txsmiles

@Wxman0 thank you for sharing all of this information about your tour! We are planning a similar trip in early May.  Curious about where you ended up eating, you mentioned food truck at the beach... was it at Playa Kenepa Grandi or at a different beach?  

On 12/10/2023 at 9:01 PM, db8alien said:

We're heading to the ABC Islands in April and will be booking a private tour in Curacao. The tour company is recommending the itinerary below - anything to add or remove?  We will have our water and adventure loving 5 year old with us. 

 

Flamingo watching at the salt lakes of Sint Willibrordus.

 

Shete Boka National Park. 

 

Playa Piskado.

 

Lunch at the local restaurants of Westpunt.  (Recommendations needed!)

 

Playa Kenepa Grandi.

 

Thanks in advance!

@db8alien have you gotten any other feedback on your itinerary?  And how did you locate/choose your tour company - have you used them before?  Appreciate your thoughts!

Would love to see some suggestions for small group or private Curacao tours!

Thanks @figmentfreak and @aeweil appreciate the confirmation!  I was thinking/hoping this was true, but since I haven't seen a single photo anywhere of the beds set up as twins in the Havana Cabanas I thought I'd better check 🙂 

Does anyone have picture of a Havana Cabana or Havana Aft balcony room set up with twin beds instead of a King?  Traveling on the Carnival Horizon in April with my sister and looking at changing to a Havana room but have never seen one set up with the two beds - can it actually be done?

Appreciate your help!

7 hours ago, Tobleronebar said:

Ha… I thought the same thing!

me too!  Glad to know the drive isn't actually from THE west coast LOL

@tigger77732 have you learned anything more about this?  Seems like a great set up!

On 9/22/2023 at 11:47 AM, Djford75 said:

They were absolutely fantastic!! New carts, easy to get to from cab ride.  She said they have four seaters on order and I think coming in October.  Highly recommend, Maureen even gave us a ride back to the Ship!!

@Djford75 we will be there with a late stay in port (10pm), do you know whether they allow you to keep the golf carts past 5pm so you can enjoy dinner further than walking distance from the pier?

On 10/24/2023 at 4:24 PM, kdmal1 said:

Aruba: Found someone outside of the port to take us all on a tour of the island. Our driver would stop at some beautiful places and would take pictures of the 6 of us. It was fun and would do it again. The cost was $30 per person, and it was just us in the bus. We went to Eagle Beach and watched the sunset. Breathtaking. We did some shopping at was back on the ship for our late dinner at 8:15.

Thanks @kdmal1 for sharing your experiences.  Curious about whether you know who you used for your Aruba tour?

On 10/25/2023 at 6:05 PM, ObstructedView2 said:

 

Hi @txsmiles🙂

 

I just wanted to point out two things; 14226 is a handicap accessible cabin. Also, 14226 does not have an overhead balcony cover (no roof). Others will be able to give you more input, I just wanted to touch upon those two things. 

 

 

💃🍹💃

Thanks @ObstructedView2 appreciate this information!

On 10/25/2023 at 6:15 PM, weezal said:

recently stayed in that cabin on sister ship panorama.

no noise issues from above.

note that only 2 elevators (out of fwd bank of 8 ) go up to this deck level.

there are stairs at the front of the ship, to go down directly into the spa.

balcony can get hot without any covering above.

thanks for the feedback!  Hope you had fun on Panorama, we were on that ship in July with our grandsons - and a great trip.

We've booked an 8-night on Carnival Horizon in a Spa Balcony on Deck 14 (cabin #14226).  Any experiences / reviews / thoughts about noise issues from the Serenity Deck directly above this cabin?  Or experiences with this deck / area?  We haven't usually selected this high up or this far forward, but since our first choice (Havana balcony) still isn't available we're hoping that the Spa Balcony will be a good choice.  I'll be traveling with my sister, looking forward to time to relax and enjoy a visit that is just us - no spouses / kids / grandkids on this one!  Really appreciate any experiences you can share - hoping that there isn't too much noise from deck chairs, etc. above us in that area.

6 hours ago, jeffsnoy said:

I just got off the ship yesterday.  I was A-04 and boarding started around 11:30am.

Hopefully you will have normal ops 7 July.  Debarkation started around 9:45am. We made an 11:35am flight out of Long Beach but it was rushed.

Thank you, this is helpful!

2 hours ago, nwcruiselover said:

Long Beach is one port where arrival times are strictly adhered to.  So if diamonds, platinums, suites and FTTF arrive before their arrival times, they will not be able to enter the terminal.  Long Beach has separate line-ups for all the arrival times, and everyone must get in their appropriate line.  With a 11:00 - 11:30 arrival time and being in a suite, you should be onboard by 12:00 - 12:30 under normal conditions.

Thanks, appreciate the response!

6 hours ago, skrufy said:

Are you on a 7 day cruise, a journeys cruise? If the ship turn around has no delays you should be on board by 12-12:30. Bring some snacks to be safe. A journeys cruise check in times are not enforced,  you show up when you want to. This could cause a longer delay checking in and boarding This is because there are so many diamonds and platinums on these cruises.

Sorry to leave out these details, 7-day Mexican cruise. Not Journeys cruise.

We will be on Panorama departing Long Beach on July 7th.  We are in a Family Harbor Suite, and at check-in received 11-11:30am arrival time, boarding zone A-03.  

Assuming "normal" operations, can anyone give me any idea about what time we are likely to actually get on board the ship?  Traveling with our grandsons and trying to decide whether we need to carry much in the way of snacks with us since it will be close to their lunchtim... the younger one is prone to become "hangry" if meals are too delayed so we'll definitly have something with us either way.

Appreciate whatever insight folks on recent Panorama trips can offer!

We've been glad to purchase Faster to the Fun on previous Carnival cruises... but this time we've booked a Family Harbor Suite.  My understanding is that this provides priority boarding & other perks.  Is there still a benefit to purchasing FTTF?  Appreciate any input!

3 hours ago, mkcurran said:

So I search and found Las Palapas. Here you can rent the two lounger set-up for the day for a food and beverage minimum of 1,000 pesos or about $54.

Can you tell me more about this place?  We've got a morning excursion (not throught the ship) but I'm hoping to find a place to spend some time on the beach for the afternoon... were you able to reserve in advance? Your pictures look like exactly what we're looking for, sun + sand + umbrellas + ocean + food/beverage service!

4 hours ago, mkcurran said:

The hydrotherapy spa on the Panorama leaves a lot to be desired, like comfortable seating for more than four people at a time, or comfortable seating in general really. Also it is shallow. Like kiddie pool shallow. 

 

Thanks for the info on the hydrotherapy spa - I loved the spa's thalassotherapy pool on a previous cruise years ago, but the photos of the new spa pools looked very shallow, appreciate knowing that my impression was correct. 

Excited to hear your thoughts, we’ve recently booked Panorama for the same itinerary in July. Taking our grandsons and eager for info on the ship and the ports.  We’ve been on Vista, but not this ship and have never done the Pacific coast of Mexico itinerary. Thanks in advance sharing!

great review and photos - thanks!

Interested in your Cabo water taxi, what was your route & how did you choose the taxi that you used?   

On 11/17/2021 at 7:58 PM, AZ Ocean Lover said:

We love our balconies and love the aft view.  We took the aft facing cabin on about 3 of the last 4 cruises and started out loving it but our last one was in Alaska in August and we finally said that we were done with the smaller cabins and will chose mini-suites again for the extra space. 
 

One more thing to consider - we were in an aft facing cabin on the Regal in February, 2020 and we did have the soot problem.  Not enough to bug me but really bugged my husband.

Wondering which deck you were on that you experienced the soot issue... We'll be on the Regal next year for an 11 night Mediterranean trip.  Considering changing from our deluxe balcony (we got one of the angled forward facing balconies) to the aft facing for the extra space. I've heard lower decks seem to have less soot problems? We use our balcony a lot, I think my husband would be annoyed if it was enough of an issue to keep him from wanting to sit out there. Appreciate any thoughts you can share!

We were just on the Golden SB from Whittier to Vancouver. Certainly an older ship, and showing age & looking dated in some areas... but nothing that interfered with our trip or the enjoyment of the cruise for us! Saw a few drips, and smelled something unpleasant a time or two but the ship seemed clean, our cabin was comfortable, the food in the Club level area of the Donatello dining room was good, the pizza on Lido was tasty, the coffee at the International Cafe was very good (we made full use of our coffee cards!) and the treats & snacks from there were enjoyable. We did not care for the breakfast we had in the Horizon Court so chose not to eat there again. The shows we saw were about as expected. We would choose this ship again without hesitation.

All of that being said, except for the staff in the Club dining area and an especially engaging guy in the Vines gift shop who went out of his way to be helpful for our small purchases, throughout the ship we found service to be "friendly" (i.e. smiling faces) but indifferent and impersonal. Nothing to complain about specifically, everything was absolutely "fine" and everyone smiled. However, again except for the Club dining room, none of the service was exceptional - not even in the Crown Grill when we went for dinner. I'm quite certain our cabin steward did not know our name, and perhaps I'd expected too much and had an unrealistic expectation that Princess was a step-up from our previous Carnival cruises and that splurging for a club level mini-suite would bring us a touch more of a luxury experience. If you compared to land-based hotels it was certainly better than Motel 6, and I wasn't expecting the Four Seasons, but I'd hoped for more Marriott Marquis than Hampton Inn if that makes sense.

We were just on the Golden SB from Whittier to Vancouver. Certainly an older ship, and showing age & looking dated in some areas... but nothing that interfered with our trip or the enjoyment of the cruise for us! We are big believers in "the trip is what you make of it", and we had a great time! The ship seemed clean, or cabin was comfortable, the food in the MDR (we sat in the Club level area of the Donatello dining room for most meals) was good, the pizza on Lido was tasty, the coffee at the International Cafe was very good & the treats & snacks from there were enjoyable and appreciated. The shows we saw were about as expected, and the Ultimate Ship Tour was interesting & informative. We loved the views & ports and would do this itinerary and ship again without hesitation.

All of that being said, except for the staff in the Club dining area and an especially engaging guy in the Vines gift shop who went out of his way to be helpful for our small purchases, throughout the ship we found service to be "friendly" (i.e. smiling faces) but indifferent and impersonal. Nothing to complain about specifically - our room was generally made up within a reasonable amount of time, the people at the desk and internet cafe were reasonably responsive when we had a question, bar staff & wait staff brought the drinks we ordered without extremely long waits. Everything was absolutely fine and everyone smiled. However, again except for the Club dining room, none of the service was exceptional - not even in the Crown Grill. I'm quite certain our cabin steward did not know our name, and perhaps I'd expected too much and had an unrealistic expectation that Princess was a step-up from our previous Carnival cruises and that splurging for a club level mini-suite would bring us a touch more of a luxury experience. If you compared to land-based hotels it was certainly better than Motel 6, and I wasn't expecting the Four Seasons, but I'd hoped for more Marriott Marquis than Hampton Inn if that makes sense to anyone.

Hopefully you can view these recently posted photos of those prices.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h19FheGlcD0jQuQ-OS7DTboAXaQ5bEvb/view

 

The $31 coffee card price adds a 15% gratuity like all drink purchases for a total of $35.65. Cappuccino or latte are $2.50 (small) or $3.50 (large) plus 15% gratuity and with the coffee card & new coffee program you can get either size & brewed coffee is $1.25 or $1.75.

Thanks, that's a big help! So, gratuity being the same either way, and if I can use my "card" for either size, $31 ÷ $3.50 = 8.8. If I get 9 speciality during the week I break even. Every additional speciality drink and brewed coffee puts me ahead. Not crazy about the new rules, but this still makes sense for me... as long as we can get large drinks we'll keep our pre-purchased cards.