THE LATEST FROM CCL--ANOTHER PRICE INCREASE.

HUSH!!!!!!!

I'm curious if we'll start seeing fuel surcharges.

You got it. Folks around here call me Yank and other things. (In RL) I don't think most of em even know my first name.

@yankee, please call me Dan!

I agree that so much food was wasted (or waisted if you prefer), but I will miss morning ice cream. I liked to make a mocha sort of thing with the ice cream and regular coffee on the Lido. Plus I often had my desert of ice cream while I waited for the buffett to open. We'll see. We also received the email from Carnival with all this information,

well said No1 and RT....the idea that i'm critical of what they're doing doesn't mean I won't cruise less, or at all. I just remember what things WERE, as opposed to what the beancounters think they can get away with now. Forced ourselves to expect less, and therefore be less disappointed. The plan seems to be working a la the one we just got off of. We may have to raise our game considerably over the next bunch of cruises to prepare for PRIMA. We've done the research, and came to more or less the same conclusions as you No1, and we booked it anyway..we've got a year+ to wait for that one..but nothing like being on board eh? Experience it for real.

As I said in my review..we raised crowd-avoidance to an art form long ago.. Now, we may just have to add not spending extra on some things (like specialty restaurants) to get even (at least mentally) with the architects and beancounters. As was said in the letter, some folks manage to not starve and not spend a dime extra to do it. Never did a cruise like that. But I draw the line at the cabin choice.

RT, I cometely agree with you. Everything is more expensive these days, and there is no reason to sanction or encourage waste. I was taught to have the foresight to save extra to accommodate the rising costs, but I'm a solo traveller. If you are a family of four, the costs are exponentially higher. I'm a NCL cruiser, and I will continue cruising because I enjoy the experience and the people I meet. It may take an extra month or two to save the difference in cost, but for me it's well worth it!

This seems to just be an expected change in the real world that we and CCL live. And, attempting to curtail food waste — which I see all of the time on cruises — is a reasonable and responsible goal. CCL still provides a very affordable and value-based vacation all told in my view, especially given the cost of land trips these days. Try paying for hotel, transportation, and food costs separately on a non-cruise trip and it really adds up. Yes, nobody likes prices increases. But, that is nothing new. I'm sure other cruise lines are doing the same but just perhaps in different model iterations. So, I for one, will continue to enjoy my cruises and make it work within my own expectations and budget.

I'm scared to see what's going to happen on the Prima. Almost every review indicates all of the special activities are extra cost. I understand they're doing it to make up for missing revenue, but if this keeps up, I'm sure folks will start looking at other options for their vacation. All-inclusive doesn't exist anymore, I guess.