Interestingly, may repeat cruisers do overpack especially for many who carry cases of sodas & other stuff so they can save. Pu-leeezz.

As a 34 cruise veteran, forget being cheap while tackily lugging along cases of it. Just be creative, use your previous Carnival soda card or stickered card. BTW, many cruise lines use that tiny Coke sticker. When approaching a bar, smile, just flash open your wallet bi-fold showing your OLD/stickered card and THAT'S IT.

Bartenders are guest relations oriented & they don't normally hassle the respectable-looking guests.

Wanna get extra creative esp. for the newbies? approach & strike an amiable conversation with an exiting cruiser & they'll probably give u their old Coke card. Or u can buy it from them cheaply.

Indeed, what many do NOT PACK EXCESSIVELY IS THAT POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE. That ladies & gentlemen will almost ensure a super MEMORABLE cruise amidst the lil' problems that will surely come up.

Happy Creative Cruisin' Y'all!
110 cruisers frinds are coming with me for the 6th annual FunFrenzFamily Cruise (BajaMex) on Nov 27,06, CCL Paradise. Join us for interactive danzin & TOTAL FUN!! Besides, strangers like U are actually friends waiting to be met. SEE YA!

I believe in saving money when I can.

LEGIT !

I would never fraudulently use someone else's Drink Card. Or try to scam an expired one. To me that is stealing.

Not agreeing with their rules about certain things is one thing. Unscrupulous acts of theft is a whole different thing. The thought of someone having these kind of morals is disgusting to me.

IslandCruz

Thank you IslandCruz, I totally agree with you!!

Tacky is using someone else's drink card...or an old one....no that's cheap and tacky!! Or pretending to have a conversation just to scam someone to save a buck!

Pu-leeezz....if you can't afford a soda, drink the free beverages!

Respectable-looking.....let's see...Ted Bundy was respectable looking!

Life's what U make it....interesting name...I haven't been on this site for too long, but one thing I've noticed is that the folks who share cruise opinions and ideas are not posting offensive personal opinions! I guess I'm tacky, but I'll be carrying a few bottles of Ozarka...I'll watch for you at the drink counter!

Hey, splurge....buy a drink card. You might just feel better about yourself in the long run!

Have a Great Day!

I think that I would rather carry all the soda to save money than do something cheap like that. Wouldn't be embarrasing if you were to be caught?

The forty bucks or so that it costs to buy a drink card (if it is worth it to you to do so) is just not worth the risk of "being caught" if you ask me. I think it would be well within the cruise lines rights to put you off the ship.

We don't buy the drink cards because we don;t drink enough soda to make them pay off. If we drive to our cruise we bring some soda and water with us, but the cost of the soda is not worth lugging the weight around an airport if you ask me.

CCL does not mind if you bring your own soda and water on board. Does RCCL allow it? Our next cruise is with them and since we will be driving a rental car to the port from Orlando, we will most likely have the chance to pick some water and soda up on the way to the ship.

I too bring a few drinks along. I will not try to use an old card or someone else's. That isn't right.

Cruising is a great value overall, and I keep my costs down other ways.

Going on Carnival Holiday in 3 days!

Hello to all in cruise land! Alrighty then. First of all, sorry for I may have offended some.

Looking at some of the posts, many have offered their unique bright ways to circumvent the rules & regulations of cruise lines. In every cruiser's well-intentioned ways, they'll find opportunities to beat the rules, lawful or unlawful. Just like filing taxes, many find ways to avoid/evade/forego paying taxes & in turn defrauding the gov't. Drive 55?, many sings out " Can't drive 55!!" Many cruisers, not all, will beat the speed limit going to the cruise port.

Is there any cruise lines' rule that says, You can not use your and/or an old fountain card?

Interestingly a dominant topic is regarding the cruise lines' Don't-do-it rule: "Guests are prohibited from bringing alcoholic beverages on board." Yet many do, which goes with their definition of integrity... & that's their right. The moral majority that includes many posters here will have to admit... This is the rule! Yet, creative ways are offered continuously.

Regarding theft, I quote a poster here, "Have posted this several times, but here goes. I don't see anything wrong with taking some drinks aboard from a moral standpoint" And he added, "I have an easier solution. Wrap it in bubble wrap and put in checked luggage. If I can get a case of beer through no one should have a problem with a bottle of vodka..." Is that subtle thievery?. To many, it is not according to their conscience. Oh yes, many cruisers will even pretend & complain obnoxiously to the purser's deck so they'll get a $200 or so upgrade.

Indeed, many will preach their practical definition of what's immoral & moral. Yet, WE, NOT ALL offer COOL ways to get around the system. Fortunately for guests while adding to the cruise lines' demise, almost all cruise lines are "100% Satisfaction" goal oriented (inc. bartenders who would never dare directly embarass a "caught" guest). Admittedly, many take advantage of it inc. moi'. Almost all cruise staffers are so enamored on getting their names on the Comment Card that they'll do everything to please you. Along with extra tips, I proudly name them on the comment card.

A well-meaning cruiser with a good point posted, "next came the drink card, it still perturbs me they have to charge you for soda so i bought one card and shared it with my wife we would hit a bar the pass off the card around the corner". Surely, we see many get a fountain card drink & pass it on & get another one.

Many advisory posts are great & well-intentioned such as Island Cruz's, Annies & others.

Again, I apologize if I hit a moral nerve with ways to achieve America's Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness.

quote:

Regarding theft, I quote a poster here, "Have posted this several times, but here goes. I don't see anything wrong with taking some drinks aboard from a moral standpoint" And he added, "I have an easier solution. Wrap it in bubble wrap and put in checked luggage. If I can get a case of beer through no one should have a problem with a bottle of vodka..." Is that subtle thievery?.

That was my quote, and I stand by it as not "subtle thievery". If I take some beers I go to Bi-Lo and pay for them, and my check clears the bank.

What was proposed and put out as advice was to take something you did not pay for, and under false pretenses.

Is true we all sometimes break rules, but theft and stealing in my opinion should not be percieved and considered just another rule in a civilized society.

"America's Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness." If someone steals to get it, they did not "achieve" it, they stole it.

No ill will here just a difference of opinion of ethics.

Hope you have a great cruise with your group and tons of fun.

Very classy rebuff & rebuttal!! My but some folks seem to get their dander up about practically nothing. My husband & I are planning on going on our 3rd cruise in Jan 2007, actually that will be my fourth as I am taking my mother & daughter in December 2006, but I digress. . .We have never purchased a soda card because, [said LOUD & PROUD] "I'M CHEAP". Let me qualify that statement with, I grew up in a household that rarely kept it's head above the poverty line. One man's CHEAP is another man's THRIFTY.

You're quite correct "LIFE-R", there are MULTITUDES of post on this very site suggesting less than scrupulous ways of circumventing the "rules". I would also venture a guess that many of those whom you offended are residing in the most splendid glass homes!!

Your detractors are entirely correct in their assertion that stealing is wrong, and using an old card, someone else's card, etc would constitute theft, morally even if not legally. However, reality check folks. . .$40 for a soda card, come on!!! Who's cheating who!?!!? The profit margin on this alone has got to be 200-300%, on average.

And finally, to those of you who believe $40 is spare change, let me just say, "Lucky You". Now, off my soap box cause I feel kinda silly for getting so bent out of shape about how bent outta shape everyone else got at "LIFE-R".

I am pretty sure no one got bent out of shape.

The mark up on a Fountain Card is way above 300% if used as was sold and intended. If someone drinks alot of soda, buy a card or bring your own.

"Lucky You"? To most people, including myself $40 is not spare change. Most don't live in "splendid glass homes".

They work hard and save all year to do something they love..Going on a cruise.

I grew up pretty poor too, that is where I get my values from.

As evident on these posts, indeed many people visualize a grand vacation, save money and cruise. We do because it's the best value for the vacation dollar. And here we find & advice fellow cruisers on how to SAVE and great fun hints on their cruises.

Almost all cruise lines (or any business) that have visions of future successes and are consumer-oriented, DO monitor these posts. They'll see that there are many ways for cruisers to creatively defy or work around the system. Too bad, as some pretend severe sickness to get a free cruise or huge discount. Hmm, is that stealing, fraud? And the cruise lines are aware & mindful or it. They like our blogs because it's a free unsolicited survey for them.

Depending on the subject posts' magnitude, soon they'll comform to our sentiments. Who knows one of these days, CCL's visionary owner Micky Arison will dictate a new marketing slogan, "We heard you! Unlimited sodas for all" Booze, probably not.. not enough barf bags to go around...

I agree with Pagan (Thanks Pagan), "The profit margin on this alone has got to be 200-300%, on average". Guess what? the cruise lines profit margin for photos (their best money maker) is approx. 1000%!! That piece of paper costs them pennies then sell it at $10 or more. They price it unfairly to us because they know it's instant priceless heirloom to cruisers. Now, who is taking advantage of whom?

Unfortunately for me at this issue, I hit an odd nerve at the very onstart, got misinterpreted at first quick glance with an abrupt thief label & so I'm stuck with it. That's cool...I'll take it..

Isl C quoted "What was proposed and put out as advice was to take something you did not pay for, and under false pretenses." Wait a minute now IC, I PAID for the fountain card with my hard earned money. All I'm doing is show them my recycled card & the bartenders oblige. They don't ask so I don't tell. Besides, we try to recycle to save, don't we all?.

If the card was bought cheaply from someone or somebody gave it to me as a "gift" (just like buying cheaply or given an unused airline coupons) is that "subtle theft" to the cruise line or airlines? Surely, we all have "gifted" to other people certain valued items rendered to us for our own use. Yet, we (not all) gift it to them heartily for their benefit, don't we? Are we then accessory to the "crime"?

To add to the point, at a cruise entry picket line one time, the union labor sign says, "Thieves, you are robbing us!!". To them, it's because we repeatedly use & condone non-union cruise lines that pay monthly $40 crew's pay. Are we really robbing the union folks?... by cruising at cheap rates and/or shopping & saving at WalMart?? That's another topic along with cruise lines using our tips as the crew's majority wage....

False pretenses? Stuffing & hiding illegal booze as to pretend it's not there? Yes, we all have our own uniquely defined values & ethics. Hopefully, berating someone repeatedly is not one of OUR God-endowed qualities.

I too was born penniless but I worked hard to achieve America's LL & POH. At early age, got lucky at equity funds & Calif real estate, now "retire-ded" at 40's. Like Isl C, Annies, Pagan & all... cruise we love.

I still say & truly believe, strangers like y'all are actually friends waiting to be met... at the next cruise congaline, Ole, Ole! Hava Kool Krooze, y'all!!

I'm one of those knuckleheads who packed 48 bottles of water and 4 twelve packs of soda. Know what I did with the 1/2 of that stuff that was left at the end of the cruise? Gave it to the room steward to do with it what he wished. Sometimes I DO wonder what in the world he did with all that liquid.

Hey fivepoints,

He prolly took it to his cabin, and was grateful for it I don't take quite that much though. Usually 2 bottles of water per day, and a six-pack of 16oz caffeine free diet pepsi. And I carry on a gallon of water to refill the bottles. But you had the two girls, who knew?

I usually have some of my "subtle theft" beer left, and give it to the Steward, He always thanks me alot for it. I think they are pretty appreciative for anything they get extra. I try to get a t-shirt from the beachwear stores after season sale and take for them, they always are very thankful.

quote:

I still say & truly believe, strangers like y'all are actually friends waiting to be met... at the next cruise congaline, Ole, Ole! Hava Kool Krooze, y'all!!

Hey, Life's what U make it,

I totally agree with that

Was just ribbing you in the previous post about the "subtle theft" of my beers.

No one has labeled you a thief in any way. I was speaking to the idea of it. Just a disagreement. Maybe you are right about it striking a nerve, and I should have not responded so strongly.

No labels here, if they did, they would have to put a big one before my name. " non tip person hating, don't wear jeans in the dining room, leave the brats at home because they say I hate children, parenting issues, cell phone use dis-liking, chair saving hating, rude and obnoxious people hating, CVC people ripping off people hating".

And through some of the dis-agreements have came Friendships.

I think you are pretty safe from any label just because of a difference of opinion

Fair Skies and Calm Winds,
IslandCruz

WOW!! Aren't we all just perfect now!! I agree IslandCruz...maybe we both jumped in too fast! I don't mean to condemn! I'm certainly not without guilt! My point is this...it just seems that some people's goal in life is to try to beat the system! Well, friends, when we do, we are just as bad as the other guy! Agree?

In our younger, and more athletic years..we used to catch the snow skier at the end of his day, and talk him out of his lift ticket...just to get a couple of runs in before the lifts closed! Actually a ski bum in Taos, New Mexico taught us this little trick! See...I'm not without guilt.... I guess I've just decided it's best to deal with things another way now...or maybe I'm just a little wiser now!

Either pay or figure out that maybe that soda card is outrageous and a rip off...and just do without, or...take your own! Hey, so what if you're seen carrying a six pack of drinks?? Who really cares what strangers think anyway?? I certainly don't! Life's too short!!

I really think that cruises are such a great value, with the food, entertainment and the "free" drinks, that the cruise lines are like any other business...they know what they can do for little cost and charge the most for. Folks like their cokes, they love their cruise pictures, and they love their alcohol...and these things are cheap for the cruise lines to supply to us, and since they know we love this stuff...we'll pay a premium price to get it!

So hey....let's all lighten up....we're all here to give opinions and suggestions, and by all means help each other make the best of our hard earned money! I don't know about the rest of you, but from what I'm reading, non of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouths. We love cruising, and work hard and save hard for it!! So...let's just be friends....OK??

HAPPY CRUISIN' TO ALL!!!!!

I LOVE THAT BEAUTIFUL BLUE WATER AND THOSE BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS!!!!!!

Leaving November 27....on the Ecstasy....can't wait!!! Still looking for anyone else on this cruise!!

quote:

Originally posted by IslandCruz:
"Lucky You"? To most people, including myself $40 is not spare change. Most don't live in "splendid glass homes".

I don't live in a "Splendid Glass House" I work hard for what I have. If there is something I want and I can't afford I would not justify stealing it by saying it cost too much or they marked the price way up anyway.

Larry,

Thanks for agreeing with me. But, I don't think we can change anyone's ethics. But when I see something like that it does strike a nerve with me.

The Hoot of the whole thing to me is Life said they made money in equities and California real estate and retired in their 40's.

There ya go

I have been on several cruises and for the past two cruises, I HAVE purchased the Fountain Card. Did it occur to me to use my old one again....NO! I don't find myself in such dire straights as to have to stoop to that type of deception.
I have however seen a multitude of ways people have tried to get out of purchasing many things...including seeing a friend bring a small liquid cooler hidden in a bag to the Captain's Night where he then proceeded to pour all the free drinks he could into the cooler for later use. Again, I don't feel the need to participate in that.
As far as Life's comment about the markup the cruise line makes off of the customer who purchases a Fountain Card....I don't understand how their obviously high markup justifies a breach of conduct on anyones part. Good gracious....how desperate can one be?

My mistake...it was pagan and not Life who brought up the information about markup.

Hello to all again in cruiser land!! I think we all agree here that we love cruisin'. Once there was a cruise line industry adage.."You haven't lived until you have cruised.." And cruise we do with Xtatic Xcitement & deep passion. We are basically helping the cruise lines by patronizing them. Our patronage goes beyond by inviting all with these positive posts. We're like a brotherhood of Kool Kroozers, aren't we?

I admit I'm El Cheapo. I'm so cheap that, I'm not gonna share my hard-earned money especially when they ask (with deception in their ads) for more taxes at election time. One may say, "I don't understand how the politicians' obviously high tax goals justifies a breach of conduct on anyones part. Good gracious....how desperate can the people or a person be?"

cruzinallthetime has all the right to attack my opinionated dea on how to "rebel against the cruise lines unfair charges".

Hmm, almost all the national fast food chains offer free drink refills. Why can't our "cruise line friends" render that to us. Heck, we are their BEST advertisers & we work for FREE!! Ok, they price it cheaply for us, or is it? In 45 days, I'm escorting 110 FUN dance cruisers with me & lotsa freebie stuff they gave us. We love it, Carnival loves it!

Thanx to Island C for he showed his genuine excellence & true character when he said, " I am really surprised by the Personal attacks in a few previous posts. Not that I have not been guilty in the past also. I think if you disagree with someone say what it is you disagree about. Don't attack the person for having a different point of view."

Thanx Annies, pagan for moderating this friendly post as well. And friendly, it will stay...

Meanwhile, can y'all imagine if CCL & all go belly up & cruise no more? If they did, some may say, "Good riddance, I hate cruises". Many posters here (not all) may say, "Gosh, maybe I should have bought the ship's booze instead of bringing my illegal own, tipped more to help them pay the $40-per-month workers. Or maybe ..."I shouldn't have not 'deceived while pretending" to be a friend of the bartender who gave me free drinks to return for my friendship. I knew he stealing from his employer. Was I desperate for a freebie?"

As evident with the posts here, we strongly recommend others to join us at cruises. They feel our rabid fanaticism for the luxurious sea life. Yes, we suggest many on ideas to save at the expense of our "high margin & profitable' cruise line friends. Save we do because the next cruise is coming! Hey, we're "cruisin all the time".

Expanding the point. While at a NCL Hawaii cruise 6 weeks ago, many U.S. port of calls have free WalMart shuttles to their stores. Of course, many will take advantage of it. But they go to the nearby stores & carrying non-WMart bags they board it on the shuttle back. Is this a tactical move against WM or an act of desperation or frugality of cruisers who don't want to pay for cab fare??

Two years ago, the good Lord taketh my cruiser mate/wife of 31 years. Lucky I am cause the Lord also blessed me with great FunFrenzFamily. Now cruisin's the way to live it further... to the fullest. Just like anything in life (just like these posts), it's a state of one's mind... & interpretation. See ya' at the next cruise.