Rosethorn40

I like the Hot Stone Massage as well. They tend to run specials on port days, and near the end of the cruise. I remember on the Magic last year on the last day at sea they announced a special on a spa service that was normally $130 for $29. The first 10 people that called a special extension got the price.

EXACTLY! And before this whole "free cruise" deal went around, were you unhappy with the product that you've paid again and again for? So if you were happy to pay for it, why on earth be upset that the company wants to advertise this way to someone who wouldn't pay for it until they get a chance to experience it (again)? Bummed, disappointed, etc about not being chosen, sure! I get that. I feel the same every day when I watch Wheel of Fortune and my ID isn't picked to win $5000! But I don't get mad and boycott Wheel of Fortune because they didn't pick me to get the money! And that is worth even more than cruise fare!

 

From what I read most of the people getting this offer are past Carnival cruisers, and if fact sailed recently and may already had another one booked. It doesn't seemed about enticing someone to sail with them who has never sailed with them, or wooing back a past guest. Of course I don't work for Carnival in the marketing department, but I know that companies don't do this without an expectation on a return for the investment. If I was Carnival I wouldn't be handing out "Free" cruises to anyone that probably would never afford to go again. I think it's about trying to get people to spend money while on board. Just my opinion.

The name calling on this thread is ridiculous. Seems to me that the OP asked for opinions of those that did not receive the offer. But when Amber gives an opinion she is considered "grandiose and paranoid"?

 

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Thank you! I'm pretty sure I never said I was "Entitled" and I don't think anyone else said they were entitled. Silly as it may seem to some of you I was asking about feelings. The rational part of me knows that large corporations like Carnival or the massive company I work for don't give a hill of beans about feelings. It's the bottom line and making shareholders happy and the CEO rich.

 

I still like Carnival, I still think they give good value for my vacation dollar. I am very fortunate in my life, but I have also worked very hard for everything I have. I love cruising and just once I would love to snag the unbelievable upgrade (Interior to balcony) or a "Free" cruise (Port charges, gratuities, and drinks not included). Being wistful that once again it wasn't my turn to grab the brass ring doesn't make me a bad person. Of course you are welcome to your opinion, because we all have one. ;)

Envie certainly is a green monster, illustrated by this one thread.

 

Never met Envie, but I have met Envy. Anyway, the point of this thread wasn't "Not Fair", Or "How dare Carnival not give me a Free Cruise!" and I am well aware that life isn't fair and I am grateful that DH and I have good jobs that pay us enough that we can afford to cruise/travel several times a year.

 

That said, Human Nature being what it is I do feel a little "Left Out" and was wondering if anyone else felt the same way. I don't know what Carnival hopes to get out of this. I sure it's some kind of marketing plan. Maybe it's for people who DON'T spend money on shore ex, photos, spa treatments and such, and the hope is by giving away a cruise PAX will spend more on the extras, the things that really drive the bottom line.

 

I work for a large mortgage servicer and 4/5 years ago we offered a streamline refinace with no out of pocket closing costs, no appraisal needed, etc. The "Invites" were sent to some, but not every customer of ours that had a mortgage loan. Never knew why some customers got the offer, and others didn't, but our customer service phones lit up from people wanting to know why their neighbor got the offer and not them (It had nothing to do with someone's credit score-that much I did know).

 

I expect NOTHING from life but death and taxes (But a free cruise would have made my day :) )

This is not good news for me if they have decided to raise the price to $40 pp, per day on all ships. I will be on the Emerald in 10-days and I guess I will just have to wait until then to find out what the price is. I've been reading recent reviews, and watching the threads, but no recent reviews (That I found) mentioned the Sanctuary. $800 for the two us is just too much.:(

I was reading several threads about the free cruise offer a number of Carnival Cruisers, but not all, received. To be honest, I really didn't have much of an opinion (Good for Them!, Not Fair, Why not me? etc.) UNTIL I got an email from a good friend today. She got one of the offers and is now booked to go in June as soon as school lets out (She's a teacher). The funny thing is I was the one that introduced her to cruising in 2011. Her first cruise, my first time on Carnival. Since that date she has sailed twice with Carnival with her husband, and I have sailed 3 times with mine. Neither one of us spends any money in the casino, and I know my on-board bill is always much higher than hers.

 

Anyway, happy for her, but now that someone I know got the offer and I didn't I have to admit that I am just a little bit annoyed with Carnival. Doesn't mean I will never sail with them again-Guess I'm just not feeling the love.

My best friend got her offer last week. Me? Nothing! Funny thing is that I introduced her to cruising several years ago; my first Carnival Cruise, her very first. Since then DH & I have taken 3 Carnival cruises, her & her husband have taken 2. Neither of us spend money in the casino, my bar bill is much higher than hers, and we spend more on excursions, photos, etc. The only difference I can figure out is that her last two cruises were during New Years week and I know she paid a premium to sail. We are lucky to be able to sail when the kids are in school, and therefore pay much less for our cabins.

 

I don't know what the details of the offer, but we probably wouldn't be able to take them up on it anyway. We leave in 11 days for a 10-day Caribbean, and in another 60 for our first river cruise, both are paid for and I would lose more than I would gain.

I can't help you with the ships as I have never been on any of them, but as far as the ports. I personally would take the one out of San Juan as many of islands are wonderful; St. Kitts & St. Lucia are lush and tropical, St. Marten has a lovey beach on the French side of the island. Barbados I would suggest swimming with the sea turtles. St Thomas has a lovey beach as well (Megans Bay). However, if the budget is tight I would go with the Conquest or Liberty as each of the stops offer beaches. A Sat-Sat gives you a day to recover before the work/school week (If that's a concern, while the Sun-Sun gives you an extra day to get to the east coast. You didn't say what week you are considering, but bad weather in any part of the country can disrupt your travel plans.

We did a Cloud Nine Spa interior on our cruise last March on the Magic. Would I get this cabin again? Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I think it depends on the ship, but on the Magic these cabins were all the way forward, and on the highest decks for cabins. They were quiet, and we loved the unlimited use of the Thermal Suite. I didn't think on a Caribbean cruise we would use the Thermal Suite that much, but we used it a lot. We are now very spoiled, and when we sail on Carnival again we will get a spa stateroom.

As someone who has done more Norway cruises than I can count, let me jump in here.

I don't think a Retreat cabana is worth the cost when there is as much scenic cruising as Norway offers. The cabana is closed in, so the views will be limited. You can go out into the open area of the Retreat, but there is so much open area that doesn't cost anything, why spend that kind of money?

 

In Norway, you are likely to get "liquid sunshine", fog, wind, and chills. It's nice to be able to find a spot outdoors that's open to the views, yet sheltered. You can bundle up in your jacket, and even the blankets offered, and enjoy.

 

Thank you for your advice. I was on the fence, and now I think I will save the money!

Last year I paid $329 for a Spa Inside for the first week of March. I booked it 3-days before the Triumph incident. The day after the Triumph was making the news the price jumped to over $500, and then $600 pp for the same category of cabin.

Thanks everyone! We will be there at the very end of March. I guess I am so used to this bad weather up here in NJ lasting for days I forget how the rest of the country is.

 

I feel your pain regarding this year's winter . It's been brutal hasn't it. We had 18" on Thursday, just got dug out and now another 4" is falling today. Good news is that we are suppose to warm up and be near 60 by Saturday, so hang in there!

 

Only went to Disney once and it was in late March and had wonderful weather; sunny every day, very comfortable temperatures.

 

As far as excursions selling out, they do, but usually they are the ones that are limited for obvious reasons; Animal encounters such as Dolphin Swims, or space limitations such as Float Plane rides in Alaska. I would think that for Disney they could just add another bus IF they had enough people to fill said bus. Why not give Carnival a call and find out how many spaces are left on the excursion you wish to do?

We were able to use it as well' date=' both in Europe and in the Caribbean. Looking forward to another in 36 days![/quote']

 

Would you consider a Retreat Cabana a waste of money or a good investment in Northern Europe? I was considering getting one when we do our Norwegian Fjords cruise as we have several days of scenic cruising, but wasn't sure if I should bother?

I may be wrong here, but I think they price based on demand. They probably have a baseline, and the price might go down if there isn't much demand. About 5 years ago we were on the Caribbean Princess doing a Canada/New England cruise and the spa passes were not selling and the price was dropped to about $149 per couple for the week.

 

I also think that the prices for extras are under review while they find the ideal (For PCL) price point. Prices for the Sanctuary recently increased due to high demand. I expect prices for the popular Crab Shack to also increase.

I finally broke down and booked.....a 6:30 AM flight for the next morning. The price for afternoon flights were just crazy, $300 each, one way from FLL to BWI. So we will relax one more day in a hotel and fly out early in the morning. I booked Southwest so if the price comes down I can change and not get hit with a change fee.

Of course everyone has their own idea of what is fair, but for every idea there will be someone not happy because the "Idea" doesn't work for them. I think it really boils down to simple economics; raise the price so the number of available loungers matches the number of people willing to pay that price.

 

I personally don't know what my price point would be, but at some dollar amount I would drop out of contention and DH and I would be two less people vying for a spot.

 

We will be on the Emerald Princess in less than 3-weeks. I want two spots in the Sanctuary, and have my game plan all mapped out to get those coveted spots, but I also know that fate could place all kinds of obstacles in my path. If I don't get week passes then I guess I'm getting up early and waiting in line.

It is on the Patter when in port. We always take our Patter to shore with us for that reason, or take a picture of it with our camera before we leave.

 

Now THAT is a fabulous idea! I will be doing that myself from now on.

While I have never sailed on Disney I would say the two lines have more differences than similarities. Disney by it's very nature is very family friendly and of course you will find large numbers of children on board. It depends on the sailing of course, but normally on Princess more couples. I have heard good things about Disney, but you pay a lot more for a cabin. I have tried several lines and Princess is my favorite; good service, decent food (Most of the time), beautiful ships. I see that you have sailed on Carnival a lot. I've been on 4 Carnival cruises and enjoyed each one. I think the food and service are close to what you get on Princess. Carnival tends to have a lot of families, groups, and depending on the time of year college students. IMO it also offers an excellent value.

 

NCL was okay the one time we tried it. The food was excellent and their productions shows were good. Cabins are very small, and the beds are HARD (I have friends that travel NCL and they say the same thing). I would say NCL is closer to Royal Caribbean than Carnival.

 

Everyone has different opinions of what makes a great cruise. I always said I wouldn't be caught dead on a Carnival ship, but took a 4-day cruise with a friend because that was the only cruise that worked with her work schedule and I was pleasantly surprised. If I had listened only to the naysayers I would have missed out on several great vacations.

No food is included in the lounger rental fee, and the only drink is water; chilled, flavored with citus, or flavored with cucumber. They do have a lite fare menu that you can order stuff with a small delivery charge (I want to say about $3.75 but that may no longer be the case). Sometimes the stewards are willing to get you a piece of pizza or a cheeseburger. I think that depends on the steward. Also, the two cruises we have used the Sancuarty we have tipped the stewards generously which may have accounted for the wonderful service we have always received.

I have wanted to do this cruise for several years and actually had it booked for Spring 2010, but cancelled to take a 14-day to Hawaii instead (Got a great deal and DH really, really wanted to go to Hawaii).

 

Then they were not doing it for a few years I guess due to safety concerns, and interest. It seems as it gets closer to sail date the price does drop. It did in the past, but then since they are only doing one sailing maybe it won't. It's a bit of a gamble. It's still early so I would think the price would drop some. Just keep an eye on it, and if the price does drop to a price you are happy with snag a cabin.

 

I am considering this cruise for our 10th anniversary next December. It will all depend on the travel fund :)

They charge because A) They can because people are willing to pay, and B)Crowd Control. When the Sanctuary debuted on the Crown Princess there was no charge, and reports of fights breaking out over disputes regarding loungers.

 

I was reading reviews of the Carnival Sunshine, which has a nice adult FREE area and there were reports of people camping out overnight to reserve a place. According to the reviews I read you had to be up there no later than 6 AM to get any spot at all.

 

I think what this illustrates is that many adults are desperate to get some peace and quiet while on vacation, and will go to great lengths and expense to do so. While there are a few lines, that due to their prices would be mostly kid free, they are out of reach for the average vacationer. I suppose Princess will experiment with policies and prices for the Sanctuary until they find the combination that seems to work best.

It's been awhile since I bought any scrapbooking stuff on board, but I use to buy the albums (12x12) that were a beige in color with the ship's name in embossed lettering, and I bought one package of scrapbook paper. It contained several different solid color pages, and a few printed pages (themes such as dining, show, water) There were 2 or 3 sticker sheets with the Princess logos and words/phrases with a cruise theme. The last class I can remember was on the Golden Princess when we went to Hawaii in 2010. Lots of sea days. The class was very basic and for true beginners. However, if you showed up they offered the scrapbook stuff at a discount.

 

I have to agree with someone that posted earlier, you can find better stuff at JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby, and Michael's. Also there are several web based companies that specialize in travel scrapbooking. Try Scrap Your Trip, they have some great items.

[quote]

[COLOR=black]McDonald's was serving a product at 190 degrees[/COLOR] , a temp which could cause 3rd degree burns in 15 seconds ( testimony of a burn expert). There had been over 700 prior reports of the danger of the temperature of the coffee. The woman asked repeatedly for McDonald's to cover her medical bills , which I think was reasonable under the circumstances. The huge punitive damages ( which I agree could be questioned ) were based on 2 days of coffee sales. They changed the temp due to this lawsuit.

Watch the New York Times video I posted and watch the video of the 20/20 segment on the Carnival .
[URL]https://www.youtube.com/embed/z4hQVKjss28?feature=oembed[/URL]

I think personal responsibility is a very important notion which is lacking in today's society. And lawsuits for personal gain are abhorrent. But I see a very big difference between the two cases. JMHO
[/quote]

I guess we can agree to disagree. I did watch the video you posted (Actually I watched both), and then did a little research on optimum coffee temperatures, on the internet I'm afraid, which is not the most reliable resource of information, so I won't stake my life on it, and this is what I found.

For coffee brewing, the [URL="http://scaa.org/"]Specialty Coffee Association of America[/URL] (SCAA) prescribes a water temperature of 92 - 96 degrees C (195 - 205 degrees F);

Optimal flavor is obtained by holding the coffee at high temperatures, at [U]least[/U] 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

Then I found this article, which I found very interesting because it had a bit of the jury viewpoint in it, and I felt it was balanced in it's findings (And pro plaintiff)

[COLOR=#009030][URL="http://www.vanosteen.com/mcdonalds-coffee-lawsuit.htm"]www.vanosteen.com/[B]mcdonalds[/B]-[B]coffee[/B]-lawsuit.htm[/URL] [/COLOR]

Finally, someone who understand the FACTS of the McDonalds coffee case. The JURY in that case was absolutely correct in holding McDonalds accountable.

 

I know this isn't a thread about coffee, or even McDonalds, but since the "McDonald's Coffee Case" always makes me see red I just have to comment. I was already aware of the "Facts" in the article, but they did leave out one important fact. The lady was wearing pantyhose under her sweat suit that melted onto her skin, that is why she required skin grafts. I didn't agree with the jury, I think she should have been more than 20% responsible since she was the one that put the coffee between her knees and spilled it.

 

So that brings me to my question. Why are the majority of people commenting on this thread decry the lack of personal responsibility on the part of this woman getting drunk and then falling overboard, but the few that have commented on the McDonald's case seem to side the plaintiff? Is it because elderly woman + hot coffee = Sympathetic figure while younger, drunk woman + alcohol = less sympathetic figure? I see it like this:

 

Hot coffee + Between legs = disaster waiting to happen

 

Excessive alcohol + Ships rail = disaster waiting to happen

Our 8 day United Kingdom/Ireland cruise wasn't that expensive all things considered. We had gotten the offer for $400 off EZAir pp, which made the price of airfare affordable, but then just before final payment the price on our cabin dropped so much I gave up the $800 in airfare savings, rebooked and still came out about $600 ahead. So yes, I did pay that much for airfare for a 7 day+1 cruise (We had no extra before/after days).

 

Not everyone can take 14 days off at a time because of work or other commitments. Just because you work for a company that doesn't provide you with enough vacation days shouldn't mean you have to give up visiting places on your wish list.

 

I'm with the OP. I wish there were more options for those of us that can only get 7-9 days off at a time. One offering in June doesn't really cut it for us because due to my DH's job we are normally limited to August and December to travel. I realize the different cruise companies have come up with business models that maximize profits, so I have to choose between a smaller list of options than I would like.