RhinoMomIL

I've been going through reviews and youtube videos trying to figure out where the connecting door will be between two connecting balcony staterooms on the MG. I found a picture of one room with the door very close to the balcony in the stateroom with the beds by the balcony. But in the other room, with the sofa by the balcony, there would be a counter and small refrigerator beneath so I'm wondering where the door will be. We have the two rooms in the widest part of the midship hump - 12358 and 12362 - and I can't even tell which one will be which layout. I'm just curious if anyone has any insight! TIA

My two cents is my kids thought Oasis class was really cool but their food options were not as good in our opinion. The MDR are pretty similar but with Guys Burgers and BBQ and Blue Iguana - we didn't like the RCL stuff as much. I would go again on Oasis class but not if it was a lot more than Carnival. Our favorite ship so far may have been the Magic. Kids played basketball and dodgeball a lot. 

Either do an Instacart delivery to your hotel or Uber to the nearest store. 

5 minutes ago, audcc77 said:

Hmmm. I guess it doesn’t matter unless they replace with HMC.  

That would be great!  
 

GT is just not the same since the trees were taken out by a hurricane. 
 

Seems like they have been replacing it with Nassau up until now. I wonder if they will continue doing that until they dredge rather than making it a tender stop when GT seems to want to limit cruise passengers.

Thank you! Enjoyed it very much. Safe drive back!

17 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

If you’re just dying to spot Kmom and company in the flesh you can do so where indicated. After planning to get fist pick of cabana I ended up instead with literally the last one, mom having decided not to deal with a tender shuttle and not talking to the excursion desk until Tuesday as a result. There was exactly one left by then and they were real apologetic so I wonder if it’s haunted or something.

 

 

 

Question: If you rent a cabana on HMC does your ticket get you on an early tender? We had a ticket for a clamshell rental at Princess Cays and everyone with any kind of ticket was able to use it for priority tender boarding. I saw some with tickets for paddleboat rentals who boarded the tender before Group 1 as well. 

I really liked the Hub app on my last cruise on Horizon in 2019 - we had extended family so the messaging was great, and I love YTD now that you can check in on the app. I don't think I would do YTD otherwise. Fast forward to my cruise last week on the Sunrise with only one companion and the messaging feature never worked. Tried to activate messaging - asked if I wanted the $5 messaging feature, I'd click yes, it would confirm, then I'd go to try to create a message and it would start all over. I must have confirmed that $5 messaging feature 12 times. I was half expecting a $60 messaging charge. We gave up after the first night because we both had internet plan so we could iMessage if we really needed to. I didn't feel like going to Guest Services to complain or get the $5 charge removed. 

3 minutes ago, RhinoMomIL said:

Which shuttle company are you using? We are a party of 4 sailing in March and I'm trying to figure out our different options and shared shuttle vs private. 

NVM I just saw your post with the specifics. I will be calling Cruise Control. 

On 12/16/2021 at 1:55 PM, SNJCruisers said:

I personally would choose a hotel near MCO and then get a shuttle the following morning directly to the ship.  Hotels near the airport will be half the price as in Cocoa Beach and you can just use Uber Eats for dinner delivery.  We're staying at the Wingate at MCO for 97 in February and then getting a private shuttle for 80 bucks to take us to the ship the following morning, picking us up at 845 am.

Which shuttle company are you using? We are a party of 4 sailing in March and I'm trying to figure out our different options and shared shuttle vs private. 

On 12/17/2021 at 12:59 PM, Ashland said:

They are highly recommended and the personal contact directly with Corey when making your reservation is amazing.

Ashland does Cruise Control have a set schedule for the return trip? Or do they have so many passengers they just fill up each shuttle and then go? We have usually either driven to the port or taken a taxi so I wasn't sure how to schedule your return trip when you don't know exactly when you will be walking out of customs. TIA!

One thing I'm curious about is where the best spots are for loungers in the shade. It looks like the Patio Pool on deck 8 might have a lot of umbrellas? On the Horizon and Magic there is the one deck above Lido that is covered and I love that. Would appreciate any tips for shade still near the pools. TIA

11 minutes ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

There is also wonderful bourbon banana pie at Guy’s Pig & Anchor.  I have gone there in the evening just for the pie.

Great idea! Since it's table service for dinner how does this work? Do they seat you even if you have already ate somewhere else or can you get it to go?

On 10/25/2021 at 4:50 AM, KmomChicago said:

 

We are not picky eaters at all, and we are usually fine with whatever they put in front of us - however, remember on this ship, at least for the current time and unspecified future, Cucina, Chibang! and Pig and Anchor Smokehouse are all included as nightly dinner options for those with YTD. 

 

Thank you Kmom! This is extremely helpful. Do you mind if I ask which itinerary this was for? I think sometimes they shuffle menus a bit if the sea days and elegant nights fall differently. For the 3 other included dinner options can you make reservations ahead of time or once aboard? TIA and have a great time on your Christmas cruise! 

10 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Did they drop anchor and tender or cancel their visit?

I would love to know this as well - we are on the 3/26 cruise stopping in GT. 

8 hours ago, tucho said:

 

Isla Verde beach is your best bet.  They have everything you asked for. Prefer the west side.

Condado beach is also good, it’s closer to port. Has everything you wanted, but This beach usually has a rougher surf. So, if you’ll planning to go in the water, Isla Verde is the better choice.

Now if you want to be mostly alone, Ocean Park beach is very nice. Most are local residents that go there, only crowded on the weekends. Just sand and ocean!!

Enjoy Life!!

So Isla Verde is a beach where you can just show up and rent chairs, buy food and drink?

We are supposed to be there in March on the Mardi Gras and I wanted to book one of the cabanas right at the club at the port and they aren't listed on the shore excursions. If anyone who stops at GT can report back on the situation at Margaritaville I would appreciate it!

On 12/11/2021 at 8:26 PM, brilliantseas said:

Tonight's Dinner Menu (Day 7 / Last Sea Day)

 

 

 

Carnival's signature dessert - Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. This one was just a little too "liquid" for my liking. I ate about half of it, along either the ice cream. 

Just off the Sunrise and we said the same thing about the Melting Cake. It's all chocolate sauce now and hardly any cake. I used to get it almost every night and once was enough for me this time. 

I can't find any pictures but we sailed on original Mardi Gras over Easter 1982. I looked and Easter was April 11 so I know it was either 4/10 or 4/11 that the cruise started. We went to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel (not in that order). I've tried to get credit but I think I need to know the exact date. I did get credit for my 4-day in 1987 out of Fort Lauderdale - but I knew the date of that one thanks to this picture. Didn't have to send it though. 

MardiGras87.pdf

22 hours ago, matymil said:

You must have never been Nassau, Antigua, St. Kitts or Freeport

If you sail out of Galveston you may have been to Progreso - that's the worst stop ever but I would not get off the ship in Nassau again either. 

4 minutes ago, trulytracy said:

The public beach is basically a continuation of the resort beach. On the day we were there, there were about a million empty chairs with umbrellas but not knowing the situation, we didn't take any. I would guess that if you wanted to rent chairs you definitely could and they might even be free.

Thank you! Can you buy refreshments at all? 

On 12/4/2021 at 4:34 PM, trulytracy said:

We rode the free shuttle to the public beach and just spread out our towels on the sand. We spent a lovely 3 hours or so floating in the clear water with a nice sandy bottom. If you love the beach, this is a nice simple stop.

Is there a place to rent a couple of chairs with an umbrella?

5 hours ago, TooManyWakeUpsTilWeSail said:

Hello all.  Obviously Carnival does not have an amended cancellation policy for cruises after 9/30.  Our cruise is in October and we will likely be canceling.  Final payment is 75 days before departure in our case.  I see no benefit to “pay in full” in order to get future OBC on a cruise I probably am not going on.  

What will you do if your final due date is approaching & don’t want OBC?  Another factor for me is that $500 of what was paid was on a Carnival gift card.  If refunded to that card I doubt the re-sell market will recoup even 50%.  I probably would just gift it to someone.  Not trying to be controversial here but I see much less incentive to buy discounted gift cards right now.  Thanks

I don't know why you think you won't be able to recoup most of your gift card. I just booked a cruise for March 2021. Everyone has to do what's best for them and if that means not cruising for you I respect that. But I don't think cruising is going away. You will be able to get a lot of that money back. 

16 hours ago, RWolver672 said:

 

Technically, the dividers all open for maintenance staff.  As far as opening them for guests, that's still up in the air as to which ones open to which ones.  

 

When we booked our cabins, we always want two that the divider can be opened.  Our PVP couldn't find the info so he asked his supervisor which ones opened to which ones.  Even his supervisor couldn't find the answer. 

 

I sent him an e-mail last week asking if anyone knew the answer yet.  I also asked him if the sliding doors to the balcony have the ability to have either door slide.  He wrote back saying that they still haven't figured out which balcony divider opens to which cabin.  He also said that there is a rumor that both doors will slide but it's only a rumor at this time.

Thank you! We aren't sailing until March 2021 so I'm looking forward to when there are actual reviews from passengers.

On 2/18/2020 at 6:03 PM, PaulMedik said:

I put a 48 hour hold on the first balcony off the pool area on deck 16, but after watching the video I'm thinking aft wrap suite is the way I'll go....those front facing balcony cabins are interesting and those front corner suites are enticing, but I like the aft view as opposed to forward where there's not as much to watch.  Decisions decisions!
Thank you for your advice originalgeek, SDPadreFan

Wouldn't the front balconies be too windy? I was afraid that being on the 16th or 17th deck with front facing balcony would be like getting strapped to the front of an airplane. My other question is if we will be able to open the balconies to the one next door if you have adjacent but not adjoining staterooms. Does anyone know the answer to that for Mardi Gras? I'm assuming this is an option since they use those doors for maintenance staff to be able to walk down a whole row of balconies. 

On 12/6/2019 at 12:02 PM, twodaywonder said:

I would think you can understand there point of view. Not wanting to get ripped off. Must be the same for everyone. My wife does not drink, so we are in the same boat. I get the soda package. If I want a special drink, I buy it. If I want a rum and code. I buy the rum, no need to purchase the rum and coke or whatever. usually you can get buy BOGO for a shot. They give you a big glass for the soda so that is what I buy. A lot less expensive than the rum and coke and twice the size.

I would totally agree with everything you just said and I'm a huge diet coke/rum and diet coke drinker. Now that they have switched to Pepsi would you change your strategy?