coffeeboy77

Now that’s what I call hyper inflation. From $5, to $9.95, and now $11.95 - all in the span of about two years.

That’s great - I love learning new things. Thanks for your perspective.

Yes they will eat the cost - because the next generation will demand it, and the marketing opportunities will balance the cost. Some would say the status quo is horse and buggy thinking.

I had the hub app on three devices on my recent Venezia cruise and on all three devices the hub app used a small amount of data. I would say for security. There is a lot of personal information, including account information on that app. I’m sure carnival corp has multiple layers of security. I would also guess for updates, or the ability to update. My point was simply we all use and benefit from the IT. Some will use the IT more than others, but we all use it. It really is a shared benefit.

Under the current wifi pricing system, if a person uses the hub app but does not purchase a plan, one could argue that person is being subsidized by the people that purchase a plan.

The hub app does pull data, not a ton, but it does. I’m sure Carnival includes this for free because it’s beneficial to them to have everyone on it.

Wifi needs to be included in the fare. Eventually people will demand it and competitors will offer it. The current offerings from carnival make no sense. The social media plan (the cheapest offering) will allow for consumption of enormous amounts of data while scrolling through TikTok, yet a line is drawn at sending an email? The cruise line should want everyone to have good (included) access for the sharing/hashtag marketing that could happen. The hub app is very important to the cruise line. The vast majority of cruisers use the hub app, tugging at the bandwidth. Virtually everyone is using the wifi in one way or another.

Following…This would seem to be a great alternative to the wifi plans on a port heavy cruise.

I know this is a little off topic (apologies), but does anyone know how long the sofa bed is? Could someone 6’2” be comfortable? Thanks!

The biggest issue I have with this is when the bill comes after your meal in the restaurant, there will be a line for ‘additional gratuity’. Why prompt for this when the gratuity has been paid ahead of time in good faith?

The ship looks great. I’m looking forward to trying ill Viaggio and the different bars and lounges. The jogging track looks to be huge, maybe the biggest in carnivals fleet? Lido looks fantastic and it appears there’s plenty of outside lounge chairs on outside decks. It looks like the theatre is configured like a proper theatre and not a liquid lounge. I hope I’m right about that. I’m looking forward to this ship.

I think part of the problem lies with expectations. Carnival used to say, and in fact JH has recently said that if you pay the gratuities, you’re done. No further tipping is required and it’s not expected by the staff. I used to believe this but not anymore. The staff , I believe at times, definitely expect ‘additional gratuity’, either on the bill or cash.

I have always pre paid the auto gratuities, but I am now re-thinking this. I find it interesting they would add 18 % gratuities when you book specialty restaurants and drinks, far in advance of receiving the service. Despite pre paying this gratuity in good faith, when the bill comes there is a line for “additional gratuity”. Why do they prompt for this when you have pre paid? Very aggressive. I have found the food and service received to be excellent quite often, but occasionally only average. How do you differentiate if you’re pre-paying gratuities? I can understand why some would remove the gratuities and tip a cash amount to those that give excellent services. Management would then have to be trusted to properly compensate and esteem the behind the scenes staff.

Let’s not underestimate the tip pool. That $1.80 tip for one drink is a nice contribution to a huge pool. Why is there a need for an additional gratuity beyond 1.80? I think we have to trust management to disperse those funds fairly.

I agree with this sentiment. We should not be pre paying a gratuity far in advance of the meal and service being delivered - and despite this, the bill prompts for an additional gratuity…crazy. I have alway prepaid my gratuities and have never once considered removing them. However, I may have to rethink this. Gratuities have gone up a lot lately, with additional gratuities now being requested by the bars and restaurants. It may be better to tip cash for great service instead. I have never done this as I never wanted to leave out the behind the scenes staff, but I am considering this and will have to trust the employer to compensate them fairly. Also, some say the additional gratuities are never expected…I used to believe this as well, but after four cruises in the past year I’m beginning to wonder.

The Steakhouse is good, but the $48 cost pp is extreme, especially when compared to other lines like Princess that charge $29 pp. Also consider that you cannot compare the costing to a land steakhouse, with the food cost built into the cruise fare, and different tax and labor structures.

This is a good idea. I would do a b2b if this was offered. I’ve done b2b out of Miami, but never out of Long Beach. Alternating itineraries would be fantastic.

Carnivals European offering is rather pedestrian when compared to other lines. The ports are ok but I don’t know how excited I am to fly all that way to board the Legend. If you don’t compare against what MSC (for example) is offering (hardware, itineraries, and price), I think you’re doing yourself a disservice.

We just cruised Alaska on the Spirit in September. We got off in every port and enjoyed what each stop had to offer…but you still have to come back to the ship. We were thoroughly disappointed with the Spirit. With the exception of the comedians, the entertainment was downright sad. The buffet food was NEVER hot and constantly lined up with closed stations. the MDR was mediocre, again, the food was never hot and service execution was so so. If you compare this to what other cruise lines offer in Alaska, there are a lot of newer ships with all the bells and whistles. The Spirit did me in for older ships. I would look at other lines, for example msc, and compare them to the hardware carnival is offering.

The Pride or Legend would not entice me. I like the layout of the older ships and they do tend to be less crowded. However, we prefer ships with more dining and entertainment options.

Let’s not be an apologist for a poorly run operation. Every crew berth is full. These ships are billion dollar (in some cases) assets. They need to be managed better in my opinion.

The thing that bothers me the most is poor execution on the ship. It usually doesn’t cost any more to do something right. Example - I have been on three cruises this year, and with the exception of the specialty restaurants, my food was never hot (both in the MDR and the buffet). Carnivals lido buffets are downright sad. It doesn’t cost anything to open more stations, spread the people out, plan for your rushes in a timely manner, etc. I’m quite sure with the YTD in the MDR opening at 5:15, that is when the buffet food for the evening is executed. When I say the food is not hot, I’m not exaggerating. In hindsight, I now question the food safety in regards to the temperatures (must be hotter than 140 Fahrenheit to prevent bacteria growth). I believe the ships are full staffed, or close to it. That seemed to be the sentiment I got from the crew on my cruise last month. I don’t blame the crew for this. It’s a management problem in my opinion. The Playlist shows are now tired. Even if it’s you’re first cruise and you’ve never seen one of the playlist shows you’d probably agree the execution is poor. Again, not the staffs fault in my opinion. But it shouldn’t really cost more to do these things right.

Thank you!

Great info here. Just a question regarding the Main Dining Room, and I apologize if this has been asked. Can a couple dine at a table for two, or do they make this difficult? We have been on 18 cruises, but never on Hal (we are considering booking soon). Since the recent start up, this is our preferred seating option. Thank you!

Starboard side is generally the smoking side for the outdoor areas. Not a huge deal, but if you have a balcony above or below one of these areas you may notice the smoke, particularly while in port. I prefer the port side.