cruzincat50

Why would you "go nuts" on someone checking you in?

I'm a pretty calm person dealing with these situations. By "going nuts", I just mean I would definitely have to ask for an explanation. Some people do go nuts. Going nuts for me is just enough to risk embarrassing myself, by asking a stupid question.

Our Pride cruise to Bermuda from Baltimore is being re-routed to the usual Bahamas itinerary of Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Freeport. The taxes and Port charges for the Bermuda cruise amounted to ~$165. I checked the cruises just before or after the Bermuda cruise that is going to the three ports above and the charge was ~$126. That is a $39 dollar difference. Someone on another site not to be named said he was a TA and he found out they are reimbursing our Sail n Sign accounts with $20.01pp. Is Carnival pocketing the difference? We won't know for sure until we get on board and see what they actually reimbursed. Before I go nuts on someone at checkin, I would like to know if there might be a valid reason for the difference.

This is one of the tough decisions in choosing when to cruise to Bermuda. In the Spring there is little chance of hurricanes, but the ocean water is a lot cooler. In the fall, well, you know! In the early summer, it costs more because the kids aren't in school and everybody wants to vacation then. A long time ago we took the Celebrity Galaxy to Bermuda from Baltimore and came back through what was left of a hurricane that came through the Carolinas. It was actually fun, but harrowing. At least we got to see Bermuda.

We won't be going to Canada for sure. If there are any changes, we will go south, because Florence will turn Northward eventually and be in the way coming back. I look for them to plan on going south, but if something changes for the good they might decide, while going down the bay that Bermuda will be OK. I would plan on south.

I will reach Platinum with Carnival in November when I take a 14 days Journeys cruise. After that, I would consider trying a different line, since I don't foresee reaching Diamond status in my lifetime. I will still do occasional cruises, but since I no longer have a reachable goal, I can try other lines. If one of CCL's other lines offer a few perks it might keep me in the fold.

Besides the cost factor for CCL, they have been around a long time and early on had the reputation of a partying venue. Every business, which CCL is, looks at all aspects of their product to maximize growth. One element of that is repeat business. CCL has more than one cruise line, such as HAL, Princess, P&O, and more. It is not hard to analyze the percentage of returning guests and compare them to the other lines. Why do you think they have the VIFP program? It's not just to offer the guest something for their loyalty. It is a great way to track the amount of return visitors. I am sure the the rate of return guests grew higher as they made efforts to get away from the image they had when they were known as a wild party vacation. There are a lot of factors that the bean counters can look at to maximize their profits, and having happy return customers is one of them.

Some people go nuts in all you can eat buffets, but they don't risk doing harm to anyone but themselves. It's not quite the same when it's all you can drink. Some people will think it's OK to drink until they can't drink anymore(passed out).

I used to go out on paydays with the people I worked with a long time ago. I stopped doing that when I noticed that one of my co-workers would start looking to get into a fight when they got drunk. Yes, there are people like that. I was the opposite. I was a happy drunk, and other people would enjoy being around me when I obliged them. I think I still am, but I also learned the price I paid for it the next day or later that day wasn't worth it. But that's another story.

Do you want to be on a cruise when they run out of room in the brig, because too many people get out of hand? I am not a teetotaler, but Everything should be in moderation. Does the OP know what his personality is or becomes after 20 drinks in one day? Too bad there isn't some sort of certification for people who can handle it to the extreme. Maybe then Carnival could oblige them. The OP may well be able to handle that many drinks. Can he be sure everyone else can? Does even he want to be on a ship with a bunch of people that want to find out if they can handle it, by trying?

If you drive to the port your parking costs will be higher. Other than that, I see no downside!

I don't remember if this question has been asked/answered: Can the AARP gift cards be used to pay for the cruise itself?

I had no idea people tell cruise lines they have a cpap. Lol. Never occurred to me to do that. I have no plans to inform them either as it is none of their business really.

We are within two weeks of taking our first cruise(Carnival) since my wife started using her CPAP. I called to pre order the gallon of distilled water, and they informed me that our TA needs to notify Carnival that we are bringing a CPAP on board. We talked to our TA and he did it. Not a problem. If we had booked directly with Carnival, I guess they would have taken our word for it, so I don't understand this requirement.

A gallon of water weighs in around 8 pounds. Would you carry a brick or a rock on board that weighed that much if you needed to have it open board, or would you pay the cruise line $3 to have one their waiting for you?

On the other hand, saving that $3 on every cruise, could net you a paid-for-cruise on every 500th cruise. Tax and port charges extra, of course.

They will be back. This has happened before.

 

 

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Hope so. I didn't want to buy them too far in advance of our cruise in November. Once you've got them, they can only be used for/on a cruise. If for some reason you have to cancel a cruise, you would have to wait until you can reschedule another one.

Placing a sign on your table that says you are just up getting seconds relies on the wait staff to read it. You are assuming they all read English?

So, the reduced deposit is usually unrefundable? I could never see the advantage of reduced deposit because you end up paying the same in the end. Now I wonder, is this just a tricky way to make money off cruisers who have to cancel?

I brought some home from our last cruise October 2012, tossed them in the candy dish in the living room. They're still there 9 months later :rolleyes:. Maybe I should have given them out at halloween :D.

Unwrap one and throw it outside. If the ants stay away, then throw the rest away.

Edit: Now I see the date on this thread! I wonder if the poster I quoted still has them?

Most Americans don't know the difference between high tea and afternoon tea.....:o

Since I am an American, as are many others here, perhaps you could enlighten us, instead of just gloating over something you think you know that we don’t.

From the Dollar store:

 

• mesh laundry bags
  
• folding fabric boxes to use on the shelf or desk
  
• plastic laundry pins for use with the shower clothes line
  

Amazon:

• luggage tags
  
• over-door organizer (half the size of a shoe organizer but great for storing overflow)
  
• febreeze or Poo Pouri for the bathroom
  

Just a few thoughts- nothing I added here costs more than $5...

There are luggage tags in the store here on Cruise Critic, that are sized to contain the luggage tags you print out for the cruise. You should have time to receive them before she goes on the cruise.

I called Carnival to order distilled water for my wife's CPAP on our upcoming cruise. After successfully ordering the water, the Fun Shops rep told me that my TA needed to call Carnival and inform them that we would be bring a CPAP on board. They wouldn't take my word for it!

They are categorized as PT.

I don't remember seeing any cabins designated PT on the ships we have been on. Is there a ship/cabin number that I could see the designation in the deck plans?

Never mind. I see someone posted it after your post.

The last few cruises with Carnival have been on Spirit class ships. That's why I never noticed the PT class. Of course our upcoming cruise is the first time trying inside cabins. I hope the wife likes it because we have retired and we have to stretch our dollars now.

Reading threads like this one keeps reinforcing my belief that Carnival’s price for FTTF is way too low. Personally I would not buy FTTF at the current prices, but as this site shows, there are a LOT of cruisers out there who can’t seem to cruise without it.

I can't say that applies to me, personally, since we have never had it before. Could have used it for one cruise when my Sciatica was acting up. Our next cruise to Bermuda will be the last we might be able to use it. After that, the next cruise we are going on should be Platinum, unless they make changes to the requirements between now and November.

How does one know which "inside" cabins have portholes?

I stalked the website about 20x a day waiting for it to show up for my March 2019 cruise. When it popped up one afternoon, I snagged it! So excited to try FTTF for the first time!

 

 

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Been trying that for the last week or more, but it never pops up. No big deal if I don't get it. It is for a Pride cruise to bermuda in a couple weeks. No tendering there, so it would only be good to get on board early.

If you haven't found your roll call for your specific cruise on the Miracle, you should ask there, after you locate it. You neglected to mention the sail date, so how could we help you? Trying not to sound snarky.

They are supposed to be building an LNG type facility on the west side of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, south of any bridge that restricts the size of any cruise ship from passing under it. It would be great if they included a cruise port in the planning. We could see a lot of options for cruising out of the Mid Atlantic when that happens.

I should have looked first and posted after!

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dominion-cove-point-lng/vessel-exits-maryland-cove-point-lng-export-terminal-shipping-data-idUSKCN1GE1SM

They have already begun exporting gas from the Cove Point Facility. All they would have to do is build a dedicated cruise facility somewhere near it, with decent road access and cheaper parking that Baltimore charges, and it would be a boom for the Mid Atlantic cruise business.

They are supposed to be building an LNG type facility on the west side of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, south of any bridge that restricts the size of any cruise ship from passing under it. It would be great if they included a cruise port in the planning. We could see a lot of options for cruising out of the Mid Atlantic when that happens.

We have two cruises booked on CCL. The first in 2-3 weeks has our correct cell numbers under Manage booking/ details/ My guests. The second one, which is about 75 days out, has 555-555-5555 listed for both our cell numbers. The check in information has the cell numbers correct. Is this something that gets updated as we get closer? Anything we should be concerned about?

No.

I looked it up and found the answer. The Panorama is a Vista class ship.

I have to wonder, are there very many ships at sea that are powered by LNG, other than, possibly, LNG tankers themselves? I wonder about the safety aspect. Especially with inconsiderate guests flicking lit cigarettes over the side.