Elaine5715

2 minutes ago, caribsun said:

Go to a racetrack and pickup losing tickets off the floor. 

Doesn't work that way

12 minutes ago, icft said:

Neither is the hospital bill you use to back up your medical expense deduction, but it is a starting point. For the full drill, most of which one can get from the win/loss statement see:

 

https://www.idealtax.com/win-loss-statement-taxes/

A w/l statement especially from Carnival is a sum +/- per cruise so worthless.  If it was a tax document, you would need to claim income on any cruise that you came out ahead, regardless of whether you got a hand pay.  Hospital bills also need to be detailed, not a lump sum.  

7 hours ago, grimpil said:

Do you just go to guest services and ask for an extra card to be printed. Do they ever ask why? 

You could just all wear a "pineapple" pin  🤭

36 minutes ago, daveo6313 said:

If you are lucky enough to hit a $1,200 or more jackpot the casino is required to report to the IRS as gambling income.  What about loses?  How do you keep track and report loses to offset the winnings and reduce taxes owed?

It is pretty difficult to document gambling losses to withstand an audit.  A contemporaneous journal is required, not a complied win/loss statement. Your winning W2-G will identify  the exact slot machine that paid so you must also keep a record of the slot machines you lost.  

4 minutes ago, icft said:

First, unless you are a professional gambler you can only deduct gambling losses if you itemize your deductions and then only to the extent of your winnings:

 

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419

 

As for keeping track of your winnings and losses, on Carnival you can request a win/loss report at:

 

https://oceanplayersclub.com/contact/win-loss-report/

 

Win/loss reports are not tax documents.   

1 hour ago, missusagi said:

Thanks everyone! I understand that I can just get an extra key and that Carnival doesn't care who sleeps in which cabin. I was specifically asking about doing a true room switch so that we don't have to buy the Cheers package for both rooms since only my husband and I want it. My mom and aunt don't drink so they don't need the cheers package, hence the question about doing a true room switch (not just extra keys).

That "switch" would mean the casino player (you) was not in the room booked under the offer.   If you can't switch people before boarding without lost of perks, you can't do it after  boarding.  

You just need both parties present to ask for the extra room cards so you aren't stalking someone

6 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I would call it more of a mindset than a myth. Certainly not a mindset shared by all back in the day, but it was a prevailing one whenever disaster struck. 

Creating its own disaster 

The phrase was popularised by its usage on RMS Titanic.^[14] Second Officer Charles Lightoller suggested to Captain Smith, "Hadn't we better get the women and children into the boats, sir?", to which the captain responded: "Put the women and children in and lower away."^[15] The first and second officers (William McMaster Murdoch and Lightoller) interpreted the evacuation order differently; Murdoch took it to mean women and children first, while Lightoller took it to mean women and children only. Second Officer Lightoller lowered lifeboats with empty seats if there were no women and children waiting to board, while First Officer Murdoch allowed a limited number of men to board if all the nearby women and children had embarked.^[16] As a consequence, 74% of the women and 52% of the children on board were saved, but only 20% of the men.^[17] Some officers on the Titanic misinterpreted the order from Captain Smith, and tried to prevent men from boarding the lifeboats.^[18][19] It was intended that women and children would board first, with any remaining free spaces for men. Because not all women and children were saved on the Titanic, the few men who survived, like White Star official J. Bruce Ismay, were initially branded as cowards.^[20]  

Fascinating discussion..thank you to our CC experts.

The Captain going down with the ship concept probably came from the same myth of "Women and Children First.  

1 hour ago, missusagi said:

 

Even if we waited until we got onboard to make the switch?

Yes.  They know this game. You can get extra room only keys but you booked casino offers

Also depends if it was Guest 1, Guest 2, Guest 3 or Guest 4

1 hour ago, mfs2k said:

I suspect there's a chance if I hand a bartender a $20 bill at a bar I expect to visit frequetly during my cruise, I might get a little better service than he/she might typically give. Maybe not, but that's what I think. 

You would..they remember your name faster, remember your face, probably remember your drink order if you ordered the same thing more than once..

37 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

The inherent definition of "gratuities" makes them gratuitous, and thus unequal. 

If you're referring to mandatory service charges, then that's different.

I was referring to the fact that people who pay per drink tip with an added 18% of the cost of each beverage with that tip going to the server in front of you.  Server who bring drinks under the CHEER program get a share of the tip pool whether they bring you a drink or not.  Who gets better service?  

6 hours ago, audcc77 said:

Me too. Especially while getting fancy coffees. 
 

There is sometimes only one person working behind the counter and they are so busy flying around and don’t have time to grab the signed receipts.

 

They’re working their tail off, taking a few minutes to customize each coffee and yet no extra tip. 🤷‍♀️

And some of those orders are ridiculous...  

4 hours ago, aborgman said:

 

Right... but that in no way is responsive to the post you're replying to.

 

No one said equal gratuities - just that if you have the drink package,you pay gratuities.

What?  Unequal gratuities make for unequal service.  If you know, you know. 

4 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

I have seen quite a few signed receipts while waiting for a drink with no tip added in.🤷‍♀️

I watch all the time and see few add extra.  I had been pleasantly surprised by some folks who seem very chummy with the bartenders pull cash out and hand back with the signed receipt 

I have never seen the ropes course busy.  Just watch for kids looping it.  More than once, I have have a fearless kid look at me with worried eyes, asking "are you ok" and they fly by.  

15 hours ago, Hoosierpop said:

In F, platinum, diamond, suites, FTTF are all in the same area. They just have each group broken out within the same area. If that makes sense. So you won’t see anyone not in the priority seating.

Only Suites and Diamonds are together and "divided" by a partition.  FTTF and Plats were directed elsewhere.  Photo 1 Diamond Area   Photo 2 Suites Area.  Why Suites got the uncomfortable chairs is a puzzle..

1 minute ago, abby1257 said:

So chances are that offer won't be there May 7?

Two different types of offers...

Casino Bounce back offers appear immediately after debark with a very short booking deadline, once the booking deadline passes, the offer is gone.

Regular Casino offers come out to everyone after the current offers expire on May 6th.  

Yes, it is possible no offers will appear for you.  

2 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

People who work at cruise ports are in the hospitality business - they want to make passengers happy.  In a situation like this (left behind item of value), passengers should always feel that they can ask for help, and if the first staff person asked seems unsure, then ask for a supervisor.  Generally, they will make every effort to try to find the lost/left behind item.  The pier-side staff makes the request, and it is the  ship's crew who the actual people looking, but everyone does their best.

 

@VIFP1987, thanks for letting me know that you found this information helpful.  ;  )

Plus paperwork bad....

15 minutes ago, abby1257 said:

I just returned from a cruise on Sunday....I went online to see what my new offers were.  There was a nice offer, funplay and onboard credit ...great, came back not 5 min later and that offer is not showing...has anyone had this happen.  It has happened a few time with me??

That is a bounce back offer plus a glitch.  Log out and back in. You aren't getting any new casino offers until May 7th

5 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

True, but they still get their share of the pool.

They will get that share whether they make the drink or not

1 hour ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

While you pay an 18% surcharge for gratuities for the full Cheers package daily price, or $10.80, after 5 drinks, the gratuity percentage declines significantly.  So, if you have 10 drinks, then you are only TIPing half that amount, or 9%.

 

Drinks	Price	TIP %
1	$12	90.00%
2	$12	45.00%
3	$12	30.00%
4	$12	22.50%
5	$12	18.00%
6	$12	15.00%
7	$12	12.86%
8	$12	11.25%
9	$12	10.00%
10	$12	9.00%
11	$12	8.18%
12	$12	7.50%
13	$12	6.92%
14	$12	6.43%
15	$12	6.00%

The real savings for most people is what they save in grats by buying CHEERS.

7 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Drinks purchased under a beverage program have an automatic gratuity attached to them as well.

If I have CHEERS, I pay $10.79 per day for gratuities on the package total.  If I pay for each drink individually at Alchemy for my 5 Peach Cosmos, I am paying $12.60 in tips.  

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

Drinks purchased under a beverage program have an automatic gratuity attached to them as well.

Not 18% per drink that is received by the person making the drink.  

5 hours ago, aborgman said:

 

"Not expected" by corporate policy (see also: Land All-Inclusives and "tips included") and not expected by individual workers are two rather different things.

 

As for people who have worked for tips knowing not to take it personally - that really isn't my experience with a mother (bartender), sister (waitress), and two nieces (waitress/hostesses) currently in the business, as well as numerous friends.

 

Most service folks won't DO anything - but most of them absolutely are irritated, and will complain later to friends/family/co-workers.

Funny how the corporate talking points from those executives who don't get tips are always "they are just grateful for anything".