Thebosn1

Congratulations on your good fortune!

 

From everything I have read, it seems like Carnival is using this incentive to get past guests back on board if they haven't cruised in a while.

 

It seems really odd to me that Carnival rewards those that are not their best customers, but isn't rewarding its best customers in the same way.

 

I guess the underlying message sent is that if you want the offer, you have to jump ship and avoid Carnival. :-)

I agree. I looked at my VIFP offers...10% discount on 3 day trip to Cancun...so glad I have given my loyalty to Carnival.:mad:

i think personally your better off staying at a hotel near the airport. they are much cheaper and most offer shuttle service (for a small fee and some no fee). a cab as well from the airport to the port is only $15 (flat fee)

We have stayed at La Quinta Airport East. Not fancy and not really near any nightlife (one family style place to eat across the parking lot), BUT it was clean had a great staff and a free shuttle and good free continental breakfast.

Would stay there again when sailing out of Miami.

so no, there was no problem at all using up the cruise cash we bought ahead of time. In fact, to offset the sticker shock at the end, I wish I had bought more.

That's my problem too my damn bar tab!! Plus this cruise is 23 days so the gratuities alone will be over 500

There is no Seaside theater on the Legend. Was not part if the upgrade package.

That is FANTASTIC NEWS! I HATE that thing!!!

Hello!

My wife and I are taking a the 23 day relocation cruise on the Legend this August. I plan to pre-pay gratuities and I would like to keep from dying from shock when I get my S&S bill at the end of the trip.

I would like to hear from anyone who has used cruise cash to defer some of that final bill. How did it work out for you? Were there any problems with using it?

Thanks...

My husband and I have been speculating about why Carnival sent out all the free cabin offers (we were among the lucky recipients). Here's what we came up with, and I'd be interested to hear your speculations as well:

 

Carnival's mission is to maximize profits for its shareholders. Therefore, this was a carefully thought out move whose goal is to either improve profits immediately or to improve them later in time.

 

We're speculating that Carnival found that it its bookings were well below where they should be at this time of year. Why that would be is somewhat of a mystery. Possibly the recent bad press incidents, or the economy (although it seems that the economy is starting to pick up).

 

Carnival needed to get warm bodies in those rooms so that it would not have to either cut cruise fares or admit to the Wall Street analysts that its bookings were below targets. Wall Street would probably punish Carnival pretty severely it that came out.

 

So Carnival, finding that it had a lot of empty rooms, had some choices to make. It could cut the fares until it found a sweet spot. But if it did that, it would have to make a lot of refunds to people booked on Early Saver rates. Also, cutting the prices would signal to future cruisers that they should expect to see deep discounts, making them even less likely to want to pay the normal fares.

 

Carnival could sail with some empty rooms, or it could instead virtually give them away, and hope that the passengers who get the free rooms spend a lot onboard. Really the only variable cost they have is the cost of the food that will be consumed by those passengers. If that's the case, then it makes sense to give away the cabins.

 

Upon deciding to give away cabins, Carnival had several options on how to do it. It could make a big splashy press announcement about how it was giving back to its loyal customers. But if it did that, and it announced how many cabins it was giving away, the Wall Street analysts would probably see through the ploy. And so, there hasn't been a word about this in the media.

 

Carnival could give the cabins to its most loyal cruisers, the Platinums and the Diamonds. But those people will probably cruise whether or not they get a free one. So it's possible that Carnival would just be cannibalizing its own future revenue if it gave the cruises to them.

 

Instead, based on what I've read on other threads, it looks like Carnival decided to give the cabins to a broad range of past guests, from people with just a few cruises, to Platinums. Possibly they are going to be studying the spending patterns of those who accept the offers, so that they can better predict the demographics of cruisers who will maximize their profits.

 

(Personally, I think that last bit doesn't totally make sense. If I were a Carnival bean counter I would be looking for people who spent a lot onboard during their cruises.)

 

So, anyone else care to speculate? I hope the Cruise Critic writers do a column on the free cabin giveaway. There's surely a great story in it -- if they can get Carnival to tell them!

I guess my question would be how did they pick all these people to offer free cabins to? I've been a loyal Carnival cruise for years and I have never gtten so much as a price drop or an offer of an upgrade?

So I don't know what they were trying for with the givaways, but what they accomplished with this cruiser was to piss me off.

I'm actually happy for all the folks that get free cabins and big price drops and OBC, but it's getting a little old reading about it on here every day when over ten years of being loyal to the line I have not gotten even an offer of anything.

Go ahead and blast me. I don't care.

http://www.carnival.com/onboard/bars-lounges/~/media/CCLUS/Images/pdf/RedFrogPubMenupdf.ashx

 

This menu looks really good! I was wondering if anyone has ever tried any of these snacks?? I think they are open sort of late also.

 

If anyone has pictures of these snacks or review let me know.

 

Also, it looks like there is only a $3 charge for these snacks, so wondering do you get like 2 shrimp or something???

The coconut shrimp are really good. I think I got like six? They were good size and the pina coloda taste was pretty cool. Worth $3

Hey muffinbaby!

 

Like UKJJ, I use Ship Mate for my packing checklist. It includes a bunch of great suggestions and is able to be edited. And, the app is free!

I have the app andI can't find the check sheet. Just curious to check it out where is it?

From February 9-16 we had the pleasure of cruising on the Carnival Conquest. Having never been on this cruise line, it was an entirely new experience for us, and a wonderful one it was!! The ship is absolutely beautiful! The most beautiful one we've ever been on, with all of the paintings and the wood throughout the ship.

 

The food was wonderful. We did eat on the Lido deck a lot. We never had to search very long for a table at the buffet and the dessert bar was terrific! We ate in the dining room once, and the service was quick and the food was great! And Guy's hamburgers are everything everyone says that they are!

 

A lot of cruise lines could learn a lot by looking at the design of the theater. What a terrific concept! Even one of the crew members who designed it sat behind us during one show! (well, I really don't think he did, but when I raved about it, he said that he was the one!!)

 

The crew did a terrific job of taking care of us. Agung, our cabin steward, was one of the best we've ever had. We aren't high-maintenance, but anything we ask from him was done quickly and efficiently. He definitely represents Carnival well.

 

All in all, it was a great cruise with a wonderful crew. I am certain we will sail again with Carnival in the future. Thanks again, so much!!!

Great to hear someone who enjoyed their first Carnival cruise! Glad you had a good experience!

Thank you everyone, that is great information, exactly what I was looking for!

For example, what about Potts Point? nice hotel there, good price and the place looks like there is plenty to do within walking distance. However, it looks like it is pretty far from the terminal...

We will be docking from the Carnival Legend on Sept 22nd. We intend to stay in Sydney for 3 nights. Suggestions on where to stay. Would like to be close to transportation for sight seeing etc. Also recommendations to get to the airport for a morning flight. Many thanks.

Chris

Chris,

My wife and I are on the cruise with you, and are looking for the same info. Nice questions and very helpful responses. Let us know what you decide, because I am still trying to decide myself.

Jim

I am not overly concerned with price, although I do not really need a five star hotel I also do not want to stay in a hostel just to save some money. I am looking for a regular nice hotel. It just seems like they are all clumped in one part of town away from the cruise terminal. I am more interested in information about a good area AND hotel to stay for a fair price.

Maybe I just need to look harder. I just know nothing about the town and wanted to pick a decent hotel in a good area. :confused:

What is "very expensive" for you?

I just checked on booking.com and hrs.com and there are plenty of -in my opinion very reasonable priced hotels all over Sydney, including the CBD and The Rocks (the latter just at the Circular Quai Cruise Terminal), available for these dates.

Darling Harbour is OK, but quite sterile and not particularly easily accessible with public transport. Taxis to the "wrong side" of Darling Harbour can be costly, as they need to drive around quite a bit.

That is exactly the type of info I was looking for. Thank you.

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Hello everyone. I was hoping for some help regarding a hotel in Sydney for two nights post cruise. My wife and I are taking the relocation cruise on the Legend and we get to Sydney on the 22nd of September and want to stay that night as well as the 23rd.

I have looked at hotels online but it's confusing. Looks like most of the "normal" hotels are near Darling Harbour? Are the hotels closer to the cruise terminal just super expensive or are they normally sold out? Is Darling Harbour very far from the terminal? Is it a nice area with things to do nearby?

Like I said I'm a bit lost here, and would appreciate any help I can get.

Thank you.

Most people that remove them give some BS reason like "I tip MORE but only for good service blah blah blah". Just leave it. IF some portion of service really stinks then remove it and tip the others. But I doubt that will happen. You can also pre-pay it.

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Took me eight years to finally get my whale tale!

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Thank you for the feedback. Good thing to remember in the future, don't be so quick to book a ship out of dry dock. Sorry you had a bad experience.

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This question is for anyone who has stayed on Carnival Breeze in cabins 10260-10291. ( or Magic/Dream)

 

How bad is the noise level in these rooms? I expect some noise but did you experience enough interruption that you will never book these rooms again? What was the noise from i.e. Kids, music, drunks, elevator traffic, furniture...? Was it only during certain times? Did it disturb your sleep at night? Did you nap during the day? What room were you in? Any experience you would like to share would be appreciated. Thanks.

Also, I was in a balcony on deck 9 directly under lido, I never heard anything.

Has anyone been on LEGEND since her dry dock? Maybe I missed it but I have not seen anyone post on here about it. I am sailing on her relocation cruise from LA to Sydney I'm looking for any tidbits about her since she finished at the yards.

I second the Long island ice teas. Our bartender told us it was the most potent

out of all the cocktails and boy can you taste it.

 

I had two and some beers and was dancing the time warp in the atrium.

 

 

Although I always say if you want a strong drink the only way is on the rocks or straight up. :)

OMG you you just :Dcracked me the hell up!!!

We loved the BREEZE, or favorite ship so far! We stated on Deck 9 aft balcony. I thought it was perfect. Close to the things we hit the most, lido, pools, surrenity area, etc. It was quiet all the time as well.

We were on the Legend in Europe last fall. I did laundry several times. You do use your S&S card. We had a laundry on deck 7, but I don't think there were laundry facilities on every deck. There were some people in the laundry from another deck, and I also went to another deck one time because I heard there were better facilities there. I didn't like the way the laundry was set up on deck 7.

Thank you guys you were very helpful.

Hi, I am doing a really long cruise on LEGEND this fall and was wondering what the laundry situation is. I'm not quite platinum yet so have to do it ourselves.

Are there laundry rooms on each deck? Do they operate off cash or S&S? Are they normally hard to get access to?

Thanks.

I am cruising The Magic on June 8th!! I know there are many seasoned and veteran cruiser that bring things that make cruising experience better.. These boards are pretty helpful and last year someone mentioned bringing clothes pins to hang wet swimsuits on the balcony and this was a very helpful tip...

I always bring a supply of over the counter medications like alka seltzer, pepto, stuff for any kind of upset stomach. This knocks out the inevitable hangovers and I don't have to go to medical and have them decide I have noro virus and make me stay in my room.