EdmundXXIII

Our cruise was during Hurricane Season, and I was obsessively following the weather in the Atlantic in the days leading up to our cruise.

There was a "tropical wave" that had blown off the coast of Africa and was making its way across the Atlantic that had a chance of becoming a Tropical Storm and its track was right in our path.

Our itinerary had us sailing East, making stops along the way in Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, and St. Martin.

Sure enough, the storm formed into Tropical Storm (later Hurricane) Cristobal! It was a safe bet that our cruise would be impacted.

Mid-afternoon, the Captain made an announcement about the storm and our changed itinerary. But I couldn't understand him over the din of the Lido, and with his thick Italian accent. :) But later that night, we got this letter:

Thankfully, our itinerary change let us keep all the same ports! Just a different order. We were no going to be headed South to avoid the storm, then sailing East to St. Thomas; then we'd hit each port on our way back west.

Shortly after sailaway, I put my phone into "Airplane" mode. No one would be able to reach me for 8 days. Here I am doing it. Can you tell I'm happy?

Thanks so much for the direct link! I got that to work. We haven't cruised in 10 years and now have 2 booked for next year. I've been bitten by the cruise bug yet again!

 

I hope you are enjoying your new job.

I'm loving it! Thanks!

For some reason, they don't appear online or on the booking information. But I've used them before and they've always been there.

If you want to confirm the total you've given, you can call Carnival and they can look it up.

Just so you know, cruise cash is use it or lose it, and is non-refundable. I'd recommend Carnival gift cards, since anything that's not spent can be saved for a future cruise.

Because it means you're the most boring person on Earth?

Scene: Mickey Arison (MA), Arnold Donald (AD), and Christine Duffy (CD) in a boardroom somewhere in Miami:

MA: This moron has been on his laptop for 20 minutes. What's he doing? Are we charging enough for Internet? Why is he reading Twitter on a cruise anyways? For heavens' sake, why doesn't he go to the Lido or something?

CD: Let's change the channel to another passenger.

<click>

AD: Oh hell no. This one's touching his-

<click>

CD: That balcony is empty. Try another.

<click>

MA: Is that John Heald in his underpants? I thought he was off the ships.

CD: Looks like he's on vacation. I think that's a framed picture of Megan Fox next to the cigar box.

AD: Fine him! He can't smoke out there!

CD: But if we do, his Facebook legions will sink our popularity ratings online.

MA: Arnold, why the heck did we invest two hundred million dollars in these darned cameras? These people are either boring or gross. It's no fun to watch them and I'm not getting any more money out of it!

AD: Mr. Arison, it's all about improving your image. People didn't like you after that bad business with the fires and the sinking Italian ships, but after I get "caught" doing this, they'll be begging to have you take a more active role again to straighten things out.

CD: But that would end badly for YOU, Arnold.

AD: Golden parachute, baby. Have you SEEN my contract?

<curtain>

:confused::):confused:

LOL! Don't ya know it! Some of the responses have been cracking me up!

Ever do a thorough examination of your balcony light?

No. The idea that Carnival is putting hidden cameras on our balconies seems absurd.

I realize it would be technically possible, but why bother? Why spend the money on the tech and the people to use it? Do you think Mickey Arison is floating around on his private yacht watching a video feed of me eating breakfast on my balcony?

Plus, if they WERE doing this, someone would have found the hidden cameras by now and put it on social media. It would be a huge controversy.

Hi, I can't wait to see all of your pictures. We are going on Liberty in January for our 15 year anniversary!

 

Would you mind providing the link to your video? I can't seem to get the imbedded one to work properly.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to do a review!

Here is the direct link: "http://youtu.be/y2nV82XYeaY"

You'll love the liberty. It is my favorite ship. Congratulations on the 15th anniversary coming up!

I snapped a quick picture of the port from our balcony before the muster drill:

And after the drill, we were out to sea!

And one more from our balcony:

And with that, I'm singing off. Will continue thread later tonight!

Once onboard, I was blown away by the atrium. It was spectacular. Definitely my favorite Carnival design, with the gardens visual theme.

We went to guest services to book the Behind the Fun Tour, and then headed up top.

Here we are squinting in the Florida sun:

We started off with some Guy's Burgers and Thirsty Frog Red beer, and then I treated myself to some ceviche from Fish & Chips on Deck 10:

On the Glory, my wife had tried the Ceviche, but I didn't. She swore it was amazing, so I wasn't gonna miss is this time! It was definitely a treat, and I ended up going back for more all week.

After lunch, we went down to the aft dining room to scope out our table. I had e-mailed the Maître D' ahead of time requesting a table for two, with a view if possible. I had just recently quit a job under difficult circumstances and started a new job with no break at all in-between. I was burnt out, I just didn't feel like sitting at a large table with people I didn't know. A quiet week at sea was just what I needed, and boy did they deliver:

We had the best seats in the house! And our headwaiter, German (pronounced Herman), was SPECTACULAR. (More on him, later!)

After a bit more exploring, the cabins were opened to us, so we went to check it out. We were in 9222, which is a category 8D balcony on the Lido Deck. It was great!

We stayed at the Days Inn Orlando FL at 9301 South Orange Blossom Trail. It was only $45 for the night, but I have to say it was pretty bad.

First of all, when we arrived, we couldn't open our room. The key card didn't work. We went back and forth to the lobby 3 times (long walk) and they kept on making us try again with new cards. Finally, they said the lock was broken, and they'd send someone. It took 45 minutes for him to arrive and let us in. They refused to just put us in a different room.

Here's the view from our room:

We went down to the pool, so Andrew could learn to snorkel. (I brought my own gear.)

Here's the pool:

The pool was filthy, and had giant wads of hair floating around like jellyfish. Gross! :eek:

We decided to go to Olive Garden for dinner, because we had gift cards. There was one about a mile and a half away. We took another Mears Taxi.

After dinner, we planned to take a taxi back. This time, I had used the Mears Taxi iPhone App to arrange for the taxi ahead of time. I don't recommend using the app! Very bad interface, and I selected 10 PM for pickup. Unfortunately, what actually happened was that at 10 PM the app notified Mears we needed a driver. It wasn't actually a reservation. No driver was available, and the restaurant was closed, so we walked back to the hotel.

And our door lock was broken again. Waited another 45 minutes and got back in our room.

After a somewhat unpleasant day at the Days Inn, it was bedtime.

I at least had this to console me:

The morning of the cruise, we took a shuttle to the airport. This was the one thing that went perfectly with the hotel. They offered a free airport shuttle, and we had booked transfers from the airport to the cruise terminal through Carnival.

As a side note, to those who are curious, the Carnival website indicated that if we didn't provide flight information our transfers would be cancelled. I had not flight information to provide, and left it blank. My PVP said it would be fine, but I was a little nervous. Anyhow, it was fine. We got on the bus at the airport and were off to the ship!

And after about a 50 minute ride, as we pulled into port, we got our first look at the magnificent Carnival Liberty:

I was super pumped. The year before, my wife and I went on the Glory and I had LOVED the Conquest-Class design and the FunShip 2.0 upgrades. I was also excited to try the new "American Table / American Feast" menus which were being featured on the Liberty.

We got to the port on the first transfer, and had a smooth checkin process. We were on the ship by noon.

When we booked, I was living in Raleigh, NC. Andrew is from New Jersey.

So he bought tickets to fly down to Raleigh, and we were planning to drive from there to Port Canaveral.

After booking, plans changed. I got a new job and moved to Virginia, but Andrew already had his plane tickets. We figured I could drive there and meet up with him.

But we made one more change. We decided to leave my car in Raleigh with some friends, and take Amtrak to Orlando.

We met up in Raleigh on the 20th (2 days before the cruise). After hanging out with friends and dinner on the town, we made our way to the Amtrak station.

Here's a shot of downtown Raleigh:

Waiting for the train:

And here's Andrew waiting inside the train station:

Me on the train: (Terrible Picture!)

And getting off the train in Orlando:

If you haven't taken Amtrak before, I have to say it was awesome. So much more relaxing than driving or flying. We had a "Viewliner Roomette" with bunkbeds. It wasn't much larger than a closet, but it was quiet and comfortable. Our train departed around 9:00 PM, and it was about a 13 or 14 hour ride. We slept through most of it and had breakfast the next morning on the train.

Once we got off, we caught a cab to our hotel. It was operated by Mears Taxi. I had reserved it ahead of time, and everything went smoothly. Driver was at the train station within 10 minutes of our arrival. We did have a bad experience with them later, using their iPhone app but more on that later.

So I've really enjoyed some of the photo reviews on here, so I decided to write one myself! This is a bit belated. The cruise was an 8-Day Eastern Caribbean on the Carnival Liberty on August 22 of 2014. I had planned to write something sooner, but haven't had the time.

I (James) cruised with my best friend and former roommate from college, Andrew.

We left out of Port Canaveral, and went to St. Thomas, USVI; St. Martin; San Juan; and Grand Turk.

To start us off, I'm going to post a video I made which highlights the ship and each of the four ports. [YOUTUBE]

I've posted this video before as a separate thread, but it was several months ago so I'll just include it here for reference.

You'd be surprised at what you can put a camera in these days. Yes, there's the obvious, and if you can see it, it can see you.

 

And then there is the not so obvious. You have no clue when big brother is watching. There are more cameras on board than you think.

 

I hope I've cleared that up for you.

I think there's TON of cameras on board.

But I don't think that they have invisible flying ones outside everyone's balcony. :rolleyes:

Hate to burst your bubble, it's the camera/devices that you cannot see (or recognize as a camera) that you need to worry about.

Just saying...

Andy

:eek:

I realize sometimes cameras are hidden. But they have to be attached to something. From an average balcony, there just aren't that many things sticking out far enough from the edge of the ship to look inwards at an angle that can see onto the balcony.

I'm not paranoid enough to think they're actually putting cameras on our balconies. Why would they? It would be expensive to put hidden cameras there, provides no benefit to the cruise line, and if people found out there would be an uproar.

Certainly, some balconies ARE going to be more visible than others from the security cameras, but most aren't.

In MANY threads, I've seen comments from people who seem to think surveillance cameras can see everything that happens on the balcony.

Granted, this usually comes up when someone asks if they can enjoy some - as John Heald would put it - rumpy pumpy on their private balcony. Inevitably, someone will say that the cameras can see you.

But privacy concerns are also valid for those of us who would like to know we can lounge or read a book on out "private" balcony.

So, applying common sense to the situation, here's how it works: If you can see a camera, it can see you. Most Carnival ships do have cameras mounted on long polls that stick out near the front of the ships. From what I understand, this is so they can see along the sides and rear, in case someone goes overboard or a fire starts etc. And yes, depending on your location, those cameras may be able to see all or just part of your balcony. But for most cabins, to see those cameras you have to lean out past the divider. Which means they can't see your balcony.

I just had to say it, because it's a pet peeve of mine when I see a comment where people are assuming that the cameras have some magical ability to see around corners. It just doesn't work that way! So enjoy your balcony in peace, unless you can actually see a camera from it.

Magic and Triumph(I think those were the 2 ships) are the only 2 ships that will get the American Table this year. The others ships were taken off the list for some reason.

Anyone have any idea why they changed course? They had previously planned on having it rolled out fleet wide by the end of the year.

I'm bummed. I loved the new menus last August on the Liberty and was hoping to have them on the Splendor in October.

I love sea days.

Port adventures are amazing, but there's something special - and especially relaxing - about being at sea.

0! Leaving for NYC in a few! Splendor-bound :D

Have a great trip! I am just a wee bit envious. :) I'll be on the Splendor in just under 4 months.

120 until we set sail on the Splendor to Bermuda. It's going to be the first cruise for my parents. My wife and I are avid cruisers, and we are really looking forward to seeing their faces when they first walk onboard and see the atrium.

The Sunshine will replace the Splendor out of NYC next year. Not at all happy with its schedule since the number of sailings is very limited and starts in July and ends in early October. Surely Carnival gets enough $$$$ from NYC to at least provide a ship starting in May!!!!!!!:(

 

 

 

MARAPRINCE

We have the Sunshine sailing out of Norfolk in June and October of next year. NYC and Norfolk are also sharing her with Charleston and Port Canaveral.

We feel the same way in Norfolk. We aren't as big as NYC, but geographically we are the perfect mid Atlantic home port, with Amtrak and air service with easy transfers to the port, which is in the heart of downtown.

My hope is that down the road, they'll split a ship between NYC and Norfolk.

interesting comment from john heald this morning:

 

"Just a quick update on our new and now very popular American Table menus. This year we will now add the menus to just two more ships. The Carnival Magic starts on 07/19/15 and Carnival Triumph on 08/10/15.

cheers"

 

source:

 

as of the time of writing this, the carnival faq lists the following ships as currently having the american table / feast menu:

 

Carnival Breeze

Carnival Freedom

Carnival Glory

Carnival Imagination

Carnival Inspiration

Carnival Liberty

 

source: https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1107/kw/american%20table

 

i kinda wonder what is behind this reversal... the menu is something they control entirely, and to have said it'd roll out fleet wide earlier this year, to now put it on hold again... it will have been about 2 years by the time they implement their new menu across all the ships?

That is very disappointing. I am on the Splendor in October and was looking forward to the new menus.

For the record, I've experienced both the "old" menus, and the new American Table / Feast menus.

You can contact Special Needs department.

 

 

 

specialneeds@carnival.com

This of definitely your best bet if you have a medical concern regarding the new policy.

Bummer experience, OP!

I sailed the Pride in 2011, and was aft. Definitely felt some vibrations but nothing as bad as what you experienced. That said, I've heard a LOT of people complain about this problem on the Pride, and it sounds like some rooms are worse than others.

I had assumed there was some minor mechanical problem contributing to worse than normal shaking at the aft, but Pride was just dry docked so presumably they'd have fixed anything that was wrong... Maybe just has to do with the design of the ship.

I've seen a LOT of people lately who have compared Carnival unfavorably to NCL, and I just don't get it.

I have nothing against NCL, and if someone prefers them to Carnival, that's just fine. But it's silly when someone insists that NCL is much better than Carnival, beyond some personal preferences. Each has their strengths, but they are basically comparable products.

I could understand it much more easily if someone made a comparison that had some basis in objective reality. (EG: "We usually cruise Seabourn, and in comparison, the Carnival cruise we took last year was not as elegant.")