Cutbacks and nickel and diming

[SMRIZZSTX]

Nickel and dimes, how about a quarter. Last month on our cruise my husband and I had coupons for a free drink up to $9.25. Glass of wine was $9.50. Yes they charged me 25 cents plus 4 cent tip!

[Doggielover68]

I sure wish they would do away with tips altogether and add it to the base fare. The weasels who remove tips would be taking a financial hit, and the rest of us could still pass some cash if we were so inclined.

 

 

Ugh. Last year on debarkation day, I overheard some woman bragging to her friends that she went to guest services for a non service related issue, didn't get the answer she wanted, so she removed all of the grats. I really feel badly for the crew that gets stiffed over something stupid...but that's a rant for another thread.

 

 

 

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[ray98]

I think a lot of people calculate their break even point and believe they're getting one over on Carnival. Not so much. Thanks to the heavy mark-up, Carnival still profits, even when people drink enough in relation to their cost of Cheers. Drinking 8-9 beers in one day might be the break even point for a passenger, but it's still profit to Carnival.

 

 

.....only if you pretend the cost of the product is the primary factor in it being profitable. In my restaurant days the more food costs went north of 25% the larger the probability you won't make it into the black. The overhead around providing that product is where the majority of the customers tab goes.

[jimbo5544]

Carnival doesn't include tips in the base price to attract cruisers to the lower price. Does carnival care if you remove the tips? Supposedly it is passed on to workers, right? So why would they care?

 

 

 

How many times do they need to tell us flat out that they are passed straight thru?

 

 

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[Thorncroft]

How many times do they need to tell us flat out that they are passed straight thru?

 

 

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I don't believe them, but that's just me. LOL. I can't imagine that they don't take an administrative fee off the top. That's gazillions of dollars that they have to handle and disperse. That's not free or cheap.

[riclop]

Someone suggested a new thread to discuss this topic. This is the Carnival board but it's fair to compare other cruise lines to Carnival.

 

Personally, I have no problem with the nickel-and-dime approach, as long as the cost of the vacation when I get back home is where I planned for it to be. If everything is priced fairly and disclosed up front, then I can decide before I go whether or not it is a value for me.

 

Example - specialty restaurants. We do splurge once in a while at home and go to a nice restaurant for dinner. Think anniversary or birthdays, not regularly. Some folks may do this every week or at least once a month. Those folks probably would go frequently to a nice dinner on a cruise, which we may only go once.

 

So, the quality of the MDR food is of utmost importance, since we won't be eating in specialty restaurants much. Also, a ship with 15 specialty restaurants is pretty useless to us, since we would not be eating in most of them. May make for a quieter meal in the MDR though.

 

So, no problem with fees for dining in specialty restaurants here. However, if Carnival loses quality of the MDR food, we would no longer have much value sailing with them, and would look elsewhere for our next cruise.

Prices up and quality down.

[jimbo5544]

I don't believe them, but that's just me. LOL. I can't imagine that they don't take an administrative fee off the top. That's gazillions of dollars that they have to handle and disperse. That's not free or cheap.

 

 

 

LOL gazillions????

 

 

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[jimbo5544]

Prices up and quality down.

 

 

 

.....so is that a cutback or nickel and diming?

 

 

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[Thorncroft]

LOL gazillions????

 

 

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OK. $300M a year or something in that neighborhood. Like I said, no small amount of money.

[jimbo5544]

OK. $300M a year or something in that neighborhood. Like I said, no small amount of money.

 

 

 

Based on?

 

 

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[Thorncroft]

Based on?

 

 

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$13/PPD x7 days x2500 passengers x24 ships x52 weeks. LOL

[djcass4199]

How many cutback threads are there going to be on here?!?! I swear, there is a new one every week, and it's the same old crap rehashed over and over again. And yes, I know this post isn't adding anything constructive.

[cmichael1279]

Ugh. Last year on debarkation day, I overheard some woman bragging to her friends that she went to guest services for a non service related issue, didn't get the answer she wanted, so she removed all of the grats. I really feel badly for the crew that gets stiffed over something stupid...but that's a rant for another thread.

 

 

 

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We sat near guest services with drinks in hand in January, listening to the excuses for removing gratuities - they were all ridiculous!

[jimbo5544]

$13/PPD x7 days x2500 passengers x24 ships x52 weeks. LOL

 

 

 

Yeah....but you did not factor for the tip pullers and European cruisers (it is a joke). Does the amount make it harder to distribute

 

 

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[Thorncroft]

Yeah....but you did not factor for the tip pullers and European cruisers (it is a joke). Does the amount make it harder to distribute

 

 

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IDK. I've never run a cruise line. I only have non tipped employees. I try to give them tips all the time, but they usually just ignore me.

[wtwien]

Carnival's so-called "nickle and diming" is perfect for me and the and different groups of people I cruise with. In the past year I went with my girlfriend, college friends and my seven year-old niece.

 

With the girlfriend, we take advantage of things like the Chef's Table, the spa, the art auctions, bingo, relaxing at the pool and grabbing some of the $3.33 appetizers in Red Frog Pub...

 

With the college friends, we do the steakhouse, spend a lot of time in the casino, hit the comedy club and night club, take full advantage of Cheers and spend very little time at the pool...

 

With the niece, we eat in the MDR every night, check out a couple of the shows, spend money at the arcade, Cherry On Top and gelato at the coffee bar...

 

None of us care about chocolate on the pillow or tablecloths on non-elegant nights, none of us have never had a problem getting ice in the cabin, we're all content not having network TV stations to keep the vacation costs down and we're perfectly fine with the cleanliness of our cabins, even once a day - we're all capable of picking up after ourselves. We don't mind paying extra for room service late at night, it's faster and there are more options.

 

So perfect business model for Carnival - I took three entirely different vacations with them, with three entirely different groups of people and we all had a great time.

 

And if you're questioning the Cheers cost - spend some time living in LA and Chicago - you'll quickly find it to be a bargain!

 

 

 

Amen

 

 

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[jimbo5544]

IDK. I've never run a cruise line. I only have non tipped employees. I try to give them tips all the time, but they usually just ignore me.

 

 

 

No way

 

 

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[ParrotRob]

I don't believe them, but that's just me. LOL. I can't imagine that they don't take an administrative fee off the top. That's gazillions of dollars that they have to handle and disperse. That's not free or cheap.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I'm betting the "handling and disbursement" is all done electronically by a computer and deposited into an account or added to a paycheck somewhere. I don't think someone is counting a pile of money and walking around saying "Ok, you're a waiter, here's your $38.73..."

[jimbo5544]

Maybe it's just me, but I'm betting the "handling and disbursement" is all done electronically by a computer and deposited into an account or added to a paycheck somewhere. I don't think someone is counting a pile of money and walking around saying "Ok, you're a waiter, here's your $38.73..."

 

 

 

If it does not work that way, it sure should. My bet is the system is well defined, anything that substantial would be under corporate and outside audit review.

 

 

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[salty dingo]

Nickel and dimes, how about a quarter. Last month on our cruise my husband and I had coupons for a free drink up to $9.25. Glass of wine was $9.50. Yes they charged me 25 cents plus 4 cent tip!

There you have it! Literally taking us to the bank, a nickel and dime at a time.

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

Nickel and dimes, how about a quarter. Last month on our cruise my husband and I had coupons for a free drink up to $9.25. Glass of wine was $9.50. Yes they charged me 25 cents plus 4 cent tip!

 

But they didn't force you you to get the $9.50 glass of wine. You could have went with something cheaper and gotten your "free" drink, correct?

[jimbo5544]

There you have it! Literally taking us to the bank, a nickel and dime at a time.

 

 

 

If the worst thing that comes out of it is your view of saving 9.25 costs 25 cents, they would probably be just fine with that view.

 

 

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[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

All these threads and I see a lot of...they charge for this now and they charge for that now... Outside of your cruise fare, taxes and fees that you pay at booking, what are your "forced" to spend money on? Sure, there are things that used to be included that you have to pay for now IF you want that product or service. There are things that used to part of your cruise fare, that no longer exist. Like any business, Carnival's goal is to make a profit. Carnival's goal isn't to make sure you have chocolates on your pillow at night. As a shareholder, I appreciate that.

[salty dingo]

I prefer a "bare bones" cruise. I don't drink, don't need specialty restaurants, don't need big time shows etc.

 

I enjoy cruising for the simplicity of it all. Sitting on my balcony watching the water, eating anything I want (never at a loss for good food for me), walking around, checking out the trivia, dancing etc. Love the deck parties and the group dances. Love checking out the fun times for different things to do.

 

On the islands, I can choose to do something free or take an excursion--depending on how easy that island is to get around.

 

Love the 24 hr ice cream and pizza. Love the dive in movies.

 

I really have nothing I can think of that I could complain about.

 

Cruising is definitely for me!!!

Generally, that is my view on cruises. Give me the basics (good food in the MDR, good cabin attendant, clean ship, etc.) and I am happy. Nothing else is needed. That's why we have not yet gone on cruises with larger, newer ships with more stuff, because ultimately that extra stuff is reflected in the price. I once sailed on a ship with a bowling alley. Never used it even though there was some opportunity to bowl for free. Bowling is not what I go to sea for.

 

I admit I cannot comprehend the folks who are saying they want to go to Guy's for dinner, and that sitting in the MDR is just too much. Can't process that one... dining is a highlight of our day, but I guess there are those who would rather stay in their bathing suits and drink beer for dinner.

 

I don't mind paying extra for stuff when there is value. For example, there is no value in a Carnival excursion for me because I can almost always get a better excursion experience for a lower price, and we don't cut it close with returning to the ship. There's some value in a nice meal at a specialty restaurant, or a nice extra charge upgrade in the MDR, but we just splurge once in a while, and that does not add up to much ($50 - $100 per cruise.)

 

I don't really care about the extra charges in the room service either. We don't order room service, generally, except for getting some coffee/tea/juice for breakfast, and that is still included. Someone who is still up at 2 am and ordering room service is probably too drunk to notice they are being charged extra ;).

 

What I do complain about is the lack of choice when it comes to the alcohol packages. It's either pay by the drink or pay for way too many premium drinks. Why isn't there a package with a 5 or 10 drink limit? Why is there not a beer package?

 

Basically, you can buy beer by the glass and the next step up is they sell you a keg for $60/day. That will keep smuggling alive and well and keep folks like me out of the bars. I'll bet lots of other folks are happy with that! More room for everyone else why I enjoy my vodka and Crystal Light in an insulated mug in a lounger out on an upper deck.

[Tapi]

 

However, the true nickel-dimers and cutbackers are the airlines.

 

 

We recently booked flights to Orlando on one of the ultra low cost carriers. $29pp. We opted not to buy any of the extras except for one checked piece of luggage. It was cheaper than driving our own car and filling it up with gas. The way I see it, by “unbundling” fares, the travel industry is giving passengers the flexibility of only paying for the services they want. Call it nickel and diming. I call it brilliant.

 

 

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