talkorpi

Aahhh! You're getting me excited... I still have to wait 16 days 🤪

Hey @TxTeach79 - are they showing any March Madness games on the lido screen or in the sports bar?

Yes! That's it. It looks almost done. I wonder what's taking so long...

Gotcha! We anchored at Belize on Vista last year and I noticed a giant artificial island with construction cranes that wasn’t there the last time I was in Belize (which was like 2013 so it had been a while). Apparently, it is a new development called “Port Coral” that the government is building in partnership with a private developer. The goal is to provide a place for ships to anchor rather than have to tender. It is basically going to be something like Mahogany Bay or Grand Turk, but it will be its own island. It seems like a great project, but I also think it is really behind schedule and there’s not a lot of transparency / news updates about it’s progress… Here’s the website in case you’re interested: https://www.portcoral.com/

I wonder when Belize is going to open Port Coral. Please do post a photo tomorrow if you are docked close enough.

Of course this is all personal preference but I would 1000000% rather visit Tallinn than St. Petersburg. That itinerary looks like my DREAM

If you're setting sail on April 2nd, then yes we will be on the same cruise! It's my first time cheating on Carnival so we'll see how I like it 😉

It's pretty sandy last time I was there

Thank you for posting these! This is an excellent live thread and it is really holding me over until my cruise next month. I love Mahogany Beach and it is even BETTER when you get to watch a ship pull in. We were there last year and I was just sitting in the water at the edge of the rope staring at the Caribbean Princess back in for what seemed like hours. Good memories...

I would just like to pop in to say that when Carnival first revealed the Mardi Gras, all staterooms had a coffee maker appear in the renderings. Then, just right before the ship launched, they disappeared. Of course on the entire Excel class now, there are no coffee makers in the staterooms, not even in suites. This past occurrence by another CCL corp cruise line makes me skeptical to believe the renderings. I guess we will all find out early next year when Sun is launched.

My upgrade took me from a midship obstructed OV to literally the furthest-aft balcony cabin that doesn't actually face backwards. Just be aware that the location of your cabin will not necessarily be the same. I've heard that some people have successfully called after an upgrade and been moved to a different available cabin in the same category, but as I like my new location (we got one of those extended angled balconies so I'm fine with being far aft), I have not done this and I'm unable to verify. Best of luck with your decision!

Good evening y’all. Looking forward to my first Princess cruise in just 19 days. This might be a really dumb question but since I’m new to PCL I figured I would ask anyways. I’m not planning on purchasing a pass to the Sanctuary as I simply wouldn’t use the space and it isn’t worth the extra cost to me. Plus, I’m not in the first boarding group so by the time I got to the top deck it would likely be gone anyways. However, I was interested in peeping in the space for just a minute to get a quick forward view and at least see what the space looks like. My question is - would that be allowed? Do you have to pay to even ENTER the space, or is it just a “pay to use the loungers for half the day but if you want to pass through that’s okay?” I hope this question makes sense.

You got salt on it this time! What changed? 😂

Depends on what theme you want - Valor is "USA" themed, and Glory's theme is "Colors." Both of them are Farcus ships so you will be seeing that theme on steroids for the duration of your cruise. 🤣

Yes - I got mine earlier this week. I believe they assign in the order the bids are placed.

Any speculation on what they're going to name the second ship? My money's on either Moon, Star, or Sea Princess (probably in that order). Just hope to God it's not Sphere Princess but with current PCL leadership I wouldn't count it out 😂

Does anyone know if this includes the ice cream cookie sandwiches on the Grand class ships? Since they don't all have Gelato bars I would hope you could redeem a dessert credit for that.

I wonder where to find these cakes on ships without Gelato. Maybe the IC? Hoping they'll have it on Ruby soon - those sundae things don't really appeal to me much, but that chocolate cake sure does... 🤤

Yes, lobster is still included on the menu on the second formal night.

25 days out. A big batch of people got their upgrades a few days ago so you may be right

Got an email overnight - my bid was accepted! Bid the minimum ($110 pp) to upgrade from an obstructed OV to a standard balcony (7-day cruise). I had been having tons of technical issues over the past few days with the bidding system and I guess that's why. Even better - we got one of the only four "triangle balconies" on the entire ship! We'll be in one of those awesome angled balconies at the aft end on Ruby. SCORE! Very happy cruiser right now 😄

Well, I was bored a few weekends ago and did some calculations with speed and distance and whatnot on some voyage planning software and it's definitely possible. The ships can reach Jamaica and Cayman (haven't really been doing that reliably since Vista is so slow). They can also go to Key West but they don't stop there very often. Even if Carnival would just mix up the rotation, it would be nice. Its always either Cozumel, Belize/Costa Maya, Roatan or Cozumel, Cayman, Jamaica. Maybe start doing things like Coz, Roatan, Cayman (you get the picture) - I know it would take longer but I would be willing to trade a couple hours of port time for some variety. If you start getting into 8-day territory you can even do some further out ports.

Well I think I am out of the running. For some reason when I go to the bidding portal, it now says "Ineligible to Bid." I have been able to access and manage my bids for two months, and my TA is a confirmed participant in the program. Of course, Princess live chat was no help. Oh well

I just purchased a nicer lanyard that looks like a necklace for my mother as opposed to spending $45 for the pendant offered by Princess. It was pretty cheap and I think it will look great. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BCSHSQG?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

I still haven’t heard back about our cruise departing 4/2. I bid the minimum but only because the minimum seemed pretty high ($120 pp just from an oceanview to a standard balcony for 7 nights). Apparently a lot of others received upgrades and I haven’t so not sure. I would cancel and increase the bid but as I’m trying to pay with a gift card I don’t want to place a new bid under the new rules. Fingers crossed…