KevInPitt

Article 6 of your cruise ticket contract:

http://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/legal-notice/ticket-contract.aspx

Am interested in a meet and greet the first morning after we sail. Please post info if you get a time and place.

The best place for this would be on your Roll Call:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135657

How much deposit is required for a 6 day cruise?

 

 

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https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/481/~/deposit-and-final-payment-requirements

It's only NOT a cutback when the replacement is comparable.

 

Not sure why so many people are giving me flak. If Ravioli instead of lobster is the same thing in your viewpoint, more power to you. I think it is NOT comparable. Just different opinions.

If you don't understand by now, you never will. Not that it matters.

Our part of the Star Story

 

Let me just list the issues we had on Star last week

 

Pool bar didnt open until almost 1pm on boarding day ( last monday)

No drink mixes margarita etc until almost 5 pm

2 bars open after life boat drill on pool deck VERY VERY VERY long lines

No service people for drink orders

No service people to clean pool area

Suit cases didnt make it to cabin until 830 pm we checked in at 1100 am

 

Day 2

No Grey Goose vodka

No Strawberry daiquiri mix

No Coors light beer

Talked to beverage manager DEAF EARS

At Cagney steak house server could not understand plain English

 

Day 3

 

Returned to ship after day on shore Room was same way we left it early no clean towels NO NOTHING

Pool bar closed at 800pm Told to go to another bar for drinks

LONG WAITING LINES AT POOL BAR

 

Day 4

 

Spoke to head Hotel director on ship about service and drink issues DEAF EARS

Pool bar started to close at 745pm went to bar to get wife a Margarita was told by bartender "Ive already put mixes away You have to go to another bar"

Still no servers or cleaning people on pool deck

VERY LONG LINES AT POOL BAR

 

Day 5

 

BLAH BLAH SOS DD

How can you be charged for bottled water when you pay for Ultimate Premium beverage package???

 

This was our 1st and LAST cruise on NCL. NCL need to take lesson from Royal how to run a cruise line as far as passenger service. You NEVER hear servers talking in their native language in Royal EVERYTHING is in english. This cruise totally sucked The wear and condition of carpet in public areas was terrible. Lastly even the piano player was 2nd rate missing notes and words.

 

BEWARE

Aside from two reasonable service shortcomings (the late luggage and untendered cabin), much of your complaint is about the availability and quick access to either a bar or a server to bring you booze.

*yawn*

No issues here for me either but there is a noticeable "lag" after hitting the submit button of 30-45 seconds before it actually logs in. Doesn't sound like much but when you are used to 3-5 seconds normally, 30-45 seconds can seem like an eternity.

When using a phone or tablet, I have also had more success using the "desktop site" rather than "mobile site".

Are you calm now? :)

Speaking for the Pride, the Maitre D is an cordial gentleman but he will enforce the dress code if the attire is inappropriate.

If it's too much trouble to dress the family appropriately for dinner, there are several alternative dining options where you can freely dress as you feel comfortable.

If you book early saver every change you make will cost you $50 per person. Date changes qualify as a cancellation.

Consider this when booking an Early Saver rate when you are uncertain about taking tge exact itinerary you book.

Have people done that? I don't understand why it keeps coming up in this thread when it has nothing to do with it really. I mean, yeah, never underestimate stupidity, but was there a thread about people doing this???

If you have little faith the POM staff have working brains you should have little faith someone hasn't tried this (and it doesn't take a CC thread to validate its possibility).

Keep waving your "stupid club" and eventually you'll hit someone over the head.

Although you shouldn't have to (I mean its baby formula - come on, Carnival), that same formula as posted in #7 comes in cans.

If it would truly "create an absolute and total nightmare if taken away" bring the inconvenient cans rather than the convenient bottles. Problem solved/avoided.

As someone else said, it would take someone truly desperate to plead exemption for bottled baby formula with the intention to smuggle alcohol in it while lugging said baby in their arms. Sadly, I'm sure someone will try.

Although I understand the sentiment of the OP, every single preferential amenity carries a cost.

What distinguishes Carnival from its competition is being able to consistently provide a cost-affordable experience without the fluff most who sail with the line don't want (and can't afford).

I personally don't cruise to be feel pampered with toiletries, turn-down service, interactive television or chocolates on the pillow so for me these are amenities that would just end up being built into a higher cruise fare.

If one wants an elevated level of stateroom amenity, there are lines that provide it. Trying to turn Carnival into its upscale competition is an exercise in futility. It's just not what the Carnival product is (or should be).

I am cruising with friends and there will be 7 of us. Will we have 1 person seated at our table to make 8? Can we request it to just be 7 of us?

 

Before anyone says I should be open to meeting new people, I am platinum and have had my share of sitting at tables with strangers when it is just my husband and I but since we are a group of friends with linked dining, I would like to keep it just the 7 of us without anyone else.

Although it's unlikely your party of 7 would be rounded up to 8 by a solo cruiser being added on, you should easily be able to make the request to privatize your table (regardless your status). Just check with the maître d' and let him know.

It seems that your rightful aggravation isn't with the introduction of FTTF but how your boarding experiences have been mishandled within the "priority" lines/areas.

It would seem logical that within the priority area there be an order to which certain priorities are permitted to queue up for boarding.

It would seem your experiences relate to poorly executed boarding procedures where the ropes were pulled back and everyone in the priority area started pushing to be the first of the first.

I can only speak to my experiences with the port of New York and the port of Baltimore; I can assure you there was a very clearly announced segmented order of who could board once boarding commenced and it was strictly followed (both by Carnival personnel and the passengers).

Perhaps this may be an issue unique to Florida ports (I believe you mentioned Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa). Regardless, you have my sympathies for not getting the priority you deserve as a Platinum Carnival guest.

Another congratulations on your balanced, no-nonsense post that was quite informative. Fair, impartial and well-written. Job well done!

This can be dependent on your personal choice and circumstances. My opinion would be if the drive is more than 6 hours, drive in the day before and do the hotel/shuttle thing the day of sailing.

If your drive is less (as is mine), drive in the day of and park right at the pier. This may work out slightly more expensive than a hotel/shuttle stay but the convenience of not waiting for the shuttle to and from the hotel is worth it. Drive right in, park and walk on the ship. When you get back, walk right out to your car and you're on your way.

Of course this is personal preference on my part and therefore my recommendation. Others suggesting different alternatives may work just as well or even better for you.

(Pope traffic shouldn't be an issue as you will be highway driving and I don't think the Popemobile has an EZ Pass.)

Happy Sailing!!

Carnival was a good product for a good price, now with their high prices, horrible entertainment and loads of cutbacks they are not worth it anymore. As long as you have mindless cheerleaders cheering Carnival and the other cruise lines on nothing will change and things will just get worse. Plenty of AI resorts out there to enjoy.

If anyone wants to find a good AI resort all they have to do is search the net. I'm sure your a big girl and I'm sure you can find them all by yourself. Take care. :D

These kinds of “hit and run” comments only show you know what you are saying isn’t true.

Can an AI resort experience be a good value and better choice? Absolutely. To say they are universally better than the value of the cruise experience is somewhat ignorant.

If that were true, the cruise industry would be desolate and desperate to attract customers who have fled to these supposed bargain basement AI resorts. Definitely not the case because thousands find the cruise experience to be the excellent value it is and sailings continue to leave at capacity across the industry.

It’s clear you find the product Carnival is offering at the fares being charged disagreeable. Again, thousands are more than satisfied to find their vacation investment well worth it. Your opinion is in a very clear minority.

Move on to the vacation experience you prefer and leave the rest of us to discuss the issues of the vacation we actually will be experiencing.

And no - you won't be missed.

The same thing happens to me when utilizing the search box on the home page.

I just recognize it's faulty and go directly to the FAQ/Help Center page and the search function works just fine from there.

Should it work more seamlessly? Yup. Do other company websites exhibit similar unexplained performance "burps"? Absolutely.

Websites aren't perfect - neither are their creators or users. Expecting perfection in an imperfect world will only lead to unnecessary frustration.

Sorry, the OP had such a nightmarish cruise! We were on the Pride June 14 - 21 and I noticed some vibration around the ship in odd places. If you moved to a different side or a different area - it didn't vibrate. And not always in the same spot. Not the shaking like the OP described, but it was noticeable. We were a group of 10 and no one seemed to have a problem with it.

 

We were in 7299 (fabulous cabin, BTW). We had no vibration in the room, but it was freezing. The balcony door sometimes whistled, but I found if I locked it, that solved the whistling and moderated the temp a bit. I think the weather-stripping was shot. The ship itself was cold as well - but not all over. I've been on both the Miracle and the Legend and I don't remember any vibration like this.

 

We had no issues in the MDR, but we were close to the entrance and over by the windows. We did have brunch all the way aft twice with no issues.

 

It was a great ship and a great cruise, but I guess you have to chose your cabin carefully!

I have said the same thing several times, even down to my own fondness for 7299. That cabin was like an icebox! If only I could have snagged it for my October cruise... Still got a 9B but on another deck. Love those 9B's!

The ship's water is purified by a reverse osmosis process.

You can cancel the FTTF excursion purchase up to the day before departure.

Although value can be highly subjective, in my opinion the answer would be yes for the very differences between the standard cove and the cove suite that you state.

Your budget and comfort threshold may differ. Having choices in cabin category/amenity is great but it doesn't make those choices easy. :)

Good luck in whatever you decide and Happy Sailing!

To get your free drink, it's has to be on a 5 day cruise. I'm going on a 4 day next week. I'm trying to understand their reasoning in not giving you a free drink on a 4 day cruise. Any insights?

Theres no past guest party on less than 5 day sailings so that might be the rationale.

ok, someone please help..i tried both of these links, and punched in Jan 2017-March 2017, places to visit Antigue ... and it says no matches

 

what am i doing wrong

You're likely not doing anything wrong necessarily. There are itineraries through November 2016 which include an Antigua port of call.

You are likely looking for 2017 dates that haven't been released yet. It would be unlikely, given the offerings in 2015 and 2016, that there would be no offerings in 2017.

Patience, my good neighbor to the north, patience. :)

when did Carnival stop going to Antigua and Tortola ?

I know they have before, but i was checking to see what ships go there now..and NONE showed up..

 

:mad::mad:

Hi Montana,

Try these helpful links:

http://www.carnival.com/cruise-to/caribbean-cruises/antigua-cruises.aspx

http://www.carnival.com/cruise-to/caribbean-cruises/tortola-cruises.aspx

Happy sailing!

KevInPitt