I'm an older millennial, so I probably sound so old saying this, but it's true. People get away with WAY too much these days. Following the rules is not the end of the world. I wish cruise lines would enforce rules more strictly and start banning people who raise a big fuss over not wanting to follow those rules. I wish most places enforced basic etiquette because people who constantly want it their way and run over others to get their way tend to RUIN the experience for everyone else.
@@pagaporvista569 It's not just on cruises, but on land too. People show up to classy restaurants dressed like they're going to clean their house. Why can't people just make an effort to dress well?
Exactly - just had some lady in our cruise group ask if it was ok to wear biker shorts to the mdr and just about everyone said she could pretty much wear what she wanted - this is the mdr we're talking about - have some couth and dress appropriately - which I guess is all relative these days if no one is going to enforce the dress code to begin with
So glad they are enforcing dining room attire standards. It detracts from the experience to have to sit next to someone who looks like they have been in their ‘work in the yard clothes’. Whatever the standard is, they need to add, showered and clean clothes to the rules.
My husband and I did the exact same thing on Bingo on NCL Jade in the Mediterranean in 2015 and won an upgrade to the largest suite in the fleet. 4600 sq ft 2-floor Garden Villa. 3 bedroom, 3.5 baths, foyer, bar, huge living room, indoor dining room, outdoor dining room, 3 person steamroom, full size outdoor hot tub, an upper sundeck with a hammock and lots of comfy chairs plus a player baby grand piano! It was amazing. I think that cost $30k back then for the week. We only had it for 5 days but held several parties in it for people we met. Only bought the standard $70 pack of bingo cards.
Rebranding the MDR as a restaurant is a subtle, long-term strategy to change consumer mindset. If they can convince cruisers to think of it as a restaurant then they'll be more likely to spend cash for upcharges, cocktails, extra lobsters, and whatever new charges the execs can dream into existence. Because that's how restaurants work! You pay at a restaurant, and this one is already giving you a free meal, how awesome is that! This will be most effective with new cruisers and long-term they'll be able to monetize the MDR.
I agree with you on the long term effects. They think they are so slick. Already you have to pay for certain items on the menu; you have to pay for how many extra entress now? In the long term they might actually start charging for the restaurant and start with elegant night when they serve the fancy meals and figure that if they get you to pay on that night, wait a while and start charging for every night. You do have an option to go to the buffet or other places on the ship for fast food. Sneaky!
I'll bet that you're also a heck've a carpenter, you hit the nail square on the head. It's a long term strategy to change our cruise ship dining habits while reducing our wallets.
I too got majorly screwed by Sandra O'Leary on that same Greenland cruise. She sells excursions in Europe also and on most Journeys cruises. She absolutely did change the language after we did not port. There's also documentation to prove she was reimbursed for all but $7.50 USD per person by the Greenland vendors we were supposed to use on those excursions, but we never saw any of the money back from her. I did get my money back EVENTUALLY and after a lot of work on my part, but I had to file through my travel insurance which isn't fair that they had to reimburse me while she pocketed all of our money and them jumped ship and ran home when we docked in Canada. PLEASE AVOID THIS TOUR COMPANY!
She might’ve changed the language on the website, but didn’t you have a receipt from when you paid for the excursion? when I booked an excursion directly for my Alaskan cruise, all the emails receipt had refund information. It shouldn’t matter what her website says now if you have proof from your invoice.
Thanks for the warning! This lady may have “won” this “battle” but she’s definitely lost the “war” in that she is now known as a scammer by many more potential customers (me and my family included). I hope the money she obsconded with was worth it. She’ll never see a penny from me or anyone I know.
No it’s not discrimination. Men going out to a restaurant or any store wearing an undershirt(or “wife beater shirt”) in my opinion is tacky to say the least and I wouldn’t let my son or husband go to the store without putting a shirt over it.
I agree, many people anymore don’t have any kind of manners. They think since they paid for something they can do as they please. These are the same people that are always late, also making excuses for everything and thinking rules don’t apply to them because they are “special”. It always does my heart good when something happens that brings it home that rules apply to them and they are definitely not special.
If we ever have to start paying by the meal on a cruise ship, we may stop cruising. I like that the basics are all included. We visited a nearby resort that included breakfast and lunch in their fancy restaurant in the price. It was expensive, but nice for a special getaway. They changed owners and stopped that practice. Having to consider the price when I go to the restaurant impacted the luxury experience and we haven’t been back since then.
Seems like CCL executives should pay more attention to passenger brawls and stop changing names of venues. MDR and Tender boats are now “Restaurant” and “water shuttles”! How much do these clowns make for these stupid changes?
I went to the MDR on the Statendam.(HAL) which is now owned by Carnival. No service what so ever.Not even a glass of water served. I had to pay $25.00 for a steak or lobster. I am a 3 Star Mariner on Holland and I found so many changes that I will be looking for a new cruise line. I wish Carnival would stop buying excellent Cruise Companies and then turn them into 💩.
I was so blessed. I booked an excursion with a private company as there wasn't any spots left on the ships excursions that day. They clearly stated No Refunds. As I knew only death would keep me from going, I booked. Then my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer 3 weeks before we sailed and I had to cancel. I notified that company that we wouldn't be sailing just so they didn't wait on us and could offer the seats to someone else. I never asked for a refund but they gave me one anyway. And they didn't ask for any proof. I would give them the best reviews but I don't want others expecting exceptions to the no refund rule. If I do get to take that cruise one day I will book with them.
I pray the Lord gives both of you comfort and support as you go through this. May you be able to go on that cruise in the future and take that excursion. Amen.
Carnival can call their MDRs whatever they want, it doesn’t change the fact that the food still sucks. The only decent meals on Carnival are in their specialty restaurants.
100% this, ive only been on two cruises both carnival and the food in the mdr was terrible and half ass cold. we ate buffet most time or got a guy burger or piece of pizza or a burrito.and wtf is up with places on the boat to eat being closed when you get back from shore?they could close the main dining room for all i care and put in a always open food court. we were always so tired from being ashore doing stuff going to the dining room didnt appeal to us at all. we just wanted a shower, quick food and a little time for a show (maybe ) before my eyes fell shut.
A sun dress, strapless dress, or fancy blouse differs from wearing underwear to the restaurant. Wife-beater T-shirts are undershirts and never designed to work as a dress shirts. I am positive though if the dude wanted to wear a cocktail dress to that eatery they wouldn't have had any problem with it. 😇
We were going on a Bermuda cruise when a category three hurricane was headed there. We showed up at the cruise port in Miami or Fort Lauderdale I can’t remember which one, knowing that we weren’t going to Bermuda ,but that we would go somewhere fun ,probably in the southern or western Caribbean no big deal. While standing in line people were talking about going to Bermuda and we said we won’t be going there and the people in line said we haven’t heard anything about going anywhere else so I think we’re going to Bermuda still. We know there’s a hurricane headed there with 60 foot waves,we’ll go somewhere else. Within minutes someone comes down the line with our new itinerary. Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos‘s, private island and somewhere I can’t remember lol😂. They gave us 100.00 pp room credit, discount drinks and several other things. We had a blast but the lobby was full of people who wanted their money back or more from the company. You have to know when you book a cruise during hurricane season, this can happen. They still wanted to go to Bermuda. I don’t think they understood the power of the storm.
People 🤦🏽♀️we are cruising in Sep., if we are re-routed then oh well. If you really want to go to a particular port, cruise during non-hurricane season.
Absolutely i am ok with an alternate port than a hurricane. I have seen horrible hurricanes destroy neighborhoods i dont want to imagine what can happen to a ship during a hurricane
Men’s tank tops have been a no -no at restaurants for quite some time. To be blunt, I think it’s the underarm hair factor! Still chuckle at that ending song!😄
Come on. We all know why Carnival wants to rename the MDR as a restaurant. Restaurants are where you pay for dinner. I will be shocked if Carnival doesn’t at least test cruises with no free MDR.
I agree with you. I might to got to the main dining room aka restaurant on embarkation day and on elegant night. Most of the time, I eat at the buffet because I can eat when I want and still catch the comedy show or any other event and not be in the main dining room aka restaurant having to endure courses of meals and a long time in between. smh
@@TheMissPooveyI’ve been on the excursion where a tender and the ship had to wait for us. If it wasn’t a Carnival we would have been left. I will always pay the extra.
I pay for the optional insurance through my travel company, in case of cancellations. Individual tour companies usually have a no refunds policy, but the travel company will usually offer their own separate insurance rider, and I'd rather pay an extra $20 a person for $300 worth of shore excursions as a "just in case" than blindly trust that everything will go according to plan.
Cruise line management has lost their minds. Their bent is removing benefits, so they will charge for the same thing. Reduce port time to allow the ship to travel at a reduced speed to save fuel and add dollars to the cruise line. Reduce portions in the MDR to sway passengers to use specialty restaurants to increase revenue. Cut back on bar staff so "drinks included" will be a 15 to 20 minute wait. On and on and on again. Come on, just say NO.
I wish the wait for a drink was only 15 minuets, my last cruise on the Mardi Gras 5 months ago, in the time I spent in the casino, more than 3 times I only managed to get 1 drink, I am not really a drinker but when they are free, I like to get one now and again, no such luck.
These are private company owned, not government or charity owned. When fuel and food prices increase, cost of employee benefits increase, insurance premium rise due to people doing stupid things and suing, different countries/ports increase permit fees; et.; the business has to find ways to still make a profit or they do not stay in business.
@@lf4061Cruise lines receive special tax breaks and pay their employees less than US minimum wage. Cruises used to offer a better perceived value because "everything is included". Many cruise passengers feel that the companies are being too greedy.
@@djm5687 Every salary I have heard was fairly high considering it includes room and board. What things “used” to cost is irrelevant in todays economy, food and fuel are 20 - 30 percent higher in some areas from just a few years ago. Employees do not have to hire onto a cruise ship and passengers do not have to go on a cruise, it is a choice. Like the employees and customers of the majority of retail businesses in U.S., you can keep complaining to get more for less regardless of the financial facts and either put the company out of business altogether or cause it to move to another more cooperative country and end up with no businesses or services.
We had problems last year with this same Sandra. Cruise was canceled, had a tour booked with her and while we got some money back, she refused to give us a 100% refund.
Sounds to me like the first step toward charging for all meals ala carte. We all expect to pay for dinner at a restaurant, but not in our dining room. Wanna bet they start offering deals with "reduced" rates if you pay for all your dinners as add ons?
@@terriellis3697 That was my first thought. These new ships they are turning out have a pile of paid restaurants, With the name change, it wont be long that will have a fee attached too. Probably only the ledo will be included being that its self service and not waited on.
My first thought was that the Carnival execs want people to start thinking of the MDR as a "restaurant" so in the future they can start charging people extra for eating there.
If that happens, I'll stop cruising. Included meals is one big reason that cruising makes vacationing more affordable than an on land vacation. They've already pulled back on so MANY things that used to be included, but if they stop dining room meals, just won't do it.
Restaurant = Because 'customers' , not passengers, are more likely to tip servers so they don't have to pay them more. Carnival's clandestine theft of us loyalists is becoming a real reason to 'jump' to competitors.
Words seem to have much meaning when they come from cruise line corporate. Remember when Royal changed the name of the Diamond lounge to Crown. Then the Diamonds got shut out of evenings. If changing the name of the MDR means more pay for items on the menu that were free before I predict it may be the last straw.
Yes, I am a Diamond cruiser with Carnival meaning I’ve cruised 30+ times on Carnival. If they ever begin charging for meals in the dining room/cafeteria/eatery, they will lose us as customers.
Once a cruise line starts charging for Main Dining Room, they will ALL start charging. Since Covid, when few people were able to cruise, but now we all want to get away and take a cruise, all of the cruise lines have taken advantage of that with higher costs (significantly), and worse food. Even Princess and Celebrity, which are "supposed" to be the next level up, have awful food now, everyone complains, and they still keep prices really high. We don't cruise at all like we used to -- only occasionally and for a specific itinerary that we are looking for. We just took a two week trip on our own to London and Scotland and had a ball. We were so happy we were not on a cruise ship; we were able to do what we want when we wanted, go where we want, and didn't have a 3 or 4 or 5 hour window. We had a 24-hour window to enjoy ourselves for 14 days. It was Heaven!
"twenty-seven eight-by-ten color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one, explaining what each one was, to be used as evidence against us." Love that song...
I thought carnival was trying to get away from their image of bringing a drunken party ship. Definitely need to enforce the dress code for the dining room.
The college I went to used to charge for parking. Then they "rolled it into the tuition" by raising the price of tuition and no longer charging for parking. For about 2 years. Then they said "we can no longer provide free parking" and started charging for it again. Of course they did NOT roll back the tuition increase that covered "free" parking...
It occurred to me a few years ago on an NCL cruise that the cruise lines would like to slowly eventually eliminate included "free" food on cruises. Calling the Dining Room a restaurant is just another step in that direction. The paid food choices are getting more and more and free food choices are getting smaller and less and less on most of the cruise lines. It's all about maximizing profits. Similar move to what the airlines did over the years when they eliminated included food on flights, then seat room and leg room got smaller, and now you even have to pay extra to bring a carry-on or check a bag. Soon several years from now you will go on a cruise and have to pay for anything you eat. Not sure if the included buffet or the included Dining Room will be the last to go.
I will start calling MDR the cafeteria on Carnival ships, no table cloths, use same utensils for the whole meal, beg for bread, bring your own drinks, plonk your food and run away, sounds like a cafeteria to me.
My understanding is the No tank top for men is more to do with hygiene. Most men do not shave their armpits and most women do. No one wants an armpit hair floating into their food 🤢🤮
Following that logic, women should put on the headcover as female shed head hair than men. Gentlemen's attire decorum is imposed which is part of social etiquette.
Then women should be required to wear hats as they have more hair than men do most of the time. Also, you do not lean over a buffet so far as to have your arm pits over the food, I mean you would have to have your actual shoulders UNDER the glass in order for that to happen...also, on that note, a t-shirt or short sleeved dress shirt will NOT prevent armpit hair from falling anymore than a tank top would, as when a man reaches forward, the bottom of the sleeve faces forward, as well. What it boils down to is equality. Are they going to make women lift their arms in line to check for armpit hair? If not, then that is discrimination. Answer? Have the men wear women's dresses into the restaurant trans style, no sleeves at all and bare chested above the breast line. Now THAT'S equality.
I think that there are more pressing issues for the Carnival execs to address to justify their salaries than what name tag to give a dining room on their ships.
Well, I’m not sure what appropriately means but I’m not wearing anything different than I wear on the other days of my cruise. Shorts and a T-shirt, because I’m on vacation I wear a uniform of sorts seven days a week for months at a time I’m not doing it on vacation.
"Our" would imply it belongs to everyone, not just you. No one complains if you want to dress in formal attire, so why should you complain if someone else dresses casually? Bear in mind I do not mean sloppy, but neat, clean shorts or jeans with a neat, clean polo or even t-shirt are fine as long as they're not frayed, torn, soiled, wet, or have profanity.
When John Heald first announced this sailing he said there would be no tours in Greenland it was not until a few months before the cruise that, that changed and they offered tours. By that time we already had our tours booked. Sandras booking page clearly said the tour was refundable and when she was questioned on Facebook she said that if we didn't get there it was refundable. After it was announced we were not going to get to Greenland she jumped ship at the first port in Canada and changed the terms on her website after the fact. As a business you just can't do that. She had great reviews on her website so we thought we were safe. Only later did we find out that if a negative review is posted she deletes them. I also am owed a refund I am resigned to the fact I will not see my money but I question was it really worth all this bad publicity over a few hundred dollars owed to each passenger, hundreds of us to be exact.
Someone else posted that she got reimbursed from the tour companies SHE booked her excursions with, so she got double the money. That has to be illegal if it’s true.
Lots of interesting news. It is odd that Carnival is changing the name of MDR. I would think they would keep MDR to distinguish it more from the specialty eateries where they stand out as restaurants where you pay. Are they building up to something? MDR is part of cruising to me. The guy in the tank got what he deserved. Rules are rules. Don’t try and change them at the door. Love the show. Thanks.❤
There weren't any for a long time, so people booked with Sandra. Heald kept saying they were "working" on excursions. Took too long. I was ok with Sandra...but she did change the language when the Sept cruuse hit rough seas. Thsts just crooked. I pulled my old order...and it says full refund if a port is missed!
The difference between a woman's sleeveless top and a man's tank top is class. The cruise dress codes are to establish a certain level of class for different areas of the ship; it's not about the amount of exposed skin.
Great video. On our last cruise due to a flight issue we missed our pre-cruise tour of Lisbon, which was non refundable. Trip insurance paid us a refund of the missed tour.
The customers not getting their money back from a tour company is a valid complaint. If they have proof the booking said refundable in the event of not landing at a port and the tour guide changed the website to NON-Refundable and there is proof the tour guide changed this info after the cruise then the tour guide has to stump up the refunds.
A dining room is where you come to eat and not pay. A resaurant is place where you eat and pay. Could they be in the middle of starting to charge you in that room?
The U.S. IRS is crazy... the couple with the $50K upgrade, will most likely have to count that as income, and pay taxes on the upgrade. I would have to turn it down to avoid the taxes.
That's a very good point. I assume the cruise line treats that the same as winning the casino, and collects the 1099 tax information -- I assume they do that? Since they only open the casinos when they are out of US territorial waters, technically they are not subject to US law and they may not be required to. Assuming the passenger is a US citizen, they are required to self-report it, as you said -- but unless the cruise line is reporting it, there isn't much incentive for them to do so, and probably 15000 reasons not to!
I didn't hear anything mentioned about where the ship was sailing or the nationality of the cruiser. U.S IRS will have no say in the matter if it's a European cruise and the cruiser is not a U.S citizen
It’s enough to put you in a higher tax bracket, but I don’t know if the cruise line issues a 1099 on it. They do on large Gambling winnings, for sure. My Wife won almost 3,500 on slots one time, and Carnival sent us a 1099 on it…
As far as the dining room is concerned, cruising used to be a privilege. One that was enjoyed by people who could afford formal and informal dining rooms in their home (think Titanic). I'm not one of those people, however, I started cruising with Carnival in 1996. All the way up to 2019, my family would dress for dinner each night. It was one of those things that I looked forward to each day. I'm talking about men in suits and women in ballgowns for the Captains Dinner and wearing our Sunday "best" the other nights. We wouldn't have been caught dead in the MDR wearing sneakers, cut off jeans or t-shirts. The culture started to change once pricing for the cruises started to bottom out (Fun Ship = cheap vacation). We couldn't believe some of the outfits that people were allowed to wear to a formal dining room. It might as well be called a restaurant now with a sign on the door that reads, "No shoes, no service". There are too many visitors who have this "You are trampling on my 'Merican rights" when they are asked to follow a rule. Or the, "It's my vacation, I can do what I want" crowd. They bully the staff because they understand English is not their first language and it becomes a fun little sport to torture people who can't defend themselves. When you are on a cruise, there are so many food options on board where you can find your happy place. The fact that so many people want to lessen a dining experience by doing things their way is beyond me.
I went in the lates 70s with my parents and like you say we dressed for dinner every night, the only exception was the 1st and last night and if you were overnight in port. And there was only one restaurant no 24/7 buffet or speciality restaurants
My fam still dresses for dinner. Nothing over the top but to me it's just normal to change and dress appropriately for the occasion. But I see things are changing. At the risk of sounding old, I don't like it. LOL
I remember when, Carnival was actually pretty classy. Now, for those that are new to it, Carnival looks great, but I remember all the stuff that don’t have, or do anymore…
Men's tank tops and women's spaghetti straps are not equivalent, all other things being equal. We've seen some young women in extremely short tight dresses, but still dresses! In a Poconos resort we saw a gentleman in dress Bermuda shorts and a cumberbun and Argyll knee socks turned away from a venue when a guy in jeans and t shirt was allowed in. Good for the hostess enforcing the published dress codes.
I was on that Greenland cruise. Carnival did have excursions and refunded the money immediately for those excursions. The people who booked the excursions with Sandra were really unhappy. I didn't like the looks of them prior to booking, so didn't. Buyer beware!
I've heard that there aren't a ton of cruise lines excursions in that region and those they run fill up really fast. Could be this lady just waited too long and everything was full.
When we booked the cruise initially, 2 years before it sailed, John Heald announced that there would be no excursions. That's when the majority of us booked with Sandra. When this initial sailing sold out in 1 hour, before actually hitting the booking website, they listed several more Greenland cruises, and then as our cruise got closer, Carnival decided they would actually offer excursions. The whole thing was a giant mess that turned out even worse when we didn't make it there.
@@shelet2000 Yup, we booked it 2 year out on the first day and booked our excursions from Carnival about 6 months prior to the trip. I left the ship with cash from the refunds from Carnival.
One thing when booking, especially with a third party, always screenshot, with dates and times, the terms of service including refund information. Do that the day you book, and screenshot that receipt ON the website as well with the time/date. Try to get it within the same 30 minutes. That, along with your credit card charge information should be enough to do an insurance claim, if not a lawsuit. I've learned to screenshot anything important and keep it in a file. Name it the company, thing purchased, and date purchased on the file name (Carnival-Oleary-excursion-21-sept-2022) and that way you can find it and it's documented with your file name and date created as well. I have to do it for copyright reasons in case someone tries to yank my books' content, but it really works for any type of receipt or information you need to keep. Hopefully that helps some of you out there.
The difference is when a man wears a tank top because of his chest hair and hairy underarm pits. A woman has no such problem because most women shave there under arm and don't have hairy underarm pits. It is just nasty that your pits and chest hair could be left on the table😮.
Scent Bird subscriber since 2017 & I absolutely love it!! My husband is now jumping on board with me which gives us an even better discount! 😊 Even if I don’t like a new scent that I selected or they chose for me, they make incredible gifts or giveaways so you never feel like you’re out of a purchase. Definitely recommend if anyone is curious!!!
I very much enjoy your cruise vlogs and try to watch them daily. Normally I watch on my tv and never comment. However, you and your wife have me hooked. I have been cruising for years and love watching vlogs when not cruising. Thanks so much for all you do to keep cruising exciting!
I hope they don’t start charging the dining room. We look forward to the two nights we dress up and attend. If I have to pay I may as well go to a specialty restaurant and pay☹️😞. However the dining room gives us the dress up night with family and friends, and everyone can choose whatever they want to eat 🥰
Hi Tony. Lot's of news today. MDR, dining room, restaurant. Whatever they call it. I'm thinking they want to say Restaurant to make it sound more "upscale". The person who booked the excursion with some unknown person. Wow, if I book a third party I do alot of research before giving my money to them. Praying for everyone in the path of the massive early hurricane. As always thank you for all you do ❤
Concerning the poorly dressed cruiser, the restaurant hostess should have told him that he isn't being discriminated against, he can wear a dress with spaghetti straps to dinner also.🤣
I'm tempted! I'll shave my underarms and put on my girlfriend's more temperature comfortable dress if they'd let me. I'm not a fan of having to wear long pants and collared shirts, especially when it is warm enough that you aren't cold wearing spaghetti straps.
I'm on the Harmony now. We were unable to go to Roatan because of Beryl. Although we were disappointed, we, of course, understood that this was necessary. I can't imagine people complaining. Especially when you know there are so many crew members affected deeply by this storm. Many of them are worried about their homes and families. I am much more concerned about the people who may be experiencing real loss due to Beryl than us missing a port! Good grief, people!
Thanks for another great show! Happen to catch it right when posted today. The whole carnival name change is so silly lol Let's focus on important things like getting the hammocks back on the dream class! Lol
From what I've seen, cruises with Greenland on the itinerary rarely make it there. Falklands is the same. Our Holland America South America cruise had a scheduled port in the Falklands. Due to weather, we didn't make it and so many people were upset. Sure, there is snow blowing sideways - enjoy your cruise port.
I was fortunate and we made both ports in Greenland. I had no idea at the time that there can be issues porting there. So glad I did! Hope to get back there one day!
@@TheSlavetoabunny that’s awesome! I was in Iceland for 5 days with a teacher group after Christmas but didn’t see the northern lights! I will have to go back!!
@@beachblythe I was there last year July. I would love to see the northern lights, but not enough to go in the winter, LOL! We are going back in August 2026 to see the total solar eclipse.
@@TheSlavetoabunnyI didn’t have the correct shoes or clothing to be honest! I have a fear of ice and that ended up being an issue for me! They don’t really remove snow especially at waterfalls and geysers. Plus our mini van driver drove fast!!!
I believe it's tough that the person at the restaurant reception desk is the unfortunate one who has to break the news to those who do not meet the dress codes posted. I agree it's great that policies get followed through on.
I think what the cruise lines are teying to do is as they keep adding more and more restaurants on board that they'll just. Stop having the mdr cause then they charge more for the food
Now that you mention the “thing” about the MDR being called a restaurant, I realize that on my last cruise 2 weeks ago the did keep referring to it as a restaurant. It threw us off the first night because we then went searching for the MDR. 😅
Look forward to the cruise news and your views. Went on an NCL cruise once. Not a fan of that cruise line. Some years ago a fellow cruiser was very unhappy about out not going to the DR. A hurricane came through there. I only purchase one set of BINGO cards. The Legend is a nice ship. The staff did a lot for my wife who was undergoing physical problems at the time.
I’m not a fan of dress codes on cruise ships. One of the reasons I haven’t cruised in a long time is because I hate having to take so much clothing with me. I go to Walt Disney World a lot - about three weeks each year - and one of the reasons I enjoy it so much is because I can pack for a 10-day trip in one small suitcase. A few pairs of shorts, a few t-shirts, and underwear/socks. We stay in DVC villas that have washers & dryers, so we do laundry a couple of times during the trip. The last couple of cruises I went on I had to take a large suitcase and a garment bag, just for clothing. Dealing with that much luggage is bad enough, but I’m also autistic and am very uncomfortable wearing clothing that covers my whole body. I can do it; I’m not going to have a meltdown over it. It’s just uncomfortable and therefore I’m miserable for the hours I’m wearing a suit coat, dinner jacket, slacks, or jeans. Shorts and a t-shirt are much, much better for me. If cruise lines did like Disney does with the "theme park attire" dress code, I might cruise again. But not on Carnival. You couldn’t pay me to go on a Carnival cruise ever again.
Then it sounds like cruising isn't for you. You certainly need to learn to pack, because you can easily get by with one pair of dress slacks and a few shirts for dining.
Then a cruise isn't the place for you or just don't eat at those places on those nights and instead do room service or something. Disney Cruises also have a dress code. Especially at the big themed restaurant. At the parks it would be impossible to enforce at the restaurants because people just walk in from riding.
Well, maybe Carnival changed it because people can sit around their "Dining" room and argue and fight, however, not expose the same behavior at a "Restaurant "
Many of the Greenland settlements don't even have roads that extend beyond the village itself. Any tour would be a walking tour and narration - at best. Cruise companies should not allow third parties to conduct business directly with passengers while on a cruise. This is not to give the cruise company a monopoly but to avoid the scams that can and do take place.
When I was young soldier we ate the Mess Hall, 14 years it’s no called a Dining Facility, same food with a new respectful name for greatest Army Cooks!!
We went to Ireland and Iceland on the Pride last August. There were heaps of cruisers on the Facebook group saying they were booking day tours with Sandra O'Leary. We didn't, as we always book via the cruiseline, or arrange sightseeing when we arrive into port. We missed one port in Iceland due to a storm and received our tour money back straight away from Carnival. We saw heaps of FB chatter from people worried about not getting a response from Ms O'Leary regarding refunds. We opted out of the group after the cruise, and I've always wondered what happened.
The dining room vs restaurant: To get people to accept major changes you condition them in small increments. The first increment for changing that huge space into something we have to pay extra for is to get you away from saying dining room. like another commented, "dining room" is a space such as would be found in your home. Whereas a restaurant is somewhere you go and pay extra. Think of the amount of space the dining rooms take up on the ship. There's no doubt in my mind that they are working towards changing that space into an increased money making space.
Sure was glad you got so animated about the MDR because watching your hide and seek t-shirt got me very curious about what it said below and when you threw up your arms I got the rest Loved it.
Use LALIDO55 to get 55% off your first month at Scentbird sbird.co/4cbazJA
I wish you would research scentbird founder, Mariya Nurislamova. She has some very controversial beliefs.
I'm an older millennial, so I probably sound so old saying this, but it's true. People get away with WAY too much these days. Following the rules is not the end of the world. I wish cruise lines would enforce rules more strictly and start banning people who raise a big fuss over not wanting to follow those rules. I wish most places enforced basic etiquette because people who constantly want it their way and run over others to get their way tend to RUIN the experience for everyone else.
I'm a boomer and I agree with ya! 😊
@@sharonjackson1216
mee too
@scottulbrich5376 and I agree also.
VICTORIA WE'RE BEAUTIFULLY SEASONED 😘
You’re right on it 100% it only takes one person to ruin it for everybody else.
You can’t go to certain restaurants dressed inappropriately. If you don’t like the dress code then don’t go on the cruise. It’s really quite simple.
If you want to dress like an American, stay in WalMart.
😂
There's always the buffet. Why do people think it's okay to dress like a bum everywhere?
@@pagaporvista569 It's not just on cruises, but on land too. People show up to classy restaurants dressed like they're going to clean their house. Why can't people just make an effort to dress well?
Exactly - just had some lady in our cruise group ask if it was ok to wear biker shorts to the mdr and just about everyone said she could pretty much wear what she wanted - this is the mdr we're talking about - have some couth and dress appropriately - which I guess is all relative these days if no one is going to enforce the dress code to begin with
@@gmc6790 sadly that’s a fairly accurate statement. lol.
When you book a cruise, you are agreeing to the rules which clearly state a dress code. If you don't like it, don't go on that cruise line.
Exactly
So glad they are enforcing dining room attire standards. It detracts from the experience to have to sit next to someone who looks like they have been in their ‘work in the yard clothes’.
Whatever the standard is, they need to add, showered and clean clothes to the rules.
Exactly. The cruise line is trying to create an "experience" with the main dining room dress code. Why not just follow the rules???
It was formal night on Carnival Firenze-just last week. They let adults in the dining room with shorts, baseball caps, tank tops-everything!!
@@kathyd934 this should not be allowed at any restaurants except buffet or grill (burgers, hot dogs).
My husband and I did the exact same thing on Bingo on NCL Jade in the Mediterranean in 2015 and won an upgrade to the largest suite in the fleet. 4600 sq ft 2-floor Garden Villa. 3 bedroom, 3.5 baths, foyer, bar, huge living room, indoor dining room, outdoor dining room, 3 person steamroom, full size outdoor hot tub, an upper sundeck with a hammock and lots of comfy chairs plus a player baby grand piano! It was amazing. I think that cost $30k back then for the week. We only had it for 5 days but held several parties in it for people we met. Only bought the standard $70 pack of bingo cards.
Rebranding the MDR as a restaurant is a subtle, long-term strategy to change consumer mindset. If they can convince cruisers to think of it as a restaurant then they'll be more likely to spend cash for upcharges, cocktails, extra lobsters, and whatever new charges the execs can dream into existence. Because that's how restaurants work! You pay at a restaurant, and this one is already giving you a free meal, how awesome is that! This will be most effective with new cruisers and long-term they'll be able to monetize the MDR.
I agree with you on the long term effects. They think they are so slick. Already you have to pay for certain items on the menu; you have to pay for how many extra entress now? In the long term they might actually start charging for the restaurant and start with elegant night when they serve the fancy meals and figure that if they get you to pay on that night, wait a while and start charging for every night. You do have an option to go to the buffet or other places on the ship for fast food. Sneaky!
@@mariebrooks7341 exactly!!!
Free? It’s not “free”. It’s included in the price of the cruise which is quite expensive.
I'll bet that you're also a heck've a carpenter, you hit the nail square on the head. It's a long term strategy to change our cruise ship dining habits while reducing our wallets.
Yup.
I too got majorly screwed by Sandra O'Leary on that same Greenland cruise. She sells excursions in Europe also and on most Journeys cruises. She absolutely did change the language after we did not port. There's also documentation to prove she was reimbursed for all but $7.50 USD per person by the Greenland vendors we were supposed to use on those excursions, but we never saw any of the money back from her. I did get my money back EVENTUALLY and after a lot of work on my part, but I had to file through my travel insurance which isn't fair that they had to reimburse me while she pocketed all of our money and them jumped ship and ran home when we docked in Canada. PLEASE AVOID THIS TOUR COMPANY!
Thanks for the warning!
Didn't they name it the MDR?
That's terrible, she seems to be a real winner.
She might’ve changed the language on the website, but didn’t you have a receipt from when you paid for the excursion? when I booked an excursion directly for my Alaskan cruise, all the emails receipt had refund information. It shouldn’t matter what her website says now if you have proof from your invoice.
Thanks for the warning! This lady may have “won” this “battle” but she’s definitely lost the “war” in that she is now known as a scammer by many more potential customers (me and my family included). I hope the money she obsconded with was worth it. She’ll never see a penny from me or anyone I know.
No it’s not discrimination. Men going out to a restaurant or any store wearing an undershirt(or “wife beater shirt”) in my opinion is tacky to say the least and I wouldn’t let my son or husband go to the store without putting a shirt over it.
Exactly!!
Kinda like women in halter tops and booty shorts.
@@slimtny or going shopping in their ratty pajamas and slippers
I agree, many people anymore don’t have any kind of manners.
They think since they paid for something they can do as they please. These are the same people that are always late, also making excuses for everything and thinking rules don’t apply to them because they are “special”. It always does my heart good when something happens that brings it home that rules apply to them and they are definitely not special.
Agreed. It's about formality and taste, not that his upper arms are showing. Not that hard to bring a couple of polo shirts for restaurant purposes.
If we ever have to start paying by the meal on a cruise ship, we may stop cruising. I like that the basics are all included.
We visited a nearby resort that included breakfast and lunch in their fancy restaurant in the price. It was expensive, but nice for a special getaway. They changed owners and stopped that practice. Having to consider the price when I go to the restaurant impacted the luxury experience and we haven’t been back since then.
It does seem like a race to the bottom these days. Cruises are just not what they used to be.
Seems like CCL executives should pay more attention to passenger brawls and stop changing names of venues. MDR and Tender boats are now “Restaurant” and “water shuttles”! How much do these clowns make for these stupid changes?
I went to the MDR on the Statendam.(HAL) which is now owned by Carnival. No service what so ever.Not even a glass of water served. I had to pay $25.00 for a steak or lobster. I am a 3 Star Mariner on Holland and I found so many changes that I will be looking for a new cruise line. I wish Carnival would stop buying excellent Cruise Companies and then turn them into 💩.
I was so blessed. I booked an excursion with a private company as there wasn't any spots left on the ships excursions that day. They clearly stated No Refunds. As I knew only death would keep me from going, I booked. Then my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer 3 weeks before we sailed and I had to cancel. I notified that company that we wouldn't be sailing just so they didn't wait on us and could offer the seats to someone else. I never asked for a refund but they gave me one anyway. And they didn't ask for any proof. I would give them the best reviews but I don't want others expecting exceptions to the no refund rule. If I do get to take that cruise one day I will book with them.
I pray the Lord gives both of you comfort and support as you go through this. May you be able to go on that cruise in the future and take that excursion. Amen.
😢 blessings to you. Hope you both get to go on that cruise and many more.
Carnival can call their MDRs whatever they want, it doesn’t change the fact that the food still sucks. The only decent meals on Carnival are in their specialty restaurants.
100% this, ive only been on two cruises both carnival and the food in the mdr was terrible and half ass cold. we ate buffet most time or got a guy burger or piece of pizza or a burrito.and wtf is up with places on the boat to eat being closed when you get back from shore?they could close the main dining room for all i care and put in a always open food court. we were always so tired from being ashore doing stuff going to the dining room didnt appeal to us at all. we just wanted a shower, quick food and a little time for a show (maybe ) before my eyes fell shut.
Sadly
Nah, I've always gotten decent meals there. But then again it is subjective.
@@cruiselifeericagreed. It is subjective. When I go on a vacation I want food that does more than equal Golden Corral.
I had bad food on the elation and the magic . Celebration horizon mardi grass venezia ALL above scrumptious meals
Congrats to the guy who won the $50k upgrade. Just be ready for a Form 1099 from Azimara , cause you just had $50K of gambling winnings.
And a future $11K - 17.5K or so tax bill.
Technically form W-2G. The rest of your info is correct.
@@karlpeterson1056yep, sucks to win from a company based in the states
A sun dress, strapless dress, or fancy blouse differs from wearing underwear to the restaurant. Wife-beater T-shirts are undershirts and never designed to work as a dress shirts. I am positive though if the dude wanted to wear a cocktail dress to that eatery they wouldn't have had any problem with it. 😇
Exactly. I see the dress code as being about formality, not amount of skin showing.
We were going on a Bermuda cruise when a category three hurricane was headed there. We showed up at the cruise port in Miami or Fort Lauderdale I can’t remember which one, knowing that we weren’t going to Bermuda ,but that we would go somewhere fun ,probably in the southern or western Caribbean no big deal. While standing in line people were talking about going to Bermuda and we said we won’t be going there and the people in line said we haven’t heard anything about going anywhere else so I think we’re going to Bermuda still. We know there’s a hurricane headed there with 60 foot waves,we’ll go somewhere else. Within minutes someone comes down the line with our new itinerary. Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos‘s, private island and somewhere I can’t remember lol😂. They gave us 100.00 pp room credit, discount drinks and several other things. We had a blast but the lobby was full of people who wanted their money back or more from the company. You have to know when you book a cruise during hurricane season, this can happen. They still wanted to go to Bermuda. I don’t think they understood the power of the storm.
People 🤦🏽♀️we are cruising in Sep., if we are re-routed then oh well. If you really want to go to a particular port, cruise during non-hurricane season.
Absolutely i am ok with an alternate port than a hurricane. I have seen horrible hurricanes destroy neighborhoods i dont want to imagine what can happen to a ship during a hurricane
Men’s tank tops have been a no -no at restaurants for quite some time. To be blunt, I think it’s the underarm hair factor! Still chuckle at that ending song!😄
I've never been to a restaurant in my life which would turn away a man in a tank top.
My thought also.
@@adiuntesserande6893 You haven't been to any sort of formal restaurant then.
Come on. We all know why Carnival wants to rename the MDR as a restaurant. Restaurants are where you pay for dinner. I will be shocked if Carnival doesn’t at least test cruises with no free MDR.
That’s when I would stop cruising with them…
I think you're absolutely right.😢
Yikes!
I won’t cruise on those! I don’t pay for the extra pay restaurants
I agree with you. I might to got to the main dining room aka restaurant on embarkation day and on elegant night. Most of the time, I eat at the buffet because I can eat when I want and still catch the comedy show or any other event and not be in the main dining room aka restaurant having to endure courses of meals and a long time in between. smh
I wish all lines would enforce the dress code; especially no swimwear (without a cover up) in the restaurants (I.e. Buffet)
I agree
That's why I always book excursions with the cruise line. More expensive but less stress
Me too! It's hassle free.
I also. Better safe than sorry.
@@TheMissPooveyI’ve been on the excursion where a tender and the ship had to wait for us. If it wasn’t a Carnival we would have been left. I will always pay the extra.
I pay for the optional insurance through my travel company, in case of cancellations. Individual tour companies usually have a no refunds policy, but the travel company will usually offer their own separate insurance rider, and I'd rather pay an extra $20 a person for $300 worth of shore excursions as a "just in case" than blindly trust that everything will go according to plan.
No a strapless cocktail outfit is not the same as a tank top. No discrimination there.
Cruise line management has lost their minds. Their bent is removing benefits, so they will charge for the same thing. Reduce port time to allow the ship to travel at a reduced speed to save fuel and add dollars to the cruise line. Reduce portions in the MDR to sway passengers to use specialty restaurants to increase revenue. Cut back on bar staff so "drinks included" will be a 15 to 20 minute wait. On and on and on again. Come on, just say NO.
I wish the wait for a drink was only 15 minuets, my last cruise on the Mardi Gras 5 months ago, in the time I spent in the casino, more than 3 times I only managed to get 1 drink, I am not really a drinker but when they are free, I like to get one now and again, no such luck.
These are private company owned, not government or charity owned. When fuel and food prices increase, cost of employee benefits increase, insurance premium rise due to people doing stupid things and suing, different countries/ports increase permit fees; et.; the business has to find ways to still make a profit or they do not stay in business.
@@lf4061Cruise lines receive special tax breaks and pay their employees less than US minimum wage. Cruises used to offer a better perceived value because "everything is included". Many cruise passengers feel that the companies are being too greedy.
@@djm5687 Every salary I have heard was fairly high considering it includes room and board. What things “used” to cost is irrelevant in todays economy, food and fuel are 20 - 30 percent higher in some areas from just a few years ago. Employees do not have to hire onto a cruise ship and passengers do not have to go on a cruise, it is a choice. Like the employees and customers of the majority of retail businesses in U.S., you can keep complaining to get more for less regardless of the financial facts and either put the company out of business altogether or cause it to move to another more cooperative country and end up with no businesses or services.
Yes please enforce rules and a dress with straps is much dressier than a “ muscle” shirt
The rules are the rules period. Follow the dress code or don’t go.
We had problems last year with this same Sandra. Cruise was canceled, had a tour booked with her and while we got some money back, she refused to give us a 100% refund.
Do you have the website address, please..?
Bet she's laughing all the way to the bank!!! Everyone needs to get together and make sure she goes to jail.👍
Sounds like Carnival has a glut of managers trying to justify their existence…
Sounds to me like the first step toward charging for all meals ala carte. We all expect to pay for dinner at a restaurant, but not in our dining room. Wanna bet they start offering deals with "reduced" rates if you pay for all your dinners as add ons?
@@terriellis3697 That was my first thought. These new ships they are turning out have a pile of paid restaurants, With the name change, it wont be long that will have a fee attached too. Probably only the ledo will be included being that its self service and not waited on.
My first thought was that the Carnival execs want people to start thinking of the MDR as a "restaurant" so in the future they can start charging people extra for eating there.
That was my thought too.🙄
that's my thought too...
we've been waiting for that hammer to drop...
If that happens, I'll stop cruising. Included meals is one big reason that cruising makes vacationing more affordable than an on land vacation. They've already pulled back on so MANY things that used to be included, but if they stop dining room meals, just won't do it.
Too much competition to pull that off. I think they make MDR less desirable for upselling specialty restaurants
If they told me I could not call it a dining room, I would start calling it a nutritional chemical distribution center.
😂😂😂
Good one! 😂
😂
I would call it a piehole filling station.
😂😂😂😂😂 I love that! I’m using it
Restaurant = Because 'customers' , not passengers, are more likely to tip servers so they don't have to pay them more. Carnival's clandestine theft of us loyalists is becoming a real reason to 'jump' to competitors.
No, I’m glad they’re enforcing their dress code because Carnival has a so-called dress code and they don’t enforce it
Words seem to have much meaning when they come from cruise line corporate. Remember when Royal changed the name of the Diamond lounge to Crown. Then the Diamonds got shut out of evenings. If changing the name of the MDR means more pay for items on the menu that were free before I predict it may be the last straw.
If they charge for MAIN DINING ROOM I’m jumpin ship going elsewhere.
I have been a loyal customer of Carnival, but if they mess up the main dining room and start charging, I’ll be jumping ship to another cruise line.
Yes, I am a Diamond cruiser with Carnival meaning I’ve cruised 30+ times on Carnival. If they ever begin charging for meals in the dining room/cafeteria/eatery, they will lose us as customers.
Once a cruise line starts charging for Main Dining Room, they will ALL start charging. Since Covid, when few people were able to cruise, but now we all want to get away and take a cruise, all of the cruise lines have taken advantage of that with higher costs (significantly), and worse food. Even Princess and Celebrity, which are "supposed" to be the next level up, have awful food now, everyone complains, and they still keep prices really high. We don't cruise at all like we used to -- only occasionally and for a specific itinerary that we are looking for. We just took a two week trip on our own to London and Scotland and had a ball. We were so happy we were not on a cruise ship; we were able to do what we want when we wanted, go where we want, and didn't have a 3 or 4 or 5 hour window. We had a 24-hour window to enjoy ourselves for 14 days. It was Heaven!
NCL is the only cruise line we have seen people turned away from the “restaurants “. I think it’s great.
But they won’t stop kids from diving in a 3.5 ft drop adults only pool!
@@nonnauu3977 that’s a bummer. And sounds dangerous!
"twenty-seven eight-by-ten color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one, explaining what each one was, to be used as evidence against us." Love that song...
Arlo Guthrie
Was quite happy seeing MSC turn away people dressed in shorts for Gala night. Though it was harder to find the dress code or Gala night notation.
Fighting, drunken behavior, rampaging kids, and now playing with names. Do these people know what goes happens on their ships?
I’ve never seen any of that and I’ve done 14 Carnival cruises.
Never seen on several carnival cruises
I've given up on carnival & their free casino offers .. went to princess much nicer.. there def courting families & younger ppl..
Chair Hoggs too!
I thought carnival was trying to get away from their image of bringing a drunken party ship. Definitely need to enforce the dress code for the dining room.
The college I went to used to charge for parking. Then they "rolled it into the tuition" by raising the price of tuition and no longer charging for parking. For about 2 years. Then they said "we can no longer provide free parking" and started charging for it again. Of course they did NOT roll back the tuition increase that covered "free" parking...
Underware is not ok. The shirt that you described is underware.
My first cookbook that I ever bought was Alice's Restaurant cookbook. Got it in 1969 and I still use it from time to time. Thanks Alice May Brock!
It occurred to me a few years ago on an NCL cruise that the cruise lines would like to slowly eventually eliminate included "free" food on cruises. Calling the Dining Room a restaurant is just another step in that direction. The paid food choices are getting more and more and free food choices are getting smaller and less and less on most of the cruise lines. It's all about maximizing profits. Similar move to what the airlines did over the years when they eliminated included food on flights, then seat room and leg room got smaller, and now you even have to pay extra to bring a carry-on or check a bag. Soon several years from now you will go on a cruise and have to pay for anything you eat. Not sure if the included buffet or the included Dining Room will be the last to go.
I will start calling MDR the cafeteria on Carnival ships, no table cloths, use same utensils for the whole meal, beg for bread, bring your own drinks, plonk your food and run away, sounds like a cafeteria to me.
Sounds like you need to cruise the bit more exclusive lines.
@@nonnauu3977 we do now
My understanding is the No tank top for men is more to do with hygiene. Most men do not shave their armpits and most women do. No one wants an armpit hair floating into their food 🤢🤮
Following that logic, women should put on the headcover as female shed head hair than men. Gentlemen's attire decorum is imposed which is part of social etiquette.
My stomach turns when a guy in a tank top reaches over the food at the buffet. Hairs and deodorant flakes 🤢
@@robinshultz2927 The sushi restaurant isn't a buffet
@@robinshultz2927yes but some adults are so selfish they only think about there comfort and not health and hygienes for others
Then women should be required to wear hats as they have more hair than men do most of the time. Also, you do not lean over a buffet so far as to have your arm pits over the food, I mean you would have to have your actual shoulders UNDER the glass in order for that to happen...also, on that note, a t-shirt or short sleeved dress shirt will NOT prevent armpit hair from falling anymore than a tank top would, as when a man reaches forward, the bottom of the sleeve faces forward, as well. What it boils down to is equality. Are they going to make women lift their arms in line to check for armpit hair? If not, then that is discrimination. Answer? Have the men wear women's dresses into the restaurant trans style, no sleeves at all and bare chested above the breast line. Now THAT'S equality.
I think that there are more pressing issues for the Carnival execs to address to justify their salaries than what name tag to give a dining room on their ships.
At least dress appropriately to the dining room. It's not burger King your way. It's our dining room.
On Carnival? You must be kidding.
Well, I’m not sure what appropriately means but I’m not wearing anything different than I wear on the other days of my cruise. Shorts and a T-shirt, because I’m on vacation I wear a uniform of sorts seven days a week for months at a time I’m not doing it on vacation.
I felt out of place with my full suit on the carnival
"Our" would imply it belongs to everyone, not just you. No one complains if you want to dress in formal attire, so why should you complain if someone else dresses casually? Bear in mind I do not mean sloppy, but neat, clean shorts or jeans with a neat, clean polo or even t-shirt are fine as long as they're not frayed, torn, soiled, wet, or have profanity.
@sosaix3545 But many, on Carnival, are dirty and everything else you described.
When John Heald first announced this sailing he said there would be no tours in Greenland it was not until a few months before the cruise that, that changed and they offered tours. By that time we already had our tours booked. Sandras booking page clearly said the tour was refundable and when she was questioned on Facebook she said that if we didn't get there it was refundable. After it was announced we were not going to get to Greenland she jumped ship at the first port in Canada and changed the terms on her website after the fact. As a business you just can't do that. She had great reviews on her website so we thought we were safe. Only later did we find out that if a negative review is posted she deletes them. I also am owed a refund I am resigned to the fact I will not see my money but I question was it really worth all this bad publicity over a few hundred dollars owed to each passenger, hundreds of us to be exact.
A few hundred dollars of their money, NOT HERS.
Someone else posted that she got reimbursed from the tour companies SHE booked her excursions with, so she got double the money. That has to be illegal if it’s true.
Love the Alice's Restaurant callout! My family listens to that every year on Thanksgiving
@@shelbaaaay100 The Arlo Guthrie version? Or Ludacris’
Lots of interesting news. It is odd that Carnival is changing the name of MDR. I would think they would keep MDR to distinguish it more from the specialty eateries where they stand out as restaurants where you pay. Are they building up to something? MDR is part of cruising to me. The guy in the tank got what he deserved. Rules are rules. Don’t try and change them at the door. Love the show. Thanks.❤
I went on the August Greenland cruise in 2023, and there were plenty of excursions. If you waited until the last minute, they were sold out.
There weren't any for a long time, so people booked with Sandra. Heald kept saying they were "working" on excursions. Took too long. I was ok with Sandra...but she did change the language when the Sept cruuse hit rough seas. Thsts just crooked. I pulled my old order...and it says full refund if a port is missed!
The difference between a woman's sleeveless top and a man's tank top is class. The cruise dress codes are to establish a certain level of class for different areas of the ship; it's not about the amount of exposed skin.
Eww. Its not the titanic. You're not 1st class and them 3rd.
@@jamiesaxton6840 believe it or not, there is still a large segment of society that believes in dressing appropriately in certain circumstances.
@@jamiesaxton6840I could be wrong, but I took the OP as meaning “having class” not “social class.”
That guy has a point though some women show up wearing next to nothing!!😂😂🤓🤓
@@donnaneeley9920 So true. I've seen some definitely "not classy" outfits worn. 🤷♂
Great video. On our last cruise due to a flight issue we missed our pre-cruise tour of Lisbon, which was non refundable. Trip insurance paid us a refund of the missed tour.
Or Carnival is positioning themselves to start charging for the restaurant “MDR”
Looks like it-I won’t cruise with them
The customers not getting their money back from a tour company is a valid complaint. If they have proof the booking said refundable in the event of not landing at a port and the tour guide changed the website to NON-Refundable and there is proof the tour guide changed this info after the cruise then the tour guide has to stump up the refunds.
A dining room is where you come to eat and not pay. A resaurant is place where you eat and pay. Could they be in the middle of starting to charge you in that room?
The U.S. IRS is crazy... the couple with the $50K upgrade, will most likely have to count that as income, and pay taxes on the upgrade. I would have to turn it down to avoid the taxes.
That's a very good point. I assume the cruise line treats that the same as winning the casino, and collects the 1099 tax information -- I assume they do that? Since they only open the casinos when they are out of US territorial waters, technically they are not subject to US law and they may not be required to. Assuming the passenger is a US citizen, they are required to self-report it, as you said -- but unless the cruise line is reporting it, there isn't much incentive for them to do so, and probably 15000 reasons not to!
I didn't hear anything mentioned about where the ship was sailing or the nationality of the cruiser.
U.S IRS will have no say in the matter if it's a European cruise and the cruiser is not a U.S citizen
It’s enough to put you in a higher tax bracket, but I don’t know if the cruise line issues a 1099 on it. They do on large Gambling winnings, for sure. My Wife won almost 3,500 on slots one time, and Carnival sent us a 1099 on it…
We watched Jasmine on Jade turn away a party in front of us because of their clothing.
They argued.
The resteraunt manager won.
I see them turn away lots of people. One guy argued because he had to take off his hat. He lost.
As far as the dining room is concerned, cruising used to be a privilege. One that was enjoyed by people who could afford formal and informal dining rooms in their home (think Titanic). I'm not one of those people, however, I started cruising with Carnival in 1996. All the way up to 2019, my family would dress for dinner each night. It was one of those things that I looked forward to each day. I'm talking about men in suits and women in ballgowns for the Captains Dinner and wearing our Sunday "best" the other nights. We wouldn't have been caught dead in the MDR wearing sneakers, cut off jeans or t-shirts. The culture started to change once pricing for the cruises started to bottom out (Fun Ship = cheap vacation). We couldn't believe some of the outfits that people were allowed to wear to a formal dining room. It might as well be called a restaurant now with a sign on the door that reads, "No shoes, no service". There are too many visitors who have this "You are trampling on my 'Merican rights" when they are asked to follow a rule. Or the, "It's my vacation, I can do what I want" crowd. They bully the staff because they understand English is not their first language and it becomes a fun little sport to torture people who can't defend themselves. When you are on a cruise, there are so many food options on board where you can find your happy place. The fact that so many people want to lessen a dining experience by doing things their way is beyond me.
I went in the lates 70s with my parents and like you say we dressed for dinner every night, the only exception was the 1st and last night and if you were overnight in port. And there was only one restaurant no 24/7 buffet or speciality restaurants
My fam still dresses for dinner. Nothing over the top but to me it's just normal to change and dress appropriately for the occasion. But I see things are changing. At the risk of sounding old, I don't like it. LOL
Imagine caring that much about what SOMEONE ELSE is wearing. 😂
@@dlsjr123 no, what I care about is people following the dress code for the location/occasion/event. Everywhere you go has one.
I remember when, Carnival was actually pretty classy. Now, for those that are new to it, Carnival looks great, but I remember all the stuff that don’t have, or do anymore…
Restaurant: First they change the name (Dining Room), then the price goes up.
What in the carnival is going on?
It will always be the MDR
Men's tank tops and women's spaghetti straps are not equivalent, all other things being equal. We've seen some young women in extremely short tight dresses, but still dresses!
In a Poconos resort we saw a gentleman in dress Bermuda shorts and a cumberbun and Argyll knee socks turned away from a venue when a guy in jeans and t shirt was allowed in. Good for the hostess enforcing the published dress codes.
Once you have sailed in a class 5 storm you will never want to do it again.
Or you discover that you're someone like me who gets a thrill out of it.
I was on that Greenland cruise. Carnival did have excursions and refunded the money immediately for those excursions. The people who booked the excursions with Sandra were really unhappy. I didn't like the looks of them prior to booking, so didn't. Buyer beware!
I've heard that there aren't a ton of cruise lines excursions in that region and those they run fill up really fast. Could be this lady just waited too long and everything was full.
When we booked the cruise initially, 2 years before it sailed, John Heald announced that there would be no excursions. That's when the majority of us booked with Sandra. When this initial sailing sold out in 1 hour, before actually hitting the booking website, they listed several more Greenland cruises, and then as our cruise got closer, Carnival decided they would actually offer excursions. The whole thing was a giant mess that turned out even worse when we didn't make it there.
One really good reason to book through the cruise line.
@@maurinet2291 I found it the other way around. Sandra's were full and the cruise line had plenty of space
@@shelet2000 Yup, we booked it 2 year out on the first day and booked our excursions from Carnival about 6 months prior to the trip. I left the ship with cash from the refunds from Carnival.
One thing when booking, especially with a third party, always screenshot, with dates and times, the terms of service including refund information. Do that the day you book, and screenshot that receipt ON the website as well with the time/date. Try to get it within the same 30 minutes. That, along with your credit card charge information should be enough to do an insurance claim, if not a lawsuit. I've learned to screenshot anything important and keep it in a file. Name it the company, thing purchased, and date purchased on the file name (Carnival-Oleary-excursion-21-sept-2022) and that way you can find it and it's documented with your file name and date created as well. I have to do it for copyright reasons in case someone tries to yank my books' content, but it really works for any type of receipt or information you need to keep.
Hopefully that helps some of you out there.
Does the change to restaurant mean they're going to start charging to eat there?
That would end cruising for us. The Mexican all inclusive resorts would be a way better choice if they start doing that.
Gary is an absolute sweet heart! His videos were the best during COVID. He deserved that upgrade. He's an awesome teacher!! 💕💕💕
The difference is when a man wears a tank top because of his chest hair and hairy underarm pits. A woman has no such problem because most women shave there under arm and don't have hairy underarm pits. It is just nasty that your pits and chest hair could be left on the table😮.
Congrats on the upgrade. That's awesome.
It is absolutely not discrimination. This isn't a fast food restaurant. He can wear sleeves.
It isn’t about how much skin is showing. It is about how formal the outfit is
Formal? Any female with their stuff hanging out all over is never formal cover it up!!
If carnival drops dining rooms I’ll stop cruising. Forced you to pay for dinners
Scent Bird subscriber since 2017 & I absolutely love it!! My husband is now jumping on board with me which gives us an even better discount! 😊 Even if I don’t like a new scent that I selected or they chose for me, they make incredible gifts or giveaways so you never feel like you’re out of a purchase. Definitely recommend if anyone is curious!!!
I very much enjoy your cruise vlogs and try to watch them daily. Normally I watch on my tv and never comment. However, you and your wife have me hooked. I have been cruising for years and love watching vlogs when not cruising. Thanks so much for all you do to keep cruising exciting!
I hope they don’t start charging the dining room. We look forward to the two nights we dress up and attend. If I have to pay I may as well go to a specialty restaurant and pay☹️😞. However the dining room gives us the dress up night with family and friends, and everyone can choose whatever they want to eat 🥰
They will charge you, like in a restaurant. That's why it matters!
Shout out Arlo Guthrie! I play Alice’s Restaurant every Thanksgiving Day.
Great song right!
Hi Tony. Lot's of news today. MDR, dining room, restaurant. Whatever they call it. I'm thinking they want to say Restaurant to make it sound more "upscale". The person who booked the excursion with some unknown person. Wow, if I book a third party I do alot of research before giving my money to them. Praying for everyone in the path of the massive early hurricane. As always thank you for all you do ❤
IT'S A DINING ROOM! What are they going to do, kick you off the ship? Ban you for life?! 🙄
Concerning the poorly dressed cruiser, the restaurant hostess should have told him that he isn't being discriminated against, he can wear a dress with spaghetti straps to dinner also.🤣
Problem is he'd probably do it and she'd be up shits creek.
I figured it was that men must wear a collared shirt. That's not a rule for women, usually, hence the spaghetti straps, strapless, etc
I'm tempted! I'll shave my underarms and put on my girlfriend's more temperature comfortable dress if they'd let me. I'm not a fan of having to wear long pants and collared shirts, especially when it is warm enough that you aren't cold wearing spaghetti straps.
I'm on the Harmony now. We were unable to go to Roatan because of Beryl. Although we were disappointed, we, of course, understood that this was necessary. I can't imagine people complaining. Especially when you know there are so many crew members affected deeply by this storm. Many of them are worried about their homes and families. I am much more concerned about the people who may be experiencing real loss due to Beryl than us missing a port! Good grief, people!
Thanks for another great show! Happen to catch it right when posted today. The whole carnival name change is so silly lol Let's focus on important things like getting the hammocks back on the dream class! Lol
Ooh hammocks!
Freaking adults toddlers acting like dress up like a grown up is the worst it happened to them.
From what I've seen, cruises with Greenland on the itinerary rarely make it there. Falklands is the same. Our Holland America South America cruise had a scheduled port in the Falklands. Due to weather, we didn't make it and so many people were upset. Sure, there is snow blowing sideways - enjoy your cruise port.
I was fortunate and we made both ports in Greenland. I had no idea at the time that there can be issues porting there. So glad I did! Hope to get back there one day!
@@beachblythe Lucky you! I've been to Iceland (on a 10-day driving tour) and would love to see Greenland some day!
@@TheSlavetoabunny that’s awesome! I was in Iceland for 5 days with a teacher group after Christmas but didn’t see the northern lights! I will have to go back!!
@@beachblythe I was there last year July. I would love to see the northern lights, but not enough to go in the winter, LOL! We are going back in August 2026 to see the total solar eclipse.
@@TheSlavetoabunnyI didn’t have the correct shoes or clothing to be honest! I have a fear of ice and that ended up being an issue for me! They don’t really remove snow especially at waterfalls and geysers. Plus our mini van driver drove fast!!!
I believe it's tough that the person at the restaurant reception desk is the unfortunate one who has to break the news to those who do not meet the dress codes posted. I agree it's great that policies get followed through on.
I think what the cruise lines are teying to do is as they keep adding more and more restaurants on board that they'll just. Stop having the mdr cause then they charge more for the food
Now that you mention the “thing” about the MDR being called a restaurant, I realize that on my last cruise 2 weeks ago the did keep referring to it as a restaurant. It threw us off the first night because we then went searching for the MDR. 😅
Look forward to the cruise news and your views. Went on an NCL cruise once. Not a fan of that cruise line. Some years ago a fellow cruiser was very unhappy about out not going to the DR. A hurricane came through there. I only purchase one set of BINGO cards. The Legend is a nice ship. The staff did a lot for my wife who was undergoing physical problems at the time.
I’m not a fan of dress codes on cruise ships. One of the reasons I haven’t cruised in a long time is because I hate having to take so much clothing with me. I go to Walt Disney World a lot - about three weeks each year - and one of the reasons I enjoy it so much is because I can pack for a 10-day trip in one small suitcase. A few pairs of shorts, a few t-shirts, and underwear/socks. We stay in DVC villas that have washers & dryers, so we do laundry a couple of times during the trip.
The last couple of cruises I went on I had to take a large suitcase and a garment bag, just for clothing. Dealing with that much luggage is bad enough, but I’m also autistic and am very uncomfortable wearing clothing that covers my whole body. I can do it; I’m not going to have a meltdown over it. It’s just uncomfortable and therefore I’m miserable for the hours I’m wearing a suit coat, dinner jacket, slacks, or jeans. Shorts and a t-shirt are much, much better for me. If cruise lines did like Disney does with the "theme park attire" dress code, I might cruise again. But not on Carnival. You couldn’t pay me to go on a Carnival cruise ever again.
Then it sounds like cruising isn't for you. You certainly need to learn to pack, because you can easily get by with one pair of dress slacks and a few shirts for dining.
Then a cruise isn't the place for you or just don't eat at those places on those nights and instead do room service or something. Disney Cruises also have a dress code. Especially at the big themed restaurant. At the parks it would be impossible to enforce at the restaurants because people just walk in from riding.
As long as the dining room is still free, they can call it whatever, lol. Restaurant, I guess, sounds fancier.
Yeah, we’ll see you on the Lido but not in the main dining room!😅
Well, maybe Carnival changed it because people can sit around their "Dining" room and argue and fight, however, not expose the same behavior at a "Restaurant "
Many of the Greenland settlements don't even have roads that extend beyond the village itself. Any tour would be a walking tour and narration - at best. Cruise companies should not allow third parties to conduct business directly with passengers while on a cruise. This is not to give the cruise company a monopoly but to avoid the scams that can and do take place.
When I was young soldier we ate the Mess Hall, 14 years it’s no called a Dining Facility, same food with a new respectful name for greatest Army Cooks!!
Ah, rules, rules great she stood up for the rules.
We went to Ireland and Iceland on the Pride last August. There were heaps of cruisers on the Facebook group saying they were booking day tours with Sandra O'Leary. We didn't, as we always book via the cruiseline, or arrange sightseeing when we arrive into port. We missed one port in Iceland due to a storm and received our tour money back straight away from Carnival. We saw heaps of FB chatter from people worried about not getting a response from Ms O'Leary regarding refunds. We opted out of the group after the cruise, and I've always wondered what happened.
The dining room vs restaurant: To get people to accept major changes you condition them in small increments. The first increment for changing that huge space into something we have to pay extra for is to get you away from saying dining room. like another commented, "dining room" is a space such as would be found in your home. Whereas a restaurant is somewhere you go and pay extra. Think of the amount of space the dining rooms take up on the ship. There's no doubt in my mind that they are working towards changing that space into an increased money making space.
United calls the back of the plane "Economy." American calls it "Main Cabin."
Everyone still says Coach.
Surely the dining room is needed if only to make room for passengers to eat.
The MDR on Viking Ocean is called “The Restaurant “. I doubt anyone will be confused.
They want to call it a restaurant so they can start charging for meals there.
Sure was glad you got so animated about the MDR because watching your hide and seek t-shirt got me very curious about what it said below and when you threw up your arms I got the rest Loved it.
I agree. If content creators are going to wear shirts that say stuff, there should be a rule that they have to show us the full shirt. Just saying...
😂😂😂😂 I had to go back and view that section after reading this comment
They can call the MDR whatever they want as long as they don’t charge for it.