permeates society attracting a better crowd is going to be tough indeed.

The door in the brig cannot be opened from the inside. I suspect the brig is reserved for the very worst of offenders and that most are confined to their cabin. Other thoughts not related to the quoted post. It doesn't necessarily follow that the victim and attacker knew each other, although that is certainly possible. The attacker would be confined regardless of whether they knew the victim or not. That said, we have also witnessed security stationed outside someone's door for the remainder of the cruise.

We have a festival every June in our village that is put on by the local Lions Club as a fund raiser. This festival attracts a thousand or more visitors to our village throughout the weekend, often doubling our population. Many of these visitors spend money at local businesses in addition to attending the festival. One would think that business would support the festival, but only some of them do. This is because the festival in fact disrupts some businesses rather than attracting customers. The take away is that tourism doesn't necessarily help everyone in a locality equally. And while some may be concerned about the environmental impact of cruising to their local environment I would be willing to bet that is also not a universally held precept.

The doors open at 5:30 and, as noted, there is a line waiting for them to open. By the time the doors open and the line is gone we're probably talking about 5 minutes in any case. So, was someone standing at the very back of the line, or were they late? (This is presupposing that the doors don't open early, which happens more often then not on the cruises we've been on, and I know that because I was in line 🙂.)

As soon as you get onboard talk to the Maitre'd and request to be seated at a table with others. If early dining is unavailable ask to be put on the waiting list for it, and if it doesn't come through prior to sailing that's another request for the Maitre'd.

We've done both on different classes of ships and unless it's a special occasion it's balcony for us (well, if the upsell fairy calls with an offer that can't be refused we'd upgrade. That's how we got our first suite.)

Wine only, no beer. One bottle per adult.

I see that my caffeine deprived eyes missed the "years ago" comment. I am also unsure when it changed to apply to all drinks.