End date for free Cucina and Chibang on Mardi Gras

[UpstateCruizer]

23 minutes ago, nascartim said:

Sounds like John doesn't have much confidence in the reliability of the CC fandom.

Exactly and quite honestly I’ve lost track of how many times John himself has assured us of no changes but back tracks once the changes are released to the public. Toss a coin …..one side will be correct lol 

[jimbo5544]

3 hours ago, UpstateCruizer said:

Exactly and quite honestly I’ve lost track of how many times John himself has assured us of no changes but back tracks once the changes are released to the public. Toss a coin …..one side will be correct lol 

I just inquired from my contact whether P&A was included.  He said he did not know and tried to find out.  Went to the Maitre’s and was told flat out that there were no concrete plans.  Looks like he may or may not be right.  I have sent an email to a couple of mat friends.

[lazydayz]

None of these are showing available to book on either of my booked MG cruises - May and September.  Hope the rumor of their demise as free options is wrong! 

[SNJCruisers]

21 hours ago, noleguy84 said:

Hopefully they will at least let us pre-book them then. We still can’t for our May 7th sailing.

That was only an option for the first day of the announcement many many months ago.  If the May 1 rumor is true, you will be out of luck.  IMHO, the 15 is not worth it on the MG unlike the Horizon.  I know this from first hand experience on the MG for two weeks in February and 8 nights on the Horizon in 2018 and another 8 in 2019.

[SNJCruisers]

21 hours ago, cruiserbrianj said:

I'll take the up charge at Cucina if it means they bring the full menu back. No calamari. No garlic rolls were notable items missing last week. Kinda disappointing really. 

The full menu would include the Tomahawk Pork Chop and the fingerling potatoes that are available on the Horizon.  Well worth the 15 upcharge.  The smaller portions and changed menu on the MG was ok if free, but will be avoided if 15 is required.

[SNJCruisers]

21 hours ago, phoneman69 said:

Well Jamman please report back as i am on the May 7th. Can't make a reservation. Enjoy you B2B

Have you not read any of the reviews and live threads from the MG?  No reservations can be had for Cucina or Chibang.  If you have anytime dining you can check in on  the app at 530 pm and the app will let you know how long the wait is( ie under 10, 10-20, etc). If you have set dining, you can't get into either place till I think 745 pm.  

[SNJCruisers]

19 hours ago, UpstateCruizer said:

Yes but when questioned John Heald insisted they had no plans to start charging. I won’t be shocked if he’s wrong yet again. I did enjoy being able to try these restaurants on the Mardi Gras in February. I was looking forward to them again in November. I’m not sure if I’d pay $18pp but we shall see. 

They are not worth the current 15 that other ships charge, let alone 18.  The venues will be ghost towns for dinner with only the clueless who don't have advanced knowledge eating there.

[SNJCruisers]

17 hours ago, b4coco said:

 

4. If it is true then they should have those 2 on our acct so we can book them as a specialty restaurant 

Why would you go and pay 18 pp for the food that is now provided as included?  It's a different story if Chibang became Jiji's and Cucina became Cucina that's on the Horizon.  Those places are worthy of an 18 pp upcharge.  

[Gregoryfo]

We actually preferred the lunch at both Chibang and the BBQ place much more than the dinners.  Lunches were always supposed to be free right?  Mardi Gras has a huge problem, more good places to eat than there are meal times.  

[SNJCruisers]

1 minute ago, Gregoryfo said:

We actually preferred the lunch at both Chibang and the BBQ place much more than the dinners.  Lunches were always supposed to be free right?  Mardi Gras has a huge problem, more good places to eat than there are meal times.  

Lunches are always free and the menus were expanded at both Chibang compared to Jiji's (broth bowls added) as well as Cucina (appetizers added).  The only bad thing is that they were closed on embarkation day as opposed to being open on other ships in the fleet that day.  

[ScottsSweetie]

8 hours ago, UpstateCruizer said:

Exactly and quite honestly I’ve lost track of how many times John himself has assured us of no changes but back tracks once the changes are released to the public. Toss a coin …..one side will be correct lol 

So, are you saying that JH is lying or that JH is in the dark?

 

The reality is probably that he knows certain things that he is not allowed to publicize yet. And he will say "no changes" until the date that he is allowed to say otherwise. The person (corporation) who signs your paychecks gets to control the information that you dole out.

Edited April 15, 2022 by ScottsSweetie

[Pyxie]

If this were true, wouldn't it make more sense for the date to be the beginning of a sailing? If the ship says on 4/30, then are they free for one night and a charge starting 5/1? 

[SNJCruisers]

11 minutes ago, Pyxie said:

If this were true, wouldn't it make more sense for the date to be the beginning of a sailing? If the ship says on 4/30, then are they free for one night and a charge starting 5/1? 

With sailings practically every day of the week, starting things at the first of the month would make sense.  As to how the specifics will be, we all will find out in a few weeks.

[WhaleTailFlCruiser]

13 hours ago, nascartim said:

Sounds like John doesn't have much confidence in the reliability of the CC fandom.

Why should he the way most on here talk and treat him….

[Saint Greg]

6 hours ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

Why should he the way most on here talk and treat him….

There are more people on FB that hate him than there are here. He choses to portray CC in a negative light and promote FB.

[kwokpot]

I'm on the MG tomorrow. I'll ask around.

[Jamman54]

5 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I'm on the MG tomorrow. I'll ask around.

Warm her up for us! 😁🍹🍺

[Virga]

11 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

With sailings practically every day of the week, starting things at the first of the month would make sense.  As to how the specifics will be, we all will find out in a few weeks.

 

I don't think I follow, what other ships with different sailing days are affected by this (rumored) policy change?

[ProgRockCruiser]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

There are more people on FB that hate him than there are here. He choses to portray CC in a negative light and promote FB.

Meh.  This platform (CC) (or more accurately its members) can be quite harsh, quick to judge, and eager to spread incorrect info. Not always, but not exactly rare cases either...

 

Not that FB is any better, but from his POV all he gets are the sharp pointy stick versions of this group.

 

Anyway...

 

We visited Chi-Bang back in Dec.  It was good.  I honestly can't remember if we ever visited La Cucina. Seems like we should have, but simply can't remember either way.  Though I seem to recall there were no slots to book (that we found useful) once we remembered to try to get one, so that might have been the reason.

 

We also did Rudy's one night, and the Sushi joint for lunch one day.  But those were extra-fee even then.

[Saint Greg]

4 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

Meh.  This platform (CC) (or more accurately its members) can be quite harsh, quick to judge, and eager to spread incorrect info. Not always, but not exactly rare cases either...

 

Not that FB is any better, but from his POV all he gets are the sharp pointy stick versions of this group.

 

 

That's the internet. 

[Saint Greg]

5 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

Meh.  This platform (CC) (or more accurately its members) can be quite harsh, quick to judge, and eager to spread incorrect info. Not always, but not exactly rare cases either...

 

Not that FB is any better, but from his POV all he gets are the sharp pointy stick versions of this group.

 

 

That's his choice. 

[almdp1989]

I just got off the phone with Carnival and no one knows when the inaugural season ends. As of now, there is no official news about an end date. 

[almdp1989]

13 hours ago, Pyxie said:

If this were true, wouldn't it make more sense for the date to be the beginning of a sailing? If the ship says on 4/30, then are they free for one night and a charge starting 5/1? 

That is a very good point. 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

John is a nice/funny guy. Just don't expect him to feed us privileged corporate/insider info. It's a balancing act. Though, in the spirit of John... I don't wish to see him on a tightwire!

 

Tom

[firefly333]

21 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

John is a nice/funny guy. Just don't expect him to feed us privileged corporate/insider info. It's a balancing act. Though, in the spirit of John... I don't wish to see him on a tightwire!

 

Tom

Hes a corporate mouth piece. He tells people about carnival now. He cant tell us inside info which people ask for all the time. He got famous when he let people write to him and gave them free stuff. Lots of people love free stuff. I sailed with him when magic was new. He does seem to have a circle around him all the time. Special friends.